Chapter 1: My Dreams Recurring

(Roderick/Radames)

I had dressed into my traveler's clothes when I reached the docks. My pulse was racing. I had to warn Aida about the search. When I found her, she and Mereb helping the Nubian king into the boat I had waiting for her. She saw me as soon as I arrived there.

"Radames!" she exclaimed.

"Aida, undo the rope!" the king urged her.

"Forgive me, father, but I need one last moment with him," she replied, scrambling to get out of the boat.

"Daughter!" the king called, but she didn't listen.

Father? Daughter? I thought. This couldn't be right. Aida wouldn't lie to me like that. She wouldn't stoop so low. But, the king wouldn't call Aida "daughter" if she weren't. I couldn't believe it. Aida tricked me. How could she?

"Of course," I said, as she approached me. "You're the Nubian Princess. And you had me marry Amneris just so your king could escape. What a fool I am. It was all a lie. An act. Every word. Every kiss."

"No!" Aida said, grabbing my hands. "But, I have made too many mistakes and too many people have suffered. I could not act selfishly now."

"So you lied to me?" I asked.

"Not when I said I love you," Aida said, desperately. "Say you believe me."

She looked at me pleadingly. I wanted to believe her, but I didn't know if I should let myself be used like that. Unfortunately, I had no time to respond because my father appeared with a guard. He looked shocked.

"She's alive?" He exclaimed.

Aida and I, still hand in hand, watched as Mereb rushed forward, brandished his sword, and fought with the guard.

"Aida, get in the boat!" the Nubian king called from the boat.

Just then, Mereb cut down the guard. I started to panic. Someone would find us and bury us alive. I didn't care if they found me, but I didn't want them to bury Aida.

"Get in the boat Aida!" I urged her. "This is your last chance!"

Aida didn't move. Instead she watched as my father drew his sword and stabbed Mereb.

"MEREB!" Aida cried, running to his side.

Aida wasn't getting in the boat and I knew that there was no persuading her, but I could let the Nubian king escape. I grabbed Mereb's sword and raised it high above the rope that kept the boat tied to the dock.

"Radames, for the love of Egypt, stop them!" My father cried.

I brought the sword down, severing the rope and the boat floated away.

"NO!" My father cried.

"Aidaaaaaaaaaaa!" the Nubian king called from the boat, that was now far away. I kept my eyes on the boat until it disappeared. I looked over at my father who was in sheer panic.

"Radames, what have you done?" he asked.

"It's all over, father," I said, calmly. "When they come for me, they'll take you, too."

"No," My father panicked. "They can't! Egypt needs me!"

"You're the one who tied our fates together," I said. "Like father, like son. I think you should run."

My father jumped off the dock and ran down the shore of the Nile. I knew those would be the last words I would say to him.

"Radames," Aida said, looking down at Mereb. "He's…….."

She trailed off. I knew what she was trying to say. A lump rose to my throat. Mereb was dying. Mereb was not only my trusted servant, but my best friend. He had been my companion since we were both ten years old. And now he was dying.

"Forgive me, Princess," he said to Aida. "I failed you."

"No," Aida said, calmly. "Never. You, Mereb, inspired me."

"I wanted to go back to Nubia," Mereb said. "Aida, take me home."

The lump in my throat got bigger. I had kidnapped Mereb from Nubia. I kept him from his home. I'm evil, I thought. Aida looked at me with tears in her eyes. Mereb had passed away.

I moved forward and lifted Aida into my arms. Shedidn't look at me. She kept staring at Mereb's dead body.She wanted to go home, too. I could tell. I deprived her of her homeland.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Suddenly, the guards came and ripped us apart and shackled us. They took Aida in one direction and I in another. This is it, I thought as they took me away. They're going to bury me alive. I deserve it. I've done everything in my life wrong, but this seems right.

I looked behind me and saw Aida screaming and struggling to get free. It occurred to me: they were going to bury her, too. No, I thought. Aida did nothing wrong. Don't let her die. Please don't let her die.

"Why do you build me up (build me up) buttercup, baby just to let me down and mess me around?"

I opened my eyes, my breath coming out in short puffs, and turned off the alarm on my radio clock. I would've hit the snooze button and went back to sleep, but I really hated "Build Me Up, Buttercup." Plus, I had no desire to go back to sleep and experience more of that nightmare.

I swung my legs over the bed, trudged into the bathroom, splashed some water on my face, and then brushed my teeth. I lived New York City. Greenwich village to be exact. I wanted to live uptown, but I couldn't afford it. As I brushed, my mind drifted toward my dream.

I kept having dreams like that. Well, not always like that, but I always dreamt an Egyptian captain and I fell in love with a Nubian slave who apparently was a princess. It wasn't always like the one I had last night. In one, I kidnapped her and she hated me. In others we fell in love and………well, shtupted as I put it. The night before last I dreamt that we were buried alive in a tomb together. It was weird

The weirdest part was she kept calling me "Radames" and that wasn't my name. Why was she calling me that? And what was her name again? It started with an A. Oh, well. I shrugged. I had to go to work. I dropped my toothbrush and headed back into my room to get dressed. Why couldn't I stop shaking?

(Aisha/Aida)

The guards forced Radames and I into a tomb and then closed us in. It was pitch black and I couldn't even see my nose in front of my face. I moved my hands along the stone walls to find Radames. For the first time in my life, I was afraid to die.

"It's so dark," I whimpered.

"Give me your hand," Radames's voice said near by.

I reached around in the dark from Radames's hand, but I couldn't see. Finally I felt his strong hand close around mine as I leaned against the wall and slumped down to the floor.

"I'm right here with you," he said.

I slowly started to calm down. Everything would be fine. What are you thinking? A voice in my head shrieked. Everything will not be fine! You're buried alive! You're going to die! But, I suddenly wasn't afraid anymore. I wasn't alone. Radames was here with me. Somehow, that would be comforting as I was slowly deprived of life and air.

"There is another world waiting for us, Aida," Radames said. "I can feel it. The way I always knew there was a world beyond every bend in the Nile. Just waiting to be discovered."

"You will find me in that world?" I asked.

I felt Radames's hand caress my cheek. "If I have to search a hundred lifetimes, I will find you again, Aida," he said. Then he kissed me.

Iface clasped his hand under mine. I suddenly became drowsy and fell asleep. I didn't know how long I fell asleep, but when I woke up, I was holding Radames's limp hand. My heart raced as I put two of my fingers to his wrist to test his pulse. But, there was no pulse to check. Tears filled my eyes. Radames was dead.

"No!" I cried out loud, shaking his body. "No! No! No! No! No!"

I gathered his body in my arms and sobbed. Then I fell against the back wall and heard rumbling. Suddenly sand came pouring into the tomb. It filled it up quicker than the rushing of the Nile. It poured into my mouth. As I coughed the sand out of my mouth, more came in. Sand started to fill my lungs and I couldn't breath………….

Beep. Beep. Beep. I opened on of my eyes and stared at my radio clock and put a pillow over my head, but the alarm kept going. All right! I thought, turning off the alarm. I'm up. I didn't realize I was shaking until I sat up.

I took a few deep breaths and then got out of bed and shakily walked to the bathroom. I lived on Central Park Drive in New York City in a small apartment with a nice view of Central Park. I loved living there. I loved the city. It was exciting.

I splashed some cold water on my face, grateful that I woke up. I didn't want to know what would happen next. The only thing I liked about that dream was the Egyptian man.

I'd been having recurring dreams about that Egyptian guy for a while now. What was his name again? Oh, well it slipped my mind. But, I wasn't exactly having those exact dreams. In one, he was my captor and I was his slave and I hated him. In another, we were in love and it went a little further than a kiss. Actually, it went a lot further than a kiss, I thought. It was like watching a TV show and being in one at the same time.

The weirdest thing was, he kept calling me Aida. That wasodd because that wasn't my name. Why was he calling me that? It was strange. When I was done brushing my teeth, I went back into my bedroom to get changed.

Even after I put some clothes on, I was still shaking. I walked out into the living room where my easel was stationed in the corner. I was an artist. I wasn't a "starving artist," though. I hadsome pictures displayedat the Museum of Modern Art and I had a few galleries in SoHo. I also went to different after-school programs and taught art classes once a week.

A lot of the paintings I kept in my apartment were the ones that I painted of images from my dream. I somehow thought that I would get some analysis of them, but no luck. Mostly, when I painted, it calmed me. So, I sat down at my easel and started yet another painting. With the first brush stroke, my shaking stopped.

To Be Continued……….

A/N: It'll get better. Chapter 2 is coming soon.