Chibi-Malik: -_-; *hides taffy*
WSJ: Hey C-Malik, com'ere. We got a guest. ^^ *evil laugh*
Chibi-Malik: ?_? *observes Kaze, dressed in black leather, chained to SJ's computer desk*
Kaze: *looks pleadingly at audience* Get me out of here... And that's a direct order!
WSJ: *glomps Kaze, dispite his muffled protests* :p I kidnapped him from High Crystal Guardian. Isn't he precious?
Kaze: X_x; Chibi-Malik is precious. I am not precious.
WSJ: :p Yes you are. Now then, everyone go bug HCG to update, okay? ^^ Kaze, disclaimer.
Kaze: Must I?
WSJ: *wicked grin* You must if you want to keep your clothes...
Kaze: 0o; Stupid authoress fangirls... SJ don't own YGO. Karim and Najib are hers, and if you ask nicely you can have them, although I dunno why you'd want them.
WSJ: ¬¬ That was very monotone Kaze. Put more feeling into it next time.
Kaze: v_v; I have feelings?
WSJ: *decides to ignore him* Thanks for helping out and answering the questions ya'll! ^-^ I now have some vague idea as to how everyone's love lifes are going to go. :p
Kaze: *dryly* Oh peachy.
WSJ: *giggles and huggles Kaze again* Anyway, now on to reviews! I'm only answering the ones that asked really big questions (or the ones I just felt like answering) because I'm getting too many to answer them all.
Indigo-san: X3 I can't wait for them to show up either, but that's going to be a long while in the future. I want to fully develop everyone's character first before I get into all the Items and yamis and saving the world biz. Oh yeah! Speaking of them, did/does either one have a Duel Monster/spirit monster that they're particularly fond of? Like Yami's is the Dark Magician, and Ryou's is the Change of Heart. Either one of them got a "mascot"?
Hmmm... A name for Ishtar... I dunno, I've always liked "Ammit" ever since Ses-chan suggested it for his middle name in my Tales. Ammit is/was the crocodile-like monster that ate your heart if it was heavier then the feather of truth in ancient Egyptian religion.
Oh, and did I mention who's going to be holding the Sennen Ankh in this here universe/realm/fic-thingy? *wide grin* It's not Shaadi...
Windswift-chan: Yes, you're exactly right about the yamis. *grin* Aren't you happy? But as I said to Indigo a paragraph ago, it's not Shaadi that gets the Sennen Ankh... On other notes: Whoo! I'm glad Pegga is growing on you. ^^ *snick* The "carrots and spaceships" thing was from Tenchi Muyo. If you really want to know then e-mail me. The quote was the same one I used in VBME chapter 10. ^~
HCG-chan: *cackles and hugs Kaze close to her* *innocently* Foreshadowing? What is this foreshadowing of which you speak? X3 As for the "say good night to everything that moves" thing... Yes, my sibs do it too. v_v; As for the "girls to offset the balance" comment... Have you forgotten little Amane so quickly? ^~
Aisu Hoshino: The Rod will go to the one who's meant to have it. >:) Not saying much, am I? Ah well, I may as well give a hint. How's Seto going to get the Rod if he's in Japan and the Items are still in Egypt? As for Cynthia and Amane dying... We'll see.
SkyDancerHawk: Awww, I'm sorry... Maybe I'll find some way to bring Ishtar in later, but little Malik is definately not going to get tramatized. :p He's too adorable for that. Actually, I always thought of Shaadi's hair as black too. I was just too lazy to colour it in in that picture. ^^;
LoneWolf16: Oo; Are you a mind-reader or am I just really predictable? I swear, I wrote the first half of this chapter before I got your review!! 0_o; Ehhh... You'll see why they have to go back to Japan quite a bit later on. ^_~ Can't say anything without ruining my plot. :p
Vocabulary:
kaa - Egyptian - the ancient Egyptians believed that a kaa was a person's soul, and walked hand in hand with their baa, their body. In the Yu-Gi-Oh sense, Bakura uses the word kaa to describe his spirit monster Diabouno in the Ancient Egypt arc of the manga. When I use it here, I mean both. ^_~
Okay, on to the chapter!
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Hot Sands, Warm Arms
Chapter 6 -- When Sand Fleas Attack
"Good writing is something that just comes naturally. I don't believe it can be taught, or learned in a classroom. But there does seem to be a connection between good writing and caffine. Whenever I have two or three cups of coffee, things start to happen."
~(Moi ^~)
The first thing Shaadi noticed as he entered the dining room the next morning was the fact that Shen was already up. The Japanese man was sitting at the table with his head in his hands, and faint snoring sounds were drifting from him.
A small sweatdrop trickled down the side of Shaadi's head. Okay, maybe not quite up. Grinning a little to himself Shaadi moved to shake the slightly older man awake. "Shen-san, Shen-san wake up."
"Mmpht?" Shen asked, blinking himself awake and picking up his glasses from beside him on the table. "Morning already?"
"'Fraid so." Shaadi said. "What are you doing sleeping on my table and not upstairs with Angeline?"
Shen sighed softly. "Pickles, soy sause, and carrots..."
Shaadi's eye twitched a fraction of an inch. "What?"
"Angeline had a craving and wanted me to find her pickles, soy sause, and carrots. Where am I supposed to find pickles, soy sause, and carrots in Egypt in the middle of the night?! Anyway, I couldn't even find a store that was open, and I know from past experience that Angel is not happy with me when I don't get her what she wants, so I decided it might be more profitable to sleep down here last night..."
Shaadi blinked. "Did you try the pantry?"
Shen's eyes bugged out behind his glasses as he fought the urge to face-fault. "...You have a pantry?"
Shaadi nodded. "Yes, right behind the kitchens. Come, I'll show you."
In a slight daze Shen followed Shaadi down the hall and into the kitchen. The Egyptian led him to a plain wooden door at the back of the room, which was barred at slightly above waist level. (Some subconcious part of Shen recognized the height for what it was: just slightly out of Malik's reach.) Putting the bar aside Shaadi let the door swing open and then reached inside to flip on the light. "You see?"
Sitting inside were shelves and shelves of canned and boxed food, as well as several huge wheels of cheese, barrels of cider and beer, more barrels of apples, pears, and other imported fruit, and at the very back sat a large refridgerator that held yet more things that Shen couldn't see with the door closed. And lo and behold, sitting on one of the shelves was a jar of imported American pickles, a bottle of soy sause, and in a bushel basket on the floor were several dozen carrots.
Shen fought the need to bang his head against the wall, and settled for sating his curiosity instead. "Shaadi, why do you have so much food when it's just the four of you living here?"
Shaadi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and Shen noted that his hair was, once again, wrapped up in a turban. Hmm... He'd have to see if Shaadi could teach him to do that. It certainly would be useful if he could keep his hair out of his face and off his neck during the hottest part of the day.
"Three main reasons my friend." Shaadi was saying. "The first is that most of these foods are imported, and it's much cheaper to buy them in bulk. Secondly, Isis and Rashiid and I have known about this dig of Pegasus's much longer then you guys have. Pegga and I are old friends you know, he was my roommate for a year in college when he was an exchange student in Cairo. Anyway, this house is only just across the river from where we'll be digging, so we'll probably come back here for a nice meal and a good nights' sleep once or twice a week. Believe me, after a week on canned rations, this will seem like a feast."
"And the third reason?" Shen asked, still trying to struggle around the strangeness of Shaadi calling their leader by such a familiar name as "Pegga".
Shaadi chuckled. "Malik eats like a horse."
"Ahhh..." Shen nodded in understanding and then bent down to grab a couple carrots out of the basket by his feet. "If Angeline still has that craving of hers, and even if she doesn't, I don't want her to think I ignored her 'needs'." he explained, taking down the bottle of soy sause as well. "Jeez, I didn't even know soy sause came in liter bottles..." Shaadi helpfully picked up the giant jar of pickles and they headed back for the kitchen to start making a real breakfast for the un-pregnant people in the household.
They were the first ones up, but as soon as the small of frying bacon and French toast began to diffuse through the house Malik came bouncing down the stairs, followed by a yawning Pegasus. Malik was still dressed in his pajamas, which consisted of a pair of dark grey shorts and a white tank top with the Superman logo on the front. Pegasus was tying a scarlet red bathrobe around him, and his feet were covered by white fuzzy bunny slippers.
"Yummy!" Malik said, standing on his tip-toes to watch as Shen rather clumsily flipped the French toast.
"What can we do to help?" Pegasus asked, trying without success to smooth down his hair, which was sticking up in wild silver bed-headed spikes.
"Could you please set the table?" Shaadi requested as he poked at the bacon in the skillet he was tending. "Just enough for ten of us. Karim and Najib won't be joining us until after breakfast. Malik will show you where the dishes are."
Pegasus nodded and let Malik lead him over to the other side of the kitchen, where long cabinets lined the counters. As he counting out plates and cups and Malik was fooling around with the silverware Isis came into the kitchen. She blinked in surprise at seeing the three men already up and cooking to boot. "Well now, this is a pleasent surprise." she noted, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Shaadi raised an eyebrow, and Isis laughed. "But you're not wearing that apron!" Shaadi immediately started glaring, while Shen and Pegasus gave him questioning looks.
"Never mind." Shaadi said curtly. "It's of no importance."
With all of them helping breakfast was soon on the table. Pegasus went to wake Cynthia, Sugoroku, and Arthur, and Shen nervously sent Isis to wake up Angeline after she'd awakened Rashiid, not knowing whether his wife was mad at him or not. The women were the last ones down, and everyone else was already seated when they walked in. Cynthia was yawning and rubbing her eyes, her hair sticking up in blond tangles with bed head almost as bad as Pegasus. Which left the question of just what they'd been doing last night to get their hair so tangled. ^~
Angeline took one look at the pickles and carrots sitting drenched in soy sause on her plate, turned green, and sprinted for the bathroom. Isis hurried after her worriedly, grabbing a bottle of morning sickness pills from the kitchen cubbord as she went, and Shen sighed. "Craving past..." he murmered, standing up to clear away the plate. "Too bad we had to waste those nice carrots though..."
"I'll eat 'em!" Malik piped up from between Rashiid and Pegasus. "Cawwots is good for you."
The others stared at him as if he were nuts. "Not when they're swimming in soy sause alongside pickles." Cynthia said incredulously, finally tying her hair back into a long ponytail and leaving it at that.
"Yuh huh!" Malik said defensively, crossing his tanned arms across his chest.
"Uh uh!" Cynthia shot back.
"Are to!"
"Are not!"
"Are to!"
"Are not!"
"Are to!"
"Are not!"
"Are to!"
"Are-"
"Cynnie, why are you arguing with a six year old?" Isis asked as she and Angeline came back into the room. Angeline was still looking a little green, and Shen put down the plate he was holding to immediately go over and take her into his arms. "I'm sorry Angel, I thought you might still want them."
"No, that's okay." Angeline assured him, hugging him back. They pulled away after a moment, and Angeline sweatdropped. "Although I think someone else does..."
Indeed. As soon as Shen had put down the pickled/carrot-ed/soy saused plate Malik had pounced on it and was now devouring it as if it were a premium chocolate sundae. Everyone else was looking a bit grossed out by the display, and Arthur pushed his plate of toast and bacon away. "That makes one lose their appetite..." he said dryly, and the others agreed. A few minutes after Malik had finished though everyone's hunger returned and they dug into breakfast with a vigor.
Pegasus was the first one to finish and he sat back with a contented smile on his face. As everyone else began to finish he held his hands up for silence so they could hear him speak. "As soon as we get everything loaded into the jeep Shaadi and I bought a few weeks ago we'll set out. Karim's boat is quite strong enough to hold the weight of a car, and that way we won't have to fuss with trying to get camels or donkeys on and off a boat. If we do need animals there are plenty for hire on the West Bank. Today I want to concentrate on getting camp set up and everyone settled in. Tomorrow is when the real excavation will begin. Shen and Shaadi and I have been working on a duty roster, which we'll present to you at breakfast tomorrow. With that said, I leave everyone to pack and get ready to be off. You don't need to bring everything with you, because we'll be coming back here at least once a week when our workers have their holy day off. At that time we'll do laundry or whatever, so we'll have clean clothes for the next week."
Everyone began to get up to go pack, and Cynthia and Angeline collected the dishes to be washed. Shen caught Shaadi's arm as the Egyptian started to leave, and for a moment they talked in hushed voices. A moment later Pegasus joined their huddle, and then the three men left the dining room together, heading purposefully toward Shaadi's room, where they promptly locked themselves in. They didn't come out for over an hour, and once Isis was sure she heard a yelp of pain that sounded like Pegasus.
After almost an hour and a half, when everyone else was packed and ready to go, the door opened and the three young men stepped out. Cynthia, who was the only one in the hallway at that particular time, squealed in delight and then burst out laughing. Pegasus and Shen both had their hair wrapped up in turbans, although not quite as neatly as Shaadi's. Shen's dark purple bangs still poked out the front, and Pegasus had a few locks of silver hair escaping from in front of his ears as well.
(WSJ: :p Jeez, this fic keeps making me want to draw... www.angelfire.com[slash]realm3[slash]wsjsfics[slash]turbans.jpg The one on the lower left is Pegasus, (obviously a bit later in the story ^_*) lower right is Shaadi, upper right is supposed to be Shen, and then Malik in the upper left.)
"Aw, adorable!" Cynthia giggled, poking Pegasus's turban and earning a semi-sour look from him. "What made you think of this?"
"Shen did." Pegasus said. "He thought it would hlp keep our hair out of our eyes and off our backs while we're working."
Cynthia nodded ruefully, thinking of her own thick braid that reached nearly to her waist. "Long hair is not a good thing for an archaeologist... Anyway, everything's all packed up and we're ready to be off whenever you guys are. Karim and Najib showed up about fifteen minutes ago, and we're ready to move on out."
"Well all right then," Shen said, checking his watch and seeing it was about 9:30. "Let's get going."
Ten minutes later everyone was gathered outside. Shen and Angeline would be riding to the docks in the jeep, and everyone else would be riding horses from the house, which Najib would then return to the stables after they'd all left on his father's boat. Let's take a look at how well some of our heros ride horses, shall we?
Now, it can be seen rather obviously that Sugoroku Motou riding a horse denies every law of physics, and then some. Thus Isis made sure he got the most placid and gentle of the horses. But even with the smallest saddle they had Sugoroku's feet barely reached the stirrups. Finally Isis and Shaadi gave up and had him ride double with Arthur, much to the shorter man's disgust.
Malik was parading around and showing off his skills, giggling as he did. His horse was a beautiful Arabian mare by the name of Maritza, all tawny gold except for one white stocking. He was a very good rider for someone his age, and he rode bareback with only a bridle, as was typical of born Egyptians.
Isis and Shaadi and Rashiid calmly mounted their own beasts, as did Karim and Najib. Shaadi nodded at Shen, who started up the jeep and gestured for them to lead the way.
Pegasus swung himself up and onto the dark grey stallion he'd been given with the grace of someone trained to ride. Unlike Sugoroku and Arthur, he didn't seem to mind riding bareback and waved off Isis's offer of one of their spare saddles. "Let someone who really needs it use it." Leaning over he helped Cynthia to climb up behind him and get settled. "Now there my dear, just put your arms around my waist and you'll be fine."
"You know how to ride Papa?" Malik asked, bringing his horse around beside Pegasus's. He was dressed only in a pair of knee-length breeches and a white t-shirt, his feet bare and already dusty.
The millionaire chuckled and nodded, reaching up to adjust his turban with one hand as they all started off in a long, stringing procession. Isis and Shaadi were in the front, leading the way to the docks with the jeep just behind them. Behind the vehicle came Karim and Najib, and Rashiid and Sugoroku and Arthur. Sugoroku did not look at all comfortable on a horse, and Arthur wasn't much better. Rashiid was patiently trying to talk them through how to ride, but he was clearly beginning to get a little annoyed. Pegasus and Cynthia, with Malik alongside them, were in the very back. The caravan (of sorts) was beginning to attract a crowd, drawing long stares from Egyptian shopkeepers and peasents alike.
"Yup, we have horses back home in New York." Cynthia supplied from her place behind her husband, her arms around his waist. She was dressed in a tan shirt and khaki shorts, her long blond hair bound back in a braid.
"Neato!" Malik exclaimed in delight. Then a small, devilish grin crept on to his face. The little Egyptian's guardians had long learned to dread this grin, which was one of innate, unparalleled mischeif. "Race you to the pier!"
Before either of the Crawford heirs had a chance to react Malik had spurred his horse forward, kicking at her soft underbelly with his heels. "Tut tut Maritza! Hya!" He barreled between Rashiid and Karim, the latter of which swore in surprise. Dodging to the left of the jeep Malik pushed his way between his sister and Shaadi, galloping out onto open road.
It only took a second for Pegasus to react. Cynthia's arms tightening around him assuring him that she was ready, he kicked at his stallion's flank. "Hyaa!!" The horse bolted forward, taking the same path Malik had. The horse that was carrying Sugoroku and Arthur reared in alarm, sending both old men to the ground in a heap of swearing Japanese senior citizen. Cynthia gave a muffled shout of laughter and half-turned around to look over her shoulder as they too dodged around the jeep. Sugoroku was shaking his fists at them, and Angeline and Shen in the jeep looked surprised. Isis was red in the face, apparently trying not to scream or laugh or both. Shaadi too was red, but he most definately from laughter.
"Hang on Cynnie!"
Pegasus's warning came just soon enough that Cynthia was able to tighten her arms around him again before Pegasus turned the horse sharply to the left, sending it clattering down a side-street after Malik. The sharp turn nearly unseated them both, but they righted themselves and kept going. Malik led them through alley after alley, calling back to them in high pitched Arabic about how dreadfully slow they were. After several trips through just about every alley Luxor had to offer the horses began to tire, and so Pegasus shouted up to Malik that they should be getting on to the pier. In responce Malik turned his horse's nose west again, and very soon they immerged onto the bank of the Nile River. About 100 yards upstream they could see the jeep and the rest of the horses just reaching the pier.
Malik glanced back at them, and due to some unspoken challenge he drew Maritza to a halt. Pegasus trotted their stallion up beside him so that they stood together. "Okay Malik, one... two..."
"THREE!" Malik shouted, and both of them set their horses off in one final sprint that would determine the "winner". Cynthia squealed and hugged Pegasus tightly, and he laughed loudly in responce.
Angeline was the first to catch on to what they were doing, and she began shouting and jumping up and down, waving her hands over her head. Soon enough everyone was watching and cheering as Malik and his mare skidded to a stop just before Pegasus, Cynthia, and the grey stallion. Both Crawfords slid down from the panting horse amidst laughter, and Pegasus held out his arms so that Malik could slide down into them.
"That was a good race Papa!" Malik said, hugging Pegasus around the neck and then squirming to be let down. Pegasus did so and the little boy ran over to Isis, excitedly asking his big sister if she'd seen him beat "Papa and Mama" in a horse race.
Meanwhile Karim and Shaadi lowered a long ramp from the back of the boat to the shore, and Shen slowly drove the jeep up and onto the big deck. Everyone climbed aboard after them and Karim cast off. For awhile everyone stood by the stern, waving and yelling at Najib, who stood on the bank with the horses, ready to lead them back to the stables at the Abdul-Ishtar house.
Well, everyone except Malik, who was sitting in the exact center of the deck with a rather green look on his face. "Urp... water..." Apparently, while the little Egyptian had no fear of snake or scorpion, water was not exactly his strong suit.
After roughly twenty minutes Karim brought them close to the other shore and Rashiid hopped off to secure the boat. Once it was tied down they again lowered the ramp and Shen backed off the boat.
"Now then," Pegasus said cheerily, holding out a hand to help Angeline down from the boat. "All that's left is a nice five mile walk to the dig." Everyone stared at him, and he sweatdropped a little. "What? I'm serious!"
"He is serious." Shaadi spoke up. "The site we've chosen to start at is about five or five-and-a-half miles back from the bank of the Nile."
"Rashiid, you've been there. Why don't you take Shen and Angeline on up ahead." Pegasus said. "You and Shen can start setting up some of the tents and Angeline can..." he floundered for a moment, unsure of just what, exactly, it was pregnant women did. "Angeline can rest."
Angeline snorted a little, but climbed into the jeep's passenger seat. "I've done nothing but rest..." she muttered. Shen chuckled and climbed into the back with the bags and boxes of food and water while Rashiid hopped into the driver's seat.
As they revved the engine and drove off, Sugoroku groaned a little and made a face. "Now I regret not keeping in shape."
"I'm fitter then you old chap." Arthur boasted smuggly, taking off his hat briefly to wipe off the sweat already starting to form on his forehead.
"Oh you are, are you?" Sugoroku asked, a mysterious gleam in his eyes. "How about we make a little wager then?"
"...Intresting." Arthur admitted. "What sort of wager?"
Sugoroku debated for a moment. "Whoever arrives at the dig site more tired out will have to do part of the other's work for the first week we're here. Pegasus can be the judge."
"Deal!"
The two older men shook hands happily, and then started off in the direction that the jeep had departed. Shaadi ran to catch up with them, lest they inadvertantly get off course, and Malik bounced along behind them with Isis trailing after. Cynthia and Pegasus took the rear, and Pegasus sweatdropped a little. "How'd I get pulled into that?" he wondered aloud. Cynthia just shrugged and tried to cover the grin on her face.
Thankfully everyone had brought full water bottles with them, for the hike was long and tiring. After about the first half an hour Malik started to whine until someone picked him up. From then on he was almost always on either Pegasus's or Shaadi's shoulders, although Cynthia and Arthur both took turns carrying him as well. They walked for the most part in silence, with only the scorpions and an occational snake to keep them on their toes. You really had to watch where you stepped in Egypt.
After about an hour Isis smacked at something on the side of her neck, then scowled at the miniscule bug guts on her hand. "Stupid sand fleas...."
Luckily for the group walking, the fact that they were constantly moving was keeping the sand fleas and other buggies off. Shen and Rashiid were working up a good sweat constructing tents, and they were attracting hordes of bugs. Every few seconds one or the other of them would stop working for a moment to slap and some random part of their anatomy. This was usually followed by a colorful amount of cursing at said bugs. For the first few minutes Angeline sat in the shade of the large, open-sided pavilion which had been the first thing they put up and laughed at them. Then the bugs began to get at her too, so she desided to stroll through what was going to be their home for the next several months.
On a side note to the narrative, since this pavilion is going to be rather important to the story from here on, I shall describe it in a bit more detail. The top was a light yellow and striped with white, made to reflect the sun away, and was open-sided for wind to blow through while still affording shade. Several long tables were set up to form a 'U' shape, with chairs set at each of them. One table was reserved for eating and drinking, another for pottery, jeweralry, and other restoration projects, and the third for just lounging and socializing. Now, this pavilion was meant as the common room for the archaeologists. This is where many future meetings and bonding experiences would take place. But that is a long while in the future still, so I shall return to the present day.
The dig site was indeed a good one. About 100 yards from where the tent complex would be (as soon as Shen and Rashiid stopped cursing at bugs and got it set up) several stone collumns rose from the sand. Four of them, which formed the corners of a square, were broken and worn although the very faintest of carvings could still be made out. Standing upright in the center of the square formed by the pillars was a tall granite obelisk with carvings, clear, sharp carvings, all down the sides. It was almost as if the obelisk were much newer then the pillars that surrounded it. Other traces of foundations and monuments were scattered around all over, but these were the most prominent. They'd been uncovered in a recent sand storm after being burried for who knew how long, and Pegasus had managed to grab the site for his own team before any one else could get there before them. It was unexcavated by any modern archaeologist. They would be the first.
It was to this obelisk that Angeline wandered, still chuckling at her husband and new friend. Running her fingers across the granite, she traced the hieroglyphics. Although it looked newer, she judged the obelisk to be the same age as the pillars that surrounded it, just better preserved. Her trained eye detected the style of hierogyphs that hadn't been used since the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty. If the obelisk was a forgery, it was a good one. More likely it had been covered by the sand soon after it was made, and had been protected all these thousands of years. Pursing her lips slightly Angeline squinted up at the writing nearest the top, which was about four feet over her head. The entire obelisk, pointed top included, was about eleven or twelve feet tall. She was fluent in hieroglyphics, but a little rusty.
" 'I stand and guard the gate...' " she muttered, reading the carvings outloud to herself. " ' No one shall pass that... something something... the Pharoah's kaa shall guide him... something... in this, his sacred city of Ankhera. All in this city shall be... something... and the Pharoah shall show them all his power... something something... lest the Evil Ones outlive us all. ' "
She shivered slightly, rubbing her hands up and down her arms despite the heat of the day. Backing away from the obelisk her heel caught on something half burried in sand. Blinking in surprise she squatted as best she could and dug the loose sand away until she was able to pry the object that had tripped her out of the ground. It was a limestone chip, the same sort of rock the surrounding pillars were made of, and was about eight inches roughly square. It seemed that some ancient artist had used it for sketching practice. A handsome face stared back at her, his eyes wide and his mouth curved back in a sort of secretive grin, as if he knew something she didn't. Beside it was a cartouche bearing a name, but the ink was faded and slightly smeared.
Angeline stared at it for a moment, then glanced back up at the obelisk. Was this the face of the Pharoah mentioned? She brushed away some of the dust and dirt on the limestone chip, trying to make out the faded writing. "Bel... um... Bel um Fal."
The child inside of her moved in a peculiar way, almost as if it started in surprise, and a strange feeling came over Angeline. Slowly she carried the chip back toward the tent, absently rubbing her belly with her other hand. Both men noticed her and hurried over to meet her in the shade of the tent. "Angeline, are you okay?"
Angeline nodded, still looking at the stone fragment in her hands. After a moment or two she handed it wordlessly to Shen, and rested both hands over her swollen belly. "Something happened, but not bad. I feel..." she paused, trying to find words to describe it as the men stared at the stone portrait of the proud, regal, and yes, pharonic face. A small smile played across her face. "I feel almost blessed, somehow, as if I know we're meant to be here, that what we're doing is right. Fate led us here for a reason, and I don't think we have any choice in the matter anymore."
Little did she know how very right she was.
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WSJ: And so ends chapter 6. :p More and more plot is coming together for this, so stay tuned!
God bless minna-san!