Chapter Three – Reunions
"What is that, Babu?" Azizah asked excitedly, pointing at the slim, gray figures cresting the water.
"Those are dolphins, ameerah. Are they not beautiful?"
"Oh, yes, Babu! They are lovely fish."
Ardeth chuckled and ruffled his daughter's hair. "They are not fish, habibah. They are mammals."
Azizah's face wrinkled into a delicate frown. "Mammals? Like a horse?"
"Just so. Only they live in the water." Ardeth waited a moment while his five-year-old digested this. Finally, she nodded. "They are graceful, like a horse, Babu. It is fitting that they are not fish." Ardeth laughed. He couldn't help himself. Her reasoning astounded him sometimes and he never failed to be endeared by it.
The people around them looked up his laughter. All of them were Europeans and it was hard pressed for them not to stare at the exotically handsome man and his beautiful child as they stood by the railing together, speaking in the melodic language of their people. The silver symbols woven into Ardeth's robes caught the sunlight, sending thousands of prism-like starbursts bouncing off the deck. Azizah's white dress caught the prisms and reflected them into her bright, dark eyes. They were a most striking pair and totally oblivious to the stares of those around them. Well, not entirely. Ardeth was aware of the scrutiny but ignored it. He was used to being stared at in Cairo by foreigners. Why should it be any different here where he was the outsider. He mentally shrugged off the curious looks and turned his entire attention to his daughter who was looking up him with a question in her eyes.
"Babu, why are we going to England?" she asked, surprisingly, for the first time since they'd left home.
"We are going to visit the O'Connells, habibah."
Azizah squinted up at her father and he knew immediately that she didn't believe a word of it. "Is that all?" she wondered suspiciously.
Ardeth looked away, not ready for this discussion. "Look, Azizah! I see more dolphins." A quick glance down showed him his distraction didn't work. Sighing, he scooped his child up in his arms and carried down the walkway, putting some distance between themselves and any curious onlookers, not that they would understand their language anyway, it was just that he wanted the illusion of privacy. "Why do you believe we are going to England?" he asked her when they were truly alone.
"Well . . . Grandmother said we are going to England to bring home a new queen. Is that true?"
Her father took a deep breath and let it out slowly. So much for trying to deceive her. "That is what the council of elders wishes for me to do. They wish for me to marry a woman who lives there."
"Is she nice?" Azizah wanted to know.
"I do not know, ameerah. I have never met her."
Azizah frowned, looking very much like her father when she did. "They wish you to marry a woman you have never met? Have never even seen?"
He nodded. He could practically hear his daughter thinking and didn't want to disturb whatever conclusion she might come to, a conclusion he couldn't wait to hear. "I think we must meet her and decide for ourselves," she said after several moments. "I would not want us to have a new queen unless she is the right one for us." Ardeth hugged Azizah tightly. She had echoed his very feelings and the way she included herself in the bargain made his heart sing. She was wise beyond her years, this child of his. She knew that by taking some of the responsibility upon herself, she was sparing her father the brunt of the decision-making. Azizah knew he would not marry anyone she did not approve of.
"I will make certain she is right for us, habibah. If she is not, we will wait until we find someone who is. Is that acceptable to you?" Azizah looked into her father's eyes and saw the indecision and confusion buried there. She knew her father needed her help in this and she would do everything in her slight power to make it all right. She nodded and held out her hand. Ardeth grasped it in the handshake of the Med-jai and together they watched the sun set over the horizon that just might hold their future.
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"So you are one of the Med-jai Ardeth told us about. The ones who live outside Egypt."The foursome was seated around a low table in Evy's office. Tea had been brewed and poured and the four stone tablets were laid out before them.
"Yes, that is so," Khay's father confirmed. "There have been Med-jai guarding the outside world for centuries. My grandfather made England his home, and my father was born and raised here but returned to the desert upon reaching manhood. I was born in the desert but upon a visit here I met Khay's mother and decided to stay." His cultured voice carried no hint of the accented English of the desert people. "The Med-jai of the outside tribes have kept our heritage through our customs and our names, but we have also adapted to the cultures of the places where we serve."
"But your names aren't Arabic," Evy frowned, puzzled. "I mean, Ned and Khay Alden are quite properly English."
The Med-jai laughed lightly. "That is part of our assimilation. Alden is the name I chose for my family when we first came here. Were we to return to the desert, we would revert to our traditional names."
Evy looked at Khay with a smile. "What is your name? I mean, your real name."
Khay smiled back. "Khayriyyah Alaa' al Din. It's quite the mouthful, I'm afraid."
"It's lovely," Evy assured her.
"Yeah, real nice, but what I want to know is how come you guys didn't know about us? About Evy protecting the tablets?" Rick leaned forward. He was still a little suspicious. Alden didn't blame him.
He smiled ruefully. "Alas, some things are not passed on from place to place as they should be. We knew that the attack on the museum was the work of Imhotep's cult. And we knew that you were somehow involved. But that is all we knew. No one informed us that you, O'Connell, were Med-jai. Nor did anyone see fit to tell us about your knowledge of us."
Rick shook his head. "I don't get it. I thought you guys were all knowing and stuff." He raised his hands, emphasizing the 'all knowing' with a shake of his fingers.
Ned Alden bowed his head. "In the last decade or so, there has been a lack of communication between the outside tribes and the Med-jai. We have, however, recently taken steps to overcome that obstacle."
"Well, you guys had better figure something out. This 'lack of communication' thing could get somebody killed. And that somebody usually turns out to be my wife."
"Really, Rick," Evy sighed dramatically, "you over exaggerate!" She leaned toward her guests. "Don't mind him. He's always like this."
Rick snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Right."
Ned Alden smiled at the couple and stood up. "We should leave. It is getting late and we have to work in the morning."
"Yes, and I want to be here on time. I wouldn't want my boss to think I was shirking."
Khay grinned at Evy and Evy grinned back. "I'll see you in the morning, Khay."
"Uh, no, actually, you won't be in tomorrow."
Evy turned to her husband. "What do you mean? Of course I'll be in. Why wouldn't I be? I have no plans for tomorrow."
"That's because you didn't come home for dinner and hear my news." A hint of a smile played at the corners of Rick's mouth.
Evy narrowed her eyes. "What news?"
"We have to be at the docks tomorrow morning at 10:00."
"Why?" she asked suspiciously.
"Because if we're not there to pick Ardeth up he's gonna have to find another way to our house and you know how much he hates riding the bus."
It took a moment for the information to sink in. But when it did, Evy lit up with delight. "He's coming here?!" she squealed. "Tomorrow? Oh, Rick, that's wonderful!" She launched herself into her husband's arms, forgetting about their company for a moment. When she remembered herself, she turned to Khay and Mr. Alden. "I'm sorry, Khay but I will be out tomorrow. . ." she stopped speaking when she realized that Khay was gone. She gave a puzzled look at Mr. Alden who said nothing, only bowed politely and took his leave.
"Goodness!" she exclaimed. "Was it something I said?"
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The docks were teeming with people. Family and friends had come to pick up relatives, cargo was being unloaded, stevedores were winding their way among the bustling crowd. The decks of the Moroccan Star were crowded as well, as the passengers milled about the railing, searching for familiar faces in the crowd.
Ardeth stood on the upper deck and surveyed the swarms of people at dockside, his eyes searching for the familiar faces of his brother and his wife.
"So many people!" Azizah exclaimed as she hugged her father's knees. He looked down and found her with her face buried in his robes. He kneeled down beside her. "You are frightened, ameerah?" he asked gently. Azizah nodded her head and raised wide eyes to her father. "Is it unseemly of me to be afraid, Babu?" she wondered, a slight hitch in her voice. "I know that a Med-jai warrior is never afraid and I do not want to bring dishonor to us."
Ardeth gave his little daughter a gentle smile. "You are not yet a warrior, habibah. Therefore it is alright to be afraid."
Azizah's eyes widened a little more. "It is?"
"Of course! Now, tell what it is that frightens you and we will see what we can do to make it better."
She looked around to make sure they were relatively alone before speaking. "The people. There are so many I am afraid I will lose you." Ardeth's heart lurched at the sight of the tears threatening. "Well then," he assured her. "We will have to make certain that you do not lose me." And with that he picked her up in his arms and set her on his shoulder.
Azizah squealed with delight. "Babu!"
Ardeth laughed. "Now you will not lose me in the crowd for you are taller than everyone else here." His matter-of-fact attitude calmed her. It made sense after all. Now that she was head and shoulders above the throng, she would surely not lose sight of her father. "However, now that you are up there, you must look for your Uncle O'Connell and Aunt Evy."
Azizah shaded her eyes and searched the crowd as Ardeth made his way down to the gangplank. He'd already seen Rick, their connection making him obvious even among hundreds of other people.
"Do you see him?" Evy asked, relying on Rick's height to find Ardeth. As if drawn to an unseen beacon, Rick's eyes had gone to the upper deck as soon as he'd been able to spy the ship approaching. Even from a distance, he had known that his brother stood there. He knew that Ardeth could sense him as well. When the ship finally docked, he nudged Evy and pointed up. "There."
"I don't see . . ." she began then stopped as a white clad figure suddenly surged up above the other people's heads and settled on a tall dark-clad shoulder. "Azizah!" she yelled, waving. "Oh, Rick he brought Azizah!" Rick O'Connell simply stood back and watched his wife jump up and down waving her arms and yelling. He saw Ardeth's hand go up in greeting and Azizah wave back with just as much enthusiasm.
"UncleO'ConnellUncleO'ConnellUncleO'Connell!!" Azizah cried out joyfully as she launched herself off her father's shoulder and into Rick's arms. Rick lifted her high over his head. "Hey, Trouble, how've ya been?" Azizah giggled at his pet name for her and punched him on the arm. Rick tossed her once into the air then let her down to launch a similar attack on Evy. He straightened and looked into the eyes of his brother for the first time in almost a year.
The two men faced each and said nothing. They stood still, opposite sides of the pyramid, oblivious to everything around them. One pale, one tanned. One clean-shaven, one bearded. One with light eyes, one with dark. They were East and West yet their souls were alike; twin sons of different mothers. Finally, the silence said it's peace and they smiled together, each raising his arms to embrace his brother.
"You are well," Ardeth observed, holding Rick at arm's length and studying him closely.
"And you are troubled. What's up?"
Ardeth gave an imperceptible shake of his head and Rick understood what it meant without words being spoken. He simply nodded in return and put an arm over the Med-jai king's shoulders. Evy turned to them both, a beaming smile on her face. She took Ardeth in her arms and hugged him tight. "It's so good to see you! It's been too long."
Ardeth nodded against her hair. "It has," he agreed, tightening his embrace causing Evy to whoof out a protest. He laughed and released her, holding out his hand for Azizah. With a wry grin he noticed that he'd already been replaced. She was now firmly wrapped in O'Connell's arms and grinning at him.
Evy saw his predicament and took the hand he'd offered to his daughter. "He has that effect on women," she said slyly. Ardeth only grunted and she laughed and they headed out of the crowd and into the surrounding street.
"Allah, but I've missed them!" he thought as he looked down into Evy's bright face and then at Rick's grinning profile. "They are truly my family." Aloud he wondered, "Where is Alex?"
"The Med-jai junior is in school, much to his dismay. He had a big test today and we, being the mean, evil parents we are, refused to let him skip school and miss it." Rick's tone was unmistakably that of a parent.
"What he's not saying," Evy continued for him, "is that Alex didn't study for the test and we weren't going to let him get away with skipping it for that reason. Unfortunately, this is one of those lessons he's got to learn the hard way. A failing grade is a good incentive for better work especially when one's summer holiday visit to Egypt depends on passing the class."
Ardeth nodded wisely. "I understand. You have done the right thing. Perhaps I could have a word with him later about this?" He asked their permission although he would have the talk with Alex regardless of their answer. They knew it too, so they both assented. The heir to the Med-jai throne could not be an idiot.
"Do we need to get your luggage?" Evy asked as they got further from the dock.
"I've already arranged for it to be delivered," Rick offered. "Ned and his. . ." but Rick didn't finish. A small group of businessmen was blocking their way. "Excuse us. Can we get by please?"
The man closest to them turned. Every inch the upper-class businessman, the man oozed money and disdain. His expensively cut suit was obviously tailored exactly to his specifications, as was the sneer that curled his lips. Evy wondered for a second how long he'd practiced that look in front of his mirror. "We will move when we are finished with our...." The man stopped short, a look of absolute shock on his face. "My God! It can't be! I thought you'd returned to your dilapidated tents and flea bitten camels ages ago. What are you doing here?"
It was with some degree of shock that Rick and Evy realized the man's derisive tone was directed at Ardeth. It was even more of a shock that Ardeth seemed to know this man. The Med-jai's face was tight with loathing. It was as if he'd seen something worse than scarab beetles crawling out of the London sewers and he made no effort to hide the fact. "Milton." It was amazing that one word spoken just right could sound like the lowest insult possible. Rick's eyes widened at the tone his brother was using.
"Ardeth Bey. My, my." The man called Milton made it just as clear he felt the same about Ardeth. "Still wearing those desert clothes, I see. I always said you couldn't civilize a heathen dog."
Ardeth caught Rick's arm as the American surged forward.
"Who's this, Bey? Don't tell me there's someone in this country who's actually not embarrassed to be seen with you?"
Ardeth felt Rick's arm tighten beneath his hand. "He is not worth your trouble," he said softly.
Rick's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure, old buddy? I think I might enjoy pounding his face into the pavement."
Azizah shifted uneasily in her uncle's arms. She didn't like this confrontation. She also didn't like the way this strange man was talking to her father. She held out her arms and Ardeth automatically reached for her, comforting her with his touch.
"Oh, how sweet," Milton simpered sarcastically. "A little desert ragamuffin. Is she yours, Bey? Or some whore's child you're selling at market?"
With the speed of a striking cobra, Ardeth's backhand caught the man's cheek, the sheer force of the blow laying open flesh from ear to nose. He hit the sidewalk with a dull thud, the men around him backing away from the tall robed man who'd just attacked with inhuman speed. The raging tempest in those brown eyes warned them off and the tall American beside him radiated as much, if not more, fury than the foreigner. A second after the blow landed, Azizah was in Evy's arms and Ardeth crouched beside the bleeding Englishman. His voice was soft but the words landed with the hardness of physical blows. "You may insult me if you wish, but if you ever lay insult upon one of my flesh again, I swear upon my oath they will be the last words you utter." And then he stood and walked away as if nothing had happened.
O'Connell looked down at the man on the ground and smiled grimly. "My brother may not mind if you insult him," he remarked casually, "but I do. And if I ever hear you insult him again. . . well, let's just say that my oath is as good as his." As if to clarify his point, he drove his foot into Milton's midsection and listened to the gratifying 'whoosh' as the air in his lungs was forced out. Rick watched the man gulp for oxygen like a landed fish for a moment, then nodded pleasantly to the watching crowd.
He caught up with Evy and Ardeth at the car. "Who the hell was that?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even for Azizah's sake. She was clearly frightened and clung tightly to her father.
"Someone I knew once," was the only answer he got.