AN: *Disclaimer* Nothing new, I unfortunately still don't own the rights to The Mummy
A few streaks of sunlight were peaking in through the gaps in the tent siding, causing me to blink through the intrusion and slowly wake up. I rolled over and felt that the bed next to me was cool. Ardeth had been awake for a while now. Normally he made sure I was awake before he left. I guess I didn't want to cooperate this morning. I got up and changed into one of the dresses that Rahima had made for me, a way for me to assimilate into life with the Medjai. Honestly, I was missing Texas quite a bit these days. We were well into the summer months now and if I thought southern Texas summers were rough, they didn't even come close to what summers were like in the middle of the Sahara. At least the dresses allowed for some air flow.
Rahima had taken to teaching me exactly what was expected of the wife of the Chieftain. Mostly it was just knowing the different traditions of the tribe, seeing the men off when they leave, welcoming them back, being the go between for the other women and the council and most importantly, providing Ardeth with an heir. It was the duty of the Chieftain's wife to be a leader to the other women, someone they could come to if they had any concerns or needs. It was through this that I became closer to Aisha, one of the women who had helped me get ready on my wedding day. I had come to know that she wasn't that much older than me, only twenty-six but she was married to Nasir, and they had four children of their own. She had brought me under her wing and was teaching me the art of healing. As a tribe of desert warriors, the men were constantly coming back with varying degrees of injury and since we were too far from Cairo, the tribe had learned long ago that we needed to be able to handle most injuries ourselves.
It was more complex than I thought it would be, healing. Most of the remedies that we were using were homemade and even the most natural ingredients could cause catastrophic problems if not given in the appropriate amount. Thankfully, Aisha had written down the recipes and those were easy to follow. For the most part, I was healing minor cuts and bruises from incidents around the village. There hadn't been any major problems since we got back from Hamunaptra.
We had gotten word through the new curator at the Cairo museum that Rick and Evy were getting married. They wished for Ardeth and I to attend. Normally, Ardeth wouldn't have agreed to leaving the tribe so soon after returning but Rick and Evy were our friends, so it didn't take much convincing on my part before he agreed. We were leaving for Cairo tonight, hoping to cross most of the desert before the sun rose. I was looking forward to seeing more of Cairo, this time without the fear of mindless goons or regenerating mummies threatening us at every turn. I was excited to get away from the village for a few days.
Ardeth was leaving Aman in command and Nasir would be traveling with us, for extra protection. I was trying not to take that too personally, that he didn't think me capable of defending myself. I tried not to dwell on it too much as we loaded up our horses with our packs as well as an extra horse, to make the load more bearable for everyone. Rahima and Asir came to see us off, small smiles on their faces. "Be safe. Try to return in one piece." Rahima said, that last bit for Ardeth more so than me. He smiled at her before waving at them and leading our small group out of the village and into the open desert. The night was cool, making traveling more enjoyable. I rode beside Ardeth with Nasir behind us, scanning our surroundings, making sure there was no threat.
I was happy we were making this journey on horseback. Ardeth had tried and failed in the months that I had been with his tribe, to get me used to riding a camel and I just could not get the hang of it. The gait was all wrong and I always toppled out of the seat. I could ride a horse better than he could, or at least that's what he told me. But mastering the art of camel riding was beyond my powers. I was pulled out of my inner dialogue when Ardeth turned to me. "We'll stop in a few hours for some rest before continuing on. We're a two days' ride from Cairo and I would like to cover as much of the journey as possible at night." Ardeth informed me.
"Ok. That sounds good." I said, trying my best to cover up my yawn. Ardeth smiled at that. That was something that he had discovered within the first week of our marriage. I loved my sleep and woe to whoever interrupted it. It would take me a while to get used to the nocturnal travelings of our people. We carried on in silence for a while, trying to not draw attention from the other occupants that made the desert their home. Just when I was sure I would fall off my horse from exhaustion, Ardeth and Nasir stopped at a small oasis that appeared in between two sand dunes. I must not have been paying close attention because to me, it appeared as quickly as a mirage would in the heat of the day. They got to quick work putting up two smaller tents and situating the horses for the next few hours.
I did my best to dismount gracefully but sleepiness caused to me to lose whatever gracefulness I possessed, and my left foot got stuck in the stirrup. I almost fell on my ass when I felt Ardeth behind me, grabbing me around my waist in an attempt to keep me upright. I smiled sheepishly at him. "Thank you." I said quietly, leaning into him, finding security and comfort in his presence.
"You're welcome, ya amar," he said fondly, leading me to our tent. I laid down on the blankets that were thrown down for us, waiting for Ardeth to join me. He took off his weapons and outer robe, leaving his loose tunic top and pants on before laying down next to me. I scooched over until I was flush against his side, my head on his chest. He put his arm around me, the other resting on his sword, just in case. I quickly fell asleep to the rhythmic beating of his heart.
All too soon, Ardeth was waking me up, insisting that it was time to break down camp and travel until the sun was too hot. In a daze, I helped gather the blankets and loaded them onto the spare horse we brought with us. Ardeth and Nasir packed up our tent and cleared the area, removing all trace of us, before we mounted up and continued on our way. We carried on this way for two more days before we could see Cairo on the horizon. We quickened our pace and were in the city at sundown. The Medjai had a residence here for whenever they came into town for business. This is where we were staying for the duration of our visit. I dismounted, excitement for the coming days fueling my actions, and with a nod from Ardeth, handed over my reins and entered the house, moving quickly through each room, making it habitable. I finished in the kitchen, getting a dinner ready for us.
This is where Ardeth and Nasir found me, hovering over the stove, stirring a pot of stew as that was what was the easiest to prepare with the limited ingredients I had at my disposal. "Tomorrow I will need to go to the market to get food for the rest of our stay." I informed Ardeth before turning back to our dinner, making sure it didn't ruin.
"That'll be fine. We can go on our way back from Rick and Evy's wedding ceremony." I nodded to let him know that I was in agreement and went about plating the stew for the three of us.
"I hope this is ok. We didn't have much available," I said, waiting until Ardeth dug in before allowing myself to take a spoonful. It wasn't bad and I was slowly impressing myself with how domestic I had become since marrying Ardeth. Neither men seemed to have a problem with the food as they ate quickly and were already looking for another helping. I bit back a giggle as I poured more for them. That was something that seemed to be universal, how men could eat. We finished up and I cleared the table and washed and put away the dishes before joining Ardeth in the bedroom set aside for the chieftain. It wasn't decorated and had only a bed, wardrobe and a set of drawers but it was a bed, not the desert floor and after two nights sleeping on just a blanket covering the sand, it was like heaven. I went into the bathroom connected to the room and washed the sand and dirt from traveling off my face before changing into a cotton nightgown and leaving the bathroom to join my husband in bed.
Even though this was the first time we had been truly alone, as Nasir was across the house in another room, when I got exited the bathroom, Ardeth was already fast asleep. I smiled to myself and got into bed next to him, humming in happiness when, in his sleep, he rolled over to me and put an arm around my waist. My husband, the great chieftain of the Medjai, was also a big teddy bear. I'm pretty sure that I was the only one who got to see that side of him now, but it made me happy to know that it was there. I know our times in Hamunaptra took their toll on him, as they did me, but he never let it show just how much.
There were more nights than not when I would wake up to him thrashing about on our bed pillow, lost in a nightmare I couldn't save him from. I would soothingly call his name, my hand on his arm, tethering him to what was real, just as I knew he did with me when I was plagued with haunting dreams of losing Jack, Bernard, even Daniels. It had been six months since that initial trip to Hamunaptra, over a year since I left the comfortability of the world I grew up in and I still wondered what life would be like if I hadn't managed to convince Jack and the others on this hairbrained expedition. At some point during my late-night, deep thinking, I had fallen asleep.
I was woken up the next morning to find that Ardeth was once again missing from our bed. Even when there were no immediate concerns, he was an early riser. Some habits couldn't be broken, I guess. Throwing on a robe, I followed the smell of breakfast cooking. Entering the kitchen, I smiled at the sight before me. Ardeth was cooking us breakfast and Nasir was laughing at him. I guess it wasn't going well. "Is everything ok in here?" I asked.
"Please help him. He's been struggling with this since I came in a half hour ago." Nasir said, a grin on his face.
"I'm more than capable of making breakfast without my wife's help Nasir." Ardeth said, sending Nasir a look that quickly shut him up.
"Why does it smell like something is burning?" I asked, looking around to make sure nothing had caught on fire.
"That would be attempt number one. Its currently residing on the table in the back courtyard until it is cool enough to throw away properly." Nasir informed me.
"Attempt number one?" I asked Ardeth.
"I was trying to surprise you. As you can see, my efforts were in vain." I smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze.
"Why don't both of you go tend to the horses while I make us something to eat? After we've eaten and have gotten ready, could we go to the market?" I asked.
"Of course," he replied. Both him and Nasir walked out the back door and I was able to focus on making breakfast. I had just finished and was placing it on the table when they came in, a grim look on both of their faces. My stomach dropped.
"What's happened now?" I asked, afraid of the answer.
"The new curator wishes to see us. Apparently, there are people here in the city who are asking around for you and your brother by name." Ardeth said, the serious look on his face becoming more pronounced.
"Does he know who they are? Have they gone to see him personally?" I asked, that nervous feeling growing in my stomach, threatening to turn to nausea.
"He said that they had an appointment to see him this afternoon. We need to eat and get ready quickly as we have Rick and Evy's wedding this morning. We don't want to be late." Ardeth said before tucking into his meal. Nasir followed suit. Any appetite I had, left when I found out I was being searched for. No one knew I was here, except my family and they all had lives that they couldn't just walk away from in Texas. I merely just pushed my food around on my plate before giving up and throwing it out. I knew that wasn't good, wasting food but I just couldn't find my appetite again.
The men had just finished eating when we heard a knock on the door. Ardeth motioned for me to go upstairs and get ready while he answered the door. I was at our bedroom door when I heard Rick's booming voice in the entryway, followed by Evy's. Relaxing a little, I pushed open the door and entered to get ready for the day.
When I entered the sitting area, everyone had made themselves comfortable. "Rick, Evy, hi! Are you both excited for today?" Evy looked over the moon and Rick was looking at her like she hung the moon and stars.
"Oh yes. We realize that it's going to be a small affair. We're stopping at the courthouse and getting it done right there. With everything that happened, we don't want to wait that much longer. Also, we really can't." Evy said, placing a hand on her stomach.
"Evy, are you expecting?" I asked, a look of shock on my face.
"Yes," she said happily. "But we're trying to keep it quiet just a little while longer, until we're officially married. You know how society is." And indeed, we all did.
"Well let's not wait any longer. I'm ready and if everyone else is, let's get this show on the road." I said, heading towards the door. Ardeth exited the house first, casually taking in our surroundings, making sure everything was safe. I could sense the tension in his shoulders. The curator's news had set him on edge, and he wasn't willing to take any chances. He led our little group, with Evy and I in the middle, Rick on the side, and Nasir taking the back, constantly looking around for threats to his chieftain and me. We must have been quite a site because people were moving out of our way pretty quickly, nervous looks on their faces.
We made it to the courthouse in fifteen minutes, and Jonathan was waiting outside for us. "There you lot are. Hurry up, the judge is about to go on break." He hurried us along.
"Honestly Jonathan, how many times do I have to tell you? Patience is a virtue." Evy sighed, exasperated. I chuckled quietly and followed Evy inside. The ceremony didn't last very long, the judge was quick and to the point but just seeing the looks on both Evy's and Rick's faces, I knew they wouldn't have wanted the fanfare of a big ceremony. They just needed each other. I smiled at Ardeth. There was something about weddings that made you remember your own. That's what my mother told me at every one of my brother's weddings and I didn't fully appreciate the sentiment until now. True, we had only been married for almost three months, but it was still nice to be able to reminisce on the happiest day of my life.
The judge pronounced them husband and wife and Rick made a big show of their first kiss before taking her hand and walking her out of the courthouse. Ardeth, Jonathan, Nasir, and I followed. I couldn't help the smile that was adorning my face. Checking the position of the sun, Ardeth cursed under his breath. "I'm sorry to be cutting this happy celebration short but we have a meeting at the museum that we can't miss. We'll be sure to catch up with you later before we leave Cairo." Ardeth told Evy and Rick.
"Well actually, tomorrow we're heading back to England. I've been offered a position at the British Museum and they need me to start as soon as possible." Evy said.
"Oh that's wonderful! What time are you leaving tomorrow? We can come see you off." I asked, looking at Ardeth for confirmation. He nodded.
"Our boat leaves at 9 o'clock in the morning." Rick said.
"We'll be there. But for now, we really need to hurry." Ardeth said, shaking Rick's hand. I gave Evy a hug and we parted ways, hurrying to the museum where Ardeth led us to the curator's office. We could hear voices inside but that didn't stop Ardeth from raising his hand and gently knocking on the door. I heard a chair scrape across the floor and footsteps approach the door. The anxiety was building in my stomach as the curator opened the door and stepped aside to allow us to enter. I was not prepared for who was on the other side of the door.
AN: I'm so sorry that I've been gone for so long. This chapter has been driving me crazy, so I decided that I was just going to split it into 2. I've already outlined the rest of it so I'm going to start working on that now. I might be only updating once or twice a month for a while as I want my original plot to be just as solid as the movie content. Thank you so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews.