Disclaimer: I don't own squat, not a damn thing. Well, I own a rather nice pair of red Converse high-tops, but that's it. As far as Ardeth, Evy, or Rick, no, sorry, not mine. The OC, however, is mine. Flames will be used to light my backyard barbecue pit. Please R&R, I'm desperate.

-Belle

"It is unwise to refuse payment in this matter," spoke the man sitting in the shadows of the tent, "We lost a good warrior to that Greek dog." Rings of smoke floated out of the shadows, the embers of the pipe vaguely lighting the dusty white tagelmust the man wore. Occasionally the blond haired man caught a glimpse of the bedouin chief's eyes.

"It was an excellent plan, I will give you that," the white man responded, sitting back against the satin pillows, "You have, however, failed to provide proof of her demise. I have one dead body; I need two." There was a sticky silence in the tent, and for all his worldly escapades, the blond man was beginning to feel the pressure.

"No woman of Europe could survive the desert. By now her body has been consumed by the vultures. All that's left will be her bones. You cannot identify bones." the thief countered, finally shifting into the light. There was a deep, angry scar running across his face from cheek to chick. A large chunk was taken from the bridge of his nose where the blade had passed through. as a result, there was a sickening wheezing sound whenever he breathed in and out. The blond man looked him straight in the eye now, intimidating for his relatively young age.

"I pray, for your sake, that that is not the case."

Lira's lessons continued for the next few days. With each passing sun, Ardeth became more and more aware that he would soon need to take her to Cairo. He could not ask the O'Connells to put off their plans for this woman, but on the same note, he did not wish her to leave. He had convinced himself that it was because of her progress, that he was excited to have a student who showed such promise. In reality, he had a sick feeling deep in his gut when he thought about setting her loose in the world. From what he'd learned of her former fiancé, he wasn't entirely sure of her safety. He had no way to definitively prove that the attack on their camp was a setup, but years of experience told him that something was up. And perhaps that was the real reason he was so keen on teaching her to fight and not just defend.

Finally, Ardeth knew he had to tell her it was time to go. He'd waited long enough and he knew Evy needed to get back to her work in London. So he set out in the morning for the healer's tent, only to find his mother helping Bahir grind herbs for remedies. She instructed him to head to the southern part of camp, and he requested that she beginning gathering any belongings Lira had including a water skin and some riding boots. Dalal nodded knowingly and Ardeth made way for the southern edge of camp. Just south of them lay a nice open valley before at the feet of a massive dune. It was the only really open space around the camp and it was often used for riding practice. As the Med-Jai chief approached, a sad smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

It was a game of tag, meant to improve the children's horseback skills. They'd ride around bareback and try to get close enough to tag one another and take off as quickly as possible. The trick was not getting tagged back before you were able to get away. Ardeth remembered this game, and he'd been particularly skilled at it. Today, though, there was an adult among them, the only tall shape in a crowd of nine to eleven year-olds. She was having a blast. Ardeth couldn't bring himself to interrupt, and so he watched. She wore long black robes that flowed and billowed as she expertly maneuvered her horse. The veil that should have been wrapped around her head hung round her neck like a scarf. Her cheeks were rosy and her green eyes were laughing. Her short auburn hair was just long enough to occasionally get in the way. She'd shake it away and continue on, moving perfectly in tune with the fine Arabian she rode.

The game continued as though he weren't there. A dozen or so children and a full grown woman laughing in the morning sun as they chased each other around on horseback. Suddenly, Ardeth felt like the villain, taking her away from a place that so far had made her so happy. He'd seen it, every day. The more she came to know the camp, the brighter her face looked. He loved seeing that look on her, but he knew he'd have to be the one to take it all away. It was inevitable. She didn't belong in their world, and she needed to return to whatever life she had before. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. Finally, the horses tired and the game wound down. It took a moment, but Lira finally spotted him and rode over. Her horse was sweating and she had a grin a mile wide as she looked down on him, squinting slightly in the sun.

"So," she panted, "how'd I do?"

"You were brilliant." he assured, patting the horse on the neck.

"Where'd you pick up on British idioms?" she asked, swinging herself off the horse and leading him away towards the healing tent. Ardeth walked alongside and chuckled to himself, thinking of Johnathan Carnahan.

"I have a couple friends from London. I suppose it rubs off after awhile." he explained, avoiding the real reason he came to speak with her as long as he could. Lira wasn't without basic reasoning skills, however, and her smile soon faded.

"Are these the friends who'll be taking me back to Greece?" she asked, no concentrating at the tips of her riding boots as they peeked out from under her robes on each step. Ardeth swallowed hard.

"Indeed," he tried to sound enthusiastic, "Wonderful people, all of them. I'm sure you'll get along very well."

"So when do I leave?" She had, by now, resigned herself to the fact that her presence here couldn't last forever. Ardeth looked over and studied, her head still down and her hair blocking most of her face from him.

"In the morning I will escort you to Cairo." he explained, "It will be three days ride, if you feel up to it." Lira nodded and put her head up, flicking her short hair back. She did her best to buck up and look unperturbed. "Where in Greece will you be going?" Ardeth asked, not that he knew the territory well.

"A prefecture called Imathia. Alexandria to be specific, but I've thought of returning to the countryside." she replied with as much feeling as a grain of sand.

"Perhaps you could return to Turkey." he suggested. He didn't like the idea of her going back to Greece. Joshua's 'associates' would know where to find her. Lira shrugged thoughtfully.

"Perhaps. There are some nice little towns along the Sea of Marmara. Gallipoli is nice this time of year." It was a short reply, and the silence that followed was stifling.

"May I ask you a question?"

"Well, I can't guarantee I'll answer, but go right ahead."

"Why are you so reluctant to return to your world?" It had been bothering him for quite sometime. It just wasn't natural. Lira stopped suddenly, the horse taking the opportunity to sniff out some grain she'd stashed in her pocket for him. Ardeth turned to face her, and her green eyes stared into him as though the answer were perfectly clear.

"My whole life I've defined myself by the places I lived and the people I knew. As far as I'm concerned, my existence has relied solely on my relationships to familiar faces and cities. For the first time I've been face with a situation where I had to rely on myself alone, and while I've been here I've discovered things about myself I never knew." she revealed with great gravity, "I killed a man. A man who was going to do horrible things to me, and I escaped. I survived the desert, albeit with your help, and from then on I've been in a place that holds no memory for me and so I've been forced to look within. This whole experience has brought out the real me,a nd I don't want to lose that."

"You can't. Perhaps you were hiding behind familiarity and the mundane your whole life, but now that you've stopped hiding you can't lose yourself again." he responded, taking her hands in both of his without much thought.

"Is that some ancient Egyptian wisdom?" she asked with an ironic chuckle.

"It's three decades of experience talking." he replied, gripping her hands a little tighter until she finally noticed and looked down. His long tan fingers were wrapped around her own small hands, and it was strangely comforting.

"I guess I can't argue with that." she shrugged, reluctantly pulling her hands away. For a moment she avoided his gaze, but she finally looked up. Warm, rich brown eyes burrowed into her, flooding her mind. There they stood for a moment in time. The sounds from the camp became muted, the wind seemed to still and the world was quiet. Whatever spell held them was broken quickly as the horse nudged Lira's arm and she looked away. Ardeth closed his eyes and turned around. They began walking again, silence permeating the air. They would leave in the morning, and once they reached Cairo in three days, they'd go their separate ways. Life, Ardeth reassured himself, would go back to normal.

A/N: I'm no longer ahead by 2 chapters, or any chapters for that matter, so posts will be a little later in the day. I've got work and all kinds of crap going on. This one is particularly late because I was watching a movie called Dear Frankie. It was frickin adorable (and I'm not just talking about Gerard Butler.) Anyway, much thanks to Pirate Gyrl for reviewing once more, my first repeat reviewer. Is anyone else still out there?