Author's note: Hello again! No, I haven't given up yet! Unfortunately for you, I plan on finishing this story, even if it kills me...
Thank you for everyone who took the time out of their day simply to read my lame story! A special thanks to A Queen of Witches, and xXYuseiXAkikoXx for reviewing and favoriting! It means so much to me! I love you guys!
Also, I'm changing the rating because I realized that this story will be more gruesome and darker than I first expected.
Now onto the story!
Please Enjoy!
Chapter 02 Heart of Gold
Meri stood above the unconscious girl, her bright eyes lingering on the female for a bit longer than necessary. She was already having second thoughts and regretted her decision of helping the mysterious golden-haired foreigner.
"Oh, Tito... Why do you guilt trip me in this way?" She whispered, letting a small sigh escape her lips. She didn't know what to do in this were her brothers going to say? Not only did she bring her plants home, but she also brought a foreign girl as well!
"Amon is going to kill us, you know." She reminded the boy, mumbling under her breath.
Tito only nodded in reply, shrugging his shoulders without a care in the world. Meri squinted with annoyance, Tito was never this relaxed and optimistic. In fact, he has always been a sick, and frail bedridden child, it gave him the underhand of being delicate and barely having enough energy strength to lift the lightest of things. Ultimately making him unable to work alongside his fellow men in hard labor, so he worked alongside his sister weaving baskets, and maintaining the household and garden.
She didn't want to be the buzzkill in this situation, but her gut nagged her endlessly, telling her this wasn't a good thing.
With a shaky hand, she brought the ceramic cup to her lips, her slender fingers shaking anxiously. The soupy luke-warm beer filled her mouth, wetting her dry tongue. She swallowed it with a hard gulp, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt in a not so ladylike fashion.
The girl stirred awake, murmuring words Meri just couldn't understand. Most definitely a foreign language.
"Oh! She's awake!" Meri whispered. She's probably calling out for her family… Meri frowned solemnly. She had to admit she felt somewhat sorry for the girl but still, she wished she hadn't intervened.
The young girl felt as if she was floating in a void of nothingness, whispers from seemingly nowhere flooded to her ears. Each whisper carried the same series of questions: Who are you? Where did you come from?
She jolted awake, her eyes shone brightly, bluer than a lapis lazuli stone. She quickly glanced around the small room made of stone and mud, noticing the two siblings she begins to plead with them in her unknown language.
Startled, Meri steps back, throwing her hands up. "Woah! Hold your fire! It's alright!"
The foreign girl furrows her brows in confusion, obviously not understanding Meri's dialect.
"Oh no… We can't understand each other. " She turns to Tito, a look of bewilderment apparent in her amber eyes.
The girl screeches nonsense and runs towards the door in a rush. "No!" In an instant, Meri grabs the girl while blocking the doorway with her body, clutching her calloused hands over her mouth, preventing her from screaming and alerting the soldiers.
"You can't! If you leave...We will all be arrested, or even worse killed!"
Shit, she really can't understand me… Wait I know! In an attempt to make the strange girl understand, she would act out her actions! Meri pointed to the door, crossing her arms into an X. She then sliced at her neck with the tips of her fingers, warning her if she were to leave, it'd be the last thing she would ever do.
The girl seemed to understand as she broke down crying, clutching onto the older woman's shirt, sobbing into her chest.
Meri cringed as she felt the wet tears roll down her breasts, soaking her linen shirt.
"Err...It's okay." She patted the girl's back in an awkward manner. Tito couldn't help but laugh at his sister's awkwardness, an obvious scowl plastered on her face.
Noticing the boy's laugh, Meri flashed the younger boy a cold glare, flustered as her cheeks glowed red with embarrassment.
The girl pulls back, only to suddenly gaze into the woman's eyes, her big blue eyes staring deep into her soul.
"What … What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, her tongue clicking with annoyance.
As the golden-haired girl was about to say something, the door open with a sharp click.
"We're back." The gruff voice of their brother spoke.
"Akhu kept begging me to check on you two." He looks back over to the younger brother, smiling.
Akhu shakes his head, ready to argue. "I did no such…."
"What the hell is that?" Amon cut him off mid-sentence, noticing the golden-haired foreigner that sat upon his sister's bed, his face contorted into a grimace.
"See what?" Meri smiled nervously, fanning her shirt. "It sure is hot in here, isn't it?" Shit, I didn't think they'd be home this early! She thought dimly, clenching her teeth into a fake smile.
The golden-haired girl squirmed nervously, noticing the tension in the room.
"Quit your bullshit, Meri," Amon growled softly, sounding more like a harsh whisper.
"You know what I meant. Why is there a foreign girl in my house, and on your bed?" He crosses his arms over his broad chest, waiting for her to defend herself.
"Well...It's a pretty long story." She glances down, biting her bottom lip until it bled.
Amon pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out an irritated sigh "She can't be here, take her back to wherever you found her." He pointed to the door with a huff.
Tito swiftly rushes in front of the confused girl, holding his arms out acting as a barrier.
"Tito's right. We can't just take her back now. They're more likely to get caught now…They'd be executed on the spot." Akhu frowned.
"It's not like I'm thrilled about it either." Sending his sister a side-eyed glance, disappointment embedded deep in his hazel eyes.
Amon was silent, he appeared to be deep in thought as his gaze was fixated on the floor.
"Fine. Can she speak Egyptian?" He asked, waving his hand in front of her face. She quickly shook her head, smacking his hand away.
"No, she can't understand any of us."
"So she's like a stray animal, huh? Don't name her or you'll get attached" Amon smiled, flashing a toothy grin.
Meri rolled her eyes. "We have to call her something, we can't just call her 'foreign girl'"
Akhu hummed in thought. "How about 'Heart'? Because of the sash around her waist?" He smiled, gently patting the girl's hand.
"I like it." Meri said with a smile, nodding in appreciation.
"Heart. Your name is now Heart. " She roughly poked the girl in the chest.
"Got it?" Heart seemed to understand as she slowly nodded, her face still stained with sloppy tears. She's an adult and she's acting like a child. How much more of this can I take? She thought as she slipped past her brother's to dig through her barren desert of a closet.
She knew she didn't have much, save for the clothes on her back. She remembered she had an outgrown white linen dress from her teenage years, two pairs of papyrus sandals, and a tan colored shawl.
Perfect. She thought as she glanced down at her body, compared to her curvaceous figure, Heart had more of a petite child-like body.
"Luckily for her, she doesn't have to prance around in the nude." She grunted, chucking the white dress at the younger's feet, motioning her to strip her clothes off.
Heart swiftly shook her head, nervously blushing, she pointed to the men in the room.
"What? Just strip! They don't want to see your body anyway!" Meri forcibly pulled at the girl's dress, Heart protested as much as she could with tears streaming down her face.
What am I doing? Meri thought as she released her tight grip on the silky fabric. Make her trust me…Can I do it? The two sides of her brain fought vigorously for dominance.
"Can you guys step out for a minute? I'll help her change." Meri said, shooing the men out the door. Of course, Tito and Akhu were the only ones to comply, Amon on the other hand, argued as usual.
"You're asking me to leave my own house? For what? So she can change?" Amon pouted. "I prefer a woman gifted with bigger assets... If you know what I mean."
"Gross." She slams the door in his face mercilessly, turning back to Heart with a half-expected look.
"I chased them away for you, time to change." Meri said flatly, motioning her to strip her dress off.
Heart nodded, reluctantly unbuttoning the back of her dress, letting it fall to the floor in a heap.
"Good girl." She smiled wryly. "Now to complete the disguise!" Brushing her hand against the dirt floor, only to smother it onto the poor girl's milky white face.
A choked gasp escapes her lips as she registered what the older woman was doing.
"Calm down! We have to dirty your skin, even just a little bit." She continued kneading the dirt into her delicate skin.
Heart instantly recoiled, disgusted by the fact that dirt that was caked into her pale skin, suffocating her pores.
"Don't be such a baby, you're an adult right?" Meri reprimanded the girl, tying the thin tan shawl over her golden locks tightly.
"There's not much we can about your eyes." She gently poked the girl's eyelid.
Heart gave a small smile, handing the woman her fancy foreign dress, she took ahold of Meri's hand with a firm grip to express her gratitude.
She is very touchy-feely, isn't she? Meri returned a fake smile, as she glanced down at the dress. Maybe I could sell it at the market for a high price? She thought considerably before quickly shaking her head. No. That would be too risky, though it does sound tempting…
Her thoughts were quickly interrupted as Heart lightly squeezed her hand.
"Oh, sorry. I was thinking." She mentioned, even though the girl couldn't understand a thing she said unless she made a fool of herself.
Meri rested her hands on her hips, smiling. "You better be prepared! While you're here with us you'll be put to work, day and night!"
The days soon rolled by without a hitch… Or so they thought.
The trio of misfits worked day after a long day, weaving baskets until their fingers ached. It was mindlessly numbing.
Night approached the land of Egypt as it did every day, clouds parted as the silvery full moon burned in the night sky with shimmering brilliance. The moon rose high above the city of Thebes, illuminating the city streets with a soft glow.
The woman laid in her bed, restless as she waited for her brothers and new visitor to fall into a deep sleep.
She slowly lifted her head, seeing Tito already awake. Time to do this. She gave him a knowing look as she shifted out of her hay bed quietly as she could.
They slowly made their way out the door, the darkness engulfing them with its cool embrace.
Meri shut the door behind them with a light click, unfortunately waking the golden-haired girl from her slumber.
She glanced at the sleeping men, wondering if they heard the two slip out. With a glimmer of confidence, she follows the pair of siblings into the night.
She pokes her head around the corner, seeing the two figures walk into a noisy building, only lit by torches. It seemed to be a bar or tavern of some sort.
Heart gulped, her nerves hitting her like a train. She slowly made her way into the crowded bar, slithering past the crowd of drunken men like an eel, searching for her companions.
She bumped into a man, letting out a small 'oof' as their chests met. The man's face was partially covered with a cloak, but Heart could tell her was handsome. He was a tall man with a light tan, piercing dark eyes, and long black hair.
The man stared deeply into her blue eyes, fearing she was caught, she quickly closed her eyes pretending to be blind.
The man scoffed, turning away from the girl and disappeared into the crowd without a trace.
With an annoyed huff, she sits in the farthest and darkest corner, away from the leering drunk men.
The room soon grew quiet with hushed whispers as Heart noticed the pair that stood in the middle of the room, Meri and Tito.
A now topless Meri extended her arms above her head as if she was reaching for the moon itself. She bent her head down as Tito began playing a reed-like instrument.
Meri silently lets go of the breath she was holding deep in her chest, the tense feeling of fear she could never rid herself of as the crowd stared at her with anticipation. She knew that expressions played a huge role in her performance, she liked to make a facade while dancing, pretending to be someone she's not.
As the rhythm of the song began, her body began to move on its own gliding across the room in a graceful leap. A soft and melancholy expression painted on her face, her body moved with a cat-like elegance as she contorted her body, twirling along to the soft rhythm of the music.
Heart gasped, fully entranced by the woman's delicate movements.
It was a mesmerizing display, her heart twinged as she felt Meri's emotions through the music.
Her dancing belonged to that of a celestial being.
The song eventually came to an end, the woman still in her trance-like state, she slowly snapped back into reality after hearing the uproar of cheers. She smiled, bending her head with gratitude.
In the far corner, Heart was approached by two lecherous men.
"Hey, cutie. What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" One of the men questioned.
Heart pointed to her ears shaking her head. "Oh, so you're deaf?" The other smirked.
"That's okay we'll still have fun with you." They roughly pulled onto her arms, dragging her through the crowd as she kicked and yelled, but no one could hear her voice through the noisy crowd.
In a second, Meri stood in front of them, blocking their exit. Tito stood closely by her side, his arms snaked around her protectively.
"What are you doing?" Meri stood still, her amber eyes were cold as stone.
"Just having some fun. Want to join, Miss dancer? She quickly shooked her head, glaring daggers at the men. "It doesn't look like much fun to me."
Heart desperately called out to the woman with a squeaky voice.
"You!" Meri quickly turned to face the girl. "You followed us here?" She choked out, unsure of what to do. Should she just leave her? Or get into a fight with these men?
"Listen... You made a mistake, she's not a prostitute. Let her go." She crosses her arms in an attempt to look intimidating.
"So what? 'Let her go' she says!" One of the men laughed mocking her. "Oh, dear me!
Why are you helping her anyway? Who cares what happens to her. Isn't that right, darling? You don't care about anyone but yourself. The monster's voice rang out. Meri gagged squeezing her eyes shut, she wasn't sure if she could take it much longer.
"I'll scream." She warned them.
"Do you really think anyone here is going to help you? You're just some lousy dancer!" One of the men shot back.
"Yeah! Who do you think you are acting all high and mighty?" The other snorted.
"Who are you to talk to a lady like that?" Akhu butted in with a yawn, leaning against the stone wall.
"Akhu?!" Meri gasped, an aching fear rumbling in her gut once again. If Akhu was here, Amon was definitely here. "How did you know where we were?"
"We followed you, idiot," Amon grunted. "We were just in time to see you dance."
"Oh no... I just-"
"What are you punks still doing here? Scram!" He raised his fist. "Or I'll bust your kneecaps!" With that, the men backed away before running off into the cool night.
"You're in a lot of trouble... I hope you know that." Akhu said, shaking his head in disapproval.
"I figured as much." Meri pursed her lips.
All I want to do is live a quiet life. She glanced at Heart as she slid down the wall, tears rolling down her muddy face. "Don't cry…" She reached out to wipe her tears away, before pulling her hand back in hesitation. "You'll ruin your disguise." She said in a dull whisper. Looks like that's not going to happen anytime soon.
Tito rushes to Heart's side, embracing her in a tight hug
"C'mon, Let's go home."