A Lost Love: Found
After what seemed like days we finally reached the destination we were meeting my family, I get off my horse handing the reigns to one of the men then walked over with Ardeth and hugged Evy, "These are the commanders of the 12 tribes of the Medjai. Horus." He says and held out his arm.
"Wait a minute.." I began to say as I looked at the hawk and Ardeth looked at me.
"Pet bird." Jonathan says
"My best and most clever friend. He will let the commanders know of our progress so that they may follow. If the Army of Anubis arises... they will do all they can to stop it." Ardeth tells them and turned to the Medjai saying something in Arabic to them and they leave.
"Did you have fun?" Evy asked me with a smile and I looked at her
"I'll let you later."
"Rick are you sure Izzy is reliable?" Evy asked him as we walked over to where Izzy was
"Yeah, hes reliable-ish."
"Isn't she beautiful?" Izzy asked and we see a huge balloon sitting there.
"Its a balloon." Rick pointed out
"Its a dirigible."
"Wheres your airplane?" Rick asked him
"Airplanes are a thing of the past."
"Izzy, you were right." Rick said to him
"I was?"
"Yeah, you're gonna get shot." Rick told him and pulled out his gun aiming it at Izzy.
"Whoa, whoa whoa! Shes faster than she looks. And shes real quiet. Perfect for sneaking up on people, which is a very good thing. Unless, of course, we go with your approach- barging in face first, guns blazing, gettin` your friends shot in the ass."
"He isn't wrong." I mentioned and Rick looked at me
"Why can't you people ever keep your feet on the ground?" Ardeth asked and I chuckled.
"O'Connell does not want to believe, but he flies like Horus to his destiny." Ardeth says as we sit down in the balloon and I looked over at Evy who was looking off into the distance.
"Yes, very interesting. Tell me more about this gold pyramid." Jonathan says to him
"Jonathan." I said and he looked at me
"What?"
"It is written that since the time of the Scorpion King...no man who has laid eyes upon it has ever returned to tell the tale." Ardeth tells him
"Where is all this stuff written?" Jonathan asked, "Hello! Got it." He said and I see him pull out the gold stick he had, "Pretty nice, eh? This is all I have left in the world. The rest of my fortune was lost...to some rather unscrupulous characters, actually."
"You mean booze, women and gambling?" I asked him with a smirk and he glared at me.
"If the curator reacted the way you say, it must be very important. If I were you, I would keep it close." Ardeth says
"My friend, the gods couldn't take this away from me." Jonathan says holding it up and Izzy grabbed it then they try taking it from each other.
"That's mine."
"No, its not!" Jonathan grunted but Izzy got it and I chuckled
"Keep your hands off it."
"If a man does not embrace his past, he has no future." Ardeth says to Rick as I sat there with Jonathan
"Look...even if I was some sort of sacred Medjai...what good does that do me now?"
"It is the missing piece of your heart. If you embrace it and accept it, you can do anything." Ardeth says and I looked down, after everything that he told me at the camp I was torn. I knew that I had a big decision to make.
"Sounds great. Listen, what can we expect from our old friend Imhotep?"
"His powers are returning quickly. When he reaches Ahm Shere, even the Scorpion King wont be able to stop him." Ardeth says and Jonathan looked at me.
"You alright old mum?"
"Yeah I'm fine." I said but the look on his face was unconvinced, "It's just...a very long story." I tell him and he held my hand.
"You are my baby sister, you know that I have always had your back no matter what right?"
I smiled and looked at him, "I know. Thank you." I said then we hear Evy scream as she fell off the side of the balloon, "Evy!" I yelled running over to help Rick who jumped over after her. Me, Ardeth and Jonathan pulled and pulled until we got them both over.
"Evy, I know you haven't been yourself lately with these dreams and visions-" Rick tells her
"No, they're memories from my previous life. Honestly, I'm not losing my mind. It all makes perfect sense now." Evy says and I look at Ardeth
"That's why we found the bracelet?" Rick asked her
"Exactly. I was its protector."
"Now do you believe, my friend? Clearly, you were destined to protect this woman." Ardeth says to Rick
"Right. Shes a reincarnated princess, and I'm a warrior for God." Rick says and I laughed to myself, if he only knew.
"Your son leads the way to Ahm Shere. Three sides of the pyramid. This was all preordained thousands of years ago." Ardeth pointed out.
"And how does the story end?" Evy asked him
"Only the journey's written, not the destination."
"Convenient." Rick said
"How else do you explain Evy`s visions? That it is your son who wears the bracelet? How do you explain your mark?" Ardeth asked him.
"Coincidence."
"My friend, there is a fine line between coincidence and fate. Just ask Rosaleigh." Ardeth says and they all look at me.
"What does he mean?" Evy asked me and I looked at Ardeth then sighed.
"Ok, where do I begin?" I asked then began to explain everything to them.
When we reached Karnak me and Evy headed to the temple as Rick and Ardeth checked out the train, "So everything you said, how do you fell about it?" She asked me.
"Honestly I'm not sure. I'm still trying to process it all."
"Are you going to go with him after this is all done?" She asked and I stopped her.
"I don't know, but what I'm focused on right now is saving my nephew and stopping Imhotep." I tell her and she nodded then we continued walking until I saw something, "Evy." I said and pointed.
"Rick!" She yelled and we ran over to Alex's tie that was hanging on a statue as Rick and Ardeth ran over to us, "Alex left us his tie...and he made us a little sand castle. Its the Temple Island of Philae."
"They've gone to Philae." I pointed out
"Attaboy, Alex. Come on!" Rick said and we headed back to the balloon and headed to Philae. When we got there we found another piece of sand art.
"The great temple of Abu Simbel." Evy says and Ardeth sent Hourus off informing the Medjai's.
"That's the Blue Nile down there. We must be out of Egypt by now." Rick pointed out as we look down at the river.
"In ancient times, all this still belonged to the upper kingdom. The oasis must be around here somewhere." Evy mentioned
"Don't worry. We'll find him. He's a smart kid. He'll leave us a sign." Rick told her as Ardeth walked over to me.
"So Horus. It was you who sent me the warning back at the house." I mentioned and he smiled.
"I knew they were coming, I figured I would try and give you time to prepare."
"Yeah well, that didn't work out." I said and he looked at me.
"I am sorry, I wish I would have gotten there sooner."
"It's ok Ardeth, I still managed." I tell him and he set Horus down on the side of the balloon then took off his glove. He grabbed my hand and slid the glove on.
"Here, hold her." He tells me and I looked at the hawk.
"Oh I don't..."
"She won't hurt you, as long as she trusts someone she will won't attack." He says and I smiled.
"Sounds familiar." I said and we smiled at each other then I held up my hand, "Horus." I called and the hawk flew up and landed on the glove, "Oh that's weird." I pointed out and Ardeth chuckled as I reached my finger forward, the bird put its beak down to look at it then lifted it back up and I pet it's chest and it squawked at me making Ardeth laugh then we hear a rumbling sound.
"We're in trouble!" Izzy shouted and we turned to see a wall of water coming at us.
"Horus, fly!" I tell her and she flew off my hands.
"Izzy, come hard right! Starboard! Starboard!" Rick yells and Izzy flipped a switch making the balloon speed up jerking us back but Ardeth caught me and held on to my waist. Then as the balloon turned we all fell to the side, it turned again and we fell to the other side all while Ardeth kept a hold of me then we got splashed with water and it was over. I looked at the others then at Ardeth.
"Are you alright?" He asked me
"I really hate flying." I said and he put his hand on my arm.
"Was there a little something you forgot to mention?" Izzy asked Rick
"People?" Jonathan asked and we turned to see what he was looking at, off in the distance we saw trees and a water fall.
"Ahm Shere." Ardeth says from behind me and Rick walked past us with a telescope looking out further.
"Right."
"Hes back!" Izzy yelled and we see the water come at us again, he once again flipped the switch but it was short lived because suddenly the balloon stopped, "Well that's not good." Izzy says as the water got closer to us.
"Hold on!" Rick yells and Ardeth pulled me to him then the water hit us making the balloon go down.
"Were gonna go get my son. Then were gonna want to get out of here fast, so make this work, Izzy." Rick tells him as we grab our bags from the crashed balloon.
"You don't understand. This thing was filled with gas. Not hot air, gas. I need gas to get this thing in the air. Where am I gonna get gas around here? Bananas? Mangoes? Tarzans ass? Maybe I could finagle it to take hot air. But do you know how many cubic meters Id need? Its too big!"
"If anybody can fill this thing up with hot air, Izzy, its you." Rick says patting his back and I gave Ardeth his glove back and he called for Horus then sent her off with a message.
"So, Rick, whats the plan?" I asked him as we began to walk
"Lets find some higher ground."
Suddenly we hear a gunshot go off and we turn, "Horus!" Ardeth yelled, "I must go."
"Where?" I asked him
"To tell the commanders where we are. If the Army of Anubis arises-"
"I need you to help me find my son." Rick tells him and Ardeth looked at me then him.
"Then first I shall help you."
"Thank you." Rick says and we continue walking.
As night fell and we made our way through the oasis I walked up to Ardeth, "I'm sorry about Horus." I tell him and he glanced at me.
"Thank you. She was a loyal friend." He says and I held his hand for a moment giving it a light squeeze then let go, "You know Rosaleigh, after all this is over, I wanted to ask you. Would you wanna come back with me?" He asked and I looked at him
"Back to...live with the Medjai?" I asked
"Yes."
"You really have horrible timing." I said with a smile which he returned, "I don't know Ardeth. I mean, I'm not sure what we even are. After everything you told me and after all..." I said but he cut me off.
"Rosaleigh. The decision is yours and I do not want to force you. Whatever you decide just know I'll respect it." He says and I search his eyes.
"Ardeth what aren't you telling me?" I asked him and he looked down.
"There is a full moon coming in a few days, if you return with me there is a Madjai ceremony they would preform, to break the promise of Hathor."
I looked at him in shock, "Which means?" I asked and he held my hand
"Which means that we would get to live out our lives, and when we finally die, our souls will be together forever in heaven, they can finally move on."
"Wow, that's..." I started to say
"A lot, I realize. Promise me you will think about it."
"I promise." I tell him and we continue on with the others.
"You hear that?" Rick asked as we loaded our guns on a cliff edge.
"What?" Ardeth asked him
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
"My word! I say, chaps, look at this. Shrunken heads. Id love to know how they do that." I hear Jonathan say and we all look at him, "Just curious." He said and Ardeth walked over to him as he picked up a gun.
"You any good with that?" Ardeth asked him
"Three times Fox and Hound`s grand champion. You any good with that?" Jonathan asked indicating to Ardeth's sword.
"You'll know soon enough..." He tells him and quickly took the sword out of his sheath and had against Jonathan's neck, "...because the only way to kill an Anubis warrior is by taking off its head."
"Ill remember that." Jonathan said and Ardeth put it away as I walked up behind them and gave Jonathan a look, "Right, I should.." He says and walked away then Ardeth faced me.
"Be safe." I tell him and he nodded his head, he went to walk away but I put my hand on his chest stopping him and he looked at me. I put my hand on his face and leaned up putting my lips to his and he returned the kiss. When we broke apart he held my hand and kissed it then went with Rick, "Muharabaa" I whispered then walked over to Evy and Jonathan.
"Jonathan, Rose. That's my husband and my son down there. Make me proud." Evy told us.
"Today's that day, Evy." He says
"We keep them safe." I added putting my hand on her shoulder then we got ready.
As we see the fighting going on down below I shoot a couple of men, then I see Ardeth fighting Lock-Nah who he eventually killed then someone pointed a gun at him and I shot the man. Ardeth looked at me and I re-cocked my gun as he gave me a smile.
"Let's go." Evy tells us
"Thank god for that." Jonathan says and we reach the bottom but I didn't see Ardeth.
"Where's Ardeth?" I asked Rick
"He went to the rest of his people to fight." He told me and I nodded.
"Alex!" Evy yells hugging her son.
"Nice shootin`, Tex." Rick says to Jonathan
"What were those creepy pygmy things?" He asked
"Just the local natives."
"Are you sure?" I asked him
"I'm sure. It was nothing."
"Come on, Mom. Come on, Dad. We have to get to the pyramid. I have to get the bracelet off now!" Alex said tugging on Evy's arm
"Oh leave it on. Looks good on you." Jonathan tells him and I chuckled
"No, you guys, you don't understand. It'll kill me if I don't get inside the pyramid before the sun hits it...today!" Alex says and my heart sank.
"Oh, my God." Evy said and we hear a shrieking sound getting closer to us.
"Time to go!" Rick yells grabbing Alex and we start to run
"I thought you said it was nothing!" Jonathan shouted at him and we continue running then I noticed my brother was gone.
"Where's Jonathan?!" I asked but we continued running the head across a log going to the other side.
"Wait for me!" I hear Jonathan yell
"Hurry up Jonathan!" Evy tells him and Rick pulls out a stick of dynamite.
"What's that for?" I asked him
"Oh nothing. Just something in case of emergency." He says and threw it at the things chasing us, two of them fight over it then it blows up taking the log with them.
"Rick." Evy said and we turn to see the sun coming up.
"Let's go Alex." Rick tells him and they run ahead with me behind them then Evy and Jonathan behind us and I saw Alex slow down.
"Dad. The bracelet." He says sounding weak so I pulled out my sword as Rick picked him up in case we ran into anything.
"Rose!" Rick yelled but I was one step ahead of him
"On it!" I tell him and he carried Alex as I ran with him and I turn my head to see the sun getting closer to us, "Hurry Rick!" I yell and we get closer to the pyramid. Rick ran up the steps with Alex jumping in and landing by the wall panting.
"You know...its not easy being a dad." Rick panted and I laughed leaning on my knees catching my breath.
"It's not much easier being an aunt." I chuckled.
"Yeah, but you both do it really good." Alex tells us
"Thanks." Rick says and the bracelet falls of Alex's wrist and he tossed it across the floor then they hug. Just then I hear a grunting sound behind me and I turned to see Anuk-su-namun pulling a sword out of Evy's stomach.
"No!" Me and Rick yelled and ran to her swinging my sword at Anuk-su-Namun but Imhotep flung me away next to Jonathan. Jonathan helps me up and we rush over to them.
"Evy!" I yelled
"Mom! She's going to be all right, isn't she?" Alex asked Rick and I put my sword away pulling him to him
"She'll be fine. Take him." Rick tells me and I kneel down next to Alex with Jonathan, "Mommys fine."
"Its okay. Your mothers going to be fine. Okay?" I tell him as I tried to hold back tears and I feel Jonathan grab my hand.
"You're real strong. You're gonna make it. You're fine. What do I do? What do I do Evy?" Rick asked her as he held her.
"Take care of Alex." She struggled to say
"No. Sweetheart, no."
"I love you." She says and I see her eyes close.
"Evy? Evy? Come back, Evy. Come back." Rick cried, me and Jonathan hug Alex as tears streamed down my face.