A Lost Love: Found
A/N: So I hope you all enjoy this filler chapter, I'm gonna try and make it as long as I can :)
It's been a few days since I arrived to the Medjai camp to be with Ardeth, at first some of them welcomed me especially Nessra and others not so much. After about the first day more and more of them started to accept that I was willing to become one of them. Also tonight was the night of the full moon, the night that we will be able to preform the ceremony to break the promise that Hathor placed on our souls.
"Nessra." I called walking over to her and she stopped then looked at me, "Have you seen Ardeth?" I asked
"He is not back yet from their hunt. Why?"
"Oh I was just curious about this ceremony and what all it entails." I tell her and she smiled then we hear a horse whinny in the distance, I turned to see Ardeth and a couple of Medjai warriors approaching. Nessra nudged me and smiled then walked away as Ardeth walked his horse over to me then get off.
"Did you boys have fun?" I asked him and he smiled at me then put his hand on my face giving me a kiss then one of the woman walked over with my horse, "Um. Are we going somewhere?" I asked Ardeth
"I have something I wish to show you." He says and I smiled at him then climbed up on my horse and we rode off.
After we rode for a while Ardeth and I stopped, "Here, put this over your eyes." He told me holding up a cloth.
"Uh..is it safe for someone to ride a horse while blind folded?" I asked him and he chuckled.
"I will lead your horse." He says with a smile and I took the cloth
"Ok, putting a lot of faith in you for this." I said handing him the reigns then tied the cloth around my eyes and searched for the hilt of the saddle.
"Ready?" Ardeth asked
"As long as I don't fall off we're good."
"Have faith in your horse habibata." He tells me and clicked his tongue then my horse moved and I jerked back a little causing him to chuckle. The ride felt like forever but eventually my horse stopped, "Give me your hand." Ardeth says and I felt around for his while the other one grabbed my waist and I turned myself on the saddle and he helped me down.
"Please don't ever blind fold me while on a horse again." I tell him and he chuckled then he kissed me.
"Come." He says and grabbed my hand then we walked for a bit before stopping then my blind fold gets removed and I see a beautiful oasis in front of me.
"Oh my..." I started to say and looked at Ardeth who smiled then we walked into the oasis over to a waterfall that had a blanket set up by it with a basket, "What are you planning mister?" I asked him and he chuckled.
"You will see. Let's eat." He told me and we sat down.
After we finished our meal we laid on the blanket together with my head on his chest and his arm wrapped around me while the other held my hand, "So Ardeth, about this ceremony. What does it do exactly? I mean, you told me that it'll break whatever promise it was that Hathor made but...how exactly?" I asked him and he sighed then sat up with me following him.
"Rosaleigh, I love you, I love you more then the air I breathe. I hope you trust me that what I am about to tell you I will understand with whatever your decision is.
I situated myself then grabbed his hands, "What is it Ardeth?"
"The ceremony to get break this, is a marriage ceremony." He says and I looked at him shocked
"A...a what?"
"That is how this gets broken, by joining our souls as one. I understand this is huge and I am sorry. If this isn't what you want I understand." He says and I looked away for a moment then back at him.
"Ardeth, I love you too, I never thought I would ever be able to love someone like this, and it's soon, it's...it's really really soon I mean...I just got here, we...we still have a lot of stuff to learn about each other." I tell him and I can see hope fading from his eyes, "But, I know, in my heart, that I want to be yours forever."
"Are you sure?"
"I am. Ask me." I said and he looked at me confused
"Ask you?"
"Well I may be living with you and the rest of the Medjai in the desert but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't get a proper proposal." I tell him and he chuckled then I stood up and he moved himself to one knee.
"Rosaleigh Carnahan, the woman of my dreams. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"
"Hmm.." I said with a small smirk then smiled, "Yes." I said and he stood up, wrapping his arms around my waist lifting me in the air and spung me around then set me down and kissed me, "Does this mean I have to wear a dress?" I asked and he laughed.
"Yes."
"Bollocks." I said and he kissed me then we heard hoof-beats approach, we turned to see Nezir ride up.
"Sorry to interrupt Chieftain, but the Kahl leader is at the camp."
"When did he arrive?" Ardeth asked him
"A few minutes ago." Navir says and I looked at Ardeth confused
"What's going on?" I asked him
"I will explain on the way, we must go." He tells me and we walk to our horses then get on making our way back to the camp.
So, the Kahl warriors are another group of people that have rule over a different part of the land?" I asked Ardeth as we got closer to camp.
"Yes."
"And they took over the Siwa Oasis forcing the people who live there to provide for them?" I asked
"That is correct." Nezir answered
"So...basically they are rebels." I point out
"In a way yes." Ardeth says.
"Interesting." I said and we reached the camp climbing off our horses.
"Avir, what brings you to our camp?" Ardeth asked him as we walked over and the man looked at me then back at him.
"Ardeth my good friend. I am here to see if the rumors are true."
"And what rumors do you speak of?" Ardeth asked
"That you have welcomed an outsider to your tribe" Avir tells him looking at me and I saw Ardeth shift a little.
"Rosaleigh is not..."
"Does she come from the Medjai blood line?" Avir asked cutting Ardeth off, "Does she not come from a different land?"
"She does but.."
"Then she is an outsider to us," Avir cut Ardeth off again and I was starting to get a little frustrated, "And you know the rules for outsiders Ardeth." He says and I looked at Ardeth.
"She does not need to prove herself Avir. Rosaleigh is a skilled fighter, and she is willing to accept our ways and our laws." Ardeth defended
"If she is as skilled as you say she is then proving herself will be no troble at all."
"Avir..."
"No," I said stopping Ardeth, "I'll do it." I tell Avir and he smiled but it made my stomach turn
"Rosaleigh you don't have to.." Ardeth started to say
"It's ok. Like you said, I'm willing to follow the laws and if this is one of them then I will do this." I tell him and Avir chuckled.
"Excellent!" Avir says then said something to the other rider and he took off, "I sent my rider to gather the elders and our strongest female fighter. They should be here by noon. Now where is my future bride?" He asked and walked away.
"Future bride?" I asked Ardeth and he sighed then looked at me.
"Nessra." He told me and walked away following Avir.
"Nessra?" I asked Nezir
"Walk with me." He says and we walk through the camp, "Years ago, the Kahl warriors attacked one of our camps. Adir's father demanded that the Medjai follow their rules or they would kill us. Ardeth's father fought him and one, that's when they made the deal to separate our two tribes with an agreement."
"And what was that?" I asked him
"That Nessra would be promised to Adir when she reached 18 years old."
"Ardeth's father agreed to that?" I asked
"No, he hated the idea, but his plan was to gather up enough of our warriors together to fight them. Unfortunately he died in a different battle before they could."
"Did Ardeth want to try?" I ask him
"He did, other stuff happened though. A powerful creature coming back from teh dead for example." He tells me and I gave a light chuckle.
"Yeah. Sorry about that."
"It is alright. You and your family defeated him, twice." Nezir laughed and Ardeth walked over to us.
"Would you excuse us Nezir."
"Of course." Nezir says then walked away.
"Follow me." Ardeth tells me and we walk to his tent then he closed the flap behind us, "Are you sure you want to do this Rosaleigh?" He asked me and I sighed.
"Honestly no, but it has to be better then the alternative."
He walked over to me putting his hands on my face, "I don't want you to get hurt." He says and I smiled at him.
"I'll be ok, I mean 8 years of Rick teaching me how to fight, battling mummies, and fighting Imhotep weren't for nothing."
"I am serious Rosaleigh, the Kahl warriors are strong fighters." He tells me and I put my hands on his moving them from my face.
"I'll be fine Ardeth. Trust me."
"If you are sure." He says
"I am." I tell him and he kissed me, the kiss deepened and turned more passionate then he backed me up laying me down on the bed roll with him on top of me. I put my fingers in his hair as he slipped his tongue into my mouth causing me to moan then he ran his hand up my side sending shock waves through my entire body but then he pulled away.
"We shouldn't do this, not now." He said and I looked at him, "We must be married first." He says and I nodded.
"Right. Of course, that makes sense." I tell him and he kissed me again then we both got up.
"If you wish I can help you train for the fight. You are a skilled fighter but learning some stuff might help."
"Oh, thanks. I would love to but not with you." I said and he looked at me confused, "Nothing against you it's just i'll be to distracted by how handsome you are." I say with a smile which her returned.
"Fair enough. Maybe Nezir can help you." He mentioned
"Absolutely." I tell him and we exit the tent to look for Nevir.
I fell to the ground after Nezir knocked me down..again, "You need to use your instinct, not just your strength." He told me offering a hand to help me up.
"I'm trying."
"Try harder." He said
"Nezir." Ardeth says in a warning tone and we look at him and Nezier sighed
"I am sorry. Shall we go again?" Nezier asked and I nodded my head then lifted my sword again, "Remember, use both instinct and strength. You are a strong fighter, you can do this." He says and I nodded then took a deep breath and we began again.
"You did well today habibata." Ardeth tells me as we walked through the camp, I went to say something but we heard a bunch of hoofbeats approaching and we saw more Kahl warriors arriving. Ardeth placed his hand on my back and I looked at him then Avir walked over.
"I hope you are ready, ghurayb." He says to me and Ardeth went to move forward but I stopped him. Avir chuckled then walked over to his men.
"It's ok." I tell Ardeth and he pulled me to him kissing my head as we watched Avir talk to a woman who looked over at me, "I'll be fine."
"You all know why we've gathered here today." Avir says speaking to his men and the Medjai as I stood next to Ardeth, "We have gathered to determine if this woman," He indicated to me, "Is fit to live among the Medjai, or better yet, live among all of us." He said and I feel Ardeth tense up next to me, I reached down and held his hand giving it a light squeeze, he looked at me and squeezed back then we looked at Avir again, "This is Rosaleigh. She comes from a place called London, and to determine if she is fit to live here she must pass the test of defeating the strongest female warrior of the Kahl tribe. Please step forward." He tells me and I walked over stepping into the circle, "Havera." He called and I see a woman no taller then me, same build as me, walk forward as well eyeing me up and down, "Now the rules of this are simple. You are not to kill your opponent, only by knocking them down and surrendering will determine the winner. Are you both ready?" He asked us and Havera nodded her head.
"I have a few things first." I said and they looked at me, "I propose that we make this a little more interesting."
"Really? How so?" Avir asked me
"If I win I want more then to just prove that I belong here. If I win I demand that the Medjai get control over the Siwa Oasis." I tell him and I hear everyone whisper to each other.
"And why would a silly little Oasis mean anything to the Medjai?" He asked me
"Because of that statement right there. The Siwa Oasis isn't silly, it's home to people who don't deserve to be ruled by a tribe that wants to just use them."
"Interesting. Alright, if you win I suppose we will give you control over Siwa, if you win. Now are we re-" He started to say but I cut him off.
"Uh uh, I have one more thing. If I win, your betrothal to Nessra is over." I said and I heard a few people gasp and others whisper again to each other.
"And what makes you think I would agree to that?" Avir asked me.
"Because, even though the arrangement was made years ago there is still a ruling that someone who is not family can fight on her behalf to void the engagement. So therefore if I win, the engagement is over." I point out and I see a mix of anger and confusion on Avir's then he huffed.
"Very well. I agree, only if you win."
"And don't forget, if you can't go back on your word, the punishment is death." I tell him and he glared at me.
"The battle shall begin. Draw your weapons." He says and I pulled out my sword then Havera does and I take a deep breath, "The first and only rule is you can not kill your opponent, the winner is determined by whoever's weapon is knocked out of their hand and the challenger is taken down." He said I looked at the woman in front of me, "Begin."
Havera came at me and I dodged every hit she made then as she swung at me I moved out of the way and her sword hit the ground. I swung mine at her but she blocked it and I hear the metal clinging against each other, she moved hers back and went to swing at me from the side but I ducked and rolled out of the way bringing mine up as she went to hit me again. I used my strength to push hers up then stood and swung at her but she moved my blade down and punched me across the face and I stumbled back. As she went to swing at me again I did a back flip and my foot connected with her face then I stood in defense as she came at me again. She swung hers down at me but I moved out of the way then swung mine down onto her trapping it then elbowed her in the face. As she stumbled backwards I swung my sword at hers knocking it out of her hands, stabbed mine into the dirt using it to go down and take her out at the feet then turned and raised mine at her as she laid on the ground looking at me.
"Do you surrender?" I asked her as I catch my breath.
"Yes." She answered and I lowered my sword offering her my hand but she ignored it and stood up.
"It looks like Rosaleigh has proven herself." Ardeth tells him with a smirk and I smiled at him walking over but we hear a yell and before I could turn around to react I hear a clinging sound, I looked to see Ardeth blocking Avir's sword that wasn't to far away from me. I took a step back standing by Nessra, "I suggest you leave, before I have you executed for attempting to kill my soon to be wife." Ardeth says and Avir huffed then took his sword back and put it away.
"This isn't over."
"Actuallly it is," I said and he looked at me, "We made a deal, I won and like I said, if you go back on your word the punishment is death. So I strongly advise that you take your men, leave, and never return." I tell him and he looked at Ardeth then walked away getting on his horse then they all rode off. Once he was far enough away everyone cheered and Nessra hugged me.
"Thank you." She says and I smile at her.
"Anything for my soon to be sister." I tell her and I feel someones hand on my shoulder then turned to face Ardeth who then kissed me, "You weren't worried were you?" I asked him with a smirk.
"I had complete faith in you." He said and I smiled then wrapped my arms around his neck kissing him again.
"All right you two break it up." I heard a familiar voice say and I turned to see Jonathan, Evy, Rick and Alex walk over to us, I looked at Ardeth who smiled at me.
"I figured you would want your family here for the ceremony." He tells me and I gave him a quick kiss then ran over to my family hugging them.
"Rosaleigh, speak of your love and devotion to Ardeth." Nezir said to me as I stood in front of Ardeth with Evy stood next to me.
"Ardeth, your heart is pure and your spirit is strong. You give me strength and joy, and I will stand by your side, always." I tell him and he smiled at me.
"Ardeth."
"Rosaleigh, from the moment I met you I knew there was an unbreakable connection with us. You are as beautiful as the Sun. My love for you is like the morning rays that dawn over an endless day." He says and I held back the happy tears that tried to come out.
Nezier joins our hands together using a piece of rope, "The rite is complete. May you love and fight like warriors. Just not with each other." Everyone laughs and applauds as Ardeth put his hands on my face and kissed me.
Night went on and as did the party, people eating, passing food to others, telling tales, laughing and cheering and when it neared midnight, I stood there talking to Nessra and Evy laughing when Ardeth and Rick walked over, "What are you three smiling for?" Rick asked.
"No reason." Evy told him and we giggled
"Alright then. Well I came over to invite my wife to dance." Rick says holding out his hand which Evy took then they walked away, Nessra gave me a hug and walked away as well then Ardeth wrapped his arms round my waist then I put mine around his shoulders.
"How are you feeling?" He asked me.
"Like I just want to be alone with you now." I tell him and Ardeth smiled and kissed my forehead.
"Give me a moment." Ardeth whispered and I nodded, watching him approach Nessra who smiled and nodded, then he walked back over, "Nessra will deal with people's questions while we're gone."
I smiled at him which he returned and we quietly slipped into the shadows and took off to a nearest horse and Ardeth got on first and then helped me up letting me sit in front of him with his arm around me holding the reins. Ardeth snapped the reins lightly and we took off, "So where are we going?"
"It's a surprise, don't not worry habibata." Ardeth replied, smirking and I giggled then snuggled into him.
After ten minutes of riding, we came to a stop in front of a lone tent, smaller than the one I was gonna share with Ardeth but a couple of candles were lit and dotted around it, but not enough to cause a fire. I slid off first and walked in as Ardeth tended to the horse and looked around the interior. It was basic, a bed in the middle that looked quite grand for being in a simple tent, with throws on it consisting of various patterns and earth, dark colors.
Just then the flap opens and Ardeth walked in wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and kissed my head, I put my hands on his and leaned my head back onto his shoulder then he leaned his head down and kissed me. Ardeth moved my hair to the side and kissed my bare shoulder then my neck and I let out a quiet moan closing my eyes tipping my head to the side giving him more access. He pushed the straps of my dress over my shoulders and down my arms, the dress following till it became a pile of cloth around her feet and I stood naked.
I slowly turned round and looked up into his eyes and relaxed from his gentle smile, which I returned. Ardeth traced his fingers gently from my jaw to my neck, to my breasts to finally my waist. I took my hands placing them on his chest and untied the strings of his robe exposing his chest then he stepped back a little pulling it over his head and he stood there in nothing but his pants. After he set the robe down he moved back to me putting his hands on my face brushing his thumb across my cheek then kissed me softly and slowly and I put my hands on his chest. The kiss deepened and he pulled me closer to him putting his fingers in my hair and we walked over to the bed then he gently laid me down on my back with him above me and we looked at each other.
"I love you Rosaleigh."
"I love you too Ardeth." I said and he started to kiss down my neck, then traveled down to my breasts and took one in his mouth and sucked on the nipple, I arched my back and moaned moving my breasts moving more into him. He moved from the left to the right and did the same and broke away to knead them both. He resumed his kisses on each breast once and moved from them to my stomach to tease me slightly, "Please Ardeth." I moaned out.
Ardeth looked up at me and smirked then kissed my stomach one more time then climbed back up to me and kissed my lips, both of us moaned as I put my legs up on each side of his hips, "Are you ready love?" Ardeth whispered.
"Yes," I tell him, wrapping my arms around his neck and entwining my hands together.
Ardeth lined his length up and slowly entered me and I gasped, "Are you alright?" He asked me and I kissed him
"I'm fine." I tell him and he pushed in more so I could get used to him inside of me, He placed a kiss on my lips then began to move gently then we matched our rhythm as he began to pick up speed till he was pounding into me but still slow enough to enjoy the moment. As the sounds of moaning and breathing filled the tent I looked into his eyes then kissed him.
"My Rosaleigh." He panted in my ear and I smiled
"Muharabaa." I whispered and and he made a growling sound then kissed me passionately and I get close to finishing.
Ardeth buried his face into my neck and I tighten around his length as I finished by moaning his name and soon after he followed, filling me. After a few moments of not moving he lifted his head and we smiled at each other, "That was worth the wait." He whispered, quickly kissing me and I giggled.
"It sure was." I hummed then he laid down next to me and I put my head on his chest.
"I love you habibata." He whispered, rubbing his hand up and down my arm.
"I love you too muharabaa." I whispered back, and we both fall into a peaceful sleep.
1 Year later...
"You are doing good my queen, push again." Mira, our medicine woman, tells me as the midwives help support my body while I pushed again, "Very good keep going." She said and with one final push I took a deep breath hearing a crying sound, "It is a boy." She told me and I smiled. The midwives propped me up with pillows as Mira finished cleaning him up then placed my son in my arms, "I will go tell Ardeth." She says and walked out of the tent followed by the midwives, then shortly after Ardeth walked in and smiled at me then walked over sitting down and I handed him our child.
"He looks just like you." I said to him and he smiled at me.
"But I'm sure he will be just like you in every way." He says and I giggled, "What should his name be?"
"I was thinking Barend." I tell him and he looked at me.
"That was my fathers name."
"Exactly. What better way to honor the father of my husband then to name our son after him?" I said and he smiled then kissed me.
"Barend it is." He says and we sit there looking at our child, I leaned my head against Ardeth's shoulder and he kissed it. For the first time in my whole life, I felt like I was somewhere I belonged, with someone who made me more happy then anything.