Author's Note: Horray for Ardeth Bay, the sexiest man ever to walk the face of the Earth, who will finally show up in THIS chapter! Heh heh, I'm totally making this up as I go along, I didn't think any of this through. Oh well, I'm having fun. And to Lucky Fannah, sorry about Rick being rude to Jonathan. Rick annoys me, so I like making him look like an jerk because he kind of is one in my opinion. But you're right, Jonathan rules! Now on with the story!

CHAPTER THREE

"Wakey wakey! You stupid, ugly bitch!" Donnie heard someone say before receiving a sharp kick in the ribs. 'Who the hell???...' She wondered thoughtfully, then looked up to see a very un-attractive man wearing filthy, dirt-stained clothes standing over her with a gross smile; his teeth a rotten brownish/yellow color. Melvin. 'Oh great, just who I wanted to see.' She thought to herself bitterly.

"What ever happened to 'Your Highness'?" Donnie questioned aloud as she sat up. "I much prefer being called that rather than a stupid, ugly bitch."

"I don't give a fuck what you prefer, your just a prisoner." Melvin snapped before smacking her hard across the face, knocking her over onto her back. Then he bent down, grabbed her by one arm and roughly started dragging her out of the room.

"Wait a minute! Wh-Where are you taking me?!" She demanded; her voice was getting shaky and tears started forming at her eyes. He stopped and looked down at her. "We've reached Cairo, we'll be spending the night there before we continue on to Hamunaptra. It's time to get off the boat." He answered and then continued dragging her out of the room until he reached Zafar, who stood in front of them, folding his arms in front of his chest. "Melvin, I'm sure she's capable of walking. So let's just TRY to attract as little attention as possible. Yes? Okay then." He said impatiently before walking off the boat and onto the docks of Cairo. Melvin looked down at her once more. "Alright, get up and follow me. And don't even think about trying to run off or else I'll beat you so bad, you'll wish you were never born. Got it?"

Donnie nodded her head yes and then quickly stood up in front of him. She knew he wasn't just bluffing, especially after that little wake-up-call. And with all that being said and done, he leaded her off the boat an onto docks where the rest of the bad guys were. Then they later continued on to an old, run-down building in the middle of downtown Cairo. "We'll be spending the night here, and then head for Hamunaptra in the morning." said Zafar to his men. The men all nodded and then made their way inside. And Melvin shoved Donnie along with them "Get a move on." he hissed at her. Donnie sighed and did as he said. He then led her up some stairs and into a small, almost empty room. The only thing in there was a mattress lying on the floor. "You're sleeping in here." Melvin said pushing her down onto bed and then leaving room, locking the door on his way out. After he left the room, Donnie layed back onto the mattress of where she was shoved and looked up at the ceiling, tears rolling down her face. She was beginning to get scared.

'What are they going to do to me?! They could be planning to kill me and I wouldn't even know it! I just want to go back to the O'Connell Manor and do my job! I swear, if I ever get out of this alive, I will never complain about cooking and cleaning ever again! Not only that, I love the O'Connell's', they're family to me. I really do miss them. I wonder if they feel the same way about me...'

Voices. She heard voices right outside her door. The men holding her captive were talking with eachother. But what in the world were they talking about? Wiping away her tears, Donnie sat up, crawled over to the door and carefully listened to the conversation. She heard Zafar's voice, but he was speaking to his men in Arabic; a language she didn't know or understand one bit. "Damn it." Donnie muttered under her breath... But then came Melvin's voice. And Melvin being an Englishman, didn't know or understand Arabic either; besides, he's too much of a dumb-ass to learn a second language! "Huh? I cannot understand a word of what you're saying. Tell it to me again, but this time in English."

(speaking to himself in Arabic) "What in Allah's name made me agree to working with this fucking idiot?!" The other Arab men chuckled at this.

"Uhhh... I still don't get it." Melvin said dumbly.

Zafar let out a loud sigh and walked closer to where he was sitting and then sat down with him. "Here is the plan. When we reach Hamunaptra, we'll drain the blood of Princess Naeema onto the statue Osiris. Every last drop. Once it is done, it'll create a power we can use to make ourselves immortal. And from there on we can raise Imhotep and a whole army of undead soldiers to help us take over the world."

"So, were going to kill the girl?"

"Yes. But she will be brought back shortly after the ritual. I have a feeling we will need her again." Zafar said rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Alrighty then, I'm going to go to sleep now." Melvin announced rather loudly before exiting the room. After he was gone, Zafar got back to talking with his other men (in Arabic of course).

Donnie couldn't believe what she just heard! 'These men must be psychopaths! I got to get the hell out of here!" And then it came to her. She was going to escape no matter what. The bloody bastards holding her captive are far to busy flappin' their jaws to even notice her escape. It was perfect timing. There was an open window on the other side of room, she walked over to it and looked outside. It was beautiful night. The moon glowed high in the blackish-blue sky. Then she looked down. 'FUCK! It's at least three stories from here to the ground!' Donnie screamed mentally to herself... "It doesn't matter, I'm still going to escape no matter what." she said quietly under her breath; keeping her voice low so that nobody else could hear her. Then she took a deep breath, curled up on the ledge of the windowsill, and without thinking she jumped.

Luck was obviously on her side when she miraculously landed in a big pile of hay, completely unharmed. 'That was stupid of me, but hey, at least I'm not a heap of broken bones on the ground right now.' Donnie thought to herself thankfully. She sat in the pile of hay for a couple seconds and then looked back up at the window from where she jumped. 'Better get out of here before those men realize I'm gone.' So that's what she did, she got up and ran as fast and hard as she could, having no idea where she was running to, but it didn't matter because anyplace was better than being with those men. She ran through many, several streets and alleyways then into the opening of the desert before collapsing on the ground, fatigue getting the better of her. Donnie passed out.

And standing in the shadows watching was a tall man, well over six feet and unmistakably powerful. He sure as hell wasn't ugly, but he had a harsh face; his forehead and high cheek bones tattooed with symbols of a true desert warrior. He was a sight that tended to make people uncomfortable. And if that isn't intimidating enough, he also wore large, black robes and had two large swords tied to his waist. He was kind of scary in a way, but yet he was oh so beautiful...

Ardeth stared at the unconscious female sprawled out on the ground before him. 'Who is this strange woman? What was she even running from?' He mentally asked himself while walking over to her and kneeling down beside her as if out of instinct. He flipped her over onto her back and pulled her up to him so he could get a better look. She was sort of pretty, but she definately wasn't the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her eyes were a stunning blue, though he couldn't tell because they were closed and also because she wore big, thick glasses over them, and her light brown hair, which was once neatly pulled up into high bun, was now scruffy and all over the place. She wore a typical black housekeeping dress that went down past her knees with a white apron over it, but it was all dirty and messed up... Ardeth sighed. He did have business to attend to in Cairo, but it looked as if that was all going to change. 'I cannot just leave this woman out here like this, who knows what would happen to her if I did. I believe I'll have to give her a place to stay for the night.' He told himself inside his mind. So he picked her up and carried her over to his horse, set her down on it, climbed on, and then rode off into the darkness of the night, with the moon lighting the way. He kept going until he reached his village.

"You're back early, who do you got there?" said a man approaching Ardeth as he made his way into the Medjai camp (in Arabic of course). "I found this woman unconscious near the streets of Cairo, and I decided to give her someplace safe to stay." He told the man simply.

"I see. Have a good rest of the night then." The man said walking away.

"Same to you Omid." Ardeth called back to the man.

When that was over with, Ardeth hopped down off his horse, grabbed Donnie, carried her into a home made of dried sand, set her down on bedroll and let her rest peacefully for the night. A few hours later, Donnie woke up. And as she did, Ardeth walked into the sand house to check on her. She slowly opened her eyes, looked around the room and then saw a strange man looking right at her. "AAAaaaaahhhhhHHH!!!" Donnie screamed. 'Don't tell me I've been re-captured!!!' was her thoughts as she quickly stood up and stumbled back over to a nearby table, tripping over it, and falling backwards, hitting the back of her head on a wall. "Aaahh! Owe!"

Ardeth walked over to her, trying to calm her down by putting his hands up in the air in front of him as a way of showing her he was harmless, but Donnie was thinking otherwise. 'He's coming closer! I need to do something quick!' she screamed inside her mind. So without even thinking, she started hissing at him like a cat. Ardeth raised a brow at her strange attempts to drive him away. He was beginning to think that there was something seriously wrong with this woman. "You may stop hissing, there is nothing to fear. You are safe now." He told her, trying to sound comforting. It worked. As soon as he said it, she stopped. "Oh... Sorry then." Donnie said feeling stupid.

"I cannot believe I just hissed at the man! I must be the biggest idiot ever. He probably thinks there's something wrong with me, which I wouldn't blame him for it if he does. Why is it that I always manage to make a fool out of myself in front of extremely handsome men? Especially the one sitting in front of me!"

"You have nothing to be sorry for, but just know I am not going to hurt you." Ardeth told her reassuringly.

Donnie smiled at him, but it was a weird smile because one of her front teeth were missing. "Uhhh... Okay. Where am I? Why am I here?" she asked.

"You are at my village. I found you unconscious on the ground near Cairo, and I wanted you to have someplace safe to stay." he answered.

"Really?! Oh thank you so much!" Donnie yelled happily, throwing her arms around him. "You don't know how greatful I am for your hospitality." She was just so glad to know that he wasn't one of the bad men who wanted to kill her!

Ardeth froze at her touch. 'Why is this strange woman embracing me?' He wondered silently and then said out loud: "Yes, you are very welcome." Then he waited a few seconds for her to let go, but surprisingly enough, she still held onto him. But he had to admit, it didn't at all feel bad.

'Ah, this strange man's body feels so good against mine. Wait. What? Oh damn, there I go again!' Donnie cursed herself as she realized she was making a fool out of her self yet again, and quickly pulled away from him. "Uhhh... Anyways... I still haven't found out your name."

He smiled at her. "My name is Ardeth Bay."

"Donnie Danford." She said holding out a hand for him to shake with his own. But instead of shaking hands, Ardeth took hold of her hand and brought it up to his face to kiss. "It is good to meet you Donnie Danford." he told her still smiling.

Donnie looked up at him, completely dumbstruck. She found herself unable to speak, so all she could do was smile back...

Author's Note: Huh, that was long chapter. Um, wait... Oh yeah, just to let you know incase you didn't already, everything you see that's italicized is always someone's thoughts or point of view. Just thought I'd throw that out there. But other than that: ARDETH RULES THE WORLD!!!