To those who are giving this story a shot, thank you very much. I know there are a lot of Ardeth/OC fic out there, therefore I appreciate you for taking the time to read this one.

Please enjoy this new chapter and I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cairo, Egypt

Midnight had passed and almost every house on this particular street had gone quiet during the last hour. Lights had been dimmed and doors had been locked. Except for one house, where one room appeared to still contain life.

Two men observed the dwelling from a distance, hidden between a couple of lemon trees as to not arouse suspicion from possible passersby.

"I do wonder what you and I are doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping in our tent." One of them said softly while keeping his gaze on the lit up room. "Which reminds me, akhi, why are you here in the first place? Do they not need you back home?"

Ardeth Bay turned his head towards his younger brother his eyes narrowing due to the hidden meaning behind those words. "Is my presence in Cairo bothering you, Samir?"

His question was answered with a shrug. "No more than usual. But it might bother somebody else."

With somebody else, he meant the occupant of the house in front of them. Elisabeth Borchardt or Zahrah as he called her. After saving her from the legionnaire in Alexandria, he'd fallen back into her good graces for which he was thankful.

Unfortunately his older brother had seemed less pleased with this. After his visit to Elisabeth's house yesterday he'd been very short with Samir. At first he had no clue what the reason was behind Ardeth's distant behaviour towards him, until this morning.

"As long as she does not know we are here, she will not be bothered." Ardeth reminded his sibling.

"But is there really a need to spy on her?"

A deep sigh came from the Medjai Chieftain. "If she had been honest with you, we would not be here."

This was the real reasoning behind Ardeth's mood. The fact that Elisabeth had lied to Samir about what she'd discovered in Alexandria. If he hadn't gone to visit her yesterday, he wouldn't have found out which discoveries she'd really made. The burial place of High Priest Imhotep, Hamunaptra.

"Does this mean you are upset with me for not seeing the lie or with her for telling it?" Samir arched an eyebrow at him.

"It does not matter." He replied and his brother groaned.

"You always say that, akhi. It is quite frustrating. You did not have to look in on her in the first place yesterday afternoon."

This earned him yet another angry glare. Why was it that whenever the two of them were together it always felt like some sort of competition? Who was the stronger one, who was the smart one. It was futile and childish, yet neither of them were willing to let the other win.

"I visited because I wanted to make sure she'd been truthful with the information she gave you." Ardeth said to him calmly.

"And the fact I told you she was attacked had nothing to do with it?"

"No."

However, the look which had crossed his older brother's face when he told him about the assault had said something different. It had been a look of worry as far as Samir was concerned. A swift one, but definite nonetheless.

He quietly observed Ardeth's expression a bit longer, only this time it wasn't very clear to see due to the darkness of the night.

"I do not trust her, Samir."

The younger one rolled his eyes. "Yes, you remind me of this every time we speak. But I can see you admire her determination. She has made a lot of discoveries in the amount of time since you enlisted her help."

"Admiration and reliability do not always go hand in hand." Ardeth stepped away from his younger brother and moved closer to the house.

A female silhouette was clearly visible through the open window. A soft breeze blew the curtains aside, giving him a better glimpse of Elisabeth leaning over a desk. She ran her hand through her golden brown hair then lowered it to cover her mouth as a yawn escaped her.

A low shuffle of feet sounded from behind and within a second Samir stood next to him.

"You seem to worry." He chuckled.

"It is not her well-being I am worried about, I assure you. As I told you, I do not,-"

"Trust her." Samir repeated mockingly as he reached above him to pull a ripe lemon from the tree. "Just remember that I met her first, akhi."

Ardeth viewed his brother with caution. "And what do you mean with those words, dearest brother?"

The upper right corner of his mouth twitched and he smirked, but refrained from answering. "Let's bring some of these with us back. Prevent them from spoiling and in return give the others a chance to grow."

The Museum of Antiquities

For the second day in a row she had once again woken up to a scolding from Menna. There was no reason for Elisabeth to go against it, the woman had every right to yell at her.

After all she had promised her to not work during the night nor fall asleep in the study room, as she had done so last night.

The moment Menna was done and had once again made the twenty-four year old promise she was going to sleep in her bedroom today, Elisabeth made her way towards the museum.

As far as she could tell there was nothing left to find in her father's journals regarding Hamunaptra. The box she had pulled off the shelf two days ago contained a lot of leather bound diaries, but none spoke of Minya nor any of the surrounding cities.

But she knew the city of Minya was her next best clue and therefore before making actual travelling plans, she was going to check the Museum of Antiquities' archives for old burial sites as well as ruling pharaohs who resided in that specific area.

The only problem was that the archives were locked and in order to get inside, she would need a key. Which meant a visit to Dr. Terrence Bey.

Working for the Medjai somehow also implied behaving herself around the curator. Nobody had told her to do so, but it seemed using honey would get her what she wanted quicker than using oil.

Elisabeth passed the enormous statue of Amenhotep III and Tiye. For a minute she paused and looked up at the gigantic structure. According to the sign, grand limestone statue was incomplete. You could tell from several cracks in the stone that it had been put together more than once. But that didn't make it less impressive.

Once upstairs she halted in front of an oaken door with a small golden plaque hanging on the wall next to it saying Dr. Terrence Bey, museum's curator.

She knocked two times and straightened her dress quickly as a voice yelled her to come inside.

"Good morning, Dr. Bey." Elisabeth greeted the bald man seated behind his desk next to a fireplace.

Swiftly he looked up from behind his newspaper, a small grimace crossed his face. "Oh, Miss Borchardt. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

His tone sounded anything but inviting and suddenly Elisabeth suspected that getting this key was going to become somewhat of a challenge.

"I'm here because I would like to have a look in the archives. It's for research." She smiled politely and folded her hands together in front of her.

Dr. Bey glanced her up and down for a moment with a frown on his brow.

"The archives?" He repeated her words. "Whatever for?"

"Research." She told him again.

"Yes, I heard you the first time. Did Ardeth send you here?"

Verdammt. There were two ways to approach this. Lie or tell the truth. But the only way she wanted this to go was her way. She was about to answer but then she noticed the picture on the front of the newspaper Dr. Bey was currently holding up.

Elisabeth narrowed her eyes to read the headlines. Clasping her hand in front of her mouth, she took a step forward until she reached the desk.

Egyptologist Howard Carnahan and wife die in plane crash

Howard Carnahan was one of the men who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen two years ago. Elisabeth's father had been impressed as well as extremely envious of the discovery. It was one of those once in a lifetime moments. Just like when Ludwig found the Nefertiti bust.

Despite the slight feeling of jealously, he had politely congratulated Howard and even celebrated with him. But at the same time it had also fuelled him to make another impressive finding for himself. Much to Elisabeth's chagrin.

"The Carnahan's passed away last week. They took one of those tiny flying contraptions to Said, instead of a barge." Terence Bey said closing the newspaper and placing it on his desk. "Got caught in a sandstorm. Horrible accident. Big loss for the world and the museum as well."

"A plane crash." Elisabeth whispered. "That is terrible."

The curator stood up from his chair and walked towards her. "Don't they own a house in the same street as where your family resides?"

The Carnahan's had indeed bought the house at the end of the street back in 1918 right after the Great war. Their daughter had gone to Luxor, or Thebes as some still tend to call it.

They also had an older son. But Elisabeth really didn't know either of them, except that they were Howard Carnahan's children.

"For a while now, yes." She answered Dr. Bey.

He nodded. "I received a letter from their daughter a few weeks ago, asking for a job at the museum. At first I wanted to decline, the girl has little to no experience with working in a museum. But now that I know her parents have passed away,-"

"I can't possibly understand why she would want to work here." Elisabeth muttered softly.

"What was that, Miss Borchardt?"

Quickly she cleared her throat. "Nothing, Dr. Bey. I'm sure she will appreciate it. This must be a difficult time for her. At least you could teach her the ropes and give her the experience she apparently needs."

The curator's lips formed a small smile. "Well, I suppose if you put it that way."

He reached for his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "Here. Just make sure to give them back the moment you find what you're looking for."

It seems their conversation regarding the Carnahan's had made him forget she never answered his question whether or not Ardeth had sent her. Nonetheless, though feeling a bit guilty, Elisabeth took the keys and left the office.

Borchardt Residence

There were a lot of burial sites between Minya and Luxor. The Valley of Kings, situated above Luxor was the burial place of King Seti I. The pharaoh who High Priest Imhotep served.

This alone made Elisabeth wonder if the American had gone past Minya and towards the larger city. But that seemed unlikely, because Ardeth had lost him in the desert. Or perhaps let him go was a better term.

Automatically this meant that Hamunaptra was far away from civilization and therefore not anywhere near the Valley of the Kings. It had to be somewhere in between The ancient city of Thebes and Minya.

She let out a deep and loud sigh before letting herself fall back into the large leather chair. This was too much for her to figure out on her own. Finding this guy for Ardeth really had to remain the first thing on her to-do list.

Although she wasn't a quitter, even Elisabeth realized finding this location seemed beyond her limit. She needed that man's help in order to find the city of the dead.

"Tea, danaya?" Menna appeared in front of the desk, holding a tray with a cup of tea and a small dish of pastries.

"Thank you, Ammah." The woman stretched her arms above her head as her former nanny moved a couple of documents and papers aside to set the tray down.

Suddenly she stopped and picked something up. Her brow furrowed and she squinted her eyes. "Why do you have this?" She asked Elisabeth.

"Have what?" She dropped her arms and reached for the thing Menna was holding. It was the picture of the American.

"Oh, this is someone Ardeth Bay is looking for. Remember him?"

"Medjai,-" The older woman muttered under her breath.

Ever since the Chieftain had dropped by the house, Menna had been reluctant to open the door every time somebody rang the bell. It seemed the so called secret society of the Medjai, was not as secretive as the curator originally claimed it to be.

For one thing it was Elisabeth's former nanny herself who had told her about the Medjai. Albeit those had always just been stories about desert dwellers protecting ancient temples and what not.

Now that the older woman had seen the legend was very real, she was immediately convinced they were bad news. All in all, Elisabeth thought it rather amusing.

But now she was rather surprised she had asked her about the person in the picture.

"Do you know this man, Menna?" Elisabeth asked, showing her the photograph once more.

Menna pursed her lips and cocked her head. "I believe so. I think he visited the house once. To speak with your father."

With a jolt Elisabeth stood up from her seat and placed her hands on the surface of the desk. "When?"

"Two years probably. Before he left for Germany."

She could not believe it. Menna had seen the American. He had even been in the house. But two years ago, that was a year before vanishing in the desert. Time wise it did all fall into place.

Why had she not thought of asking Menna about this man before? She cursed herself and her stupidity. This was not an opportunity to pass by now, she had to ask more questions. Perhaps she knew more details about him than the French Foreign Legion had even given her.

"Do you know what they spoke of, Ammah?" Elisabeth asked. Unfortunately, her question was answered with a no.

"How about a name? Did he introduce himself to you?" She continued.

At this a small smile appeared on Menna's face and she nodded. "He was very polite. Not like those other people your father meets with."

"That's great, do you remember his name?" She felt incredibly anxious, how lucky would it be if this was the moment she were to discover the identity of the man Ardeth was looking for?

"Danaya, it has been a while. This memory is not what it once was. His name was a weird one."

Of course luck would not be on her side. It would have been too good to be true either way. She slumped back into the chair and pinched the bridge of her nose.

But the older woman was not done talking. "Reyshard."

Elisabeth lowered her hand and met her nanny's gaze. "Richard?"

Menna nodded. "Yes. He was a nice man. I do not know the rest of his name anymore. I am sorry."

She jumped back as the girl rushed around the desk and threw her arms around her, pulling her in a tight embrace. "Thank you, Ammah. Thank you so much."

::::::::...::::::::

Not even the loud shouting of drunken tourists stumbling through the street in the night could dampen her spirits. The day had gone incredibly well and thanks to Menna, Elisabeth finally felt prepared to undertake the next step of her plan.

Heading to Minya.

There was a boat leaving in two days, which gave her more than enough time to assemble everything she needed for the journey. The only problem she now faced was deciding on whether or not contact Ardeth and tell him what she had discovered.

The reason why she was reluctant to inform him of her discovery, was because she was afraid he was going to tell her that this was it. She had found out more than enough information and she would get her money and the contract was to be terminated.

That couldn't happen. Now that she knew about Hamunaptra, she wanted to see the place and for that she needed this Richard. Mainly due to the fact she simply did not have enough leads to find the city herself.

A small bundle wrapped in cloth and tied together with a string was set on the coffee table.

It contained a map of the area. Her father's document on Hamunaptra and the book of the dead and Amun-Ra. The papers she'd taken out of the Museum's archives about the burial sites between Luxor and Minya. And last but not least, Richard's photograph.

She would have to search high and low in Minya and unfortunately she was not that familiar with the city. But that was not going to stop her from going.

Elisabeth made her way to the window and leaned against the side. It was a full moon tonight and whenever the moon was full, people got more rowdy. The two men who were making a ruckus earlier were still making their way through the street, only instead of yelling they had now started to burst out into song.

Another noise suddenly joined the terrible out of tune singing, only this sound was much closer. In fact it seemed to be coming from right beneath her. Elisabeth moved away from the window and pressed her back against the wall.

Was it an animal? Maybe another drunk person only this one got lost and had entered her backyard by accident. The bushes rustled, followed by a creaking noise. Whatever it was, it was climbing onto the window sill.

Without waiting to let it enter her house, Elisabeth clenched her fist and the moment she saw the big dark shape, she hit it as hard as she could.

Whatever it was, it wasn't an animal. The black spot let out a loud yell, more out of surprise than actual pain, and landed on the bushes underneath the window.

Quickly Elisabeth looked down at what she'd just punched. The moment she recognised who it was, she pressed her lips together in a tight line to stifle a laugh.

He looked up at the woman standing above him, surprised and embarrassed that she had managed to startle him. Not only that, she struck him right above his eye. Any lower and she could have hurt him pretty badly.

"Good evening, Samir." Elisabeth said, then a short chuckle followed.

Samir, feeling anything but amused, rolled off the bushes and straightened himself. His head throbbed from where she'd punched him.

"Is this how you treat guests?" He asked raising his hand to touch the spot that was now becoming a bump.

"Only uninvited ones." She smiled. "Would you like to come in?"

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Let me know what you think!

Have a great weekend!