Cairo, Egypt

There was a knock on Aeon's door. Aeon was in the kitchen fixing himself some dinner when the knock came. Like all of his siblings he knew how to cook and cook well, as it had been a skill that all the children of Jazz and Dave Rossi had been taught. Some were better at it than others, of course. Aeon turned the burner on low before going to answer the door. He had basically made Cairo his home, which is why he owned a house. Egypt was a very mystical country and they believed in the supernatural and while most people thought that he was just someone that loved Egypt, so that he moved here, there were some people that knew what he was, which was immortal and also a magical. Aeon, along with his siblings, Ariana and Aleah all had gotten the power to heal and they were the only three so far that had and he was the only boy amongst the three of them that had. Aleah who was considerably older than him and Ariana was now mated to another doctor and already had multiple children and as far as he knew none of them had gotten their mother's ability to heal by using her magic, but then, he didn't really keep up on the family news, so he was probably wrong about that since Aleah was the only one with magic for that branch of the family. Aeon was sure that at least a few of Aleah's children had gotten their mother's talent to heal, but if so, he hadn't heard anything about it and he had thought to ask whenever he talked to his parents. It was probably about time he caught up with his family, as he hadn't been in contact with anyone other than his parents in at least a decade. He had just been so busy with his life here that he hadn't left Egypt in years. He had also talked to his godparents frequently but that was it. It was probably about time for visit home, stay for awhile, but there were just so many people that needed him here that he kept putting it off. He needed to stop doing that as there would always be a great need for his kind of healing no matter where he resided and he knew he needed to take time off sometime so he could relax and destress. He really did need to catch up with his siblings at least the ones that had been born along with him, but also those of other generations. Aeon opened his door to find two men standing there and he knew immediately that they were Medjai the ancient guard of the pharaohs. That they had tattoos all over their faces was a big clue as to who they were at least to him. The Medjai protected the people from ancient curses that lived out in the desert and also guarded the ancient city of Hamunaptra that had been buried centuries ago. Their specific duty was to prevent the rise of the evil ancient priest Imhotep.
Aeon was well aware that the legend was probably real, even if he had never experienced the rising of this ancient priest who was supposedly extremely evil and wanted to take over the world.
He truly hoped he never did experience something like that, even though he was immortal. He liked his peaceful life just the way it was and didn't want to see it destroyed by anyone, especially an evil priest who had been dead for thousands of years.
The Medjai went out of their way to make sure that never happened and scared off archaeologists and others who started to dig where Hamunaptra was supposedly buried beneath the sand. That the Medjai had existed for thousands of years and most people believed that they had long since disappeared into the pages of history said a lot to Aeon about how they wanted to remain unknown to most people.
With him being immortal though he knew about the Medjai and their ancient duty, as he had been around for hundreds of years. In return the Medjai knew what he was. He had helped out the Medjai in the past and would again he knew.
"Can I help you?" Aeon asked the two Medjai at his door in Arabic, which he spoke perfectly. He had learned all the languages that were spoken at all frequently here in Egypt, since it was basically his home.
"We require your services Healer Aeon," said one Medjai.
"Why don't you come in and give me the details," Aeon suggested in Arabic. "Explain why you require my services while I finish cooking dinner."
The two Medjai entered Aeon's house and followed him to the kitchen where was obvious that he was cooking.
"Do I have time to finish dinner or do we need to leave immediately?" Aeon asked the two Medjai, as he went back to the stove turning up the heat.
"We'll leave at first light," said one Medjai
"Explain to me why you need my services," Aeon questioned in Arabic, as he finished cooking dinner expertly. "I know it must be pretty urgent if you've come to me for help, as I'm well aware that the Medjai like to handle their own problems."
Finally, Aeon put dinner on the table and offered the Medjai some of the food, as he filled his own bowl.
"You're welcome to eat with me, because I have a feeling I won't be back for awhile and it will only go bad if it is not eaten. Why let good food go to waste?"
The Medjai saw the logic and took the 2 empty bowls off the center of the table and filled them up with the stew that the healer had cooked.
"This is really good Healer Aeon," said one Medjai.
"If you think it this is good then you should try my mother's baking sometime," Aeon smiled. "And it's just Aeon. There's no reason to be so formal. We're not much for formality in my family."
"I'm Hamza," said one Medjai
"And I'm Malik," said the the other Medjai.
"It's nice to meet you Hamza and Malik," Aeon said formally. "I'm always happy to be of service to the Medjai and I know you don't call on my services for no reason. Why don't you tell me what the problem is as we finish eating."
The two Medjai explained exactly why they had shown up at Aeon door.
"I see," Aeon said once all was explained. "I can see why you showed up at my door. Desert sickness is nothing to play around with."
Desert sickness could be deadly if not treated and it was a problem for those who lived in a desert country, especially out in the desert where there was no chance of quick medical intervention.
"And for it to be the granddaughter of the chieftain is even worse," Aeon said. "Also, desert sickness can spread to the rest of the Medjai very quickly if not treated. I'll be ready to go at first light and in the meantime, you're welcome to camp out in my living room if you like, because while I have guestrooms I am in no way prepared to host guests," Aeon said. "The beds have no clean sheets and the rooms haven't been dusted in ages. I'm not much of a housekeeper much to my mother's shame. She did try to teach me some basic skills like how to do laundry how to dust, vacuum and change the sheets on the bed that kind of thing. I was also taught how to cook. Now, those lessons, I took the heart. I can change sheets if I have to, but I usually don't bother to do that, in the guest rooms because I live alone."
"There's no need to put clean sheets on the bed, since we'll be leaving in the morning," said Malik.
"Camping out in the living room will be better than having to camp outside," Hamza added.
"At least for one night," Malik agreed.
Aeon cleaned up from dinner placing all the dishes into the dishwashing unit. Dishwashers were much more efficient now then they had used to be Aeon knew.
Luckily, for him there were roads out on the desert now so he could take his jeep and drive out to the Medjai village. While he could fly out there, as his car had a flying feature if he wanted to he knew the Medjai wouldn't like that if he broke one of their rules and so he would drive on the road, though it would make the journey longer by several hours. The Medjai still used the old methods of traveling by horse and camel, even though this was a very technological century. To the Medjai, the old ways were the best and they refused to update the way they did things at least very much. With the way they did things they could disappear into the desert and nobody who didn't know their way around the sand dunes could follow their trail.
The desert changed all the time thanks to sandstorms, so most people got lost unless they had a lot of experience in desert survival.
Also, there weren't many air cars in places like Egypt or Saudi Arabia, because the sand could and would get into the inner parts and stop them from working properly. Regular cars that stayed on the ground did a lot better than flying cars. A bad sandstorm could develop suddenly and block the person flying in a car from seeing where they were going, which could cause a crash and sometimes kill the person that was flying. Even a car sensors had trouble seeing through sand when it was blowing hard. Even if a crash didn't kill or injury that person severely they could still be lost out in the desert and have no idea how to get back to civilization if they happened to be caught in the middle of a bad storm.
Cars that drove along the roads were just better in such a country where the weather could often be against you.
"Goodnight, gentlemen, I'll see you in the morning bright and early," Aeon promised before he left them and headed upstairs to bed, even though it was relatively early. He knew he would need all the energy he could get for the trip tomorrow.
Aeon got dressed for bed, brushing his teeth throughly and climbed in to bed going right to sleep in a matter of minutes.

~~~Aeon and Nadia~~~

The next morning they started out at dawn and Aeon was up early so he could pack everything he might possibly need for his trip and put it into his sturdy jeep. The jeeps in the future weren't much different from the ones of the past, just much more streamlined. Still, they were sturdy vehicles, something Aeon needed since he lived in Egypt, which was a desert country.
"I'll follow you," Aeon told Malik and Hamza. "I do know my way though, as I have certainly been out to your village often enough."
Aeon started the engine of his jeep and pulled out of his driveway, as he followed Malik and Hamza. It wasn't more than a few hours before they were deep into the desert. It was a relatively long journey, even by car and they didn't arrive at the Medjai village until sunset, even though they had started out at dawn after a quick breakfast. The sun had barely been up when they had been on their way.
Aeon drove past the Medjai guards that were on the perimeter and stopped in a clear space away from the first house.
Malik and Hamza stopped their horses who were sweating beside him dismounting.
"This way Healer Aeon. We were told to bring you to Amira immediately."
Aeon nodded and followed the two men towards the house that was set apart from the rest of the village.
Aeon know this is where the chieftain and his family lived, as the house was more elaborate then most others. Besides, him and Nasir were friends so he knew his way and had been a guest in the Chief's home on multiple occasions. It was clear that there were more rooms within the structure. The house were made out of adobe bricks instead of reeds like the ancient Egyptians, which made them sturdier and more able to stand up to the weather like sandstorms.
"You were very fast," said an older man as soon as the three had ducked into the house that belonged to the chieftain. "It's good to see you again my friend. I am only sorry that I had to call on your official services, instead of you just coming to visit."
"It's been awhile hasn't it?" Aeon said in Arabic smiling, as he and the chief exchanged greetings
"It has," the chief agreed gravely. "I hope you can help my granddaughter Amira. Our healer could only do so much I'm afraid, but then he doesn't have your talent. He did try his best, but there was only so much he could do," Nasir explained
"I understand," Aeon said. "I'll do my best for you and that's a promise, but let's hope that the desert fever hasn't progressed to far. There's only so much I can do, even with my talent without burning myself out or at least falling into a coma. If that happens I won't be able to help anyone."
The chieftain stroked his beard and nodded, as Aeon had explained some years ago the pitfalls of his particular talent, but only after they had known each other for several years and knew his secret.
They had become friends during that time as the next chieftain had seen Aeon was a good person and went out of his way to help others, even if he had to be subtle about it in some cases. He had known about Aeon's magic and also immortality thanks to his father. He had been told with the Aeon's permission since he was going to be the next chief of the Medjai after his father either retired or passed on. Nasir realized immediately that this was a secret not given out lightly and that meant that Aeon trusted him, a trust he swore he would never betray.
Aeon had basically made Egypt his home and had even hid out with the Medjai when it was time for him to disappear for a few decades. There were certain problems with being immortal to where they would have to appear to die. Most immortals moved from place to place every few decades, but Aeon had been living in Egypt for a long time and so he had a different method then moving somewhere else so that people never noticed he wasn't aging.
As far as Nasir knew the Medjai were the only ones that knew Aeon's secret about his magic other than his own family and as for his immortality, he was the only one of the Medjai that knew, as had his father and grandfather, and great-grandfather.
"I'll take you to Amira's room," Nasir said leading the way.
The house was fairly large compared to the rest of the village.
"Here we go," Nasir said softly, as he opened a door.
Aeon went in and saw a young girl laying on the bed. The girl looked no more than 10 and might be younger then he was estimating.
Aeon felt the girl's forehead and immediately knew that she had a very high fever, as she was burning up. The fever was part of the desert sickness and killed off a lot of people every year. Desert sickness or desert fever was a disease that only hit people who lived in countries that had deserts, like Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Libya.
Aeon sat down in the hardback wooden chair that had been provided and placed one hand back on her forehead and the other on her chest over her clothes.
Nasir watched as Aeon closed his eyes and how his hands begin to glow with a soft blue light. The light traveled from his hands into his granddaughter. Amira never stirred at Aeon's gentle touch. After more than half an hour Amira groaned eyelids fluttered briefly before they stopped moving and Nasir took this as a good sign.
Aeon finally opened his eyes and removed his hands from Amira forehead and chest. He slumped back in his chair briefly closing his eyes. "I've done all I can for now," Aeon finally spoke. "I need to rest for a few hours and I'll see how she is in the morning. Hopefully, her fever will have broken and she'll have woken up by then, but we'll have to see."
"I'll have my daughter show you to one of our empty houses where you can rest. I'll also have her bring you some food for when you wake," Nasir offered. "I can't thank you enough for all you do."
"No thanks necessary my friend," Aeon said hiding a yawn behind his hand. "I'll be fine after some sleep, as what I do can be very tiring depending on what disease I'm trying to deal with. Basically, all I did, was encourage her own body's defenses to fight off the desert fever, which is very tiring. I have a powder in the pack I brought when she wakes up make her tea and stir the powder into it. The powder will help her fight off the fever farther, as it contains some healing herbs and also some of my energy to boost its efficiency."
"I'll bring you your pack, as I wouldn't presume to go through your things," Nasir said and Aeon nodded having expected no other response.
"I warn you the tea will be very bitter, so you'll want to add sugar to it," Aeon warned.
"Will that lessen the efficiency of the medicine?" Nasir asked.
"No, or I never would've suggested it," Aeon said shaking his head tiredly yawning again.
"I'll have my daughter show you where you can rest for a few hours," Nasir said. "We'll talk later. I am very grateful for all you did my friend."
"You're welcome," Aeon said smiling tiredly, as Nasir went to find his daughter and was back in just a couple of minutes with a beautiful woman who looked about 35 or so.
"Thank you for all you have done for my niece," said the woman.
Aeon tried not to let his eyes widen or show any reaction, as he had never expected to meet his mate among the Medjai. She had blue eyes and a pert nose. Unlike the men, she had no tattoos on her face that designated things like courage and bravery in battle.
"You're welcome," Aeon said. "I am Aeon and you are?"
"I guess my father didn't tell you my name," the woman said sending her father a scolding look.
"My mistake," Nasir said serenely. "Aeon this is my daughter Nadia. She's been living in Alexandria with her husband who died a few years ago. She came back here after she had buried him. Unfortunately they didn't give me any grandchildren."
"I am so sorry about the death of your husband," Aeon said sincerely. "For him to die, so young is a tragedy since people can live up to a couple of centuries now."
"Thank you," Nadia said hearing the sincerity in Aeon's voice. "He was murdered by some of the criminals that are inherent in our society. Unfortunately, we never had time to have children before the worst happened."
"I'm so sorry that happened to you," Aeon said sincerely. "Unfortunately, there will always be those that want to hurt others and even kill them and a lot of times such killings are senseless."
"I'm only glad that Nadia did not come to harm," Nasir said. "Those that murdered Azim deserve to be tortured for 1000 years as he was a good man."
"The best," Nadia agreed, looking sad.
"If there's one thing I learned is that violence happens, no matter where you live," Aeon offered. "I know very well that this is a country, where those that are innocent are often killed senselessly."
"If you would take Aeon to one of the empty houses where he can get some sleep, I would appreciate it Nadia," Nasir told his daughter.
"Of course, father," Nadia agreed. "This way. You can sleep as long as you like and I'll leave some food for you for when you wake."
"Thank you Nadia, I appreciate it," Aeon said. "Before we go, though, I need to get that powder to put in Amira's tea, as it will help reduce the fever even more. You need to add sugar to the tea whenever you give it to her for the herbs in the medicine are very bitter and the tea doesn't cover the taste completely."
"Got it," Nadia said listening to Aeon's instructions intently.
"I'll make sure she gets a cup of tea, just as soon as she wakes," Nadia promised.
Nadia led the healer to one of the empty houses that was set aside for guests, not that they had many of those and left him at the door of the dwelling wasn't that large, after Aeon rummaged in his pack to find the package of herbs to give to Nadia telling how much to give to Amira when she woke.
Inside the guest house, which was really no more than a hut, Aeon found everything he needed a mattress stuffed with reeds covered with a sheet as well as a flat pillow for his head.
Aeon got dressed for bed after using the primitive latrine, and then laid down on the mattress, which was very comfortable despite not being stuffed with cotton. In this instance, he was glad he was immortal, though, as he would have no back problems, stiff muscles, or crick in his neck when he awoke. Being immortal did come in very useful on occasion.
Aeon couldn't help but think of Nadia and smile, just before he drifted off to sleep and knew that his life had changed completely now that he had met his mate.

~~~Aeon and Nadia~~~