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angel-0f-verdun · 1 year ago

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14 Apprehensive Devotion

Previous Chapter

“Ahmanet is attached to her like a demon possessing a body for the first time. It will not be an easy task to remove her permanently, you may want to keep Eris bound.” Ardeth said, a stressed look on his face. I noticed this as I peered around the corner staying in the shadows so that I wouldn’t inform everyone of my presence. I wanted to see everyone’s candid reactions to what the Medjai had to say.

“No,” Rick said forcefully, Evy gave him a heartbroken look. I knew if the roles were reversed she would have the same reaction as Rick did. Evy started pacing as she thought of potential solutions.

“I don’t see another way… The switch can happen in an instant and before you even realize it she will be your enem-” Ardeth started to say before Rick cut him off again. I couldn’t decipher the Medjai’s expression, he was utterly unreadable.

“I am not going to leave my baby sister tied up somewhere with this bitch in her head. We need to keep an eye on her. I haven’t ever abandoned her before and I’m not going to start now.” He said, Evy put her hand on Rick’s chest to calm him down, pushing Rick backward as he was starting to overreact, his emotions getting in the way. Evy suddenly spun to face Ardeth with a coy smile.

“Is there any way you could be the one to watch her… There is certainly something that you are doing to keep this monster at bay.” She asked him politely. He blinked, his eyes flitting towards the corner where I was standing. I knew he could sense me, unlike everyone else that was in the room. Our parents couldn’t even keep track of us when they were alive, neither could the orphanage clowns, but a total stranger could. I couldn’t help but admit there was some sort of connection between us, I knew that since the moment I tried to kill him. I watched as he dropped his head thinking as he stared at the floor. I found myself waiting for his answer with bated breath, and then he slowly started to nod. When he lifted his head his eyes met mine briefly and my heart leaped.

“How is it that you two are just these magic protectors?” Henderson arrogantly asked breaking the silence that had fallen over the group, pointing to Ardeth and Dr. Bey. I decided now was the time to reveal my position, I removed myself from the wall I was leaning against walking to a chair furthest from everyone. Ardeth walked towards his mentor.

“We are part of an ancient secret society, for over 3,000 years we have guarded the city of the dead. We’re sworn at manhood to do any and all in our power to stop the high priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world.” Dr. Bey started to explain as he sat down in one of the exhibit's ornate chairs, Ardeth pacing the floor next to him.

“Now because of you, we have failed.” Ardeth glared daggers at Henderson and Rick. He finally stopped pacing and planted himself next to the elder man. He watched me carefully, eyebrows furrowed in a perpetual frown.

“And you think this justifies the killing of innocent people?” Evy asked, a scowl on her face questioning the only people who were helping us. I had half a mind to throw something at her from across the room but I stopped my impulse.

“To stop this creature, let me think… YES.” Dr. Bey and Ardeth answered strongly, knowing she wouldn’t understand anyway.

“Question… Why doesn’t he like cats?” Rick slid into the conversation listening intently for the answer. I smirked, he really was curious but it made me wonder if he had learned nothing from our time in Egypt.

“Cats are the guardians of the underworld, he will fear them until he is fully regenerated.” Dr. Bey answered his seemingly simple question. Rick nodded looking down, his hair falling into his face.

“And then he will fear nothing…” Ardeth said to the group, annoyed. He made it seem as if we were school children acting up in class.

“Yeah, and you know how he gets himself fully regenerated?” Daniels rhetorically asked.

“By killing everyone who opened that chest” Henderson answered, looking at his Colt and contemplating putting a bullet in his brain, no doubt. Rather bite that then be reborn as a mummy’s flesh and bones.

“And sucking them dry, that’s how” Daniels enthusiastically vented.

“Jonathan, will you stop playing with that?” Evy scolded him for playing with the bow that the chariot display was equipped with. He stopped immediately, almost causing the mannequin to fall over.

“When I saw him alive at Hamunaptra, he called me Anck-Su-Namun, and then just now in Mr. Burns’ quarters he tried to kiss me,” Evy told the two men who were now in charge of our army.

“It is because of his love for Anck-su-namun that he was cursed. Apparently after 3,000 years–” Dr. Bey mused looking at Ardeth carefully.

“He is still in love with her.” Ardeth finished his thought glancing in my direction, looking away quickly. I wasn’t sure what to make of that comment, I cleared my throat causing his eyes to find mine again. It was interesting, he wanted to be around me and watch me closely but at the same time, it felt as if he wanted nothing to do with me.

“Yes, well that’s very romantic, but what does it got to do with me?” Evy asked them, fiddling with her necklace.

“Perhaps he will once again try to raise her from the dead,” Ardeth said to Dr. Bey, not sparing a look towards Evy.

“Yes, and it appears he has already found his human sacrifice.” Dr. Bey told the whole group, both him and Ardeth finally turning to stare at Evy.

“Bad luck old mum” Jon uttered out, unsure of what else to say.

“On the contrary, it may just give us the time we need to kill the creature.” Dr. Bey contemplated.

“We will need all the time we can get, his powers are growing,” Ardeth said as he looked up through the skylight at the beautiful display of nature that caught everyone’s attention, an eclipse of the sun.

“And he stretched forth his hand towards the heavens and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt” Jon quoted the bible sighing towards the end.

“Alright well, I suppose that’s our cue to leave,” Henderson said, as he looked down from the sun. I stayed planted in my chair as Evy had permitted Ardeth to be my keeper now. I glanced over to Rick who was busy paying Evy attention. They were speaking in hushed tones as they planned what the next step in the agenda would be. I looked away from them and back at Ardeth, he stood stoically watching me from afar like a panther stalking his prey. But what he didn’t realize was that I was the predator that he would need to escape from. My thoughts turned darker the more annoyed I got with our situation. I sighed, happy my head was finally empty from Ahmanet. But I knew she would be back with a vengeance sooner or later.

“Alright.” Rick clapped, the loud noise filling the atmosphere making my ears ring as he walked over to me.

“Hey, you doing alright?” He asked me with sympathy in his eyes that bothered me. Rick wanted to get back into the brother-sister relationship as if he hadn’t missed a beat. But for the last three years, he had no idea the trauma I had been through. I wasn’t sure if I could just ignore that and continue. He was becoming a less grizzled version of his younger self, thanks to Evy, but I was tired of his non-apologies.

“Don’t give me that, ‘poor Eris’ bullshit” I spit out, he was treating me like a delicate little flower. His brows knit together, I could tell he was tired and trying to help. I saw the frustration grow on his face as he rolled his eyes and pushed past my shoulder. This pissed me off but I decided not to make a show of it and just let him go brood. I was tired of the constant side-eye looks and constant worrying, I needed to get away from it.

I started walking to the entrance of the museum letting my feet take me where they wanted. I heard the soft footsteps of Ardeth behind me, he would rather blend in with the background. I could tell he felt more comfortable this way but I wanted nothing more than to yell at him asking what was wrong with me. I continued walking upstairs to the darker hallways that held our stone displays, when I got to a corner furthest away from the group I decided now was my chance, as they would never hear us here. I spun around on my heel facing him, holding back the true anger I was feeling at the moment.

“What’s so wrong with me that you can’t even look at me?” I asked him genuinely curious, but I could feel my tone shifting to one of anger.

“All I see when I look at you now is her,” He said, not even daring to utter her name. I understood the sentiment but I longed for him to look me in the eyes and hold my gaze like he had when we were fighting not 48 hours prior. He continued avoiding my eyes.

“Look at me!!” I started to raise my voice at him, desperate for the connection. He slowly started moving his eyes in my direction moving slowly up my figure. When his eyes finally met with mine he strode up to me closing the space between us. His arms reached for me, grabbing my hands and grazing his fingertips up to my shoulders. His touch was light, it almost felt as if he couldn’t control the movements. He continued up my neck and to my face pulling me closer to him, resting our foreheads together. He closed his eyes as he started to play with the ends of my hair.

“Eris.” He breathed out slowly, his accent made my eyes close as I melted into his grip. I didn’t want to push him away from me, but he still wasn’t doing what I had asked him.

“What is it?!” I yelled as I attempted to push him away but his reaction was too quick for me to walk away like I wanted. His strength was impressive and he let up almost immediately as we stood there.

“I know you can feel this between us too,” He said as his hands went to my hair moving a strand that had loosened back behind my ear. His scent consumed me rendering me speechless.

“I can,” I replied, softening my tone, unsure of what else to say to him concerning the matter. We both knew there was a chemical reaction between us but neither of us knew what to do about it with the current circumstance. There were too many unknown attributes. “She’s not here right now,” I whispered before I could filter my thoughts.

“But we have no indication of when she will return either.” He silently considered.

“So let’s take advantage of the time we have now,” I grumbled, getting annoyed yet again.

“Eris.” He said my name again. “We can’t, I can’t.” He didn’t even attempt to explain why as he continued to hold me to him.

“Why not?!” I yelled at him attempting to get free of his grasp. “If you wanted nothing to do with me then why are we constantly so close with one another? None of this was my doing, it’s almost always you that’s bringing us closer together.” I spit out thoroughly pissed off now. He gripped me tighter, not letting me move. I closed my eyes, the frustration getting to me quicker than I knew it, feeling the tears starting to form.

“Open your eyes,” He commanded me, but I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine. So I kept them closed, shaking my head as my lip started to quiver. No one wanted me around, he was the only one who wanted to be close to me and even then he didn’t.

He moved me backward and in an instant my back hit the wall behind me, with a force I wasn’t expecting. A gasp escaped my lips, feeling the cold stone against my skin, effectively causing me to open my eyes. Our gaze met and I could finally discern the emotion that was in his eyes. Love.

“I want you more than anything in this life. I cannot explain it, we are so strongly connected. But you are not what I was expecting, you have to understand. My tribe has a certain expectation from their leader. You and I shouldn’t be compatible in any way but we are. A medjai and a demon.” He scoffed letting a small smile break through. “You are the hardest thing I have had to keep myself away from and I’m afraid I can’t do it anymore.” He spoke quickly as if he couldn’t get through the words fast enough. I could tell that he was fighting an internal battle. All of a sudden he didn’t hold back any longer, he dipped his head down and captured my lips in a passionate kiss, he moved his hands from my figure to the wall behind me attempting to hold himself back from doing anything more. But that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted more. I wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him down as close as I could to my body forcing him to move himself as I brought his tall figure down to my frame. His lips left mine and quickly attached to my neck, sucking and pulling the skin beneath it as he moved his hands to my bum, lifting me up and pushing me up against the wall, my legs wrapping around his waist. I moved his head away from my neck and back to my lips, I grazed his bottom lip with my tongue and he easily opened for me to explore his mouth. Our tongues battled for dominance as the kiss deepened. My fingers entangling in his hair, he groaned, enjoying the feeling. Just before we could take it any further I heard my brother clear his throat behind Ardeth. Ardeth stopped the interaction abruptly, setting me back down on the floor, my legs felt weak, as I attempted to get around him to look at my brother my face flushed from our encounter.

“You know when Evy said to watch her, I didn’t think this is what we would walk into.” He stood there with his arms crossed, a stern look on his face.

“I apo-” Ardeth started. I could feel him lurking behind me, his fingers lightly touching the small of my back, not willing to keep his hands off me completely. I elbowed him in the ribs to get him to stop talking, there was nothing to apologize for. Jon was smirking behind Rick’s shoulder and Evy just looked shocked.

“Fuck off Rick, I’m not a child anymore,” I interjected still pissed from our previous interaction.

“Sure, but you are a time bomb” I heard him whisper under his breath. I ignored the comment not wanting to fight with him right now.

“We’re going to head back to the fort to keep the others safe. You guys do whatever you need to do to prepare, come find us later.” Rick said to us. I nodded as my brother and the others retreated back down the stairs leaving the museum. I turned around looking at Ardeth, he pulled me into a side hug.

“I want to show you something.” He said to me as he ended our hug, picking up my hand and gazing into my eyes. I nodded, not entirely sure what he meant by that but happy that we were alone again. He led me back down the stairs and towards the curator's office.

“Wait here for a moment.” He told me as he knocked on the door before going in. I gazed around at the hallway I had walked for years around giving tours trying not to eavesdrop on their conversation. When he came back out he had Dr. Bey with him. I could tell he was trying to stifle his excitement.

“Eris. I know this may seem fast-paced and rash. You do not know me very well, and our traditions are different than yours. Dr. Bey has been my mentor for years, he is all I have currently with me but I assure you there is a whole tribe that would be behind me if they could right now.” I wasn’t entirely understanding where he was going with his speech but I stood there hanging onto his every word as he came up to me and took both my hands in his. “When I was 16 I took an oath to become a Medjai, following in my father's footsteps, four years later I became a chieftain after my father's death. I have taken many lives. I want you to know me fully. I want to teach you about my culture, as your husband if you’ll take me.” He retrieved an item from his pocket, a small box. He opened the lid to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. I gasped, it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Dr. Bey smiled at me as tears started to escape my eyes.

“Yes!!” I found myself saying, an immense amount of excitement flowing through my body. I looked up at Ardeth, he gave me a wide grin showing off his extraordinarily white teeth. He wrapped his arms around me in a hug giving me a quick peck on the lips as he broke off and slipped the ring onto my left ring finger.

“Seeing as the circumstances are a bit complicated with Imhotep on the rise I would like, with your permission, to commence our ceremony now,” I smiled at him, enticed by the offer.

“Yes, I never thought it would happen so quickly but, like you mentioned earlier, there is an undeniable chemistry between us since the moment I saw you. So yes!” I told him immediately, bringing his face to mine, ignoring the presence of Dr. Bey. He pulled me to him, closing the space between our bodies, dipping me down toward the floor and back up. He broke the kiss more aware of our surroundings than me at the moment. He took me by the hand and led me to the courtyard outside my office window where I had first seen Ahmanet. Dr. Bey followed us, standing to the side carrying a book that I hadn’t noticed before.

“Ardeth, Eris, I have known you both for many years, I am happy to initiate the wedding for you. If I’m being completely candid I knew that you two were bound for each other the second I met you Eris. Although I held my tongue until recently it is my honor to wed you on this night. Here I have the Nikah, the agreement you two will honor as a married couple. It is a standard such as a marriage license in America.” He explained to me as Ardeth and I held hands excited to continue on our adventure together. Ardeth signed the contract binding himself to me for eternity or however long we had left, after he signed, I signed right after happily doing the same.

“Ardeth, are there any words you would like to add before your vows?” Dr. Bey asked him.

“Yes, Eris you make me feel as if I am a young soul, I have never had that feeling before in this lifetime. I matured at a young age and have always been described as an old soul by my peers. It is part of the reason that I became Chieftain at a younger age than the rest. My decision to marry you may have come out of a place of rashness, but I knew the second you were in my arms at Hamunaptra that this was the right decision for me. I promise to cherish you, honor you, and love you for as long as I shall live. I will never command you to do anything you do not want to do. You will never be an object for me. I love you and this chemical attraction between us is unmatched by any power and love in this lifetime. I will protect you at all costs whether or not it takes my life from me. You are now my top priority.” He said to me, I smiled more tears coming down my face at the lovely words he was saying to me.

“Eris.” Dr. Bey prompted me.

“Ardeth, I promise to love you no matter what happens in the future, through arguments and any adversity we might face. I promise to protect you fiercely and honor your decisions, we will make decisions together and help each other through our worst and best times. I will support you in anything and everything you do. I love you.” I told him as we exchanged wedding bands. Dr. Bey smiled throughout the whole conversation.

“May Allah smile upon you always, by the power vested in me I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Dr. Bey concluded our elopement ceremony. I smiled as Ardeth pulled me to him kissing me, almost immediately his tongue was in my mouth. I couldn’t help but laugh a little seeing him out of his shell. If someone were to ask me if this is what I thought would be happening tonight I would’ve told them they were crazy. But here we were, I was now a wife.

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