The Beauty and The Betrayal

2.Cairo Prison

Amerath's P.O.V.
The smell is the first thing you notice in the prison yard, the shit and piss soaking the straw that crunched against my feet. I was thrown into a cage, a cell if you want to get technical. My head smacked the bars, leading to a slow throb. I looked up and saw Rick, right when he kissed a pretty brunette. "Get me the hell outta here lady." He growled as they pulled him, I reached out to him, my hand against his. He looked at me with wide eyes, "Your alive...!" He turned towards the lady, motioning to me with his chin. "Get her out! Not me, I'm useless you need her!" I gaped at my brother, when the guard holding me yanking my hair back, his younger sliding against my throat. "Should've just become a whore...." Anger swelled inside me; I threw my head back. A satisfying crunch made the beating I was sure to receive was well worth it.  As the man reared his hand back, a fist to the eye made me stumble. I could hear the two strangers yelling as I was dragged to the cells.
The next time my cell flew open I had bruises and cuts that decorated my body as if I was a vase on show in a museum. I struggled against the noose that was being placed around my neck. All for a god damn bar fight. Since Rick was a deserter of the French army, I was an accessory to his crime.  I could see the two strangers in the warden's box. I couldn't hear them, but I could tell the woman was haggling for something. Rick was brought out, he tried to run to me, but the guards pulled him back. When the floor dropped, I told Rick I loved him...and everything faded to black.
As I greeted the afterlife an older man came to me. " Amunet...not now. Fight my child. Fight..."
The words faded into a whisper; I was pulled into someone's chest. It was Rick, whispering my name between sobs. My throat was dry and raspy when I spoke, "So... you get me killed and then try to cry over my death? What the hell...." His eyes went wide, and he smiled. " You're ok...thank God you're okay..."
-The next day-
"So, your repaying me with a cruise down the Nile, is that it?" We had both cleaned up after being released, I was dressed in a
Simple strapless dress while Rick was in his trouble gear... I call it trouble because I have a feeling that's what we are in for. I had a feeling when we packed our things that this wasn't a cruise. We were going somewhere, to do something only the gods know about.
We walked towards the two people who I believe saved our lives "Do you really think he'll show up?" The woman spoke with a light British accent. The man hardly looked up from his nails, "Undoubtedly, I know the breed, he may be a cowboy, but his word is his word." Unlike hers, his voice was heavily British. "Personally, I think he's filthy,
rude and a complete scoundrel.
I don't like him one bit..." Seeing Ricks face scrunch up I assume he knows she's talking about him. "Anyone I know?" The man and woman turned in shock, while the woman remained speechless. I shoved Rick to the side, "Hello! I'm Amerath..it's lovely to meet you. Thank you so much for saving us! We were in a bit of a pickle." The man looked at her, it seemed the woman was still getting over the transformation of prison Rick vs. Current Rick. " Jonathan and this is my sister Evy. Your husband has agreed to help us with an adventure, part of saving your lives and all that." The title of husband caught Ricks ears, and his face scrunched up. "Sister. She's my sister you English nitwit. C'mon, the boats leaving in 20 minutes." As he grabbed my bag and Evy's along with his, we heard the man they called the warden, "Bright good morning to alI!" He shouted; Rick scrunched his face up. "What the hell are you doing here?' "Protecting my investment." The fat man replied. There was no hesitation, and it only confirmed what I already knew. We boarded the boat, finding our room, Rick and I were sharing one. There was no reason not to when neither of us had a significant other.  Growing up with just each other, we never liked to be apart. I pulled my bag out, reaching in to grab a satchel.  Inside was my khopesh, an Egyptian sword my brother had brought me from his time in the French army, found while traveling the Egyptian deserts.

It was beautiful and sharp as a razor. I kept it in good condition, running it over a whetstone every week between adventures. With it I had two smaller blades, for dual welding, that would stay strapped to my sides in their Hollister's for the remainder of this trip.

While the khopesh was a gift, these two were specially made for me after helping a merchant. I slid them in a thigh holster while I was in a dress. While Rick prefers a gun, I will always prefer how personal it felt to slice through flesh in the heat of the moment. "Where. Who. And most importantly why?" Ricks faced drained of all color when he realized I had known all along this wasn't just a cruise. "In exchange for them saving my life, we are taking them to Hamunaptra." I knew the stories, the blood and the gold. I never would've traveled there alone, but the brother and sister did save our lives.  I continued to strap up my smaller blades to my hip, leaving my khopesh in its case for now. "Then off we go dear brother." 

   I wondered the ship with Rick, observing the deck when Rick let out a low growl. He marched over to a table playing poker, ripped someone up from their seat and threw them into the wall. "If it isn't my old pal Beni." The skinny man's eyes went wide, and Johnathan, who was sitting with them looked sick to his stomach. Hearing the familiar sound of the safety of a gun clicking, I slid between two strangers and held my blades to their neck. "Not a move gentleman. Not a single fucking move." One man still attempted to pull his gun, he stopped when i pressed the blades into the men's necks, allowing them to hiss as it nicked their skin.  My good friend O'Connell , you're alive! I was so very, very worried." Beni whimpered out. "I think I'll kill you." Rick trailed off, causing the men to yell out. "We need 'em, kill him after he finishes our deal."  Rick lowered Beni but kept his grip tight. "What deal?" The man without the blade to his throat answered, "To Hamunaptra. He is our guide." For some ungodly reason Johnathan decided this was the right time for him to speak. " How funny, Rick is ours." Rick glared at the man, who stumbled with his cards and blushed a deep red.  As Rick let go of Beni, I slowly put my blades back at my side. "I'm Henderson, that's Daniels, and that's Burns." "I'm Amerath. Thats Rick, and you've met Johnathan." The men nodded slowly, Henderson turning to Burns, "Quit playin' with your glasses and cut the deck, Burns." The man named Burns stopped cleaning his glasses and glared, "Without my glasses I can't see the deck to cut it, Dave." Seeing the men, Henderson and Daniels with blood trickling down their neck's, I pulled out a scrap of cloth I kept in my back pocket. Ripping it into two, I handed it to each of them. "Sorry. about your necks. No one threatens Rick when I'm around. I won't stand for it." Daniels chuckled, "Protective wife, eh O'Connell?" "No, Protective Sister." After this statement I wondered off, seeking Evy for conversation that hopefully, didn't involve some sort of altercation. 

-.-.- Rick's P.o.v -.-.-

I watched Amerath wonder off, her mind in the clouds as usual. "O'Connell, sit down. We could use another player.  " Daniels told me, I let out a snort. "I only gamble with my life, never my money."  This caught the groups attention, "Never?" "Never. " Henderson leaned back in his chair, "What if I was to bet you $500 we get to Hamunaptra before you? And a date with your sister?" Rick glanced the way Amerath went off to, ensuring she wasn't there. "Your on."