There's A Fine Line Between Coincidence & Fate ✓

Chapter 19

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked him, once we were out of earshot of the others.

"My people are going to want to meet the one chosen by Sekhmet. After all this time, I'm sure they will want to know that the prophecy has been fulfilled." The sun was going down and Ardeth was looking for a place to stop for a couple of hours to rest. Everything looked the same, the desert just stretched on for miles and miles. But I guess if you grew up here, you just knew where to find things like shade and water. And that's just what Ardeth did.

Between two sand dunes lay an oasis. Beautiful, lush green trees and vegetation, a bubbling pond, it looked so inviting. Ardeth dismounted the camel and then held out his arms to catch me as I dismounted. I wasn't nearly as graceful as he was, and I would have fallen had he not been there to catch me. He removed the packs from the camel, finding blankets for us to roll out and sleep on. I went ahead just a bit, to the edge of the green and found small sticks and dried leaves that could be used to start a fire. Remembering everything that my dad and Jack had taught me about just how to start a campfire, I rubbed two of the sticks together, gently blowing on them when they started to smoke up. Within no time at all, I had managed to get a small fire going, perfect for just the two of us.

As I sat there, staring into the flames much like I did at the beginning of this journey, I finally let the emotions of the last couple of days catch up with me. Losing Bernard and Jack, I hadn't had time to let myself grieve for them, even a little. I started crying, and quickly became overwhelmed to the point I was hyperventilating. Ardeth sat down next to me, worry etched on his face. He grabbed my hands, and just as he had done at the museum, rubbed calming circles into the tops of them, muttering soothing words in Arabic that I couldn't make out. We sat there like this for a while, until the night had fully taken us, and the stars and moon were up high and bright in the sky.

"I don't know how I can go back." I whispered. "I don't think I can go back. I can't face my parents. They couldn't possibly understand this. Maybe it would be better for them if we just disappeared. No bodies, no confirmations. They can just live with the hope that we're alive somewhere, together." I was rambling at this point, but honestly, it was all just too much. There was no way I could tell my family what had happened here. Even though Hamunaptra returned to the sands, treasure hunters would still come for it. I didn't need to be the reason anyone else lost loved ones. My guilt was eating me alive, and I didn't need to see my families' faces to know that they would blame me too.

"Let us get through this night. Clarity tends to come with morning's light." Ardeth said.

"Let's talk about something else. I need something to distract me from myself." I pleaded with him, desperation evident in my voice. "What is it like being Chieftain? Are you in charge of everyone or just your tribe?" I asked, curious about what I was walking into.

"There are twelve tribes, each with a commander in charge, that lives there. They oversee the day-to-day things. And from those twelve commanders, is the Chieftain, who oversees the Medjai as a whole. My father was the Chieftain before me, and his father before him, and so on and so forth, all the way back to the beginning of the Medjai." My eyes grew wide at this.

"So, what you're saying is that, basically, you're royalty?" I squeaked out, almost afraid of the answer.

"In a western way of looking at it, I guess you could say that." He said sheepishly. Well that certainly put things into perspective for me. What did I have to compete with whoever was waiting for him back home?

Woah, slow down there. For starters, I didn't know that he even has anyone waiting for him at home. Plus, he didn't seem like the kind to kiss someone while having someone else. And also, I didn't even know if there is anything there on his side. Just because he kissed me, twice didn't mean that he was into me. "What are you thinking about?" he asked me, bringing my attention back to the real world and not on my imaginary problems.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about things. Are we going to talk about what happened in the sewer and then again at Hamunaptra?" I asked, my mouth more ballsy than my head or my heart.

"I would've thought that my actions spoke louder than my words could." He said, turning to look at me head on. I got lost in his soft brown eyes, still amazed by the depth to them.

"Well let's just assume that I'm piss poor at reading actions. Spell it out for those of us in the cheap seats?" I asked him. He blinked at me, confused by my analogy. "Please just tell me so I'm not here, making an ass out of myself." I rephrased.

"I am attracted to you Margaret. I would like to get to know you better." He whispered in confession, moving closer to me, once more taking my hand in his. I sighed in contentment. "It's getting late, and we'll want to leave at first light to make it to my village before it gets too hot to travel. Get some sleep Margaret." He said before moving to lay down on his blanket. I pulled mine closer to the fire to stay warm and laid down, sleep coming to me quickly.

If only it was a peaceful sleep. I was plagued with dreams of Jack, forced to watch him get the life sucked out of him by Imhotep. Or worse yet, seeing him as I last did, yelling at me for not saving him, accusing me of loving Ardeth more than him since I was able to save him. I started crying, begging him to forgive me, apologizing over and over for not being able to do anything for him. Then, he just kept saying my name over and over. I was startled awake by Ardeth shaking my shoulder, calling my name, imploring me to wake up. I jumped, realization coming to me. It was just a dream. I started crying again. "It was only a dream Peggy." Ardeth said, sitting down beside me, pulling me into his arms. I clung to him like he was my lifeline, my tears staining his outer robes.

"But that's just it. It's not a dream. Everything that happened is real. Just without Jack's reanimated body telling me it's all my fault. I already know that." I said, once I got myself under control.

"Jack made his decisions, just like you did. I'm sorry that you now have to live with this. No one deserves it." He said softly, before making to get up to go back to his blanket. I grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Please stay. Just for tonight. Nothing inappropriate, I just need someone to tether me to reality." I pleaded with him. I must have looked pretty pathetic because Ardeth went and grabbed his blanket, bringing it over next to mine and settled down for the night. I rolled over to face him and slowly, sleep came back to me. Except this time there was just darkness. No dreams, no Jack shoving hot guilt down my throat. Just peace.