Life From Your Lips (Ruby Rose fanfic)

TWENTY-SIX (Iselen POV)

"They're all crazy, seriously."

"Ruby, not so loud, they're going to hear you..." I whisper while we dodge a big group of tourists that are taking pictures nonstop, looking around entranced, so busy freaking out with the size of the Sphinx that they don't notice the Egyptian sun burning their pale skins. I understand them, I also stared at it mesmerized for long minutes the first time I visited Giza. This place has a special charm and the dust coming from the desert, the hordes of people shepherded like sheep by tourist guides, the souvenir sellers yelling and the buildings of the modern city in the background, cannot ruin that wonderful excitement when you get close to the Great Pyramid for the first time, feeling so small.

"I don't understand it, seriously, you can find all the information you need online nowadays, there're tourist guides and kind receptionists in hotels ready to give you advice... The best thing you can do is to pay attention to what locals are wearing... and cover yourself up!" The princess shakes her head, dismayed, while we walk up the Avenue of the Pyramids. "I guess it appears contradictory, but the hotter it is, the more you should cover yourself with natural fabrics like cotton and linen, wearing shirts with sleeves and long trousers to protect you. But no... here they are, wearing tank tops and shorts, exposing their skins to the merciless sun's rays and turning into pink prawns... Well, some of them are about to become red lobsters, actually..."

"Ruby!" I hiss looking around, worried in case someone feels insulted.

"What? You know it's true: the first thing we learnt to do as an archaeologist is to cover our skin and heads with scarfs and hats. And the neck, I burnt my nape once because I was bent forward digging a site, recovering some interesting figurines, and it hurt like a bitch. Thanks God, Athena always has some natural aloe vera at home for such cases."

"And we should drink a lot of hot tea in order to break a sweat and refresh our skins naturally..." I nod smiling. "Samir told me that. He was appalled the first time he saw me grabbing a cold coke from the fridge."

"That's what I was saying: pay attention to locals. They have thousands of years of experience and know all the tricks to survive this merciless weather."

"Anyway, those tourists don't care about the heat and the fact that they're like roasted chickens in an oven right now. Look at them, they're so happy to be here in front of the majestic pyramids... Come on, Meri, don't be a grouch..." I whisper getting closer to her and putting my arm around her waist. "Your people did wonderful things, you should be proud..." The princess smirks mischievously and nods, kissing my cheek gently, but we're interrupted abruptly by a chorus of voices.

"Baksheesh!"

"No, thank you, we don't need a professional guide..." Ruby takes my hand and tries to walk down the avenue, dodging the hordes of Egyptian boys that surround us, yelling the same word nonstop, trying to persuade us to give them our money in exchange for whatever they're offering us. "No, we don't want to buy scarves or souvenirs... No, we aren't going to take a pic with that camel... No, I'm not going to give you a tip to take a pic in front of the Great Pyramid, I earned that right when I bought a ticket to enter this complex... We're not the kind of tourists you can scam!" she growls in Arabic language and the guys, even a police officer that wanted to escort us in exchange for a tip, move a step back, startled, before shrugging and walking away looking for unwary people to deceive.

"Be patient, Praa Sat..." I whisper amused. "This is also part of the charm of this visit." Ruby stares at me with a straight face, wondering if I'm making fun of her, before shaking her head and taking my hand again. "I guess this place looks very different to what you remember..."

"What are you talking about?" my girl asks walking towards the lookout point that's closer to the Great Pyramid where several tourists are taking pics while their guide tries to shoo away the scammers that are still trying to get tips in exchange for everything they can think of.