[◈] Curse of the High Priestess

1 | 1 ⌋ 1923

Hamunaptra, City of the Dead, 1923

The dust rose from the ground as noble steeds trampled against the Earth at high speed, dominated by the men riding them.

The French Foreign Legion hid behind a small wall that bordered Hamunaptra, also known as the City of the Dead, home to the curse and its creator. Their guns pointed at the Taurags, a group of men who the Medjai considered pests. At first sight, it seems as if the French Legion is protecting the city - that's how Nadia Bay, a sixteen-year-old Medjai, perceived the battle. Hasina, her older sister, sat by their brother as their men were perched on their horses, watching the fight below.

"Can we not give them aid?" Nadia asked, her face covered by a black scarf. Then, the esteemed leader of the Legion parted from his men on horseback. "Malik, go get him. Make sure he doesn't leave," Nadia heard the desert soldier leave to complete his task. Ardeth looked at his young sister, "No one must know of this city - even that coward of a man."

Hasina never kept her eyes off of the Legion. She smiled as they shot down Taureg's first line of defense. "Idiots." She commented, calming her horse as it whined against the heat. She looked over at her younger sister, who sulked that she had misread the situation."There goes another one." Hasina points out a petite yet skinny man running from the battle while the others remain under the control of his friend. "Cowardice is evident today."

Before long, the Tuaregs used their words against the legionnaire when the bullets ran out. But unfortunately, the dust prevented the Medjai from seeing all the deaths. Still, the latter never seemed to quit until it eventually came down to one man in the Legion - he was the only one wearing a brown jacket while his men disposed of the cloth rather quickly because of the fierce desert heat.

"What do you think, brother?" Hasina joked. "Good enough to be a Medjai? He could probably take your place one day. The others laughed, as did Ardeth. "He has the strength but is fighting for the wrong side." Her friend, Ashur, spoke.

The man ran away from the enemies the minute he wasted all his bullets. He ran towards the entrance of the temple, signaling his small friend to hide. Hasina watched as the little man cowered again, leaving his comrade to die at the hands of the desert men. The survivor ran as fast as he could, dodging the enemy's bullets until the Tuaregs outnumbered him, 5-to-1. Hasina gasped, seeing the man stop in front of the Anubis statue. "Ardeth-"

"I know, Hasina." They knew what lay at the base of the figure.

The five horses that belonged to the Tuaregs began to panic, causing their patrons to pull away and run. The French man stayed where he was, looking back at the statue. The Medjai watched as he began to move out in fear; the sand started to move around him until a face appeared and howled at the sky. Cold air surrounded Hasina as it disappeared into the sand, but she thought nothing of it. "The curse remains hidden," Nadia spoke joyfully.

The Frenchman began to run towards the desert, looking back at the city before noticing the Medjai on the cliff. Hasina smirked, glad for the outcome of a sole survivor - less energy wasted. "Shall we kill him, Chief?" One of the men asks Ardeth, but he isn't the one who answers.

"No," Hasina watches the man disappear into the golden Earth. "Let the desert claim him. I'm sure the scorpions long for a fresh meal." She turns her horse around and races home, her family and tribe not far behind. Once they reach their homes, everyone parts to their own families. Hasina enters her tent, followed by her sister.

"Why did you let him live?"

"As I said, the desert will get to him before he reaches Cairo. If not, no one will believe the words of a man who's had too much sun. He will not matter to society." The twenty-year-old said.