𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑷𝑬𝑻𝑶𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑨 - Ardeth Bay

seven

Children ran around the village, a joyful atmosphere surrounding the place. Tiye found a group of women and asked them for clothing. The women took pity on Evelyn and Tiye, dressing them in beautiful traditional desert wear. Evelyn wore a mesh black dress with a black sand mask. Tiye wore a similar outfit to Evelyn but the material was a pure white with sliver embroidery. The two historians thanked the village women for their generosity and left the tent to find the men.

"Awfully." Rick mumbled as the two women approached him, his eyes never leaving Evelyns. Everyone quickly mounted the camels and continued their adventure through the desert.

"Never did like camels." Jonathan complained, breaking the silence that had overcome the group. "Filthy buggers. They smell, they bite, they spit. Disgusting."

"I think they're adorable." Evelyn replied, patting her camels head. Tiye nodded her head in agreement, stroking her camels ear. The warden began to sing in Arabic, his voice loud and overwhelming.

Most of the rest of the journey was spent in silence, the sun quickly falling behind the horizon. Tiye felt her eye lids go heavy, the need for sleep fogging her mind. It was not long until she fell asleep, memories from the boat replaying over and over again, a never-ending dream.

•~•

The sun had barely rose but everyone had woken up, the sight of the American group causing Tiye to grumble with annoyance.

"Good morning, my friend." Beni greeted the group.

"What the hell we doing?" One of the Americans asked as everyone lined up facing the empty desert.

"Patience, my good barátom. Patience." Beni replied.

"Remember our bet, O'Connell. First one to the city, 500 cash bucks." An American stated, glancing over at the opposing team. "A hundred is yours if you help us win that bet."

"Hey, O'Connell. Nice camel." Beni mocked.

"Get ready for it." Rick announced to the two women.

"For what?" Evelyn and Tiye questioned at the same time.

"We're about to be shown the way." Rick stared ahead causing the women to follow his stare. As the sun rose over the horizon a city began to appear in the distance. Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead.

"Here we go again." Rick sighed. Everyone immediately kicked their camels and horses and rode of to the lost city. Tiye rode slightly behind Rick and Evelyn, a grin coating her face as she watched the small exchange of looks between the two. She knew there were feelings between them that they both probably would never admit to each other. Suddenly, Evelyns camel grunted and shot off ahead of everyone else.

"Whoo-hoo! Go, Evy! Go!" Jonathan cheered on his sister enthusiastically.

Once they had all made it to the city, they began to set up far away from the main entrance where the Americans have dominated.

"That's the statue of Anubis." Evelyn pointed to a statue as she and Tiye tried to move the ancient mirrors to get it perfect. "Its legs go deep underground. According to Bembridge scholars, that's were we'llfind a secret compartment containing the golden book of Amun-Ra."

"Jonathan, your meant to catch the sun with that." Tiye sighed as she watched Jonathan do everything but catch the sun. "No, like this."

"That's what I was doing." Jonathan complained, watching as she fixed it so it worked.

"No, it was not. Now if you will excuse me, I have to talk to your sister." Tiye smiled at Jonathan and wandered over to the younger Carnahan. "I saw that."

"He was just giving me some tools." Evelyn tried to justify the act of kindness Rick had shown.

"Uh-huh, and I am a walking mummy. That was more than kindness, and I know you know it." Tiye smirked before turning around and watching as Rick grabbed the rope tied to a pillar and climbed down into the old tombs below.

"Hey, look for bugs!" The warden called down to Rick. "I hate bugs."

Evelyn went next down the rope, Rick catching her at the bottom to make sure she did not fall over. Tiye went next, holding her dress as much as she could go make sure she did not flash anyone. Rick helped her catch her footing before standing back next to Evelyn.