Sandstorm {Discontinued}{Rewritten}

11. Love Poem and Training/Mental Illness

Warning: Graphic scene concerning self harm towards the end of the chapter

"Concentrate, Kendra," Carter said patiently. "You know how to read the inscription...At least you use to."

They were standing in the bridge next to the console, now. For half an hour they had been working, trying to unlock the priestess's memories. He'd tried visual shocks, telling her stories, hoping they would help. But so far, nothing seemed to be working.

"Yeah," Kendra huffed in frustration. "Well, my hieroglyphics is a little rusty."

"Lapidary hieratic, actually," Gideon pipped up, "an ancient language lost to the ages."

Kendra ignored the talking computer. She, instead, looked at her soul mate. "Don't you know how to read it?"

Carter shrugged. "It was a language known only to the clergy."

Gideon spoke again, trying to be helpful. "If we only had a Rosetta Stone, I might be able to --"

"Well," Carter said, cutting the AI off, nodding at Kendra. "You are our Rosetta Stone."
She sighed, frustrated, as he walked closer to her.

"Just close your eyes," he told her. "Think of it as meditation. Relax. Open your mind."

Kendra eyed him suspiciously. "You're getting this from that one life where you were a yoga instructor aren't you?"

"...Maybe," he said.

She smirked, rolling her eyes. But she did close them after a moment, breathing slowly. Carter spoke, hoping this would help even a little. "In order for you to remember how to kill Savage, I need you to let your mind float...back through your hundreds of previous lives."

Slowly, he moved behind her, carefully touching her shoulders so he didn't spook her. "You're name is Chay-Ara," he said quietly. "And you're a priestess in the temple of Horus."

For a moment she stood perfectly still, and he could tell that something must have been happening in her mind. Her breathing started picking up a little. She moved away, turning to face him with a gasp.

"What?" he asked, worried. "What did you see?"

"Us," she breathed. "We were together. Like...together together." The way she said it reminded him the way a grade school kid might tell someone they had a crush on them by saying "I like like you." Though, it occured to him that she wasn't really talking about romance. She was speaking more erotically.

"Oh," he muttered awkwardly. She stared back at him, a small blush forming on her cheeks. He thought she looked absolutely adorable that way...her hair falling over her face as she turned her gaze to the floor, the way her hand gently reached up to brush it back again.

For a moment he just watched her, marveling at her beauty. In each life time she always looked a little different, whether it be something about her hair or the color of her eyes, but each time he found her to be absolutely stunning. In this life he hair was a lighter shade of brown than it had been in previous lives, but it still took his breath away. The curls were enchanting. And the way her body curved was enticing.

Of course, her body wasn't the only thing he cared about. She was also the kindest soul he had ever met. She was generous and loving, even to people she had just met. She hated to see another suffer, hated bullying and bigotry. (Not to mention she was a total bad ass on the battle field, if not just a little clumsy.) In this life time they hadn't met until two months ago, but he could already feel his heart yearning for her, longing to be by her side wherever she was. (But only if she wanted him to be.)