The Medjai's Keeper

Chapter 3

Aurelia quietly closed the door behind her, steadied her breathing, and looked at Rick with both hands on her hips. 

After a minute of silence passed she sighed, "Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kick your arse."

Rick walked into the beautiful hotel that Aurelia was currently staying in and flopped himself on a comfy leather couch in the little living room, "Because I'm your brother and I almost died today" while shrugging nonchalantly.  

She rolled her eyes and groaned with a hand resting on her forehead, "Why are you such a headache even when I'm a thousand miles away from you!" 

"Well that is how siblings work..." he contorted his face in amusement and crossed his arms.

She shook her head at his stupid remark and rushed past him into the hallway that had a bedroom located on each side with it's own bathroom.  

"The left one's mines and the right's yours" she said without expecting a reply. Entering her room she grabbed her suitcase from the floor and tossed it on the queen size bed. She grumbled noticing she only brought a week worth of clothes. 

Rick stepped inside scanning the room, "Of course you'd get the master's bedroom. Good question why is it that parent's always let you have the bigger room?" He exclaimed.  

"Oh I don't know Rick " She faked confusion, "probably because I asked kindly?" She finished in a duh tone. He let out of a huff. 

Turning back she proceeded folding her clothes, grabbing toiletries and accommodating everything neatly. Rick left for a couple seconds before strolling back purposely to piss his little sister off even more.

"and you give me the guest bedroom?! Geesh sister after what I went through today? I expecte-"

"Rick out now and start packing!" At this point she was getting even more annoyed. 

"Aurie we both know you're all talk but no acti--" that seemed to be was the last straw as she grabbed her pocket knife, turned slightly, and threw it where Rick was standing near the wall and smirked, she noticed a teeny tiny flinch from him. The knife punctured in the wall, a mere centimeter away from his left ear.

He stood frozen for a second in surprise before moving towards her, "Well if you wanted to show off your skills you could have just done it without using me as a prop" then stood in front of her, "Although I see you've greatly improved!"

"No, I didn't. I missed." Now it was Rick's turned to roll his eyes. The tension was finally gone and Aurelia gave him a gentle smile. 

"It was only a joke relax" he placed his hands on her shoulders, she had to tilt her head up since Rick was fairly taller than she was. Standing at only 5'6 she definitely did not stand a chance. The older brother gave her a puzzled look.

"Why that face?" The younger sister asked.

"How old are you again?" 

Now it was her turn to let out a huff, "Seriously now? Geesh after all I've done for yo--"

"Just answer it"

"24"

"Really?" He looked bewildered, "ah that explains the white hairs" 

Aurelia gasped, "oh nooo" she ran into the bathroom, looked in the mirror, squinting like a madman while observing her growing roots. 

After a while she heard some shuffling behind her and saw Rick behind her by the mirror wearing a 'gotcha' smirk. She groaned.  

 "Rick!" She gave him a slap on his upper arm, "Not funny!" He just laughed, seeming to forget how filthy his appearance still was. His hair reached the top of his shoulders and had turned several shades darker, no longer the light chestnut brown hair. Not to mention his face was practically sunburned and covered in dirt. 

She gave him a snarky remark, "seems like prison did ya well don't ya think?" 

Rick looked into the mirror and his eyes went wide, "I look like an actual Neanderthal" he briefly paused, "except a lot more taller." 

Aurelia laughed. She was happy, after all he was safe and now because of that, they were in Evelyn's favor. 

She grabbed a towel from the sink's upper shelf and threw it at Rick. He caught it effortlessly, "Now go take a shower and after you're done I'm going to give that wild hair a much needed trim."

"Fine" he exited towards his room, "but don't mess it up!" He called out. 

"No promises!" She yelled back joyfully. With that last comment she shut her bathroom door and began to undress for the glorious shower.

Taking her blouse off her eyes immediately darted towards the tattoo located on her left upper hip. Her fingers traced the strangle symbol in wonder. The mark was branded on both Rick and Aurelia when they were kids in Cairo's orphanage. 

However once they were adopted by their now-parents and left to commence a better life in England, she didn't give it much thought. 

Yet now that she returned back to Egypt, she wanted to try and figure out what this symbol really meant, and for what reason was it placed on them both. Unlike Rick's, she was lucky the tattoo was placed in a closed-off area so she was able to hide it pretty well. Not that she found the symbol hideous or anything but it was quite embarrassing when people asked for the meaning behind it and she'd no option but to invent a random answer. 

The sound of water running distracted her from her thoughts and so she proceeded to remove the rest of her clothes. Stepping in,  she gasped when freezing droplets made contact with her fair skin. 

Tomorrow Rick and Aurelia would meeting the Carnahans at the river docks, and from there they'll be getting onto a steamboat for the journey. It didn't come to Aurelia's mind to ask what exactly she was getting herself into, she assumed it was going to be fairly simple with zero complications. 

And oh how wrong she was to assume that. 

-----------

Vote? Comment? woooohh woooohh