Chapter 5

Elizabeth was in awe of the recent events of the evening and felt like reality had slipped away, leaving a very bizarre dream. They had galloped away from her camp into the darkness of the desert, and she had no idea which direction they were going. They weren't galloping hard, more of a leisurely gallop, which she was thankful for. Riding side-saddle without the saddle wasn't easy, but the strong bandit held her firmly in place. The horror stories she'd heard about the desert bandits made her tremble slightly in fear as her imagination went wild. She tried to make conversation, to gain some knowledge of her immediate future.

"So, what are you going to do with me?" she asked nervously. She didn't dare look at him, for fear of his answer.

He guessed her concerns as his deep voice answered her. "I will do what I have said. We ride to deliver the horses to their destination, and then we shall return you to Cairo."

Elizabeth couldn't quite believe him. "You're not going to...well....don't bandits usually...." She looked at him now, unable to finish her question.

Ardeth looked down into her face and saw the fear there. "We are not bandits of the desert, though they do exist. We are warriors of the Medjai, an ancient tribe of guards to the pharaohs of long ago. You can trust us, for we are honorable. We will deliver the horses to my village and return you to your countrymen."

"But..." she tried to ask another question but Ardeth interrupted her.

"Sh. No more talk now. Later, we will talk."

"Do you at least have a name?" she inquired.

Ardeth's eyebrows lifted in amazement. He had just given her an order and she disregarded it. Strangely, he found himself amused by it, not angered.

Elizabeth stared into his eyes, waiting for him to answer, but none ever came. She sighed and turned back around to face the desert in front of her. Her thoughts began to turn to another subject, when she heard his low voice finally answer her.

"My name is Ardeth Bay."

Keeping her face forward, she returned the favour. "I am Elizabeth."

The wind, for once, blew gently as they rode on through the night. A couple of hours later, Ardeth finally called a halt.

"We will make camp here for the night."

He dismounted first and then put his hands on Elizabeth's waist to help her down. When her feet were firmly on the sand, Ardeth didn't let go of her right away. She looked up into his eyes as he stared down at her, confused by what she saw. There was a look of wonder and almost....desire, blazing in his dark eyes. Elizabeth looked away quickly, wondering if she was mistaken. He removed his hands as another warrior came and took Ardeth's horse away. He walked over to give some orders to his men, leaving her alone for the moment. She looked out in every direction of the desert, thinking she could possibly escape these warriors, but as she saw the endless dunes in the moonlight, she realized it would be foolish to attempt it.

The camp was set up quickly, merely bedrolls stretched out in a circle on the sand. They wouldn't light a fire for fear of attracting real bandits, and they had worked too hard to regain the precious horses. Ardeth set one warrior to take the first watch as the men settled down to sleep. He then looked at his captive, watching her as she stared out across the sand. He frowned, telling himself she couldn't possibly be thinking about escape. But just to be sure.....

"Elizabeth."

She jumped as he called out her name. She turned to see him standing by his bedroll.

"Come here," he commanded.

She made no move but watched him as he removed his scimitars and laid them by the makeshift bed. Suddenly, she was very wary of his intentions.

He looked up and saw she hadn't moved. This woman truly amazed him! Her subtle defiance was unlike anything he had ever encountered before. It wasn't an obstinate, angry rebellion to authority. It was like a child, testing the parent to see if they meant what they said. "Come....here," he said, accenting both words pointedly.

She moved slowly towards him, with distrust in her eyes that hadn't been there before. He sighed inwardly as he realized she misjudged his intentions once again. She moved towards him until she was two steps away from him, then she stopped.

"Lie down," he commanded gently, as he pointed to the bedroll.

Elizabeth closed her eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them again and, with her head held high, she crossed to the spot he pointed to and laid down on the bedroll. She refused to look at him, so she rolled over on her side, with her back to him. Ardeth smiled at the aloofness she was trying so hard to maintain. He glanced around the camp one last time to make sure everything was in order, then he got down on the bedroll next to his captive, pulled the blanket up and over both of them and laid down on the ground.

Elizabeth's heart pounded as she felt him lie next to her. She waited a few more minutes to see what would happen, but the warrior was still. She had just started to relax her tense muscles, when she felt him roll over. Suddenly, one of his strong arms came around her waist. She began trembling in fear, as she thought her worst nightmares were about to come true.

Ardeth felt her tense as his arm went around her, and he could feel her breathing in short, shallow breaths. He knew exactly what she was thinking. "I told you, you have nothing to fear from the Medjai, including myself. I will not take from a woman what is not given to me willingly. But I cannot have you trying to escape. I do not think you would be so unwise as to attempt it, but I have noticed that you are stubborn. So I keep you close to me until we ride out in the morning."

His voice was soft in her ear and she could feel his chest rumble against her back as he spoke. She wanted to believe him. He sounded sincere and she was exhausted from the long day of events.

She didn't answer him, but her trembling eased up and finally stopped. He felt her body relax against him as her breathing settled to the even rhythm of sleep. Ardeth closed his eyes but couldn't fall asleep as fast as he usually could. He could still see her in his mind's eye, bathing in the pool, the water sliding over her smooth, pale skin, and now, she was here in his arms. But she was not his to do with as he pleased, like the local harlots. She was not even his race. She was a foreigner from a despised country. The English fed their economy, with their wealthy travelers, but they were not well tolerated. Besides, he had promised to return her to her people after he saw to the safety of his people. But it would take three days to reach his village. He would have three days with her.

The temperature dropped sharply as the wind picked up. Ardeth had chosen to settle behind a dune to shelter them from the wind, but the cold he could do nothing about. He felt his captive trembling again and thought she had awakened. He lifted his head up to look at her face and saw she was still asleep. He realized she was shivering and noticed that her robe was of very thin material, not suitable for the harshness of the desert nights, and he knew she wore nothing underneath it. He pulled the blanket up around her shoulders and gently pulled her tightly against him, to absorb as much of his body heat as she could. She moved suddenly, and he was afraid he had awakened her. He felt her trying to move, so he loosened his hold on her to see what she wanted. He waited patiently while she rolled all the way over, so that now she was facing him, and she cuddled herself against his chest, her hands unconsciously clutching the material of his black robes. Her face was against his neck, her head fitting into the hollow between his shoulder and jaw as she slept. He brought his arm back down around her, holding her tightly against him as he closed his eyes. But it was a long time before he was able to sleep.