Oracle's Vision: The Mummy

WingedHybrid

Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

Epilogue

Hana O'Connell gazed out the window of her hotel room that looked the city of Cairo. Not long ago, the entire city had been burnt by falling flames and plagued by warts and boils. It amazed her how quickly the people of Egypt had begun the renovations of the buildings, and how they had overcome the horror of being possessed. As she sat there now, she could she the scaffolding on the prison walls.

It had been seven days since Jonathan had read from the Book of Amun-Ra to put the mummy, Imhotep, down, back to the underworld; seven days since they'd last been at Hamunaptra. Seven days since she'd last seen Ardeth Bay.

Her heartbeat increased, pounding in her ears, at the mere mention of his name. It frustrated her.

They had been through so much and he had just walked away, back to his home village, leaving her feeling alone and abandoned. She knew it was stupid. They barely knew each other but she couldn't stop how she felt about him. What really saddened her was he'd probably already forgotten about her.

She shook her head, searching for a happier topic to consume her thoughts.

Tomorrow, she would be travelling to England, back to the Carnahan family home. Hana had never left Egypt in her life, except for that one time when her Father had taken her and Rick to America before he had died. She could miss Cairo and the children she worked with but she was glad to be leaving. She needed to get away from the nightmare of the pass week.

Behind her, Hana heard the door to her small room open and close, with a mellow click. She didn't react, didn't even turn around – it was probably Rick, she reasoned. The two stayed silent, neither moving. Eyes bored into the back of her skull and her hair stood on end.

"What do you want Rick?" she finally sighed, reaching to rub the back of her neck, warming it up.

"I am not your brother."

She tensed at the deep, rumbling, familiar voice that made her heart flutter, her stomach churn and her face heat up. The voice…she knew it so well. Slowly, as if not quite believing he would be there, in her room, she turned and met the dark brown eyes that she couldn't help losing herself in.

Ardeth Bay stared into her blue eyes; eyes that he could have sworn he'd seen everywhere since his departure. He had heard from his men in Cairo that the O'Connell's would be leaving that week for England and he knew he had to see her. Their last encounter had left him feeling confused and guilty – he needed to sort his thoughts out and most centred on her.

"A-Ardeth?" His name left her lips in a breath.

"Hana…it is good to see you again."

Her heart skipped a beat. "So…wha-what are you going here? Shouldn't you, I don't know, be in your village – not that I don't want you here!"

Ardeth chuckled. "I am glad…I wished to talk to you before you travel…"

She inclined her head. "Talk? About what?"

"I wished to apologise for…for my actions back at Hamunaptra. I was forward, lost in the moment. I should never have let it happen."

Hana was certain she could hear her heart breaking, the pieces getting smaller and smaller with every word. Tears stung the back of her eyes and she blinked quickly to suppress them. He…regretted it? But the Medjai Chieftain didn't seem to realise her pain, just continued to talk.

"It was impulsive and very irresponsible of me. I hope I did not offend you in anyway because of my lack of control. I seek your forgiveness."

There was silence between them before Hana, finally, managed to stand on shaking legs. She took in an uneven breath before saying two words she never expected she'd say, much less to Ardeth Bay:

"Get out."

He appeared confused. "Excuse me?"

"You've been forgiven. Now get out." She answered coldly, turning her head back to the window when she felt a tear slide down her cheeks. He apologised…for kissing her. 'It should never have happened' he'd said.

Now she knew just how stupid she was.

The Medjai didn't move from his place.

"Is something wrong with your ears? I told you to get out." She snapped, not even turning to face him.

And still he didn't move. Instead he spoke: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just go away." She sniffed quietly.

Hana raised her head to watch their reflection, expecting to see the back of the Medjai heading out the door. Instead, she found herself gasping when their eyes locked in the glass. More silent tears stained her tanned cheeks.

"Nobody cries for no reason." Ardeth stated and swept towards her. She shivered at his body barely an inch behind her. "Tell me what is wrong."

She didn't want to say. Didn't want to embarrass herself anymore than she already had. She could feel the words at the back of her throat and didn't have enough time to stop them.

"You apologised."

He looked even more confused than before. "You're…you're upset because I apologised? I'm not sure I understand, isn't that what you wanted?"

"I'm crying! Does that seem like this is what I wanted?" she snapped, turning around, before sighing, "…you apologised for kissing me…"

"I'm still not sure what you mean…" Ardeth shook his head, "I thought you would want an apology…after…you didn't say anything…I thought I'd offended you, I…"

"Well, you didn't. I just…you didn't say anything either. As it's obviously not I wanted, how…how do you feel about it?"

Ardeth didn't answer, just stared at the younger women as if entranced. To him, she looked all the more enchanting when red with embarrassment. He couldn't seem to gather words to speak.

Hana turned a darker red. "Ah, never mind…it was a stupid question. That was…uh…" she trailed off breathless when the Medjai stepped forward and cradled her cheeks between the palms of his calloused hands. She looked up at him from under her long eyelashes.

He let out a deep breath and stroked her cheekbones lightly with the side of his thumb. Her eyelids fluttered as her lips parted. Ardeth moved closer, dipping downwards, pausing when his face was an inch above her own. She stared at him, anticipating.

The kiss they shared was simple, sweet. It left both breathless and desperate for more. Fumbling, Hana grabbed at his thick black robes, her knuckles turning white as she struggled to remove the space between them. Her head was spinning, light-headed – she couldn't quite believe this was happening…

She gasped as Ardeth's hands left her face and bunched up the fabric at her waist, dragging her closer. The temperature of the encounter heightened; the kiss deepened as their tongues battled.

She whimpered quietly as a knock caused them to pull apart. They didn't lax their grip.

"Hana…" Rick's voice filtered through the wooden door, "I want to talk to you about something…"

"I…" she cleared her throat and spoke louder, "One minute! I'm not decent!" she turned back to the Medjai, her voice dropping to a whisper, "You must leave. My brother isn't impressed with you at the moment."

Hana relinquished her grip to rush to the window, clicking the latch open. She welcomed the heat of the Egyptian weather. She watched, feeling both light-hearted and saddened, as Ardeth swept to the window. He put his foot on the window sill before stopping, looking thoughtful for a moment. Dropping his gaze to his hand, he gently removed one of the rings that rested on his index finger. He held it out to her.

"Here…take it…" he ordered softly.

She accepted, gazing at it with wide eyes. "What is it?"

He gave her a smile. "The Bay family crest. A promise that we will, once again, meet."

Ardeth gave her one last sizzling kiss before he disappeared down the side of the building. She wanted to watch him but knew she didn't have the time so, slipping the ring onto her finger, she approached the door, opening it quickly, revealing her suspicious looking brother.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, glancing around the room as he entered.

"Never better." Hana admitted, unable to keep the smile off her face.