My chin rested lightly on Aida's head, but inside, I'm glowering. The King
banished my Aida from her own land! The people she nearly died for to
protect! I can tell the decision to let her be the guide was a smart one,
but I can't help but feel the slight tremor of her body. She leans against
me, sighing, then looks at me with a smile. That is not her real, true
smile. The smile she is giving me now is merely an attempt to console
herself, as well as me. Turning my focus back to the river, I gazed in
silence, when I heard Aida singing softly to herself.
"….to corners of my land where there would be," her voice choked. "Sweet southern winds of liberty prevailing. A beauty so majestic and so free." I took her by the shoulders, and buried my face in her hair. A red hot, boiling hatred churned in my stomach. Normally, when I got this feeling, I threw the nearest thing to me across the room. I smiled wryly as I looked down at Aida. I couldn't throw HER across the room. I chuckled slightly to myself. The stop at Nubia had been a spur of the moment surprise for Aida, and had not gone as planned. Then again, nothing had gone as planned as of late.
"Written in the stars….perhaps," I mumbled. Aida turned to me.
"What was that?" she asked lightly. I shook my head and smiled.
"Nothing," I replied, kissing her softly. We stood, kissing in silence for a few minutes, when she pulled back.
"Radames. I'm ready to go home." Home. She meant back to Mereb, and Amneris. She didn't consider Nubia home anymore. I nodded, and directed the ship's captain home.
*****************************~~~~~~~~~~~~~****************************
"Aida! Radames!" Mereb shouted, waving his arms as he ran over to us. "You're back earlier than I thought." Aida and I exchanged a look, and she smiled.
"We couldn't bear to be apart from you for too long," Aida replied with a smile. Mereb grinned, and looked to me.
"I know for a fact that the separation wasn't your excuse," he joked.
"How do you know?" I said. This is how I could deal; joking with Mereb, and seeing Aida smile. Now, with ¾ of our group done…
"Amneris!" Aida called suddenly, a smile lighting her features. We turned, and welcomed Amneris into our little discussion. 4/4, one whole. This was our group. But when Amneris started over, I realized she walked right past us. Puzzled, I glanced at Aida, who looked back, then at Mereb, who shrugged. That wasn't like Amneris, just walking past without a second, or even first, look.
"Well," Mereb said finally, clearing his throat. We stood awkwardly. "How was the trip?"
"Lovely," Aida said. "the weather was spectacular." Mereb smiled and nodded.
"Did you make any stops?" Mereb asked. I froze, and Aida looked apprehensive. Do we tell Mereb about the disastrous Nubia stop? I looked at my wife, who nodded slightly. We couldn't keep Mereb in the dark. We never kept anything from Mereb; he nearly died for us, to protect us.
"We did stop," I said slowly. "At Nubia." At the mention of his homeland, Mereb's eyes lit up.
"Nubia!" he exclaimed. "Let's quit standing around here! Radames? Aida? Can we go back to your place and talk?" Wordlessly, I nodded, and we walked back to my…our…house. Amneris would love to hear this. Throwing a quick look over my shoulder, I froze.
"Brent," I breathed to myself.
"Radames?" Aida worriedly placed a hand on my arm. I smiled reassuringly, and nodded with my head behind us. Mereb and Aida turned, and both jaws dropped visibly. Amneris was striding back toward the palace on the arm of Brent, my second in command. The expression on Mereb's face was comical, but it was Aida's expression that surprised me…smug satisfaction. Aida is the most modest person I know, and that look made me nervous.
"Aida, what are you so smug about?" I asked her. Mereb looked at her, obviously thinking the same thing. Aida just laughed.
"I saw her with that man on the day of the wedding. I asked her about it, but she changed the subject," Aida said with a slow smile. We laughed about this for a bit, but I was pleased. The cocky-Radames in me was pleased she'd gotten over me, and the rational-Radames was pleased that she'd found love…or at least I hoped it was love.
"Yes, we'll get back to Amneris' love life later. Now tell me about Nubia!" Mereb said urgently. My smile faded. I embraced the Amneris distraction, and now it passed, and we had to face telling the truth to Mereb.
"Aida? Would you rather…?" my voice trailed. Pain flashed through her eyes, but she nodded.
"I'll lay it out straight, Mereb," Aida said. "And I'll explain later." Mereb nodded, clearly confused. "I'm banished from Nubia," she said in a rush. Mereb shot up.
"WHAT!!??" He shouted, eyes widening with shock. "Aida, Radames, this had better be some kind of twisted joke." He took one look at our faces, and paled visibly beneath his dark complexion. "You…you're not joking," he whispered hoarsely. Aida's eyes filled with rare tears, and she shook her head. Blinking back my own rare tears, I put my arms around Aida and kissed her cheek, as though it would make everything better.
"I'm not joking, Mereb," she whispered. "Gods, I wish I were. We stopped at Nubia, and came in contact with my father. He seemingly understood my marriage to Radames, and then…he just…" she sank against me, stifling a moan, recollecting the events of the past few days. Mereb was shaking, almost uncontrollably. My hand went out to soothe him, but it too shook. Mereb took a deep breath, and let it out.
"Well," he said softly. "This is the last thing I expected. We looked to you, Aida, for guidance, to have a leader." Aida nodded dully. "This won't be taken well with the Nubians." Another nod from Aida.
"Suppose we don't tell them," Aida said hopefully. "This won't get out to anyone except you and Radames…" Suddenly, the door burst open, and Amneris stood there, grinning from ear to ear.
"Aida! Radames! Guess what…" her beaming expression faded as the three of us turned to face her. "Oh, gods…what happened? Aida?" she looked worriedly at her friend, who offered her most confident smile.
"Amneris, come in. don't just stand in the doorway," Aida said hospitably. Cautiously, Amneris stepped in, and took a seat. She cast her eyes around at us, clearly registering each face.
"Something happened," she stated quietly. Mereb, Aida, and I looked at each other. Tell her? I locked eyes with Mereb, who nodded subtly to Aida. I got the message. Let Aida speak if she wants. We looked at Aida, who was visibly having a self-combat. Finally, she glanced up, dark eyes glittering with emotion.
"Amneris, Egypt is my home. I've no other place to turn to…" As Amneris tipped her head to one side, Aida shook her head. "that's not right…Amneris, Radames and I stopped at Nubia on our trip."
"Well, that's wonderful!" Amneris exclaimed. "There is a catch, isn't there?" Aida nodded.
"We met my father, who wasn't a big fan of my marrying Radames."
"That's understandable," Amneris commented lightly. My taut nerves snapped.
"Let her talk, alright?" I said, more sharply than intended. Mereb jumped, and Amneris looked hurt. Then…Aida fixed me IT. The Glare. The look that makes me stop in my tracks. "Sorry," I said, subdued. How a woman could change a whole man's attitude in a second is almost shaming. That's Aida.
"My father slightly accepted the fact that I married Radames, but only under one condition. That I'd never set foot on Nubia territory," Aida said plainly, as though the concept had finally set in. "Might as well. When I was a slave, I was sure I'd never see my homeland again. I'll pretend it's like that."
"It's going to be hard, Aida," Mereb said pointedly. "Number one, you're married. Number two, you're married to the captain of the Egyptian army." Aida smiled and nodded, and rested her head on the crook of my arm.
"Amneris? Mereb? Could we have some time alone?" I asked. The two nodded, but Aida put a hand on my chest.
"Wait. Amneris, did you have something to tell us?" Immediately, Amneris grinned, and nodded.
"I'm getting married!" she exploded gleefully. Aida flew out of her chair and embraced Amneris.
"It IS the soldier from my wedding!" Aida nearly shouted. "Amneris, this is wonderful! What's his name?"
"Brent," I responded from my seat, smiling at Amneris. "He's my second in command. Strong, loyal, kind. You couldn't have picked better, Amneris." Amneris' eyes lit up.
"You think so?" she smiled at me.
"I know so," I assured her. Then it occurred to me that Brent would be Pharaoh. He couldn't be in my army anymore. I secretly mourned the loss of a great soldier, but embraced a great Pharaoh. I watched Aida congratulate Amneris, and say good-bye to Mereb. The two shuffled out, leaving me with my wife.
"That was really sweet what you said to Amneris," Aida told me, smiling. I shrugged, and patted the seat next to me. Aida sat, and snuggled under my arm. I kissed her head gently, holding her as though she'd break at anytime.
"Aida," I began. "Do you understand how incredible our relationship is?" she looked puzzled, then smiled.
"I know how incredible YOU are, Radames," she replied softly, linking her fingers through mine.
"Really. It's been nearly 3 weeks since we met. THREE WEEKS, Aida! And look what's happened," I laughed, and counted on my fingers. "I captured you, fell in love with you, met secretly with you…several times…, gave away all my possessions to the Nubians for you, got sentenced to life under the sands, came to the brink of death, was released by Amneris, and…"
"Got married to you, and got banished from my own homeland," Aida finished with a smile. "Quite a life we've had so far, Ra-mes." I leaned in to capture her lips with mine. Now, there's a part of Aida I could always capture. Her heart
"And it's only the beginning, my Eeda," I whispered.
"….to corners of my land where there would be," her voice choked. "Sweet southern winds of liberty prevailing. A beauty so majestic and so free." I took her by the shoulders, and buried my face in her hair. A red hot, boiling hatred churned in my stomach. Normally, when I got this feeling, I threw the nearest thing to me across the room. I smiled wryly as I looked down at Aida. I couldn't throw HER across the room. I chuckled slightly to myself. The stop at Nubia had been a spur of the moment surprise for Aida, and had not gone as planned. Then again, nothing had gone as planned as of late.
"Written in the stars….perhaps," I mumbled. Aida turned to me.
"What was that?" she asked lightly. I shook my head and smiled.
"Nothing," I replied, kissing her softly. We stood, kissing in silence for a few minutes, when she pulled back.
"Radames. I'm ready to go home." Home. She meant back to Mereb, and Amneris. She didn't consider Nubia home anymore. I nodded, and directed the ship's captain home.
*****************************~~~~~~~~~~~~~****************************
"Aida! Radames!" Mereb shouted, waving his arms as he ran over to us. "You're back earlier than I thought." Aida and I exchanged a look, and she smiled.
"We couldn't bear to be apart from you for too long," Aida replied with a smile. Mereb grinned, and looked to me.
"I know for a fact that the separation wasn't your excuse," he joked.
"How do you know?" I said. This is how I could deal; joking with Mereb, and seeing Aida smile. Now, with ¾ of our group done…
"Amneris!" Aida called suddenly, a smile lighting her features. We turned, and welcomed Amneris into our little discussion. 4/4, one whole. This was our group. But when Amneris started over, I realized she walked right past us. Puzzled, I glanced at Aida, who looked back, then at Mereb, who shrugged. That wasn't like Amneris, just walking past without a second, or even first, look.
"Well," Mereb said finally, clearing his throat. We stood awkwardly. "How was the trip?"
"Lovely," Aida said. "the weather was spectacular." Mereb smiled and nodded.
"Did you make any stops?" Mereb asked. I froze, and Aida looked apprehensive. Do we tell Mereb about the disastrous Nubia stop? I looked at my wife, who nodded slightly. We couldn't keep Mereb in the dark. We never kept anything from Mereb; he nearly died for us, to protect us.
"We did stop," I said slowly. "At Nubia." At the mention of his homeland, Mereb's eyes lit up.
"Nubia!" he exclaimed. "Let's quit standing around here! Radames? Aida? Can we go back to your place and talk?" Wordlessly, I nodded, and we walked back to my…our…house. Amneris would love to hear this. Throwing a quick look over my shoulder, I froze.
"Brent," I breathed to myself.
"Radames?" Aida worriedly placed a hand on my arm. I smiled reassuringly, and nodded with my head behind us. Mereb and Aida turned, and both jaws dropped visibly. Amneris was striding back toward the palace on the arm of Brent, my second in command. The expression on Mereb's face was comical, but it was Aida's expression that surprised me…smug satisfaction. Aida is the most modest person I know, and that look made me nervous.
"Aida, what are you so smug about?" I asked her. Mereb looked at her, obviously thinking the same thing. Aida just laughed.
"I saw her with that man on the day of the wedding. I asked her about it, but she changed the subject," Aida said with a slow smile. We laughed about this for a bit, but I was pleased. The cocky-Radames in me was pleased she'd gotten over me, and the rational-Radames was pleased that she'd found love…or at least I hoped it was love.
"Yes, we'll get back to Amneris' love life later. Now tell me about Nubia!" Mereb said urgently. My smile faded. I embraced the Amneris distraction, and now it passed, and we had to face telling the truth to Mereb.
"Aida? Would you rather…?" my voice trailed. Pain flashed through her eyes, but she nodded.
"I'll lay it out straight, Mereb," Aida said. "And I'll explain later." Mereb nodded, clearly confused. "I'm banished from Nubia," she said in a rush. Mereb shot up.
"WHAT!!??" He shouted, eyes widening with shock. "Aida, Radames, this had better be some kind of twisted joke." He took one look at our faces, and paled visibly beneath his dark complexion. "You…you're not joking," he whispered hoarsely. Aida's eyes filled with rare tears, and she shook her head. Blinking back my own rare tears, I put my arms around Aida and kissed her cheek, as though it would make everything better.
"I'm not joking, Mereb," she whispered. "Gods, I wish I were. We stopped at Nubia, and came in contact with my father. He seemingly understood my marriage to Radames, and then…he just…" she sank against me, stifling a moan, recollecting the events of the past few days. Mereb was shaking, almost uncontrollably. My hand went out to soothe him, but it too shook. Mereb took a deep breath, and let it out.
"Well," he said softly. "This is the last thing I expected. We looked to you, Aida, for guidance, to have a leader." Aida nodded dully. "This won't be taken well with the Nubians." Another nod from Aida.
"Suppose we don't tell them," Aida said hopefully. "This won't get out to anyone except you and Radames…" Suddenly, the door burst open, and Amneris stood there, grinning from ear to ear.
"Aida! Radames! Guess what…" her beaming expression faded as the three of us turned to face her. "Oh, gods…what happened? Aida?" she looked worriedly at her friend, who offered her most confident smile.
"Amneris, come in. don't just stand in the doorway," Aida said hospitably. Cautiously, Amneris stepped in, and took a seat. She cast her eyes around at us, clearly registering each face.
"Something happened," she stated quietly. Mereb, Aida, and I looked at each other. Tell her? I locked eyes with Mereb, who nodded subtly to Aida. I got the message. Let Aida speak if she wants. We looked at Aida, who was visibly having a self-combat. Finally, she glanced up, dark eyes glittering with emotion.
"Amneris, Egypt is my home. I've no other place to turn to…" As Amneris tipped her head to one side, Aida shook her head. "that's not right…Amneris, Radames and I stopped at Nubia on our trip."
"Well, that's wonderful!" Amneris exclaimed. "There is a catch, isn't there?" Aida nodded.
"We met my father, who wasn't a big fan of my marrying Radames."
"That's understandable," Amneris commented lightly. My taut nerves snapped.
"Let her talk, alright?" I said, more sharply than intended. Mereb jumped, and Amneris looked hurt. Then…Aida fixed me IT. The Glare. The look that makes me stop in my tracks. "Sorry," I said, subdued. How a woman could change a whole man's attitude in a second is almost shaming. That's Aida.
"My father slightly accepted the fact that I married Radames, but only under one condition. That I'd never set foot on Nubia territory," Aida said plainly, as though the concept had finally set in. "Might as well. When I was a slave, I was sure I'd never see my homeland again. I'll pretend it's like that."
"It's going to be hard, Aida," Mereb said pointedly. "Number one, you're married. Number two, you're married to the captain of the Egyptian army." Aida smiled and nodded, and rested her head on the crook of my arm.
"Amneris? Mereb? Could we have some time alone?" I asked. The two nodded, but Aida put a hand on my chest.
"Wait. Amneris, did you have something to tell us?" Immediately, Amneris grinned, and nodded.
"I'm getting married!" she exploded gleefully. Aida flew out of her chair and embraced Amneris.
"It IS the soldier from my wedding!" Aida nearly shouted. "Amneris, this is wonderful! What's his name?"
"Brent," I responded from my seat, smiling at Amneris. "He's my second in command. Strong, loyal, kind. You couldn't have picked better, Amneris." Amneris' eyes lit up.
"You think so?" she smiled at me.
"I know so," I assured her. Then it occurred to me that Brent would be Pharaoh. He couldn't be in my army anymore. I secretly mourned the loss of a great soldier, but embraced a great Pharaoh. I watched Aida congratulate Amneris, and say good-bye to Mereb. The two shuffled out, leaving me with my wife.
"That was really sweet what you said to Amneris," Aida told me, smiling. I shrugged, and patted the seat next to me. Aida sat, and snuggled under my arm. I kissed her head gently, holding her as though she'd break at anytime.
"Aida," I began. "Do you understand how incredible our relationship is?" she looked puzzled, then smiled.
"I know how incredible YOU are, Radames," she replied softly, linking her fingers through mine.
"Really. It's been nearly 3 weeks since we met. THREE WEEKS, Aida! And look what's happened," I laughed, and counted on my fingers. "I captured you, fell in love with you, met secretly with you…several times…, gave away all my possessions to the Nubians for you, got sentenced to life under the sands, came to the brink of death, was released by Amneris, and…"
"Got married to you, and got banished from my own homeland," Aida finished with a smile. "Quite a life we've had so far, Ra-mes." I leaned in to capture her lips with mine. Now, there's a part of Aida I could always capture. Her heart
"And it's only the beginning, my Eeda," I whispered.