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Second Chances

A sequel to Hope For The Future
By Ladybug


Chapter 9

The past six weeks for Emma had been the best time between her and Ardeth in three years. He was back to full strength and though he suffered a little from cabin fever and he needed to get back to his duties, he had chosen to remain with Emma rebuilding their marriage. It was a wonderful time for them both, only the secret she kept from Ardeth of Joseph being in London tinged her being completely happy.

Up till now, Ardeth had barely mentioned their son. He trusted that their son was being well provided for by Amina and Emma hadn’t bothered to correct this assumption. Emma winced at the familiar twinge of guilt that always flooded her when she thought of it. She should have told Ardeth long ago that Rick had taken Joseph with him when he had returned to London, but she had been selfish, not wanting to loose the closeness that had built up between them again and now, well now, it was too late. She still needed to tell him, before he found out some other way, but either way, he would be furious with her. She just hoped that their newfound closeness would be enough for him to forgive her for going against his wishes.

Ardeth sat in a chair in the front room of his home talking with Abdul. It was time for him to return to his duties as the Med-jai chieftain and Abdul was updating him on the latest happenings. For the most part, things had been quiet. Abdul told Ardeth that they did have one raid on Hamanaptra when a group of diggers showed up, but other than that, it had remained fairly quiet.

“Anything else I need to know, Abdul?” Ardeth asked standing up.

“No Sayadi,” Abdul answered also standing.

“Good, then I will return to my duties in the morning,” he informed Abdul. “Have the men gathered early, I want to address them and express my thanks for their obedience in my absence.”

Abdul nodded, “There is no need, Sayadi. Their obedience is expected.”

“I know this, Abdul,” Ardeth laughed, “but I still wish to express my thanks.”

“They will think you have gone mad, al sadeeq,”

“Maybe I have,” Ardeth grinned.

Abdul returned the grin with one of his own, knowing that his leaders happiness was because of the time he’d been spending with his wife. “When does Yusuf return from London?”

Ardeth stiffened suddenly, his grin fading from his face, “You must be mistaken, Abdul, Yusuf is with Amina,” he said softly.

“No, Sayadi,” Abdul frowned suddenly feeling a cold dread wash over him as he realized that Emma had never told Ardeth that Rick had taken Yusuf to London with him. “When your brother-in-law, Rick was here, he took the boy with him back to London.”

Ardeth felt as if the wind had been sucked out of his lungs. Yusuf was in London? Emma had lied to him? She had deliberately disobeyed him after he’d made it clear that he did not want Yusuf to leave the protection of the tribe? Ardeth felt everything that had been gained between him and Emma in the last six weeks die inside him. His heart turned cold as a fury he’d never known filled him. She had lied to him and betrayed his trust, for that he could possibly forgive her someday, but she had also undermined his authority and dishonored him before his people. The fact that Abdul assumed that he had known of Yusuf’s whereabouts only to discover he didn’t was something that did not sit well with Ardeth. In fact, it infuriated him.

“Thank you, Abdul, that will be all,” Ardeth said in a quiet voice.

Abdul was suddenly frightened for Emma’s safety. He had never heard this quiet fury in his leader before, this cold look of hate that filled Ardeth’s dark eyes even made a hardened warrior like him quake in his boots. “Sayadi,” Abdul began,

Ardeth’s head snapped up, his eyes blazing, “You are dismissed, Abdul,” Ardeth said in a clipped tone.

Abdul immediately bowed his head in submission, then turned to leave. He lifted a quick prayer to Allah that Ardeth would not kill his wife. Emma had been wrong for keeping this information from Ardeth, but Abdul understood why she had.

“Emma,” Ardeth called out after Abdul had left. His voice was calm, normal sounding.

“Yes?”

“Could you come here a moment, please,”

Emma left the kitchen where she had been cleaning and entered the front room to find Ardeth standing near the window gazing out.

“Yes, Ardeth?”

“I want you to go to Amina’s now and bring Yusuf home,” he commanded while continuing to stare out the window.

Emma froze. The moment of truth had arrived and she was not prepared for it. Her mouth worked trying to form the words, but she couldn’t get them out. Ardeth turned his head to look at her and that was when she knew. He knew! He knew that Joseph was in London and he was testing her.

Wiping her suddenly sweaty palms on the dark material of her robes, she took a deep breath and willed herself to stop shaking. “He is not with Amina,” she finally said, meeting his cold dark gaze directly.

“And where is he?”

Tears stung the back of Emma’s eyes at the coldness of his voice, “He is in London, with Rick and Evy, but you know that already don’t you?”

“Tell me something, Emma,” he said ignoring her question. “How is it that I had to discovered this fact of my son’s whereabouts from my second-in-command rather than my wife?”

“Ardeth, please I never meant to keep this from you,” Emma began, fear filling her stomach and making her feel sick.

“No? Then just when were you planning to tell me?” He asked in a nonchalance that betrayed the fury that dwelled within him.

“I know I should have told you right a way,”

“No!” he roared his hand coming up to silence her. He took a calming breath, “No,” he repeated in a more calm voice, “you should not have let him go period!”

Emma flinched when he’d yelled; she clutched her hands together before her, “Forgive me, Ardeth, please. I only did it for us.”

The laughter that filled the room held no humor in it, “What in Allah’s name would make you think that deliberately disobeying me, lying to me, betraying my trust, undermining my authority before my people would do anything for us?”

Emma had never seen this side of Ardeth before. Usually when he was angry with her he ranted and yelled, but not this quiet, controlled fury that she faced now. It occurred to her, too late, that she had made a grave error in sending Joseph to London. She thought that Ardeth would see, that he would understand that she did it so that they could have some much needed time together to heal and pull their marriage back together. But she had been wrong. He saw it as an act of betrayal, to Ardeth, she had just committed the unpardonable sin and the only thing she could do was wait for and endure whatever punishment he deemed necessary to dish out and then go on from there.

“Ardeth, please listen,”

“No!” He snapped, “You listen! You will pack your things now, we leave at dawn to go to London.”

Emma blinked furiously at the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks, “But Rick will be bringing Joseph home soon,” she cried out. “Please Ardeth, please understand I only wanted for us to have some time alone. When you almost died it made me realize what a fool I’d been for having drug out this thing with the miscarriage for so long. I only did what I thought necessary to save our marriage. I knew that Joseph would be safe with Rick, I knew . . .”

“Enough!” Ardeth bellowed. Something inside him snapped and he stalked towards Emma in a threatening manner causing her to back up with fear etched in her face. She hit the wall abruptly nearly knocking the wind out of her. Ardeth raised his hands and slammed them against the wall hard on either side of her face causing Emma to cry out in fear. “I decide where my son goes, I decide when he goes! Not you, not your brother!” He said through gritted teeth, his face inches from hers. “We will go to London and I will return here with my son. You however,” he paused to let it sink in, “you will remain in London. You are banned from ever returning to the Sahara!”

“What?” Emma cried out, disbelief then anger mixing in with her fear. “You can’t take Joseph away from me, I am his mother!”

“You forget, Emma,” he answered coldly, unmoved by her words, “I make the law here, I am the law!”

“Ardeth!” Abdul rushed in and stopped frozen at the scene that was before him. Ardeth turned cold eyes on Abdul and he back peddled a bit. “Forgive me for interrupting, Sayadi,” he said immediately and bowed his head. “I have an urgent telegram here from London.”

Ardeth moved away from Emma and crossed the room quickly to snatch the telegram from Abdul’s grasp. He opened it and read silently.

Ardeth,

Alex and Joseph have been kidnapped. The kidnappers want the amulet half that I brought you and have told us to meet in Cairo for a switch. Evelyn and I are on our way and will meet you in Cairo. Forgive me, my friend! We will get them back! Rick

Ardeth felt like his knees would buckle beneath him. He read the message over several times before turning his gaze to Abdul. “Select a small guard to accompany myself and Emma to Cairo. We leave within the hour,” Ardeth commanded quietly.

“Aiwa Sayadi,” Abdul answered without question and left.

“What’s happened?” Emma asked fearful of the news that had come from London.

Ardeth turned his cold gaze on Emma, “Alex and Yusuf have been kidnapped,” he nearly growled.

Emma felt the wind literally being sucked from her lungs, “Joseph has been kidnapped?” She squeaked, her face turning nearly pale white. “Oh god,” Emma gasped and her hand flew to cover her mouth.

“If my son had been here where he belongs, he would be safe and protected,” Ardeth accused.

“He is my son too, damn it!” Emma yelled suddenly, feeling the anger fill her completely, mixing with the fear and guilt that her son was in danger, because of her.

“Not any more,” Ardeth informed her quietly. “As of right now, you no longer have a son.”

“You can’t do that,” she gasped. “You wouldn’t dare, you don’t have the right!”

Ardeth’s eyes snapped angrily as he laughed that cold humorous laugh again, “My dearest wife,” he began with no feeling in the sentiment, “must I remind you again that I make the law here? Be very thankful, Emma that I am showing you mercy,” he informed her.

“Mercy?” She laughed, “you threaten to take my son away from me and ban me from my home and you are showing me mercy?”

Ardeth moved closer to her. Emma stood her ground this time as he approached her. “Yes, you see my lovely wife,” he leaned closer, his eyes showing no warmth at all, his hands gripped her upper arms painfully as he pulled her against him suddenly and kissed her hard, bruising her lips, “I could have you put to death for what you have done if I so chose,” he told her then shoved her away from him. Emma gasped loudly at his words and watched stunned as he turned away from her and walked away. “Be ready within the hour to leave for Cairo, Emma.” He stopped at the front door of their home and turned back to her, “Pack only what you will need for the trip, I will have the rest shipped to you in London later.”

Emma could only nod as Ardeth turned and walked out. She was stunned. She felt numb as the realization that her marriage was over and she had not only lost her husband, but her son as well. She felt as if she couldn’t breathe. Her knees gave out from beneath her and she collapsed to the floor and cried. That he could hate her so much that he would consider putting her to death was beyond her. She had only tried to repair their marriage. She knew she was wrong for having kept it from him, but she didn’t understand this hatred. It wasn’t her fault that their son had been kidnapped, was it? She thought about it for a moment, “Oh god!” She cried, “Please spare my son, keep him safe!” Emma stood to go pack some clothes. She wiped her tears and squared her shoulders. She would deal with one thing at a time. First they would go to Cairo and get their son back, then she would deal with Ardeth and his threats. She would not go down without a fight. She promised herself right then and there that she would not allow Ardeth to take her son away from her. Not even if it meant her own death.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chapter 10


The trip to Cairo was the worse trip of Emma’s life. She felt as if she were a prisoner. She was not allowed to leave the confines of her tent without one of the Med-jai warriors accompanying her and to leave the camp area was strictly forbidden. She rarely saw Ardeth except at a distance and anything he had to say to her was usually delivered by one of the warriors. She had no clue were he slept at night only knowing it was not with her. It took them two days to get to Cairo and Emma was certain Ardeth blamed her for that too, because the men most likely would have ridden on into the night and arrived there late, rather than stop to rest for the night.

It was late afternoon when they arrived at the O’Connell home. When Rick and Evelyn had moved to London, they had kept their home there in Cairo for when they visited.

“Emma,”

Emma looked over the top of her horse’s head and saw Evelyn dashing out of her home towards them. Before Ardeth or the other men could react, Emma was off her horse and running towards Evelyn. They hugged each other fiercely both of them crying.

“Hey sis,” Rick greeted her solemnly. Emma released Evelyn and gave Rick a hug. “I’m so sorry, Em. I was suppose to be watching out for Joseph,” he whispered into her ear as she sobbed against his shoulder.

Rick looked up in time to see Ardeth approaching, a hard cold look on his face that he hadn’t seen since he had first encountered Ardeth at Hamanaptra more than 8 years ago. “So are you going to kill me now or wait till later?”

“Any news?” Ardeth asked tonelessly, ignoring Rick’s question.

Rick shook his head and directed Emma to go with Evelyn into the house. “We should hear something soon I would think,” Rick answered. “Come on, I’ll show you were you can get your men settled.”

Rick led them around the back of the house to where a stable was and a smaller house that would have housed a foreman if they had had one. Once the horses were taken care of and the Med-jai warriors set up comfortably in the quarters next to the stables, Rick directed Ardeth to follow him back to the main house.

Ardeth walked with Rick outside, “I will remain here with my men,” Ardeth informed him.

Rick raised an eyebrow, “Won’t Emma have something to say about that?”

Ardeth shook his head once, his jaw clenched, “When this is over and Yusuf and Alex are found, Emma will return to London with you,” he said coldly.

Rick blinked confused for a moment, then suddenly it was clear, “You son of a bitch, you blame her for all of this and now you’re kicking her out?”

Suddenly Ardeth lashed out, catching Rick totally off guard, he swung his fist and connected with Rick’s jaw sending Rick stumbling back where he landed on his ass in the dirt. Reaching up, Rick rubbed his soar jaw and glared up at Ardeth who towered over him, his dark eyes blazing, his fists clenched at his sides.

“Feel better?”

Ardeth began cursing in Arabic, “You westerners understand nothing!” He hissed at Rick. “I’m doing her a favor by sending her away.”

Rick laughed as he stood up, “You’re shittin’ me, right? You’re doing her favor by taking her son away and forcing her to leave her home?”

“She betrayed me, Rick! She lied to me and made me look the fool in front of my people! That can not be tolerated,” he raged, “especially from the wife of the Med-jai Chieftain.”

“Oh for Christ’s sakes, you arrogant son of a bitch,” Rick argued back, “You’ve got so much tribal custom bullshit blowing around here that you’re willing to throw away the best thing that ever happened to you because she wanted to save your god damn marriage!”

Ardeth wasn’t used to being spoken to in such a disrespectful manner. He tolerated a lot of Rick’s teasing and had even learned to loosen up and tease back, but with all the pent up anger and frustration of the last few years he was enraged, he charged Rick and they collided together landing on the ground. They rolled around in the dirt each getting off a few punches amongst the grunts and curses. But the fight didn’t last long when suddenly they were both doused with cold water. Both men rolled away from each other sputtering. They stood up and turned to see Emma standing there with a bucket in hand, Evelyn just behind her glaring at both of them. Off to the side, Ardeth’s men had come out to see what the commotion was about and some of them snickered quietly at the spectacle.

“You both should be ashamed of yourselves!” Emma chided them both, “Our children are out there somewhere, scared. They need you to find them, not to fight with each other like spoiled brats!”

Rick looked ashamed, Ardeth just looked pissed, both of them dripping wet. Ardeth turned to his men and ordered them back inside. He knew they were laughing at him and that just made the whole situation worse.

“Both of you come inside and get cleaned up, we have a lot to plan and discuss,” Evelyn stepped out from behind Emma and grabbed Rick by the arm leading him back into the house. “We will discuss this later,” she said for his ears only.

Emma continued to stand in front of Ardeth, both of them glaring at each other, “Are you going to come in or not?” She asked him finally.

“I will remain with my men,” he answered tonelessly.

“Figures,” Emma snapped sarcastically. “Enjoy their company!”

The insult was not lost on Ardeth and he closed the distance between them and grabbed her by the arm roughly just as she turned away from him and spun her back to face him. Emma gasped when she found his hard cold glare inches from her own startled one. “You are still my wife, Emma,” he growled through clenched teeth. “Be careful what you say.”

Emma refused to be bullied. She was tired of his threats and his ill temper, “Don’t you threaten me, Ardeth Bay!” She snapped, her blue eyes sparking.

Ardeth breathed in sharply at the surge of blood that filled his groin. The smell of wild flowers nearly overwhelmed his senses and the fire in her eyes was that of the woman he had fallen in love with 7 years ago. It was too much for him as he threw all common sense out the window and nearly crushed her against him, his mouth coming down hard on hers. The fact that she could still turn him on in such a way really pissed him off and he punished her for it in that kiss. Emma swooned under Ardeth’s assault, his tongue swept into her mouth roughly, his lips bruising hers. His arms wrapped around her crushing her against him until she could hardly breath and his hands roamed over her roughly. She felt the evidence of his arousal against her stomach and she suddenly realized that he still wanted her. Emma wanted to laugh, he wanted to make love to her and it was pissing him off.

Emma got her arms up around his neck, her fingers tangling in his long, thick, wet curls and began to kiss him back. Ardeth groaned as she responded, taking him completely off guard. His hands gentled as they began to stroke her body rather than grab, his lips softened against hers rather than bruise, his tongue began to search and taste rather than dominate. He held her tenderly against him until he thought he might go insane if he didn’t get her clothes off. His lips left a trail down her throat as he inhaled deeply.

“Emma,” he whispered almost like a prayer.

Emma suddenly pushed away from him. Ardeth stumbled and caught himself, looking at her with a dazed expression. “Good night, Ardeth,” Emma smiled coldly. “You gave up your right to my body, when you banned me from my son and our home! Now you can live with your decision!”

She turned and walked back into the house leaving a very stunned, very aroused Med-jai Chieftain standing in the fading daylight. He would be furious with her brush off if he hadn’t deserved it and he knew that he had. He had been treating her like a leaper and now he was beginning to wonder if maybe Rick had been right. Maybe he was too caught up in tribal traditions and customs. Ardeth wasn’t ready to concede yet, but he knew he had a lot to think about and consider while he and Rick searched for Yusuf and Alex. He sighed softly, the anger and fight gone in him for the moment. It might be too late for them anyways, he thought as he turned and walked off wanting to be alone. He had said some very hurtful and cruel things to Emma that she might not ever forgive him for.

Ardeth thought back on the past 6 weeks and the time that he and Emma had spent together. They had grown close again, like they had been before the miscarriage. It had been heaven with her those 6 weeks and Ardeth closed his eyes to the pain that filled his heart. He leaned against the side of the barn, his eyes opening, searching the area for anything that might be out of place. Everything seemed normal, as he allowed himself to sink to the ground. He sat there for the longest time just thinking, wondering, if they had done things differently, would all of this be happening now? There were no answers forthcoming and the anger began to return. She had betrayed him; she had lied to him and deliberately disobeyed him. It was one thing when she defied him in private, Ardeth actually enjoyed their arguments when she rebelled against something he commanded her to do or not to do, but to defy him openly in front of his people, to use them as she had to help her and then keep it from him, he could not let that pass. If he did, if he ignored it then he would loose respect in the eyes of the tribe and that was a fate worse than death for someone in his position.

Ardeth stood up, his mindset on the things ahead. He entered the small house where his men were; he posted a few guards to watch the area outside and readied himself to get some rest before it was his turn for watch.

Emma entered the kitchen to find Rick sitting at the table and Evelyn dabbing at a red spot on his face with a wet rag.

“Owe, damn it, Evelyn that hurts!” Rick tried to pull away from her.

“Hush now and be still,” Evelyn chided gently, “I swear, Rick, sometimes you are worse than Alex.”

They both looked up when they realized Emma had entered and Rick motioned for her to sit down and join them. “Is your stubborn ass husband going to join us?” He asked as he winced again at Evelyn’s doctoring.

“No,” Emma answered softly, shaking her head. She fought back the tears that stung her eyes as she met Rick’s direct gaze.

“I’m sorry, sis,” he said as he reached across the table to cover her hands with one of his own. “You know if you need to talk about it, we are here for you.”

Emma nodded and smiled sadly through the tears that filled her eyes, “I know, but I’m not ready yet. I want to concentrate on getting Joseph and Alex back first, then I will deal with my stubborn husband and my nonexistent marriage.”

“Well, there is nothing much to talk about there either,” Rick began. “We wait for them to contact us and go from there.”

Emma nodded and stood up, “I’m going to bed. I am exhausted and it has been a long few days.”

Rick stood up with her and circled the table to hug his sister. His heart ached for what she was suffering through. It was bad enough to have your son kidnapped, at least he had Evelyn to comfort him, but Emma didn’t have anyone. Her son was missing and the other person who could comfort her was being a stubborn mule and Rick suddenly felt the urge to go back outside and pick up with Ardeth were they had left off.

“Good night, sis,” Rick said and kissed the top of her head. “Get some rest.”

Emma hugged Evelyn next, “I’m here if you need me, Emma,” Evelyn whispered in her ear. Emma nodded and kissed her sister-in-laws cheek, then turned and hurried out of the kitchen before she broke down in tears.

He was standing in the desert alone. He felt an emptiness that had nothing to do with the vast sea of sand that seemed to go on and on with no end in sight. Something was missing and as his dark eyes searched the familiar desert, he became more and more confused.

“Ardeth,”

He heard the familiar whisper of his name and turned toward the sound. There was nothing there but the empty desert. He was standing near a ledge. He knew that the ledge dropped down into oblivion. He’d been here hundreds, thousands of times.

“Ardeth,”

Again the familiar whisper of his name, “Emma?”

His heart pounded loudly in his chest as his senses were invaded by thoughts of his beautiful wife. He could almost smell her, touch her, taste her, and see her in his minds eye.

“Emma, where are you?” He called out to her.

“Here,”

He turned towards the voice and saw Emma standing there, her feet dangerously close to the cliff’s edge. Fear slammed through him and nearly stole his breath.

“Emma, get away from the edge, kalila,” he commanded taking a step forward.

“You must lose before you can find,”

“What?” He asked confused, “Emma, for Allah’s sake, come away from the edge!”

He stood there and watched in horror as the ground beneath Emma’s feet gave way and she slipped away.

“NOOOOO!” He screamed and ran towards the edge. He stopped and looked down into the abyss just in time to see Emma swallowed up in the darkness.

“You must lose before you can find . . .” The words whispered in his head as he fell to his knees.

Ardeth Bay threw his head back and let out a primal yell that came from the pain deep within him, “EMMA!”

Ardeth woke up with a jerk and a whisper of Emma’s name on his tongue, his heart slamming in his chest.

“Sayadi,”

His head snapped around at the voice of one of his men, “Aiwa?”

“It is your time for watch,”

Ardeth rose up immediately shaking off any last remnants of sleep and of the dream. He had a nearly overwhelming urge to go check on Emma, but stamped it down quickly. The dream meant nothing, he told himself as he and another Med-jai warrior left the small building to relieve the two that were on guard. He pushed the dream from his mind and gave it not another thought as he turned his mind to Yusuf and what must be done to get his son back.

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Second Chances - Chapters 11-12