Rick always tried to be the tough guy, but in truth, he was incredibly upset over the situation. He never had a friend as close as Ardeth before, and to lose him this way was the one of the worst things imaginable. He had no idea if Ardeth would ever get his memory back, and it scared him. To him, it seemed that someone who lost their memory couldn’t get it back. That’s brain damage, obviously, he thought. How can that be fixed?
He sighed again, and suddenly heard a noise. Looking at Ardeth, he saw his face twitch slightly. A few seconds later he made the noise again, and a gasp.
“Ardeth?” Rick said, getting up from the chair to stand over him.
Ardeth’s body jerked again, and an agitated look came over his face. Rick realized he was having a nightmare, and tried to shake him awake gently.
“Ardeth, wake up,” he said. “Ardeth?”
Ardeth jumped, and opened his eyes. He winced and put a hand on his forehead, covering his eyes with a soft groan.
Rick sighed for the millionth time. Man, he should retire young, or something, he thought. He’s been through enough for five lifetimes. “Ardeth? You okay?”
Ardeth slowly removed his hand, and nodded, eyes closed.
“You were having a nightmare,” Rick said. “What was it about? Did you remember anything?”
Ardeth thought for a minute, and opened his eyes. “No. Nor do I remember the dream.”
“Great,” Rick plopped back down in the chair.
They were both silent for a minute or two, before Rick asked, “What’s the last thing you remember? The accident? Before it, after it?”
Ardeth tried to think, wishing his head would stop hurting more and more with each attempt he made at thought. “I do not remember an accident…or what happened before. I am simply here.”
Rick’s jaw dropped. “You don’t remember anything, literally?”
Ardeth sighed, not understanding it himself. “I remember this language, or most of it. I remember what appears to be my own language. I remember…I remember…”
“What?”
“Nothing else.”
Rick just sat there, in shock, not able to accept the news. “We gotta do something about this!” he said.
“I wish I knew what, my friend.”
Rick just sat there, shaking his head. It was even worse then he thought; he wondered if Evy realized it was this bad. “Ardeth, if you remember something, if anything pops into your head, even if it seems strange or even ridiculous, please tell me, maybe if I explain whatever it is to you, your memory will come back.”
“All right…” Ardeth said, closing his eyes again.
Rick sighed, watching as he fell back to sleep. He looked at his watch, wondering when Evy would get back. He was hungry, but didn’t want to leave Ardeth, in case he had another nightmare or something.
Ardeth seemed to be sleeping peacefully, and Rick’s stomach growled, so he tiptoed out of the room, to grab some food.
Just after he left, Ardeth suddenly woke with a start. He lay there, seeing confusing images in his mind. Try as he might, he could make no sense of them, could not even describe them; it was as if something was hovering just out of his reach. He sighed, and the images cleared from his brain. He found that he was sweating, and before he thought about it, he was trying to sit up and came to an unsteady position on the side of the bed. His head throbbed mercilessly at the movement, and he closed his eyes, putting a hand on the nightstand to keep his balance. Eventually it died down to a more ‘tolerable’ level. I need some air, he thought, finding the room stifling.
He stood slowly, and dizzily made his way to the door, walking close to the wall in case he needed the support. Leaning in the doorway, he looked to the right to see a long hall, and a shorter one to the left, where the steps to the downstairs were. He sighed, knowing he’d never make it down them, with his dizzy brain. He looked to the right again, and something told him to go in that direction. He obeyed, slowly making his way down the hall, where a large bookcase stood. Not even realizing what he was doing, he pulled a book out, and the bookcase swung open. He walked through the short tunnel, leaning on the wall now, head spinning and his breathing labored, hardly noticing that the floor sloped downwards. He needed fresh air, and he needed it now! Suddenly he came to the end of the tunnel, and pushed on what looked like a solid wall, which opened to the outside of the house.
He took a deep breath of the refreshing air, and sighed with relief. There was a bench placed conveniently nearby, and he gratefully sat on it. After a few minutes, he slowly came back to himself, and realized that as good as the cool air had felt on his heated body, it was actually freezing outside. He looked around, trying to figure out where the door was.
He stood, and went back to the wall of the house, and felt around for the opening. Not finding it, he sighed, and leaned against the house in exasperation. This must qualify as remembering something, he thought, regarding the secret tunnel. If only you remembered how to get back in!
Rick tiptoed back into Ardeth’s room, and stopped dead at what he saw, or rather, what he didn’t see.
The bed was empty.
Rick blinked. “Ardeth?” He looked towards the restroom, figuring he must be in there, but the door was open and the light was off. He ran out, and checked all the rooms.
“Ardeth? Where are you?”
He got no answer as he looked, and he ran back downstairs, wondering if Ardeth had gone down there and he hadn’t known. It took him a while to check all the rooms, and he ran back upstairs and back into Ardeth’s room, to see that he had not returned.
Rick began to get scared. Ardeth had obviously gotten up, and may’ve passed out somewhere, or something, which would explain why he hadn’t answered Rick’s yells. He checked all the rooms near Ardeth’s again, and sighed when he got to the last one and found nothing. Oh man, what happened to him? he thought, leaning against the bookcase. His weight made it slam shut, and he realized that it had been open! Rick’s jaw dropped when he realized what it meant, and he opened it and ran through the tunnel.
Ardeth sat on the bench, trying to ignore the cold. It was nasty, he felt like he’d never experienced such weather before, but he didn’t know if that was true, or if he simply didn’t remember it. He sighed, watching as his breath froze in the air. His nose was numb, and he tried to wiggle it to bring back some sensation.
Suddenly he jumped when the invisible door he couldn’t find opened, and Rick came running out.
“Ardeth! What—how—?”
“I seem to have remembered something,” Ardeth said, with a sheepish look.
Rick shook his head, and went over and took his arm, helping him stand. “Ardeth, you’re frozen! Why did you come out here?”
Ardeth sighed, as Rick helped him to the wall opening. “I needed air.”
Rick frowned as they walked through the tunnel. It took them a while to walk up the slope; Ardeth’s excursion seemed to have drained away whatever strength he had. They reached the room, and Rick helped Ardeth back into the bed. He sighed as his head hit the pillow, grateful to feel its softness on his achy body.
Rick sat back in the chair. “You said you remembered it? The secret entrance? How did it come to you?”
Ardeth sighed. “I do not know, I started walking that way and I pulled out the book that opened the door. After I was outside and I realized what I had done, I could not find the entrance to get back in.”
Rick’s hopes sank. “So you didn’t really remember, it was more like an automatic thing.”
Ardeth did an uncharacteristic thing then: he shrugged. Pulling the covers up under his chin, he tried to suppress a shiver. Strange that the room had felt so warm earlier, and now felt cold, after his little trip.
“Ardeth?”
He opened his eyes. “Yes?”
“Promise me you won’t wander off again, this is a big house, and there are more secret entrances. It would take me a while to find out which one you went through,” Rick said, with a smile.
Ardeth smiled back, and nodded agreement.
Rick opened his eyes, realizing that he’d dozed off in the chair. He heard the sound that had awoken him again; light footfalls coming up the staircase.
Evy quietly came in the room, grasping Rick’s hand when he held his out to her. “How is he?” she whispered.
Rick kissed her hand, and was about to say ‘fine’, but he rethought it.
Evy frowned, when she saw him hesitate. “What is it?” She looked back at Ardeth as if expecting to see something else wrong with him.
“He doesn’t remember anything.”
Evy blinked. “We know that. Amnesia.”
Rick shook his head, still holding onto her hand. “No, I mean he doesn’t remember anything. Before the accident, why he came to England, nothing. He said, ‘I am simply here’.”
Evy looked nervous. “Are you serious?”
Rick nodded, looking very serious.
“Oh my...”
They just stood there for a few minutes, watching Ardeth sleep, both of them feeling a mixture of shock, concern, fear, and sadness.
Evy eventually sighed, and dragged a chair over. “I sent a message to Safti.”
Rick looked at her. “Did you?” he said, sounding depressed.
Evy nodded. “I explained what happened, and asked him to come. Maybe when Ardeth sees him, his memory will return.”
Rick nodded. “Hope so.” He was glad at the thought of seeing Safti again; he just wished it were under better circumstances.
Tawflik was an excellent fighter. Ardeth fought as well as he could, thanking the adrenaline rush for the sudden burst of strength—a burst he knew would not last very long as he slashed his scimitar towards his enemy’s arm, only to have it deflected hard enough to send shock waves through his arm from his shoulder to his fingertips. His scimitar was sent flying out of his hand, and Tawflik started to laugh. “I win, Med-jai!” he yelled.3
Ardeth opened his eyes with a slight gasp, still hearing the echo of his enemy’s voice. It died down, and when Ardeth tried to remember who the man was, he realized that he couldn’t remember what he’d just dreamed. He struggled to think, but it would not come back to him. He sighed in frustration; his memory was within reach, but no matter how hard he tried he simply could not grasp it.
Suddenly a head peeked into the room, and Ardeth saw that it was Evy.
“Morning, Ardeth. How’s your head?”
Morning? Ardeth thought, not realizing that the whole night had passed. “Painful,” he answered, trying to ignore the incessant throbbing.
Evy gave him a sympathetic look, as she came closer. “Rick’s making breakfast, and I wanted to check that bandage.”
She saw the look Ardeth made upon hearing that Rick was cooking. “Don’t worry, he won’t poison you like Jonathan probably would.”
Ardeth gave her a little smile, and sat up so she could do her nursing.
Evy unwrapped the bandage, and her eyes widened when she took off the gauze covering the wound, and saw the nasty, stitched-up gash on the left side of his forehead. It started over his eye and ran into the hairline. Evy guessed it to be about four inches long. No wonder he had amnesia!
“Ardeth,” she said, as she gently dabbed at the wound with antiseptic. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything at all about the accident?”
Ardeth tried not to wince at her ministrations. “Nothing.”
Evy sighed, dying to know exactly what had happened, and why he’d come to England in the first place.
She finished making sure his wound was clean, and then put a new bandage on it. She looked at him with a sigh, seeing the pain evident on his usually stoic face. “Ardeth…”
“Yes?”
“Remember what I was saying to you in the hospital, about Imhotep, and you being the Med-jai leader?”
Ardeth nodded.
“Well…when you come to England for a visit, you always send word and we meet you at the dock or whatnot. When you show up unannounced, it’s always because you had no time to send word, because something horrible was occurring and you had to get to us as soon as possible.”
Ardeth listened, saying nothing.
“Well, you didn’t send word, this time, and I am afraid that why ever you came here, it’s now too late to stop what needed to be stopped, or…”
Ardeth frowned. “This happens often?”
That answer shattered all of Evy’s hopes. “Yes, Ardeth…too often. There is always someone to fight, in your line of work.”
Ardeth sighed, and closed his eyes. “I need to remember!”
Evy patted his arm. “I am sorry to cause you this stress now, Ardeth, but yes, you do need to try, the world may be at stake!” She frowned at the horrible cliché. “If you were to remember, we might be able to prevent it, still.”
She watched him quietly as he said nothing, his eyes squeezed shut. Finally he opened them, looking dejected. “I am sorry, I can not remember anything. I do not know why I came here.”
Evy gave him a sympathetic smile, trying to hide her own nerves for his sake. “Well, the fact that the world is still intact four days later is a good sign. Perhaps you did simply come for a visit.” She highly doubted that, for Ardeth would not simply leave on a whim, without sending word and receiving a reply.
Ardeth nodded, doubting it also, but going along with her.
“Well,” Evy said, slapping his hands on her thighs. “Breakfast. I’d better go see if the chef is finished.”
“Evy,” Ardeth called out, before she could leave. “I would like to come downstairs.”
She looked at him, hesitant.
“Please? I have been lying in bed for four days. I would like to get up for a short while.”
Evy sighed, and nodded. “All right.” She helped him get out of the bed, and supported as much of his weight as she could.
Ardeth tried to walk under as much of his own power as possible, not wanting to overburden the slight woman. They took the stairs very slowly, both of them nearly missing the last step when they suddenly heard Rick’s voice.
“What are you doing?!” he bellowed.
“Ardeth wanted to get up,” Evy said, stating the obvious.
“I can see that,” Rick replied, running into the living room from the kitchen, and helping lead Ardeth to the couch.
“How’s you head?” Rick asked. “Is the pain any better yet?”
“A little,” Ardeth admitted.
Rick and Evy smiled. “Good!” Evy exclaimed.
The front door suddenly opened, and Jonathan called out, “Helloooooo?”
“In here!” Evy yelled back, excitedly. She gasped when she saw Ardeth wince.
“It was better,” he said.
Running feet were heard, and Evy quickly said, “Ardeth, there’s someone we’d like you to, uh, ‘meet’…”
Suddenly a human missile propelled itself onto the couch, where Ardeth sat.
“Ardeth!”
Ardeth found himself suddenly being hugged by the missile. It was a small boy.
“Ardeth! It’s Alex! Do you remember me?” he said, pulling back and looking at him.
Ardeth looked into the boy’s face. His blue eyes were pleading…and somehow familiar. He looked at Evy and Rick. It was obvious that he was their son; he looked more like Rick then Evy.
Alex took his hesitation to mean ‘no’, and he sighed.
“You do look…familiar,” Ardeth said, hoping to make the boy feel better.
It worked, for he perked up, and smiled. Evy, Rick, and Jonathan exchanged happy glances.
Alex turned around and hugged his parents. “I love vacations!” he said, making them all laugh. Then he sniffed the air. “What’s that smell?”
“My food!” Rick yelled, and ran into the kitchen.
To Rick’s relief, his food did not burn, and they all ate and talked with Alex for the next few hours, the boy telling them everything that went on at school during the past couple months.
Ardeth didn’t say much. He silently listened and watched the O’Connell family, hoping that something he saw or heard would jog his memory. He sighed in frustration after a while, when nothing happened except his headache increasing. He saw Evy throw worried looks at him, but he wasn’t about to interrupt the family reunion with his discomfort. He wished that Alex would talk a little softer; but he knew that the boy probably didn’t realize how much pain he was in.
Suddenly he realized that there was no more noise, and it startled him to hear the sudden quiet. He opened his eyes to see everyone looking at him, and Evy froze in her tracks where she stood, a few feet away, holding a blanket.
“You’re awake,” she said.
Ardeth blinked, a little groggy. It took him a few seconds to become fully aware of his surroundings for some reason.
“Ardeth?” Rick said, coming closer.
Ardeth found his voice. “Yes?”
“You fell asleep. Do you want to stay here for a while or would you rather we take you upstairs?”
Ardeth was about to say ‘upstairs’, knowing there’d be less noise, but his senses were drifting off to sleep again, and he knew he wouldn’t have the energy to make it up the steps. “Here,” he answered.
Evy covered him with the blanket, and they all watched him worriedly as he fell right back to sleep.
“He’s gonna be okay, won’t he Mum?” Alex asked, standing beside her.
Evy forced a smile onto her face. “Of course, Alex! He’ll be fine.” I hope.
*creak*
Ardeth woke with a start, having heard a strange sound. He tried to see what it was, realizing that he was no longer in the living room, but now in the bedroom. It took a minute for the memory to surface: of being half asleep when Rick and Jonathan had helped him up the stairs.
He tried again to see through the darkness of the room. If not for the small lamp that Evy had left on in there, it would’ve been pitch black.
*creak*
Ardeth tried to slowly turn over towards the noise, but couldn’t see anything. Suddenly he heard the sound of someone bumping into furniture, and a whispered mutter.
“Alex?” he said.
He heard a gasp. “Ardeth! Y-you’re awake.”
“Yes.”
Suddenly lightning flashed, illuminating the room, and Ardeth finally saw his intruder. Alex gasped again, and ran closer.
The sudden flash of bright light in the dark room sent a wave of pain through Ardeth’s head, and he closed his eyes. Thunder suddenly reverberated through the city, making Alex jump onto the bed in fright.
“Did I wake you up Ardeth? I didn’t mean too.”
“Why did you come here?” Ardeth asked, not realizing the obvious reason.
“I woke up from the lightning…I-I’m afraid of storms…”
“Ah,” he said, understanding now. He heard Alex sigh, and when lightning flashed again, he felt the boy bury his head in the pillow beside his in an effort to block it out. After hearing what Alex had seen and experienced during the incidents that Rick and Evy had told him about, Ardeth wondered why Alex would be afraid of a thunderstorm. But then again, perhaps the storm’s violence reminded the boy of the horrors he’d seen.
“Is it okay if I stay here?” Alex asked, the fear evident in his voice.
Eyes still closed, Ardeth nodded, before realizing that Alex couldn’t see him in the dark. “Yes, you may stay.”
“Thanks!”
Alex curled up in the bed, with a sigh of relief. It turned into another gasp when lightning flashed and thunder sounded almost simultaneously. Ardeth heard no rain though, and he wondered why.
“H-have you ever been scared, Ardeth?” Alex asked.
Ardeth sighed before answering. Having no memory, and not knowing if he’d ever regain it scared him a lot.
“Oh,” Alex said, when he hesitated. “You can’t remember if you have?”
“I can recall nothing about the past,” he said, with a sigh.
“Does it scare you to not be able to remember?” Alex asked.
Ardeth was amazed the boy seemed to know his thoughts. “Yes, it does.”
Lightning flashed again, and suddenly Ardeth felt something placed against his chest. He opened his eyes, and picked it up.
A teddy bear.
The gesture warmed Ardeth’s heart, and he turned onto his back, so he could look at the boy, who was sitting up cross-legged now. Ardeth saw another teddy bear in Alex’s grasp.
“When I’m scared, I hug a teddy bear,” Alex explained. “It helps.” He pointed to the one Ardeth was holding. “I’ve had that one since I was a kid.”
Ardeth smiled inwardly at that statement. What did Alex consider himself now, an adult?
“It’s my favorite,” Alex continued.
Ardeth smiled at him, touched by the young boy’s compassion. “I am honored. Thank you.”
Despite the dark, he knew Alex smiled back.
“Evy.”
“Ummm…”
Rick smiled, looking at his wife sleeping beside him. “Evy, wake up.”
“Ummm…” she said again, snuggling closer to him.
Rick sighed, wishing he didn’t have to move. If it weren’t for their injured friend in the next room, he would go back to sleep. “Eeeeeeeeevy.”
This time she didn’t answer; instead bringing up a hand and rubbing her face. Then she opened her eyes and looked at her laughing husband. “What is so funny?”
“You,” he said. “You wouldn’t get up.”
She made a mock-stern face at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure.”
They got out of bed, and Evy threw a robe over her nightgown. “I’m rather surprised that Alex didn’t sneak into our bed last night.”
“Huh?” Rick said. “Oh yeah! The storm. That was pretty weird, seeing how it’s winter. Wow, look out the window!”
By the sound of Rick’s voice, Evy knew what she would see. However, her patient was more important, so she left the room, and opened Ardeth’s door. What she saw made her stop in surprise.
Ardeth was still asleep, and on the other side of the bed—with his arm hanging over the side, looking like he was about to fall off—was Alex.
No wonder he didn’t sneak into our bed, she thought. He snuck into Ardeth’s instead!
Rick came in then, slinging his suspenders on, and stopped at the sight. He looked at Evy, matching her smile. He quietly went over to the bed, and gently scooped his son into his arms. As he brought him out, something fell.
“Rick,” Evy whispered, and picked up the teddy bear. She handed it to him, and went to the bed.
Ardeth looked deeply asleep. Evy carefully adjusted the covers around him, and felt something under them. Pulling them down a few inches, her jaw dropped.
Rick came in again, in time to see what had Evy so transfixed.
Ardeth was lying on his side, and clutched to his chest was a teddy bear. Alex’s favorite, no less.
The two of them just stared, never imagining seeing a sight like that. It was quite the image; big, strong Medjai warrior clutching a teddy bear in his sleep.
Evy’s first thought was ‘awww!’ but when she remembered reality—the ‘real’ Ardeth would not sleep with a teddy bear—she sighed.
Rick seemed to know her thoughts, and he put an arm around her.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “He’ll get his memory back.”
She sighed again, and nodded unconvincingly.
“And when he does,” Rick continued, with a laugh. “We can torture him with stories of his uncharacteristic behavior.”
*knock knock*
Rick went over to the door, and opened it, hoping it was one person in particular.
It was. “Softy!” Rick exclaimed.
Safti, Ardeth’s second-in-command, walked into the house with a worried look on his face. He smiled slightly at Rick though, and shook his hand. “Good to see you, Rick.”
“Same to you. I imagine you want to see Ardeth…”
The worried look returned. “Yes, how is he?”
“Asleep,” Rick said, as they walked further into the house. “Did Evy explain it all, in her telegram?”
Safti sighed. “She said that Ardeth had been in an accident resulting in a head injury, and that his memory has been lost.”
Rick nodded.
Safti shook his head. “I have heard of such things happening, but have never seen anyone suffering the affliction.”
Rick sighed. “Me either, until now.”
Just then Evy came down the stairs, and smiled when she saw Safti. She ran over and hugged him.
Safti smiled at her warmness.
“You arrived fast! What, did you take a plane?” she asked.
Safti nodded. “Yes. I wanted to get here as soon as possible.” He looked around the house. “England is very… elaborate,” he commented.
“Oh! Your first time to England!” Evy exclaimed. “Are you cold? Come to the fire…”
“I am all right. I would like to see Ardeth.”
Evy nodded, and lead the way to the stairs.
As the three of them walked towards the room, Rick whispered, “Just to warn you, don’t be surprised when Ardeth acts…different.”
Safti looked at him, with a frown. “Different?”
Rick shrugged. “He’s not the same.”
Safti sighed, wondering in what way. They entered the room to see Ardeth still in the same position, and Evy was glad that she had covered up the teddy bear, knowing that Ardeth would be embarrassed out of his mind if Safti should see him with it. If Ardeth was in his right mind, that is.
Safti stood next to the bed, and bent over slightly to study his commander and life-long friend. Seeing the bandage and healing scratches, he sighed. Straightening up, he kept his gaze on his friend’s pale face. “He is not well,” he said with a sigh.
That is an understatement, Rick thought.
“He can not remember anything about the accident?” Safti whispered, so as not to wake Ardeth.
They both shook their heads.
Safti turned and walked a short distance away, Rick and Evy following.
“Why did Ardeth come to England?” Safti asked.
Rick and Evy’s jaws dropped. “You mean you don’t know?!” Rick sputtered.
Safti shook his head. He frowned when the couple looked at each other with expressions of dread. “You do not know either?”
“No! Oh Safti, we didn’t know he was here until I was told he was in the hospital,” said Evy. “He didn’t tell you he was leaving Egypt?!”
Safti shook his head. “I was not at the camp the day he left, when I returned I was quite surprised to find him gone…”
They all turned and looked at the sleeping Med-jai, wondering what they were going to do now.
“I hope he remembers who you are.”
“As do I.”
Ardeth heard the voices; one belonging to Evy, the other belonging to a stranger. He opened his eyes, and saw the O’Connells talking to what could only be described as a huge man.
Ardeth frowned as he watched, trying to figure out if he knew him or not. The man was taller then he was, which surprised Ardeth, as he thought himself to be a tall man. The stranger wore black robes like his own, and had the same type of markings on his face. He also had long dark hair and beard; they looked like they could be brothers.
Suddenly Evy looked towards him, and smiled. She stood and went closer to the bed. “Ardeth! How do you feel? How’s your head?”
“It hurts.”
Safti frowned, already seeing the change in his friend.
Evy sighed, and turned to Safti. “Ardeth, um, this is someone you know…”
Safti walked closer to the bed. “Ardeth, it is I,” he said, to see if Ardeth could recall his name.
Ardeth just looked at him, puzzled.
Safti’s heart sank at his friend’s confused expression. They had grown up together, been the best of friends for all of their 32 years. “I am Safti, your second-in-command.”
Ardeth blinked. “Softy?” he said.
Despite themselves, Evy and Rick busted out laughing. Rick quickly tried to cover it up with a cough, while Evy had to clamp her hands over her mouth and turn around so that she could try to laugh soundlessly without Ardeth seeing.
Safti was shocked for a minute, before he too started to laugh.
Evy wasn’t able to hold it in, upon hearing Safti, so she ran into the bathroom. They could hear her laughing, the walls not thick enough to contain it.
Safti shook his head. “Ah, continuing the tradition started by the O’Connell’s,” he said.
Poor Ardeth just stared at everyone, as if they were nuts.
Safti sighed then, realizing the seriousness of Ardeth’s memory loss. It hurt, that his friend had no idea who he was.
Ardeth requested to be taken downstairs again, and after they ate breakfast the adults went in the living room to talk.
Ardeth was completely engrossed in Safti’s tales of the Med-jai, as were Rick and Evy who were now hearing things they hadn’t known before.
Suddenly the door burst open, and a very wet and red-cheeked Alex came running in. “Mum, Dad! I want Safti and Ardeth to come outside.”
Safti looked quizzically at the boy, wondering why.
Rick knew why. “Safti can come if he wants to, but I don’t think Ardeth should.”
“But he’s never seen it! I mean he did once, but I know he can’t remember…”
“You wish to show me something, Alex?” Ardeth asked, wondering what the ‘it’ was.
Alex nodded, excitedly.
Suddenly Jonathan came in, just as soaked at Alex. “Well? Everyone coming?”
After Evy finished making a fuss over bundling Ardeth up against the cold, everyone went outside.
Alex and Jonathan immediately ran into the yard and made snowballs, throwing them at each other.
“What is the meaning of this?” Safti said, watching them.
“It’s fun! Look,” Alex said, making a snowball. “You roll the snow up and throw it at each other,” he said, and threw it at his father.
“Hey!” Rick said, when it smashed into his chest. “You’re gonna regret that, kid!” He joined in the fight, smashing one into Alex’s back, who’d turned around to avoid his father’s snowball.
Safti bent down and picked up some snow, making a ball out of it. He stood and eyed it, and made a surprisingly mischievous face at Evy. He then threw it with all his might, at an unsuspecting Rick.
It smashed Rick in the back of the head, who nearly lost his balance with its force. “Whoa!” he said.
“That,” said Safti. “Is for starting the whole, ‘Softy’ thing.”
Everyone laughed at that, except for Ardeth, who was seeing something other then what was in front of him.
As they walked outside, Rick heard a string of Arabic come from behind him and turned to see Ardeth —bundled up in everything they could find that fit him— trying to keep his balance, finally grabbing at the side of the house.
Evy tried not to laugh, as she went over and took his arm. “It’s ice, Ardeth, very slippery!”
Ardeth nodded, watching in amazement as his breath froze in the air. He allowed her to pull him away from the side of the house, and they slowly started to walk, when suddenly a snowball came out of nowhere and smacked Ardeth on the side of his head. He wasn’t ready for it, naturally, and slipped and fell in the snow, Evy going down with him.
Evy busted out laughing as they sat in the snow, and she grabbed some, rolled it up, and threw it back at Jonathan, who ducked in time.
Rick went over to them, laughing himself, never thinking he’d ever see a sight like that. Ardeth Bay, dignified leader of the Med-jai; conquered by frozen precipitation. He frowned at the wince on Ardeth’s face.
“You okay?” he asked.
Ardeth nodded, and tried to brush the snow off his shoulder. It was a waste of time, for another snowball came his way, smacking him where he’d just wiped it off.
Jonathan stood there laughing hysterically.
Ardeth picked up some snow, and rolled it up the way he’d seen Evy do. He threw it at Jonathan, who was laughing so hard he didn’t see it coming. It smacked him right in the face, and he gasped and started sputtering.
Ardeth started laughing, making Evy and Rick start up again. Rick pulled Evy up off the ground, and held his hand out again to Ardeth.
Ardeth took it and got up slowly, wincing again, and Rick understood why. He sure knew what a bruised tailbone felt like—having lived in Chicago—and he almost laughed, but suddenly a missile-sized snowball smacked Ardeth in the chest, sending him back to the snowy ground with a grunt, definitely adding to the bruise.
Rick turned around. “Jonathan! Leave the guy alone, he’s not used to this! What’s the matter with you?”
Jonathan had a smirk on his face, but it quickly fled when he saw that he’d hurt his friend. He ran over.
“I say, I’m sorry old boy.” He grabbed Ardeth’s other arm and they pulled him up. Jonathan didn’t see the fistful of snow Ardeth held until it was too late.
Jonathan brushed the snow off his chest, and said, “Well, at least you didn’t aim for my face that time.”
“Next time you may not be so fortunate,” Ardeth said, smiling. Suddenly his expression changed.
“What?” Jonathan said, looking around to see that snow was falling. He looked back at Ardeth to see what almost looked like awe on the Med-jai’s face as he watched the flakes fall.
Evy laughed, at Ardeth’s expression of wonder. He looked like a little child.
Rick smiled, shaking his head. “Ardeth, you definitely need to get out more.”4
Evy started to laugh as she watched the men throw the snow at each other, and she started to walk a little closer, holding firmly to Ardeth’s arm. Ardeth, however, didn’t move, and she didn’t know until she’d already taken a step. She turned to see why he wasn’t walking with her, and as she turned she slipped on ice.
Ardeth was broken out of his flashback by Evy latching onto his arm with both hands, in an attempt to keep herself upright. He wasn’t ready for it, and so did not try to catch her. They both went down, landing on their backsides.
Ardeth gasped as the impact painfully jarred his head. He closed his eyes as the world spun, and slumped over onto Evy.
“Ardeth!” she cried in alarm, holding him up.
Everyone stopped dead, and ran over to them.
“What happened?!” Rick shouted, as he and Safti grabbed Ardeth’s arms.
“I-I slipped,” Evy snapped back, concern making her words sound harsher than intended.
“Ardeth,” Safti said, worriedly. “Ardeth? Look at me.”
To their relief Ardeth opened his eyes, looking at them dazedly.
“Let’s get him into the house,” Rick said, and he and Safti pulled him to his feet. Their relief turned to fear when Ardeth’s knees buckled, and he passed out in their arms.
Alex and Jonathan exchanged guilty glances, as they watched them quickly usher Ardeth through the door.