Carnelian (29 page)

“Isn’t that something? There was a reason
for us to meet. And if we hadn’t, I don’t know if my mother would
have ever told me about it,” I replied. Seth let go of me and took
my hand. He led me to one of the mats and sat down, pulling me onto
his lap.

“I was too worried about you being here and
how you’d be treated. I figured my father would make you a slave or
something, and I would have to marry someone else in front of you.
I couldn’t stand to think I’d break your heart and have no control
of it. Now though, you get to be mine,” Seth hugged me again.
Reality was now setting in for him too.

“If it came down to that, we would have
found a way. Did you ever stop to think maybe the goddess wanted
you to take me back here?” I replied as he began to kiss down my
neck. I patted him away playfully. “We’re having a serious
conversation here,” I complained.

“I’m working on convincing you to be my
wife, since you didn’t agree. I believe that’s why my father left
me alone with an unmarried princess in his private tent. Let me try
to convince you a bit.” Seth’s hands wandered down to my waist,
gripping me as he laid back and pulled me on top of him.

“And how do you plan to do that?” I asked
from on top of him.

“I don’t know. What would you suggest?” he
asked, slowly untying some of the clothing. At least he was
familiar with the ties since I had no clue what I was even wearing
or how I’d get out of it even if I wanted to.

Someone from the tent entrance coughed. “The
general sent these for you,” Ty said, holding glasses of some
beverage. I was pretty sure it wasn’t water from the strong scent
coming from it. From the amount of drunk men wandering around the
camp as we arrived, I could only guess it was some sort of
alcohol.

Seth slid me off of him and stood to take
the drinks from Ty. Ty nodded to me finally as I had stood to walk
over to the guys who were now talking quietly.

“Hi, Mari,” Ty said, just as quietly as when
he had been talking with Seth.

“Ty,” I began, but Seth put a hand up to
stop me from talking more. He nodded to Ty, and Ty left.

“Now where were we?” Seth asked, handing me
a drink.

“Why did you stop me from talking to Ty?” I
asked.

“Because he isn’t supposed to be talking
back. I told you it was different here, and that’s one of the
differences. Ty is a spoil of war. He’s to do what is asked and not
speak. He can get in trouble just for speaking. You know that man
we saw when we entered? I doubt his crime was as serious as
speaking when he was not allowed to.” Yes, it was different here
and it would take time to get used to if I got to stay with
Seth.

I looked at the flask and wondered if I
should be drinking anything alcoholic since I wasn’t exactly sure
how to do the time travel thing yet. It would really stink to be a
little buzzed and end up in a different century.

“Your father sent us some sort of alcohol to
get drunk with?” I questioned Seth. “I’m guessing this is a backup
plan to me not being convinced?” Seth shrugged, which was good as a
yes.

“Just try it,” Seth prompted. I took a small
sip. The bitter taste was stronger than I expected, but drinkable.
“Beer is a better option here than water sometimes. You can’t just
drink water from anywhere and assume it to be safe. Now,
beer…nothing contaminates beer.” I nodded. It made sense, but it
would be something to get used to.

“Where were we now? I was just trying to get
a few more articles of clothing off before asking you to marry me,
but I better get on with asking you now before my father comes back
in for the night,” Seth explained, pulling me back to the mats.

“Marcella Navina, will you marry me?” Seth
asked. He wasn’t on one knee. He wasn’t holding a ring. But he was
giving me the most sincere look I had ever seen from him. I could
feel it in his stare and in the words. It hit me hard to realize
this was not just a ploy to keep me safe. Seth truly wanted to
marry me. In another lifetime, in another place, I would have had
to think more, but that moment was just right. I knew exactly why
the goddess sent Seth to find me. We were just meant to be.

“Yes,” I replied.

After we told his father that I agreed, Seth
and I went back to the tent to sleep for the night. It was a good
thing, too, as I was getting more and more sleepy. Time travel was
more exhausting than I thought it would be, or it had been the
hours across the desert for all I knew. While I was exhausted, Seth
told me he would sit with me until I fell asleep. There was
something else about celebrating with his men, but I was too tired
to care. I was happy to just close my eyes and drift off until
morning.

“This means we can be together forever?” I
asked him, as I sleepily curled in his arms.

“Yes, Mari. I’ll never let you go,” Seth
replied into my drowsy ears. His touch was the last straw to
staying awake. As he caressed my face, I drifted off for my first
night in the past.

Chapter 14

Going Back Home

When I finally
woke the next morning, my head was pounding and
my eyes were glued shut from sleep. Alcohol was not my friend. I
remembered I was in the past and remembered the night before. The
beer must have been stronger than I thought it was, and the ground
felt rougher. I tried to sit up as the world bounced beneath me.
Yep, I really drank too much or maybe the beer was stronger than
Seth said. I was a lightweight after all, as my experience with
alcohol was very limited. I wondered how Seth was faring, since he
probably had a lot more while celebrating last night.

“I think she’s waking,” said a familiar
voice, but it wasn’t Seth. I immediately tried to push myself up
and found my hands were bound together. Using my forearm, I rubbed
my eyes to get the sleep out of them. Opening them I regretted what
I saw: desert, making way into rocky cliffs, and only three men as
company, not an army. It was already dusk as we entered hills
leading to who knows where.

“We need to stop,” the voice said from the
other side of the donkey I was slung across.

The man leading the donkey grumbled
something, but did as the first one asked. The first man easily
lifted me off the donkey and stood me on shaky legs. When he pulled
back a few feet to see if I was steady, I saw his face.

“You traitor, Dee,” I went to say before he
silenced me with a hard stare. This was not the Dee I met in the
future. While that Dee was not always happy, he was never outright
mean. I don’t think I even saw a serious look from him in the
months I knew him.

“Here is some water,” Dee said, handing me a
bag. “Take small sips.”

My mouth was terribly dry, and I gulped down
the water despite his warning. I regretted it immediately as I felt
it come back up. I fell to my knees and puked. When I was done, Dee
had a hand out, waiting to help me stand. I knocked his hand away
and pushed myself up on my bound arms. I glared at Dee as the other
two men joined him.

The man in front was olive skinned like Dee.
His clothing matched Dee’s and the man behind us, all three from
the military. I looked closer at the man and couldn’t tell who or
where he was from. These men I assumed had been in the Egyptian
army camp, but I had no idea which group they had been from as I
had passed too many faces on our walk to the general’s tent.

“We should go a little further,” the man
behind said. His voice was higher than I expected for a guy almost
Dee’s size. His skin was darker brown than Dee’s olive skin and his
eyes just as dark. He wouldn’t look directly at me, but kept
referring to the man in the front. “The canyon up there will make
nice cover for the night.”

I looked into the sky, and it was already
almost night-time. Whatever had been given me to knock me out was
effective. I stood and waited to see what they planned to do next.
Dee easily picked me up and placed me on the donkey. At least this
time I got to ride sitting up. If he had thrown me across the back
again on my stomach, I probably would have puked everything I just
drank.

The men continued their march into the
hills, and I was left their captive. None of them spoke as they
marched. After at least another hour or two, we finally stopped.
When they deemed the spot good enough, they all broke to their
duties without a word. I was left sitting on the donkey. It had
been years since I had gone riding, but that didn’t matter much to
me. With my hands bound, I slid off the donkey. I looked around. It
was too dark to make my escape. I didn’t know where I was or why
they even took me, but I was safer with them than without them for
the moment. This was not my world, and no matter what harsh looks
Dee gave me, I knew Dee. I trusted that I was safe with him at
least physically.

The men built a small fire and pulled out
military rations. I was correct. The men were from the military
camp. As they handed me some bread and dried meat, I sat down near
the fire. It was sizzling as ever during the day, but the nights
were colder than I expected them to be. I sat and watched the guys.
The olive skinned one had shifty eyes and kept looking around the
camp as if we were followed. I doubted that much as we were the
only one for miles in the sand as we traveled that last hour. The
dark skinned one just sat and stared at the fire, lost in his own
thoughts. Dee stayed near me, but he didn’t look my direction at
all. I sat with the three men in silence. When everyone was done
eating, the dark-skinned man stood.

“I’ll take the first watch,” Dee offered.
The man nodded to Dee, and the olive-skinned one turned to me.

“You will sleep there,” he pointed to the
ground near Dee. He wasn’t a man for many words, therefore I’d do
exactly what he said. He looked almost as menacing as the man
across the fire. “Keep her tied to you. When we switch, we will tie
her to the next person.” I looked across the fire to the last man
with the shifty eyes. I had a feeling I didn’t want to be tied to
him.

“Keep watch for the others. They should
arrive by morning, but they may be here at any time,” the man told
Dee. Dee nodded.

Dee tied my leg to his and sat down away
from the fire a little. There was enough slack to let me sit near
the fire while he sat back. I tucked my arms beneath my head, and I
turned my back to the fire. I didn’t want to see the two other men.
They worried me a little bit. None of the men had spoken yet to
give me an idea of what they wanted, and I had no clue what they
would to do to me. Dee sat and stared out into the darkness. I
reached down under my dress and pulled a little at the line tied to
me. It was safe to stay with Dee, but now knowing I’d be left alone
and tied to either of the two other men, I was a little worried. I
didn’t trust the other two men in the least.

After an hour, I had the rope mostly untied.
I didn’t fake sleep, I just laid and continued to stare at Dee. He
was not watching me. In fact, he looked like he was trying not to
look at me. Maybe he felt guilty for what he was doing. The fire
was a bit lower, and I was sure the other men were asleep. One was
already snoring loudly. I slipped my foot out of the rope. Dee
didn’t even notice. I looked into the darkness for direction. I
really had no clue where I was or where to go, but I had to leave.
I had to be able to do better than being left alone with these men.
My hand began to tingle. I glanced back into the darkness and knew
exactly which direction to go.

When Dee next stood to throw brush on the
fire to keep it going, I took my chance. I ran fast from the
makeshift camp toward Seth. It didn’t matter if I was running into
a dark desert. It didn’t matter if it was maybe a crazy decision.
Seth would protect me. A few feet into the darkness was enough for
me to know I had done the right thing as Seth’s hand reached out
and grabbed me.

“Mari, don’t. It’s not safe out there,” Dee
called into the darkness as he chased after me. The rustling behind
me told me we were being followed as Seth led me away. The other
two men shouted as they pursued Dee. All three men were following
us. We had to run to get away.

We kept going for quite a while, walking and
running in the darkness. It felt like we had walked in circles and
back again, but we had to be sure we were safe. Soon the pursuers
were no longer heard, but Seth kept leading me through different
paths. We slowed our pace a little, but not much. Seth was familiar
with the area it seemed, and it was a good enough night to have
some moonlight to run by. As we rounded another corner into the
canyon, we began walking up instead of down. I thought we were
trying to make it back to the desert and Seth’s men. Up was not
going to get us there.

“Seth,” I said between breaths. “Where are
we going?”

“I have a hiding place we can go to not far
away,” Seth replied, still leading me away.

After a decent hike up the hillside, Seth
took a new path. Good thing he knew where he was going, as I was
completely lost by now. After many twists and turns, I viewed a
crack of light. Seth led me toward it. It was faint as we drew
near, but it was coming from inside the rock wall we were walking
against. As we neared it, Seth pulled me inside the cave. After
walking through the cave a little, the light grew brighter.

Ty was sitting at a fire and jumped to his
feet when he saw us. He examined me for any scrapes or bruises.
After he was sure I was fine, he gave me a big hug.

“Where’s Dee?” Ty asked as if Dee was part
of their group, and not someone that had just kidnapped me.

“We had to leave without him. I hadn’t
signaled to him before Mari already knew I was there. I should have
known she would have escaped somehow,” Seth replied. Ty looked
worried about their friend who just kidnapped me the night before.
“He knows enough to meet us here. We will give him a day to meet
up, otherwise we will head back without him.” I looked between the
two men.