✘ 'The Journey.' The Mummy, Ardeth Bay x OC Soulmate!

Chapter 1

I slowly rounded the corner, trying to be careful with the old books Evelyn sent me to pick-up.  Taking a small minute break, I put them down on a coffee table for a moment and pull my black face mask down to inhale some proper air.  I felt...weird an embarrassed, that I could not understand what the tattoos on my skin meant despite all the languages I have researched and some I have learned.  There was a tattoo on my forehead which my long fringe covered, a tattoo on each cheek, hence the face mask and a tattoo at the back of each hand.  Each design looking a little different from the previous, yet having similar, 'character's.

I thought about letting Dr. Bey of the Museum of Antiquities know about them, but decided against it when I thought about it more.  It's not that I don't want to find my soulmate, it's just that I don't want people examining tattoos on me.  It feels weird.  Finishing this trail of thought, I pulled my face mask up, carefully picked the old books up and finished my walk to the Library.  Calling out to my sister who was sorting through books in the room, I failed to notice a banging sound.  "Evelyn?  I got those books you--"  I stopped upon the rude disturbance of crashing and falling, I quickly turn just in time to see the book shelf I was near start to fall.  I quickly dashed out of the way, flinging the books to a side in panic and barely surviving the unknown attack.

The Curator, or Dr. Bey, quickly dashed into the room upon hearing my cry when I leapt out of the way and all the commotion of the bookshelves falling in what appeared to have been a domino effect.  I took several quick deep breaths, pushing myself off the ground a little and turning to look at how close to pain I was as Dr. Bey began spluttering out several mixed syllables all at once.

I saw my foot, inches away from having been crushed.  He looked at me and saw my fearful eyes and noticed my panicked breathing, so he assumed I was a victim again.  He turned to a guilty looking Evelyn and huffed.  "Oh, look at this!  Sons of Pharaohs, give me frogs, flies, locusts!  Anything, but you!  Compared to you those other plagues were a joy!"  He gently helped pull me up from the ground, steadying my unsure body which was internally screaming:

"AM I ALIVE?  AM I NOT?  HOW TO BREATHE?  BREATH-TAKING 101 PLEASE?"

Once he made sure I was steady, he turned back to the apologizing mess that was Evelyn.  "I am so sorry.  I-It was an accident."  She told him.  He seemed to be calming down a little, but he shook his head 'no' and began to talk again.

"My dear girl; when Rameses destroyed Syria, that was an accident.  You-you're a catastrophe!  Look at my Library!"  He cried gesturing wildly to his destroyed Library.  I prayed nothing was broken.  "Why?  Why do I put up with you?"

"Y-You put up with m-me, b-because I can r-read and write in Ancient Egyptian, and I-I can decipher hieroglyphics and hierarchic.  A-And I-I can speak Ancient Egyptian!"  She stuttered out--thinking up good reasons on the spot.

"I put up with you, because your parents were our finest Patrons!  That's why!"  He seemed to grow angrier at Evelyn's 'reasoning', before noticing our saddened faces from the mentioning of our dead parents.  So he said a little more calmly and sorrowfully, "Allah, rest their souls."  Then he straightened himself up and glared at Evelyn, "Now I don't care how you do it, nor how long it takes you to do it.  But without your sister's help,"  He pointed to me with a warning look, "You,"  He pointed back to Evie, "Will clean up this meshiver!"  And he stormed off back through the door he came.

I stepped forwards to a down and guilty-looking Evie.  "H-Hey...s-sorry about all that..."  I apologized.  She shook her head 'no', with her brown hair and hazel eyes.

"There's nothing for you to apologize for."

"B-But I-I didn't help defend you!  And...now I feel bad."