Stuck In Time

Chapter 5

Watching her turn to the home, looking back at him, then the oasis. The moon was bright enough for him to see her facial features. Her brow was drawn, most likely in thought. He looked her over again. Time was turned backwards. He already knew she was younger. He felt himself blush hearing she was pure. "She said union. Does that mean we are getting married?" Watching her expression turn to a scared one. "We will speak to the elders. With what the seer has said. Our union was destined to be." He said feeling more confident seeing her blush everytime she glanced at him. He knew he was handsome, many of the younger village girls or those from other tribes would compliment and have their parents try to pursue an arranged marriage with him. Not to mention they seemed to swoon when he trained with only his under top on.

"Come. The elders wanted to speak with us the moment you had awakened." Not giving her much of a choice. He pulled her along not having let go of her hand. She was at a loss for words. First him telling her just from staying in his home made her a potential bride, then some crazy old woman confirmed it yet again.
"What happened earlier? Why did I wake up with her in my face?" "You do not remember?" "No." "We were talking about you being married to me. You cried but you started speaking." "What did I say? Why was I crying?" She asked really wanting to know. He clenched his jaw. How was he suppose to tell her she was once engaged and had a child, and that she became so upset when he yelled at her? But the egyptian gods had brought her here. She must have been from another time if she remembered nothing. "I don’t know." He hated lying but he didn't want to scare or send her into another fit.

Seeing as he was moving quickly to wherever these elders are. Holding her hand, and every once in a while his thumbs would run over her knuckles. Her insides were quivering. She felt jittery. She stopped moving her feet, almost getting pulled over.

Feeling the resistance, he turned his head to her in question then looked her over. Her hand clenching fabric in it, her hair thick, wavy, and long almost messy, but he only realized she was not covered. No head or face covering or day clothing. He almost hit himself. He moved to one of the homes that had a large stall in front of it. Knocking on the door, a man answered before opening it fully. She couldn't hear anything said between the two, before the man allowed them inside and went to one of the room off to one side. Not two seconds later, a few women swept her away into the room. Ardeth gave a grin hearing her stammer when the women pulled her into the room and she had begged him to help her.

The man gave Ardeth a seat, giving him some tea. Ever once in a while they would her the women fussing, complementing, or giggling from the other room. "Thank you my friend. I know it is late." Showing his appreciation to be given service at such a late hour. "It is nothing my lord. I think the women are finally happy to get to dress someone instead of just selling pieces the Bedouin traders brought us." He gave a laugh. The door would open with different women coming out grabbing one of the many chests holding clothing before rushing back to the room, then it opening only for them to lay a decently sized wrapped parcel next to it.

The men drank quite a bit of tea. The sun had set a while ago with how bright the moon was, meaning the elders would most likely be preparing themselves for bed. They would both have to meet in the morning. "So my lord. It seems you are to take a wife." The man said as one of the women left the house only to come back with another chest and laying it by the ever growing parcels. "It would seem so." Thinking for a moment, he remembered how he found her. "Do you believe they would have any clothing for riding horses or training?" The man gave Ardeth a look. "You wish to teach her to fight." "Only a little, enough to defend herself." The man thought before knocking on the door. The door opened only a bit, before the man and one of the women spoke. Nodding his head, he came over to another couple chest and hauled them over.

After handing them over. He sat back down. "They will be done in a while. We don't have westerners clothes, so I hope harem bottoms and tunics are fine." Ardeth nodded knowing she would appreciate different options and not just skirts. "They have also provided makeup, jewelry, face and head covering, warm and cool outer robes depending on the weather." Knowing it would cost quite a bit, he pulled out another satchel, larger than the one he gave to the seer. The mans eyes widened seeing the satchel. "You don't need to worry about payment. This is a wedding gift from my family to you." "No. Take it. All they are giving her you will need to replenish your supplies." Nodding his head in thanks, he thanked Ardeth repeatedly.

Hearing the door open, both men looked over. Ardeth could feel his airway closing up. Lyra came out wearing a pair of black harem bottoms with a skirt with multiple slits, he guessed to fan out if she spun around. Black shoes on her feet. A black sheer top that showed how pale her skin is before one of the women placed a purple shawl with gold detailing sewn in on her shoulders. Her head covering was black with purple and gold detailing. The mouth covering was sheer black with gold detailing.

He almost groaned when the other women covered her top half from sight, pulling the shawl to completely cover her. It showed her pale skin through it and the swell of her breast. Under the mouth covering, he could see her biting her bottom lip. Why did they give her such revealing clothing instead of what the village women wore? But he figured since she was a foreigner, this was probably what they thought was best.

When the women were finished, she stood rooted to the spot. Giving him a quick glance, she shot her eyes to her feet. He reminded her of a hungry wolf that had finally found food. His heated gaze brought a heated blush to her face and neck. Her insides quivered, but not in fear, an emotion she couldn't put her finger on. Focusing back on her feet, she noticed he moved closer. He was taller than her, so he really did seem like a wolf. He put on hand one her lower back pulling her closer, while the other cupped her cheek, his thumb lightly sliding over her exposed cheek. "You look beautiful my desert flower." He smiled at the small hit she gave him.

Turning to the man and women he thanked them. Only to be weighed down by multiple parcels, bags, chests, and other things the woman gave her. She giggled watching him try to balance out the load. Glancing over to her, he stood still. This was the first time hearing her laugh. He was caught up in his mind, repeating the sound over and over. Before he felt a pull. She had pulled on his robe to get his attention. "Are we going to see the elders now?" She asked between twisting and wringing her hands. "Not tonight. It is late we shall go early tomorrow."

As they both thanked the man and his family again. She had taken a few of the parcels and a bag from him, since they were piled in his face. He lead the way back to his home, with her following close behind.

He looked above him and prayed for strength for whatever will happen with the elders. He wasn't worried too much since the seer had already predicted their fate. He was nervous about tonight. He knew there would be many arrangements to be made. Adding onto his home to give them more rooms, he pondered if he should have two floors instead of one. A few of the elders had homes that way since they had many children. He lived close enough to the water for there to be some plant life. What he thought about the most is the sleeping arrangements. He would need bigger bed, a dresser and cabinet for her clothing and other items. Once the home was bigger, then they would decide. Since he was chieftain, he knew his people would probably go overboard, he would say one room they would build five. But the seer did say they would have many children so it was probably for the best. His abdomen tightened and felt warm at the thought but he breathed to calm himself. He also had to speak with his mother about teaching his little flower about life here. From starting a fire, cooking, cleaning. But he himself would teach her to fight. If she was going to learn, she would learn from the best.