Destiny’s Choice: Chapter Eleven

Time and Again

He was wearing the garb of a Grecian military officer; there was a curiass made of iron on his chest, a wooden shield on his back and an iron sword at his side. “Alexander needs me,” he stated looking at the girl with the emerald eyes. “I must go with him.”

She nodded as though she understood and yet there was something in her eyes which made him believe that she knew something that he did not. “I will return to you,” he promised as he took her hands. “I swear to you that I will.”

“No,” she stated her voice filled with sadness. “You will not return.”

“You doubt my skill in battle my love?” he asked in confusion.

“No,” she confirmed. “I do not doubt your skill in battle.”

“Then what—”

“I doubt the will of your heart,” she stated, her emerald eyes filling with tears as she forced a smile on her face. “You will find a woman out there in the world. A woman whom you will learn to love at Alexander’s request…but do not worry my love, for I shall see you again.”

“But you just—”

“Soldier!” cried out Alexander the Great, King of Macedon and Greece. “We depart for the east now.”

“Yes Alexander,” he responded as he turned from his commander to the girl who had stolen his heart but he found that she was no where to be found. And so, Demetrius of Macedon with his unusual blue-grey eyes marched eastward with his commander, never to return to his homeland or the woman who had stolen his heart ever again.

--

Jeffery turned over and awoke to the sound of the captain’s voice telling them that they were making their approach for a landing and that they had to fasten their seat belts. “Where were you son?” asked Henry with a laugh as the plane began its descent. “You were dead to the world.”

“I uh, I think that I was in ancient Greece,” Jeffery replied a little groggily. “Or at least, dreaming of it….”

Henry laughed. “Wrong civilization my boy. You should be dreaming of ancient Pharaohs and the treasures that have been yet to be discovered.”

“Yeah,” Jeffery agreed with a wistful sigh. “I suppose I should.”

Once the plane had landed, Jeffery and his father Henry disembarked and headed straight to the jeeps which would take them to the dig site. They were on loan from the Egyptian government and from the high vantage point Professor Henry Bones spoke to his people. “Alright everyone,” he stated before they climbed into their respective trucks. “We’re only going to be here for three weeks so let’s make the most of it. I want hard work and a good attitude from each and every one of you…” he paused and looked at the faces of his friends and family and smiled to himself before continuing on. “And I’ll see you all at the dig site.” With that, Henry said nothing more and entered his own truck with his son close behind

--

Half and hour into their trip, Henry saw the way that Jeffery was looking out into the passing landscape. His son had a far away look about him and Henry wondered if he had made a mistake by not bringing his son to Egypt much sooner. He’s been pleading with me to take him here since he was a young boy, and now that he’s a man he’s here… Henry thought to himself as he regarded his son whose eyes were drooping in exhaustion. And Jeffery for his part felt his mind wandering into a day dream as he watched the sands passing by him.

--

“Come with me,” he whispered to a woman with emerald green eyes who wore the garb of the venerated Vestal Virgins of Rome, complete with the veil around her head. “Come with me.”

The Vestal Virgin shook her head. “I cannot,” she whispered sadly in the dark alley behind the Roman Forum where the Temple of Vesta and the House of the Vestal Virgins was situated. “I am a Vestal Virgin and you are a Roman Senator. We are both bound by the offices that we uphold.”

“The offices are a mistake—”

“The only mistake was mine,” the woman with the emerald eyes stated as she placed a kind hand on the man’s face. “I should not have entered this place such as it is.”

“So come away with me,” he insisted.

“No,” she stated as she shook her head. “No my love, it is enough that we have found each other. Dear Gaius, be at peace with that knowledge and—” her sentence was cut off by a shout behind them. Gaius turned and saw nothing yet when he turned to face his love once more he found that she was gone.

--

“Burn the witch!” cried out a harsh female voice. “Burn the witch with her green eyes! She bewitched my husband, our dear Minister Peter.”

The Minister, Peter Jacobs looked at the woman with the emerald eyes and saw how she stared at the moon, as if questioning whether or not she should call upon its power. “What say you witch?” asked a man with soul-black eyes as he approached the stake that had been set up in the middle of the small European town. “Any last words?”

The witch with the emerald eyes smiled at the man before her. “I knew that I would see you again, but you will not be able to get rid of me so easily.”

The man shook his head and turned to the crowd. “She speaks in the devil’s tongue.”

“Then burn her,” the wife of Peter Jacobs stated as she took the flaming torch and approached the witch. “I’ll burn you myself.”

The witch smiled down at the woman before her. “Dear Clarissa,” she whispered quietly. “You used to be my friend once yet I will forgive you for this…” she paused and cast her gaze out into the crowd, landing upon the pained face of Minister Jacobs. “And I forgive you too my love,” she continued louder so that the whole square could hear. “I will find you again in your next life, so do not fear.”

“Enough!” Clarissa screeched as she set the kindling beneath the witch’s feet ablaze. It went up in a flash and yet much to the crowd’s shock there were no screams. And when the fire was doused they found that the witch had vanished into thin air.

--

“Hush now,” whispered a soothing female voice as she held the hand of a fallen soldier. “Everything is going to be alright. I found you.”

Ignoring the pain that was coursing through his body, the man opened his eyes and saw a green-eyed angel watching over him. He opened his mouth to speak but found that the noise of the shell blasts stopped him from saying anything.

“I am sorry,” the angel whispered as though inside his very head. “I should have come for you much sooner than this…I will not make the same mistake again my love, I swear it…”

--

Young Jeffery Bones was playing on the local jungle gym when suddenly a butterfly caught his eye. Chasing the fluttering thing he found himself bumping into the legs of a woman. “Sorry!” he apologized as he looked up at her face and found himself getting caught in her emerald green eyes.

The woman smiled. “It is alright Jeffery,”

“You know my name!” he remarked in awe. “How do you know it?”

The woman shook her head. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“But—”

“Oh look!” the woman interrupted. “The butterfly.”

“What? Where?” asked a young Jeffery as he spun around, but when he saw no butterfly he spun back to where the woman was standing only to find that she was gone.

--

Jeffery awoke with a start as the jeep came to a stop. “You alright?” asked Henry looking at his son in concern. “You were out for the count again.”

“Yeah,” Jeffery assured as he woke up fully. “Yeah I’m alright Dad, I just had some pretty crazy dreams, that’s all.”

“Well, both of our dreams are about to come true son,” Henry continued as the back flap of the truck was opened. “We’re here.”

They made it to their camp just as the sun was setting. The team emerged from their trucks and came upon the most breathtaking site. There just a five minute walk or so away was the site that had been partially uncovered by the sands of Egypt four weeks ago. In the intervening time, the students who were employed by the Cairo Museum had begun to excavate the sand away. What was left was an impressive display of Egyptian architecture, with some columns already being restored to their proper height. “This is bloody brilliant,” Jeffery muttered to himself as he stared in awe at the site before him. “Totally amazing.”

“And it’s all ours,” Henry said as he joined his son. “All ours for the next couple weeks,”

Jeffery sighed. “Doesn’t seem fair,”

“What doesn’t?” asked Henry.

“We’re only here for a couple weeks,”

“Three weeks son,” Henry corrected. “We’re going to be here for three weeks.”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Jeffery stated. “Three weeks is hardly enough time to find anything substantial.”

“Thee weeks is enough time to find something amazing,” Henry assured as he saw a contemporary of his coming over. “Ah Jamal, I was just assuring my son that we would be able to find something in three weeks. What is your expert opinion?”

“Mine?” asked the tall Egyptian man as he flashed his white teeth in a smile. “My opinion means nothing Henry,” he stated. “After all, only Allah knows how long the sands will stay away.”

“You’ve uncovered so much already,” Jeffery interjected as he stared at the site before them. “You and your team have been here for—how long doctor?”

“We’ve been here for one week and three days,” Jamal answered. “And you can call me Jamal or Doctor Sandu.”

“Sandu?” asked Jeffery with a raised eyebrow.

Jamal nodded. “Not a very Egyptian name is it?” He paused while Jeffery nodded before explaining. “My father came from India, my mother was native to Egypt. They met in Oxford while they were studying the classics. My mother was studying literature and my father ancient civilizations. Hence my last name.”

“I’m sorry if I offended you,” Jeffery apologized.

Jamal smiled. “Think nothing of it boy, I get asked the question a lot,” he paused and smiled at the father and son duo. “Now if you two will follow me I will show you to your tent, although young Jeffery here will have to share one on his own.”

“Why?” asked Henry not liking the thought of being away from his son. “What happened?”

Jamal shrugged his shoulders. “Mix up I guess. Henry you shall sleep on the cot in my room, and lucky Jeffery here will have a tent to himself.”

I should be sharing it with someone, he thought suddenly as they approached the tents. “Uh, are there scarabs around here?” he asked as he tried to take his mind off the stray thought that had passed through his mind.

“Of course there are scarabs,” Jamal stated. “This is Egypt after all. But they will not harm you,” he continued quickly sensing Jeffery’s unease.

Jeffery forced a smile on his face. “Thank you,” he stated as he entered his tent. “See you both in the morning.”

--

The following morning dawned bright and early and the entire team was up at the crack of dawn. Jamal lead the newbies around the site in a brief tour and once that was done they were allowed to fan out and see what the other archaeologists were doing. Jeffery decided to stay as far away from his father as possible and in doing so he found himself gravitating to one of the female archaeologists, an English woman by the name of Lenora Brown who was on contract with the Cairo museum. “What are you working on?” Jeffery asked as he looked over the older woman’s shoulder.

Lenora Brown was a forty-seven year old woman with greying hair and intense blue eyes that looked at the world behind a pair of glasses. She smiled warmly at Natalie and motioned for her to kneel down beside her. “Yesterday before you arrived we found these tombs,” Lenora answered.

“Tombs?” asked Jeffery in shock. The two holes in the ground before her did not look like tombs to her.

“Well, they’re more like simple holes in the ground then the grand tombs we’re used to discovering,” Lenora answered. “I figure that this site is pre-old kingdom and that these tombs hold two people who have to be at least five and a half thousand years old.”

“Five and a half thousand...”Jeffery trailed off and did the mental calculation in his head. “That would place them around thirty-four hundred B.C.E or so, nearly six thousand years ago.”

“That’s right.” Lenora confirmed.

“Then how can the column be here?” he asked looking behind them where a second column was being erected in order to do some more excavation. “I mean, that column looks to be about new kingdom or so. If this site is pre-old...”

Lenora nodded. “It is a mystery. But the cover stone that we found here had a very old form of hieroglyphics on it. Maybe the oldest we’ve found to date. My husband, Daniel Brown the linguistic he did a rough translation and found that these two were considered to be ‘of one soul.’”

“Of one soul?” asked Jeffery with a raised eyebrow as a funny feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. “What does that mean?”

“I have no idea,” Lenora answered as she continued to dig, revealing a bit of bone. “Oh look at this,” she exclaimed. “We found one of them.”

Jeffery suddenly felt a pain course though his body and Lenora looked up in concern. “You alright kid?” Pale as a sheet Jeffery shook his head and mumbled some sort of excuse before leaving them to continue on with their work. “Strange,” she muttered to herself as the skeletons continued to be unearthed.

--

Sooner than they all would have liked darkness fell upon them again and the team retired to their tents for the night. Natalie was buzzing about the tomb that had been discovered but Jeffery seemed almost too quiet for words. “You alright?” Henry asked as he walked his son to the tent for the night “You seem quiet and you look pale.”

“I’m fine,” Jeffery assured as closed the flap, indicating to his father that he did not be disturbed. Within minutes he was asleep and while he slept he was tormented by images and bits of dialogue which felt like long forgotten memories.

Hi. I’m Natalie

I’m Jeffery, nice to meet you

Nice to meet you too!

Do you think that you wanna…wanna…

Want to go to a movie with you?

Yeah…will you?

Of course Jeffery.

Hey now…there’s no need to back away from me. I mean, I know that we kinda ended things badly but-

But nothing…We’re still friends

I have my own umbrella girl, you two enjoy your romantic walk in the rain.

You know, you didn’t have to open the door for me.

I know,

And you certainly didn’t have to help me into the car,

I know.

Then why did you do it? To prove that chivalry isn’t dead?

It isn’t you know, but that wasn’t the reason.

Then what was? What was the reason?

I wanted to, that’s all.

You—wanted to? Because of me?

Yep, is that a problem?

No. No, that’s not a problem at all.

Good. I’m glad.

Thank you. Thank you for listening to me.

You’re welcome; my ear is always here for you.

I’m terribly sorry, but she has severe hypothermia.

What does that mean?

We’re doing all we can—

Yes but what does that mean?

It means that you better hope that she’s a fighter.

She is. I know she is…

Oh god Natalie, You’re alright.

I’m sorry. But nothing survived the in the rain.

I knew him quite well. He was always asking me questions. Did I see a tall Egyptian woman with long black hair and green eyes; did I ever see a man who looked like him roaming the streets of Cairo….I could never understand it.

He was asking about my mother, and my brother, they disappeared here when I was five.

Dear child, and your father was taken by Allah when you were fifteen. How brave of you to come to the land that must hold so much sorrow for you….

We ended things together, at least that’s what I thought

Forget it.

I feel like I’ve been here. It was a very, very long time ago but I’ve been here Natalie, I know I have.

What happened to her? Who are you? What is going on here? Where is here?

You are in ancient Egypt my boy, though it is not so ancient yet and it is not called Egypt either. This is Kemet and you have been brought before the first Pharaoh of a united land. I am the god Osiris and as to her, my daughter has merely fainted.

Daughter? How can Natalie be your daughter?

Nat, Natalie, Nathifa. It’s all the same to me, you’re the same person.

Natalie, We’re not on the dig site, at least not the one that we know. We’re in ancient Egypt, remember?

Jeffery! Are you alright?

Yes, I’m fine.

But that—that looked as though it would hurt, are you sure that you’re alright? They didn’t hurt you?

In the beginning, but I hold my own now...Nen says that I am doing very well for someone who hasn’t had the years of pre-training.

And I intend to be by your side when the final battle comes, I have to make sure that you survive to come home.”

I need to know how much of the feelings that you clearly harbour for her are based on whom she is...and how much are based on who she could be with him.

Jealousy, She’s talking about jealousy. Do I care for Natalie because of who she is, or do I care for her only because I don’t want her to be with Hasani...?

No. I won’t let it happen. I can’t let it happen.

I’m just trying to keep you alive, to bring you home.

This is my home Jeffery. I’ve found my family, and it’s time that you returned to yours.

You’re not going to be anywhere. You’re going to be in the twenty-first century. Safe with your father...

And you.

We’ve been over this. My place is here.

Then my place is here too.

Jeffery…

Look at me Natalie, look at me. Just who do you think you are? You can’t just order me to go, not when I’m choosing to stay.”

It’s not your choice to make,

Damn straight it is,

It was never meant to be your choice!

“NATALIE!” he cried out in horror, his hand still reaching out to her. “NATALIE!!”

“Jeffery!” she cried out with equal fervour as a knot of fear wound itself in her stomach. “JEFFERY!” she cried out again as he was completely obscured by the sand. “JEFFERY NO!”

What do you want Seteh.

I want you.

For what?

You’ll see.

Natalie will stop you, you know.

Ah, you mean the goddess of Destiny?

She knows what you’re planning.

Well she will not see this one coming.

J-J-J-Jeffery?

N-Natalie? W-What happened?

Oh god. It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. Everything’s going to be alright. You’re going to be okay Jeffery; I’m with you now and I swear that you’ll be okay. You have to be okay. You’re okay. You’re—

N-Natalie? Natalie?

--

Jeffery awoke with a start. “My god…” he whispered to himself as he placed his head upon his hands, the memories already slipping away. “What a crazy dream.” Jeffery let his eyes gaze at the tent ceiling with a million thoughts running through his head.

I am forgetting something, he thought to himself as he waited for the sun to rise. I am forgetting something very, very important.

--

The sun was beating down upon his head, the hot sands were blowing into his eyes with the occasional stifling breeze, but Jeffery did not care in the slightest. He was getting close to something, something that was vitally important, and something that would change the course of his life. He knew that in his bones. And so he continued to dig. He continued to brush away the sand and dirt that was covering the altar of the long forgotten temple in the sands of Egypt. And soon enough, his patience and instincts were rewarded for he began to see the outlines of a figure. “Dad!” he called out excitedly as more of the figure was revealed by his careful ministrations. “Dad come here!”

“What is it son?” asked Henry, Jeffery’s father and the Egyptologist in charge of the archaeological dig. “What have you found? Is it the altar?”

Jeffery nodded. “I think so,” he began as he continued revealed the entire figure. “But I’ve never seen this figure before. It’s a woman, so this temple was to a goddess and not a god as we thought, but-”

“Who is she?” asked Henry as he knelt down beside his son to examine the fragmented figure on the sandstone block. It was almost worn smooth but the barest of features could still be seen. She looked to be a beautiful woman in traditional Egyptian profile, with a strong nose and long hair that was braided. Upon her head she wore a crown with a symbol on it. What the symbol was, Henry could not be sure for it had been chipped away or had broken off sometime in the last four and a half thousand years or so. The better portion of her dress was also broken off, leaving Henry quite disappointed. “Who do you think she is son? Hathor? Or Isis maybe… perhaps Baset?”

Jeffery shook her head. “I don’t think that she’s any of those goddesses,” he stated quietly as he traced the profile of the woman with his hand, a sense of déjà vu washing over him like a wave. “I don’t think that we’ve ever seen a goddess like her before.”

Now, it was Henry’s turn to shake his head. “Nonsense my boy,” he stated confidently. “We know the name and purpose of the entire Egyptian pantheon. There must be a name to go along with this goddess.”

“I don’t think so,” Jeffery insisted as he revealed a portion of the cartouche which once encircled the name of the goddess. “I think that her name was Na...or at least a part of it.”

“There was no worship of any goddess that held the name Na,” his father contradicted. “So your interpretation must be mistaken.”

“I really don’t think so Dad,”

“Come now,” Henry ordered as he hauled his twenty-four year old son to his feet. “Enough of this, let one of the students catalogue this. Whomever this temple belongs to, I doubt that we’ll find much more than this…it’s a shame that we’ll never know who she was.”

“Yeah,” Jeffery agreed as he stared at the face of the goddess, getting chills as he did so despite the hot Egyptian sun. “It is a shame...”

Jeffery let his sentence trail off for while he had no idea what the name of the mystery goddess was, he did feel as though he knew the figure. Though it was fragmented and the name did not survive the fact that her face and bust had unnerved Jeffery. He felt as though he had seen that face before, even though he knew that that was impossible. ‘Where could I have seen this face?’ he asked himself silently as his father led him away, prattling about the inconsistencies of the students in his care. ‘I’ve never been to Egypt before, and this site has never been excavated. Where could I have seen her before...”

That night, when camp was quiet and the moon was full—Jeffery snuck back onto the dig site. He was determined to figure out who the goddess was. Throughout the entire day, even though he had been cataloguing other little bits of pottery that had been found, Jeffery found that he could not keep his mind of the face of the unknown goddess. She was drawing him back to her and Jeffery was determined to find out who she was, and how he knew her.

Once at the site of the altar he knelt down beside it and tenderly touched the face. It was an unconscious action and it was done in the same manner as a lover who was besotted with a woman that he had lost. ‘Who are you?’ he thought to himself as he sat back on his heels, staring

at the image. ‘How do I know you?’

“I knew you’d be here,” came a voice behind him. Jeffery whirled around to find the most gorgeous looking woman that he had ever seen standing before him. She looked to be about five-two and she had the most intense green eyes that he had ever seen, despite the fact that there were locks of raven-black hair falling in front of them. “I knew it,” she stated again a smile gracing her perfect features. “I just knew it.”

“Excuse me,” began Jeffery as he stood up to face the woman. “But who are you?” Jeffery watched at the woman before him smiled sadly, as though his answer had broken her heart. He took a brief moment to study her appearance; she was wearing a simple white cotton dress that caught the moonlight, making her look like an angel. And even though Jeffery had no idea who she was, he was connected to her. “Well?” he asked again finally, finding his voice. “Who are you?”

“I am your destiny,” she stated calmly, extending her hand in the process. And Jeffery, as though he had no will of his own, took her hand. The minute that he did so a light exploded all around and when it cleared Jeffery could see Natalie, his Natalie standing there. And Natalie for her part could see the recognition in Jeffery’s eyes and then with a burst of emotion she threw herself into his arms, and Jeffery returned the embrace with an equal amount of emotion.

“Gods,” he whispered as he held her tight. “Nat…”

“Jeffery,” Natalie sobbed as she buried her head in the crook of his shoulder. “I am so sorry Jeffery. I am so sorry for everything.”

“Shh…” he soothed as he held her tight. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“But it was. It was my fault. It was all my fault and I’m so sorry.”

“Natalie it’s alright,” Jeffery insisted as he stroked her back. “Everything’s going to be alright now. We’re together…”

Natalie pulled back and looked at her dear Jeffery in the eyes. “Jeffery,” she began quietly as her tears began to dry. “Jeffery there’ something that I’ve been waiting nearly six thousand years to do, and I better do it now before I lose my nerve.”

And then, before Jeffery could say anything, she cupped his face with her hands and pulled him into the most passionate kiss. Shocked only for an instant, Jeffery returned the kiss with as much passion as was being given. And when they broke apart, both Natalie and Jeffery were absolutely breathless.

At first they said nothing and Jeffery just held Natalie’s face in his hands. She placed her hands on top of his and smiled as he slid them down to her back, pulling her against him in the process. “I love you,” she whispered into his ear as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a comforting hug. “I love you so much Jeffery and I am so sorry for not saying it sooner.”

“I love you too,” Jeffery replied with absolute forgiveness in his voice. There were a million questions running through his head such as how a relationship between a mortal and a goddess was going to work, whether or not he would have to fight with the memory of Hasani, and what exactly had he been dreaming about in the past couple days—but all of those questions could wait for Jeffery didn’t really care. He had Natalie’s love and she had his. They were together at last, and for the both of them, that was all that mattered for the moment.

-End of Part 1-

A/N) Hey there beloved readers...mainly Gemema. This fist part is over and due to the fact that I"m doing NANOWRIMO this year you won't get an update until mid-december. But, not to be mean I'm including sneak peaks at the next two parts entitled 'Emerald Moon' and 'Awakening Light' So please, leave a review and I"ll see you all again in Decemeber.

“I’ve been having odd dreams lately.”

“Yeah sorry ‘bout that.”

“What do they mean?”

“They were your past lives.”

“And you were always there.”

“I always found you.”

.

“You’re my love.”

“No I’m not.”

“Yes you are.”

“No I am not.”

.

“You’re going to have to make a choice. Me or him.”

“I chose him.”

.

“Come on my love you can fight this, you can fight him.”

.

“I want to thank you,”

“You have nothing to thank.”

.

“You did what?”

“It was the only way.”

.

“One minute I was a little girl, the next I looked like this. What the hell is going on?”

.

“How could you forget?”

“You’re a goddess of Egypt.”

“Well maybe I don’t want to be a goddess anymore.”

.

“You’re mortal now.”

“So?”

“So this could be very bad.”

“I have lived for over six thousand year and countless lifetimes. I want to live out my lifetime with you.”

.

“I still have some of my powers.”

“They’re sporadic at best.”

“They’ll due for this. Don’t worry.”

“Worry is my middle name.”

“Then you can worry enough for the both of us.”

.

“Helaine don’t rush this.”

“Why not? We don’t have much time.”

“I know, but she’s waited over six thousand years for this moment.”

.

“This can’t be happening.”

“Believe me, its happening.”

“But Natalie—”

“—I know.”

“She’s—”

“—I know.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

.

“You have to do something.”

“What can I do?”

“You’re a goddess. You can do something, anything.”

“I don’t have a choice do I?”

.

“So this is it?”

“I guess.”

“No more bad guys?”

“No.”

“No more battles?”

“No.”

“Just you and me?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

“Disappointed?”

“Oh no.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

“Yeah me too.”

.