| THE ADVENTURES OF THE O'CONNELL FAMILY Page 29 |
| Anck-su-namun smirked and suddenly spun around and struck. Evie was unprepared for this move and was hit in the side, already drawing blood. Rick growled in frustration at Anck-su-namun's dirty ways of playing. He wanted to help her so badly, but alas, he couldn't. He was just another "guard" in the audience. All Rick could do now was watch and pray that she would stay alive. 'This was supposed to be a wonderful family vacation�' Rick thought miserably. 'Now I'm in ancient Egypt, watching my wife battle to possibly the death, my son about to be sacrificed, and me just standing here unable to do a damned thing!' Meanwhile, as the fight raged, Evie managed to spot a flaw in Anck-su-namun's battle tactics. Without warning, Evelyn spun around and slammed the blunt end of her trident into Anck-su-namun's stomach. Rick was, to say the least, shocked at how well his wife was now fighting. As soon as Anck-su-namun was momentarily incapacitated, the princess knocked her to the floor so hard that it made Imhotep gasp out in surprise. Evelyn stood over Anck-su-namun, the sharpest tip of the trident slipped under her neck, daring the warrior female to move. Anck-su-namun stared at the trident, then at "Nefertiri". She then smirked and closed her eyes. "You have defeated me, Princess Nefertiri." Anck-su-namun said softly. Evelyn smiled as she was declared the victor. She offered a hand to help up her opponent, and Anck-su-namun took it. As Evie helped her to stand, she suddenly felt herself thrown to the ground harshly, hitting the wall as she slid along the surface. Rick growled. "Jonathan, say something! I can't speak ancient Egyptian!" Rick snapped. "Right, now let me see if I can remember�" Jonathan mumbled. While her brother was trying to think, Evie stumbled to her feet and glared at Anck-su-namun. How dare she cheat before everyone! This was supposed to be a battle of honor, not a battle of cheaters. She eyed Anck-su-namun's hands. They were no longer holding the trident, but now they were holding a spear. Evie 'hmphed' softly under her breath and took a spear of her own from the wall. The battle would continue. "What's she doing?!" Rick hissed to Jonathan. "Err, it appears she's continuing the battle, old chap." Jonathan replied quietly. "But she won!" Rick hissed again. "Yes well what do you want me to do about it?" Jonathan replied timidly. Rick narrowed his eyes in distaste at his brother in law, somewhat angry with him for not even truly helping. Then again, what could he do? Not much, frankly. The American sighed softly and continued watching his wife battle. But during this battle, something was amiss. He glanced about, getting an uneasy feeling in his chest. And then he saw Imhotep whispering to the guards and drawing a dagger from his priest's cloak� Heidi Rittner ([email protected]) April 20, 2002 Imhotep kept the dagger hidden in the folds of his cloak in the case that Nefertiri decided to finish off Anck-su-namun for daring to fight deceitfully. He watched as the battle raged on. He would have to speak with Anck-su-namun about this unacceptable behavior. Her hate for Seti and his daughter should not be made so apparent, for it could result in punishment and banishment, and quite possibly being sentenced to death. He thought back to the time when Anck-su-namun first revealed her feelings of hate towards the Pharaoh. It was very uncommon for a woman to not accept the ways of the world. Most women would have been extremely pleased to be chosen to become a pharaoh�s wife, especially one as powerful and loved by the people as Seti, but Anck-su-namun had to be forced with threats of being disowned by the only man she ever loved at the time; her father. In a way, Imhotep was thankful that she had been chosen. It was her new status as pharaoh�s mistress that had led to their meeting, otherwise, their paths would never have crossed. Seti trusted his High Priest and often asked that he watch over his daughter and teach her on many subjects, including the ways of medicine and how to discover and control the unique powers that all women of her family line were gifted with. After Seti had taken one look at his daughter�s beautiful self-defense teacher, he had made arrangements to have her as his wife. He had asked that Imhotep also teach his mistress the ways of medicine. What Seti did not even think to consider was the possibility of his High Priest and new wife falling in love. Nobody knew of their affair, but Seti started to suspect that his wife was sharing the bed of another. So began Anck-su-namun�s daily morning ritual of having body paint applied from head to toe by order of the Pharaoh. Imhotep�s full attention was back on the fight as Evie disarmed Anck-su-namun with a twist and twirl of her spear. It happened so fast that Anck-su-namun was taken by surprise. As soon as Evie tried to trip her and pin her with her spear, Anck-su-namun quickly sprang into a couple of back flip, and grabbed a sword from the wall. She began charging towards Evie, slashing the sword left and right, up and down, in very quick motions that showed her impressive skill. Evie was aware of the hate in Anck-su-namun�s eyes and braced herself for the brutal attack. She held her spear in both hands and raised it to block the downward slash of the sword. The sword slashed through the spear handle as if it were nothing. Now the tables were turned. Evie was disarmed while Anck-su-namun came after her. Evie began to back up, concentrating on dodging the blade and getting another weapon to defend herself. Jonathan and Olympus were near to having a nervous breakdown, while Gabrielle was itching to take on Anck-su-namun for her disgrace against honorable fighting. Rick was at his wits end. Evie had proven herself, but Anck-su-namun was going for the kill. He watched as Evie kept her eyes on Anck-su-namun, dodging blows and backing up. He noticed an obstacle in Evie�s path and just as Evie was about to take the next step back, Rick jumped to his feet and yelled her name. �Evelyn!� Imhotep ignored this, thinking it was some word of caution in another language. It was too late. Everything happened so fast. Evie stepped back onto the handle of Anck-su-namun�s discarded spear and fell onto her back, knocking the wind out of herself. She looked up as Anck-su-namun stood with one leg on each side of her, and then she placed the blade next to the pulse of Evie�s throat. Rick sagged back down into sitting position thinking the battle was over. Anck-su-namun bend down, and in a whisper said, �Your father will be next.� She stood back up holding the sword downward in both hands with the tip aimed at Evie�s heart and raised it above her head, ready to make the final death blow. She would never forget the look of shock on Nefertiri�s face. Everyone immediately stood up |