Southern Revenge

"No, I'm alright, I won't leave him."

"That is not a request that is an order. When he wakes up he will need you, and if you are ill then you won't be able to do that. Come on, now"

Jonathan got up to change the water in the bowl. But he had been sitting for too long and he swayed as he stood up. Masala grabbed him and sat him down.

"Right that's it, come on there is a tent next to this where there is food, drink and a bed. Go in there and get some rest. Please"

He knew Masala was right and he was helped by one of the other Med-jai into the tent and onto the bed. He was asleep before his head touched the pillow. He slept for 36 hours before waking up. When he did, he found Masala sitting there.

"Don't worry, Abdul is with Ardeth. He is still out of it, but I wanted to make sure you were okay and to make sure you ate. You slept so long I was getting worried about you too. Please eat."

"Thank you Masala, I didn't realise I was so exhausted. The food is good. I will eat and drink and then go back to him. Is there any change?"

"No, he still has a fever and has been thrashing about in his sleep. It seems to be nightmares that are doing it as well as the fever. It took 3 of us to hold him down last night. Do you know what happened to him in there?"

Jonathan finished his meal and poured a glass of wine and told Masala what he thought had gone on, from the injuries and what Marid had told him. Masala was shocked.

"How could any man survive that kind of torture"

"He is a Med-jai leader, he is one of the bravest men I have ever met. He would not go down without a fight. What happened to Marid anyway"

"He killed himself last night. He was probably ashamed of what he had done

and couldn't face his people if they found out"

Once they had finished, Jonathan took over from Abdul and dressed the wounds again. They seemed better and he decided that he wouldn't give him any more wine, he would let him wake up himself, hopefully when the fever broke.

That night the fever did break and his breathing evened out and his temperature went down. Jonathan took Ardeth in his arms and held him for the first time since getting him out of that place. He fell asleep himself.

"No, get off me, leave me alone" shouted Ardeth struggling in Jonathans arms.

"Ardeth, hey it's me, it's Jonathan. Come on it's alright, no-ones going to hurt you any more"

His eyes opened and he calmed down when he saw Jonathan was holding him. With an cry, he broke down and his body shook with sobs as Jonathan rocked him and stroked his hair, whispering comforting things to him. It was a long time before Ardeth stopped and fell asleep with exhaustion.

Jonathan looked at him and laid him down, his face was red and puffy and Jonathan got a cloth and wiped the tears away, his own tears mingling with Ardeths. At least he was just asleep now, the fever had gone but it was not over yet, not by a long way.

A week later, Ardeth was slowly getting better, at least physically. The pains inside had stopped and he was eating again. The tears were almost gone but he was still having problems with the back bit. It was sore still and bled occasionally. Jonathan had stayed with him, nursed him, held him when he needed it and was falling deeply in love with him.

"Morning sunshine, how are we today" he smiled one morning

"A lot better, thanks to you. Masala has told me what you did"

"It was nothing, you know me, help anyone"

"Yes but it must have been hard for you to see….see what they did, I…."

"Hey come on, it's over now, you're safe and no-one will ever hurt you like that again. I promise"

He made himself comfortable on the rugs next to Ardeth and handed him some tea. Ardeth took it and drank it, but Jonathan could see his hands were shaking. He took the cup and put his hands on ardeths. He leaned over and rested his head on Jonathans shoulder. Jonathan wrapped his arms round him and held him tight, no words, just warmth and love.

"Jonathan, how can you hold me, when I've been so violated. I …. I feel so dirty and not worth the care you are giving me"

"Ardeth, listen to me. What happened to you, wasn't your fault. Luckily the men who did this are dead or God help me me, I would kill them for what they've done to you. I'm here because I care about you…no because….because I love you"

Ardeth looked into his eyes and saw the love there and tears filled his eyes. He buried his head in Jonathans shoulder and cried quietly. Jonathan kissed the top of his head.

A little later when they were sitting there eating, Ardeth moved so he was on his side looking at Jonathan.

"You alright Ardeth?" he asked

"Yes, it's still sore if I stay in one place too long"

"I'll put some more stuff there when we have finished. It's going to take time to heal completely. What you need to do is go for short walks, it would help"

"No, no way, I can't face them out there. They know what happened. I have lost their respect as a leader. I will have to step down and leave the Med-jai"

Jonathan was shocked to hear Ardeth speak like that.

"Don't be silly, no-one out there blames you for what happened. If anything you have more respect now than before"

Ardeth argued with him over this and then told him to leave him alone. Going outside Jonathan went to find Masala and he told him what Ardeth had said.

"I guessed something like this would happen" replied Masala "Ardeth is a proud man, if he allos something to happen to him, he feels it reflects on the Med-jai. He has to be seen to be the strongest one here and he feels he had lost face. In fact doing this has made him one of the more vulnerable of us, protecting us, he forgets himself"

"What you're saying is he neglects his own welfare for the sake of his people. And if anything goes wrong, he blames himself. That's crazy. He could have got himself killed in there or anywhere for that matter"

"At Ahm shere, you didn't know what happened while you were in the pyramid do you?"

Jonathan sat down and listened to what Masala was telling him.

"No, I killed a guy to stop him killing Ardeth in the jungle, the next time I saw him was on the horse, when it was over"

"When he saw the pyramid starting to disintergrate, he broke down, because he thought it was his fault you were all there. If he hadn't gone to London, none of you would be in danger. It took a while for me and Abdul to convince him that it would have happened anyway. You, Rick, Evy would be dead if he hadn't gone to London to warn you. There would have been no-one to destroy the scorpion King nor Imhotep. They would now rule the world with the army of Anubis and we would all be dead too."

"How do we help him. I love him Masala. I know you people would rather him take a wife but I can't help how I feel"

"I know you love, you've loved him for a long time. I could see it, even if Ardeth couldn't or wouldn't. you are the only one who can help him Jonathan. I will talk to him then it's up to you"

Jonathan got up and went to head back to ardeths tent, he should be in a better mood now. Masala called him back.

"I've had an idea. If Ardeth is well enough to ride, a camel would be best. Head north for 3 miles, you will come to an oasis, this one is gorgeous. There is a small lake surrounded by trees. Take a tent, food, everything you need and stay there for a while, as long as is needed. To make it easier for Ardeth, I will get the men to come out on scout round the city. You use that time to leave"

"Thanks Masala, it might work"

Later that day, Jonathan helped ardeth onto the camel and they headed out to the oasis. It was still just about light when they arrived and Jonathan put the tent up and got it ready while Ardeth cooked some food.

By the time it was ready, it was dark and they sat by the fire and ate in silence at first. Then Jonathan poured some wine and handed it to Ardeth. He took it and leant back on a tree to drink it. He was relaxed for the first time since he had started to get better.

"Ardeth, while I clear up, why don't you go for a swim in the pool. He would do you good, I will make some tea for when you have finished."

"That sounds like a good idea, it might help the aches and pains. Thanks Jonathan"

Jonathan smiled at him as he walked down to the pool. While he was gone, Jonathan made the tea and then went to tell Ardeth that it was ready. As he got to the edge of the pool, he saw Ardeth leisurely swimming across. He stood by the tree and watched him.

He glided through the water like a God, his slim lines lit up by the moonlight. Jonathan could see why he had fell in love with him, he was exquisite, beautiful and he wished he could join him, but he didn't dare put him that position at the moment, not after what he had been through. That could wait till he was ready.

Ardeth swam to the side of the pool and climbed out. He saw clean clothes by the side and guessed that Jonathan had brought them down to him. Why hadn't he stayed or said something. Whatever had gone on, he wanted Jonathan, he knew he loved him but he was scared that Jonathan wouldn't ever feel the same.

Being ill, he hadn't really heard Jonathan when he told him he loved him, only bits of the conversation were remembered.

He dressed and walked back to the camp, Jonathan was inside the tent with the flaps open so that the light of the fire shone through. He was laying on the rugs with his arm behind his head. Ardeth stood there and looked at him, then picking up some tea walked in and sat beside him

"why didn't you come in with me?" he asked

"Oh…sorry, I didn't think you would want me too. I thought you wanted the space"

"Is that all, I thought perhaps it was because you really couldn't bear to look at me after that place"

"For Gods sake Ardeth. How many times do I have to say this. What happened to you hasn't made me feel any different than I did before. When will you believe me"

Ardeth sat down beside him and hung his head, his wet hair flowed round his shoulders. Jonathan sat up and pushed ardeths hair back and lifted his face so that he could look at him. Tears were in Ardeths eyes and he looked pale and tired. Rubbing a thumb across his cheek, Jonathan took the bull by the horns and gently kissed Ardeth on the lips.

He knew if this had been the wrong thing to do, when ardeth ran out of the tent. But he didn't, instead he brought a hand up to Jonathans face and kissed him back. They sat there for a while, just giving each other little kisses, then Ardeth pushed his tongue inside Jonathans mouth and deepened one of the kisses.

Their breathing quickened and they moaned into each others mouth. Jonathan pulled Ardeth down with him onto the rugs and didn't break the kiss once. Then they stopped and lay in each others arms, not saying anything for what seemed like hours. They must have fallen asleep because it was light by the time they woke up and Jonathan found Ardeth had moved out of his arms but was still snuggled up against him. He laid there watching him for a while then got up and cooked breakfast.

Two days went by before either of them mentioned what happened that first night. Ardeth was sitting by the pool, watching the water in the sunlight, a tree shading him. Jonathan waked over and sat beside him.

"Ardeth, look I have to know, did I do the wrong thing the other night when I kissed you. I've been too scared to mention it in case you were angry about it"

"Oh Jonathan, I am not angry about it, I kissed you back remember. It was only then that I knew you wanted me"

"But something is wrong, please tell me"

"I love you Joanthan and it's taken me a long time to realise or admit it. But I am terrified of what kisses will lead to. I'm scared that it would hurt, being touched and that I couldn't handle it and you would then hate me for it"

"Ardeth, I love you more than anything in the world. But I would never push you into anything. We have all the time in the world for that. I don't care if we never go the whole way, but I do want to show you that it will never be like that in your life again. If I have to spend the rest of my life showing you that, I will"

Ardeth laid back in the sand and opened his arms to Jonathan, who laid with his head on Ardeths chest. They stayed there for a while and then Ardeth moved.

"I'm going in the pool, the water will be lovely now. Come with me"

They undressed and walked into the water. It was cool and it sparkled under the sunlight. Ardeth swam over to the far side, Jonathan wasn't a good swimmer so stayed near the edge.

"What's wrong Jonathan, it's lovely, come on" said Ardeth.

"I'm not very good at swimming, I nearly drowned when I was a kid, never got used to it again. I'll stay here, I'm alright"

Ardeth came over to him and took his hands and slowly walked backwards in the water.

"You asked me to trust you, now you trust me. Come on, you'll be alright, it's not that deep, I've got you"

"I'm not sure ardeth. I do trust you but I don't trust the water"

Ardeth laughed for the first time in ages and kept walking backwards till they were in the deepest part of the pool. He kept hold of Jonathans wrists tightly and told him to take his feet off the bottom and just float. It took a bit of persuading but Jonathan eventually did. Slowly Ardeth walked in a circle with him, telling him to kick his legs.

"Come on, you're doing great, you'll be fine. Now I am going to let go of you, use your arms and legs, I'll be here."

"No, Ardeth, please I can't, I'll drown"

Ardeth let him go and for a couple of minutes he was fine, he was actually swimming.

"That's it Jonathan, you've got it, that's great"

Suddenly, Jonathan lost concentration and started to sink to the bottom, arms and legs splashing about. Ardeth made a grab for him and pulled him up, coughing and spluttering. It was only about 4ft deep in the middle and it took a while for Ardeth to make him put his feet down and stand up.

"You're okay, calm down, just take a deep breath"

Jonathan did what Ardeth asked and found he was still alive at least. Ardeth took his hands and led him out of the water onto the sand. He sat him down while he went and grabbed a fur rug from the tent and going back wrapped it round Jonathan who was shaking. He had been really scared and it brought back memories of when he was 10 years old.

"Jonathan, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you do that, I didn't know you were that scared of the water"

"I'm not, that's the stupid thing about it. I was 10 years old, my father said I should be able to swim, so instead of teaching me, he threw me off a pier by the sea and told me to either swim or drown. I was drowning and then a man jumped in and pulled me out. They didn't think I would make it and I never forgave my father for that. He just stood there and watched. I still love water but will only go in where I know it's safe. I didn't know it was safe in there, even with you beside me. Do you understand?"

Ardeth put an arm round Jonathan who was still shaking, even with the sun and rug on him.

"Come on, I think you need to get warm" said Ardeth. "Let's go back to the tent and I'll get you a drink."

When Ardeth came back in with some wine, Jonathan was still sitting there with the blanket wrapped round him. Ardeth handed him the drink, which Jonathan downed in one go. Jonathan was still shivering, he wasn't sure whether it was cold or shock, Ardeth put an arm round his shoulder and gave him another drink.

"Drink this, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you"

"It's not that, it was only 4ft deep for Gods sake. I'd love to get over this fear but I don't think I can"

Ardeth kissed his cheek and Jonathan felt a fire start to build inside him. He leant into the kiss and then looked at Ardeth. He had forgotten he was wearing anything and for the first time, Jonathan really looked at the man beside him.

"I'd better put some clothes on" said Ardeth suddenly.

Jonathan grabbed his arm and stopped him, taking his face in his other hand and kissing down his face, ending at the parted lips. As he pushed his tongue into his mouth, ardeth closed his eyes and brought a hand round and under the blanket and was touching skin.

Their breathing became faster and eventually they laid down, still kissing, their hands caressing each other. Jonathan knew to take it slow and to let Ardeth set the pace. He might just get up and leave if it got too intense but at least this was a start to his healing proper.

"Touch me Jonathan, please"

"Are you sure Ardeth, we don't have to go that far yet"

"No….I…need…you..to….touch…me"

Jonathan moved his hand down to Ardeths now hardened cock and gently stroked it, he felt Ardeth tense up.

"It's okay, relax. I'll never hurt you, only give you pleasure"

Gradually he felt him relax and he moved down and took him in his mouth. Gently licking and sucking, not going too fast and ready to stop if Ardeth wanted him to. He glanced up at Ardeth as he sucked him and saw him, with his head back and gripping the rug, he was moaning.

"God….don't stop….please…don't stop" he gasped.

Jonathan sucked harder and teased his balls with the other hands. Ardeth was arching into him as he brought him closer and closer to the edge. Suddenly he went over and he came in Jonathans mouth, screaming his name. As he finished cuming, he grabbed his stomach and rushed outside, before Jonathan could move.

Hurrying out after him, he found him by the back of the tent being sick, doubled over holding his stomach, as he finished he passed out. Jonathan ran to his side and picked him up in his arms and held him, not knowing what was wrong. Gradually he came round and saw a worried man looking down at him.

"Ardeth, whatever happened, are you alright?"

"God, it hurt Jonathan, when I came, these cramping pains inside, like it was on fire. Is it going to be like that every time I do anything?"

"I don't know, maybe it was because it was the first time since….I really don't know. Come on let's get you inside and you can get some rest"

He helped him up and laid him on the rugs and covered him up. He laid facing away from Jonathan and cried softly. Jonathan decided to leave him for a while. He really hoped this wasn't going to happen every time or they may have to seek medical help in Cairo. Maybe something was wrong and Jonathan, not being qualified wouldn't know.

Stoking up the fire, he made some food and tea. He borrowed one of Ardeths robes, he couldn't be bothered to dress in his stuff. He sat by the fire as Ardeth was asleep and thought it best to leave him a little longer. He was dozing when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he nearly fell over trying to jump up.

"Jesus, warn a man, you trying to give me a heart attack"

"Sorry, I woke up and saw you out here. Didn't mean to scare you" said Ardeth trying to stifle a laugh.

He sat down and got himself some food and wine before trying the tea.

"How are you feeling?" asked Jonathan

"Fine, no problems at all. As you said it was probably the first time, since what happened. Maybe it will be alright next time"

"If it isn't, maybe we should get you to Cairo and see one of the doctors there. It could be something inside that hasn't cleared up"

For the next week, they ate, slept, talked and generally relaxed. Ardeth was almost back to his old self. The only they hadn't tried again was sex, of any description. Then one night, they drank two bottles of wine between them and were a little drunk, they were laughing and chasing each other around and ended up in the water.

"Er Jonathan, I think we should have taken our clothes off first" laughed Ardeth.

"I think you are right" giggled Jonathan trying to take his trousers off in the water.

He fell over with a splash but didn't care. Getting out he took them off with a bit of trouble and then saw Ardeth had already taken his robe off and was swimming. He sat down and watched him. He came out and laid next to Jonathan.