DAY TWENTY THREE

                                                 (Things are not Always as They Seem)

GRETA

Waking up earlier than Youssef, Greta lay there smiling to herself. It all felt like a fairy tale. Slipping out of the tent quietly, she used the camp facilities and decided to eat breakfast. He was so adorable when he slept, she just couldn't bring herself to wake him. Sitting at the table, and smiling to herself like an idiot, her mind kept wandering back to Mr. Moussa and his request (practically a command actually,) to find his subordinate and do as they command. Why was she thinking of this? Sighing at how stupid she was being, she quickly scrawled out a note. She left it in the tent for Youssef to find when he woke up, then she went to find this Inji Ameen. She was hating herself all ready.

Knocking on the door of the house she had been directed to, Greta was surprised to find a little old lady answer. Feeling foolish for expecting some huge bear of a man with impossible requests, she laughed a little to herself, plastered a smile on her face and introduced herself. After all, how bad could it be? She probably just wanted some company for awhile, that wasn't so bad was it?

Stupid, old battle-axe! Boy, could looks be deceiving! That wasn't a woman, that was a demon in disguise! After introducing herself, all vestiges of niceness disappeared off that woman's face. A few insults about Greta's capabilities later, and she was ordered to go off and hunt down turquoise in the country side. What did she look like, Greta wondered to herself, an errand boy? Some under-paid, over worked lackey!? Well, she wasn't! Which got her wondering why she was searching through some bushes for some stupid gem, instead of giving that woman the tongue lashing of her life.

Several hours, and many, many complaints later. Greta brought the deceptive old hag her turquoise. Giving her a thank you, and then smiling evilly, she ordered Greta to talk to three locals about this company to which she and Mr. Moussaka belonged.Giving a sigh, Greta nodded. It was probably easier just to do it, and get it over with. Besides she didn't want Youssef to think his new wife was a quitter. Now what would be the easiest way to do this?

One quick ride later, she found herself in the market place. Inji had said she had to talk to locals, she didn't say she couldn't enjoy her time doing it and get a little shopping done at the same time. Greta hit a few of the shops, and bought some books, and also discovered a small shop that sold metals and gems for cheap. Half of these she had never heard of back home. Well this could be interesting, so she snatched them up. Now, on to business. Zeroing in on one of the merchants, she struck up a conversation. Trading gossip, and talking about her time in the tombs, she eventually got around to asking for the info Inji had wanted.

Listening to the complaints about the company's behaviour of late, Greta felt exhaustion kicking in. Heading back to camp and Youssef, she couldn't figure out why they were doing all that digging. Why bother? What were they after? Hmm...

YOUSSEF

Feeling blissfully lethargic, Youssef rolled over to cuddle his new wife. Grinning he went to wrap his arms around her, and found himself hugging air. Huh? Opening his eyes a bit, he discovered he was alone in the tent. Hmm, she seemed to be an early riser. Well, that could work out in his favour. He knew she had been an easy mark from the first time he had met her, and what an innocent! Staring at him with those puppy eyes from day one. He had played along, and humoured her, at first just for entertainment, but as he talked to her that first day and got to know her, something changed. He had to have her.

Shaking his head from the silly thoughts in it, he wondered what went wrong. Let's face it, he never planned on settling down. His goal was to seduce as many women as possible in this town and live like a king with them all loving him to the point of supporting him. Greta was just going to be a little icing on the cake. How many times did one run into the opportunity to fleece a foreigner, and have little fun with her, then get her to leave? Not often. So, what went wrong? After she had left that first day, he was sure he  had her hooked, and he was right. It was a little worrisome the next day when she hadn't shown up, after all he was hungry and wasn't going to wait forever. Plus, his house was a bit of a sty. Did she think he hadn't noticed the way she kept trying to to "discreetly" clean his house when he wasn't looking? He wasn't an idiot. Oh yes, he had lucked out this time. Feeling slightly annoyed at her inconsiderate nature for not showing up immediately today, he grumbled a little and went to find one of his regular local girls. She would probably be good for at least a meal today.

When Greta hadn't shown up right away the next morning, he felt some of his self confidence start to ebb away. Maybe he wasn't as good as he thought. Maybe she wasn't so easy after all. Sighing, he was about to set out for one of the local girls again when there was a knock at his door. Peeping out the window to see who it was, he smiled. Nah, he still had it.

Greta had come in smiling, and acting coy. He, of course ,had welcomed her and set about making her feel welcome and as at home as he could. That's when things went wrong for him. He spent hours listening to her prattle on about one stupid thing after another, but somehow watching her talk about it, gesturing wildly, and talking so animatedly, he actually began to enjoy it and listen. Her whole face lit up as she talked about figuring things out, and she laughed at herself about some of her mistakes (that was kind of cute.) What was wrong with him? Just as he was coming to his senses, and about to politely ask her to leave, she stunned him by getting flirty. He could tell by the look on her face, she thought she was being subtle about it, but she was about a subtle as sledgehammer. It was kind of attractive in a weird way. Now, we were getting somewhere. Flirting back, he waited to see if he would be getting what he wanted. It looked like it. Excited by the prospect of a pleasurable night, he started getting a little too caught up in what was happening. When she told him she wanted him to wait for her, he readily agreed. Not that he would, but if it would speed things along, why not say it? By the time she figured out it was a lie, he would be long gone. Things just got worse from there. She had proposed, and being too caught up, he had said yes. Crap! Now what? Well, he could fix things later. She'd never know right? Right. Grimacing a little, he felt a little twinge of guilt. Then things really took a turn.

Sensing he was losing her, he moved away and went to his room. In a small box on his dresser sat a box with all his mothers old jewellery in it. He opened it up, and selected one of her favourite rings. His father had given it to his mother shortly after they were married, as a symbol of his commitment to love her forever. His father had died in a freak sandstorm when he was two. He had gotten turned around, and barely able to see had stumbled too close to a small lake of water. It turns out that lake was home to a group of crocodiles. All they had found were a few scraps of clothing and a finger. He hadn't been old enough to understand at the time, but his mother made sure he never forgot. She told him stories everyday, sometimes what felt like all day. She had passed away a few years ago, soon after he had become an adult.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he couldn't understand why he was thinking of such things now. Not when Greta was out there about to bolt. Squeezing the ring in his hand, he walked back out and slipped the ring on her finger. What was he doing!? She looked so happy, he smiled. She had a nice smile, and he felt a bit of a flutter when she did. This was all for tonight right? Smiling, he embraced her, and held her, loving the feeling of her in his arms. Oh crap! What was happening? This wasn't happening right? RIGHT!?

Smiling to himself as he lay in the tent, he couldn't help but chuckle a little about the night before. Oh man, he had been right about it being a pleasurable night, and he was so sunk. Oh well, he could start over when they went back to her town. He could be discreet if needed. There were probably a lot of young women in need of a man to take care of there, even a married one. Sighing, he sat up and saw the paper fluttering down off of him. Curious he grabbed it, and began to read.

So that's where she was. Well, there was probably no use in sitting around this camp all day. He would be leaving soon, might as well make a few visits before he left. Besides it would give him a chance to work on his discretion skills a bit. Getting up, he headed to use the facilities.

Heading into the market place, he spotted one of his usual girls. She wasn't quite the beauty Greta was, heck most of his girls were, but she was passable. Plus she could cook better than most of his other girls, hmmm, he wondered what Greta's cooking was like? Snap out of it! Giving his face a bit of a slap,he moved forward. Some harmless flirting later, and he was at her house enjoying a wonderfully home-cooked meal. She really was the best cook. He smiled at her as she kept moving closer inch by inch. Yes, here it came, the part where his real skill showed though, this is what kept them coming back to take care of him. It's not like he wasn't having fun, and not giving something back in return.

As she came closer, squeezing up for a kiss, he could feel himself pulling back a little. Wait! This wasn't right, what was wrong with him? He leaned forward, and gave her a kiss, wrapping his arms around her. She didn't feel anything like Greta. Oh no! No, no, no, no! Ah, man! Suddenly standing upright, so that she face - planted into the floor he darted out the door offering quick apologies.

Walking down a lane towards the camp, he sighed. Great! Now he was in a pickle. What was wrong with him? Why was he doing this? It was to get to a bigger pool of women right? That was right, right? Then why couldn't he keep Greta's face out of his mind? Suddenly, he burst into laughter like a mad man. Sunk! He was sunk. Sitting down in the shade of a tree, he laughed until he cried.

Gazing up after awhile, he noticed that it was almost night. He got up, dusted himself off and turned to head for camp. He noticed a garden in the yard of this house. I wonder if she can cook, he thought. Quietly, and quick as he dared, he crept into the garden and began to pick it clean. He had to hurry. Food was scarce in the desert, and gardens like these were closely guarded by their owners. Smiling he worked quickly and efficiently, then headed for camp. He could have a career as thief, he was so good he thought to himself.

Back at camp he looked for Greta, but couldn't find her anywhere. Surely, She was ok. Sitting down by the fire pit, he absent-mindedly poked at it. Soon, he saw her walk into the camp, looking tired and dirty. When she looked up and saw him, she smiled and it lit up her face. She really did have a beautiful smile. He couldn't help but grin at her in answer. Walking over to her, he asked how her day went. Seriously, what did he care? Strangely enough, he found himself listening to her talk. Then she asked about his. Feeling happy that she asked, but guilty about his actions today, he gave her a vague answer. Then he  took her by the hand and led her to a tent. Smiling as he watched her get in, he soon followed. Ah! This is how it was supposed to feel, just right.

A Note From the Author

 

 

So, the unthinkable happened to me about 3 weeks ago. I lost my challenge game. Poof up in smoke! I have no idea where it went or why? Maybe it was the bad writing, maybe it could see where I was taking it and it didn't like it. Who knows, Charles the Evil chicken could have deleted when I wasn't looking because I didn't give him enough time on the front lines of the story.

 

 

The Point is, it's gone. I, however, in a very smart move for me (this almost never occurs when I want it to) had saved upto 50 blog posts where I was writing them. So, I've gone back and started a game with the same character, and followed my previous blog posts up until this point. Now the next blog post will have some names changed because obviously I couldn't draw the same random characters to fill some of the posts.

 

 

On a side note, I have pictures that I've been practicing taking in game. They're not great, probably not even good, but they are there. So, I will be going back to previous posts and trying to widgy them in there. Hope you enjoy.

DAY TWENTY TWO
(Romance is for Those Who Believe it Exist)

After waking up, and discovering that it hadn't all been a dream (nightmare or not, she couldn't tell,) Greta set out determined to find Youssef. After showering, eating, and let's face it, just getting out of the darn tent, half of the day was already gone.

Feeling sore, and punished to the max, Greta went and knocked on Youssef's door. Hoping that he was home, she felt relieved when he finally answered it. Inviting her inside with a smile, Greta eagerly followed.

They talked for hours about everything, and nothing. The more they talked, the more Greta started feeling like she was going to miss out on something special in her life when she left. Staying for dinner, and a few drinks after, she decided to test the waters and see how Youssef felt.

Flirting a little bit, she could tell he was interested. Oh goody! Continuing her flirtatious assault, she finally confessed her feelings. Wait! Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? Feeling a bit embarrassed, she was more than pleasantly surprised when he asked her to look at him, and then kissed her. He kissed her! Greta felt like her heart was about to explode from happiness. Oh, now how was she going to leave? Feeling like a bit of an idiot, and slightly disappointed in herself, she told Youssef how she felt. Smiling he said he felt the same way. Feeling like a sad, and extremely happy idiot, Greta blurted the first thing that popped into her head.

Will you be mine forever and wait? Did she really just say that? Man, she sounded like all those air - headed heroines in the novels she used to read in Bridgeport. She had been so disgusted with them for simpering like fools over men, and now she had turned into one. The world was ending. He must think she was a foreign idiot. Great! She heard him give a chuckle and then hug her and say yes. OMG! Hugging him back, she told him she didn't want to let him go. He said he felt the same way. Laughing as she said it, she said marry me. To her surprise, he gave a little jump for joy and said yes. Did she just hear that right? Totally  stunned as he walked away, she started to feel a little nervous. Then he came back with a ring. Saying it was his mother's, and giving a small embarrassed excuse that it was all he had, he slipped the ring on her finger and vowing to love her, he gave her a kiss.

Laughing like an idiot, she took him back to her camp. Amused at the tent, Youssef entered into it, and beckoned Greta inside. Oh, bliss! Greta had never  known such happiness.

Day Twenty One

(Just because you used to play in dirt, doesn't mean you still have to)

 

So, waking up in a desert was mildly disconcerting. Greta started checking out her surroundings. She was in some kind of a camp, and there was a board "for intrepid adventurers." You can get jobs here? Well, why not? Picking one, she decided to set out to talk to a Mr. Moussa.

 

On her way, Greta's heart almost stopped. The most beautiful sight she had ever seen came walking out of his house. Greta's heart started pounding, she wasn't sure what to do when he came over and started talking to her.

 

It turns out his name was Youssef Nagi, but she just barely managed to catch it after the third time he said it. It was easy talking to him, but she had a hard time concentrating on any one thing, which also seemed to amuse him. God, he was blindingly stunning! The more she talked to him, the more she realized he was just a friendly soul. After another hour, she left with the promise to come back and talk another day, and that was one promise she intended to keep.

 

Making a wrong turn (which was easy to do in these twisting, turning streets, ) Greta ended up in  what she later learned was the market place. Taking a look at what was for sale, she made some purchases. Then she continued on to Mr. Moussa's.

 

A TOMB!? Did she hear him right? He wanted her to go into a tomb and find some papers. Why would anyone stuff papers in a tomb full of dead people? Well, alright. She wanted a new experience right? Might as well try, as long as she got to meet Mr. Handsome again what was there to lose? She had better meet him again, or else she was going to be haunting someone for eternity.

 

Heading to the location they had discussed (someone needs to work on their direction giving skills,) she went down the stairs imagining an ancient trap or a mummy devouring her. Stop it Greta! Stupid imagination! It was going to kill her before she could get started. Well, this wasn't so bad. It was well lit, and although a little musty smelling, quite comfy. Spotting something glittering on the ground, she went to check it out. Coins! A huge pile of coins. While picking them up, she looked around and spotted a treasure chest. Hmmm, well why not? He had said she could keep what she found as long as she gave him the papers.

 

A key? What was she supposed to do with this? Greta stood up, clutching the key in confusion. Honestly, this was weird. Sighing, she leaned against the wall, and found an indent in it. Wiping it off, there was a missing space in the shape of her key. Aha! Putting the key in the hole, she heard a snapping and creaking sound. Turning to see if she was about to die, she discovered one of the doors was now opened slightly. She entered, crossing her fingers that the papers would be on the other side.

 

Of course not. What there was was a nasty, creepy looking statue. Actually, it kind of reminded her of her Uncle Albert. It was the long pointy nose and the wing-tip hair she supposed. Um, ok now what? She had played enough Zelda to know that sometimes statues came to life and bounced you death. Ugh, death by Uncle Albert would just suck, at least this statue didn't have his bad breath. Walking closer, she kept her eyes on it. Almost all the way to the statue, Greta stepped forward and the floor sank a little bit. She froze in shock as she heard the same sound as before and saw another door opening. Alright! The papers had to be through there. Moving forward towards the door, she paled as the door slammed shut in front of her. What was happening? Turning in confusion, her heart pounding, she looked for the danger. Ok, the statue was right where she left it. Good, she had been about to scream from sheer terror. Calming her heart down, she slowly walked back to the statue. Stepping on the spot from before, she heard the door open, turning and getting ready to dash she moved her foot off the ground and the door slammed shut. Oh! It must be a switch! Testing her theory a couple of times, she wondered how to make it stay. Her eyes wandered over to Uncle Albert. Hmm, does it move? Greta walked up to Uncle Albert and pushed. Yes! It moved, giggling a little bit she had to admit finally getting to push Uncle Albert around would be good for a change. Now we're getting somewhere, pushing Uncle Albert over to the switch (chuckling the whole way,) she heard the door open. Smiling, she headed for the open door.

 

In the next room were more Uncle Albert's (she could never escape the silly man at family gatherings either,) and with a little looking, another switch. Well, this is easy to deal with. Feeling confident, Greta pushed one of the statues on the switch and started looking around the walls. She heard a click, but no door opened. What? She walked over to the door, but it wouldn't budge. Taking a deep breath, she spun around and started scanning the room. She had heard a click, something had happened. After a few moments, she noticed a new spot on the floor. Walking over, she noticed a drawing of footprints on it. Well, what was there to lose besides her feet? Stepping on it, she heard the door open. Gingerly stepping off, and waiting for the door to close, Greta started sidling toward another statue. However, the door remained open. Letting loose a small sigh of victory, she headed through the door.

 

Greta noticed the treasure chest first. Opening it, she found a few pieces of treasure and sheaf of papers. Yes! This must be what Mr. Moussa had wanted. Scooping them up, she quickly stood, and lost her balance. Reaching her hands out, she braced herself against the wall, and felt it move a little bit. Huh? Standing up, she took a look at the wall; it seemed a bit different from the rest. Giving it a few pushes, Greta discovered a new room. Oh sweet! Wait, isn't this the part in all the movies when a dead mummy came and ate you? With her heart hammering in her chest, Greta entered the little chamber and discovered another chest. Oh, thank the stars! Feeling relieved, and wanting to get out of this creepy place, Greta took what she could and went back.

 

Back in the treasure room, she looked around and noticed another set of stairs. Well, she go forward, or go back. She pondered for a moment, and then chose the stairs. After all, what if she went back, but the rooms snapped shut and locked, and the switches wouldn't work anymore? Giggling a little nervously (stupid Hollywood,) she mounted the stairs. At the top was a door, and to her left was another treasure chest. Directly in front of her was a footswitch. Opening the chest, she seized the treasure, then stood on the switch. Nothing happened. Uh-oh. Feeling a little panicky, she stomped and then jumped on the switch. Finally, the door swung open! Feeling like it was a limited time offer from some sadistic, fun-loving god, she practically ran into the next room.

 

Blinking in confusion for a few moments, she finally realized that she was back in the very first room again. Wait, how'd that happen? Had she really done it? Had she made it all the way through!? Feeling giddy, and triumphant, she jumped for joy, laughing out loud and feeling a bit silly. Well, wasn't she talented. Time to get these papers to Mr. Moussa, and tell him all about it. Oh, and wouldn't this make a good story to tell Youssef? Smiling to herself, Greta ran out of the tomb.

 

Man, that did not go as she had expected. When she had returned the papers to Mr. Moussa, he had smiled and congratulated her, and then told her to meet someone else and do more work. What was she, one of his workers? She didn't think so, he was a fool if he thought she was doing that again! Feeling somewhat put upon, and extremely tired, she got directions back to her camp, had a bite to eat and sank into a blissful slumber in one of the smelly tents on the hard packed ground.

Day Twenty

(Vacations are always nice, it's the traveling that sucks)

 

Waking up to the thunderstorm this morning was actually quite comforting. It helped that she didn't feel sick anymore, and the room not spinning really helped a lot too. Feeling starved after a day of hardly eating, Greta made waffles and scarfed them down, then finished the rest of her routine.

 

Thankful to the rain, because it kept Charles at bay, Greta managed to gather the eggs without incident or injury to her pride. Feeling like wasn't so bad out, she donned her scuba gear and waded into the water...and right back out again! Great googlie mooglies it was cold out! Ripping off her scuba gear, she headed back inside with a quick stop to chat up the chickens.

 

Inside she flipped through the catalogue, more out of boredom than necessity. Finally, she reached the back page. There sure was a lot of stuff crammed in this catalogue. Before looking at the final page, she pondered how they managed to get their hands on all of it, then decided she didn't want to know.

 

Looking down, she saw the greatest sight she had ever seen. They offered vacations! Oh and to three places she'd always wanted to go! It didn't take Greta long to think about it. She placed her request in the mailbox, and started to giggle about the thought of being kidnapped tonight, when all of a sudden she felt a jerking motion as she was lifted off her feet. NOW! THEY WERE DOING IT NOW!? Those were her last thoughts before blacking out.

Day Nineteen

(The punishment)

 

The room swam this morning when Greta opened her eyes. Not because her house was flooding like she first thought, but because she was sick. This must be her punishment for singing off key, and with no rhythm out loud. It was enough to drive her into bed for the rest of the day.

 

Tomorrow would be better, after all, she had nothing to bring up.

Day Eighteen

(Call me Mrs. Scuba!)

 

Greta woke up today feeling a bit depressed. After her morning routine, she checked on the chickens and gathered her eggs. Feeling like it was okay to go down to the cave today, she got into her scuba gear and went all in.

 

Man, the fishing was excellent today! Catching more than her fair share of fish, Greta was about to surface when she spotted her arch enemy. He must have spotted her bulging pack because he charged Greta gnashing his jaws the whole time.

 

Greta had had enough. Giving it everything she had, she charged under the shark, and then shot towards the surface. All this scuba diving must have toned her body because she made it without any injuries this time. Call me Mrs. Scuba! ran, as a theme song, in her head all the way home.

 

Returning, she sold what she could, cut the few gems she had acquired, and had a late dinner and went to bed. The chickens could fend for themselves for once.