[hr][hr][center][img]http://fontmeme.com/embed.php?text=Deeper%20Than%20The%20Sands:%20Chapter%20One&name=prinp___.ttf&size=30&style_color=f7976a[/img][hr][@rivaan] [@Pundii] [@Morose] [@FantasyChic] [@Nallore] [@Sigil] [@ONL][hr][h3][b][color=f7976a]October 4th, 1924 - 12:30 P.M. Local Time[/color][/b][/h3][hr][/center] 

	[color=f7976a][b][i]Barracks:[/i][/b][/color] [color=82ca9d]"Naturally,"[/color] Peter said as he sat there watching his uncle go over his work. The military was nothing without its paperwork, in triplicate. The entire King's Army would probably come to a standstill if carbon paper became a rare resource. Peter had to wonder how they used to survive before the black gold bureaucracy was created. How many en sat at their desks copying and recopying forms as if they were new books in the bible. He had to smirk to himself at the thought. 

	Shaking it away he stood up and started walking slowly around the room, sitting too long caused his leg to stiffen and added to the pain he dealt with day to day; something he was keen on avoiding at all costs. Stepping over to the window he peered outside in thought. [color=82ca9d]"Then it sounds as if we should speak to my dear Vera on just what she thinks we should be acquiring,"[/color] he said. Glancing over towards his uncle he shrugged slightly. [color=82ca9d]"I have to wonder just how excited she is about this. I know she has always wanted to lead an expedition of her own. Since she was young she spoke about it. To be the one to bring a team to the cusp of discovery and then beyond it. Sweet woman, she must be beyond excited to be readying for such an event."[/color]

	[color=f7976a][b][i]Gheit el Idda:[/i][/b][/color] Aziza's brow rose slightly as Harry asked her to follow his lead. What lead? What was he getting at? She didn't even have a moment to ask when she felt his hand slip around her waist and draw her closer to his strong frame. Her eyes shooting up to his, perplexed by his actions. He had never seemed like the handsy type. Then it slowly dawned on her just what he was getting at as he messed up his uniform a bit and laughed as if he was drunk. So that was his play? To act like two people finally sauntering out of wherever they had come from half drunk a point unknown and more private. The thought at first made her blush as she buried her face against his chest, leaning against him and grasping his coat with her fingers. She was a dancer, she was no actress. This seemed more like a role that someone like Josephine would have been able to pull off. 

	This was not how Aziza acted. She had never really toyed with the men in the club and never gone home with them that was for sure. Yet as the minutes ticked by she found herself more and more comfortable with the [i]role[/i]. Leaning against him more, her hands roaming slowly over his chest as they [i]stumbled[/i] towards his home, acting as if she was whispering promises of a long day and night into his ear. At one point she even felt brazen enough to let her lips tease the line of his jaw. Just how much was she acting right then or was it just following what felt right considering this was Harry and not some stranger from the street?

	Rounding the final corner and coming up to the entrance of his building Aziza leaned back against the wall below the eave. She found herself catching her breath and letting out a light giggle as she looked nervously towards Harry. Biting her bottom lip she felt her cheeks were warm from the [i]show[/i] and her heart was racing a bit. Then she thought about what she had just done, had she pushed it too far? She hoped not. Even though it had been an [i]act[/i], she had genuinely enjoyed being that close to him. 
 
	[color=f7976a][b][i]The Prison:[/i][/b][/color] "And just who was the associate that gave this Mr. Walsh the key to the room?" the interrogator asked Haakon as he sat there. The man gave nothing away, just sitting there as if whatever Haakon was saying rolled off him like water off a ducks back. There was no indication whether he believed what the Norwegian was telling him or not. He wasn't even taking notes on the conversation, just sitting there with his arms crossed over his eyes as his eyed locked onto Haakon's. Did the man even blink?

	Over in the Wardens office, one couldn't tell if the Warden was believing Josephine either but it was more than obvious that his mind was on things far removed from the conversation at hand. "My that does sound exciting. Jumping from balconies, breaking into rooms, following a suspected killer through a hotel. You did have quite the adventurous evening. Now, this friend of yours and their escort. What were their names?" he asked as he pulled out a rather over used handkerchief and blew his nose loudly into it before stuffing it into his pants pocket.  

	[color=f7976a][b][i]The Museum:[/i][/b][/color] Vera didn't acknowledge William's apology, her fingers tracing over the remnants of her uncles image in the broken frame. Her fingers trembling as she sat the picture back down on the desk, letting them linger on the frame before she took a deep breath and turned around as she heard the door shut. Seeing that she was alone with others now and that Mr. Drake was no where to be seen she wiped away the tears and composed herself. 

	[color=f7976a]"Oh do please forgive my outburst, truly unladylike. I am terribly sorry for the uproar,"[/color] she said in a shaky voice. [color=f7976a]"Lady Kingston, tis good to see you again. This is Miss Ridgeway, I believe you two met last evening. She will be joining us if you do not mind,"[/color] she added as she smoothed out the front of her skirt and wandered over to the cart. [color=f7976a]"And who is this?"[/color] she asked as she glanced over towards Neema as she started to push the cart over towards the coffee table in her office, which was surrounded by a couch and several plush chairs. 

	"I am Neema, I used to be an assistant here at the museum. A long time ago," Neema said introducing herself. 

	Out in the main area of the museum Ahkmed returned from showing the young couple where the restrooms where so their son could take care of a private matter instead of in the middle of the museum. Standing back at his post he watched Mosi for a moment as she began to sketch and smiled to himself. It was good to see people enjoying the artifacts of his nation. His eyes darted passed William for a moment and he gave the man a brief nod. Though they never spoke he knew who he was, having seen him in the museum many times. 

	Ahkmed's head turned as he was addressed by a man carrying a large bundle of white lotus flowers with a single blue lotus in the center of the bouquet. "لدي تسليم لسيدة مون," the delivery man said to Ahkmed.

	"من من?" Ahkmed asked as he looked over the flowers. It was odd for Lady Munn to get any type of delivery to the museum that was not historically related. 

	"الرب الكابتن كيستون," the delivery man answered as he checked the card. Ahkmed perked a brow and then nodded. He did not know who Lord Captain Keystone was but he did know who the Lord Major Keystone was, it must have just been a miss write or an error in translation. Pointing down towards the back of the museum he gave the delivery man directions. The man nodded, thanked him for his time and headed off quickly to make the delivery.