#nileweek2020

on nile’s sixth birthday, her aunt and uncle from detroit drove the four hours to come to her party. they’d brought her cousins and food, and best of all, water guns, and they’d spent a breathless afternoon spritzing each other, the sun turning their shots to rainbow mist in the summer air. when she and her cousins had all tired each other out, they’d lain in a big heap on the floor, the ceiling fan wheeling lazily above. her father couldn’t make it home to kiss her on the forehead and squeeze her cheeks, “happy birthday baby, you’re getting big!” but right now that didn’t weigh too heavily on her young mind. when she’d had enough of waiting, she started ripping into her presents. books, some toys in shades of blue and green, and dismally, socks, though as she glared around the giggling circle of her family, her little brother’s toothy smile was happy enough to make the retaliatory punch to the shoulder not too hard.

she thanked everyone very politely for their presents and waved hard enough to make her arms hurt as one by one her relatives pulled out of the street, back to their respective homes. now, she remembers the shine of the setting sun on her aunt’s windshield and their wide, bright smiles, the grit of the pavement on her bare feet. now, she wonders if they’d had any inkling of the incoming significance of their gift to her, that day. she thinks about it a lot, even decades later. how would her life have changed, been different?

their gift to her had been a heavy book, huge to her little hands. the pictures on the cover had drawn her in first. she’d known of the pyramids, somehow, but as she went through the pages, her small mind sucking in all the new information like a sponge, this ancient civilisation entranced her. the large font and brightly coloured diagrams weren’t that detailed, and much later when she learnt more about her old phase, some of the facts presented in the children’s book were entirely inaccurate. but at the time it didn’t matter. here was a world straight from a fantasy, except it had been real.

some parts were too complicated for her to understand and for that she curled up in the crook of her mother’s arms, let her voice lull her to sleep. the nile river is the longest waterway in the world at 6650 km. throughout the history of egypt, the river has been the lifeblood of civilisations. a kiss to the side of her head and she giggles, in this golden memory of the child she used to be.

not too long later, her hands shake as she woodenly recites to her mother the words she’d spent months working on. logically, she knows she’s got nothing to be afraid of, and her mother does not disappoint as she sweeps her up into a big hug, holding her while she cries from the sheer relief of being able to be honest, finally. the next time her father comes home, she tells him with a lot more confidence and he swings her over his head, kisses her on the forehead like he’s always done. says, i always wanted a daughter, and everything is perfect, almost too good to be true.

time keeps her on her toes, keeps her moving forwards. it takes her father, then it takes her away from her mother and brother, but she finds her way back only to lose them again. it washes over her like a rock in a river, and she grieves, and she cries and some days it feels like her heart is going to split clean in two. but there are good days, always, when she feels like she’s doing some good. when she is good, and she lies awake in the morning and watches a ceiling fan go round, and thinks, everything is going to be fine.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Old Guard (Movie 2020) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s) Characters: Nile Freeman, Andy | Andromache of Scythia, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Nicky | Nicolo di Genova, Original Characters Additional Tags: Nile Freeman-centric, POV Nile Freeman, Mountaineering, Rescue Missions, Airplane Crashes, Minor Character Death, Injury, Nile Freeman appreciation week Summary:

In which Joe is the one who goes to retrieve Nile. 14,000 words, rated M for canon-typical violence, language, and injuries. Suggested listening here. 

Oh, she’s had it. “You’re fucking with me,” Nile says. “I did die, and this is Hell, riding around Afghanistan being grilled about my past sins by some shitty Virgil.”

“You can call me Joe.”

“What do you and the others do, Joe?”

“Depends on the century,” he shrugs.

“Professional kidnappers?”

Joe shows his teeth. “It’s very cute that you think this is professional.”

“No, but maybe the others know what they’re doing.” A flash of irritation cracks his chummy facade. She wonders if he has any shame she can jab. Fighters and soldiers, he said. “Are you mercenaries?”

“It’s a little more complex than that.”

“Sure,” she says. “Whatever you need to tell yourself. How many people have you killed? Just averaged, across the centuries.”

His mouth twists. “Maybe Hell is riding around Afghanistan being judged by a US Marine. How many people have you killed, Freeman?”

↳ Day 7 – Free Choice

Nile sighs heavily as she walks up the steps of the latest safe house. Another safe house, another city, another day just like any other. Except it’s not like any other. It’s her birthday, her first birthday since her… first death. 

Her first birthday of having no contact with her family. 

Soon, she reassures herself. We lay low for a while, make sure Copley really has cleaned our trail, a year, maybe two. Soon. But not now. Not in time for her birthday. What is her mom thinking today? Her brother? She knows it’s hard on them, knows from her dad’s passing just how hard death is, but now it’s her and she can’t quite fathom what they must be feeling, especially today. 

With so many thoughts swirling in her mind, she’d had to get out of the house. What could she say to Andy, to Joe and Nicky, about this, that she’s sad ‘cause she doesn’t get a birthday party? No, best to leave it be. There’s nothing to be done anyway. No need to drag the mood down for the rest of them. She had hoped a walk in the crisp fall air would clear her mind, but now the sun’s going down, her ears are cold, and her thoughts are as chaotic as ever. And she’s likely missed dinner. She sighs again, taking one last moment to herself before unlocking the door and stepping inside.

At her entrance, Andy looks up from her place on the couch. “Nile’s back,” she calls across the house.

“Uh. Yeah,” Nile winced. “Sorry, didn’t mean to get back so late.”

“It’s fine.” Andy shrugs and gets up to start towards the dining room. “Dinner’s ready.”

Nile frowns at her retreating back. “You didn’t have to wait for me.”

“It’s fine,” she repeats over her shoulder. “Com’on and eat.”