𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑷𝑬𝑻𝑶𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑨 - Ardeth Bay

eleven

"Good morning!" Tiye sighed happily, stretching her arms above her head. She had returned late last night and everyone was already asleep. She had crept into their small camp and went straight to bed.

"Ti? When did you get back?" Evelyn asked, sitting up from her makeshift bed.

"Some time after you had all fallen asleep." Tiye shrugged. The four of them quickly got ready for the day and returned back to the sarcophagus they had found the previous day.

"Oh, I have dreamt about this since I was a little girl." Evelyn stared at the coffin with wonder as she and Tiye wandered over to it after Rick and Jonathan had lifted it up right.

"You dream about dead guys?" Rick chuckled, raising his eyebrow jokingly.

"Oh, look. The sacred spells have been chiseled off." Tiye gasped, stepping forwards and dragging her fingers over the old writing.

"This man must have been condemned not only in this life but in the next." Evelyn added, placing her hands beside Tiyes. Jonathan quickly opened the key and began fiddling with it at the lock.

"Tough break." Rick commented, glancing at Evelyn. Tiye watched as his eyes sparkled when he looked at her, a smile overtaking her face.

"Yeah, I'm all tears." Jonathan rolled his eyes, finally getting the key in the lock and twisting it around. "Now let's see who's inside, shall we?"

Rick and Jonathan began trying to open the sarcophagus as Evelyn and Tiye stepped back, holding each other's hands in excitement. With one final pull the lid peeled of the coffin and the mummy sat upright, the familiar hissing noise following. The two women jumped back screaming in fright as the men gasped in shock.

"Oh, my God, I hate it when these things do that." Evelyn complained.

"Is he supposed to look like that?" Rick asked, shocked by the mummies lively complexion.

"No, I've never seen a mummy look like this before." Evelyn mumbled to herself.

"He's still-still-" Tiye stumbled for the correct word, eyes scanning over the dead man.

"Juicy." The men stated together, completing Tiyes sentence.

"Yes." Evelyn agreed. Tiye nodded her head and snuck her hand back into the younger Carnahan siblings hand, worried and scared. "He must be more than 3,000 years old, and, well, it looks as if he's still decomposing."

"Huh, look at that." Rick pointed behind them at the lid. Tiye did not want to turn around, she just wanted to be back in Ardeths safe hold. "What do you make of this?"

"My God, these marks were made with-" Evelyn traced her fingers over the indents.

"Fingernails." Tiye kneeled down beside the brunette woman and followed the lines with her fingers. "This man was buried alive."

"And he left a message." Evelyn noticed the scribbled hieroglyphics at the top of the lid.

""Death is only the beginning."" Tiye translated aloud. They all glanced back up to the juicy mummy, confused and intrigued.

•~•

Night had fallen over the camp, marking the beginning of the second night. Tiye walked hurriedly through the cold desert, gripping her shawl tighter around her shoulders.

"You must be freezing, my love." Ardeth rode towards her on his black stead. He stopped beside her and laid out a hand, inviting her up. Tiye grabbed his hand and hoisted herself up on to the large horse, sitting sideways and in front of Ardeth.

"What did you with to see me about, Ar?" She asked, glancing up at his face, placing her hand on his cheek.

"I am here to warn you about the curse." Ardeth sighed  barely glancing down at his fiancèe. "If your friends read from the black book then the mummy will rise. When that happens the whole world is doomed. You have to stop what you are doing."

"If it makes you happy then I will tell everyone to leave Hamunaptra." Tiye smirked, leaning up and going to kiss his cheek. Ardeth moved his face and captured her lips with his.

Tiye squeaked in surprise but closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. He let one hand off the reins and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her body closer to his. He moved away from her lips and trailed kisses down her neck before sucking and kissing the pale skin on collar bone. Tiye gasped and moved her head to the side, allowing him more access to her neck.

"Ardeth, I need to go back." She moaned, hands gripping his black hair.

"You are speaking English now?" Ardeth chuckled, sitting back and turning his horse around. He kept his arm tightly around her as he rode back to Hamunaptra.

Tiye stood outside the opening of the City of the Dead, watching as her lover rode off through the desert. All was peaceful till a swarm of locusts consumed the City. In fright, she ran into the old tombs below, the darkness dragging her further in.