GCC Challenge, July- Be Careful What You Deliver- Part 2

How to Marry a Mummy

Well, I was still alive.  I could tell because I had a killer headache.  I was lying prone, on something soft and comfortable.  I wiggled my fingers and toes to make sure all my parts were still attached.  Satisfied I was still in one piece, I opened my eyes.

I stared at a canopy, all blue and satin.  I peeked at the rest of my surroundings and realised I was lying in a four-poster canopy bed on pale ivory, satin sheets.  A sapphire blue satin-covered bedspread was neatly folded at the end of the bed.  The clothes I had been wearing were lying across a nearby chair.  I bolted upright.

Pain shot through my head and I took a deep breath to ease a sudden wave of nausea.  I could feel delicate fabric against my skin and slowly grasped the fact I was wearing some sort of white gown.  Humiliation crawled through me at the thought of being stripped, pawed by strangers, and dressed like a doll.  I scrambled off the bed to check myself in the full-length mirror I could see in the corner of room.

I was a little shaky on my feet and grabbed a bedpost to keep upright.  From the looks of the ambiance, I was in a bedroom; the pit of my stomach curdled.  I steadied my breath, calmed my nerves, and managed to make over to the mirror.

What the... The image that looked back at me was a stranger.    I was wearing a form-fitting, ankle-length dress straight out of Egyptian history; my bare feet peeked out from beneath the hem.   The dress seemed to be made of linen, in a tunic style; a sash decorated with indigo beads and feathers clinched the garment at the waist.  Wide straps held it at my shoulders, and the dress definitely showed all my ample curves.

Elaborate make-up decorated my face; green eye shadow and dark black eyeliner had transformer me into a bizarre Egyptian princess, complete with pouty, blood red lips.  Freaky henna tattoos covered my bare arms.

“Do you like your wedding attire?”

I started at the sudden voice, my wobbly legs failed and I fell on my backside.

“Oh my.  Are you hurt my dear?”

Professor Dim loomed over me, his face anxious, a large parcel wrapped in brown paper clutched in his arms.

“I’m fine- wait what did you say?  Did I like my what?”

“Your wedding attire.  That is why you are here.  To be married.”  He smiled sweetly while I went into shock.  “In fact I have some lovely accessories to complete your bridal apparel.”  He placed the package on the bed, unpacking it as I watched.  He revealed a jeweled Egyptian collar, beautifully patterned in a blue and green Lotus flower motif, and a plain gold diadem with some bright coloured feathers affixed.

“Now put these on and we will be ready.”

“Ready for what?!  No! No!  I’m not getting married, and definitely not to you!  Let me go home you crackpot lunatic!”

“Stop that!  This is not the time for hysterics!  You will not be returning to your home, and you must accept that fact.  As to your marriage, I am certainly not the husband-to-be.  No, you have the great honor to be betrothed to the Eminent Sorcerer King, Akkmet.”

“Huh.  Who?  The Eminent Sorcerer King, Akkmet?  Oh, you are a crackpot.”

“Not at all, my dear, as you will soon see.”  He pulled a gun casually out of his pocket.  “Now put on the collar and the crown.”

Faced with that argument, I did as I was told, and then meekly accompanied Professor Dim downstairs to his lab.

I stopped cold as soon as I entered.

“What kind of professor are you?”  Encircling me was a grotesque wizard’s den, complete with overflowing books, strange specimens in jars and bubbling potions.

“I hold degrees in Ancient Egyptian history and archaeology, but my true calling is in alchemy and sorcery.”

Alchemy and sorcery.  Great, I was being held at gunpoint by a nut who thought he was Merlin.

As if reading my mind, he said, “I do not expect you believe me.  Not yet.  I will have to explain first.”  The professor snatched a sheet of parchment off his desk.  “This is a translation of a papyrus, one of the first histories recorded on papyrus, telling of the legend Akkmet.”

The professor handed me the document; it was covered with his handwriting.

“Read it.”

This is the record of the Eminent Sorcerer King Akkmet and the story of the terrible curse that ended his wondrous reign of his Kingdom.

The Eminent Sorcerer King Akkmet was cruelly betrayed by his High Priestess Hasthys in her lust for power and ousted from his own Kingdom.  He fought valiantly against her evil, the war raged for the turn of many suns.  The Gods had turned their eyes from him, though, for The Eminent Sorcerer King Akkmet fell to the vile magic of Hasthys and our beloved King was cursed. The Eminent Sorcerer King Akkmet was sentenced to the fate of the Sleeping Death, his undead form hidden from the one who could revive him, his bonded wife, Sepha..

All was lost and the land became darkness.

“Nice fantasy.”

“If it indeed was fantasy, but I found the King.”

I caught on.  “The sarcophagus.  This is all about some stupid mummy!?”

“No.  There was not a mummy in the coffin, but a living person.  In some sort of stasis.”

“Huh?  You’re kidding?”

“Come let me show you.”  I let him lead me into the back of the lab.

There was the coffin, the cause of all my trouble, sitting on a raised platform, with two large men standing adjacent.

“James, Abraham, raise the lid.”

I watched the burly assistants move the lid, not really wanting to see the contents.  I got quite a shock, for there was no mummy inside.

I sucked in my breath and a little thrill ran down my spine.  Lying in that coffin was the most gorgeous man.  He had dark, thick hair, the kind that begged you to run your fingers through, and flawless features.   He was nearly nude, wearing nothing but an Egyptian-style kilt, his perfectly muscled body covered in glistening  brown, swarthy skin.

“Oh my.”  I suddenly felt flushed and hot.

“Your husband-to-be is quite the specimen, is he not?”

“That’s who you want me to marry?”  Maybe this guy wasn’t so crazy, after all.

“Yes.  Once you awaken him.  Then Akkmet can recreate his Kingdom and bring back magic to this world.”

“Okay, now you’ve lost me.”

“Forgive me, you do not yet know the rest of the story.  Well, my research has shown that there was some sort of prophecy that entwines with the Curse of the Sleeping Death.  Simply put, it states only a kiss from a member of the royal bloodline will rouse the cursed and when awakened the victim will have his life and prosperity returned to him.  I researched that bloodline and found you.  I am also convinced that awakening Akkmet will return both his Kingdom and powerful magic to this world.”

The whole spiel was crazy, but I was buying into it; somehow I knew it was true.

“So if I make like the Prince in Sleeping Beauty, I give him his wake-up call?  And I get handsome as a husband?”

“Yes, and a kingdom of magic and prosperity.  Akkmet will once again rule as a powerful sorcerer, and you shall reign by his side.  If you only consent.”  The professor eyes pleaded, while I considered the offer.

It was tempting; power, a royal kingdom and a smoking hot guy as a husband.  I could do worse.

“Okay, professor, you have yourself a deal.”