AN: So this is my first Mummy fanfiction, and one of the longest I've ever written. Herein is the story of a young Nefertiri (I've made her younger than she appeared in the movie) and her sort-of-kind-of relationship with her Medjai guard.
This story is also rated T for mentions of incest (this IS the ancient Egyptian royalty we're talking about, after all), and mentions of the physical changes that puberty brings about.
I'd appreciate any and all feed back for this tale, as I have not written any fanfiction in YEARS now.
Three thousand years ago, before Richard O'Connell, Evelyn Carnahan, and her wayward brother Johnathan were born, there was the kingdom of Egypt, ruled by Seti I. The lands under Seti's rule were vast indeed, and he had several children to carry on his dynasty – but he was well known for always seeking a new wife. One of his daughters was quickly turning heads with her growing beauty. Where Anck-Su-Namun, the pharaoh's soon-to-be wife had chiseled features and calculating dark eyes, Nefertiri had the fullness of a woman coming into adulthood. Her baby fat was beginning to shed itself from he features, revealing wide expressive eyes and delicate lips, as well as a slender body with curving hips. Those who knew her vouched for her kind personality and natural royal aura. She was the most beloved of Seti's children - next to Ramses, anyway.
While the Medjai were known as the Pharaoh's guards, he often sent them to watch after his children – something that grated especially on Ramses' nerves. He hated being cowed in by their father. Nefertiri for her part however, accepted the guardsmen with grace and barely acknowledged them on most days. Truth be told, they followed her on most days, too. Whether it was to the temple of Isis where she worshiped and prayed, or to the grounds where she watched the military being trained, or to her lessons in music or weaving, there was at least always one Medjai who followed her.
Nefertiri was sitting in front of one of the open balcony door ways of her apartments in the palace, two servant girls waving large fans her way to help facilitate the moving of the air towards their princess. It was an unseasonably warm summer, and she desperately did not want to show that she was sweating. It was undignified for the royal daughter to sweat in front of the servants. Further on the balcony – still as a statue and easy to miss – was one of her Medjai guardsmen. His face was completely impassive as he stared at her, his eyes not leaving her form and face for anything. The sounds below were of a bustling palace as tradesmen and servants brought in goods to help the palace run. From pots of grain to strings of fowl, to great decorative vases and stacks of papyrus scrolls the palace was a place as alive as the people who lived in it.
Nefertiri's kohl rimmed eyes turned to regard her guardsman. "How can you stay so still in this heat, Aker? Just looking at you makes my skin sticky." Her eyes roved his tattooed face and chest to the curved blade at his hip. Then her eyes went back up, waiting for a reply with a raised eyebrow.
"My lady, it is not so hot to me," was his only rumbling reply. His eyes flickered then, to the hollow of her throat were beads of sweat that could not be hidden or chased away were pooling. Immediately he averted his eyes, looking out to the busy city around them. He could hear the smile in her voice as she replied.
"Oh my! Do you hear him girls – it's not so hot to a guardsman! Truly, I wish I had your ability to ignore the heat then, because I am quite sure I will sweat to death today. And you couldn't protect me from that if you tried, Aker." Her eyes twinkled with the challenge and with a degree of mirth. The servant girls remained quiet, but exchanged looks with each other discreetly. This had been going on for nearly a whole month. Nefertiri had taken an interest to the Medjai Aker, and often baited him verbally with challenges and questions. Usually he did not rise to the bait, his duty to protect the princess outweighing his desire to quip back at her.
But oh how he desired to. The princess had a spark in her, and it had immediately brought her to Aker's notice as more than just a silly royal girl. Her growing beauty was a distraction – and a wonderful one at that. It wasn't just her physical beauty that pulled him in. It was the twinkle in her eyes as she challenged him, or the fiery expression she would take on when Anck-Su-Namun entered a room she was in. He knew she disliked the woman for a variety of reasons – most of which he knew from her propensity to rave and rant about the other women when she was alone. Or – as alone as a royal princess could be.
Now, he couldn't bite back his reply, "Oh, I am sure I can find a way to protect you from the heat, princess." He stepped into the room then, and the servant girls immediately shrank back, placing the fans in their usual spot against the wall. Nefertiri watched them go with an annoyed expression on her face as she stood. "Well then, Medjai, lead the way."
Aker lead Nefertiri through the large corridors of the palace with no one looking up, batting an eyelash, or staring as they walked by. Many in the palace knew that the Medjai were not to be trifled with and so they were given a wide berth most of the time. A group of tradesmen were walking down the hallway past the princess and her guard and they were talking in hushed tones with each other about whatever it was that was important to tradesmen. Nefertiri did not pretend to know how business run for these men. She only knew that they supplied her father with the goods he needed to make the palace run. They stopped, however, when they saw her. The men's hungry gazes roved over her. Though her ankle length dress covered her body her bare shoulders were a dazzling sight. Immediately their eyes snapped up to the unamused features of her guardsman, a warning clear as day on his face. Immediately they scurried on, Nefertiri watching them go with wonder on her face.
"Why did they stop?" She asked the Medjai in a hushed voice. Aker snorted under his breathe, looking back at the young woman. But then he realized, she was just that. Her breasts had begun to fill out her dresses, and he remembered when she had tearfully called for the seamstress to order an all new wardrobe when her clothes had no longer fit her well. She was young – barely fifteen, but it was easy to forget with her growing mature features. Her face, once round and full, was beginning to thin and her hips were starting to widen. Soon she would need more dresses again.
"My lady, you are a princess," was all he could bare to say. How did he tell her that she was becoming very likely the most beautiful women any of these men had ever seen?
It was nearly a half hour – if the sundial was correct – before they were finally stepping foot outside. The palace was vast, and it took a while to get anywhere inside it's complex hallways. They were in the gardens. The pharaoh had it built years ago for his first wife, Ramses' mother. She had died unexpectedly after giving birth to Ramses' younger brother. Seti had found a new wife within weeks, and that woman had been Nefertiri's mother.
The gardens were small, with a gentle pond in the back of the closed in area. It was fed with an irrigation system that brought the water in from the nearby tributaries. Around this pond was several different kinds of plants – mostly papyrus and other kinds of reeds. While the pond was not exceptionally large, it offered a surprising amount of cool air around it. When the wind hit the water, it would breeze in towards the rest of the gardens, giving a pleasant wind that would tickle the skin of any who walked by.
Nefertiri sighed and stepped towards the chairs that were situated near the waters, ignoring the croaks of Nile toads that had been brought in to eat the annoying bugs that populated themselves near the pond. Aker immediately stood nearby the princess' seats, his eyes roving the area for structural weaknesses or hiding spots that a would-be assassin would exploit.
"You were good to bring me here, Aker. Thank you." Her voice was tired, and Aker simply nodded, not wishing to discover the reason for the princess' sudden weariness.
It had been nearly a month since Aker had taken Princess Nefertiri to the gardens. In that time, the palace had become even more of a bustling place as they prepared themselves for single combat between Nefertiri and Anck-Su-Namun that was to determine who would become the next protector of the Bracelet of Anubis. While many in the streets of the city had considered it a myth, the royal family knew the truth, and were quickly trying to lock it away. Nefertiri had been receiving many lessons from her Medjai guardsmen on combat training and the use of weapons, while Anck-Su-Namun had received the same training in her quarters.
The sound of blade meeting blade rang out from the training rooms. A feminine voice cried out and the sound of a blow meeting flesh was audible. In the training rooms for the guards was Nefertiri and Aker, and he was teaching her how to use a sword. She had already mastered the sai, and showed some ability with a hand ax, but Aker was especially keen on her learning how to use a blade. They had been at it for hours now, and Aker could tell that the princess was becoming frustrated. Her body had begun to take on muscle with their training, and the last of the baby fat was hugging her hips. The rest, however, had toned into muscle. She was beautiful to Aker.
He dodged her incoming blade, then used his own to disarm her. She glared at him with barely repressed annoyance and anger, huffing and puffing from the exertion of holding the blade at attention for so long. Her hands were shaking.
Aker stared at her. Her eyes were like flames that scorched his skin he itched to reach out and claim those lips as his own, but restrained himself, simply staring back for several seconds, before he took another step back and picked up their blades, depositing them into the rack they belonged in. Nefertiri blinked, and the angry expression was gone, replaced with a serene calm. Aker always marveled at her ability to shut out her emotions. He supposed it came with being a princess, watched by thousands of people.
Truth be told, Aker was not foreign to the life of royalty. Though he was Medjai, and thus one of the tribesmen, he'd spent much of his adolescence in the royal palace. Now at nearly twenty, he was used to the political intrigue of day to day life for the royalty. He knew that while Anck-Su-Namun and Nefertiri could get along in person, there was a thinly veiled contempt between the two women. He knew that there were troubling looks shared between the future wife of the pharaoh and the high priest, Imhotep. He knew that the Medjai were keeping an eye on those two, but could never act unless there was due reason to be suspicious. Lingering stares were not enough to act on for the Medjai. He knew that Ramses would likely be the next pharaoh after Seti, and that it was very likely Nefertiri would become his wife. While it was not enforced on the general populous, it was well known that the royal family married within itself. Half siblings married their half siblings all the time, as the symbolic marriage of Osirus and Isis who were siblings as well.
Nefertiri was changing into her dress behind the screens nearby, servant women keeping an eye on him so he would not get any ideas. He simply shook his head and stood guard, a burning shame in his gut. Did they know? Did the servants know that he wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and kiss her? It must be obvious. He hadn't hid it well in recent weeks. He'd had more close contact with her than he'd ever had before, and his desires had only grown.
Nefertiri stepped out from behind the screens, and walked out of the training rooms. Her servants were behind her, and Aker was to her right. The entourage walked silently to Nefertiri's apartments. That night Aker had been relieved of his duty to watch the princess, as another Medjai by the name of Satau had come to take his place for the night. It was his only reprieve from the princess, and he was glad for it. That night he'd fallen into a fitful sleep, worry creeping into his gut about the coming single combat.
The day of the single combat had arrived, and the whole of the palace was trembling with anticipation. Everyone was nervous, including the princess and her guard. Nefertiri had dressed in the ceremonial garb of the duel and had felt Aker's eyes burning into her bare back as she had turned to retrieve her mask and sai. It was an hour before the duel. Aker cleared his throat and stepped closer to the princess, his shame burning it's way through his veins as he reached out to her and touched her shoulder. Immediately she looked up, her eyes wide as saucers. Aker had never touched her before.
He helped her tie her mask into place, and gave her a tentative smile. "You will win," was all he said, before he reached up and touched the forehead of the mask with his finger tips, then his lips. She was stunned by this, her mind a scatter of thoughts, but instead she stepped away from her faithful guard. She needed to get to the court room.
She and Aker rushed to the court room and immediately took up their places in the room. The duel would start very soon.
Anck-Su-Namun had won. It had burned Nefertiri, but she was grateful her father had given her the duty of protecting the bracelet. Anck-Su-Namun, however, was now officially the pharaoh's future wife, recognized by the entire court. The ceremonial wedding would be soon. That also caused Nefertiri to burn with shame and anger - Anck-Su-Namun was conniving, and clearly planning something. The princess and her had butted head ever since the older woman's arrival at the palace. Nefertiri went to bed that night, not even giving Aker a glance. He didn't blame her.
A sleepy week passed for those who resided in the palace. For Aker, it had been one of the easiest weeks he'd ever had guarding the princess. She hadn't left her apartments nearly at all, refusing all visitors except her father who rarely visited, and generally stinging from her loss to Anck-Su-Namun. She had specifically asked Aker to stay, even when his shift would usually be relieved in the evening. Instead, she'd had a small spartan bedroom set up for him conjoining her apartments. He was essentially living with her, which wasn't all that scandalous of a concept. Many guards had stayed in the same rooms as their charges if the person who required their service liked a particular guard more than others.
For Aker, the living situation was nearly unbearable, but he'd bitten his tongue, and done his duty anyway.
Everything shattered on the last day of the week. That evening was the evening Nefertiri had finally decided to leave her rooms, and she had been absentmindedly exploring around the second floor of the palace. It was then that she saw it – Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun were meeting privately, and sharing a passionate kiss. Nefertiri stared in horror as she realized her father was approaching the room. Below her, she took notice of the rows of Medjai awaiting any command. Nefertiri choked out a command to the Medjai - "Medjai! My father needs you!" and immediately the contingent of Medjai ran to the pharaoh. But they were too late – Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun struck Seti I down, and Anck-Su-Namun committed suicide as Imhotep fled. Tears streamed down Nefertiri's face and a loud sob escaped her as she stared at the lifeless body of her father.
It was then that she felt arms suddenly wrap around her, strong hands on her shoulders. A humming voice was in her ear, dragging her back from the balcony she'd nearly jumped off of at the sight of her father being struck down.
It was Aker, and in that moment Nefertiri was relieved to have him nearby. She turned in his arms, and sobbed into his chest.
Pharaoh Seti I was mummified and entombed, as was Anck-Su-Namun within the next several weeks. In that time, Nefertiri's brother Ramses had assumed the title of Pharaoh, and Nefertiri had locked away the bracelet of Anubis. In her grief stricken state, her relationship with Aker had strengthened, and the two were close to inseparable. That was shattered when Ramses named her his future queen. She was well known and well liked among the populous of the city, and many had whispered for years that this would come to pass. That didn't make it any easier for the future queen, and she was once more thrown into emotional turmoil as she realized that she could not pursue the budding relationship and camaraderie between herself and Aker, who had been her shoulder in the wake of her father's death and Imhotep's arrest and subsequent Hom-Dai ordered by her brother.
It was the day before her wedding to Ramses. Nefertiri was poised with grace and beauty, but anyone who knew her well knew she was barely keeping it together. With her was Aker, her ever faithful guard, who was watching her be prepared for her wedding. He could not be jealous, or angry for what was happening. It was destined to be this way. He couldn't have her.
The wedding went off without a hitch, and Nefertiri was crowned Ramses' queen. She had given Aker a long look at the banquet, but he had only given her the barest shake of his head, then he'd looked away. After that, he didn't guard her personally as often as he once had as she now had a whole contingent of Medjai that guarded her, and she became the beloved and favored queen of Ramses. The would-be romance between Aker and Nefertiri would not come to pass for another 3000 years when they were reborn as Richard O'Connell and Evelyn Carnahan.
AN: As always, I own nothing related to this franchise besides an amulet I bought after going on the Mummy ride at Universal Studios Orlando. I take no credit for any thing, besides the name of Rick's previous incarnation, Aker.
Thanks for reading!