It wasn't just a dream.
As she lay in her chambers that night, something strange happened, almost as if on purpose. It wasn't a dream because it was too real and detailed to be as simple as a human's blurry dream at night. No, she could see them all so clearly.
Two men and one woman in particular. The woman had brown hair, with curly bangs, and a sweet, innocent face of curiosity. The man... The one who was more masculine and adventurous aura around him, but there was also some sort of cockiness to him. The other man had more of a silly style, the way he moved, talked and gestured. One thing the three had in common was this: trouble. Even at the start of the dream, the sleeping one could sense something awful was about to happen. She followed their blurry journey, though she could not see all too many details, until the awful thing happened. The too curious woman read out loud from the book of the dead, awakening something so dangerous it sent chills through the sleeping one's body.
The danger was so vivid that she jolted awake in her chamber, moving her head around to scan her room. Nothing there; nothing to cause the sudden concern in her body except for the dream that felt too alive to be a simple dream. Perhaps it was her own paranoia or maybe even forewarning. Whichever it was, she suppressed it as someone lightly knocked on her door. The day for her life's purpose had finally come.
Standing up, she graciously walked over to her closet and opened it, a faint smile on her face as her eyes landed on the special outfit her father had had made for her years ago when she took upon this destiny. It was nothing remarkable really; black, simple with no prints or details or such, harem pants. With that, there was a crop top that exposed just a bit of her stomach. Not the fashion most princesses wear, but she wasn't going on a show for her entire life. Tying her hair up in a ponytail, she exited her chamber and was instantly sided by two of her guards. after stifling a silly smile — it was always strange and funny thinking she had her own guards — the three of them wandered through the palace corridor until they reached the special room.
"Farida. are you sure about this?" The pharaoh asked as his eyes were fixed on her. "It's a heavy role to carry for an eternity."
"I'm sure, father. I want this." Farida nodded slowly but reassuringly, taking a few steps closer to the pit of youth as they called it.
"Then we shall begin the ceremony. The book, please." The Pharaoh stated, receiving the Book of The Dead instantly by one of the guards. Farida took a shaky, deep breath as her father then handed her the book. Tracing her fingers against it, she looked up and met her father's soft eyes.
"I am ready for this." She one last time declared, nodding so faintly.
"Then repeat after me: I, Farida Eshe, swear to protect this book and city with my life..."
"I, Farida Eshe, swear to protect this book and city with my life. I swear to not let any danger pass me by and I swear with my life that no obstacle will overcome me. I vow to never let my people down or to never let a mistake slip by. My job is solemnly to protect this land with my heart and mind until I take my last breath. Any threat from inside our outside these walls will be terminated and no evil shall be awakened for as long as I am this city's protector: which, from this day and forward, is forever." Farida repeated his words — which were from the book she was holding — and felt a rush of energy travel through her body in a split second.
The guards, who were going to posses a certain title as soon as this ritual was finished, gently took the book from her hands so that she could approach the pit. Farida looked to both her sides before stepping in the cool liquid, shivering slightly due to not being used to coldness. Graciously closing her hands into fists, she turned to face the witnessed and pressed her lips together. This was it. This is what she had been built up for her entire life; not to rule as the next Pharaoh or Queen, but to become the first of her new kind; a Medjai.
"The moment you lay yourself underneath the surface, I will read aloud and grant you the gift of immortality. This cannot be taken back, Farida."
Ignoring the concern from her father, Farida lowered herself until she was fully underneath the water; holding onto chains at the bottom so that she wouldn't float back up. She had trained to hold her breath for minutes, even though the book said it would feel like breathing during the ritual.
During the time as she was underwater, she allowed herself to think. Not about whether or not she should dash her way up from the water, no. She wanted this for herself mostly and for her land. No, she thought about her father's concern. She figured most of it came from him worrying about her endless future. What would she do for an eternity when she wasn't fighting evil? What would she feel, watching people fall in love, have a family and a short life? What would she do to entertain herself among people who will soon die? Farida then realized she began to have the smallest of doub, but it vanished almost as fast as it grew within her.
Suddenly, it felt as if though the water took a grip of her and she dared to relax — not open her mouth, but relax. Her heart began pounding abnormally fast until it slowed down again and it felt like all of her muscles were enhanced and alert. Then, after a few seconds of that, she felt completely normal again. Taking that as a cue, she slowly emerged from the water, head down and chest breathing heavily. Not only did her muscles feel enhanced, but so did her senses.
She could see the bottom of the pit, her the sound that came from the guards shifting in her spots and her own heartbeats. She could smell the thickness in the air that was in the room and soon the smell that came from the pit and her.
"Did it work?" She asked, finally stepping out of the pit, her wet feet leaving marks after her.
"Only one way to see." One of the guards — Nehi — stated, in which he was right. After receiving an approving nod from the Pharaoh, Nehi picked up his dagger and Farida stretched out her arm. Nehi carefully made a long cut on her forearm, causing her to wince of pain and bite her lip.
Here's the thing: Farida didn't wince because the pain was strong. She winced because of how the pain felt. She had been cut before, more badly than Nehi dared to inflict the princess, and this didn't even feel remotely close to that. No, this felt like someone dragging their fingernail across her arm and the pain didn't linger: it remained until the fingernail — in this case, the dagger — disconnected with her skin. On top of that, the cut healed itself after an intense moment of waiting.
"Mashallah." Farida whispered to herself, keeping her hand on top of the spot where the cut had been. "It worked. I can't believe it."
"Oh Gods, it did." The Pharaoh murmured before he gently shut the book and handed it to his daughter. "What will you call yourself and your warriors?"
Farida put some thought to it. She tried to come up with something clever, something meaningful, but her mind was blank. She had forgotten to even consider this. Looking up, she was about to offer him a shameful shrug when Nehi cut in and saved her from embarrassment.
"My princess, remember what you said to me? You suggested that you'd call your warriors for Medjais." He lied, though it was an amazing suggestion.
"Right." Was all Farida said before mouthing a 'thank you' to him.
"And yourself?"
"I think she should have the title of a protector." Nehi said, holding his hands laced together behind his back, looking at her with a soft smile. "La ḥāmina."
"That sounds perfect. Now we have to truly initiate this."
"But father, we will keep us a secret, right?" Farida asked to be sure. She wanted this group of warriors to not be displayed in all of Egypt, not yet and hopefully never.
"Of course, yes. Now the most important part begins — your training and the training of your Medjais."
Hi! So this is a new story I've started, and it's a The Mummy fic! I love the originals sososo much, but tbh it does lack more females, so here's Farida Eshe ^^ For more about her or this fic, always go to my tumblr, which is "nefertiris" :)