The Might of His Strength, chapter 10
Mar. 17th, 2021 11:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scripsiAt least I'm in a good place writing-wise, right now.
Title: The Might of His Strength
Fandom: The Mummy series
Rating: Explicit
Chapters: 10/?
Word Count: 1258
Characters: Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell, Imhotep, Ardeth Bay, Rick O’Connell
Pairings Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell/ Imhotep, Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell/Imhotep/Ardeth Bay, Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell/ Rick O’Connell
Warnings: Abduction, Non-con, violence, Magical Coercion, Rough sex, Major Character Death- tags are likely to be expanded as the fic continues.
Summary: Five years after Imhotep’s second defeat, Evy is kidnapped.
The fic on AO3.
Evy had always hated to wait. After Ardeth had left it was unbearable, and yet she could do nothing else. She stayed in the garden, restlessly pacing it, as she imagined how Risk would react when he saw Ardeth. He would be so happy to see his friend. There had been so many times he had put his trust in Ardeth, and every time, Ardeth had delivered. Rick would suspect nothing when Ardeth told him he knew where she was, and he would come without hesitation. He would be completely unaware of the trap which waited for him, and of the torment, Ardeth was going through being forced into betrayal as he was.
Eventually, she became aware she wasn’t alone, Imhotep was standing in the house's shadow, watching her in his customary pose with his arms crossed. Evy didn’t hesitate but flew at him. She might be powerless against him, but he also seemed disinclined to treat her unkindly.
“Don’t kill Rick!”
“I’m not going to.”
“Yes, you are. You may force Ardeth to do it, but it’s you who will be the murderer, not him, and I don’t care about your semantics.”
She put a hand on Imhotep’s chest and tried to soften her voice. She was angry, and she was deadly afraid for Rick’s sake, but screaming at Imhotep would not be helpful.
“Please don’t kill my husband. Let him go, and Ardeth too, and I’ll stay with you of my free will. If I tell Rick I don’t want to see him anymore, he will do as I say. You don’t have to kill him. I don’t hate you, you know I don’t. If I knew the people I love were safe, I could be content to be with you. I think I could even grow to like you. I wouldn’t try to leave you, not if you spare them.”
”Would you really trust me? I broke my word to you once before.”
“I know. But you didn’t know me then. Now, now I don’t think you want me to be unhappy. I don’t think you want to hurt me.”
Imhotep put his hand over hers, his face softening. Suddenly their surroundings changed, and they seemed to stand in a large room. She had been in palace rooms like that before, but as ruins; here the room was whole and beautifully decorated. It opened up to a garden, and Evy could feel the scent of flowers in the air, and a warm breeze ruffled her hair. From outside she could hear running water and children laughing in the distance. It was a beautiful and tranquil scene, and Evy involuntarily smiled.
“To live with me in a place like this, my Queen, would that please you?”
Evy nodded, but then the illusion abruptly disappeared.
“And it would please me to see you happy. But I cannot grant your wish.”
Evy tried to pull her hand back, but Imhotep refused to let go.
“Why?”
“Because the Hom-Dai can never be broken. Did you think it is my choices that dictate my actions? I hunger, and I can never be satisfied; awake I must seek dominion of everything, and I must seek revenge. Every man, woman, and child of the Medjai must feel my wrath, and so must everyone with the blood of the one who condemned me.”
A sudden, terrible suspicion turned Evy’s heart to ice. She didn’t want to know the answer; she was certain she knew, but she asked anyway.
“Who was it that cursed you?”
“Princess Nefertiri. Half mad from grief. She knew what would happen to her descendants if I was ever raised, but she didn’t care. Cursing her, she cursed her blood as well.”
“I’m not her.”
“You are, and you are not. She was proud and spoiled and not always thoughtful. You are kinder and wiser. But her blood is yours, and so my revenge must touch you too.”
Evy suddenly found it hard to breathe. “What about Alex, and my brother?”
“Both must die.”
“But you said you didn’t want to hurt my son. You lied to me!”
“I spoke the truth; I don’t wish to kill your son, nor do I want to cause you that grief. For a little time, I thought I could spare you, but I took the first steps of my revenge last night, and I know now I cannot stop. The Hom-Dai has made me a living god, but I’m still powerless against its commands, I am still its slave.”
“But why do you want to kill my family when you are letting me and Ardeth live?”
He tried to caress her cheek, but Evy jerked her head away.
“Don’t you understand their deaths are the only way I can show mercy? You think Ardeth Bay will thank me for his life when I have made him break every oath he has ever taken? What do you think will be left for a man whose honour is everything, when he has no honour left? He will be a hollow man, soulless, and his suffering will be endless. But your family will die quickly, and they will walk together to the afterlife. Their hearts will be light, and they will be together for eternity. I envy them. I can never walk that path. If I’m not awake, I can only dream of dying. Don’t mourn those who will die. Spare your tears for yourself and Ardeth Bay, because you will be with me to the end of days.”
Evy closed her eyes in pain. So that was their future, hers and Ardeth. To live and die and be resurrected, over and over again. How long before they grew mad? And would madness bring relief? She didn’t think so.
Imhotep finally let go of her, and Evy stumbled away from him. She felt numb; she wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth, no sounds came out. After several tries she spoke, though her voice didn’t sound like her own.
“You are a cruel man.”
“I’m a man no more. And yes, my revenge is cruel, but do you think it’s crueler than what they did to me? Thousands of years to be devoured over and over again. To eternally wake up in darkness and pain, and then to die again, and for what? For trying to bring my beloved back to life. I didn’t even succeed like your son did when he brought you back to him. Had he lived in my time, he would have suffered the same fate as I for his crime.”
For a fleeting second, Evy’s heart ached for Imhotep. The terrors of the Hom-Dai were too horrific to inflict for any crime, and she had never considered that what Alex was what Imhotep had tried to achieve. But her distress over her family held more weight; she couldn’t stretch herself to feel sympathy for the very person who was set to destroy everyone she loved.
“It wasn’t right, but this isn’t right either. We are not our ancestors and we should not be punished for their sin.”
“My Queen, I have no choice.”
“Perhaps, but I don’t think you try to fight it.”
Imhotep’s face darkened, and she took a step towards her, but Evy straightened her back.
“Go. At least have the decency to leave me alone with my misery.”
For a moment she thought he would ignore her, but then he turned and left without another word.
Title: The Might of His Strength
Fandom: The Mummy series
Rating: Explicit
Chapters: 10/?
Word Count: 1258
Characters: Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell, Imhotep, Ardeth Bay, Rick O’Connell
Pairings Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell/ Imhotep, Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell/Imhotep/Ardeth Bay, Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell/ Rick O’Connell
Warnings: Abduction, Non-con, violence, Magical Coercion, Rough sex, Major Character Death- tags are likely to be expanded as the fic continues.
Summary: Five years after Imhotep’s second defeat, Evy is kidnapped.
The fic on AO3.
Evy had always hated to wait. After Ardeth had left it was unbearable, and yet she could do nothing else. She stayed in the garden, restlessly pacing it, as she imagined how Risk would react when he saw Ardeth. He would be so happy to see his friend. There had been so many times he had put his trust in Ardeth, and every time, Ardeth had delivered. Rick would suspect nothing when Ardeth told him he knew where she was, and he would come without hesitation. He would be completely unaware of the trap which waited for him, and of the torment, Ardeth was going through being forced into betrayal as he was.
Eventually, she became aware she wasn’t alone, Imhotep was standing in the house's shadow, watching her in his customary pose with his arms crossed. Evy didn’t hesitate but flew at him. She might be powerless against him, but he also seemed disinclined to treat her unkindly.
“Don’t kill Rick!”
“I’m not going to.”
“Yes, you are. You may force Ardeth to do it, but it’s you who will be the murderer, not him, and I don’t care about your semantics.”
She put a hand on Imhotep’s chest and tried to soften her voice. She was angry, and she was deadly afraid for Rick’s sake, but screaming at Imhotep would not be helpful.
“Please don’t kill my husband. Let him go, and Ardeth too, and I’ll stay with you of my free will. If I tell Rick I don’t want to see him anymore, he will do as I say. You don’t have to kill him. I don’t hate you, you know I don’t. If I knew the people I love were safe, I could be content to be with you. I think I could even grow to like you. I wouldn’t try to leave you, not if you spare them.”
”Would you really trust me? I broke my word to you once before.”
“I know. But you didn’t know me then. Now, now I don’t think you want me to be unhappy. I don’t think you want to hurt me.”
Imhotep put his hand over hers, his face softening. Suddenly their surroundings changed, and they seemed to stand in a large room. She had been in palace rooms like that before, but as ruins; here the room was whole and beautifully decorated. It opened up to a garden, and Evy could feel the scent of flowers in the air, and a warm breeze ruffled her hair. From outside she could hear running water and children laughing in the distance. It was a beautiful and tranquil scene, and Evy involuntarily smiled.
“To live with me in a place like this, my Queen, would that please you?”
Evy nodded, but then the illusion abruptly disappeared.
“And it would please me to see you happy. But I cannot grant your wish.”
Evy tried to pull her hand back, but Imhotep refused to let go.
“Why?”
“Because the Hom-Dai can never be broken. Did you think it is my choices that dictate my actions? I hunger, and I can never be satisfied; awake I must seek dominion of everything, and I must seek revenge. Every man, woman, and child of the Medjai must feel my wrath, and so must everyone with the blood of the one who condemned me.”
A sudden, terrible suspicion turned Evy’s heart to ice. She didn’t want to know the answer; she was certain she knew, but she asked anyway.
“Who was it that cursed you?”
“Princess Nefertiri. Half mad from grief. She knew what would happen to her descendants if I was ever raised, but she didn’t care. Cursing her, she cursed her blood as well.”
“I’m not her.”
“You are, and you are not. She was proud and spoiled and not always thoughtful. You are kinder and wiser. But her blood is yours, and so my revenge must touch you too.”
Evy suddenly found it hard to breathe. “What about Alex, and my brother?”
“Both must die.”
“But you said you didn’t want to hurt my son. You lied to me!”
“I spoke the truth; I don’t wish to kill your son, nor do I want to cause you that grief. For a little time, I thought I could spare you, but I took the first steps of my revenge last night, and I know now I cannot stop. The Hom-Dai has made me a living god, but I’m still powerless against its commands, I am still its slave.”
“But why do you want to kill my family when you are letting me and Ardeth live?”
He tried to caress her cheek, but Evy jerked her head away.
“Don’t you understand their deaths are the only way I can show mercy? You think Ardeth Bay will thank me for his life when I have made him break every oath he has ever taken? What do you think will be left for a man whose honour is everything, when he has no honour left? He will be a hollow man, soulless, and his suffering will be endless. But your family will die quickly, and they will walk together to the afterlife. Their hearts will be light, and they will be together for eternity. I envy them. I can never walk that path. If I’m not awake, I can only dream of dying. Don’t mourn those who will die. Spare your tears for yourself and Ardeth Bay, because you will be with me to the end of days.”
Evy closed her eyes in pain. So that was their future, hers and Ardeth. To live and die and be resurrected, over and over again. How long before they grew mad? And would madness bring relief? She didn’t think so.
Imhotep finally let go of her, and Evy stumbled away from him. She felt numb; she wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth, no sounds came out. After several tries she spoke, though her voice didn’t sound like her own.
“You are a cruel man.”
“I’m a man no more. And yes, my revenge is cruel, but do you think it’s crueler than what they did to me? Thousands of years to be devoured over and over again. To eternally wake up in darkness and pain, and then to die again, and for what? For trying to bring my beloved back to life. I didn’t even succeed like your son did when he brought you back to him. Had he lived in my time, he would have suffered the same fate as I for his crime.”
For a fleeting second, Evy’s heart ached for Imhotep. The terrors of the Hom-Dai were too horrific to inflict for any crime, and she had never considered that what Alex was what Imhotep had tried to achieve. But her distress over her family held more weight; she couldn’t stretch herself to feel sympathy for the very person who was set to destroy everyone she loved.
“It wasn’t right, but this isn’t right either. We are not our ancestors and we should not be punished for their sin.”
“My Queen, I have no choice.”
“Perhaps, but I don’t think you try to fight it.”
Imhotep’s face darkened, and she took a step towards her, but Evy straightened her back.
“Go. At least have the decency to leave me alone with my misery.”
For a moment she thought he would ignore her, but then he turned and left without another word.
