Only The Beginning
By
Christine Hall
Title: Only the Beginning
Author: Christina Hall, aka Trillium
Rating: R for violence, sexual situations, and the usual bad attitudes
Special thanks to Kao Vang for editing and many good suggestions
Disclaimer: The Mummy and the characters therein are the property of
Universal Studios.
No infringement intended. I am making no money off of
this.
Chapter 2
As soon as the door shut behind her, Anak-sun-amun sagged against
it, her face breaking into the smile she had been holding in ever since High
Priest Imhotep had asked to walk with her. Her heart had been pounding so
loud she was certain he could hear it, and a giddy feeling suffused her
insides. She hoped he had not thought her rude to remain so silent, but she
could barely form intelligent words with him beside her. Did he know the
effect he had on her? They had been standing so close together, just a few
inches more and she would have been able to nestle against his strong chest,
rub her cheek against his, and then...she shook her head to end that train
of thought. It was most inappropriate, but- he made her happy, in a way
that she had not been happy in quite a long time.
In the next room two servants were working at a loom, for it was not
that late yet. "Prepare my bath," she ordered them, hoping they would
attribute her cheerfulness to being called to Pharaoh's chambers. The two
women exchanged mildly surprised glances, but did as they were told.
Perhaps they thought she was finally warming up to the Pharaoh in the face
of his constant attentions.
No chance of that, thought Anak-sun-amun, sobering as she remembered
the events at the feast. Pharaoh did nothing for her, physically or
emotionally. She missed the days when she, as the daughter of a minor baron
in Amenthis, one of the outlying large towns, had had much more freedom.
All that had changed a month ago when Pharaoh admired her, and her
obsequious father handed her over as a present.
In a way, she knew, she couldn't really blame her father, for one
way or another, Pharaoh always got exactly what he wanted. It had been a
disappointment for her on several levels, but still, she was conscious of
the honor that had been bestowed upon her, and relatively content to work
within the system.
Until she had met the High Priest's eyes that afternoon. Now
Anak-sun-amun wasn't so sure. Nothing seemed as clear to her anymore.
She did not hurry with her bath, luxuriating in the soft warm water,
enjoying how it felt against her skin. The gold and black paint thoroughly
washed off, she went to her room and dressed in a simple white linen dress
reaching into her jewelry box for the jeweled collar that Pharaoh had given
her. Her hand touched bare wood instead, and she pulled the box down and
looked inside. No collar. Where could it be? She wondered if someone had
taken it- maybe Tuya? She had been Pharaoh's favorite before
Anak-sun-amun's arrival, and was the only one of the other palace women to
show serious jealousy at her presence. Oh, well, there was nothing she
could do about it now, and it wouldn't matter tonight.
Blithely brushing off the offers of the maids to escort her,
Anak-sun-amun went to the Pharaoh's chamber. She was somewhat surprised
when she turned the corner and saw two of the Med-jai, Pharaoh's personal
guards, at the door. That meant that Seti was within. Anak-sun-amun had
thought he would stay at the feast quite a bit longer. She had fully
expected that he would have to wake her up when he arrived- if he did not
fall asleep immediately himself.
One look at the Med-jai's expressions told her that Pharaoh was
probably not happy. Nervous now, she entered the gold-leafed room, walked
through the outer chamber, and pushed back the long, filmy curtain that
separated it from the inner room.
Pharaoh Seti sat there on the bed, his face a mask of displeasure.
He was also, Anak-sun-amun noted, drunk. His eyes were shifty and he leaned
at an unaccustomed angle.
"Why were you not here when I arrived?" he snapped.
"I was bathing, my Lord," Anak-sun-amun answered, trying to keep her
tone sweet and reasonable.
"When I command, you should hurry to obey." His speech was slurred
as he reached out and tugged at her dress, pulling her toward him.
Anak-sun-amun found herself truly frightened. Something about his eyes told
her she wasn't getting off easily.
"My Lord, please..." she tried to think of a distraction. "You look
tired. Would you like a backrub?"
"No!" he cried, standing up, taking her by the shoulders, and giving
her a shake that rocked her head on her neck. "I find your attitude
unsatisfactory lately. You do not respect me!"
"I do respect you, of course, my Lord," she stammered, bewildered.
"You still do not understand!" he slammed her jarringly to a sitting
position on the bed. "I am the son of Horus...I mean of Ra," he was getting
confused now, his eyes unfocused. Anak-sun-amun thought about making a
break for the door, but the Med-jai would only stop her and send her back
in, if Pharaoh so willed it. The phrase "loyal to the death" still didn't
adequately describe their dedication.
"Never mind," Seti shook his head. "I do what I want here!"
Anak-sun-amun had only taken her eyes off him for a second, but he
moved with a speed she had not thought him capable of in this inebriated
state. He pushed her over onto her stomach and sat on her legs, holding her
wrists behind her with one hand while he pulled her skirt up over her hips
with the other. She struggled, but couldn't break free in that awkward
position. When he finally let her arms go, she was well and truly pinned
underneath him, and he was shoving her legs apart and taking his pleasure
from her.
It felt like she was being ripped in half down there, and the angle
of his thrusts forced her face painfully against the surface of the bed.
Anak-sun-amun squeezed her eyes closed and tried to block out the hurt, the
sound of his ragged breathing in her ear, the smell of his wine-laden
breath. She thought of the constellations overhead, of the two crowns in
all their heavenly glory, the chariot racing across the sky, the jackal
spying on the hippopotamus, all oblivious to earthly concerns and troubles.
She tried as hard as she could to be among those bright stars, and not here,
not here, anywhere but here.
The Pharaoh gave a grunt of satisfaction as he finished, and his
weight was removed from her shoulders. Tears wetting her cheeks,
Anak-sun-amun crept to the edge of the bed furthest away from him and curled
into as tight a ball as possible, as if by doing this she could exclude his
taint from her body. After he had rested a few moments, he called for a
guard to escort Anak-sun-amun back to her own chamber. The guard eyed her
ripped dress, but said nothing, and when she stumbled on an uneven stone in
the corridor, he offered her no help, for no man was to touch her but the
Pharaoh.
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