The Brides of the Mummy

“Excuse me Pharaoh, but the women are here for your inspection.”

The sun shone through the pillars of the palace as the ruler of Egypt strolled through the marble corridors with his scribe. His expression was neutral, no facial movement showed his inner emotions.

“Tell me again Maud, how many have you found?” the Pharaoh asked.

“One hundred, my Pharaoh, all young and willing. They are very eager to meet you.”

The two reached the throne room of the palace. The room had been shut off, so the Pharaoh and his advisor, Maud, would have complete privacy. The towering doors of rare oak wood were opened. The two went inside, and the doors were shut and locked.

Now, the Pharaoh could work in quiet.

Inside the room, the Pharaoh was surprised at the sight that awaited him. A long red carpet lay in front of him, leading up to his throne. On each side were fifty women, each only twenty years of age. They stood at attention, eagerly awaiting inspection by their ruler. The Pharaoh was quick to begin his inspection, walking up and down the lines, looking over the young women one by one, seeing if one would serve him exactly as he wanted. Each was stunningly beautiful, dressed in a full length white gown of the finest silk. Each had been chosen for her beauty. He passed the girls one by one, but the Pharaoh did not speak.

After two hours, he was finished. Still silent, he went to his black throne, climbed the steps in front of it and sat down. He surveyed the hundred eager faces before him.

“I have inspected all of you,” he said, his voice echoing in the vast hall. “And I have made my decision.”

The women tensed, eager to her his choice.

“I have made my choice, as to who shall be my brides. But the chosen ones will not be notified until my death. At that point, messengers will be sent throughout the city to claim those who have been chosen. That is all.”

The decision final, the Pharaoh dismissed the women.

Within the ranks of these women was one named Ayne. She was like the other ninety-nine women in that hall, thin and slender, with black hair and green eyes. The perfect example of Egyptian beauty. But her spirit had fallen when the Pharaoh said that no one would hear whom he had chosen. At least not now. With nothing left to do, Ayne left the great hall with her two closest friends, Ose and Resi.

“I can’t believe we’re going to have to wait,” Resi pouted. “He’s bound to hold on for another five years.”

“Easy, Resi," Ose said. “We have things to keep us occupied until then. The new crops are almost ready to be harvested. We will be busy for a while.”

While her two friends chatted, Ayne looked back at the palace. She secretly prayed to the gods to allow the Pharaoh to die soon. Her impatience at having to wait rivaled Resi’s.

But the Pharaoh didn't live long after his reviewing of potential brides. On the thirtieth day following the event, he died, just having turned 65. There was a great mourning in Egypt for the fallen leader. For one hundred potential brides though, it was a time of great excitement. The summons came a week later. Maud sent Royal priests to the surrounding villages, hunting for the one hundred candidates.

Ayne was eating dinner with her family when two priests came for her. They knocked at the door and said they had come to respect the late Pharaoh’s wishes for his brides. Knowing the great honor that had been bestowed on their daughter, Ayne’s family let her go, knowing full well that she might never return.

Within two weeks, all the brides had been gathered. They were kept in separate quarters until all were collected. As the last arrived, Maud knew the time had come to announce the brides.

Ayne and the other girls were lead out of her camp and into the palace. Under escort of guards, she and the ninety-nine other brides came to the throne room, ready to hear who would have the honor of being the Pharaoh's bride.

When the one hundred young women were inside, the guards closed and locked the doors of the throne room. The women looked to the throne of Egypt, where Maud stood with a roll of parchment.

“We are here tonight to honor the Pharaoh's wishes for his brides," the advisor read. "As you all know, it is customary for the Pharaoh to choose three brides who will follow him to his grave. It is the greatest honor that we can bestow upon a young woman. She is automatically granted entrance to the afterlife so that she may serve the Pharaoh for all eternity.”

Maud paused for dramatic effect.

“I hold in my hand, the parchment that contains the names of the brides that have been chosen. I will now read the names.”

A great stir of excitement filled the air. The one hundred young women held their breath anxiously.

Maud looked at the parchment. His eyes widened for a second. Then he looked up.

“The great and mighty Pharaoh, has chosen all of you to be his brides!”

A great cheer went up inside the room as the brides rejoiced upon hearing the decision.

Ayne, Resi and Ose hugged one another, chanting “We’ve been chosen!" Ayne shouted to her friends. "We’ve been chosen!"

Maud patiently waited for the chaos to die down. When all was silent, he spoke again. “All of you have been chosen for this great honor, but please be aware that from this point on, there is no turning back. You will all be taken as brides, and nothing you say or do will take you back."

Guards quietly emerged from the dark shadows of the room, each carrying many ropes.

“To ensure that you cannot escape easily, your arms will be bound behind your back. This is to encourage cooperation from all of you.”

It was a pointless gesture, though. All of the brides wanted to go forward.

Ayne stood in place as two guards came up to her, holding several cords of white rope. Her heart thudded upon seeing the rope that was about to bind her wrists.

“Please hold your arms back," a guard requested.

Ayne complied, holding her arms back. One guard held her arms in place while the other took the rope and quickly began winding it around her wrists in a figure eight pattern. Anne did not resist as the rope was bound tighter and tighter, gently biting into her skin. The knot was finally finished, and was tied off. With one bride finished, the guards went to work on the next one. Now by herself, Ayne did an experimental tug. The ropes easily held her wrists in place and denied her the ability to move them apart. It was such an odd feeling, having ones' arms restrained in a way that they became useless appendages. Finding that she enjoyed the sensation, Ayne tugged for another minute.

“Ayne,” she heard Ose call.

Ayne turned to see she and Resi walking up to her, their arms bound behind them as well.

“I never expected this," Ose said as she struggled playfully with her restraints.

All three of them obviously enjoyed having their arms bound. Within ten minutes, all one hundred brides were bound and restrained.

Satisfied, Maud spoke. “We will now escort you to the preparation chambers.”

Guards quickly began leading the young women to the back of the chamber, where two massive doors built of the hardest marble stood. The great doors were opened, revealing a long and dark chamber, dimly lit by sporadic torches. One by one, the brides were lead through the door, with Resi, Ose and Ayne at the end. As Ayne obediently followed the women in front of her, she looked back briefly to see the great marble doors being shut. Locks were being fitted on. It was obvious that no one was going to come out of here.

“Please keep moving," a guard said.

Ayne obediently turned and resumed walking down the tunnel.

The tunnel sloped downwards for many minutes, leading deep into the earth, far beneath the palace and the city. Finally, the passage opened up into a massive chamber almost five times the size of the Pharaoh's throne room. It was lined with hundreds of wooden tables, each fitted with steel shackles. Dozens of pillars ten feet in diameter supported the unseen ceiling up above. The women were placed in two rows of fifty. A man walked in front of them. He appeared to be a priest of high order.

“My name is Targonamey," the priest said. “And I was the Pharaoh's advisor in religious matters. I will now serve the next Pharaoh, along with his three daughters and wife."

“Becoming a bride of the Pharaoh is a great honor, but you must all pay a great price to join him. You must surrender your lives so that you may be serve him. To do this, you must all be mummified alive. You will be bound in many layers of bandages. This bondage will allow us to use sacred charms so that your body may be preserved in a state of never ending beauty.”

There was much whispering among the brides upon hearing their fate. They had obviously not expected this.

“The process is painless," Targonamey continued. “You will be secured to a table while we wrap you. That is to make sure none can change her mind. When your bandaging is complete, you will be taken to the pyramid and sealed inside with the Pharaoh. That will be your final resting-place.”

With his preparatory speech complete, Targonamey told the women their instructions. “Please assign yourself to a pair of guards. You will be taken to a table where the mummification process will begin. I will return later.”
With that, he left the chamber.

Knowing what they were expected to do, each of the young women walked to a pair of guards. Ayne selected a pair of guards, and they gently took her shoulders and lead to a table near the middle of the room. Once they reached it, the guards picked up Ayne and placed her on its surface.

“We will untie your arms, but they will be shackled to the table," one of the guards said. Ayne nodded, ready to do whatever they asked.

Her ankles were placed in metal shackles nailed to the heavy wooden table. With her ankles in place, the shackles were locked shut, firmly securing her legs. Next, the guards untied her wrists. Knowing what they wanted her to do, Ayne lay down on her back and stretched her arms behind her head. She lay still as they were placed within the cool steel and locked in. Now in a spreadeagle position and locked in place, she was helpless. Her bondage made her tingle with excitement.

The guards now began to open boxes next to the table. They were filled with yards and yards of many types of bandages. Linen, cotton, and silk were packed inside. No expense was spared in the wrapping material of the Pharaohs brides. Taking a roll of white silk, the guards went to work bandaging Ayne. One guard unlocked her left leg and held up high, keeping it extended while the other wound the silk around the limb in a tight overlacing pattern. After three minutes, the soft yet strong silk had covered her leg and foot in a tight embrace. The leg was placed back down and shackled.

The guards unlocked her right leg, held it up and began wrapping it up as well. Ayne looked at her surroundings, letting her mind drift as the pleasant bandaging of her body continued. Ayne glanced to her right and saw that Ose was bound up to her breasts in the tight white silk. Ose looked quite attractive, wrapped up like that. Ayne began to get a little jealous. Resi was being bound to her left. She had been wrapped up to her arms. Her eyes were closed and she was moaning in pleasure. The guards mummifying Resi smiled as they continued their work.

For the next hour, the guards wound the young women into a layer of soft and luxurious silk. Some of the girls were quiet, others talking to friends. All of them apparently enjoyed the process. Ayne was completely wrapped in an hour. All of her limbs had been wrapped separately, her torso encased as well. Her face was the only part of her body that had not been wrapped. With the first layer complete, the guards began on a second layer of silk. Winding the bandages around her body, she was now secured into a layer of wrappings half an inch thick. The guards took a short break after finishing the second silk layer.

Ayne lay in place, her mind swimming with excitement. This was completely unlike anything she had ever experienced before. The tight silk gripped and hugged every inch of her body in such a soft and luxurious fashion. She wanted to rub her bandaged hands over her body and feel it from the outside. But the shackles held her limbs securely in place, so all she could do was lie there. Still, Ayne didn’t mind. She was content to simply relax.

After the guards had their break, the mummification process continued.

“We are going to wrap your limbs together now, including your arms,” one of the guards said. "This is the way you will go to be with your husband, the Pharaoh."

Ayne smiled and nodded, wondering what this would feel like. The guards unshackled both of her legs and lifted out of the steel cuffs. Ayne held her legs together so the guards would have an easier time wrapping them. Taking the cotton bandages, the guards began to wind them around her already enshrouded legs. Ayne was able to lift her head enough to see what they were doing. She watched as the bandages were wound around both of her legs, sealing the limbs tightly together. She could not feel the cotton bandages as they were wound over the first two silk layers, but she could feel how tight they were as they began to embrace her legs. She smiled.

Soon her legs had been wrapped together into a solid unit. Taking a few experimental tugs, Ayne quickly discovered that they were sealed fast. She would never use her legs again. They were now useless as walking devices. The guards worked the layer of cotton bandages over her hips and up her chest. They curled around her breasts until they appeared to be two small mountains constructed of bandages. Then her head was wrapped too, but the face was allowed to remain free -- for now. Then her arms too were wrapped up in a third layer. Her fingers were now so tightly compressed that all movement, even a wiggle, was impossible.

“We’re going to cross your arms and wrap them in place," one of the guard explained as he prepared to unlock her wrists from the shackles.

“Before you do, could I feel my body?” Ayne asked.

The guard nodded. He unlocked Ayne's arms and he helped her sit up. Ayne looked down at her cocooned body in amazement. She saw her wrappings, but she couldn’t believe that she was encased within this thick, compressing cocoon. She ran her hand, fingers now completely wrapped together, over her tummy. The bandages that encircled her were firm and unyielding, yet they also were soft and comfortable. Satisfied, Ayne lay back on the table. She crossed her arms across her chest in an x pattern so that she was grasping her shoulders. She knew this was the position in which mummies were buried. Resigned to her fate, she sighed and nodded.

The guards worked quickly as they wove the cotton around her arms, securing them in place against her chest. With every wrap of the bandages, her freedom slipped further from her, even if it was with her consent. She lay there, staring at the ceiling as she felt her new skin being applied to her, wrap by wrap. Eventually the third layer of her cocoon was complete. Her arms were now bound firmly to her chest under a tight layer of white bandages. She wiggled a little, enjoying the feeling of being encased in a warm and comfortable cocoon. Managing to twist her head just a little bit, she saw that her two friends were at the same stage that she was in. Both had their eyes closed, and Ayne could tell they were enjoying every moment.

The guards picked up another roll of cotton bandages and began to wrap it around her body, creating yet a fourth layer of bindings. If Ayne had wanted to escape, she would have found it forever beyond her reach. But she didn’t want to escape. She was being given a great honor, and she loved the treatment she was getting. After ten minutes, the fourth layer of her mummification was done. Ayne was now encased within an inch of bandages. She would never move again.

Ayne found herself becoming drowsy and sleepy. The warmth of her bindings, combined with their restrictive hug, was a powerful combination and difficult to resist. Even as she struggled to stay awake, she saw that her guards were pulling out another roll of bandages, this time made of fine linen. She couldn’t help but let out a giggle as she realized how intricate her mummification had become. For another hour, the guards wrapped Ayne head to toe in two more layers of bandages. The final layer was very carefully applied to create a tight, seamless look. Wrinkles were smoothed out and great effort was made to make sure her form looked even and balanced.

Ayne was finished.

The guards picked her bandaged form up and carried her to the back of the room. As her caretakers carried her, Ayne looked around at the other brides. All of them were in the same position she was in, bound head to toe in snug cocoons of many layers. Ayne was placed on a slanting table near the back of the room. Once there, the guards secured three leather straps across her body and buckled them down so she could not fall off. Satisfied that their charge was finished, the guards left. Ayne was left to herself on the slanting table, playfully squirming against her inescapable bandages and the straps holding her firmly to the table.

Another hour passed. One by one the rest of the brides were brought in, fully mummified. They too were placed on slanting tables and strapped down. Finally, five hours after the process began, it was finished. All one hundred brides had been mummified. The guards returned, carrying one hundred stretchers. One by one, they unstrapped the girls and laid them on the stretchers. The guards then picked up the biers and began to carry the women out of the embalming room. One hundred walking women had entered, and now one hundred mummified, yet still living women, were carried out of the room to their final resting place.

The night was dark, and the sky was full of stars as the one hundred mummies were carried through the night towards the great pyramid. As she lay on her stretcher, Ayne watched the night sky. She had never seen so many stars before. She knew she would never see any again. Then, they reached the pyramid. Entering a large hidden doorway, the guards carried the precious cargo deep into the pyramid through polished hallways dimly lit by torches. Hieroglyphs adorned the walls, telling the story of the Pharaoh's life.

Down and down they went, deep under the earth. At last they arrived at the most important chamber. A heavy stone wall blocked the passage. A priest walked up to a small niche in the wall and placed an intricate stone key inside. The great wall began to slide back, revealing that it was almost five feet thick. Beyond the wall lay an incredible sight. The Pharaoh’s tomb was a long narrow chamber. A single path lead down the narrow room to the back, where a great and mighty sarcophagus lay, the Pharaoh apparently inside. On both sides of the walkway lay fifty black sarcophaguses. This was where the brides would lie forever with their ruler. The guards carried the brides into the chamber, laying them down next to each Sarcophagus. Their burial was only minutes away.

At the doorway to the chamber, a familiar face appeared: that of Targonemey.

“You have reached the end of your journey," Targonemy said loudly, so that all the brides could hear him. “Here you will lie forever, in a long slow sleep, so that if the need arise, the Pharaoh may summon you to him when he arises.

"You will be placed inside your own Sarcophagus and sealed inside. You will drift into a deep sleep from which you might not awaken. But remember that you are all the honored ones who will dwell with the Pharaoh forever.”

Targonamey looked at the guards.

“Place the brides at rest," he said.

The guards nodded, and began their final duty. Ayne silently waited as her guards lifted her off of the stretcher and placed her on the edge of her own black stone sarcophagus. Inside was a wooden coffin, lined with fine linen and a pillow at the head. Here was where she would lie forever.

“Before we place you in,” the guard closest to Ayne said, “we will wrap your face.”

Ayne thought about this for a few seconds, then nodded. Before they began the wrapping, she wondered where her friends were, and if she would ever see them again. The guards took soft cotton bandages and began winding them around Ayne’s face. She looked down as the bindings covered her mouth, then her nose. Soon, they were up to her eyes. Resigned to her fate, she closed them for the last time as the bandages covered them, finally robbing her of her vision. The guards wound bandage after bandage across Ayne’s face, tightening the wrappings with each wrap. They applied a second, then finally a third layer, until Ayne’s face was completely covered and the bandages smooth and uniform with those wrapping her body. No skin could be seen, for she was imprisoned completely within the wrappings.

With the final wrapping done, the guards gently placed Ayne within her coffin. No movements showed from within the confining bandages that now imprisoned her. The guards moved the coffin lid in place and sealed it on, securing Ayne within. Then, they slid the heavy stone lid of the sarcophagus into place, and it fell with a heavy thunk. Now, Ayne was forever entombed. Her fate was sealed, along with that of the ninety-nine other brides of the mummy. Ninety-nine stone lids thudded into place as the sarcophagi were locked shut.

Targonamey lead the guards and the priests out of the room. He paused, then began to chant. His spells of deep sleep flowed into the room and into the coffins within, sending each occupant into a slumber that would last for centuries. With the spells complete, Targonamey exited the room. He worked the key into place and turned it, causing the five-foot-thick wall began to slide back into place. Slowly, inch by inch, it crept onwards until it reached the other side of the doorway. Stone kissed stone as the door shut with a final thud, forever sealing the still living brides inside.

Targonamey smiled. The guards would have to be killed so that no unworthy one would know about this place, but that was a small sacrifice. No one would ever know that he, the trusted advisor, had killed the Pharaoh. His plan for ruling Egypt was one step closer to completion. Now there was just the current Pharaoh to get rid of, along with his three daughters. As he began the long walk back to the surface, Targonamey wondered about the women inside. They would sleep practically forever, but did that mean they could possibly get out? No, he smiled.

Small chance that would ever happen.


As always, comments/criticism are always appreciated and welcome.

13.04.05