The Solar Princess

We owe him our devotion.

The body's back arched in silent screams.

The pain.

The pain that Arsinoe knew only too well. She remembered the blinding, searing pain of when she first woke.

It was only in that moment of observation that she remembered her own pain. A pain that had stopped. The spells no longer called out to her, the gods no longer demanded their release. Whatever Farouk had done, it had stopped her pain.

However, now her mind begged to know the answer to it's most demanding question. At what price?

What had they truly awoken?

Fear and doubt clouded her mind as she backed away, clinging to fabrics to cover her nudity in front of a god.

Farouk glanced back at her. "Why do you retreat?"

She shook her head. "Something does not feel right."

The low echoing laughter from the stone walls of the sarcophagus only added to her sense of alarm.

"It is the lord, Osiris who brought you back to me. We owe him our devotion."

Yet, she couldn't shake the feeling of dread.

So lost in her concern, fear, and confusion at her dead lover's body returning to life while speaking to his soul reborn... she didn't know where to settle her thoughts. All she knew for sure was that the sickening feeling she had in her stomach as she walked in only grew worse.

Her mind flickered around to what she knew of the old Egyptian cults. She was raised with them, yet taught to follow the newer ancestor worship of the Ptolemies. To pray to the cult of Alexander, or to the unified god, Serapis. She knew of the other gods, but could not recall times when men received direct interactions and blessing. Not like the Greek gods, who interacted more with humans. However, it was the Greek stories that trapped her in fear. Dealing with the gods always had a price. A price much higher than most were willing to pay.

A crumbling bandaged hand grasped the edge of the sarcophagus, pulling the mummified remains up.

Her breath caught.

Laughter gained strength.

"Calm down child." The deep ancient voice grumbled.

Charles stood in shock, his hand grasping his chest. "Th, th- this can't be real."

"It is real." The mummy whispered and reached for the older man, pulling him close. His mouth opened as something passed between the two.

Arsinoe screamed as she watched Charles's body slump and finally fall to the floor. Dead.

"Why?" she gasped. "Why kill him? Why come back?"

"His life will help me heal faster." His deep voice answered. Farouk moved between the mummy and his queen. The mummy looked over the couple with eyes that reshaped and formed in front of them. His broken arm healed and the bandages filled out as he healed much faster than Arsinoe had. "You had fulfilled your duties my children."

"My lord Osiris?" Farouk questioned.

The mummy tore at his bandages to uncover his face. A face Arsinoe had loved with every fiber of her being, the face of Ankhmakis. "You provided me with a very nice body to use as I work to free the rest of my family."

Farouk bowed his head slightly. Arsinoe couldn't believe she faced a god. A god who claimed her lover's form. And Farouk stood there, in submission?

No. She watched him closely. He was tense. His eyes never left the god. He was unsure as well. And he stood to protect her.

Osiris continued to remove his bandages, showing the spells tattooed over all of his skin. He ignored the terrified human couple trapped with him. Then he picked up the ceremonial items from the floor. Focusing on a particular dagger. "Do not fear me my children. I promised you both to be reunited, a mortal life together and an immortal eternity in Duat side by side." He finally looked up. "I never did promise that it would be a long mortal life."

Their screams reverberated off of the stone walls, though they never left the confines of the earthen tomb.

*****

Osiris grinned as he slipped out of the tomb. He tucked the dagger into the coat pocket of the foreign man he fed from before he burned his body to ash.

He had after all, accomplished everything he had set out to do. Without breaking a promise.

As hard as it was to not feast on the life force of the soulmates, he had left their souls intact. Once again mummified and returned to their final resting place, wrapped in each other's arms. Their souls would be accepted into the afterlife. Adequate compensation for their sacrifices.

The other heretical humans who served another god?

For them, he gave no such promises. And he was hungry.

Perhaps a feast before he recalled those of his family he still liked.

The sounds of screams in the village were music to his ears. The gods would rule once again.