Whumptober 2022: 14. “I’ll be right behind you.”, Alt Prompt for Day 22. Stabbing
Fandom: The Mummy, Ardeth Bay
Word Count: 1549
TW: Angst, Sword Fighting, Curses, Separation
Notes: Thank you to @waywaychuck for the request to write for Ardeth. It is my first attempt at him but I hope you enjoy!
When your old buddy Rick had asked you to join him on his latest adventure, there was no way you ever expected it to turn out the way it did. Mummies and curses and death and almost the end of the world. But once the fighting had settled and the day had been saved, Rick walked away with the love of his life, and so did you.
Ardeth was unlike any of the men you had been drawn to in the past. He was stoic, calm, and composed. Yet the moment he picked up his sword, he came alive with a ferocity and passion that took your breath away. After your adventure fighting Imhotep, Rick, Evie, and Jonathan decided to move to London, but you stayed behind in Egypt. For the past two years, you have lived with Ardeth and the Medjai, watching over not only Imhotep’s tomb but various other cursed places in the area.
Which is how the two of you found yourselves in your current predicament. Rumors had been swirling that some explorers had stumped upon one of the tombs you guarded. It was said to house the Blade of Eternity, a dagger that contained the power to turn anyone whose skin was pierced by it into a statue of sand. It was also said that the statues of its victims would come to life and become an army that would be under the command of whoever possessed the Blade. If that was true, the Blade could not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.
So, you and Ardeth hurried to the tomb and quickly navigated the twisting passageways until you reached the center throne room. You arrived just in time to see one of the explorers removing the Blade of Eternity from its resting place on the altar. Ardeth tried to cry out a warning but it was too late.
Suddenly, a massive gust of wind whipped around the room, swirling a wave of sand around the man and blocking him from view. Ardeth pulled you close to protect you from the stinging bite of the sand and you buried your face into his chest.
When the storm settled, you peeked your head up to see the man still standing at the altar. He seemed perfectly fine except for his eyes. They were now glowing a bright yellowish-white, almost like two small suns nestled in his face. As he gazed down at the blade, a low, cruel laugh began to bubble out of his chest. It grew louder as he raised the Blade into the air before stabbing it down into the altar.
A bright light flashed through the room, temporarily blinding you. As you tried to recover, the room began to shake. The man with the Blade’s other companions looked around nervously. One approached the man slowly and held out his hand.
In one quick movement, the man with the Blade ripped the dagger from the altar and stabbed it into his companion’s heart. You gasped loudly in surprise, the sound finally drawing attention to you and Ardeth.
The man with the Blade’s face twisted into a demented grin as he made eye contact with you. Then, without breaking it, he yanked the dagger from his companion's chest. The companion fell to the floor but even as you watched, you could see his skin starting to quickly crust over as he began turning into one of the sand statues that lined the room.
There was another tremble throughout the tomb and with a start, you realized that those statues were beginning to move as they came to life to follow their new master. You glanced at Ardeth and he met your eye. He nodded and the two of you drew your swords at the same time. You had to get the dagger away from the man as soon as possible before more and more of the sand statues came to life. If not, you would quickly be outnumbered. With a loud cry, you launched yourself into the room.
The fight was a blur of swords and sand. The staatues were much more solid than you expected, taking much more force and effort to stop than anticipated. And for every one you managed to cut down, another took its place. You quickly lost sight of Ardeth in all of the excitement. At one point you thought you saw him near the altar and you heard a small grunt that you could have sworn was his, but you couldn’t be sure.
Eventually, you managed to maneuver your way around to the back of the altar. The man with the Blade was preoccupied with controlling his army and he never saw you coming. With one fierce thrust of your sword, you drove it through his back and into his heart.
The man gasped as he dropped the Blade of Eternity. He looked over his shoulder at you as the twin suns in his eyes slowly faded and he disintegrated into a pile of sand. All of the statues immediately froze in place; no longer having a master to control them. Ardeth was the only one still standing and he smiled softly up at you, pride shining on his face. You smiled back just as warmly.
Then, you took off your scarf and used it to pick up the Blade of Eternity without directly making contact with it. As carefully as possible, you placed it back on its pedestal on top of the altar but as soon as you did, the entire tomb began to shake. Sand dropped from the ceiling and you noticed in horror that the entrance to the room was slowly closing.
“Why are all of these places always boobytrapped!” You yelled as you jumped off of the alter. Running over, you grabbed Ardeth’s hand. “Come on! We have to get out of here.”
The two of you took off towards the exit, hand in hand. But just as you could see the first glimpse of sunlight peeking through from up ahead, Ardeth stumbled, his hand slipping from yours. You turned to see him panting heavily with one hand pressed against his side as he tried to catch his breath.
Hurrying back to him, you said, “Come on, we’re almost there. We can make it.”
But as you tried to pull him along, he winced, taking a deep shuddering breath. Your eyes widened as you pushed his hand from his side. There was a small gash in his robes where they had been sliced, but instead of oozing blood, sand poured from the wound instead.
He looked up at you, his dark eyes full of regret. “I’m sorry, my love.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” you asked, your voice trembling.
“There was nothing you could do. Now, go, hurry. I’ll be right behind you.”
You shook your head as you whispered, “No, you won’t.”
He smiled, wiping a tear from your cheek. “No… I won’t.”
Throwing yourself into his arms, you sobbed into his chest. There is no way to fix this. From the moment he had been cut, his fate had been sealed. Ardeth was now cursed with a fate worse than death and there was nothing you could do about it.
Yet, you couldn’t accept that, wouldn’t accept that. In the last few years, you had seen too many impossible things to believe that there wasn’t a way to save him. Somewhere out there, scrawled on a piece of long-forgotten parchment or etched into a temple wall, there had to be a way to stop this magic and save your love.
As you lifted your head to stare up into his eyes, Ardeth cupped your face in his hand. You smiled softly. “I’ll find a way. I promise. No matter how long it takes me, I will come back for you.”
He smiled back at you as he ran his thumb across your cheek. “I know you will.” Drawing you in, he pressed his lips against yours.
The kiss was all-consuming. It carried the heat of the desert sun and the intensity of a wild sandstorm. It said everything neither of you had the words for and so much more. But more than anything, it wasn’t a goodbye. It was a promise of ‘until we meet again’.
As he broke away, he pushed you gently towards the trickle of light in the distance. “Go. And carry my love with you.”
“Always,” you whispered as you began to back away. Taking one last lingering look at the man you loved, you turned and sprinted for the entrance of the tomb.
Making it to the door just as it was about to shut completely, you dove under it, scrambling to get far enough away as soon as you hit the sand. With a massive *thump* the door sealed itself behind you.
Panting, you rose to your feet and stumbled over to the door. Pressing your hand against it, you wondered if Ardeth was doing the same on the other side…. Or if he was even still human enough to do so. As tears began to roll down your cheeks once more, you silently promised him you would be back. One way or another, you would find a way to free him from this curse.
Tag List: @nik2blog, @dumb-fawkin-bitch, @shirley2996
[ froy guiterrez, cis male, he/him ] — * oh, here comes PETER ANTONIO APELLIDO ! the twenty one year old leo is often referred to as the lionhearted. people say they have a tendency to be a perfectionist and dogmatic, but from what i’ve seen, they can be devoted and compassionate too. when they walk by, you’ll probably hear habits of my heart by jaymes young playing out of their headphones, but they’re also associated with pushing glasses up the bridge of your nose, love letter crumpled up and scattered around the room , and a warm hug in the arms of someone you know is safe. i hear they’re studying biochemistry & want to become a pediatric physician when they’re older, but who knows what will become of ‘em ! ╱ ellie, 21, she/her, cst
hello !! my name is ellie & i’d like to introduce you to this loser , peter !! i’m from cst time so i’m more active in the evenings and late at night ! during the day i volunteer & work at the hospital as a cna since i’m in college but i will still answer any messages ! i’m more used to playing more “oOh AnGsT” boys so i’m excited to step out of my comfort zone !! anyways if you want to plot like this post and i will hit you up !
trivia.
full name , peter antonio apellido .
gender , cis male .
age , twenty two .
zodiac , leo sun , virgo moon , scorpio rising
ethnicity , caxcan native & mexican
nationality , american
sexuality , pansexual
background.
trigger warning , separation , neglect
peter grew up under a loving mother . to him , she was everything he wanted to be when he was older . she was a nurse and still somehow managed to come home each evening to peter & care for him . when she was older and peter was more self sufficient , she even went back to school part time to pursue a masters . essentially , she was peter’s entire world . his father was out of the picture when peter was young & refused to play child support for god knows what reason . but that merely made peter admire his mother more , & he through himself into work to make her life easier .
peter had always been a perfectionist . he would bury himself in books & study for hours . he was a little more introverted as a child & would rather have read then play (under the fear that if he didn’t read , he would never get a good job , & his poor mother would forever have to take care of him . he was seven when he held this logic) , but eventually he was brought out of his shell & found that he loved to be surrounded by people .
during high school , peter wasn’t very popular with his peers , but his friend group ( & the approval of his teachers) was all he needed . he was part of student council , the debate team , & even dabbled in soccer . he was intimidated to enter college given he had hardly any clue what he wanted to do . however , the moment that the student council needed some more volunteer hours & peter found himself thrust into the hospital’s pediatric unit as a secretary volunteer , peter fell in love with medicine . it was a perfect match , and he is now attending a high standing university .
wanted connections.
academic rival - someone who peter always had to compete with academically , & it pisses him off even more that ,, they’re kinda hot oops
best friend - someone that peter has always trusted since childhood . easily the one that brought him out of his shell
enemies - maybe not flat out hatred but someone who just really rubs peter the wrong way , & vice versa
unrequited crush - someone who peter is into but ,, man they’re unattainable
enemies to more - my fAVORITE someone who peter cannot stand but they’re forced to start working together & maybe he doesnt hate them as much as he thought
an ex-friend - someone who peter used to be close to but maybe peter neglected them in favor of some academic thing & now there’s a lot of tension there
someone who he can wingman for - just because lmao
Salim had stopped by the shop a couple of hours before Arya got home, and since Asra had given him a key well... He'd let himself in, after knocking a few times of course. He'd planned on showing Asra something he found, but the nosiness had overcome him for a little insight on his son's life. And to show Asra a tad of insight as well as he held a photo album in his arms protectively.
At some point, he found himself sitting on Asra's bed, leafing through the book as he imagined for a little while what it would have been like to sit with a younger Asra and look at it together. Point out all the family members Asra never had a chance to meet. Hear him laugh and see him smile over the silly little things Asra had done as a kid, before the separation.
Like the time Asra had gotten into Salim's writing ink, smearing it all over his own face and dyed some parts of his snow-white hair black.
But thinking about that had brought a silent sadness over him, and soon Salim had found himself laying down without really meaning to. His arms curled around the album while he thought about the worst deal of his life, one he should have known better than to make. One where he didn't leave Asra behind. Those sad thoughts were what lulled him to sleep, letting his body rest against the dark.
At the shake of his shoulder though, Salim very suddenly sat up as a look of bewilderment took his face. He stared at Ayra through his now even more cockeyed glasses, blinking a couple of times.
"OH! Oh gosh! I'm so sorry. I- Hi. Sorry. I came to see Asra and then... Y'know how we Alnazars are with our naps..."
Can i get a shufflemancy for my relationship with 😶 as 🧣?
Hello there! Thank you so much for your request!☆
This one is a bit more on the negative side, unfortunately. However, in the end, you would know best when it comes to your bond with 😶! It could’ve turned out really well!
As for the Shufflemancy, I pulled the song : Yesterday by The Beatles!
[ Warning : This song is very somber and has to deal with someone blaming themselves. Listen at your own risk! ]
The analysis is under the cut!☆
“Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away.Now it looks as though they’re here to stay.Oh, I believe in yesterday.”
In general, I get a sort of somber impression from this song. There’s a theme of looking back on the past and longing for the happy memories that were once shared. It could be that you and 😶 were initially extremely close. That, or at the very least, your connection meant something to you. However, for one reason or another, said bond was brought to an abrupt halt. The song implies that it could’ve been an argument or some sort of shift in perspective. However, this could really be any sort of separation. Whether physical or emotional, one person wasn’t able to connect with the other, and thus caused a rift. A lack of communication is shown in the song. It could be that you both weren’t able to talk to each other like you used to.
This could’ve left you feeling reflective and forlorn by it, though. Maybe you made an active effort to keep this from happening or vice versa. You both very well could’ve patched things up! This could’ve been a major moment in your bond with 😶, though.
That’s what I personally got from it, anyways!
I hope you enjoyed it and that this helped you in some way! Have a good day!
