Sphinx's Queen by Esther Friesner

Author:Esther Friesner
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Ancient, Legends, Fiction, Myths, Other, Middle East, Egypt - Civilization - to 332 B.C, Fables, Royalty, Queens, Girls & Women, Juvenile Fiction, Etc, Historical, Nefertiti, People & Places, Etc., History, Egypt, Rulers, Kings, Ancient Civilizations
ISBN: 9780375856570
Publisher: Bluefire
Published: 2010-01-01T17:00:00+00:00

9

VISITS AND SECRETS

Amenophis and I didn’t see one another for the rest of the voyage. He was kept confined in the curtained shelter in the middle of the deck, and I was forbidden to enter it. I didn’t mind too much—it was better to be able to stroll around the ship at liberty and watch the changing sights of the shore slip by—but I felt bad for him, pent up in such close quarters. The chamber held every comfort—the best food and drink, soft cushions, game boards to pass the time—but not freedom.

I saw Thutmose frequently. It was impossible to avoid him. The royal ship was big, but not that big. Whenever I caught sight of him, I held my ground. I’m sure he would have enjoyed our encounters more if the sight of him made me run, shudder, sneer, turn my head away sharply, any kind of reaction, but I refused to let him think he had the least effect on me. I looked at him the way I’d look at a palm tree on the riverbank, my eyes merely acknowledging that, yes, there it was, and that was as much attention as it deserved. At first he wore a nasty grin each time our eyes met, but it quickly withered when I let him understand that he was nothing to me now. Soon he was the one who ran or looked away if we chanced to cross each other’s path.

When the royal vessel docked at Thebes, a suitable welcome awaited us. I think that the priests of Hathor must have sent runners or chariot drivers ahead to the south the instant that Pharaoh’s ship left Dendera. The god-on-earth was greeted by a procession of musicians, dancers, fan-bearers, priests of many gods in all their ceremonial finery, and, of course, his highest-ranking counselors, including the vizier. Pharaoh and his Great Royal Wife walked from the ship to the palace in splendor over a carpet of flower petals. A canopy was held above their heads by four Nubian servants carrying the jeweled and gilded poles. I was still on board the ship, and from the height of the deck, I could see that the top of the canopy was decorated with a brilliant picture of Horus in the form of a hawk with outspread wings of blue, red, and gold. The two princes followed their parents, their heads shielded by painted cloth sunshades. Thutmose was carrying Ta-Miu. The little cat who had caused so much trouble had been restored to her former owner back in Dendera, before we left the temple of Hathor. I was surprised at how much I missed her.

There was no such courtesy as a formal welcome nor such comfort as a sunshade for Nava and me when it was our turn to debark. On Pharaoh’s orders—more likely the orders of Aunt Tiye—the vessel’s master kept us on board until the royal procession was out of sight, then turned us over to the four guardsmen who’d been waiting for his summons.

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