Valley of the Kings by Cecelia Holland

Author:Cecelia Holland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2014-12-11T21:16:54+00:00

10

The Queen Regent had a waiting woman, whose name was Meryat. Although this girl was not of royal blood, Nefertiti loved her like a daughter. The girl cared for the Queen’s cats and took her messages about within the palace, and when Nefertiti was ill, which was often now, Meryat sat next to her with a fan and cooled her face.

So she was there when the Vizier came to Nefertiti and said, “Radiant One, there is evil news from the south of the land of Egypt. The Nile is not coming to flood. The famine will not be broken this year.”

Meryat made as if to go, but Nefertiti called to her and bade her stay. “All Egypt will know of this within three days, anyway.”

The Vizier spoke ritual phrases of consolation and reassurance. They were in the Queen Regent’s enclosed garden. The openwork of the alabaster walls caught the breeze and kept the sun at bay; a boy sitting in the corner played on a flute. Meryat with her fan of heron feathers wafted the breeze toward the Queen.

Nefertiti was pale as winding linen. Her eyes shone with fever.

“Another year of the famine. It is I who shall be blamed—I and my God.”

“My Queen,” the Vizier said. “I have sent for the diviners—”

“More auguries! Last year they said that if I returned the court of Pharaoh to Thebes, the old gods would smile on Egypt again. Next they will say that I must give an ox and an oxload of gold to all soothsayers!”

The Vizier was bowing up and down, murmuring, “Radiant One, Radiant One.” The braided tresses of his old-fashioned northern wig swung over his shoulders.

“Meryat,” the Queen said fretfully. “Bring my slippers.”

Meryat put the fan down and went to the foot of Nefertiti’s couch. The slippers were under the cushion. The Vizier talked of messages to be sent around Egypt, to explain the failure of the Nile. Meryat wished he would leave; the Queen was very pale. The maid knelt to put the royal slippers on Nefertiti’s narrow feet.

“Enough,” said the Queen to the Vizier. “I will consider this later.” She rose from the couch, her hands to her temples. “Meryat, my pomander.”

Meryat hurried across the room for the pomander, in the cedar chest below the window. While she knelt by the chest, the drapery over the door to the terrace billowed out on a gust of wind, and through the fluttering curtains the young Queen Ankhesenamun came into the room.

“Mother, I need your advice.”

Her voice was clear as the note of a tuned string. Her black, unpainted eyes were direct. Tall and slim, scorning ornaments, she looked more like a boy than a young woman; least of all, she looked the Great Wife of Pharaoh. On her left forearm was a leather bow guard. The tail of a lion hung from her belt. She loved to hunt. Meryat admired her and was afraid of her. The Vizier bowed deep to her.

“Welcome, Favored of Isis.”

Nefertiti had walked across the room to Meryat’s side.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.