Queen of the Heavens (15 page)

Ramesses and I watched intently until the action ceased.

“Sety takes after me,” said the proud father.

“You, too, were a charioteer?”

“Yes. My skills led to my appointment as a royal envoy charged with delivering messages throughout the realm and to foreign lands. That’s how I met Lord Harenhab, who took a liking to me. Had I been less able with the chariot, my life would have turned out quite differently.”

“So would Sety’s and mine.”

“I must say, the changes I’ve seen in Sety since your arrival have been nothing short of remarkable. He’s much calmer now.”

“He needed only a woman’s love.”

“Apparently. Sety’s mother died when he was but nine years old. A crocodile took hold of her leg as she and Sety were walking along the Nile too close to the reeds. Farmers drove the beast away, but they were unable to save my wife. Sety stood watching as she bled to death.”

Ramesses’ remark came as a surprise. Sety and I shared the most intimate moments, but he had never mentioned this tragedy of his youth. He merely told me his mother had died, and I assumed from illness.

“For a year after, Sety wouldn’t speak,” Ramesses continued. “Once, a playmate teased him for his silence and goaded him for not having a mother. Sety erupted in a rage. He might have killed the lad had I not been there to separate them.”

A child enraged enough to kill? Is such rage still within Sety?
I asked myself, troubled by the thought.

“Perhaps a demon invaded his body,” I suggested. “Sometimes when people suffer from shock and grief they let down their guard and are unaware when dark forces enter them.”

“I thought of that,” Ramesses said. “I had priests from the Great Temple of Amun pray over Sety and do rituals to exorcise such demons. This seemed to help for a while, but soon he returned to his silent, morose and sometimes angry ways. I took another wife, as much so that Sety would have a mother as me a companion. He responded to her love, but she soon took ill and died as well. This only made things worse.”

“The husband I know is hardly morose and silent. He’s outspoken, even brash.”

Ramesses laughed. “Oh, yes. Sety can be brash. He took quickly to military training and this gave him great confidence. Yet he still can explode into rages, then appear as distant as the stars. With you, he’s much more predictable and I thank you for that.”

Our conversation ended as Sety rode over to us. I waved to him, and he waved back.

“Good morning, Tuya. What a delight to see you here,” Sety shouted from his sleek war chariot, pulled by two powerful white steeds made even more glorious in appearance by sprigs of ostrich plumes attached to bridal straps atop their heads. Sety gave the reins to a groom and joined us in the shade.

“You handled yourself well today, my son,” Ramesses said. “I’m sure you’ll do the same on a real battlefield.”

“I wish to be the greatest charioteer Egypt has ever known,” Sety declared as he brushed the dust from his kilt.

“That is a worthy ambition. The chariot is the key to victory for it allows us to strike swiftly and with great power. Years ago when I was a general, Lord Harenhab instructed me to pay close attention to the chariot corps and to raise its standards to the highest levels.”

Sety quenched his thirst with a cup of water brought by a servant. “You succeeded. The Hittites won’t have a chance against us.”

“Don’t underestimate the Hittites. They are worthy foes.”

“Their charioteers can’t equal ours.”

“Don’t be so sure. During the dark times before Lord Harenhab became Pharaoh, the Hittites used superior chariots and tactics to humble Egypt. Only now are we attaining the prowess of the charioteers from the east.”

“We grow stronger by the day, Father,” Sety said confidently. “Egypt will regain its lost lands and lost pride.”

“I’m sure it will, Sety, and you will help lead the way.”

“Can you men speak of nothing but war?” I asked, perturbed that I seemed invisible to my husband and father-in-law.

“Forgive us, Tuya. We do seem preoccupied by the subject,” Ramesses said.

“Tuya doesn’t like war,” Sety announced.

“I neither like nor dislike it. War is a part of the Divine Pageant and I accept it as such.”

“Still, you don’t like talking about it.”

“I can think of things I would prefer to discuss.”

“Like what?”

“The beauty of the Nile. Poems that speak of love. Our affection toward each other.”

Sety smiled at me, then shouted to a groom. “Bring me a chariot with fresh horses. We’ll ride home together, Tuya, and I’ll say nothing about war.”

“Do you promise?”

“Yes, I promise.”

Sety was true to his word. All talk of war ceased. He even composed a love poem that day and read it to me.

When I look at you, I soar above the Earth,

like Horus on falcon wings.

With your gentle touch, I dissolve like honey

sweetening jasmine tea.

When you speak, I hear the Cosmos serenading me

with music from the distant stars.

As I place my lips upon your neck,

I taste immortality,

for you are a goddess as I am a god,

and in our embrace, we dwell as One in eternity.

Afterward, I massaged Sety’s entire body with a slippery unguent scented with mint, then anointed myself with jasmine oil and lit incense made from frankincense and myrrh. We inhaled the aroma of blue lotus blossoms and lay down next to each other.

Ensconced in a divine bouquet, we joined in the embrace of creation, and reached heights of ecstasy we had not yet known.

XV

On the tenth and final day of each week, Ramesses, Sety and I would enjoy a conversation and midday meal with Lord Harenhab. I quickly learned in great detail about such things as the Hittite threat, the importance of Nubian gold to the prosperity of the land, and the vital need to keep the trade routes to the east open so Egypt might obtain the Lebanese cedar used to build the great boats that plied the Nile.

I enjoyed these gatherings and was pleasantly surprised when I received an invitation to dine with the Pharaoh at the appointed time even though Ramesses and Sety were away from Thebes.

Lord Harenhab, wearing the
nems
and
uraeus
, rose from his great chair as an officer escorted me into the royal chambers. “Tuya, what a pleasure to see you.”

“Thank you for having me, My Lord,” I said after bowing. “With Ramesses and Sety away, I didn’t expect an invitation.”

“Why would I not invite you? I’m delighted to be able to converse with a woman so intelligent and well-educated.”

“You are too kind.”

“Kindness has nothing to do with it. I’m selfish in desiring your company.”

We walked through the terrace to the garden and sat down on wooden chairs at a stone table. A linen canopy provided shade and a gentle breeze bathed us in the aroma of blossoming lotus. A servant immediately brought us wine. The Pharaoh and I took sips, then set down our marble chalices on the green faience tiles that covered the tabletop.

“I sent Ramesses and your husband up the Nile to meet with priests at a temple to Hathor,” Lord Harenhab said. “These priests have petitioned me to expand their temple. I’d like to do so, but I want to make certain their plans are reasonable.”

“Sety told me. We must always honor the gods so they look upon Egypt with favor.”

“Yes, Tuya, and we must honor them in great detail. Temples must be built to sacred proportions with the divine techniques known only by a few. The precision of design helps draw the power of the gods into the earthly realm.”

“Do you know the techniques and the proportions, My Lord?”

“I’ve studied them, but truly understanding temple architecture and construction is a full-time pursuit.”

I admired the Pharaoh’s inquisitive nature. He told me before that he also had studied magic, astrology and the mystical nature of numbers.

“I would like to have a temple in which I can perform my healing work,” I said. “Sety promised to build me one. I miss using my healing powers.”

The Pharaoh grinned. “That would be an impressive gift. You’ll have your temple someday, I’m sure, but now isn’t the time for you to engage in the healing arts. You must direct your strength toward supporting your husband and producing children.”

Lord Harenhab’s comment grated on me, as had a similar one made by him on the day we first met. Back then, I objected with a verbal outburst. I knew better than to make a habit of this with the Pharaoh, so I spoke in a measured tone.

“I will bear an heir to the throne, My Lord, but I also wish to use my power to make life better for others. It’s my nature to heal.”

“It’s my nature to be a soldier and to fight. Instead, the Neters entrusted me with restoring Egypt’s strength. Those who come after me will be the ones who gain the glory in battle.”

Why is this?
I asked myself. Lord Harenhab stood at the pinnacle of the divine order of the earthly realm. His people would do anything he commanded. He was a good, just and noble man who paid homage to the divine with his every breath, yet the Neters denied him the glory he so desired.

“Your glory is great, My Lord,” I assured him.

The Pharaoh brushed away my caring words with a wave of his hand. “It’s nothing compared to the glory awaiting your husband and son. On rare occasions the Neters have allowed me to lead troops in small engagements against Nubians and marauding sand dwellers, but they’ve refused me the leadership of great campaigns. It fell upon me to restore prosperity to Egypt after the troubled times and to rebuild its armies, not command them on grand adventures. I don’t question the Neters’ intentions. I seek only to honor them by doing the best I can in the role at hand.”

Embarrassment rose within me. I had been assigned by the Neters to be a Princess and then a Queen, and to help shape the destiny of Egypt by bearing and rearing an heir, and yet I was complaining about my exalted position in the Divine Pageant.

I bowed my head and spoke softly. “I’m being selfish for wanting to continue my healing work.”

“Perhaps a bit, Tuya. You’ll use your healing power again, but your greatest task now is to bear a son and to help in the healing of Egypt.”

The Pharaoh pointed to a flock of white birds wading in a pond nearby. “Look at the ibises, Tuya. They seem detached from this world as they search for snails and small fishes in the reeds. In their aloofness, they are like the cats that bring so much joy to our households. I see why Thoth took their form. Though the ibises do not speak, they seem to know so much.”

“My teacher Maya gave me a statue of Thoth as a gift,” I said. “I keep the god of wisdom by my bedside. Every day, I ask him to imbue me with at least some of his knowledge and understanding.”

“Good. Thoth taught us our greatest lesson. ‘One became two, two became three, and three became the myriad of things.’ All began with the Divine One, my dear, and all remains within it. Remember, if there were no snails and small fishes there would be no ibises.”

I contemplated the Pharaoh’s words. “Our separateness is but an illusion.”

“Yes, Tuya. Everyone serves a purpose, but it’s not for us alone to decide what that is. The Neters have chosen some of us to do great things, though this might require us to live our lives somewhat differently from the way we wish to live them.”

At that moment, I felt enormous love for the Pharaoh. I had been chastened by him, but gently so, and his wisdom and understanding had brought great clarity to me.

That evening, in my bedchamber before the statue of Thoth, I vowed to postpone my healing work without complaint. I would concentrate my energy on my divinely appointed task of bearing and rearing an heir, knowing the power of Isis would be the power behind the throne.

Within a few days of my meeting with the Pharaoh, Ramesses and Sety returned from their trip up the Nile. Shortly thereafter, I began directing servants as they packed my husband’s and my belongings, for the time had arrived for the court to return to Memphis.

The days were growing longer and soon all Egypt would be brutally hot, though slightly less so in the north. Lord Harenhab, however, had another and far greater reason to return to Memphis than a slight improvement in comfort. He wore the red and white double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt and felt obliged to spend time in both Memphis and Thebes so the divine power flowing through him would benefit equally the people of the two lands.

A flotilla of twenty palace boats of various sizes assembled near the Great Temple of Amun. The first and largest boat, for use by the Pharaoh and Ramesses, measured fifty paces as stepped off by a tall man. Sety and I boarded a smaller vessel behind it, still more spacious and luxurious than the one that had carried my parents and me to Thebes. It even had a
senet
game with pieces made from ivory and onyx. The rest of the court took their places on the other boats in line according to rank.

The wind blew against us, but the current flowed northward so the flotilla proceeded in a single line with sails down and oars up. Peasants, many holding the hands of their small children, lined the lush riverbanks and bowed as we passed.

At dusk, the flotilla stopped upstream from Dendera, the town where Itet had interpreted my dream. I placed burnt pieces of wood in a circle around Sety’s and my beds, then walked around the beds holding a bronze bowl containing a small amulet of Sekhmet. I held a crescent-shaped knife over the bowl, moving it in a circular motion to severe any ties between dark forces that might be lurking in the cabin.

Through Sekhmet’s power, I proclaim this space inviolable. All beings that would do harm, begone or face Sekhmet’s wrath
, I uttered again and again under my breath.

“Why do you cast a spell?” Sety asked.

“For protection against the demons of the desert,” I answered.

“We seem quite safe on the river,” Sety noted.