Tiy and the Prince of Egypt (18 page)

Tiy awoke on one of the cushions of her receiving room, a blanket pulled to her shoulders and tucked around her body. Her mind swirled and her vision slowly came into focus. Only one goblet remained on the table near the couch, empty and shining as if no liquid had ever touched its etched crystal. Next to it laid her wig.

She
picked up the thick wig, ran her shaking fingers through the dark strands, and lifted it to her head. Her thumb brushed the top of her head and an odd sensation crept up her hand. With her breath caught in her throat, she dropped the wig and thrust her hands to her head, her palms meeting the soft flesh of her scalp.

Her hair was gone.

She rubbed her hands over her scalp again, unbelieving. It couldn’t be true! Dropping to her knees, she searched the ground for traces of her hair, for proof that it had ever existed, that she wasn’t going mad. Not a single strand remained. The wine, the hair; it was all gone. Her beautiful hair was gone. She wrapped her arms against her knees, never feeling so naked and alone in her entire life.

Pulling
herself together, she gathered her wig off the floor and slapped it onto her bald head. It scratched against her sensitive skin, the foreign touch a bitter reminder of what Kepi had taken from her. She shook as she leaned against the table and stood. She picked up the goblet, meaning to throw it into the nearest wall, but her eye caught the edge of a folded piece of papyrus. Snatching it from the table, she unfolded it quickly, knowing the author before she saw the writing.

Amenhotep
enjoys wine, does he not? I would love to pour him a glass of my father’s richest. Do so much as utter the word and I’ll make it happen.

The threat couldn’t have been more
obvious and it frightened Tiy like nothing ever had before. The deaths of pharaohs and kings were often sudden and unexplainable. With careful planning, a threat to the king could easily turn into the death of a king. A guard could be paid to look the other way, a disgruntled servant coerced into tainting the king’s food. Tiy knew all the dangers that faced Amenhotep because she worried about every one of them.

Tiy
clenched the empty goblet in her hand and hurled it into the nearest wall. It shattered against the stone and fell into hundreds of shards all over the floor. She didn’t feel any better.

A
servant girl rushed in with two guards behind her. “You’re awake, majesty,” she said bowing low. “Are you okay?”

“I broke
a glass,” Tiy said with more venom than she had intended. She seethed inside and was certain it showed on her face.

The servant girl
bowed again, her chin quivering. “Kepi said you dozed off in the middle of your conversation. She said you seemed very tired and not to bother you.”

Tiy
stormed passed the girl. She wouldn’t let Kepi get away with this. She would do everything within her power to protect Amenhotep. After all, that was one of the reasons he wanted to marry her, to offer him the protection of a goddess. He was convinced she was Nekhbet, the goddess sent from Ra to keep him from harm, and it was time she started believing it herself. Who more deserved the divine help of the gods in protecting the great Pharaoh of Egypt than his wife and best friend? Vulture or not, she embraced the bird goddess. She would fly to the ends of the earth to protect him and send Kepi into the blackest pits of despair. She would be his Desert Guardian.

Tiy
thundered down the corridors toward the courtyard outside her chambers, her sharp footfalls echoing off the stone columns. As loud as she thought the slapping of her sandals sounded, it was apparently not loud enough to alert the servant girls gossiping outside her chamber doors.
Her
servant girls. Hearing her name whispered with a slight edge, she pushed herself against a column and strained to listen to their conversation.

“
Queen Tiy has given him nothing,” one of them said.

“Nothing,” another repeated.
“No child to speak of.”

“
Did you see Kepi? Heaven knows why Pharaoh didn’t marry her. She would have given him an heir.”

Several girls
hummed in agreement and a fierce anger boiled inside Tiy. She couldn’t believe the audacity! They were exactly the sort of servants who posed a threat to her and Amenhotep. If speaking insolently about their king and queen came so easily, than what would keep them from being bought to poison a meal or two?

And couldn’t they see that Kepi
was a heartless, conniving woman capable of caring for no one but herself? She would never be good enough for him!

Tiy realized with a start
that no one was good enough for Amenhotep. No one, that is, except her. She felt liberated as the truth of this took root in her soul, as if a pair of strong wings had just sprung from her back. No one could ever be as right for Amenhotep as she was. She wanted to say it again and again in her mind. Strength blossomed inside of her, a sense of belonging she had never felt before. She belonged to Amenhotep and he to her. She protected him in the desert sands and against arrows and dangerous beasts when no other could. It didn’t matter where she came from or what she looked like. She could be whatever she wanted to be, however strong she wanted to be and however intelligent she wanted to be. She was perfect just the way she was, just as Amenhotep had been trying to tell her all this time.

She set her jaw in a hard line.
It was time she began sharing a greater portion of the mantle Amenhotep’s shoulders carried in ruling the Two Lands. It was time she stood up for herself, believed in herself and became the Queen she was destined to be.

Tiy rounded the corner with a fresh wave of strength and fury. The servant girls scattered, pretending to be busy with important tasks. But Tiy’s demanding glare caught their attention and brought them to a standstill.

“How dare you speak of Amenhotep and
me with such insolence?”

The se
rvants cowered before her, their jaws hanging open and their heads bowed. They had never seen her speak to anyone with such strength. Never before had she stood up for herself, raised her voice, or spoken her mind before.

Tiy
didn’t wait for them to mumble their apologies. “You will all be reassigned to the slop house. I will find a replacement staff myself.” Tiy let her words sink in before she continued. “As for Kepi
,
I am assigning Merymose to the Nubian viceroy position, so you will no longer have any need to discuss her again. Do I make myself clear?”

The servants nodded.

“Notify the scribe. My official decree will be posted in the morning. Merymose and Kepi should enjoy their lives among the Nubian rebels.”

Tiy
whipped around to enter her chambers, slamming the door shut behind her. She seized random trinkets off the tables and threw them against the walls, submitting to the rage boiling inside her. She knew her actions were irrational, that destroying her precious things would do nothing to calm her, but her arms moved of their own accord, throwing everything she touched.

She
grabbed a small figurine and the feel of it jolted her enough that she paused. It was a miniature replica of the statue Amenhotep had commissioned when they were married. It depicted both of them seated on the Horus Thrones, their backs tall, their faces serene. Her arm reached behind him in a familiar, protective way. They looked so happy. He had requested that she be shown sitting at the same height as him. It was an extraordinary request, considering queens of the past had always been depicted as a woman no taller than Pharaoh’s knee, never as his equal. But Amenhotep had been adamant.

Tiy
crumpled to the ground, the replica still in her hands. She stared at all the lovely things she had destroyed and was sick with shame. She regretted letting her emotions control her. This wasn’t who she was, or who she wanted to be. She knew better than to lose her temper. She could be strong without being a tyrant or wrecking her chambers. Amenhotep would replace her things without question, but that was no reason to lose control.

Amenhotep was going to want to know what
happened. She grimaced at the thought. He was going to want to fix everything for her. But she didn’t want him to fix it or replace all her broken things. He shouldn’t always have to be the one to pick up the pieces and put her back together.

Tiy
pulled herself off the floor and called out to Nebetya.

Nebetya
bounded into the room, tears streaking her face. “My lady, I heard you dismissed all your lady servants.”

T
iy laughed bitterly. “Of course you heard. Amenhotep and I have no privacy in this palace.”

“I think the g
irls were surprised, that’s all.”

“That is because they
were expecting the timid, yellow-haired, foreign-blooded Queen to swallow their insults. Well, no more. I’m not that girl anymore.” She ripped off her wig and stood with her arms straight at her sides, her hands in fists.

Nebetya stumbled back, her hand covering her mouth. “Tiy, what have you done?”

“It isn’t your place to question me, Nebetya.”

“Forgive me, my lady.”
Nebetya’s chin quivered.

Tiy’s shoulders sagged.
Nebetya didn’t deserve her ill treatment. She softened her voice. “It doesn’t matter what I’ve done, Nebetya. It only matters what I’m going to do from here on out.”

Nebetya sniffed and nodded.
“How did your meeting go with Kepi?” she asked.

There was
tenderness in Nebetya’s eyes that made Tiy want to rush into her arms and let her comfort her with assuring words. She wanted to unload her fears of Kepi’s threats onto Nebetya, and let someone else take care of it all.

But she couldn’t
. She
wouldn’t.
As Queen, she needed to find her own strength and stand on her own two feet. She picked up her wig and positioned it on her head.

“
Please find a new staff for my chambers. I prefer servants who possess an appropriate amount of respect for the crown. I am leaving at once for the hills of Shetep. Amenhotep is there, so that is where I want to be. I should be at his side, not wandering around the palace halls waiting for my mother to tire of her distractions.”

Nebetya sniffed. “I’ll prepare your things, my lady.”

“Have them sent behind me. I am leaving immediately.”

Tiy
strode through a dozen courtyards as she made her way toward the palace gates. She was surprised by the number of servants and officials who did not even acknowledge her as she passed. How long had this been going on? She had never considered herself worthy of the queen-ship and they seemed to have recognized that, showing her only the respect she thought she deserved. Tiy huffed. The Queen of Egypt should never have insecurities. Amenhotep was believed to be both divine and mortal, the incarnation of gods, with his queen given that same divinity. It was clear most of the royal servants did not see her as having any authority or approval from the gods.

Tiy
narrowed her eyes as she passed. Many of the servant’s chins jerked back, their eyes showing momentary shock before they bowed. Their questioning glances bothered her, and she wanted to shrink into herself again, hoping to avoid the attention, but she forced her head high and her shoulders back. With the exception of her gold sandals slapping on the smooth stone floor, the entire palace hushed, sensing the change in her.

The massive palace doors were
flung open and she stepped into the warm sunlight of the winter afternoon. She pushed aside her instinct to cringe away from the bright sun, instead letting its rays kiss her and sprinkle freckles wherever it pleased. She didn’t care anymore that she was different. Her differences made her strong.

When she reached the Nile’s edge,
she found Siese directing a group of soldiers near the royal barge. He looked up when she stepped aboard.

“
Your Majesty,” he said with an eloquent bow. His motion was fluid, second nature, and Tiy appreciated that he had always shown her the respect she deserved, even if she hadn’t demanded it.

“Siese,”
Tiy said with ring of authority that surprised even herself. His head jerked up at the different timbre in her voice. “I wish to join Amenhotep. I trust it is not too late?”

“No,
Your Majesty. Pharaoh Amenhotep commanded a ditch to be dug surrounding the wild bulls and it has just recently been completed. His first day of hunting would have been the day before yesterday, but as I was sent to retrieve additional provisions and to deliver a note to you, I am uncertain as to the outcome.” Siese began digging through his pouch.

Tiy
resisted the urge to dump out the contents of his bag and search for the letter herself in a very un-queenly manner. She had waited far too long for word from Amenhotep and knowing that a letter had finally come sent a wave of refreshing joy through her. So much for daily correspondence, she thought to herself with affectionate exasperation. She knew he was busy with the exciting business of avoiding death by trampling.
Fun,
he had said. She couldn’t think of anything
fun
about chasing a bunch of hairy beasts all day. She smiled. Only Amenhotep and Ramose would think it was fun.

Feeling lighter already,
Tiy laughed to herself as she took a rolled sheet of papyrus from Siese’s hands. She was pleased by the length and elegance of Amenhotep’s script. She thought he would have been in a hurry to return to his blazing chariot of bull-fighting glory, but it was clear he had taken his time.

Tiy, Great Royal Wife and
Queen of Egypt,

I hope all is well with you,
my lovely Tiy, and that your mother is pleasantly occupied. I wish for you to join me. The days are long without seeing, you and the adventure is not as exciting. You are my sky goddess, my desert queen, and I need you on my chariot so it can soar with speed and strike with exactness. I will keep you from harm. You have no need to fear the cunning viciousness of the wild bulls.

Many officials are here to witness
my ability to control wild forces and bring order to chaos. The priests have joined as spectators, as have many sculptors and scribes, nobles and soldiers. Yet my lovely Tiy is not with me. Please come.

Pharaoh
Amenhotep Heqawaset III

Lord of
the Two Lands, King of Egypt

Tiy
smiled, glad she was already on her way. She only wished it hadn’t been Kepi’s doing that had compelled her.

“
Siese,” Tiy said. “I see you are preparing to return on the royal barge; however, I would like to be escorted on a smaller, faster ship.”

“Yes,
Your Majesty,” Siese said. “I will have one of my most trusted men escort you.”

“That will not do, Siese
. I would like you to escort me. You are the King’s standard bearer, I will have no other.”

Siese’s eyes widened a little at her boldness, but she could tell by the way he pinched them closed that he was trying to not let his surprise show.
“I would be honored, Your Majesty,” he said. If it pleases you, the royal barge could offer you much more comfort on the waters, and I am confident you would still arrive before the end of the hunt.”

Tiy
glanced at the barge. Siese was right about the royal barge being the most comfortable ship on the Nile. It had plenty of cabin space to roam and several comfortable seating areas on deck. She had yet to travel in it since Amenhotep had it refinished to his liking. He had named it Kha-em-maat, or
Appearing in Truth
. He said it would someday carry them to the truth, although he didn’t elaborate what he meant by that. But her growing sense of urgency was stronger than her need for comfort, and stronger even than her curiosity. She could always see Amenhotep’s designs when they returned home.

“
I prefer the faster ship,” Tiy said with an assurance that felt foreign to her. She wasn’t accustomed to having confidence in her decisions, or at least vocalizing them, but she had made up her mind to support Amenhotep and nothing was going to stop her.

Siese nodded and
turned to delegate his responsibilities to another commander before leading Tiy to a smaller, faster ship. He sought out her approval before boarding and, with a quick nod, she stepped aboard and sat beneath the canopy, smiling with the happy anticipation of seeing Amenhotep again. She couldn’t get to him soon enough.