Tiy and the Prince of Egypt (6 page)

The remainder of the school day disappeared behind numbers and shapes, symbols and inscriptions. Tiy was anxious to return to Nebetya. She’d overheard some of the students talking about Pharaoh’s house welcoming the Mitannian bride and hoped Nebetya would have details of how the foreigner was being received among the royal servants.

Nebetya
jumped up when Tiy entered her chambers. “You’ll never believe what I heard today,” Nebetya said. “The royal servants are so chatty.”

Tiy plopped down on a cushion and leaned her elbows on her crossed legs.
“Well, that is good, I suppose. Was it about the new queen?”

“
No. Apparently Prince Amenhotep is returning from the Nubian rebellion early. The battle is getting out of hand, and Pharaoh Tuthmosis isn’t comfortable with the heir of Egypt being so close. Some of the servants think he is still sensitive about losing his eldest son in battle.”

“
I thought he died in a bull hunt?”

Nebetya
shook her head and lowered her voice. “It was all hushed up because the priests were afraid the Egyptian people might believe the royal line was weak.”

“Why?”

“The prince died in the first conflict he led.”

Tiy
’s mouth formed a circle. The pharaoh was the people’s protector. If the heir died in his first conflict, it meant the gods were unhappy with the kingship. And if they weren’t satisfied, they wouldn’t bestow the power and protection Pharaoh needed to rule and protect.

“
It couldn’t have been in Nubia,” Tiy said. “The rebels have barely begun causing trouble, but I don’t remember hearing about any other battles.”

Nebetya nodded.
“Exactly. No one was supposed to know about this one.”

“Where was it?”

“In Mitanni.”

Tiy
choked on absolutely nothing and gasped for air. Her ancestors had come from Mitanni. Pharaoh Tuthmosis must hate her.

“What is it?” Nebetya asked alarmed
.

Tiy cast her eyes to the ground.

“Oh.” Nebetya said, her eyes filling with understanding. “None of the servants have said anything about you. Trust me. They wouldn’t have been afraid to speak their minds. Besides, don’t you remember, their new queen is a Mitannian princess?”

“I remember
, but that doesn’t change the fact that a Mitannian soldier killed the heir to Egypt’s Double Crown.”

“Well, I guess they have worked out an agreement. When the Mitannian King h
eard the prince had been killed he was supposedly so afraid Pharaoh would send his entire army to revenge his son’s death that he sent his daughter as a peace offering.”

“That’s
horrible.” Tiy mumbled.

“It doesn’t matter
. No one cares where your great-great-great-grandfather came from.”

“
Kepi and her friends do.” And she thought she understood why Kepi hated her so much. Tiy had the same blood running through her veins as the people who killed her future as Queen.

“Who?”
Nebetya said in a way that conveyed both surprise and anger.

“Just
a girl in class.” Tiy said. She told her what happened in class. “She said I don’t belong here.”

“Is that what you think?”

Tiy shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s not like I was invited to attend before I helped Amenhotep. I’m only here because Pharaoh said yes, although, I don’t think he thought I should come either.”

“You are an official’s daughter, are you not?”

“Yes, but—”

“And you are smart enough
to keep up with the curriculum.”

“With some extra studying
, yes, but—”

“But what, Tiy?
Do you think that spoiled, pompous brat has more right than you?”

Tiy
smiled. She couldn’t believe Nebetya called Kepi a pompous brat. Nebetya always said exactly what she thought, which was refreshing, but it got her into trouble more often than not.

Nebetya
chuckled and the tension ebbed away. “You see,” she said. “What Kepi said is nothing to fret over.”

“You
’re right.”

Nebetya
flashed her biggest smile and winked. “Of course I am.”

Once again
Tiy was glad Nebetya had agreed to come with her. She was exactly what she needed.

“Now, about
Prince Amenhotep’s arrival,” Nebetya said.

“What about it?”

Nebetya was the
only living soul who knew about the short conversation she had shared with Amenhotep, and the only one who knew of her obsessive curiosity for him. Nebetya knew how much she wanted Amenhotep to be her friend.

Nebetya smirked.
“What are you going to wear?”

“It’s not like that Nebetya
. We are just friends. At least, I hope we are friends.”

Nebetya
pressed her lips into a thin line. “Tiy, you followed him into the desert.”

“I don’t know why I did that
. It just felt like what I needed to do. And it turned out to be a good thing that I did.”

“Are you
telling me that when you considered Kepi might be his future bride, you weren’t the tiniest bit jealous?”

Tiy’s laugh came out as a bark
. “Jealous? More like pity for Amenhotep. Although, she is beautiful.”

“You mentioned
that.”

“And
I also said that I don’t have feelings for Amenhotep. I’m too young!”

Nebetya raised her
eyebrows. “You don’t think you can fall in love at your age?”

“
No.”

Nebetya
huffed as she got up to turn the blankets down on Tiy’s bed “What do you know of love?”

Tiy
didn’t respond. She didn’t think Nebetya’s question warranted an answer. Besides, she knew nothing of love, which was why she knew her curiosity for Amenhotep was innocent. She wanted to be his friend, that was all. Something about him made her feel comfortable, relaxed. After all, she had joked with him the first time they had spoken. Not the awkward conversation in which she pointed to the sky and muttered like a tongue-tied giraffe, but the conversation they’d shared when she’d told him he would turn into an eighty year old with crooked teeth and a hairy back! Just thinking about it made her smile and cringe at the same time. What was it about him that made her feel so at ease?

She
knew she hid a little of herself from everyone. Even Nebetya received half truths sometimes. Not lies, just no more than she thought anyone needed to know. There was a wall, between her and others, a protection she held up like a shield. Others could get close, but not too close. She wanted just one friend with whom she could be her true self. And for reasons she didn’t fully understand, she wanted Amenhotep to be that friend.

The season of Peret neared, and the weather grew colder every day. In preparation, Nebetya pulled Tiy’s longer kalasirises and warmer cloaks from her chests. Kepi had been unbearable in class and Petep had tried to compensate for her rudeness by being extra kind. Tiy appreciated her sweet gestures, especially since they were the only thing keeping her from begging her mother to let her return to Akhmim.

I
f Tiy thought Kepi was unbearable before Amenhotep’s arrival, she had a rude awakening upon his return. It was almost the first of Peret by the time he joined the class. Sunshine poured down from the cloudless sky, and Menkheper had taken the class outside to learn the art of archery. Several students clustered in small groups awaiting their turn with bows.

Tiy
stood beneath a swaying palm and hugged her wooden writing board to her chest. Due to her stringent study habits, she had caught up with her classmates and had even surpassed them. Or perhaps it was her competitive nature that helped her push to the top. Either way, she was ahead of Kepi, which infuriated Kepi and brought Tiy immense pleasure.

No one else brought their wooden writing board
s to archery, which embarrassed Tiy a little, but she told herself that everyone else had already had plenty of opportunities with a bow and arrow and didn’t need their wooden boards for notes. She refused to fall behind in any subject.

Amenhotep and Ramose
strolled across the garden, and everyone stopped to watch. Kepi raised her chin in the air and with a proud tilt of her eyebrow, pranced toward him. She reached out to take hold of his arm with a smile. He regarded her with a polite nod, accepted her arm, and then continued his path toward the class, his conversation directed toward Ramose. Kepi stumbled at his side, so he slowed his long strides to match her smaller gait. Kepi couldn’t look more pleased with herself. She flicked her shining hair behind her shoulders and smirked at Tiy, a smirk that Tiy wanted to slap off her pretty little face.

Fortunately
for Kepi, Tiy didn’t have to. Amenhotep strode up to a couple of boys their age and jabbed their shoulders with his fist. They laughed, happy to receive such casual attention from the prince. And then he did the most wonderful thing. Amenhotep caught Tiy’s gaze and walked over to her, jabbing her shoulder as well. She had never been so happy to be punched in all her life. It didn’t hurt, of course. It was nothing more than a friendly gesture. But it meant she was a buddy, just like his other friends. Kepi scowled and huffed off to her pack of hyena-friends, most likely looking for them to tell her how wonderful she was and how insignificant Tiy was.

Menkheper cleared his throat
to regain the class’s attention. “Welcome back, Prince Amenhotep,” he said. “We are happy for your safe return.”

“I’m glad to be here,” Amenhotep said. He glanced at Tiy.

Menkheper bowed and then turned toward the students. “Young ones first. Please line up over here. Draw your bows to your ears.”

While healing,
Tiy enjoyed watching the adorable four- and five-year-olds fumbling with their bows and accidentally sending their arrows into the trees. Nervous servants scurried about to retrieve the errant shafts, their heads ducking every few seconds. Encouraging the students as he explained proper technique, Menkheper urged them to try again. The six- and seven-year-old students were lining up when Amenhotep nudged her arm.

“Let’s go wait over there,” he said, pointing
to a low garden wall.

Tiy
nodded and followed him. Ramose, Petep and a muscular boy joined them as well. They lined themselves along the edge of the wall and dangled their feet above the ground.

“How was your journey from Akhmim
?” Amenhotep asked her. They sat near the center of the group, their shoulders touching. The muscular boy sat on Tiy’s other side, watching them.

“Fine
,” Tiy said. “I got a little wet.”

“Is that what we call near dro
wning these days?” he asked with a hint of a grin forming on his lips.

Tiy’s jaw dropped
. “You heard?” She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t
want
to believe it.

He flashed a smile.

“Word travels fast,” Tiy mumbled.

“You have no idea. But,
I was curious, so I asked Siese what really happened.”

“And what, may I ask
,
really
happened?” Tiy folded her arms and tried to act perturbed, although she was far from it.

“He said you jumped in for a swim and got a lit
tle carried away.” He was biting his lip now, hiding a laugh.

“Oh, did he?”
Tiy said, suppressing a smile of her own. “Well yes, I was going for a leisurely swim when a giant crocodile rolled me under the water with him. I thought he was just trying to dance, but it turns out he was trying to eat me. So rude. I said thanks, but no thanks, and got back on the barge.”

A burst of
laughter broke from Amenhotep’s mouth. He clamped his lips shut, his eyes sparkling with enjoyment. “How nice of the crocodile to let you go.”

“Oh he didn’t have much of a choice
. I sent my pet hippopotamus after him. Nothing to it.”

Amenhotep
grinned, and they laughed. The muscular boy laughed too. Tiy couldn’t help but enjoy their silliness together. She almost dropped her wooden writing board, wondering why she had even brought it. She wasn’t even paying attention to anything Menkheper was saying. Holding the board in front of her chest, she relaxed a little on it. Did everyone feel so happy and wonderful around Amenhotep?

They s
poke of silliness for the next half hour, giggling back and forth and telling tales of exaggerated adventures. It was the most fun she’d had in a long time. Ramose and the muscular boy joined in when their laughter escalated enough to include everyone, but for the most part, Tiy and Amenhotep conversed as just the two of them.

Eventually
, the girls Tiy’s age lined up. Tiy eyed the line, reluctant to join Kepi and her followers when she was having so much fun with Amenhotep on the wall.

Petep
leaned forward and smiled at Tiy. “How about we take a trip to Giza during the school holiday tomorrow? Do you boys want to come?”

“Yes!” Amenhotep and the muscular boy answered in unison. They exchanged glances and laughed.

“We don’t have class tomorrow?” Tiy asked.

Petep
’s eyes brightened. “Not for the rest of the week, for the closing of the Akhet season.”

Tiy furled her brow. Her old school never got holidays to celebrate the end of the seasons. They had the typic
al festival days off of school—Opening of the Year, Sokar Festival, Ipet Festival, and even the newer festival of Ptah.

The muscular boy nodded. “This may be our last chance to go this year,” he said.

“I don’t know,” Ramose said. “
Maybe we should go somewhere else. Giza has been abandoned for years. We could run into trouble.”

Amenhotep slapped Ramose’s back. “Relax, old man. We need some excitement
in our lives.”

Tiy smiled. Ramose couldn’t have been more than three or four years older than Amenhotep, certainly not an “old man” by any means. But by the grin on Ramose’s face, she didn’t think he minded the sentiment.

The muscular boy nudged Tiy’s shoulder and she turned to him, noting his boxy features and eager smile. He also appeared older by a year or two and had a square jaw and low brows. She gave him an open smile, and he seemed to accept it as permission to talk to her, not that he needed her permission.

“
Have you ever been to Giza?” he asked.

“
No. Have you?”

He grinned
. “A dozen times. I can be your guide. I’m Merymose, by the way.”

“I’m Tiy.”

“I know who you are. Everyone knows you. You are the one who saved Prince Amenhotep.”

Tiy
shook her head. “Not so much saved as happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

Merymos
e raised an eyebrow. “That isn’t what I heard.”

Tiy
leaned in to whisper, “Do you believe all the palace gossip?”

Merymose seemed to like
her close proximity. He leaned in as well and whispered. “I believe all the wonderful things people say about you.”

Tiy s
traightened. Wonderful things? What wonderful things were there to say? She wanted to ask what he’d heard, despite how self-indulgent it would have sounded, but Amenhotep nudged her, and she forgot all about what Merymose had said.

“Tiy, what are you
two whispering about?” he asked.

“It’s nothing,”
Tiy said shrugging, happy to turn her attention back to Amenhotep. “He’s under the same delusions as everyone else.”

“And what
delusions are those?”

“You know what people are saying, that I saved you from the desert storm
. You and I both know you would have eventually figured out a way to save yourselves had I never shown up.”

Amenhotep’s jaw set and his mo
uth formed a line. “You don’t really believe the nonsense that just came out of your mouth, do you?”

Tiy
folded her arms and matched his hard stare. “Of course.”

“Tiy,” he said
, his voice low with exasperation.

“It doesn’t matter anyway
. Anyone would have done what I did.”

“Not
everyone would have known what to do in a sandstorm of that magnitude. It came naturally to you.”

Tiy o
pened her mouth to protest again, but he held up his hand, “Please,” he said, his voice turning soft, “don’t insult the memory of my friend. He died, and I would have too had you not been there.”

Tiy
clutched her writing board to her chest, wishing she could hide behind it. She never intended to disrespect the honor of Heru.

“What else were you whispering about?” Amenh
otep asked after a quiet moment.

“Merymose offered to be
my guide in Giza, since I have never been there.”

Amenhotep
examined Merymose as if meeting him for the first time and then whispered in Tiy’s ear. “Do you
want
him to be your guide?”

Tiy shrugged. “Sure. I don’t want to get lost.”

Amenhotep pursed his lips and then nodded, resuming his animated discussion of Giza with the others. Tiy slumped. Did she say something wrong?

A flash
in a tree across the yard caught her attention, and she looked up to see a shadowed figure clinging to the tallest branches. Tiy cocked her head and squinted. Was it an animal, or a person? A long stick with a metal end emerged from behind a crop of leaves. Tiy’s heart dropped from her chest. It was no animal. It was a man, with an arrow trained straight for Amenhotep.