The Forgotten: Aten's Last Queen (47 page)

In our palace in Man-nefer, the red granite stela lay before us. Finishing touches were still being made before it would travel to Waset and become a part of the Great Temple there. It was a promise of hope. In the stela lunette, two scenes, reflections of each other, were sculpted into the form of Tutankhamun making offerings to Amun-Ra and Mut beneath the outstretched wings of the sun-disc. Mut was standing behind Amun-Ra, her hand resting on his shoulder, supportive and loving.

I felt the words to be sterile, but that is how the land now expected things to be portrayed. It was about the bragging and the accounting of faithful deeds. It was not about something sacred shared between Pharaoh and his people. As I read, I skimmed past the measurements and the amounts of items restored and focused on those things which told the story of his promise to the land and the gods.

“I like it,” I said.

My meret beamed at my reaction. I knew he would. He had worked with Horemheb on the writing of this stela for months.

While I was caught up in his eyes, I felt my dress swirl about me. Looking down, I noticed Ashai running about my feet. He was nearing 3 years old and was as wild as a hyena. He was swinging a wooden sword around and yelling, “For Pharaoh!”

“Ashai,” Tutankhamun said, “mind your mother.”

Ashai stopped so suddenly it was like he had hit a wall. He looked up and said, “Yes, Uncle Pharaoh.” Then he took off to where Mutbenret was nursing Ashai’s little sister.

His name for Tutankhamun always made me laugh. In truth, Ashai was my cousin, but he had proclaimed one evening at dinner that Tutankhamun and I were “too old” to be cousins. So he decided to call us Aunt and Uncle Pharaoh instead. Ashai could be a very thoughtful, observant boy if he slowed down for a few moments. His older brother, Nakht-amun, sitting at Mutbenret’s feet studying a papyrus in front of him, was also very smart. But unlike Ashai, Nakht-amun was very subdued and shy.

Mutbenret stood up while pulling a sleeping baby away from her breast. She smiled over at me while she waved her boys to her. They went inside for a snack.

“Meret, I have something to tell you,” I said in a deeper, more serious voice after Mutbenret had disappeared from sight.

Tutankhamun looked down at me with a worried expression. He was a head taller than me. Muscles were beginning to bulge in his arms, legs, and chest. Though his ankle had not straightened, he was walking more easily. He still needed a cane, but he was no longer embarrassed by it. Everything about him had greatly matured. The throne had not made him bitter, only changed him from a boy to a man. It had given him perspective on his life and what priorities he should keep.

I took his hands. They were rough from his daily training with the army. Nahkt-min had stayed behind while Horemheb led the forces out to reclaim our lands from the Hittites. Nahkt-min was a frequent guest of ours, which I enjoyed very much as it let me spend time with Mutbenret and their three children.

“My husband, I have kept something to myself, and it is time that I share the news with you.”

I stepped into him and put my arms around his waist. I was drawing things out longer than I should, I knew, but it had been a long, fruitless road thus far for us. I wanted to finally have a little fun with this announcement.

When my heart could wait no longer for his reaction, I spoke. “You are going to be a father.”

Tutankhamun released his breath and stared silently for a moment, then another moment. I was beginning to think he was displeased. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees and kissed my stomach, which was already beginning to round out. Then he wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned his ear next to my navel. He shook softly. When he stood up again, I could see it was because he had begun crying.

He pulled me in for a gentle kiss on the lips. Then he kissed me on my cheeks, my forehead, my nose. When he finally pulled away, I saw that his tears had drawn damp lines down his cheeks.

“Words cannot express what I am feeling!” He said. “All I know is that I am swelling with a happiness greater than I think fits inside my body!” His words moved so quickly that they stumbled over each other.

I smiled. “I wanted to make sure it was so, and it has now been five moons. Mutbenret says I show all the signs. By the beginning of summer, you will hold your heir.”

“We must hold a banquet and announce to our people this wonderful event.”

“It is just like the gods said, I will bear you a son.” I said, letting my excitement escape my lips. I had waited and waited for this moment. Finally, I was with child.

Tutankhamun looked up to the sky. “Praise Amun!” Then he picked me up under my arms and spun me around, laughing. My feet floated in the air as we swirled about. I was glad he still held onto me in the form of a hug when he set me back down as I still saw a spinning world before my eyes.

His laughter bubbled into words. “I don’t care if he is crooked. I don’t care if he isn’t perfect. I will love him! I will tell him it does not matter how he looks. It is what is in his heart that matters. And then he will grow up understanding that everything is possible to him. I love him already! Is that possible? To love our child already?”

His excitement made me giggle, “It is entirely possible, Meret. You will be an amazing father.”

“Your majesty!” A voice that I could not place interrupted us. Pa-rammessu strode toward us. His expression was not in harmony with our moods, and it seemed as if the world visibly tensed in his wake.

He stopped in front of us and bowed quickly. “Horemheb has returned.”

“Then I look forward to greeting him!” Tutankhamun said brightly.

“My King, he is with the doctor.”

*****

The three of us rushed to the infirmary at the army barracks. Horemheb was sitting up while the doctor worked on stitching closed a hole in his shoulder. The right side of his face was red and swollen.

When I looked over to my husband, Tutankhamun’s face was as white as a new bed linen. He came up to Horemheb’s free side. “My friend…” But he could not seem to find any more words. His lips moved but nothing poured out from them.

Horemheb grunted as the doctor inserted the needle again. “I will heal, Pharaoh. But I do not bring you good news. I am afraid our campaign was unsuccessful. They continue to hold our lands to the far East. We did not gain any ground back. And I want you to know that I will accept the blame for our failure.”

Tutankhamun hung his head for a moment. Then he seemed to shake off the feeling and returned Horemheb’s downtrodden look. “You returned to us. That is all the news I care for.”

Swishing sounds of reed sandals and long robes approached from behind.

“But the people expect more from our army. This does not bode well for your reign, Pharaoh. Those of past years have captured much land. The people like warriors… successful warriors, that is.”

The sour tone was instantly recognizable as Ay’s voice. He always seemed to arrive just in time to dampen any mood.

He continued, “You should not have returned, General, unless Kemet’s lands were returned to us. You were charged with regaining all which the heretic had lost.”

Horemheb’s expression instantly changed to defensive as he spoke. “Grand Vizier, there is no point in continuing a fight when the only gain is dead men. We needed to return, refresh, and figure out a new plan.”

“Thank you, General,” I cut in, “for returning the men to their wives and children. It is important not to forget that the essence of our lives starts and ends with family.”

Ay was silent. Tutankhamun smiled and put his arm around me.

“We do have great news for our people,” he said, “and we must prepare. A wonderful moment is at hand.”

The doctor had finished his work and was tying off the stitches. For a few drops of the water clock, the knitting of flesh was all that could be heard.

“My wife will soon be bringing the world an amazing gift. Our child.”

*****

The news of my pregnancy helped to overshadow the army’s losses. It kept Man-nefer’s air excited and upbeat. Every shop and household was eager for news on my condition.

Much chatter was abuzz regarding if I would bear a boy or a girl. Many people said that a boy would guarantee Pharaoh’s divine right. They also said that a girl would mean the gods were not pleased and that we were treading too close to the steps the former king took.

I had never felt so much pressure in my entire life. And such pressure on my child! The people were already rejecting the child. If it was a girl, they would lose faith in my husband’s strength to rule. They expected a son who would inherit the throne. Akhenaten had produced only girls save Tutankhamun. The people did not want more girls. Girls, including myself, were a reminder of what had happened before.

If I did not bear a son, would my husband begin a harem? He still had not accepted the advice of his viziers, but without a son from my body, would he seek comfort in another woman? Would he love someone else who
would
give him such a gift? I thought of my mother. Father had chosen other women because of his desperation for a boy. He had even forced Meket and me… but Tutankhamun loved me. In the past, I knew this was the way of things. It was expected of a pharaoh. I could not imagine what would happen if we did not give the lands a Horus of our own. Who would take the throne then? Who would have the right to?

Tutankhamun already said that he loved the child, but my husband had also only used the word “he.” Would he also turn away from a girl like the rest of his people? Would the wrong child turn him from me?

No, Tutankhamun was not like that. He was optimistic and kind. He had loved me even when I had given him my worst. A baby would not change that. He was so excited, and the goddess Mut had nodded when I had asked about giving my husband a boy. When a god says yes, then one should not let their own worries seize up their heart.

As the moon waxed and waned, my belly grew. It seemed smaller than my first pregnancy, but I felt the baby move much earlier than before. When it first happened, Tutankhamun had been sleeping next to me. I felt my belly twitch, and in my unrestrained joy, I ended up slapping Tutankhamun on the cheek instead of tapping him on the shoulder. He bolted up to a sitting position. I took his hand and put it on my belly. In fear, he jerked it away at the movement inside of me. He sat frozen and watched my belly ripple.

“Will the baby push its way out if he is too strong? Is he coming now?” He asked.

I giggled. “No, Meret, he is merely stretching.”

Then the baby pushed out hard enough so that you could see the outline of his foot. Tutankhamun gasped and put his hand over it, gently pushing against it.

How the baby kicked him back! My body shuttered slightly from it.

Tutankhamun and I laughed so hard that we cried. I lay back while he stroked my belly, his head on my chest. When the servants came in to prepare Pharaoh for the day, he dismissed them all. This, of course, brought Ay into our midst. As with the others, Tutankhamun brushed him aside like an errant fly. “Today I lay beside my wife and child.”

And so for one day, it was just the three of us.

*****

There was a vocal war being waged as we entered the throne room. Three men were standing in a circle.

“Taxes are coming in, so the new collectors are doing their jobs. A great deal of this is distributed to the army, yet it is not doing
its
job. I think a new commander is needed.” Ay reasoned to those standing on either side of him.

Pa-rammessu was quick to protest. “How dare you! General Horemheb has always been a strong leader! I would not follow another! Have you forgotten all about the tribute brought to the land from our previous campaigns? Can your lust for gold never be sated? Must you own every grain of sand, too?”

Maya smoothly injected himself, clearly the peacemaker in the group. “But with his wound, can he continue to properly lead an army? It will take time for his shoulder and arm to heal. These past months have shown little progress for him.”

“And we don’t have many more months! I believe General Nakht-min is our best choice for this task. Preparations should begin at once.”

“You choose your son-in-law, of course,” Pa-ramessu countered. “I wonder if it is because you support him or because you dislike your daughter’s choice for a husband.”

Ay spat violently upon the ground at Pa-ramessu’s feet. “How dare you! My daughter’s
children
are better strategists than Horemheb!”

“Have I missed something?”

All eyes turned towards us at Tutankhamun’s interruption. Quickly, they prostrated themselves on the tiled floor as he walked slowly to the throne.

“I would not so easily dismiss
General
Horemheb. He is very smart, loyal, and quick with a bow and arrow. It takes much stamina to distinguish oneself as a soldier when there is no war, wouldn’t you say? He has done that many times in the past,” Tutankhamun said as he sat down. “And while I do also agree that his injury may compromise his combat leadership, I would not use this to discount his valor or abilities as some might.

“First: Taxation. I was told our harvest was exceedingly good, but our income does not show that much in return. Many of our plans were started under the impression that more taxes would have been collected. We cannot keep making plans and then have our income fall short each year. And this is not the first year this has happened.”

Maya clearly agreed. “I have some new ideas for this, Majesty. Right now, income is projected seasonally. I have thought about calculating what we could expect for the next
year’s
harvest and thus plan our distribution lists ahead of season. You see, the rise of the Nile could be watched and calculated. By recording the inundation each season, I would be able to predict the amount of goods we could expect for the year. A high rise of the waters would give us more grain, and so on. Then if this expected collection falls short, this could also be a method to indicate greed within the collectors. I advise keeping this method in our close confidence for now.”