The Forgotten: Aten's Last Queen (58 page)

“Enter, Your sacred body, here on my altar,

Home to Thee, temple to Thee,

Come and besiege me, come and hear me,

I call on Thee Come now and enter

Arise and awake --”

The doors to the room burst open, cutting off my prayer, and Maya strode in swiftly. His eyes were bright.

“Great Queen, the army has been spotted by the gate keepers. They will be entering the city!”

I gathered up my robes as I rose to a stand and followed him out. Tutankhamun was almost home!

Part Four:

Ra’s Death

As Though They Had Never Been
1322 B.C
.

Funeral Procession of Pharaoh Tutankhamun

I was standing within a wind-swept tunnel of water. I could not move, but I would not have even if I could. I stood in awe and watched fish swim beside me and above me. Could this be what the tombs of the gods looked like? Such wondrous creations built from the elements of the earth, spectacular in their beauty and power. I could not count all the life swimming about; they were as numerous as the lights in the sky. They were decorated in more patterns and colors that I had ever seen. Some were larger than my husband’s tomb! How great the gods’ imaginations were.

Sprinkles from the tunnel tumbled about the space I stood in, but I paid it no mind. It was a refreshing wetness. I breathed it in deeply.

My hair blew in front of my eyes, blinding me in its soft blackness. As I brushed it behind my ear as best I could in a wind storm, I noticed a group of people before me walking away from the point I stood. They were dirty, thin, tired, and leading a troupe of animals and wagons. They looked like a people I had seen before, but from where?

Suddenly, I could hear a thundering behind me. As I turned my head to look, there at my backside were chariots rumbling toward me. The chariots were trimmed in gold. I could tell by the outfits the drivers were wearing and the writing on the gold plating that these were my people. These were soldiers of Kemet. I was in their path, and soon they would trample me.

A hand came to rest on my shoulder. As I whipped my head back around, I saw a lone man. I knew his face, but the memory of where would not surface in my thoughts.

“Welcome, beloved of Him Who is by some called Elohim and by some Adonai.”

His voice was thin and higher pitched than I expected. Within the great hall of water, his voice was but a whisper being pulled away by the thick winds.

“Where am I?”

“You are where it all began,” he replied.

“What do you mean?” This person was strangely calm, and it made me more nervous.

“Look at that man, do you recognize him?” He was pointing behind me, to where the soldiers were coming.

I turned and looked. The soldiers seemed rooted in place like statues. I blinked in surprise, for they had just been in a full charge, before taking in the features of the lead driver. He had thick dark eyebrows angled over deep-set eyes. He had high, pronounced cheekbones. His nose was small and round. His jawline was strong and jutted out over a long neck and broad muscled shoulders. His head was bald, just as I had always known it to be.

“Grandfather… but how can this be?”

“He was a very different man before this day. After Elohim spared his life, his heart changed. He cares for his people, but he does not show compassion. His own pride has mixed up the message Elohim was trying to send to him. Elohim wanted your grandfather to help guide your father after seeing the truth of His love for my people.”

I spun around to face the man who so lightly seemed to forgive such an awful being. “Help people? He is responsible for the death of most of my family. If it was not for my husband, he would have killed me too! All over some paranoia of threats to the throne? My sisters were kind and gentle. They never got a chance at life! Let the gods forgive him. But not me. Never me!”

“You say gods, but I know you don’t feel that word in your heart.” The man smiled at me.

I could feel hot tears sting at my eyes despite the cool waters raining down my face. I took in a deep breath to calm my anger. “He cares nothing for his family. All my life, he has caused me distress and difficulty. Why am I here?”

“So you can learn to forgive him,” the man said.

“Why should I! My husband’s body had not even been carried within our borders from the battleground, and Ay manipulated my feelings to steal the crown and my life away from me. He took away everything I had. He deserves nothing from me because nothing is all I have left!”

“Elohim has touched your heart, and He smiles upon you. You are not perfect either. You also need forgiveness for your sins. Soon your path will clear of the muck surrounding you that has you stuck. But first, you must forgive, niece.”

My heart stopped. The dream had been so long ago. “Uncle Djhutmose?”

“Everyone is driven by something. He was devoted to my father, a good man.”

“Your father or Ay?”

Djhutmose looked at me with surprise in his eyes, “Both were good men. But both men come away differently from this moment. My father was upset and was driven solely by that emotion. He let it carry him to his death.” A small circle of a tear fell from Djhutmose’s eye at these words, but he continued, “Ay was embarrassed, prideful, and has forever looked for a way to make it right.”

“At any cost,” I grumbled.

“I miss my family. I loved them dearly. You do too. My mother listened to me, my brother listened, but my father would not accept what I said. Your family, our family, has suffered greatly in this life, but in the next, you will be exalted. Elohim has chosen you, and you have learned to listen despite adversity. You are courageous and strong. I am proud of you, An.”

I looked back at the press of soldiers, still unmoving, and realized that every other man I looked at would soon die. “Choose another man. Not Ay. Let another live so my family can go on. My mother could be here, my baby sisters, please… do not let him live,” I pleaded softly.

“And you would sacrifice Mutbenret’s life?”

I had not thought of that. She was born the year Meketaten was, after this moment, to Ay’s second wife. I shook my head as my vision blurred. I was at a loss of what was right. Nothing in my body seemed able to focus. Did my sisters’ lives weigh heavier than Mutbenret’s? From her, three beautiful children had been born. I would erase hers
and
their lives. And how many other lives would never be because of it? My dear aunt and closest friend. I could never sacrifice her, not for anything. Not even for my sisters. I loved her just like those I lost.

Djhutmose continued, “These events cannot be changed. Only yours can.”

“Where am I?”

“In a memory.”

“This is not my memory.”

In response, he pointed toward the group of people I had first seen. They had all cleared out of the tunnel. Through the circular opening, I could see Djhutmose there. His arms were outstretched, a long staff in his right hand. Slowly, he brought his hands down. His staff touched the ground.

Suddenly, as if it had been punched out, the watery ceiling above me split to reveal the sky. The window of water I had seen Djhutmose through closed like a door. Rapids came rushing down the towering walls to close the tunnel, and I saw that I was now alone.

I started to step backwards, but I knew it would do me no good. I looked behind me as the shouts of my people reached my ears. The men were screaming as they tried to turn their horses around. But that space too was closing in.

Around my grandfather, a column of air spiraled down to wrap him up. I could see him clearly, his wind-made bindings churning translucently. Ay had stopped his horse and looked up. The crashing waters were repelled around him. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the column flew upward, taking him from his chariot and up with it before the waters caved in.

I watched as everything surged toward me. I closed my eyes.

A heavy downpour broke on my head. I gasped for breath and was surprised to find air filling my body.

I opened my eyes. The sky above was darkening. There were night lights winking at me overhead. The landscape was vastly changed. I was lying on the floor on top of plush pillows. The space I was laying in was rocking. And there was Ay, old and withered. He was holding an empty vase above my head. Left over water droplets sailed along the rim of the now empty container.

I had been dreaming…

I sat up quickly and wiped the water from my face. I noticed that we were still on the boat. Everyone else had left. How long had I been out?

“Welcome back to the living, Queen.” Ay said dryly. “Wipe your face and get up. We have a funerary banquet to attend.” He stood up and walked to the ramp leading off the boat. A servant came up behind me and handed me a towel to wipe my face off with.

How could I forgive such a man? How could Djhutmose ask this of me? And why now?

Chapter 1

Kissing the Ground When You Dawn in Heaven, To Light All Lands with Your Beauty

1323 B.C. – Eighth year of Tutankhamun’s reign

The morning I sat within was bright and comfortable. My eyes traveled the road from which Pharaoh would appear. Soon he would round the corner and drive his chariot up to the palace. People lined the road running through the outer courtyard of the palace. The double gates were opened, wide and welcoming.

In the distance, but not too far away, I could hear the crowds roaring. He was approaching. The rise of their voices felt like the patter in my chest. My excitement filled me. I wondered what he would look like now. Ashamed of myself for thinking such things yet unable to control my thoughts, I wondered if he was scarred or injured. Would his face or body be broken? I wondered if war had torn him apart or made him stronger. I knew a different person would be here shortly, different than the one I had been with before. I was excited.

I was scared.

I could hear something more than just voices now. There was a rumbling. The rumbling of horses. I could feel perspiration break out over my body.

I turned to look behind me. In the shadow of the palace stood Tia and Tawaret. My daughter looked like a princess. Her body was hennaed as intricately as mine was. Her lips and eyelids were colored. In her youth lock, gold bangles and gold-trimmed ribbons were interwoven. Her dress was pale blue like the waters rippling outside of the city walls, which was also lined with gold thread. Had I ever seen such a beautiful child before? Surely there was no one who compared with her.

She smiled at me and waved as a child would who loved the attention she was receiving. I smiled brightly back. Soon I would tell her who she was. I made up my mind right then that I would. She belonged with me.

A trumpet rang out. I looked forward. Dust had been kicked up and was collecting into a cloud at the road’s end. Arms were raised and waving over the heads of the people standing along the roadway. Cheering soared higher than a falcon could possibly dream of climbing. And then the head of the procession came into view.

A white horse turned the corner. It smoothly pulled a chariot with its single rider. The chariot and horse glinted with gold trappings. The rider stood tall and muscled. Could this be him? He was too tall. Yet it could be no other as the Khepresh crown resided triumphantly on his head. Brighter than the gold, though, were his eyes. They were ablaze with joy. They were fierce and were hungering for something. Hungering for this return. This was what triumph looked like!

I felt my knees weaken at the sight. He looked ever more handsome. He was confident and tall. His body looked like a soldier’s body. He was as fit and chiseled as Horemheb or Pa-ramessu. He looked like a glorious pharaoh. No temple carving would do this image justice. I prayed I would always remember this moment, this image. He had accomplished everything he had ever dreamed of in this thunder crack of time.

I took in a deep breath and saw that he was smiling at me. His horse approached the palace steps rapidly. He was flanked by Nahkt-min and another commander; I did not know his name. Behind them were four precise rows of the army’s finest complement of men.

There was a clap of hands next to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Mutbenret clasp her fingers together and bite the top of her knuckles. She was as anxious as I was to have my husband home. Soon her children could be heard throwing a steady stream of high-pitched
daddy
shouts into the air.

I stood up out of the throne which had been brought out for Pharaoh’s arrival. In my hands was the Pshent crown poised to find rest again on my husband’s brow, ready to give him back rule of these vast lands.

They were almost at the foot of the steps. The ground seemed to tremble in their wake. Perhaps it was Nahkt-min’s children as they jumped to and fro in their excitement. I could not tell which. Could the city hold so much happiness? Did the gods allow such joy in the lands? I looked to Tawaret again.

Anything was possible.

The chariots stopped, and from them came Nahkt-min and Tutankhamun. The other soldier stayed by the horses. The two men strode up the stairs, Tutankhamun one step ahead of Nahkt-min. Both were smiling. Nahkt-min also looked no worse for wear. He laughed now, his children were making faces at him and giggling. Mutbenret was crying.