The Heretic Queen (14 page)

Aloli's eyes grew as wide as lotus blossoms. "So that is why I am tutoring you," she whispered. "With the flute or the lyre, you're one of a group. With the harp, you are alone onstage, commanding an audience with your skill. And if you can command the Great Hall by yourself with the harp, why not the Audience Chamber with Pharaoh?"

I knew at once that Aloli was right. This was why Woserit had brought us together. "But I am going to that military procession," I said, not to be dissuaded.

Aloli looked uneasy. "I don't think the High Priestess will allow it."

I said nothing more about the procession. We began our lessons, but all I could think about was war, and as soon as our time together was finished, I asked her where I could find the High Priestess. "I can take you to her," Aloli said. "But she will not be happy to be disturbed. This is her time for writing letters."

I followed Aloli through the halls of the temple to a pair of heavy wooden doors. "The Per Medjat," she said.

"She writes in the library?"

"Every afternoon before she sails to the palace." I hesitated in front of the doors, and Aloli slowly backed away. "You can knock," she said tentatively, "but do not expect her to answer." I raised my fist and rapped on the door. When there was silence, I banged again. One of the heavy doors swung open.

"What are you doing here?" Woserit demanded. She had taken off the crown of Hathor, and her hands were stained with sand and ink.

"I have come to make an urgent request," I said. Woserit looked to Aloli and made no sign of inviting either of us in. "I am guessing she has told you about the procession?"

"Yes," I said desperately, "and I have come to ask you whether I may attend."

"Of course not."

"But--"

"Do you remember when I said there will be times you don't understand my advice, but that you would need to take it regardless? And do you remember agreeing to that?"

"Yes," I mumbled.

"Then I expect I won't have to hear about this again."

She shut the door. I turned to face Aloli, and I couldn't keep the tears from my eyes. "If I was his wife, I could be going to war with him."

"War?" Aloli exclaimed. "You're a woman!"

"What does it matter? I could be his translator."

Aloli put her arm around my shoulders. "In a year, my lady, you can see him as often as you choose. It's not as long as you think."

"But he will think I am angry with him," I protested. "He won't believe that I am forbidden from seeing him because I'm a priestess in training. I'm a princess--there's nothing a princess is forbidden."

"Except this. You have given the High Priestess your word."

"But she doesn't understand!" I exclaimed.

"When I was in the Temple of Isis, I thought of running away to my mother to tell her how terrible it was. Or of seeing my uncles and begging one of them to take me in. But I didn't, because if I was caught, I would be banished from the priesthood forever."

"But isn't that what you wanted?"

"Of course not! I only wanted to escape from Henuttawy."

"Then how did you manage?"

"I didn't. The High Priestess of Hathor did. Woserit heard me perform during a Festival of Opet, and when she came to offer me her compliments, she saw how miserable I was. So she arranged to purchase me from Henuttawy."

I sucked in my breath. "She bought you like a slave?"

"Henuttawy wouldn't give me up otherwise."

"And what did she pay?"

"The same price as seven men. She did it because she knew that my life under Henuttawy was unbearable. So you see, Princess? It would have been a foolish thing for me to have run away. The goddess saw how unhappy I was, and by honoring my vow to Isis, she delivered me from that viper." She reached across and patted my knee. "You must honor your promise to Hathor, and she will see that you are given your desire as well."

"But I haven't made any promise to Hathor."

"Then honor your vow to Woserit. The High Priestess knows what she is doing."

THE NEXT morning, I was surprised to see Woserit still in her chamber. She and Paser were crouched, whispering, and when I appeared, they fell silent.

"Princess Nefertari," Woserit said in greeting. I wondered why she wasn't in the inner sanctum. "I know how badly you wanted to attend--"

"No," I said firmly. "I was mistaken."

Woserit hesitated, as if to take the measure of my words. "I had hoped when you came to this temple, Nefertari, that I would be able to instruct you daily. But with my brother's war in Kadesh, I am going to be needed in the Audience Chamber more frequently. There will be times I may not see you for days. A month even."

I looked to Paser, who nodded. "In the mornings, I will still be here, as will all of the priestesses."

"And they will be able to instruct you as I direct. My hope is that whenever I ask of your progress, I will hear that it is satisfactory."

"Of course," I promised, but Woserit did not seem certain.

CHAPTER FIVE

A SWEET SCENT OF FIGS

Thebes, 1283-1282 BC

IN THE TEMPLE of Hathor I fell into a routine. In the dark before sunrise, Merit would wake me, and half asleep I would put on a fresh sheath and light a cone of incense beneath my mother's shrine. When the cone had burned itself into ashes, I would make my way through the shadowy halls of the temple to Woserit's chamber. And just as Woserit had promised, I rarely saw her.

Vizier Paser proved to be different from Tutor Paser. He taught me the proper way to greet a Sumerian, and how to know whether a Hittite soldier had made his first kill. "If he has shorn the hair on his face, then he has demonstrated his heroism by slaughtering an enemy." He wanted me to memorize the customs of foreign people: that Sumerians bury their dead on reed mats and that Assyrians value feathers above any precious stone. We spent entire mornings on politics. "The Hittites are the only power in the world that can rise against Egypt," Paser insisted. "No other country is more important than Hatti." So I learned everything I could about Emperor Muwatallis and his son, Prince Urhi; how both men dressed in colorful robes and used swords made of iron. I drew maps of the lands that Muwatallis had conquered, including Ugarit and Syria.

"And the land of Kadesh," Paser said solemnly, "that once belonged to Egypt. But the Heretic King let the Hittites claim it, and now its wealthy ports--where goods come in from the Northern Sea--all belong to the Hittites. Do you understand what that means?"

"It means that we have to find longer routes for trading ivory, copper, and timber. It means that the Hittites profit from it first. But that is about to change," I added. "Because Pharaoh Seti and Ramesses are going to take it back!"

Paser allowed himself a smile. "Yes."

"Is there any news--"

"None."

I waited for word every night, and on the twenty-seventh day of Choiak, Pharaoh's army returned from Kadesh. Heralds ran ahead of the men with news of their victory and lists of the dead, and Merit awakened me before sunrise to say that Asha and Ramesses had both survived. From the window of the western sanctuary, I could see the priestesses of Hathor gathering at the quay. Their jeweled belts winked in the sun, and their open-fronted gowns revealed breasts that had been exquisitely hennaed. Aloli joined me at the window. "Aren't you going to be a part of the celebration?" I asked.

"The High Priestess instructed that I stay here with you."

"Why? Does she think I'll run away?"

Aloli grinned slyly. "You wouldn't?"

"No," I said quietly. "I wouldn't." Below us, the priestesses were now crossing the river, and the bright turquoise sails of Hathor's ships began to disappear beyond the sycamore groves. I turned to Aloli. "Do you remember the first time I came to this temple?"

"Of course. With your big green eyes you seemed a frightened cat. I didn't think you were truly a princess."

I was startled. "Why?"

"Because I knew the princess Nefertari was just fourteen, yet you looked like you were eight or nine."

"But do you remember saying that you had heard about me?"

"Certainly." Aloli crossed from the window and took her place at the harp. "I heard that you and Pharaoh Ramesses were fast friends. And when news of his marriage came, the court assumed that it would be you."

"But I was only thirteen! And I'm the niece of the Heretic King."

Aloli shrugged. "Everyone believed Pharaoh Ramesses would overlook that. No one imagined he would take a harem girl up the dais. So when you came to this temple we thought perhaps you didn't want to be married."

"No. I was never asked. As soon as Ramesses was crowned, Henuttawy went to Pharaoh Seti and spoke for Iset." I told Aloli about Woserit's theory, that she believed Henuttawy was helping Iset toward the crown in exchange for something. "But what could it be?"

"Power," Aloli said quickly. "Gold. With both she could build the greatest temple in Thebes, bigger than Hathor's. Pilgrims would go simply to see its magnificence."

"Leaving their riches as offerings," I agreed. I thought of Ramesses and felt my cheeks warm. "There is no one else I can imagine marrying besides Ramesses," I admitted.

"Then it's not enough to study harp," she said. "If you are going to become Chief Wife, you will need to know how to please a man." Aloli stood, and the silver bangles that jangled when she walked slid down her wrist. "The Temple of Isis was full of Henuttawy's men," she explained. "So long as they were wealthy, she welcomed anyone inside. Hittite, Assyrian . . . I learned more than how to please Isis in that temple. You should learn all the secrets that Henuttawy is teaching to Iset."

I was embarrassed. "Such as?"

"Such as how to satisfy a man beneath his kilt. How to use your mouth to give him pleasure." My eyes must have betrayed my thoughts because Aloli added, "You will be the difference between a Thebes ruled by Henuttawy and a Thebes ruled by Woserit."