Jewel Of The Nile [COMPLETE]

Chapter Thirty

My chest heaved up and down as my feet pounded against the freshly-cleaned tiles. Servants glanced at me, confused, as I ran past, but I cared not. My throat burned from running so far but I had to ignore it. Meritaten had taken to her chambers yet again, claiming she was ill. Rumour among the palace was that it was worse than she had let on. Some maids who had served her claimed that she was near death. If the rumours were true, I did not know, but I also did not intend to find out by sitting down and doing nothing, as Smenkhkre had taken to. He seemed to show no care in my sister's relentless illness, still firmly believing that she was faking it. I could not believe his ignorance. But I was not like him. I could not bear the thought of Meritaten dying. There was once six of us - six sisters. But now there was only two. And I could not bear being the only one left.

As I entered the antechamber, guards outside the Queen's bedchamber prevented me from entering. I leant against some furniture for a moment, trying to catch my breath. While my own chamber was merely down the corridor, I had actually been on the complete other side of the palace when I received the news. As soon as I could, I ran from there to here.

The two guards looked me up and down. My hair was whipped across my face and no doubt in a mess. I felt like I was on fire. I was not used to running.

"I....need...to see....my sister," I panted, wishing there was some cold water nearby that I could drink to calm my throat.

"Her Majesty The Queen wants no visitors," one of the guards replied with a stone face. 

"I have to see her!" I protested. "I order you to let me in!"

"Your orders cannot override the Queen's," said the guard. 

I let out a frustrated cry. "Well, tell her it is only me. Surely she would make an exception for her sister!"

"Queen Meritaten said no exceptions."

I paced around the antechamber, furious. My sister was ill! She was on the verge of death! How could they not allow me to see her?

"I have been told she is dying! I must see her!" I cried.

The guards looked at each other in amusement. One even chuckled. "The Queen is not dying, we can assure you that, My Princess."

"Well, how can I take your word for it if you do not allow me to even glance at her?" I muttered, crossing my arms. These men were evil! First they would not allow me to see her, and then they lie about my sister's conditions to my face? How could they?

I clearly would not be able to see her now. These guards were no help at all. Perhaps there was another way I could find out what was wrong with my sister? If I spoke to the maids who had served her...found out what the symptoms of her illness was, and then if I could relate these to the palace physician, perhaps he could tell me what he thought was wrong. That way, I would know whether or not Meritaten truly was in danger of dying. My mind could finally be at ease.

I left the Queen's antechamber without another word, leaving those smug guards to themselves. I knew they believed they had one, but they were wrong. They knew not of my plan. And once I got the physician's opinion on what her ailment was, I would return to Meritaten's chambers, and successfully visit her.

There was only one problem...I did not know where the slaves and servants stayed when they were not serving us. And how would I find the ones who did serve her? Perhaps Meritaten's personal maid...but how would I find her? I suppose there was more than one problem.

When my father was Pharaoh my parents kept us far from the servant's quarters. We never really questioned where they came from...they were just...there.