Jewel Of The Nile [COMPLETE]

Chapter Thirty-One

I did not know whether or not Tutankhaten would be right in the long run or not, but in the days after the Queen's announcement, we were still treated the exact same as we had been after our wedding. We were still expected to complete the same duties. If anything, we actually had more to do.

Tutankhaten was probably being ridiculous. We would still be the heirs after the babe's birth - it could not be expected to rule a kingdom at the age of a day old. If Smenkhkre and Meritaten died any time soon after the birth of their child, the crown would still go to Tutankhaten. The child - male or female - would become our heir.

But if Smenkhkre lived a long life...my brother was right, we would no longer be the heirs. But did that really matter? Did we need a kingdom for us to be happy? We did not. Or at least, I did not. I had no desire to become Queen. I could not fight the will of Aten; if he willed my husband and I to rule the kingdom of Egypt, then we would; if he did not, the throne would go to the unborn child, and I could not change a thing. Neither could Tutankhaten.

I had escaped out to the city to see Kahmose again. I managed to leave earlier this time, so that it would not end up like last time - me almost being locked out and not being able to see him. This time, Aten was only just setting along the horizon. The sky was a beautiful pinkish-orange colour and there were no clouds to haunt the skyline. The usual dirty city looked almost...pretty.

However, since I had chosen an earlier time to make my escape, I had to deal with the regular citizens who I could not risk recognising me. I had a piece of string to tie my hair up and had a cloth over it, much like what Lady Kuya was wearing when I spoke to her a week ago. I had gotten rid of my fancy sandals and was wearing a simple, white dress. When I was in the garden I tried to spread some dirt over it to make it appear old and worn, much like the common women wore. I probably ruined my dress, but that did not matter. My mother was not around to scold me anymore, and I never wore this dress anyway. I could easily throw it away without anyone noticing.

I had even gotten my hands on a wooden basket so that if anyone from the palace was out and about in the city they would have an even less chance of noticing me. Why would the Princess Ankhesenpaaten dress up as a poor street urchin, armed with a maid's basket, working like a commoner?

As I walked past the busy markets, all kinds of people were calling out to me.

"Miss! Miss! Buy a loaf of bread?"

"How about a bracelet to set off those pretty hands?"

"Don't let Horus forget about you! Buy a statue of the Lord of the Air?"

The last statement caught my attention. What was a 'Horus?'

I wandered over to the stall. It basically consisted of a small table with a dirty sheet over it, with about a dozen small, gold statues of a tall, muscular mean wearing a kilt with a head of a falcon. He held the crock and flail, the symbol for royalty - or more accurately, the symbol of the Pharaoh. When my father died, his set was passed onto Smenkhkre. When Smenkhkre dies, his would then be passed on to whoever would succeed him, whether it be Tutankhaten or their unborn child.

"Who is this?" I asked, picking up the statue and turning it around, examining it. "Is he an early Pharaoh of some sort?"

The lady who appeared to own the stall cast me a sidewards look. "You do not know Horus?"

"Um....no, I do not. My parents were...devout...followers of the Aten. I was not raised with anything else."

"Oh, you poor child! I pity you. Horus is the greatest of all the Gods. He avenged his father's death and became the Pharaoh of Egypt. He is not only the Lord of the Air but a War God too. His abilities have been recognised even as far away as Nubia."