Heretic of El Amarna

Chapter 24: Nefertiti

I sat in my room, uncertain if I wanted to cry or laugh because Thutmose was dead. Despite the fact that I never loved him, I had come to view him with a much kinder light, and his death was an unexpected blow.

But there was another reason for the fear boiling beneath the surface within my heart. Thutmose was dead and that made Amenhotep the heir to the throne.

This seemed like a good thing at first because I got to marry the man I actually loved, but the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. Amenhotep wouldn’t be ready to rule. He just wasn’t ruler type material.

 I wanted to scream. If the gods were so powerful, why had they taken the heir to Egypt’s throne? Yes, it seemed a direct answer to my prayer that I wouldn’t have to marry Thutmose, but I didn’t want it like this. And the gods knew that. So why were they doing this to me?

I glared at the brightly painted walls, hating that they were so organized and brilliant while I was in such emotional agony. It wasn’t fair.

I sighed, standing up and leaving my bed behind to pace the room, irritated with the gods, with myself, with everyone. Why did fate see fit to treat me so?

“Make up your minds about what you wish me to do!” I snap up at the ceiling, wondering if my disrespectful words would reach the gods.

I clap my hands over my mouth, realizing what I had just done. That was not a smart idea.

What if the gods took offense? I know if I were them, I would be annoyed that a tiny, insignificant ant of a human dared to be angry with me for my divine will.

I would have to burn a prayer tonight to make up for it.

So many prayers.

Sitamun died only a day after Thutmose.

Isis was the only one left who was not ill or dying out of all the siblings.

Well, her and Amenhotep, who wasn’t here when the epidemic began to rage like a wildfire throughout the city.

It seemed to be running its course through Thebes now, but no one else in the palace was sick. All those who had gotten sick before when Thutmose had the first time were dead, and the ones who got sick recently only fought for a few days before passing into the West.

Sinking to the floor, I buried my face in my hands, beginning to weep.

I didn’t care much for Thutmose, but his sisters… His sisters were my friends. And now they were all gone – all but one. And she was not in any state of mind to comfort me. She was too grief-filled.

Amenhotep walked into my room, eyes moist with tears. He held his arms out to me.

Glad for his warm comfort, I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck and weeping into his shoulder. We comforted each other for a long time, our tears seemingly unending.

After a while, I stopped crying because the tears exhausted me, and I let Amenhotep pull me into the bed, where we curled up, our grief still poignant but now too deep for tears to reach. We lay there in silence, comforting one another as we dropped off.

***

Queen Tiye’s shrill voice cut into my sleep, and I started awake, breathing hard. Amenhotep woke too, sitting up and wrapping me into a tight embrace, almost as if he were protecting me from his mother’s wrath.

“You two were wed without permission and in secret after running away?” She shrieked, eyes lit with unholy rage.

I shivered, shrinking back from her. “Wh…what?” I stammered, trying to wake up the rest of the way.

Amenhotep answered for me. “Yes, we did. Mother, we never planned to come back here, and we didn’t plan for Thutmose to figure out where we were and send soldiers to find us.”

“What did you think he would do, you stupid boy! Did you think he would just let you run off with his bride?” His mother screamed at him.

He shook his head mutely. “Mother… Please… It was an accident. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way…”

“What wasn’t? The marriage or stealing your brother’s bride away?” She marched up to him, waving her hand at us.

He clenched his jaw. “Neither. She wasn’t supposed to even know I was gone until all of you found out. But she was… She was out in the garden when I went to sneak out, and she threatened to tell you that I was running if I didn’t let her come!” He protested.

“So you should have stayed, you nincompoop son! Why did I ever let your father convince me that I wanted another child? You are the stupidest creature to walk the land.” She moaned, glaring at him.

Jabbing her pointer finger at me, she snapped, “And you! You should’ve known better. Bribing him to take you with him? Of all the impropritous behaviors. Who taught you what a young lady should act like? Your sister managed to turn out sweet and kind, despite your awful disposition… Pity that she died before you came here, isn’t it? I would’ve had her marry my son instead of you, you insolent wretch!”

Amenhotep let go of me and stood up, fists clenched. “Mother!”

She turned her anger full-blast onto my husband. “How dare you? How dare you ask her to wed you?”

He sighed, but did not bow his head in submission like he usually did. “Mother! I don’t care what you think. She’s mine now, no matter what you say, and I’m the heir to the throne – despite what both of us wish. So stop moaning and shrieking at unpredictable intervals and go mourn for the dead. But leave me and my wife alone to mourn in peace!” He shouted back.

His mother stared at him, eyes wide. She was probably in shock that he would dare to stand up to her like that. “What did you just say?” She hissed.

He stared her down. “I said go away and let me and my wife mourn in peace.” He gritted out.

She glared at him. “How dare you?”

“Mother, I dare… I dare because I am sick of being shoved around, called stupid – or any variant there of – and listening to you bombard my wife and loved ones with your rants and terrorizing temper.” He snapped back.

She gave him a deadly stare. “Your father will hear of your insolence, young man.”

He nodded. “That is nice. You tell him. We shall see how he looks upon your barbaric treatment of his only male heir and his wife.”

She gaped at him, but then shut her mouth and marched out of the room, back held stiff and rigid.

I could have sworn I saw sparks flying off her because she was so furious.

Amenhotep turned to me, his eyes filled with weary despair. “When will this end?” He gave me a small smile. “How about we go back to that nap shall we? I will probably hear from my father about this – whether good or ill, I cannot say – and being well rested is most assuredly a good idea.”

I smiled, opening my arms to give him a hug. “You did not have to do that.” I reminded him.

He looked into my eyes, brushing away a strand of my hair. “But I did. I won’t let her disrespect you like that.”

I nodded, yawning.

I still hadn’t woken up fully from my nap, and when Amenhotep lay back down, I turned over and curled into him, closing my eyes and falling asleep moments later.