Jewel Of The Nile [COMPLETE]

Chapter Forty

Ay hurries me along the dock, urging me to move faster.

"Quickly, My Queen!" he says, pushing me further along. "We are running late! We should have left an hour ago if we wish to stay in Asyut tonight! Quickly! We cannot afford to waste any more time!"

"Yes, yes!" I snapped. "The barge is right there. It will not leave without me. Calm down."

Ay boards the boat in a huff.

I spot Tutankhaten sitting on his throne up on the deck. There is an empty one right next to his, reserved for me.

As I ease down into the comfort of my chair, I take one last look at the palace. My palace.

Akhetaten was my life. It had always been my life. It was all I had ever known. Even though Ay had first proposed the move to Thebes weeks ago, it hadn't seemed real until now.

This is my final look at the city that I had grown up in. The palace that I had learned to walk in. The palace that I said my first words in. I had learned to read and write here. My younger sisters were born here.

All of my family are buried here. In the tall, imposing cliffs that surround the city. Up in those cliffs lie the bodies of Queen Nefertiti, Pharaoh Akhenaten, Queen Meritaten, Pharaoh Smenkhkre, Princess Meketaten, Princess Setepenre, Princess Neferneferuaten Tasherit, and Princess Neferneferure.

And I am leaving them here.

My heart tells me that I will never return to Akhetaten. It is the centrepiece for all that my father stood for - the centrepiece for all of his quixotic beliefs.

Of course, up until a month ago, they were my beliefs, too.

Is Aten truly a god? Or is his just a figment of my father's imagination. Why would my father abandon the gods he grew up with?

And yet, Tutankhaten and I are doing the exact same thing.

Ay assured us that we were right. "Egypt has lasted for nearly two thousand years, believing in the same gods," he told us. "If they were not real, how has this country survived for so long? And yet, as soon as they are abandoned, terrible things plague the country. And Akhenaten? Six of his eight children are dead. You two are the only ones that remain. It is a sign from the gods. You are the saviours of Egypt. Your names shall be remembered for centuries to come. The gods will adore you. After all, you have restored their religion."

He has a point. Why else would my family be sentenced to death? Why else would Tutankhaten and I be the only ones that remain alive?

The Royal Barge lurches forward, and I put a hand out to steady myself. I have never left Akhetaten before. I have never been on a boat before. What will it be like?

"Tutankhamun," Ay calls out, walking steadily towards us, holding a piece of papyrus. "I need to discuss with you about stopping in Abydos for a day."

"My name is Tutankhaten," My brother reminds Ay timidly. He is still growing accustomed to being the most powerful person in the world.

In truth, we all are. Tutankhaten is nine. Nine. He is only nine, and yet he is our king.

"Not anymore," Ay replies, taking a grape from the food plate next to my brother. "Your names, Tutuankhaten and Ankhesenpaaten, both encourage the belief of Aten and not of Amun and his brethren. Aten is a false god. He is a fake; a fraud. You are the Pharaoh and Queen. Your names cannot be encouraging the worship of a false god. From now one, your names shall be Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun, and that shall be all that is said on the matter."

My brother and I glance at each other in uncertainty. Can he do this? Can the Vizier change our names, just like that? Tutankhaten already has a new name - his throne name, Nebkheperure. Does he really need to change his birth name?