The next morning, the five unlucky Indians had to stand before Ramesses for their little dance the night before.
"I am disappointed you are going behind my back and doing foreign rituals in my house without my permission or approval. Let me say this—I do not approve of anything that has to do with Hawote. I don't want to hear that name again or of any of its laws because they do not apply here. I'm tired of hearing about the history of things to come, and what is supposed to be and what is not. It doesn't concern me. Is that understood?" he said as he marched back and forth on the royal platform with crook and flail in hand, accenting his mannerisms. He had complete command of the situation and was laying down the law.
The Indians nodded without a word. Arguing the matter was a waste of time and dangerous. Not even Neiko could think of a sarcastic comment to add or a way to alter the situation.
Ramesses wasn't done yet. "Furthermore, I also want you to start acting like Egyptians—you are no longer Indians as long as you live here—I may be sending the other four of you on your way soon. I am just not certain as to when. If you will not abide by these rules, then leave now. I will not repeat myself. Francesco, take these clothes and burn them. The five of you may leave," Ramesses said, waving his hand.
They left shaking their heads. Neiko scowled.
"He's coming down on us really hard, and he's stripping us of our heritage and our identity—it's not fair," Panthero said, biting his lip.
"We have to do what he says to stay here. I think he is doing this for three reasons—one, he can't stand our kind or land, so he doesn't want to deal with it because we are against him having Neiko. Two, he is turning up the heat to try to make us leave sooner, and three, he is transforming Neiko into what he wants her to be and shaping her life for her. He's turning her into an Egyptian queen—soon a Great Queen," Sito said as he kept count with his fingers. "I've heard that a Great Wife ceremony is around the corner. I haven't been able to pinpoint a date yet."
"We aren't leaving. He has no idea how strong our friendship is. The only way he can get rid of us is if he exiles us, but we'd come back with a vengeance," Mactalon said with his eyes burning and slamming his fist into his palm.
"Well guys, I need to go to my room; I've got something I have to do," Neiko said taking out the key to her room from her pocket.
"I've been wondering where you got that key from to be able to lock yourself up," said Sito.
Neiko winked. "Nefie. It's the only key to my room, and she got it for me. See ya," she said, walking away.
Neiko walked to her room quickly looking for Ramesses, because she didn't see him in the throne room. Neiko was wary of another ambush. She quickly unlocked the door and walked inside. He came into sight just behind her, and she ran inside and slammed the door in his face. It missed his nose by a centimeter, and she quickly locked it. "Ha, ha! Nice try," she said like a rebellious teenager as she leaned on the door.
"We'll see about that," Ramesses laughed to himself as he took out a master key that he had in his hand.
No one, not even Nefertari, knew he had a master key. He unlocked the door and walked in, and Neiko turned around in surprise.
"How'd you—" Neiko stammered.
Ramesses held up the master key. "This has gone far enough. Come," he said as he pulled her out of the room and forced her to go eat with him.
* * *
Later that afternoon, the other four Indians were looking for Neiko, and Sito walked up to meet the three.
"I went to her room, but she wasn't there," Sito said.
Then Neiko appeared with Ramesses as he was holding her hand. She looked fed up, and she wouldn't grasp his hand back.
Before Sito could ask, Neiko muttered, "Don't ask. I'll tell you later."
"I am going for a ride on my private boat in the river, and you four and Nefertari are welcome to join us," he said kindly.
They looked at him shocked like their ears were playing tricks on them. Sito was wondering if there was some sort of ulterior motive for this gracious invite.
"Sure, we'll come. When do we leave?" asked Sito. He thought he could get to the bottom of things and maybe find out what kind of tricks Ramesses may be dealing.
"Now. Come," Ramesses said, waving his hand as he walked away leading Neiko by the hand with them close behind.
Nefertari met them in the foyer, and she walked beside her husband arm-in-arm. He kept a firm grip on Neiko's hand, and she struggled to free her hand from his grasp as the others followed behind the three on the way to the boat.
When they arrived to the boat, Francesco was there waiting, and everyone climbed on.
"You may spend this time with your friends, Neiko. You may also join them, Nefertari," said Ramesses kindly.
Neiko hesitated and then went with her friends. She and the rest sat in a circle in the front, while Ramesses sat under the canopy with Francesco watching them and smirking. The Indians were singing songs, poking fun at each other, and laughing as Nefertari observed.
"Francesco, how strong is the friendship of these five?" he asked, rubbing his chin as a plan began to form in his mind.
Francesco looked at him like "How is this important?" and shrugged. "Very strong. Why?"
"How strong?" asked Ramesses, pressing him harder.
"Well, they love to do everything together, and they are willing to do anything for each other even if it means giving up their life to save the other. Why is this so important?" asked Francesco, scratching his head.
"I believe I have found her weakness—her friends—am I so blind not to have seen it sooner? The answer has been right before my eyes all this time," Ramesses said, reprimanding himself for not paying attention to detail; his father would scold him for that, too. "I know they want to stay together to return to Hawote, and she will risk anything to make sure nothing happens to them—she will even please me. I will have to get her alone and threaten her with harsh comings to her friends if she displeases me or fails to obey me. She leaves me no choice, and neither do they. I must find a way to trap her," said Ramesses as he stroked his beard in thought. "They may have some use until I win this war, and then I will send them on their way..."
Francesco cocked an eyebrow. "That's it! Of course! She always puts herself in the line of fire to save another's life. For example, she ran into a burning house to save Eagle Claw and his family—they barely escaped alive. I could go on all day telling you stories of her heroic rescues and daring deeds. What do you mean by trapping her? How will you do it? You will have to put up with threats from her friends, and what would Nefertari think if she found out what you did to weaken and force Neiko into submitting?"
"I will make certain no one ever knows what I did, because I will make her sorry if she tells, and that's why I will trap her. I will not tell you how I'll do it. I will keep that a secret, so Neiko will never suspect," Ramesses said craftily.
"Good point. Well, you've got her now," Francesco said as he smiled with a wicked grin.
They boated for hours, and they were on their way home. Neiko saw someone in the water, drowning in the river; the man was several yards away.
"Neiko, what's wrong?" asked Mactalon.
"There's someone in the water! Oh no, they will be killed!" Nefertari squealed as she covered her mouth with her hands.
"If somebody doesn't hurry, he could he croc food!" Mactalon added.
Wasting no time, Neiko took off her crown, threw it on the deck, sprinted across the deck, and dove into the river. She didn't even think about crocodiles or snakes being in the water.
"Queen overboard!" shouted Panthero.
"Turn it around!" Ramesses thundered at the boatman. He ran to the bow of the boat and tugged at his crown in worry as she swam like a fish to the floating man.
Neiko made it to the man, grabbed him, and started pulling him to the boat by the collar of his simple tunic. Mactalon and Panthero pulled the man onto the boat, and Sito and Tito helped Neiko climb back on. They laid the man on his back, but he didn't move.
"Is he alive?" asked Nefertari.
Neiko put her ear to his chest. "Yep, but he's not breathing. He's got a heartbeat, though. I will have to give him air. Stand back." She rolled him on his stomach and chopped him between his shoulder blades, but he didn't respond. "C'mon!" she said, rolled on his back, again, pinched his nose, parted his mouth, and gave him artificial respiration.
Ramesses came to see what was going on, and hatred and jealousy rose within him. The man was a Hebrew slave, yet her lips were touching his even though she wasn't kissing him. Ramesses didn't understand what was happening. The slave finally heaved and cough up water. After a moment, he sat up and looked around in terror.
"It's okay, just relax," Neiko said, stroking his hair in reassurance.
But, he shrank back from her in terror because he saw she was a queen, and her angry husband was glaring at him.
Neiko stood up and spun around, put her hands on her hips, and stared at Ramesses harshly.
"Stop looking at him like that! You are doing nothing but harm so go back over there and let me take care of this man!" Neiko snapped as she crossed her arms.
Ramesses folded his arms. "You risk your life for a slave? You could have been killed. Your days of saving others are over—I will not hear of you saving anymore rodents from the river. And you dare kiss him in my presence?"
"I know what I'm doing! I know how to swim in rivers! Ugh! I just saved another human being! No one's better than anyone else in our culture, and a Hebrew is just as important as an Egyptian—a pharaoh is no better than a slave because we all are people! And, for your information, I was not kissing him! Go away—you're ticking me off!" Neiko shouted.
"You are wet, and you will not be anywhere near this lowlife. Come with me," Ramesses said, grabbing her arm and trying to pull her away. "My culture is now your culture. This Indian nonsense about everyone being your equal is no longer your way of life. Come with me!"
"Stop it, would you?! Let go of me! I'm staying right here! Let me go!" Neiko said, wrenching free, pushing Ramesses away, and running to the aid of the stranger.
Ramesses let her do her work as he watched in fury. "I will tame your wild spirit, Neiko—you wait and see," said Ramesses under his breath to Neiko in a harsh warning.
Yet, Neiko overheard his heated retort and snapped back sarcastically, "Whatever."
"I thank you for saving me, my queen. But what kind of an Egyptian are you? Please take no offense—I mean no disrespect," said the man with caution.
"My name is Neiko, and I've been recently taken in by Pharaoh. I'm from Hawote, and these are my friends. What's your name?" asked Neiko, trying to make friends.
"Benjamin," he replied.
"Well, Benjamin, how did you end up in the river?" Neiko asked as she started to pull off his wet shirt. She saw the whiplash marks on his torso, and remembered when her friends were beaten by Kenes. "They beat you like an animal. Who was your master?" she asked angrily.
"I was rowing a holiday barge with the rest of the men for Kenes, our master; I tired, so the taskmaster threw me in the river—unfortunately I never learned how to swim," he said as Mactalon draped a blanket over him.
All of the Indians furrowed their brows and frowned. They knew of Kenes' cruelty all too well. Was he going to drop back into Thebes unannounced?
Nefertari saw his ribs poking out of his skin because he was being starved. "He is starving—how dreadful. Kenes just left him to die, Neiko," she said pitifully. "What will we do?"
Neiko shrugged. "We can't take him back to the palace with us because Ramesses will not let us take him in, judging by the way he just acted. Let's just say if we did we talk him into it, he might treat him even worse than Kenes did because he's a little sore at me right now—he may even send him to Goshen if we're not careful. We have to find him a good place to stay."
Mactalon lit up as idea came to him. "I know! We can take him to Senu—he will take very good care of him. Don't worry, we were in his care at one time before Pharaoh came for Neiko," said Mactalon to Benjamin.
Benjamin looked at the five closely. "Are you the strange people that Kenes used to own, but escaped after the death of that Philistine? I remember only four of you. So you are the girl of the strange people who Kenes wanted, and you are now Pharaoh's wife?"
"That's right. This other one here is my twin brother, Sito. My name is Tito, and these are my friends, Mactalon, Panthero, and Neiko—or should I say Queen Neiko. And this is Queen Nefertari," said Tito. "Once we return, Sito and I will take you to Senu. Do you have any family?"
Benjamin shook his head. "No, my parents are dead, and I have no wife. But I thank you for all you are doing. Maybe someday I can repay you for your kindness," he said.
Once they returned, Sito and Tito took Benjamin to Senu, and everyone else went to bed.
Sito stopped Neiko on her way to her bedroom. "Neiko, I need to talk to you, and it's important," he said, and they went into her room.