The sound of cutlery clashing against one another filled the dead air. Not one person uttered a word. I did not even want to be here; Smenkhkre forced me to. Huy kept trying to catch my eye, but I constantly avoided her gaze. I could not look at her. How could I? My friend had been arrested and tried for treason. I did not even know what she did.
As soon as I recognised her in the Grand Chamber, her smile had vanished and she bowed her head, ashamed. I just stood there, dumbfounded. This was the girl Smenkhkre had warned us about? The one who was dangerous? Who prevailed in magic? Who was a threat, even to us?
"Ankhesenpaaten, I saw Kahmose! He told me what happened!" she tried to shout, but of course - Smenkhkre and Ay heard. Smenkhkre glanced at me, confused.
"You know this girl?" He asked.
"I used to," I replied quietly. "What did she do?"
Suddenly, Huy bowed, and began to weep. "I promise you, Pharoah Smenkhkre, that I am innocent! I did nothing wrong!"
"Lies," my brother hissed at her. To me: "How do you know this...this..."
"I know her because it was her brother who was sick. She is my friend who I spent two months with," I cut in, preventing him from finishing his sentence.
Smenkhkre looked shocked. "So you come here, experience the hospitality of myself and my staff, and then do this? We fed you, clothed you, gave you a decent shelter for two months, and then you do this to Egypt. You are a traitor to your country!"
"No, you don't understand! I -"
"Silence! What you did was inexcusable! Evil! Chaos - Isfet. What good is my job of trying to restore Ma'at to the world if there are people like you who constantly defy it!" Smenkhkre boomed, but Huy did not flinch. She was not afraid.
"Many people do this everyday, yet you only come down on me? You live a sheltered lifestyle, you don't understand the city. If you did, you would know that not everything you see is the truth," Huy protested.
The court fell silent. Not even the worst criminals defied their Pharaoh. They would always take their punishment with a solid heart. But not Huy. Which was a dumb move.
"Death," Smenkhkre said quietly. "Death. Drown her in the Nile. How is that for a bit of irony? Drown her in the Nile, right now!"
The guards seized her and Huy's face paled. For the first time, she looked scared.
"No!" I shouted, stopping the guards. "Do not kill her! What did she even do that is so terrible, anyway?"
"I am the Pharaoh!" shouted Smenkhkre. "I make the final decision! Drown her in the Nile, and let her body be eaten by the crocodiles. I must restore Ma'at to Egypt. That can only be achieved by getting rid of all the followers of Isfet, chaos. You shall not interfere with political affairs again, and you too will be punished for your insolence!"
"Smenkhkre," Meritaten said gently, walking up to the altar. "Perhaps our sister has a point. Let the accused stay alive for one night in the palace. Perhaps we can learn more. We will have a mature conversation with her. The final choice remains yours, of course. If, tomorrow, you feel no different about her fate, so be it. Drown her then. But give us one day to allow her to explain herself."
"Fine," he grumbled. "You are granted one extra day of life. You may stay in the palace, but tomorrow you will die."
Huy let out a huge sigh of relief, and smiled at me. I turned away from her.
Meritaten smiled tightly. "You shall eat with us tonight. We will listen to you then. Until then - Ankhesenpaaten, let us go."
And that was how we wound up here. Meritaten took me back to her chambers and questioned me on whether or not I knew anything. I kept insisting that I was left in the dark, which was the truth. Then a servant fetched us to eat, and here we were.
Nobody else attended but myself, Huy, the Pharaoh and the Queen. Of course, there were guards in every corner of the room, but that was all. Even Ay was not present.
Meritaten cleared her throat. "So, Huy, how old are you?"
"I am 17 years of age, my Queen," she replied, not looking us in the eye.
That surprised me. I had always assumed that she was the same age as me, whereas in actual fact she was two years older than me. Most girls her age, or even my age, would be married and have children.
Meritaten wondered this too. "And your parents have not married you off yet?"
Huy shook her head. "I am an orphan, Your Majesty. I will not be getting married."
"Well, I am sure there are many unmarried men in the city."
"You may be right, but I don't want to get married anyway.
Meritaten silenced. Smenkhkre was positively fuming.
"Huy? What did you do?" I asked quietly.
She still did not meet my eye. "Nothing, Ankhesenpaaten. I promise you."
"Lies!" Smenkhkre burst out. "You shall be punished for you crime and for lying to a Princess of Egypt!"
"It is not lies." Somehow, Huy still managed to remain calm, even with the most powerful and important man in the country yelling at her; threatening her.
"You want to know what she did, half-sister?" growled the Pharaoh. "Your little friend here killed three off-duty Royal Guards and was plotting to kill their families. Timous saw her, and stole the plans of killing the families at her house."
I gasped. How could she do such a thing? When? Earlier today? Wait...Huy wasn't with Kahmose and I today. And when I asked him where his sister was, Kahmose failed to look me in the eye. He must have known too!
For some reason, this information that Kahmose knew above others bought tears to my eyes.
"I swear, it wasn't me!" Hit protested. "I am not an upsurper of Ma'at! The house was not even mine! Ankhesenpaaten has been there; she can tell you. My house has seven families living in it. We certainly don't have any papyrus. We are poor!"
"The leader of my personal guard saw him there, killing three of his fellow soldiers. I trust Timous with my life. Why would he lie about who killed them?" demanded Smenkhkre. I had to admit that he had a point.
"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!"
I did not know who to believe. On one hand, my fried was being accused of a crime she claimed she did not commit, and she needed help, but on the other, a loyal palace guard saw her.
"Ankhesenpaaten, please believe me," Huy begged. Smenkhkre nodded and all of the sudden eight soldiers appeared from nowhere. Two of them grabbed an arm each and jerked Huy out of her seat. She grimaced, making it clear that the action had hurt her.
"Take her to the dungeon!" commanded the Pharaoh. "Do not take her out until it is time for her to drown in the Nile." The guards dragged Huy away, who just kept looking pleadingly at me. Time slowed down, and it was clear on what I had to do. My friend was in pain. And I was the only person who could save her.
I knew what I had to do.
"Wait!" I shouted. The guards paused and looked quizzically at me. "Huy is correct, I have been to her residence before. How about this - Timous can lead us to the house where he found the plans. If it is the one that I went to, Huy can be arrested. But if it is different, she must go free."
Huy sobbed with relief. "Thank you, Ankhesenpaaten!" she cried. A guard elbowed her in the stomach, winding her, and she sobbed from pain. I winced, but thankfully Smenkhkre agreed. "We shall go now," he declared, and sent for Timous.
Huy was given a jug of water and permitted to sit, but was forbidden to speak until she was freed - if she was to be freed. Huy, thankfully, complied. I suppose she knew that if she defied the Pharaoh one more time - whether or not she was innocent, she would be punished.
Timous arrived with a regiment of guards, including Sete. I was relieved to see that he was not one of the three that had been murdered.
Smenkhkre informed them of what we had decided to do, and we departed, leaving our half-eaten plates to get cold. Even though it was pitch black, we all departed. Even with the cold, desert air stinging our faces, we all departed.
Timous led us out the palace gates, which instantly was a sign that he was leading us to the wrong house, but we followed him anyway. Huy was walking behind me, so I could not see her or her reactions.
Was she innocent? Or did she kill those men? But why? What would her motives have been? It made no sense.
Timous led us on the familiar route that led to the Temple. We were on the rich side of Ankhetaten. The poorer side, where Kahmose and Huy lived, was behind us.
I closed my eyes in relief. Huy was innocent. My friend was not a murderer.
People stared at us and bowed as we walled past. Some even applauded us. All because of Smenkhkre and Meritaten. No doubt they were wondering why we were here and what we were doing.
We followed Timous up a series of stone steps until he knocked on the door of a well-lit house that most definitely was not Huy's, but my brother still insisted on opening the door.
We were answered by a small man in a silk nightgown. He bowed and stuttered when he saw who it was.
"My..my Pharaoh! To what do I owe the honor of this late visit?" he inquired.
Smenkhkre pushed Huy forward. "Does this girl live here?"
The man peered at her. "This street urchin? No, of course not! I would not allow that dirty creature in my house over my dead body!"
I immediately turned to face Timous. "This is not where Huy lives. You are wrong. She is innocent. She is free. You caught the wrong person."
He looked very confused. "I do not understand...we got the plans from this house..."
Meritaten took charge at this point, and addressed the owner of the house. "My good sir. Do you or do you not have a daughter living here, or perhaps a young wife?" she asked.
The man looked dreadfully shocked. "I - I d..do. Do yo - you wish for me to fetch her?"
"That would be ideal, thank you."
The man disappeared inside his house, but soon reappeared with a tall, skinny girl.
Her features shocked us. This girl had yellow hair - not brown or black. She must be foreign, or have foreign blood!
The girl curtseyed. "You wished to see me, Your Majesties?"
"This is her," Timous declared. "I do not know how I made such a wrong descion, but this is definitely her."
"Seize her!" Smenkhkre commanded.
The guards moved forward to grab her, but, as quick as lightening, she ran, and before we could blink she was halfway down the street.
The guards ran after her, and pushed her to the ground. "You are guilty!" Timous spat. "You shall be drowned in the Nile at first light tomorrow."
The girl's poor father was speechless, asking what had she had done to deserve this. Huy told him.
The girl addressed my sister. "I would not think you would care about the lives of three peasants," she grinned evilly.
Meritaten was shocked. How could someone think that we would not care about the lives of our people? Did they really think that we were that self-centered?
The guards grabbed her and pushed her forward, where she faced the Pharaoh and her heartbroken father.
"Why did you do this?" my brother demanded. "What were your motives?"
The girl looked up, her eyes glinting red. She truly was a servant of chaos.
"I was hired," she hissed with pride. Who does that? What was wrong with this person? "My employer did this as a protest, and I stand by their decision. You and your father are wrong rulers. You do not deserve to be Pharaoh. You have done nothing for our country. All you do is insist that we worship this wretched religion of yours, the Aten. When will you wake up! You cannot simply create a God, and get rid of the old ones. Foolishness! The old Gods are mad, and they have chosen my employer to make a difference, to change this."
The girl said it with such certainty. She clearly believed in her cause. But she was wrong...wasn't she?
"Who hired you? Tell us and your life may be spared." Smenkhkre attempted to persuade her.
"I shall never tell," replied the girl defiantly, looking him straight in the eye. "For you shall kill me, but my employer guarantees me an afterlife. I shall be rewarded with endless riches. And you, you shall have your sour devoured by Ammit, because you are the evilest that they get."
I did not understand what she meant, but everyone else clearly did. The guards grabbed her and pulled on her arms, almost dislocating it. She winced in pain, but I had no sympathy for a murderer.
Huy was still here, watching everything with wide eyes. Poor Huy. She had suffered much because of us. I immediately whispered to Meritaten that we owed her an apology at the very least. We had put her through the worst of the palace, and she had experienced the loyalty of our guards and soldiers, but it the worst way. We had treated her so horribly, and she had done nothing wrong.
Really, Timous was the one who owed her an apology. If it not for him, she would not have been mistaken for this girl in front of us. How did he even mix them up? They looked nothing alike.
Before we returned to the palace, Meritaten insisted that we walk Huy back to her house, or at the very least have her escorted. Huy declined at first, but then thought it would be humorous to see Kahmose's reaction, so agreed. She led us through dark alleyways where three guards still dragged the murderer with us and the other five set about protecting us from any threats.
Soon, I recognised our surroundings as the street that Huy's house was on. Sure enough, she stopped outside one of the small doorway that was the entrance to her small home. Smenkhkre stepped forward and knocked on the door calmly.
We heard groans from indoors and heavy footsteps, and I heard Huy giggle.
Kahmose swung open the door. "WHAT NO --" He stopped immediately as he realised who it was at the door. We tended to have that effect on people a lot.
"I - I - ....My Pharaoh," Kahmose said, falling to his knees. "I was unaware...I apologise...I thought it was someone else..."
To my surprise, Smenkhkre laughed. "You may rise," he allowed. Even though Smenkhkre had just been called evil by one of his subjects, Smenkhkre was laughing. I think that was the only time I had ever heard him laugh.
Kahmose frowned. "I'm sorry...I don't understand.."
Huy stepped forward. "Hullo, brother dear."
"Huy? What are you doing?" Kahmose asked, confused. "How come you are here, with the Pharaoh and the Queen?"
"Oh, it is a long story," Meritaten smiled. "I am sure that your sister will tell you all about it when we leave."
Kahmose was speechless. "I - I - But -"
I laughed at his reaction too, which is when he first registered that I was there, and the look in his eyes changed. What did that mean?
"Ankhesenpaaten," he said softly, almost like a whisper. "What's going on?"
I grinned. "Huy will tell you. I have saved both of you now!"
Kahmose was extremely confused. Huy was correct; his reaction was very humorous!
"Nonetheless, we must be going, we merely had to return your sister back to you after today's shenanigans. After the rebellion and, well, this, we must be going back to the palace. I am sure we will be seeing you again," Smenkhkre explained.
Kahmose nodded. "Of course! I would not expect you to around at this time. It is dark, and being dark is dangerous. Do you guys know the way back to the palace? Oh, wait..."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Yes Kahmose, I know my way back."
He grinned back at me. "Sorry. I forgot."
Huy stepped forward. "Well I suppose you best be going, and no doubt I will be questioned profusely."
We said our goodbyes and we left them, with myself and the guards leading the way back to the palace.
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Hey Everyone! How did you like this chapter?
LOL so I went out with my friends this weekend and even though it was legit ten degrees hotter than it was last week (it was 42 degrees celsius yesterday, when we went out) and I wore less sunscreen, NOBODY GOT BURNT!!!!! IT WAS SO WEIRD!!
Although I had to admit that it was really funny, one of my friends, Sam, kept giving me piggy back rides coz i'm small and apparently myself and my friend Becca are his bitches, according to Jade, whose birthday it was...
Anyways....
So, tell me what you guys thought of this chapter? Who do you think she worked for? Someone already introduced in this chapter? Or not yet?
But on other news.....TWO HUNDRED READS!!!!!!! HOLY MOLY!!! That's way more than I ever thought I would get, and I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you to all those people who read every chapter, to all those people who vote on my chapters, and to all those who have added The Jewel of the Nile to their reading lists. It means so much to me.
Thank you xxxooo