Dazed, numb, senseless...there was no way to describe the feeling that crept upon me as my brother and I were promptly escorted back to the palace in the same chariot that had taken us here, accompanied by every other guard who was not investigating the murder of my brother and sister.
Smenkhkre and Meritaten...Pharaoh and Queen of all Egypt...my brother and sister...murdered, right in front of my eyes.
My brother and sister were gone. Forever.
Tutankhaten was all I had left now.
And they had been murdered by one of their subjects, those who were supposed to worship them as the living embodiments of Aten himself. What if this was what would happen to me? Would my own people be my downfall?
But if Smenkhkre and Meritaten were dead...
It meant Tutankhaten and I were now the rulers of Egypt.
Tutankhaten - small, young, nine-year-old Tutankhaten - was now the Pharaoh. The most powerful man in Egypt. The most powerful man alive. Just like that.
And I, his sister, his wife, his consort, was now Queen. The most important woman in Egypt. Just like that.
How could the death of my family members benefit us in such a way? It was horrible, as though tradition was almost encouraging us to murder our siblings.
I would never see their faces again.
Yes, Smenkhkre was absolutely ghastly towards me during his time as Pharaoh. But no one, not even he, deserved such a fate as to be murdered by his own people.
I remembered that when my father was Pharaoh, the citizens of Akhetaten believed that Smenkhkre would be their saviour. Two years later, they have killed him and his wife.
I won't apologise! The Gods sent me to do it!
The words of the killer kept echoing around and around my mind.
The Gods sent me to do it.
What kind of Gods sent someone to kill another person? Gods were supposed to protect mortals and look after us, not inflict pain and chaos.
The sun beamed down as the chariot sped down the path we had came. My skin prickled underneath the heat. And yet, I was cold. So, so cold.
I looked back at the cliffs. I could distinctly make out the silhouette of all those people on the edge, with the sun behind them, their shadows casting deep into the valley below. To the left, I could instantly make out the familiar shape of the palace guards, all huddled around one spot.
The spot where Smenkhkre and Meritaten fell.
When we got to the palace, we were greeted by Ay. Without thinking about how he got here before us, I looked at him tiredly as he bowed. "What do you want, Ay?"
"My Queen, I do not wish anything at all. I think it best if you both retire to your chambers to calm down for a while."
Tutankhaten's head snapped up. "She is not the Queen. Meritaten is the Queen. And I am not the Pharaoh - Smenkhkre is."
A horrible, dead silence filled the room. Ay was at a loss for words.
I couldn't blame him.
"Tutankhaten..." Ay cleared his throat, and grabbed my brother's hand sympathetically. "Tutankhaten, you know as well as I do what happened on the cliffs. You know as well as I do that Smenkhkre and Meritaten aren't...aren't coming back. You know that this makes you Pharaoh."
My brother shook his head violently. "No, no, no. I won't believe it until I see their dead bodies with my own eyes! I won't!"
It had been many years since my brother had thrown a tantrum - since a young age, he knew of his importance. Any son of a Pharaoh was important. And since he realised this, he was always on his best behaviour. But now, in the halls of the palace, here he was, Pharaoh of Egypt, crying like a little child.
I couldn't blame him. Even I wanted to sit down and cry, and after all - he was a little child.
Ay spun around to a nearby servant. "Get Ahset."
The servant scurried off in a hurry, too scared to inquire.
Ahset came running down the halls, almost knocking anyone in her path over. She ran straight to Tutankhaten and crouched down next to him, giving him a big hug. She picked him up like a babe and carried him towards his chambers.
Ay looked at me wearily. "Ankhesenpaaten, I advise you go to your chambers for a while," he repeated. "And perhaps freshen up, too. Your first act as Queen calls this afternoon."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"The killer has been caught," Ay sighed. "You have to give his punishment."
"What?"
"I shall explain later. Go to your chambers and rest. That is the best thing any of us can do now."
I did as I was told, out of habit, although I didn't really want to. But I supposed Ay was right. What else could I do? And it would give me some time to stop and think.
I, Ankhesenpaaten, daughter of the late Pharaoh Akhetaten, sister to his successor, Smenkhkre, was now Queen. Queen of all Egypt.
This palace, this city, this country, was now mine. Mine and Tutankhaten's.
Tutankhaten...he was far too young to rule. Nine years old - still a little child. Some days, granted, he did not act it, but did that mean he was fit to rule? And since parents and older siblings were all...were all...dead...then there was nobody to rule as a regent. Only family could do that without serious complications.
Really, only Ay could even propose becoming regent, and even then, there would be so much he would have to go through, plus Tutankhaten's approval.
I would not let Ay become regent anyway. Perhaps...no. I could not rule as his regent, or anything like it. I might be of age, but I was also his wife. And a female. Female Pharaohs had happened many times before in history, and female regents, but they were not in the circumstance I was now in. They were mothers of a young child, or a widowed Queen, or eldest child of the immediately deceased Pharaoh whose younger siblings were too young. I was different. Besides, being regent would be far too taxing. So much resting on my shoulders, on one person. I couldn't do that.
No doubt what would happen would be that Ay and the rest of the advisors, generals, and other officials would make the decisions as a group, and either persuade Tutankhaten to agree with them or simply make the choice on his behalf.
No, I would not let that happen. Those men, those power-hungry men, only had their interests at heart.
The only thing in my heart was Egypt. That, and Kahmose, I suppose.
Tutankhaten may have been too young to base his decisions in the interest of the entire country, but I was not. I would not let Ay and the others believe that they are in charge of the country for long. Our word would override theirs, by far.
I was suddenly more powerful than I ever had been in my life.
I had always had someone above me. Someone who always out-ranked me. I was never the highest on the hierarchy. Yes, I was a part of the Royal Family, but I was not high up. Until now, really. Not only was I the Queen, but I was now the High Priestess of Aten. And Tutankhaten was now High Priest.
But the only way I got as high as in status as I was, was through loss.
There was once six of us. Six princesses, six girls. Six sisters. Until, one by one...they all...disappeared. Every single one of my five sisters were gone. I was the only one left.
I was all alone.
I didn't even realise I was crying until the tears were dripping down my cheeks, drowning my eyes. I let out a strangled cry and collapsed on my bed, amongst the cushions.
Nebt ran in in shock. "Oh my goodness, sweetheart, are you ok?" she bent down and wrapped her arms around me tightly, rocking me gently like I was a babe.
"They're gone, they're all gone," I sobbed, burying my face in her chest.
"Hush," Nebt soothed. "My dear, who are you referring to?"
"Meritaten," I cried. "Smenkhkre. Meketaten. Mother. Father. Setepenre. Aunt Kiya. Neferneferure. Neferneferuaten Tarsherit. Everyone. They're all gone."
"The Queen and Pharaoh?" Nebt asked, dumbfounded. "What happened at the festival?"
"You mean you weren't present?"
"No, I stayed in the palace. Now, what happened?"
Through tear-stained eyes, I relayed the whole story to her. Nebt just kept shaking her head. "Two kings in two years," she muttered. "Disgraceful!"
More tears fell from my eyes.
"But that means..." Her voice trailed off as she put two and two together. "You're the Queen. Oh no, I can't even touch you anymore!"
She leapt off my bed with a fright.
"Nebt, please. Stop. I'm not the Queen. Meritaten is."
My maid's facial expression softened as she pulled me tight into a hug again. "I'm so, so sorry," she whispered, stroking my hair. "It's ok. You'll be ok."
A large knock on my wooden doors disrupted my sadness. I wiped my cheeks and eyes as Nebt stood up to answer the door, waiting for me to compose myself.
When I was ready, she opened the door to reveal a messenger.
Bowing, he delivered his message. "Your Majesty, your presence is required in the Grand Chamber, promptly. The Grand Vizier told me to give this message directly to you and the Pharaoh, and mentioned that he discussed this with you earlier."
I nodded, sniffing. "Thank you. Please inform the Vizier that I will be along shortly."
The man bowed once more, and scurried away. Nebt shut the door after him, and faced me with a quizzical look. "What was that about?"
I took a deep breath. "Ay wants us to punish the man who killed Meritaten and Smenkhkre."
"Oh. Well, what were you thinking?"
"I haven't really thought about it."
"I see."
There was a pause; a deathly silence. I hated it. As the number of people in the palace decreased, the silence would do the opposite. And it just reminded me how alone I was.
Nebt cleared her throat. "Well, My Queen, you had best be going. You cannot be tardy to your first act as Queen. I am sure Tutankhaten is there waiting for you now."
"You are probably right," I admitted. Very, very slowly, I started to walk out of my chamber. Truth be told, I was stalling. I wanted to put this off for as long as I possibly could. By sentencing my sibling's killer, it meant they truly were gone, and that I truly was Queen.
I made my way down the quiet, empty, eerie halls. These were my halls now.
My light footsteps echoed around the walls. Where was everyone? No doubt already awaiting in the Grand Chamber. Menna would love recording an event such as this, no matter how much he hated me. It was a scribe's dream, to record the first act of a Pharaoh and his Queen.
As I entered the Grand Chamber through a side door, I was greeted by a swarm of courtiers and officials, and, as I had guessed, scribes - quill at the ready.
Ay hurried over. "Quick, quick!" He fussed, checking me over. "Sit down on your throne! Now!"
Without a further word, I did as he asked, although as I approached the altar, I slowed down a bit. It felt so strange. I had never been near the Queen's throne - never sat on it, never touched it. And yet now it was mine.
Almost as soon as I eased myself down on the comfortable chair that signified royalty, the large doors banged open and a procession of soldiers entered.
The prisoner had arrived.
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Hey Everyone! So here's chapter 35. Not much really happened in this chapter, just dwelling on things. But I thought it was important to include - the emotions one felt when losing a loved one.
Anyway, I don't really have much to say in this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please please please drop this a vote and leave a comment! It would mean so much!
Don't forget I've entered in the #Wattys2017 so any support would be hugely welcomed.
Anyway, thanks to everyone for reading this far! I'll see you in Chapter 36!