The queen’s women dressed her differently for this evening’s table. Instead of the sheer shift that did little to protect her body from view, tonight’s garments were similar to those she’d seen worn by some of the noblewomen within the precincts of the royal house. Alia didn’t know who’d loaned her the beautiful white gown, but its softness and delicacy felt unlike anything she’d ever worn before. Her face had been partly covered, so as to reveal only her kohl-rimmed eyes, in the manner of the women of the east.
From the outset Pharaoh let it be known to the young prince that it was Alia who waited behind to serve him. Several others were also present, and their servers were dressed in the normal slave garb, which only made Alia stand out all the more.
Pharaoh didn’t once look in Alia’s direction, and she had to work hard not to glance at him, but as always, her mother’s training held her in good stead. As she studied Enlil throughout the giving of gifts and the eating of their ceremonial meal, she noticed that Enlil seemed extremely careful to eat or drink only from the same bowls as those Pharaoh chose. He obviously suspected that Pharaoh would poison him if the opportunity arose.
During the meal, while the other ambassadors spoke with Pharaoh, Enlil flashed surreptitious looks back at her, the meaning of which became apparent when Enlil again broached the subject of returning her to her homeland.
After making the proper entreaties to Pharaoh, Enlil offered a small casket filled with jewels, as well as two small monkeys he said had been procured from a merchant in the southern land of Nubia.
“So, Mighty Pharaoh, I request that my countrywoman be returned to me so that I might reunite her with the remnants of her family.”
Pharaoh lifted one dark brow ever so slightly and flicked a quick glance at her.
But they are all dead!
“Which members of Alia’s family have survived the battles, Prince Enlil?” Pharaoh enquired, and in an instant Alia knew Pharaoh had read her mind.
“Alas, only an aunt and an infant sister. The aunt is a cousin of my family, and she enjoys shelter in our tents. She also cares for the infant.”
Again Pharaoh glanced at her, but her eyes betrayed no reaction to Enlil’s words. Alia guessed the aunt he spoke of was a sister to one of her father’s lesser wives. She’d had little contact with those other than her immediate family, so who the woman might be exactly escaped Alia’s comprehension — and she expected Enlil was aware of her ignorance so hadn’t bothered to name the woman. The infant would also have been a mere half-sister, since her mother had no daughters younger than Mara, who’d wed and left their home days before their war party departed for Megiddo.
Alia had been the last, apart from two much younger brothers, and she surmised from Enlil’s explanation that they’d met the same fate as her father and Arad. A small ache threatened to rise in her chest but she quelled it; she’d mourned them all long ago so would resolutely put them from her mind now.
“Is it still your intention to wed Alia?” Pharaoh asked.
After a moment’s hesitation, Enlil answered in the affirmative. Yet even as he said the words, Alia knew he lied, or at least, if he intended to take her as wife, it was only for the sake of consolidating a power base. He’d tugged on his short beard and straightened on his seat before speaking, both of which were telling actions. She knew her life would probably be forfeit soon after the joining feast, or perhaps he had already married and she’d merely become a lesser wife.
When she looked across at Pharaoh, his regard subtly intimated he’d seen it too.
Pharaoh waved his hand toward the chest.
“This offer is very generous for a servant, Prince Enlil. Is there another significance to your request?”
“No, Pharaoh. I simply wish to redeem the life of my betrothed.”
Pharaoh steepled his fingers and appeared to consider the request.
Please, Mighty Pharaoh, send Enlil away!
Although he was young, and some would say handsome, there was an anger in Enlil’s black eyes that led her to believe he could be very cruel. She wondered why Arad and he had been such close companions as boys — Enlil seemed to carry little of the joyous zest for life she’d witnessed in her brother on the few occasions when she’d seen him in recent years.
“This is what I decree,” Pharaoh said, crossing his crook and flail before his chest. “Prince Enlil and the woman Alia may meet in the garden of Nut,” he gestured to the left, toward a small shrub-filled enclosure beyond the reception rooms, “for one hour.”
Alia’s head shot up in alarm — I must endure an hour alone with him?
“There, Enlil, you may plead your case to the girl.” Pharaoh continued. “At the end of the allotted time, she will return and tell of her choice. If she chooses to be reunited with her people, she may do so with the clothes on her back and nothing more.”
Why had Pharaoh done this? Enlil, she noticed, bristled visibly — it appeared that he resented Pharaoh’s decree that she could choose her own fate.
Pharaoh motioned for a sand-clock to be brought forward, then nodded to two of the priests who stood motionless beside his gold-and-faience-encrusted throne. “The priests of Amun will accompany you outside, then leave you to your privacy.”
Rekhmire turned the large sand-clock, and with a flick of his hand, bade Enlil and Alia be escorted into the courtyard.
With extreme reluctance, Alia followed Enlil out into the verdant enclosure. The moon shone brightly between the shrubs, allowing her a clear view of his stern expression.
For several moments, he studied her with his hard eyes. She didn’t dare utter a word for fear her discomfort would become apparent. He surveyed the garden to be certain they were, indeed, alone before he spoke.
“So, cousin, how do you fare under the yoke of tyranny? Do you enjoy being used by this barbarian king?” Before she could even begin to respond, he stepped forward and grasped her wrists in a bruising hold. His broad hands were hairy and rough, and she held her breath, fearing he would break her fragile bones. “You were to be my passage to power. It was all planned — your new husband was to die immediately after the wedding — then I would have wed you, his widow, and gain control of all the territories between the Salt Sea and Sechem and north to Tunip. How could you have allowed yourself to be captured and enslaved?” He flung her away from him, then began pacing between two small stone benches.
Alia slowly lowered herself onto one of the benches, her legs unsteady and insubstantial, and waited in silence, hoping Enlil’s anger would burn itself out.
He spun about to face her, his glare harsh. “Has Pharaoh bedded you? Can I claim that he has stolen my betrothal rights?”
“No!” She spat the word at him — wishing for once that she were a man and could challenge him for his insolence.
In three steps he was by her side, ripping the shroud away from her face. “If you lie ... I will not be responsible for my actions, girl. And a man can tell these things, you know. If he has touched you, I will know.” He leaned into her face — his highly spiced breath smelled rank; she had to suppress the desire to heave. He gripped the knot of hair coiled at her nape and twisted until she slid to her knees before him. “If not Pharaoh, has another taken your prize? You were captive for long months ... did one of your guards fill your belly with his bastard?”
“No!” she repeated. She tried to pull away, but he held her hair in a bruising grip that made her wince. “Please, Enlil, I am untouched and unharmed,” she murmured with her eyes averted, hoping her meekness would placate his anger.
He shoved her away as he released her hair and returned to his pacing. “Well, that is good. That will make it easier to convince Pharaoh that we are lovers.”
“But how can that be when you didn’t even recognize me last time you came here?”
He cast her an accusing look, his eyes the color of a raging storm. “We shall show him our love. Right here, right now!” Before she knew what he intended, Enlil lifted her body against his own and punished her with a mockery of a kiss. His lips and teeth ground into her, choking off her breath. When she tried to evade him, tried to turn her face away, he shook her soundly before resuming his assault.
She pushed against his chest, but it was like a wall of stone, and she whimpered, powerless against his onslaught. The coppery taste of her own blood filled her mouth. He thrust his hips against her, and she felt his penis dig into her side as he began simulating the act of love.
She pulled back, attempting to wrest her mouth away from his probing tongue. “Please, stop,” she begged. He took a nipple between his fingertips and pinched hard. She jerked back as if he had thrust a blade through it, a cry bursting from her throat. “Please!”
“Surrender to me, girl; for the sake of your father who died in defense of you; for the sake of the brother whose lips spoke your name at the last. Surrender to me.” Again he gripped her hair and drew her mouth to his. “Open to me. Show me your loyalty. Show your loyalty to your family.” He forced her jaw apart with hard fingers and plunged his searching tongue inside her mouth. She tried to scream but his thick lips blocked her cries. She couldn’t breathe, drowning in his spittle.
The more she struggled, the more Enlil hurt her. Stinging pain stabbed at her as he bit and pinched and bruised until she could stand no more. A strange numbness began to spread through her body. Hot tears coursed down her face as the fight drained out of her, and she slumped against him. He was a man while she was but a woman; fate deemed this was her lot in life — didn’t her mother often warn her so?
I wish Pharaoh had banished me with all the rest of the slaves.
Suddenly, Enlil released her. Without his granite grip to support her, she crumpled, shaking, to the ground at his feet. Her breasts throbbed with an ache she had never before known.
Then, as the air began to again fill her lungs, she heard him laugh. “Your first lesson in being my wife, Alia. You will submit to me in all things. I will be master of my own kingdom! Now,” he bent down to help her to stand and tidy her clothing before continuing, “we shall return to the hall and tell Pharaoh of our plans to wed immediately.” He nodded to himself with approval as he adjusted his loose coat and belt over his still erect phallus.
“It is a shame we cannot finish what we started,” he ran his hand suggestively over his crotch, “but it will happen soon, my beloved.”
Alia’s gut turned when he uttered the word ‘beloved’. Coming from his lips, it sounded more like an insult than an endearment.
He patted her cheek, then gripped her jaw between his savage fingers, squeezing as he drew her closer. “Are you sufficiently recovered from our lovemaking, beloved?” Enlil appeared to find satisfaction from the fear she knew he would see in her tear-filled eyes. “Ah, yes, the flush of unfulfilled lust, it suits you.” He straightened to his full height as if his manhood had just been confirmed.
When she made to reaffix her veil he stayed her hand. “No, Alia, I wish Pharaoh to see your blush of arousal. It will add the weight of proof. Once we are beyond the city, I will meet my troops and begin our attack. Now that I have thoroughly seen the inside of the palace, I can lead my men under cover of darkness and rid the world of this unholy Pharaoh. If he thinks we are preparing for our wedding feast, he will not suspect a thing.” He looked down at her with the gleam of triumph shining in his cruel eyes. “If he’d lived, your father would be proud, Alia. Come.”
Taking her hand in his harsh grasp, he forced her back toward the reception hall.
As they crossed the threshold, a guard moved between them to lead them separately before the high chair. She couldn’t hide her relief that Enlil’s filthy hands no longer touched her.
Pharaoh’s gaze didn’t waver as he watched her approach. She knew he studied her for any sign that she aimed to betray his trust. She returned his regard steadily, knowing that in this, her king could not fault her. Alia had no intention of betraying him, and after Enlil’s violent display, her resolve to stay with Queen Neferure remained as firm as ever. She just hoped Pharaoh believed her and not the lies Enlil intended to tell.
She threw herself to the floor before the dais upon which Pharaoh’s throne sat.
“Arise, Little Flower. Have you made your decision?”
Enlil stepped forward before she could make her response. “Alia and I are agreed, Great Pharaoh. We will be wed on the day we return to the bosom of our people.”
No! Do not listen to his lies.
Pharaoh’s concentration remained fixed upon her face, and though he showed no outward recognition, a flicker in his amber eyes told her he heard her silent plea.
“Just now, in the garden, Alia demonstrated with her avid kisses that the fire of love is in her breast — that she desires for us to begin the journey home so we can be joined. It is the custom of our people for our women to obey their men in all things. This Alia has consented to do.”
Pharaoh’s eyes narrowed as he listened, but he did not interrupt Enlil.
“Therefore, she will follow me as my betrothed when I leave the city tonight. Our people will be glad you accept their jewels in return for the freedom of one of their true jewels, Great Pharaoh.” He bowed and backed up a step, unable to mask the self-satisfied expression that crossed his face.
For several minutes the hall remained silent, as Pharaoh appeared to consider Enlil’s statements. A scant moment later, the vizier entered the hall with a tall priest and swept up to the throne to whisper in Pharaoh’s ear. He raised an eyebrow as Rekhmire gestured to her, then at Enlil. As Rekhmire finished speaking, Pharaoh’s gaze again came to rest on her.
“Alia, I ask again and this time I bid you answer for yourself. Is it your wish to accompany your kinsman back to your homeland as his wife? Bear in mind, before you reply, that I granted your freedom the day after you entered Queen Neferure’s service, so captivity is not a question that needs consideration.”
She could see Pharaoh resisted the temptation to smile when Enlil’s head shot up — astonishment etched across the young prince’s face.
“If my beloved has already been granted freedom, then there is no need to continue this ridiculous debate. We shall leave your halls immediately, Great Pharaoh.” He attempted to move toward Alia, but the guard separating them brandished his khopesh and eyed Enlil with menace.
Standing, Pharaoh took a step forward on the dais to loom above Enlil. “Young Prince, I have offered Alia the right of choice, and that is what she shall have. The free women of Kmt are treated with the respect they deserve and can therefore choose their own husbands. Rekhmire tells me you appeared to be attempting to ravage Alia while you were in my garden. He also tells me that Alia fought you—”
“Simple maidenly behavior, Great Pharaoh,” Enlil interrupted with a dismissive gesture. “Women in our culture are taught this inspires greater lust in a man, so they pretend resistance. It is merely a game they play.”
Crossing his arms, Pharaoh looked at her, managing to keep his face expressionless. “Is this the custom, Alia? Was your struggle a ploy to arouse Enlil further?”
She couldn’t hide her quiver of revulsion. “Not at all, Majesty. I had no desire to have Enlil’s lips or hands upon my body, nor do I. Whatever pact my brother might have forged, neither my father, my mother, or I were party to it. As my brother is now dead, I do not feel compelled to honor such a pact, and I do not intend to marry Prince Enlil. With your permission, Mighty Pharaoh, I will remain in the house of Queen Neferure and serve Pharaoh’s family for as long as I am permitted.” She bowed deeply to demonstrate her obeisance.
“So be it,” he said, and shifted his gaze to Enlil’s angry face. “You have courted death this eve, Enlil of Sechem, but in keeping with the treaties made by your countrymen in recent days, I will allow you safe passage from Kmt. Be warned, however, should you or yours attempt any form of rebellion, I assure you, your life will be worthless. Go now, and do not show your face in the Two Lands again.”
Enlil stiffened and cast Rekhmire and the priest a hateful glare before pushing past the guard to make his exit.
“Traitorous whore,” Enlil muttered for her ears only, as he passed by. “Know this — I shall have vengeance.”
The promise chilled her, for she knew he meant it.
Enlil’s footsteps echoed loudly through the hall. No one chanced to speak until he’d disappeared from view.
Pharaoh dismissed the other ambassadors with the undertaking that he’d meet with them soon to settle the last of their petitions, then he again spoke with Rekhmire.
Alia immediately headed to help clear the tables after the meal, but Pharaoh motioned that she wait. “I hope you are content with your choice,” he murmured as he approached and laid a hand on her arm.
She looked into his golden eyes and smiled hesitantly. “I believe I am, Great Majesty.”
Returning her smile, he bade her to take the casket of jewels still sitting at the center of the table. “They were your ransom, even if you did not need to be rescued.”
With a shake of her head, she waved the casket away. “The casket is a symbol of my former life. That no longer exists. I need nothing more.”
He reached over, lifted the carved box, and opened it before her. “Are you sure these baubles do not appeal?”
Again Alia shook her head.
“Grant a request, then, Little Flower. This life can be fraught with dangers. If something happens to me you will need security. The scribes will soon deliver your papers of freedom, of course, and Neferure shall protect you as best she can, but it is important that you have valuables that might be bartered if the need arises. Please, keep at least one item — even if it is only in remembrance of a loved one.”
Taking a deep breath, Alia searched the contents of the box until she came upon a small ring with a garnet nestled between the talons of a miniature bird-of-prey. As she held it, tears welled in her eyes, then trickled slowly down her cheeks. “This was the betrothal ring my father gave to my mother; as his chief wife, she was held in great esteem by our people. I shall keep this to treasure the memory of her.”
Pharaoh lifted his hand and caught the tear that quivered on her cheek. Slowly, his eyes fixed upon hers, he drew his fingertip to his lips and tasted her grief. “All will be well, Little Flower. Pharaoh has decreed it. I will have Rekhmire keep the casket for you.”
“No, please, give the jewels to Queen Neferure. She has taken me in and given me a trust that only my mother has ever done. If the choice is mine, I would like to gift her the casket.”
This time he didn’t try to hide his smile. “What you do brings you great honor, Alia. I am sure my great wife will be delighted by your gift. Now, I shall escort you to the queen’s apartments so you may present it to her. I have a need to speak with her anyway.”
“Thank you, Great Majesty.” Then she stopped in her tracks, recalling Enlil’s vow to return and attempt to assassinate Pharaoh. “Majesty, I must warn you that Enlil plans to return under cover of darkness and try to kill you. He said he has spent enough time here in recent days to know the layout of the palace.”
Both Pharaoh’s eyebrows rose as if perplexed.
“I thank you for the warning, Little Flower, though it is not really news. Several captured mercenaries have disclosed much of the plan to Rekhmire and the priests. I must ask — how is it you can dismiss all ties to your homeland in such a short time?”
Alia grinned. “You know little of the lot of women in my land.”
When he shook his head, she explained: “From birth girls are kept separate from the men. They live in different tents or houses and must remain within except for certain times of day when they wash and prepare food. My father had captive slaves who served and cooked, so the women were merely kept in order to provide heirs or seal marriage pacts. Some would say it is luxury to spend one’s entire day sewing or grooming, or learning the role you will play as wife to some foreign prince, yet in truth, it is little more than a prison.
“Boy children live with the women until they are old enough to learn of war and husbandry, then they move to live with the men. Women are chattel, nothing more, and the men may use them however they wish — even kill them without consequences, if it suits their purpose. I am certain, if I had been forced to marry Enlil, I probably wouldn’t have lived to reach the border.
“But since I came to live in Pharaoh’s house, I’ve experienced more freedom in my position as a slave than in I did in my home as a princess. So, the choice is easily made — the family I knew, the women I lived with all my life, are gone. I have nothing to return to even if I wished it — which I don’t, Great Majesty.”
She looked up to assess his reaction, and his face held a compassion she’d only ever witnessed on her mother’s face.
“Can I ask another boon, Alia?” he said as they continued down the long hall from the audience chambers to the queen’s apartments.
“Anything, Majesty.”
“When we are alone, you will cease addressing me as Majesty — my birth name is Menkhepere.”
Her eyes darted up in alarm. Never in her life had she been so informal with a man, let alone a king — or worse, a god!
“But Majesty, what if the priests or someone else should hear? My life would be forfeit.”
He waved a finger under her nose. “You said ‘anything,’ Alia. That is my wish. I spend my whole life listening to whole sentences where my name should be. All the titles, the way everyone addresses me, they are not who I am. Despite all the stories that are said of living gods, I am, ultimately, still a man.
“And like any other man, I need friends and to feel cared for. Will you be my friend, Alia?” He halted in front of the entrance to the queen’s suite, then took her hand and drew it to his lips, brushing her knuckles with an intimate warmth that robbed her lungs of air. His eyes were almost aglow in the light of the torches; aflame with molten gold and emitting such heat, she found herself completely enthralled. He placed her palm open on his bare chest, over his heart, and whispered, “You see, just a man.”
Ineni emerged from the curtain screen just as she dropped her hand. Terror filled her — what if Ineni had seen the intimacy between Pharaoh and herself? Would the queen have her ejected from her household?