looked at my mother, and it was understood between them that she should explain. “Mutny, your sister will be Queen of Egypt,” she said in a voice used with small children, not thirteen-year-old girls. “When the Elder embraces the Afterlife, Amunhotep will move back to Thebes to rule Upper Egypt as well. But we will not return here until the Elder dies.”
“And when will that be? The Pharaoh could live for twenty more years!”
No one said anything, and I saw from my father’s look that the guards had probably overheard me.
“Now that the court is to be split, dangerous games are going to be played,” my father said in a lower voice. “Who will stay with the old king, and who will place their bets on the new? Panahesi will go with Kiya to Memphis, since she is carrying Amunhotep’s child. We, of course, will go as well. Your job will be to warn Nefertiti when there is trouble.”
We entered the open courtyard outside the palace where the procession was waiting, and my mother took Nefertiti to Queen Tiye’s side. I pressed my father’s hand before he, too, could leave. “But what if she doesn’t want to listen to me?” I asked.
“She will because she always has.” He squeezed my shoulder gently. “And because you are the one who will be honest with her.”
The procession was to begin at noon. The Elder and Queen Tiye were to ride in chariots. Behind them, the rest of the court would be carried in open litters shaded by thin canopies of linen. Only Amunhotep and Nefertiti would be on foot, as tradition decreed, walking through the city to Pharaoh’s barge, which would be waiting on the waters of the Theban quay. From there, the barge would sail to Karnak, where the royal couple would proceed to the temple gates to be crowned Pharaoh and Queen of Lower Egypt.
As the courtyard filled with nobility, the guards grew tense. They shifted nervously from foot to foot, knowing if anything happened during the procession, their lives would be forfeit. I noticed one soldier in particular, a general with long hair and a pleated kilt. Ipu saw the direction of my gaze and said, “General Nakhtmin. Only twenty-one. I can make an introduction—”
“Don’t you dare!” I gasped.
She laughed. “An eight-year difference is not so big!”
Nefertiti heard us laughing together and frowned. “Where is Amunhotep?” she demanded.
“I wouldn’t be concerned,” my father said wryly. “He won’t miss his own coronation.”
When the prince appeared, he was escorted by Kiya on one arm and her father, Panahesi, on the other. Both were whispering into the prince’s ear, speaking quickly, and when they came to our place in line Panahesi greeted my father coldly. Then he caught sight of Nefertiti in a queen’s diadem, and it looked as though he had bitten into something sour. But Kiya only smiled, touching Amunhotep softly on the hand as she prepared to take her leave of him. “Blessings to Your Highness on this auspicious day,” she said with a sweetness that was sickening. “May Aten be with you.”
Nefertiti met my father’s eye. Kiya had just blessed Amunhotep in the name of
Aten
. So this was how she held him.
My father’s eyes glinted. “Stay close,” he warned me. “Once we reach Karnak, we will be walking to the temple, and there will be more Egyptians in the streets than you have ever seen.”
“Because of the coronation?” I asked, but he didn’t hear me. My voice was lost in the melee of horses and chariots and guards.
“Yes, and because rumors have been spreading through the city that the reincarnation of Isis has appeared.”
I turned. The young general was smiling up at me.
“A beauty who can heal with the touch of her hand, if you listen to palace servants.” He held out his arm and helped me into my litter.
“And what servant would say that?”
“You mean, why would someone pay a servant to say that?” he asked. “Because if your sister can win the people’s hearts,” he
“And when will that be? The Pharaoh could live for twenty more years!”
No one said anything, and I saw from my father’s look that the guards had probably overheard me.
“Now that the court is to be split, dangerous games are going to be played,” my father said in a lower voice. “Who will stay with the old king, and who will place their bets on the new? Panahesi will go with Kiya to Memphis, since she is carrying Amunhotep’s child. We, of course, will go as well. Your job will be to warn Nefertiti when there is trouble.”
We entered the open courtyard outside the palace where the procession was waiting, and my mother took Nefertiti to Queen Tiye’s side. I pressed my father’s hand before he, too, could leave. “But what if she doesn’t want to listen to me?” I asked.
“She will because she always has.” He squeezed my shoulder gently. “And because you are the one who will be honest with her.”
The procession was to begin at noon. The Elder and Queen Tiye were to ride in chariots. Behind them, the rest of the court would be carried in open litters shaded by thin canopies of linen. Only Amunhotep and Nefertiti would be on foot, as tradition decreed, walking through the city to Pharaoh’s barge, which would be waiting on the waters of the Theban quay. From there, the barge would sail to Karnak, where the royal couple would proceed to the temple gates to be crowned Pharaoh and Queen of Lower Egypt.
As the courtyard filled with nobility, the guards grew tense. They shifted nervously from foot to foot, knowing if anything happened during the procession, their lives would be forfeit. I noticed one soldier in particular, a general with long hair and a pleated kilt. Ipu saw the direction of my gaze and said, “General Nakhtmin. Only twenty-one. I can make an introduction—”
“Don’t you dare!” I gasped.
She laughed. “An eight-year difference is not so big!”
Nefertiti heard us laughing together and frowned. “Where is Amunhotep?” she demanded.
“I wouldn’t be concerned,” my father said wryly. “He won’t miss his own coronation.”
When the prince appeared, he was escorted by Kiya on one arm and her father, Panahesi, on the other. Both were whispering into the prince’s ear, speaking quickly, and when they came to our place in line Panahesi greeted my father coldly. Then he caught sight of Nefertiti in a queen’s diadem, and it looked as though he had bitten into something sour. But Kiya only smiled, touching Amunhotep softly on the hand as she prepared to take her leave of him. “Blessings to Your Highness on this auspicious day,” she said with a sweetness that was sickening. “May Aten be with you.”
Nefertiti met my father’s eye. Kiya had just blessed Amunhotep in the name of
Aten
. So this was how she held him.
My father’s eyes glinted. “Stay close,” he warned me. “Once we reach Karnak, we will be walking to the temple, and there will be more Egyptians in the streets than you have ever seen.”
“Because of the coronation?” I asked, but he didn’t hear me. My voice was lost in the melee of horses and chariots and guards.
“Yes, and because rumors have been spreading through the city that the reincarnation of Isis has appeared.”
I turned. The young general was smiling up at me.
“A beauty who can heal with the touch of her hand, if you listen to palace servants.” He held out his arm and helped me into my litter.
“And what servant would say that?”
“You mean, why would someone pay a servant to say that?” he asked. “Because if your sister can win the people’s hearts,” he
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