Sphinx's Queen (31 page)

She tapped the heaviest bracelet on her arm. “This one was given to me by Pharaoh himself. Well, they
all
were, but this one he gave to me with his own hands, on the morning after he took me for his wife. Your aunt didn’t like
that
at all, but she was still just another one of his women. There wasn’t a thing she could do about it … then.”

“You know that I’m Queen Tiye’s niece?” I was astonished.

The woman nodded and her earrings jingled. “I’ve known her for years, and I’ve known who
you
are from the first day you arrived. You might not have noticed me, but I was there, just another face in the curious crowd who saw you enter the royal palace. I remember thinking, ‘Isn’t she a pretty girl! Is she going to be someone’s new toy or one of Tiye’s handpicked tools? But you surprised me: You were no one’s plaything, and when your aunt tried using you to build her older boy a throne, you became the ax that slips through the workman’s hands and chops his foot off!” She laughed so loudly that a pair of owls roosting in the tree above her head took flight, hooting angrily. Ta-Miu followed their path, paws drawn in close, tail lashing, then launched herself after them, her claws slicing thin air.

“Look at her, will you?” The woman chuckled over Ta-Miu’s antics. “Ready to take on two owls at once when even
one
could probably carry her away. I don’t remember her being this feisty when she belonged to Thutmose.” She saw my renewed expression of surprise, and it amused her mightily.

“Yes, yes, I know that this is—was—Thutmose’s cat. I know a great deal about that boy.” She clucked her tongue. “A pity, what he’s become. He was such a sweet child, so affectionate! I loved him dearly. He liked to come visit me and my boy Khenti until Tiye put a stop to it. That child couldn’t have been more than five years old when she began filling his head with the notion that his life was just a race to the throne, that every one of his brothers was a rival, and that nobody would ever befriend him because they
liked
him, only because they wanted something in return.”

“It sounds like you’ve known my aunt a long time,” I said.

“Oh, from the very beginning! She and I arrived here within a few seasons of one another, the daughter of a prince and the daughter of a commoner.”

“You’re a prince’s daughter?” I asked. I could believe it. She carried herself with the easy elegance of someone used to being obeyed.

“Oh, I beg your pardon, Lady Nefertiti; I know you, but you don’t know me. My name is Tabiri, and my father—may his soul live on—was a prince of Nubia. Well, you can imagine how surprised
this
princess was to find that my chief rival for the position of Great Royal Wife wasn’t royal at all! We were both beautiful girls, but Tiye was also single-minded and clever. I counted on my good looks and my princely blood to bring me the honor I thought I deserved. She counted on nothing being
brought
to her; she would
take
it. And she did!” She chuckled.

“You—you don’t seem to mind what happened,” I remarked.

“What good would it do me to resent her victory? If you spend your days chewing over your old grudges, you’ll soon have nothing but a mouthful of poison and no room on your tongue to taste life’s sweetness. Besides, I didn’t lose to your aunt because of something she did, but because of something that just … happened.” She paused and looked to the stars. “Sometimes I like to sit out here and pretend I see the spirits of my father and my son shining up there together, laughing with the gods.”

“Your son … I’m sorry, Princess Tabiri.”

She shrugged. “At least Khenti left this world knowing that he had my love and that he never needed a crown to keep it. And when he died, Tiye mourned almost as much as I. I can’t say she was
un
happy when I couldn’t bear any more children, because that removed all chance of Pharaoh naming me Great Royal Wife instead of her, but I know she never wanted to achieve that title through my Khenti’s death. She is not a
bad
woman, Lady Nefertiti; it’s only that she’s built a brick wall in front of her eyes, and she refuses to believe there’s anything worth seeing on the other side.”

She’s built another around me
, I thought. I felt very tired. “Lady Tabiri, I think I want to go back to my rooms now, but I don’t know the way. Will you help me?”

“It would be a pleasure, my dear.” She linked one arm through mine and led me out of the garden by a different doorway. As we strolled through the silent palace, she told me stories about her lost son. “That Khenti. He was born with a warrior’s spirit. Even before he was born, how he kicked! When Pharaoh first saw him, he said to me, ‘Tabiri, this one won’t wait to be given the crown; he’ll snatch it from my head!’ That was the day I received this.” She pointed proudly to her heavy collar of gold, turquoise, and lapis beads interwoven with at least twenty scarab amulets carved from a host of precious stones. It was beautiful, and massive enough to cover half her chest.

“That’s breathtaking,” I said.

“And I would throw it into the sacred river in a heartbeat if that would bring Khenti back to me. I’m pleased to be able to show it to you. I’m giving it away tomorrow as a sacrifice to Hathor.”

“I hope you’re praying for love and not because you need her healing powers,” I said.

“I’m praying for both, but not for me. I don’t need anything from the goddess. I’m making the sacrifice for Thutmose’s sake.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Princess Tabiri, do you know what he
did?”

“I have lived in this palace almost as long as Tiye. My ears are sharp, and the servants know I pay generously for information. If a fly lands on Pharaoh’s forehead, I know about it. Thutmose drew a weapon and utterly blasphemed in the Palace of Ma’at;
then
he tried to kill you. His father had him imprisoned in his rooms and wouldn’t even speak
about
him, let alone
to
him.” She raised her arms to admire her collection of bracelets and bangles as she added, “That changed twelve days ago. Tiye was able to convince Pharaoh to temper the boy’s punishment.”

“My aunt could convince Isis to pardon Set,” I muttered.

“Thutmose is still forbidden to step outside the palace walls, but inside, he can go where he likes.”

“Anywhere?” My head spun. A serpent was at large in the halls of the palace. He had been freed to prowl wherever he liked for twelve days, and I’d heard nothing, seen nothing, just as the mouse fails to see the falcon’s shadow or hear a rush of wings until the talons strike. How could I ever hope to sleep soundly again?

She heard the rising note of panic in my voice and put one arm around me. “Is this the little girl who stood up so bravely in the presence of Ma’at? I tell you, child, you have no worries. Thutmose has been given liberty, but the gift lies untouched. He has not stirred from his rooms. From what I hear—and I hear everything—he has not even stirred from his bed.”

“Is he ill?”
That would explain the sacrifice to Hathor
.

“In body, no. But some fevers don’t burn the flesh. Tiye sent her best physician to the boy’s rooms, but discreetly, to keep Pharaoh ignorant.”

“She’s good at that sort of thing,” I said tartly.

“When her doctor reported that there was nothing physically wrong with Thutmose, she sent a magician to sniff out any evil spells or curses.” She looked at me closely. “From what I learned,
you
were very lucky that the man was too honest to tell Tiye what she wanted to hear.”

“She thought
I
was at fault?” I shuddered. My enforced solitude had made me miserable, but suddenly I realized that the ignorance that came with isolation could be a very dangerous thing.

“She
hoped
you were at fault,” Princess Tabiri said. “For as long as I’ve known that woman, she’s only felt secure if she could heap the responsibility for her problems in another person’s lap. It makes everything so … tidy for her. You are safe for now—a goddess spoke for you—but I have a bad feeling that Tiye won’t rest until she finds someone else to blame for her boy’s illness. She’s desperate to drag him out of this unnatural behavior, one way or another. She literally tried to drag him out of his bed with her own hands, but he was too strong for her. What’s worse for Tiye is that in spite of all her schemes to keep Thutmose’s condition secret, Pharaoh has taken notice. He’s not pleased. The way he sees it, Thutmose is deliberately defying him. When Pharaoh moderated the boy’s punishment, instead of appreciating it, Thutmose turned his back on such a gracious gift. Six days ago, he ordered the boy to leave his bed and his rooms, but as his Pharaoh, not his father.”

“But Thutmose still refuses?”

“Oh, no, he complies with the royal order, in a way. He rises from his bed, walks once around his private garden, and lies down again. Then he summons a scribe to write a letter testifying that Pharaoh’s command has been fulfilled. I hear that Pharaoh is furious, and Tiye is distraught. It’s as if the boy wants to bring doom on himself.” She unfastened her collar and held it at arm’s length to admire it. “That is why I make this sacrifice to Hathor: for healing
and
for love. Thutmose needs both.”

She took my arm a second time and we walked on. Ta-Miu took turns rushing ahead of us, trailing behind, and sometimes doing her best to wind through our feet and trip us. I gave up the battle and gathered the little cat into my arms for a scolding. She just purred and rubbed her head on my chin.

At last we came to a part of the palace that I recognized. “Oh! Princess Sitamun’s rooms are nearby,” I said. “I can find my own way back from here.”

“Do you dislike my company so much, Lady Nefertiti?” Princess Tabiri’s ready laugh warmed the night. Before I could protest, she patted my hand and said, “Now that we know one another, you will come back and visit me, yes? And I will come to the women’s quarters and visit you.”

“I’m surprised your rooms are so far from that part of the palace.”

“If Tiye does not live cheek-by-jowl with the rest of Pharaoh’s women, why should I? Private apartments befit my rank. I may be childless, but I am still a prince’s daughter, and not
some
junior wife. And Pharaoh is still sometimes fond of me.” She tapped another heavy gold bracelet.

“I hope you will be able to come see me,” I said. “But Aunt Tiye might find a way to prevent that.”

“I’d like to see her try. Really, I
would
like to see that. The two of us haven’t butted heads in a while. My life these days flows peacefully, but there are times I miss the thrill of a lively clash with a worthy opponent.”

“Princess Tabiri, with all due respect, I don’t think you realize how good your life is without that sort of thing.”

“Does anyone ever appreciate the life they have? Good night, Lady Nefertiti.” She smiled, kissed my cheek, and went back to her rooms.

I started to do the same when I heard new voices coming from one of the corridors. They sounded agitated, and I noticed that the hall from which the voices came was far more brightly lit than the one where Princess Tabiri had left me holding Ta-Miu.

I wonder what’s going on?
I thought, peering curiously toward the light. The cat meowed and stuck her head under my arm. “Tsk! Where’s your sense of adventure?” I said, tickling her neck just under the gold collar she wore. “Let’s investigate. Something important might be happening. If it is, won’t it be grand for me to be the first person in the women’s quarters to know about it? That will teach them to play keep-away with me, even if Aunt Tiye’s the one forcing them to play that game! And if it’s nothing more than a servants’ quarrel, at least I can ask one of them to bring a lamp and light us all the way home.”

It was not a servants’ quarrel. As I approached the source of those raised voices, I could hear what they were saying and it had nothing to do with any sort of squabble between them. Both voices belonged to young men, both were on the same side, and both were deathly afraid.

“—not even one bite this time! See for yourself, the food’s all untouched.”

“Even the bread?”

“The bread
and
the meat
and
the fruit
and
the beer. What are we going to do? If the queen finds out—”

“We’ll do what we did yesterday, except this time you’d better share the beer or people will start asking questions about your morning ‘headache.’ ”

“We can’t! Didn’t you hear what he told us tonight? He suspects we’ve been eating his rejected meals, and he’s sent word to the chief cook to notify him at once about how much food the man finds left over on the prince’s dishes.”

“That’s crazy.”

“What, have you forgotten who we serve? Of course it’s crazy!
He’s
crazy! But he’s still sane enough to cut down anyone who gets in the way of his insanity.”

One of the speakers groaned. “What are we going to do? The queen threatened to get rid of every servant and slave in Prince Thutmose’s household if we can’t make him eat and drink like a normal person.”

“I know, I know.” A mighty sigh reached my ears as I moved nearer to the voices. “When that woman says she’s going to get rid of you, she doesn’t mean she’s sending you to a new master.”

“Unless it’s Osiris.”

“Gods, what are we going to
do?
My wife is trapped in that madman’s household, too. What will become of our children if both she and I are taken from them?” The words turned to sobs, answered by murmured sounds of attempted consolation.

“Good evening,” I said as I turned a corner and stepped fully into the light. My sudden appearance made one of the young men drop the laden dishes he was carrying. They smashed when they hit the ground. A loaf of bread came rolling up to my feet. Ta-Miu uttered a happy yowl and kicked free of my arms in order to pounce on a flight of roasted quail that had gone tumbling over the floor. The servant responsible for the mess fell to his knees, buried his hands in his face, and moaned.