by Dee, Debbie
“No one is looking,” he said.
Tiy whipped her head around to look at Amenhotep. His eyes were still closed, a relaxed smile still on his lips. She wanted to ask him how he knew what she had been thinking, but instead she shrugged and laid next to him, sighing the moment her toes sunk into the cool water.
“This is my favorite part of the day,” he said, “when I have no one looking for me, no one needing my attention. I could stay here for hours.”
“Me too,” Tiy said as all her concerns seemed to slip away with the current. A part of her relished in the idea that Amenhotep had an oasis similar to the one she had left in Akhmim. If she squinted and looked at it sideways, she could almost see it as a sign that they were meant to be friends. “Will it be a problem for you to be gone all day, holidaying with the rest of us? You’re father won’t be angry, will he?”
Amenhotep shrugged. “Only if he finds out we went to Giza.”
Tiy’s heart lurched. “What do you mean? Aren’t we safe there?”
Amenhotep shrugged again. “I think we’ll be fine, but Ramose and my father disagree. They think I need to cower behind a wall of guards all the time. I’m not going to hide my way through life. I’m going to live it! So what if there might be a few thieves in Giza. I can handle them.”
“Thieves?”
“Hundreds of them.” He grinned, showing all his teeth like a proud monkey.
Tiy laughed. “I can’t take you seriously, can I?”
Amenhotep chuckled. “Perhaps not. I doubt we will see anyone but the spirits of Khufu and his court.”
Tiy shivered. “I hope not.” She’d heard plenty of stories of Khufu being unable to decipher the path to the afterlife and had taken up haunting the villagers every night when the moon was at his highest. She assumed it was one of the many reasons Giza had been abandoned, and quite frankly, she didn’t blame the people for wishing to live their lives in peace.
Amenhotep laughed again. “You aren’t going to let those old stories scare you, are you?”
Tiy considered his question for a moment. “No,” she said. Her curiosity would carry her through her fears. “I don’t want to end up an old woman filled with regret for things I didn’t do or see and too frail to do anything about it.”
Amenhotep smiled. “That’s what I thought.”
They lay in silence until the sun burned away the morning fog and it was time to meet Ramose, Petep, and Merymose at the quay. Emerging from Amenhotep’s secret oasis, they stretched and yawned as if they had been there all night. Tiy quickly glanced around. What if someone else saw them emerge and thought they had been there all night. It would be scandalous, and her mother would certainly hear about it.
Amenhotep chuckled. “You are so funny. No one will think we’ve been here since last night.”
Tiy’s jaw dropped. “How do you…” She paused. How did he always seem to know what she was thinking?
“How do I what?” Amenhotep asked.
“Never mind.” She glanced at the hot sun and tied a scarf to her head. She didn’t even want to think about the number of freckles she would have by the end of the day.
Amenhotep tucked a stray piece of her wig into the scarf, an understanding smile pressed onto his lips. He turned to a servant and a gleaming chariot appeared almost before Tiy could blink. They jumped onto the platform and were whisked off toward the quay.
Passing through the market was a much different experience than it had been on the day she arrived with Siese. For Amenhotep, everyone quieted and parted as he passed. Even the litters carrying various noblemen were lowered so they weren’t higher than the prince. Several people took off their shoes in a show of respect usually reserved for those within the palace walls.
Tiy had been invisible when she arrived in Memphis, which was more to her liking. But with a sinking feeling she realized that as long as she was with Amenhotep she would become the topic of conversation for all sorts of gossip. Everyone watched her, pointed at her, whispered about her. They glanced from her to the prince and back to her, wondering who she was and why she was standing so close to him. Her face flushed. She should have asked Amenhotep to take them on a roundabout route. Or perhaps she shouldn’t have come at all.
No, she decided. She would have missed the adventure and the moment they’d left without her, she would have regretted staying behind.
Tiy bit her lip and tried not to appear too mortified as men whispered to their wives, and their wives whispered to their sisters, and their sisters whispered to their friends and mothers and everyone else within hearing distance. She was glad Nebetya had applied darker kohl to her eyes that morning and some color to her lips. With her wig, she might even pass as an Egyptian.
They couldn’t have reached the quay soon enough. Petep flipped a book shut as Amenhotep and Tiy jumped from the chariot platform. Merymose had acquired a barge and Ramose sat on the deck with a scowl.
Tiy sat next to Petep and whispered. “What’s wrong with Ramose?”
Petep glanced at Ramose who had now folded his arms. “He doesn’t think Amenhotep should leave the palace.”
“What do you think?”
“I think we’ll be fine. This wasn’t a planned excursion. Whoever was in that tree yesterday wouldn’t have had enough time to organize another assassination. These things take time and planning.”
Tiy shuddered. She couldn’t imagine anyone being fanatic enough to plan an assassination.
They reached the shores of Giza well before Ra pushed the sun to its peak. Five camels awaited them with thick blankets covering their backs. Ropes wrapped around the bulk of the camels and across their lower lips for guiding. They were much taller than the horses she rode at her ranch, and even their loud bellows spoke of a very different experience to come. Tiy’s mouth went dry.
The camels knelt down, their backs reaching as high as her waist. Each had a dull look in its eye that offered Tiy no reason to feel confident in mounting one. With some reluctance, she chose a light brown camel with black protruding eyes and long bushy hair. She wandered to his face and rubbed his long snout, hoping to portray some confidence to the beast rather than expose her knot of nervousness. The camel bellowed and his blackened teeth grinned at her, his hot breath assaulting her nose. She scrunched her face and decided to forget about bonding with the animal.
Tiy turned her attention to the others as they mounted, hoping to glean a better sense of how to do it. Petep hopped on like a tiny gazelle and seemed to float in the saddle as the camel rose to its feet. Likewise, Amenhotep mounted his dark brown camel with fluidity and confidence. He looked at Tiy as she stood like a fool next to her half-asleep camel. With a smile, he made several clicking noises with his tongue and his camel lowered him to the ground and rested on its knees again. Amenhotep dismounted before the animal came to a full rest and loped over to her.
“Have you ever ridden a camel?” he asked.
“I’ve ridden plenty of horses, but I’m guessing it’s not the same.”
“Not really. Here, take my hand.”
Merymose jumped forward, having also dismounted his camel. “I can help her, Your Majesty. Please allow me to shoulder the burden of assisting her.”
Tiy raised her eyebrows. “Please, don’t let me burden you,” she said with more venom than she intended.
Amenhotep chuckled. “Don’t worry, Tiy. He isn’t saying you are incapable or that you are an inconvenience.”
“Oh! No, no, no.” Merymose said in a rush. “I am only trying to help.”
“Thank you, Merymose,” Amenhotep replied. He peered at Tiy.
It didn’t matter who helped her onto the enormous beast, so long as she didn’t end up flat on her face. She nodded to Amenhotep, letting him know Merymose could assist her, and he could resume his lead position in the group. Amenhotep had plenty of other responsibilities to handle without having to stay behind and help her.
Amenhotep glanced at Merymose with eyes that seemed to narrow fo
r the briefest of moments. A lump of panic plummeted to the bottom of Tiy’s stomach. Did Amenhotep not think Merymose capable of helping her onto the camel? Did she just sentence herself to public humiliation?
“Very well, if that is what you want,” Amenhotep said. “Merymose, she is in your hands.”
Tiy watched Amenhotep jog back to his camel and mount with deceiving ease. She placed a tentative hand on her camel’s back, the rough blanket scratching her palm.
Merymose took one of her trembling hands in his and placed his other hand on the small of her back.
“Did I hear you right that you have ridden a horse?” he asked.
Tiy nodded.
“Throw one leg over his back just like you would a horse. I’ll talk you through the rest.”
Tiy did as he said and soon found herself sitting firmly on the camel’s back. She took hold of the rope.
“Good, good, that’s good. His back legs will straighten first, so lean far back when he does this. Then his front legs will follow, so lean as far forward as you can. Are you ready?”
Tiy glanced around. Everyone was watching her. She laughed nervously and flashed what she hoped was a confident grin. She must not have been very convincing.
“Don’t worry,” Petep said.
“It’s okay,” Ramose said, “we’ll scrape you off the desert sands before your camel tramples you.”
“Ramose!” Petep shrieked.
Amenhotep looked like he wanted to dismount again.
Tiy’s camel groaned and bellowed at her slow progress. She wanted to groan and bellow as well, but thought better of it. “Yeah, yeah. I’m ready,” she said, just wanting it over with so everyone’s attention would turn elsewhere. She chanted the instructions Merymose had given her in her head. Lean back, then forward. Back, then forward.
Merymose made a series of clicking noises with his tongue and her camel’s hind legs stretched and rose, setting his back at a precarious angle. Tiy lurched forward and then leaned back until she felt as though she were lying down on the camel’s rear end. The camel jostled her around for a bit and then it rose onto its front legs. She scrambled forward to lean toward its neck, her nose not far from the wool blankets. A quick jolt, a brief moment of terror, and she found herself four cubits off the ground.
That wasn’t so bad.
“Thank you, Merymose,” Tiy said. The others were already on their way, no longer anticipating the potential drama that could have unfolded with a novice camel rider. She was grateful she hadn’t done anything to embarrass herself, thanks to Merymose.
He seemed proud of himself as he stood at her camel’s side, beaming from ear to ear. He mounted his own camel, made a few clicking noises, and they were soon on their way.
Amenhotep led their little caravan with Petep and Ramose riding side by side behind him and Merymose and Tiy bringing up the rear. She tried to pay attention to everyone’s animated chatter, but her camel’s unfamiliar gait distracted her. It bleated and bellowed much too often and ignored most of her efforts to guide it. It wasn’t long before her camel thumped to a complete stop and refused to move. It stared off into the distance, oblivious to her pleas.
“Just move,” Tiy begged. “We are getting behind.”
“What’s wrong?” Merymose asked, looking over his shoulder at her.
“I don’t know. My camel won’t budge.”
“Try whistling or tugging on the ropes,” he said. He looked like he was trying to turn his camel, but his beast was ignoring his commands as well. Stupid animals! Why didn’t they listen? At least his camel still traveled in the general direction of the pyramids. Her camel, on the other hand, was entirely too fascinated by nothing other than chewing on air.
Tiy whistled. She tugged. She clicked and made all sorts of funny sounds with her mouth.
Nothing.
Amenhotep glanced back, as he had dozens of times during their trek. Calling out for everyone to continue toward the pyramids, he turned his camel toward her. He set it at a gallop and Tiy was amazed at how easily he could get his camel to obey. Merymose’s face pinched with effort as he tried once more to turn his camel toward her.
Amenhotep reached her and swung his legs around, leaping off his camel before it came to a stop. Tiy gasped in surprise, which seemed to please him. He grinned from ear to ear as he closed the distance between them
“Having some trouble?” He asked with a playful smile.
“Like you would not believe.”
“Merymose likes you.”
“I thought we were talking about the camel.” Tiy said, confused.
“We are.”
“Oh. Well I can’t get him to move any further. He just sits here like a lump of fur.”
“Do you like him?” Amenhotep asked.
“Well, not really. He is smelly and hairy, and won’t move fast enough, but sure, I like him enough, for a camel.”
Amenhotep laughed. “I meant Merymose. Do you like Merymose?”
“Honestly Amenhotep, I can’t keep up with you. Merymose seems nice. Can we talk about him later? I’d rather get my lazy camel moving before the two of us are left alone in the desert.”
Amenhotep rolled his head back and laughed. “Of course. Here, take your shoes off and put them in that pouch.”
Perplexed by his instructions, she scowled.
“Trust me, Tiy. I know what I’m doing.”
She nodded and pulled off her shoes. He was right, after all. His camel seemed to be the only one willing to obey.
“Good,” he said. “Now, put your feet on his neck and use your toes to tickle his skin.”
Tiy placed the soles of her feet on the camel’s fur and tickled his skin with her toes. Its head jolted up, and he began to walk.
“It’s working!” Tiy said with a grin.
“How about a race?” Amenhotep said, urging his camel to kneel so he could re-mount.
She turned around to face him and called out. “Are you joking?”
“You have until I mount this camel to decide. Are you afraid I’ll beat you to the pyramids?”
Tiy bristled. She couldn’t resist a good competition, and he seemed to know it. Straightening her back, she nudged her toes into the camel’s neck a little harder. Its gait sped up along with her heart rate.
She glanced back just in time to see Amenhotep’s camel raising his front legs to stand. She squealed and pushed her toes faster, massaging the camel’s neck harder. The camel shot off like a bullet. She bounced along, her eyes wide and her mouth open in a big grin. It was so strange to feel scared for her life, yet to be having so much fun. She whooped and hollered as she passed the others. The shock on their faces was something she never wanted to forget.
Amenhotep closed the gap, but there was no way she was going to let him win. Pushing her toes further into the camel’s fur, she laughed and congratulated herself as the great sphinx grew larger. It would be her triumphant finish line.
She was a little more than sixty cubits from the sphinx when she saw the sudden drop in the earth ahead and realized she should have asked someone how to stop a camel. Surely the animal would notice the deep hole and stop on its own, right? She leaned over and searched its glazed eyes. There was nothing that spoke of intelligence in them.
She took a breath. Stopping a camel couldn’t be that much different than stopping a horse, right? She scrambled to shorten the rope and yanked hard. The camel barely slowed. She shouted at it, but it only hung its mouth open further, exposing its big teeth into a ridiculous smile.
Amenhotep yelled at her, but the wind blowing against her ears was too loud to make out what he said. And the others were too far behind to help.
Tiy panicked. The sphinx rested in a deep pit ahead of her, and her camel was running as though it had all the sand in the world stretched before it. She pushed down on his neck with both feet and pulled on the rope with all of her strength. The camel yanked its head back and bellowed so loud her ears stung. It came to an abrupt stop�
��which wasn’t what she had expected at all— and she shot off like an arrow, flying through the sky as if she had wings. Completely useless wings.
The head of the sphinx grew larger and larger as she soared toward it. Grimacing down at the sand and stone, she spread her arms wide in an effort to catch herself. But she never reached the sphinx head, although it looked like she might. Instead, she crashed onto the hot sand just below the lion’s two paws, its arms stretched forward as if to catch her. Her head cracked on something hard and every color vanished from her sight. She felt as if she was back in the sandstorm, with the air swirling around her, except instead of orange-blackness coming at her from every direction, it was grey-blackness.
Amenhotep’s voice sounded strangled as he reached the edge of the pit. His was the only voice she could hear, the only sound. But she couldn’t answer him, no matter how hard she tried. Something heavy sat on her chest, keeping her from breathing. She lay sprawled on the ground and let a heavy wave of pain carry her away.
Chapter 15. Solemn Promise
Tiy awoke to Amenhotep and Merymose hovering over her—at least she was fairly certain it was the two of them. The sun shone at their backs, silhouetting their bodies and obscuring their faces in shadow. Unaware she had opened her eyes, they faced each another in disagreement.
“Didn’t you teach her how to stop her mount?” Amenhotep questioned with a bite in his voice.
“She said she’d ridden horses before,” Merymose said. “I figured she’d know.”
“Stopping a runaway camel is nothing like a horse.”
“We should take her back to the palace.”
Tiy tried to speak, to tell them she was okay and didn’t want to return, but her tongue was heavier than a block of dry wood.
Amenhotep shook his head. “I’d rather wait and see what she wants to do. She may feel fine when she awakes, and if I know Tiy, she’ll want to have a look around before we trek all the way back.”
Merymose squirmed.
“Merymose, say what you want. I may be Pharaoh’s son, but we are still friends. You can speak your mind with me.” Then he chuckled. “Whether or not I listen is up to me.”
