by Dee, Debbie
Tiy’s heart hummed in her chest.
“I love you, Tiy,” he said. He had said it a thousand times before, as a friend would say it to a friend, but this time felt so different. He searched her eyes and she saw that illusive question in his gaze. She didn’t look away and blush like she would have before, but rather, she gazed into his eyes, watching him delve deeper into her own. He searched past the layers she shared with others, past the layers she shared only with him, past what she knew of herself, and into the portion of her soul that even she didn’t know. She felt naked and exposed, vulnerable and insecure. She hoped the answer he was looking for was there and that he wouldn’t be disappointed. She gazed into his eyes, trying to reach his soul as well, and as she searched she realized she had no reason to feel exposed or insecure. There was no animosity in Amenhotep’s eyes as he found the deepest parts of her, there was only love. It wasn’t the love of a friend that she saw, or the love of a brother to a sister. It was the burning love he felt for her and the yearning for her to reciprocate it. She knew then what he had wanted to ask all those years before, but had been too afraid. Did she love him back?
“I love you,” she said in return, putting all her heart into the three little words. She knew he understood.
His lips met hers, tender and sweet, and she wrapped her arms up around his shoulders and behind his neck, pulling him closer. His kiss became more passionate, releasing the years of yearning she never knew they each harbored until then. His arms held her tight and she didn’t care that she could barely breathe. She wanted him closer. Warm bursts of energy filled her body and took over her senses.
“Kha-em-maat,” he whispered in her ear as the barge rolled back and forth on the river currents. “I knew it would be on this barge that you would realize the truth—that you have loved me from the beginning, just as I have loved you, from the moment I saw your hair shine.”
He gestured toward the ceiling in the cabin and she gasped at the sight. Painted above them were five images of the guardian goddess, Nekhbet, with her black tipped wings spread in magnificence. Her wings were dark, but her head shone with a shimmery whiteness close to the color of her own hair.
Amenhotep pulled off her wig and set it on the bed near them. “The world might just see the black tipped wings,” he whispered as he ran his fingers through her hair. “But I see the strength of the sun, the shimmering beauty of the sands, and the gentle goodness of the whispering wind.”
Tiy was at a loss for words. He spoke so eloquently, expressing his feelings with ease and clarity while she had a hundred thoughts running through her mind, all trying to push their way through her lips at once. She wanted to tell him that her love for him was greater than words, that she wanted to bring him joy and happiness, and that she wanted to give herself to him and shine for him forever. But the words wouldn’t come so she pulled herself up to kiss him again.
Amenhotep pressed her closer and moved his lips to her neck. She let her head fall back at his touch, the words she’d been trying to organize jumbling in her mind. She wanted to melt away in his embrace, but just as she was closing her eyes she noticed an inscription above Amenhotep’s bed. In an elegant script written above one of the five vulture goddesses were the words spelling out the exact thoughts and feelings she had wanted to share with Amenhotep but had not found an eloquent enough way to express. Painted on the ceiling were the words she wanted him to know, the words that would tell him just how deeply she loved him. She whispered them softly, hoping he felt the truth of them.
“I have come so your heart might live.”
He held her closer. “I always knew you would.”
THE END
Note from the Author
I have always been fascinated by the ancient Egyptian culture so when I had a hankering to write something completely different than anything I had before, it didn’t take long for me to decide on a historical fiction set in ancient Egypt. After researching dozens of pharaohs and queens, none stood out more than Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy of the 18th Egyptian Dynasty. Not only was Tiy known to have a very different appearance than the average Egyptian—fair skin, blue eyes—but she was the first known commoner to marry the heir to the crown. I wondered why Amenhotep would go against tradition to marry someone who could offer him neither political gain nor a stronger Egyptian heritage for his future heir. He elevated her to a point where she was nearly worshipped and he gave her free reign to deal directly with foreign leaders. In fact, she was the first Egyptian queen to have her name recorded on official acts.
One of my favorite discoveries about Amenhotep and Tiy was how she was portrayed in sculpture and other artistic renderings. It was common for pharaohs to be depicted as giants compared to their queens, who were shown to be no taller than the pharaoh’s knee, but Tiy was often portrayed as the same height as Amenhotep, an equal to him. Amenhotep went against tradition to praise and lift her above the normal acclaim given a queen. One of my favorite statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep and Tiy shows her sitting next to Amenhotep, equal in size, with her arm behind his back in a supportive and protective way. Their daughter is between them, her small size an example of how earlier queens were depicted. You can see a picture of this statue on my website. www.debbiedee.com
As the American Egyptologists David O'Connor and Eric Cline note:
“The unprecedented thing about [Tiy] ... is not where she came from but what she became. No previous queen ever figured so prominently in her husband's lifetime. [Tiy] regularly appeared besides Amenhotep III in statuary, tomb and temple reliefs, and stelae while her name is paired with his on numerous small objects, such as vessels and jewelry, not to mention the large commemorative scarabs, where her name regularly follows his in the dateline.”
Although Amenhotep became Pharaoh at a young age, he proved himself to be a wise and capable leader. During his long reign Egypt reached the pinnacle of wealth through trade and mining, his name known for artistic taste, elegance, and quality. He was passionate for chariotry and hunting, a lover of outdoor life, a fine sportsman, and yes, his favorite color was blue.
Rather than ruling by force, Amenhotep preferred to reign through the civilized art of diplomacy, carving letters on small stones that messengers took to foreign princes. These letters later became to be known as the Amarna Letters after they were discovered in 1887. At the age of seventeen, war with Nubia could not be avoided and Amenhotep was pulled into his first military campaign. He and Merymose (viceroy of Nubia/Kush) defeated rebel forces and took 30,000 prisoners.
The bull hunt seems to have been a formal, almost stage-managed event. It was intended as a very public demonstration of the king’s ability to control wild forces and bring order to chaos. He sailed down the river in the royal barge, Kha-em-Maat (Appearing in Truth) and killed a total of ninety-six bulls, fifty-six on the first day and forty on the second day. I loved exploring reasons for why Amenhotep would feel a need to prove his ability as King, especially when the Egyptian people usually believed their pharaoh’s to be empowered by the gods, invincible almost.
As a pharaoh known for his prolific building achievements, among them being the popular tourist spots of the Temple of Amun at Karnak and the Colossus of Memnon, I couldn’t help but mention his desire to build a lake for Tiy, something he accomplished in his eleventh year as Pharaoh. It was a nine acre T-shaped artificial lake built near the Malkata palace in modern day Luxor (Thebes).
Tiy was portrayed as many goddesses, all of which had roles of protecting the king, but none more than Nekhbet, the guardian vulture goddess and protector of Pharaoh. She was associated with the “Eye of Ra” and was often depicted hovering above the pharaoh in battle offering him protection and threatening his enemies. Nekhbet was the personification of the White Crown of Upper Egypt, and by extension, the patron goddess of Upper Egypt. Described as “beloved of Nekhbet,” Tiy was associated with the goddess who helped the sun god as he traveled through the sky, in the same way that she helped Ame
nhotep through his reign. Nekhbet’s protective wings appear in dozens of painted plaster fragments found above Amenhotep’s bedchamber and inside his sarcophagus lid, watching over him when he was in the most vulnerable situations—in sleep and, ultimately, in death.
With the exception of Kepi and Kamen all of the characters in Tiy and the Prince of Egypt are based on the lives of family members and servants who were involved in Amenhotep and Tiy’s lives, or known members of society during that time period.
- Yuya, Tiy’s father, was a wealthy landowner in the Upper Egyptian town, Akhmim where he was “superintendent of cattle” and a member of nobility. He held posts such as “King’s Lieutenant-Commander of Chariotry” “Master of the Horse” and “Father of the god” because he was Amenhotep’s father in law.
- Tuya, Tiy’s mother, was believed to be descended from Queen Ahmose Nefertari which would give Tiy the royal ancestry Amenhotep claimed she had. She was involved in many cults and her titles included “Singer of Hathor” and “Chief of the Entertainers of both Amun and Min.”
- Petepihu or Petep (also spelled Pyhia) was one of Amenhotep’s sisters.
- Menkheper was the scribe in the house of royal children and taught his pupils to read and write.
- Nebetya was one of Queen Tiy’s female staff.
- Ramose was head of the administration, the king’s secular deputy. As vizier of Thebes, he was involved in every aspect of government.
- Pharaoh Tuthmosis IV was Amenhotep’s father. As a young prince he stopped to rest under the head of the Sphinx, which was buried up to the neck in sand. He fell asleep and had a dream in which the Sphinx told him that if he cleared away the sand and restored it he would become the next Pharaoh.
- Mutemwiya was a minor wife of Pharaoh Tuthmosis and Amenhotep’s mother.
- Siese was the standard bearer of the King’s ship
- Bek was a chief sculptor, just like his father. In Tiy and the Prince of Egypt, I made him a young, miserable shipmaster—a good reason for him to want to change careers.
- Wesi was the head of royal archers and standard-bear of the barge, Beauties of Amun.
-Tama was of Tiy’s singers.
Amenhotep and Tiy had six children together. Their sons were Thutmose, who died in during the third decade of Amenhotep’s kingship, and Akhenaten, who succeeded Amenhotep to the throne with his queen, Nefertiti. Their four daughters were Sitamun, Henuttaneb, Isis, and Nebetah.
The following are books I found useful during my research:
- Remler, Pat. Egyptian Mythology A to Z. Revised. New York: Facts on File, 2000.
- Mercantante, Anthony S. Who’s Who in Egyptian Mythology. New York: Clarckson N. Potter, 1978.
- Fletcher, Joann. Chronicle of A Pharaoh, The Intimate Life of Amenhotep III. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
- Morley, Jacqueline. How Would You Survive as an Ancient Egyptian?. London: Watts Books, 1993.
- Harris, Geraldine. Gods and Pharaohs from Egyptian Mythology. New York: Eurobook Limited, 1981.
For more information, facts, and pictures about Tiy and Amenhotep, you can visit my website at www.debbiedee.com.
Acknowledgments
While writing Tiy, I felt a connection to her that I’ve never felt with any of my characters. I think this was in part because I too met my best friend and future husband at a young age. Almost from the day I turned fourteen, Ben has given me a life full of laughter, adventure, and love. I could never have asked for a better best friend. Thank you for your help in bringing Tiy and Amenhotep to life.
Many thanks to Julie Jewell, Brenda Volonte, and Marian Dee who spent many hours talking through ideas and reading through my early drafts, mid drafts, late drafts, last minute drafts, etc. Thank you for your encouragement and support.
Special thanks to Andrah Lake for being my real-life Tiy. You are such a beautiful girl inside and out and I’ve loved getting to know you. And thanks to McKay Arkoudas who let me stare and touch her hair when I was trying to figure out how to describe Tiy’s shining locks. Neither one of you gals should ever cut your hair.
Thanks to Astrid Bruning for such beautiful cover art. Your piece titled, Lady of the Lake captured Tiy’s innocence so well.
Many thanks to Sage Adderly at Sage Tours who has been a joy to work with and has done such a great job putting together my blog tours. You have made this experience so much more fun and so much less stressful. Thank you!
Thanks to Niki DiGaetano for asking questions and not being afraid to tell me when something was lame, boring, or didn’t make sense. Your thoughtful reading helped me create some of my favorite moments for Tiy and Amenhotep.
Kisses and hugs to the three cutest kids in town – E cubed. I love that we have so much fun together and that you think having an author-mom is cool. I think you’re cool too.
And thanks to my mom for staying up late into the night to help me finish Tiy’s costume. You’re unfailing support amazes me.
Most importantly, I want to show my gratitude to my God for His guidance and support. I know that everything I am is because of the strength He gives me.
About the Author
Debbie Dee recently moved to southern Idaho with her husband and three children where she is learning how to be a country girl in her favorite pair of blue heels. She adores fairy tales and happy endings, but secretly crushes on the bad guy now and then. As a dedicated musician who practices way too much, she never expected writing would sweep her off her feet until she jotted down a scene from a daydream, which turned into two scenes, and then turned into a messy house and her first novel. Since then she hasn’t been able to let a day go by without writing.
In addition to writing, she plays the piano, harp, violin, and gets in frequent fights with her cello. She loves to read and play board games - when she is winning.
Debbie is the author of young adult novels, The Last Witch and The Underground Witch. Visit her online at www.debbiedee.com.
