“It is indeed a mystery, but one known to the Horus priesthood for hundreds of years. Anhotek himself once stated that the reason she sustains them in her holy waters is so we do not take her for granted. We are forced to respect her gifts, for she can also wield a terrible vengeance.”
Qa’a sighed. “I sometimes think the same is true with people. We meet someone and after a short time we think we know them, their true ba, but then we discover another side of them that is opposite of what we thought to be true.”
I knew what Qa’a referred to, but to put it forth from my mouth would be disrespectful. “It sounds like something weighs on your heart, Master. You can confide in me if you wish.”
Now Qa’a turned around to face me, his buttocks leaning against the rail, his arms crossed. “Khenemet approached me recently to discuss the issue of the Second Wife from the Delta.”
“Oh, for the sake of Ra!” I began in protest.
“No, I am not complaining of that, Merkha, although his timing certainly could have been better. What I mean to say is how can I even think of another wife, when I feel I hardly know this one? She has changed, teacher. She is not the woman I knew back in Nekhen.”
I hardly knew what to say to ease his pain. “Yes, she has surely changed, Master. She has born two children and given one of them back to the gods. Those things change a person. They have changed you, too.”
“And what, am I expected to bow down and kiss her feet, to beg her to respond to my desires, to kindly freshen herself so that she is once again appealing to me? Is that what you are saying, dear teacher?” Even in the dark I could see Qa’a’s anger in his body. “That is not something I will ever do. I am the King of the Two Lands, brother of Horus, and it is my wife’s place to serve my needs, not the other way around. If… if she persists in this madness, she will soon be Second Wife, not the one from the Delta.”
I was too shocked hearing those words to respond. When Qa’a was angry it was best to just let him rant and pursue the subject again at a later time. After several more minutes of Qa’a speaking from his wounded heart, I left. He told me that speaking with me in confidence was helpful, although I knew not how.
Qa’a and Amisi no longer slept together in their bedroom. Instead Qa’a had a bed moved into Banafrit’s room for his wife. I learned from Amisi’s handmaiden that she was altogether happy with the arrangement. For his part, I saw that on many nights Qa’a called in musicians and dancers to entertain him so that he could drift off to sleep. He was all too often aided in these efforts with strong barley beer or fine Babylonian wines. The effect this had on all who lived or worked in the palace was profound. People spoke in whispers and went out of their way to avoid the Royal couple. Whenever the two were together for Royal events, the tension in the air could be felt. They stood side by side, yet more alone than an acacia tree.
A month after my evening talk with Qa’a, one of my palace informants, a kitchen helper, came to the temple to fetch me. He told me that a rumor was circulating that Amisi was again pregnant, that Qa’a had taken to visiting the Queen while drunk.
I came to the palace and found great emotion filling the halls. People talked excitedly in groups, as if a great weight had been lifted. Indeed, even the King was in a rare good mood. When I entered his quarters he was laughing with Nomti.
“Listen to this, my good teacher, listen to what Nomti is doing… I mean has already done!” It was still early in the morning, but Qa’a was already drinking beer from a large alabaster cup. I noted that his morning meal sat half-eaten on a table by his side. Nomti, on the other hand, had cleaned his plate, fish bones still in a pile on another dish.
“Really, Master, you should not make so much of it. I only do my job…”
“Nonsense, Nomti. If all my civil servants did their jobs as you do, Kem would be even more prosperous and more mighty than it is now.”
“You have also given me trade rights, so when I complete the canal, I will prosper, too.”
“As you should, but… come closer Merkha, have a seat. Look at this,” Qa’a said, excitedly rolling out a scroll with a diagram sketched on it. “Explain, Nomti.”
Nomti blushed. “This is the organizational chart for the canal project,” he began reluctantly, pointing to one section after another, describing provisioning, engineering, building and security. I joined Qa’a in praising the sheer genius of his administration.
“He also has signed contracts… well, he had Khenemet sign contracts with suppliers in Lebanon and Canaan for timber to be used for wood bracing, am I right, Nomti?” This went on for several more minutes, before Qa’a dismissed Nomti, who was returning immediately to the construction sites with a fleet of supply ships.
“I am so pleased that we ventured forward with this project,” Qa’a said as soon as Nomti left. “It has been only two years and already he has done so much to advance it. Under his guidance I feel assured that our vision will become a reality.”
“Your vision, Master, for all but Nomti himself opposed it.”
“Yes, you are right, but in any event I wish to speak with you privately.” Qa’a sat down and leaned far back, closing his eyes for just a moment. “I wish for you to conduct a secret mission for me.”
“Secret mission? Master, I am not suited to secret missions. Perhaps Buikkhu…”
Qa’a smiled. “Ah, you have revealed yourself in this matter, have you not, teacher? We both know that Buikkhu is the secretive sort. But I also know that you have more than a few spies in your service. Oh, don’t try to deny it with that expression, Merkha, you crafty mut! Besides, you do not even know what this mission involves.” Qa’a speared a piece of cheese with his gold pointer and quickly popped it into his mouth.
“You have undoubtedly heard that Amisi is with child again.” I nodded, awaiting Qa’a’s charge. “I am faced with a difficult dilemma. With the loss of Akhom I was hobbled in moving forward with the choice of my Second Wife. But with Amisi now with child again, I can delay no longer.” It was hard for me to figure out where Qa’a was heading with this information, but I did not have to wait long to find out. “I wish for you to use your informants to find a suitable Second Wife.”
I was too surprised to respond immediately. Qa’a sat there, drumming his fingers on his chair arms. “I… why do you ask me to… I mean, I have no experience in this matter. Besides, my informants are mostly confined to Inabu-hedj. I…”
“Merkha, hold on. You reveal too much already. I care not how you go about it. I wish for you to use whatever means you can to secure me the names of one or two or three prospects for a Second Wife from the Delta.”
“But why me? Surely this is the province of your Chief Priest and Buikkhu, your Vizier. Haven’t they proposed names to you?”
“I ask you for a simple reason. I trust you, Merkha. Aside from my mother, I have known you the longest. It is true that Khenemet has names for me. I want to have my own possibilities in place before he gives me his choices. That I found my own wife will make it more acceptable to him if I do not choose one of his. I will never reveal my source.
“I will give you purses of gold to hire whomever you like into your secret employ. By expanding your network you will also be even more valuable to me in the future.” My heart raced with questions, with confused thoughts.
“As far as the woman I would like as Second Queen, pay no attention to looks, nor even intelligence. In fact, the less smart, the better. I am certain that Khenemet will seek an alliance with the most powerful family in Lower Kem, probably a beautiful, cultured woman who will look good behind the throne. I disagree with that strategy. With the canal project complete I will have amassed all the power I need. I do not require the aid of the leaders of Lower Kem in keeping their people from being stirred up in revolts. No, what I am looking for is a steady woman who understands her place, one able to produce sons. I want a wealthy family that threatens the power structure in the Delta, a family that aspires to be leaders but has so far bee
n thwarted in their ambitions. Do you understand where I am going with this?”
I did understand, and it amazed me that Qa’a was so capable in the realm of intrigue and deception. I did not willingly wish to go down this path, but I was also sworn to serve the King. Yet, in a manner, I was also a spy for Khenemet and Buikkhu, all in the service of Horus. I would need time to figure out a way to serve more than one master at a time. But for now my choice was clear.
“As always, Master, I will do whatever you feel is best for you, your brother and for Kem.” Had I known then where this path would lead, to what painful choices, to what treachery, to what a troubled end, I would have happily sacrificed my life to Mother Nile’s swift currents.
I immediately began my new charge in earnest, a duty that required the utmost care and deliberation, for many of my most likely choices would undoubtedly be ones already in the employ of Khenemet, or Buikkhu, or even Qa’a himself. It took ten-day after ten-day, stretching to two months of questioning those already in my employ, of bringing in new prospects for questioning, of hiring men to check on those I came close to hiring. All this before I could even begin to obtain answers for the King regarding suitable prospects for marriage.
I had begun to make progress in the search and decided to report back to Qa’a with my findings, and so one night I stayed late under the pretense of transcribing my notes. Buikkhu had been busy all day with the Queen, who had developed a fever, so he left the palace early.
The King was in his quarters when I announced my presence. A small ensemble was playing for him on the lyre and flute, as two beautiful dancers swayed and swirled before him, their gossamer gowns trailing behind them, their scarves seeming to float in the air.
“Come in, Merkha. Sit and enjoy the music and these beautiful creatures.” From the way his eyes roamed their bodies, I felt certain that he enjoyed more than their dancing. The thought saddened me, not for his indulgences, but for the fact that he and Amisi had long ago abandoned their once loving relationship.
No sooner had I sat, when we heard the sounds of screaming coming from the direction of Banafrit’s quarters. The musicians stopped in mid-beat and the dancers stood upright, looking from the King to me, unsure of what to do next. The King and I also stood. We heard footsteps running down the hall.
The King bolted toward his daughter’s room, with me close behind. People parted to allow him to pass. What confronted us was confusion. Servants were running from the room with bloody sheets. Others surrounded the Queen, who lay on the bed, looking pale. Banafrit stood next to the bed, crying. A handmaiden scooped her up and held her.
“What goes on here?” Qa’a yelled.
Amisi’s personal nursemaid came forward. “The Queen has been feverish for two days now. Tonight her fever is very high. We tried to bathe her in cool water, but when we lifted her, she began to bleed.”
“Bleed?” the King shouted. “Did you mistreat her?”
“No, no, of course not!” the nursemaid said, panic in her voice. “She… she is bleeding from her womb.”
“Oh, Horus,” Qa’a said and then stayed silent.
“Has Buikkhu been called?” I asked. The nursemaid nodded her head. Her eyes ran, probably more in fear from her encounter with Qa’a.
I asked the guards to clear the room of all but the nursemaid and her helpers. Banafrit went with the handmaid. In a short time Buikkhu swept into the room, his face grim with determination. He ignored me and the King.
“Tell me what happened?” he asked of the nursemaid. As she explained, Buikkhu examined the Queen, except for her modesty. “I wish to be alone with the Queen, except for you,” he said to the nursemaid. The King nodded and together we left.
In an hour, Buikkhu announced himself to us as we sat in Qa’a’s outer room. He immediately sat and drank long from the beer that Qa’a’s servant offered him. “She is having a difficult time,” he reported. “She has a high fever, she is listless and is bleeding from her womb.”
“You tell me nothing new, Priest. Get to the point.”
“She has miscarried, that is for sure. But, there is more to it. Most of the time when a woman miscarries, the child comes out of the womb. But in some cases, and I believe that is what happened here, the child stays inside, perhaps its ka not willing to come out. If that happens it leads to a sickness inside. That is where Amisi’s fever comes from. Her listlessness is from the poisons that accumulate in her body. I have seen this before.”
“Is there anything that can be done? Can the child be saved?”
“Nothing can be done for the child. It is certainly dead and its ka already floats in the fog of Nun until its body is buried.”
“And Amisi?”
“There is a chance we might save her, my King. But the risks are great. However, in any case we must retrieve the body of the child, for as your heir he or she must be buried properly. If we do not remove the child, Amisi will die from poisoning anyway.”
“Are you saying you must cut her open?”
“Yes, but even if she survives there will be a… complication…” Buikkhu paused, his lips moving, but unsure of how to proceed. He took a deep breath. “We must remove her womb. She… she will be unable to bear you an heir afterwards.”
SCROLL SEVENTEEN
A Most Valuable Ally
Merkha
Fulfilling Qa’a’s request for a spy network was much harder than I had initially thought, for through my work I came to find out just how extensive was Khenemet’s spy network. That discovery caused me to move slowly and cautiously. In all my training as a Horus scribe and scholar, I had not learned as valuable lessons about people and their motivations as I did while recruiting informants in service to Qa’a.
One of the easiest people I recruited, and undoubtedly the safest, was a priest that I had grown up with in my birth village. We were related, as were nearly all of us in our tiny village, and had trained together as Horus priests since our fifteenth year, and although Mhotep was a year ahead of me in his training, I soon surpassed him. Yet we always remained friends and when I was appointed Chief Scholar and Keeper of the Ancient Scrolls in Nekhen, I immediately brought along Mhotep as my assistant. When I moved to the palace in Inabu-hedj, he naturally eased into my former position as Keeper of the Ancient Scrolls, although his capabilities did not extend to Chief Scholar, a title I was honored to keep.
In his position, Mhotep soon became useful to Urshte, who was from the Delta. Urshte quickly became a scholar in his own right and could frequently be seen in the early years of his training at the library in the Temple of Horus in Nekhen, papyrus scrolls spread on a table before him. With Urshte’s appointment as Nomti’s shaman and scribe, he brought with him Mhotep to keep records. With only one earnest conversation I suddenly had a trusted informant, secure in Nomti’s and Urshte’s camp. Although I did not think Mhotep would be of any value in the selection of Second Wife to Qa’a, I was certain he would come in handy in other ways over the years. Besides, Mhotep might prove better than I gave him credit for, and he might even indirectly elicit Second Wife suggestions from Urshte, whose Delta connections were well known.
The one thing I had not counted on was the fact that Mhotep felt compelled to always prove himself worthy of the tasks bestowed upon him. I believe his inferior thinking skills made him prone to this. Within two ten-days after he joined Urshte’s employ, he sent me the first of many messages detailing for me what he had learned. Most was worthless gossip, but every so often he would include tidbits of information that I found intriguing, if not immediately useful.
If nothing else, Mhotep reinforced for me Nomti’s devotion to business and the canal project, which he conducted simultaneously. One of the three products he chose to trade in under his agreement with Qa’a was rare woods. From the very beginning he set up that enterprise and secured a steady caravan trade to obtain the woods from Pwenet, which he traded to merchants from Lebanon and Perenet for the less desirable wood needed to shore up the
canal the workers dug until stones could be placed to hold the embankments. He then charged the King’s treasury and pocketed a fair but steady profit, according to Mhotep.
Qa'a (The First Dynasty Book 3) Page 22
