KIYA: Rise of a New Dynasty (Kiya Trilogy Book 3)
Page 7
Malachi grinned. “Very good, Tut. This is a wonderful gift.”
Tut wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “What do you think, Mama?”
I ran my hand over its feathers. “It’s so soft.”
“The smaller feathers make great pillows,” Tut said, pulling one out. “But the bigger ones are great for decorating and putting on hats and wigs. The Egyptians love them. You could probably fetch a good price on these.”
“This is very generous of you.” I stretched up and kissed his cheek.
He grinned proudly. “Anything for you, Mama. I thought you might need some help, since you aren’t a servant anymore.”
“She never did it for the money.” Malachi scowled.
“I know.” Tut squeezed me tighter. “It was for me. I’m just that special.”
Malachi swung around and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him off me, and the two wrestled. Zakkai ran to join in while I sighed.
“Don’t be too long. That bird needs to be plucked and gutted so I can cook the meat before it starts to rot.”
“Yes, Mama!” Tut called to me as he shoved Malachi, who then flipped him onto the ground.
The smaller boys ran toward them, yelling and trying to join in. I looked down at Rachel. “Shall we do something a little more civilized?”
She smiled. “I am hungry.”
We went inside and finished cooking the meal to the sounds of the boys outside hollering and egging each other on. It wasn’t long before we heard new voices join in, and soon, Hepsati walked in with her daughter on her hip and carrying a dish of chickpeas.
“We thought we’d join you tonight,” she said, setting the dish on the table.
Tut hollered loudly and all the boys laughed. “How is a lame man so strong?” he exclaimed.
“Don’t you hurt my husband, Tut!” Hepsati called out.
“You should tell him not to hurt me!” he responded.
Hepsati laughed and touched Rachel’s hair.
fter our Sabbath worship with Samuel, we made our way home when Malachi paused and winced. I turned to him, alarmed, and took his hand. “What is it?”
He leaned against the wall and stretched his leg. “Nothing. I think I may be starting to get stiff joints in my old age.”
“You are thirty-eight years old.” I smiled. “You’re not old-aged yet.” I reached out and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Do you think you can walk it off? You did do some heavy lifting yesterday with all that grain we traded for.”
He nodded. “You have a good point. It’s nothing some rest won’t take care of.”
Back at the house, he retired to our room to rest while I sat the children down to tell them the stories of our ancestors. Rachel, as usual, begged to hear the story of her namesake, but the boys protested profusely and pulled disgusted faces. They preferred the more violent stories, like the one of Levi and Simeon killing a city of men for defiling their sister, not that they even knew what that meant. Eventually, I brought out some food and told them to play quietly so I could check on Malachi.
When I entered the room, he lay fast asleep. He started when I touched his shoulder, but grinned up at me. “So which story did you end up telling them?”
“Joseph interpreting the Pharaoh’s dream,” I answered as I curled up beside him. “They like to pretend it’s Tut and they are going to him to interpret his dreams.”
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my head. “I love the Sabbath. It means I can spend the whole day with you.”
“Are you feeling any better?” I asked.
“Much better. I’m fairly certain you were right. I have been doing a lot of heavy lifting lately.” He glanced toward the doorway, then lifted my robe and tunic to expose my swollen belly. He ran his hand over it and kissed it softly. “I would like you to be another girl,” he whispered. “I have plenty of overzealous sons.”
I giggled and touched his face as he shifted to sit over me. “Malachi, they are just like you.”
“No, they are just like you,” he corrected me. He leaned over and kissed my neck. “Not long now.”
And indeed it wasn’t. Only three days later, I went into labor. It progressed along steadily. Hepsati and Itani stayed with me throughout the day, helping me walk around and prepare the house for the delivery. Itani was excited about the delivery, as she was not far behind me in her pregnancy, and looked forward to our two little ones growing up together.
Finally, the time came for my sisters to arrive. The children were sent away with their father, and would be split up between the two houses with Nathaniel and Joshua.
When Adina arrived, she smiled excitedly at me as she knelt down to check my progress. “Ready for another one, dear sister?”
“Do I have a choice?” I groaned.
She chuckled. “Not really, no.”
Rena soon arrived and brought in some rags. “How are you doing, Naomi?”
“Oh, nothing out of the ordinary.” I winced and grunted.
Rena knelt beside Adina. “She looks good.”
“She looks very good.” Adina smiled. “Hepsati and Itani have done well.”
“And I have done nothing, I suppose?” I groaned as I shifted onto my elbows.
Rena giggled. “Naomi, you’re funny even in childbirth.” She reached over and grabbed my arm. “This child is ready.”
The four of them helped me onto the birthing stool where I bore down. Adina coached me through while the other three supported me and did all they could to ease my pain. Then, everything seemed to stop. I pushed and pushed and the child seemed to go nowhere.
Adina leaned forward. “I’m going to have to pull.”
I nodded, just wanting the pain to end. I felt her reach in and I yelled out. I closed my eyes as I felt her tugging, then twisting the child.
“It’s stuck, isn’t it?” I wailed. “Oh Adina, please get it out!”
“Don’t panic, Naomi,” she muttered, her concentration never breaking.
Her hands plunged deeper inside and I wailed. “Stop, please stop!”
She didn’t answer, but after a few moments, I felt a searing pain rush over my body. I screamed out, but felt the child surge out of me. Yet my pain didn’t end.
Adina quickly handed the infant to Itani and returned her focus to me. “Lay her down,” she commanded.
Once I lay on the bed, I felt the placenta pass, but the pain still didn’t end. I sobbed loudly as Adina pressed against me.
“Naomi, stay strong,” she said.
“What’s happening?” I sobbed, remembering Eliora and wishing and praying I would not repeat her tragic end.
“The child has caused considerable damage,” she replied distractedly, as she grabbed for more rags.
“Like what?” I hollered at her.
“I don’t know. There’s too much blood. But it was caught on something inside, from which I had to tear it free.”
Suddenly, I was hit by another wave of pain, and soon Adina sat back holding a shrunken dead infant. She stared at it confused for a moment, then put it aside and turned back to me. The pain continued to escalate until I could no longer bear it, and fainted.
When I awoke, I found myself shrouded in the darkness of night. At my feet lay Itani, and on either side of me were Rena and Hepsati, all sleeping. Beside me on the bed rested my baby. I looked at it in the darkness, trying to make out its features. It seemed odd looking, but that could have just been the shadows.
Adina stepped into the room carrying a lamp and a jug of water. She saw me awake and looked relieved. “Naomi, you almost died.”
She came and knelt beside me and gave me water. The light from the lamp hit the infant’s face and I gasped. The child was deformed, quite severely.
Adina touched my shoulder. “I’m sorry, but we don’t expect her to live through the night. Malachi has seen her and named her Ziva, after our mother.”
“Mama?”
I looked down to see Itani sitting up.
“What happened?” I asked breathlessly, only remembering the fear and pain.
Adina held my hand tightly between hers. “I’m not really sure. I’m fairly certain the smaller infant died early in the pregnancy, or it could have been drained by its twin, but either way, the first was caught on its cord. That’s why she wouldn’t come out. I’m sorry, Naomi, but between the two of them, they caused a lot of damage to your womb. I’m not sure if you will be able to conceive again.”
I took a sharp breath. No more children? I looked down at my deformed child and sighed. Maybe it was for the best. My years of safe conception were past. This could be a blessing in disguise. I had seven strong, healthy children, and two who were already in heaven waiting for me, with one who would soon join them. But, despite my attempts at being optimistic, I cried. No more children, and my last two destined not to live.
I touched my little daughter and felt her soft warm skin. “Stay alive long enough to meet your brother.”
Itani curled up on the bed beside me as Adina encouraged us to all sleep, promising she would watch over the child and wake us if she thought it would pass.
In the morning, Tut’s voice woke us. He rushed into the house, and flung back the blanket dividing the room to look at me. “Mama? Oh Mama!” He rushed over and knelt beside me. “I was told you were dying!” He grabbed my head and kissed it.
I smiled at him, glad to see my firstborn while knowing my last would soon die.
“Tut, I’m fine.” I tried to sit up, but my head spun.
Adina rushed over and pushed me back down. “I wouldn’t say fine, but you’re not dying.”
Tut looked down at the child and I saw horror flash in his eyes. I pulled her closer, feeling protective. “She will die soon. Don’t look at her like that.”
He looked into my eyes and touched my hair. “I’m glad to see you’re not grieving.”
I shook my head. “Not openly, not yet. I must enjoy the small time I have with her before I grieve.”
“Naomi.” Rena leaned forward. “Did you want to see the twin?”
I shook my head. “No, Rena. I don’t want to see an underdeveloped, deformed child. I would prefer to think of it the way I would picture it.”
“It’s a he,” Itani said, bowing her head. “Another brother.”
I smiled. “Thank you, Itani.”
Tut jumped to his feet. “I want to see him.”
Rena led Tut out of the room holding a small bundle of blankets. I returned my focus to my infant and noticed her waking. I gently pulled her closer, and at the smell of my milk, she tried to nurse. I struggled with getting her to latch, until finally she got hold. I ran my finger over her crooked ear, and despite her deformities, I couldn’t help thinking how she reminded me of Rachel and Itani. Gradually her suckling slowed, and I wept, knowing she was slipping away.
Finally she stopped and fell limp.
Adina reached down and touched her cheek softly. “Goodbye, little one.”
I wiped my tears quickly before covering myself. Itani squeezed my shoulder while Hepsati rested her head against my hip.
I spent the next few weeks feeling torn between grief and relief: saddened for the loss of my children, but relieved by the thought that I might not have to carry any more children. But then, I was also saddened by the same thought. It took me several months to come to terms with it, especially when the ways of women ceased with me. I knew then it was really over; I could no longer bear children. I fought back my grief, and reminded myself of the dangers of carrying children, and how I had lost both my mother and beloved sister in childbirth. I would watch my children with pride, knowing I had given my husband healthy, strong posterity and made him proud.
Malachi took the news very well. He was solemn at first, but then said, “At least I don’t have that worry on my mind anymore. I can feel safe in knowing you will live a long life without that particular threat to it.”
Eventually, I began to feel glad of it. The thought of dying, leaving small children behind pained me, so knowing I could raise the ones I did have, and see them become adults became a delight.
akkai ran after his father out to the fields, with his dog running circles around him. I smiled proudly after them and turned to Itani.
She struggled to calm her baby daughter. “Mama, why did you always make this look so easy?”
“It was never easy, Itani.” I chuckled. “By the time you came of an age to remember, I’d had a lot of practice.” I sat her down. “Now change her.”
She lifted the baby and smelled her, pulling a face. “How did you know? I’m a terrible mother.”
“No, you’re not. You will learn over time, like the rest of us.”
She sighed and cleaned her child. I watched her, wondering where my baby girl had gone, when a noise caught my attention. I looked around, trying to get a better bearing on it. It sounded like marching soldiers, I could tell that much, along with the alarmed sounds of people being forced aside by them.
“Hurry, Itani,” I said. “We should hide. I have a bad feeling about this.”
She finished up, and we rushed to my old family home not far away. But, as we turned the corner, the soldiers lined the street, forcing their way into the homes of my family. I pushed Itani back out of sight and peeked around to watch. I wondered what they were doing, when I saw Nahktmin. He strolled up the street, glancing into the doors as he went.
“What’s going on?” Itani asked in a hushed voice.
“I don’t know.” I turned back to her. “But we should go elsewhere. It’s not safe for us here.”
I coaxed her away and we headed home via a more discreet route along the river. As we turned onto our street, Horemheb cut us off.
He grabbed Itani’s arm. “Don’t go home. They’re looking for you.”
“Me?” She looked at me frightened. “Why?”
“Ay is no fool. He remembers seeing you in my house when you were a girl and did his math. He has sent his son to take you as a wife to tighten his claim on the crown by strengthening the blood connection.”
“But I’m already married!” she said fearfully.
He looked across at me. “Did you deliberately not teach your children anything?”
I glared at him. “Don’t be rude. Just take her and keep her safe.”
He nodded. “I will come back for her husband.”
“What?” she said in a tense, high-pitched voice. “No, Mama. I don’t want to go.”
“Itani, you must.” I grasped her face and kissed her head. “Horemheb will protect you and bring you back when this has passed.”
“Mama! I… How long will I be away?”
“I don’t know. Hopefully not too long.” I looked to Horemheb. “Nathaniel is out in the fields with Malachi. There’s a small shed―as you know―where you can conceal Itani and the baby until you have him.”
Horemheb nodded and pulled at Itani’s arm. She resisted and looked at me desperately. “Mama, please, there must be another way.”
“There isn’t.”
Her face fell as she relented; Horemheb led her away.
I watched her go, then turned and rushed to Hepsati’s home. To my relief, I found the soldiers hadn’t made their way out that far yet. I burst into Hepsati’s home, surprising her and our children. “Get them all out. We must hide among the reeds.”
She quickly obeyed, and took the smallest two on her hips while I ushered the others out the door. We ran down to our small bathing reservoir Malachi had built just before the floods, causing it to fill during the high season. We led the children into the water and silenced them. Sensing our fear, they didn’t hesitate to obey.
“What’s going on, Mama?” Hepsati asked in a hushed voice.
“Ay’s so
n is looking for Itani, but I’m fairly sure you would do nicely also,” I answered, carefully making my way back to the reeds to peer through. It took only a few minutes before the soldiers showed up and pounded on the doors of the three houses.
“Mama,” Rachel said.
I grabbed her mouth. “Hush, child.”
I watched as they kicked down the doors and tore our homes apart. Tears fell onto my hand as Rachel saw them break her toys. Nahktmin strolled up to the front of our house as several soldiers broke open our food storage shed. The soldiers laughed as they found our abundance of food and began stashing some for themselves.
One of them came out eating a chunk of the dried ostrich meat, which caught Nahktmin’s attention. He snatched it from him and tasted it.
“The king has been here,” he said. “Search the area. I would feel safe in betting his sister lives here and is concealed nearby.”
The soldiers fanned out over the property, so I pulled back. “We have to move farther away.”
I lifted Hepsati’s daughter and Saul onto my hips and encouraged the last three children through the reeds after Hepsati.
Rachel whimpered, so I said gently, “Stay brave, child. Your sister and I will keep you safe.”
Her whimpering stopped.
We rushed as quietly as we could through the reeds, with the sounds of the soldiers hacking them down behind us. I kept a close eye on each of the children, with all my senses piqued as I searched for crocodiles and hippopotamuses.
Finally, the advance of the hacking seemed to stop, so I paused our flight. I heard voices, then the men retreated toward the house. I turned back and motioned for the others to follow, while remaining cautious of a possible trick. We reached where the soldier had stopped cutting the reeds down. A fair distance remained between us and the houses, but Malachi, Zakkai, and Joshua were there. I gasped and prayed earnestly that the soldiers wouldn’t harm them.
Several soldiers advanced on Joshua, knocking his cane and wooden leg out from under him. He stumbled, and Malachi caught him, which made the soldiers laugh loudly. They seemed to lose interest after that, and finished raiding our food stores before leaving.