House of Scorpion

by Mark Gajewski

  “Mekatre doesn’t have any concubines. He prefers being with the daughters of Tjeni’s elites.”

  “To gain their support to award him your throne. Which Nebta accepts.”

  “You know about that?”

  “Mekatre flat out told me he’s going to push Lagus aside after you die, Scorpion. Which means he’ll push Gehes aside.”

  “It’ll be harder for Mekatre once Gehes is of age and I officially name him my heir. At any rate, I’m counting on Iry to protect our son from Mekatre and anyone else who seeks my throne. But he won’t be able to do it alone. He’s going to need your help, Matia.”

  “I know.”

  Since I was a young girl I’d wanted to help rule Nubt. Iry had given me a taste. That taste was going to have to be enough. Now that I’d given birth to Gehes, it was time for me to give up that ambition permanently, the same way Iry had given up his ambition to be king of Tjeni. And for the same reason. I didn’t matter anymore. Neither did Iry. Gehes did. The sole purpose of my life from now on had to be to protect Gehes from Lagus and Mekatre and any other enemy who tried to put my son’s life at risk.

  ***

  My discussion with Mekatre in the garden had spooked me. Keeping Gehes out of his clutches was all I could think about the entire next week. Yes, Iry would do his best to protect Gehes, as he’d promised Scorpion, but if Mekatre moved against Gehes it’d take six days for a message from me to reach Iry in Nubt and he’d spend six days returning to Tjeni. Saving Gehes in an emergency would be up to me. I needed someplace safe to hide him. But where? I recalled Iry telling me about a local farmer that he and Tamit had befriended. One thing was certain – Mekatre would never look for a royal child in a lapwing’s hut. Ramose’s farm would be a perfect hiding place. Assuming he and his wife Hatnufer would agree to take in a stranger’s child and possibly risk their lives to deceive a man who might at the time be calling himself Tjeni’s king.

  In company with Nofret, after subtle inquiries, I found my way to Ramose’s farm early one morning. The walk was pleasant; the day hadn’t yet grown hot, the sky was bright blue, and birdsong serenaded us from every direction. The farm was a little under a mile north of Tjeni, virtually indistinguishable from every other farm in the valley, which suited my purpose. A woman about my age, her skin dark brown from a lifetime in the sun, was tending a small garden beside a daub-and-wattle hut on a slight rise overlooking the shining river. Two naked children, a boy about five and a girl about three, were helping her, randomly poking the soil with small wooden sticks and chattering away to each other. An older girl, around nine I guessed, was busily scraping out weeds. The woman peered up at us from her knees, her hands black with rich silt. Her skirt was worn and dirty and she was dripping sweat.

  “Are you Hatnufer?” I asked.

  “I am,” she replied cautiously, suspicious.

  “I’m Matia. This is my friend Nofret.”

  “Matia?” All at once she realized who I was. “Your Majesty!” She bent, her forearms on the ground, head lowered.

  “Please, Hatnufer. Sit up.”

  She sat with her legs folded under. The youngest girl immediately clutched Hatnufer protectively and peered at me shyly from behind her.

  I sat down cross-legged, at her level. “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Tamit.”

  I must have looked surprised.

  “Her Majesty gave me permission, Majesty,” Hatnufer said defensively. “My youngest son’s Iry. His Majesty gave me permission too. Her Majesty tended me in my birth bower both times. As I tended her.”

  “Iry told me you and Ramose were his and Tamit’s friends,” I said.

  Hatnufer relaxed a bit.

  “Who are you?” I asked the older girl, who’d taken Iry’s hand and moved close.

  “I’m Hatnufer, after my mother, Majesty.”

  “You have a fine looking family, Hatnufer.”

  “Thank you, Majesty. Would you like a cup of beer? Or some dates? I’m afraid I don’t have anything fit for royalty,” she said apologetically.

  “No, thank you. I’ll get to the reason for my visit. As I said, Iry told me you and Ramose were friends of his and Tamit’s. I’d say your children are proof of that.”

  “We had that pleasure, Majesty. I was absolutely devastated when I found out she’d been murdered.”

  “I’m sure you’ve heard the assassin mistook Tamit for me.”

  “I have, Majesty,” Hatnufer admitted.

  “Do you hold that against me?”

  “I hold it against the assassin and against King Sabu. He’s paid for what he did, thanks to you, or so I’ve been told.” She hesitated for a moment. “Is it true you snuck into his per’aa and kidnapped him?”

  “Along with Iry and my cousins. And a big fish.”

  “You must be incredibly brave, Majesty.”

  “I did what had to be done to save Nubt from my brother.”

  I glanced at the plain that stretched from the hut to the palm-lined river. Emmer was already knee-high, green, rippling in the breeze. A man was weeding between the rows with a wooden hoe. Ramose, no doubt. The boy helping him, probably eleven or so, was likely his son. A couple of wild fowl were penned next to the hut, occasionally squawking. A grinding stone lay beside the door. A tall jar held fermenting beer. Split fish were drying on wooden racks. Skirts and kilts were spread on the distant riverbank, bright white. I assumed today was washday. Everything looked so familiar. “I used to sneak off to a farm just like yours when I was growing up, Hatnufer. It belonged to my milk sister, Khentetka, and her husband Harwa. In fact, that’s where we held Sabu after we kidnapped him.”

  “Wait – that’s where you went all those times you disappeared from the per’aa?” Nofret asked. “Harwa’s farm? You didn’t say so when we were there with Sabu.”

  “I hated mindless repetitive chores in the royal quarters,” I told Hatnufer. “I preferred helping Khentetka tend her garden in the sunshine, and grind grain and weave and brew beer and fish and snare wild fowl.”

  “That explains your fondness for commoners,” Nofret said.

  “It brings me to why we’ve come today, Hatnufer. I have a son, Gehes. He’s Iry’s half-brother. I’m afraid his life may someday be in danger.”

  “From whom, Majesty?”

  “You deserve the truth, Hatnufer. Iry’s brothers. They want to take my husband’s throne. They’ll consider Gehes to be a threat. They might try to kill him.”

  “I’m not surprised, Majesty. I’ve heard very unflattering things about both of them.”

  “If Gehes is ever in danger, Hatnufer, would you be willing for Nofret to bring him here and hide them both until it’s safe?”

  She started to reply.

  I interrupted. “Before you answer, be aware that you and Ramose might be risking your lives and your children’s if you agree. Mekatre or Lagus will likely launch a search for Gehes if he disappears from the per’aa. They probably wouldn’t suspect he’d be in a farmer’s hut, but they might. I won’t be angry if you say no. I know I’m asking a lot of you. Especially since you don’t even know me.”

  “I’ll gladly hide your son, Majesty,” Hatnufer assured me. “It’s what Her Majesty would have wanted, I’m sure.” She grabbed young Iry and held him close. “I’ll protect your son like I’d protect my own.”

  “Thank you, Hatnufer,” I said sincerely, relieved. “Now, how would you and Hatnufer, second of her name, like to help me teach Nofret how to tend a garden?”

  ***

  Shemu (Harvest)

  Matia

  ***

  “Niay? Is it really you?”

  “Majesty.” He smiled and bowed to me, then nodded at Nofret. “My Lady.”

  Nofret and I were strolling along a street near the per’aa. We’d just spent a couple of hours at the riverside market, as we did at least once a week, and were returning home. None of the oarsmen bartering with the locals knew me, so I didn’t have to deal with anyone�
��s instinctive hostility. They were more than happy to speak at length with two beautiful women. Through them, I was able to get a sense of what was happening in the rest of the valley. Scorpion wouldn’t let me attend him in his audience hall, so I gathered information the only way I could. Firsthand. Through gossip. “What brings you to Tjeni?”

  Niay pointed to the line of porters behind him. “The latest shipment of gold from Nubt. I’m on my way to the goldsmith’s. His Majesty doesn’t trust anyone but me with this particular cargo.” He turned away and barked a command at one of the porters, then addressed me again. “I’ll be transporting you and the royal party back to Nubt in a few days, in case you haven’t heard.”

  I could hardly believe three months had passed since I’d returned to Tjeni after Gehes’ birth. As promised, Scorpion was taking his entire court – except for Mekatre – back to Nubt for the next two months. His way of reinforcing for Nubtians that they were now beholden to him.

  “May we walk along with you, Niay? I haven’t visited the goldsmith’s workshop for months.”

  “Of course, Majesty.”

  We fell in beside him. The bodyguards who accompanied me everywhere cleared a path through the crowded street for us.

  “Still building boats for Iry at Nubt?” He’d dined with Iry’s family and Nofret and me often during the months before Gehes’ birth.

  He nodded. “A few more and His Majesty will have a proper fleet. Then he’ll be able to send borrowed boats back to Tjeni and Ineb-hedj.”

  “They’re needed. Scorpion’s wealth is increasing dramatically these days. With stability in the South and North, goods are flowing freely through the valley.”

  “Nubt’s gold certainly doesn’t hurt,” Niay laughed.

  We spent a couple of hours at the workshop, the only one in Tjeni that was guarded day and night. We watched the scribe assigned to the goldsmith count what Niay was delivering, then compare it to the plank Niay carried that accounted for how much had been loaded at Nubt. Naturally, they matched. I knew Tamit had developed the system; every time I saw it in action I marveled at its power and simplicity. After the delivery was complete, we watched the goldsmiths working on their marvelous wares. I couldn’t help notice the craftsmen weren’t as good as those at Nekhen.

  “Will you dine with Nofret and me tonight, Niay?” I asked as night began to fall. “Scorpion’s on a hunt and won’t be back until late tomorrow.”

  Within the hour the three of us were settled in my quarters. As soon as bowls and platters had been arranged and wine poured I dismissed my serving girls.

  “How have things been in Nubt the past three months?” I asked as we dug into our feast. “I’m aware Iry regularly sends messengers to report to Scorpion, but I’ve only gleaned bits and pieces from snatches of conversation when Scorpion’s talking to an elite at a banquet.” Consistent with what he’d said soon after our return from Nubt, he hadn’t allowed me to participate in any of his audiences. He hadn’t confided in me either about anything having to do with Tjeni or Nubt.

  “How frank do you want me to be, Majesty?”

  “Tell me what’s really going on, Niay. Has Iry been withholding information in his reports?”

  “He’s had to, at least some of the most sensitive. Until there’s a way to use Tamit’s symbols to inscribe actual messages His Majesty has to use messengers. There are things he wants only King Scorpion to know. Things he wouldn’t want slipping out because of a loose-lipped messenger.”

  “Things you know?”

  “Majesty, anyone from Tjeni is regarded with suspicion in Nubt, as you well know. But I’m from the delta, not Tjeni, and all the workers in my boatyard are from Nubt. I treat them well and they speak openly in front of me.”

  “What do they say?”

  “May I use names instead of titles, to be perfectly clear?”

  “Of course.”

  “Everyone in Nubt appreciates that Iry isn’t Mekatre. But King Scorpion is Nubt’s true ruler and he let Mekatre get away with murder. He didn’t punish him. You’re the one who rendered justice.”

  “At least Iry was able to talk Scorpion into removing Mekatre,” I sighed.

  “No one trusts that Iry will continue acting as he did when you were there, because Mekatre destroyed all trust. There was a glimmer of hope the months you sat in the audience hall, but it’s gone now.”

  “I see. Does Iry know how he’s perceived?”

  “He does, Majesty. I tell him everything I hear.”

  “You’re his eyes and ears in the settlement.”

  “A poor substitute for you, Majesty. But, yes.”

  “Iry hasn’t asked us for foodstuffs or materials for a while. Is Nubt stable?”

  “For the most part. But Nubt’s overseers have slacked off since you left, Majesty. They’re not as exacting about the status of their enterprises as you forced them to be. Luckily, the scribes keep His Majesty well informed. The overseers may think they’re fooling His Majesty, but they’re not.”

  “I’ll straighten them out when I’m back at Nubt,” I growled.

  “You should know, Majesty – Harwa’s replacement is incompetent. His Majesty thought he was doing a good thing, letting Nubt’s elites choose him. I think they chose the man they did just to spite His Majesty. Or maybe test him.”

  “If Iry hasn’t replaced him, does that mean he’s failed the elites’ test?”

  “You can challenge Nubt’s elites to their faces and make them obey, Majesty. His Majesty knows he can’t. He doesn’t have the connection with them that you have. He’s going to have to be more subtle than you’d be, let the situation play out for a while before taking action.”

  “I don’t envy him that.”

  “You don’t need to worry about His Majesty,” Niay said. “I served him in Ptah’s Settlement almost from the day he marched in and took over. The situation wasn’t dissimilar to what he’s facing in Nubt. He eventually earned the trust and respect of a plethora of originally hostile resentful elites who didn’t want to have anything to do with King Scorpion. And their loyalty and friendship, for the most part. His Majesty knows how to lead, not just rule. He’ll be fine. So will Nubt.”

  “I can tell Iry has a true friend in you, Niay.”

  “That is my privilege, Majesty.”

  Nofret rose and refilled our cups of wine.

  “Did you really build the king’s boats, Niay?” she asked.

  I was shocked. In all the months we’d been in Niay’s company at Nubt she’d never once spoken to him. Or any man except Iry for that matter.

  “I did.”

  “They’re beautiful.”

  “I invented the sail myself,” Niay said proudly.

  “I traveled on King Ika’s boats when we were married. They were so slow. On yours I feel like I’m flying.”

  Niay looked from Nofret to me and back. “You were married to Her Majesty’s father? The king who was murdered?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m so sorry,” he said sincerely.

  “Nofret was the daughter of my first husband, Pentu,” I said. “So I’m her stepmother and she’s mine.”

  “I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Niay said.

  “After Sabu murdered Ika he took me for himself,” Nofret said. “He was a monster.”

  I was surprised Nofret was opening up, if just a little, in front of Niay.

  “I’m doubly sorry, My Lady,” Niay said.

  I sensed I should lighten the mood. “How did you come to build boats, Niay?” I asked.

  “My ancestor followed My Lord Sety’s ancestors Nykara and Amenia from Nekhen when he founded his estate in the delta, Majesty.”

  “I’ve visited Sety’s estate. He told me their story.”

  “Nykara was a boat builder, as you know. So have been all my ancestors ever since – going on two hundred years. I began building boats as soon as I was old enough to weave rope through holes and tie it off – small nimble fingers. My fa
ther taught me to shape wood and seal it and all the myriad tasks involved. Most importantly, he taught me to design boats. A few years ago Sety sent me to Ptah’s Settlement – now Ineb-hedj. The overseer of boats at its harbor, Raia, did a poor job maintaining and repairing vessels. Sety assigned me to work specifically on his boats. One day I overheard His Majesty asking Raia if he could build him a boat. Raia turned him down. I summoned my courage and told His Majesty I could. Then I sketched in the dirt a design for a better boat than any in the harbor.”

  “One with a sail,” Nofret interjected.

  “I’d built a few models. I was sure it’d work. His Majesty gave me the opportunity to prove it.”

  “Iry thinks you’re a genius, you know,” I said.

  “His Majesty’s too kind,” Niay said modestly.

  “Have you sailed beyond the valley?” Nofret asked, filling Niay’s cup a third time.

  “I’ve gone as far north as Jebail. It’s three days sail past the river’s mouth, along the coast. Great tall cedar trees grow from low mountains there. I use cedar logs for my boats’ spines and masts.”

  “Sometimes I’d like to sail away and leave everything I know behind,” Nofret said dreamily.

  Including, no doubt, memories of Sabu.

  “If you ever decide to, My Lady, my boat’s yours,” Niay replied gallantly.

  “I hardly think it’ll come to that,” Nofret said. “I go where Her Majesty goes.”

  “You’ll be sailing to Nubt with the royal party, then.”

  “I will.”

  “Then perhaps you’ll let me teach you how to steer my boat, how to fly upriver.”

  “I think I’d like that, Niay.”

  ***

  “You seem awfully happy today, Nebta.”

  All of us who’d spent the past two months with Scorpion at Nubt had returned yesterday evening. Neither Nebta nor Mekatre had gone with us; he’d remained at Tjeni to oversee the settlement. This morning I was delivering Gehes to the per’aa’s nursery. I was going to be tied up all day inspecting the per’aa and speaking with officials to make sure nothing had fallen apart in my absence.