Queen of the Heavens Read online

  “I’m sure that’s what they’re here for,” Sety whispered as he placed his hands on my shoulders and pulled me toward him. We rubbed noses and cheeks, and Sety gently guided me to the floor. I lay on my back and he lay sideways next to me, his head propped up by his left arm. With his right hand he caressed my body and felt my wetness.

  “It’s like a pink lotus,” he said.

  “It is a sacred place,” I noted, then remembered the blue lotuses.

  I turned, took the blossoms from the altar and handed one to Sety. We placed them over our noses, and our bodies shuddered in delight as we inhaled the sensuous aroma.

  Sety and I stroked each other and tussled a bit, which caused me to become wetter and him to become harder. My husband took a nipple in his lips, quite delicately, making certain not to smudge the lapis lazuli the servant had so carefully applied to my breasts. Gently, he rolled on top of me.

  “This will hurt,” I said, with apprehension in my voice.

  “It must.”

  “Be as gentle as you can.”

  I let out a cry as Sety entered me. The pain was sharp for a few moments but turned dull as my husband moved up and down. Because I was still so tight, the lovemaking was painful for Sety, too, and he grimaced. After but a few moments, he moaned as he released his life-creating fluid. We separated and lay next to each other, Sety holding me in his arms.

  “It becomes easier with time,” Sety said.

  “I have no doubt,” I told him, trying to hide my disappointment and skepticism beneath my tears.

  Sety rose, walked to a basin and dampened a cloth. He knelt next to me and gently wiped away the blood on the inside of my thighs and on my sacred place. This tender gesture surprised me for it displayed a side of Sety I had not yet seen. He then washed my blood from himself.

  “We should sleep,” he said.

  “No, not yet. Hold me more.”

  This night, I had separated completely from my childhood. The pain in doing so was intense and the pleasure so limited. Will it always be this way, Isis? I silently asked.

  As Sety began a gentle snore, the violet hue enveloped me. “You’re too impatient, Tuya. It took time for you to learn to play the sistrum. Why should it be any different with love?” Isis said.

  Love is different, I answered. Love is supposed to take us into bliss, not pain and suffering.

  “It does, Tuya, if you see the divine in the embrace of creation. Sety’s flesh someday will be reduced to a withered mummy, but his divinity, and yours, will exist for eternity. The desire you feel is beyond the flesh. The madness of love that grips you is the desire to be one not only with Sety, but with the divine.”

  The divine, Isis?

  The Queen of the Heavens said no more, and I fell asleep perplexed.

  The next night, and the next and the next, my husband and I made love. It did become easier, as my husband said it would, and he found our lovemaking quite enjoyable. I took pleasure in his joy, but felt little physical delight of my own, and Isis’ words remained a mystery.

  One night after completing our coupling, I lay silently on the sheepskins next to my sleeping husband listening to the crickets. To my surprise, I felt a pleasing throb in my sacred place and I knew Bastet’s passionate feline energy was entering me. Her power spiraled upward into my torso and down my legs, and an intense desire grew in me to again experience the embrace of creation.

  I nudged Sety and reached down to caress his beautiful, circumcised phallus. “I desire you, my darling,”

  Sety struggled to open his eyes. “I’m tired, Tuya.”

  I kept caressing until sleep left him and his phallus grew hard. I pulled Sety on top of me and found myself meeting his lively thrusts with those of my own of equal exuberance. Harder and harder we thrust, then more gently, then harder again. My pain, or what was left of it, merged with delight that spread from my sacred place through my entire body.

  What is happening? I asked myself as my consciousness left the earthly plane. This is the work of the divine. Soon my entire being shook in ecstasy, and I honored the Neters by letting out a cry of pure pleasure.

  After we separated, my physical form rested in Sety’s arms but my consciousness floated through the heavens, and I drifted into sleep at one with the Cosmos.

  As the days passed, I became more comfortable with lovemaking, and more curious, which greatly pleased Sety.

  “You’re becoming a wonderful lover,” he said on our final evening at the villa after we lit incense, prayed, and inhaled the aroma of blue lotus.

  I placed my hands on my husband’s shoulders and looked into his eyes. “I’m guided by the spirit of Bastet,” I said as I pushed Sety to the ground and initiated the lovemaking that would last throughout the night.

  XIV

  Soon after his elevation as heir to the throne, Ramesses took up residence in the royal palace so he could better assist the aging Lord Harenhab in the arduous task of ruling Egypt. Sety and I, meanwhile, set up household in Ramesses’ great estate.

  I looked out one morning from the terrace at the beautiful gardens and the Nile beyond. “Never in my life did I believe I would live in such a magnificent house,” I said to my husband, who sat near me at a wooden table inlaid with turquoise.

  Sety sipped pomegranate juice from an alabaster goblet. “You’ll know even greater splendor when I’m Pharaoh and you’re the Great Royal Wife.”

  “We must be patient,” I cautioned. “Both Lord Harenhab and Ramesses must depart the earthly realm for that to happen, and we should wish good health for both of them.”

  “I’m in no hurry, but I mustn’t waste a moment as I ready myself for when I rule Egypt. Today I train for battle, but someday I’ll command an army against the Hittites and I must be prepared. Egypt must destroy the Hittites if it’s to regain its lost lands.”

  In the days just passed, Sety spoke of love as we sought to create another life within me. Now he spoke of war and I shuddered. “I don’t want to think about you being in harm’s way,” I said.

  “Bring me my sword,” Sety shouted to a servant. “I’m a soldier, Tuya, who’s destined to be Pharaoh. The ruler of Egypt can’t lead his countrymen from the rear. Besides, what could be greater than war and its glory?”

  “Our love for each other.”

  Sety rose, took the weapon from the servant and fastened it around his waist. He looked at me bemused. “Would you love me as much if I weren’t a warrior?”

  The question took me aback. If Sety were a scribe, would I be so attracted to him? If he were a stonemason, would my passion be as deep? Even if such men possessed the same wealth as Sety, which they certainly would not, I had to admit the allure would not be there. I admired my husband’s strength, courage and confidence, and the warrior in him excited my desire.

  “I love you most for being a leader of men,” I answered. “In war or in peace, I would admire you for commanding the attention of all those around you.”

  “That may be, Tuya, but know there will be war and I will revel in it. Our first son must be trained in war as well, for someday he’ll be Pharaoh. I have a duty to our countrymen to make certain he’s a fine warrior, and so do you.”

  I could not disagree with my husband. Our child might face death on the field of battle, but as Pharaoh he would have to lead his army, not follow it. As his mother, I naturally would wish for our son’s safety, but as the future Queen I knew I would have to prepare him for war. Teaching our son how to drive a chariot and wield a sword would be the responsibility of Sety and other men, but I could help instill in him a sense of duty and honor.

  As Sety left the house, I recalled the words the servant spoke at the palace villa on the night my husband and I first made love. “If we never felt pain, how would we know pleasure?”

  It’s the same with war, I realized. If we did not know war, we could not know peace, for everything has an opposite, and opposites cannot exist without each other.

  While Sety prepared for
war, I focused on the affairs of the household. At first, I had the help and counsel of Mother, who stayed with me for several weeks before returning to Memphis to be with Father.

  Ramesses had taken a liking to Father and he appointed him superintendent of granaries for the region around Memphis. He served as a treasurer, in charge of distributing grain that had been gathered in taxes. Father would exchange the grain for goods from foreign lands, or use it to pay soldiers, government workers, and the craftsmen and laborers who built and repaired the temples and palaces.

  My parents had hoped my marriage to Sety would raise their status along with mine, and it did. Father no longer was a young man, and knowing he occupied a respected position less arduous and dangerous than soldiering pleased me greatly.

  “I know Father has important duties, but I miss him so,” I said one day to Mother as we walked through the garden of the estate.

  “As do I. Soon I must leave for Memphis to be with him.”

  For a moment, I desired to return with Mother to the familiar surroundings of my childhood home, at least for a short while, but this was neither practical nor proper. I no longer was Ruia’s and Raia’s little girl. I was wife to an heir to the throne and my place was with my husband.

  “I don’t want you to leave,” I said.

  Tears appeared in Mother’s eyes. “I must. The Pharaoh and the court will return to Memphis before the Nile overflows its banks and you’ll see your father and me then. In the meantime, you’ll be quite occupied learning your royal duties.”

  The two of us embraced. “Our lives are changing,” Mother continued. “You were born to be a Queen. Your father and I can take comfort knowing we played a part in helping you along the way.”

  As Mother and I separated, sadness weighed down my heart. For the first time, she and I would be apart. I would live a luxurious life, but all the gold, jewels and palaces could not equal the love Father and she had bestowed upon me.

  Three days later, I accompanied Mother to the quay by the smaller of the two temples to Amun. We stood beside the boat that would take her north down the Nile.

  “Now remember, treat your servants fairly, slave and free born alike,” she said. “There’s no surer way to cause disruption in the household than to give more work to one servant than the other.”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  “Also, let Sety know often that you love him. A gentle touch and a kind word twice a day will work wonders in your marriage. I’ve done this with Raia and we’ve been very happy together.”

  “I’ll make a point of it,” I assured her.

  After a tearful embrace, Mother boarded the boat. As I watched the vessel depart, I cried aloud, for I saw my past leave with it. Gone were the carefree days of sitting by the lotus pond outside my house, knowing my parents were protecting me.

  I missed Mother and Father deeply, but the responsibilities of my new life kept me occupied, and I soon discovered I had a natural ability for running a household. I supervised the women servants as they wove linen and prepared food for cooking. I played a daily role in the preparation of meals, selecting the menu and inspecting the ingredients used by the cooks to make certain they were fresh and of the highest quality. I prayed over the meals as they were being prepared so they might better nourish my husband and me.

  I also kept watch over those tilling the soil and raising the animals, and often noticed the lazy and the shiftless. The fault, I determined, lay not with the workers, but with several of the overseers who paid little attention to their duties. I gathered five of them before me and gave them a stern look.

  “You wear starched kilts to show you’re above manual labor, but this doesn’t free you from your obligation to put in a full day’s work directing others,” I told them.

  “I do work a full day, My Lady,” one of the men protested. “The estate has no finer overseer than me.”

  “Nonsense. I’ve seen you asleep more than once in the date palm grove as the workday began. No doubt you were recovering from too much beer from the night before. Ramesses pays all of you well. You will earn your pay, or I’ll find others to wear the starched kilts, and you will be the ones toiling in the fields.”

  The overseers grumbled, but they responded to my warning. Seldom did I see slackers among the workers again.

  Because I could read and write, Ramesses suggested I supervise the three scribes who kept records of the estate’s production and what was exchanged for goods and labor.

  “She is but a girl,” one of the scribes said after Ramesses informed them of my new role.

  “She’s a woman and a Princess, and a very intelligent one at that,” Ramesses retorted. “You will respect her as you would me.”

  The scribes sulked and tried to ignore me, but after a week of reviewing their records I found a mistake.

  “In figuring the payment for the new horses and bulls, you added incorrectly,” I told the negligent scribe in front of his peers. “Your error could have cost Ramesses an additional fifty baskets of wheat. It’s a good thing I discovered your mistake instead of him.”

  “I’m sorry My Lady,” the scribe said.

  “Your apology is accepted. I’ll not tell Ramesses of your carelessness, but make certain this never happens again.”

  From that day forward, the scribes accepted my oversight without complaint, knowing my abilities were equal to theirs and that I would treat them fairly.

  One day, Ramesses stopped by the estate to review the records with me. They were in perfect order.

  “When you joined my family, I was pleased for Sety. Now I’m pleased for myself. You’ve been a great help to me,” he said when we had finished.

  “I’m happy to assist you.” I told him.

  “Your ability to read and write is especially valuable.”

  “To learn how, I endured years of teaching by a bitter old scribe, though I finally discovered he had a soft spot in his heart. I’m glad I can now put my knowledge to good use.”

  “You’re most certainly doing that. Your assistance gives me more time to concentrate on the affairs of Egypt. By helping me, you help our country. Sety, too, seems pleased for he has more time to spend on his martial pursuits.”

  “Yes, I know. He has mentioned this to me.”

  “You must see your husband in action. Tomorrow, why don’t you surprise Sety by joining me at the training field to observe the military exercises he’ll be leading?”

  “I’d be delighted,” I said.

  The next morning, Ramesses and I sat in the shade under a stand of sycamore trees watching in the distance a hundred charioteers ride at full gallop against a company of straw soldiers. Dust trailed behind the charging horses, while arrows, shot by bowmen riding with the charioteers, rained down on the mock enemy to the fore. Sety, alone in his chariot, rode ahead of the others as he led the attack. When he and his minions closed on the straw men, they engaged them with scimitars and maces, slicing in half and crushing the melons that served as their heads.

  Ramesses and I watched intently until the action ceased.

  “Sety takes after me,” said the proud father.

  “You, too, were a charioteer?”

  “Yes. My skills led to my appointment as a royal envoy charged with delivering messages throughout the realm and to foreign lands. That’s how I met Lord Harenhab, who took a liking to me. Had I been less able with the chariot, my life would have turned out quite differently.”

  “So would Sety’s and mine.”

  “I must say, the changes I’ve seen in Sety since your arrival have been nothing short of remarkable. He’s much calmer now.”

  “He needed only a woman’s love.”

  “Apparently. Sety’s mother died when he was but nine years old. A crocodile took hold of her leg as she and Sety were walking along the Nile too close to the reeds. Farmers drove the beast away, but they were unable to save my wife. Sety stood watching as she bled to death.”

  Ramesses’ remark came as a surprise
. Sety and I shared the most intimate moments, but he had never mentioned this tragedy of his youth. He merely told me his mother had died, and I assumed from illness.

  “For a year after, Sety wouldn’t speak,” Ramesses continued. “Once, a playmate teased him for his silence and goaded him for not having a mother. Sety erupted in a rage. He might have killed the lad had I not been there to separate them.”

  A child enraged enough to kill? Is such rage still within Sety? I asked myself, troubled by the thought.

  “Perhaps a demon invaded his body,” I suggested. “Sometimes when people suffer from shock and grief they let down their guard and are unaware when dark forces enter them.”

  “I thought of that,” Ramesses said. “I had priests from the Great Temple of Amun pray over Sety and do rituals to exorcise such demons. This seemed to help for a while, but soon he returned to his silent, morose and sometimes angry ways. I took another wife, as much so that Sety would have a mother as me a companion. He responded to her love, but she soon took ill and died as well. This only made things worse.”

  “The husband I know is hardly morose and silent. He’s outspoken, even brash.”

  Ramesses laughed. “Oh, yes. Sety can be brash. He took quickly to military training and this gave him great confidence. Yet he still can explode into rages, then appear as distant as the stars. With you, he’s much more predictable and I thank you for that.”

  Our conversation ended as Sety rode over to us. I waved to him, and he waved back.

  “Good morning, Tuya. What a delight to see you here,” Sety shouted from his sleek war chariot, pulled by two powerful white steeds made even more glorious in appearance by sprigs of ostrich plumes attached to bridal straps atop their heads. Sety gave the reins to a groom and joined us in the shade.

  “You handled yourself well today, my son,” Ramesses said. “I’m sure you’ll do the same on a real battlefield.”

  “I wish to be the greatest charioteer Egypt has ever known,” Sety declared as he brushed the dust from his kilt.