Gods and Queens

Chapter Three

"Why are you here? I thought I said I shouldn't be disturbed?" Pharaoh asked from his place on the balcony.

Being the first wife of Pharaoh Thutmose, Hatshepsut knew he wouldn't punish her for coming to his chambers unannounced. She looked around his room warily, noting the black and gold practical decor. The polished marble floor mirrored the ceiling, and expertly drawn illustrations of lotus and date palms covered the walls.

His gold-overlaid bed had sheets and pillows strewn across it, and the white veil canopy lay on the ground in shreds. It was clear the pharaoh suffered a recent tantrum.

"I am sorry if my presence disturbs you but my troubled heart wouldn't let me rest." Hatshepsut's feet tapped against the shiny floor as she drew closer to Thutmose. When the cool evening breeze blew against the curtain, she saw he was looking towards the land of Goshen.

"I am not responsible for calming your troubled heart, woman." His voice was gruff and impatient like he was dealing with a pesky child that wouldn't let him be.

When she reached the balcony entrance, she drew the curtain aside and sighed. She was risking the wrath of the pharaoh by asking her next question but she asked anyway.

"Why wouldn't you let them go?" Hatshepsut asked in a small, quiet voice.

After nearly twenty-seven years of being married to Thutmose, she had learned it was always best to act scared around him. When his back stiffened and his hands clenched at his side, she took a tentative step back.

"Did the god of foolishness bless you today or are you just naturally stupid?" Pharaoh Thutmose asked in a tight voice before swirling to face her. The shendyt kilt he wore swished gracefully from the action and his nemes headdress shone in the light of the setting sun.

"I am sorry if my question angered you, but I am worried. Moses's threat affects us personally." She clasped both hands before her chest.

Thutmose stared past her with the muscles of his jaw ticking. When he refused to speak, she took it as a cue to continue talking. Perhaps the gods would smile upon her and touch her husband's stubborn heart.

"He didn't stop at the firstborn of men, he also included handmaidens which means the children of women too. It's from the greatest to the least. Please, I beg you. Just let the—"

"ENOUGH!" His voice boomed around them, causing her to spring a foot back at the sound.

The scowl on Thutmose's face was so twisted, he hardly looked human. Shoving the embroidered curtain aside with an angry sweep of his hand, he took slow steps in her direction. Hatshepsut retreated until her back pressed against a wall.

"You would never mention that man's name in my presence, you hear me?" Thutmose barked in her face as he slammed a fist next to her head. Hatshepsut gulped and shut her eyes.

"These sons you're so worried about are also mine! I have four first sons so I understand the gravity of what that foolish man said. I am not scared of his threat, you hear me? The priestess will fix this!"

"B-but, the other sorcerers and magicians were also powerful, they did nothing to stop the plague. Please, I beg you," she said, daring to open her eyes.

Hatshepsut dropped to her knees and pressed both palms together as if in prayer. When she sensed he was about to turn away, she gripped one of his feet and began to cry. She was beyond caring now. If he killed her because of her foolish action, so be it. The foreboding she felt concerning Moses's threat was too much to ignore. Why wouldn't he see reason? Why was he so blind?

"So you now believe and fear the words of their god? You want me to release those slaves— you want me to let go of my property?" Thutmose bent and ripped her hands off his ankle.

"Get out before I do something I'll regret," he commanded before turning and walking back to the balcony.

Hatshepsut shakily stood to her feet and stared after him. She should have known it would be useless to try to reason with a man like Thutmose.

Walking out of his chambers in defeat, she shut the door behind her. When she got to her room, Addisu was waiting. She stifled a groan as the woman sprung to her feet and rushed to her side.

Addisu was a pretty young thing and the second wife of Thutmose. She had a lovely slender figure, light brown skin, and an innocent smile. She was a princess from Ethiopia who was married off to the pharaoh when she was about fifteen.

Hatshepsut remembered how she had felt extremely sorry for her on the day she was brought to the palace. She always found herself wishing the girl had ended up with a better husband, perhaps a prince or king from a distant land. A person like Thutmose, with his coldness and evil streak, did not suit someone as innocent and loving as Addisu.

"Are our sons safe?"

Hatshepsut smiled warily at the woman's question. Addisu had a twelve-year-old son she loved more than anything. Sadly, the gods had made it so that she remained childless after him.

"How did it go? Did he listen to you?" She asked as she gripped Hatshepsut's fingers tight. Her lovely brown eyes stared up at her, waiting for an answer.

"Let's sit down first." Hatshepsut pulled the younger woman towards a cushioned recliner. 

Hatshepsut couldn't thank the gods enough for sending her into the world to be the wife of a pharaoh but what she wasn't grateful for was the particular pharaoh she was given to. Thutmose wickedness knew no bounds and coupled with his stubbornness... she was surprised he remained this long on the throne. What hurts the most was the fact that he had successfully turned her son into a sicker version of himself.

"I think we should do a fast. Perhaps our prayers will please the gods enough to change the pharaoh's mind?"

"What do you mean?" Addisu asked with sorrow burning in her expressive eyes. "Are you saying he didn't listen to you?"

Hatshepsut shook her head in answer. Addisu pulled her hands away and began to wail.

As Addisu stood, she snatched her scented wig off her scalp and tore at her dress. Still wailing, she began to bang her head against the wall.

What? 

Too shocked to act, Hatshepsut simply stared as Addisu continued the action and sang in her native dialect. She didn't know if she was to stop the woman from harming herself or respect whatever odd ritual she might be performing.

When Addisu dropped to the floor with blood oozing from her nostrils, Hatshepsut tore herself from her shock and rushed to her side. "What is wrong with you? You were hurting yourself!"

The woman stared straight ahead, muttering. Hatshepsut brought her ear to Addisu's lips.

"...it wouldn't work. My life is over. Re'hotpe is all that I have. You have other daughters, I have only him. If Moses's threat comes to pass, your children will comfort you. Who will comfort me when Re'hotpe dies? Who?" The woman whispered as tears flowed from her unfocused eyes into her hairline.

"We would fast and pray. Just do as I say. Even if Moses's words come to pass, I will comfort you." She assured the younger woman as she rocked her weeping form.

"...you are too kind to me. If you were from Ethiopia, you would have been a ruling queen."

A dead chuckle escaped Hatshepsut's lips. She couldn't imagine herself leading in such a capacity.

Later that evening, as the sun disappeared down the horizon, the two women washed their faces and covered their heads with black veils. They had each removed their scented wigs and twisted their hair into a tight bun that drew painfully at the skin around their skull.

Their flowing black garment mirrored their mood as each woman sat cross-legged on Hatshepsut's balcony, staring at the night sky and mumbling supplication. As time passed, they lifted their hands and implored gods who were too self-absorbed to hear their prayers.

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It's so much fun to research on Egypt. I had fun writing this.

Votes and comments would really be super nice.