The Princess Of Egypt

15. Broken Promise

Anai watched gleefully as the Hebrews danced around her, some even asked her to join them, but she declined.
"Not dancing?" Questioned Moses, as he made his way through the happy Hebrews, to join her.
"No, I didn't want to intrude. This is their moment, not mine. Besides, I don't exactly fit in here" admitted Anai, as she pointed down to her white robes.
"I see... Where is Bastien these days, I didn't see him at the palace, and there's not a single cat hair on your outfit?".
Anai chuckled, "Since I'm still a member of the royal family, I have a room in the palace, which is where Bastien spends a lot of his time. He's not allowed to live with me in the temple, as pets are forbidden. Hopefully he's watching over Seti, while I'm out here with you now. Seti likes playing with him. But knowing Bastien, he might still be asleep on my bed".

"What's he like, Seti?" Asked Moses curiously.
"He's a good boy. Lonely though, since he has no siblings. Which is why I do everything I can, to make his childhood a happy one. I am a mother, a friend, and a sister to him" revealed Anai.
"I see. Well I look forward to meeting him properly"
"Well now that you've agreed to come home, you will be spending a lot of time with him"
"I guess I will... It must be hard for him, growing up without a mother"
"He has me. But I suppose there are times when he wishes that his mother was still alive... What do you know of your mother, your real mother?"
"Her name was Yocheved, and she died a long time ago, that's all I know. I haven't spent much time with Miriam or Aaron yet, but now that I'm staying in Egypt, hopefully they can tell me more about her".

Anai would have replied, if a palace guard hadn't ridden over to them, carrying a scroll in his arms, at that very moment.
"That was quick. I didn't think Rameses would have finished signing the order yet" admitted Moses.
Anai frowned, as she knew that there was no way Rameses would have been able to win over the lords and priests yet, let alone signed the order to free all the slaves.
The guard cleared his throat, before beginning to read from his scroll.
"His majesty the pharoah would like to announce, that from tomorrow, all slaves will start work an hour earlier, and finish an hour later. That is the only message".

As the guard rode off, Anai felt her heart drop.
The slaves that had been asking her to dance, now began to stare accusingly at her and Moses.
The looks they were giving her, frightened her, even though Anai knew that none of them would dare to lay a finger on her.
"I can't believe it. He went back on his word" said Moses.
"This is my fault" sighed Anai.
"How is it your fault?" Questioned Moses.
"I shouldn't have come here with you, I should've stayed at the palace with him, so that he would have had someone on his side. But me coming with you, has allowed the vultures to descend".

"Vultures?" Quizzed Moses.
"The high priests, and the lords of the court. After Nefertari died, Rameses was in a bad place, and they dived on him like vultures. They made it look like they were trying to help him, but really they just wanted power. From then on, any decision Rameses has wanted to make, that they didn't agree with, has never gone anywhere. They talk him down, and make him believe that it was a bad idea from the start. Rameses may be the pharaoh, but the high priests are the ones who really run the kingdom. They must have changed Rameses mind about freeing the slaves" replied Anai.

"Well, thanks for nothing, Moses. Because of you, our work becomes even harder. What was bad, now becomes worse" said Aaron coldly.
"I didn't mean to make things worse for you all" admitted Moses.
"Yeah, well you did. So just go away back to Midian. And this time don't come back. Don't try to help us ever again" Aaron spat.
"I was only doing what God commanded me to do"
"God? When has he ever cared about any of us? In fact Moses, when did you start caring about slaves? Was it when you found out you were one of us?".

Miriam pushed past her older brother and approached Moses, who lowered his head in shame.
"I'm so sorry" me muttered.
"Moses, I have been a slave all my life. God has never answered my prayers, until now. He saved you when you were a baby, and when you walked across the desert. God will not abandon you. So don't you abandon us" begged Miriam.
The sound of laughing suddenly cut through the group, and Anai looked over at the Nile where the sound was coming from.

"What is it?" Asked Moses.
"It's the royal barge floating down the Nile. I should be on there. We were going to sail down there as a family, to celebrate Seti's birthday" revealed Anai.
Moses brows knotted together, he then turned and began making his way towards the river.
"Where are you going? You won't be able to convince Rameses to change his mind now. Not after the priests have sunk their claws into him" admitted Anai.
"I have to try" replied Moses, who continued walking, not even stopping to look back.
Anai sighed and began to follow him, along with Tzipporah, Miriam, Aaron, and a handful of slaves. All of whom were anxious to see what happened next.