Three Novels of Ancient Egypt

The king saluted his men and left the place, making his way to his private wing to bid farewell to his family before setting off. He sent for them all, and Queen Ahotep came and Queen Tetisheri, and Prince Kamose, and his wife Setkimus with their son Ahmose and their little daughter, Princess Nefertari. He received them lovingly and sat them around him. Tenderness filled his breast as he looked into the eyes of the faces dearest to his heart, seeing, it seemed to him, but one face repeated with no differences but those of age. Tetisheri was in her sixties and Ahotep, like her husband, in her forties, while Kamose and Setkimus were twenty-five. Ahmose was not yet ten and his sister Nefertari was two years younger. In every one of their faces, however, shone the same black eyes, in every one was the same mouth with its slight upper protrusion, and the same golden-brown complexion that lent the countenance health and good looks. A smile played on the king's broad mouth and he said, “Come. Let us sit together for a while before I go.”

Tetisheri said, “I pray the Lord, my son, that you go forth to decisive victory!”

Seqenenra said, “I have great hope of victory, Mother.”

The king saw that the crown prince was dressed for war and realized that he imagined that he was going with him. Feigning ignorance he asked him, “Why are you dressed like that?”

Astonishment appeared on the youth's face, as though he was not expecting the question and he said in surprise, “For the same reason that you are so dressed, Father.”

“Did you receive an order from me to do this?”

“I didn't think that there was any need, Father.”

“You were wrong, my son.”

Alarm appeared on the youth's face and he said, “Am I to be forbidden the honor of taking part in the battle of Thebes, my lord?”

“Fields of battle are no more honorable than any other. You will remain in my place, Kamose, to look after the happiness of our kingdom and supply our army with men and provisions.”

The youth's face turned pale and he bowed his head as though the king's command weighed heavily upon him. Tetisheri, wishing to make it easier for him, said, “Kamose, it is no mean task to take on the burdens of government, nor one to shame a person. It is a work worthy of such as you.”

Then the king placed his hand on the crown prince's shoulder and said, “Listen, Kamose. We are approaching a murderous war from which we hope, with the Lord's help, to emerge the victors and liberate our beloved land from its shackles. But it is only wise to consider all possible outcomes. As our sage Kagemni has said, ‘Do not put all your arrows in one quiver!’ “

The king ceased speaking, silence reigned, and no one uttered a word until the king resumed by saying, “If the Lord, in His wisdom, wills that our struggle for the right should meet with failure, it must not come to an end. Listen to me, all of you. If Seqenenra falls, do not despair. Kamose will succeed his father, and if Kamose falls, little Ahmose will follow him. And if this army of ours is wiped out, Egypt is full of men. If Ptolemais falls, let Koptos fight! If Thebes is invaded, let Ombos and Sayin and Biga leap to its defense! If the whole South falls into the hands of the Herdsmen, then there is Nubia, — where — we have strong and loyal men. Tetisheri will pass on to our sons what our fathers and forefathers passed on to us, and I warn you against no enemy but one — despair.”

The king's words had a great impact on all their hearts. Even little Ahmose and Nefertari were downcast and disconcerted and wondered at their grandfather's speaking to them in these serious tones for the first time. Queen Ahotep's eyes filled with tears, at which Seqenenra showed displeasure, telling her in a tone not without reproach, “Do you weep, Ahotep? Observe the courage of our mother, Tetisheri!”

Then he looked at young Ahmose, to whom he was greatly attached and who was a true copy of his grandfather, and he pulled him to him and asked him, smiling, “Which is the enemy of which we must beware, Ahmose?”

The boy replied, not understanding fully the meaning of what he said, “Despair.”

The king laughed and kissed him again. Then he stood and said gently, “Come, let us embrace!”

He embraced them all, starting with Tetisheri, his wife Ahotep, and Setkimus, his son's wife, then Ahmose and Nefertari. Then he turned away from them toward Kamose, who was standing rigid and dejected, and he extended his hand to him and squeezed it hard, then bent over it and kissed it and said in a low voice, “Safety be with you, my dear son!”

The king waved to them with his hand and left the place with firm steps, his face filled with courage and resolve.