Three Novels of Ancient Egypt

He shrugged his broad shoulders disdainfully and, turning to the table, took his helmet and placed it on his head. But before he could take another step, he heard her say, “You spoke the truth when you said that I am a captive, and your ship is not the place for captives. Take me and put me with the captives of my people!”

He looked at her in anger and exasperation and said, to provoke and scare her, “The matter is not as you imagine. The custom is that the male captives are taken as slaves, while the females are added to the victorious king's harem.” Eyes widening, she said, “But I am a princess.” “You were a princess. Now you are just a captive.” “Whenever I think that one day I saved your life, I go mad.”

Quietly he said, “Long may the memory stay with you! It was for its sake that I saved your life from the insurgents — who wished to send your head to Apophis.”

He turned his back on her and left the chamber in anger and fury. The guards saluted him and he ordered them to set sail to the north of Thebes. Then he — went to the front of the ship — with heavy, dragging steps, filling his chest with the moist night air, while the ship continued on its way, descending with the ever-flowing Nile current and cleaving the darkness toward the north of Thebes.

The king set his eyes on the city, fleeing to it from the troubles of his soul. The light radiated from the fleet moored at the city's shore, while the lofty palaces, now that their owners had left them and fled, were plunged in darkness. In the distance, among the palaces and gardens, the light of the torches carried by joyful revelers appeared and the breeze brought the echo of their voices as they rose in cheers and hymns. A smile passed over his broad mouth and he realized that Thebes was giving the Army of Deliverance the reception it reserved for its triumphant armies and immortal feasts.

The ship drew close to the royal palace, passing alongside it on its course, and the king saw that its lamps had been lit, the light radiating from its windows and garden. From this he gathered that Hur was attending to its preparation and cleansing and that he had returned indeed to the performance of his original role in the palace of Seqenenra. Ahmose observed the palace garden anchorage and the painful memory came back to him of the night when the royal ship had carried his family away to the furthest south, while the blood spurted behind them.

The king paced back and forth on the deck of the ship, his look turning often to the princess's locked chamber, at which he would ask himself in displeasure and annoyance, “Why did they bring her to me? Why did they bring her to me?”

16

On the morning of the following day, Hur, the commanders, and the counselors — went early to visit the king on his ship moored north of Thebes. The king received them in his cabin and they prostrated themselves before him. Hur said in his quiet voice, “May the Lord make your morning joyful, triumphant king! We have left behind us the gates of Thebes, whose heart flutters with joy and shakes with longing to see the light of its savior and liberator's brow.”

Ahmose said, “Let Thebes rejoice. Our meeting, however, will come only when the Lord decrees us victory.”

Hur said, “Word has spread among the people that their sovereign is on his way to the north and that he welcomes any who has the ability to join him. Do not ask, my lord, about the enthusiasm that overflowed in the hearts of the young men or how they swarm around the officers asking to be inducted into the army of the Divine Ahmose!”

The king smiled and asked his men, “Have you visited the temple of Amun?”

Hur replied, “Indeed, my lord; we visited it all together and the soldiers hurried to it, stroking its corners, rubbing their faces in its dust, and embracing its priests. The altar overflowed with offerings, the priests sang the hymn of the Lord Amun, and their prayers echoed from the sides of the temple. Affection melted all hearts and the Thebans organized themselves altogether in collective prayer. Nofer-Amun, however, has yet to leave his seclusion.”

The king smiled and, happening to turn, saw Commander Ahmose Ebana standing silent and oppressed. He signaled to him to draw close and the commander approached his master. The king placed his hand on his shoulder and said to him, “Bear your portion of injury, Ahmose, and remember that the motto of your family is ‘Courage and Sacrifice.’ “

The commander bowed his head in thanks, the king's sympathy bringing him some solace. Ahmose looked at his men and said, “Counsel me on whom I should choose as governor of Thebes and charge — with the onerous task of organizing it.”

Commander Mheb said, “The best man for this critical post is the wise, loyal Hur.”

However, Hur quickly intervened to say, “My duty lies in watching vigilantly over my lord's servants, not in absenting myself from his presence.”