The Egyptian rose

1341 BCE

Chapter 4

"Why won't you tell me where you're taking me?" Meritaten asked, completely out of breath from being dragged along the river's banks and trying to keep up with Khenti's long strides.

"Don't worry, we're almost there!" he shouted behind him, still keeping his pace.

"Where are we going?!" she demanded, stopping him short by pulling on his arm.

"Sigh. We're almost there. Don't worry. I would never do anything to harm you," he reassured her as he grabbed her hand and began picking up his pace.

"Somehow I don't believe you!" she shouted, again trying to keep up. When Khenti finally stopped, they were in front of a house where a lot of people had started to gather. "Whose house is this and why did you bring me here?" she demanded, locking eyes with him sternly.

"That is Baruti's house," he stated matter-of-factly, as if she knew what he was talking about.

"Who?"

"Baruti. He's been one of my best friends since we were kids," he smiled.

"And why are we here exactly?"

"There's going to be another rally and I wanted you to come."

"You tricked me! Just for that I'm marching myself straight home to my father and telling him everything!" she scolded, turning around and starting to walk away.

Khenti quickly stepped in front of her. "No, no, no, wait. You can't tell him anything, remember? If he finds out that you know everything he's done, what's to stop him from taking it out on you?" he tried to reason with her as he turned her back around again, knowing he had won the challenge.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders like a protective brother and pulled her along without letting her protest further. Leading her towards the back of the house, which faced the river, she was unaware and scared of the onslaught that was to come from this rally. Everything she had already been exposed to was still spinning around in her head but still she allowed him to lead her into the lion's den without any more objections.

*  *  *  *  *

"Are you sure it was to be at Baruti's house?" Mahu asked his officer.

"Quite sure. That's what people are whispering," the officer shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"But Baruti? I never would have suspected him to be a part of all this!" Mahu sighed.

"Maybe he won't be there?" the officer suggested.

"Why would it be at his house then if he wasn't going to be there?" Mahu practically hit him for being so absent-minded. "Well, we better get ready to break up the chaos, then," Mahu sighed again, not wanting to deal with the large crowds anymore.

"I'll get the others," the officer replied, not grasping the discomfort in Mahu's voice.

Mahu did not care for the rallies and demonstrations anymore. As far as he was concerned, the people of Egypt had a right to their beliefs and it certainly was not fair of the king to force them otherwise. He knew though that as chief of police, he was given his orders to follow, even if it meant arresting his old friend, Baruti.

Baruti and he used to work in the marketplace together when they were but teenagers. One sold fish and shellfish from the river Nile, while the other (Mahu) sold fine jewelry that was imported from the orient. Mahu did not know exactly where his father had gotten the jewelry from, nor did he care, since he received at least a fair share of the profit from selling the goods. Their tent was always next to Baruti's and the smell of fish flesh always wafted over when the winds blew west.

At the end of the day though, when they would pack up their things and close shop, Mahu would carefully place delicate beads into boxes and Baruti would effortlessly toss fish into salt buckets. He would always give Mahu a few fish or shellfish to take home to his parents at no charge. Mahu could not thank him enough, as selling fine jewelry never did make a lot of money, so a little bit of fish went a long way.

When Mahu was approached by the Vizier to take a test to become an officer, his parents were elated, knowing he would finally be getting out of the merchant world and becoming a true man. He remembered feeling both proud to become an officer in training and forlorn to be leaving his best friend behind. An officer clearing his throat behind him brought him quickly out of his daydream memory.

"What is the plan of attack this time, sir?"

"Just stay around the area and keep quiet. See if it is a peaceful gathering or if they start trouble," Mahu ordered, not really wanting trouble to start in the first place.

"And if they start trouble and cause problems?" the officer pushed, needing to get all the instructions.

Mahu gulped a bit of air before answering, thinking only of his friend, Baruti. "Arrest them all if they start trouble."

And with that, the officer was gone. The order had been given and there was nothing he could do. If the crowd became aggressive in any way, being that the rally was to be held at Baruti house, Baruti would be arrested with the rest of them. Mahu hoped and prayed that his friend would at least attempt to keep the peace otherwise he would see him on the other side of a jail cell.

*  *  *  *  *

"I can't believe he brought her here again!" Kamenwati exclaimed as he walked out of Baruti's house towards the riverbank.

"I'm sure he had good reason," Amisi answered him, looping her arm around his and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I expected him to have a little more sense than to bring her to another rally!" he grumbled.

"She'll be fine. She won't cause a scene," she smiled up at him.

"It's not her I'm worried about," he gritted his teeth.

"Khenti won't do anything foolish. He knows better," she soothed.

"I highly doubt it. You give him way too much credit!" Kamenwati said releasing her arm.

"Why do you hate him so much?" she demanded an answer to his eyes.

"I don't hate him. I just wish he'd listen to reason sometimes instead of thinking on impulse," he sighed, knowing it was a defeated argument.

"Kam!" Khenti shouted towards them, causing them to look up from their conversation. "You remember Meritaten?" he asked politely.

"Pleasure, my dear," Kamenwati bowed his head slightly, trying not to raise attention to the fact that she was royalty.

"Amisi, how are you?" Khenti asked, a devilish grin on his face.

"Better now that you're here," she smiled in return, aware that Kamenwati and Meritaten watched as she hugged him and lightly kissed his cheek.

"Is Baruti coming with us this time or does he need to stand guard in case?" he asked after they parted.

"He'll be joining us today. Apparently, we won't have to worry too much about getting caught," she winked at him.

"Good, then let's grab a seat!" he replied, taking her hand.

"I think I will escort Amisi," Kamenwati replied, grabbing her hand out of his. "I think you should escort the king's daughter!" he glared at Khenti.

Meritaten jumped a bit when she heard him call her that, his tone less than pleasant. Khenti shrugged his shoulders and grabbed for her hand but she pulled away forcefully. She had a name, aside from her title and she did not like to be talked about in the third person when she was standing right there. If people knew who she was outside of her name, she would be ostracized for sure. As she took a seat she realized Khenti wouldn't understand this and it was something that entered her head the minute she found out what they were there for. Fear gripped her and she prepared herself for the onslaught that was to come.

After the rally – a simple yet abrasive one – Khenti decided to introduce Meritaten to a few of his closer friends from the group. She could not remember any of their names by the end of their mindless conversations and she found her mind and her eyes wandering, scanning the crowd of people as they stood and talked, scared to know who might actually recognize her as the king's own flesh and blood. Before she could continue scanning the crowd though, the one they called Baruti caught her eye from across the grass and made his way over to them, while Khenti continued his conversations, oblivious to Baruti's approach.

"Hello friend!" Baruti exclaimed, bumping into Khenti and almost knocking him over. They shook hands and then embraced in a short brotherly hug. "Are you going to introduce me to your new girl?" he smiled and winked at him.

"She is not my new girl!" Khenti gritted through his teeth. "This is Meritaten," he gladly introduced.

"Not the daughter of the Pharaoh?" Baruti whispered in close range so no one else could hear him.

She swallowed hard, but did not answer. Instead she dropped her eyes to the ground. Baruti lifted her chin up with one finger and stared into her eyes. "You know there's been talk that the king hired you himself to stop us. I truly hope for your sake it was just a rumor," he smiled and led Khenti away to talk business. Meritaten felt even smaller than her twelve years made her out to be.

"I knew it was a bad idea that you were here," Kamenwati said under his breath before walking away.

"I think you better go," Amisi said to her in an almost condescending tone.

Meritaten was being dismissed and she did not understand why. She was pulled into this and now she was being let go. Stubbornly, she stood her ground but much to her dismay, everyone around her was walking away, not even noticing she was even there. As quietly as the rally had begun, it had ended, and Meritaten was left in silence. As the crowd dispersed, she desperately searched for Khenti, but could not find him as he was somewhere speaking to Baruti. Perhaps he had just forgotten about coming back to get her or perhaps it was his way of letting her go as well.

Her heart sank as she began to walk away, back along the river, where she had originally come from before Khenti had found her. Before she had gotten far though, and before she could scream or protest, a hand was clasped over her mouth and a very strong arm was wrapped around her waist. Even more quickly, she was pulled backwards away from the river. The more she struggled, the tighter the grip became. There was no one around to help her; no one to see her being taken away.

*  *  *  *  *

"And no arrests needed to be made?" Mahu asked his officer for a full report.

"None, sir. The rally was unusually calm and no arrests were made," the office replied with a smile.

"I find it very difficult to believe that no riots or demonstrations occurred. But no news is good news, I assume," he sighed.

As if on cue, another officer raced into the room to which the other men were occupying. He was out of breath and gasping for air when he spoke. "Meritaten has been kidnapped! No one knows where she's been taken!" A smile crept onto Mahu's face upon hearing the news. Perhaps someone would be arrested after all!

*  *  *  *  *

"What do you mean my daughter is missing?! Find her!" Akhenaten bellowed into the great thrown room after hearing the news of Meritaten's disappearance.

The streets of Akhetaten were covered with police officers in minutes and the marketplace was quickly laid to waste as carts were overturned and baskets were emptied as they searched for the missing girl. Disgruntled merchants were left to pick up the remnants of their wares, without any of their questions being answered. In the fields, the crops were trampled by officers on both horseback and foot and none of the farmers bothered to care – it was the king's own hand that would ruin the harvest this year. When they were done with their search, the officers meekly apologized for the mutilation of the crops, but did not offer the slightest explanation. Meritaten was still no where to be found but not one officer bothered to ask if anyone had seen her.

Word had reached every corner of the capital city by mid-day, though, that the Pharaoh's daughter was missing. Some felt it necessary to blame her age and impish behavior to get her lost while doing what she pleased. Some said it was the gods giving the king what he deserved for asking his own daughter to keep his beloved city in line. Quickly, the city grew overly chatty with rumors of the old ways, the old gods, and many people feared their own afterlife was in jeopardy. Many spoke and prayed to Horus, believing he would find a cure as the link to their "living god." Fear rose in their hearts, not for Meritaten's return but more for their own integrities.

When news spread to Kamenwati, he burst into Khenti's room in the tavern, not in the least bit happy to see him. "Where did you take her?!" he angrily accused.

"Take who?" Khenti replied, yawning loudly, not at all amused by his disturbance.

"That girl! The daughter of the Pharaoh!" Kamenwati stammered, impatient with Khenti's lack of caring.

"I have no idea! Why would I know where she is?!" Khenti defended angrily.

"Because you told me kidnapping her was a good idea!" Kamenwati shouted back.

"Whatever you think I did, I didn't! After the rally yesterday, I came back outside Baruti's house and she was gone! I thought she left on her own!" Khenti explained, still angry with his friend for beating his door down to accuse of him of nothing.

Kamenwati looked at him suspiciously with one eyebrow raised, but said nothing. Giving up on the boy, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him, the heaviness of the door shaking the walls of the room. Inside the room though, Khenti smiled, knowing he could take full advantage of the king's new misfortune.
 

continue to chapter 5