The Egyptian rose

1341 BCE

Chapter 5

"Will you stop squirming little one?" a deep husky voice spoke in her ear. He finally let go of her mouth but she still struggled to free herself from his tightening grasp.

"What do you want from me?" she demanded, not giving up her incessant fight.

"Ask him, not me!" he declared, spinning her around to face a man she had known her entire life.

Nakhte stepped away from the shadows and into the light so she could get a clear view of him. Upon hearing her gasp as she recognized him, he smiled—a sly, uneven smirk, one she had never seen before. She tried to take a step back but almost lost her balance as she backed into the other man, who placed a strong hand on her shoulder, keeping her from moving further away.

"Wha—what do you want with me?" she stuttered, her voice trembling with fear.

"I just want answers to a few questions, that's all," he smiled again, a smile she did not trust.

"What do you want to know?" she asked, unsure she really wanted to know the answer to her own question.

"I know your father put you in charge things, so you have to know by now. What is going on with the people of Egypt? What have you learned from them?" He seemed hungry for answers and that need scared her half to death.

Meritaten closed her eyes tight, wanting to be somewhere else, but when she opened her eyes again, she knew her fate was resting in the palm of his hands. She couldn't tell him what she knew—he'd go directly to her father and tell him everything. If her father found out she knew all the horrible things he had done to these people, there was no telling what he would do to her, or to Khenti and the others. She blinked when the realization came to her—why was she all-of-a-sudden taking an interest in their well-being? She hardly knew them at all and after all, she was a Princess of Egypt! Looking up, she saw that Nakhte had closed the distance between them and was right in front of her, glaring down at her through cold eyes.

"Tell me what you know. It is your fault that your father took away my rights to this jurisdiction. If I'm to get any semblance of order again, I need to know what you know!" he demanded. She gulped hard and opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. He pressed further. "You know something, I know you do! You would not have been with them if you didn't know something!"

An idea hit her mind and she hoped she could muster the nerves to answer him. "I don't know anything in particular. I was merely observing what was going on."

"But they must have said something to give you information? A place for a demonstration, another attempt attack on the palace, how they truly felt about the king?" he tried to get her to admit.

"No information," she explained calmly, finally collecting herself.

"You're lying!" he shouted. "You were with them! You know what they said and what their plans are!"

Feeling her plan quickly dissolving, she tried another strategy. "I—I was only making small-talk. I didn't want them to think I was spying by asking a lot of questions. I tried not to look too suspicious!' she challenged.

"They why did that boy have his arm around your shoulders when you approached from the river?" he declared, a wide smile appearing on his face when he realized he had caught her.

She felt her throat closing up, knowing she had been caught in a lie. "He wanted to show me I had been accepted into the group!" she protested, desperately trying to come up with any excuse not to let it all out.

"Don't lie to me, Meritaten!" He was angry now, almost as angry as she knew her father would be if he found out what she really knew.

"I'm not lying!" she cried, a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

"Fine, then answer me this!" he pointed an accusing finger at her. "What was that boy's name?"

She gasped in surprise, knowing she was trapped. She couldn't tell him or he'd have Khenti arrested immediately, with the others soon to follow. "I—I don't know. He—he never told me."

"Get her out of my sight!" he demanded of the other man standing behind her. The guard quickly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away, Nakhte's angry stare following them.

*  *  *  *  *

An emergency meeting was called that afternoon at the back of the tavern. Khenti was at the front of the crowd asking for everyone to please be seated before he began his speech. He quietly took notice that Amisi and Kamenwati were sitting a bit too close for his liking and he vowed to speak to his friend after the meeting with his concerns. He did not mind that Kamenwati had a lady friend but he hated the fact that she was Amisi—a beautiful, young, Egyptian woman with darker skin than most women he knew—there was something exotic and intoxicating about her presence. Shaking himself out of his trance, he cleared his throat and directed his attention back to the settling crowd.

"Word is circulating that the king's daughter is missing," he began.

"Why should we care about her?!" one man shouted in return.

"He's done nothing to us to make us want to care!" another replied.

"Listen, please!" Khenti shouted, attempting to gain their attention once again. "The king has sent his officers to search for her and already they have destroyed not only the marketplace but the fields as well! We barely have enough money to survive and now they pillage what little we do have to search for her!"

"So what do you want us to do?" they pressed for an answer.

A sly smile formed on Khenti's face before he answered them. "It's a perfect opportunity, my friends, to cause a commotion—one like no other!"

"But we've done the demonstrations and the riots already. What makes you think they would work this time?" Kamenwati glared at him for answers, staring directly into his eyes sternly.

"This disappearing act has all of the king's officers searching everywhere for her! That means they'll be too distracted to stop us this time around!" Khenti exclaimed, glaring back at his friend with wide excited eyes.

Several others started to talk to each other about the idea and soon the group was a-buzz with the revelation that Khenti had just come to. Kamenwati glared at him but when Amisi tenderly touched his arm and whispered something into his ear, his attention was drawn away from the boy. Khenti couldn't help but look away and as the murmur of the crowd died down, he addressed them again.

"So are we in agreement to do this then? Are we ready to fight like we've never fought before?" Confirmed yeses and raised fists gave him his answer. "Good, now I want this to be better than anything we've tried before! Spread the word that the king will get his due!"

Everyone got up from their chairs, excited to make this statement loud and clear—everyone except Amisi and Kamenwati. Khenti looked down at them with disgust and walked away, not wanting to stay around to see them together any longer. Before he reached his room in the back of the tavern, though, he heard footsteps behind him, knowing one of them had chosen to follow him. Without turning around he pushed his way into his room and shut the door. He was not the least bit surprised that as soon as he lay down on his bed, the door was opened and someone stepped in. He didn't have to open his eyes to know who it was.

"You love him, don't you?" he asked her.

"Only the way a daughter adores her father," she concluded, looking over at him with saddened eyes at his misunderstanding.

"I wouldn't know what that feels like," he spoke through his teeth, finally opening his eyes and locking them with hers.

She felt awkward and dropped her eyes. "I'm sorry, I forgot," she whispered.

"It's fine," he simply replied. "Even I forget sometimes. It wasn't until Meritaten cried about her father that it made it familiar again."

"She knows now huh? Is that why you brought her to Baruti's?" she asked unsure she really wanted an answer.

"I just didn't want her to see the false image her father makes of himself," he concluded, sitting up in the bed and looking up at her, trying to capture her eyes again.

She sat next to him, uninvited and unexpected, but wasn't asked to get up or leave. "Showing her the king's weakness is not going to bring him back, Khenti," she soothed.

"He shouldn't have left in the first place!" he spat. "You know I have no childhood memories of my father." It was more of a statement than a question.

"So taking all that away from her? What is that going to get you?" she argued.

"Understanding," he breathed, looking straight into her emerald eyes, but seeing the smile in them fade, he realized he said the wrong thing.

"I'm sorry I don't get it then," she said, unable to contain her annoyance or hurt in her voice.

She stood but he stopped her from leaving by grabbing her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean you don't understand."

But she pulled her hand free, still angry with his distrust. "Save it, Khenti! Your jealousy of my relationship to Kam is really getting to me!"

Amisi tried to walk away, but she found she couldn't. Something stopped her feet from moving, but she dared not turn around to face him either. He got up and put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him, almost close enough for her to feel his breath on her shoulder. Now that he knew she and Kamenwati were not romantically involved, he wanted to be as close to her as he could get. He noticed that she didn't stop him, nor did she try to push away.

"I'm sorry," he breathed into her ear, sending a chill up her spine. "I didn't mean to act that way," he continued, his lips only inches from her neck.

"You have every right to feel this way."

He let her go then, afraid to allow their intimate moment go too far. She sighed, realizing she had been holding her breath as he held her so close. Nothing could stop her from doing what she chose to do next. It took both of them by surprise when she turned around to face him, cup his face in her hands, and kiss him, all in one smooth movement. When he wrapped his arm around her waist to deepen the kiss, she pulled back, suddenly realizing what she had started.

"I have to go," she solemnly whispered, her eyes still closed, not wanting to look at his saddened expression.

"Don't, please," he begged, causing her eyes to flutter open and stare into his.

"If you want us to riot, we have to do it soon," she smiled, sarcasm in her voice, trying to lighten the mood.

He smiled back, knowing she felt just as awkward as he. It was their first real kiss and although he had played out their kiss in his mind too many times before, the reality of it was ten times better than he had imagined it to be. She composed herself and looked down, knowing she could not handle his stare anymore. He lifted her chin with his fingers and made sure she lifted her eyes to acknowledge his smile before he spoke softly to her.

"Please be careful," he begged, kissing her forehead gently.

"I will," she breathed, closing her eyes again.

Khenti took this opportunity to kiss her again, wrapping his arm tightly around her back and bringing her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss even more. Neither of them wanted this kiss to end, but when the door flew open, they both reluctantly but quickly separated from each other. Khenti looked up at a very stern-faced Kamenwati but made no movement away from Amisi.

"Take care of her," Khenti said to him, breaking the silence in the room.

Amisi looked up at him with her gentle green eyes, quizzically. He kissed the top of her head and led her towards Kamenwati, who still stood angrily in the doorway. If he didn't know better, Khenti thought he saw a bit of jealousy from the old man himself, a twist of tides. Kamenwati quickly grabbed Amisi's hand and led her away, her eyes looking back at him. Khenti felt powerless under the spell of those green eyes, but he knew this was how it needed to be between them, at least until things settled down a bit.

As soon as they were gone, his mind shifted back to Meritaten and her alleged disappearance. If anyone had lain a hand on her they would pay would their life! He didn't want to know where the anger that welled up inside him came from, but it was there, right on the surface. He had to find her, save her, have her trust him. Then he would be able to show her all of the truth, not just the small anecdotes she saw when they went to a rally. It was time for the Pharaoh's daughter to see the light —and finally step out of her father's shadow!

Continue to chapter 6