HETAERA: Daughter of the Gods (38 page)

“Mara,” I grabbed her hand. “I am finished. We
must go.” I tried to lead her from the throng surrounding the dais. But my
near-sister balked.

Her face was white.

“Dori,” Mara whispered, as I tried to push my way
forward through the crowd, away from the dais and away from Amasis. “Wait!”

She stopped and pressed something hard, half wrapped
in a fine silk
peplos
into my hands. Something glimmered beneath
her fingers, and my breath caught in my throat. I heard a member of the court
next to me cry out in disbelief.

The other slipper
.

“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I thought perhaps if I
took it, we could be together. But you would not leave him, even when you
thought he would choose another.” She took a deep gulp of air. “There are some
things worth risking your life for. Love is the greatest of them,” she said. “I
know now that you love this man, as much as I love you. I am sorry I took it,
Dori. I am sorry for everything.”

Oh, Mara! She wished only to leave Egypt, but for
her love of me she had almost cost me my greatest desires. Time seemed to stop.
We stood there in silence, holding hands around the golden slipper and watching
the torches flicker and pop. For a moment, we were those same young girls, as
alike as to be called near-sisters. I closed my eyes and replayed visions of us
together in the temple, dancing, sweating and dreaming of the paths our lives
would take. That is how I choose to think of Mara, my beloved, my near-sister.
I could never believe she set out to hurt me.

 “Go,” she whispered. And the moment passed. “For
remembered affection and my duty to you, Dori. Go.” And she pushed me toward
the god-king’s throne.

So, I left her there. The crowds quieted as I
climbed the dais in a daze and made my obeisance to Amasis. From my prostrate
position, I unwrapped my remaining slipper and placed the treasure of gold at
his feet.

“O Great Nesu. If I may restore what wickedness
has stolen from you. Behold, the gift of Horus.” I said. “I present you with
its twin.”

Amasis froze. He might have been carved in marble.
His face was a mask of disbelief. Then he bent his knee and with a single, deft
motion, picked up the slipper. His strong fingers caressed the rose-gold
surface, playing upon it as they had once played across my skin. Then he
turned, and the corner of his mouth crooked upward in a smile.

He held up the pair for all assembled to see they
were akin.

Two halves of the same whole. One damaged, and the
other shining in its unblemished perfection. My throat ached with unshed tears
as Amasis descended from his throne. He, himself, brushed the royal bearer
aside and knelt before me to settle the slipper on my foot. The touch of his
hand was splendid on my skin.

“A perfect fit!” he announced.

I raised my skirt and made a deep curtsy to the
royal families, that all might see for themselves.

The council of advisors began to whisper
furiously.

“It cannot be,” I heard someone exclaim. It
sounded like Princess Therawejt. Someone shushed her.

Amasis raised his head and scanned the assembly. “O
People of Egypt, raise your voices. I call upon the royal families to heed my
command. For the gods have spoken, and I would have
this
woman, this
Rhodopis of Egypt.” Amasis looked at me and then scanned the council of
viziers. “What say you?”

There was a moment of utter silence.

Then, from somewhere in the back, someone shouted
a name. My name.

Someone else took it up. And then many.

A cacophony of calls swelled from the people like
the tide. They chanted my name, calling for blessings, calling for me to honor
them, in voices as pure and as piercing as the falcon’s cry!

As the crowds swelled louder, I saw Chief Scribe
Isesi nudge his wife. They knelt down before me. The royal nomarchs took note. And
slowly, incredibly, impossibly, one by one, the court and council sank to its
knees, with Ladice at the first, and Therawejt and Snesuankh at the last. They
kneeled, some with honor, some with mutiny, etched in their features. But each
head was bowed, lower then Pharaoh’s, lower than my own. Each forearm crossed
over in obeisance.

“What the gods have proclaimed, I will not set
aside.” Amasis called. “Rhodopis of Egypt, I declare you to be my Great Wife. Accept
the laws of Ra, of Isis, and of Horus and become Mother to all Egypt.”

It was done. Egypt would hold.

Before all assembled Amasis took my hand. He led
the court out of the inner sanctum and the cymbals sounded our exit. We
returned to the temple, to the commoners, the soldiers and the citizens who
championed their god-king.

*** ***

Now that the matter was settled, Amasis and his
troops joined the Grecian mercenaries and Polycrates’ warships to protect our
northeastern cities. For a proclamation of Great Wife had inspired the people
to fight for our Egypt, and the Greek city-state of Naukratis would heed the
call to arms. A fearful month passed before we heard the joyous news. Kourosh
had fled. Soldier reports stated that there was some trouble on the far borders
of the Persian’s domain and so the Kourosh turned tail and returned to his
homeland, at least for now, to settle his own affairs.

We planned to wed by the following season. I moved
into the palace with the other wives and princesses. Ladice was pleased to have
me, although I daresay she was happier to have the company of Mara, who moved
into the palace with me. Our troubles were now forgotten and my near-sister
seemed at peace with our new situation.

Amasis returned home to me, a weary warrior, but
rejoicing at the passion between us. I spent many days and nights bringing him
welcome, not for my duty but for the sake of my own heart. I moved through the
halls of the palace in a haze of joy. Me, who feared once to belong to any man,
to give up my freedom for the slavery of a marriage bed.

I realized then that to live free is not so much
about the bands around one’s wrists, but to live by the dictates of one’s
heart. I would no longer dwell on what could be, for what soul can say where
her path may lead? Today we were safe from the threat of invasion, but tomorrow
everything I loved could turn to dust. I need not be bound by the choices that
others made for me, but by the opportunities that were offered to me. Such was
true freedom for a woman. And freedom, for me, was Amasis and Egypt.

Amasis and I were married with much pageantry by
the Inundation season. It was a good choice, a time when the land is fertile.

During the ceremony, I bowed my head, so that I
would not be shamed by the tears that wet my cheeks. The red gold curtain of my
hair hid my burning cheeks, until Amasis tipped my chin and forced me to meet
his gaze. With pride, I thrust my chin as high as a priestess and spoke the
words that bound me to him and to Egypt forever.

Thus did a Thracian slave become Queen of Egypt.

Throngs of people, common and not, cheered for us.
They stamped and shouted my name. An immense feast was given, and I was
overjoyed to see most of the noble families attended. And not two weeks later
the news came that the mighty Kourosh of Persia was dead. He’d dared to cross
an eastern queen who did not take well to the death of her son on his
battlefields. She took the life of Kourosh as recompense to her gods.

Egypt settled once again in to a routine of
exports and trade. Life resumed its normalcy.

And, in true Egyptian fashion, I gained a new
throne name, ‘Nitocris’, chosen by my husband. It meant “Beloved Treasure of
Neit” his patron goddess. So, three names.

And I’d not thought such a number to be lucky.

“Honorable Wife of the Sun,” Isesi, now made a
vizier, inclined his head at my approach.

“Elevated One.” I offered him a white rose from my
hands. I heard Amasis laugh at something, just out of my sight. The sound
gladdened my heart.

“It seems the gods favor you,” Isesi said. “I hope
you are worthy of their notice.”

“I am a Daughter of the Gods and Mother to Egypt,
Isesi.” I would not think about what the royal houses might do if they thought
me lacking. For today, it was enough that the sun rose and set, and Amasis
loved me.

Just then, the sistrum rang and cymbals clanged
and the air was filled with the flapping of wings as a score of birds took
wing. Not sparrows, but doves, crated especially for the temple blessing. The
afternoon sun blazed on their feathers and turned them to rose-gold. I felt the
shackles of doubt, pain and misery fall away from me. For once, my future
seemed bright and secure.

Amasis motioned for me to join him on the dais. His
dark eyes sparkled. My heart leapt just looking at him.

“Excuse me, Vizier. My husband waits.” I gave Isesi
a smile, and he bowed and moved towards his wife Wakheptry who nodded to me,
her eyes politely lowered. The sun glittered on the wide electrum band set on
my heart finger, the one adornment I would never be without.

I joined Amasis near our thrones, a pair made of
ivory from Kush. It took most of my will to hold myself to a sedate pace in
front of the eyes of the noble houses. In truth, I wanted to fly into his arms.

“Are you happy?” Amasis asked. “I would have my
clever Great Wife content.”

The air was cool upon my skin. Gone were the
worries of my past and the fear that I no longer had a place in this world. I
had made one, here, in Egypt.

“I am more than that.” I leaned my head against
his shoulder, inhaled the sweet almond scent of his skin and watched the sun
sink into the brilliant green waters of the Nile. “I am free.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.A. Coffey has been fascinated
with mythos and legend for as long as she can remember. She grew up in the
Dustbowl of the Midwest-hence her flights of fancy. Since then she's lived in
all parts of the country and traveled abroad. She currently resides in North
Carolina with her husband and four large dogs.

J.A. holds a Bachelors Degree of
Fine Art and a Masters Degree of Education in Educational Leadership. A popular
presenter and conference speaker, she tries to write through the lens of an
artist. When she isn't writing or reading, she can be found toiling in her
raised bed gardens, painting, or "feathering her nest". She dreams of
restoring a historic home. A former Romance Writers of America Golden Heart
finalist in the "Best Manuscript with Romantic Elements" category,
J.A. is currently working on a Young Adult urban fantasy series and her latest
historical novel.

To find out more, please visit www.JACoffey.com.