Queen of the Heavens (33 page)

“Then why does he lie near death?”

“Two mornings ago, Ramesses left the river with a company of soldiers to inspect a quarry in the desert. A band of sand dwellers, trying to steal food, snuck into the camp at night. Ramesses ran from his tent with his sword to help drive them away. He fought bravely until struck from behind. At first, Ramesses could speak and even walk, but he soon grew weaker. I rushed him to Thebes, hoping you would be here.”

I gently touched my son’s bandaged head. “How long has he been like this?”

“Since last night.”

Sety sat down on the bed, put his hands on my shoulders and looked at me with desperation in his eyes. “Tuya. You must save him.”

My husband need not have spoken these words, for I knew what I had to do.

“If Ramesses is to live, you must leave,” I said.

“No. I will remain here.”

“You will only upset and distract me.”

“Ramesses is my son and heir. I will stay.”

“For what purpose?” I asked, with sharpness in my tongue. “You have no healing skills. Go instead to the Great Temple of Amun. Make offerings in the sanctuary. Use your divine authority as Pharaoh to intercede with the gods. Ask them to be with me as I seek to heal our son.”

“All right, Tuya, but you must not fail.”

“I’m Ramesses’ mother. I will not fail.”

After Sety and the officers left, I called for Nebet. “My Lady, what happened? Is Ramesses dead?” she cried as she walked into the room.

“No, but he will be if I don’t act quickly. Bring me a burner filled with incense made from jasmine and myrtle. Then leave us alone.”

I moved a chair to Ramesses’ bedside, sat down and closed my eyes to prepare myself for the healing ritual ahead. I had just assured Sety that our son would live, but to my dismay, doubt crept into my mind about whether I was capable of saving Ramesses. I had used my power to ease the distress of my children when they became ill and to speed the healing of their skinned knees. I also had sent my strength to others without them knowing, including to my husband on the day he became Pharaoh.

Years had passed, however, since I had performed a great healing. Did I still have the knowledge and power to bring someone back from the brink of death? Would the Neters be with me as I sought to save my son?

I must trust the Neters and never doubt
, I whispered over and over again.

Gradually the doubt lifted and calmness settled upon me. All thoughts vanished and I sensed nothing, save for a tingling in my forehead.

By the time I opened my eyes again, night had descended. Candles and lamps illuminated the room and a bronze incense burner rested on a table next to me. Nebet had come and gone without my noticing.

My brow still tingled, for my hidden eye had opened, allowing me to see things the other eyes could not. To my chagrin, but not to my surprise, the aura surrounding Ramesses’ body was drab and dull, a certain harbinger of death.

I lit the incense, placed the burner next to Ramesses’ head, and with a wave of a hand directed the smoke toward his nostrils.
May the life-affirming scent of the garden enter my son on his breath so he may blossom once again like a flower.

I removed Ramesses’ bandage, a part of it red with blood still seeping from his wound, then took a cord from around my neck that held a talisman I often wore resembling a falcon’s eye. I placed it in the palm of my left hand, reached under Ramesses’ head and held the talisman against the huge welt caused by the clubbing.
As Thoth restored the Eye of Horus after Seth plucked it from him in battle, may this amulet restore the senses of my stricken son.

I placed my right hand on Ramesses’ forehead, closed my eyes and marshaled all my strength.
May the force of the Cosmos that gives me life enter Ramesses and rescue him from death.

My body twitched, and I felt great heat in both my palms as energy flowed through them and into my son. When the burning ebbed, I opened my eyes, expecting to see Ramesses’ body surrounded by bright, dancing colors. To my horror, the colors remained dull and drab.

Despair overwhelmed me.
No, this cannot be.

Exhausted, I sat down in the chair. I wanted to repeat the healing ritual, but fatigue triumphed and all became black.

After some time, a bird appeared from the darkness, soaring high above the ground. Slowly, the bird spiraled downward. As it came closer to the earth, I became the bird, circling Ramesses, who lay naked and motionless in the Nile’s reeds. His supine body was speckled with blood, as if it had been pricked a hundred times by thorns. As I watched from above, a reddish mist enveloped Ramesses, but soon the mist turned into a rock.

It entombs him
, I thought, but suddenly the rock crumbled, revealing my son, healthy and smiling, standing in the middle of small fragments of reddish stone. Ramesses looked skyward and raised his arms toward me. “Mother, you are so beautiful. I love you.”

My son lives,
I exulted, but as I was about to swoop down and embrace Ramesses with my wings, I felt a nudge and heard Nebet’s voice.

“My Lady. You should go to your chambers and sleep. I will stay at the young Prince’s bedside.”

The light of morning filled the room. I blinked, clearing the fog from my eyes, expecting to see a smiling Ramesses in front of me. Instead, I saw my son still lying motionless on the bed.

“No. This is impossible,” I said to Nebet. “I just saw Ramesses full of life, standing and smiling at me.”

“You must have been dreaming, My Lady.”

I dropped to my knees next to Ramesses and cried on the edge of the bed. “Why do the Neters torment me? Why do they take my healing power from me at the time I need it most? Why do they send me a dream that gives me hope, and then tortures me so?”

“Dreams can tell us many things, My Lady. Perhaps your dream contains a message.”

My tears quickly ceased. I looked up at my servant.

“Of course, Nebet. The Neters would not be so pitiless as to send me this dream unless there was a reason. The secret to my son’s healing could lie in my dream. Stay with my son while I ask Thoth for help.”

I rushed to my chambers and placed before Thoth’s statue a silver tray holding a pomegranate and grains of barley.
God of wisdom, inventor of hieroglyphs, scribe at the Final Judgment, I beg of you, reveal to me the meaning of my dream.

I sat down in a chair facing the statue. Patiently, I waited, but heard nothing.

Please, Thoth, speak to me,
but Thoth remained silent.

“I refuse to despair,” I said aloud. “Though the Neters seem to have abandoned me, I will love them always, and trust them to know what is best.”

With these words, the color of indigo filled my chambers and Thoth’s statue began to change shape. The ibis beak dissolved into its face, and a hump grew on its back. Instead of looking at a stately Neter standing erect, I gazed upon a statue of a stooped and haggard old woman, so ugly I could barely look at her.

Of course
, I whispered, as I prostrated myself before the image.
Thank you, Thoth. I am indebted to you for eternity.

I summoned the highest-ranking officer of the guard. “You will travel immediately by boat to Dendera at the greatest speed, even rowing by the moonlight and awakening the town if you arrive at night. Take a second team of oarsmen to replace the first when they tire. Find an old woman named Itet who interprets dreams. If you discover she is dead, then bring me a person who witnessed her entombment to attest to this. That way, I’ll know you did your best to find her.”

“Yes, My Lady. What should I say to this woman when she asks why you send for her?”

“Tell her Queen Tuya had a dream only she can interpret. Tell Itet that Egypt’s future depends on her.”

I rushed back to Ramesses’ bedside. Nebet and I applied a balm and a fresh bandage to my son’s wound. We lifted Ramesses’ head and shoulders and tried to pour juice into his mouth, but most dripped down his face and onto a cloth held by Nebet beneath his chin. Throughout the day, I held Ramesses’ hand and sent my strength into him, but as darkness settled upon Thebes, exhaustion again overcame me.

“You must sleep, My Lady,” Nebet said.

“No. I must continue sending my strength to my son.”

“What is left, you will need later. Please. Go to your chambers. I will stay with Ramesses.”

Nebet spoke wisely. If Itet could interpret my dream, then I would need great energy to carry out its instructions. I did as my servant suggested, collapsed into bed and slept throughout the night.

As the next day wore on, my patience ebbed as I awaited the return of the officer I had sent on the mission to Dendera.

“Can I depend on no one? I should have gone to find Itet myself,” I said to Nebet.

“Your place is with your son, My Lady. The officer will carry out your command.”

“What if he can’t find Itet? What if she’s dead? What will I do then?”

“My Lady, you ask questions that may not need answering. Rather than agitate yourself by asking them, conserve your strength. You will need it.”

Finally, as dusk approached, the officer returned. I rushed from Ramesses’ bedside to the door as Nebet answered the knock.

“Did you find Itet? Does she live?” I asked the officer.

“Yes, My Lady.”

“Where is she?”

“At the boat. She has great difficulty walking.”

“Then carry her.”

The officer looked perplexed. “My Lady, are you sure you wish to see this woman? She hardly seems like someone who should be allowed into the palace, and she certainly isn’t the type of person who should be seen with the Great Royal Wife.”

“Bring Itet to my chambers now,” I shouted, “or instead of commanding a detail of the Royal Guard, you’ll be treading through the dust as a common soldier.”

“Yes, My Lady,” the chastened officer said as he rushed from my presence, forgetting even to bow.

I stayed with Ramesses for a while, then left to meet Itet. As I approached my chambers, I caught sight of her at a distance. The tiny creature sat in a chair carried by a soldier on each side. The officer led the way down the great colonnade and six spear-carrying soldiers followed. Itet looked quite out of place beside the towering, brightly colored columns and magnificent statuary of the palace.

I went to the terrace and sat down.

“My Lady, Itet of Dendera has arrived,” the officer announced.

“You may enter,” I replied.

As the soldiers brought Itet closer, I nearly gagged at the sight. Itet’s body had shrunk, except for the hump on her back, which had grown larger. The ravages of life so twisted and contorted Itet’s bones that she could barely move, and she had even fewer teeth than before. Yet, from the eyes of this grotesque being poured the love I had seen on the day years before when the Captain of the palace boat took me to her.

I motioned for the soldiers to set the chair directly in front of me.

“Leave us,” I told them.

Itet tried to rise.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I must bow.”

“You need only nod.”

“Yes, My Lady,” Itet said, then did so.

“You are a very important woman, Itet. The guards carried you as if you were royalty.”

“I don’t like being carried, My Lady.”

“Neither do I. We have met before. Do you remember?”

Itet smiled. “How could I forget? You were a young woman traveling to Thebes to be with your betrothed, eventually to become Queen. Was my interpretation of your dream correct?”

“I believe it was, or will be, if you are able now to interpret another dream for me.”

“I’m honored you trust me to do so, My Lady, but many priests in Thebes are quite adept at interpreting dreams. They even have scrolls to consult to determine a dream’s meaning. Perhaps you would be more comfortable with a priest than with a wretched creature like me.”

“No, Itet. Only you can interpret the dream that can save my son’s life.”

“Your son’s life, My Lady?”

“You must mention this to no one, but Ramesses lies nearby, with death awaiting him. I believe my dream holds the secret to his healing.”

Itet swallowed. “You ask much of me.”

“The Neters have given you a great gift. They expect much of you, and so do I.”

Itet reached out to me. “I will do my best, My Lady. Join me again in asking Horus to be with us and to give me guidance.”

I held Itet’s frail and bony hands as she uttered under her breath an indecipherable prayer to the god of prophecy, just as she did so many years ago. When she finished, we sat back in our chairs.

“Your dream. Tell me about it,” she said.

“First, I saw a bird flying high in the heavens. As it descended, I realized I was this bird. As I flew in circles, I looked down upon my son, who lay on the ground naked and still.”

“Was the bird a kite?”

I closed my eyes and recalled the dream. “Yes, I believe it was.”

“Isis became a kite and circled the body of the dead Osiris. Many people believe you are Isis. I am among them. What else can you tell me?”

“Ramesses was speckled with blood, as if he had been pricked by many thorns.”

Itet pursed her lips and rubbed her chin. “Did not Isis cry tears of blood for the dead Osiris? The blood on your son was not his, but yours. Go on.”

“A mist descended upon Ramesses, then turned into a rock. When it crumbled away, Ramesses appeared standing amidst small stones, alive and happy. He told me I was beautiful and that he loved me.”

“What color was the rock?”

“Reddish.”

“The color of a carnelian?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“Isis’ tears of blood turned into a magical carnelian amulet, which she used to resurrect Osiris. The message of your dream seems clear, My Lady. Find the magical amulet, and you will resurrect your son.”

My heart pounded as I jumped from my chair.

“The
ankh
,” I shouted as I rushed to the jewelry chest in which I kept the talisman with the carnelian at its center that Lord Harenhab had given me so many years before. I unwrapped the linen surrounding it and showed the
ankh
to Itet.