"Ouch!"
"… your head!"
CHAPTER XIX
"People are still rioting all over the city," said Merianis. "Days have passed since the king threw his tantrum, and yet the people remain in a fury. The rabble-rousers claim that Caesar is holding the king captive against his will-"
"A squadron of Roman soldiers did march Ptolemy back to the palace," I observed.
"But they never laid a finger on him! The king returned of his own volition-"
"After one of his guards was slain in the Tomb of Alexander!" "Someone had to protect the king's person on the way back to the palace; that crowd had turned into a rioting mob, as you saw for yourself, Gordianus. Anyway, once the king was back in the palace, safe and sound, Caesar and Pothinus together managed to calm him. Negotiations between the queen and the king continue, under Caesar's supervision. But the city is in chaos."
"Alexandrians are famous for this sort of thing," I observed. "The Alexandrian mob drove the previous king out of the city; it took a Roman army to get him back in."
"Which is why Ptolemy should have known better than to incite the mob's fury. Most of their anger is directed against the Romans, of course, but even the palace guards are afraid to venture out into the streets. Alexandria is utterly lawless! The Museum is shut up tight-all those scholars afraid to even look out a window!-and so is the Library. No new books for you, Gordianus! You shall have to reread the ones I already brought."
"Yes, do, Master!" said Mopsus, flinging himself on the bed beside me. "Read the part about Alexander and the Gordian knot again. Is it true that's the origin of your family name? 'In the land of Phrygia there reigned King Gordian, who was born a peasant but became the king because of an oracle-' "
"I see no need to read the tale again if you've memorized it," I said. "As for the origin of the name Gordianus-"
But there was no stopping Mopsus. " 'And many years later, Alexander passed through Phrygia and the city of Gordium, named for King Gordian, and he was presented with the Gordian knot; for the oracles claimed that no man could conquer Asia unless first he undid the Gordian knot, which was so deviously tied that even the cleverest man could not undo it, and so tightly tied that even the strongest man could not undo it. Whereupon Alexander-' "
Androcles interrupted, jumping into the middle of the room and pantomiming the action he described. "Whereupon Alexander took out his sword, and with a great whack and a whoosh, he chopped it right in two, and the knot fell apart at his feet, and everyone bowed down to the new king of Asia-hooray!-Alexander, the only man strong enough and clever enough to undo the Gordian knot!"
"That's not how it goes!" complained Mopsus.
"Close enough."
"But you left out the part about-"
"I didn't leave out anything important."
"You're just jealous that you don't remember the words."
"It's the story that matters, not the words." Androcles again mimed hacking at a knot with a sword. "With a great whack and a whoosh, he chopped it right in two!"
Mopsus did likewise, jumping about the room and slicing the air with an invisible sword. "With a whack and a whoosh-"
Rupa made a face and covered his ears. Merianis sighed. "The boys grow restless, trapped inside all day."
"Restless, indeed!" Not only were they unable to go about the city, but I had forbidden them to make any further explorations in the palace's secret passages. "If only I could send them out on some errand. A very long errand."
Merianis smiled. "Perhaps you and I should go out for a bit."
"I think not! The last time I ventured out with you, Merianis, I very nearly got my head staved in by bloodthirsty dockworkers. For all I know, they're still out there hunting for Romans."
"But I have another idea. Come with me, Gordianus."
"Where?"
"Trust me!"
I looked at her askance.
"With a whack and a whoosh!" shouted Mopsus.
"He chopped it in two!" cried Androcles.
I winced. "Very well, Merianis. Take me away from here. Quickly!" "Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
It seemed at first that we were heading toward the Roman sector, but at some point Merianis turned down an unfamiliar corridor, and I found myself in a part of the palace unknown to me. I was amazed anew at the extent and the opulence of the royal complex.
At last we stepped into the bright sunshine of a garden that fronted the harbor. We crossed the garden, breathing warm, jasmine-scented air, and descended several flights of steps. The cloudless sky was dazzling. The galleys of Caesar's small fleet were scattered here and there across the water, their prows turned to face the harbor entrance, which was barred by a massive chain. Beyond the great harbor, impossibly big, loomed the great lighthouse of Pharos.
Merianis led me to a pier made of stone that projected a considerable distance into the harbor. We passed a series of small buildings, their rooftops decorated with colorful pennants. Beside a squat statue of Bes, the Egyptian god of pleasure, a flight of steps led down to a little skiff. I sucked in a breath, for the boat was exactly like the one in which Pompey had taken his final journey, its prow carved in the shape of a standing ibis with wings outstretched and its rim decorated with ornate carvings of crocodiles, cranes, and Nile river-horses, the images plated with hammered silver and inlaid with bits of lapis and turquoise for the eyes.
A man wearing only a brief loincloth sat in the boat, leaning back against the prow with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed, basking in the sun. As we stepped closer, I saw that it was Apollodorus, the Sicilian who had delivered Cleopatra to Caesar.
Merianis called his name. He lazily opened one eye.
"Dozing, in the middle of the day?" said Merianis. "What would the queen think of that?"
Apollodorus smiled and placed a hand over his loincloth, splaying his fingers. "Perhaps it's the queen who made me so tired."
"Blasphemer!" said Merianis, but her tone was playful. Apollodorus roused himself, stood in the boat, and shook his great mane of hair as if to untangle it. He cast a heavy-lidded gaze at Merianis and leaned forward with puckered lips. She pretended to reciprocate the gesture, then pulled back at the last moment, so that Apollodorus kissed empty space and almost lost his balance, circling his arms wildly to steady himself.
Merianis gave a deep, throaty laugh. "Summon the boatmen at once, you big lout!"
"Boatmen? Do you think I can't row you there myself?" He made a show of massing his biceps.
"As you wish." Merianis stepped into the boat and reached back to take my hand.
I sat beside her at the prow. "Where are you taking me, Merianis?"
"You'll see."
Apollodorus rowed us away from the pier. Seen from the harbor, the long expanse of the palace complex presented a vista of balconies, shaded alcoves, hanging gardens, and roof terraces. I was able to discern the high room of the building in which I had dined with Caesar and where Cleopatra had been presented to him, and adjacent to that building the great theater with its seats facing the harbor; Roman soldiers armed with spears patrolled the highest tier, and I recalled that Caesar had spoken of the theater's virtues as a possible stronghold in case of attack. Since the riots set off by Ptolemy's harangue, Caesar and his soldiers had begun to fortify the sector of the palace complex that they occupied, closing off streets and barricading the open spaces between buildings with whatever materials were at hand.