“And do you place me on an equal footing with those women?”
“Why not?”
“Pardon, King. I cannot bring myself to imagine that I am like one of your women or that any of my people are like any of yours, unless masters are like slaves. Do you not know that our army felt nothing of the humiliation of defeat when they quit Thebes, but said, in derision, ‘Our slaves have revolted and we shall come back and deal with them'?”
The king lost his temper completely and shouted at her, “Who are the slaves and who the masters? You understand nothing, conceited girl! You were born in the bosom of this valley that inspires men to glory and honor, but had you been born a century earlier you would have been born in the most savage deserts of the cold north and never heard anyone call you ‘princess’ or your father ‘king.’ From those deserts came your people, usurping the sovereignty of our valley and turning its great men into serfs. Then, in their ignorance and conceit, they said that they were princes and we were peasants and slaves, that they were white and we were brown. Today, justice has returned, and will restore the master to his proper place while the slave will be turned back into a slave. Whiteness will become the badge of those who roam the cold deserts and brownness the emblem of the masters of Egypt, who have been cleansed by the light of the sun. This is the indisputable truth.”
Rage now blazed in the princess's heart and the blood rushed to her face. Contemptuously she said, “I know that my forefathers descended onto Egypt from the northern deserts, but how has it escaped you that they were lords of those deserts before they became, by their strength, masters of this valley? They were already masters, people of pride and dignity, who knew no path to their goal but the sword and did not disguise themselves in the clothes of traders so that today they might attack those to whom only yesterday they had prostrated themselves.”
He stared at her with a harsh, scrutinizing look and saw that she was possessed of a pride, imagination, and cruelty that never softened or gave way to fear and that the overbearing, haughty characteristics of her people were all present in her. Overwhelmed by fury, he felt a burning desire to subdue and humble her, especially after she had belittled his emotions with her pride and boasting. In a haughty, quiet voice he said to her, “I can see no reason to continue this debate with you and I should not forget that I am a king and you a captive.”
“Captive if you wish, but I shall never be humbled.” “On the contrary, you are protected by my mercy, so this courage becomes you well.”
“My courage never abandons me. Ask your men who snatched me by treachery and they will tell you of my courage and my contempt for them at the most critical and dangerous of all times for me.”
He shrugged his broad shoulders disdainfully and, turning to the table, took his helmet and placed it on his head. But before he could take another step, he heard her say, “You spoke the truth when you said that I am a captive, and your ship is not the place for captives. Take me and put me with the captives of my people!”
He looked at her in anger and exasperation and said, to provoke and scare her, “The matter is not as you imagine. The custom is that the male captives are taken as slaves, while the females are added to the victorious king's harem.” Eyes widening, she said, “But I am a princess.” “You were a princess. Now you are just a captive.” “Whenever I think that one day I saved your life, I go mad.”
Quietly he said, “Long may the memory stay with you! It was for its sake that I saved your life from the insurgents — who wished to send your head to Apophis.”
He turned his back on her and left the chamber in anger and fury. The guards saluted him and he ordered them to set sail to the north of Thebes. Then he — went to the front of the ship — with heavy, dragging steps, filling his chest with the moist night air, while the ship continued on its way, descending with the ever-flowing Nile current and cleaving the darkness toward the north of Thebes.
The king set his eyes on the city, fleeing to it from the troubles of his soul. The light radiated from the fleet moored at the city's shore, while the lofty palaces, now that their owners had left them and fled, were plunged in darkness. In the distance, among the palaces and gardens, the light of the torches carried by joyful revelers appeared and the breeze brought the echo of their voices as they rose in cheers and hymns. A smile passed over his broad mouth and he realized that Thebes was giving the Army of Deliverance the reception it reserved for its triumphant armies and immortal feasts.
The ship drew close to the royal palace, passing alongside it on its course, and the king saw that its lamps had been lit, the light radiating from its windows and garden. From this he gathered that Hur was attending to its preparation and cleansing and that he had returned indeed to the performance of his original role in the palace of Seqenenra. Ahmose observed the palace garden anchorage and the painful memory came back to him of the night when the royal ship had carried his family away to the furthest south, while the blood spurted behind them.
The king paced back and forth on the deck of the ship, his look turning often to the princess's locked chamber, at which he would ask himself in displeasure and annoyance, “Why did they bring her to me? Why did they bring her to me?”
16
On the morning of the following day, Hur, the commanders, and the counselors — went early to visit the king on his ship moored north of Thebes. The king received them in his cabin and they prostrated themselves before him. Hur said in his quiet voice, “May the Lord make your morning joyful, triumphant king! We have left behind us the gates of Thebes, whose heart flutters with joy and shakes with longing to see the light of its savior and liberator's brow.”
Ahmose said, “Let Thebes rejoice. Our meeting, however, will come only when the Lord decrees us victory.”
Hur said, “Word has spread among the people that their sovereign is on his way to the north and that he welcomes any who has the ability to join him. Do not ask, my lord, about the enthusiasm that overflowed in the hearts of the young men or how they swarm around the officers asking to be inducted into the army of the Divine Ahmose!”
The king smiled and asked his men, “Have you visited the temple of Amun?”
Hur replied, “Indeed, my lord; we visited it all together and the soldiers hurried to it, stroking its corners, rubbing their faces in its dust, and embracing its priests. The altar overflowed with offerings, the priests sang the hymn of the Lord Amun, and their prayers echoed from the sides of the temple. Affection melted all hearts and the Thebans organized themselves altogether in collective prayer. Nofer-Amun, however, has yet to leave his seclusion.”
The king smiled and, happening to turn, saw Commander Ahmose Ebana standing silent and oppressed. He signaled to him to draw close and the commander approached his master. The king placed his hand on his shoulder and said to him, “Bear your portion of injury, Ahmose, and remember that the motto of your family is ‘Courage and Sacrifice.’ “
The commander bowed his head in thanks, the king's sympathy bringing him some solace. Ahmose looked at his men and said, “Counsel me on whom I should choose as governor of Thebes and charge — with the onerous task of organizing it.”
Commander Mheb said, “The best man for this critical post is the wise, loyal Hur.”
However, Hur quickly intervened to say, “My duty lies in watching vigilantly over my lord's servants, not in absenting myself from his presence.”
Ahmose said, “You are right and I cannot do without you.” Then Hur said, “There is a man of great virtue and experience, known for his wisdom and originality of thought, and that is Tuti-Amun, agent of the temple of Amun. If my lord wishes, let him charge this man with the affairs of Thebes.”