Ahmose craved war, partly because he looked forward to meeting his enemy in a decisive encounter and partly because he yearned to plunge himself into the fighting, forget the upheavals in his soul, and erase the sorrows in his heart. Apophis, however, denied him that comfort, so he found his thoughts hovering about the obstinate captive and his heart tugging him toward her, in spite of the ill will she felt for him. He remembered his dreams when he had thought that the happiest of fates was the one that had turned her over to his keeping and when he had been greedy to make the vessel of captivity a paradise of love. Then he thought of what her disdain and anger had done to him and how they had made him a sick man, deprived of the most delicious fruit, ripe and ready for the picking though it was. His desire for love was irresistible, its rushing torrent sweeping away the barriers of hesitation and pride. He went to the ship, made for the magic chamber, and entered. She was sitting in her usual position on the divan, enveloped in one of Memphis's most delicate robes. She seemed to have recognized his footfall, for she did not raise her head to him and remained looking at the floor between her feet. His infatuated vision ran over the parting of her hair, her brow, her lowered eyelashes, and he felt a thundering in his chest, desire tugging at him to throw himself upon her and press her between his arms with all the strength and resolution that he possessed. However, she raised her head unexpectedly in an insolent stare and he remained where he was, frozen. He asked her, “Did the envoys visit you?”
She replied, in a tone that betrayed no emotion, “Yes.”
His gaze passed over the room, until it came to rest on the ivory chest and he said, “I gave them permission to deliver this chest to you.”
She said offhandedly and in a voice that was not without asperity, “Thank you.”
He felt better and he said, “In the chest was the necklace with the emerald heart.”
Her lips trembled and she wanted to speak but suddenly decided against it and shut her mouth in a way that indicated confusion. Ahmose said gently, “The envoys said that this necklace was dear to you.”
She shook her head violently, as though rejecting an accusation made against her and said, “Indeed, I used to wear it frequently, because the palace witch had made it into a talisman to drive away harm and evil.”
He discerned her evasiveness but, not despairing, said, “I thought it might be for other causes, to which the cabin of the royal vessel might bear witness.”
Her face turned deep red and she said angrily, “I do not remember today the whims of yesterday; and it would be proper for you to talk to me as the enemy must talk to a captive.”
He saw her face was cruel and hard, so he swallowed his disappointment yet again. However, in an attempt to suppress his emotions, he said, “Are you not aware that we add the women of our enemies to our palace harems?”
She said sharply, “Not such as me.”
“Are you going to go back to your threats of fasting?”
“I do not need to anymore now.”
He examined her suspiciously and asked her sarcastically, “Then how will you defend yourself?”
She showed him that in her hand she had a small weapon, no longer than a fingernail, and said with assurance, “Look! This is a poisoned dagger. If I scratch my skin with it, the poison will pass into my bloodstream and kill me in moments. The envoy gave it to me secretly, unnoticed by your watchers. Thus, I knew that my father had placed in my hand something with which to do away with myself should any dishonor touch me or any person provoke me.”
Ahmose grew angry and, frowning, he said, “Was that the secret of the chest? To hell with anyone who believes the word of a Herdsman pig with his filthy beard! Treachery runs in your veins like blood. However, I see that you misunderstood your father's message, for he secretly sent you this dagger so that you could kill me.”
She shook her head as though mocking him and said, “You do not understand Apophis. He will accept nothing but that I live honorably or die honorably. As for his enemy, he will kill him himself, as he is accustomed to kill his enemies.”
Ahmose struck the ground — with his foot and said in extreme exasperation, “Why all this trouble? How little do I need a slave girl like you, blinded by conceit, pride, and a corrupt nature! In the past, I imagined you to be something that in reality you have nothing in common with, so to hell with all illusions!”
The king turned away from her and left the chamber. Outside, he summoned the chief of the guards and said to him, “The princess is to be transferred to another ship, under tight guard.”
Ahmose left the ship downcast, his face dark, and returned in his chariot to the camp.
21
Finding inactivity oppressive, the king ordered his commanders to prepare themselves. At dawn on the second day, the army marched off with its myriad companies and the fleet set sail. In two days it reached Ptolemais. There was no sign of the enemy to be seen nearby, so the vanguard entered the city peacefully, the army in its footsteps. The vanguard probed as far as Panopolis, the northernmost city under the aegis of Thebes, and entered it without resistance. The good tidings were brought to King Ahmose that Panopolis was in Egyptian hands and he cried out, “The Herdsmen have been cleared from the Kingdom of Thebes!”
Said Hur, “And soon they will be cleared from Egypt.” The army continued toward Panopolis and entered it proudly and triumphantly to the patriotic music of the band and blew on the bugles to announce victory. The flags of Egypt were raised over the wall of the city and the soldiers spread out through the markets and mixed with the people, cheering and singing. A crazy joy, beating in every breast and resonating in every soul, filled the city. The king invited the army and navy commanders and his entourage to a luxurious banquet, at the end of which cups brimming with vintage wines of Maryut were offered, along — with lotus flowers and sprigs of basil. The king told his men, “Tomorrow — we cross the borders of the Northern Kingdom and the flags of Egypt will be raised above its walls for the first time in a hundred years or more.”
The men called blessings on him and cheered his name at length.
However, in the late afternoon of the same day, the guards saw a squadron of chariots flying a white pennant moving fast toward the city from the north. The soldiers surrounded them and asked them where they were headed and one of the squadron told them that they were envoys of King Apophis to Ahmose, so the soldiers took them to the city. On learning of their arrival, Ahmose went to the palace of the governor of the city, summoned Hur, the commander of the fleet, and Commanders Mheb and Deeb to him, and took his seat on the governor's throne, his commanders around him, and, around them, the guard in their dress uniforms. Then he gave permission to the envoys to enter. The Egyptians, not knowing what the envoys carried with them this time, waited impatiently. The envoys of the Herdsman king came. They were a mixture of commanders and chamberlains, in military and civilian dress, their flowing beards preceding them. There was no sign in their faces of the defiant demeanor or obstreperousness that Ahmose had expected. On the contrary, they approached the king's seat and bowed together with the greatest reverence and respect, so that the king almost gave voice to his astonishment. Then their leader said, “The Lord grant you life, King of Thebes! We are envoys to you from the Pharaoh of Upper, Middle, and Lower Egypt.”
Ahmose cast a look at them that revealed nothing of the turmoil that was taking place in his breast and said to them calmly, “The Lord grant you life, envoys of Apophis! What do you want?”
The envoys appeared displeased at the king's ignoring of their sovereign's titles. However, their leader said, “King, we are men of war. We were raised on its fields and we live according to its code, bravely and courageously, as you know from long experience. We admire the hero, though he be our enemy, and we cede to the judgment of the sword, though it be against us. You are victorious, King, and have regained the throne of your kingdom. Thus it is your right to possess it, just as it is our obligation to surrender it; it is your kingdom and you are its sovereign. Pharaoh now extends to you his greetings and proposes to you an end to the bloodshed and an honorable settlement that respects the rights of all, restoring the friendly relations between the Kingdom of the South and the Kingdom of the North that have been severed.”