Finally it was time to seal Tutankhamun in his tomb of eternity. I had a strange feeling that we, the living, crowded into the passageway, were on the wrong side of the stone door that was hurriedly constructed between ourselves and the now deserted Hall of Waiting. The gathered faces-nobles, priests and the young Queen-looked like conspirators at a crime in the candles’ nervous, gusty light. I felt something like disgust as well as pity as the masons in their dirty work-clothes manoeuvred the last stones into place with a grinding sound, then crudely slapped and smoothed dark wet grey plaster with their trowels over them for the necropolis guards to apply their oval insignias of Anubis; many hands reached forward to record their signs for eternity, in a manner perfunctory, anxious and at odds with the meaning of the other symbols. Great of love of the entire Land…creating images of the Gods that they may give to him the breath of life…
Then, like a herd of animals, we shuffled backwards up the passageway holding our frail lamps. Ankhesenamun laid a last bouquet on the steps-mandrake, blue water lily, nightshade, olive, willow; hopeful, frail, transitory flowers from the world’s spring. Her face was wet with tears. I came last, and as I looked back I saw, like a dark, rising flood, the shadows of our departing forms joining the great darkness of eternity that now followed us up the sixteen steps, until it was sealed in by more stones, for ever.
53
The half-moon had sunk to the edge of the black and blue outline of the Valley. We stood together, uncertain under the late stars, in the land of the living. But we were not alone. In the darkness an imposing figure stood waiting, with armed men behind him, their arms polished by the moonlight. Horemheb. I looked for Simut’s guards; I saw dark shapes, slain bodies, slumped in the darkness.
The general walked forward to confront Ay and Ankhesenamun.
‘You did not see fit to invite me to the last rites of the King?’ he demanded.
Ay faced him.
‘I am King. I have performed the rites, and taken the succession. I will announce my accession and my forthcoming coronation in the morning.’
‘And what of you, Queen? Did you think so little of my offer that you failed to discuss it with me before making whatever decision has led to this sorry situation?’
‘I considered everything. I am the widow of Tutankhamun, Restorer of the Gods, and the granddaughter of Amenhotep the Glorious. And you are not noble.’
‘How dare you question my nobility!’ he growled in his low, menacing voice.
She paused. The moment had come. Horemheb was impatient to hear what she would say.
‘Information has come to us, privately and secretly, which has astounded and disappointed us. It concerns the reputation and integrity of the army.’
She let the dangerous words hang in the dark air.
‘The reputation and integrity of the army is untarnished,’ replied Horemheb, menacingly.
‘Perhaps, then, the general is not aware of everything that is happening within his own division. There are elements within the army which are trading with the Hittites, our ancient enemies, for personal profit,’ she said.
He approached closer, his breath pluming in the cold night air.
‘You actually dare to accuse my divisions of treachery? You?’ He gazed at her in derision. But she confronted him.
‘I am reporting that which was told to me. Perhaps it is not true. But then again, perhaps it is. The opium poppy, I hear. Transported across the lines of battle. Trading with the enemy? It would be most unfortunate if such a suggestion were to reach the offices, the temples, and the general ear,’ she said.
Horemheb swiftly drew out his curved sword, its polished outer blade glinting in the moonlight. For a moment, I feared he would slice off her head. He held his weapon aloft in his gloved fist, and his soldiers instantly aimed their elegant, powerful arrows at our hearts, in preparation for an order to slaughter us all in silence. Simut stepped forward to protect the Queen, his own dagger now raised at Horemheb. The two men stared at each other, tense as dogs before a vicious fight. But Ankhesenamun held her ground and intervened.
‘I do not think our assassination would help your cause. You do not have sufficient power to take control of all the offices and temples of the Two Lands. Too many of your troops are fighting the war. Think carefully. Listen to my proposition. All I desire is order for the Two Lands, and therefore an equitable sharing of the powers necessary to maintain that order between the three of us. Ay will govern as King, for he controls the offices of the kingdom. You will remain as general. The secret trade must stop. If it does, then there is much to be gained for you. There is the future.’
Slowly Horemheb lowered his sword, and gestured for his men to lower their bows.
‘And what is that future? Will you marry this shambles of age and infirmity?’ he asked, gesturing with contempt at Ay.
‘My King is dead, but only I can bring forth a successor, a son who will be King in turn. That is my destiny, and I will fulfil it. As for the father of my son, I will choose him carefully, the fittest and the best among the best of men. I will choose him myself, and no man will have authority over me. Whoever proves himself to be this noble man, I shall take as my husband. And he shall become King, beside me. In due course, we will rule the Two Lands together. Perhaps you, sir, will prove yourself to be this worthy man.’
Ay, who had remained silent throughout this exchange, now intervened.
‘Those are the terms. You should know that there are a thousand palace guards stationed above us, and at the entrance to the Valley. They are prepared to do whatever is necessary to secure our safety. What is your answer?’
Horemheb looked up, and there on the escarpments on either side were new lines of dark figures holding bows.
‘Did you think I would not anticipate everything you could have thought of?’ continued Ay.
Horemheb considered them both. Then he approached them very closely.
‘Wonderfuclass="underline" an old man with toothache and a feeble girl with dreams of glory grasping at the reins of power, and a useless Medjay officer who knows now his family will never be safe. Listen-’
And he opened his arms to the vast silence of the night and the desert that dwarfed us.
‘Do you know what that is? It is the sound of time. You hear nothing but silence, and yet it is roaring like a lion. There is no god but time, and I am his general. I will wait. My hour is nigh, and when it arrives, in triumph and glory, you will both be nothing but dust, and your names will be nothing but dust, for I will erase them, every single one, from their stones, and I will usurp your monuments, and in your place there will be a new dynasty, carrying my name, valiant son succeeding each strong father, generation after generation, into the future, for ever.’
And then he smiled, as if victory were assured, turned away and marched off into the dark, followed by his troops.
Ay gazed after him balefully.
‘That man is full of wind. Come, there is much work to be done.’