you'll be going off to war with Asha."
"But it won't last for a year!" Ramesses said. Iset entered the courtyard, and when she saw that Ramesses was with me, she halted sharply in place. "Iset," he called, "come and bid farewell."
"Why? Is the princess leaving us?" she asked.
"For the Temple of Hathor," Ramesses said disbelievingly. "To become a priestess."
Iset put on her most sympathetic look as she approached. "Ramesses will be so very sorry to see you go. He's always telling me how much you're like a little sister to him." She smiled as she said little, and I bit my tongue against saying something nasty. "It's simply unfortunate we didn't know sooner. We could have thrown a feast of farewell." She looked up at Ramesses through her long lashes. "After all, it's not as though she'll be returning."
"Of course she'll be returning," Ramesses retorted. "A priestess's training only lasts a year."
"But then she'll be serving Hathor. Across the river."
He blinked quickly, and there was a moment when he might have embraced me, even in front of Iset. I could see that there was more that Asha wanted to say. But then Woserit appeared with Merit at the head of a caravan of basket-laden servants.
"You can visit her anytime," Woserit promised. "Come, Nefertari. The boat is waiting."
I reached around my neck and took off the simple ox-hair's necklace that Merit hated. "What is that? " Iset sneered.
"I made it for her," Ramesses said defensively, then met my gaze.
"Yes. When I was seven." I smiled. "I want you to have it to remember me by."
I placed the necklace in his hands, and it took all of my strength not to look behind me at his crestfallen face as I walked to the quay. From the deck of Hathor's ship, I looked back at the life that I had always known. Ramesses and Asha waved from the banks, and a small group of students from the edduba had joined them.
"That was very clever, what you did back there. Giving him the necklace."
I nodded numbly, thinking that it wasn't cleverness, just love, and Merit placed her arm across my shoulder. "It's not forever, my lady."
I pressed my lips together. As I watched the fading shoreline, only one figure remained. She was dressed in red.
"Henuttawy." Woserit saw the direction of my gaze and nodded. "She thinks that you've retreated now, and that it's only a matter of time before Ramesses forgets about you and turns to Iset for his companionship."
I prayed that she was wrong but held my tongue, for now I had placed all those prayers in Woserit's hands.
IT WAS not a long journey to the Temple of Hathor, and as the boat neared the quay, Merit rose from her stool to gaze at the forest of granite pillars soaring above a polished courtyard.
"No wonder her sister is jealous," she whispered out of Woserit's earshot.
Towering obelisks rose against the sky, and beyond the temple, workers in blue kilts tended to Hathor's sycamore groves. The fresh shoots of the goddess's sacred trees shone like green jewels.
"Surprised?" Woserit asked us.
Merit admitted, "I knew this was the largest temple in Thebes, but I didn't realize--"
Woserit smiled. "We have more pilgrims to Hathor in a single month than my sister has in the Temple of Isis in six."
"Because Hathor's temple is larger?" I asked.
"Because the pilgrims know that when they bring offerings of deben or lapis lazuli," Woserit replied, "the offerings will be used to preserve the beauty of the goddess; in her groves, and in the way we keep her temple. But when pilgrims go to the Temple of Isis, their offerings are melted into jewelry that Henuttawy can wear to my brother's feasts. The most beautiful room in my sister's temple isn't the inner sanctum of Isis. It's her own chamber."
Now that we had reached the quay, it was possible to see just how large the Temple of Hathor truly was. The painted columns were cast in the sun's golden light, and gilded images of the cow goddess crowned every limestone pillar. Our ship was greeted by a dozen
"But it won't last for a year!" Ramesses said. Iset entered the courtyard, and when she saw that Ramesses was with me, she halted sharply in place. "Iset," he called, "come and bid farewell."
"Why? Is the princess leaving us?" she asked.
"For the Temple of Hathor," Ramesses said disbelievingly. "To become a priestess."
Iset put on her most sympathetic look as she approached. "Ramesses will be so very sorry to see you go. He's always telling me how much you're like a little sister to him." She smiled as she said little, and I bit my tongue against saying something nasty. "It's simply unfortunate we didn't know sooner. We could have thrown a feast of farewell." She looked up at Ramesses through her long lashes. "After all, it's not as though she'll be returning."
"Of course she'll be returning," Ramesses retorted. "A priestess's training only lasts a year."
"But then she'll be serving Hathor. Across the river."
He blinked quickly, and there was a moment when he might have embraced me, even in front of Iset. I could see that there was more that Asha wanted to say. But then Woserit appeared with Merit at the head of a caravan of basket-laden servants.
"You can visit her anytime," Woserit promised. "Come, Nefertari. The boat is waiting."
I reached around my neck and took off the simple ox-hair's necklace that Merit hated. "What is that? " Iset sneered.
"I made it for her," Ramesses said defensively, then met my gaze.
"Yes. When I was seven." I smiled. "I want you to have it to remember me by."
I placed the necklace in his hands, and it took all of my strength not to look behind me at his crestfallen face as I walked to the quay. From the deck of Hathor's ship, I looked back at the life that I had always known. Ramesses and Asha waved from the banks, and a small group of students from the edduba had joined them.
"That was very clever, what you did back there. Giving him the necklace."
I nodded numbly, thinking that it wasn't cleverness, just love, and Merit placed her arm across my shoulder. "It's not forever, my lady."
I pressed my lips together. As I watched the fading shoreline, only one figure remained. She was dressed in red.
"Henuttawy." Woserit saw the direction of my gaze and nodded. "She thinks that you've retreated now, and that it's only a matter of time before Ramesses forgets about you and turns to Iset for his companionship."
I prayed that she was wrong but held my tongue, for now I had placed all those prayers in Woserit's hands.
IT WAS not a long journey to the Temple of Hathor, and as the boat neared the quay, Merit rose from her stool to gaze at the forest of granite pillars soaring above a polished courtyard.
"No wonder her sister is jealous," she whispered out of Woserit's earshot.
Towering obelisks rose against the sky, and beyond the temple, workers in blue kilts tended to Hathor's sycamore groves. The fresh shoots of the goddess's sacred trees shone like green jewels.
"Surprised?" Woserit asked us.
Merit admitted, "I knew this was the largest temple in Thebes, but I didn't realize--"
Woserit smiled. "We have more pilgrims to Hathor in a single month than my sister has in the Temple of Isis in six."
"Because Hathor's temple is larger?" I asked.
"Because the pilgrims know that when they bring offerings of deben or lapis lazuli," Woserit replied, "the offerings will be used to preserve the beauty of the goddess; in her groves, and in the way we keep her temple. But when pilgrims go to the Temple of Isis, their offerings are melted into jewelry that Henuttawy can wear to my brother's feasts. The most beautiful room in my sister's temple isn't the inner sanctum of Isis. It's her own chamber."
Now that we had reached the quay, it was possible to see just how large the Temple of Hathor truly was. The painted columns were cast in the sun's golden light, and gilded images of the cow goddess crowned every limestone pillar. Our ship was greeted by a dozen
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