Free The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran Page A

of Hathor's priestesses, and servants stood on the shore to unload our belongings.
    One of the young women in Hathor's blue robes approached us with a pair of sandals, handing them to Merit and explaining, "Leather is forbidden in the Temple of Hathor. Sandals must be made of papyrus."
    "Thank you, Aloli," said Woserit. The young priestess bowed, and a tangle of red curls bounced on her head. "Will you please take Lady Merit and Princess Nefertari to their chambers?"
    "Of course, Your Holiness." She waited while Merit and I replaced our sandals, and as my leather sandals were taken away, I wondered what other pieces of my old life I would have to lose. "May I show you to your rooms?" Aloli asked.
    We followed the priestess through the heavy bronze gates of the temple, and through the chambers for the pilgrims to Hathor. As we passed through the halls, I was careful not to step on her sweeping train. Her hips moved with a mesmerizing sway, and I wondered where she'd learned to walk the way she did. "This way," she instructed, and she led us into the cool recesses of the temple, where silent priestesses moved among the offerants, spreading incense from golden balls.
    "The High Priestess has requested that you both be given chambers near to hers," Aloli said. "But do not expect to see much of her here. This temple requires a great deal of care, and when she's not in the palace, she's out in the groves or meeting with pilgrims. This is where the priestesses eat."
    She gestured into a wide room that seemed not so different from the Great Hall of Malkata.
    "Trumpets will call the priestesses to ritual once in the morning and once at sunset. After Hathor's rites are finished they meet in this hall. I think you will find our food similar to what you are used to in the palace." She looked at me. "Although I would not touch the wine," she whispered. "The priestesses here like it strong, and a girl of your size might never wake up!" She laughed at her own joke, and Merit's lips thinned.
    "This is where temple patrons come to worship," Aloli continued. A vast hall spread beneath mosaics of the goddess, and at the foot of a polished statuary worshippers had left bowls of meat and bread. "In Shemu, a woman came who had lost all five of her pregnancies. We found her in the farthest corner." Aloli pointed to a shadowy niche near a statue of Hathor. "With her husband!" She giggled, and Merit cleared her throat.
    "But weren't they in trouble?" I gasped.
    "Of course. But nine months later she had two healthy sons!"
    Merit glared at me in case I should ever conceive such an idea. We turned into a beautifully kept courtyard ringed by sycamore trees. Aloli announced grandly, "This is where our most important guests stay." She gestured to the windows that faced the square. "And this is where you will be." We entered a chamber with blue-glazed tiles that swam with painted fish. Inlaid images of cows filled the western wall, opposite an ebony bed with lion's-paw feet raised upon a platform. Aloli walked across the chamber and threw open a pair of heavy wooden doors. "And for Lady Merit," she announced.
    The walls of Merit's adjoining room had been brightly painted, and fresh linen was stacked on a low cedar table. Merit hummed her approval. "This will do well. Now I must go and direct the servants with our belongings."
    When she left, I turned to Aloli. "What am I to do here?" I asked.
    The red-haired priestess looked surprised. "Didn't the High Priestess tell you? She said that you have been brought here to study."
    "To study what?"
    "Temple rituals, the harp . . ." Aloli shrugged. "Perhaps she hopes you might become the next High Priestess of Hathor." A trumpet blared on the other side of the temple, and Aloli quickly twisted her ringlets into a knot. "I will see you tonight in the Great Hall." She paused at the door. "It is a pleasure to have you here, Princess. I have heard a great deal about you."
    But before I could ask what she had heard, she