Luckily for us, the news of our coming journey had raced through Akhmin like a fire in a dry field. Old Anat found a sandal maker who was more than happy to drop everything in order to make Bit-Bit a pair of shoes that might draw the attention of the queen. He brought them to our doorway by midafternoon.
He wasn’t our only visitor. Every one of the most highborn families to Akhmin came to wish us a safe journey to Abydos. Some of them were our true friends, some suddenly had a reason for wanting a closer relationship with our family. The same three girls who’d taunted me before we danced at the Festival of the Inundation showed up with baskets of honey cakes and armfuls of flowers for me. They made a loud fuss over my necklace, tried to kiss my cheeks, and begged me to remember all the happy times we’d shared. I didn’t know whether I wanted to slap them or laugh in their faces. After they left, I ran back into my room, where Mery was folding my dresses, and flung myself across the bed with a dramatic groan.
“Is anything wrong, dear?” Mery asked playfully.
“Why is everyone so eager to be my friend now? They’re like fleas,” I declared. “I don’t want them, but they keep swarming all over me.”
“It’s not that they want to be your friends, Nefertiti; it’s that they’re afraid of being counted as your enemies. Everyone in Akhmin knows that Queen Tiye has shown you special generosity and no one knows why. But they do know how powerful she is, so they’re playing it safe and trying to stay on your good side.”
“They think that if they make me mad, the queen will punish them? Ha!”
“Don’t sound so skeptical. Your Father’s told me a lot about his royal sister. She casts a big shadow and we’ll all have to learn to walk cautiously around it.”
A servant came into the room with word that we had yet another visitor, someone else who’d come asking specifically to see me. I groaned. “Tell them to go away. Whoever they are, tell them they’re not my enemy. I don’t have any enemies—I just hate all of my new ‘friends!’ ”
“Nefertiti, stop acting like a child,” Mery chided. “Go and greet your guest.”
“But it’s such a waste of time, Mother,” I protested. “Every time a new visitor comes, we have to stop packing. We’ll never be ready to go!”
“I’m the one doing the packing, Nefertiti,” she replied calmly. “You’re just the one complaining about it, and since it’s you they’ve come to see, this visit won’t delay our preparations at all.”
“But—!”
“Now listen, it isn’t that far from Akhmin to Abydos and we haven’t got that much to pack. It would be easier to get ready for the trip if I had some idea of how long we’ll be gone, but even if we haven’t brought enough clothing, I’m sure Queen Tiye won’t let her kinfolk go around naked. Go.”
I couldn’t argue with Mery’s reasoning, so I pushed myself out of the bed and dragged my feet into the great hall, ready for another “friend.” I wasn’t prepared for what awaited me.
“Ikeni?” What was the high priest’s son doing in our home? Possibilities whirled through my head like bats at sunset. Clearly his father’s hand was behind it, but what was that man’s scheme? To have Ikeni claim me as his “bride”? To have him confront me, in his father’s name, for having wrongfully entered the temple grounds that night? To bring a false claim that I’d stolen something while I’d been in the priest’s house? I wouldn’t put it past the old bullfrog.
Then I saw the child. She was standing behind Ikeni, and she was so small that I hadn’t noticed her until she peeked out at me. I recognized her from the Festival of the Inundation. Like poor Mahala, she was one of the temple slaves who’d made music to accompany our dance. I remember being impressed that someone so very young could already play the harp so well, with such sweetness. Why was she here?
“Hail, Lady Nefertiti. May holy Isis, queen of all the gods, lady of life, the most mighty one, favor you with all her blessings.” Ikeni bowed as deeply to me as he recited the stiff, formal greeting. He held that uncomfortable pose— bent sharply at the waist, his arms outstretched, his gaze fixed on the ground—the whole time he spoke to me. The words came out like a lesson that had been beaten into him until he had it memorized perfectly. “May she protect you and your august family on your journey. May you go in safety, abide in joy, and return in triumph. May you—”
“Ikeni, look at me,” I said. He turned his head a little at my words but held his pose. “Ikeni, stand up.”
“As—as my lady wishes.” He straightened slowly, relieved and uneasy at the same time. “I have more that I’m supposed to say to you, but it’s hard to remember it. If anyone asks—”
“—you were perfect,” I finished his timid plea for him. “We’ll both be happier if you deliver your message in your own words. Why are you here? If your father thinks he can claim we’re married—”
“Oh no!” Ikeni was even more horrified at the thought than I was. It was almost insulting. “He wouldn’t dream of that. Not now. Not when your father is back in the queen’s favor so much that you’re all going away to join the royal court.”
“We’re only going to pay a visit,” I said. “We’re coming back.”
Ikeni gave me a strange look. “If you say so. I hope you’re right. Even if you’re too pretty to marry me, I’d hate to think that I’d never get to see you again.”