“Pharaoh gave me that job because I served him well, and I keep it by my own efforts.”
My aunt’s laughter filled the room. “You’ve been away from court too long, my brother. You’ve forgotten the way things work. Pharaoh’s heart is big and generous, but it’s also changeable and easily distracted. His eyes are drawn to whatever is freshest and most dazzling. Old achievements are covered in the dust of memory, and why should he bother making the attempt to brush them off when he has so many shiny new things to see? If some ruthless young nobleman decides he’d like to manage things in Akhmin, he’s here to give Pharaoh gifts, entertain him with lavish banquets, fill his ears with flattery; flattery and poisonous whispers against you. Luckily, no man’s ambitions can touch you as long as I am here. You don’t know how many times I’ve protected and defended you already.”
“And I doubt I ever will know the true number,” Father replied.
Aunt Tiye ignored the barb. “You’re my closest living relative, Ay. If we don’t look out for one another, the world will devour us. Your happiness is all I care about. The gods have blessed you with two lovely daughters. I swear by Ma’at, I want both of them to have every opportunity to live rich, perfect lives. As Great Royal Wife of Amenhotep, it will be my joy to give your girls everything.”
“Everything …” Father chewed over the word like a delicate quail bone. “And what will you want me to give you in exchange?”
Tiye didn’t answer him right away. Instead she turned to me. “Nefertiti, will you please fill my wine cup?” As I rose to serve her, she said, “Look at you, so lovely, so poised. I’ve spoken to the scribe Henenu about you. He tells me you sing prettily, but that your most impressive talent is your superb ability as a dancer. Is that so?”
“I sing and dance,” I replied. “I enjoy it very much, but I don’t think I’m specially talented.”
“None of that, young lady.” The queen laughed again as she took her refilled wine cup from my hands. “No misplaced modesty. If you’re good at something, you can admit it without being vain. So, here you stand, blessed by the gods with so many gifts. I had less than you do when I married, and I was younger than you are now, but I made the most of what I did have. Henenu also tells me that you’re intelligent. That might be useful, too. Yes.”
I began to feel an uneasy, prickling sensation running up my back. My aunt was looking me over closely again and talking about me as if I were a cow she was thinking about buying. But why?
Who cares why? I thought, suddenly furious at this treatment. She doesn’t have the right to do this to me.
I pulled the costly silver bracelet from my wrist and dropped it onto the little table between us. “Aunt Tiye, this isn’t for me. I’m not worth so much silver. Father and Mother can tell you all about what nearly happened to me at the Festival of the Inundation. Keep this and use it to buy yourself a more sure-footed dancer.”
“What nonsense is this?” My aunt’s soft, round face became a mask of indignation. She surged out of her chair, fists balled at her sides. “Was that miserable dwarf wrong or did he think he could lie to me about you and get away with it? This is not how an intelligent girl acts!”
“I don’t know how smart you think I am,” I replied. “But I do know I’m smart enough to tell when someone’s trying to strike a marketplace bargain. Swear by Ma’at’s sacred Feather of Truth that you don’t want something in exchange for that bracelet and I’ll apologize to you on my knees! But I don’t think you can.”
“Nefertiti! Don’t you dare speak to Queen Tiye that way!” Mery’s voice shook. She wasn’t just concerned about my rude outburst; she was afraid.
My aunt glared at me for what felt like an eternity. I held my ground, looking her steadily in the eyes. In the end, she was the one to pull back. Her expression went from blazing rage to mocking amusement.
“Oh dear, Nefertiti, I think we have a problem, you and I. I do swear by Ma’at’s Feather that I gave you that bracelet freely, as a true gift, and yet”—she half-closed her eyes—“and yet, you are also right. I do want something from you, though not in exchange for the bracelet. You see, child, I don’t have to make … ‘marketplace bargains,’ as you call them. I am still Pharaoh’s Great Royal Wife. My word reaches to every corner of the Black Land and beyond. The kings of faraway countries call me sister when they send letters to my royal husband. They know I have great influence over him and that sometimes his treaties, trade agreements, and policies with them are really mine.”
A shadow formed around my heart while I listened to her speak. It grew thicker and darker with every word. I wanted to run into Father’s arms and cower there, but I forced myself to hold my ground. You frighten me, Aunt Tiye, I thought. But I’ve stood up to worse terrors. You are just another dream-lion. You may have plenty of real power, but you have only as much power to scare me as I allow you to have.
I got down on one knee. “So I owe you half of an apology,” I said. “I’m sorry I misjudged your gift. I was wrong.” I stood up again. “Now tell me, please, how I was right.”
The queen’s elaborately painted eyes crinkled at the corners. “My poor, poor son,” she said. “He’ll have his work cut out for him with a wife like you.” My jaw dropped and she drank in my shock greedily. “You might as well take back my gift, sweet girl. It’s only part of the riches I intend to lavish on you when you become my new daughter.”