“Your mother does more than complain about them,” I said, and to my surprise I began to tell Amenophis all about how my first tentative efforts to make friends in the women’s quarters had been yanked from my hands by Aunt Tiye and thrown to the winds. When I finished, he looked very uncomfortable.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Amenophis!” I exclaimed. “I shouldn’t speak ill of Aunt Tiye to you like this: She’s your mother. I’m—I’m sure she has very good reasons for acting the way she does. I shouldn’t speak ill of her at all, it’s just that I’m so frustrated. I’m not used to being so alone. I didn’t have any close friends in Akhmin, but I knew lots of other girls. We danced together and chattered about silly things and had a wonderful time. And at home, there was my little sister, Bit-Bit. She must have changed so much, even in the short time I’ve been here. I wish I knew how she’s getting on. I’d do anything to hear any news about her or my parents.”
Amenophis was puzzled. “Doesn’t your father write to you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. He said he would, but he also said there was a chance that his words wouldn’t reach me because …” I stopped. I’d already embarrassed him by criticizing his mother once; it would be mean to do that to him again. “Because so many things can happen to a message between here and Akhmin.”
“I don’t understand. Father receives letters from as far away as the kingdom of the Mitanni to the north and the heart of Nubia.”
“My father isn’t Pharaoh. Nothing is at stake if his letters don’t arrive.” Before Amenophis could pursue the matter, I diverted him. “I shouldn’t complain. Henenu and Sitamun are good friends, but they’re both much older than I am. I don’t have anyone closer to my age that I can really talk to here.”
He mumbled something and looked away. When I touched his arm and asked him to speak up, he softly said, “You’ve got me.”
It was good to have a new friend. I enjoyed talking with Amenophis very much, and our conversations ranged over everything from the latest palace rumor to the news from other kingdoms allied to the Black Land to the problems the royal baboon-keeper was having training his newest animals to pick dates from the tallest palm trees.
“You should have seen it, Nefertiti! The creatures are supposed to pick the dates and throw them down to the men below who’re holding the catching cloth,” Amenophis told me as we walked along one of the palace rooftops, enjoying the view and the fresh air.
“But they ate the dates themselves?” I guessed.
“Yes, but that wouldn’t have been so bad. It’s what they threw instead of the dates that—”
“Ugh! Stop! That’s awful! Don’t tell me any more!” I said, laughing so hard that he knew I didn’t mean it. “Why can’t I ever see something that funny in this place?”
“It didn’t happen in the palace. It happened in the royal groves, past the farthest downstream limit of Thebes.”
“Oh.” I sighed. “All the best things lie beyond the palace walls.”
My friend looked concerned. “Haven’t you ever left the palace?”
“I can’t. I’ve tried. Whenever I go to one of the gateways, the guards are very respectful but they always turn me back, saying it’s forbidden.” I didn’t tell Amenophis that I’d flirted with the idea of sneaking out, only to set it aside. If I wasn’t careful enough, I’d be caught and Aunt Tiye would hear of it. I’d risk that if I were sure she’d punish me and only me, but I knew she was more likely to make someone innocent bear the penalty for my daring. I refused to gamble against those stakes.
“It’s not forbidden,” Amenophis said.
“What?” If he was teasing me …
“It’s only forbidden for you to leave the palace alone. You aren’t a prisoner here, after all; you’re family. You don’t know your way around Thebes, so you could get lost easily if you went into the city on your own, or worse.”
“Worse?”
Amenophis looked sheepish. “There are some parts of the city and some people that aren’t very … nice. We have plenty of police patrolling the streets—you can’t miss them, they’re all members of the Medjay tribe from Nubia—but they can’t be everywhere all the time. A beautiful girl like you, alone, unfamiliar with the city—”
“I’d be a target for thieves,” I finished for him. “Or worse. I know what you’re hinting at, Amenophis. We had all sorts of crimes committed in Akhmin, too.” I sighed again, more deeply. “I wouldn’t have to worry if I could go into the city with some kind of weapon to protect myself—a club, a staff. But even if I did, I’m not strong enough to use it effectively. My arms are too soft. Prisoner or not, I’m trapped.”
“I don’t like seeing you so disappointed, Nefertiti,” Amenophis said. “Why don’t you ask Thutmose to take you for a chariot ride through Thebes? I’m sure he’d be happy to have the chance to show you the city.”
“I suppose,” I said, but in my mind my answer was: Do you want to bet on that, my friend?
It was too bad that I didn’t make that wager with Amenophis; I would have won with ridiculous ease. That night we had one of those formal dinners to attend. I’d come to dread them. Aunt Tiye always made sure that I was seated next to Thutmose and kept a stern eye on both of us, to be certain we were speaking to one another. She’d never wanted to postpone our marriage and kept pushing us together, hoping that the more time I spent in the crown prince’s company, the faster I’d become enchanted with him.
It wasn’t working. Thutmose and I still talked like strangers, or the priests and priestesses who sometimes donned masks and acted out stories of the gods at festivals. He only spent time with me when Aunt Tiye insisted on it, and then he spent most of our visits playing with his cat. I doubted he’d jump at the chance to drive me through Thebes, and I was right.
“Why do you want to see Thebes all of a sudden? What put that idea into your head?” he asked without bothering to look at me.