“Tell him I’m fine.” I glanced at Amon flying next to us and waved to reassure him. “Where exactly are we going, anyway?”
The grand vizier is providing directions to Ahmose. Amon warned me to prepare myself for an onslaught of questions due to your inquisitive nature. He also reminded me that you are not a devotee such as I am accustomed to and that you will not be falling easily into my arms.
“Both of Amon’s statements are correct.”
Then I would suggest that you commence with the questions, since I cannot fathom knowing a woman who does not desperately seek my attention.
A giggle erupted from me and I pressed my hand against my mouth. Girlish giggles were very unlike me, but there was a certain charm to Asten’s firm conviction regarding his masculine appeal. It couldn’t be said that the man lacked confidence.
What is your first question?
“What was Amon like as a boy?”
Ah. And I thought I would be delighting you with tales about myself. I am struck to the core to be brushed aside so, but I will indulge you since Amon and I were boys together and any story I tell you about him is sure to reflect a positive light on me as well.
Asten’s wings settled into a gentle rhythm and I positioned myself in the most comfortable way I could as he began speaking.
Like Ahmose and myself, Amon was confident, brave, and strikingly handsome, though perhaps not as handsome as me. Where we differed is that Amon had great compassion for the downtrodden. He noticed things. Amon would see an old beggar sleeping by a field and hand off the basket of fish we’d just caught. In a crowd, he’d find the little girl who wanted to give him a weed and pass it off as a flower.
One time the three of us ran from our schoolmaster. We were boys and thought nothing of taking a day for some fun. Rather than be stuck indoors with our lessons, we decided to explore the countryside. We raced desert horses, played senet, watched the colorful boats sailing down the Nile, sought buried treasure, and stole delicacies from the market vendors when their backs were turned.
That afternoon we hunted—me with my bow, Amon with his swords, and Ahmose with his battle-ax and cudgel. We tracked our prey, an ibex, through some low hills only to find it surrounded by a pack of jackals. There were more than two dozen of the beasts, and, brimming with boyish overconfidence, we attacked. The jackals retreated, but by the time they did, the ibex had been ripped asunder. To celebrate the success of driving off the jackals, we camped in a fertile grove and roasted desert hares over the fire to sate the hunger in our bellies.
Returning to our home the next morning, we declared the previous day a resounding triumph. Though we knew our father would devise some sort of punishment for our desertion, we determined our freedom was worth whatever small price we had to pay.
But our teacher, who loved each of us, and Amon especially, did not want us to get into trouble with the king. We soon found out that after realizing we were spending the day elsewhere, our teacher attempted to track us down himself rather than disturb our father or mother.
In the course of following our trail, he came across the ibex’s remains and stopped to investigate. Worried that we’d been injured, he pressed forward and was not too far from the grove when he was set upon by the remaining jackals. He did not survive. Our beloved instructor’s gnawed-upon bones were laid before the three of us, and our father honored his sacrifice as a hero.
Amon changed after that day. He made a public vow that he would never again shirk responsibility. From that day onward, he trained dutifully and his behavior was above reproach.
“I see. That explains a lot, actually. So, what about you?”
What about me?
“Was your behavior also above reproach?”