Chapter 13 The King’s Letter #2
It was true, but that was not the only reason she was reluctant to try again.
For months, she had tried everything she could to escape Aur alive.
She and her father had left Aur through the border to the west, only for wild animals or small bands of Naqada to kill her.
She had stolen deben from Bahiti, horses from the temple or local stables, and weapons from a small armory guarded by medjay.
Her every attempt to escape Aur had failed.
The boat was her last idea, and though Namir had interfered, he had a point.
Even if the medjay were not there, the boat was unlikely to make it far in the Sea, and she did not know if they would survive if they docked it on a shore outside of Aur.
Zahra thought that leaving Aur would save her father’s life and free her from the keres’ wrath, but she was wrong, and she was out of ideas.
And if Namir was looking for her, she was out of time.
Why else would he have searched for her if not to try, one last time, to make her see reason?
He had found his bride, and he was going to end the spell.
She was foolish for refusing his help, but she couldn’t trust his words after what he had done.
“What about the King?”
Zahra looked up at her father. “What about him?”
“You said that he would try to stop us,” Omar started, “but why would he have let you go if he wanted to capture us?”
Zahra bit her cheek. “He let me go because he knew there was no point in capturing me while the day was still repeating.”
Omar considered her words. “And the letter?”
Zahra glanced at the papyrus in her bag. She turned her attention back to the children. “It will be getting dark soon.”
Even if she stayed in the moonlight, she had learned that the moonlight could only protect her for so long. The keres would come, and she would die again.
Zahra thought of Selene’s eagle. She had seen Katerina from afar, but she had not spoken to her as she had in the Duat. Despite that, she had thought about the eagle’s words. Asenath. It was an Auran name, but Zahra had no way of finding out more about her. She did not even know where to start.
An idea sprang to Zahra’s mind, and she dropped her hands from her face.
The hidden library. Perhaps leaving Aur was the answer, but she couldn’t do so without first breaking her curse.
If there was a way to break it, she would find it in the hidden library.
Even if Namir ended the spell tonight, as long as she broke her curse, she and her father could escape Aur tomorrow.
Zahra hopped to her feet. “We need to go back to Inebu-hedj.”
Omar raised his eyebrows in surprise, and he slowly stood. “Are we going to see the King?”
“We are going somewhere better,” Zahra promised, beckoning for him to follow.
The sun grew closer to the horizon as they traveled back to the capital city. They had not wandered far, but Zahra was still cautious of the medjay, though she did not see Ramses hiding among them.
The sun had been gone from the sky for an hour by the time they approached the Pharaohs’ Library. There were two medjay at the front entrance, but Zahra remembered a side entrance she had seen the last time she was there, on the east side of the building.
Zahra placed her palm on the door, surprised it was loose. The door could only be unlocked from the inside, meaning someone had failed to lock it. Zahra pushed the door open and beckoned her father through.
The library was dark and quiet, the soft howl of the wind the only sound to be heard. Zahra shivered as she thought of the keres that had chased her in the Duat.
Omar lit an oil lamp. He followed Zahra to the third floor and watched her with curiosity as she retrieved the key and papyrus. “What will we find here that will help us?”
“Some information.” She put the papyri back in place on the shelf and led him downstairs. With his help, she found the keyhole and moved the pieces of stone in place.
Omar’s eyes grew wide as the wall opened. “What is this place?”
“History and artifacts of the Pharaohs,” Zahra answered. “There are hundreds of years of knowledge in this place.”
“All the way back to Aur’s founding,” Omar remarked, amazed, as he carefully lifted a papyrus from its hiding place. “It’s no wonder they keep this place so safely guarded.”
A pang of guilt formed in Zahra’s chest. Namir had made it seem as if it was a great honor that she had come here, and now she had brought another without his knowledge.
She pushed the feeling away, turning her attention back to her task.
She did not have long before the keres would start hunting her.
She was already in danger by being in this place of shadow. She had to work quickly.
Zahra knelt before one of the shelves and began sorting through it.
Omar remained by the table with the lamp, studying a papyrus.
Zahra used the light to study each papyrus she found.
Most of them were in Badari, and though some had translations, most did not.
She came across the papyrus about the Thoth, and she rubbed her finger over the old text and illustrations.
“What exactly are we looking for?”
Zahra startled, surprised to see her father standing directly behind her, holding the lamp. She rolled up the papyrus and put it away. “I need to learn more about a woman named Asenath, but I don’t know where to start, or if there will be anything written on her.”
Omar’s brow creased. “Asenath? Do you mean Queen Asenath?”
Queen?
“You know of her?”
“She is a frequent subject of my studies,” Omar began, guiding her back to the table to sit.
“She was the daughter of the first Pharaohs. She was going to be Pharaoh Queen, but she was killed during her Pa-sekhemty Feast. Her death spurred the beginnings of the war that would divide Aur’s people in two and create the Naqada. ”
Zahra sat at the table beside him. “Who killed her?”
“The sources differ on that,” Omar replied. “Some say it was one of her people. Others say it was a foreigner who had come to attend the Feast. Either way, most are in agreement that one of her suitors killed her in cold blood.”
Or it was the keres who poisoned their hearts and minds against her.
“Is there more written about her?” she asked.
“There’s plenty, but none of them are firsthand accounts,” Omar answered. “Most of them are here in the Pharaohs’ Library. I came here once to help fetch some records for the Hem-netjer and saw a section about her.” His eyes narrowed. “Where did you hear of her?”
Zahra swallowed. She couldn’t tell him of her visions. He had not believed her before. He wouldn’t believe her now.
Zahra turned her head away and moved to stand.
“When I was in the presence of the King, he mentioned her name.” She stood in front of the shelves, surveying them with her hands on her hips.
If there was information about Asenath in the main part of the library, there was unlikely to be any here.
Besides, she could actually read Hieratic.
She turned back to Omar. “Do you remember where the section about her was?”
Omar raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he nodded and grabbed the oil lamp. Zahra followed Omar to the third floor, holding the lamp as he browsed the selection of papyri.
Zahra set the lamp on a table nearby and sat in a chair, watching her father work. The papyrus in her bag shifted as she sat, and she moved the bag and pulled the papyrus out.
It had crumbled a little since Namir had given it to her that morning.
The unmarked honey seal was still intact.
Zahra rubbed the edge of the seal with her thumb, thinking back on their conversation.
She had taken the letter, as he had asked, and he had done his part and let her go, but she still was uncertain why.
Zahra bit her lip, turning away with a huff.
She did not want to read it. Though she had said she would, she had never intended to open it.
But she was curious. She couldn’t understand why Namir had chased her down, why he hadn’t told the Pharaoh Queen about her and her father, and why he had let her go when he had the opportunity to imprison her.
She wanted answers, but she did not want to admit it.
But he would never know if she read it, and she did not have to tell him.
With her thumb, Zahra cracked the honey seal and rolled open the letter. She held the papyrus close to the light, reading the words silently to herself.
“Zahra,
I do not know if my other letters found you, so once again here I am to share my feelings on the matter of that night and apologize.”
Zahra blinked at the word, reading it again to ensure she had read it right before. Apologize?
She moved the letter closer to her face and continued to read.
“You were right: I am a coward. I could have prevented your father’s death—your death—but I did not.
I was afraid of what the royal court and the Pharaoh Queen would think of me, and I let my fears interfere with my obligations as your King.
Your words opened my eyes to my faults. I am inexperienced as a ruler, and I thank you for correcting me and showing me the way.
I vow to be better to you and your people.
What happened that night will not happen again.
I will do all in my power to protect you and your father.
I have told the medjay not to punish anyone tonight without my permission, and if you will allow me, I will place you both somewhere safe under the watch of my most trusted medjay.
They will protect you while I find my bride and break the spell, and neither the Pharaoh Queen nor the Great Overseer of the Army will know of you or your whereabouts.
I do not expect anything from you in return.
Consider these acts as my duties as your King, and as my apology for my mistakes.
If you wish to accept my help, I will be in the garden where we first met.
I hope to see you there,
Namir.”
Zahra lowered the letter to her lap, stunned. How many times had Namir written to her? How long had he been looking for her so that he could say this to her? He tried to tell her earlier, but she had not listened.
Zahra thought of Katerina’s words to her in the Duat. You need each other’s help.
He had not found his bride after all. He was still searching for her—alone—and instead of trying to end the spell, he was trying to save Zahra.
Tears pricked her eyes. No wonder Katerina had not guided her as she once had. Namir said that Zahra was right, but she was the one in the wrong.
“I found one,” Omar said, pulling Zahra from her thoughts. He turned toward her, frowning. “Poulaki mou, what is it?”
Zahra swallowed, leaning forward as she held the letter in her hands. “If Re asked you to help the King, would you do it?”
Omar stared at the letter in her hands for a few moments. His gaze softened and landed on her face. “What would you do?”
Zahra looked down at the letter. She pulled in a deep breath. “I would help him.”
Omar smiled. He returned the papyrus to the shelf and grabbed the lamp. “How difficult is it to find a King?”
Zahra stood, rolling up the letter with a soft smile. “Not too difficult. I know where he is.”