Son of the SunList of players so far -Lij, the Pharaoh Knefer-Lijedefer- Elijah Sen-Adom, the harpist - Dominic Neferura-Ulive, Lij's wife and sister - Liv Menkh, Chief Advisor - Viggo Pen-Nekeb, A eunuch; body slave to Lij - Sean Astin Seti-Hop, a physician - Ian Mckellan Nefer-Aru, Lij's mother - Cate Blanchett Merit-Aton, Liv's mother - Miranda Otto Setep-Aton another royal physician - Chris Lee Orem, a eunuch, Liv's lover - Orli Captains of the Guard, Zeser-Amon - Sean Bean and His brother, Ankh-Aton - David Wenham Imhotep, the Royal architect - Billy Menep-Atifer-Ankh-Ra - Lij's Granny - An old woman with heart. Several friends, aquaintances and folks who merit mentioning, but no names, please! Part 18 - How Art The Mighty Fallen� When Lij finally woke, he was alone. He was sure Dom had been there, but he had been gone a long time - there was no essence of him in the air. Lij smiled, remembering Dom's smell, sweeter to him than honey. He wondered how Menep was; she had been much on his mind lately. He was troubled by the possibility that it was she that Anubis meant when he told Lij in his dream that he must be ransomed. A life for a life...and she was old. He brushed the unwelcome thought away, unwilling to dwell on the fact that she might already be dead. He looked about the room, a different room - yes, he remembered being carried here in Dom's arms... He got up, unsteadily at first, but held onto the wall for balance. He made for the low-pitched voices he could hear ahead of him. He entered the room, and the voices stilled. The three women seated there were staring at him. He had expected them to fall to their knees, and he laughed at himself. His expression must have shown his surprise. He was nothing to these people: nothing at all. The red-haired one rose and crossed the room, putting out her hand to guide him to a seat. Lij stepped back. It was death to touch him unbidden, and he liked this woman. Lygia observed this instinctive reaction, and the imperious curve of the lip that accompanied it, and stored the information away in her clever brain for later analysis. Lij remembered where he was, and what he was to these people, however kind they seemed...were... to him. He managed a shaky laugh, allowed Soraya to take his arm, and let her lead him to a seat. *** Above, in his splendidly decorated and well appointed room, Dom was being groomed to meet the king, no, Kings, he thought. He was given a choice of several sumptuous robes, and eventually chose a beautiful blue one for no other reason than it was the colour of Lij's eyes. Lord Garmen came to escort Dom to the presence chamber, and to offer, it seemed, advice on which bracelets should be worn with the robe. He eyed Dom speculatively; there was something very appealing in this man's quirky, uneven mouth. He sighed, and indicated to the slave holding up several for Dom's perusal, that the sapphire studded bangles would be most suitable. The walk to the Presence Chamber was a long one, down several corridors, across a courtyard, and into a long room, with many stone statues lining the walls. At the end of the room wais a dais on which stood three thrones. Two men sat there; one chair was empty. "Bow!" Garmen whispered in his ear as they progressed up the hall. Every few steps they stopped and bowed low. Dom thought it must take hours on a busy day for the king to meet his visitors. Not of course, Dom thought wryly, that he was a visitor here. The two men bowed once more, and as Dom raised his head, he was able to inspect the two kings seated before him. He wondered which was which. Two very different men sat before him. Both looked tall, although it was hard to judge as they were seated. One was clean shaven, and slim. His long dark hair hung almost down to his waist. He was dressed in a peacock blue robe edged with silver. Dom thought he looked like a musician or a poet, not a king. The other one was fairer, and broader, and had dark brown piercing eyes. He was dressed in a bullion fringed skirt that reached to his knees. His bare chest was covered in gold chains. His hair, which was the colour of beaten bronze, and hung in tight ringlets down his back and over his shoulders, was held off his face by a jewel encrusted band of gold. It seemed somehow to enhance his masculinity. He had a beard. He was muscular, well toned and...yes, this was a king. Garmen solved the problem. "Royal cousin", he bowed to the dark haired slim one. "We come before you as you ordered". Dom spared Argamus a glance, but it was the Assyrian king who drew his attention. This man desired boys - as they thought of him, here - like his Lij. Dom stood there, his mind half on what the king was saying, half on poor Lij's fate. He pulled himself together. The king required his credentials. Dom, remembering well how Lij had schooled him in the desert, and summoning up as much royal arrogance as he could muster, spoke: "I am Payankhi-Ankh-Aton, son of Hotep-Sekhemwy the Just who was brother and beloved friend of Thothmes-Nynetijer the God. Therefore, I am first cousin and beloved friend of The Mighty Pharaoh Knefer-Lijedefer, Son of The Son, Lord of the Two Lands, may he live forever." Dom bowed again, and Argamus moved uncomfortably in his seat. "Obviously, my Lord, you have been brought here mistakenly. Someone will answer for it. However..." a sly look overcame his delicate features.."whilst you are here, you might prove a useful tool. I shall send my cousin Lord Garmen as embassy to the Great One, begging that he send a suitable escort to take you home, in safety, and reminding him, most delicately, of the huge tribute Kishlan pays yearly to Egypt. I am sure he will understand. I hear that he is most astute in matters of...er...business." "He is - most astute", Dom bowed slightly in acknowledgement, "but inclined to hasty decisions, in heat. He has not been well - his temper is somewhat... uncertain, shall we say, at the moment. I beg you will first approach Lord Menkh-Knefru-Ankh-Ra. He, too, is my cousin in the first degree, and is a great influence for good upon the Lord of the Whole Earth." "He will present your case to Pharaoh better than any Kishlan embassy. Menkh has a great kindness for me, you see"...Dom fluttered long eyelashes at the Kishlan king, who did not fail to see the inference. ..."he will be glad to see me back in his be...um, house." fluted Dom, pledging poor Menkh's regard for him without a second thought. Lij had thought, hatching this plan in the desert's dark night, that his dear cousin might be amused by it. Time would tell. "I beg you, take this ring. It was given to me by the Great One himself. There are only two like it. Pharaoh wears the other. Menkh cannot fail to recognise it." Dom tugged the ring off his finger and passed it to Garmen, who put it in Argamus' outstretched hand. The Kishlan king looked at it carefully, then gave it into Garmen's keeping. The audience was obviously over. Sennacherib had said not a word. Dom knew he must try. Shrugging a petulant shoulder, he said "it is very lonely in my rooms, Great King. May I have my servant to bear me company? I have things for him to do..." Dom's voice tailed away as he saw Sennacherib shake his head. "No, you may not. I have a mind to him. I have seen him asleep, and I wish to experience him awake. We will find another "servant" for your...relief, my Lord." Dom's heart sank. He must try to look as if it didn't matter unduly. He bowed low, not trusting his voice if he spoke, and backed out from The Presence Chamber. At the other side of the great double doors, his shoulders finally sank. Garmen placed a comforting hand on his arm. "I will find you another, my friend." Dom raised his eyes and Garmen was astonished to see the pain evident in them. "I do not wish for another", he said flatly. "If not him, no one." Garmen opened the door to Dom's room. "You will never have him again - put your mind to it. Sennacherib keeps his bed mates safe. No one sees them after he takes them. They are kept in private quarters in the deepest part of the palace. Even I do not know where. He has had six since his visit here. In that three months no one outside the slave quarters has seen any of the boys he chose. Resign yourself to it...he is yours no longer." Dom sat on the bed, not trusting himself to stand any longer. "May I see him?" Garmen frowned. "I cannot see why not. He is not Sennacherib's yet. But you cannot, um..." Dom interrupted furiously. "Is that all you think of? Rutting? I wish to see him, to see if he is well, to speak..." His voice broke at last. Lord Garmen left him to his sorrow. *** "Tell me, Adom.... is that even your real name?" Lygia handed Lij a cup of well watered wine, smiling at him sweetly. Lij flinched. Obviously he had talked in his sleep. "No", he murmured, drinking deep. "And are you going to honour us with your name, lad?" Leila smiled. Lij could see no harm in it. At least in the diminuitive. There were hundreds of boys in Egypt named after him. One Lij more would not hurt. He took another bite of the piece of fruit he was given to finish his light meal, and smiled at them all. "Lij", he said, putting the cup on the floor. He looked up at the three women sitting there. None of them gave any sign that the name had meant more to them than they indicated. "Lij!" Leila Khatun picked up her own drink. "That is a contraction of...?" Lij had stepped into the trap. It was unlike him, but he was not himself yet. "Lijedefer. I was named for...the Great One. We were born in the same year." Lij's throat had gone dry. He picked up the cup again and sipped his wine slowly. He would give no more away. Soraya was speaking..."...more salve on his skin, my friends, and some more physic. He still is very pale." Lygia nodded. They left the room together, Lij and the healer. Her room was a familiar place. He sat on the high couch and waited whilst she assembled what was needed. The salve had helped. His skin did not burn so much, now. She handed him a draught which he drank obediently. It was bitter, but he trusted her implicitly. He didn't know why. She indicated that he remove his tunic. Then she spread the salve on the places he could not reach, leaving him to anoint the other parts. As she did this she talked to him quietly about her life in the Kishlan court. She had been taken by Kishlan soldiers to be a bed slave, from a raid on the train of her mistress who was travelling from Punt after buying medical supplies - particularly frankincense, which could be got nowhere else. They also had hashish, opium, myrrh, mandrake, cumin and other medicaments which were of a better quality than local produce . The healer to whom Soraya was apprenticed had been killed in the skirmish, and it was soon found on their journey here that the girl had an aptitude for healing, as she tended others hurt in the fray. She had been sixteen, then. Every day in the fourteen years that followed, she blessed her mistress for teaching her what she had known of physic. She told Lij she had no family to mourn her loss, and that she was happy here with her beloved Lygia, who was captured a few days before she had been, and who had befriended her instantly. "Have you family, Lij, who will miss you? We have traders and sellers from Egypt visit us here. We could get a message to someone for you, if you wish. To let your loved ones know you are alive. Argamus will not bother to tell his ambassador to furnish Egypt with details concerning the welfare of a slave." Lij thought quickly. Who? Nobody at the palace, that was sure. Wait! Pen-Nekeb! "I have a second cousin ," Lij silently thanked the gods for large Egyptian families, "who is body servant to the Great One himself. He will take a message to my...mother and to my wife." Soraya stared at him in astonishment. "Wife! How old?...oh, yes, I remember. The same age as the Pharaoh. But I thought you and Lord Payankhi...?" She left the sentence unfinished. Lij was in a quandry. "Yes, I am his, it is true. But I have a wife also. She is with child. I would be grateful if you could arrange for a message to reach Pen-Nekeb." There was no more talk between them. Lij was led away to his room to rest again, and Soraya and Lygia spent the morning talking together about the mystery. *** Dom sent for the harpist, and asked him if he could procure a harp for him. The man came back with several, and Dom chose the one nearest in style to his own favourite. If he was to be taken to Lij soon, he would play for him. It would be like old times for them both, and bring a little stability and harmony into their shattered existence. Dom drew his fingers over the taut strings, and longed with all his soul to see his beloved. Just to see him, no more. Just to look on his face...one last time. Dom wiped the tears from his eyes, and picked up the harp. He sat and played far into the night, and the guards standing watch outside his door understood that the songs came from his heart of hearts, and were all of love. |