The Story Of Tetisheri
by Camille Nelson
(As written by Tetisheri and later after the finding of the Roseta Stone to
French, much later to English)
Chapter 9
The capturing of the assassin of Prince Amonhirwonmef and his demisem, preparations for the trip and the reason for the return from the Hittite court.
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Things have been so complicated, ever since Father Pharoah has asked me
to go to the court of the Hittites. Prince Khaemweset have been making
plans for when I will return. We are almost one in our ideas and wishes for
our people. No two people could be closer than we are. Of course all
young couples think that, but I know we are.
We have gone to the temple of Basset and to the maker of jewelry to
make us an amulet that has a cat and four kittens, which is the number of
children that we have decided upon. Khaemweset will wear it until I return
and then it will be hung in our place of abode till our wishes are fulfilled.
Now all that is needed is a plan for me to be returned without a loss of
face for the Hittites or for Father Pharoah.
The embalmers have come to the conclusion that Prince Amonhirwonmef
was murdered, and that it was done with a sling. With what little was left
after the jackals got through with him, was his skull, and there was a large
hole in the dome of it. They reasoned that it was left by a smooth coin
sized rock that could have been thrown with enough force to kill, if done
so with a sling. Father Pharoah, sent messengers to all parts of the
kingdom to find out what was known about the death of Prince
Amonhirwonmef. Of course everyone was frightened that they might be
involved with the death, simply by the knowing of the plot, and therefore
punished for not coming forward with information. Of course Father
Pharoah knew how frightened the people would have been and would not
have hurt them if they in fact had not been involved. As it turned out one
man was brave enough to come forward with an amazing tale. The
perpetrators of the murder had been a part of a band of nomads staying in
the wadi close to where the body was found. Father Pharoah immediately
sent out a band of his best guards to return to him the actual killer.
Upon arrival at the camp, the guards found the site empty and all signs of
it's occupants removed. For days they searched and finally found the
nomads who for fear of Fathers wrath immediately turned over the killer,
for a nice reward of course. The man was terrified, but would not give up
the name of those who had sent him, but would only say that it was part of
a harem plot, to which the mother of Prince Amonhirwonmef was not
involved. Having heard that the man would not say more Father Pharoah
immediately had the man staked out in the desert with bands of hide
soaked in water, as the bands shrink they would tear the arms and legs
from the body of the person being tortured, but very slowly so that the pain
was exquisite. As an added inducement they put salt on the feet of the
person being tortured and let a goat lick it off. If the person had not told
the truth by the time that the goat had licked it off for the second time, the
person had probably lost his mind. Having done this to the man who would
not tell Father Pharoah, He finally learned that it was done by the court in
Kush, so that a war would break out between the Hittites and the peoples
of Egypt and when Egypt was at her weakest the people from Kush would
invade and take the territories of Egypt as their own, with all the riches that
that would gain from them.
Thus the man met his end and after I would go to the court of the Hittites
to carry out Father Pharaohs mission, Father Pharoah would take care of
those in Kush who had sent the assassin who had killed Prince
Amonhirwonmef. In the mean time Father Pharoah had come up with a
wonderful plan to make me unacceptable to the Hittite court, so that I
would be sent back and with a big tribute and an acceptable excuse so as
not to offend anyone for not having accepted me for union with one of their
princes. I am terribly allergic to certain herbs and they not only make me
break out, but cause a noxious seeping fluid to escape from the nostrils in
copious amounts in a very sickly yellow-green color. Now who would
want to kiss someone such as this. As far as Father Pharoah knew they
had no one within their court who knew how to cure this malady as there
was no such plant with in the boundaries of their realm. As such, they
wouldn't know what it was or how to cure it. I was to take several bags of
the herb and weed secreted among the supplies that accompanied me on
my journey. As such I would never be without one at my disposal and they
would try many of their cures (some of which we do not have) to cure me.
I could thus take samples of their cures in an iron caldron back with me, to
also allow me to have a sample of their magic metal. In the past we had
made a request for some of the drugs and the magic metal, but had
repeatedly been told that there was not enough of either and as a result had
none of either. But with my being there this would not be so easily
accomplished as they would be lighting the palaces with oil lamps made
with the magic metal and curing me with their pharmacology and it would
give me ample opportunity to secret away some of each for our priests to
look at and plant from the seeds and have ready when we were in need.
During the reign of Father Pharoah the Hittites love of chariots had
encouraged the building of roads. This gave us the ability to travel to some
of the cities which were a great distance away and to do so in a wagon
designed by the Persians for comfort. It would not be travel by mule or
chariot but by these wagons in which I would go. The roads encouraged
commerce and official travel. In language that is plain the establishment
along the highways would fortify settlements whose main reason was for
the maintenance of the hostels which were built because of the government.
They were to service both the government official and the trader as well,
and allow safe and efficient movement of all between the capital and
subject cities, some of which were 250 or more miles apart. Only the
highest would travel by the Persian wagons and the traders and lower
classes would travel on foot. This would take much time and the person
would be away from their home for many fortnights.
Now at last, the wagons were ready and I must make ready to go. As
many supplies as possible were put on the beasts of burden, but we were
not afraid of running out of supplies as many caravans would be seen,
traded with and met along the way. Who was to know which ones might
have a length of cloth that would make a dress suitable to be seen by the
court of the Hittites. Father Pharoah has deigned that Aker must go to the
confines of the animals that he himself has kept for his own enjoyment and
that If Aker is not too big, that I may have him back when I return to marry
Prince Khaemweset. So everything seems to be taken care of, my two
friends Iputi and Teshi will accompany me. This will help to assuage my
feelings of loneliness a great deal, but no one can take the place of Prince
Khaemweset. And so the journey begins.
To be continued….
© Camille Nelson. All rights reserved.
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Chapter 1 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 4 |
Chapter 5 |
Chapter 6 |
Chapter 7 |
Chapter 8 |
Chapter 9 |
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