Tutankhamun: The Book of Shadows

22

The King and Queen processed out of the temple complex, back through the Sun Court, where the priests abased themselves on the carefully swept ground, through the colonnade and into their waiting chariot, which drove them swiftly away in a brief blaze of gold.

Before I followed them, to depart with Simut in his chariot, I looked back at the crowded area before the Colonnade Hall, and saw Ay standing at the centre of everything, watching us all go, still as a stone. It seemed as if waves of fervent speculation and excitement were breaking and spreading throughout the multitude all around him. The news would very quickly be communicated everywhere in the city, to the bureaucracies and the offices, the granaries and the treasuries; and the official proclamation would follow in Thebes, and then by messengers directed to all the major cities and towns-to Memphis, Abydos, Heliopolis and Bubastis, or south to Elephantine and the garrison towns of Nubia.

We followed the royal chariot back to the river, where a great crowd had gathered, shouting prayers and acclamations, and then swiftly boarded the royal ship for the river crossing. The King and Queen remained in their private enclosure. The curtain was drawn. As we set off across the water, and as the cries from the dockside faded, I could hear them talking quietly to each other; the words were not audible, but I caught the tone of her voice, calming and encouraging his more querulous one.

When the ship docked at the palace, the royal couple disembarked and were quickly surrounded by a protective phalanx of palace guards. They hurried inside as if sunlight itself was dangerous.

Khay accompanied Simut and me along, talking quickly. For once he looked excited.

‘Ay will be incensed!’ he whispered eagerly. ‘He didn’t see this coming.’

‘But you did,’ I said.

‘Well, I flatter myself to say I have been the beneficiary of the Queen’s confidences. She would not have made this move in the great game without first establishing her network of support among those close to her.’

And she would need it, I thought. Ay gripped the Two Lands by the throat; he still ruled the priesthood, the bureaucracies and the treasury. Horemheb controlled the army.

‘But that was very nearly another catastrophe. How could it have happened? It must be investigated immediately. Fortunately, it did not prevent the King making his proclamation,’ Khay said.

Simut bristled.

‘The Chief Architect is being brought here for questioning, even now.’

‘And you, Rahotep, are no closer to discovering the culprit, who seems to have the freedom of not only the royal quarters but now also the Colonnade Hall within the bounds of the sacred temple itself!’ said Khay, as if now was the time for accusations to be shared equally among us.

‘We are fighting a shadow,’ I said.

‘Which means precisely nothing,’ he scoffed, irritatingly.

‘What matters is understanding how this man thinks. Everything he does is a clue to his mind. So we must read each situation carefully, and try to decipher and understand its meanings. The problem is: all our efforts at controlling the situation are undermined by the disruption he is carefully creating amongst us. To him it is a kind of elegant game. He challenges us to understand him, to make sense of him, and then to catch him. So far we have been successful in none of these things. We have hardly even begun to take him seriously. Or perhaps we have taken him too seriously, for if we ignored all of these acts, what power would he really have?’

‘You sound like a warrior admiring his enemy,’ replied Khay sarcastically.

‘I can respect his intelligence and skill without admiring or respecting the uses to which he puts them.’

Ankhesenamun and Tutankhamun were waiting for us in a reception chamber, seated upon two thrones of state. The atmosphere was heady with euphoria, but there was also a tangible edge of anxiety, for everything had not gone quite perfectly.

Khay, Simut and I offered our formal congratulations.

Tutankhamun gazed at us all intently.

‘Bow your heads before me,’ he suddenly shouted, standing up. ‘How is it possible that I should be so humiliated again? How is it that there is still no safety for me, even in my own temple?’

We all waited, our heads bowed.

‘Husband,’ said Ankhesenamun, quickly. ‘Let us consider our options. Let us take good advice from these trusted men.’

He sat back down on his small throne.

‘Look up.’

We did.

‘None of you has been able to protect me from all these perils. But I have had an idea. I think it is a very fine idea. It may, in fact, solve all our problems at once.’

We waited with what must have been a mixture of emotions on our faces.

‘In what time-honoured fashion does a new King proclaim his power and courage but in a lion hunt? We have proclaimed ourselves King. Therefore what better means of proving our fitness to the people than for me to go into the Red Land and hunt, and return with the trophy of a lion?’ he continued.

It was Khay who spoke first.

‘A masterstroke, of course,’ he began, very carefully. ‘It would create a most positive image for the public. But lord, have you considered how it exposes you to great danger?’

‘And what is new about that? Here in my own quarters, which are supposedly secure, supposedly safe, there is still greater danger,’ he said petulantly.

Ankhesenamun placed her hand gently on the King’s.

‘May I speak?’ she asked.

He nodded.

‘It seems to me the success of kingship is in great part dependent upon the carefully managed display of the powers and virtues of that kingship, in the person of the King. Parades of victory, rituals of triumph, and so on are the means by which we represent to the people the glory of kingship. Therefore, if the King were to be well protected, a symbolic hunt, conducted within one of the great hunting enclosures, could be most useful at this time,’ she said.

‘That is a marvellous compromise,’ said Khay immediately. ‘Such an event can quickly be organized within the safety of the hunting park. A lion, some wild deer too, perhaps…’ he continued, hopefully.

But the King’s face clouded.

‘No. Ritual is not enough. Prowess must be manifested. What dignity is there in killing a lion that has already been captured, and cannot escape? I must be seen to kill a lion. And it must take place in the wilderness that is its territory. I must be seen to assert my royal authority over the land of chaos. There must be nothing symbolic about it,’ he replied.

This silenced all of us.

Now it was Simut’s turn to speak. He was less diplomatic.

‘In the hunting enclosure we can control the environment. We can ensure your safety. But in the desert lies great danger.’

‘He is right,’ said Ankhesenamun. ‘What matters, surely, is the spectacle?’

But Tutankhamun shook his head.

‘Everyone will know all I have done is kill a trapped beast. That is not the right gesture with which to begin my kingship. I am a good hunter. I will prove myself. We will go to the desert.’

Khay tried again.

‘Has your majesty considered that, in order to reach the hunting grounds to the north-west or the north-east we will have to pass Memphis? Perhaps that is not very…desirable. After all, it is Horemheb’s city, and the base of the army itself,’ he murmured, uncertain how he should be saying this.

Tutankhamun stood up again, leaning carefully on his gold cane.

‘A royal visit to Memphis is most desirable at this time. We intend to take Horemheb closer to our hearts. He is an old ally, and in case any of you have forgotten, he was my tutor in Memphis. He has been too long engaged in the Hittite wars. We shall travel with all due ostentation. It is necessary for me to appear there, now more than ever, because it is Horemheb’s city. I must make my presence and my new authority clear. And when that is accomplished, I will return in triumph to Thebes, and parade my victory through the Ways of the city, and everyone will know, and acknowledge, that Tutankhamun is King not only in name but also in deed.’

The consequences and ramifications of all this multiplied in our minds. Ankhesenamun spoke again:

‘The King is right. He must be seen to be King, and to do the things kings must do. This is most necessary, and must be done. But we must request one important thing. This is my personal request…’

She looked directly at me.

‘Will you, Rahotep, accompany the King? You and Simut will be jointly responsible for his safety.’

How had I ended up, after all, holding the shortest of straws? How had I got myself so far into this situation that there was no choice but to go forward? I thought back to Ankhesenamun’s first plea, her appeal based on need and fear. I decided not to think yet about the recriminations, the consequences of all of this, at home.

I bowed my head. Simut glanced at me, and then nodded in agreement.

‘We will need a well-trained and completely trustworthy team. But let us take a small one, without extravagance or unnecessary ostentation: a cook, trackers, servants, and a select handful of guards. They must all have been vetted for security by the offices of the palace, as well as by the treasury. By which I mean Ay himself,’ I said.

‘That is a sensible suggestion,’ said Ankhesenamun, ‘for then we implicate the Regent in the arrangements, rather than excluding him; for in his exclusion he is more dangerous.’

Khay realized he had no choice but to agree.

‘I will make all the necessary security arrangements for the visit to Memphis with Simut,’ he said.

‘Excellent,’ said Tutankhamun. He clapped his hands together. And I realized that for the first time he actually looked happy.