Aneski arrived at her home breathless, needing a few moments to get her breathing back to normal as she slipped through the hidden door to the gardens of her father’s house. A few moments later, she was lying in her bed, reliving many times in her mind, the minutes she had spent with the stranger, especially the kiss that had turned her whole world upside down.
When Ra replaced Nut in the skies, she hadn't been able to sleep thinking about the man and how impossible it would be to find him again. She wasn’t sure why she wanted that to happen, but somehow, it felt vital for her future, which was insane. But she couldn’t shake the feeling.
The whole day was tainted with anticipation and excitement as everybody participated in all the preparations for the arrival of the god’s emissary. The entire city was bursting with energy and people running from one side to the other along the streets and putting out their best decorations to welcome Anubis’ emissary.
Aneksi tried to stay away from the chaotic activities, but her mother didn’t allow it, involving her in dozens of small tasks, as they prepared themselves for the arrival. By the end of the day, she wished the emissary would arrive already and end all of the insanity.
Fortunately, her house had a privileged sight of the place where the vessel was supposed to land so she wouldn’t have to go join the people starting to assemble around the small hill.
“Are you excited, Aneksi?” her mother asked, as she joined her on the terrace. All of her family were gathered there, as well as all of the servants. No one wanted to miss an instant of the arrival.
“I’m more curious than excited, mother,” she assured the older woman, as she looked around.
Her mother let out a heavy sigh. “Why can’t you be like your sisters?” she grumbled, shaking her head.
“Perhaps, you should ask that question to the god’s emissary. He should know.” She teased her mother, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her cheek.
The woman tried to keep her angry expression, but soon she was chuckling. Despite all of Aneksi’s rebellion, she wouldn’t change anything in her daughter.
As Ra started to descend in the skies, a deafening roar filled the air, and a huge vessel appeared in the heavens, slowly descending to the hill where it was expected.
She had to admit she was astonished. She had never seen anything like it, to the point she was having trouble describing it. But after a more careful look, she realized the vessel looked a lot like a dung beetle, divided into three main parts, the one similar to the head was lit entirely with a strange blue light.
The vessel landed gently in the warm sands of the desert, and from the central part of it, some sort of door slid open, and a rolling platform extended all the way down to the ground.
A man appeared at the vessel’s entrance stopping to greet those expecting him. Aneksi could see he was wearing a golden mask with the features of the god he represented: Anubis, the jackal. He was followed by a few other men who appeared to be warriors.
The moment they reached the sand, the Pharaoh and his group approached to welcome the retinue, and after the greetings, they all headed to the palace, where their guest would be staying.
That night, they would have a feast at the palace but only those related to the Pharaoh were invited, and Aneksi’s family wasn’t on that list. They had been invited, instead, to a party at one of the city noble’s mansion, to celebrate the arrival of the god’s emissary. Aneksi wished she could be excused from attending such a dull gathering, but she knew it would be useless to even suggest such a thing to her mother.
In the end, the night hadn't been that bad. She had been able to speak to several of her friends, and they all had a different version of the last visits of the emissaries.
“My aunt was telling me this morning these men are incredibly handsome, once they take away those masks,” Berenib, her best friend, was saying.
“That would be a change,” Aneksi mumbled as the image of the man who had kissed her the night before filled her mind.
Her friend lowered her tone, speaking for Aneksi’s ears only. “She also told me; they usually chose a few women, to keep them company while they are here.”
“You have to be joking,” Aneksi protested.
“No! No one has ever said no to one of them. It’s a pleasure and our duty to serve those sent by the gods. Keeping them pleased will make our people prosperous and fortunate.” Her friend quickly replied, “I have to say I wouldn’t mind. Especially, if they are as handsome as my aunt told me.”
Aneksi shook her head, unable to understand. Perhaps, she wasn’t as religious as Berenib, but she saw nothing good at being treated like an entertaining toy to some man who probably had a family wherever they were from. But she kept her thoughts to herself, sure her friend would never understand her feelings.
By the time they returned to their home, the sun was starting to paint the sky with the colors of the dawn, and although Aneksi was really tired, she simply knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep. There were too many things swirling in her mind for her to be able to close her eyes and sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the appropriate hour for her to slip out of the house and go for a walk across the city. The place was slowly coming back to life, and she knew it would be too dangerous to go out now.
Instead, she went to the kitchen and started to help the servants with the food. Cooking was one of the things that relaxed her the most. Alhough her mother didn’t seem to understand her love for cooking, she didn’t stop her from doing it. Aneksi’s food was too delicious to deny herself the pleasure of eating it.
Later that morning, when she finished all the preparations for lunch, she decided to go for a walk with Kiya. She needed some distraction and going to the market would work. She was always looking for new ingredients, new spices, and even new recipes. Most merchants already knew her and greeted her with familiarity.
Mustafa, one of them, had the first oranges of the season and Aneksi was delighted. The smell was heady, and she loved it.
“I have been saving the best oranges for you, Mistress Aneksi. I was sure you would come,” the merchant said, with a full smile.
“Thank you very much, Mustafa. I can’t wait to prepare a delicious orange juice for my father’s lunch. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it very much,” she replied, as she handed him her basket. She would need at least two dozen of the juicy fruits.
“I also have some tangerines if you want.” The man offered her, and she agreed, with a pleased smile.
She paid for her fruit, and she was about to walk away when she felt someone was watching her intensely. Startled, she looked around trying to find who was looking at her, but she didn’t see anyone.
Aneksi walked to the place where an old woman was selling mixed spices. After talking to her for a few moments, she still felt like someone was watching her, but ignored it as much as possible.
She visited a few other merchants, and when she completed her shopping, she turned around to return to her home, always feeling her moves were being watched by someone she couldn’t find, hidden in the small crowd surrounding her. Whoever was watching her, observed her until she reached her house. It was a relief to escape from the intense scrutiny of her watcher.
Back in the safety of her home, she quickly forgot the whole incident, concentrating on the house activities, since her mother preferred not to be disturbed by such things.
By the end of the day, her mother came looking for Aneksi, looking even more excited than she had been when she had come to announce the emissary’s arrival.
“We’ve been invited to the palace,” she said, waving a papyrus in her hand.
Aneksi was in the kitchen, finishing the dinner details and raised her head surprised. “To the palace? When?” she asked her mother.
“Tonight. I’ve just received the invitation.”
“Tonight? Isn’t that a bit of a last minute invitation?” she asked, intrigued.
“Well, yes, but we can’t say no. It has the Pharaoh’s seal,” her mother explained, but Aneksi could tell she was quite excited.
“Why do you think we have been invited?” Aneksi asked, still puzzled by such invitation. Typically, things related to the palace followed a strict protocol and last minute invitations didn’t happen unless there was a very good reason for them.
“I have no idea, but I can’t say I really care,” her mother replied, with a wide smile on her face. “Please, go get yourself ready, we leave as soon as possible.”
“Do I have to go?” Aneksi’s frown became deeper.
“Of course, you have to go. It’s an invitation for the whole family, and that includes you,” her mother pointed out in a tone that didn’t allow for any arguing.
Sighing, Aneksi gave a few last instructions to the cook and went up to her room. Kiya was already waiting for her with the bath ready, as well as her clothes, wig, and jewelry.
“This is such an annoyance. I haven’t slept for over a day. Now, when I was looking forward to a quiet evening at home, we’re invited to a dinner at the palace,” she protested.
“You should feel honored, young mistress.”
Aneksi huffed, but didn’t add any comment to that. Kiya knew her too well to know she didn’t feel honored, or pleased.
She preferred to stay as far as possible from the palace and all that went on there. She didn’t have the patience for the tiny conspiracies to gain the Pharaoh’s favor. She found them demeaning.
“Please, behave yourself, young mistress.” Kiya scolded her in a soft tone.
Aneksi chuckled, “Don’t I always?”
“You really don’t want me to answer that question, young mistress,” the older woman said, shaking her head and Aneksi laughed louder.