The following day, Isis met with Neera who beckoned her to go and have tea at her house. Neera led Isis to an isolated veranda with the view of Cairo in its balcony.
Neera's mother's family had owned the land and proved to be quite influential. The two were left alone there in privacy.
After settling down on their seats with their tea and crystal, Neera began to tell her tale.
"This story, Dr. Ishtar, is actually a very romantic and tragic one." Neera stated with a dreamy air in her face.
"Why'd you say so Ms. Azramun?" Isis asked, though she knew perfectly well why.
"Well, since it is the story of one of the greatest love triangles ever. You know, since the Pharoah was in love with someone else and the Queen went nuts over it."
"Oh I see, that is tragic, so how does the Priestess of Messina fit into this?"
"Well she was the perpetrator of the whole thing Dr. Ishtar!" Neera was really in the moment as she spoke, "You see if it were not for the Priestess, all would've gone well."
"I must say, Ms. Az-ramun, you have certainly caught my interest. So please do not suspense me any further."
"Then I shall begin, and in the way my mother told me the story of course."
"Long ago, during the middle kingdom, there was a great Priest who became Pharoah after he proved to himself that he was worthy of wearing the crown. During the first 6 years of his reign, no woman entered the court nor his personal chambers but one- the High Priestess who served with him in the past.
The High Priestess was a woman known in Egypt for her great beauty and valor in battle. Unlike the other women in her time, the High Priestess was given far greater freedom and power, for she was the one who helped Pharoah in the rehabilitation of Egypt. She was the gem of his court, and the owner of his heart.
The two of them loved each other greatly but they knew that it would be detrimental if the court found them out. It was unheard of for the High Priestess to have any intimate relations with anyone. And they knew that both their statuses were important in the stability of Egypt. So they kept their love in the dark.
After years of not having a Queen or not even a consort to that matter, the ministers became uneasy with the line succession. They have begun to persuade the Pharoah to marry. But since Seti would not have anyone else other than the Priestess, he would not yield.
Then the ministers, upon seeing the influence of the Priestess over the Pharoah, came to her temple and requested that she talk to the Pharoah about this matter. After a few weeks, the Pharoah gave his consent only with the condition that she be the one to select the Queen.
The Priestess traveled to the neighboring land of the Hittites, the land ruled by king Geb. Her arrival caused a ruckus within the King's court. Her beauty immediately smote all the men in the room. King Geb for one thought that she was a gift and not an envoy. He was furious upon hearing the Priestess declare the nature of her visit, but the way she carried herself easily earned her his favor. The king consented, and the Priestess returned to Egypt.
Upon her return and before the Pharoah left to wed the Hittite princess, he made a promise to her- a promise to love her eternally and faithfully, a promise that the Priestess returned happily.
Less than a month and a half after, the Seti returned with his new Queen Nephtys. He went straight to the temple when he saw that the Priestess was nowhere in sight at the court chambers. Then the elder Priest Siamun came to inform him that she had left and exiled herself in her temple at Messina. The news left the Pharoah in distraught, and he immersed himself in courtly duties and in conquering lands.
After ten years, Seti grew tired with expanding Egypt's territory since he could not really leave the capital for long periods of time. During all this time, Queen Nephtys had fallen in love with her husband, but Seti did seem to regard her at all. On top of that, she was already being pressured by the nobility to give birth to an heir. She knew this to be impossible since the Seti does not even enter her chambers.
Nephtys then turned to the Priestess Mana, whom she knew had known the Pharoah long. But Mana could not help her, since even though she knew him long she did not know the Pharoah. It was then did the idea of the former priestess come to her mind. Nephtys decided to summon the Priestess of Messina with the hopes of understanding her husband.
After a month, the Priestess arrived in court. Everyone was silenced by her entry, most especially the Pharoah whose shocked expression remained affixed on her. The generals were delighted with her return since they discussing the threat posed by the Sudanese empire. The Queen noticed everything, she felt uneasy once the Priestess approached the throne and bowed before her and the Pharoah. She welcomed the Priestess, but the Pharoah was silent and simply kept a steady gaze at the Priestess. Then the Queen spoke to break the deafening silence. Nephyts moved to inform Seti that it was she who summoned the Priestess back to the capital. After a nod and after giving her a motion to rise, Seti asked the Priestess to resume her seat in court, the seat to his right.
That night, Nephtys summoned Isis to her chambers pleaded her case. The Priestess answered:
"Forgive me Queen Nephtys, for I cannot ask the Pharoah to do anything that he does not wish. But if it is to understand the tempers and dispositions of the Pharoah, I can be of assistance to you."
It has a month since the Priestess' return, and the Queen was taking walk in the palace grounds with her chambermaids when she saw the Pharoah and the Priestess alone talking in the shadows. Nephtys ordered her ladies to wait for her back at the palace as she hid herself to eavesdrop on the two's conversation.
The Pharoah was very cross that night, and the Priestess was purely adamant in her refusal to answer his questions. Then she heard Seti speak in a more gentle tone, beseeching the Priestess to confide in him the reason for her departure. At that moment, Nephtys became suspicious of the Priestess and began to regret summoning her back to the capital.
It was not long soon after until the army would have to march into battle once again. However, it was decided that the Priestess would be the one to lead the campaign instead of the Pharoah. On the eve of the battle, Nephtys decided to visit the Priestess' chambers, but what she found in that room destroyed her.
Nephtys found Seti and the Priestess in the sweetest embrace she had ever seen. It was as if a spear had pierced her heart and killed her on the spot. She was in distraught. Nephtys ran and ran far from the palace until she fell into a cavern near the ruins of the old palace where she hit her head and fainted.
The next morning Nephtys found herself back in the palace with a new resolve to earn the Pharoah's favor. Upon turning to ask about how she was returned, she found out that it was the Pharoah who found her.
Nephtys began to observe the Pharoah's actions. He'd been more amiable ever since the Priestess, but he grew ever more anxious as the battles lengthened. Nephtys now knew that to get the Pharoah's heart, she must first free it from the Priestess' hold. She made a vow to kill the Priestess while she was in the battlefield.
After a fortnight, Nephtys sneaked her way into the Priestess' tent and then she attempted to strike her, when the Priestess acknowledged her presence. They had verbal battle.Nephtys reached the peak of desperation when a dark aura surrounded her and struck the Priestess. Nephtys was absorbed by the dark aura and was transported back to her chambers.
Nephtys was then woken-up by the Blue-eyes-white-dragon's screams and bursts of anger. She went to the court chambers in wonder, the events of the previous night were erased from her memory, and only her hatred for the Priestess remained. There she found the Pharoah grieving the Priestess' death with the elder Siamun with him and the Priestess Mana.
The Pharoah grieved for months, he only regained strength to live when he brought a young man into court. After that, Seti finally gave Nephtys a son and became even more distant to her. He immersed himself in the tutelage of the two boys. Nephtys, after years of neglect and agony, killed herself. Seti did not grieve her as much, since he knew that she was instrumental to the Priestess' death.
The end."
Isis became silent for a long time after hearing Neera's story. She so surprised with the magnitude of the effect of their affair. She could not believe that she in her past self would be capable of driving a woman to madness, and ultimately death.
Then Neera's voice changed expression, her facial expression turned dark, and her eyes glowed on anger.