Chapter Ten: The Vengeance of the Gods
Now this was a true wedding.
He remembered his own. Huge, massive, expensive, beautiful. All of those things. Sure, all that and more. But this, just as he had demanded, was even better.
There was a huge crowd assembled in the courtyard. Millions baking in the midday sun. Atemu was seated on a raised balcony attached to the palace, up on the second floor. His eyesight was starting to go. He couldn't distinguish any of the faces in the crowd. It was just a sea of heads. Unsettling, but he was getting older.
To his right was another similar balcony. There they were. The special people. It was their day. Pharaoh Wati and Princess Asenath, about to become Queen officially. He took in a deep breath. This was something he wanted to remember forever. The High Priest was saying...something. He couldn't quite make it out. His hearing was starting to fail him as well. But it didn't much matter anymore.
He stood up and turned around, slowly walking past other seats, where other high ranking officials and priests were seated. As he past them, they all bowed their head at him. Still plenty of respect to go around for the former Pharaoh.
He glanced over at one of the seats, vacant. Isis had chosen not to show. For a moment, he thought about punishing her, before remembering that such things were no longer his responsibility.
He kept on walking through the rows of large, single chairs along the balcony, coming to Mana's seat near the end. She tensed up as he approached, bowing her head.
Atemu smirked, looking down at her slipperless feet. She unconsciously dragged them underneath her chair.
"You know who goes out in public barefoot, Mana?" Atemu asked, eyes on her bowed head. "Peasants."
He saw her face go slightly red. Going around barefoot was a habit Mana had picked up in the slums, where there was hardly a slipper in sight, and something she had never shaken. She didn't like wearing slippers much, and though she occasionally did since she knew it was the proper thing to do for a woman of her status, she often forgot. Like today.
"It's a sign of poverty, low status. I suppose it's true what they say. You can take the girl out of the slums, but you can't take the slum out of the girl. You can't even remember to wear slippers on a day like this, the day of the Pharaoh's wedding, and you wonder why you can't marry into the royal family."
Quickly, Mana got to her feet, head still down. She spun around and walked off, heading back toward the palace.
He glanced over at the opposite side of the balcony, where Ammon was sitting, fuming at his father. In one fluid motion, he stood up and spun to walk after her.
"I knew I shouldn't have come," he muttered.
Satisfied with himself, Atem turned back around and walked back up the balcony, still unable to make out the words of the High Priest on the balcony over.
.
"Cowardly dogs!" shouted one of the disarmed soldiers laying on the sand. "The Gods will see to it your trickery is punished! You think you can get away with this?"
One of the Egyptian soldiers rammed a spear right into the back of the man's neck, causing him to cry out in pain before falling limp as blood gushed from the wound.
"We have no shortage of slaves in Egypt," the Egyptian soldier called out. "So we'll have no problem executing any prisoner who does a single thing we don't like. Think about your families, keep quiet and follow orders and you'll live through this."
"The wheat farm is secure, sir," a Egyptian soldier announced, running up next to his fellow countrymen. No real resistance. Everyone's been rounded up."
The man looked around at the many buildings, Egyptian soldiers emerging from them holding swords, signalling that they had each been cleared.
"Excellent." The head soldier sheathed his sword. "Put all the prisoners on the wagons and ship them back to the capital."
.
Wati slowly made his way down the steps towards the crowd, Asenath to his right. The two were holding hands and smiling as they slowly walked down to the cheering crowd.
Atemu smiled and fought back tears. This was perfect. It was beautiful. A union of true power. Yes, this has to have been the way it was meant to happen. The powers above wanted this.
He stood up, then spun around and raced towards the staircase in the back. He wanted to be on the ground for this. He took the steps two at a time, ignoring his body telling him that he was forty-three years old and that he should slow down.
He turned into the crowd and quickly made his way behind them, running towards the end of the line as Wati and Asenath slowly made their way down the lane between the two sides of the sea of people.
.
"The prisoners are on their way to the capital. We're done here." One of the soldiers reported.
"Very good," the head soldier said, mounting onto his horse and turning toward the border. "We keep moving. There will be resistance from here on out, but nothing we can't easily handle. We don't stop until we get to the ocean. We claim everything for Egypt. We don't stop until Egypt is everything."
He raised his hand into the air, and immediately all the soldiers ran up past the city. Those on horseback led the men beyond the city and out into the open sands. There, they formed up into units of rectangles.
"Be prepared for a fight this time. Do not hesitate to kill, we have enough slaves."
.
Atemu stood at the end of the crowd as Wati and Asenath walked past. He applauded them and smiled warmly. The pair stopped and turned around to look at the crowds.
"It really is unbelievable that I'm here right now," Wati said loudly, powerful voice carrying a great distance through the crowd. Immediately, the crowd quieted, everyone silent to listen to what the Pharaoh had to say. "You have no idea what it's like, to go from where I was, to where I am right now. Enough to make someone dizzy. I've always felt like I was destined for great things, but something this great was beyond even my wildest imagination. Here I stand, the most powerful man in the world, married to the most powerful woman in the world. Now, perhaps this is the moment where I tell you that I don't know what the future holds for Egypt. Perhaps that's what you've come to expect. Well, I do know what the future holds for Egypt. I know it as surely as I would had it already happened. This is the greatest nation ever assembled. And it will remain that way for a thousand years. No one will touch us. Every single Egyptian citizen will be prosperous. No more suffering for anyone. And the Gods will be so pleased with us, they will see it fit to reward us with gifts worthy of the new eternal superpower of the Earth! The messengers of the Gods will come down, and with their blessing, we will lead mankind into a new era!"
The crowd roared approval as he stopped for a moment, then immediately quieted back down.
"What they will see fit to reward us with, that I do not know. Longer lifespans? New technologies that we, now, can not even imagine? Perhaps the art of black magic restored? But I know that they will see what we have all done, and will reward us. That is what is coming. And with no enemies to threaten us, I will focus my efforts to spreading the seed of the Gods to every corner of my empire. I will produce dozens of children with my beautiful new wife, and the next generation of Egyptian rule will see the presence of God blood in every single corner!"
More cheers. The teachers had done a wonderful job of teaching Wati how to speak in public. Atemu glanced up at the balcony he had just left and saw Mana peering over the edge. He smirked. No matter how he insulted and abused her, she continued to obediently sit at his feet. The way it should be.
Suddenly, a massive plume of flames erupted from the middle of the left side of the crowd. Everyone screamed and crouched down, covering their faces as hundreds of guards drew their weapons. As Atemu bent down and covered his face, he saw two guards across the open court get their heads' sliced off by an intruder.
He heard the distinct twang of bows firing off arrows as he dove to the ground, another firely explosion rising up from the right side of the crowd. He looked up towards the crowd and saw a man running through the sea of prone bodies, towards him, a short sword out.
Atemu's body betrayed him, first freezing up as the man approached. At the last second, as the assassin leaped up to strike down on him, Atemu rolled away. The tip of the blade found his right thigh, drawing a nice long cut through the skin that immediately started bleeding.
Atemu looked up as the man rose the sword back up again, but two arrows suddenly struck him right in the chest, knocking him backwards and to the ground. Atemu stared at the assassin for a moment, then looked up at the Pharaoh and Queen.
Wati had just thrown a small knife up toward the staircase where one of the assassins had leapt. The small knife embedded itself right into the neck of the attacker, forcing him to drop his small bow and fall to the ground. Ignoring his wound, Atem jumped to his feet, feeling the blood cascading down his leg to his feet.
He quickly looked around as the guards swept through the entire courtyard, stabbing the bodies of about two dozen assassins to ensure they had been killed throughout the sands. Slowly, the members of the wedding reception glanced up, a sense that the chaos had subsided.
It was then that Atemu made eye contact with Asenath, still standing at Wati's side, looking shocked. Atemu looked down as well, and saw the front of her wedding dress had been stained a dark red. He glanced at Wati hopefully, but the young Pharaoh had seemed to escape the attack without a scratch, and nobody else was close enough to have bled on her. Atemu took a few steps forward out into the alley, and immediately felt an awful sense of dread in his stomach. Now that he was closer, there wasn't much mistaking the arrowhead that was poking out through her right breast, jutting out just past her dress.
She looked down for a moment, then back up as she fell to her knees. Atemu ran up to her, and she crumbled over, now revealing the short arrow stalk that was sticking out of her back.
Atemu kneeled down next to her, grabbing her hair and pulling it back so he could look at her face. He then looked around in a panic.
"Well?" he called out. "We need to get her a doctor. What are you all standing around for?"
One of the Egyptian guards ran up to his side. "Sir, we should get that bandaged," he said tenatively, pointing at Atemu's thigh.
"I'm fine, you idiot," Atemu roared, standing up. "You get her help, she needs it!"
"S-sir, I'm very, very sorry," the guard replied. "The area is secure, but we really need to get you to safety and see to that-"
Atemu grabbed the man's shirt and lifted him up with strength that he hadn't remembered having for over a decade. "Idiot! You are wasting time! If Asenath dies, I will hold you personally responsible! I will use black magic to make you immortal and give you to the torturers if she dies!" He pushed him away. "Go!"
The man ran off as fast as he could and Atemu slumped back down next to his daughter. "Well? Aren't any of you doctors?" He looked around at the crowd, none stepping forward or even making eye contact with the former Pharaoh. "She's...oh...oh Gods," he fell onto the sands face forward, then started pounding his right fist into the ground. "Oh. Why." He started to cry, grasping his left hand onto her wedding dress. "Why?"
.
Atemu didn't remember how he got up to his bedroom. Maybe he walked, maybe he crawled, maybe he was carried, maybe he teleported...who knew? And who cared? None of that mattered at all. All that mattered was that he was here. He was slumped over on the ground, pounding his fists into the floor, sobbing.
He laid there for quite some time, then rolled over and started to scream. A deep scream that reached to every corner of the palace. He covered his face with his hands and pulled at his hair, as if any of it would bring his daughter back.
Finally, he opened his eyes and peaked through the tears and saw a pair of slippered feet in front of him. He slowly looked up a slim body wearing long, white robes, finally looking up at the High Priestess.
She just stood there, arms folded in front of her. Atemu shuddered, but slowly got up into a kneeling position in front of her.
"O-oh, Isis," he squeaked out. "You were right. You were right about everything." He reached up to grab at the front of her robes. "You were so right. I...I don't know. I'm awful. I'm the worst."
She said nothing, standing there, arms still crossed and face still expressionless.
"Isis, I am so sorry. I should have listened. I am lost. I'm s-so sorry. I-Isis, what do I do? I need...I need help. I'm broken, I've lost...I want to...make this right. H-help."
Slowly, she reached down and grabbed his right hand, then bent down towards it. She gave his fingers a light kiss, then slowly lifted him up into a standing position.
"Quiet now," she said soothingly, guiding him back towards the bed. She sat him down on it, then pulled out a long napkin. "It's going to be okay." She started to wrap the napkin around Atemu's cut on his thigh, tightening it to keep the blood from leaking out.
"Y-you don't have to-" Atemu blubbered, wiping the tears out of his eyes.
"Hush," she interrupted. "You won't be able to make things right if you're dead of blood loss." She knotted the napkin around the wound, then pulled out a second napkin. She walked over to a basin of water in the corner of the room, dipping this napkin in. "You should have had that taken care of immediately."
"I-Isis, I...we can have someone else do this."
She walked back over to him and started to wipe the dried blood off of his legs. "I'm going to do it."
"T-thank you, Isis," Atemu gulped out. He swallowed down hard. "I never...I never wanted-"
"The attack today was retaliation," Isis began. "Wati has ordered our troops to retake the lands you sold, then continue taking the land remaining. He intends to make the entire world Egyptian over the next month."
"N-no, Wati would never...he-"
"I was in the room when he gave the order, and I have seen the battle reports. Wati has broken the peace treaty." Isis picked up Atemu's leg by the ankle and started wiping off the blood on his slippers.
"W-well, that's...I...I suppose-"
"As you said. I was right about everything," Isis said shortly. "But if you swear to me that you seek to make things right, I will assist you in doing so."
"I swear," Atemu said, nodding. "Just tell me what I should do and I'll do it. B-but, what can I do I don't know. I don't have power anymore. I can't do anything."
"You underestimate me once again, your highness." Isis stood up, then walked over to the door of the room. She pried it open and peeked out. A single Egyptian patrolman stood there at attention.
"High Priestess?" the man said, nodding.
"I'd like to make you an offer you can't refuse," she said evenly.
"Understood, miss," the man replied, bowing before turning to run off. Isis closed the door and walked back over to Atemu, who had a furrowed brow.
"I'm quite confused at this juncture," Atemu said, applying light pressure to his thigh wound.
"I once told you I knew this was going to happen. Did you really believe I wouldn't have come up with a plan for it?" she gave a small smile. "In a few moments now, guards will arrest Wati and bring him here, before you. You will take the throne back. I have already overseen measures that will make the transition smooth."
"I-Isis...how..." Atemu gawked.
"You will then do whatever you need to do to re-install your peace treaty over the next several weeks as Pharaoh. When the peace is back in effect, you will hand the throne over to it's rightful owner, as well as make things right with him. Can you handle that, or do I need to write you a script?" Isis raised an eyebrow at Atemu.
"N-no, that's fine, I know precisely what I'm going to do. T-thank you, Isis, without you I'd be lost."
"I suggest you gather yourself," Isis said, holding her hands behind her back. "You will want to put on a stoic face for this."
He nodded, then started in taking deep breaths. He focused his mind on the events of the past few hours, focusing his anger towards the man responsible. Sadness made way for anger as he did this.
Finally, he heard footsteps coming down the hall and opened his eyes. The door flew open and half-a-dozen fully armed guards escorted Wati into the room.
"You are all going to pay dearly for this!" Wati screamed as two of the guards threw him onto the floor in the center of the room. "This is beyond madness! To even touch me is punishable by death, but this...none of you have any idea-"
"Wati," Atemu said sternly, cutting his tirade off. "You have broken Egypt's peace treaty, which has resulted in the deaths of dozens of Egyptian citizens, as well as the death of Princess Asenath."
"I don't answer to you!" Wati snarled, standing up. "I answer to no one! I made the right decision, whether or not you peace-freaks can see that!"
"You have proven yourself unworthy of the throne, and as such it is no longer yours. Effective immediately, I am retaking the throne, and you are under arrest for violating the peace treaty."
Wati barked out an unpleasant laugh. "I'm the Pharaoh, you have no authority anymore, stop your nonsense."
"I'm not the one with armed guards at his back," Atemu replied. "Your inability to see the value in the peace treaty makes you unworthy of the throne."
"There is no value in it! It's a stupid piece of parchment that tries to stop the advances of the strongest army in the world! Anyone who applies an ounce of logic to the situation could see it! There is no way we can lose! Within a month, I will make Egypt the entire world!"
"That's enough from you." Atemu cleared his throat. "I will begin repairing the damage you have done with the surrounding countries. I am confident I can restore the treaty. And you will be spending the rest of your days in the dungeons. The other world leaders may require your execution in order for them to trust Egypt again."
Wati tried to charge at Atemu, but the guards behind him immediately tackled him to the ground. They started to chain his arms behind him as he fought savagely.
"I believe that will conclude our business together," Atemu said as Wati's feet were chained together and the guards picked him up.
"You made me!" Wati screeched as he was pulled from the room. "I am what I am because of you! You made my parents raise me in a damn room that I could never leave! Whatever I am, I am because of you!" He gave a crazed smirk as he was pulled from the room. "You made me. Don't forget that!"
"Have Ammon and Mana brought here, please," Isis instructed the guards as they departed, shutting the door behind them.
"Very good...Pharaoh," Isis said, giving him a warm smile.
"It won't be easy, but I can get their trust back," Atemu mused. "Maybe I'll have to smooth it over a little bit, but I can do it. They don't have much of a choice. And I'm sure a public execution of Wati will convince them."
"If anyone can do it, it's you," Isis said comfortingly. "And it's the right thing to do. If Seto saw the things Wati had done, even he would understand."
Atemu sighed. "I...I can't believe she's gone." His head sunk. "I can't...she was innocent! She had nothing to do with any of this." He shook his head. "It's my fault. It's all my fault."
"You have one child left. Make it right with him," Isis said. "There is still time for you to redeem yourself. And as long as you work towards redeeming yourself, I will be there to help you every step of the way."
"T-thank you, Isis. I don't deserve you, I really don't." Atemu sighed. "I...oh my god, this day. I could use a drink-"
Isis gave her Pharaoh a stern look, and Atemu immediately wilted.
"A-after I settle things with Ammon and Mana, of course," he added quickly. She smiled and patted him on the thigh.
Atemu simply sat there for a few minutes, mind going over his intended plan. Eventually, he realized that there was no plan for something like this. It was all emotion and flow of the moment stuff. Whatever felt right, he just had to let loose with it.
"Ammon is a good man, and Mana is a sweet woman. If you handle things right, I am sure both will gladly forgive you," Isis said suddenly as footsteps sounded down the hall.
A moment later, the door opened and a few guards entered with Ammon and Mana. Ammon immediately walked up to his father, tears streaking down his cheeks.
"Father, I'm so sorry about Asenath, this is a true tragedy-"
No, son. Listen," Atemu interrupted. "I'm sorry. You should be sorry for nothing. I'm sorry. I've been a truly awful father and person." He dropped off the bed onto his knees, grabbing his son by the shoulders and pulling him in closer. "I've...I've made so many mistakes, I've been awful."
Ammon glanced behind him at Mana for a moment, who hung back by the guards and just stood there at attention. "Father-"
"Listen...if you hate me forever, I wouldn't blame you. I deserve it. B-but, I'm going to try to make things right." Atemu started to cry again. "I really am. I'm re-taking the throne, and I'm going to fix the peace treaty. As soon as I do, you have my word that the throne is yours. You will be a great Pharaoh, greater than me, and it has taken me far too long to see that. Just let me fix the peace, and the throne is yours. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He hugged his son closer. "I'm sorry about your mother, Asenath...sorry for mistreating you...I'm sorry for everything. It's all my fault."
"D-dad..." Ammon said quietly, lightly patting Atemu's back. "It's...it's okay, but-"
"Wait, wait, I'm not done." He looked over Ammon's shoulder. "Mana, come here."
Slowly, uneasily, Mana stepped forward, looking down at her feet and glancing around the room.
"Mana, come here." Atemu let Ammon go and pulled Mana close to him, then hugged her. "Mana, I'm sorry to you too. The things I said, they were wrong. All of them. You're not subhuman, you're a beautiful, wonderful person. You are as precious as they come, and a much better person than I could ever hope to be. I had no right to talk down to you as I did, and I am truly sorry."
"O-oh, Pharaoh...it's okay, you don't have to-" Mana muttered, wrapping her arms around his head.
"Mana, listen to me. It would be an honor to have you as a daughter. I am a fool and haven't seen this before, but I see it now. The Gods would be honored to include you in the family line. I want you as my daughter, and Egypt wants you as her Queen. You have my blessing. Marry my son."
Mana's eyes lit up and she broke into a broad grin, then kissed Atemu on the forehead. "Oh, Pharaoh, you've made me...made me so happy."
Ammon just stared at the scene, mouth agape.
"Ammon, marry this beautiful, precious young woman, and treat her like she deserves to be treated," Atemu said. "That's the best advice I can give you."
"F-Father, I...I don't know what to say-"
"Then don't say anything," Atemu stood back up and sat back down on the bed. "Plan the wedding however you like, the throne will be yours as soon as possible."
Ammon ran forward and hugged his father, tears starting anew. "Father, thank you."
Mana joined the hug. "Oh Mighty Pharaoh, thank you for this blessing."
"Start calling me Father," Atemu asked as Ammon stepped away. "It's about to be appropriate." he smirked.
"And I'm sorry about Asenath, it's an awful loss," Mana squeaked, wiping at her eyes.
Atemu nodded. "It will never stop hurting, but...she would want me to learn from this. Learn from this and make things right."
"And when I'm queen, I promise to wear slippers all the time," Mana said, cracking a small smile.
Atemu smirked back, then picked her up and set her on the bed next to him. "Don't. In fact, I insist." He pulled off her right slipper and dropped it to the floor. "Throughout Egyptian history, royal family members with distinctive traits are typically remembered better. Maybe you'll go down as the Barefoot Queen."
He rubbed her toes between his fingers for a second as she smirked. Then he flipped her over onto her stomach on the bed, put her ankle in a arm lock, and started to scrabble the nails of his right hand on her bare sole. She immediately shrieked and started flailing around while cackling madly.
"Get her, son!" Atemu cried out, breaking out into a broad grin. Ammon shrugged, then decided to roll with it, jumping forward to rip her other slipper off, then started clawing at her foot. She laughed uproariously as she beat her fists into the bed and flailed around, but made only a half-hearted effort to escape, secretly enjoying herself.
After a few moments of this, the two stopped, and Mana rolled over and stuck her tongue out at her soon-to-be father and husband. Ammon naughtily reached forward and scratched at her belly, again making her give off a ticklish squeal, while Atemu teased her knees.
As Atemu crawled up the bed and hugged Mana, he realized that this felt more like a family than he had ever had in his life. Finally, there wasn't any arrogance and anger clouding his vision. Now, there were only the people he loved, and nothing else.