Chapter 10
"There isn't much time to act," the royal physician declared, meticulously stowing his instruments. "It's good you came to me now, though why you put it off for so long is beyond my understanding."
"So I have told him," Shepseheret scolded her husband gently. Perched atop the bench, Merenkahre look remarkably chastised.
"And I have told you a king has responsibilities, duties to his country! I have little time for check ups."
"Hence why you are so ill now," the doctor replied pointedly.
Ignoring the last jibe, the pharaoh asked, "So there is hope?"
"Some, but we must begin treatments at once. And I warn you, I've seen this sickness strike down the heartiest of men in a matter of weeks. You are not so young anymore, and it has already taken root within your body. Duties aside, this should have been addressed weeks ago; if it had, I might have been able to do more! As it is now, well, all we can do is try and pray for your recovery."
Merenkahre bit his lip. He knew the doctor was right- he was rather negligent when it came to his health, taking his heartiness for granted since his youth. Still, despite his growing aches and pains- symptoms of advancing age- he felt good. And Amun was the best healer known in the world. Now if only his wife would cease looking at him worryingly. "Stop fussing over me- I am fine. You heard him, there are cures!"
"Treatments, not cures. And he didn't sound as confident as you."
"Then I shall have confidence enough for the both of us! Don't worry, my love, I will be strong as ever by the next New Moon!" He'd had health scares before. "Remember you are talking to one who defeated the Nubians in their first and last onslaught!"
"As I recall, you also earned an arrow wound that day," Shepseheret chided him.
"So selective in the details! I recovered, did I not?"
Knowing it would be fruitless to argue further, she nodded. "I know. I remember every time you boast of it," she teased. Rumbling over how women never appreciated men's military exploits, Merenkahre pulled her gently closer to himself as he recalled a time when both had nearly perished from fright; a time when their family had almost been ripped apart. Little did he realize his wife was sharing his thoughts.
0o0
"Ahkmen, are you all right? You look fatigued. Come," Shepseheret beckoned her baby closer, noticing how flushed he appeared. "My son, you are hot as a flame!" She cried out as she felt his forehead.
"I am fine, Mama. It's nothing. Kah and I raced today, and I nearly won!" Ahkmenrah cried, smiling despite his headache. He was jittery as any six year old could be, but he swayed a little, grimacing in pain when his mother touched his cheek. "What hurts?"
"Tummy. A little."
"Mina, could you get us some broth, please."
"No Mama, I am full. My tummy does not want to eat." She caught him as he swooned.
"We'd best lay you down," she said, scooping him into her arms when he swayed again. Waving away servants, she carried him to his room herself, requesting the family physician's presence immediately.
"You brother is ill," Merenkahre told Kahmunrah, who was swooshing his sword back and forth. When he heard the news, he turned around.
"How ill?"
"Ill enough to summon the physician. I want him to look at you as well."
"I feel fine, Father. Now let me return to my techniques!" Was it just him, or had Kahmunrah shivered? Was he cold? Did he look paler?
"I insist, for your own safety! There is a sickness spreading through the village- it hasn't reached us yet, but if Ahkmenrah was struck first, I don't want you following him!"
Kahmunrah mopped his brow. "I said I'm fine. Can I get no peace?" Sweat irritated his eyes before he could wipe it away.
"You may have your peace once I have mine, which will not happen until you have a check up. And what of your brother? He's been asking for you. Do you not care for his well-being? Have you no concern for his health?"
Kahmunrah stubbornly glared at the opposing wall, his shoulders rigid as the bricks he faced. "What I want is to be left alone! Is this too much to ask? And of course I am concerned about Ahk, but if he's sick, I certainly don't want to catch it." Though he tried hiding it, Merenkahre saw him clutching his forehead, as if in pain.
"Do you have a headache? I will-"
"I am FINE!" Yet even as he roared, he leaned against a wall for support, panting. Merenkahre jumped back in shock- not since he was six had Kahmunrah yelled at him. Surely he wasn't himself? His cheeks were growing unnaturally rosy as Kahmunrah inhaled deeply, refusing to look at him.
"Kahmun, please!" Merenkahre stretched his hands toward him in an attitude of surrender. "I beg of you, come with me to the doctor. Even if it's nothing, it would be best..."
Kahmunrah did not have a choice, as before Merenkahre had finished speaking, he fainted.
Soon, both princes lay in the medical chamber, both unconscious, both silent as the dead. Her own tears sparkling threads on her cheeks, Shepseheret wept upon her husband's shoulder as he held in cries of his own. For one considered a god among men, he had never felt so powerless.
Already the paler of the two- he'd inherited his looks from his father- Kahmunrah now resembled a marble statue more than a human in his paleness. Only the subtle rising and falling of his chest indicated he was alive. By contrast, a feverish Ahkmenrah tossed and turned, as if fighting off the disease plaguing him- his cries weakened his parents more than any weapon could have. Meanwhile, the physicians and assistants shook their heads and murmured between themselves, carefully concealing their work from grieving, watching eyes. Unnoticed by the king and queen, many servants had gathered as well, not daring to make a sound lest it disturb their beloved princes.
Though she'd wept initially, Shepseheret now looked on silently as she observed the physicians working to save her children. She was so quiet, in fact, the servants began to fear she might have fallen ill herself, despite her dismissals of any doctor attempting to inspect her. "I am well enough- they need your help, not I."
Merenkahre was so absorbed by his own grief, he barely noticed his wife passing from the room. How could this happen? What could strike his family down again? For the first time, he feared the rumoured curse plaguing his loved ones. How could a king of his power watch helpless as an infant as his sons lay dying? What had he done to anger the gods so terribly?
His worst fears were confirmed when the head physician approached him. "I'm afraid there is nothing else we can do for them. Only their strength can aid the princes now."
"Can nothing be done?! They are my sons, Amun. Please- there must be something!"
The doctor shook his head sadly. He had seen enough death to last him until his own, but the boys' possible impending doom shook him more than he wanted to admit. "We will wait the night- if they survive, the chances are greater they will pull through, but I have seen many children succumb to this ailment. I will leave you with them alone."
Please mighty Ra, Horus, Osiris! Spare my sons! They are young- take me in their place if you must, I beg you!
Looking back, Merenkahre should have suspected his wife was up to something the instant she quieted. When everyone was fully absorbed in the enfolding drama, she left the room, swept out as silently as a shroud. To this day, he knew not what she did to save them, but since their recovery his confidence in her and his love for her deepened to surpass the depth of the Nile Herself...
0o0
Leaning forward on his knees while looking back on that day, it seemed Merenkahre's wish had been granted. A fitting price, his health for their happiness. Then again, perhaps this illness was not merely the work of biology, but of something more. "Not a word to my sons, Amun."
"I understand, my king. And there are treatments I can offer- we shall begin the first today."
Shepseheret remained silent, lost in her own fears. Experience had taught her to watch out for her husband's health for him, since he rarely gave it a moment's notice these days. If only he would see sense! Why did it take coughing fits emergency to restore him to his senses?! Did he have any sense at all?
A shout interrupted their inner musings as Kahmunrah and Ahkmenrah ran into the room- unannounced, as always. "If you don't return my sandal this instant-" Kahmunrah thundered.
"What, this tiny slipper fits your big foot?" Giggling, Ahkmenrah ducked as Kahmunrah reached for him.
"What's this about now?" Amun shouted. "You know better than to disturb your father during an examination. Out!"
"It's all right, Amun, let them be. We are finished for today anyway, are we not?" Scooping up his sons in an uncharacteristic display of paternal affection, Merenkahre looked at each of them wistfully. "You're both growing into such fine young men- do not sully this with such a petty argument! Ahkmenrah, return your brothers slipper."
"No!"
Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone! :)
