Part VI
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The second time I saw Henutnofret in a match was when I was sixteen. I had been in my new role for three years and
for three years had practiced my skill. Pharaoh had never looked at me with anything more than passing interest,
of which I was glad.
But that was about to change.
Pharaoh decreed a special
treat for the court. He wanted his women
to show off their skills in a series of friendly matches. The winner would be given a special award. Seti of course
expected his favorite, Henutnofret, to win
easily. He had seen her spar with Sheftu before, and was excited to see her half naked body
glisten with sweat.
As the youngest of the women,
I was not called forth right away. First, some of the older women fought easy, uninteresting matches. They too were beautiful in their skimpy
clothes, but Seti wanted to see fights, not gentle
sparring. So he called on Henutnofret. She
walked out from behind the curtain glistening in her sexuality. She walked straight, smoothly, confidently,
knowing that all the men in the room had their eyes on her.
I learned many things from
her.
She bowed to Seti, her long black hair falling seductively around her
face. She picked up the two tridents
offered to her on a pillow by a servant. She turned and waited for her opponent.
Meketaten was 23, two years older than Henutnofret
and seven years older than I. She walked
out, without Henutnofret's confidence, and took her
tridents. They squared off. Within minutes, Henutnofret
had disarmed Meketaten and had her on the floor. There was ecstatic applause. Several other of the
women came out to face her, and all, though varied in ability, were defeated
handily by Henutnofret.
When Seti was about to confer with his advisors about who to
give the trophy to, Peshet, who was watching from the
side–her rightful place–spoke up.
"There is one you have not
yet seen."
"Who?" Seti asked.
"Little Anuk
Su Namun."
They still called me little,
even though I was past sixteen years. It
was because no other girls had been brought to join us since I had been
brought. I was still the youngest.
"Well, bring her
forward." He turned to Henutnofret. "Can
you take one more today?"
Cornered, she laughed,
covering her nervousness. "Of course, my lord."
"Anuk
Su Namun," Haankhef
announced, from his rightful place at Seti's
left. I pulled my mask down tightly over
my face, and then emerged from behind the curtain. Although I did not realize it, I looked as
good as Henutnofret did. My body was muscled and athletic, and I
gleamed through the gold paint that covered my body.
I strode up to the dias where Seti
sat. I bowed my head. "Pharaoh," I murmured. Stepping back, I took the gold tridents
offered me by a servant.
Henutnofret made a show of pulling down her mask, mocking my
seriousness. I had never been known to
back down from a challenge. Although I
had no desire to become Seti's favorite, I needed to
prove to her that I was better.
She had treated me with
disdain since my arrival. She had never
been friendly, had never offered me advice. And, although I did not like to admit it to myself, I needed a friend
when I first arrived. I have always been
independent and strong, but inside I have been insecure and ashamed my entire
life. I have the strength to survive
almost anything, but inside I have always been the abandoned little girl. Henutnofret could
have taught me, she could have comforted me. Instead, she became my enemy. And
my enemies always pay.
The only part
of her face that I could see through her gold mask were her eyes. As I looked into them I saw bits of awe and
determination. But this I knew: Henutnofret's jealousy became my advantage. As we squared off, I saw a gleam of fear in
her eyes.
"Begin," said Seti calmly.
A second later Henutnofret had lunged at me, almost catching me
off-guard. But as I have said, I was
quick, and I was able to block her attack. We moved furiously, covering the entire space, back and forth, back and
forth as our weapons clanged. Sweat
poured down our backs and shoulders, but we did not dare stop. Whick, whack, the
metal on metal echoed through the room as we fought. We were perfectly matched in skill and
determination.
Through the corner of my eye
I could see the rapt expressions on the audience–we were indeed as good as I
had thought.
Henutnofret was fighting like a mad woman, willing to win at any
costs. As our weapons clanged I looked
into her smooth, eerie gold mask, a mask identical to my own. She viciously attacked, pushing me back
across the floor. In a fatal move, she
grabbed my wrist and knocked my weapon from my right hand. It hit the floor with a clash and slid across
the floor, behind me. There was a gasp
from the crowd. She pulled her mask up
so it rested on her dark hair. A smirk
crossed her face. She assumed she was
about to finish me off. I too pushed my
mask up, looking into her face, as though I was about to surrender. Quicker than lightning, I stuck my weapon
through the band in my skirt, against my thigh so it would move with my
body. Smirking back into her face, I
flipped backwards, over myself three times, landing easily next to my weapon. I picked it up again, and resumed my opening
stance.
She was shocked and
embarrassed, and she advanced toward me through the applause. She had not been taught how to flip, and I
could see her anger. Her face was
determined.
"You will not win this match
today, little Anuk," she hissed when we were close.
I ignored her and continued
to fight, although my arms were tiring. As I grew tired, I grew slower. In a decisive move, as I lunged toward her, she put her foot underneath
me so that I tripped. I fell onto my
stomach. I flipped over quickly onto my
back, but she was over me, holding a trident to my throat. The match was over. I had lost. But really, it was a victory.
No woman had come close to
beating Henutnofret in years. And I had almost done it. For the show she gave me her hand to help me
up. I took it. Through loud and excited applause we moved
forward toward Seti.
"Anuk
Su Namun has proved her skill here today, although
she lost the match. The winner, still
the best of all my talented women, is Henutnofret." The crowd applauded.
I did not know it, but
standing on Seti's right was the Preist
of the Dead, Imhotep, his
chief advisor. As I was uninterested in
men I barely noticed him. But he noticed
me.
"You fought well, Anuk Su Namun," Seti said to me, looking hard at me as he handed Henutnofret her trophy.
That very night, for the
first time, I was summoned to his bed.
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