NeferNeferi - Well, this chapter won't directly answer your question but there is a hint mentioned.
WaterGoddessMizu - After thinking about it, the name may sound a bit Egyptian but I decided to actually use a name that is Egyptian.
Chapter 29
One Day Before the Ceremony for Choosing a New Queen Begins
In the Palace
"Your Majesty, I'm putting the letters that came right here." The clerk said to Atem.
The Pharaoh was currently looking at some documents that were piled up like a mountain in front of him. "Leave them there. Have Seto come and deal with them."
'Ohh ... there's a drought up in the north ... they hope I can dispatch some relief to them?' He commented to himself as he read through one of the documents.
"Shimon!" Atem called out.
"Yes, Your Majesty?" An old man who had himself completely shrouded appeared.
"Send someone to examine the drought situation in the northern regions. Give me a report as soon as you get it."
"Understood."
Atem looked at the next papyrus. 'The temple for the gods of the Nile river needs to be renovated ... they hope the palace can send funds over for the reconstruction ...' "Isis, Shadah!"
"Yes, Your Majesty?" Two voices replied.
"Go investigate the condition of the damages to the temple on the riverbanks of the Nile and make an estimate of how many workers we need to hire in order to rebuilt it." Atem handed over the papyrus over to Priest Shadah.
"We will obey your orders." The two left to prepare for their departure.
'The villages near the borders of the desert often have been attacked by bandits. Their origins are unknown ...' Atem read from the papyrus in his hands.
"Sadiki 1!" He called.
"What are your instructions, Your Majesty?" The chancellor in charge of the country's armies asked respectfully.
"Send ten thousand soldiers to the borders to serve as defense for the kingdom. You can decide how to distribute the soldiers yourself. By tomorrow morning, I want a detailed list from you."
"As you wish." The chancellor left to return to his home to begin dispatching the troops and writing down the details of the dispatchment.
"Looks like you're very busy ..." Seto had just arrived from his office and was currently trying to organize the letters that were in disarray.
"You're here? I'm sorry to bother you, but I hope you can handle those for me." Atem was busy writing as his pen was moving nonstop and didn't really pay the other much attention.
Three Hours Later
"Whew ... I'm finally finished ..." Atem placed the final document in with the other ones on his desk. He leaned back in his chair as his eyes began to close. His hands went up to his forehead to wipe at the sweat building up there as he took a deep breath. "I've been very busy lately ... I don't have any time to take a break ..." Atem grumbled.
"Stop complaining! Who asked you to be the Pharaoh? Get some vigor back, will you?" Seto was holding the letters he had just finished organizing.
"Yes ..." Atem held up his head in his hands as he tried not to close his eyes.
"Altogether, you have a total of 1,025 letters. 823 of them are related to marriage offers. The rest are, for the most part, related to the exchange rate of the import and export of grain and state of the business in mineral trading. Hey! Get up already! There's still over a hundred letters you need to reply to." Seto saw that Atem had fallen asleep from exhaustion as he spoke.
"What? A ... a hundred letters?!" Atem felt weak all over as he heard the amount of work he needed to do.
"Get up now! You can rest after you reply to these letters!" Seto threw the pile over to Atem's desk.
"Just great ...!" Atem unwillingly picked up his brush and listlessly began to write his replies.
"Tomorrow's the day of the ceremony. Are you ready for it?" Seto asked.
"Ready? I'm ready to run away from it all." Atem answered. "Only the gods know what kind of girl Mother will choose for me ... I don't even want to think about it ..."
"I'm certain she'll be a very valiant girl." Seto called a clerk in to send out the documents to their destinations.
"What makes you say that?" Atem looked over at him.
"I'm told that if they want to enter the palace, the girls would have to pass the trials set by your mother. Of course, those trials won't be involving dancing, singing and composing poetry. Just think about it ... if a girl can pass through tests that are dangerous and trying, she must be very valiant indeed."
"What ... what is Mother trying to do ...?"
"It appears that being a Pharaoh isn't that easy after all." Seto cast a sympathetic gaze over at the other boy.
"Hey! I'm not that pitiful!" Atem angrily replied. "I'm actually a bit suspicious ... where did you find about about all that?"
"I hear that there's a new type of mineral being mined in the south. Are you interested?"
Seto's sudden change of topic only confirmed Atem's doubts that the other was definately hiding something. 'Hmm ... Mother lives in the harem ... harem?!' He immediately realized how Seto had gotten his information.
"Heh heh, looks like you're on good terms with the maids in the harem."
Everyone knew that the maids over there loved to gossip. What's more, they all were like megaphones. Wanted some information? All you had to do was curry favor with them and they'll be telling you things in no time.
"You!" Seto didn't think he'd figure it out so soon. "Let me make this clear first! I have no relationship with those women!"
"Forget about it. You'll just dig a deeper hole for yourself." Atem laughed as he shook his head. "Would you like me to ask my mother to introduce a few of them to you?"
"Atem!"
"Hmm ... let me think, who would be best suited for you ..." Atem purposely pretended he didn't hear what the other had said.
"Atem!!"
"Aha! I hear that Dalila2 seems interested in you." In spite of Seto's warning voice, he continued to act like he didn't hear him.
"Atem!!!" Seto yelled out, a blue vein on his forehead seemed about to burst.
"Heh heh. I'll be heading off to speak with Mother. You can wait at your home for my good news." Atem was getting ready to make his exit.
"You're not going anywhere, Atem!!" Seto moved to block him.
The two began to chase each other in the small study. Soon the chase began to spread out into the entire palace.
"Pharaoh?" Shimon heard the sounds of bickering and quickly arrived to see what was going on. He only saw Seto yelling and chasing after Atem while the latter was running away while saying things that seemed to infuriate the former even more.
"Sir Shimon?! What is going on?" The other clerks had all come in to see what was the commotion.
"Looks like they're starting up again ..." Shadah had come in and was quickly developing a headache at the scene in front of him.
"I wonder how many objects they are going to damage this time ..." Isis looked around them for a moment.
Just as the group began to talk amongst themselves, suddenly, a stone statue was flying right towards their direction!
"Ahh!" Shadah managed to duck out of the way at the last moment. "What do you think you are doing?!" He roared.
"Sir Shimon, be careful!" Isis warned. As expected, an earthenware pot soon was thrown in their direction.
"Your Majest ... what!" Mahaado, holding a report in one hand, narrowly escaped a spear that almost hit him in the head. "When did they ...?" He asked the other two priests, who had been there longer then he had.
"I don't know either. From the looks of it, I think it was the Pharaoh who started it ... look out!" Shadah called out to Mahaado.
"Eh?!" He turned his head and saw a bronze shield being thrown towards him and quickly ducked.
"It doesn't matter why the fight started. We need to stop it now!" Isis said.
"Is it even possible?!" Mahaado asked as he ducked from a weapon being thrown at him.
"Your Majesty! Seto! If you two must fight, do so when you're outside of the palace!" Shadah called out to the two.
"I've got it." Atem took advantage of the opportunity and quickly slipped away.
"You wait right there, Atem!!" Seto said as he continued to chase after him.
Once the two had left, the dust that was flying all over the place due to the chase slowly dissipated, leaving behind the awful sight of broken statues and pottery.
"Sir Shimon ... I'll have to trouble you in sending someone over to clear away this mess ..."
Author's Corner:
Youlan: I must apologize to everyone first ... it seems that I've dragged this out for so long because I didn't have much time ... the next chapter may take over a month before it can be released ...
Rika: That's not true right now since the Chinese version had been posted up much earlier than my translated version.
Translator's Notes:
1 Changed name again ... I still don't think a name like Yimuhuodepu sounds Egyptian at all.
2 Another changed name. Niya ... does sound a bit Egyptian ... but oh well.
Posted on October 21, 2004.