Chapter 11: Hello Again
The next morning, Radames made one final attempt to walk again. To his surprise, he was able to walk around the tent. His ankle only hurt him a little bit, but he could still walk. After a while, he sat down.
"Good morning, Captain," a familiar voice said.
Radames looked up to find Mereb's head poking through the hole of his tent. He walked in and handed him a bowl.
"Aida couldn't come this morning," Mereb said. "She's busy with family matters, so she sent me instead."
Amneris is coming today, Radames remembered.
"She told you I'm hiding here?" he asked Mereb.
"No, I was there when we found you," Mereb replied. "I tripped over your leg, actually."
"How are you, Mereb?" Radames asked.
"I'm fine, sir," Mereb replied. "And yourself?"
"Fine, I guess," Radames said.
"You don't look fine."
I look how I feel, Radames thought. He was once again thinking about how to make a better impression to try to make him forget about the innocent Nubians that he had slaughtered and the live ones that he kept from their homeland like Mereb.
"I'm sorry, Mereb," Radames said.
"For what?" Mereb asked.
"Keeping you in Egypt for ten years and not letting you go home," Radames said.
"It's all right, sir," Mereb said.
"No, it's not. I was afraid that if I released you, they would find you again and kill you like they did with your parents."
"I know, sir."
"No, you don't. There's another reason why I kept you in Egypt."
Mereb turned to face him with a confused look on his face.
"You know that as a boy I didn't have any friends as a boy," Radames continued. "Actually, I was friends with Amneris, but she was a girl. Anyway, you were the only friend that I had these past ten years and I didn't want to lose my only friend."
An awkward moment of silence passed. Radames suddenly heard what he just said and it sounded selfish and that was probably the way it sounded to Mereb.
"Do you mean that?" he asked.
"You've been a good friend to me, Mereb," Radames said.
"And you me, sir," Mereb replied.
The two men hugged briefly and then Mereb stood up to leave.
"Oh, and Mereb?" Radames said.
"Yes, sir?" Mereb asked.
"You're not my servant anymore. You can use my real name."
Mereb smiled and nodded his head as a "thank you" and walked out. Then, five seconds later, he came back in looking nervous.
"What's wrong?" Radames asked.
"Kehinde's out there," Mereb said.
Aida had told him all about her family, but the person she talked about the most was Kehinde.
"Why are you hiding from her?" He asked.
"I don't know," Mereb said, shyly.
"Is she bothering you?" Radames asked. "Is she following you around a lot?"
"No!" Mereb exclaimed, and then softened his voice. "No. She's nothing like that. She's very sweet and beautiful and………………….."
Mereb trailed off and suddenly had a far-off expression on his face. It was the face that Radames wore when he first met Aida.
"Oh, I see why you're hiding from her," Radames said, tauntingly. "You're in love with her."
"Love is a strong word," Mereb said.
"Well, then, you're infatuated with her," Radames said.
"I don't think so."
"Well, if you're not in love or infatuated with her, then go back out there."
"Fine. I will."
Mereb disappeared outside and then came back in.
"All, right," he said, sitting down next to Radames. "Yes, I'm in love with Aida's twin sister."
"So, what's she like?" Radames asked.
"She's different from Aida," Mereb said. "Very, very, different."
"How so?"
"Well, she's training to be a midwife for one."
"That's it?"
"She's a little more cautious."
"And you like that in a woman?"
"Well, it's a trait that I have. She and I have the same interests."
"That's understandable."
Their talk was cut short when someone shouted in the distance:
"QUEEN AMNERIS HAS ARRIVED!"
Mereb and Radames remained silent. You can do this, Radames said silently, hoping Aida would hear his thoughts. You're a strong woman. You can handle anything.
Aida paced back and fourth in her father's hut and tried to calm herself down. Remember, she told herself. Don't appear nervous. Don't get upset. Relax and you'll get through this. Just don't be nervous. But, she couldn't help but be nervous. This was her first duty as a princess, more importantly, as a ruler. If she messed this up, then her father wouldn't trust her anymore.
"Princess," Diallo said. "The Pharaoh is waiting outside."
"Send her in," Aida replied.
Diallo left and then returned with Essein, another Nubian warrior, two Egyptian soldiers, and Amneris herself. She looked different now. She didn't look like the woman who was obsessed with fashion. She looked much stronger now. When she saw Aida, her mouth gave no expression, but her eyes showed pure shock.
"Welcome, your majesty," Aida said, bowing.
"Thank you, Princess," Amneris replied, returning the bow.
With one swift motion she turned to her soldiers and gave one two-worded command:
"Go."
The soldiers bowed and then left. Aida marveled of how strong she sounded even though it was only a one-worded command.
"Leave us," Aida said to Diallo and Essein, hoping that she sounded just as strong as Amneris.
Diallo and Essein mirrored the Egyptian soldiers' movements as they bowed and left the hut, leaving Aida and Amneris alone.
"Please, sit down," Aida said.
She and Amneris moved over to the table that Amonasro had imported from Babylon.
"I'm here to discuss this war that our countries are going through right now," Amneris said. "It was my father's dream that Egypt would conquer Nubia and its kingdom would expand. However, I find this dream pointless and idiotic. I would like to end this silly, futile war and form an alliance between our countries."
"I would like that, too," Aida said. "However, there is the matter of my fellow Nubians who were captured as slaves and those who were killed."
"I and the Egyptian army will personally return the Nubians we captured," Amneris said. "I will also make a public apology on behalf of Egypt for all the casualties we have caused."
"Then, I accept this proposition," Aida said.
"Good," Amneris said.
An awkward silence filled the hut.
"Well, this is a different outfit you're wearing," Amneris said.
Aida knew that she was speaking metaphorically.
"Amneris, there were so many times I wanted to tell you everything," she said, softly. "But, I couldn't."
"No wonder you understood me so well," Amneris murmured, staring down at the table.
Aida felt a pang of guilt.
"I'm sorry, Amneris," she said. "I am to blame for what has happened. Not Radames. I can understand if you hate me."
Aida anticipated an answer from Amneris, but she didn't saw anything. The hut remained silent.
"I don't hate you," Amneris said, finally. "I was angry with you for a while, but I forgive younow. I can't stay mad at you forever. You're my best friend even though you betrayed me. You helped me through some hard times."
Even though Ameris said she forgave her, she couldn't helpfeeling that she didn't actually forgive her, but Aida decided to look past that. She still wanted to be friends with her.
"Would you mind if I docked here for the night?" Amneris asked.
"No, not at all," Aida replied.
Amneris rose and started to leave the hut, when she turned back to Aida.
"How is he?" she asked.
"He's fine," Aida replied.
"Good."
Again, she turned to leave.
"It looks like you found your stronger suit," Aida said.
Amneris turned back with a warm smile on her face.
"Yes, I did," she replied. "And it looks like you've always been wearing yours."
With those last words, Amneris bowed and then left and Amonasro materialized in her place.
"Good work, Aida," he said. "I think you are now fully capable of being my successor."
"Thank you, father," Aida replied.
She left the hut and let out a sigh of relief. She had done it. She had overcome the obstacle of proving herself worthy to her father and had restored her friendship with Amneris. Now there was one question troubling her. What was she going to do about Radames?
"Just say 'when' and you'll stop the pain of your life,
Bring it to an end.
Just say 'when' and you could make amends
Just say Hello, say Hello again"- Lostprophets
To Be Continued……………..
A/N: Chapter 12 is coming soon.
