The Heart of the Nile: Returning Home
Inuyasha awoke to the soft strokes of his canopy bed's curtains gently blowing in the breeze. He had to squint his eyes from the bright light as the early rays of the sun kissed his face. Located in the captain's quarters of the wooden ship, he could hear the gentle cries of gulls calling out his window and the rhythmic rush of the waves beating against the hull. Knowing he wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep he sat up on his bed. As he did he groaned from exhaustion and popped his back with a twist. He was ready to be off this ship. Having been sailing for almost three years now in search of a great treasure he was tired and stir crazy. Knowing birds meant land he pushed himself out of bed to take a look outside. As he looked out his window he saw the approaching coastline of the Nile River and the soft tannish hue of the Egyptian landscape in the distance.
"Finally, almost home." Inuyasha said to himself as he began to get dressed.
Being the prince of Egypt he needed to look acceptable when they docked at port. It wouldn't look good if he showed up looking like a wayward vagabond. His brother pharaoh was sure to be waiting for them and he was too damn tired to listen to petty grumbling. Sighing in defeat, he pulled on his white loincloth made of fine Egyptian cotton. Its length stopped just above his knees and was tied off around his waist with a golden sash. The sash had ties that laid down the front helping to complete the look. After washing his face in a water basin he reapplied his *kohl paint around his eyes. He extended the wings at the outer corners making his golden eyes pop against his lightly tanned skin.
Once he was satisfied with the look he quickly shaved off any unwanted scruff on his face with his knife. He then picked up his necklace that was laden with green, blue, and yellow stones and clasped it around his neck. As he walked out the door he slipped on his woven sandals, put on his golden *khat crown decorated with ivory dog-ears and hoisted his father's sword around his waist. Once he stood on the main deck of the ship he walked over to the railing of the boat. Here he could get a better look at the approaching landscape and make out the royal city in the distance. Hearing footsteps approaching him from behind, he looked over his shoulder. To his amusement it was the commanding officer of the Royal Navy named Musa.
"Prince Inuhotep!" Musa greeted as he continued to approach him. "Good morning Sir. We should be docking within the hour." Musa said as he placed his right hand over his heart in greeting.
"About damn time Musa! We've been on this trip for three fuckin years. I'm ready to be home and be done with this whole thing! I am not getting on a boat for a very long time if I have any say about it." Inuyasha grumbled.
"Yes Sir." Musa chuckled knowingly. "After these three years of friendship it would be nice to have you come visit the men and I every bloom moon. It would be fun to have a few drinks over a game of *senet."
"Yeah... that would be nice. I promise I'll come and visit yah after I get everything settled with my brother." Inuyasha smirked as he leaned on the railing of the boat with his arms crossed in a relaxed pose. When he saw the city up ahead of them however he frown and said, "Who knows how long he'll work me once I show him the map. I sure hope this treasure is worth all the trouble we've gone through."
"Very true." Musa replied remorsefully. "I best get the ship prepared to land. It was a pleasure sailing with you Sir."
After bowing to him in respect he walked towards the stern of the ship to give orders to the shipmates. Inuyasha seeing his men preparing to land looked back at the coastline of the Nile. He couldn't help the flutter in his heart as the familiar markings began to make themselves visible. He could slightly make out the city walls and the grand statues of the gods at the main gate. It was as if they were welcoming them home. Just past the walls were the tops of the royal palace and the houses of his people. Seeing everything come into focus formed a warm twinkle to flicker in his eyes and a soft curl to twitch at the corners of his lips. They had made it. Not wanting to delay their departure when they docked he walked back to his quarters to finish packing.
After closing the door behind him he pushed his cot away from the wall and knelt down on the floorboards. Popping out a loose plank he reached down into the open space and pulled out a long wooden box. Taking the lid off he reached inside and carefully unrolled the map he'd found after 3 long years of searching. They had crisscrossed the Mediterranean Sea, met frustrating dead ends, went through endless deserts, abandoned caves, sunken ships, two pirate raids and a hoard of theives to get to this point. Reflecting over it now was crazy. They'd gone through all of that suffering and danger to obtain a map that supposedly contained the last location of the hidden treasure. Were it his choice he would have stopped searching for it long ago. His old man waisted close to twenty years trying to get where he was today. All that time and money he'd spend and never got to see the results.
It was only due to his research and investment however that he'd gone on his three year trip. He hoped having obtained the map he could finally bring his old man peace on the other side. Hearing the cheering growing louder from his window he knew they were approaching to the port. After carefully putting the map back into the box he grabbed his bag with his remaining personal items and returned to the main deck. As he walked to the railing he saw a massive crowd waiting to welcome them home. It made his heart swell with pride to see his people greeting them with such honor. Looking over the crowd he was awed at the beautiful splendor. There were people of every walks of life in attendance to greet them. He could see that some were even dancing, singing, clapping their hands and playing instruments. A few even had ribbons, banners and flags waving in the air. It was a welcoming sight after being away for so long.
Seeing a tall platform towards the back of the crowd he squinted his eyes to try and get a better look. When the sun's rays were blocked by his palm he noticed it was occupied with various groups of people. Towards the back of the podium on an additional raised platform was his brother. Being king and pharaoh of the land he was dressed to the nines with gold and white fabrics and covered in expensive stone jewelry. Atop his head was his *nemes crown and in his hands were his *crook and *flail. To his right were 3 temple priests and to his left were 5 council elders. On the lower platform were 6 dancing concubines and a band of drums, strings and lutes to keep the party going. Everything about their display told everyone of their power and wealth. As glorious as the sight was, none stood out more to him than the woman waiting for him at the base of the podium.
"Kikyo..." he whispered into the wind.
Even from this distance he could tell that she was the most radiant being his eyes had ever beheld. Just looking upon her elegance stole his breath away and made him smile a goofy grin. As his men began docking their boat he watched her knee length raven hair fluttered gently in the breeze behind her. It looked as soft as he remembered and the golden headband she was wearing made it shimmer in the sun. He thought its decorative blue wings cresting just above her ears complimented her slim features perfectly. Feeling the heat of the day warming his own shoulders he inwardly approved of her wearing the thin white cotton dress with cream chiffon over top. It would easily keep her cool and allow the breeze the breath over her heated skin.
When she waved at him he noticed matching golden snake bracelets around her upper arms and golden sandals on her shuffling feet. The movement made her sparkle with the warmth of the late morning sun. Everything about her was magical and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. When he saw her bright teary eyed smile he knew she felt the same as he. At last... he was home. Once the plank was dropped he ran off the boat and into her awaiting arms. As the crowd watched their prince passionately kiss his beloved wife they once again erupted into a thunderous cheer. Their excitement only fueled on the young lovers into an even tighter embrace.
"Oh Inuyasha, I've missed you so much!" Kikyo sobbed as he continued to shower her face with kisses.
"I'm sorry it took so long to return to you, my love. We ran into some complications that delayed our return. There was not a day that went by I did not think of you." Inuyasha whispered lovingly as he gingerly wiped away her tears.
As he once again took hold of her lips with his own he poured all of his heart and passion into it. He'd missed her so much and he wanted her to know that what he'd said was true. Knowing his brother was waiting for him to greet him he forced himself away from her delicate lips. Not ready to let her go he interwove his fingers with her's and approached his brother and king.
"At last you return little brother, was the journey well worth it?" Pharaoh Sesshothumote asked while relaxing in his platform chair. He smirked when Inuyasha bowed with his hand over his heart. He knew how much his half-brother hated formalities especially after being free of them for so long.
"My Lord Pharaoh and honorable older brother, your men sailed long and hard. We encountered many hardships along the way but your men prevailed in their task." Inuyasha grumbled while rising back up to look into Sesshomaru's. Seeing the amusement reflecting on his brother's face he rolled his eyes before handing him the wooden box.
After raising a silver eyebrow at his brother's attitude he accepted the box and said, "Interesting. Come, we have much to discuss. We will meet in the papyrus wing. Tonight we will have a great feast in honor of your success and safe return." After followed his brother down the platform they climbed aboard his golden chariot. As they made their way to the palace their people continued to cheer and wave their warm welcome.
[End of Chapter 1]
Authors Notes:
Kohl paint (Arabic:كُحْل kuḥl) is the traditional eye paint used in ancient Egypt. Its made by grinding stibnite, similar to charcoal and used to line the eye much like modern day eyeliner. They kohl paints were usually on both upper and lower lids with decorative lines extending from the outer corners. Kohl paint is still used today in Indian cosmetics and it is not uncommon form mothers to apply the makeup t their infants' eyes soon after birth.
Khat is a cloth headdress worn by nobility in ancient Egypt. It was made from plain cloth like a kerchief and did not have any pleats or stripes like the pharaoh's nemes crown. The khat hung open to allow air flow and was often pinned to the crown of the head with a decorative golden band or headband.
Nemes is the pharaoh's crown. It is made from a pleated cloth and pinned on the head with a cobra band. The cloths came in a verity of colors but most often were blue and gold stripes or solid blue, black and red cloth.
Senet (or senat) - is an ancient Egyptian board game. It's offten nicknamed the box of the dead or the game of passing. Its made out of very thin wood, roughly 10 to 12 inches long by 3 to 4 inches wide. The wooden plants are shaped into a rectangular box with a storage drawer in its center to hold the playing pieces. On the surface of the box is a playing board with a grid of 30 boxes total, arranged by rows of 10. The game is meant to be played between 1-2 players (similar to chess). Each player as five matching pawns making there a total of 10 playing pieces all together. The original rules and guidelines have been lost over time but from small scripts and texts found in tombs and hieroglyphs the basic concept remains. Similar to chest the game was a battle of strategy, position and luck. Senet board boxes are highly decorative with often symbols of the afterlife. With the goal of the players to send the players to the afterlife it is easy to see why the game earned its name.
Crook and Flail - was a miniature shepherds staff and whip. It staff symbolized to the Egyptian people that he was the shepherd (protector) and Egypt was his flock. The flail was a reminder that he would correct them and move them in the direction he washed them to go.
*All of these products are still available on the market today. I highly recommend checking them out so you can experience a piece of Egyptian history for yourself.
Pronunciations: Kikyo - Key K-yoh, Musa - Moo suh