Chapter 53: Names and traditions
It was a dry morning one week later when the servants helped a certain someone unpack.
"Mother," Ramses mumbled when looking at her luggage, "You'll be here for one day, no?"
"This is something I decide! Since you are my son, my flesh and blood, and I am your mother, this is my palace, too!"
He tried not to roll his eyes. "…Of course, Mother."
"Where is she?"
His eyes widened. "Who?"
"The queen, you idiot!"
"She's in her quarters."
"How incredibly rude! How dare she ignore my visit?!"
"You know that Dedyet is heavily pregnant, Mother…"
"That's no excuse to ignore the needs of the pharaoh's mother! I am the most superior woman in the entire country!"
"...She might have fallen asleep."
Ramses' mother groaned when sitting down on a golden chair, looking at the walls of her son's beautiful home.
He sat down on a chair next to her.
When his mother looked at him, she asked, "And? Are you excited to be a father? It comes with a lot of responsibility."
"I know it. But I am ready and I'm looking forward to it."
"I am of course happy to have my first grandchild. Yet, I'd be happier if its mother was more…fitting."
"What do you mean?"
"You should have married Neferia. That's what I mean!"
He rolled his eyes. "Mother! I love Dedyet."
"Love? Your underlings don't care about love! They care about having a stable and perfect queen!"
He sighed.
"Am I correct thinking that your child will be male?" Ramses' mother asked strictly.
Ramses gulped. "Uh… I think Dedyet has taken a pregnancy test and the result was-"
"Pregnancy test?!"
"Yes?"
"Has she asked the gods or what?!"
"I don't know."
"Do you know anything at all?!"
"I know that I am incredibly proud of becoming a father."
But the woman's thoughts were somewhere else… "My son… Married to a woman from the North… Unbelievable!"
Ugh. Not this again…
"The people from the North are completely barbaric! They don't have morals!"
"The traditions were different from the ones we had, yes. But that doesn't make the people 'barbaric'. Egypt is now united, Mother, so the-"
She completely ignored him once again, saying, "You know what I have heard? In the North, people don't circumcise their sons in late puberty!"
"Okay?"
"They don't do it at all!" She raised her arms in shock. "How can those boys become men?!"
"...Do you want the servants to bring you some wine, Mother? So we could have a nice-"
"A woman I have talked to did not even know that circumcision was a thing!"
Finally, after a second of silence, she changed the topic.
"Is that wife of yours healthy?"
Ramses crossed his arms, brave enough to say, "I'm surprised you care about Dedyet's well-being."
"What?!"
Ramses blushed, shocked about his rude behavior. "Uh, nothing!"
"Of course I care about her well-being, you fool! My grandson is living inside of her!"
"Dedyet is all fine, yes," Ramses clarified.
"I hope she will not make any mistakes considering your son's upbringing!" She said strictly.
"I'm sure we will raise our child in a flawless way, Mother."
"You better do! I want to keep my grandson safe by trying to make mistakes impossible to happen. But with a wife like yours, you never know!"
Ramses sighed. Talking to his mother was so horribly exhausting...
"A really important part of a person is their name," the former queen informed her son.
"Exactly," he added. "And the name of the child should not be spoken out until it's born."
"I really hope that this is a universal tradition! Have you and that wife of yours already talked about my grandson's name?"
"We have not."
"Good. I hope this woman won't ruin it and endanger your baby by speaking the name out loud!"
"I haven't really decided on one yet, either."
"Let me tell you, Ramses, the mother gets to name the baby once it is born. You are allowed to make suggestions, but it's her who will have the final say."
"Oh, I'm sure we will decide on a nice name together."
"A 'nice name'?! Have I not mentioned the importance of the name?!"
"You have, Mother…"
"I suggest you name him after your father or brother."
Ramses took a deep breath. "Have I told you yet that… It is a girl?"
"A what?"
"A girl."
"Ramses!"
"M-mother?"
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
"It's supposed to mean that Dedyet has made an accurate pregnancy test and-"
"No pregnancy test is accurate unless the gods are asked about it!" She yelled in anger.
"…Yes, Mother."
"If it is a girl then you will obviously name her after your sister!"
"Oh."
"What 'oh'?!"
"I… I agree," he nodded in shock, trying not to blush.
"Of course you agree, I am your mother."
"Yes."
"So are we clear about it? If it's a girl, you will name her after the only sister you have. Neferia de Nile."