Chapter 60: Curses and Demons
It was the next morning when Dedyet woke up in peace. It only took a few seconds, though, for the peaceful feeling to turn into shock. Her newborn wasn't with her!
Right before the new mom wanted to get up and actually look for her child, a nurse walked in, Nefera in her arms.
"Good morning, your highness. How are you feeling?"
"Nefera! There she is!"
The nurse seemed nervous. "Yes…"
"You can't just take her from me in my sleep!" Dedyet told her angrily.
"We didn't want the child to scream at night and wake you up," the nurse explained.
The queen crossed her arms. "Who is we?"
"Your husband and us nurses…"
But Dedyet was angry. "My daughter had to eat at night!
The nurse seemed uneasy, reluctantly answering, "The wet nurse has fed her."
"Wet nurse?!"
"…The one the pharaoh has hired."
"That is it!" Dedyet wanted to speak to Ramses immediately! She tried to move out of bed, but the nurse quickly stopped her. "Hey! Let me go!"
"You can't get up, your highness. You've given birth the night before!"
"Do you know what other women do? They work, give birth and then immediately work again the next day!"
"Oh, but these women are just peasants… You're a queen!"
"Again: I'm not better than them."
The nurse gulped. "…Yes, you are."
"Why do I get several weeks recovery time while these poor women don't?"
The nurse blushed. "Uh… Maybe you should speak to the pharaoh about it. He might change the-"
"Give me my baby now. Please."
The nurse stepped from one foot to the other. "Uh… That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about, your highness…"
Dedyet was immediately worried, the anger was gone. "Is something…wrong?"
"…Yes…"
"What?!"
The nurse stepped forward and put Nefera in the queen's loving arms.
Dedyet kissed her baby immediately.
"She has this mark on her arm…" The nurse spoke out uneasily.
The queen checked out Nefera's arms, gasping quietly when she saw it – a dark mark on Nefera's left upper arm that looked rather disfiguring. Dedyet's eyes widened. She had never seen such a thing before.
"What… What is that?"
"The wet nurse has seen it when breastfeeding the princess and-"
"When was that?"
"Two or three hours ago."
"And then? You didn't wake me up?"
"No. As the pharaoh was already awake, we informed him right after the discovery. He was shocked as well, and several priests and doctors were called in."
"And?"
"Well, a few doctors believe that the child will soon die if the arm is not taken off."
"Excuse me?!"
She blushed deeply. "Yes, your highness?"
"Taken off?!"
She nodded uneasily. "It's what they said." A short pause. "But the majority of doctors said that it is just a mark on her skin. They call it birthmark."
Dedyet looked down on the mark. She ran her finger above it. Nefera giggled which made her mother smile warmly.
"The priests have a rather negative opinion on it…" The nurse continued.
Dedyet looked up again. "What do they say?"
"The majority is sure that it is a bad omen for the child itself or our complete kingdom!"
"That seems…heavy."
"Some priests say," it was that moment when the nurse felt the most uncomfortable, "that the child is evil and possessed by a demon that will lead to Egypt's destruction."
Dedyet's eyes widened another time. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"And," the nurse buttered in, "they say that the child should be gotten rid of immediately, at best killed."
Dedyet looked as if she was angry. Horribly angry.
"I'm sorry, my queen," the nurse confessed, facing the ground after seeing Dedyet's angry expression. "The priests say that it is definitely possible to get rid of demons. But if the baby is already born with a demon inside," she blushed again, "it's impossible. The child will be possessed forever."
"I have never heard such utter nonsense."
"Well, two priests say the child is blessed," the nurse told her, smiling awkwardly.
"What do you think?"
She was surprised. "Me?"
"Yes. About the whole thing."
She blushed another time. "I don't know it, your highness… I know, though, that I have never seen such a mark before."
"What does Kija say?"
"She has mentioned moles. But they are different, the doctors and priests explained. They are way smaller and much more common."
"What does the wet nurse say?"
"I am sorry, your highness, but I don't know it," the nurse admitted, obviously embarrassed, facing the ground another time. "I don't think she has voiced an opinion."
"Thank you for informing me. Also… I didn't mean to be so angry with you at the start of the conversation. I'm sorry. It's just-"
"Dedyet!"
They both turned to Ramses who was standing in the door, moving towards them.
"Good morning, Hun."
"I think our child is cursed."