Chapter 62: Debating
It was then when a priest entered the hut. He bowed down.
"Good morning, your highnesses."
"Good morning," Ramses answered coldly.
"Is there… Is there a decision yet?" The priest wanted to know. He looked up to them.
"Oh," Dedyet buttered in sarcastically, "You want to know if we have already decided if we want to keep our daughter or drown her in the Nile?"
"Yes."
She rolled her eyes. This maniac completely serious.
"Sorry to disappoint you," the queen told him angrily, "but no one will convince to murder to my child."
His eyes widened. "I am sorry to correct you, my highness, but it is not murder."
"Oh. Drowning an infant isn't murder? But when an innocent servant kills a cat on accident, he is killed for it?!"
The priest was completely shocked as he turned to Ramses. "My pharaoh… She… She is questioning your laws," he mumbled, his eyes wide open.
"Dedyet, my love. What is the matter?"
She turned to her husband. "Haven't you heard it?!"
"My dear, if someone kills a cat, they are unworthy of love and undeserving of life. The gods show no mercy. It is a natural fact of life."
The priest nodded his head, absolutely agreeing.
"But this man," Dedyet said, pointing at the priest, "has shamelessly stated that drowning an infant isn't murder!"
"That's not what I said," he told her carefully, still in shock.
"Yes, that is what you said."
"I meant that drowning this infant wouldn't be murder."
"How dare-"
He put his hands up as an attempt to defend himself. "My queen, my queen! I am deeply sorry, but your beloved child is possessed by an evil demon. We must kill-"
"Leave!"
"M-my highness!"
"I want you to leave this hut immediately!" Dedyet spoke out angrily, pointing at the door.
The priest's eyes widened. But he kept standing.
"Go now!" Dedyet yelled.
The priest left quickly, obviously fearing a punishment.
The queen looked at her husband angrily, seeing that he had a smirk on his face.
"What?" She asked grumpily. "Is this some kind of prank?!"
"I like how you showed him his place, my love. Yet, it might have been a little inappropriate. The priest means absolutely no harm."
"He means no harm?! For Ra's sake, he wants to kill our daughter!"
"Hm."
"'Hm'?! You know, sometimes, I feel like I'm the only sane person, in a room full of idiots!"
Ramses smirked. "I know the feeling. It's because of those people's commonness. But believe me, Dedyet, it is not their fault. We are naturally superior. The gods have wanted it this way."
Dedyet rolled her eyes.
"So, what are you going to do?" Ramses asked her.
To Dedyet, the answer was obvious. "Leave with my baby."
Now it was Ramses who rolled his eyes. "That's ridiculous."
"Better that than staying here and having her killed!"
"Where would you even go?"
"Back to the North. Our old palace is still standing."
"You brother isn't there, neither are the servants. Everyone has left."
"I don't care."
"Sweetheart…"
"Ramses, if you don't say something against these people and defend our newly born child, then I think I have definitely married the wrong guy!"
Ramses sighed. "I just want the best for everyone… All my life, I have listened to the priests. They are really important people. And now, a entire group of them tells me to abandon my child…"
"I won't give her away."
"Dedyet, if Nefera is a threat to the kingdom, they will just take her."
"Oh, yes?!"
"Yes. Especially if I tell them to do so."
"These people have no right to touch my child!"
"Imagining her drown makes me sad, too, but sacrifices are important in our culture…"
"Yes, animals, but no one sacrifices babies!"
"Maybe it is a sacrifice I have to make for my kingdom. That's exactly the thing my father would have said now…" He faced the ground, pained by the sudden thought of his father's death.
"If Nefera dies, I will kill myself, too."
He looked up in shock. "Dedyet! Don't… Don't say that…"
"It's true. And you'd have to live with it. Do you know what the priests would say then? They would say that the gods have taken your child and then, after it, your wife. They would convince you that you are the cursed one."
"They wouldn't…"
She put her hand on his, yet hopeful. "They would."
Ramses sighed, knowing she was right.
"Tell them to leave, Ramses, please…"
But he was unsure.
"A little family is worth so much," Dedyet told him. "And you are willing to destroy all of our luck and happiness. Just because of some people?"
He suddenly looked up. "I know what to do!"
"Yes. You send them away."
"No! I ask my mother for advice!"
Dedyet rolled her eyes. "She'll want Nefera to die."
"Why do you think so?"
"Because I know how she is."
"My mother has always known best."
"I don't think so."
Ramses looked at her angrily, making it obvious that he felt insulted.
Dedyet shrugged, for the first time not caring about hurting Ramses' feelings. "I'm sorry, but it's true."
The next person entering the hut was a well-dressed man. It was Ramses' chief adviser.