Naguib Mahfouz - Three Novels of Ancient Egypt

There was nothing for the king and army to do but settle in for a long wait. The troops did their daily training under the supervision of their officers and commanders. The king, for his part, passed his spare time in expeditions to the eastern desert to hunt or hold races, and to escape from the impulses of his heart and the agonies of his passion. During this period of waiting, messengers brought him a letter from Sacred Mother Tetisheri, in which she wrote:

My lord, Son of Antun, Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt, may the Lord preserve him and help him with victory and triumph: little Dabod is today a paradise ofhappiness and joy by virtue of the news of the incontestable victory granted you by the Lord that the messengers have brought. We do not wait today in Dabod as we waited yesterday, for now our waiting is bounded by equanimity and closer to hope. How happy we all are to learn that Egypt has been freed from ignominy and slavery and that its enemy and humiliator has imprisoned himself within the walls of his fortress, waiting cringingly for the blow with which you will destroy him! The Almighty Lord has willed, in His solicitude and mercy, that He should present you with a gift — you who brought low His enemy and raised high His word — and has provided you with a son as a light for your eyes and a successor to your throne. I have named him Amenhotep in honor of the Divine Lord, and I have taken him in my arms, as I took his father, and his grandfather, and his father's grandfather before him. My heart tells me that he will be crown prince of a great kingdom, of many races, languages, and religions, watched over by his dear father.

Ahmose's heart beat as any father's must, tenderness flowed in his breast, and he rejoiced with a great joy that made him forget some of what he suffered from the pains of repressed passion. He announced the birth of the crown prince Amen-hotep to his men, and it was a day to be remembered.

The days passed slowly and heavily, though they were filled with extraordinary — works in — which the greatest minds, strongest arms, and most dedicated wills took part. None of them paid heed to the difficulty of the — work or the time that — was taken, so long as it brought them closer to their sublime hope and highest goal. One day, however, several months after the start of the siege, the guards saw a chariot coming from the direction of the fortress, a white flag flying at its front. Some guards intercepted it and found that it held three chamberlains. On being asked where they were heading, their leader said that they were envoys from King Apophis to King Ahmose. The guards sent the news flying to the king, who called a council of his entourage and commanders in his pavilion, and ordered the envoys to enter. The men were brought. They walked humbly and with downcast mien, so little left of their haughtiness and pride that they seemed not to be of the people of Apophis. They bowed before the king and their leader greeted him by saying, “The Lord grant you life, O King!”

Ahmose replied, “And you, envoys of Apophis. What does your king — want?”

The envoy said, “King, the man of the sword is an adventurer. He seeks victory, but may find death. We are men of war. War put your country in our hands and we ruled it for two centuries or more, during which we were divine overlords. Then it was fated that we should be defeated and we were beaten and forced to take refuge in our citadel. We, King, are no weaklings. We are as capable of bearing defeat as we were of plucking the fruits of victory….”

Ahmose said angrily, “I see that you have worked out the meaning of this new channel that my people are digging and have come to propitiate us.”

The man shook his huge head, “Not so, King. We do not seek to propitiate anyone but we do admit defeat. My master has sent me to propose to you two plans, of which you may choose what you wish. War to the finish, in which case we shall not wait behind the walls to die of hunger and thirst, but kill the captives of your people, of whom there are more than thirty thousand; then we shall kill our women and children by our own hand and launch against your army three hundred thousand warriors, of whom there will not be one who does not hate life and thirst for revenge.”

The man fell silent, as though to gather his breath. Then he resumed and said, “Or you return to us Princess Amenridis and the captives of our people you hold and grant us safe conduct for ourselves, our possessions, and our wealth, in which case we will return to you your people and evacuate Avaris, turning our faces to the desert from which we came, leaving you your country to do with as you wish. This will bring to an end the conflict that has lasted two centuries.”

The man fell silent and the king realized that he was awaiting his reply. However, the reply was not ready, nor was it of the kind that could be left to spontaneous inspiration, so he said to the envoy, “Will you not wait until we reach a decision?”

The envoy replied, “As you wish, King. My master has given me till the end of the day.”

The king met — with his men in the cabin of the royal ship and told them, “Give me your opinions.”

All — were agreed without need for further consultation. Hur said, “My lord, you have achieved victory over the Herdsmen in many engagements and they have acknowledged your victory and their defeat. By so doing, you have wiped out the vestiges of the defeats that we suffered in our grievous past. You have killed large numbers of them and by doing so taken revenge for the wretched dead among our own people. We cannot therefore be blamed now if we purchase the life of thirty thousand of our men and save ourselves an effort that no duty requires of us so long as our enemy is going to evacuate our country in defeat and our motherland is going to be liberated forever.”

The king turned his eyes on the faces of his people and found in them a shared enthusiasm for acceptance of the idea. Commander Deeb said, “Every one of our soldiers has performed his duty to the full. For Apophis, a return to the deserts would be a more punishing disaster than death itself.”

Commander Mheb said, “Our higher goal is to liberate the motherland from the Herdsmen's rule and clear them from its territory. The Lord has granted us this, so there is no need for us to prolong the period of abasement of our own volition.”

Ahmose Ebana said, “We shall purchase the life of thirty thousand captives at the price of Princess Amenridis and a handful of Herdsmen.”

The king listened closely to his men and said, “Your opinion is sound. However, I think that the envoy of Apophis should wait a little longer so that he does not think that our haste to agree to a peaceful solution comes from weakness or weariness with the struggle.”

The men left the ship and the king was alone. Despite all the reasons he had to rejoice, he was despondent and ill at ease. His struggle had been crowned with outright victory, his mighty enemy had knelt to him, and tomorrow Apophis would load his belongings and flee to the deserts from which his people came, in submission to irreversible Fate. So — why — was it that he could not rejoice? Or why was it that his joy was not pure and complete? The critical moment had come, the moment of farewell forever. Even before this moment, he had been truly despairing, though she was there, on the small ship. What would he do tomorrow should he return to the palace of Thebes, while she was taken to the heart of the unknown desert? Could he let her go without fortifying himself with a look of farewell from her? “No!” responded his heart, and smashing the shackles of resignation and pride he rose and left the cabin, whence he took a boat to the captive princess's ship, saying to himself, “Whatever reception she gives me, I will find something to say.” He climbed up to the ship and went to the chamber, where the guards saluted him and opened the door. Heart beating, he crossed the threshold and cast a look around the small, simple chamber. He found the captive sitting in the center of the room on a divan. She seemed not to have been expecting his return, for astonishment and reproach showed on her lovely visage. Ahmose examined her with a deep look and found her as beautiful as ever, her features just as they had been on the day when they were engraved on his heart on the deck of the royal vessel. He bit his lip and said to her, “Good morning, Princess.”