A Big Shiny Blue Marble Ch. 17

After a moment, she looked around, "Are there any here or nearby who can act as attendants? I have changed my mind."

It took a minute, but a strikingly good-looking young man of nineteen stepped forward very uncertainly, "I can, Kandake, but I have little to use to wash this one's hair, and I think this is what you seek. I need oils from the rushes, some fine ash, and a little salt -- and perhaps something to smell good in the hair. Give me but a little time. What I will bring will not be pleasant in the hand, but it will clean hair."

Yasmin turned enough to look over her shoulder. The boy had light skin, and his features carried only a little of the classical African in them. His nose was thin and straight and his lips were not full, and yet they were not thin either. The beggar girl who had never liked boys felt a fleeting desire in herself to kiss those lips for a moment. His long hair was golden and wild. Altogether, he was beautiful to see, but not much like any young man from these parts at all, and in the short time that she'd been here, she'd seen many who had turned her head for an instant, being handsome, but none like this boy.

"Do it then, boy," Dakhete smiled as she turned Yasmin around and began to untie her hair for her, "a little time we surely have."

The youth turned to go, but Dakhete stopped him with a comment over her shoulder, "- But before you begin, young stranger, come here a moment and tell me a little about yourself."

The boy turned back and began to approach a little hesitantly, as though fearing something which he was not certain needed to be feared but that would require caution on his part all the same. "Kandake?" he asked uncertainly as he bowed.

"You need not fear, young friend of Medewi," Dakhete smiled, "I only wish to know what it is that you are doing here. The last one that I expected to see in this place is a handsome and living young man, a golden-haired one into the bargain. Much has changed since last I was here and people seem to have moved around. I saw features on some of the people in Shendi which surprised me, for they were not like that when I was last there. Even so, one like you is uncommon here. Are you not afraid of all of these dead ones around you?"

"No," the youth said, "and I have respect and not much fear of you, but I think that I fear what your coming might mean. I am only surprised that you are here. I sometimes live alone not far from here."

"What of your family?" Yasmin asked, and the boy stared for a moment before answering. While he stared, Yasmin came a little close to forgetting her own name for a moment, feeling lost in the bright blue of those eyes.

"I think that you seek to serve this Kandake, from what I see," he said.

When Yasmin nodded, the youth said, "I serve my own mistress. She is my family. I was asked for by a woman of the Merab people, the subjects of my mistress who wanted a child and was fearful of losing her husband if she did not conceive soon.

My mistress granted it, but my skin, my hair and my eyes" he said, trailing off a little, "Too strange and anyway, I was not the sort of son that was wanted since I looked nothing like the father. I have heard that the woman was a little desperate and laid with one of the tribe of my mistress, who sought to grant her the wish. I was unwanted and given back to my queen. She took me as her own and raised me. When she seeks to know what happens beyond her palace, she sends me forth."

Dakhete seemed not to be listening very much -- though she was, but after a moment, she could be seen to be considering something. "And your name?" she asked, "Who is your mistress, boy?"

The youth bowed again, "Khyan, my name is," he smiled shyly, "I was named for the king of long ago. My mistress is called Nasira bint el-Jebel. There are not many left now, but besides ruling over the Merab people, she is the queen of the djinn inside Jebel Barkal and beyond."

Dakhete was thunderstruck. She stared, "Her name again? What was her name?"

"Queen Nasira," Khyan replied, "You have heard of her, yes?"

"Your queen? A queen of the djinn?" Dakhete asked, "No, but that means nothing for I have been away from here for a long time. If I'd stayed, I am sure that I would know of her. Jebel Barkal lies at Napata. It was the center of this kingdom once. There was not much there anymore while I ruled. It faded before our eyes, but I went there sometimes to visit the tombs of the kings and queens. You say that she lives inside it? Do you mean in one of the temples there?"

"No," Khyan shook his head, "I mean inside the jebel, right inside the mountain."

"Inside?" Dakhete looked confused, "There is no way to get into the inside of the jebel. I have been there. I have seen it many times."

"There is if my queen wishes for one to go there." Khyan smiled, "She makes the way. Other than that, no one has ever gone there and come out again, well, other than she and I and the guards that we might take as we journey."

"From what you have said," Dakhete remarked, "your queen is a djinn, and you are partly one, as am I. Any such as we need fear almost no one, yet you mention guards."

Khyan smled, "It makes for a better journey and I am the emissary of my mistress, yes? It is better if I appear at the gates of a place in some company, though I left my guard with my spear outside your open gates this night. I thought it best to come to you as I am."

"Why did you come here today?" Dakhete asked.

"In truth," he said, "I was here anyway, but I came because I heard all of the sounds of the others here, the chanting and how they called out to you. I heard your name and I know of the mighty Kandake who was lost to the people."

He smiled, "Those are my important words, but I see that you would wash your hair and I can help, I think."

Khyan shrugged, "I had to come to see. I know that I should have come to you sooner, as it is still my duty to meet you for my mistress, but, ... "he looked down, "I was a little afraid. If you are here and have summoned the dead, then it surely must be the end of all things, no?"

Yasmin imitated Khyan's shrug and added a smirk as she snorted, "No ..."

It made Khyan smile and they laughed then to place Khyan at ease. "No," Dakhete grinned, "not at all. It is more, ... another beginning.

It seems to change for me by the hour now," she chuckled as she looked from one to the other, "I thought to come here alone. On the way, I met my student and now I learn of my neighbors. I seek to raise this old place once more. For now, that means that I will need the help of these faithful ones who have always lived by their oaths to their kings, no matter how poorly they were treated by Tanyi. I always preferred to save my wrath for the enemies of Armak.

So it will be once again, I hope. But I will really wish for living subjects, and if it is your wish to be the first of them, then you will stand high in my eyes for it."

"I am bound in the service of my own queen, " Khyan said, "I cannot swear any oath to you that you would have me say," he said with a little emotion in his voice, but Dakhete shook her head, "No, Khyan. You did not know that we would come. You feared me for my name and you came out of duty? That is loyalty."

When she saw Khyan nod, she motioned as though sweeping all of this away, "No. That you came and offered your help in spite of your fear shows me your heart and sense of duty. I need no such oath from one such as this and I agree that you cannot serve me. You may tell your mistress that I would wish to meet her one day soon, if it may be arranged. I would ask for your friendship to me and Yasmin more than I need any oath. It makes a better bond, yes?"

Khyan nodded hopefully and smiled. Piankh came to the riverside then and Khyan backed away a step, but Piankh only smiled, "Ah, the boy who dusts," he said.

Dakhete looked confused, so Piankh chuckled, "Over the time, there have been some who have come here for various purposes. Most came to steal. They died quickly if we noticed them. Some came to rebuild long ago, and we allowed it, for they repaired a few buildings so that they might be used to teach others of Armak. They left and a few seekers came to see, and we allowed that as well, though there were some who had glue on their fingers it seemed, and we slew them right away for it. The rest never came again. Other than this one and the one he serves, none have come here for over four hundred years.

This one?" he laughed, "This one came so close to his death so many times at first because we saw and believed that he wanted to steal. But we remembered him from when he was small, being brought here by his mistress and taught of what she knew. He comes now and then, and he goes into the places that he knows how to get into. He brings brushes that he makes from bird feathers and he brushes the dust from things, leaving everything as it was when he goes. That is why he is still alive. You should take him into your service, Kandake. You need one like him.

He wondered why they laughed at him a little uncomfortably. Khyan excused himself to see what he could do about making something which could wash hair.

Dakhete smirked to herself as she unwound the thin cord which kept Yasmin's long ponytail confined, "I can see myself needing to step farther and farther back as I unwind you here. I hope there is an end to it soon, or you will stand here and I will be holding the other end from across the river."

When she had it untied, Yasmin returned the favor and the two laughed at just how long their hair was. That was how Khyan found them when he returned with a clay pot and an unappealing mess inside it.

"Forgive the way that it looks, Kandake," Khyan said, "With some time and the right things, I am sure that I could make better than this, but I am sure that you will like the result and I have added crushed blue basil leaves from bushes that I found growing nearby. Its smell is a little strong, but it should do and make the hair smell fresh."

Dakhete wasn't that impressed at first, but she understood that she'd allowed little time to come up with anything. To her surprise, Yasmin's hair shone like a dark fluid and the smell wasn't too strong. She asked to use it as well. "You have done well. Have you anything to comb out hair?"

The boy nodded and produced a comb.

"Where did you get that?" Dakhete grinned.

"It is mine," he shrugged, "but you may keep it as a gift. We have a task before us if you wish to comb out this lovely one's hair," he smiled a little shyly at Yasmin, who looked back with the same expression and tore her gaze away reluctantly before she fell under the spell of his blue eyes again.

"I thank you for this kindness," Dakhete smiled, "If you wish to eat with us, then stay and you have my gratitude."

As they washed in the river earlier, Piankh had all of Najmah's packs carried to Dakhete's home. It was in sad shape when they arrived, but they could see that much had already been done, and Piankh proudly told them of his plans to bring it back, but for now, it had been swept out, a good portion of it, and one chamber was being washed. All that could be used as a bed was a large, low table, and that was only there because it weighed tons, being made out of stone.

Dakhete was a little surprised when they were taken out through the back door. There was a fire pit dug out and everything was ready for Dakhete to prepare the meal. She did that with Yasmin, the three of them laughing between them and they sat down to eat. Dakhete remarked upon the similarities of the young pair, noting that despite the differences in their appearances, they were both lithe and beautiful to her.

"I think that I sit here with two of the finest gazelles that I have ever seen," Dakhete smiled, "I am in very good company, though I am a little larger."

"Perhaps, but only a little and what we see is from muscle. My mistress is the same," Khyan said with a smile, "If you have trouble holding the thought of a gazelle in your mind, then think as I do when I look at you, Kandake. I see a lovely oryx."

Dakhete was hung on the mention of the queen again for a moment, but she recovered, "Thank you," she smiled, "I have always loved to see them." She smirked, "I have always admired their backsides."

"As have I," Khyan smiled.

"If it is permitted," Yasmin began, "maybe it shows that I am already a little infatuated with my teacher, but can you please tell me what you do remember about your life?"

"I can try," Dakhete said with a shrug. "I remember being here before any other memory so far. I was a little younger than you, perhaps sixteen or maybe less. I did not know what I was then, really. I know by the time that I was twenty, I had already received much instruction in fighting and magic, but I cannot recall who taught me now, which is strange. I hope that I remember who it was that I owe so much to.

I am not a human. I hunted when I was hungry, even though there was gold provided for my use to buy food. I spent it on a fine blade and other such things instead."

"How did you come to rule here?" Yasmin asked, "It does not sound to me as though you were wealthy."

"I was not," Dakhete said, "I was more like my curious student back then, I suppose. But I do know that I was protected and no one chased me around if I went to the market. How I came to rule was ... it was ...."

She lowered her head as the emotion of it came back to her. "I had a girlfriend," she smiled as she looked up. "Do not look so surprised, such a thing was allowed here. My girlfriend was betrothed to the young king here in a match which had been arranged by her mother to be rid of her. There was nothing that she could do about it, and so she came to me, begging me to stand in her place. She wanted at least a little time to be away and not live under the pressure of the expectations that would be put on her as the queen.

So she left, and the man decided that he liked me better than he liked my friend, though he planned still to have her when she returned.

I never saw my friend again," Dakhete said sadly. "I do not know where she went, I only know that she never came back. Well, I also knew that I had no desire to be that man's queen either. His trouble came to him because once I had become known among the people, they all loved me but they hated him. He could be very cruel. I asked and pleaded with him to be more lenient. He only told me that he would if I would submit to him and become queen. So there was my quandary, for I knew that he had no intention of ever changing.

Here is another lesson, young gazelles. People are the way that they wish to be. Unless their lives are threatened, they will never change. Even if a sword is held to their throats, they may change, but once the sword is removed, they go back to how they wish to be.

Unluckily for him, he thought to make his demand to me publicly, thinking that it would cow me. It showed his foolishness, for I replied instantly that I would submit to him forever if he could beat me in a fair fight. He laughed and said that I was only a foolish girl."

Dakhete finished the piece of meat that she was eating and sucked her fingers to clean them before she wiped them off.

What happened?" Khyan asked, "I have never heard of this tale and I enjoy it."

"Nothing very much," Dakhete replied with a tiny grin, "He was dead before he hit the earth.

No man has ever said such things to me and lived long. I thought that I would be killed for it, as was loudly demanded by his parents, so I challenged them both to fight me together. I went farther than that, Khyan. I shouted that the land was in a poor state indeed if the ruling family did not possess even one fighter among them who could deal with the threat from one girl. I shouted as I asked how they planned to deal with threats from outside. I demanded that they all fight me.

The father and his three other sons advanced on me with blades in their hands. I had nothing but my dagger. Suddenly, a voice shouted out that I should at least have a weapon, and the crowd took it up and clamored that I be armed. The father nodded and said that I should have a champion to fight in my stead and after he was defeated, I was to be put to death. I killed his son and he still thought me weak. A kingdom ruled by a whole family of idiots. But that same voice shouted out that I needed no champion, that I needed only a blade. The people began to clamor that I be armed and fight for myself.

I felt the haft of a sword in my hand and when I looked," she smiled, "it was Piankh. He had been the one who had shouted at the old king. He smiled at me and said, "Take my sword and make your place, beauty. You need nothing more from me, but I will watch your back."

Yasmin gaped and sat on the edge of a large stone, almost slipping off. "Please, go on! I must know this."

"Well I am here, am I not?" Dakhete laughed, "I slew them all, and cried out that if there were any more who wanted to fight then let them all come. It had been two years, but I was still upset over the loss of my girl in the first place, and all of that just made me angrier than a nest of hornets. But none came forth.

The leader of the priests shouted that the land and its people needed one such as me for it was widely known that I feared nothing. I was made Kandake right then, since if there is one thing that priests are known for, it is the ability to smell a shift in the wind."

She smiled to herself as she looked down, "And after I received his patient lessons in just what a girl is supposed to do with a man, I did my best to show Piankh my gratitude. He would never accept my offer to make him my king, but I kept him close for many years.

He never uttered one word about it to anyone, but we were lovers for a long time. I still liked girls and wished for the return of my friend with all of my heart, but I always cherished Piankh. From him, I learned that beauty is a thing which shines inside and out if one has it. I knew this anyway, but he also taught me that love has the same ability and that to one such as me, it only rides on the body -- it is not the body itself."

Her eye fell on a cat in the corner. She'd come in through the doorway and made her way to a small thicket of grasses growing there. "Go on, my friend," Dakhete smiled, "See to your little ones. We will not disturb you." The cat regarded her for a moment and then settled down to nurse her brood, staring at them the whole time.

"I can remember more now, thanks to our little friend there," Dakhete said, "I had other help, now that I think on it, but I will only tell of it later. We need to begin your lessons first. Bring your dagger to me and sit with me here." As Yasmin was taught, Khyan looked at Dakhete for a long time. Eventually, he respectfully asked one question.

"Kandake, "he began very cautiously, "This friend, or perhaps I should say, ..."

"You may say it, Khyan," Dakhete smiled, "we are alone here, and I regret nothing that I have ever done. You wish to refer to my lover of long ago?"

"I do," Khyan said, "Can you remember her name? I know it has been a long time, bu-"

"I can never forget, and you will be surprised to learn that her name was Nasira," Dakhete said, "My girlfriend's name was Nasira. I have never forgotten her. She had hair and skin just as yours there, though her body was, well, it was more like to my own, but she was beautiful."

Dakhete gazed into the flames of the small cooking fire for a moment, "She was always a little wild and impetuous, and I was the warrior-girl in my training. She loved animals of any sort, and I loved a good blade in my hand.

I know what you think," she smiled, "but it surely must be only chance that your queen shares that name. Likely one was named for the other. My Nasira was to be the queen here, and wanted nothing of it. Why would she want to be queen near Napata?"