Chapter Forty: At the Farm
Ramala was in the kitchen area, preparing herbs. She looked up when Kiya entered. “I have got six more orders for my rubbing lotion, it is miraculous stuff,” she said. Her eyes shone and her cheeks glowed - she was a very different woman from the sickly creature that Laylos had treated.
Kiya put the bag on the table. It tipped over and a couple of nuggets rolled out. “No need to make medicines any more, Mama.”
Ramala frowned. “But I like making medicines, I’m doing something useful with my life at last. What is this?” She held up a nugget and peered at it.
“It’s gold!”
“Gold? Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” said Kiya. She started to explain what had happened, when Teos came in from the shed carrying a bowl of milk.
“Why are you not at the shaduf, Kiya? Are you unwell?” her father asked.
“I’m fine, Papa. Look what I have got.” She indicated the leather bag.
Teos put the bowl on the table and picked up a nugget. He felt it with his teeth, then emptied the bag and gazed at the pile. “This is a fortune in gold,” he gasped. “Where did you find it?”
“Take this, Papa,” said Kiya, sectioning off half the gold. “I have much more than I need.”
“But where did it come from?” Teos made no attempt to take the offered nuggets.
“It was given to me by Hathor and Anubis, in payment for a task they want me to do for them.”
“Anubis?” said Ramala sharply. “I thought you had finished with that monster.” She dropped the nugget as if it had become a burning ember.
“He no longer has a hold over me,” Kiya assured her. “He is with Hathor now.”
“Anubis is still dangerous,” said Teos with a frown. He went to Ramala’s side and put a comforting arm around her. “And now he is free to terrorise the countryside. It was a terrible day for Egypt when the temple closed.”
“And we thought Kiya was safe,” said Ramala with a sigh. “What is this task they want you to do, my darling?”
Kiya explained that they wanted her to use her sense of smell to discover the ka of Osiris.
“Will it not be risky?” said Ramala.
“I hope not,” said Kiya. “But it must be done. If Osiris can be restored to life, Isis will be happy and stop her vendetta against the other gods. The temples can then be reopened and the gods worshipped as before.”
“That would certainly be a good thing,” said Teos.
“Do I have your permission then?” asked Kiya.
Teos smiled at her. “My dear daughter. You would go with or without our permission, but I will support you in any way I can. Where will you start your search?”
“By finding the body of Osiris, which is in Akhetaten.”
“Akhetaten?” Ramala brightened. “That is where Laylos and Huy have gone. You can stay with them. And Dennu is there too. I’m sure he will be happy to help you.”
“That’s right, Mama, I will be fine,” Kiya reassured her. “And I am well rewarded. Look there is enough gold here to change our lives.” Kiya picked up the pile of nuggets and let them fall through her fingers onto the table.
Teos shook his head. “We don’t want your money, do we, Ramala?”
Ramala stared at the gold. “It would buy many pretty things,” she sighed.
“At the expense of our peace of mind,” said Teos. “We would have to keep the door locked and put bars in the windows.”
Ramala nodded. “You are right. People are certain to find out and be jealous.” She turned to Kiya. “Thank you, darling. You have a sweet and generous nature, but we would be happier without your gold.”
“You must be careful, Kiya. Such wealth will attract unwelcome attention,” said Teos.
Kiya stared at her parents in amazement. “If you are sure you don’t want any, I will take the money with me. I am going to need some for the journey, so I will keep one nugget to sell to the goldsmiths, the rest must remain hidden.” She selected the smallest of the nuggets, a mere fragment compared to the others, and put it in her waist purse.
That evening Ramala and Kiya sewed little pockets to the inside of her shift. Each was big enough to hold two nuggets. When Kiya put the shift on, there was no sign of the secret wealth it contained.
“There,” said Ramala. “What a good job. But what about the armlet? We had better hide that as well.”
So Kiya took off the golden armlet Dennu had given her, kissed it and tied it around her neck with a linen cord so it was hidden under her shift.
Early the next morning Kiya packed a bag with her few possessions: a comb, a polished bronze mirror, a pot of rouge, a kohl stick, some cleansing oil and a couple of spare shifts. She had been excited about seeing her old comrades again, but now the time of departure had come, she was in low spirits, reluctant to leave her parents.
Ramala, was in the kitchen area packing a bag of food for her. “I know you will have plenty of money to buy provisions on the journey, but it always as well to have something with you. You will need a cask of beer as well.”
“I can’t possibly carry a cask of beer,” protested Kiya.
“You can take Enno,” said Teos. “You will need a donkey to ride on for such a long journey.”
“Thank you,” she said, putting on her travelling cloak. “But won’t you need him on the farm, Papa?”
“Not until the ploughing season,” said Teos. “You must bring him back to me in time for that.”
“I am sure Kiya will return long before then!” protested Ramala. “She only has to go to Akhetaten and that is but a two-days journey away.”
Teos did not look convinced. “Promise me you will bring the donkey back,” he said with an intensity that touched Kiya’s heart.
She flung her arms around her father. “I promise I will return home safely and I will bring Enno with me.”
While Teos went to fetch the donkey, Kiya embraced her mother. “Give my love to Laylos,” Ramala said and Kiya could feel her tears against her cheek.
“I will,” promised Kiya. “I love you.”
They clung to each other until Teos returned, then Kiya strapped her bags and beer cask to the donkey. She gave them both a final kiss, hitched up her shift and mounted Enno. “I will be back as soon as I can,” she said, then dug in her heels and Enno trotted down the path towards the road.
As Kiya rode towards Thebes, the low, early-morning sun cast long shadows and the air was still cool. People were already working in the fields, bent over their hoes to weed between the rows of seedlings. Above her head the first swallows of the year swooped and dived and she felt a tingle of excitement that a new adventure had begun.