Chapter Four
As we exited the tomb and made our way back along the passages to the daylight, I reflected on my friend’s request. I was so astonished by this revelation that I had forgotten all about Grandpaw. This new tomb design was the king’s way of sparing my life upon his death, by providing me a purpose and a reason to remain among the living. I thought about this all the way back to the palace and well into the night as I looked up at my friend from the foot of the bed. I also thought about the life and duties that I now have and how much I cared for my friend, but what I puzzled on the most was what the king had meant when he said “family”.
I awoke in the night and went out into the garden area. After chowing down on a nice juicy rat that unwisely crossed my path I clambered atop a statue of Bast to ponder the mysteries of life. I had become very attached to my young king, had given him years of protection, so why should that stop now? I had seen the devastation that thieves do to the tombs of kings; did I want the same for mine? I thought about his possible meaning of “family”. If protecting the king meant that my mother and sisters would have to be placed in the tomb with me, then we would just flee from the palace and return to Grandpaw in the Valley of Kings. Ra was riding his chariot up from the East as I descended from my perch.
I made it back to the bedchamber just before the king awoke. I studied him and did see the kindness in him, but to seal up my family in his tomb was a different story. “No way!” I thought, “I will have to tell Mom of this, of course, and then we can plan our escape.” I went about my usual duties and managed to save the king from tripping over a rather large rat that had somehow made it into the palace, past Mom and my sisters. The young king was about to step on the rat’s back as he climbed the stairs to the throne room, which would have caused the king to fall. Later, on one of the king’s visits to the garden, I spotted Mom stalking a snake. I took this opportunity to ask her to meet me back here tonight, which she agreed to.
That evening when the king and queen were down and the palace slept, I once again slipped out and into the garden. Mom was waiting near the entrance to the granary. I told her of the king’s revelation in the tomb and his use of the word “family”. I also told her about my thoughts of escape if the king meant to entomb her and my sisters. Mom thought about all she had heard and knew of this practice of taking possessions into the afterlife and concluded that they were in a no-win situation. If they stayed they would end their lives in the tombs one way or another. She also thought about Isom and the love she has for her. Then she thought of her Dad, of how great it would be to see him once again after all these years. Still she couldn’t give me an answer then, Mom wanted to consider it a little more. With that we parted, she back to the granary and me back to the king.
As dawn was breaking I spied an asp slithering under the door to the chamber, a shadow on the other side of the door silently moved away as the asp entered. The king and queen were still slumbering and were in no direct danger of being harmed by the creature, so I watched it slither along the side wall and it finally came to rest near the chest where the queen kept her wardrobes. I quietly left the bed and exited the chamber into the hall just in time to see the king’s “loyal” advisor turning a corner down the hall. He looked back for a moment, but failed to see me behind an urn. “Hmm…” I thought, “This is going to be tough to protect against.”
I returned to the chamber and made swift work of the asp, only a slight stir from the royal couple as I slammed my paw square on the asp’s head. “No more slithering about for you!” I mused, as I slung the snake out the window. I began to think back to the other creatures that just so happened to find their way into this chamber. One would think the palace was crawling with vermin just by the amount of them that I have killed in this room. From what I have seen, this is not the case. The rest of the palace rooms are relatively clear of pests, except for the rooms that the king used. I was putting two and two together when the king rose from the bed and entered his bath chamber to conduct his morning business. I was left watching at the foot of the bed when the young queen also rose and hastily rushed toward her bath chamber. “Humans!” I chuckled, “Every morning, the same thing! The race to the chamber pot!”
I guess I shouldn’t make so much of that though, I saw the servants enter the chamber after we left, to clean the baths, which included my own spot of sand that was always clean and fresh every day, even sprinkled with a few lotus petals. “Yep!” I thought, “It’s good to be the king’s protector!” But even these little conveniences couldn’t shake my conviction that sealing up my family and me for the sake of tomb raiders was not the answer. There had to be a better way. As the day’s events passed without incident I had a chance to ponder alternatives and the return to the Valley of the Kings was looking more appealing with each passing thought. As for Mom’s decision, that was made easier a few months later.