THE GREAT LADY OF ALKION

CHAPTER 81

"This wine is very good. I haven't had this kind of wine before," Pharaoh said as he placed his golden goblet on the table.
"It is from my vineyard in Heliopolis," Seti said proudly as he looked at Pharaoh who sat at the table on top of some stairs in the great hall.
Below the stairs were four tables. Two on Pharaoh's right and two on his left. On his right sat Smenkhhare and Meritaten. Beside them were Khafirin and Asenath.
On the left were Seti and Astrid then Thutmose and Rashida.
"This is superb," Pharaoh praised more.
"I present to you roasted meat from my farm in Amarna," Smenkhhare said." The best cows are from there and I would like it for my royal father to enjoy it."
Pharaoh took a bite of the meat and closed his eyes in pleasure.
"Good premium meat. You and Seti do know how to please."
"Well I won't be left behind in this banquet," Thutmose said as he stood and everyone laughed." I present you my royal uncle some fruits from my garden here in Memphis. It's not much but I hope that you enjoy the pomegranates, figs, grapes, dates, berries and melons."
"Not much ?" Rashida laughed.
"Yes but I can never have enough of your gifts."
"I do not have farmland here in Egypt but I prepared some clothes for you Pharaoh. The fabric is from Alkion,"Astrid said and clapped her hand twice. In walked two maidservants who presented the clothes to Pharaoh who shook his head in approval.
" This is wonderful. I could wear this when I lead the kingdom in prayer. Very thoughtful."
" Thank you."
" Father, I gift you these two gold ducks from traders who came from the East," Rashida chimed in as her maidservant took them while on a tray to Pharaoh. His manservant received them and placed them on a table beside him.
"You do know how to please your father, don't you ?"
"I am your only daughter. You treat me the best and I shall do the same," she said proudly.
" Well, Asenath and I were granted the permission to dine with you during your family banquet and that is more than we can ask for," Khafirin said." We give you this jars of alabaster and spikenard oils to calm you and alleviate some of your body troubles."
" Thank you very much my old friend,"he nodded in approval as the jars were placed on the table." All of you have given me something and I have arranged gifts for you as well which shall be distributed after this banquet. Everyone please eat to your fill and enjoy yourselves."
Everyone began to talk as they ate and Smenkhhare leaned towards Meritaten.
" How come you did not prepare any gifts for father ?"
" I have something much better than a gift for him,"she smiled.
" Which is ?"
" You shall see it in a while."
" You'd better not embarrass me,"he huffed and took a bite of roasted beef.
"Pharaoh, I have not prepared a gift for you because the joy that a gift brings will not be there after this,"Meritaten said and everyone fell silent.
"What do you mean ?" Pharaoh asked.
"There have been many things happening in the palace and I think I may have some answers as to who is behind all this."
Rashida began to feel nervous and pulled her white shawl to cover herself more.
"Who did ?"
"Allow me to call in someone."
" It better be worth it. Permission granted! "he said sternly as he pushed the platter of food in his table away and wiped his fingers on a towel.
Meritaten nodded at the guard by the doors and he opened it revealing Anippe. Rashida's goblet fell to the floor from her hand as she watched Anippe walk in the hall. Her eyes could not leave Anippe even as she knelt to the ground and kowtowed before Pharaoh.
" You are Rashida's maidservant. What does Meritaten's statement have to do with you ?" Pharaoh asked.
" I thought you had left this place,"Thutmose asked.
" That is what Princess Rashida wanted you all to think while in reality she had tried to kill me!"
" Impudence!" Pharaoh shouted.
" How dare you accuse her of that ?" this from Thutmose. Rashida was now trembling beside him as she looked at Anippe.
" I am a witness to that,"Meritaten said." I went with her out of the palace some days ago and on the way, she began to sweat then fainted. I called for some city doctors who came in and saved her life. The cause of it was poisoning. If you do not believe me, here are the two doctors who treated her."
Meritaten clapped twice and two men walked in and bowed before Pharaoh.
" I am Yanes and this is Bakenmut. We are doctors in the city, Pharaoh and we indeed treated this young woman some days ago. She had been poisoned,"one of them spoke.
" Anippe, how much did Meritaten pay you to slander me this way ? We had a disagreement and you ran away after I sent you on an errand."Rashida shouted as she stood up.
" Do you know the consequences of lying to the living Horus ?" Pharaoh's voice boomed through the hall.
" Yes and we dare not lie. There were witnesses in the inn we treated her in."
" Seti, send someone to look into it."
" Yes father,"Seti said and instructed a guard to go.
" My failed murder plot was not the first that Rashida committed,"Anippe began."She is responsible for Lady Meritaten's miscarriage."
" What ?" Smenkhhare asked as he sat up straight.
" What would she have gotten from doing so ?" Seti asked.
" One day, she and lady Meritaten had an argument and Lady Meritaten spoke about Princess Rashida's mother. My mistress was furious and swore to destroy Lady Meritaten. That was when she...."
" Anippe!" Rashida shouted again.
" When she what ?"Pharaoh pressed further.
" She instructed me to go steal portions of mugwort powder to poison Lady Meritaten. As an excuse for me to go to the physician's bureau, she faked severe headaches before her wedding to Prince Thutmose. On that day she wanted Meritaten's pregnancy to be terminated and so she had me add more mugwort in the pomegranate juice and frame Princess Astrid for it since she had given lady Meritaten her juice."
" That is not true,"Rashida cried as she walked to the centre of the hall and stood beside Anippe." Do not believe her nonsense father."
" That is true. During that period, there were missing portions of mugwort powder and a junior physician told me that,"Meritaten said." Let him in!"
The physician walked in and bowed fearfully before Pharaoh and seconded Meritaten's claim.
" Lady Asenath can prove it's true. I told her,"he pointed out.
" It is true my lord. There were indeed mugwort shortages within the medical bureau during that time."
" How did you know of that Meritaten ?" Thutmose asked.
" The gods must have willed it because Bennu is the one who found that out but she was not able to talk because she died. She didn't just die, she was murdered."
" Sovereign, my life is cheap but I have to expose all the evils here in the palace,"Anippe began." The one who actually killed Bennu was Rashida."
" Is this true ?" Pharaoh yelled at his frightened daughter." Is it ?"
She trembled and began to rub her temples as she looked around the hall at everyone looking at her questionably.
" It...it was an accident,"she finally admitted." She wanted to pick a fight with me and as I tried to break free of her grasp, she slipped down the stairs. I tried to help her but her dress strap just snapped and she fell to her death. I did not mean it father. Believe me please,"she broke into tears.
" What about the other accusations ? Meritaten's child and poisoning Anippe ?" Pharaoh asked.
She did not answer but instead fell to her knees on the ground as she cried and Pharaoh turned his head sideways with his eyes shut full of a mixture of rage and disappointment.
Thutmose fell to the chair in shock and Seti couldn't bring himself to stop staring at his half sister. Smenkhhare on the other end opened his mouth in shock, closed it and opened it again as he looked at her.
"Pharaoh, she is the reason behind everything wrong here and I ask that you punish her with severity. A wicked person like that should not be kept in the palace," Meritaten said as she knelt on one knee after standing beside Anippe.
"Bold words from you. I could not believe this if I hadn't been here to witness all of this. You are also a poisonous woman who has dared to kill a royal child," Astrid said as she walked towards the centre of the hall.
"What are you even saying ?" Meritaten said with a scoff.
"You are not innocent here. You are the other murderer in this palace. From my child with Seti to arranging all of this."
"I don't understand what you are saying."
"You don't ? Why not begin by explaining to Pharaoh how you worked with Baka to bring me and Rashida down ? You are the one who instructed him to take Rashida away from here so they could elope.Tell him."
" How could I possibly do that ? Aren't they adults ? They chose to elope out of  their own volition. Do not pour dirty water on me, Astrid."
" Fine then. Explain to all of us how you ended up with Anippe by your side ?"
" Have you lost your mind ? How could I do that ?"
" I won't waste my time here. I knew that you would try to quibble. Anippe speak up!"
" Anippe ?" she asked and turned to look at her.
" Sovereign, I also know some things Lady Meritaten did,"Anippe said." She was instigated by Princess Rashida to harm Princess Astrid's child. Lady Meritaten had not complained about Princess Astrid once but many times to my lady. My mistress was also angry at Princess Astrid for suggesting that she be wed to Prince Thutmose and for telling you of her trying to elope with Baka."
" I did not harm anyone's child. You were on my side some moments ago. They must have paid you to speak lies about me."
" We didn't pay her Meritaten,"Asenath spoke." Your manipulation does not work on everyone as you may think.

*********************
There was a knock at the door and Anippe walked slowly to open it. Luciana pushed her way inside before Anippe shut the door and Astrid walked in after Luciana.
"What are you doing here ?"
"I already know what happened to you. I have had people follow you for a while and they have seen everything that has happened to you. You are under Lady Meritaten's protection."
" She saved my life. So what ?"
"You cannot trust Meritaten at all. She will finish you once she is done with you."
" She saved my life. Why would she do that ?"
" Everyone that worked for her ended up dead. Bennu and Baka. Bennu was killed and Baka was next. I do not know of Bennu's murderer but I found out that it was Meritaten who killed Baka by poisoning him through the coins she gave him."
" What makes you so sure ?"
" Luciana,"Astrid called and Luciana took out a coin covered in a handkerchief before showing it to Anippe." This coin was found by Baka's corpse. It must have fallen and Meritaten did not see it before taking away the other coins to dispose of them. The poison was discovered by Khafirin but I had him keep silent on the type of poison used. The poison on the coin is from a poison dart frog. A small quantity of that will kill fast. Tell me Anippe. Who do you think can get access to something that toxic in high amounts ?"
Anippe was silent and she fisted the sheets on the bed angrily.
"Even if Rashida hates Baka right now, she would not kill him. Think about how Baka showed interest in you all of a sudden. That wouldn't be Rashida's doing because she hated him. He wouldn't get instructions from me because I had been against him and Rashida. Seti, Smenkhhare and Thutmose hate him as well. Who else would he take the risk for ?"
"That Meritaten."
"Meritaten is a smart woman who knows how to scheme only that her execution is poor. There are so many leads connecting to her if you have the right information. She knew that using Baka and you will upset Rashida who we know has not been at her best recently. Rashida acted fast and actually wanted to kill you to ensure that there were no witnesses. Meritaten caused a rift  between you and separated you both when she brought you here to take her side."
"Everyone is after my life. If they really want it that much, let them have it."
"You are still young and can change your life,"Astrid said and turned to leave.
" Wait. Wait,"Anippe called out and knelt before Astrid." Only you can preserve my life. I shall do whatever you want me to but you have to make sure that I reveal all this to Pharaoh. I am willing to pay for my mistakes."
" You will then need to tell me everything you know."
Anippe spoke of all she knew as Astrid and Luciana listened keenly.
" Meritaten is keeping me here so that I will reveal Rashida's faults on the day of the family banquet. That is her plan."
" So that is her plan then,"Astrid smiled." Fine. We shall go on with her plan."