Enheduanna: The First Author - Wattys Winner 2021

29. How The Mighty Fall

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Dingira had probably asked that same question at least a dozen times as she helped me get ready for my meeting with the lords. Binding the breast plate in its place, she looked up into my eyes with worry. "I don't trust those men."

"I don't trust them either. But we have little choice. Our provisions are running out before the new moon if I don't do something." I observed her. Worry did not suit her features, it made her look like she was in pain.

"I'll be waiting here for you," she said in a low voice that send shivers up my spine. And then her lips were on mine. All the memories of that night came flooding back at her touch, making it even more painful when she backed away from me.

With nothing else to guide me, I made my way to the lions' den. Kituzda accompanied me, in the hopes that together we might be able to convince those men to stop obstructing the temple. Without ever putting it in those specific terms.

The streets of Ur were pitch-black when we set out towards the palace of Lugal-ane. Two of his servants went ahead of us to light the way, carrying ornately decorated torches with panes of pale blue lapis. I could smell the stench of pallid flesh through their heavy perfumes, and combined with the empty street, it swirled into a knot of discomfort in my stomach.

Lugal-ane's palace was one of the largest buildings in Ur, with high limestone walls that hid away all that took place behind them. Inside, the air was heavy with the scent of perfumes, spices, and meat. We were escorted across the courtyard and into the dining hall, where the walls were lined with torches and filled with men dressed in extravagant robes and shining jewels. A slave sang our coming, "High priestess Enheduanna of Ur, anointed by Nanna. And the priestess Kituzda of Ur, anointed by Nanna."

"Honourable priestesses! Welcome to my humble abode." Lugal-ane cheered from across the room.

Humble was the furthest from accurate to describe this place. It was a beautiful shell for the man who fancied himself still king, but a shell none the less.

My thoughts never made it to made face. Keeping on the mask with a gentle smile, I thanked Lugal-ane for his hospitality.

"This is the way of us, Sumerians," he boosted, and a grin tugged at the corner of my mouth.

"The custom is familiar to me, good lord." I responded, "I will feed you, even though you are an outcast. I will give you a drink even though you are an outcast."

His eyes grew wide as I spoke the proverb of olden days. Whispers surrounded us, but I kept my eyes focused on Lugal-ane. "Dine with me, my Great Lady."

Kituzda and I took our places at the Lugal's table, drinking only the wine we were offered and eating only the smallest amount of the food that lay sprawled out over the tables. It didn't take long before Lugal-ane and the other lords took notice of our lack of appetite, and most of them stopped stuffing their mouths as well. Not Lugal-ane. With fingers the size of sausages he eat more than five men combined, and showed no signs of stopping.

"Have the priestesses gorged themselves on the fruit of the Ziggurat before coming here?" Lugal-ane chuckled, his jewels bouncing on the rolls of fat.

"We have not," Kituzda snapped back.

I shot her a warning glance before returning to the fat lord. "How can one be a glutton when there is so little among our people and the hungry grow more numerous each day?"

"If people upheld their ancient rights and customs, Nanna would no doubt bless us with a bountiful harvest." Lugal-ane kept his voice low, but I heard the fury in his tone.

Taking another sip of the honeyed wine, I moulded my next words tactfully, "Nanna gives as he receives."

The shot landed right where it should. All the men in the room grew silent, and Lugal-ane shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Breathing like a rampaging bull, his fingers balled up into a fist.

"For years we have given Nanna all. When our city was taken, when our titles became empty, even when water flooded our homes, we stayed loyal knowing one day Nanna would give us what we desired." Lugal-ane shook his head, "but instead we are given a pampered princess, blood of the king who took our crowns. A mere girl who acts like a goddess reborn and thinks anyone cares about the exploits of women, when it is men who build these cities."

In the grip of silent rage, my eyes grew wide, heart racing, a fire raging through my mind that turned all into a soup of conflictions emotions into a blind range to strangle that fat neck of his.

"And because of that, you starve your own slaves? Running the city into the pit chaos, is that worth it?" I threw my hands up in the sky, "you didn't like my father. Fine, I can understand that much. But I was never given a chance by any of you. From the moment I stepped foot in Ur, your opinion about me was set in stone, all my failures amplified, my successes forgotten. The blood of Sargon runs through my veins, but I am not my father. Nor my brother. I have my own mind, my own voice, and I wish to be heard. As I will hear the cries of the people of Ur."

Even with the adrenaline, I felt my breathing slow as the taste of vomit rose in my throat. The silence was deafening, and for the first time I wished all the eyes wouldn't be on me. Opening my mouth, a scream from beyond the walls cut me off.

"Your people are calling, high priestess." Lugal-ane said with a smug grin on his lips.

Kituzda followed me as I ran toward the courtyard to see the sky alight with red flames, black smoke blocking out the moon.

Ur was ablaze.