Chapter 21 Chapter Nineteen

Accompanied by the night police, Ramses carried a travel bag and a straw mat tied with a belt, held a leather bag containing a loincloth and a pair of sandals in his left hand, and held a cane in his right.When he stopped to rest, he spread a straw mat under the shade of a tree, and then, under the protection of his faithful companion, took a short nap. Ramses had completed the first stage of his journey by boat, the second on foot.Entering the hilltop trails that left the sea, he passed through countless small towns and dined with farmers to replenish his strength.Tired of city life, he found a peaceful paradise where he lived forever according to the seasons and festivals.

Ramesses did not inform Amene, nor Esther, that he wished to travel alone, like any Egyptian setting out to visit his relatives or to the many worksites that had been started during the flooding of the river. In a small village, he recruited a boatman who specialized in transporting the poor.Dozens of boats of different sizes were gradually added to the large water surface. Some of the boats carrying children kept shaking, and the children deliberately fell into the water to start a crazy swimming competition. When resting, playing, and traveling... Ramses felt the breath of the Egyptian people and their strong peace and joy that they placed in the Pharaoh's confidence.He kept hearing Seti being spoken of in terms of respect and admiration, which Ramesses felt honored and secretly pledged to be worthy of his father, even if he was no more than an officer overseeing the arrival of granaries or records Oral clerk.

On the entry frontier of Fayoum, a verdant province ruled by the crocodile god Sobek, the royal apse of the Plum House, the Great Love, covers several hectares and is tended by eminent gardeners.An ingenious network of canals spreads through this vast area, which is considered by everyone in the country to be the most beautiful in Egypt.There old ladies lived and lived, looking enviously at the young and beautiful women who were allowed to work in the textile mills and attend schools of poetry, music and dance.The cloisonné experts are very busy refining their techniques beside the jewelry designers.The apse is bustling with these endless jobs.

Before walking towards the gate's entrance, Ramses changed into a loincloth, put on sandals, and dusted off the dog again.After he felt that he could meet people, he walked towards a guard with a humble appearance. "I'm here to see a friend." "Where's your letter of recommendation, young man?" "I do not need." The guard threw his neck back. "Why are you so conceited?" "Because I am Prince Ramses, son of Seti." "You're playing tricks on me! The king's son has a guard to protect him when he goes out." "My dog ​​is enough."

"Go away, kid, I'm not interested in this joke." "I order you to get out of the way." The firm tone and piercing eyes startled the guard: Should this nuisance be shooed away, or should we play it safe? "What's your friend's name?" "Moses." "You wait here a moment." The night watchman sat in the shade of a Persian tree.Is there a sweeter life than the fragrance in the air and the hundreds of birds nesting in the trees in the apse? "Rameses!" Moses pushed past the guards and ran to Ramses, and the two friends hugged each other before stepping through the gate.The night guard followed behind them, and it sniffed fiercely. The scent coming from the guardhouse seemed to suit its taste.

Moses and Ramses walked up a tiled path that wound among fig trees to a water house where white lilies bloomed in abundance.They sat on a stone chair made of three limestones juxtaposed. "What a surprise! How exciting! Ramses! You have been sent here to work?" "No, I want to see you." "You come alone, without an entourage?" "Did it startle you?" "That's really your personality! What have you been up to since our little group broke up?" "I became royal clerk and thought my father had chosen me as his heir." "With Xie Na's consent?"

"It was only a dream, of course, I was unyielding. The illusion was shattered when my father denied me in public, but..." "but?" "But a power, the same power, which destroys my faculties, continues to stir me. I hate to sleep like a rich man with nothing to do. What kind of life are we supposed to live, Moses?" "That's the only question that matters, and you have a point." "How can I be different?" "I am as overwhelmed as you are. I am one of the assistants to the owner of this apse, I work in a textile factory, supervise the work of the workers, own a house with five rooms, a garden and a Well-chosen delicacies. Here I am, thanks to the library in the apse, growing in the wisdom of all the Egyptians! What more could I ask for?"

"A beautiful woman." Moses smiled. "There are so many here, are you in love?" "Maybe." "Who?" "Esther." "The king's pocket, I heard. You make me envious...but why do you say 'maybe'?" "She's beautiful and we hit it off, but I'm not sure I love her. I have a different vision of love, stronger, crazier, more..." "Stop self-abuse, enjoy the moment, remember the harpist whispering such exhortations in our ears at the dinner party?" "And you, have you found love?" "There were lovers, perhaps... but none of them satisfied me. There was a fire that burned me, and so did I, and I can't say whether to forget it or light it."

"We choose, Moses. If we hide, we shall vanish like shadows of evil." "Do you think the world is bright?" "There is light in this world." Moses raised his eyes to the sky. "Is it hiding in the sun?" Ramses forced his friend to look down. "Don't look at it straight on, your eyes will go blind." "What is hidden will be discovered by me." A panicked scream ended their conversation, and on another parallel path, two textile workers fled quickly. "It's time for me to surprise you," said Moses. "Let's go and fix this demon that scared the poor wretches half to death."

The troublemaker had no intention of slipping away, got on one knee, grabbed a beautiful dark green snake, and put it in the bag. "Sai Dawu!" The snake expert was expressionless.Ramses was surprised to meet him here. Sai Dawu explained that selling venom to the laboratory in the apse could sustain his livelihood, and that being able to stay with Moses for a few days was his happiest thing. "I'm going to teach Moses a few techniques. Close your eyes, Ramses." When the prince was ordered to open his eyes, Moses stood upright, holding a very thin dark brown stick in his right hand.

"It's nothing special." "Look clearly!" Sai Dawu exhorted. The stick moved, bent and twisted, it was a snake!Moses threw the snake to the ground vigorously, and Sai Dawu immediately picked it up. "Isn't it a wonderful piece of natural magic? It's a little bit chilling and can scare anyone, even a king's son." "Then, teach me how to operate this 'stick'." "Of course." The three friends hid in an orchard, where Sai Dawu taught his companions the skills needed to manipulate a live snake. Not far away, some slender young girls are practicing a kind of acrobatic dance. They are wrapped in a half-length loincloth with crossed belts tied on the chest and back. Their hair is combed up and behind their heads. A ponytail was tied, and a wooden bead was tied at the end of the braid.They dance very complicated dance steps, but the movements are uniform. Sai Dawu didn't concentrate on appreciating it, he searched hard for the kind of snake that can make people die, his dream seems to stop there!Moses wanted to live a life as focused as Sai Dawu, but he was imprisoned in a large pile of official documents, but he handled things with a very rigorous attitude. As long as he was given a little more time to ask, the position of the head of the apse was for him. Words are like things in the bag. "One day," he promised Ramesses, "I will give up everything." "What's the meaning?" "I don't know myself, but I can't stand this kind of life more and more." "Let's leave together." After the dance, they were persuaded to sit with the girls by the pale blue pool and share a snack.Prince Ramses was compelled to answer questions about the palace, his duties as clerk, and his future plans, but he answered them impatiently and almost brusquely.Disappointed, his interlocutors rose to go to a poetry competition to test their knowledge. Ramesses noticed that one of the girls was taciturn and looked younger than her companions, with black and bright hair and green eyes, very charming. "What's her name?" he asked Moses. "Nifertari." "Why is she so shy?" "She came from a moderate family, and had just arrived in the apse, and she was found to be good at weaving. In every way, she was the best of the group, and the rich ladies could not tolerate her." Several dancers tried to attract the attention of Prince Ramses, who was rumored to marry Iser, but wasn't the king's son more affectionate than the average man?The prince got rid of the flirts and sat down beside Nefertari. "Does my presence make you uncomfortable?" The question disarmed her, and she looked up at Ramses with uneasy eyes. "Forgive my rudeness, but I see you so alone." "That's because... I was meditating." "Is there any trouble in your heart?" "We must choose a motto of the wise men of Ptah and interpret it." "I adore this song, which one do you choose?" "I'm still hesitating." "What kind of work do you expect, Nefertari?" "Flowerwork. I like to prepare bouquets for the gods and stay in the temple as long as possible during the year." "Isn't it a hard life?" "I like to meditate. In meditating, my physical strength is consumed. Isn't it written in the book: Silence makes the soul grow like a flowering tree?" The choreographer called them together, and told them to change out of their clothes before going to grammar class.Nefertari stood up. "Wait a minute...can you do me a favor?" "The dance supervision is very strict and we are not allowed to be late." "Which motto do you choose?" Her smile is enough to calm even the most impassioned warrior. "A perfect word hides more secretly than a green stone, yet we find it in the stone miller." After speaking, she disappeared lightly.