As she stared at his rugged profile outlinedagainst the setting sun, her heart gave a painful lurch and a sobcaught in her throat. It wouldn’t be an easy vow to honor.
* * *
Hattie sat on a stool, shielded from the sun,but not from the heat or the incessant, buzzing flies. Her tent,royal standards hanging sullenly in the motionless air, sat highatop a hill overlooking tomorrow’s battlefield, assuring her acommanding view of the entire horrific spectacle.
The sound of hammering, shouted orders andcurses, and the whinnies of horses filled the camp. Most of thesoldiers worked to set up tents, to put together chariots, or tosharpen spears and swords. Hattie, Senemut, and her generals turnedtheir attention to mapping out their battle plan.
“The Nubians know little of strategy,”General Snefru said scornfully. “It should be a simple matter todefeat them. Their only tactic is to rush headlong at the enemy,hacking away with swords and battle axes.” A tall, powerfully builtman, he strode relentlessly back and forth in the tent. Watchinghim made Hattie dizzy, and the graphic pictures his words evokedcaused her stomach to leap with nausea.
She nodded. “How do we counter theirassault?”
He moved closer, pointing to a roughrepresentation of the battlefield on a scrap of papyrus. “We divideour forces into three segments, Majesty. When the enemy movesforward, two wings of five hundred men each will move around theirflanks. Chariots will quickly cut off their route of escape to therear, while infantry hems them in on both sides. When they aredriven inevitably ahead of the chariots, the fifteen hundredsoldiers remaining at the center will slaughter them. It will be aglorious victory for Your Majesty!”
She shivered at the all-too-vividdescription. There was no way to make war sound glorious, or evenrespectable. It was a ruthless event, even when undertaken for thebest of reasons. She sighed and turned to Senemut. “What do youthink?”
He nodded. “It is a sensible plan,Majesty.”
“Very well then. Make it so. But there is onething I insist on.”
Snefru, already on his way out of the tent,was brought up short. “Aye, Majesty?”
“There will be no women or childrenharmed.”
“But…but, Majesty!” he cried. “The soldiershave always enjoyed the spoils of war as part of their just rewardfor battle. Women and children are part of that incentive.”
Hattie shook her head stubbornly. “War isbrutal enough. I expect my troops to act with the dignity befittingEgyptian soldiers. There will be no killing or raping of women orchildren. The battle will be honorable, or there will be no battle.Do you understand? See that my orders are obeyed, or the guiltyones will suffer the consequences.”
Snefru’s eyes widened and he scowled, but hedared not debate further. “Aye, Majesty. It shall be as you wish.”He left the tent hastily, casting hostile glances behind him.
“I know not if that was wise, Hattie,”Senemut said after Snefru was out of earshot. “It will be difficultto maintain the respect of your army if you appear to besofthearted. Snefru has always believed a weak pharaoh makes for aweak Egypt, which then becomes a target for conquest.”
“I am not weak,” Hattie retorted. “I amhonorable. There is a difference.” She subsided into a gloomysilence, wondering if she could indeed call herself honorable, whentomorrow she would send perhaps thousands of men to their deaths.Where was the honor in that?
Dinner was a quiet affair. Hattie picked ather food. She had no appetite. Senemut tried to divert herattention with amusing tales of court gossip and intrigue, but shecouldn’t concentrate. At last, he gave up.
“Go to bed now, Hattie, and rest. You willneed all of your strength in the morning. I will sleep directlyoutside your tent. You need only call me if you wish anything.” Hestrode out of the tent, fastening the flap securely behind him.
Hattie moaned and sank down onto her cot,fearing that sleep was as far away as twenty-first centuryChicago. Callhim if she wished anything? She wished to spend the night in his arms, safe and secure;she wished to wake and find the impending battle was but a hideousdream; she wished tomorrow would never come. More than anything,she wished she had never been transported back to Hatshepsut’sEgypt.
* * *
Yet, Hattie did sleep. And soon Hatshepsutstood, shimmering, before her in the velvet darkness of herdream.
“You,” Hattie breathed. “You have to help me!I am no warrior. I cannot lead troops into battle. I cannot wagewar!”
Hatshepsut smiled gently. “You have the heartof a warrior, though you lack the training. Trust in Senemut. Trustin the army. They will know what to do.”
“But surely a battle will not lead me to thename of the traitor who poisoned you,” Hattie protested. “You toldme I must fulfill a mission, and then I could go home. But this isnot part of my mission!”
“That is not correct,” Hatshepsut said,holding up a finger. “True, you are to find the traitor and protectTuthmosis. But how can you complete your mission if Egypt falls toruin around your ears? Nay, you must protect Egypt, strengthen her,rule her well until my return. Do not fail me in this.”
“Well, I am doing my best,” Hattie respondedtartly. Her life had been disrupted beyond all reason, but she hadtried to adjust to her new role and surroundings; yet Hatshepsutstill had the temerity to lecture her? “But I am not a ruler, noram I a soldier. I am simply an artist, sadly out of her element!Mayhap you should have chosen another, more suitable woman tocomplete your mission.”
Hatshepsut’s expression softened and shesmiled graciously. “You are the only person who can help me, and Iam not ungrateful. It is vital to Egypt—nay, to the world—thatTuthmosis is protected, the traitor caught, history set right. Yourmission is critical.” She frowned and reached out to Hattie. “Butyou must be wary. There is evil here, great evil, and you are indanger. Do not relax your vigilance.”
“Well, of course there is danger here,”Hattie snapped. “I am in the middle of a war zone!”
“The danger comes not from the battleitself,” Hatshepsut said. “I feel a presence here, covering alllike a malevolent cloud. Mayhap the traitor himself lurks in someshadow. Be alert. Trust no one other than Senemut.
