Childish Games
The pharaoh’s young son knelt in the fertile Egyptian soil of his father’s almond grove on the edge of the palace grounds. His retainer caught up and knelt breathlessly behind him, struggling to juggle his own wooden dagger as well as his masters’ small wooden shield.
“Shhhh” the pharaoh’s son hissed at his servant. “The Mongols will hear you.”
The young master wore only a white and gold shenti and sandals. His eyes were adorned with thick Kohl that extended from the corner of his eyes out toward his temples. He held his bow lightly in his left hand, and reaching his right hand above his shoulder he drew an arrow from the quiver he carried on his back. The dappled light that shone through the tangled branches of the trees highlighted the shine of the ebony black wig he wore on his shorn head.
The two boys peered through the branches at the slaves who were working in the grove, picking the green fruit from the trees and dropping it into baskets to be separated from the small nuts inside. The young master turned and whispered. “Those Mongols think they are strong! They think their magical hand cannons filled with black dragon powder that spits fire makes them superior! My arrow will fly silently through the air and pierce their heart before they even know what is happening! Their bullet will roar so loudly that the whole world will know their position in a moment. I will be able to hear it coming and will duck down before it ever reaches me! Then I shall rise and send my arrows silently through more of their hearts until they all lie dead!”
The servant nodded in agreement and then whispered. “And I shall sneak up behind them like a great stalking cat and rip their throats open with my dagger before they can even cry out.”
The young master nodded approvingly to his servant, then turned, and resumed the hunt as he crept forward in the shade of the trees.
Somewhere in the distance the sound of a triple gong sounded followed by a few seconds of silence and then another triple gong. Somebody important was coming and the sound of the gongs that announced their approach was getting closer each time they sounded. Startled, the young master turned and looked at his servant, his eyes wide for a moment.
“Who is it?” asked the servant anxiously.
Regaining his bravery, with narrowed eyes, he replied with bravado. “It is probably my father, the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and his wife Nefertiti. Stay hidden! If those Mongols try to harm them in any way, we shall rush forward in their defense, and we will slaughter the Mongols all where they stand.”
His masters’ response made the servant afraid. He thought it was better to end their game and come out and kneel as was expected, but he knew his place, and so he remained silent.
But the man who walked behind the gongs was not the pharaoh, and there was no wife walking with him. It was the priest Ay. Dressed in his ceremonial robes, carrying a mysterious package in his hands. He held it out in front of him in a way that made it seem as if the treasure of Egypt itself must be hidden within it.
As Ay made his way down the pathway between the rows of almond trees the slaves picking the fruit dropped their baskets and fell on their faces. As they came closer the boys heard the Cryer who followed behind Ay as he cried out over and over again.
“Tutankhaten! Son of Akhenaten! Come out from your games! The priest Ay must speak with you!"
Upon hearing the words the Cryer was calling, young Tutankhaten rose from where he was kneeling. He handed his bow and quiver of arrows to his retainer. As he brushed the dirt from his knees and checked to be sure his shenti was straight on his hips, he whispered to the frightened servant.
“On your face, before you’re seen.”
Then he squared his shoulders and marched confidently out from their hiding place. As he approached and came face to face with Ay, the priest bowed in respect.
Those that were watching observed the priest carefully remove the linen wrapping from the mysterious package. The golden box that the priest held shimmered in the sunlight. Hieroglyphs covered it on all sides. The signs of the Pharaoh and the Sun God Rah decorated the side that faced the young pharaoh’s son.
“Tutankhaten, son of Akhenaten. Your father has abdicated his throne. You are now Pharaoh of all Egypt, the jewel of the Nile and Kingdom of the Sun God Rah.”
The young boy’s eyes widened in shock and his bottom lip trembled, but when he looked into the eyes of Ay, who had tutored him in the ways of being a Pharaoh, he remembered that a Pharaoh is never afraid. So he squared his shoulders and lifted his chin and then nodded at Ay with all the authority of a Pharaoh.
Ay hid the smile of pride that played upon his lips. Then he handed the golden box to the priest directly to his right. He reached inside it and pulled out the item it contained. The Khepresh, the blue war crown worn by the Pharaohs’ of the New Kingdom of Egypt was placed upon the brow of the nine-year-old and then Ay and his entire procession knelt down before him in homage.
The young King Tut turned and faced the audience, who all erupted into applause.
The light faded into darkness and the heavy red drapery fell slowly from a hidden place above the stage until it reached the floor. The lights in the auditorium came up and the audience began to rise from their seats, stretching and straightening as they shuffled out into the foyer for the intermission.
“We have just enough time to step out for a quick smoke.” Said the man in front of Victoria, placing a black top hat upon his head and flipping the tails of his black jacket out behind him so they fell into place.
“Quite right.” Replied his friend. “I have to say; this version of the story of Tut is proving to be quite enjoyable.” His clipped posh accent broke through Victoria’s reverie. She had been caught up in the magic of the show and was replaying her favorite scenes over in her mind. As she came back to reality, she realized she only had a short time to visit the facilities and grab a quick drink. She picked her white gloves up from where they sat in her lap and slipped them on, put her hat in place on her upswept hairdo, stood, straightening her frock, and slipped into the crowd. Her first visit to the theater was indeed proving to be everything she had been promised it would be.