Day 1 of the reign of Setenet Ahit-Kau
Suddenly Setenet was assaulted with noise and color. It was raining flowers and before her, at the bottom of the wide steps leading up to the palace was a large group of people, arranged in straight rows and columns, sitting on mats and bowing to Setenet. They were all important women from all corners of the empire; royal relatives, politicians, scribes, and priestesses, but all aka. But behind them, beyond the walls of the palace, Setenet could hear the din of a large crowd of commoners. To the side of the courtyard there were young women wearing dresses made from flowers banging out a powerful drum beat that Setenet could feel in her chest. She wondered if this is what her mother's coronation was like.
At the top of the steps were the Ministers, The Chief Minister, and the three auxiliary ministers of internal, foreign, and religious affairs. Each of them would be asking her if she would uphold the ideals of the Goddesses, then giving the princess an item, symbolic of four of the main Goddesses. The first was Hapmu, the goddess of the ground and chaos, Setenet got a golden sickle for her, symbolic for farming. Next was Nane, goddess of the air, natural disasters, and hope; from her Setenet got a giant golden, decorative egg, which symbolized health. Then came Malouli, goddess of fire and families, from which she got a large hair ornament shaped like flames that made Setenet's head feel very heavy. The last was Setenet's matron goddess, Kau, the Goddess of the afterlife, and from her she received a jewel-encrusted golden wheel, symbolic of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. This part of the ceremony lasted a very long time and bored Setenet to death, but it was almost over.
The last person to speak, representing the main goddess, Isitobu, was the arch priestess, who came up carrying a large silver wesekh collar with Setenet's royal title written in gems across it. She asked, "Setenet Ahit-Kau, are you ready to take up the mantle of your mother, grand-mother, great-grand-mother, and the spirit of the Goddess Isitobu, by serving as the mother to your people, and the whole world?"
"Yes." Setenet said.
"Do you promise to love them and care for them, as our mother Isitobu's incarnation on earth?"
"Yes." Setenet said again.
"And do you promise to strike down in a goddess-like fury, anyone who would try to harm your children?" She asked.
"I do." Setenet said.
"Then let all here witness that in her fourteenth year of life this woman is transformed-" She said, her voice booming now louder than ever and the drums picking up speed as she tied the silver wesekh onto her chest, "into Empress Setenet Ahit-Kau, Daughter of Setentes Ahit-Kau, Grand-daughter of Setensit Ahit-Kau, Favored of Kau the Goddess of the Afterlife, The Revered One of Isitobu, Living Image of Grace, She Who Has Chosen Justice, and the Mother of the World!" With that, the Priestess thrust Setenet's arms up into the air, and the whole crowd stood up and did six full bows in succession, and after the sixth bow, they got up and started cheering.
Several young Mistresses of Isitobu came up with flower crowns and a cape of flowers they draped over the silver chain shawl. Setenet let out a deep sigh of relief that she didn't mess up the ceremony, but she still felt like she was going to faint as several men came up the steps with a flower-covered palanquin. It was time to take six laps around the city for the regular citizens, so she stepped inside and was shut in alone.
As soon as she was in she shed all of her heavy ceremonial objects and pieces of clothing, and tried to breathe. She didn't know if it was the heat or standing for too long but she felt like she was as hot as fire, and her breathing got more and more rapid but she felt like she was getting no air. She tried to open a window of the palanquin but they were nailed shut, probably for her protection. She could hear the sound of cheering as the men picked up the palanquin and started to march her down the steps. She felt like the world had closed in on her and someone was sitting on her chest. She tore at her chest, trying to calm herself down.
"Empress Setenet," she whispered to herself, gasping.
"Open the gates!" She heard a voice yell from outside the palanquin, and a great grinding, the sound of the two imperial gates opening. The sound of people cheering grew louder. She peeked through the slits in her window and could see flashes of the crowd. There were all kinds of people outside her window, cheering for her, some waving around ribbons, some throwing flowers, and still others raising bottles in her honor. She heard people yelling her name, and a few people scream things like, "Long life to the Empress!" and "Luck and Glory for our Empress!"
She slowly got her breath back as she watched the little pieces of people she could make out. She had never been outside of the palace alone like this, although her palanquin was surrounded on all sides by a large procession, she was all alone in her carriage. She sank back into her seat, finally being able to breathe regularly.
She felt small, and alone. She always knew she would become the Empress and she thought she had prepared for it, but now that it had happened she felt more like a child then she ever had. She's always been told that she had been selected by the goddesses to rule, and to care for her people, and she always assumed that when it would happen she would just slip into the role, after all, Isitobu wouldn't just choose anyone, she must be perfectly well prepared to be empress. But now that Setenet sat alone in her carriage, she looked at her name wesekh, and she wondered if maybe the priestesses didn't bless her well enough, and Isitobu opposed her rise to the throne, because she didn't feel prepared at all.
After the six laps around the city were over, it was afternoon already, and time for the first feast of many. The celebrations for Setenet's coronation would last six days, with a ceremony every day and a feast every night. As her servants freshened her up for dinner, Setenet longed for her bed. The panic she was struck with right after she was crowned took most of her energy, and she did not look forward to this feast.
Her mother used to tell her that when she was crowned, at the age of 15, the feast in her honor lasted until dawn, and she didn't get any sleep before they dragged her to a ceremonial review of the army. After they were done fixing her hair and makeup, Setenet had a bit of time before the sun set and she had to go to the feast, so she decided to visit her mother, who had been moved during the ceremony to different quarters so that all of Setenet's items could be moved to the Empress's quarters.
When she entered, she saw her mother sitting in a rocking chair in the tea room, surrounded by servants who bowed low at her entrance. She was staring off into the distance. Her mother's head handmaid, who was now as old as the former Empress, had been serving her tea by bringing it up to her mouth in a spoon and moving her head back so she would swallow. Setenet bowed to her mother and then sat down opposite to her. "Please leave us," Setenet said to the handmaid, who she had known since she was a child. The handmaid waved everyone out and they all backed out of the room.
Setenet looked intently into her mother's eyes, trying to see if there was anything there of the woman she once admired and feared. Despite having a very obvious belly bump, the woman looked gaunt and pale, not much like a pregnant woman usually looked. And she looked ancient. She was only 44, but her mother looked ten years older. It seemed as if the child inside of her was taking up all her strength.
"Mother," Setenet took the woman's hand, which was bony and limp, "I am Empress now, I am sure your handmaid has told you. You should have bowed when I came in," Setenet tried to smile, "It's ok, I'll forgive you. If you wake up, I'll forgive you." Setenet looked into her eyes, but saw nothing, "Please, Mother, I have never asked for it before, but I think I need your help now," Setenet swallowed back a painful lump in her throat, and sat there for a long moment, waiting for a response of any kind. A twitch, a blink, a noise, anything that showed that she was fighting. But nothing came, she just sat there, as if she was made of marble.
"Ok, it's fine, I understand right now you are giving everything you have to the Fourth Princess. Well I will try to take care of her when she comes, your majesty. And I will try to make you proud by taking care of everyone else." Tears now rolled down Setenet's cheeks and she prayed they did not smudge the face paint. She looked out the window, avoiding the sight of her mother's dead eyes, and saw the sun had set. So she stood up, bowed low to the former Empress, and left for the feast.
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