The Memoirs of Cleopatra Part 24

I studied her features: the s.h.i.+ning dark skin, the high-bridged nose, the curving lips. Facially she resembled them, but her body was in no way like the two types predominant here.

The city was one of wide streets and circular dwellings made of mud and reeds that looked African; certainly we had nothing like them in Egypt. Then, suddenly, we approached a high stone wall with a ma.s.sive gateway to the royal enclosure, carved with Pharaonic-looking figures. Guards in kilted uniforms flanked it; they wore silver caps topped with colored plumes. Gigantic bows were slung over their shoulders; Nubia had been known as "the land of the bow" since ancient times, and the Nubians' prowess with the weapon was fearsome. At our approach, they threw back the bolts of the gate; the heavy studded doors swung open with a deep groan, revealing a tender green vista.

Spread before us was a carpet of tiny ground flowers, framed by jewel-toned shrubs; arbors covered with the heavy, twined vines of grapes and climbing roses waved their mult.i.tude of pointed leaves and blossoms in the soft breeze and urged us to enter into their scented shade and linger. I saw a movement from the shadows; someone was stretched out on a bench, one hand trailing down in aimless repose. Farther in the distance I saw an orchard of fruit trees, their branches frothy with bloom.

Scattered about these sensual grounds were many buildings: what looked to be temples, palaces, baths, all of golden sandstone.

Pathways paved with wide stones wound throughout the enclosure, and servitors, wearing thin red and green tunics, pa.s.sed from building to building. Gigantic plane trees and graceful palms sheltered them from the noonday sun.

They set the litters down before a square building with entrance steps of marble. "The guest palace, Exalted One," said our guide. "We have many envoys, merchants, and traders from Arabia, India, Africa, and we treat them as kings. It is not our wish to dishonor you by lodging you in their quarters, but rather to honor them by allowing them to experience royal accommodations." He bowed. "Besides, we find it makes them more amenable to trade agreements," he added.

"Yes, flattery will do that," I said, stepping out of the litter. As ruler of the greatest trading city in the world, I appreciated all the tricks. I would have to see about building a palatial visitors' lodging in Alexandria.

Iras and I were led up a flight of wide steps of gleaming blue-black porphyry to a suite of rooms. The ceilings were of fretted cedar--obviously imported from Lebanon. But how had they managed to get it here? Certainly the fifty-foot timbers could not have survived a trip over the cataracts--let alone all five of them. They must have come by way of the Red Sea. But how did they get there? I must ask the Kandake.

I have been accuscd of being a hard-hearted businesswoman, grasping, greedy, and calculating. (It is primarily Octavian and his mouthpieces who say this.) But all calumnies are built on some leaning or grain of truth, and in standing in the midst of this magnificent chamber and wondering about trade routes, I show myself where this later slander came from. I do think of money and trade; when I see gold I think of mines, and when I see silk I think of India and trade routes, and when--oh, why try to explain it? It is both my strength and my weakness. And I notice that Octavian l.u.s.ts after my treasure in most unseemly fas.h.i.+on himself. But that is getting ahead of my story.

One of the things I noticed immediately was a service of silver vessels on the table--a tall, gracefully spouted pitcher, slender cups, an oval tray. Silver is rarely used in Egypt because it is actually scarcer than gold; now it caught my eye for that reason.

I picked up the pitcher, liking its feel in my hand, and poured out some brownish liquid into a cup; it proved to be tamarind juice.

"From India, Exalted One," said a voice from the doorway. I set the pitcher down with a jerk.

A wraithlike girl, wearing what appeared to be both an odd and strangely familiar costume, stood in the door. "I am here to serve you," she said, bringing up her cupped hands in a gesture of submission. "My Kandake wished you to have our favorite refreshment, and me to explain about it." She glided across the floor and took the handle of the pitcher and poured, in one gracious, sinuous motion. She handed both Iras and me a cup. "Drink, and welcome."

The tart, tawny liquid stung my lips. At the very hint that it was sour, the girl said, "There is honey for that." She gestured toward a s.h.i.+ny black-lidded jar. Now I saw that Iras's extreme gracefulness was part of her heritage. This girl had the same smooth, liquid movements.

"Large s.h.i.+pments of the tamarind come to us on the winds of the monsoon," she said "We can tell by the flavor which area of India they come from."

"It is most delicious, and refres.h.i.+ng," I said. The taste was strong, bracing: a drink for soldiers, sailors, traders--and queens. "You may tell the Kandake I am pleased. And when may I meet with her?"

"In the cool of the evening she would like to receive you, at the pavilion by the water sanctuary."

As she turned to go, I realized what it was about her costume: she was clothed in the style of ancient Egypt, in the sort of clothes we had not worn in a thousand years. I recognized them only from temple wall carvings.

At sunset I was led along the winding path, with its border of flowers, to the water sanctuary. We would have called it a pleasure pool, for it evidently existed to provide a pa.s.sive sensual indulgence for the ruler. The eyes were pampered by the azure-colored tiles at the bottom of the pool, which tinted the water magically blue; the nose by the scent of the water lilies; the skin by the cool air wafting across the water; the ears by the discreet chorus of tiny frogs cheeping, and the twittering of birds among the lilies. A few b.u.t.terflies swooped in and out of the water garden's thicket.

I was alone in the falling evening. Servitors lit silver lanterns, and behind me I could hear the low, confiding murmur of a fountain. Then a great, umbrella-covered litter swayed its way into my line of sight, the fringe over its parasol dancing wildly. I saw a bejeweled hand draped over the side.

The curious vehicle, borne by sweating, broad-shouldered men, approached the pavilion. Just before the steps, they set it down and stood back. The curtains parted, pushed aside by another hand just like the first. A head poked out, then a leg draped in voluminous, pleated robes. With a heave, the entire figure burst forth, her enormous shoulders shaking the medals pinned to her sash. It was like an elephant cras.h.i.+ng through the underbrush. I expected her skin to be gray and wrinkled. But it was richly black, and smooth as polished metal.

She drew herself up in quiet dignity, and, with a disproportionately small hand, adjusted her wig and vulture-G.o.ddess headdress.

"Your Majesty, most honored Kandake Amanishakheto," I said, "I am pleased to behold your most n.o.ble face."

She sighed, and the medals on her bosom s.h.i.+mmied. "Queen Cleopatra," she said. "You are as beautiful as they say. Welcome to Meroe. You are also as clever as they say, since you knew the journey was necessary, and as determined as they say, since you have managed to make the trip in less than fifty days. It is indeed a great surprise and pleasure to see something that is is as it is reputed to be. So few things are." as it is reputed to be. So few things are."

"I thank you, Your Majesty. From what I have seen, Meroe exceeds the fables. It is an unknown treasure."

"Good. We do not want to be overrun with settlers of the wrong sort. When a place becomes popular, that's the end of its charm--don't you think?" She gestured, and out of the shadows a servitor appeared and began fanning her with an enormous ostrich-feather fan. The feathers, dyed scarlet, gold, and blue, made a rainbow in the air.

"Let us seat ourselves." She walked with slow, deliberate steps over to a stone throne--the only type strong enough to support her weight. I saw the outlines of her legs through the sheer pleated fabric of her gown, and they looked bigger in diameter than the cedars of Lebanon in my chamber ceiling. Her feet--like her hands, strangely small--were shod in golden sandals.

She sank down with a sigh, and all her clothes seemed to sigh around her. Thick ta.s.sels, hanging at the ends of silk cords, rustled and swung at her hem like barley in a windstorm.

"I know this boy is not your brother," she said quietly. "But others are all too ready to believe. Why do impostors always attract followers? It is best we deal with him between ourselves. I detest lies and deception, and I especially abhor those who turn their backs on the truth to follow falsehood!" Her eyes--soft, brown, melting ones--flashed as hard and black as obsidian.

"It is part of the human condition, I fear," I said. I did not want to stir her up; she seemed terribly agitated.

Does this mean I was without ideals or honor, as my enemies have said? No. But no one could have grown up in the court I did and held any illusions about what people are capable of. And then there was Caesar. . . . Ever since he had left, Caesar had destroyed what little belief in men had remained to me. It was touching that Amanishakheto had preserved so much of her original trust. Obviously no one but an enemy had ever betrayed her--never a friend or a lover. It is the latter that crush us.

"It should be punished whenever it occurs, then perhaps it won't rear its head so readily!" she said. "Even a born behavior can be whipped out of someone." She nodded emphatically. "Yes, the lash can cure interrupting, pus.h.i.+ng, stealing, and fighting."

"But it does not cure hatred or plotting or ingrat.i.tude," I said.

"No, it cannot cure the heart, only the hands," she agreed. "But it is the hands that ruin a kingdom. Let people think whatever mischief they like, as long as they keep their hands folded nicely in their laps."

I laughed. She had a point. "I think the people of Meroe are fortunate to have such a wise ruler," I said.

"And the Egyptians are fortunate to have such a resourceful one," she shot back at me. She was quick. "I think perhaps we should consider a partners.h.i.+p."

I looked at her carefully. In the dull twilight it was hard to study her face without being rude. I had not had the opportunity really to look at her, and before I have a serious conversation with someone I like to have taken their measure. I believe I am able to read much in a face.

I turned my full attention to Amanishakheto.

She was giving her equal attention to me, studying me quite frankly. "So young a queen," she said. "And already so many years of governing--not tranquil years, either. Difficult to manage. It excites the imagination--nry imagination, at any rate. Do you really have any intention of sharing power with your brother--your real real brother, that is?" She was smiling serenely, a mountain of solidity. brother, that is?" She was smiling serenely, a mountain of solidity.

Such penetrating, deadly questions, asked as if she expected straight answers. "No," I said, obliging her. "No, I plan eventually to share the throne with, and pa.s.s it to, my son."

She was nodding in approval. "That is what we do in Meroe. The Kandake's son will reign--we call him the Qore--but his wife becomes the next Kandake. The truth is that it is the Kandake who has power."

"Your son?" Where was he? Was there one?

"Oh yes, my son," she said. "He is a naughty boy, doesn't pay much attention to his duties. But that is typical of men, don't you find?"

"I am confused. Is he a boy or a man?"

"A grown man in years," she said. "I myself am over forty. My Naughty One, Natakamani, is almost twenty. But he has a good wife, Amanitore, who, thank all the G.o.ds, will make a good Kandake after me."

"Is there a--the father of Nata--Natakam--?"

She rolled her eyes, then closed them as if in bliss. "Oh, he has gone to his pyramid." She certainly seemed happy that he rested there, and not in the palace.

"May he reside there in peace," I said piously.

"I haven't heard any stirrings," she replied. "No rustling of his ba."

I thought we should leave her unnamed consort to molder, and return to the living. While she was talking my eyes had been caught by the wide, intricately worked gold bracelets she wore on both her upper and lower arms. The patterns and design were unlike anything we had in Egypt; the two heavy halves were secured with a thick pin.

"Here." She seemed to read my mind, for suddenly she extended her arm to me. "Look." She undid the bracelet and handed it to me.

It was very heavy; it felt almost like a manacle. But the workmans.h.i.+p on it was delicate: a raised figure of the G.o.ddess Mut with four outstretched wings, each feather gleaming with a lapis inlay, guarding a patterned wall of geometric lapis stones.

"Take it. Wear it. It is yours."

I was insulted. "No. I wished only to see it. I was not hinting in any way that I expected it for a gift." I handed it back to her.

She pushed it back into my hands. "Had I thought that, you can be sure I would never have given it. Did I just not finish saying that I hate falsehood? I wished to give you something I could see for myself that you appreciated and fancied, rather than some trinket that my ministers would find suitable. Besides, we have a plenitude of gold here."

That was the usual claim. Even poor countries said that, when presenting a gift. Or hoping to lure someone into an alliance. But Nubia abounded in gold mines.

"I thank you, then." Wearing it would require a very muscular arm. "I noticed a great deal of silver," I said. "Now do not give me any! But it struck my eye because it is rare and seldom used in Egypt. It has a subdued beauty of its own, like moonlight."

"I have always imagined that Isis must love silver," said Amanishakheto.

"Silver seems very like her. I have been to Philae in the moonlight, and if ever she was there, it was then."

Philae. I forced myself to smile. "Yes, Isis seems like a silvery being," I finally said. "Your clothing is shot with silver thread, I see. And it is quite different from ours--either Egyptian or Greek." I waited for her to explain about it--about the ta.s.sels and the shawl, and the medals--but she did not. "I noticed when I arrived that your palace servants dress in an ancient manner. The servant who came to my chambers was dressed in the style of someone from the court of Ramses."

"Ramses once ruled Nubia. We retained what we liked of that reign, and discarded the rest."

"So it is preserved here long after it has vanished in its homeland."

"Such is often the case," she said. "It is the G.o.ds who preserve or destroy, by hiding things in odd places." She stirred on her stone throne. "It is time for me to eat again," she said suddenly. "I must keep up my weight."

"I am afraid I do not understand." The darkness had come upon us rapidly and suddenly I could barely see her face. A lively wind was whipping the flames of the torches, and swaying the ta.s.sels around the hem of her garment.

"I mean I have to work to be this large! If I let myself become as thin as you, I would be off the throne in an instant! It shows my might to be big, so I can trample my enemies underfoot." She removed one of her sandals and dangled it before my eyes. I could just make out the stylized depictions of enemy peoples on its sole. That meant that with every step she was treading heavily on them. Poor enemies. "Who would tremble before a woman like you? No one here in Meroe, I can tell you!" I could not see her face well enough to see if she was joking.

"Are the men required to be large? What about your son? Or your--the late--?"

"No, of course not! The men are supposed to be tall and bulging with muscles, able to chase their enemies in the desert. But the women are supposed to look like elephants, grave, majestic--and unstoppable."

Elephants. I suddenly remembered Juba and his elephants against Caesar. No, no, I'll not think of Caesar now. I'll not think of Caesar now. Caesar would take care of the elephants, as he had taken care of everything else--Pompey, Ptolemy, Pothinus, Pharnaces. Unfortunately Juba and Scipio's names did not begin with P. Caesar would take care of the elephants, as he had taken care of everything else--Pompey, Ptolemy, Pothinus, Pharnaces. Unfortunately Juba and Scipio's names did not begin with P.

"But I will do anything necessary to be Kandake, even eat ten meals a day," she said cheerfully. "I've come to adore those fatty ostrich patties, and camel milk with a sediment of honey, and pastry made of ground walnuts, rolled in b.u.t.ter, and coated with honey. The fat of lambs' tails ... oh, it's been an ongoing battle, but I've conquered my aversions, I tell you. I can even relish a platter of fried peac.o.c.k sausage swimming in olive oil, covered with melted cheese. Umm." She clapped her hands, and out of the growing darkness her litter appeared. "I will have to return to the palace to partake of my mid-evening meal. Tomorrow we will meet in the throne room, and I will have the impostor brought before you. You may give your verdict on him." With the help of two bearers, she heaved herself up off the throne. "I trust your quarters are satisfactory. I have a.s.signed a servant of the chamber to wait on you."

"That is not necessary," I a.s.sured her. "I brought my own attendant; in fact, she is Nubian."

"No, I insist you permit this slave to serve you," she said.

"I do not care for slaves. I do not have them in my royal quarters; all my attendants are free men."

"This is a slave unlike any you have had before. Utterly discreet, hardworking, amusing, loyal--and green."

"Green?" Now she was joking.

"Yes, green. Her name is Kasu, and she is an African green monkey. Her only drawback is that she has a tendency to steal. On the other hand, she can fetch things down from high places."

"A monkey! You have monkeys as chamber servants?"

"Indeed," she said, as she made her way majestically--and laboriously-- down the steps to her litter. "The King of Punt sent a family of them to me long ago, along with a s.h.i.+pment of other animals destined for Rome. I took a fancy to them and kept them for myself. I suppose I, also, have a tendency to steal. Like master, like servant." She daintily lifted up her foot to enter the litter. "Now they have bred and are everywhere in the palace. Handy creatures. Well, just try Kasu for one night." She gave an airy wave of her hand and disappeared into the dark.

My own litter materialized, but I waved it away so I could walk a bit. My head was spinning. Amanishakheto was no ordinary monarch, and no ordinary woman. Perhaps the two never went together.

The luxury of the suite of rooms I had been given was more noticeable to me upon returning. Perhaps Amanishakheto did have gold to spare, after all. Iras was attempting to read a commemoration--I a.s.sumed--that was set in the wall. She shook her head.

"This script means nothing to me."

"Have you been able to understand better the conversations you have heard?"

"No, I have to request that they speak the Lower Nubian dialect. You must remember, my family came from near the border with Egypt and were connected with the priesthood; that is why I was serving in the temple at Hermonthis. In many ways we were Egyptianized. For example, I've never heard of this lion-headed G.o.d they have here, Apedemak."

I was very tired, and sank down on the bed. "I have had a most. . . unusual . . . evening with the Kandake." I held up my arm, with its heavy bracelet. "She gives gold as easily as children give away field flowers. And she seems to harbor a great disrespect of men."

Iras laughed.

"I did not say 'dislike,' I said 'disrespect.' That is unusual in a world where they rule and control most everything--except here in Meroe, evidently." I lay down, weariness surrounding all my limbs. Then I remembered. "The monkey! The Kandake said there was a monkey in here to serve us!"

"There has been one, scurrying around," said Iras. "I saw it sitting up on top of one of the chests, then it ran away. I called to have it removed, but I suppose no one could understand me."

"Her name is Kasu," I said. "She is supposed to see to all of our wants."

"Ah, then where is she? Now we are ready to sleep, and no monkey in sight."

"Kasu!" I called. "Come, Kasu! We are ready to retire!"

I never imagined that the creature would appear by the side of the bed like magic; she must have been hiding inside the window curtains. She walked over to us with dignity, bowing her head. She was was green. Her stiff, brushlike fur, framing her black face, looked as if it had been tinted. The rest of her fur, except the tip of her long tail, had a similar hue. She was about the size of a two-year-old child. But from what I had heard of monkeys and apes, I knew that, proportionate to their size, they are much stronger than a human. Someone at the Museion had once told me that an ape is eight times stronger than a man--how he arrived at this conclusion he did not explain. That would make Kasu a monkey to respect. green. Her stiff, brushlike fur, framing her black face, looked as if it had been tinted. The rest of her fur, except the tip of her long tail, had a similar hue. She was about the size of a two-year-old child. But from what I had heard of monkeys and apes, I knew that, proportionate to their size, they are much stronger than a human. Someone at the Museion had once told me that an ape is eight times stronger than a man--how he arrived at this conclusion he did not explain. That would make Kasu a monkey to respect.

"Bed, Kasu," I said, patting it.

The monkey looked disdainful, as if I were insulting her. Obviously she knew what a bed was, and that I wanted to sleep in it, her eyes seemed to say. She ambled over to a chest and took out bed linens and coverlets, and then put them carefully on the bed. She polished the headrest tenderly with her leathery palm, then c.o.c.ked her head as if to say, All right, it's ready now, stupid. All right, it's ready now, stupid.

I disrobed and put on my sleeping garments; Kasu quickly gathered up the discarded clothes and carried them off somewhere. She then prepared Iras's bed and took her clothes away, and returned solicitously carrying a small lamp, which she placed by our bedside.

"I hope she did not light it herself!" said Iras.

"It must have been already lit," I said, hoping that was true.

"It looks as if we must go straight to sleep," said Iras. "Our keeper has decided it."

I yawned. "It is just as well. I am exhausted; without this parentlike monkey, we would probably stay up too late."

I watched as Kasu made her way over to a far corner of the room; now I could identify a basket that probably served as her bed. She was going to retire, herself. She flopped down and stretched her arms above her head once. Then she sighed and lay down.

I closed my eyes. What an overwhelming day this had been; what a mythical kingdom I had entered. I removed the bracelet and dropped it on the floor beside me. It landed with a loud clunk clunk that sounded more like lead than gold. that sounded more like lead than gold.

I slept; I dreamt; I awoke with a start. Moonlight, as silvery as Isis's garment, spread itself across the floor, lying like a carelessly tossed shawl. It was not brilliantly bright, but diffused; it embraced the lower legs of the tables and chairs and left the rest in shadow. I could see the gold cuff on the floor by my bed, its detailed miniature figures coming alive in the peculiar slanting light.