Name: Marilyn Pontuck
Genre: Historical Fiction
Query: The Pharaoh Akhenaton
introduced the concept of a single universal God and fundamentally changed the
religion of Egypt. He failed.
First 250 words:
You know, of course, that you cannot
keep the infant.
That was not well said, thought Amonhotep. It’s difficult enough for Tiy
and there is no reason to make it more so.
He was out of sorts when he said
that although that did not excuse him. Aside from a brief visit to Tiy at the
start of her ordeal, he had been waiting outside the birthing pavilion and
listening to her anguish for hours. When not pacing, he sat, his hands forming
fists with each cry that came to him on the evening air.
The sky wore reds and purples as Ra
prepared to depart the sky and make his way into the body of Nut. But this
day has been much more trying for Tiy than for me. She had already been
laboring when Ra appeared in the sky.
The birthing pavilion was located on
a far corner of the royal palace grounds of Malkata, separated by dense
vegetation and many sacred trees. The four wooden pillars that supported its
roof were carved into flowers and painted in yellow for long life and green for
fertility. The design of the matted roof showed representations of the gods who
protected childbirth -- Hathor, Bes, and Taweret -- rendered in various grasses
against a palm leaf background.
The birthing stones at the center of
the pavilion had been oiled and scented with exotic musk and essential wood
oils in preparation for the birth of a royal child.
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