Read Tiy and the Prince of Egypt for Free Online

sunshine hair and then back to her face, his mouth forming a frown. He knew she wouldn’t fit in.
    “ Are you certain?”
    Tiy nodded.
    “Very well,” he said as he gathered himself to his feet. “You will be escorted to Memphis as soon as you are well.” His eyes flickered to her hair again. “You may bring a hand-maiden to accompany you.”
    “Thank you, Your Majesty.” She was pleased with the turn of events, happy that she could bring Nebetya. She wouldn’t have to go alone, after all.
    Pharaoh left the tent and the two servants bowing at the tent’s opening sprang into a flurry of action, pampering Tiy like never before. Every few hours, for several days in a row, they covered her skin with ointment and linen wraps. Her bandages were changed so often she didn’t have to endure the pain of her raw skin again. Her skin healed, and the number of freckles on her arms and face were fewer than she had expected.
    Tiy enjoyed watermelon and grapes, chickpeas and cucumbers, beef and lamb. She even had her own pair of feather bearers who created a soft breeze over her tender skin.
    After weeks of recuperation Tiy grew anxious to return home but her mother enjoyed the royal treatment too much to return so soon. They agreed to stay a few more days. Her father, however, left after Pharaoh spoke to her on the first day.
    At the end of their final day, Prince Amenhotep entered her tent.
    “May I have a word ?” he asked.
    Tiy nodded. She couldn’t deny the prince an audience, not that she wanted to. The confusing curiosity she felt toward him still felt unsatisfied somehow, despite the hours she spent following him and leaning next to him in the crevice. Would her curiosity for him ever lessen? She doubted it.
    He glanced at her mother and then at the women servants and feather bearers. “You are excused. I will escort Tiy to the river after we have spoken. The papyrus boats have been prepared for you.”
    Her mother grinned and pressed her fingertips over her lips to hide a nervous laugh. Tiy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was sure her mother was imagining wedding parties and names for future children. She should have known her mother would read too much into Prince Amenhotep’s desire to be alone with her. They were only children themselves, too young for any romantic feelings. It was absurd her mother couldn’t recognize that.
    “Some adventure,” he said once everyone had left.
    Tiy smiled. “I guess you could call it that.” She was surprised to find that her usual discomfort around others was absent. How odd that she should feel so comfortable speaking to a prince of Egypt.
    “I don’t get many opportunities to have adventure anymore,” he said. “All I do is study and work, and train. I’ll be eighty before I know it.”
    Tiy giggled. “You’ll have a crooked back and smelly breath.” She slapped a hand over her mouth. She couldn’t believe what she’d just said to a prince!
    His ey es widened, no doubt mirroring her own. And then his shoulders relaxed, and a small laugh forced its way through his nose as if he had forgotten how it was done. He chuckled louder at the sound he had made. “I’ll have big ears and bushy eyebrows,” he said.
    Tiy lowered her hands, exposing her smile. He watched her as if waiting for her to say something else funny, giving her permission to continue their made-up game.
    “Hairy toes and no teeth!” Tiy said between giggling breaths. She had never had such careless fun with anyone before. She knew Prince Amenhotep wasn’t a friend of hers, but it was gracious of him to pretend for a few minutes.
    Once t heir laughing subsided, Prince Amenhotep slumped his shoulders and cast a forlorn look to the ground. “And I’ll still not have had much fun,” he said.
    “There is still time ,” she said.
    He shrugged again . “Your hair is so light,” he said after a pause. “I didn’t notice that before.”
    Tiy took a breath and bit her bottom lip. She