Daughter of Isis, Lilian Nirupa [books to get back into reading .txt] 📗

cousin Lizla, princess of Egypt, initiate in the Isis Temple, a formidable tower of beauty, power, wisdom and beauty. Do you think she will surrender her virtue easily?” Ra-Ta’s eyes were gleaming with a meaningful smile as he put his hand gently on the shoulder of his distressed pupil.
But he would not give up. “Surrender her virtue, my Lord, but I am planning to marry her,” Psusennes cried.
Ra-Ta nodded. “But that is permanent surrender my dear friend. Also you would share her throne.”
Psusennes fell into despair again. He shook his head sadly. “I don’t care about the throne,” then he immediately took control of himself and corrected his own words. “Of course I do. I am willing to give my life for it. Any true Egyptian would.”
“And you don’t think Lizla is a true Egyptian?” This time the priest’s question had a mischievous tone in his voice.
“Of course I do. She is impeccable, almost like Isis herself. She will be a magnificent queen someday.”
Ra-Ta nodded again.
His disciple added, “Oh now I see what you mean. To conquer this priceless tower I will need the virtues of a warrior.”
His master approved and added emphatically: “And the skills of a lover. You have demonstrated both in the past. Now destiny calls you once more for the most important battle of your life.”
Ra-Ta’s voice turned grave and he gave the prince a deep look, full of compassion and endorsement. “My prince, I know you are up to it, but it will not be easy. Neither will I make it so. Lizla is my precious disciple, too. It was last Pharaoh’s direct command to me on his deathbed, to be supremely careful of her education. She has a royal destiny ahead of her. I admire her reluctance to choose a partner carelessly, at an age when most girls dream with romance alone.” Ra-Ta’s eyes were full of admiration as he remembered the valiant trials Lizla had endured during her desert training.
Psusennes was silent for a full ten minutes. Then he rose from his seat and kneeled in front of his teacher. “My beloved master, please give me your blessing for this quest. I can see I have been favored by the gods to be born in this wonderful time and country and I have the privilege of teachers like you. I will not fail.”
And with these words he bowed his head as Ra-Ta put his hands on it and chanted a litany of blessings.

Chapter 18 – The Zoo Garden Palace
Lizla woke up early in the morning and attended the early Hatha yoga class. She loved those Hindu exercises. Then she went for breakfast and joined Mikos for the Ka anatomy class in the Temple of Medicine. Ishtar-la had been requested by Ra-Ta to assign Lizla some classes in medicine. He felt it would round out her education and help to develop her healing ability.
Lizla was happy to talk to Mikos. Although his need to question everything and find rational explanations for mystery matters were silly in her eyes, his intelligence was dear and refreshing. She also noticed that – almost against her severe will – she truly enjoyed the company of the opposite sex. Mikos’s timid glances of admiration revealed feelings of tenderness, which did not have the fiery intensity of her cousin Psusennes’s passionate staring. Also she had become friends with his sister Annouk-Aimee and his brother Diogenes.
Somehow in running away from her cousin’s ardor, she realized she was getting closer to this Greek family. The thought disturbed her. Was she running away from her own people? What kind of a queen would do that? She felt the sweet voice of her twin ka whispering in her ear: “Maybe you are running away because you are afraid of your own emotions.” Lizla discarded the thought. “Never, you are wrong,” she answered, but she was not sure why or how.
When the Medicine class was finished, she went back to her apartment to get her books for the Ishtar-la class. Instead she found a letter on her night table. Iris apologized that the carrier slave had insisted on the letter being deposited in the princess’s room and not in Lizla’s attendant’s hands, as was usual.
Iris was nervous thinking perhaps this was a reflection on her performance so she ventured timidly, “Anything wrong with my service, her highness? The temple authorities selected me for my good records as well as personal compatibility. But if there is something I can improve, your wish is my delight.”
Lizla stroked Iris’s soft shining hair and smiled. “Don’t worry, it was nothing like that. But this must be highly confidential.”
With that she retired to read the letter. It was indeed confidential. Ishtar-la had received warnings from the temple security office to move her classes up the Nile to the estate of Psusennes’s family. Ra-Ta was also hiding there until the disruptive news from Thebes offered fewer threatening scenarios.
Lizla felt her heart going all the way up to her throat. She had to sit down and take several deep breaths before she gathered enough strength to read the missive again. An unusual streak of panic sent chilling waves up her spine. Stay at Psusennes’s palace? For how long? Will he be there, in his own palace? Lizla felt really threatened until she read the second paragraph.
The prince was assigned by his father, who was Pharaoh’s commander of the Egyptian Royal Guards, to go to Tanis, where the palace had been threatened by further Assyrian rumors. “He is going as commander or as a spy?” Lizla wondered for a moment, but soon with a disdainful shake of her head, she tried to erase her cousin from her mind. He had been there quite often after that ridiculous scene he had made in the Hall of Stars.
But she couldn’t stop wondering. Why was he leaving now that he could be getting closer to her? Did Suryananda confront him, after the class, for his silly behavior? Or maybe Ra-Ta had advised him against her? Ra-Ta was a celibate prince and quite jealous of her commitment to her studies and to her royal destiny. But he liked Psusennes.
Lizla was intrigued by all of this. But she felt better. Maybe this was good. The palace grounds of Psusennes’s family were beautiful and the zoological gardens contained many beautiful memories of her own childhood. Lizla remembered fondly the beautiful walks with her father, Ramses IX, and his sister, Neferti, who was Psusennes’s mother. Lizla loved Neferti. How could her son be so obnoxious?
Lizla frowned with this last thought. But Ra-Ta seemed to think highly of her cousin. And that comment from her inner ka about being afraid of her emotions. She dismissed it again with another shake of her gorgeous jet black hair. She paused in front of a large mirror and looked at it with apprehension. She did not have the heavy breasts of Altamira but she had grace and dignity. And her face did not look so bad. Actually it resembled Neferti, as her father, the late Ramses IX, often had commented. And her cousin thought he could turn her into another Altamira? Never! She said with emphasis. She said that last word aloud, making Iris erupt into the room.
“Anything wrong, my lady?”
“No, my dear Iris, just some people’s heads; that is all.”
Iris sighed with relief. Her highness was right. Except that here at the temple grounds Iris had found a sanctuary of order and beauty that fit her perfectly.
Lizla looked at Iris and smiled to calm her down. “Not you, my dear Iris. You make a great priestess in this holy ground. And when you blush like this, you truly look like a flower.”
Iris bowed deeply to her mistress and departed. But Lizla called her back.
“Iris, I need you to help me pack. Call Ila-Re and prepare for me a set of clothes, shoes and jewels for a two-week trip.”
“Where are you going, my lady?” Iris ventured, not wanting to sound too inquisitive.
“Up the Nile, my dear Iris, up the Nile, same climate,” Lizla responded with an enigmatic smile and left the room.
The following morning a messenger from Ishtar-la was waiting for Lizla at dawn break. She was ready and with the help of Iris and Ila-Re she finished dressing. Soon, after taking an early breakfast, she left for the Memphis seaport on the palanquin that her teacher had sent for her. At the royal dock, a beautiful vessel was always ready to fulfill the traveling needs of Pharaoh’s family. It had extreme security guarding too. Ishtar-la had used her influence and the presence of Lizla, heir to the throne, as a reason to find room on the royal vessel for herself and her small group of disciples.
When the tide was favorable, the ship left the dock. For security reasons, the six members of the Temple of Love class were allocated in different cabins. Ishtar-la’s instructions to everyone were to meet at lunch time in the boat cafeteria.
This was a luxurious room. Silver chandeliers on every table matched the silver cords attached to elaborate tapestries from India and China, hanging from the ceiling, which served as powerful fans. Child slaves from Nubia and some from the north, Lizla thought looking at the tine golden curls of a couple of them. The children slaves did the light tasks like serving water and pulling the silver cords of the ceiling fans.
Ishtar-la said a short prayer to bless the food and gave her five selected disciples a mysterious look.

Chapter 19 – Lizla gets her first love lesson
Ishtar-la started by reassuring her disciples. There was nothing to fear, just a precaution and a break from the more rigid schedule of Temple life, to go into nature to study the workings of the ka within a more relaxing environment. She noticed Lizla seemed worried and after lunch she decided to have a talk with her.
Lizla mentioned she was puzzled by Psusennes’s behavior in the Temple of Stars. Ishtar-la listened pensively and responded, “How do you feel about it?”
“Well, I think...”
Ishtar-la raised her hand to stop her. “I said, how you feel about it?” and smiled softly to invite Lizla’s confidence.
The princess stopped and reflected for a minute. “I felt embarrassed. Everyone was laughing at us. Also he has no right to make a claim on my attention. He has all the women he wants,” Lizla said with a note of sarcasm that she felt surprising coming from her mouth.
Ishtar-la put her hand on her disciple’s hand and responded tenderly, “But you have not told me how you feel about him.”
Lizla was surprised again. “Yes, I did. I find him obnoxious.”
Ishtar-la smiled again. “That is an evaluation, right? I don’t mean his behavior, but his person. He is quite attractive, isn’t he?”
“Of course, ask any noble lady from Thebes to Tannin,” was the exasperated response.
Ishtar-la decided to try once more. “I am asking you, specifically.”
Lizla paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “I know what you mean. Of course he is attractive.” She smiled shyly now. “Once, actually the last time I saw him alone, he even stole a kiss from me. He caught me by surprise. Then he immediately left.”
Ishtar-la was the one surprised by this revelation. “He did? And what did you do? Did you slap him or shout or anything?”
“No, I was surprised. I just stood there, frozen. Actually, no, I confess I felt pretty warm. Maybe ashamed!” Lizla’s eyes looked at her teacher to see her reaction.
Ishtar-la squeezed Lizla’s hand and looked into her beautiful wistful eyes. “My dear princess, don’t you think it may have been interpreted as a welcoming response? If you have been waiting for him