The torches had been extinguished and the great hall was almost clear of people. Only some old hags remained, and they were leisurely sweeping the marble floor with short brooms made of reeds. The fire on the altar was dying down and the golden calf stood gleaming on his pedestal. Bilqis paused to glance in his direction. Suddenly his ruby eyes flashed and glinted, emitting some strange power that seemed to paralyze her.
With a gasp of horror she turned from the fearful sight and hurried out the door and down the marble steps to her palanquin. Once inside she ordered the curtains closed tightly and the bearers to hurry. She had been badly shaken, but by the time she reached the palace she was composed and determined to block the whole episode from her mind.
* * *
The next morning when she came to the Hall of Judgment, she noticed it was more crowded than usual. She noticed there were some Egyptians of rank present and she wondered what they would propose. She must remember to save time for them after the usual business of the day.
As she entered, the people fell to the floor in waves, leaving a path down which she walked. Her eunuchs, great black Nubians given her by the Egyptian pharaoh, stood behind her throne while her counselors came and went among the people sorting out the most important cases. With a flourish of standards and the traditional shout of allegiance from the people, she mounted the six steps and seated herself on her throne.
Always at such times she felt the exhilaration of the challenge before her. Her counselors were cultured, learned men who were quick to notice any flaw in her judgment. She could see in their eyes the constant questioning of her ability to hold this exalted position. She could demand nothing of them. She must rule by her wits and she must never take anything for granted.
The morning went quickly and she was satisfied with the judgments she had made. She could see approval in the eyes of some of the older men, and she knew she had not disappointed them. Though her power was absolute and her decisions were final, still she needed this encouragement.
The last case was brought by one of her father’s old counselors. He was loyal and helpful to her for her father’s sake, but he was known as a man to be feared. The man with him was obviously wealthy. “Saiid Majd comes with a complaint against this young man and his mother,” the counselor said.
The counselor had mounted the steps to the throne and was holding his voice to a low level so no one else could hear. “The young man has had the audacity to accuse Saiid Majd of moving the boundary stones at the edge of his property.”
“Let the young man or his mother speak,” Bilqis ordered.
The young man hung back, but his mother pushed him forward. He fell on his knees while everyone laughed at his confusion. “My father left the land to us,” he managed to say before the counselor interrupted.
“You can see, my queen, that this young man is still a child. It’s impossible for him to care for the land, and his mother is incapable of hard labor.”
At this the woman rushed forward and threw herself at the queen’s feet. “Your majesty,” she said, “we are poor people. This piece of land is all my son has as an inheritance. Both of us are willing to work from morning to night.”
“It is better this woman goes back to her father’s house,” the counselor said in clipped tones.
“It is a small parcel of land,” the wealthy man said, shrugging his shoulders.
“It is all my son has from his father. Never will he be able to get more land that is near the dam and well irrigated.”
At this point Bilqis looked at the wealthy man and then at the crowd of her own counselors. It was obvious they cared nothing for the woman’s problem. It had never been expedient to side with the poor. It was settled from the beginning. The woman should never have brought her son. She should never have complained. It was best that she go home to her father.
“It is settled,” Bilqis said. “The marker remains.”
She was pleased to see the instant approval on the faces of her counselors and the gloating look of triumph that passed over the wealthy man’s face. She had made what they all considered a wise decision.
She hardly noticed the woman and her son leaving the hall of judgment as Saiid Hajd knelt before her in gratitude and her chief adviser, Aidel, leaned forward and whispered, “Very wise, my queen. The boy and his mother have no influence or position while this man can be of great service to you. Wisdom means using your power to gain the greatest advantage to yourself.”
Bilqis did not answer but instead ordered her eunuchs to clear the audience chamber of everyone but her chief counselors. The cases that had not been dealt with would have to wait until the next day. She had other, more important business to tend to. It had been whispered that an Egyptian officer of rank waited in the vestibule with urgent news from the pharaoh.