[Amon/Alex's POV]
The sun was already shining brightly when Merenre woke him and the boys. He looked awfully pale and instantly Amon knew he'd thought the boys had ran away when he hadn't been able to find them. Merenre had been about to tell his quick-to-anger-brother that the boys were gone when he realised they'd been by his side all along. The look on his face was so priceless that it still had Amon snickering from time to time.
"They don't look neglected. Ok, they were filthy and hungry, but they aren't malnourished and there was no sign of regrowing hair on their heads, so somebody must have been taking care of them. Are you sure they have no family left?" Merenre asked as servants were preparing Amon for the parade later in the day.
"I don't think so. The only other person at the house was their dead mother," Amon said. "Which reminds me. Could you send someone to mummify and bury the woman?"
Merenre sighed; "Such an honour for a woman you've never spoken."
An understandable reaction, since the mummification process was really costly. But then again, he was the pharaoh. He had so much riches that he'd never be able to spend it all in one lifetime. Not even if he partied for days on end and threw golden coins out of the windows.
"Well, she was the mother of my children."
Merenre huffed unconvinced, but Amon knew he'd make sure she was buried as if she were a queen.
"So you just took them?" Merenre asked. "Aren't you afraid anyone will recognize them?"
"Not really," Amon said after thinking about it for a second. "I'm the pharaoh after all. It's an honour to be taken by me."
"Well, yes. And even if it wasn't, your word is law. So there wouldn't be very much anyone could do about it."
Amon glanced at the boys. They too had been cleaned and dolled up. "Maybe they can tell us? We haven't exactly asked them anything yet."
"Hmm? We could. However, I'm not sure what kind of answer you expect them to give," Merenre said indifferently.
"Boys, come here," Amon said and the servants gave them room to come near. "I've been wondering for a while now, but can you speak?"
Merenre's eyes widened as if the question took him by surprise. The boys shook their heads.
"You can't or you won't?"
The boys shook there head again. They won't, huh? He knew they weren't mute because he had heard them screaming when he'd first found them and they probably weren't stupid either, since they seemed to understand what he was saying.
"I was going to ask your names, but I guess I'll have to give you new ones."
The boys nodded fervently. What's this? They wanted him to name them? Ha! What were the odds?
"Let's see... it has to be an honourable name," Amon thought out loud.
"If you follow the custom, you could name one of them Metuhotep IV?" Merenre suggested.
"Ugh, please no. I hate that name, I'm not going to burden them with it too," Amon grunted in dislike. The boys made a matching disliking face. "But I like the idea of passing my name on to them."
They all pondered about it for a moment in silence.
"Amenemhat," Amon said and looked between the two boys. He'd have to find some sort of distinction between the two. He couldn't go lumping them together if he was going to give them separate names. Then he spotted a small mole on one of the boys' cheeks that the other didn't have, right below the corner of his left eye, and pointed at him. "You'll be Amenemhat."
The boy's eyes gleamed proudly. Apparently, he liked it.
"I still think you should name him after one of our ancestors," Merenre interjected stubbornly. "If not your own father's name, then why not his father's name?"
"Intef?" Amon asked. Merenre nodded. He then turned towards the second boy and asked; "What about it. Do you like the name?"
The second boy nodded fervently as well.
"Intef it is then," Amon concluded and put a hand on the shoulder of each boy. "Intef and Amenemhat. My boys!"
They were all grinning like fools. He knew that if he'd look over his shoulder he'd see the hint of a grin on Merenre's face too. He might not be fully convinced about the whole situation, but he would have to get used to it.
"Ok! Ok! Ok!" Merenre interrupted their family time. "Come on, you have to get ready. That parade won't launch itself."
Amon nodded and the servants continued where they'd left off. They finished painting a black line around his eyes and overloaded him with gleaming golden jewels, strapped the ceremonial beard to his chin and put the blue and white striped menes on his head.
The amount of gold they'd loaded onto him was really heavy; a broad necklace, a thinner necklace with a large colourful hanger, a broad bracelet on each upper arm, earrings, rings, the rim of his crown, a large part of the ceremonial beard and even the heavy part of his waistband was gold. When Alex thought of the price of gold in the future, he'd be afraid to go out of the house.
He couldn't help but notice the curious looks the boys were giving him, so he asked in a playful tone; "How do I look?"
To his surprise Amenemhat beamed a smile and pointed at the sun.
"The sun?" Amon thought.
An involuntary chuckle escaped him. The boy couldn't have given him a better compliment if he tried. The whole reason golden jewellery was so popular in Egypt was exactly because it shined. It shined like the sun. And the sun was a god. So by wearing golden jewels, you resembled the greatest god of all; Ra.
"Well, I guess I'm ready then?" Amon concluded shyly, completely caught of guard by the heartfelt compliment. He rubbed the boy's head in appreciation and looked up just in time to see Merenre shake his head lovingly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Amon, the great procession was a huge test of patience. He had to sit in a chair, carried by servants and act godly. To him, there was no greater agony. He'd tried year after year to convince Merenre to let him walk along with the procession or even put a dummy in his place, but to no avail. To Amon, this whole thing was one big farce.
Alex, on the other hand was having a blast. The only thing that kept him from leaning out of his cart to get a better view was the straight out annoyed feeling that dominated the body they both shared.
The procession was quite the sight to behold. The statue that otherwise resided in the heart of the Osiris temple was placed in a portable boat and more than six priests carried it through the streets. It attracted a considerable crowd. Everyone wanted to get close to the otherwise unapproachable god. Some were even allowed to ask the god a question. The boat would sway forward for "yes" and backwards for "no".
The "asking questions" was a funny practice to Alex. It reminded him of a ouija-board, since it obviously were the priests carrying the boat who caused it to sway.
Most people asked silly questions, like; "Did my neighbour take my sickle?" or "Shall I become uncle this year?"
Some asked more serious questions. There was this one man in particular who asked; "Will my wife return to me?"
Amon's hackles had raised when the boat had swayed backwards. It looked like the woman had left him and the couple was in for a divorce. The poor sod looked genuinely heartbroken by the answer.
A shrill shriek high up in the sky caught Amon's attention. When he squinted up at the sky, he spotted a hawk observing a group of actors who were reenacting the legend of Osiris. It could be Haruw. Even though he couldn't pinpoint what had made the bird laugh. He contemplated about calling him over, but their interaction would receive too much attention, so he didn't.
It did make him wonder if there were any other gods present at the festival? Maybe not Osiris himself, but he could imagine Ma'at walking around in human form and one of the cats could be Bastet.
This festival was truly mind blowing! Alex understood why many people looked forward to this procession every year. Even though Amon was hoping that the damned statue would be placed in the damned tomb quickly so they all could get back to drinking beer and eating lavishly. Again.
The memory of yesterday evening bubbled up and he couldn't help but laugh. He was looking forward to feeding Intef and Amenemhat beer. He was genuinely curious to see how they would hold their liquor. But when he glanced over his shoulder to where the boys were following the procession, he saw Intef rub one of his eyes.
Well, maybe they wouldn't last that long, but he was going to enjoy every second of it.