her face. She nodded to Amenhotep, letting him know Merymose could assist her, and he could resume his lead position in the group. Amenhotep had plenty of other responsibilities to handle without having to stay behind and help her.
Amenhotep glanced at Merymose with eyes that seemed to narrow for the briefest of moments. A lump of panic plummeted to the bottom of Tiy’s stomach. Did Amenhotep not think Merymose capable of helping her onto the camel? Did she just sentence herself to public humiliation?
“Very well, if that is what you want,” Amenhotep said. “Merymose, she is in your hands.”
Tiy watched Amenhotep jog back to his camel and mount with deceiving ease. She placed a tentative hand on her camel’s back, the rough blanket scratching her palm.
Merymose took one of her trembling hands in his and placed his other hand on the small of her back.
“ Did I hear you right that you have ridden a horse?” he asked.
Tiy nodded.
“Throw one leg over his back just like you would a horse . I’ll talk you through the rest.”
Tiy did as he said and soon found herself sitting firmly on the camel’s back. She took hold of the rope.
“Good, good, that’s good . His back legs will straighten first, so lean far back when he does this. Then his front legs will follow, so lean as far forward as you can. Are you ready?”
Tiy glanced around. Everyone was watching her. She laughed nervously and flashed what she hoped was a confident grin. She must not have been very convincing.
“Don’t worry,” Petep said.
“It’s okay,” Ramose said , “we’ll scrape you off the desert sands before your camel tramples you.”
“Ramose!” Petep shrieked.
Amenhotep looked like he wanted to dismount again .
Tiy’s camel groaned and bellowed at her slow progress. She wanted to groan and bellow as well, but thought better of it. “Yeah, yeah. I’m ready,” she said, just wanting it over with so everyone’s attention would turn elsewhere. She chanted the instructions Merymose had given her in her head. Lean back, then forward. Back, then forward.
Merymose made a series of clicking noises with his tongue and her camel’s hind legs stretched and rose, setting his back at a precarious angle. Tiy lurched forward and then leaned back until she felt as though she were lying down on the camel’s rear end. The camel jostled her around for a bit and then it rose onto its front legs. She scrambled forward to lean toward its neck, her nose not far from the wool blankets. A quick jolt, a brief moment of terror, and she found herself four cubits off the ground.
That wasn’t so bad .
“Thank you, Merymose, ” Tiy said. The others were already on their way, no longer anticipating the potential drama that could have unfolded with a novice camel rider. She was grateful she hadn’t done anything to embarrass herself, thanks to Merymose.
He seemed proud of himself as he stood at her camel’s side, beaming from ear to ear. He mounted his own camel, made a few clicking noises, and they were soon on their way.
Amenhotep le d their little caravan with Petep and Ramose riding side by side behind him and Merymose and Tiy bringing up the rear. She tried to pay attention to everyone’s animated chatter, but her camel’s unfamiliar gait distracted her. It bleated and bellowed much too often and ignored most of her efforts to guide it. It wasn’t long before her camel thumped to a complete stop and refused to move. It stared off into the distance, oblivious to her pleas.
“Just move,” Tiy begged. “We are getting behind.”
“What’s wrong?” Merymose asked , looking over his shoulder at her.
“I don’t know . My camel won’t budge.”
“Try whistling or tugging on the ropes,” he said. He looked like he was trying to turn his camel, but his beast was ignoring his commands as well. Stupid animals! Why didn’t they listen? At least his camel still traveled in the general direction of the pyramids. Her camel, on the
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