Chapter Eleven
In the king’s harem all is not well.
“You heard what I said!” snaps a young, statuesque woman as she rubs oil on her breasts. “You grow old and you grow fat and slovenly!”
“Ohhh!” snarls the other woman, her fists clenched tightly around her carnelian beads. “Now you are the King’s favorite because you let him fuck you like a donkey!”
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“Servant?” asks Nut as he looks around the courtyard. There are arched doorways on all sides and a small fountain in the center. “What is servant?”
Ben-jah motions for Nut to sit and offers him a tray of dates. “You are the King’s slave. You belong to the King.”
“King? What is king?”
“He is a man who thinks that he is a god.”
“I do not understand.”
“I see that you do not. But you will.” He looks at Nut sternly. “What this means is that you will be fed, you will be clothed, and you will be given shelter. But you must always, always — look at me — always do what you are told. Or you will be severely — look at me — severely punished.”
Suddenly a shriek rings out from one of the arched doorways. Nut spins around and leaps to his feet. He looks back at Ben-jah, who motions for him to sit.
“Down that corridor is the King’s harem. You must never go there.”
“What is harem?”
“A place for women who belong to the King. Do not so much as smile at them unless you want to have your manhood cut off.”
“Do not smile at them?”
“Nut, let me ask you this… Do you want to have your manhood cut off?”
“No!!!”
“Exactly! Now I need to learn about your skills. What can you do?”
Nut says quite proudly, “I can find water in the desert!”
“Well, here in the Land Between the Two Rivers that is not a concern. What else?”
“I can track animals. And find insects to eat. And plants that heal. The blind man taught me about potions. If you mix the root of a particular plant together with a type of spider…”
“What blind man?”
“Erdu. He is dead.”
“I am sorry to hear that.”
“Why?”
Ben-jah regards the boy for a long moment, then speaks. “Those are truly marvelous skills,” he says. “But sadly, in this place they are of little use. Can you make mud bricks?”
“Maybe.”
“Then you will make bricks until I find something more suitable.” Ben-jah leans back and begins to nibble on a date. “You may now ask me questions.”
“What questions?”
“Is there anything that you want to know?”
“Where is Inni?”
“Who?”
“The girl who came with me on the boat?”
“She has been sold to the temple. You must not think of her. You must get her out of your mind.”
Nut protests, “But I cannot!” He hesitates, then asks, “Have you never lain with a woman?”
“I have lain with them. They have lain with me.”
“Do you have one now?”
“There are no good women here.”
“She is not from here.”
“That makes no difference. She will change. You must get her out of your mind. Your manhood — chop, chop, chop.” Ben-jah claps his hands. “Now, what else do you wish to know?”
Nut is silent for a long time. Then he asks quietly, “Where is here?”
Ben-jah bursts out laughing and slaps his knee. “Here —” he says, still chuckling, “— is the Land Between the Two Rivers.” He takes a big breath and grins. He leans over and uses his finger to draw a map in the sand. “Idiglat is the name of the river you came down, to the east, and the river Buranun is to the west.”
As the evening fades, they sit and eat dates while Ben-jah tells Nut about his new world.
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