Chapter XXXI. Nubia, the Queen of Gold

A hand patted her shoulder, raised her head, Aunt Alara was crying, “may God have mercy on Fouad.”

She looked at her, she said: don’t worry baby girl, don’t be afraid of anything ever, I’ll always make sure you’re okay.

At the hospital reception, she had just completed all the necessary formalities to receive the body.

A voice behind her: Madam, this is the guardianship file.

She took it from the employee, a few legal papers belonging to Nubia, with which Fouad left her general guardianship over her. He was thinking, knowing that this moment would inevitably come.

Indeed, this guardianship is appropriate and timely, as some complications await her.

“It is not appropriate to send the traitors’ bodies back to the leader’s homeland. I’m sorry, homeland country. He should be either buried in a marsh or his body fed to the dogs. The corpse is of no use to us. We would have taken him into custody and tortured him if he had been alive. However, we are not interested in the silent body of a traitor.”

Not with these exact words was the response of the official at the Egyptian embassy in Ankara to Alara, when she contacted them, inquiring about a request for a permit that would allow her to return Fouad’s body to Egypt, to be buried in the family cemetery in Cairo.

But he might have wanted to say it one way or the other.

The official apologize to her: Sorry, I can’t give you the necessary permission, it takes time until the application is studied in Cairo, maybe you should bury him in Istanbul.

She did not object to the refusal, she accepted the matter, there is no need to engage in discussions and arguments with the embassy officials, as she still needs their help in a very complicated matter.

Nubia was born in Turkey, and she does not have any international document authorizing her to travel, and Alara will not leave her place, she will not leave Turkey, except with the girl, and her only option is to issue her an Egyptian passport, as the girl remains Egyptian, despite her father’s status.

She accepted the refusal to transfer the body, and then began to ask them about the legal status of the girl.

How can she issue a passport for his daughter?

Administrator: Do you have legal custody of her?

-Yes sir.

-Well, we can request the issuance of an Egyptian birth certificate and a passport, for humanitarian cases. You must visit us at the main headquarters of the embassy in Ankara, with all the necessary papers, and the girl as well, and I will help you as much as possible, I will try to complete the procedures as soon as possible.

On the evening of the same day, Sardar arrived in Istanbul, to stand beside his wife in this ordeal, and ensured that the burial procedures were completed in full, while she was with Nubia and Marwan in Fouad’s apartment, bringing the girl’s very few needs, searching here and there if there was anything worthy of attention. There is nothing, except for the papers of his tour company, which is completely bankrupt, except that these papers belong to Nubia, including a certificate of ownership of the company’s headquarters, in the famous Taksim Square, at least one day she can sell it, perhaps restart it.

Until then, these property papers will remain, in trust for Nubia, in the custody of Alara.

The next day, after the end of the burial ceremony, they moved to Ankara, submitted the necessary requests, provided them with the papers, the embassy employee told them, “We will try to complete the procedures as soon as we can, and a word faster means it may take at best a few months!”

-What? Months?

-Yes, ma’am, state security was looking for her father. It is not that simple. If they will even accept the issuance of a passport for her in the first place is what you should be worrying about. What matters right now is this.

The entire family must pay the price for the father’s transgression since, in the state of the executioner, the load is the burden of the other.

Until the necessary approvals are issued, it is necessary to wait, fortunately Marwan is on his summer vacation, so he can wait with her.

Serdar chose a furnished home on the first level in a luxurious apartment building. While he travels to further his career, they will wait for him in Ankara, and he will undoubtedly return to see them occasionally.

Sardar said to her: The girl is an orphan, and she is broken. Don’t treat her harshly, Alara, so let us draw closer to God by caring for her.

She nearly lost her cool in his face when she said, “Do you think I’m a beast without feelings? She’s my niece, of my flesh and blood, how can you say such to my face?”

He replied sarcastically: Marwan is your son, of your own flesh and blood as well! However, you treat him harshly sometimes.

-I want him to become a man, I be harsh on him, for his own good. As for Nubia, she is a girl. I will certainly not be harsh on her of course. You can travel with peace of mind.

The boy heard the father’s last sentence, he laughed to himself, “you treat him harshly sometimes!” Oh, if you knew the truth of what she is doing to me, Father, except that the scissor is waiting for my tongue if I tell something”.

The girl got over the loss of her father quickly, as Marwan, her friend, became closer than ever.

They went out every day together to the garden of the apartment, played, and bought juice and sweets, like any two children their age.

Alara is sitting on the balcony, watching them play not far away, in the garden.

-She’s beautiful, she reminds me of you when you were her age.

-She doesn’t look like me, except she’s pretty, she has her father’s eyes, don’t think about it, you can’t move to her.

-I have to take a closer look first.

-We see her twice a year, and you don’t know yet?!

-She contains Pharaonic blood, perhaps time has made her suitable, who knows?!

-Why are you talking about moving? Will I die soon?

-No, my dear, and I didn’t talk about it, you started it.

Mocking: Hatshepsut, I know you more than I know myself, you were aiming at this, right?!

-Your brain let you down this time; I’m sorry. By the way, I loved Nubia’s name too; do you know what it means?

Alara: You’re distracted! As if we just knew her name! We have known it for years, and it is a pharaonic name, meaning the Queen of Gold.

-Right, I forgot, did you know that the city of Nubia means the kingdom of gold?

She added: She will be the Queen of Gold then; this will be her destiny.

She took a sip from her coffee cup, something occupying her mind, she said: Why are you distracted, Hatshepsut? Did you look into her eyes a closer look?

Hatshepsut: No, I didn’t even think about it, what’s wrong with you, my dear! Do you think I would abandon you?

-Why not, we fight a lot already, maybe you want to leave me!

-I didn’t think of that.

She added: Look at them, how happy Marwan is with her, I long to see them as young men.

-What are you aiming for this time?

Hatshepsut laughed, she replied: I don’t aim at anything, what’s wrong with you, Alara? Recently, you have started to doubt everything around you.

Indeed, Hatshepsut is not comfortable with her, Alara is out of control, this was not supposed to be the case, except that she is very stupid, reckless, does not seek advice, and does not hear advice.

While she should have been more pliable than Zainab was, the opposite happened. She was very angry with her, and perhaps she really thought about taking a closer look into the eyes of the girl, the Queen of Gold.

Hatshepsut transitioned from Zainab’s generation to Alara’s generation, and it is no longer relevant to determine whether she was a fact or an illusion from Zainab’s imagination that migrated to Alara’s imagination.

So what prevents this curse from being nothing more than a psychological condition, which is transmitted from one generation to another, its effect differs according to the different temperaments of the person, then it is logical that it cannot be transmitted except after preparing the caliph, many years; This means exposing him to enough pressure and torment, to transfer the condition to him!

In light of this, if Hatshepsut made the decision to relocate to Nubia, she would need to be ready, just as Zainab had prepared Alara. As for what the girl would turn out to be, this will undoubtedly depend more on the authenticity of the curse.

If it is merely a psychological disorder, it will manifest itself in the girl in a different way. If she is able to overcome it over time and everything else she will encounter throughout the years of preparation without developing a chronic psychological condition, the curse will simply vanish.

Or perhaps the curse is quite real, the playful belle who was slaughtered in that crypt as a penalty for her betrayal, and then remained buried for thousands of years, then she must return with Nubia to her former glory, the beautiful Hatshepsut, the pharaonic dancer, the belle.

But how could she move? It’s not that simple.

The girl must be prepared first, and if Alara does not accept, the consequences will be dire.

A dramatic, epic clash at the gates, between Alara and Hatshepsut

Marwan and Nubia will inevitably pay for it.