Egypt gets hot

“Oh, yes, of course,” Nick said quickly. Bes squinted at them for a moment, then turned on his heel.

“Please follow me,” he said, as he led the way quickly through the halls of towering colums and brightly colored murals. His bare feet were silent on the stone floors. Nick followed after him, trying to look at everything at once. To his left he saw a giant statue of a golden cat. A few rooms later, he saw a group of boys about his age playing something that looked oddly like checkers. Valerine lingered there so long trying to watch that Nick had to grab her hand and drager her away. At last, Bes drew aside a curtain and pointed into a smaller room.

“Here is your chamber. The slaves will see to it that you have appropriate attire for your meeting with the Phaoroh. If you need anything, you have only to ask.” With a bow, Bes left them in the hands of the slaves.

The room they found themselves in was much smaller than the pharoh’s throne room, but to Nick it seemed just as elaborate. There was a table covered with vials and delicate glass bottles in every color. Beside it was a piece of bronze polished until it could be used as a mirror. There were hooks and brushes and sticks that he could only begin to guess the uses for—just like in his mom’s makeup bag. Beside the table were several low chairs placed perfectly to catch the gentle breeze coming in through the window.

Nick started over to one of the chairs, but one of the slaves, an old man, stepped forward. “My boy, surely you are roasting in your strange clothes. Come with me and we will find you something cooler. Perhaps in your land, the sun does not scorch so hot, but here in Eygpt, we say that the heat will swallow you if you try to ignore it.”

Valerie looked up from one of the many bottles of cosmetics, her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “It will eat you?”

One of the women beside her laughed kindly. “You will be uncomfortable indeed with all those strange heavy clothes on, little one. Our clothing is better suited for our weather.” Valerie nodded, and tugged at the sleeve of her jacket.

“Well, I am getting really hot!” She said. She stopped for a moment to eye the linen gowns the women were wearing. There were very simple, long, white dresses that fluttered slightly in the breeze. Their arms and shoulders were bare, except for bracelets. To Valerie, the best part was the fabric, which was intricately pleated so that it flowed gracefully whenever the women moved.

“Can I have one, too?” She asked, pointing to their dresses. The women nodded, smiling.

“Of course! And perhaps your companion would also like to change his clothes?” the woman asked, glancing at Nick in his thick red sweatshirt.

“Oh, Nick’s probably hot, too! What does he get to wear?” Valerie asked, looking around the room. The old man went to a chest against the wall and pulled out what looked to Valirie like a very long t-shirt.

“What?” Nick said, taking a step back. “You want me to wear a dress? Are you sure you aren’t just tring to pull a trick on me to send me to the feast in girls’ clothes?”

The old man clapped him in the shoulder. “Fear not, my boy, the pharoh himself often wears these tunics.”