On the Internet, I stumbled upon this: “among some of the dynasties of the pharaohs, it was accepted that the father, when his daughter turned 13, would personally deprive her of her virginity. In addition, he taught her love joys and how to give pleasure to her husband in bed. All this happened immediately before the wedding. ” Actually, the idea of ​​this story was born. In order to comply with the law, however, the heroes of this story came of age (18 years).

Asenat sighed heavily, descending after the grandmother on the steps of the temple of Isis. There was very little time left until her maturity — less than half of the first month of the High Water — and the father did not return from the march, and it was very similar to not returning to the day of the ritual, or at all. My grandmother, judging by the wrinkles between the eyebrows that had not smoothed after visiting the temple, thought the same.

If the father does not return to the date, the ritual will have to be performed by the grandfather. Asenat shuddered from one thought. We'll have to endure, because she wants to marry Runecher, and his family will not wait long.

Father Asenat almost did not remember. He, like his grandfather, was a shipbuilder, but unlike his grandfather, he also went on ships built by him to distant countries. The ships were taken with them, going to distant lands, so that if the ship breaks down, there would be someone to fix it correctly.

My father sailed to distant lands immediately after Asenat was born, and returned to spend at home only the Springs season and conceive a younger brother, when Asenat had already met the seventh spill of the Nile. She never saw her father again, and lost her mother since she was nine — crocodiles ate her along with her little brother when drunk carriers turned over the boat during the holiday of Opet (a holiday in honor of the god Amon). The Asenat itself was lucky that that day, sick, aching and blotchy, they didn’t take the ceremony to the temple of Amon standing downstream that day.

His grandfather had recently completely gone blind, so he was rarely called to the river, where ships were built of cedar. The grandfather's blindness also affected the well-being of the family - a month ago his slave had to be sold, and only the old grandmother's slave remained to help with the housework. In this scenario, the Asenat itself would acquire a personal slave only in the house of her spouse.

And now grandfather mostly spent his days sitting on a mat under the kitchen shed and chewing pensively with his toothless mouth. These repetitive movements of the jaws, the whitish veil on the eyes and the stump on the site of two fingers of his left hand made Asenat look away. Not out of pity - the idea that such a grandfather would touch her, and such a mouth to teach kissing caused disgust.

Later, Asenat overheard her grandparents whispering. She knew that such a conversation was to take place, so she did not move far from home and listened all the time.

- Reth won't come back, so you have to ...

- How? You know perfectly well what is not worth it!

- I am not worth it, but it will rise on a young, beautiful girl.

- I tried already! Does not get up!

- Tried it ?! Who are you with, Setovo brat, tried ?!

Then followed the abuse, during which it turned out that the grandfather went to the temple harlots, but to no avail, but Asenat was not interested.

According to custom, if the girl was an orphan or the daughter of a widow, the obligation to perform the ritual was assigned to the older male relative of the paternal line. If the bride had no relatives at all, the ritual was performed by the temple priest, but this option was considered the most unfortunate.

The feeling of resentment at the fact that her father, during his life, condemned her to the fate of an orphan who marries under the most adverse circumstances, flooded Asenat. Grandfather can not, the father of any mortal knows where Seth wears ...

Frustrated and lost in thought, Asenat did not notice how she nearly crashed into an uncle entering the house.

- Wait, sister, - tenacious fingers grabbed her shoulder. - Where are you going?

Cahoteb was the younger brother of her mother and, like her ancestors, was engaged in grain trade - this, by the way, tipped the scales towards Asenat when choosing a bride for Runicher's parents - their family also engaged in trade for centuries, and with the death of mother and brother Asenat inherited the mother share in the trade.

Uncle, however, Asenat was not thrilled with the upcoming marriage. He wanted to marry her himself so as not to share the family income from the trade with anyone, but the girl liked the son of a neighbor’s merchant more. Cahoteb, meanwhile, pressed Asenat against the wall, with a sense of pinching small, rounded girl's breasts. Asenat, recovering from surprise, pushed her uncle away.

“I came to help, my sister,” with a slightly feigned resentment, Cahoteb put his hands behind his back. - There are always problems from your little family.

The fact that the uncle laid out his arms from the door, as well as the twice repeated "sister" - the traditional appeal to the beloved - clearly hinted at what exactly he set out to help. Asenat from the thought that his fatty carcass would crush her under herself, as the males of animals had done many times before her eyes, mating animals, did not experience the excitement. With grandfather, of course, it would be disgusting, but disgusting in another way. He, at least, would certainly not have caused her granddaughter harm, but Asenat was not sure about her uncle.

Less than the time for which you can cook an egg, as the conversation between the hosts and the guest flowed into that very channel.

“I could not only conduct the ritual, but also marry later,” Uncle continued to maintain his puffed-up appearance. “But you didn't want to.” Would think before it is too late.

“The ritual is supposed to be carried out by a relative from the father’s side,” her grandmother grumbled stubbornly.

“So if you agree to pass her off for me, no one will know that the ritual was performed not by my grandfather, but by me.”

- What does it matter if people find out? The goddess will know that her will is broken, and will not give Asenat marital happiness.

- Is the husband of the father's sister considered a relative of the paternal line? - Grandfather suddenly wedged into a squabble.

- But the truth! - Grandma threw up her hands. - It is necessary to urgently send a message to Cebu and Banafrit, as I had not guessed before ...

“The father’s sister’s husband,” his uncle snorted. - He is not a blood relative from any side, unlike me. Want to insult the goddess even more?

“I will go to the temple tomorrow and clarify,” judging by the fact that the joys in her grandmother’s voice had diminished, she herself was no longer so sure of the success of such a decision. “And I will send a messenger to Cebu, so that he immediately leaves.” The path is not long, so let him go in advance.

“Since it is not known whether the father is alive, none of the relatives can perform the ritual,” said the priest, carefully examining Asenat. - It would be best to contact the temple soothsayers to clarify the fate of the parent, but in any case, he is dead or alive, while in a foreign country, the ritual should be held on time and conducted by the priest of the temple of Osiris.

Asenat of such a response was approximately expected, since the oily, on the roll out, the eyes of the priest assessed her body, from the hem of the skirt to the chest bandage, appraisingly. The priest was somehow flabby, despite his still young age, his thin shaved head with a large nose gave it a resemblance to the sacred bird of the god Horus.

“Let him come tomorrow with a donation, he can immediately begin,” the priest turned, intending to pay attention to the next family of the afflicted.

“She will come of age in twelve days,” the grandmother objected, but the priest waved it away.

- Deprivation of innocence will take place on the twelfth day. And before that there are many other things that the bride needs to master, - smiling indulgently and looking at Asenat at the same time as if they already shared a secret in two, the priest answered.

- Look, sly, for twelve days earlier he wants to start learning! It’s not every day that you go to church without empty-handedness, but also the marriage sacrifices ahead! And yet, more beautiful than you today ...