The great hall was absolutely packed. The air was hazy and thick with the smell of smoke, roasted meat, spices, bread, and wine. The walls were adorned with tapestries in all the colors of the rainbow. Berenike found them a little tacky, but she kept that to herself. It wasn’t her wedding, after all, but she was definitely judging the bride harshly for her taste. At the far end of the table two eunuchs were singing but Berenike could only just hear them over the roar of the party. There were at least a hundred people attending this wedding and while Berenike knew many of them she couldn’t honestly say that she liked any of them.
Still, she was determined to have a good time.
Nicky chatted happily with two women that were about her age, talking about nothing and everything all at once. She was drinking cup after cup of sweet wine until her head began to swim. It was the only way she could find this entertaining, but eventually she began to feel sick and excused herself. When she rose to her feet, she fought hard to not to wobble and hoped it looked convincing. She didn’t want people to see just how drunk she was.
Berenike left the house of the people whose name she could no longer recall. It was decidedly cooler outside and she breathed a sigh of relief. All the heat in there made her feel sticky, overheated and worn out. The wind whipping off the river was cool and refreshing even though Egypt was hot and muggy. She set off in the direction of her own home, trying to keep the bile down and managing not to stumble too much. It was not so dark that Berenike couldn’t see. The moon was either full or nearly full— someone smarter could answer that question, maybe one of the priests. It sent precious little light down. There were a few wispy clouds out tonight, and through them faint twinkles of stars could be seen.
Home was not far, Berenike told herself. All she had to do was find the canal, follow it for a bit, turn right at that one palm tree, and keep walking straight. The rest was all uphill. She groaned and dramatically threw her head back at the horrible thought of having to walk uphill while drunk like this. Her body felt too sluggish to walk up a hill. The sudden movement of her head and her wig made her nausea worse. She turned to retch in the first thing she could, which was the Canal while holding her wig to her head.
It was most undignified. Berenike stayed hunched over long after she’d finished, gasping and embarrassed at the lines of spit coming from her lips. She stared into the dark waters of the canal. Is this what her life had become? She was still just some drunken party girl wandering home. Is that, she wondered, all that life had to offer her?
When she finally rose, her mouth wiped perfectly clean, her back ached and her sore stomach muscles complained. She walked off on shaking legs.