She looked beautiful in death, her hair done up elegantly, as it had not been in the few weeks of her last illness, and she wore her favorite jewelry, a necklace of gold and the rich blue stone, lapis lazuli. Laid on her bier, she looked most regal, almost peaceful, and certainly not in distress as in her last days. The servants were gratified that it was finally over, but they were aware of their duty now, and they met that future with mixed emotions. Most were quite young themselves and not ready to die. The lady had requested it, however, and those around her were ostensibly ready to comply.

It was true that their futures were in fact uncertain. The ruler might take another wife or promote another from among his concubines, and she would inevitably have her own attachments to her favorites. Her family would benefit from favor and offices, and the entourage of the dead lady would be demoted, just how far there was no telling. The dead lady's family would be concerned about erasing her memory completely, but it might be wise for the courtiers to end their lives, too. It would simplify matters for the ruler, and the lady had asked it of them because she did not want to go alone into the underworld, which she imagined was an unpleasant place where rank was mostly ignored, and food and drink were scarce. Even the hero Gilgamesh, the king of the underworld, was a shadow of his earthly self and could not be expected to care for a new arrival, even if she had been consort of the ruler of Ur. Better to bring your own help, she had reasoned, to the extent she had been able to reason toward the end.