Chapter 3 Riona and Jalcom

This shows the relationship between Riona and the deposed king. Is it one of just friends, or is he like a father to her?

 

          “Incoming patient!” The door was swung open and two of the guards escorted in the biggest man she had ever seen. He is in the worst shape I have ever seen anyone who has come from the Hole! Who is he, I wonder?

          “Thank you Gentlemen. Put him in the bed over here, and I shall examine him.” She said in her most professional tone of voice. She learned early to keep blunt and to the point. That was how she earned her way to this job. 

          “Yes Ma’am.” The big man was escorted to the bed and they disappeared behind curtains. She knew that they were undressing him to prepare for her examination. She was no doctor, but she had seen many people come from the place where rats lived to know that he would need to be treated soon otherwise Rat Fever could set in. Rat Fever had taken many lives, including her mother. 

          “What’s his name and how long will he be staying?” She picked up a piece of paper and put it on the table in front of her.

          “Kovak Liatrom.” The guard spoke as he opened the drapes. He handed her an envelope which had her name written on it in the Warden’s handwriting. “He will stay until he is fit to be trained. Warden’s orders.”

          “Thank you.” She quickly plucked the envelope from his hand and set it in front of her.  She wrote down the man’s name and looked up. “Is that all gentlemen? Do you require any medicine for your unit?”

          “No Ma’am.” He replied. His eyes flickered toward the envelope on her desk.

          “Then I suggest you move on. Doesn’t the Warden need you?” She pushed her long black hair from her face as she looked up from her work. The men left in a hurry.

          The woman sighed. Finally, I thought they’d never leave. The Warden always sends an encouragement to everyone here and tell of the news outside. I’d better read this now, and then I’ll tend to that man over there. He’s huge! I wonder if he’s that bully everyone keeps talking about…Kovak. He’s sent so many people here or to their deaths that I can’t count. Anyway, I’d better read this. She slit open the envelope.

 

My dear miss.

 

I hope you are well. Things are not going so well outside. Sadal is still arresting people for being Creatorans and bringing them into the prison. Kioma will be by for medication for the Newcommer Wing. She will also take Jalcom’s message to the guard. They will make sure it gets to the proper people. 

 

Treat the wounds of the of the man who I have sent to you. He is a new believer, and needs to hear more of the Good News. Help him to understand the new Belief he has accepted by reading the latest of Jalcom’s letters. If he can read and write, have Jalcom dictate his letters and he could write them out. After all, he would be one of the couriers to bring the letters to the outside world. I look forward to seeing you again, even though I cannot show my affections. 

 

Yours truly,

 

Kibas Fadrul,

Warden,

Miktah Prison

 

          Riona folded up the page and walked to the back of the ward where her bed was. She took out a bundle from under her mattress, and opened it. Inside were many more letters similar to what she now brought, and slipped it into the back. She had saved each and every letter, for every since her family had been killed, he had become like a father to her. He made sure she had the best care and job while in prison. Before the advisor came to power, the man had been a family friend for many years. Why, I remember when he came to our house. He always brought gifts for all of us children, whether we were young or old. Now…now I have nothing, nothing but memories. Rivers of salt and water cascaded down her face, and she buried her face in her pillow so that the people in her care couldn’t hear her.

          “Riona?”

          She didn’t want to answer, for she knew who was talking. He was her only source of company, the one the warden wrote about in his letter, Jalcom, the former king of Ludor.

          “Riona? Are you there?” Again she chose to be silent, for she didn’t want to talk. She knew not to be quiet for long, for he would try to look for her, and he was in no condition to move about. The infection that had started a few weeks ago was effecting his ability to move. Ever since then, he had been using a cane when he had to get up and take care of himself.

          “Riona, I know you are there. Come, my dear. Tell me all about it.” He said, and she heard him flip back the covers. ”I’m coming back there.”

          “Stay where you are Jalcom. I am coming.” Riona used her blanket to wipe away the tears from her face. She finished the job of putting her treasures back where they had come from and made her way back to the man who had become like a brother to her. She heard him cover himself, and settle back into a position which was comfortable to him. “Are you in pain?”

          “No, but I know you and that fellow over there are.” He said matter-of-factly as he pointed to the big man in the bed opposite bed. “He in the physical, and you in the emotional.”

          Jalcom was speaking the truth, she knew, for the other man was moaning and thrashing about in his bed. The sickness had finally come, and she knew she had to hurry. If the sickness wasn’t cured within twenty-four hours, the man would be dead, not to mention that other things would happen. “You’re right. I’ll talk later about myself. He needs more attention than I.”

          “We can talk and pray as you work.” Jalcom said. “I have done that with you before.”

          That’s true. Whenever I have been grieving before and had many more patients than these two, he has helped me through it. I admire the man. How can he endure the suffering that goes on here when he knows what is going on outside? He must be so heartbroken! She nodded as she walked to where the few medical supplies she had been granted were kept and filled a syringe full of the medicine. On the way back, she picked up some cotton, iodine, and a bottle of alcohol. She placed the items on the man’s bedside table and took a closer look.

          The man was seven feet tall and was very muscular. His hands were the size of dinner plates, and his arms were as thick as large hoses. He had all sorts of different scars on his face and body from fighting, but the most prominent ones were of rat bites. Those bites must have been horrible! I’d be surprised if he doesn’t end up like me with a few nerve troubles. What little clothing he has is rags. I had better get him undressed as soon as I inoculate him. She picked up the bottle of alcohol, opened it, and put some on the cotton ball. Then she dabbed some on the man’s left arm and inserted the needle. The man tensed, and then relaxed when it was in.

          “There, it’s all over.” Riona said as she pulled it out after it was empty. “Don’t you worry now. I’ll have you feeling better soon.”

          “I hope you feel better soon.”

          “What do you mean?”

          “You were crying, weren’t you? Don’t tell me you weren’t, because I know you were.” He said.

          “Yes.” She used a knife to cut through the remains of the shirt.

          “Ah, you’re missing your family, aren’t you?” He asked.

          “Of course! Sadal killed them all! I feel so alone! I hate him!”

          “No you don’t. Not really.” He said gently.

          “Yes I do! He killed all my family because of me!” She snapped.

          “How do you know that?” His voice was as calm and gentle as before when they discussed the matter. 

          “I…don’t.” She felt deflated, but she knew he was right.   The knife had trouble cutting through some of the cloth that had been knotted together, so she ripped it apart in frustration and anger. “It’s just so hard! I miss everyone so much!”

          “I know.” He said simply.

          “How can you know? You have no family, no heir!” She cried out to him, biting out each word. She saw out of the corner of her eye that his face took on a look of sadness that had never been there before and her heart felt like it had been flipped over.

          “I did at one time.” He whispered loudly.

          “Do you remember someone named Commander Ressan?” He asked. 

          Riona thought for a moment as she shifted the man’s bulk so that she could get the rest of the material from him. “No, I can’t say that I have. Wait a minute, yes! There was a Commander Ressan who went off to the war ten years ago, and he never returned. Those that did said he was the best fighter, the best scholar of the enemy, and the best diplomat. It was said that he had surrounded the enemy and that talks were going well when he was assassinated. It also said that he had just found out who really was at the center of the war too. That’s what they said in our history Chronicles.”

          “You’re right.” Jalcom’s voice sounded like he was choking, and for the first time ever, she saw him shed tears. “But what the Chronicles do not tell you is that he was my son. Until the age of eighteen, he was taught just like any other member of the blood royalty was, in the palace. Then when the war broke out, Sadal encouraged him to go out and fight. He was one of the first recruits and insisted that he be treated no different than anyone else.”

          He closed his eyes for a moment as if gathering strength to say what he next wanted to. “Of course, having had the best fighter training money could buy he excelled at everything given him. Within a year he was in command of his own troupe and soon they were on the battlefield. Theirs was one of the last to be standing at the end of the war. Then he sent me a message saying they were going to talk, and a treaty was signed. While he was there, though, he found out who the enemy really was, but before he could send a message home, he was killed.”

          “So that’s how come you have nobody to succeed you.” She said gently as she finished her task and turned to lay a hand on the elder man’s shoulder. “I didn’t know.”

          “It is something now that only you know. Nobody in the Order knows that.” His voice sounded choked, and full of emotion.

          “I’m sorry.” She felt great empathy for what he was going through. She had lost her family to the man who called himself the true ruler of the kingdom. She turned back to her charge, who was starting to moan. Oh, you poor man. It must really be affecting you badly. Well, I pray that I can ease your suffering soon. She uncovered part of his leg which he had managed to bandage himself. She gasped, seeing the raw wound that was on the man’s leg. No wonder he is in pain and has the Fever. I’ll wash him right away, and rebandage this leg. How he got it, I don’t know, but I think we will have to call a healer in from the town to heal it. She finished undressing the patient, noting the problems on a pad /of paper. He’s in bad shape. I think I had better sponge bath him before doing anything else.

          She walked to basin of water and filled it with water from a spigot. The prison hospital hadn’t been upgraded before the war began, but it had been scheduled to be the next in line to be built. She brought the basin to the man’s side and started bathing him from head to toe.

          “He looks pretty bad.” Jalcom said.

          “He is. I don’t know if he’ll make it. I’m going to ask the warden to send for the healer.” She replied.

          “Good idea.” He said. “That wound is the worst I have seen, almost as bad as some of the wounds he has inflicted on others.”

         

. . .

 

          “Where is the patient?” The healer’s robes billowed behind him as he stalked into the room. The healers were one of the few professions that kept to the older style of clothing which set them apart from the rest of the population. 

          “I have two of them today.” Riona said as she gestured to each of the men. “This is the newest man, and of course, you know the other, King Jalcom. He is not well either.”

          “We shall start with the new one then. He looks the worst, and they usually are. You have inoculated him for Rat Fever, I hope?” He asked.

            “Of course I have!” Riona was incensed that the man had asked the question. It was the first thing she did when anyone who spent their time in the lower bowels of the prison. “How dare you insinuate that I wouldn’t!”

          “It’s all right.” The healer patted her shoulder. “I know you did. I’m just trying to make certain. I see it in the way he rests. You have done a good job with him. So, what did you send me here to do?”

          “It’s his leg. It’s showing raw flesh! I don’t know if it’s part of the Fever, or if it’s something that he did to himself.” She uncovered the man’s lower body and he shivered. 

          “Only the effected area needs to be uncovered girl!” He snapped as he flipped the covers back to where they were, and then eased them up the man’s leg. “Do it like that in the future, all right?”

          “Yes sir.”

          “All right then. Yes, this is an infection made by the rats. The fever makes any wound unable to heal itself. The inoculation won’t help this. I will give you some medicine that he will have to take orally in his food, but I will also give you instructions on how to make a poultice for this.” He turned and set his medical bag on a nearby stand and rummaged around in it. He took out some packages of herbs, several phials, as well as pen and paper. He rote instructions on the paper and handed it to Riona. He turned to Jalcom. “What are the symptoms?”

          “He’s wheezing again, and his cough is much worse. He hasn’t slept well in the past two days and…” She paused, looking at the ground as if gathering her words from there. “He has very little appetite and, coughed up blood.”

          “I will do some tests.” The healer said. “You start making the poultice for this one.”

          “Riona nodded as the healer pulled the curtains surrounding the deposed king’s bed and disappeared behind them. Riona looked at the phials and sheet of paper the healer had given her and set them on a nearby stand. She walked to where she kept the mortar and pestle, and as she did she thought of the two men behind the curtain. Thank the Creator that the healer can be trusted. Jikol has a steady hand and is a friend of the warden. Thus, he too is a Creatoran. Jalcom will pass the letter on to him. I wish I could write, but ever since I contracted the Fever, I have had nerve damage in my right hand. Jikol is a kind man, and a good healer, but he couldn’t help me in that matter. 

          Now, speaking of Jalcom, I’m glad Jikol came in time. The Savela, or what some people call Pneumonia has worsened, I just know it. I’m worried, Creator. I thank and praise you for Jikol. Give him the wisdom to see what is going on in his body. Grant him the ability to do the right thing. I pray that Jalcom has the ability to give him the letter, or at least to indicate where it has been hidden. She continued to pound the herbs, extracting their healing oils. She heard the curtains as Jikol pulled them to their original condition.

          She looked up from her work. “Well? How bad is it?”

          “It isn’t good. The savela has deepened. I might have to see if I can spend two weeks here. It is an intense procedure, and it’s not that I don’t trust you, but I am the only one who can do it.” He said.

          “No offense taken. As usual, if you need a nurse to help out I shall be there if you want. . I shall fill out the request to go along with the letter you will be submitting.” She said.

          “Good.” He said as he closed his bag, turning it in a way to show that he had the letter from Jalcom to believers in his kingdom. Riona breathed a sigh of relief.  So, he was awake! I was sure that he had been asleep all this time. Or, more than likely when Jikol started examining him, he awoke. “I will return after I visit those in the new wing. Have the request ready and waiting..”

          “Yes sir.”

          “You can stop pounding girl. I don’t want a puree, I just want the oils extracted!”

          “Yes sir.” She tapped the pestle on the mortar, releasing the herbs and cleared off what was left with a clean spoon. “Sorry sir.”

          He harrumphed, as he left the room, but Riona knew that he liked the work that she was doing. He wouldn’t have trusted her to it otherwise. Jikol had been the family healer ever since her great uncle’s time and was known to be one of the best. She continued her work as the door closed.

          “The letter is gone.”

          Riona looked up from her work and into the eyes of the ill king. She couldn’t think of him as anything else. To her, he was the rightful ruler of the kingdom. She smiled.

          “Good morning.”

          “And to you, my dear.” He smiled. “Your smile is always a welcome pleasure when I awaken.”

          “Thank you.” Her face colored as she set down her utensils. “Are you hungry? They brought food today, and Jikol will hopefully be coming tomorrow, so we should be getting regular food.”

          “I heard.” He said. “You should have just let me die.”

          “Jalcom! How can you say that?” She measured the next ingredient and poured it into a bowl. 

          “I don’t know how much more I can take this.” He said. “I long for the Creator to come and bring me home.

          “I realize that you aren’t feeling well Jalcom.” Riona poured a liquid into the bowl and stirred the contents around. She added the herbs, and then a powder substance which turned it into a paste. “That doesn’t mean you should talk like that.”

          “What right do you have to tell me how I should or shouldn’t talk!” He coughed.

          Riona kept her voice gentle, even though she wanted to argue back. “You told me to, remember? You wanted me to help you…to keep you sane and accountable.”

          “I said no such thing.”

          “Yes you did. It was a month ago after your last attack.”

          “Which almost killed me. How do you know that I will not survive this one?” He said.

          “I don’t.” She said as she continued to work. She pulled back the blanket the way the healer showed her and applied the poultice to the man’s leg. Then she washed her hands, dried them and applied the appropriate bandage. “But your people need you. We love you.”

          “Someone will come along. Someone who can convey the Message better than I can.” He wheezed.

          “No one is better than you are, and you don’t have a successor. There will be no Order if you don’t lead us.” She finished her work and started cleaning up.

          “Maybe you’re right.” He coughed harder than ever before, and she rushed to his aide. She held him as he finished his fit and watched as he spat blood. If it was the Molock, there would be trouble. The Molock was different. It killed, and would spread throughout the prison like wildfire. Without a resident healer, they could be burying bodies by the dozens by the end of the week  She shuddered as she remembered the last time the Molock went through the prison. 

          I had just come into the prison. I had been placed with a woman by the name of Orina, and she was very nice. She had found a way to get me some extra medication for the wounds the officers gave me when I was taken to their quarters and then raped. She was with me the whole time when I cried my eyes out. Then, during my last few days with her, she got violently ill. She and I were brought into here because she had the Molock. It was thought that I would get it too, so they wanted to quarantine me. Little did they know that I had been inoculated against the disease several months before my family and I had been taken to prison. My uncle had insisted that we all get inoculated when Sadal became king.

          She helped him lay down again, feeling how warm he was and how heavy his body was. He was still strong, but she felt that he may not survive the next bout that lay ahead. What was Sadal going to do with them? Usually people like Jalcom were executed as enemies of the kingdom. She covered him up and went to her other patient. He seemed to be resting easier, so she washed and put everything away. Then she filled out the request that the healer required. Just as she had finished, the man rapped at her door.

          “Finished?”

          “Yes sir.” She handed him the completed page.

          “I shall return by this evening if I am successful. If I have not returned, follow these instructions.” He said.“I was told that these requests now have to be sent to the new king, so I don’t know if I will be able to be here.”

          “Oh wonderful!” Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she took the offered paper. “That means that he could deny it. He hates Jalcom, not only for what he stands for, but who he is.”

          “I know Riona. I have Jalcom’s cane and it will be fixed soon. I left the spare by his bedside.” He said and she noticed his wink. “I will send this one back when it is finished.”

          Riona nodded, for she knew the cane’s nature was really like. “Thank you. Until later then.”

          She waved goodbye as he closed the door behind him. She turned back to her charges and noticed that Jalcom was observing her. ‘You don’t think he’ll be back, do you?’

          “No.” She shook her head, her long black hair trailing in its wake. He has been generous so far, but only because dignitaries have come into the kingdom. He wouldn’t want any of us to complain to them during their visit.”

          Her voice dripped with bitterness and contempt as she tucked in the deposed king. He looked at her, his face showing concern. “We need to pray Riona. Would the Creator want us to act like that?”

          Her cheeks glowed red, and she bowed her head. “No he wouldn’t Jalcom. You’re right. I admit that I haven’t been myself lately, but you must admit that there is a chance that he will deny the request.”

          “There is always that chance,” He wheezed, “but you cannot ignore the fact that our Creator could step in and do something about it.”

          “Very true.” She stepped near to his bed and held his hand while he prayed. 

          “Father Creator, you know of our situation here in this prison. You know of the disease I have contracted. I uplift to you my people. I pray that you send a successor who is worthy of you.” He couldn’t finish the prayer; a fit of coughing overtook him.

          “Amen.” Riona said softly as she supported his head. “Rest now, my friend. The Creator will find someone soon.”

          “I hope so.” He relaxed and fell asleep under her hand.

          She covered him up with one of the blankets and walked to the desk where her paperwork lay. She sat down in the chair and sobbed silently into her hands. Oh Creator, if he is to die soon, let him die at peace and without any pain!