Freyja's Fire - Chapter 13 - A'mara Books

13

(Wirnday)

Erion Sands

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Gemina was surprised to discover that she had spent the night, leaning against the unconscious sailor. Her sleep had been surprisingly deep and refreshing, considering the awkward posture she was in.

Her riding cloak was around her shoulders. She could only guess that Sister Naemi or Deby had done that.

“Any change?” Sister Naemi asked as she came in.

“Not that I can see,” Gemina said.

Sister Naemi felt the man’s forehead. “His fever has broken,” she said with obvious relief.

Gemina couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “He’s going to recover?” she asked.

Sister Naemi nodded. “I’m almost certain! Hand me that crystal. We need to try it on one of the others. I wish I had a whole bunch of these!”

Gemina nodded and went with Sister Naemi, wishing she could just sit with this man, to be there when he woke up.

The other sailor in the tent was deteriorating. Sister moved quickly to call the doctor. “Doc!” she cried out the tent.

Doc Rod came quickly, his wife following right behind.

“What seems to be the problem, Sister?” Doc asked.

“This man,” Sister Naemi said with concern. “He was improving as of last night, but is doing poorly now.”

Deby was already strapping something around his arm. She put a metal disk underneath it just above his elbow and held a round thing which she squeezed.

Gemina had already become accustomed to the strange devices the doctor and midwife pair often had. Sometimes, they’d argue about one of them. Deby would mumble something about a prime directive. But usually whatever the doctor thought was needed got used, saying that ethics overruled the prime directive anyway.

Deby looked grave as she took the strap off the man’s arm. She took out another device out of her pocket, held the man’s wrist firmly and counted.

A few seconds later, she shook her head and gave some numbers to the doctor. “He really is doing poorly. Rod, shall we give him one more injection?”

Doc looked at her. “If you think there’s still a chance of saving him.”

“He is alive right now. Isn’t there a chance?” she asked.

Doc nodded. “A slim one.” He reached into his case and pulled out a syringe, Gemina knew it was called. Sister Naemi had shown her how it worked. The needle transported medicine from the syringe directly into the body of the patient. She watched with awe as Deby administered the injection.

“You want to leave the crystal with that one an hour or so?” Sister Naemi suggested.

“It does not need my contact?” Gemina asked.

“Contact seems to make it stronger, but it is not necessary. We cannot expect you to spend all day holding the stone to each of the patients.”

“Will it hurt anything if I try?”

“We cannot be sure yet. I don’t know what would happen if he were to die while you held the crystal. Until we understand that, I want to keep your exposure to a minimum.”

Gemina nodded. She placed the stone just under the sheet on his coarsely-haired chest. Then, glancing back at the handsome sailor she had helped heal, she followed Sister Naemi to another tent.

♥

Aurelia followed Adrick around, checking on the other patients. She found herself wishing her mask was much thicker. “They stink,” she complained.

“I’m sure you may wash them if you like,” Adrick replied.

Her cheeks flamed. “I can’t!” she cried. She imagined their filthy bodies, including all the parts she didn’t want to see. “No decent woman should have to touch those bits!”

“You have become spoilt, little sister,” Adrick said in a tone that was half scolding, half teasing. “Sister Naemi must attend to all our patients’ needs, even those more private ones.” He pointed to where one end of a catheter (Deby had called it) emptied urine into a bucket.

Aurelia’s blush grew deeper. Her brother looked at her directly. She knew that look.

“Aurelia, our position is one of servitude. For all our luxury, if we do not serve the people, our reign will be short.”

“The people should be grateful we are kind rulers!” Aurelia snapped.

“Even the cruelest ruler does not live well. The moment a ruler forgets their subjects is the moment when the kingdom starts to die. We do not wish this to happen.”

She nodded as Adrick knelt to moisten the mouth of a patient.

Aurelia attended the other patient in the tent, opening his lips and spraying some medicated water into his dry mouth. She also sponged his hot forehead and his chapped lips. Then, she just looked at him for a few minutes.

His tan skin was darker than Velantian skin, but not so dark as the other sailors, especially the ones the color of a fine wooden cabinet.

She looked at the amulet around his neck, the marking identical to the olive-brown skinned man in the first tent. She felt strangely compelled to brush the tan man’s long, brown, filthy hair. Just the same as she wanted to feel his lips with hers.

Doctor Rod came into the tent and snapped her out of her trance.

“How are they?” he asked.

“We have just finished attending them. They breathe. Beyond that, I am ill-qualified to comment,” Adrick said.

Doc nodded. Deby checked the man in front of Adrick first. She used the strap and bulb thing again and looked at a metallic device in her pocket a couple of times. She rattled off a few numbers which Doc wrote down with a nod. He used another device which he had called a stethoscope connecting his ears to the patient’s chest.

He nodded, then the couple came over to Aurelia to check the patient in front of her.

“Would you like me to show you what it feels like?” Deby offered with the strap and bulb.

“No,” Aurelia barked, feeling apprehensive with these strange devices around her.

“Listen,” Doc suggested to her as he put the stethoscope to her ears. He placed the metal piece on the man’s chest.

The thumping was very loud! She placed her hand on his chest so that she could feel his heart beating to the time of what she could hear. She smiled up at Doc.

“It seems so strange!” she said.

“But it helps me to know how his heart is doing. I think he’s going to make it.”

“His fever has begun to go down,” Deby added. “He’s quite safe to fall in love with.”

Aurelia’s mouth gaped open. She closed it again with an angry “hrumphh!”

Deby laughed as she and Doc left the tent.

Aurelia looked at Adrick, who raised his eyebrows questioningly. “Hush!” she ordered.