THE WAR

THE NIGHT WE MET

The sun had set for the day, lanterns and torches now illuminated the camp, brightening every tent and every pathway.

Soldiers huddled in groups by numerous campfires telling stories, drinking and roasting meat. The camp was alive with noise and emotions

The healing tent was sited at the far end of the camp close to a well, it was large and housed nearly two hundred cots, which were usually all filled with sick and wounded soldiers, but the soldiers had not gone out to war for some time now and the number of sick soldiers had dwindled significantly. The air in the healing tent was damp and thick.

The healers bustled around the tent attending to the sick, the tent was quiet except for a few coughs, hushed words and the awful sound of retching

Thana sat on a cot beside a soldier. This man was wounded during their last battle. His upper right arm was wrapped in a clean bandage. His head gleamed with beads of sweat. A light sheet covered his torso as he shivered. Thana had spent most of her day by his side tending to him and mopping his sweat

Thana dipped a small cloth in her hand into a bowl of water. She squeezed it and used it to mop his forehead. He recoiled away from her as far as his weak body would allow him, the rag was too cold for him to stand.

He had been battling with the fever for three days, no matter what Thana did his temperature only seemed to soar higher. If this continued he would die. Thana was tired of preparing dead bodies

Inside the tent was hot, strands of Thana’s hair were glued to her face by sweat

Thana’s fingers twitched, she wanted to use her powers to heal him, she restrained herself. Nothing good came out of using powers. She did not understand them or how to control them. If she did not get it right she could kill him or end up killing herself, she would not have a repeat of her last experience. Diya rushed to her from deep inside the tent. holding a small bowl.

“Here.” said Mary

Thana took the bowl, its contents were hot and the smell of familiar herbs filled Thana’s nose

She touched the soldier gently so as not to startle him, his brows moved.

“You need to drink this.” Thana said

He nodded slowly. She moved closer and helped lift his head, Thana brought the bowl to his lips, the soldier took small sips. The warm liquid glided down his throat

Thana assisted him till the bowl was empty then she lowered his head gently onto the bed. the sheets underneath him were damp with sweat, she had changed them twice already and there were no other clean sheets.

Thana covered him properly and mopped his body with the damp cloth. As time passed his temperature lowered. She decided to remain with him a while longer, the coughs around the tent stopped as the night wore on and troubled snores took their place

Diya and Luna came to keep Thana company. They were the only healers in the camp

“How is he doing now?” Luna asked.

“His fever is gone.” Thana said relieved

“Finally.” Diya muttered

The soldier opened his eyes wildly, which alarmed the healers. He seized

Thana’s arm, sat up quickly and vomited on her

Diya and Luna both gasped. Thana watched on confused

Once he had finished he lay back down on the cot and drifted off into a lazy sleep.

Thana looked down at her ruined clothes, she turned to look at her companions

Diya turned around to prevent Thana from seeing the grin on her face, Luna clasped her hand over her mouth. A stifled squeak came out of Luna and Diya burst into a fit of laughter. Luna joined soon after

Thana glared at them

“This is not funny.” She muttered

“It is not funny because it happened to you.” Diya said as she regained her composure

Thana rose to her feet slowly, unsure of her next step. Some sludges in the vomit rolled down her blouse to her skirt. Thana held the lower ends of her skirt as she waddled out of the healing tent

The camp outside was quiet, most of the soldiers were asleep, the few that were awake where on watch duty. She passed by two soldiers, they waved at her and she nodded in greeting

The clear air outside was intoxicating to inhale, Thana wove her way around tents and made her way to her own tent. She parted the flaps and entered

She moved to her trunk. Lifting the lid she select a black night dress and an accompanying robe. She picked a bar of soap and a towel and left the tent. Thana walked past the camp site into the woods, she followed a marked path that led to the lake

Thana was completely surrounded by tall trees, the moon was nowhere in sight. She took a turn away from the marked path and wound her way through the trees. She walked a few minutes and she came out into a clearing. A log sat close to the lake. The water was practically calling her

This was her special place, somewhere she could be alone. As she moved forward she saw someone sitting on the log. Her alone time had run out the window. The person backed her, but she could tell it was a man. This man was muttering inaudible words to himself

Thana felt it was wise to back away, as she moved a foot back she stepped on a twig. She waited silently, the man turned to look at her.

She knew who it was. It was King Aleser. He was brown skinned, he had black wavy hair that stopped at his shoulder and bright green eyes.

“Your highness.” Thana said quickly and curtsied as best as she could while preventing her clean clothes from touching her stained clothes

“Come and sit with me.” He said

He moved to the side and Thana placed herself beside him, giving as much room between them as possible. She placed her clothes on the grass

They remained silent for a while. The king pulled out a bottle Thana had not seen earlier and brought it to his lips

She had never seen him drink before, it was very upsetting. She avoided looking at him

He stretched out the bottle to her. Thana shook her head and he offered it to her again.

She took the bottle with a tight small and took a small sip, she would have to be in the healing tent the following morning, a hangover would only add to her problems

Thana passed the bottle back to him.

“Do you think I can win the war?” he asked, his voice was slightly slurred

Thana pondered on his question silently. She did not like to think about the war, but it was hard to ignore seeing as she was a healer and she was miles away from home treating wounded soldiers

A lot of people were calling this the slave war. There were two great kingdoms of equal strength and power. The Kingdom of Gromden and the Kingdom of Astrash.

King Aleser ruled the kingdom of Astrash and King Isander ruled the Kingdom of Gromden. It was called the slave war because King Isander was fighting to gain control of Slaver’s bay and eradicate slavery while King Aleser fought to gain control of Slaver’s bay and maintain the use of slaves

“Do you want to win the war your highness?” Thana asked

“Of course I do, but I feel like I’m doing it wrong. My men are dying for my cause, their families await them patiently and we have been at a standstill for nearly two months.” King Aleser blurted

He had never complained like this to anyone, but the way she looked at him made him feel like she understood his troubles

Thana said nothing to this. The king took a swig from the bottle and passed it back to Thana. She took a small sip and passed it back. She had never seen him like this nor had she been alone with him. He had never had a reason to come to the healing tent, and when Thana did get few glances of him around the camp he looked unapproachable and rigid

Hesitantly, she took his hand. His lovely eyes watched her. Thana interlaced their fingers, hers were small against his large hands. Their hands both had cuts from their different lives.

She squeezed his hand, King Aleser looked at her confused. Thana was confused too, she wanted to reassure him and make him feel better but she knew not how. Thana turned to look at the water avoiding his scrutinising gaze.

The hand holding was very awkward, their bodies remained rigid side by side. He liked her hand anyways, it was small and unlike the hands of the many women in high society he hands had cuts and markings that defines her and each had a tale to tell

“This is very weird.” King Aleser said with a small smile

“I agree.” Thana said

But their hands remained intertwined

He traced his fingers over her knuckles, he appreciated her efforts in trying to ease him.

“Why are you here?” he asked her

Thana gestured silently towards her soiled clothes, he nodded in understanding

“I will leave you then.” King Aleser said

“Okay.” She said

They unwound their fingers. Thana watched him as he picked his bottle from where he had dropped it.

“When we are alone call me Aleser.” He said

Thana’s face seemed to ask what he meant by that

“I am hoping we would be alone together more often.” He said softly

Aleser rose to his feet slowly as he swayed a bit. Thana stood too

“I am-” she began

“I know who you are.” Aleser said cutting her short

He walked away and disappeared into the trees.

Thana was unsure of what to make of this encounter. She knew she should be thrilled. For months she had been trying to devise ways to get close to the King and now this opportunity had practically sat in her open arms. Thana was unsure if she would be able to go on with the plan. Initially she had hated him, he was fighting for slavery and not against him. she had expected him to be cruel and now that he was not what she had assumed he was it was making it hard for her to think of a way forward. She moved closer to the water, shed her clothes and dove in

BLUE DAHLIA

It was in the early hours of the morning. The cool night air was long gone. The sun was rising gently and the camp was a flurry of movements. Everyone was scurrying about handling their various responsibilities

Thana rolled in her cot and squeezed her pillow against her chest. She was awake even though she did not want to be. Her day was going to be a hectic day. It was wash day

She hated wash day. The flap of her tent opened and Diya entered. She rushed to the cot, shrugged off her boots and hopped into the cot. She lay beside Thana, who stared at her

“Why are you still in bed?” asked Diya. She faced Thana

“Because it is the best place to be.” Thana replied

“Remember today is wash day.”

“How could I forget.” Thana muttered rolling her eyes

“The sooner we begin the sooner it will end, besides I heard there is a new healer coming to.” Diya informed her. Excitement danced in her eyes

Thana failed to see how peo