Daughter Of The Sea.

Chapter 17

That evening, when Shelah had left, marked a dramatic change in Jezebel, the Israelite queen.
Her long subdued upbringing rose quickly and venomously to the surface like a dangerous snake about to strike.
Her father had schooled her to be independent, ruthless and unforgiving. These traits would dominate her character henceforth.

She would start with her husband. Although a masterful war strategist, he was weak and indecisive when it came to other matters.

There was one situation that she needed to address immediately. Too long Ahab had hovered between his loyalty to the Israelite God, Yahweh and her god, Baal. Every time when she would nearly have him committed totally to Baal, that wild, disgusting prophet they called Elijah would appear and leave Ahab either crying like baby or locked up in his room for days. The situation called for drastic measures. Jezebel would love to have Elijah killed but he seemed to appear out of nowhere and then disappear just as quickly.
No matter. She knew exactly where to find his followers.

The following evening Jezebel made her way to Ahab's bedroom. It was tradition that one had to be summoned to the king's quarters, but the queen was on a mission and felt nothing for tradition that night.
She felt like pounding on the door but as she lifted her hand, still clenched in a fist, she hesitated. Her plan for the evening replayed in her brain. She would need all her feminine guiles and persuasive words to accomplish what she had set out to do. Perhaps banging on the king's door, especially uninvited, was not the best way to start proceedings.

Jezebel took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door. The only answer came in the form of a deep moan, followed by stifled cry of pain. Nobody opened the door. Jezebel looked from left to right at the two guards standing on either side of the bedroom door. Their expressions gave no trace of emotion. They looked straight ahead.

What was she to do? Give up and go back to her room or try again? Who made the sounds she had heard, was it Ahab or was there someone else in the room?
A voice sounded in her head.
"Why do you hesitate? Are you not Queen? This is the room of your husband not a stranger. Why do you tip-toe like a mouse when your heart roars like a lion within you. Will you retreat like a scolded child while the kingdom remains heirless?"

The queen rose to her full height and loudly knocked on the door. This time there was a response.
" If you are not the physician... go away. "
Jezebel opened the door and entered.

She did not know why she disobeyed the king but something deep inside, a feeling that had only developed in the last few months, a feeling her maid-servant, Shelah, would describe as a mother's intuition.

Ahab lay on his bed, naked except for his loincloth. Next to him, spread on the bed, lay an array of medicine vials and bandages, both used and unused. Jezebel's eyes followed the mess on the bed down to the king's leg. Her eyes widened and she closed her mouth to contain the gasp that was just about to escape. Ahab's leg was covered in a bloody pus, exuding from a deep cut. The king lay on his back, arm across his eyes, moaning with pain and not even caring who it was that entered the room.

Jezebel's first instinct was to leave. The king, clearly was in no condition to discuss important matters, much less make love. As she turned to go, a thought crossed her mind. If she played her cards right, these turn of events could work in her favour.

She turned again and faced the king, slipped off her cloak, rolled up her sleeves and set to work.

After what seemed like an eternity, Jezebel had cleaned the wound and using some of the king's wine, sanitised the cut. There was a salve in one of the vials that she recognised by the smell as a medicinal mixture  that her father used when tending his own wounds. She applied this to Ahab's leg
and renewed the bandage. The king had moaned and groaned a lot but did not interfere with her attempts at nursing.

She threw all the soiled bandages and top bedding in a heap in a corner of the room. Jezebel was dog tired. This had been more strenuous than looking after her daughter.
She poured some water in the basin and washed her hands and face. She picked up her cloak and climbed on the bed, meaning just to rest awhile before she left. She wrapped herself in her cloak, turned on her side.... and fell fast asleep.

The king's chamber maid came in early to draw the drapes and removed the soiled items on the floor. She noticed the king had company so left the room.

The sun's rays, streaming into the room, were warm and comforting but force of habit made Jezebel snuggle deeper into her cloak. That's when she felt an arm around her waist.
Manoeuvring herself within his grip, she lay on her other side facing the king. To her surprise, Ahab was awake, just lying there looking at her.

"What are you looking at?" she asked

"You!" he replied.

"Why?" she asked.

"Just thinking how I can repay the nurse." he replied.

"Oh, that's easy," she continued, "There’s the matter of the Summer Palace in the Jezreel valley......." Ahab put his finger on her lips, cutting off her rambling.

"Not what I had in mind!" he said with a mischievous grin.

Ahab pulled off Jezebel's cloak and moved over, kissing her neck and shoulder. Suddenly he let out an awful groan and buried his face in the pillow. Jezebel felt his pain as Ahab continued to groan into the pillow. He eventually flung himself back onto his side of the bed, breathing heavily.

In that moment Jezebel knew her chances of being intimate with the king were slipping away. This was the very reason she had come to his room. She desperately wanted a male child. She wanted to provide the king with an heir to the throne, not some bastard child from the orphanage, even if it had been sired by the king. All her plans and schemes had been for nothing. Here she was handed everything she wanted on a plate. She did nothing, the advances came from the king. But now, at what should have been the most glorious moment, the king's damaged leg was going to spoil it all.

Ahab lay on his back. His breathing  returned to normal. Without looking at his queen he apologised.

"I'm sorry. The pain in my leg....."

This time it was Jezebel who put her finger to his lips, silencing his apology.
She threw back the covers and in one swift, smooth movement be-straddled the king. Leaning forward, she swung her head from side to side so that her hair brushed across his chest and chin. She stopped her movement, lifted her head high enough to look into his eyes and Jezebel whispered.

"There's nothing wrong with my legs!"