Daughter Of The Sea.

Chapter 25

The queen grabbed a knife from the dining table and made for the door. Ahab also stood up but was too slow to stop the queen.

"What are you doing? "

"I'm going to avenge my prophets. I'm going to find that murderer and stab him 850 times."

"You can't go outside into the storm, not in your condition. Think of the child you carry."

"Nothing is going to stop me"

Jezebel started to open the door. The minute the large iron latch became disengaged, the door flew open. Jezebel was flung inwards, landing on her back. The howling wind blew the rain into the room. Ahab called two bodyguards to close the door while he rushed to Jezebel's side. Even in her discomfort and pain, the queen was cursing Elijah and brandishing the knife all about. Ahab, for fear of being stabbed, caught hold of the queen's hand and prised the weapon from her grip.
He helped her up and, taking a throw from one of the couches, wrapped it
around her soaking wet body.

"Go to your room, let your maidservants dry you and change your garments. When you are warm come to me and we shall eat together."

Jezebel walked away shivering. Before she left the room she turned and cried out.

"Tonight that barbarian is protected by the storm but I swear by my own life that tomorrow this time, will see Elijah come to the same bloody end as my prophets did, by his hand, today!"

The queen didn't summon her servants. She entered her bedroom and dropping the throw that Ahab had put around her, and her outer garment, she crawled onto the bed and watched the lightning through the window as it lit up the room at irregular intervals.

She shivered whenever she moved and felt the cold, wet undergarment when it touched her skin. It reminded her of the times when she went swimming in the sea, in Tyre. She would lay on the rocks and even if the sun was warm, whenever her garment would touch her, it would be cold against her skin.

The lightning made her think of the storms out at sea. As a young girl she would join the wives and girlfriends of the sailors manning the boats who hadn't returned yet. The families would be worried about their loved ones. Itha-baal, as she was then called stood watching merely to see the different shapes of the clouds as they were highlighted against the flashes of lightning.

Jezebel changed sides. Her mind drifted to the happenings of the day. How would she be able to enter the Baal temple again without seeing the ghostly faces of her prophets and priestesses, haunting her, blaming her for not being there at a time when they needed her most. Would her presence have made any difference? Would the people have murdered her as well, their high priestess, their queen?

She wondered about the Mount Carmel challenge..... Was Baal and his consort really so disinterested in those who worshipped them that they were deaf to the petitions of the people? Was the Israelite Lord God really so powerful that He could command fire so hot that it could burn up even water and stone? Was Elijah on a mental high after winning the fire challenge, after killing the opposing prophets, after having his prayers answered and his God sending rain, that caused him to outrun the king's chariot horses, or did his God empower him?

She could never understand the concept of having only one god. Ever since she met Ahab and learning that the Israelites worshipped only one god, she struggled to comprehend the idea. Why was He so unfriendly? All her gods got on so well together. Why couldn't Yahweh and Baal be friends and share the worship of the people? This, all or nothing approach, was not at all how she was taught and raised.

Jezebel remembered how Ahab, with his scarred legs and equine smell, had swept her off her feet. There was quite an age difference but they had behaved like young lovers. She was a virgin, schooled by her father to be a masterful state woman. She always knew her marriage would be political of nature, a bargaining chip used by her father to benefit their beloved Phonicia.

The fact that she was willing to give her all, except her religious beliefs, to her husband, made the discovery of the royal orphanage a hard pill to swallow. During her last secret visit and with the aid of her lady-in-waiting, Shelah, they totalled a number of 70 male occupants, ranging from babies to young men. All sired by the king. The fact that he never mentioned the existence of these bastard royal 'sons', poisoned the relationship between king and queen, husband and wife. Jezebel waited patiently for the king to discuss this issue, but she waited in vain. Her only purpose, in retaliation, was to make sure she gave birth to sons who would inherit the throne.

All these thoughts played through Jezebel's mind. Puzzling and disastrous as they were, they were not enough to keep her from falling asleep. Sleep however, did not bring peace and rest. Quite the opposite. A nightmare tormented her.

                          ~~~~~~~~

The pack of dogs, that scavenged the area directly beneath the palace walls, was led by a big black mongrel. Its coat and size suggested wolf in its ancestry, but its eyes and temperament were evidence that a domestic breed played an important part in the cross breeding. This was also evident in the dog's approach when it came to humans.

Especially during the drought, whenever Jezebel took her evening constitutional, the big black dog would leave the pack and trot by her side. The dog would nudge her side until the queen relented and gave the morsel of food she had brought with, to her furry friend.

It all started when, soon after the palace was completed, Jezebel walked around the building, inspecting the workmanship. Suddenly the pack of dogs blocked her path. The big black dog took a few more steps forward after the rest of the pack had stopped. He bared his teeth and a growl emitted from deep down in his throat.

Jezebel held up her hand, indicating that those with her, should stop. Without turning, she calmly asked if anyone had brought any sort of food with them. One of her ladies-in-waiting placed a piece of bread in her outstretched hand which she held behind her. Taking the bread, she moved slowly forward. The big black dog growled even louder. He lowered his body into a crouching position, ready to attack.

Jezebel realised she could go no further. She threw the piece of bread. The dog snapped at the missile and back-tracked a few paces. Its nose started twitching. The smell of the bread finally convincing the animal that it could approach the object thrown. It wasn't dangerous. It grabbed the food, turned and ran, the pack following.

This performance was repeated during the following days. Jezebel ensured that a morsel of food always accompanied her on her walks.
Soon the big black dog would come and take the food directly from the queen's hand. The scenario slowly progressed to a point where the dog wagged his tail whenever he saw the queen and eventually walked at her side as she scratched his head or ran her fingers up and down his back.

                          ~~~~~~~~~

Shelah knocked softly on the queen's bedroom door. No answer. She opened the door just enough to peep in. She could see the queen on the bed. There was no movement so she entered the room. The queen's deep breathing was evidence that she was asleep even though her body jerked and twitched every so often, accompanied by a low whimper.
Shelah pulled up the covers and tucked them in around the queen.
Just before she left she closed the curtains. Carefully, not to make any noise, she closed the door.

The prophetic nightmare did not last long but it haunted Jezebel over and over again. Only when Shelah came and opened the drapes and the morning sun filled the room, did the images disappear.

Jezebel dreamt:
She was lying on the ground. Except for her eyes she couldn't move. Yet there was no pain. The big black dog lay with his nose next to her face. Her head bobbed to and fro as the pack of dogs bit and tore into her body. She panicked and wanted to scream but no sound came from her mouth, only blood. Her eyes were becoming dim. The big black dog stood up and started to dig a hole next to her head. He trotted off and returned with a hand, her hand, in his mouth. He dropped it in the hole. He fetched her other hand, then a foot, then another foot, each time dropping the limb in the hole. The big black dog licked the blood from her face and then slowly nudged her head till it rolled into the hole. Her eyes closed for the last time.

The dog filled the hole, pushing the sand with his nose. When this task was completed, he lay down on the newly dug grave. He stayed there for 2 days. On the third day he got up and shook off the dust from his frame. Hunger and thirst had finally driven the thought of this human friend from his memory. He ran off and joined the dog pack, his pack.

                             The end.