Chapter 5: Chapter 4 – Orb is Quiet but Vermon is Unhappy

Orb opened his eyes to a terrible pain in his back; someone was touching his sore wounds and pressing them with a rag saturated with a burning liquid. His face, which was wet with sweat and tears, rested on a pillow that had not been there before.

Orb felt the bitter taste of medicine in his mouth, and after a while, he felt from under his stomach strips of cloth wrapped by a large warm hand in continuous movement. Someone was bandaging his wounds and treating him with kindness at last.

Orb closed his eyes without turning around; tired and feverish, he wanted nothing but to sleep and rest. However, he felt a new pain in his feet, and when he raised his head and looked over his shoulder, he saw with one eye the silhouette of a man of great build holding one of his feet.

“I see you’ve regained consciousness. Relax and don’t worry.”

While Luba, the physician, prepared to disinfect the wounds on Orb’s feet, he skillfully inserted a small needle into the fluid-filled bubbles of his foot. Vermon sat behind him watching intently and feeling ecstasy and excitement at the sight of the holes Luba made in those bubbles and the liquid coming out of them.

“Let me do it, Luba.” Orb heard him say.

“You can’t,” the physician replied indifferently while engrossed in his work and without looking at him.

“Don’t worry, I will sterilize the needle every time, just as you do,” Vermon eagerly exclaimed.

“You can’t.”

“Don’t you know any word other than ‘you can’t’?” Vermon complained.

Orb relaxed again and closed his eyes, surrendering to fatigue and ignoring the presence of the two. While their argument went on, he heard Luba say bluntly and without worrying about Vermon’s reaction, “You can change the bandages every day if you like, but today’s work must be done by me.”

“I don’t want to change the bandages; I want to get the pus out,” he grumbled.

Vermon’s hand reached out to interfere with Luba’s work, but the physician shrugged it off with his shoulder.

“I thought pus disgusted you, my lord,” Luba looked at Vermon quizzically.

“Not today. Not with this slave,” Vermon eagerly replied, his eyes still fixed on Orb’s feet.  

 “I also thought you were sympathetic to this poor young man, my lord,” Luba sounded reproachful this time as he went about his work.

“Huh?” Vermon did not seem to understand Luba’s intent, and he never had the idea of sympathizing with Orb in particular, as at that point he only saw him as a source of entertainment; he enjoyed provoking him, chasing him, and seeing him in pain both physically and mentally.

To Vermon, interfering with the physician’s work was a kind of amusement and he never intended to help Orb.

“I’m done. I’m drying his feet now and I’ll put some ointment on them. You can help me bandage them.”

“I don’t want to! Do it yourself!” Vermon spoke with his arms crossed in displeasure.

“Good,” was all the old physician could say.

“Good! How dare you, old man? Are you by any chance related to him? Are you his father?”

The physician remained silent before Vermon’s rage and loud voice in that quiet part of the house. He felt that he was in the presence of an angry, spoiled child, so it would be pointless to try to please him or explain himself.

***

As for Orb, being uncomfortable with Vermon’s presence and constant monitoring, he tried his best to not react to his foolishness. Yet, he heard the physician’s voice calmly instruct him. “Avoid walking on your feet as much as possible, and if you must go out of the house, you should ride a cart or a horse. You must change your bandages every day and keep your feet dry.”

“...”

Orb remained silent and kept his eyes closed in a clear refusal to engage in a conversation with the two Arkosians.

“Say something, damn you!” Vermon fumed.

The physician took Orb’s sealed hand gently, and even after examining it, Orb did not open his eyes or move his limbs. “I will prescribe you a balm to ease the peeling of your skin, along with a painkiller,” he said.

This irritated Vermon, who stood up in objection. “You over-indulge him, Luba! Is it not enough for him to get medicine for his sick lungs? Why should you prescribe him another one for the seal?” Vermon pointed at Orb’s hand, “The seal has never been a problem for slaves!”

The physician straightened himself up with the intention of leaving. “But you seal your slaves roughly, my lord. I have never treated dermatitis caused by a seal, except in your house!” he asserted.

“What?” Vermon snapped.

While Orb was thankful for the bravery of old Luba, he acknowledged in his heart the roughness and lack of kindness in Vermon’s words and actions. Then, he heard Vermon order old Luba to leave the isolation room, shouting, “Get out, you senile!”

“I’m done anyway,” Luba said while gazing at Vermon’s bandaged palm. “How is your wound?” he plainly asked.

“It doesn’t matter, get out!”

“Have a good day, my lord.”

Luba was in a positive mood, and tended to behave in a rather relaxed manner, for he had become accustomed to Vermon’s temper and blunt reactions that never frightened nor worried him. Vermon childishly grabbed Orb’s medicine as soon as the physician left.

“I’ll take the medicine!” he snarled in defiance.

Vermon, who held the medications in his hands, expected Orb to object, but he did not. When Vermon started talking, Orb turned his face toward the door, where Vermon stood. He struggled to see Vermon’s distant silhouette, who was apparently dressed in a blue uniform and black knee-high boots.

What an annoying idiot, Orb sighed.

“When I summoned the old man for your treatment, I did that not because I pitied you, but because I wanted you to recover so that I could discipline you properly. I won’t—”

Vermon stopped abruptly when he clearly saw Orb’s feverish, wet face, and his blemished red, sleepy eyes.

“You are not allowed to, er—use any—until you, er—beg me. Do you understand?” Vermon faltered.

These were the last words Orb heard from Vermon before he closed his eyes in weariness and lapsed into a long fit of sleep that lasted until the next day.

***

When Orb woke up, he found himself still lying on the bare floor; other than the cold wooden surface beneath him, there was nothing except the pillow that appeared during his illness. He felt the busy but unkind hands of the servant changing his bandages, he was rough like his master, but Orb said nothing.

When he looked to his left, he found that his medications were not confiscated by Vermon as he had threatened and that they were set on a small low table, which was another addition to the place.

Over the following days, Orb, confined to his corner, refrained from any unruly actions. He was weary, silent, and sad. Vermon did not like this change in his slave and began to turn up in his room day and night.

Thus, he would show up in his physical form, and at other times, he would sneak in, in his invisible form. Yet, Orb who was able to detect his presence grew annoyed by the time but chose to remain silent.

Of course, the foolishness of Vermon did not come to an end, for Orb thought that he saw his head several times from behind the door whenever the servants came to his room.

Even though Vermon could become invisible, he sometimes chose to peek from the outside window after taking the trouble to get out of the main house and go around his courtyard to stand in front of the open window of the isolation room.

Vermon then began to order the servants to serve meals to Orb, and in order to preserve his pride, he would feign anger and audibly admonish the servants around these times, to leave the room. His servants did not understand the reason behind his foolish acts, and he never cared about what they thought.

Vermon also spent the nights that followed the physician’s visit watching Orb’s room over the walls, thinking that Orb would try to escape, as he had done last time, but he did not, which left Vermon with a hidden disappointment.

He longed for some kind of confrontation with Orb who had spent most of his time lying down with his back to the door. Not knowing what Orb was thinking exasperated Vermon.

I’m bored. If only I know what this idiot is thinking.

***

“What did you tell him exactly?”

Vermon asked Akinos for the third time while they spent the night on the latter’s balcony in the Imperial Palace.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor of the balcony, Vermon held the thick wooden handle of his axe that extended at arm’s length and waited to hear an answer from his friend.

Akinos on the other hand sat on the edge of the balcony fence with one leg hanging in the air. Unwilling to give his friend a quick answer, he directed his gaze to contemplate his friend’s famous weapon, Kinyongo, which was truly a distinguished axe, not only for the multitude of blood it had spilled but also for the beauty of its workmanship.

The axe was made of two blades, the first a straight and pointed blade, and the second a wide, sickle-shaped blade. Vermon used the straight blade for stabbing his opponents and the wide blade for cutting off their limbs or their heads by pulling the blade back horizontally.

Above the blades of his famous axe was a sharp tip, made of gold, which Vermon could use as a serrated spear, on which the emblem of the empire was engraved, as well as on the blades’ edges.

“Nothing important,” Akinos indifferently replied after a deliberate delay as he enjoyed teasing his friend.

“On the contrary, it is very important. Since you have spoken to him, Akinos, he has been very calm. He hasn’t even tried to escape with the window open, and after old Luba’s visit, he became calmer. He has not resisted for days, and he ate what cold food we gave him, without complaint. He didn’t eat much due to his illness, but he showed a desire to recover. He even asked the servant to provide him with a quilt to protect him from the cold floor, but I did not permit it.”

Akinos watched his friend speak those words seriously, without taking his eyes off the axe in his hand. Then, he said, “I don’t understand it! Don’t you like it when he is quiet? Isn’t that what you want?”

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“He’s suspicious!”

Akinos sighed. “Don’t you know anything about his past?”

“I don’t care about his past, and I didn’t ask him about it,” Vermon looked at Akinos, and asserted, “His present is what matters because now he belongs to me.”

“Yes, I almost forgot that there is no point in trying to get information from him, because the seal of Uthus prevents him from speaking about his past, declaring his former identity, and pronouncing his real name. He is being restrained mentally and physically,” Akinos paused and casually asked, “Is he aware of that?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Vermon sneered as he imagined how shocked his slave will be when he discovered the ugly truth.

“But what if he is a noble? What if he is the son of a king?”

Vermon raised one eyebrow and smiled ironically. “Son of a king? And what was a son of a king doing in a temple? —I don’t think so,” Akinos was still fixing his eyes on his friend, “he was a hermit, a stubborn and a hot-tempered one.”

Then, Vermon sat straight and said, “I admit that he is very intelligent and knowledgeable, but I want to discipline him. I want to keep a tight rein on him because I do not trust him; perhaps he intends something after he recovers.”

“He won’t. Trust me,” Akinos said in a low but confident tone. He then leaped off the fence and claimed one of the two seats in the center of the balcony which were facing his friend.

“Won’t you tell me what happened between the two of you?” Vermon impatiently asked.

“No.”

***

Akinos smiled as he took a file out of his pocket and began filing the long nails of his right hand. He remembered his meeting with one of the readers of the Imperial Palace and asking her about Orb after giving her his description.

He conveyed her message to Orb word by word, even though he did not believe in riddles, but the trick worked out and left its mark on Orb’s soul.

“Anyway, don’t hurt him. I’m sure he is a noble of some sort, and he’s keeping a great secret, which we’ll only know in time.”

Vermon had previously told Akinos about his last trip to the Kingdom of Empamalangon in search of his family, and that on his way back he found Orb in the middle province heights, hiding in a secret underground chamber of the Temple.

Vermon also clarified to his friend that Orb intended to die, succumbing to the plague and starvation without trying to get himself out of the place or ask for help.

“Just keep your temper in check, Vermon. Don’t let him provoke you.”

Vermon waved his axe in the air and said ferociously, “I’ll kill him if he provokes me!”

“Vermon!” Akinos frowned.

Vermon did not want to upset his friend and did not forget that he was the Crown Prince of Arkosia, who was worthy of obedience and respect.

“I mean, I’ll discipline him!” he hesitated.

“How are you going to discipline him?” Akinos asked, doubting his friend’s intentions.

“I will gouge out his damaged eyes!” Vermon exclaimed fervently as he clenched his hand forcefully.

“!”

“Umm—I mean, I’ll lock him up.”

Akinos sighed. “He is already locked up, Vermon.”

Vermon, still gripping his axe, murmured, “I will deprive him of food and drink until he becomes nothing but skin and bone.”

“He is already thin since you brought him from Empamalangon.”

“You are right, he has been so skinny since I found him in that temple,” he paused for a moment, “What happened to him to do that to himself? I wonder,” he murmured

“Oh? So, you are curious! Is there a need to hide it from me?” Akinos chuckled, “Do you regret marking him?”

“N—No,” Vermon averted his gaze, “I do not regret making him my slave.”

Akinos sighed audibly, then suggested, “Why don’t you treat him well and test his reaction?”

“How can I treat him well? He makes me want to beat and torture him,” Vermon’s eyes twinkled in excitement, “and I find it fun! Even as calm as he is now, I confess I am itching for a fight and would like to provoke him to beat him up! —I hate feeling bored. I hate being ignored!”

Akinos smiled in amusement. “So, toying with him is your way of disciplining him? Do you really know what you are doing? Do you know what you want?”

Vermon looked lost. “No,” he quietly replied as he returned his axe to his belt.

Akinos stopped filing his nails. “Give him something,” he suggested.

“Like what?” Vermon looked genuinely interested in his friend’s idea.

“Make him a cane instead of the one he broke the night he tried to escape.”

“Do I have to?”

“Oh, Vermon! You are hopeless!”, Akinos began tapping the file in his hand on the arm of his seat, then he said, “I am giving you a reason to stir him up.”

Vermon’s eyes widened slowly in excitement, then, stood up.

“What a brilliant idea, Akinos!” Swept away with excitement, Vermon did not sound like he would stop talking, so he went on, “I still wanted to test his powers, remember when I told you about the first time, he attacked me? He manipulated water and formed it into a small yet so powerful aqua ball; it was so impressive even though he was sick,” Vermon chuckled, “I also wanted to know what the purpose of the cane is? If he is a Roaming Star?”

There was a moment of silence before Akinos spoke. “Possessing the Roaming Star only gives your slave that ability to find his way no matter where he is but it doesn’t give him a clear vision. In other words, your slave can know the directions, but he cannot see what is in front of him. He could stumble and fall if anything obstructs his way.”

“Indeed! I have seen that myself,” Vermon crossed his arms and went on, “Actually Luba examined his eyes when he was unconscious days ago and confirmed his blindness in one eye. However, he suspected that the other is liable to suffer too, from eventual blindness.”

“That’s unfortunate. How does he feel about it?” Akinos sounded disinterested.

“Ah, you are giving me another reason to stir him up,” Vermon smirked, turning to Akinos.

“That was not my intention. I assure you.”

Vermon did not seem to hear Akinos as he went on, “Can’t wait to see his pained face!”

Akinos sighed while watching his friend stretching his arms high in the air, then looking around. “Akinos, where is your talkative hedgehog?” After a moment of silence, Vermon asked.

Akinos leaned back on his seat with his legs crossed as he spoke idly to his friend for the remainder of the meeting, “Jerboa is not a hedgehog. How many times do I have to tell you? He is a Jerboa, a leaping rodent.”

“Whatever! he is a furball, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is covered with fur, unlike hedgehogs.”

Vermon sighed impatiently; Akinos enjoyed teasing him. “He is being punished now. I kept him in the cage to hear less of his chatter; however, I have other plans for him!”

***

Thank you very much, dear friends, for reading this chapter.

NOTES

Kinyongo. [Pronunciation Guide: Kin (as in the English word king) -yon (in the English word young) -go (as in the English word goo)].

A Reader, a priestess of supernatural insight who sees visions of the future and communicates with the earth and elements of nature to reveal hidden knowledge.

A Jerboa, is a real hopping desert rodent, found throughout North Africa and Asia. Jerboa is one of the main characters and will make his first appearance in chapter 10.

*Illustration of Akinos is done by https://www.instagram.com/lolalolang/

 

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