Akase lay on the floor of the cave, trying to stifle a moan and failing. She shuddered as another wave of pain rippled through her abdomen, her midsection feeling as though it was being seized in the hands of a giant and being slowly twisted in two. "Oh God, please help me," she groaned. "Please." A warm tongue bathed the side of her face as if in answer. Blinking blearily, she opened an eye to see Yolanda standing over her. "How's it feeling, hon?"
Akase moaned again. "Not much better."
"Don't worry. Makedde and Metutu are here to see you."
Her eye opened wide. "Praise Aiheu! Bring them in!"
"I already did." Yolanda's worried visage was replaced by Makedde's worn and kindly one. "And how are you today, my dear?"
"Lousy."
"I see." He chuckled lightly, trying to put her at ease. Grunting with the exertion, he knelt slowly, laying his staff beside him. Bending over her, he stroked her cheek with his hand. "Rest easy, Akase. All will be put right soon enough." His smile faded away. "Courage, now."
She nodded, closing her eyes. She began breathing rapidly as Makedde began to run his sensitive hands gingerly down her ribs slowing as he neared her belly. She growled involuntarily as he drew his hand across her abdomen. Makedde was shocked; the flesh was burning hot to the touch and enormously swollen, more so than her state of pregnancy could account for. As he reached her navel, she cried aloud and he jerked away, startled. "Forgive me, Akase. I do not mean to cause you pain."
"I.....know, old friend," she gasped.
Metutu was equally disturbed; Akase's flanks were matted with blood; enough that the lioness was dangerously weak. He looked up at Makedde and shrugged helplessly.
The mandrill nodded and turned back to Akase. Selecting a couple of herbs, he tapped her on the nose gently. "Now see here. I want you to leave these under your tongue. They are bitter, but they'll make you feel a little better. Okay?"
She nodded, opening her mouth. Makedde slipped the herbs in place carefully, his dexterous fingers avoiding the enormous fangs easily. Rising, he patted her cheek. "You rest easy now, while Metutu and I go talk." Motioning to his brother, the old mandrill led him outside.
Blinking in the bright sunlight, they nearly collided with Avina. The lioness sat in the entrance, staring into the depths of the cave miserably. "It's my fault, isn't it?"
"What?"
"If I hadn't gone and gotten hurt, she wouldn't have been worried sick about me this morning. That's what did it, isn't it?"
"Nonsense." Makedde patted her consolingly. "You might as well blame yourself for the dry season, or making the wind shift while you're stalking. You had nothing to do with this, Avina, it just happened."
“Will she be okay?"
Makedde sighed. "I just don't know right now." Excusing himself, he drew Metutu away. The younger mandrill strained to hear his brother's voice.
"It will be all I can do to keep her comfortable until the inevitable happens. She will lose the children."
Metutu shook his head violently. "No! There must be something-"
"Hsst! Keep your voice down!" Makedde looked at him sadly. "Brother, as yet I have been unable to find a cure for her. For years I have searched. After they lost their first litter, Ahadi and Akase waited patiently while I searched, but at last I admitted defeat. And I cannot blame them for trying; the drive of life is strong. Who knew it would happen again?" He covered his eyes with a trembling hand. "And this time, it's worse."
"How so?"
"Akase has lost too much blood already, and she has begun to run a fever. She will probably not survive."
A deeper voice spoke from behind them. "Then it is as I feared."
The two spun to see Ahadi standing a few feet away. "Sire," Makedde stammered, flustered. "I simply meant...."
Ahadi raised a paw to silence him. "It has been a long time since we have had to mince words, you and I. Let us not start now." He sighed deeply, shuddering, and a single tear slowly tracked down from his eye to darken the fur on his cheek. "I have sat here and watched as she grew weaker and weaker. Even as you looked upon her she was slipping away." Ahadi cleared his throat. "All I would...." He stopped, momentarily, then continued. "All I would ask of you is that you make her last hours peaceful ones. Will you do this for her?"
Makedde swallowed and nodded slowly. "Everything will be done. Come, my lord, let us go to her."
Picking up the painkillers from Metutu's crude satchel, Makedde motioned to his brother to wait there. Turning, he followed Ahadi as they paced slowly away.
Entering the cool dimness of the cave, Makedde made his way slowly over to Akase, Ahadi alongside. The king followed unwillingly, each step heavier than the last, until he felt he would sink through the rock floor. Bending down, he nuzzled his mate. "Akase?"
"Hmm?" The lioness opened her eyes and looked at them. "Cnn I shpt vese out?"
"Oh!" Makedde nodded. "Certainly." He cupped a hand under her jaw as she daintily spat the leaves into his palm. "Feeling better?"
She nodded. "A little. It doesn't hurt as bad, but it still hurts. Thank you for trying, though." She fixed the mandrill with an uncomfortable gaze. "What were you two whispering about out there?"
Lion and mandrill looked at each other uncomfortably. "My lady, I'm not quite sure how to say this..."
Akase chuckled softly, wincing at the effort. "Oh, Makedde. I know that my life grows short. I shall see Aiheu's face soon enough, no doubt." She looked back along her side wistfully. "I only wish I could have spent some time with my children..." Her eyes glistened as she shook her head.
"Oh gods!" Ahadi bent low and laid his head alongside hers, weeping openly now, uncaring. "Beloved, I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I never should have touched you."
Akase lifted her head to look at him. "Nonsense. How can you say that? In the time I’ve spent with you, I’ve known the love of a dozen glorious lifetimes.” A tear tracked down her cheek. "I just wish I could have borne this one litter. I wanted to give you a son, my love. Oh, Ahadi, if anyone is to blame here, it's me. You should have married another." She bent and hid her face from him, shuddering. “When I am gone, that is what you must do. I will look down on you and bless your union.”
The lion reached out with his paw and stroked her face tenderly. "Now look who's talking nonsense. There could never have been another. I could have lived without a son. But you I cannot live without." He blinked back tears. "If I could have but one wish from Aiheu, it would be that we both go together."
"Ahadi..." Akase nuzzled him and kissed his cheek. "You are too young to die just yet."
"So are you."
"Well, then, we need prayers, not tears." She lay back down again, stroking his face with her forepaw. "Go on, love. I'll be all right for a little while longer."
Ahadi glanced at Makedde, who nodded silently. "Very well. Rest easy, beloved." Kissing her cheek, he followed the mandrill out of the cave.
Metutu watched as the two of them emerged quietly and walked a short distance away, muttering softly. Embarrassed, he realized the two were deep in their prayers and turned away hurriedly. He moved away until he was out of earshot and sat down, taking a deep breath of air and letting it out slowly. The late afternoon breeze blew his hair gently about his neck and shoulders, cooling, but not comforting him. He picked up his mortar stick and idly began to trace aimless circles in the dirt as he looked out across the savanna, seeing in the distance his beautiful baobab home. Glancing down, he stared silently at what his roaming hands had unconsciously drawn in the dirt. An inward drawing spiral with lines radiating from it. He recognized it well; it was one of the first icons Busara had taught him in his apprenticeship; the maishamazingo, the great Circle of Life.
The vein in the center of Metutu's forehead began to throb in time with his heartbeat. Leaping to his feet, he seized the handful of sand and dirt and cast it away angrily, obliterating the icon. "No! It's not right! It's not Akase's fault! Why?" Realizing the other lionesses were staring at him, h
e stalked away, making his way along a steep, winding path that led to a granite shelf that jutted out away from the Rock. Sitting on his haunches, he clasped his knees to his chest. Huddled up, he stared out at the open plain. As his eyes roved about aimlessly, out of long habit he absently began identifying the various plants he saw and cataloging their various uses.
Suddenly, he sat up straighter, and looked about with renewed interest. Carefully noting the flora around, he wracked his brain, trying to think of some way he might be able to resolve Akase's predicament. After several minutes thought, he slumped to the ground, shaking his head in despair.
"Oh, Aiheu. All the knowledge you have blessed me with, and yet I still do not know enough to save one lioness." Metutu raised his head to look up at the sky beseechingly. "I may yet be unworthy as a healer, but I ask only this: help me to bring some joy into their lives. Please." He lowered his head to his chest, his eyes stinging with tears. Abruptly, he heard the featherlight tread of leonine footsteps behind him and felt the weight of a furry chin resting lightly on his shoulder.
Irritated at the intrusion, he spoke without turning. "Avina, please leave me alone."
"Hmpf. That's some way to treat family. I thought I taught you better than that."
Metutu's eyes shot open wide and he whirled about. Before him stood the form of a beautiful lioness whom he immediately recognized. "Asumini!"
The lioness smiled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "No hug for your old Auntie? Or are you getting too old for that?"
In response, Metutu leaned forward and wrapped his arms around tightly, burying his face in the soft fur of her neck. "Oh gods, I’m so depressed! And how I've missed you!"
"I know." She smiled again, a faint silvery light playing about her form, like a ring of frost around the moon. "But I heard you talking nonsense, so I had to come see you."
"I am unworthy." He sat back and looked at her morosely. "Akase lies dying, and I can do nothing. All the long hours I spent learning herb lore at Busara's side, and I've come up empty when I am most needed. I am useless." He turned away and looked at the ground.
"Pfahh! Have you not listened to one word I've said to you? Use your head, you young twit!" She batted him lightly with her tail. "There is great virtue in Maraliscus when mixed with Heartleaf."
"What?!" He snapped his head around to look at her, but saw only empty air. He looked about, confused, while his mind began working furiously.
"Maraliscus will kill by itself," he muttered. "It suppresses breathing. But the Heartleaf opens the lungs and...." His eyes widened and he shouted with glee. "Yes! It stimulates breathing. They balance each other out! That just might do it!" Snatching up his things, he took a step towards the path leading down to the ground, but stopped after a few strides.
"But the nearest concentration of Maraliscus is half a moon's journey away." He slumped to the ground. "Oh gods! To be so close!" He leaned back against the rock face, stretching his arms out for support. His left hand closed over something soft and velvety, and he jerked it away involuntarily, looking down.
Next to where he sat lay a neat clump of Maraliscus plants, carefully sitting upon a swatch of Heartleaf.
Metutu closed his hands reverently over the priceless herbs and lifted them to his face, inhaling the faint scent of wild honey that clung to the plants. Uttered a silent prayer to Aiheu, he struggled to his feet and carefully picked his way down the slope to the cave entrance, where he saw Makedde talking quietly to Yolanda.
Without preamble, he simply showed Makedde the herbs and explained what he intended to try.
"Absolutely not! Metutu, I realize you are knowledgeable about herb lore, but this is not the time to experiment. Akase is already very weak; any abrupt change could push her over the edge."
"Brother. Please, listen to me. This is the only chance we have. I know I'm right."
Makedde looked at him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Very well. I shall tell Ahadi. Whatever you intend to do, do it quickly; Akase's time is very short."
Metutu grabbed his things and hurried inside the cave, where Akase lay unmoving, bathed in a coating of sweat that matted her fur. "My Lady?"
Slowly, the queen opened her eyes to look at him. "Metutu?" she said muzzily, the painkiller blurring her voice.
"Yes. I have something here for you." Filling one of his small bowls with water from a gourd, Metutu shredded a piece of Heartleaf into it. As he picked up the Maraliscus, he realized with some alarm that he did not know just what the correct dosage might be. He thought quickly for a moment, carefully gauging Akase's weight, along with the fact of her pregnancy thrown in. Taking hold of a corner of the soft leaf, he closed his eyes. "Aiheu, guide my hand."
He tore a small piece off and ground it up carefully, adding it to the mixture in the bowl. The concoction immediately turned an ugly greenish yellow color, and began to give off a strong acrid odor.
He picked the mixture up and held it out to her gently. "Here. You must drink this."
She sniffed it warily and recoiled. "Gods! What is it?"
"It may help you."
"May?" She looked at him peculiarly. "Don't you know?"
"No," he admitted. "I don't." He pulled the bowl back slowly. "It’s not without risk, but it's the only thing I know that may save you and your cubs."
Akase's eyes opened fully and she stared at him fixedly. "The cubs also? I could have my cubs?"
"Possibly-"
"Then let me have it."
"My lady, what if-"
"What if, indeed." She smiled, and reached up with a paw to stroke his agonized face gently. "Metutu, should I die, I will smile down on you from the stars above, for I will know that you did your best by me and my children."
Metutu clasped her paw in his hands and nodded wordlessly. Moving behind her, he lifted her head, grunting with the effort, until she could reach the bowl. She sniffed again, wrinkling her nose with distaste, and looked him in the eyes.
"Aiheu abamami," she whispered, and drank.
Metutu emerged from the cave mouth a few minutes later and sat down wearily. Makedde wandered over to him and sat next to him, holding his brother close as they fought the chill of the approaching night. "Well?"
"We wait and see." He looked about for the king, seeing him sitting some distance away at the point of the promontory with another lion. "Have you told him?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He said he trusted in you and Aiheu, and that was enough for him."
Metutu looked at Ahadi, unable to speak.
The king sat silently, watching the ebony blanket of night draw itself over his Pride Lands, the kings of the past taking their places in the vault of heaven one by one. But tonight he could draw no comfort from their presence. His thoughts lay inside the cave, with Akase.
Shaka, his brother, lay next to him quietly. "Ahadi?"
"Hmm?"
"You awake?"
"Of course," he said, offended.
Shaka's ears drooped. "Sorry."
Ahadi sighed and nuzzled his brother. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just nervous."
Shaka said nothing, but moved a little closer to his brother, sharing the heat of their bodies. Thus the four brothers comforted each other as they began the long wait for the dawn.
In the depths of the cave, Akase lay quiescent as the medicine did its strange work within her. Time had become meaningless, and so it was with some surprise that she opened her eyes to the gray light of dawn seeping into the cave. Raising her head gingerly, she tried to sit up, but only made it halfway before collapsing back, panting heavily. Gods she was tired! Her stomach rumbled noisily, and she wondered if there was any leftover zebra lying about.
Her eyes flew open and she peered at her abdomen with renewed interest. The pain she felt was not the sharp stabs of agony from yesterday, but the mild pangs of hunger. And that other sensation she felt...she froze as she felt a soft kick from one of the unborn cubs inside her.
"Oh, God!" she exclaimed with delight. "Ahadi!"
Outside, the king's eyes flew open as he heard her call. Leaping to his feet, he inadvertently smacked Shaka in the nose with a hind leg.
"Ouch!" Rudely awakened, the lion rubbed his wounded nose, eyes watering as he watched his brother sprint towards the cavern mouth. Ahadi burst inside, trotting quickly over to Akase and nuzzling her lovingly. "Beloved! Thank God you're all right!"
"Oh, pfft on me. Listen!" She laid a forepaw over the back of his neck and drew his head close to her, pressing his ear to her belly. Her eyes sparkled in delight as she watched his face light up. "I can feel them! I can feel them, Akase!" She laughed, the sound filling the air like sweet music as she kissed his cheek. "Thank Aiheu."
"Aiheu, and a certain mandrill we know." He grinned widely. "Metutu! Makedde! Come in here immediately!"
The two brothers stumbled in sleepily, rubbing their eyes. The sight of the radiant Akase and Ahadi immediately aroused them, though. Metutu bowed low before Ahadi. "Your Majesty."
Ahadi nuzzled him so suddenly and hard, it rolled Metutu over. "Metutu, I owe you more than I can repay." He kissed the mandrill with his warm, moist tongue. "Bless you! You have saved my wife and children. If there is anything you desire, name it."
"Your Highness, I heal out of love. Love brought me here, and love taught me the secret. I want your friendship."
"You already had that. Surely, there must be something else?"
"Well..." Metutu looked at Makedde shyly, who nodded. "Your Highness, my brother grows old, and will soon be replaced by a new shaman. If you love me, let me remain here. Tell my brother that you have captured my heart. If I had to leave, I would have no more heart."
Ahadi looked at him for a long moment. "This is what you would have of me?"
"Y-Yes. If it is too much trouble, I'll understand."
"Metutu, let me tell you something." Ahadi leaned close, until his face loomed in front of Metutu's. "Should your Council of Elders dare to appoint anyone else but you as my shaman when Makedde is relieved, I shall be displeased. Very displeased. Understand?"
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