Hi Cain I'm not religious, if it's that that you mean. I just felt like writing it. And don't talk so haughty. I'd rather have you breaking down my story than the religion of a million people. Liz, thanks for the compliment, but not the entire story is told by Mary. P.S. I know, this chapter is terribly slimy and sort of romantic, but I couldn't resist.
Mary watched Jesus talking from the other side of the square. He stood at the stairs of a big building. She didn't know what it was, but it was big and white and had graceful pillars. Jesus had gathered quite a crowd around him and told them now about God. The apostles stood beneath the stairs, gloating and proud. Judas at the other hand leaned not far behind Jesus against a pillar, arms folded and eyes at Jesus.
Mary couldn't help herself, she was quite proud herself, when she heard the people around her talk admiring or listen while they nodded their agreement. She started to make her way towards him.
Suddenly everything went very slow.
She heard an angry cry from the mob, and she turned half to see who screamed. A man with a big brown beard pointed at Jesus, and with the other hand he dragged his dagger. She saw like in a dream how he heightened the weapon and threw it.
She turned again and heard herself scream Jesus' name. He looked up, surprised, and saw the dagger flying towards him. James, Phillip, Bartholomew and Thaddeus shouted. Andrew, John, Simon and Matthew turned towards the man in the mob and hadn't even seen the danger. Peter, Thomas and the youngest James started to climb the stairs, towards Jesus. They would be too late. The dagger would kill Jesus, her love, her sun, her moon, her world… Mary realised it, but she couldn't believe it.
Then she saw Judas. He had become pale at the sight of the dagger and even looked frightened. He ran towards Jesus and pushed him aside, turning while he did so, and the weapon landed in his side. Jesus hit the ground with force and Judas dropped next to him.
Everything became normal again. She and the apostles quickly climbed the stairs. Jesus sat next to Judas, who had fainted. Or perhaps he was… Jesus shook Judas' shoulders.
"Judas? Judas!" he shouted almost hysterically. Judas' head rolled up and down.
"Jesus!" Peter landed beside him. "He just past out. We should lay him somewhere where it's quiet and he can recover. You can cure him." Jesus was a bit of a doctor, he had always herbs and medication with him.
Mary looked around. Everyone at the square had become wild, pushed each other aside and trapped everyone trying to get away. Nobody seemed to realise the man with the beard was already gone.
Jesus looked at Peter like he talked another language. His eyes were wild. Mary kneeled and said softly: "Jesus."
He looked at her and said: "Mary." His under lip started to tremble.
"We must get him away. The entire crowd is wild, we must place him somewhere he can rest and you can cure him. Otherwise he'll die."
Jesus nodded. "Well," she said. "Should I remove that dagger first?"
"No," Jesus said vaguely. "No… It will stop the bleeding for now. We should get him somewhere safe…"
He stood up. "Everyone!" His voice was loud and authoritarian. The mob stopped and listened. "Everybody is safe. The man who did this has already fled." There was a united sigh of relieve. Every one immediately believed Jesus. That wasn't surprising, he looked like he didn't even know what the word 'lie' meant. "My friend, however, has been hit by a dagger. We need a place where he can recover."
Twenty people immediately came forward, offering their house. Jesus observed them all, and then picked out a young, anxious man. "What's your name?"
"Mark, sir."
Jesus turned around. "Peter, Simon, could you carry Judas? And Matthew and Phillip, could you make the way clear?" Then he said to Mark: "Show us the way to your home."
The man almost stumbled over his feet while trying to obey. Mary gently took Jesus' hand. He looked so lost again. They followed Peter and Simon.
Mark pushed open the door of a house in the poorer neighbourhood, which lead to a grant room with a door to a little kitchen and showed Peter and Simon a bed for Judas. They laid him very carefully on it and Jesus kneeled immediately down. Mary sat next to him.
"I need some water and a cloth," Jesus murmured, stripping away Judas' shirt, which was wet with blood.
There were gasps, and James said very clearly: "God damn it." Judas' muscular chest and back were covered with scars, and over his entire belly ran a big, red burn.
"That must've hurt," whispered Thaddeus. Jesus looked up.
"Some water and a cloth, please," he said sharply.
Mark got it, and later he brought Jesus also the needle and thread he needed. Mary helped Jesus as well as she could, dabbing Judas' forehead and reaching herbs and bandage if he asked for it. The apostles sat around in the little room, trying not to take to much place. Once Peter suggested that they maybe better could go into town, without much convincement though, and the disgusted looks of the others said enough. So they all sat quietly, not talking and eying Jesus and Mary.
Finally Jesus sewed the wound, turned around and sat with a tired smile: "He'll be all right now."
When they all had convinced themselves he spoke the truth and not tried to set them at their ease, they all laughed shaky and patted Jesus and Mary at their back.
"When will he wake up?" asked John.
"I don't know," Jesus answered honest. "I just know he won't die. He's safe."
Mary smiled and stroked his hair. "But you must rest. You're deadly tired."
He shook his head. "I want to be awake when he wakes up."
She looked him in the eye and saw he wouldn't listen to her, whatever she said. "All right. But you must promise that you'll sleep after that."
He smiled. "I promise." He took her hand and they sat like that whole the time, while the apostles behind them enthusiastic talked, laughed and told stories to Mark, who listened very interested.
There had passed an hour before Judas started to move. It was not much, a small movement of the hand, a twitch of the face… but it was enough. Mary let go of Jesus' hand while Judas lips started to tremble and he blinked. "Jesus?" she heard softly.
"I'm here, Judas," said Jesus gently. The apostles stopped doing what they were doing and came closer.
Judas looked at Jesus. "Where… where are we?" he uttered laborious.
"We are in the house of Mark," Jesus replied calmly and Mark smiled shy. "He's offered us his house while you recover."
Judas nodded. "Could I… get some… water?"
Jesus took a cup and supported him while he sat up straight. Judas face twisted of pain. When he had drunk, he leaned back, closed his eyes and asked then: "How bad is it?"
"Pretty bad," Jesus answered. "The dagger went quite deep. You shouldn't leave bed for at least two weeks."
"Two weeks?" Judas said with all the disgust he could manage. "That's going to bore me to dead!"
Some apostles laughed and Simon said cheerfully: "It seems like his brains aren't damaged."
Judas opened one eye and replied: "That would be very difficult, it seems like I've got yours too."
There sounded bursts of laughter all over the room, but Simon didn't seem to mind. "I'll bet he'll be walking around tomorrow."
"No, he won't," said Jesus, helping Judas to lie down again. Judas closed his eyes and muttered he was dizzy.
"You better sleep some more," Jesus smiled. "It's not like you had a cold."
Judas grinned. Jesus watched him. "Thank you."
Judas looked quite surprised. "Thank me for what?"
"Jumping before me."
"Oh that. I'd do it again, but I'm not quite in condition right now, so stop irritating people till I get better, ok?"
Jesus smiled like he knew that behind Judas' sarcastic talking there was something else. Judas closed his eyes weary. "I think I'll pass out."
"Go ahead. I'll stay with you." Judas nodded and after a minute he breathed slowly and steady again.
Mary had been able to convince Jesus to sleep for a couple of hours, but after that he refused to rest anymore, no matter how much she told him that it wouldn't help Judas that he was sick of tiredness. So she sighed and seated herself next to him, beside the bed. In return she got weary, lovely smiles.
Mary watched Judas' face. She was glad he wasn't dead. She felt that he tried to take Jesus away from her, for reasons she didn't know, but she was still glad he was alive. She knew it would break Jesus' heart if he died. That was one reason. The other one was that she was starting to get soft. The unhappy whore she had been had changed. She could hardly recognise herself when she looked in the mirror. Jesus had changed her.
Jesus was talking to Mark when the door flew open and a woman, not much more than a girl, burst in. "Mark! Have you heard it? They say someone has tried to kill Nazareth! They…"
She stopped dead in the middle of the room, with open mouth. Her eyes grew big when she recognised the apostles, and they almost fell out of her head when she saw Jesus. He smiled friendly and she turned red.
Mark stood up and walked towards the girl. "This is my sister, Ruth," he announced. She grinned bashful. "Ruth, these are Jesus and his followers. They'll stay with us till Judas Iscariot is better."
Ruth eyes fell for the first time on Judas and she blushed again. For a moment Mary wondered why; then she realised Judas didn't wear a shirt (it had been covered with blood and everybody had thought it wiser to get rid of it), was quite muscular and very handsome. She hadn't thought about that until now; when Jesus was around all other men seemed incomplete.
"What happened to him?" she gasped.
"He's been catching daggers," said James happily.
"And his very good in it," agreed Bartholomew. The apostles laughed, but the girl blinked.
"Come here," said Mark and he explained what had happened, occasionally interrupted by gasps and little cries from Ruth.
"We'll sleep outside, Mark," said Jesus when he had finished. "But can Judas stay inside?"
"Outside?" Mark said startled. "No, you're all sleeping inside."
"That would be too much trouble. We are with thirteen, and we stay two weeks. This house isn't a palace."
"I don't care," said Mark stubborn. "If you all help now and then everything will be all right."
Jesus looked at Mark and smiled. "You haven't to look far to find a noble."
