The Prison Healer

Jaren is an enigmatic and integral secondary character in The Prison Healer, and he also becomes Kiva’s love interest. Initially introduced as a new prisoner, Jaren is soon established to be somewhat different from other incoming prisoners, and Kiva finds herself unwillingly drawn to him despite her customary caution. Although she attempts to keep Jaren at a distance, he continues to support her through the challenges of the trials and life in Zalindov. While “[i]n Jaren’s embrace, [Kiva] feel[s] safe and protected for the first time in years” (217), and these unaccustomed moments of intimacy highlight the strength of Kiva and Jaren’s growing connection. Notably, Jaren’s compassionate and caring nature stands in stark opposition to the brutality of Zalindov; because he is secretly the Crown Prince, he has had a comparatively privileged upbringing.

The narrative eventually reveals that Jaren has infiltrated Zalindov in order to learn more about Tilda Corentine because she threatens his kingdom and his family’s power base. Jaren has the power to control all four elements, and he uses his talents to surreptitiously save Kiva twice as she undergoes the impossibly difficult trials on Tilda’s behalf. In the third trial, he finally reveals the full range of his powers, but it is not until Kiva is trapped in the cell in the Abyss that she finally discovers Jaren’s true identity as a member of the Vallentis family and realizes, “His family was the reason her brother was dead, the reason she had been torn from her family and lost a whole decade of her life, the reason her father had died at the hands of a murdering psychopath in hits hellhole” (346). Thus, Jaren’s identity offers many complications, not the least of which is that Kiva blames Jaren’s family for everything that has happened to her over the last 10 years. At the same time, Jaren has risked his life to save her and protect her, and he is the only reason why she survived the trials at all. Ultimately, Jaren is a complex character who is overwhelmingly compassionate and loyal to Kiva, but it is clear that he and Kiva have very different motivations.

As the only prison guard who is sympathetic to Kiva, Naari is a dynamic character who is profoundly changed by her time in Zalindov. She secretly infiltrates Zalindov in order to aid Jaren’s plan to question Tilda Corentine. Naari is Jaren’s Golden Shield, or bodyguard, and her first priority is to protect him. However, Naari also stands as a stark contrast to the abuses of power that run rampant in Zalindov. Although Kiva is just as suspicious of Naari as she is of all the guards, she eventually realizes that there is something different about Naari.

Their dynamic changes as they spend more time together: a shift that comes to a head when Naari offers to help Kiva with her healing work. As the narrative states, “[T]he healer and the guard worked side by side into the night, the balance of power between them blurring—and perhaps, as Kiva was beginning to realize, fading entirely” (160). Moments such as these eventually convince Kiva that Naari can be trusted, and this sentiment is reinforced when Naari repeatedly steps in to shield Kiva from the other guards. Additionally, because Naari recognizes the unfairness at Zalindov, she represents an alternative to The Corruptive Influence of Unchecked Power, using her relative privilege to protect prisoners and question the status quo at the prison. When Naari realizes that Warden Rooke is poisoning prisoners to lower the prison population, she immediately writes to the King and Queen and requests aid, and she proves herself to be a staunch ally of Kiva’s as well as Jaren’s.

Warden Rooke is an antagonist throughout The Prison Healer, though the level of his deceit and cruelty is not clear until later in the novel. Warden Rooke runs Zalindov and answers to all the kingdoms that send their criminals there. Warden Rooke has overseen Zalindov since Kiva and her father were imprisoned, and Kiva initially views him as a relatively fair man despite his position of power. However, although Warden Rooke does not allow guards to abuse prisoners with impunity, Kiva notes that the guards still torture prisoners regularly and avoid being caught.

Part of Kiva’s character growth comes from the evolution of her perspective on the warden, for she eventually realizes that his favor of her was entirely self-serving. As she reflects, “He’d never wanted to protect her—he’d wanted to keep her close, to make sure she remained his submissive puppet. And as soon as he knew she wouldn’t…” (342). While she has habitually reported to Warden Rooke for years because she feels indebted to him, Kiva finally realizes that he has only been using her. Additionally, she learns that Warden Rooke’s favor is a dubious honor at best, for he frequently puts her in untenable positions, thereby ensuring that she is alienated from her fellow prisoners. At the same time, he makes no attempt to shield her from the repercussions of his actions, even doing nothing when Cresta threatens to kill the young Tipp if Kiva fails to save Tilda’s life.

Kiva once viewed Warden Rooke as better than the more brutal guards like the Butcher and Bones, both of whom gleefully torture prisoners; however, she soon realizes that Warden Rooke is personally responsible for the poison causing the so-called “stomach sickness.” As the narrative reveals, “Zalindov is already past capacity. So Rooke decided to enact his own form of… population control” (341). Succumbing to The Corruptive Influence of Unchecked Power, Warden Rooke poisons the prisoners surreptitiously to create the impression that anyone visiting the infirmary is getting sick. His ruse is so effective that Cresta even accuses Kiva of causing prisoners to get sick and die. Once Kiva determines that poison is the culprit, Warden Rooke has her thrown into the Abyss to keep his actions a secret. Ultimately, Warden Rooke is shown to be even more corrupt and ruthless than the guards because he does not see the prisoners as people, only as objects to be exploited or discarded in accordance with the needs of the prison.

Although Tilda Corentine is the Rebel Queen, she is a secondary character who acts more as a plot device than a self-possessed individual. While her presence is essential to the arc of the narrative, she is very close to death when she arrives at the prison, and she is utterly unable to attempt the four trials that she must complete in order to prove her innocence. Kiva therefore becomes Tilda’s champion and undergoes the trials in her stead. In this way, Kiva and Tilda’s fates become intertwined, because if Kiva dies, then Tilda dies. Throughout the novel, Tilda rarely becomes lucid, and when she does, she does not reveal much information. What little Kiva knows about the Rebel Queen’s activities comes from information that she has gleaned from incoming prisoners. The notes from her family only tell her to keep Tilda alive; they do not offer any information on how Tilda got caught.

Kiva does know that the Rebel Queen has “come out of hiding and [is] now leading [the rebels’] cause, seeking one thing: vengeance. Not justice, not a chance to debate why the crown belonged to her. No, the Rebel Queen wanted revenge for all that had been taken from her” (53). This quote becomes particularly important after the twist at the novel’s conclusion, when Kiva reveals that Tilda Corentine is her mother. Tilda’s goal was to exact revenge against the royal family, whom she blamed for destroying her own family. In this way, Kiva inadvertently plays an integral part in the uprisings, creating uncertainty throughout Wenderall.

While tending to Tilda, Kiva does not give away the truth of their relationship because she is always watched by guards and others. The most Kiva dares to do is to tell her delirious mother a story of how her mother (Tilda) met her father, Faran. Kiva’s motivation is to remind Tilda that she has something to live for. Near the end of the novel, Tilda awakens for the last time and she repeats Kiva’s name. Then she asks Kiva for the same story. Ultimately, Tilda is murdered in the prison riot, and Kiva must face the fact that despite her heroic efforts to preserve her mother’s life, she has failed. The conclusion of the novel implies that Kiva will take up her mother’s mission—to retake the crown—thereby continuing her legacy.