Don't Touch

The third time, they were lucky. Illumina had the watch and she had Daisy with her. She saw a small man walking back against the direction of the procession going north where everyone else was going south and evidently having a difficult time of it. Every now and then, he had to step off the path and try to make his way through the undergrowth to avoid the oncoming tide of people. He came to the path leading east west that Illumina and the others had been following and evidently decided it might be worth trying one of the north-south paths that lay further west, he followed the path that would lead him right past Illumina and right past the place where they had left the path going into the bush.

He had not gone far before he stopped and looked at the ground obviously studying their tracks. Illumina took his look of perplexity as a cue and stepped out, greeting him, her hands open and empty before her. She sighed in exasperation when he took one look at her and Daisy and bowed low before them. Still, she consoled herself, at least he didn't kneel on the ground. She walked up to him greeting him, hoping he might have some understanding of the language. She almost laughed in relief when he responded to the greeting, admittedly somewhat hesitantly but undeniably in the same language.

She thought about introducing herself but then decided that would be a waste of time. Besides, she was not sure she wanted anyone in the North Lord's lands to know who she was; she just contented herself by saying that she and her companions had come from the country west of here and were hoping to get to the river. She asked who he was and where he was going. He explained that he lived in the forest in the great marsh and that he was one of a group of people leading the people of the following through the forest. He added that he was surprised to see her and the great dog here as he had heard that they were still on the other side of the forest.

To say the least, this last statement confused Illumina but she cautiously hid her reaction and asked instead, "Where did you hear that." He told her the headman, who was organizing the effort to guide the people through the forest and the swamp, had told him. He looked a little contrite and added, well not exactly the headman, but someone who knew the headman had told him. The headman was really a headman in another tribe that lived in the north, but they always cooperated in passing people through the forest and made a good living out of it. In any event, he clearly believed this headman had met her and talked to her. He went on at great length, saying how honored he was to meet her as well. He asked if the dead man was with her. Illumina again was taken aback by the statement but cautious in her response, saying that death was everywhere but thanking him for the other information. She invited him back to the camp and he followed her at a respectful distance, keeping a wary eye on Daisy.

They got to the camp and he promptly bowed to the Prince. Illumina asked him, again being cautious, "How did you know that he is the one?" The man replied very earnestly, that it could be no one else, the color of his eyes, the color of his hair, the set of his body, they all matched exactly the description he had heard from the headman from the north swamp. Illumina had never paid much attention to it but it was certainly true that the Prince was physically different from the rest of them. He was slim with fair hair and green eyes, the height and build being common in the King's City and contrasting strongly with the people of Loro who tended to be darker and heavier.

Illumina had the eastern watch and Cosimo the western. As a result, the three older men, the Prince, Nina and Illumina were all present standing in a circle round the latest straggler as he talked about the Prince. Illumina saw Nina go white and put a hand over her mouth as though stopping herself from crying out. She bent forward a little, her stomach heaving as though she were about to be sick. Illumina went quickly to her asking if she was all right. Nina could barely speak. She stayed bent over and waved one hand as though motioning them to stay away from her. She shook her head and finally managed to gasp out, "I'm all right, please just let me be. I think I must have eaten something bad." Illumina helped her over to a tree, followed by the Prince who offered to help as Illumina turned Nina round settling her with her back against the trunk of the tree.

Illumina carefully turned her back on the latest straggler and said quietly to him, "I think you should be careful not to touch any of us." The Prince gave her a startled look, she explained, "That man thinks you are the personification of death. The stories we heard in Loro were that people believed it was death to touch him. If you touch any of us and we do not die, the stragglers may get suspicious." The Prince looked at her with round eyes, shocked by the implications of what she was saying. He had yet to make the connection between what the latest straggler told them and the various stories they heard elsewhere. The full implications of it all hit him. Thousands of people might look on him as a force of nature, as one of the ultimate natural forces, the power of death itself.

He looked worried and asked, "Isn't it dangerous, what if someone who has actually seen this man sees me and denounces me as a fraud?"

Illumina shook her head, "I don't think it matters. If enough people believe it, it won't matter of there are a few skeptics. I am pretty sure all those thousands of people out there will accept you without question and tear to pieces anyone who challenges you. Come we should talk to the others."

The two of them walked back to the others, Illumina asked one of the men to go and take her place watching the east, another she asked to organize some food for the stragglers, taking the opportunity to escort the last straggler over to sit with the other two. The rest of them went and sat under the tree that Nina was leaning against and talked about what they should do.

Ivo asked, "So you think we should go along with their mistake and pretend that the Prince is this personification of death and you some kind of consort for him?"

Illumina looked round the circle, "I admit it's a risk, but it seems like it would be just as much of a risk to try and explain who we are, especially when explaining who we are is exactly what we don't want to do. I don't think we have any choice in the matter."

They talked about the alternatives but could think of nothing they could do other than play along with what people seemed set on believing. They sat in silence of a while, the Prince looked up, "What do you think it means that there is this man who looks like me and is thought of as being death personified?"

Illumina shook her head, "It's probably just something that came out of series of accidents. I don't doubt that he killed some extraordinary number of people. He may be a skilled fighter, but I'm sure he is just an ordinary person like you or I."

The Prince looked at her, "He isn't ordinary, he looks like me. What is a man from the King's City doing killing people in the northern desert? How did he get there? And there is obviously someone with him who looks like you. They even have a dog and here we are with Daisy. Illumina what in the world is going on here?"

Illumina was about to reach across and touch him, trying to reassure him, she stopped herself, instead slapping her hand on the ground. "It's just a coincidence. It doesn't mean anything. Just because he's blond with green eyes doesn't mean he came from the city." She laughed rather nervously, "There may be a whole tribe of blond, green-eyed people out there for all we know."

Illumina was sitting with her back towards Nina; the Prince could see her face. Illumina suddenly realized he was looking at Nina in alarm. Illumina turned as the Prince got to his feet and she saw Nina shaking her head saying, "No, no it's not him, it must be a coincidence." Her words trailed away into an incoherent murmur, though Illumina thought she caught some phrases like 'He's dead," and 'he died, death took him.'

She spoke quietly but urgently to the Prince, "Don't touch her. They mustn't see you touch anyone." The Prince stood back, a helpless expression on his face. Illumina had the odd experience of seeing them as though she had seen them that way before. It was as though there was something in both of them that was so strong that she expected it when it came, she could not sort out in her mind if she had seen them looking at each other like that before or whether her experience of them had led her to imagine it or dream it. Then the moment was gone. It was so ephemeral, so much a product of her own mind that she found it hard to recapture it once it left her. She found herself standing looking down at Nina, not for the first time wondering what was driving her and what anyone could do to help. She comforted her, persuaded her to drink a little, kept her warm and still for a while at least until she stopped shaking. The world was moving on around them and Illumina could not just ignore it for long.

To follow this thread in the story go to: Villages

Table of Contents