The Eighth Day

They had arranged logs for seating round the fire. Libby asked, "Who is your companion?"

Manueline smiled as she saw the same conversation going on between Wals and Illumina. She watched them for a moment and then turned back to Libby who was sitting beside her. "This may sound strange, but I don't really know. He drifted into my village one day. I met him by the village well and he sang for me and offered to carry the water. He didn't speak any language I understood, just this one, which I can only understand now because I have spent nearly a year trying to learn it from him though as you can tell I still struggle with it. I think it strange that he speaks the same language you do. It must mean the women of the forest also speak your language." She went on to describe the legends of the women of the forest and their connection with the death cult.

Libby interrupted her, putting a hand on her arm, "You mean he was taken up by this death cult, they were going to kill him?"

Manueline looked unsure of herself, smiling briefly at the contact of his hand but looking fearfully into his face. "I don't know. I am too young to be taken to the inner circles of the ritual. What they do and why, I don't know. All I know is that every ten years or so they choose a man and take him to the death hut. On the first day, the old woman sings to him. On the second day, he is left in silence. On the third day, all the women sing to him. On the fourth day, the children sing to him. On the fifth, the young women sing. On the sixth, the old women sing. The men are not trusted near him until the seventh day then they sing at a distance. On the eighth day, the old woman sings to him alone again. On the eight day he dies. On the ninth, they lead him out into the fields where they bury him."

Manueline began to weep as she got to the fifth day and Libby shifted nearer to her putting an arm round her. "I don't understand, what happened to him in the hut?"

"He died. He goes without food or water for eight days and on the eighth day he dies. I couldn't bear it, the thought of his body being buried out in the fields, so I went to him on the eighth night and called to him. I sang to him. I think I was dying when I called out to him to help me and he sang to me again. Somehow, I opened the death hut and led him out across the fields, just as they would have done the following day, only I led him to the river. We took a boat and escaped across to the forest. I fed him and got him to drink. We found an abandoned house and lived there through the winter."

The two guides, Cosimo and Felice had been sitting quietly, spellbound by Manueline's extraordinary story. Manueline sniffed a little and leant forward lifting the lid off the pot and tasting some of the contents. Libby kept contact with her as she did so, resting his hand on her back as she leaned forward. When she sat back on the log, she slipped back into the same place beside him, with his arm around her. He asked quietly, "Why did you do it, did you love him?"

She looked down into the coals of the fire, "No. I liked him; I liked his voice and his face. No, I never thought of him as anything of mine or as a part of my life. That remains true. I think I rescued him because he came to me looking for a path in life. I should have told him to go away and find his own path. Instead, I let him carry the water and taught him the ways of the courtyard, leading him down a path that ultimately lead to his death. It should have been just a bright, warm afternoon, something to sing about not something to weep over."

Libby hugged her, "Well maybe there will be something to sing about before we're done."

She shook her head, still staring into the fire, "Some songs are sad songs."

Libby felt them all drawn back into the maze and looked for a way to lead them out again or at least keep track of where they were. He looked round the campground seeing the wolf and Daisy over under a tree. Daisy lying apparently asleep, the Wolf sitting nearby watching her and the people scattered round the camp. "Where did the wolf come from?"

Manueline looked up and smiled, "Another one of my rescues I'm afraid." She told them the story of how the wolf came to them and of the things she taught him.

Cosimo asked incredulously, "He can actually dodge arrows?"

Manueline nodded her head. "Here I'll show you. Can I borrow your bow?" She picked up a cloth she had been using to hold the pot lid when she picked it up. She tied the cloth round the head of an arrow. She notched the arrow and called to the wolf. He got up, his tail wagging and trotted across the line of fire, obviously deliberately presenting her with a target. She drew the bow tracking him for a moment and then let fly. Cosimo was watching them both carefully, the wolf directly and Manueline out of the corner of his eye. He was not sure who moved first but it seemed the instant the arrow left the bow, the wolf moved, turning towards her and shifting right as he did so. The arrow whistled past him, missing him by a matter of inches, but undeniably a miss all the same. It shot along the ground coming to rest in some bushes on the far side of the campground. The wolf seemed delighted with the whole affair and rushed off into the bushes looking for the arrow. He reappeared a moment later and came bounding across the campground dropping the arrow at Manueline's feet. She patted him and thanked him for the arrow before returning bow and arrow to Cosimo. "Incidentally, never point an arrow at him. He knows what they can do and has been shot at in anger by others. I don't know how he would react."

Illumina and Wals had been walking across to join them when Manueline stood up with the bow and they stopped and watched as she shot at the wolf and he retrieved the arrow. Daisy came trotting across to Illumina and watched the wolf, apparently equally curious about the performance with the arrow. The three of them walked on and arranged themselves round the fire. Wals and Illumina found another log and rolled it over between them to an open spot round the fire. The food was ready and people went around getting bowls and spoons. Manueline dished up from the pot. Illumina patted Daisy and told her to watch. She walked off into the bush followed by the wolf.

Wals asked, "Will she watch?"

"Yes, she has been trained that way. She knows to watch a wide enough perimeter round the camp that someone approaching won't see us before she tells us about them."

Manueline put in, "She doesn't bark?" Illumina said she did not, "Its funny the wolf is the same. He warns us when others are nearby but never by making a noise."

Illumina took an extra bowl and went over to Nina, gently waking her and urging her to eat and drink. Wals and Libby both watched but neither of them made a move to join her. Nina eventually accepted the food and allowed herself to be propped up against a tree but said she would rather not join them round the fire right then. Illumina thought about telling her what she had learnt from Wals but something held her back. She was sure that Nina was already convinced that Wals was her child. Discussing it seemed awkward to her, as Nina had never mentioned it to any of them. She left Nina and returned to her food and the circle round the fire.

"Wals I think you should tell Libby the story of how you were found in the forest." Wals told the story again, mentioning Mab's name this time.

Libby listened with an incredulous look on his face. When Wals finally finished he asked Illumina, "You think he is Nina's child?"

"I don't know. There seem to be too many coincidences for it to be pure chance. Did Nina ever tell you his name?"

"I'm not sure, once when I went for a walk with her she went through a long rambling narrative about the camp in the forest and the people who were there. I think she said at one point 'my son, Giacomo'. Then I heard the word means 'supplanter', it seemed such an odd name, I wasn't sure I'd heard correctly." He grimaced at Wals, "Sorry, as I said, I'm not sure I heard her correctly."

Wals laughed quietly, "I think I'll stick with BB, though that's not a name either. Call me 'Wals', at least until we find something better." Illumina sat down beside him again when she came back from seeing to Nina. He looked at her beside him, "Should I talk to her?"

"I think you should. Would you like me to come?"

He shook his head, reassuring her by touching her shoulder as he stood up. "No I think it would be easier for her dealing with us one at a time."

To follow this thread in the story go to: Some Third Person

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