What it Would Mean

Follow this back to: Thrifty Man

The conversation with Nina the following morning was as awkward as Illumina had expected. Nina was distant, barely acknowledging Illumina's presence. Still, Illumina persisted and Nina responded when she made the suggestion of the winter journey.

Obviously, Nina had been concerned about the same things and, though her motivation might not coincide with Illumina's, she was obviously driven to the same conclusion; the Prince could not stay with this group of people, they would have to get him somewhere else.

Illumina found herself looking at Nina again, wondering what in the world could be motivating her. There was obviously a whole complex of emotions and motivations behind Nina's response to Illumina's presence and her suggestion but it seemed impossible to pin down what they might spring from.

Oddly enough, from that point on the Prince seemed to settle down. They told him about the winter journey. He obviously regarded it as nothing more than stroll in the country and seemed guardedly pleased that he would be separated from the Margrave and the rest of the people that had been with him on the journey.

Illumina stood looking at him as Nina explained about the journey, being careful not to go into specifics. She was amazed again, at how ignorant he was. Illumina asked him if he had ever used skis. She immediately recognized the question was a mistake. It was obvious before she even finished asking that he had no idea what it would mean to be competent on skis and that his answer was completely useless as he haughtily muttered something about using them once or twice. He didn't even have the sense to ask why the question came up at all.

Illumina had the sudden insight that a large part of his idiocy was structural rather than intrinsic. It wasn't that he was intrinsically an idiot but rather that he placed himself in such a position that he always acted like one; as a result, whether he was an idiot or not made little difference as he was functionally indistinguishable from an idiot. Everything he did or said was idiotic, so as a matter of observed fact, he was an idiot.

Still from that point on in the journey he was moderate in his excesses. He had spent the couple of days traveling up the pass in the cart with Nina evidently nursing his damaged rear parts. The first day up in the Winter Lands he called Illumina over and informed her that today he would ride for a little. Illumina was about to respond, 'That's very interesting,' and ride off, when she saw Nina looking at her, a note of anxiety and desperation about her expression. Illumina took a deep breath and said she would go and find Insensato for him.

This she did, returning a little while later with Insensato bouncing along beside her, Cavalla being careful to keep an eye on the other animal. Illumina tied him to the cart and stood by watching as the Prince scrambled up onto his back. He made a huge production out of launching himself up onto the saddle, almost pitching over the other side, then swiveling round till he and the horse had approximately the same orientation, at which point he levered himself upright and waved his feet around trying to find the stirrups. Illumina was about to offer to untie Insensato but thought better of it and just rode off, wishing the Prince a good ride.

She came back down the line a little later in the morning to find Insensato still bouncing along behind the cart but now without a rider. She assumed the Prince hadn't fallen off but had sensibly decided to limit his riding and was now traveling in the cart. Illumina left it, riding back to the head of the line.

That evening, Nina appeared as they were setting up camp, helping along with everyone else. It was something she had not done since the beginning of the journey and it seemed a good thing to Illumina, almost as though the Prince were making a contribution by proxy as a result of letting Nina go. She laughed at the idea of someone making a contribution by not interfering with someone else. She recognized there might be some significance to it; there was a sense that he might at least appreciate the importance of what other people do and that might be the beginnings of an appreciation of the importance of doing it himself. She gave him that much but not much else.

Up in the Winter Lands it became cold with a heavy frost at night. It was now late autumn, a period known as 'The Clear Days', when there were no clouds and the weather all came from the north. The nights were clear and bitterly cold. Illumina woke to icicles on the inside of her tent, she was warm but the outside was deathly cold. Paradoxically as the winter came on the weather would shift towards the west, it would become overcast and it would warm up again. Usually the warmer weather would last for ten days or so and then it would get cold once more and the snow would come.

They would be back at the Margrave's winter home by the end of the warm days, before the snow came. The party started getting smaller; people left the group as they came to a point close to where they would be spending the winter, sometimes the whole group would be entertained for the night. Winter quarters typically consisted of a village with a number of houses clustered round a hall. The hall was always set up in such a way that a large number of visitors could be accommodated, as much of the wintertime would be spent visiting or receiving visitors. The halls were convivial places, always full of laughter, singing and dancing; people staying up late in the night, playing games or just sharing each other's company.

The Prince always found a corner and just sat wordless, watching the events around him. He never offered to participate and no one ever invited him, not even Nina though she would occasionally go and sit with him. Illumina was curious, watching them together, as she felt it gave her some insight into the hidden life they had on the journey behind the covering of the cart.

She watched them and was struck by how distant they were from each other. It was obvious that the Prince regarded Nina as nothing more than a servant. She never saw him address a remark to her except to tell her to do something. Nina did not offer any comment or initiate any kind of interaction with him either. There was an immense gap between them; it was impossible for her to imagine a way to close it. It was obvious that the same was true for Nina. As for the Prince, he was hardly even aware of its existence, never mind any way to close it.

Three days after the weather shifted to the west, they arrived at the Margrave's winter home. Consistent with his status, it was a larger and more elaborate affair than those that had accommodated them on the journey so far. All the remaining people in the party either left for their own homes or had houses of their own around the Margrave's hall. Still a great deal of drinking, eating and talking went on in the hall, though serious visiting wouldn't start till after the snow had fallen.

The Prince was given a room off the hall and plainly expected Nina to continue to look after him. Illumina thankfully returned to her own room in the Margrave's house in the grateful company of her brother's and sisters; there was a brother, older than she was, and a younger brother and still younger sister. The older brother had been left to run the Margrave's affairs in his absence and was delighted to see them back. The younger brother was somewhat resentful that he had been left behind, though he was appreciative of the help he could be to his older sibling. The younger sister was full of resentment that she had not been allowed to go with. She laughed at Illumina's stories of the Prince's antics and, having attempted to talk to him, was willing to grant that the journey was not entirely a pleasure trip.

To follow this thread in the story go to: Gentle Climb

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