Page 100 of Dead Crown
Lumi didn’t notice her at first as they sat on a cleared patch of ground around a fire near the tomb. Jaki suggested they could sleep in the tomb as long as they didn’t enter Rinder’s space. Most of the guards vigorously shook their heads.
“Fuck that,” one muttered.
Lumi spotted a figure maybe forty feet away, and he jumped, which made everyone’s head swivel to peer at whatever he saw.
Wrapped in furs, a woman stood with her hair loose and blowing as if the cold didn’t bother her. It was long, dark, and appeared thick. Her skin was brown. Some of the fur was dark, and the piece covering her shoulders was white and possibly created from a snow bear.
Beside her was a small figure.
Lumi guessed the child was a boy, maybe ten or so. His grey fur hat was pulled low, and he huddled close to the woman. Whether he was scared or cold, it was hard to tell. From what little Lumi could see of his face, he was brown too and likely her child. One of the guards muttered something like, “What are they doing way out here?”
Jaki stood and called out to them. “Are you all right?”
The woman turned without a word to walk back the way she came. The boy hesitated and quickly followed, staying close to her. She didn’t look back as she trudged along, and something moved on her back. Lumi was positive it was a short spear she’d slung over her back.
One of the guards set his bowl by the fire. “Shall I get her?”
“No.” Jaki sat. “If she doesn’t want to talk to us, it’s her business.”
“But she’s out here alone with a child. There’s no village or town nearby.”
“If she doesn’t care to approach and ask for help, then I’m sure she’s been managing.” Jaki set down his empty bowl. “I heard a story once, some years ago, about a wild woman in the north.”
“A wild woman?” asked another guard. “She seemed rather normal to me besides living up here in this barren place.”
“It’s not my term for her. I didn’t think it was true anyway. It sounded made up. Supposedly, a woman came from Earth and decided to head north to live in the wilderness.”
“I thought she was Rowland or Finkin,” said Lumi.
“No, she comes from some place on Earth. Well, I’m guessing she’s the woman I heard about. I don’t know where exactly she supposedly came from. If she’s been living up here, she must be doing well with that kid. With the Crown where it belongs, the hunting will get even better.”
Several, including Lumi, watched the woman and her boy grow smaller in the distance until they disappeared over a slight hill. Was the boy all human too, or did he have a fairy Father? If so, where was he? If the woman were human, she must have met a fairy on Earth and decided to come with them later. Maybe something happened to the fairy later, and she chose to live in the wilderness with her son and make a new path for herself.
It was mean to call her a wild woman, human or not just because she didn’t wish to live in a town. And if she preferred the company of few, so be it. Then again, many had given Lumi names too without actually knowing him at all. He’d been what everyone else said he was. Whore, court entertainer, storyteller, trickster, pleasure slave, cum midden, stress dump, the holes, bitch, useless, and stupid.
He could be whoever he wanted with Tivar gone and Iceland ready to come back to life, and he stared at the point where the pair had disappeared. He could be who he wanted despite what anyone else said or who he’d been before.
Lumi wanted to be a Father and a husband.
Epilogue
January, 1660
The baby was alive.
Jaki sat on the edge of the bed and stared at his son, swaddled in a bright yellow blanket. The baby squinted back and twitched his pointy ears in wonder as Jaki made a slight choked sound.
“Daddy, don’t cry.” Jacqueline, seated next to him, leaned on his arm and looked up with her ears slightly back.
“I’m not.” Jaki’s throat was tight, and his eyes watered as he gave her a smile.
They’d decided on names already. Lumi’s pregnancy had been mostly easy, so they hadn’t expected for the baby to come about a month early. Mary said it happened at times, and babies came in their own time. It could have been the stress of a rather recent event.
Fortunately, Armas seemed well despite being small. Lumi, sitting up against pillows, appeared half-asleep, and he smiled when Jaki looked over at him. Words weren’t needed as he leaned over to gently kiss Lumi’s lips.
“I should feed him again,” said Lumi. “And you should put her to bed.” Jacqueline slipped down and wandered over to Mary who was looking through her leather satchel.
“I know. I just don’t want to leave you right now. But you’re right.” Jaki glanced at their daughter who was watching Mary put things away.
