“Wipe that smile off your face. The child is in pain,” the princess says, harsher than I’ve ever spoken to her.
“The child can speak for himself. Mare, what do you feel?” Again, the princess is the last of my concerns here. Even if I can’tkeep my eyes from flitting toward her, or help but hate the rising roughness between us. I have to focus on Mare.
Mare has caught on to my change in mood because he’s smiling. He starts to explain with his hands some sort of abstract sensation of pulses that I can’t really follow. This goes on for a minute before I can’t hold back my laughter anymore and grab him to swing him into my arms and twirl.
“You. Are. Brilliant,” I say in his ear. His entire demeanor changes with my approval, and he’s cheering as we go round and round.
“He’s sensitive,” the princess says once I’ve put him down. “From what he’s explained, he’s an Ave mimic.”
“This has to be fate,” I say, more to myself than the others.
The princess takes it personally. “I hate that word.”
Because it’s always been yours. I want to reach out and shake her, anything to satisfy my craving for her. I want to celebrate with her, even with her taciturn attitude. There are more important things to do first, though.
“Could he project?” I ask.
“He’s a kid,” the princess’s voice is stilted, but I can’t understand why. If legends are true, she was able to project and much more since before Mare’s age. It’s obvious the princess isn’t willing to give me more information, so I turn back to Mare, who’s hopping around after the gleeful spin.
“Mare, have you been able to project?”
“Yes, but Susu told me not to tell you, so you can’t tell her I did,” he rushes out.
The lack of trust stings, but it’s superseded by my excitement.
I kneel down to get to his height. “We’re going to eat really good tonight Mare because I’m going to let you in on some of my secrets too.”
He jumps up and down in excitement. Then the princess clears her throat. It’s near impossible, but I ignore it.
“The innkeeper owes us some hearty meals but I’m pushing for the best. We need to celebrate!” I say.
“Sinchinrei, Mare can’t go outside with those crowds,” the princess responds, and I see Mare puff out his chest and gear himself up to argue.
“It’s okay,kori. I’ll bring back the food for you. What do you want to eat?” I ask.
He rattles off every food imaginable, of course. I note the ones he’s most excited for are the simplest ones. Quinoa soup. Fried cheese. Fried plantains. It’s only when he gets to the entree, that I stifle a laugh at his taste.Chiri Uchu, a cold plate of various meats including a whole guinea pig, is what he’s most excited about. Notcuylike what we had for that brief time in Lima, but guinea pig roasted like pachamanka, in an oven deep inside the earth, Andean style.
“You’ve got good taste,” I tell him and ruffle his hair. It sticks up in all sorts of odd ways after being flattened by his chullo all day. “I’ll head out and you two can stay here.”
“No, I’m coming with you,” the princess says resolutely.
I look at the princess in surprise. She’s been so adamant about staying hidden in Cusco and doing absolutely nothing. Now, she’s putting back on the lliklla she just took off. Willingly. Without me even pushing her to.
I’m immediately suspicious.
“Why?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions,” she says with a huff, and she’s out the door.
I rush to hug Mare goodbye and tell him to stay quiet and safe.
“You’re planning to use him,”the princess says as I catch up with her at the entrance of the lodge.
I’m upset before I realize it. “He wants to help,” I say, and it comes out more defensive than I intended.
“He’s a kid. He doesn’t know what he wants,” she grabs my hand as she speaks. The skin contact almost succeeds at derailing my thoughts.
“I knew when I was his age,” I say, refusing to lose this argument. That’s the core of the issue. I spent so much time at Mare’s age feeling powerless and weak. I see that in him, the desire to prove that he can do things, that he can fight alongside us. Now, he can, in his own way. Now, he’s the missing piece of the puzzle.
