I'm sorry. I don't think I've ever heard of that rule. We can get you a new outfit.

"I'm not sure what you are exactly, maybe you are another species and not a red, but I need to be careful." If her foster parents are not really attached to her by the end of spring because they think she has been doing disgusting things then she's in trouble.

...the place you are from sounds really horrible and I am increasingly thinking that maybe you could just stay here instead if you would like but I don't know about the hair thing and if it is really important then it sounds like it'll be inconvenient. We would have to divide the city in half or something.

Usually reds do not get an entire half, there aren't that many of them. "I am from a very nice place." It's just that there are terrible conquerors everywhere now.

There aren't very many of us here either but if we didn't have much space we would be sad, and there aren't that many people who can't touch red things either, there's only you. 

And there aren't terrible conquerors here. 

"I also can't touch things or people that have touched red people," she clarifies. "Unless they've been cleaned. The Empire of Oahk has the strength and the right to occupy all territory it sees fit to seize." Her foster parents like it when she says that and she tastes blood every time she does.

That makes it more inconvenient but I still think you should live here and not in the Empire of Oahk even if it means we have to build a whole new part of the city where I don't go. ...or I suppose we could topple the Empire of Oahk but I would definitely have to ask the King about that.

Yes do it destroy it gone gone gone Voa Voa Voa. "Oh."

Shy smile. I don't know very much about destroying empires but that's what we have a King for would you like to meet him.

These shoes are already wrecked she already has to take one of those interminable showers as long as she doesn't touch anything but what she's already wearing it won't get much worse. "Yes."

"Mother, Father, I'm taking Avalor to meet the King so we can fix the place that she is from because it is terrible," he calls, and sends her the translation, and holds the door for her since she probably can't touch it.

"Thank you," she says, just because he is some kind of possibly red alien does not mean she can't be polite, she's polite to the Imperials. She goes through the door.

His house is kind of spectacularly pretty! Really excessive! Handmade furniture and handwoven tapestries and fancy glasswork and all of it a remarkable work of art. He hugs the wall so he can slide past her without touching her and then darts through the rooms heading for the main entrance.

She follows him more sedately, she doesn't want to fall. And the art is distracting. It is weird for reds to have art.

A woman pokes her head through the doorway. She's heavily pregnant and wearing a stunningly pretty golden dress; her hair is braided. 

     "Maitimo what -"

"Send a translation to Avalor she is from some particularly horrible part of Endorë called the Oakh Empire and she doesn't know any Quenya."

    "Hello, Avalor," she says, blinking at her. "It's nice to meet you."

"She can't touch anything because it is a rule and her foster parents will be mad and something bad will happen."

    "- okay."

"She can maybe touch people who don't have red hair if they wash so someone should wash so they can give her a hug I think."

   "If she'd like that I am sure someone would be happy to do that."

"I don't think I particularly need a hug," says Avalor, "but thank you." Part of being wanted because it is spring and she is small is being smothered.

"All right. And you are going to talk to Finwë?"

       "Yes. Unexpected situations are what Kings are for," he says in a singsong voice.

"Do you need company?'

       "No not really I will not get lost."

"Then tell the King we're all faring well and send our love as ever -"

       "He'll know it was you and not Father said that -"

"Yes he will. Say it anyway?"

       "I will."

Voa did not have a King it had Five Lines and she thinks she is the only Line heiress left but there might be branches especially children.

They go outside. The sky is white and very bright. There's a cobblestone road; he walks along it. What happened to the other Lines.

Avalor squints in the light. "The Imperials lined up all of the Voa blues they could catch which I think was all of us and killed one in three plus anyone who tried to run away or change places." Blood and her father craning his neck to count and pulling her mother aside and blood and blood and blood and holding so still failing to not look.

He stops moving.

He goes very still and then slowly lowers himself to the cobblestones and touches them. They are very warm. 

I'm sorry, he says very quietly even though telepathy shouldn't have a volume. I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry.

"Two in three of the ones who stayed lined up are allowed to live as subjects of the Empire of Oahk," she says, "which is very merciful," destroy it destroy it destroy it, "and allows us to contribute to the new order."

That is not very merciful and we will destroy it we will figure out how.

It's sort of interesting to be practicing being a docile conquered child and having him respond to how she actually thinks about it.

- sorry, should I not - I am starting to understand the thing they want you to do and I guess maybe if you stop doing it you get out of practice?