“Huh?” Beth blinked.
“I know I should be happy to hear that,” Michiko said as she stopped by the gate. “Part of me is very happy. But I keep thinking about the day before yesterday, when I asked you about your future and you didn’t mention me and the work we do. And that’s why I keep hearing a ‘but’ in there.”
Beth’s eyes widened. “I…I thought that was a given,” she said. “I thought we were talking about my day job, not the ‘saving the world’ part. But I have to admit that…well, ever since I realized what my feelings for you were, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having second thoughts about helping you.”
Beth looked down at the river that flowed below the bridge. “Michiko, what we do is dangerous. I’ve almost been killed five times in just the last few days. I wasn’t expecting this much danger this often when I decided to start working with you, and sometimes it really does scare me. And if we take the next step, if we become more than friends, I’m not just committing to you. I’m committing to spending my life helping you…and I’m not sure if that’s what I want from life.”
Michiko was silent for a moment, and as Beth turned back to her, she realized she was holding her breath. “Beth?” Michiko finally said. “Does that include me being part of your life?”
Beth felt her stomach churn. She ran up to Michiko, desperately scrambling to find an answer to the simple question. “Michiko…” she started to say.
“It’s okay,” Michiko said quietly, not looking at Beth. “I understand.” She bowed her head and started to walk away. “Let’s go home.”
Beth saw the dejection in Michiko’s face, the sadness in her eyes, and the sight tore her apart, shook her heart and soul. No! she thought. I didn’t mean to hurt her! “Michiko?” she said. “Michiko, wait. Please.” She lowered her head, not wanting to look up, fearing that if she did, Michiko would be gone.
“What I said…” Beth took a deep breath and prayed that she’d find the right words. “That’s not what I meant, not at all. No matter how dangerous things may get, you’ve always been there for me, and I don’t want that to ever change. You’re so sweet and silly and awesome, so kind and thoughtful…” She closed her eyes. “I care for you, Michiko, more than anything. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.” She could feel the first tear fall. “I don’t want to lose you,” she said softly.
But I have, haven’t I? Beth thought as she stood on the bridge, tears trickling down her cheeks as her heart slowly broke. I’ve blown it. Oh, God, I’ve ruined everything. Maybe we’ll still be friends, but now she’ll never—
Beth felt a hand on her cheek.
She opened her eyes.
Michiko was there, standing in front of her, gently wiping away Beth’s tears even as her own started to fall. Beth placed her hand on top of Michiko’s, pressing it against her cheek as she smiled.
“Beth…” Michiko’s voice trembled as she pulled closer. “I don’t want to lose you either. You mean everything to me. You…” She smiled through her tears. “You make the world worth saving.”
For the first time, Beth realized how beautiful Michiko’s smile was. She took Michiko in her arms and held her, and when Michiko returned her embrace, she started to cry again, this time with joy. They held each other for a long time, their cheeks pressed together, their tears blending as they fell. Beth could feel Michiko’s heart racing like her own heart was, and she couldn’t stop smiling.
“Beth…” Michiko pulled back and wiped her eyes. “If I have to, I’ll hang up my staff.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll let other people be the heroes. I’ll stop being the Monkey Queen. I’ll retire, find a job, lead a quiet life.”
“Michiko!” Beth said. “You can’t!”
“If it means I don’t lose you…” Michiko took Beth’s shoulders. “I’ll do whatever I have to do. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“But I’d never ask you to do that for me,” Beth said, stroking Michiko’s hair. “So many people need your help, and…you need it too. You love being a hero. I’ll never take that away from you.”
“But what can we do?” Michiko said.
“Michiko…” Beth slid her hand down to Michiko’s shoulder. “Can you give me time? Can you let me work through all this, figure out what’s best for me, for us? Will you wait for me?”
“Oh, Beth.” Michiko smiled. “Of course I will. You’re worth the wait.” She leaned in towards Beth and kissed her on the cheek.
Beth stared at Michiko. What just happened? she thought, her head spinning. Did she just—?
Michiko’s face reddened. “Beth, I’m—I’m sorry!” she said. “I didn’t—I’m not trying to pressure you—I didn’t mean—”
Beth pressed a finger against Michiko’s lips. As she fell quiet, Beth leaned in and gently kissed Michiko on her cheek, feeling a thrill as her lips touched Michiko’s soft skin. “There,” Beth said as she straightened up. “Now we’re even.” She lowered her hands, and Michiko took them in hers. Beth squeezed Michiko’s hands gently, encouragingly, and smiled warmly.
Michiko beamed with happiness as Beth looked into her eyes. She saw not just joy and hope and love there but her future as well, a life together with the sweetest person she’d ever known. Just give me time, Michiko, Beth thought. Let me work through this, and with any luck, our two stories will become one. We’ll have our happy ending.
Michiko turned her head as Beth heard the birdsong in the distance. “Was that a magpie?” Michiko said.
“I think so. You know,” Beth told Michiko, “when I woke up yesterday from my nap and found that you were gone, there was a magpie singing nearby. One for sorrow, like in the old rhyme.”
“And when you found me later,” Michiko said slowly, “there were two magpies flying past and singing.”
“Two for joy,” Beth said. “Let’s wait and see if any are coming now.”
Michiko nodded as they scanned the skies. “Beth! Look!” she said after a minute, pointing into the distance.
Beth could see the large flock, a tiding of magpies, soaring towards the bridge. “There must be dozens of them,” she said as they flew overhead, singing in a tangled but oddly sweet cacophony. She couldn’t help but notice that one of them seemed to have a golden feather adorning its tail.
“Hundreds! What do you think it could mean?” Michiko asked as they watched the birds fly towards the horizon.
Beth thought it over until the last magpie had faded from view. “Michiko?” she finally said.
“Yeah?”
“I haven’t the foggiest idea.” Beth grinned as she started to giggle.
“Me neither!” Michiko said as she laughed, long and loud and happily. After a minute, she caught her breath and smiled at Beth. “Time to go,” she said.
“Yeah. Sheng has to have found those mules by now.” And Beth and Michiko started their journey home, crossing the Bridge of Magpies on the seventh day of the seventh month, walking hand in hand.
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Acknowledgments
First and foremost, thanks to Willow! It’s not just for the gorgeous cover, or for the art in her gallery that helped inspire a character in this book, but for her support when I told her what the ending for this book was going to be. Every time I think she can’t get any more awesome, she proves me wrong! As always, check out her extensive gallery at willow-san.deviantart.com, follow her for updates and more at www.facebook.com/willousan, and drop by http://society6.com/willowsan to shop at her webstore!
Thanks as always to Keri Knutson at Alchemy Book Covers for her fine design work! Find her at www.alche
mybookcovers.com/
Thanks as well to Jason and Marina Anderson at Polgarus Studio for their great formatting work! Find them at www.polgarusstudio.com/
Hat tips to the gang at KBoards, Cora and Jessica at the Speculative Fiction Showcase blog, Sarah Dalton and the YA Spring Fling, Lori Connelly with First Fight Fridays, and R.M. Webb, for all their support and encouragement.
Thanks to three different people for being awesome in different ways, but still being awesome all the same: Stan Sakai, Kate Danley, and Shei Darksbane.
For more on Barry Hughart and The Chronicles Of Master Li And Number Ten Ox: http://www.barryhughart.org/
For more on the life and work of Robert Asprin: http://mythadventures.net/
And many, many thanks to the archer…whoever and wherever she may be.
About The Author
Fantasy novelist, all-around wisecracker, baker of cookies and penguin aficionado, Robert Dahlen lives in northern California with numerous penguins (natch), a tablet stuffed with e-books and novels in progress, and a very nice hat. He is hopefully working on another Monkey Queen adventure as you read this. (And he pronounces his last name “duh-LANE”, as in “the rain in Spain falls mainly on Dahlen”, which is why Sybil Fawlty thinks he’s from Barcelona.)
Table of Contents
The Monkey Queen series:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Acknowledgments
About The Author
A Tiding of Magpies Page 14