Kit verified that the thread of light from her ring really did connect to the ring on the Emperor"s hand. Her hand unconsciously moved to cover her mouth and her posture tightened as her other arm wrapped across her own waist. After a moment she drew a deep breath, reminded herself that this was a game and that the traveling merchant had always wielded a great deal of power in this world.In this place designed to grant dreams, power could be used gently. The Dragon had carried her here in her grasp without hurting her. The King of Cats had carried simple messages and eaten ice cream.
She had been drawn to the merchant"s ordinary and cheerful appearance at first, but she had loved how he never changed. Wherever they met, whenever they met, no matter how busy he was, he always greeted her with a warm smile and gentle hands. Real people got tired, real people lashed out suddenly when they could no longer bear the pressure, but he never would. Having an avatar with an openly powerful ident.i.ty wouldn"t change him.
She stood straighter again. Her ring was linking her to the Jade Emperor. She stood there watching him sleep for a long time. A breath of laughter escaped her, as she realized suddenly that everyone waiting in Shrubbery"s garden was probably going crazy wondering what was happening up here.
She posted on the guild board, instead of sending a dozen private messages. "I found him, but he"s asleep, and you"ll never believe what he turned out to be."
"Kiss him!" MatchlessMinion was the first to reply.
ZipZing replied a moment later: "Can we come up?"
Kit stared at the fairy dragon"s question blankly until she saw Saaki post: "I can carry everyone in a stone s.p.a.ce if we can do it within half an hour."
Kit suddenly remembered her storage pouches and wondered if everyone would be deleted if a stone s.p.a.ce disintegrated. She protested quickly: "Don"t! All of my items turned to dust as soon as I left the paved landing area!"
Ryullusion posted: "I see, so that"s why the earring went suddenly silent."
ZipZing popped into existence beside her a moment later.
"Your items…" Kit protested as she saw that the fairy dragon wore nothing.
"I left everything behind," ZipZing rea.s.sured her quickly, while gazing around with interest.
Kit noticed that she didn"t seem surprised to see the Jade Emperor, and said a bit accusingly, "You knew who he was?"
"I suspected," the fairy dragon admitted. "Which way is the landing area? Saaki will carry everyone up to it in a few minutes if I"m at it."
Kit covered her eyes for a moment, and then pointed at the doors behind her. ZipZing didn"t ask her to open them, she simply shot into the air and went over the rooftop.
Kit turned and looked at the sleeping figure. The whole guild was going to be here in a moment. A deep seated fear of public embarra.s.sment drove her forward, and a moment later she knelt at his side.
She was amused by the fact that even her bravery was impelled by fear as she bent to kiss him, before ZipZing and everyone came to watch. The full motion console made the kiss nothing more than a motion. She couldn"t feel his warmth, and his eyes simply opened as though he"d been waiting. Their clear jade color startled her, because it wasn"t the shade of the traveling merchant"s eyes.
His lips curved in a familiar smile though as he said quietly, "h.e.l.lo Kit my love."
Tears sprang to her eyes, and Kit wept with relief. Once the tears had started, they wouldn"t stop. He held his hands out to her, and she reached for them instinctively.
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"Kit," he said gently, "this is only an offer. You needn"t accept this self if it distresses you?"
Her protestation tumbled out in a frantic jumble, "No I, yes, you!" She gripped his hands with what would have been painful pressure for a human and insisted, "I accept!"
--
Saaki arrived in a puff of flame with Aishin"s new stone s.p.a.ce hanging around his neck, mere moments after Danika sent the message announcing that she"d arrived at the landing area.
Everyone piled out, and Danika checked to make sure that they all seemed to have left their items with Shrubbery"s tree. Aishin grinned at her knowingly and she smiled back happily as she zipped over to him.
"I"m so glad you made it," she whispered.
Aishin winked at her and teased, "Voyeur. I knew you wouldn"t be able to resist."
"Hey!" Danika protested.
MatchlessMinion snickered, and even Ryullusion"s mouth curved into a smile. Shrubbery didn"t pay attention to them, instead she walked toward the edge of the island.
Nao1 followed her over and exclaimed, "Woah, you can see the whole map. Is this world really flat?!"
Even Danika who saw the view everyday while working followed them over to the edge.
"Yes, it"s flat, sort of," Logical Heart agreed.
"Sort of?" Nao1 questioned with a frown.
"Well, it curves a bit, but it"s like the rest of the sphere is missing? They decided early on that a limited but detailed s.p.a.ce would give a better experience than a larger, but less defined world." The gnome spread his little arms and enthused, "With the new batteries available, the servers will be able to expand more than the original designs antic.i.p.ated, and who knows? Maybe someday other improvements will make it so that we"ll be able to fill in the entire planet?"
When they had all looked their fill, Aishin reminded them, "We only have a few minutes left to help Kit if she needs anything from us."
They turned and headed for the stairs that led up to the palace, and Saaki remembered to stop and lay down the stone s.p.a.ce before they went up.
SilentSky complained as they climbed, "I feel naked with only my skills to use if we run into trouble."
"How do you think I feel?" MatchlessMinion complained cheerfully, "Thieves are all about using tools."
Logical Heart snickered, and Danika glanced at him. Enchanters were probably also all about using tools.
"Should we worry about the words on the steps?" Aishin asked.
"I don"t know," Danika admitted. "Nothing ever happens to my work avatar when I come here. But I feel like I should have looked into it and been able to warn Kit so that she didn"t lose her items, instead of the other way around."
"How would you know when I didn"t even know?" Logical Heart questioned. "I"ve been working with the game a lot longer than you have. It seems like something the head of your department would set up though, and there"s probably some story line to go with it that would lead someone here someday."
Danika gazed at the system announcement that popped up, just as they all entered the throne room, with amazement. It read: "The Jade Emperor has ascended. His court will be open once a week to all residents of the Empire who can make the journey to the Jade Palace. May the Emperor and his Empress live in harmony forever."