Fortune's Fool - Mercedes Lackey [31]
She shrugged.
“Oh, dear,” Katya said, feeling a little guilty now. “I didn’t mean to—” She flushed. “I know that you would rather live quietly with him.”
“It is no matter,” Tamiko said dismissively. “It may be that he was fated to become more of a power, and this was merely one of many ways it might have come to be. Whatever happens, he and I will do what we must for the good of our people. But I have something for you.” The kitsune reached into her sash and brought out a little red paper bird.
Now, since being in the company of Tamiko and the shogun, Katya had seen the kitsune fold squares of paper into dozens, if not hundreds, of shapes. It seemed to be a common pastime for the people of this place. Katya had even learned to fold a few herself.
But she sensed that this little bird was something very different.
“This,” said Tamiko, “is no ordinary origami bird. I have had it enchanted with a spell that will last as long as the bird itself does. You have told me that your father sends you to perilous places alone. This bird will serve as your messenger when no help is near. Unfold it and write your message, then fold it up and send it on its way by saying ‘Do my bidding, bear my word, then come you back my paper bird.’ It will fly to the one you want, unfold itself, then when the message is read, fold itself up again and fly back to you. It will also wait for an answer to be written on it before flying back.”
Katya’s eyes went wide. This was no trivial magic!
The kitsune smiled. “There is a bit more,” she said. “You need not send it to a specific person, for that person may take too long to arrive. You can imagine what kind of person or being you need—the nearest good magician, for instance, or the nearest of the Godmothers—the nearest bear-man or fox-woman. So long as you keep firmly in your heart the sort of help you need, the bird will find it. But you should keep it very safe and away from water. It is only paper, after all.”
“Of course,” Katya agreed, then impulsively hugged her new friend. “This is a gift beyond price,” she whispered, as the kitsune returned her embrace. “I can never thank you enough.”
“Nor I, you,” Tamiko countered. “After all, you saved my beloved. And do not try to tell me I could have done so myself! Did not the seabirds cry ‘doom’? Without you—” She shook her head, and pulled away. “I brought this as well,” she said, offering a little jar into which the bird could be slipped, and a stopper and wax to seal it with. “Until you find a better container, this will do.”
“Clever as well as brave and beautiful!” Katya exclaimed, with a wink that made Tamiko blush and giggle. The two of them sealed up the bird, “And now—”
“Now it is time for us both to go.” Tamiko held her hands for a moment. “Sayonara. For we will meet again. I am sure of it.”
“Dosvedanya,” Katya agreed. Then, securing the jar to her belt, she turned and plunged into the sea. She could hardly wait to be home again, and see what new problem her father had for her.
Chapter 6
“Time for the songbird to awaken, little brother!” As Sasha blinked in the cozy darkness of his bed-cupboard, Prince Yasha grabbed Sasha’s foot and shook it. “The kingdom will descend into darkness if you don’t sing it into happiness!”
Sasha stretched and yawned. “Good thing I like mornings, brother, or there would be a mischief played on you today.”
He threw back his blanket and swung his legs over the side of the bed-cupboard, letting them dangle while he scratched his head. The shutters that kept out the light—and in the winter, kept in the heat—were folded back. Morning light never bothered him, and in this weather, it was folly to close yourself in when you could wake to a fresh breeze and birdsong.
He wriggled his toes at Yasha, who laughed. “If anyone was ever to doubt your parentage, or mine for that matter,