The Rugged Edge

Chapter 18: The Ending I Would Write

Their story was enchanting;
my heart cried at joy's hold.
But more, it cried with sadness
for endings I'd been told.
Yet by the warmest firelight
finales known and old
seemed drowned in how I would tell
an ending I'd unfold.

. . . . .

The day went much too slowly. By dinner, I'd resolved to go to camp that night. That way I could at least talk to Quinnie.

The hike through the woods was quiet, as always, and for once I didn't think about the mystery of Act CXII. Instead, I thought again about what I could fix for the kingdom.

As the rebellion camp loomed up, I noticed that something was wrong.

There was no one there.

The fire was lit, and tiny puffs of smoke rose through the air. The hunters had returned, and the kill was ready to be cut and put into the cooking pots. Yet the hunters weren't there, and the women who cooked were gone. It was like the camp had been alive seconds ago, but then all of the people - the ones who really gave it life - had disappeared, like a magic trick.

The only person I could tell was there was Rufus. His form was silhouetted in his thin tent tarp, marking spots on his map like usual. But no one else was there. It was like he hadn't wanted to participate in the magic trick.

I walked out into the middle of the camp and looked around. Had everyone gone to Runa? Of course not, not in the middle of the night. The camp felt very lonely when it lacked its dwellers. What had happened?

And then, suddenly, everyone was there. They popped out from behind trees and from under logs, and they were all laughing and cheering.

It was Quinnie who shouted it.

"Happy birthday!"

Everyone was there. Bessy was hugging me, Quinnie was cheering, and Geraint was smiling. Professor Alastair was laughing from across the camp and Mae was carrying what looked like it might be a cake towards me. Aldith was smiling, but stoking the fire as if she didn't want to get in the way, and Cyneric was laughing hysterically.

It was definitely the most shocking moment I'd ever known, but it was also the best time I'd ever had. I'd never realized that so many people cared for me.

"It was Geraint's idea!" beamed Quinnie.

"Maybe, but you sure helped me," said Geraint. "And without Bessy it wouldn't have happened."

I found myself laughing and crying at the same time. "How did you know? I never told you."

"I heard Bessy talking to Professor Alastair," said Quinnie, still smiling as if the best thing on Earth had happened. I felt like it had. "About some birthday party you had when you were a baby, and I asked her when your birthday was."

"She told me about it," said Geraint. "A couple of nights ago. So I suggested we give you a party. It sounds like you haven't had one for ages."

"We were planning it all day," said Quinnie. "And making sure that everyone knew what to do when you showed up."

"Bessy made the cake!" said Mae, bringing over a slice. "She's extremely talented; she made it without an oven, and fried it over the open fire."

"I hope you like it," said Bessy, smiling all the more.

"Wait," I said. "So both of you got off your regular jobs to plan a birthday party? How on earth did you do that?"

"It was easy, actually," said Geraint. "I'd taken one of Cadence's duties a while back so he could go visit his sister in Vilia, so he owed me a favor."