by Matthew Gallagher
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"That is a very generous offer, but I am only one person, and cannot carry all the things here."
"That is no problem!" exclaimed the leader giddily. "These men," he said, pointing to the Emperor and his retainers, "will carry the goods for you, and you can ride inside the palanquin on your journeys."
Mikiko began to put the finishing touches on the opal necklace. Each flower now looked like a precious gemstone of its own. He held it up in the dim afternoon light, and the brilliance from the necklace lit up the entire glade as if morning had come early.
"I suppose I can take these things off your hands for you," she sighed. "Here is your necklace." She handed the jewelry to the leader of the brigands and then quietly motioned the Emperor and his men to gather up their things and make their way out of the woods. When they were gone, the leader of the brigands called his men and showed them the beautiful necklace. As he put it on to show it off to them, the flowers wilted and shriveled, and the opal fell to the ground and sunk into the soil, disappearing from view.
But by that time, the Emperor and Mikiko were long gone.
When they were quite some ways away, the Emperor peeked into the palanquin to take a good look at the girl who had saved him and his men. She refused to show her face to him. He asked if he could ride in the chair with her, as it properly belonged to him. She did not refuse.
"That song you sang in the woods," he asked once he sat behind her, "where did you learn it?"
"It was taught to me by my mother," she replied.
"And your father?"
"He was lost to me when I lost his heart."
The Emperor got a confused look on his face, so he decided to look out the window for the rest of their journey.
Once the Six Eldest Daughters had retrieved the Jade Green Heart, they opened it and thought about whom they would most like to see. There, in the middle of the Heart, the images of both their father the Emperor and their sister Aiko came to them! It appeared as if they were sitting together, riding in a sedan chair. Then, the image in the Heart changed. Following the Emperor's party was a large band of ruffians! The Sisters gasped as one, and cried over their family's misfortune.
Now, you didn't think we were going to let the brigands with a handful of wilted flowers and dirt, did you? They chased after the Emperor's party for revenge! The Six Eldest Sisters thought and thought about what to do. They decided to ask Shitagawa, who had lived for so long and had seemed so kind once they met him, for advice.
The Fifth Eldest Sister peered into the well and called into the inky blackness. "Shitagawa! Our family is in trouble and we know not what to do!"
The raspy voice rose from the well. "Tell me your plight and I will try to help." The Sisters told him all at once about the ruffians who followed the Emperor and Aiko. With one bound Shitagawa leapt out of the well and landed in the courtyard next to the Princesses!
"Climb on my back and I will take you to your father and sister," he said bravely.
The Six Eldest Sisters looked at one another. Eldest Sister silently climbed atop Shitagawa's back first. The others followed.
How Shitagawa could leap! In no time at all he had covered the many miles between the palace and the Emperor. He and the Six Eldest Sisters landed near the Emperor's palanquin just as the brigands were about to overtake the party! The leader of the brigands instructed several of his best archers to shoot the retainers down. Little had he accounted for the royal family! Fourth Eldest Sister stepped off the well-dweller's back and spread her stone-hard hair in front of the archers. Their arrows simply bounced off the shield she had made. Eldest Sister lay down and let her hair flow between the Emperor and the brigands, creating a river that is still there today. The brigands had no way to cross the new waterway, and turned back, cursing their all the way back to their forest where they lived.
I can tell you that the Emperor was not a little shocked to see his Six Eldest Daughters outside of the palace walls. And in such an heroic fashion, too! He embraced each one heartily. Then Sixth Eldest Sister took Mikiko in her arms and embraced her.
"Certainly it is strange of you to treat a stranger so," said the Emperor, who seemed getting used to being astonished moment after moment.
"This is no stranger! This is our sister the Princess Aiko," said the Second Eldest Sister. And each in turn, the Six Eldest Sisters embraced her. Fifth Eldest sister with the cloud-light hair handed Aiko the Jade Green Heart.
"And you said your name was Mikiko!" exclaimed the Emperor.
"I said that people call me Mikiko," replied the princess. "Which they do."
Then the Six Eldest Princesses revealed to their father and sister how they had stolen the Jade Green Heart and tricked the littlest princess into running away.
They bowed their heads in penitence.
The Emperor's face became dark and grey like a storm cloud, and he turned to his long lost daughter for counsel. His face then brightened again as he heard her words. "It occurs to me that our family would not be as close now as once it has been if not for your jealousy and your ruse. So let us put those behind us, and embrace the newfound affection we have for one another."
The Six Eldest Sisters looked around for Shitagawa to ride him home, but he was nowhere to be seen. I guess he wasn't as brave as all that after all.
So with that the Emperor, the seven princess, and the royal retainers began the long journey back to the palace. On the way, the Six Eldest Sisters decided to wait until they had arrived at the palace to inform their father that there was no longer a household staff of a hundred to run the palace.
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