by Marjorie Liu
“Advertised,” she interrupted.
“Oh, yes. Far and wide. Princess. Beautiful. Nubile. Available to big, strong man, with even bigger sword.” Mickel thumped his chest. “I was intrigued. I was mortified. I thought I would save the daughter of my mother’s best friend from a fate worse than death.”
“And if I had been a loud-mouthed harridan with a taste for garlic and a fear of bathing?”
“I would have been the Warlord everyone thinks I am, tossed her aside like a sack of potatoes in a white wedding dress, and asked for the hand of a peculiar redheaded woman I met on the road.”
Sally smiled. “And if she said no?”
“Well,” Mickel said, kissing her hand. “I may not be the Warlord of the Savage Bellyache, but I am exceptionally brave. I would fight for her. I would battle magic forests and sleeping queens for her. I would plunge into icy waters—”
“—and be rescued by her?”
“Oh, yes,” he whispered, no longer smiling. “I would love to be rescued by such a fair and lovely lady. Every day, every morning, every moment of my life.”
Sally’s breath caught, and Mickel touched the back of her neck and pulled her close. “You, Princess, are far more dangerous than any Warlord of Raven’s Teeth, or Ravisher of Dandelions.” Again, uncertainty filled his eyes. “But do you still want me, knowing all this?”
“I never wanted a warlord,” Sally said. “But you . . . I think you’ll do just fine. If you don’t mind having a witch as your bride.”
“Queen Magic and Warlord Illusion,” he whispered, and leaned in to kiss her.
Sally placed her hand over his mouth. “But I want another name.”
Mickel blinked. “Another?”
She removed her hand and grinned against his mouth. “Well, the Warlord must have a wife who is equal to his charms, yes?”
Mickel laughed quietly. “And what will I call you? War Lady? My Princess of Pain?”
“Just call me yours,” she whispered. “The rest will take care of itself.”
And it did.
Never After was the name of the anthology, and we were charged with telling stories about “fairy-tale weddings”—but from a feminist standpoint. Well, I don’t know anything about weddings, but I sure could imagine escaping from one.
This also happens to be the third story in a row (seriously, I looked at the dates) where I was writing about magical forests with terrible, powerful secrets sleeping within. I don’t know what was working through my unconscious during that time, but you, reader, are bearing witness to an imagination that was haunted by the spirits of trees.
Marjorie Liu is an attorney and New York Times bestselling novelist and comic book writer. Her work at Marvel includes X-23, Black Widow, Han Solo, Dark Wolverine, and Astonishing X-Men, for which she was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding media images of the LGBTQ community. She is also the co-creator of Monstress from Image Comics, which has won multiple Hugo Awards, British Fantasy Awards, the Harvey Award, and five Eisner Awards, making Liu the first-ever woman (and woman of color) to win an Eisner in the Best Writer category.
Liu has written more than seventeen novels, including both the award-nominated Dirk & Steele paranormal romance and Hunter Kiss urban fantasy series. Liu has also appeared on MSNBC, CNN, and MTV, and has been profiled on NPR’s All Things Considered, The New Yorker Radio Hour, The Atlantic, and The Hollywood Reporter. She teaches a course on comic book writing at MIT.
Contents
Introduction
Sympathy For The Bones
The Briar And The Rose
The Light and the Fury
The Last Dignity Of Man
Where The Heart Lives
After The Blood
Tangleroot Palace
About the Author
