Life with Wukong was sweet. We each still did our own things. Wukong had his own goals he wanted to reach after all. And I continued teaching our monkeys about chi manipulation. It was starting to become more widespread.

I found the monkeys who learned chi manipulation had a longer attention span and better critical thinking skills. That encouraged me to try and teach as many monkeys as I could.

But my favorite days were those when Wukong suggested we spend some alone time together. Just relaxing on Nimbus, racing over the ocean, showing me fantastic sights in this world, or just cuddling together in bed.

Wukong promised today would be another one of those days. We’d have some fun with everyone in the throne room together, then retire to our room when we wanted to be alone.

I fluffed up my fur and admired my dress. I paid special attention to my looks today. I might be queen of a rudimentary kingdom, but I was still a queen. If we were technically holding court, I wanted to look the part.

The last thing I looked at was my silver bracelet. Polished up and looking good. The little red gem in the center shone with brilliance. Wukong had a matching bracelet, gold with a blue gem. Jewelry to show we belonged to each other. Such a sweet notion.

Okay, all ready. Wukong was probably waiting for me in the throne room. He had to leave earlier to deal with some trouble on the beach, but said he’d meet me there.

I walked towards the throne room and the sound of playing monkeys. Ba was standing guard at the entrance and nodded.

“Announcing Sun Yue! The Monkey Queen!” All the monkeys went wild, and Wukong grinned, I went to my throne beside his.

“Did I miss anything?” I asked as I sat in the throne he got me.

“Nothing interesting. Some demon landed and started causing trouble, but it didn’t put up much of a fight. I just tossed it’s body in the ocean.”

“I bet you didn’t even ask why he was here before you killed him.” I grabbed a peach and a few nuts from a nearby platter for breakfast.

“Well, does it really matter? He was threatening to kill the monkeys.”

“There could be a whole demon army about to invade you know. Information is important.”

He shrugged. “If a demon army does invade, then I’ll deal with it.”

Same answer. Every time. I rolled my eyes.

I handed the walnuts off to Wukong who cracked them in his hands and gave them back to me. As I picked the good parts out, Ba came back through the entrance, looking alarmed.

“King, Queen, we have a visitor. A celestial god.”

Wukong bolted up. “There is? You’re sure?”

“He calls himself the Evening Star and says he has a memorial from the Jade Emperor.”

“YES!” Wukong jumped up and pumped his arms into the air in victory. “Bring him in! No, wait! I should get something better on. Uh, Yue! Can you entertain him until I get back? I don’t want to keep him waiting outside.”

“Uh, yeah, of course.”

“Great! Bring him in! I’ll be right back!”

Wukong ran back towards our room, leaving me in a daze.

“Your Majesty?” Ba looked to me for direction.

I nodded. “Go ahead and bring him in.” Ba nodded and left to go fetch our guest.

I ordered the monkeys to make some simple fruit dishes and bring out some wine. And I straightened out my outfit.

I felt nervous. I knew this was a big deal to Wukong. He’s been wanting to visit heaven and get the celestial’s attention for a long time.

I sat as regally on my throne as I could and waited for him to arrive.

Ba came back in. “Now announcing the Evening Star, Venus.”

A human walked in. Ugh. It looked like an older one, with wrinkles and long, floppy white hair tied behind his head.

Urk. I know Wukong said most immortals on this planet were humans, but why did they have to look so… gross.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Remember your manners. I took a deep breath and gave our guest a smile.

“It’s nice of you to come Evening Star Venus. I am Sun Yue, the Monkey Queen. Welcome to our home. Would you like some refreshments?” I gestured to the food and wine coming out from the kitchen.

He shook his head. “I apologize, but I have an urgent message for Sun Wukong, a memorial from the emperor. I’m afraid I can’t linger. Is Sun Wukong here?”

“We have sent word. He’ll be here soon. Please, sit down while you wait, and we can talk.”

He begrudgingly sat at the banquet table and I joined him. I had the fruit dishes sat on the table along with some cups filled with both water and wine.

He didn’t touch the food, and just looked around. “I was unaware Sun Wukong had a wife. You said your name was Sun Yue?”

I nodded. “I am. We’ve been married for a few years. Why don’t you tell me about the memorial? What does the emperor need with my husband?”

“It’s best if I read it to you both when Sun Wukong arrives.”

“Ah.” Awkward silence. Shit. What the hell was I supposed to talk to this guy about? He didn’t eat so we couldn’t talk about the food. He wouldn’t talk about the memorial without Wukong. Gah!

I activated my chi sight. This guy wasn’t even strong! I probably had more chi than him.

This is for Wukong. He really wants to impress this guy.

I took another breath before trying again. “I hope you didn’t have any problems getting here.”

“Not at all.”

…

I give up.

Luckily, Ba stood at the entrance and announced Wukong’s arrival.

Wukong swaggered in wearing his best clothes, the ones made with shiny silk, and a crown with colorful feathers.

Evening Star stood up, and bowed as Wukong sat in his throne. I moved up and sat beside him, happy to be done with the “entertaining.”

Wukong waved down the cheering monkeys, and gestured to Evening Star. “Welcome to Flower-Fruit Mountain! Please, have something to eat and drink. We’re pleased to have a guest from heaven here.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have the time. Once I read the memorial to you, you’ll understand. May I?”

He brought a scroll out of his sleeve, and Wukong practically vibrated in his seat. “Yes! Ahem, I mean please, go ahead.”

He opened the scroll. The first bit was a very long date that meant nothing to me, and the next part was just some flowery talk about the Jade Emperor.

I suppressed a yawn, and he finally got to the important part. “Sun Wukong is hereby invited to heaven, and offered a position in the heavenly court effective immediately. The emperor shall appoint him upon his arrival to heaven, posthaste. With the deepest regards-“

My head began spinning as he launched into the end of the memorial. Wukong and me in heaven? Leaving Flower-Fruit Mountain?

Living with a bunch of humans?

I didn’t know about this.

Evening Star finally finished, and Sun jumped up from his throne. “That’s great! We should have a banquet to celebrate!”

Evening Star shook his head. “Well, according to the memorial, we need to leave for the Jade Palace for your appointment right away. Please follow me.”

Wukong turned to me. “Let’s go Yue! We should hurry to heaven!”

“Wait, hold on, Wukong, are you sure about this? What about our monkeys?”

“They’ll be here when we get back.”

“But neither of us has been to heaven before. Can we talk about this first?”

“Yue, it’s heaven! What is there to talk about? It’s the greatest place in the world!”

I thought Flower-Fruit Mountain was pretty great.

“Ahem.” Evening Star caught our attention. “I’m afraid your wife has not been given an invitation. She shall have to remain here while you receive your appointment.”

Oh. That knocked the wind out of Wukong’s sails.

“But… she’s my wife. Why wasn’t she invited?”

Evening Star bowed again. “My apologies. I believe the emperor was unaware you had taken a wife recently. Once you get settled in your appointment, I’m sure arrangements can be made to bring her to heaven.”

I jumped on this opportunity. “Please give us a few minutes to discuss this in private Evening Star. Enjoy the refreshments in the meantime.” And eat some of the fucking food we prepared just for you.

I dragged Wukong out of the throne room and off to one of the private rooms in the next hallway. I poked my head out to make sure no little monkeys were listening in before moving back in to talk about this huge life change.

He still seemed shaken. “I didn’t think only I would be invited.” He shook his head.

“Wukong. Are you sure about this? Moving to heaven? Living with all those humans? What about your responsibilities here?”

He sighed. “I’ve left before and everything was fine. And… you don’t understand Yue. Heaven is the goal of every immortal. It’s the ultimate achievement. I’ve been achieving great things for decades to try and get their attention. It’s all I’ve wanted for so long… But if you don’t want to, we don’t have to go.”

Wukong meant that. He stared deeply into my eyes. Heaven meant so much to him, but I meant more.

But I didn’t want to get in his way. He wanted this. Even if we had to separate for a little bit. It wouldn’t be forever. And once we got there, I could see for myself what heaven was like and we could talk more about staying there.

“It’s okay Wukong. This is important to you. You should go with Evening Star to get your appointment, and then you can come get me once you’re able. We’ll give heaven a shot. And if it doesn’t work out, we can just come back.”

He nodded and smiled. “Thank you Yue. This means a lot to me. I promise, as soon as I get settled in, I’ll send for you. Be patient until then. I love you.”

“I love you too.” We shared a brief kiss. We walked back to the throne room.

“Evening Star. I’ll come with you to get my appointment at the Jade Palace.” Wukong stood proudly.

Evening Star nodded. It looked like he didn’t even sit down. I really didn’t like this guy. “We should leave immediately. I’ll show you to the Jade Palace.” I followed the two of them to the waterfall, the entrance to our palace. Venus got onto his own cloud, and Wukong summoned Nimbus.

Wukong held my hand. “We’ll be together again before you know it. Goodbye for now Yue.”

“Goodbye Wukong. Try not to get into any trouble. I’ll see you again soon.”

He squeezed my hand briefly, then hopped on Nimbus. I saw the two of them off with a smile.

Once they exited the cave it dropped. Wukong and I have never been apart for very long. Not since I came to this world.

I counted the years. Four years and two months. It didn’t seem like much compared to how much time I spent on Pluas and in the in-between. But I’ve changed a lot since then.

I shook my head. Moping won’t make the time go any faster. Maybe I could try and change the kingdom while Wukong was gone. Clean up the palace, teach the monkeys how to cook more things, maybe even teach the generals some advanced chi manipulation. He’ll be so surprised when he sees.

If I stayed busy, I wouldn’t have time to miss him.