"Two Hearts" is a fantasynovelette by American author Peter S. Beagle, written in 2004 as a coda to The Last Unicorn (1968), despite his decades-long reluctance to continue the original story. It was first published as the cover story of Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine issue dated October/November 2005. It can also be found in Beagle's short story collection The Line Between (Tachyon Publ., 2006); in the deluxe edition of The Last Unicorn (New American Library ROC, 2007);[1]The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology (Tachyon, 2009);[2] and Mirror Kingdoms: The Best Of Peter S. Beagle (Subterranean Press, 2010).
A young girl named Sooz lives in a village plagued by a griffin. The beast has preyed on the village's sheep and goats for years, but recently it has started killing children as well. Sooz embarks on a quest to recruit the King to save her village, and on the way runs into Schmendrick and Molly Grue (from The Last Unicorn). Upon reaching the king's castle, they find an aged King Lír, who on first glance does not seem to be up to the task of slaying a griffin. He suffers from bouts of forgetfulness, and is coddled by those around him. However, after being reminded of his younger days and his never-ending quest to once again find the unicorn that loved him (Amalthea), Lír readily accepts the mission and sets off with Sooz, Molly Grue, and Schmendrick to battle the griffin in the Midwood.
Sooz bonds with King Lír as they return to her village and helps to keep his mind in the present whenever his memory relapses. When they return to her village, and Lír (accompanied by Schmendrick and Molly) is setting off into the Midwood to slay the griffin, Sooz suddenly pleads with him not to go, fearing for his life. Lír, however, insists that it is his duty, and proceeds inward, leaving Sooz outside the forest.
When they are gone, however, Sooz's dog, Malka, eagerly chases into the Midwood after them. Sooz chases after Malka and comes across King Lír's battle with the griffin. Malka is killed trying to aid the king, and Lír manages to stab the griffin, putting out its lion heart. But a griffin (as Lír had told Sooz before) has two hearts: eagle and lion. The griffin, hurt but not slain, pounces on Lír after he courteously dismounts his horse, viciously wounding him. It is about to kill Sooz as well, but Schmendrick calls upon the unicorn Amalthea for aid. Amalthea quickly slays the wounded griffin and, though King Lír dies from his wounds (though not before joyously reuniting with the unicorn), she then brings Malka back to life with a touch of her magic horn.
Amalthea soon vanishes without a trace, and Schmendrick and Molly depart to bury King Lír. Sooz fears that she will never see them again, but Molly teaches her a special song to whistle, one that she must not whistle aloud until she is seventeen. When she does, someone—a friend—will come to her, Molly promises. Sooz hopes it will be Schmendrick and Molly; she would prefer them over even a unicorn.
Writingedit
The genesis of the project came about when Beagle decided to write a story set in the world of The Last Unicorn without necessarily including any of the same characters. From there, Beagle says that "things happened."[citation needed]
hearts, story, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, hearts, story, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jsto. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Two Hearts story news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2006 Learn how and when to remove this template message Two Hearts is a fantasy novelette by American author Peter S Beagle written in 2004 as a coda to The Last Unicorn 1968 despite his decades long reluctance to continue the original story It was first published as the cover story of Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine issue dated October November 2005 It can also be found in Beagle s short story collection The Line Between Tachyon Publ 2006 in the deluxe edition of The Last Unicorn New American Library ROC 2007 1 The Very Best of Fantasy amp Science Fiction Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology Tachyon 2009 2 and Mirror Kingdoms The Best Of Peter S Beagle Subterranean Press 2010 Two HeartsAuthorPeter S BeagleCountryUnited StatesSeriesLast UnicornGenreFantasyPublisherF amp SFPublication dateOctober 2005Media typePrint magazine story Preceded byThe Last Unicorn Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Writing 3 Awards 4 References 5 External linksPlot summary editA young girl named Sooz lives in a village plagued by a griffin The beast has preyed on the village s sheep and goats for years but recently it has started killing children as well Sooz embarks on a quest to recruit the King to save her village and on the way runs into Schmendrick and Molly Grue from The Last Unicorn Upon reaching the king s castle they find an aged King Lir who on first glance does not seem to be up to the task of slaying a griffin He suffers from bouts of forgetfulness and is coddled by those around him However after being reminded of his younger days and his never ending quest to once again find the unicorn that loved him Amalthea Lir readily accepts the mission and sets off with Sooz Molly Grue and Schmendrick to battle the griffin in the Midwood Sooz bonds with King Lir as they return to her village and helps to keep his mind in the present whenever his memory relapses When they return to her village and Lir accompanied by Schmendrick and Molly is setting off into the Midwood to slay the griffin Sooz suddenly pleads with him not to go fearing for his life Lir however insists that it is his duty and proceeds inward leaving Sooz outside the forest When they are gone however Sooz s dog Malka eagerly chases into the Midwood after them Sooz chases after Malka and comes across King Lir s battle with the griffin Malka is killed trying to aid the king and Lir manages to stab the griffin putting out its lion heart But a griffin as Lir had told Sooz before has two hearts eagle and lion The griffin hurt but not slain pounces on Lir after he courteously dismounts his horse viciously wounding him It is about to kill Sooz as well but Schmendrick calls upon the unicorn Amalthea for aid Amalthea quickly slays the wounded griffin and though King Lir dies from his wounds though not before joyously reuniting with the unicorn she then brings Malka back to life with a touch of her magic horn Amalthea soon vanishes without a trace and Schmendrick and Molly depart to bury King Lir Sooz fears that she will never see them again but Molly teaches her a special song to whistle one that she must not whistle aloud until she is seventeen When she does someone a friend will come to her Molly promises Sooz hopes it will be Schmendrick and Molly she would prefer them over even a unicorn Writing editThe genesis of the project came about when Beagle decided to write a story set in the world of The Last Unicorn without necessarily including any of the same characters From there Beagle says that things happened citation needed Awards editHugo Award for Best Novelette 2006 Nebula Award Novelette 2006 World Fantasy Award short fiction finalist nomination 2006References edit Beagle Peter S 2007 The Last Unicorn USA ROC pp 201 246 ISBN 978 0 7607 8374 0 Ed Gordon Van Gelder San Francisco Tachyon Publications ISBN 9781892391919 External links edit Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Two Hearts story amp oldid 1160307671, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
