by Laura R Cole
*
Wren was crushed. Even the arrival of the strange people did little to soften the blow of Phoenix’s rejection. He couldn’t believe it. He had spent so much time hoping to impress her and win her attention only to have all his hopes dashed. She loved him as a brother.
It was some consolation that no one else had been around to witness his humiliation, but he couldn’t shake his disappointment. So much effort wasted. Even his search for the unicorn had stemmed from a desire to rekindle the connection he’d had with her when they had researched it together. He’d hoped that in finding it, she would come out with him to look, and he’d have the picnic blanket all set up, and the – he stopped himself. There was no point in playing it all out how he had wanted it to go. It obviously was never going to happen. He was just like a brother to her.
He grunted.
At least the commotion with the strangers had caused his parents to be called away, so no one noticed when he sulked around the rest of the party. He was grateful that his mother hadn’t seen him. There’d be no avoiding her questions, and he really didn’t feel like explaining why he was suddenly in a bad mood.
He made it back to his quarters and plopped down onto the armchair by the fire. He touched the book that lay on the table next to it but didn’t pick it up. He moved it away and began to drum his fingers on the table as his mind wandered. The strangers did pique his curiosity. He hadn’t been able to push himself close enough to see them, so he had resigned himself to studying their ship while everyone crowded around the royal chambers.
The massive vessel had been covered with jewels, and he wondered if they were real precious gems. It seemed odd to sail such a long distance with such wealth on your boat, but perhaps the gems were so common in their land that they were worthless.
The flag of the ship was the black outline of a panther, complete with a glowing green eye. The markings tugged at his memory, but he couldn’t place the reference. The Hall of History had logs of voyages made in hopes of finding distant lands. It may well have been in one of these that he had seen it. Perhaps it was in a story that had not been given the credit it was due. It did appear that there were indeed other lands out there, so maybe some of the sailors were actually telling the truth and their stories were not the tall tales often accredited to them.
Most of his own work centered around the local histories, but he had sat through a lecture or two on distant exploration. The lands to the north were known to be those of the tribes, and through the combined efforts of the tribesmen and Elaeld pioneers the country was constantly expanding their knowledge northwards. The chaotic magic of this place had to be slowly tamed so that it was safe to traverse, so progress was slow. So far, however, no discoveries of new peoples had been made.
The inhospitable areas around Elaeld where bandits and thieves made their homes served as a barrier between the country and the sea on two sides, with the southernmost section of the country opening directly onto the water. Avonmora was the biggest port town, and it was here where most of the sea voyages set sail.
His hand brushed against the book on the table and he glanced at it. It was a journal of a bard long dead, who spoke of a strange horse-like creature in the woods with a long protrusion from its forehead. It was the first mention of the unicorn that Wren had ever come across. It was dated many years ago which had made Wren initially assume that the beast was a figment of the past. However, he’d since found many more recent accounts that made him re-think this assumption.
Unfortunately, thinking about the unicorn brought him back to thinking about Phoenix. He glared at the book sourly. Maybe I won’t even bother looking for the unicorn again, he thought spitefully. After all, it had only been a way to try and entice Phoenix to spend time with him once more.
He suddenly threw a fist down onto the table, causing his book to bounce clean off. No! He wouldn’t let her rejection stop him from following his dreams. He’d been the one who was initially interested in the beast. By the Three, he was going to pursue it all by himself.
He stooped down and whisked the book off the floor, replacing it on the table. He went to his closet and dug around for the other tomes he’d recently found that mentioned the creature, piling these high on the table as well. Grabbing another handful of candles, he settled himself comfortably onto the chair and cracked open the first book, determined to research for the rest of the night.
