A Tiara of Emerald Thorns

by R Cavanaugh

  It held her there, and she wondered if somewhere there was a noise she could not hear, and it was now smelling her to see if she was worth all of that trouble. Then both of its mouths opened, and it let out that same horrible cry, but this time it was in triumph. She felt her hair fly back and smelled its putrid breath.

  Then it began to move. It was walking away from the clearing, away from the pool and the path she seemed to have walked down forever and a day ago. She was being swung backward and forward as if she were some toy, not a living thing.

  It seemed to be heading for another clearing just to the north and west of the one she had found. This one was not very bright; the light seemed to come from tiny droplets of water that were resting on the trees and flowing into their roots.

  “Ahhh!”

  The creature had dropped her, but it noticed right away and snagged her once again with its tentacle. Lifting her once more so that she was dangling near its mouth, she struggled to get free.

  It seemed to realize she might have a chance, because it then grabbed her arms with a clawed appendage and pulled her tight.

  She grunted with the effort to get free and suddenly sensed that she was now out straight like a corncob before it. Then it opened one of its mouths, the one with the two long fangs, and she closed her eyes even though it had turned her so she was back to its mouth. This is it, she thought.

  She let out a cry of pain as its fangs grazed her back, making two long gashes from above her left shoulder down to her right hip. Tears were now spilling from her eyes as shooting pain coursed through her. She breathed heavily and held her breath every other second. Her armor was hanging on by mere threads.

  Suddenly she felt something slimy wrap around her and pull off what remained of the armor. She realized in horror that it was the creature’s tongue. The creature then wrapped its tongue around her, licking her as if she were a lollipop.

  She was beginning to wonder if this is how she was meant to die: being licked to death. Then it turned her around, and she knew that she could only be so lucky. The creature had brought its tongue back in and opened its second mouth. This mouth had many large, pointy teeth, and the tongue had come out once more. This time it wrapped tightly around her and was starting to pull her toward the teeth. She closed her eyes, expecting excruciating pain, when she was dropped to the ground, right on top of the armor.

  “Wha…” she moaned slightly and rolled over to see why.

  It was letting out an ear-shattering wail, and Rose saw, though her vision was quite blurry from blood loss, that a strange, black form was repeatedly stabbing the creature.

  Rose decided that she didn’t want to be this new arrival’s dinner either and ran back to the clearing of the crescent moon pool. She wobbled and staggered until she reached the edge, but having lost so much blood, she couldn’t go any farther, and she passed out. Her form toppled down a small incline until it came to rest near the pool’s edge.

  Her last thought was that the creature had obviously lost its meal to a far hungrier and more aggressive creature, and that this new arrival was sure to make it impossible for her to ever wake again.

  It was only as Rose passed out that the black creature appeared next to her. It was a great black unicorn with wings. The creature lowered its head and nudged Rose’s form. It then raised its head, and its golden horn glowed white hot, and Rose was raised a foot off of the ground. Walking behind her, it moved over to the crescent-shaped pool and lowered Rose into it.

  Rose’s head rested on the bank. Her body was floating almost level with it, as if she were a fallen leaf. The creature then lowered its horn toward the pool, and just as the tip touched the water, it began to glow white as the moon. Rose’s wounds stopped bleeding, and her face regained the slightest amount of color.

  It seemed that the magic had only worked slightly, for the creature frowned and raised Rose out of the pool shortly after putting her in. It laid her on the same patch of grass Rose had fallen asleep on only a few hours previous and seemed to be waiting for her to wake.

  Chapter 23

  Nightsky

  The Island of Destinies

  “Rose…” came the voice of a woman. It was warm, soft, and calm. It seemed to be coming from thousands of miles away. It was the only thing drawing Rose from her unconscious state and back to a world of reality and pain.

  “Rose,” came the voice again.

  It was high. But not too high, she thought. What was even more perplexing was that the voice knew her name.

  “Rose,” came the voice clearer than ever, and it seemed louder too.

  “Wake up, Rose,” it coaxed. “You’re safe now. Wake up.”

  She stirred and felt the reality of it all hit her hard. There was pain in every inch of her form, and it was particularly bad in her back. Knowing she could delay it no longer, she opened her eyes to find the heavens directly above her; the canopy of trees had parted slightly to reveal the starry sky above.

  It took her a few moments to realize that she was lying next to the crescent-shaped pool where the attack had initiated. She also noticed the absence of her armor, and why was she wet?

  “Rose.”

  The voice called again, and Rose turned her head ever so slightly to the left and saw four black legs attached to hooves. These legs were blacker than the blackest of nights and looked quite strong.

  In an attempt to ask a couple of questions to the legs, such as: Why am I wet? and Who are you? all she was able to manage was a gargling noise. It seemed that her extensive injuries were making speech far from possible. In fact the mere effort to do so had caused her to breathe erratically. Worse still, her back was shooting with pain with every breath that she took.

  “Rose, you mustn’t try to speak,” the voice replied to the gargling. “I’ve done all that I can here by placing you in the pool and coursing it with a healing magic.”

  Rose turned her head to look to her right at the crescent pool and then closed her eyes.

  “Rose,” that beautiful voice whispered, “we must get you back to the camp.”

  “No,” Rose moaned and shook her head very slightly.

  “I’m afraid we must,” the voice whispered in a sympathetic way. “You need proper medical attention, something I cannot provide.”

  Wincing, Rose opened her eyes and stared at the sky.

  “I used the pool to attempt to heal you completely, but the magic coursing through your veins prevented me from doing anything but stopping the bleeding.”

  “If I go back, my problems will only multiply,” Rose said, finding her voice through her fear, but it came at a price, for each word she spoke tore at her chest. Each breath, her lungs. She didn’t even react to the utter nonsense of there being any form of magic in her at all. If she was meant to die, she wanted to do it right here. Why would she want to move to somewhere else and cause herself more pain just to die there instead of here?

  “Rose!” The voice was no longer sweet and musical, but harsh. “You are going back. As for your other insecurities, I will help you with those as we encounter them.”

  Then there was the sound of some sort of weird wind. It clanged and jingled, as if it were putting away something metal in an already-full bag. Rose was thinking about asking what was going on when she was lifted as if by an invisible crane and onto the back of what felt like a horse.

  But it can’t be, Rose thought to herself. Horses don’t have wings. “Well this thing does,” Rose said to herself, and she rolled over only to be even more uncomfortable lying on her stomach. She had only just wrapped her arms around what must be a neck when her stomach gave a lurch as the creature took off in sudden flight.

  They rose higher and higher, and the canopy gap widened slightly so that they could fit through and closed just as the creature’s final hoof passed through it.

  “Ahhh,” Rose sighed in r
elief as the cool dawn air fell on her face and her pain-stricken body.

  Her vision had cleared slightly, and she could now make out, though barely, the island far below, and despite being exhausted was shocked by what she saw.

  The island was sinking back into the water, and the Pool of Hope was as tumultuous as if a storm was raging over it. But as soon as the creature she was flying on made an abrupt turn toward the camp, Rose saw the water turning to glass once more.

  “This must be a dream,” Rose said, clenching her hands around the neck of the creature, who stiffened. “This is all a dream. Soon I will awake in my bed above the store, in my apartment.”

  The creature didn’t respond. It just glided toward the clearing, near the center of tents where people and creatures alike were now gathering.

  “Almost there,” it said. The calmness of the voice had returned.

  Rose saw the ground getting closer, the tents getting larger, and people moving to get out of the way. The landing was hard, and she almost felt worse now than she had all night; she was relieved when the creature finally halted.

  “There,” it said, slightly breathless, as if it had held its breath during the landing, “you’re safe now.

  That’s a matter of opinion, Rose thought miserably.

  “Rose!”

  It was James. She didn’t know why, but his voice seemed to relax her. His arms, now lifting her up off of the creature, made her feel secure, made her feel safe.

  “What happened?!” came the voice of a less-than-calm Valor, from somewhere near the winged creature.

  “Liam. Don. Devin. Go and get the girls. Tell them to come and help me,” James ordered, not caring that he was ranked lower than one of them.

  There were several grumbles of agreement as James continued to walk and was starting to enter a tent. He walked a few more paces and stopped to lay Rose down.

  “You’re going to be OK,” James breathed, and before Rose fell into a dreamless sleep, she could not help but feel that he was speaking more to himself than to her.

  Rose started to stir just as the daylight begin to fade. She was feeling quite sore and felt the tight bandages around her midsection as well as her legs.

  “Rose.” It was James who looked exhausted, and his voice was hoarse. He had the look of one who had gone without sleep. He had the dark shadows of an unshaven face and tired, bloodshot eyes.

  “Rose,” he whispered and slightly stuttered, “how are you feeling?”

  “Sore.” She groaned as she used her elbows to prop herself up.

  “I would imagine so,” he half laughed and smiled slightly. “Those injuries would have put some of the best of us out of business for at least a few days.”

  “They’re not that bad,” she said defensively, and she couldn’t help but feel that he was overreacting slightly.

  “You are a tough one,” he said, standing up and stretching.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Well,” he sighed, looking at her as she sat up now, “you just survived a fight with a trasicore, one of the most dangerous and deadliest creatures on the planet.”

  “I had some help in that department,” Rose said, throwing her legs over the side of the bed. “Some creature killed it as it was about to bite me in two.”

  “Yeah, I saw that you had made a new friend.”

  “Whatever do you mean by that?”

  “Well…” Here he paused and stood over by the entrance to her section of the tent and watched as she began to put her boots on and attempt to stand up. “This creature hung around after it brought you here.”

  “Really?” Rose said as she struggled to keep herself erect after standing up. After swaying for a moment, she looked at James’s shocked face. “What!?”

  “Well, I thought maybe after all you have been through that you may want to rest.”

  “I just spent the majority of the last two days passed out.” Rose said determinedly, “I think I have had enough of the resting for now, thank you.”

  “OK,” James replied with a quizzical grin.

  “I suppose that now that I am awake, you’ll want me to go back into that forest and find my animal.”

  “Actually,” James grinned, “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

  “You don’t!” exclaimed a shocked Rose.

  “Nope.”

  “Why?”

  “Why don’t you come and see for yourself, Your Royal Stubbornness?” James smiled and opened the flap that led to the main room of the tent.

  Rose gave his backside a very dark look indeed, but he was too focused on leading her out of her room to notice her glares. He was leading her to the center of the tent, where Valor was now conversing with a great winged unicorn.

  The unicorn was black, as black as the hair on Rose’s head, with a horse’s body that was of a strong but elegant build. The head of the magnificent beast was topped with a gold horn and held a pair of, penetrating gold eyes. The creature had a set of great feathered wings that were spotted finely with silver dots. The creature as a whole looked as though it had fallen from the nighttime sky and into existence.

  “Rose,” Valor said in great surprise, “I thought that you would still be resting.”

  “She should be, but she is determined to not get better,” James said as he walked over to Valor, where upon reaching him, he leaned against his great horse, crossed his arms, and grinned. And during all of this, his eyes never left Rose’s annoyed and shocked face.

  “That isn’t what I said!”

  “No, you’re right,” he said, his smile widening. “You said that you were plenty rested.”

  “And you are just twisting my words.”

  She was feeling really aggravated with him now. What was his issue, anyway? What did he care if she wanted to roam around a bit?

  “Rose,” came the calm voice of the unicorn, “calm down.”

  “Why?!”

  “Because he is seeing how far he can push you,” Valor whinnied and, after shaking his head a little, whipped James with his tail.

  “Ow!”

  “Be nice,” Valor said, and with a final look at Rose, he made his way toward the tent’s exit.

  “I think, James, you should leave for a moment,” the unicorn said as she took several steps toward Rose, “for I would like to speak with her privately.”

  “Sure.” He shrugged, walked over, kissed a steamed Rose on the cheek, and followed Valor out of the tent.

  “Now that he has left, I can ask a question and get a truthful answer,” said the unicorn, who turned its head from the entrance and back to Rose. “How are you?”

  Rose couldn’t help but take notice of the gentle and genuine concern in the creature’s voice.

  “I’m OK,” Rose said, half smiling and making an attempt at a shrug. This was not, however, a good idea because the action led to a shooting pain that forced her to sit down.

  “You do look much better.”

  “Thanks,” Rose said in a disagreeing tone and looked at the beautiful creature before her. “You are gorgeous.”

  “Thank you.” The unicorn bowed its head slightly while closing its eyes in thanks. “So are you, in your own individual way.”

  Rose, though she tried to think of something, could find nothing to say to that, so for a while they stood there in silence. In their undisturbed silence they listened as both man and beast walked back and forth past the tent. It was Rose who first found the nerve to restart the conversation.

  “Why did you save me?”

  “Because,” the unicorn, which Rose had decided must be female, said softly, “you are the human that I am destined to aid in life. The one I am meant to be a partner to and be friends with. To not save you was to rob myself of a worthy companion and counterpart.”

  “How can you
have possibly known that just by looking at me?” Rose cried out, exasperated, and sank onto the floor, or in this case the ground that was imitating the floor. “I mean, you came across me in one of my worst moments.”

  “What better time to judge you than in the moment where you would prefer not to be?”

  Rose groaned and placed her head in her hands and shook it. How could this great and powerful creature find anything worthy to itself in a woman who was running away? This made no sense.

  “You are too hard on yourself, Rose,” the unicorn said and nudged Rose’s head with her nose. “There are qualities that I could see past the ones I know you must be focusing on at this moment.”

  “Like what?”

  “Before our journey through life is over, I assure you, you will know.” The unicorn nudged her again, and this time Rose looked into those brilliant gold eyes. “Maybe even sooner.”

  “You say all of this as if you know me,” Rose said, tears welling up in her eyes, “but you are honorable where I am not. You see, I was running away that night. Why, after doing such a thing, would I still be worthy of you?”

  Rose looked into those knowing eyes and couldn’t help but think that if she could, that unicorn would be smiling. It was as she looked back at the tent’s entrance that the unicorn spoke.

  “If you felt worthy of me, then worthy you would not be, Rose.”

  After these words, the unicorn used her snout to bob Rose’s head slightly to get her to smile.

  “Now,” the unicorn said, “why don’t we head outside for some healthier air?”

  “All right,” Rose said, and in uncrossing her legs, she began to stand up. She dusted herself off a bit and looked at the magnificent creature before her. Then without a second’s thought or hesitation, she wrapped her arms around the unicorn’s neck. In response the creature dropped her head so that its lower jaw was resting on Rose’s back.

  “What’s your name?” Rose asked as she pulled away and started toward the tent’s entrance.