by Tamsin Baker
Two lovers
and
her Unicorn.
By Tamsin Baker
Two lovers and her Unicorn
Copyright © 2018 Tamsin Baker
The stories in this eBook are works of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and events portrayed in this work are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any form whatsoever in any country whatsoever without the express written permission of Tamsin Baker except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents Page:
Prologue: 23 years earlier.
Chapter One.
Chapter Two.
Chapter Three.
Chapter Four.
THE END
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About the Author
Contents Page:
Prologue.
Chapter 1.
Chapter 2.
Chapter 3.
Chapter 4.
Chapter 5.
Chapter 6.
Chapter 7.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 9.
Chapter 10.
Epilogue.
Prologue: 23 years earlier.
You can’t stop your babe from being born when destiny determines the inevitable.
Another crippling pain hit with the force of an earthquake and Marii groaned aloud, grabbing the bed frame until her hands shook with the strain.
“No, not tonight. Please... not tonight.” She closed her eyes and whispered prayers into the evening air with all the strength left in her tired body.
She clenched her jaw tightly, willing herself to have the courage to continue on this never ending journey. As the pain receded from whence it came, she relaxed into the pillows once again.
It would only be another moment or two and her babe would demand entry into this world. She gripped the sturdy bed frame as hard as she dared.
“Stop fighting it, Marii, and let the child come,” the birthing sister said as she ran a soothing hand down Marii’s sweat covered back.
Laying her head against the cool wall, Marii took a deep breath, needing these few moments of rest between contractions. Her body was utterly exhausted. Her labor had been going on for two full days and finally the pains were coming close together. It wouldn’t be long now, until she met her precious child.
But this was not the day she would have chosen for her babe to enter the world.
“I don’t want my child doomed to wander alone for life,” she told the birthing sister. Didn’t the woman understand what would happen if her child was born at the same time as the storm clouds birthed their miracle?
A groan rose again as the pain swelled within her. The birthing sister was right about one thing, she didn’t have a choice when her baby would arrive.
He or she, was coming now.
Marii gripped the wooden frame once more and spread her knees wider on the mattress. She arched her back and rolled her hips, helping her child exit her body as easily as possible.
Above her head the storm clouds rolled on and on, dark gray and ominous. Not a drop of rain blessed the ground, but the lightning and thunder that crashed overhead promised relief would be soon.
A Unicorn would be born tonight.
And legend said that a child born at the exact moment the Unicorn came into the world would be United for life.
This connection however, did not bode well for her child’s happiness.
“Gently, Marii, just push gently. Let the baby ease its way out.” The birthing sister cradled Marii’s sacrum in her hand, helping release some of the pressure.
“Aagghh!” She cried out as the pain built and she had no power to stop her instant response, baring down.
Sharp pain pierced her belly and her child’s head emerged from her body. Relief called like a siren in the night.
“Please... not yet,” she prayed to the mother.
Marii gripped hard on the bed frame, gathered her strength and pushed one more time. The baby slid out from her exhausted body in a gush of pain, landing upon the mattress between her legs.
Marii slumped against the pillows, listening for the sound she feared most.
And there it was. The heavens opened up with a crack of lightning and the rains descended with a heavy roar.
Her eyes filled with tears now that the inevitable had come to pass. Marii rolled onto her back and the birthing sister placed her daughter upon her bare chest.
Her destiny sealed forever.
She stared down at her beautiful child, mewling like a newborn animal. “I’m sorry my love, you have such a difficult life ahead now.”
Marii pressed her lips to her child’s head, tasting the salt of her tears on her lips.
In the distance, she could hear a sound that she had not heard in many years. The thumping sound of horse’s hooves concussing so loudly against the ground they rivaled the noise the thunder made above their heads.
“Your daughter is blessed.” The birthing sister said, her eyes wide with awe as she carefully lay a blanket across them.
Holding the warm body of her tiny babe close, she offered her breast.
“She will be United to her Unicorn, which will be a blessing for this town and all those around it.” The birthing sister calmly told her.
Marii choked back a sob.
“Yes, but it is a curse for her. She will never have a normal life now.”
She knew her daughter would be bonded to the creature that had been born tonight, for life. The Unicorns were some of the only magical beings left in this world.
Her daughter opened her eyes and Marii got her first true glimpse of the miracle she had created. She stroked the soft cheek of her child and a beautiful sense of calm flowed through her soul.
“Welcome to the world, Naylaa.”
Intelligent green eyes stared back at her.
Marri settled into the pillows and let the happiness her daughter brought flow over her. She smiled as the babe suckled strongly from her breast, her green eyes glowing brighter with every passing moment.
Fate was a strange and all-knowing creature, but who was she to fight what the universe had deemed right for her child?
Far off in the distance, silence fell with shocking abruptness. The Unicorns halted their stomping, the thunder ceasing immediately. The clouds rolled on as the rain hit the parched ground, but the rest of the land was quiet.
Chapter One.
Present day.
A small flame of envy flickered within her belly, and Naylaa forced herself to push the feeling down as she walked away.
Rarely did she feel jealous of someone else’s happiness, but seeing the shopkeeper and his pregnant wife smiling so happily at each other reminded her of how lonely she often felt. And it would always be that way, until she found her true mate.
Her mother had explained the repercussions of her bond with Bronte and this was one of them.
Pure happiness filled her at the mere thought of her Unicorn. It allowed her to push aside her envy and anger. Bronte was her other half. Her United. She didn’t regret a single thing about her union with the magnificent animal.
While it was true that in the past she had received physical pleasure from some of the men in her town, she had felt nothing beyond the moment’s release.
The closest thing to true pleasure she experienced was in her time with Para. Her sweet and very sensual female lover.
&n
bsp; But Naylaa longed for the deeper connection she knew was possible with the male Fate had destined for her to bond with.
She wanted to love someone more than anything else. More than she cared for her own life. More than she adored Bronte. That was the miracle she was looking for.
“My daughter, how are you?”
Her mother’s welcoming voice warmed her heart as she approached the front door of her childhood home. Since her birth, her mother, Marii, had become a fortuneteller and wasn’t often wrong about the things she foretold. She’d become famous in more than just their town.
“How’s Bronte?” Her mother asked as they walked inside together.
Her mother picked up her sewing circle and seated herself in a corner chair.
Naylaa’s lips pulled up into a smile at her mother’s casual reference to Bronte. Unlike the rest of the town, her mother did not fear her Unicorn. Marii, while never being overly fond of the beautiful black stallion, didn’t ignore him or the affect he had on Naylaa’s life.
Her mother couldn’t, and thankfully didn’t, ignore the bond Naylaa held with the Original creature.
Because of the threat to Unicorns by outsiders, the townspeople did their best to forget he even existed. Nobody spoke of Bronte to her, but they also seemed secretly grateful for her link to the Unicorn.
All the other magical creatures that had once filled their planet had been hunted to extinction. The Unicorns were the only Original creatures left.
“Please tell me the story of the Original’s mother.”
She settled into the comfortable couch next to her mother and lay her head down onto her mother’s lap.
“Oh, Naylaa, you’ve heard that story every day since you were a baby. Aren’t you tired of it yet?”
Naylaa ignored the oft-asked question and waited. Nothing soothed her soul more than her mother’s voice and the story of creation.
“Hmmm...” Marii sighed, drawing in a deep breath. “In the Original land, our world was filled with more creatures than one could count. And when the Great Earth decided it was time to share her magic with those of us who walked on the land, she filled a great body of water with her powers.”
Naylaa smiled and closed her eyes. She wished she had been born at that time. It would have been an incredible thing to see.
“Twelve people drank from the water. Four of each clan. The green eyes, the blue eyes and of course, the black eyes. Many other creatures consumed the water as well. That water gave every creature who swallowed it a magical gift―the magic to commune with nature and to heal the sick.”
Marii stroked her agile fingers through Naylaa’s hair and she nestled deeper into the pillow of her mother’s lap.
“It gave Unicorns the same power of healing, which is why we are linked to them. But over time, the magic has become diluted, distant. All of the other magical creatures who drank the waters have been hunted for their gifts and long since vanished. Except for the few people who are still linked to the magical Unicorn.”
Naylaa didn’t open her eyes, though she knew her mother was looking down on her.
“Like me?” she asked quietly, her self-doubt rising to the surface.
When there was no answer, Naylaa opened her eyes and turned her head so that she could meet her mother’s gaze. Those eyes that she knew so well, which were just as green as her own.
“You know you possess wonderful gifts to heal the sick, Naylaa. I don’t know why you doubt the magic inside of you.” Her mother made an annoyed clucking sound inside her throat and Naylaa sat up quickly. She hated to be scolded by her mother.
“I know my herbs, Mother, but I have no true magic. The only magic I have is in my connection to Bronte.”
Marii glanced down at her sewing again, avoiding Naylaa’s gaze. “I never wanted this life for you.”
Sighing, Naylaa uncurled her legs and stretched. Then she leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her mother’s white hair.
“I know.”
Her mother had always made it very clear that she wished the link to Bronte was another’s burden. And although there were moments when Naylaa wished for an easier life, she could never, and would never, wish for her link to Bronte to be severed.
It would be like losing her heart and trying to live without one.
She sorted through her bag and pulled out the herbs her mother would need to help with her rheumatism, then she placed them on the table next to her.
“I will see you later, Mother.” She opened the door and stepped into the fresh air, taking in a deep breath to ward off any depressive feelings Marii’s moods could bring.
Her mother had always blamed herself for Naylaa’s untimely birth. For uniting her with Bronte. While most people considered it Fate, Naylaa included, her mother called it a curse.
Naylaa shook her head at the thought. She would never consider her link to Bronte anything other than a blessing. Fate had intervened and given her a great gift. One she refused to waste.
“BOIL THESE HERBS AND give the liquid to your mother three times a day. Make sure she sips it slowly.”
The townswoman who sought her help looked older than Naylaa’s mother. The fact that her mother was still alive was amazing and quite rare in their world.
But due to her age, she was in a lot of pain.
“Also, try to make sure that she drinks her daily ration of water.” Naylaa reminded her, a piece of advice every person in their town should know and follow.
The woman’s green eyes shadowed. “It is very hard to bring her enough water.”
The woman avoided Naylaa’s gaze as though guilted by the admission that she couldn’t carry enough water to keep her mother well.
Naylaa nodded in understanding, her own guilt slicing through her chest like a knife.
She knew all too well the reasons her green-eyed people didn’t live as long as others, and it was their need for a huge amount of water.
Every day they needed to drink a third of their body’s weight. When they didn’t, they became weakened and ill. The decreasing water supply in town meant people had to travel to procure it, and more people were sickening by the day.
In the past, it had never been a problem because of the amount of rain the planet enjoyed. Every home was equipped with a large water catchment area, but it was no longer enough to sustain them all.
The Unicorns commanded the storm clouds. They were responsible for the rain. But since so many had been killed for their magic, there weren’t enough left to produce a healthy rain fall.
Lower numbers meant fewer matings, and even less births of the new Unicorns. Less happiness to share with the world.
The result was that rain was becoming more and more infrequent.
Thankfully, unlike so many of the townspeople, she had never needed to bring water from the river to drink or bathe in, though she often travelled that way. Bronte’s hiding place was near the river.
He loved the water and she knew one of the only reasons her town got more rain than most of the planet was thanks to Bronte. He was happy and healthy and commanded the storm clouds often.
“Naylaa,” an unfamiliar voice broke through her musings and she froze.
The townspeople who surrounded her bowed formally, as though royalty was in attendance, and she turned around in alarm.
Adrenaline raced along her veins when she saw who now stood before her. The King, himself. In their town market.
“Your Highness,” she bowed quickly, fear clutching at her middle.
There was only one reason the King would seek her out.
Naylaa’s muscles twitched. She wanted to flee to Bronte and protect her Unicorn from those who would use him.
Yet honor bound, she stayed where she was.
The King was a small man with bright, green eyes, like hers. However, that was where their similarities ended. He had pale skin that made him appear sickly, and nothing about his posture or poise indicated that he had any real authority.
A
King was born, not made, and this man was a great example of that.
“Your presence is required in my home. Will you come, Naylaa?” His tone did nothing to settle her fears. He did want something from her, but would she be able to give it to him?
“Of course,” she clutched her bag to her chest as she followed behind her King through the village.
Curious people caught her gaze as she walked by, the distinctly different colors of their eyes catching her attention.
Since travel between each town had become more common, their community now had a few black-eyed people living within its walls.
Her lover, Para, had black eyes and recently there were even a few blue-eyed people. The offspring of cross-mated couples were often stronger and taller than their parents. They were more accepting of all foods, unlike those of pure blood who could only eat the colored nutrients designed for them.
All green-eyed people needed specific green foods to maintain their color and health, so did the blue-and-black-eyed. It kept a balance to the land, because no group of people over-consumed one resource.
Naylaa and the King and walked in silence, over the roads and up the hill towards his home. It wasn’t far to the castle from the center of their village, as the town had been built around the royal family.
Together, they passed through the outer gate and the doors swung shut behind them.
Naylaa jumped as they clanged, and hurried across the courtyard filled with able-bodied soldiers. The castle itself was constructed from stone, which was most unusual in their town. Almost all of their other buildings were made from the wood of the trees that grew nearby.
A uniformed soldier opened the large front door and the King walked through. Naylaa held back for a moment, willing the fear away from her heart.
This would test her, she knew. Test not only her bond to Bronte, but also her skills as a healer. As a person touched by the magic of the Originals.
The guard’s eyes darted towards her and she inhaled a swift breath before shuffling forward and walking through the entrance way.
