The Unicorn Quest

by J. A. Armitage

  “Oy, you two,” Grandfa called back. “Get a room!”

  My cheeks colored at the thought of being caught by my grandfather. Up ahead, he and Cassie laughed, and Blu and Ivy mimicked kissing in a very rude fashion. I motioned to swat them away, but they just giggled and flew on ahead.

  “You wanted your grandfather to notice you more,” River said, a grin splitting his face.

  “Not like that, though,” I replied, mortified.

  “I don’t know. Maybe we should make out in front of them more often,” he said with a wink. “He’d really notice you then. It might make him finally pluck up the courage to ask Cassie out on a date. There, both problems solved.”

  I nudged him in the ribs and tried to keep the smile from my face.

  We walked on in comfortable silence, and it wasn't until half an hour into our trip that I felt River grow tense beside me.

  “You alright?” I asked in a whisper.

  Up ahead, Cassie glanced over her shoulder and tapped my grandfa on the back. When he saw that we had come to a standstill, they hurried back toward us.

  Before they were in earshot, River whispered, "We're heading to the Accursed Woods. We should have turned to a different path a mile ago, but they’re taking us right into it."

  Realization hit me with an almost physical force. Cassie was indeed leading us into a place that was sacred to the gods and the spirits, a place no human could pass--a place of dire magic. I narrowed my eyes at the approaching Cassie.

  When they drew close, Seth asked, "What is the problem?"

  Nodding toward Cassie, River said, “She’s leading us straight into the Accursed Woods.”

  Cassie threw her head back and laughed, drawing cold stares from both River and I. Trying to catch her breath, she held up one hand to placate us. “Sorry… It's just…”

  Seth shook his head at me, a frown replacing the guarded, wary expression he'd worn a moment earlier. “You two…”

  I glanced at River, just as he glanced back. Concern was etched on his face, mirroring my own feelings.

  I glared at my grandfather. “What about us two?”

  Seth bit his lower lip, pausing before replying, “River. I expected more from you. I thought you were a great explorer. There are no cursed woods.”

  I stared at him openly. I could recall sitting on my mother’s lap, even before I could walk, listening to tales of the horrors travelers faced when passing too near to these woods. And yet, I'd never known my Grandfather to lie to me.

  “What do you mean, there are none? Everyone knows the tales. Travelers talk about it at the inn all the time. I can see the forest from here. I pointed to the vast forest in the distance.”

  Cassie turned her face to where I was pointing then turned back to me. “It’s funny. If you tell a human some trees are cursed, every hooting owl becomes a demon in the night, stalking them. A demon they warn others about. And then they warn others. The story grows taller with every retelling.”

  “The curse is merely a myth. A ruse if you will,” My grandfather said. “I started telling small tales at the inn many years ago when the unicorn village was new. When word spread, travelers began to believe it. They added their own tales, and the myth grew on its own. Cassie is right about us. We, humans, filter the world around us through the lens of our own understanding. I created that myth to deter people from finding the unicorns. The last thing they need is to be flooded with curious people, not to mention those who would hunt them for their horns as you saw for yourself a mere month or so ago, did you not?”

  I couldn't meet his gaze, and the heat left my cheeks. He was right about that. The Emblors who had hunted Jet and Opal still sometimes haunted my dreams. Jet and Opal had mentioned that they had ways of keeping humans out of their village. Why was I so quick to think Cassie would hurt us? She’d been nothing but lovely to me and my family, and my grandfather was obviously besotted with her. Even Jet and Opal loved her, and Opal didn’t show love to anyone.

  “I’m sorry we mistrusted you.”

  Cassie took my hands in hers and smiled at me with bright eyes. “It’s no problem, my dear Freya. You were both right to ask, but in the future, for the record, I don’t plan on taking you anywhere dangerous. The woods are not even real. They are a spell conjured many years ago. Of the thousands of trees you see ahead, only a tiny percentage of them are real. The rest are a glamour. They don’t exist.”

  She let go of me and took Grandfa’s hand instead. They turned and carried on their walk across the wide peak.

  “You really should have known, oh, great adventurer,” I quipped, rolling my eyes.

  River shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t know everything...Almost everything, but not quite.”

  Even though I trusted Cassie, walking into the woods still had me on edge. It came from years of believing they were cursed. I’d never gotten close to them before. I gripped River’s hand tightly as we followed Grandfa and Cassie into the darkness. Blu and Ivy pulled their tiny swords from their scabbards and charged headlong into the woods without fear. The darkness didn’t last long. Before we’d walked under two or three trees, the forest fell away, and a beautiful valley appeared before us.

  “Woah!” River exclaimed as I sucked in a breath. “That’s quite some magic. If I’d have known this was here, I’d have come into the forest years ago.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t. You’ve never allowed talk of curses and forest monsters to hold you back from an adventure otherwise.”

  “A curse is not a monster. A monster is a tangible thing. A curse is magic.”

  He shivered as he said the word. I still hadn’t gotten out of him why magic bothered him so much. Not that he seemed to mind this particular magic. The view from where we stood was nothing short of spectacular.

  Rich verdant valley walls surrounded a small village comprised of a number of dwellings. A river bisected the valley, drifting lazily toward the side of it.

  Full, lush trees grew thickly across the valley, festooning the village in vibrant colors. Shades of crimson and orange interspersed with greener trees created a rainbow of color. The houses in the unicorn village were just as bright.

  Each house was as colorful as the next, representing every color of the rainbow, and then some, and every house was different.

  The valley itself was filled with song, the trees home to an orchestra of birds that flitted about continually, diving and swooping to catch insects and occasionally going for Ivy or Blu who were quick to pull their miniature swords out to defend themselves from any errant beaks that might attack.

  As we headed down into the valley, something struck me as odd. It took a moment for me to put my finger on it, but then it was clear. The people. Where were the people?

  The place was eerily quiet, and nothing like the bustling unicorn village I had in my head. I tried to remember what it was like when I‘d last come here, but I was little more than a toddler then, and none of it had stuck in my memory.

  A single figure came out from one of the cottages, her long hair shining in vivid hues of pink and purple. When I saw the figure emerging, my tension melted away in an instant. Only Opal had hair like that.

  Opal met us halfway. ”I'm surprised to see you here. Is there an emergency?”

  “Where's Diamond?” Cassie asked, her usually calm demeanor leaving her. “Is she safe?”

  Opal furrowed her brow. “Yes. Of course. Is that why you are here? I’ve been looking after her. Do you have something to say about how I do my job?”

  The unicorn guardian had softened somewhat in the aftermath of the extraordinary adventure we had all been on so many weeks ago, but now it seemed she had since gone back to being her usual rude self.

  “When was the last time you saw her?” Cassie asked politely.

  Opal sneered. Through clenched teeth, she replied, “Two minutes ago, before you showed up to interrupt our lunch. You want me to bring Diamond out here, or is my word good enough for you?”
r />   “Actually, please do that. Trust isn’t the issue. Something is terribly wrong; I feel it down deep, like a void in my gut. I wouldn't have risked coming here had I thought there was any chance I misinterpreted this. So yes, I have to know Diamond is fine. Bring her out.”

  Opal locked eyes with Cassie then spun on her heels without another word. She walked over to what looked like a stable with Cassie following only a couple of paces behind her, leaving Seth, River, and I to hurry to keep up.

  When she came back outside, Diamond was with her. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the beautiful, silver-haired unicorn.

  Opal arched her brows and plastered on a smug grin.

  “See. I told you she was fine.”

  Cassie placed her hands on her hips, and for a moment, looked down at the ground.

  “I don't get it. My visions were strong, unsettling. Something is wrong; though now, I have no idea what.”

  Opal rolled her eyes in typical Opal fashion. “Of course, nothing's wrong. I'm here with her.”

  “We're not here to question your abilities,” Seth said.

  “Enough of this.” Opal's voice rose an octave. “Seth, Cassie, you both entrusted me and Jet to protect Diamond, and that's what I've been doing. It's what I'll go back to doing when you leave.”

  “Opal, my dear, I would never question your abilities, nor your devotion. That's not why we're here.”

  “So… why are you here, then?”

  Cassie rubbed her chin. “Maybe… You have the key, correct? You know precisely where it is?”

  “The key? Of course. Jet has it. It’s as safe as Diamond is.” She gave the unicorn a quick stroke of her mane.

  Cassie looked around. “Where is Jet?”

  “He left a week ago to visit Kaida in the dragon village.”

  Cassie brought her hand to her head as my grandfa spoke. “Of course. They've grown rather close.”

  Opal pointedly avoided looking at Seth. “Yes, they have. They suit one another rather well.”

  “I wish he’d not taken the key with him,” Cassie said with a sigh.

  “He’ll take care of it,” Opal said, turning to lead Diamond back to the stable. “Would you all care to spend the night here? Only Diamond, Jet, and I still reside here, so you can each take your pick of houses. No one needs them anymore. You can use any clothes you might find in them too.”

  “I’d like to spend the night,” Seth said, extending his hand to Cassie. “What about you?”

  Cassie nodded, and the pair of them wandered off to a house with a yellow roof close by. It didn’t escape my notice that despite the choice of dozens of pretty little houses to choose from, they’d both gone to the same one.

  River headed to a pretty pale pink house. When he reached the door, he turned to me. “You coming?”

  A thrill of excitement rolled through me. We’d spent almost every day together for the past month, but never in a house by ourselves. Blu and Ivy dashed through the air toward him and flew inside the house through the door that River had just opened. I guessed I still wouldn’t be alone with him.

  The smell of decay hit my nostrils as I entered. The houses were pretty on the outside, but inside, if this was anything to go by, they were run down and falling into disrepair. I opened the shutters to let some air in, moving cobwebs out of the way as River explored the upstairs.

  “There’re two bedrooms!” River shouted down.

  I found a broom and began to sweep the floor. I wouldn’t be able to restore it to its former glory, but I could tidy it up a bit.

  “You two can help!” I said to Blu and Ivy as they whizzed around the room. I pointed to a dustpan in the corner. The little pixies stuck their tongues out and flew out of the window, leaving me to do the work alone.

  Later, River and I ventured outside to find Opal had started a fire. My Grandfa and Cassie were already seated around it. They chatted and bantered amiably, but I had other things on my mind. Specifically, I couldn't stop thinking about what Opal had said. No one needs them anymore. What did that mean, and where had everybody gone? An entire unicorn village, empty, save for the twins and Diamond.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked as Opal slid a chunk of meat onto a plate and handed it to me.

  “That’s not how you cut Boar meat,” River said, taking my plate back from me and pulling a knife from his belt. River and Opal got into an argument about the best way to cut meat, which escalated into an argument on the best way to catch and cook the boar. I listened to them bickering as they had so often done on our adventure, and a moment of warmth spread through me. They were more like brother and sister than friends with their bickering, but I knew that either one would lay his or her life down for the other. It was only much later when I‘d retreated back to the house that I realized my question hadn’t been answered. I was no closer to knowing why the whole village had up and left.

  As River and I walked up the stairs of the small dwelling, trepidation filled me.

  River stopped outside his room, facing me, a small grin on his face. I’d seen many of River’s grins before. It seemed he had one for every occasion, but this was new. And I knew exactly what it meant. I could sleep alone, or I could sleep with him. The thought had been running through my mind since we’d self-assigned houses. The question had been dangling in the air throughout dinner. The question being, would I follow River to his room or would I turn and go into mine. It was a question I still didn’t know the answer to as he leaned forward to kiss me. As his lips touched mine, I found I knew the answer. There was no question at all.

  Chapter 3

  The next morning, I awoke alone to the sound of birds chirping brightly. Whatever had driven out the unicorns, it certainly hadn't affected the wildlife. I was alone, the way I had been all night. River’s kiss had held a promise of something more, but he’d been the one to say a cheery goodnight and leave me in the hallway. Blu and Ivy had been watching, and as River’s door closed with me on the outside, they stuck their tongues out at me then opened the door themselves, using teamwork to open the knob and flew inside.

  With a sigh, I slid my feet over the edge of the bed, arose, and quickly got dressed, meeting River in the hallway between the two bedrooms.

  He gave me a shy grin-- another new one on me and ran his hand through his hair. “About last night...” he started, but I shushed him.

  “It’s fine.”

  “I wanted you in my room. I kicked myself for ducking out, but I don’t want to rush this. We met in the strangest of circumstances, almost dying together before dating. I wanted to really get to know you before...”

  It was the first time I’d seen him not so sure of himself. It was quite a sight to see.

  “I agree,” I said, moving forward for a kiss. I pulled him toward me, kissing him deeply.

  When we pulled apart, he sighed. “Damn. Maybe I should have kicked myself a little harder last night.”

  “Maybe you should,” I replied with a grin, turning away from him to head out of the house. The dynamics between us had changed, and I kinda liked it.

  As I expected, everyone else was already up, and judging by the sour look on Opal’s face, she wasn’t happy that we’d kept her waiting.

  She glared at us through the flames of the campfire. Next to her was a stack of decidedly burnt bacon.

  “So glad you could join us,” she huffed.

  “Now, now, Opal,” Cassie said, grabbing the plate and putting it on a table that had been brought out. Two long benches sat at either side of it. The plate of overdone bacon was added to the overdone sausages and overdone eggs. The only things not overdone were a plate of flapjacks and a pitcher of juice.

  I grabbed a plate and filled it, sitting on a bench next to my grandfather. The only one not at the table was Opal, who had decided to eat her food by the fire.

  “These sausages are delicious,” I said, trying to placate Opal.

  “Yeah, once you get past the blackened parts,” River added
. I kicked him under the table.

  Opal ignored the pair of us.

  “Opal made these from scratch,” My grandfa said, joining in the conversation. “She was telling us this morning before you two appeared.”

  I blushed, realizing he’d seen River and I leaving the house together. Whatever hadn’t happened in the house the night before, had most certainly happened in my grandfather’s imagination. Hopefully, not in too much detail.

  I swallowed the burnt food down, swigging the juice to help it down my throat, then picked up a flapjack and joined Opal by the fire.

  “The sausages really were good. My ma and I have tried making them loads of times, but they always come out wrong. Did you put some kind of herbs in them? I could taste something.”

  Opal cleared her throat and, at last, spoke up. Not about sausages as I expected, but an entirely different topic of conversation. Me.

  "You seem more melancholy than usual. I know I'm not the best host, but I suspect it's something else that bothers you."

  I stifled a sigh. Opal rarely bothered to ask anyone what was wrong, much less anything else polite or pleasant.

  “You are observant, as always,” I said. “I'm surprised you care, though.”

  Opal said nothing, merely sitting beside me and watching, waiting.

  I took a deep breath. "Fine. Why is the whole village deserted? This is a unicorn village, yet I see no other unicorns."

  Opal broke eye contact, looking down at the ground and allowing her fingers to fidget with one another. “Jet and I are the only remaining unicorn shifters. Each full unicorn is surrounded by magic, and it is that magic that sustains the shifters so that we can look after them. A baby unicorn can sustain a whole village, but Diamond is nearly a century old. She may not look like it, but it's true. As she has aged, that magic surrounding her has waned. The unicorn shifters began to die out as she got older.” She gave a sigh. “There's no need to be sad about that. It is the nature of things, the way our world works. It just is.”