We traveled all that was left of the day and most of the night, arriving on my campanion's land just before the sun set and he didn't stop until we reached a clearing in woods near his house. There I got off him and took out the spell book. After the recitation he stared at himself a moment before turning with a whoop and running off. "My Lord!" I exclaimed loud enough to get his attention before he left the clearing. "I will remind you not to concieve a child this night. Humans are known to be low on self control. I warn you: you do not want to raise a child half horse, half human in any combination. Or more accurately, have your wife raise such a child concieved while you were still gone. Be back here by first light with your son and his wife. It would also be wise to bring steady horses with them as we have much land to cover but a horse that does not spook at the creatures we will encounter is more welcome than one with speed. Speed does no one any good in the Great Forest, only manners can prevent disaster." With a nod he ran off in the clothes he had been turned in but in a slightly more somber mood. He had been given a reprive but the consiquences were still great if he forgot he was still cursed. May the stars help him if he forgets.
However, that was not my concern at the moment. I had been awake for nearly thirty-four hours as I could not sleep during the day. The sun was a poor substitute for my calming stars. I found a cave just within the land few humans dared cross and settled for a nice night's rest where I could still see the stars.
"Ah, I had hoped I would see you this night, My Lord. Would you like me to recite the spell that will put you in human form? However, I should tell you the risks involved." I continued to tell him what I had told his uncle, adding a caution against repeating the spell to others as mispronounciation could have horrible consiquences. He agreed with a nod of his head and I transformed him back into a human for a few hours. It could have been a lovely night. We talked for nearly two hours before sleep pulled me deeper. Unfortunately, he spent the whole time telling me to quit my fool's errand and let someone else do it or to at least return to the palace to get a bigger group of companions. I had hoped to have his support, in fact I had hoped he would be proud of me doing what the stars led me to do. Instead he wanted me to be a timid human...Needless to say, I spent the whole time standing my ground and refusing to return to the palace. It was not a fun time nor what I had hoped to do for two hours alone with him with no prying eyes but obviously any type of personal conversation was not an option when all he wanted to do was argue. Oh well, it's not like this trip was about him. He wasn't the only person stuck in those pastures where humans should fear to tread.

The journey begins

Looking over my shoulder, I pulled the cloak I wore a little tighter around my neck and stepped out the kitchen entrance. It was the servant's entrance and I should have used the main doors, just as I'm supposed to use the main gate to leave the city, what with being the king's ward and all. However, such troublesome methods would certainly be noticed tonight, especailly as the prince had disappeared the night before. With theory going about that the prince had been dragged off through lax security, all the gaurds were being extra vigilant, a lot of good that does them against magic or secret entrances. However, it makes them feel better so I suppose that is something. However, my object was the stable, at the moment, and I scurried across the courtyard, my nondiscript gray cloak blending with the shadows. Once there, I hurried to the stall of honor that held the supposed unicorn. Speaking softly enough to not desturb the other horses or stablemen but loud enough for him to hear, I started to speak as I approached. "Shh, M'lord, relax. I mean you no harm. I am sure you have heard the connotion in the castle, that your nephew disappeared from his room last night. He was taken as you were not too long ago, as many people have been. He is in the pastures with the others and I know how to get there. The stars ask that you take me there. I know the way and there will be some side stops. However, we are to take your son and his new bride. They lost their barely concieved child last night and your son is the next in line to become a fake unicorn. Now, there are some benefits for you in this journey. Not only will you have your son moving so he won't be found as easily but I found the spell you were turned with. I can improvise your spell so that not only does your horn disappear, but you can also be in human shape when the stars are out. When the sun rises or the clouds hide the stars you will be in horse form. If you agree to come with me I will not turn you human tonight as I need speed to get from here before your brother searchs for me but when we near you house I will turn you human. Still, there is one thing to keep in mind. Any child you concieve while cursed could be part horse, either in looks or in mind. Have we a deal? Will you come with me willingly to see if we can set the kingdom free of this foe, see if we can return all the fake unicorns to humans again? Oh yes, there is a way to do that, I am just not certain I could manage it. To be free of your curse, the one who said the words must die. With him dies the curse. My spells are easily reversible as I am no sorceress but his curses are linked to his life force. As long as he lives all those turned by him will remain turned. Have we a deal? Good. Now, once we leave the stables we will have to go through the garden to the secret garden your great-grandfather made his wife for their fifth wedding anniversary. There is a gardener's door there, it leads inside the city wall until it ends just before the last turn near the back gate. The tunnel will be tight but will not last long. Once there we will go through the woods a distance before travelling along the main road to your land. near mid-meal we will likely rest as it will draw attention to have travelers on the roads then. Here let me rid you of that horn. It will certainly give us away if anyone passes us." Stopping before we left the stable, I openned the bag I had hidden in my cloak and pulled out the ancient book I had borrowed from my gaurdian. Flipping to the page, I recited the spell and the white horn fell to the floor in glittering dust. That done we left the stableyard and travelled through the garden now filled with weeds and entered the tunnel through the rusted door. It wasn't long before we passed a safe distance through the woods and I was looking down the main road at the city and the palace high above the road. It would be many months before I saw it again, if I ever did. "Well, M'lord, it was nice while it lasted but something tells me that if I ever return to that city, it will not be as your brother's ward. This journey will change all our lives as well as the lives of so many on our island. I only hope we are all changed for the better. Yes, you're right. It is time to stop looking back and begin our journey," I finished turning the man/horse around. With one final look at the place that had been my shelter for so many months I turned fully forward and focused on the journey ahead.

I walked into the princess’s parlor the next morning as planned. It felt as depressed as the rest of the castle was. A servant had entered the prince’s chamber this morning to find his bed empty and what seemed to be the remains of a struggle. The servant woke up his valet who searched for the prince. Unable to find him, all the servants in the castle were awoken to join the search before they woke the king and the search moved out to the town. It was now midmorning and all anyone knew was where he wasn’t. No one was quite happy this day, least of all his own sister.
“Lovely, Lady Streya, right on time. Everyone out. Lovely, now that is just the two of us, what do you know?”
“Your brother has been turned into a unicorn, I fear. He was taken up to the pastures last night after his transformation. The bad news is that as long as the person who cursed him lives, he’ll be a unicorn. The good news is that I found a spell that will remove the horn so he will merely look like a white horse and another spell that will allow him to take human form from sun down to sun up.”
“Can you bring him back here?”
“It will take time to get to the pastures and back as well as the fact that the curser likely has some spell in place to keep everyone trapped up there. It would be difficult to bring him down, let alone all the others up there.”
“I tire of this talk. Come, show me your rug. I had it brought to me during the ball as you had finished it. However, I thought I would allow you to show it to me instead of seeing it alone. What in heavens is that?” she nearly shrieked as I started to unroll the rug I had made but never seen.
“A map,” I breathed as I continued unrolling from bottom to top. On the rug were scenes connected by a trail that wound its way through the Great Forest and up to the pastures. From there the path led to a large house that seemed vaguely familiar.
“A map? A map to what? Why did you make yourself a map?!”
“Relax, My Lady, I did not make this from my head. You had the loom set up in a place with good light and I had trouble planning a scene. When I entered the next day the loom had been moved to a spot with nearly no light and another loom had taken the well lit spot. Not being able to see a pattern, I merely picked up strings at random and tied them on. My inner sight must have led me. My Lady, I do believe the time has come to start my adventure.”
“Do not be silly! We cannot allow you to go into the Black Forest. Those places are surely not on any path I know of and very few people that have left the path have ever returned. I will not allow it.”
“Princess, I need to go. Your brother is gone and soon so will your sons. I know you have felt that they are no longer healthy. A curse was set on every unborn baby boy in the land. If they are not miscarried, they will be stillborn and the mother will die with them. It is time for me to stop sitting around playing the lady I am not and do the job the stars set for me. There has to be a way for these curses to be undone and I must set out on the quest that is my destiny.”
“Why can you not send someone else? Surely they can do the journey as well as you.”
“No, princess, I cannot do that to anyone. You said that very few humans have veered off the main paths and returned alive. I have. My Lady, I was raised for five years by a dragon and seven years by a herd of centaurs. I know the Forest and its inhabitance are my friends. They respect me and I know enough of their politics to visit them safely. I am the only human I know of that can wander the Forest at ease. Also, these symbols read like a book to me, where to go and why. My inner eye created this map and it seems to have done so in its own shorthand. If I sent another person to go to some of these places, I would be sending them to certain death. No, it must be me.”
“Oh, fine, I can tell you have set your mind. I will speak to Father and we will get together your entourage. If you are going to rescue my brother he may agree but you will need a large number of guards to journey into the Black Forest. And you must have at least one maid, and a companion as you will be travelling with a large number of men. And you will need a cook and a few wagons of food. You should be able to leave by next week.” That was nearly six days away, I thought as I studied the rug, my hand flying over a blank scroll I had found while we talked. All those people would be hard to control and the Forest would not allow those many people to enter, let alone to leave alive. No, I would leave that night after the dinner party on the fake unicorn, as the map showed. I would take the book of spells in a bag with my tapestry, which I was to take for some reason, and we would find food along the way.
“Where is this building, the one bordering the Great Forest?” I asked to figure out where to aim the fake horse.
“What? Oh, that is my uncle’s place and that man is his son, I do not recognize the woman next to him. You must have visited near there with your herd. It is a very good rendition.” When will she learn to trust the magic that is all around us? Humans are continually trying to disprove what they cannot explain instead of accepting the miracles, I thought as she went back to organizing the trip I would do alone. My copy of the map done, I rolled up the scroll and put it next to my tapestry before rolling up my rug and putting it back in a corner while listened to her ramble on. It would do her good to plan for something. It would keep her mind off worry for her brother, whom she still doesn’t believe was put up in the pasture, and worrying about her sons whom she knew were ill inside her and she could do nothing for them. Yes, tomorrow she would likely add me to her list of things to worry about but for today she could plan.

   “Did you hear, Streya? Lady Ariadne disappeared last night and an old lady was found dead in her bed this morning,” the princess told me one morning two months after she had replaced Lady Demton as I entered the room and her ladies were leaving.
   “I had noticed the difference, My Lady. The seers death will be a blow to the king,” I replied as I sat down and after the ladies had left the room with the door closed firmly behind them.
   “Nonsense, Ariadne was a young lady, not over thirty summers, I swear. The lady they found is said to look like the body had been dead for years.”
   “The older members of the herd often caution the young ones not to trust their eyes. Eyes are often easily tricked by magic or deception. What Ariadne saw when she looked in her mirror was a lady nearly as ancient as the compelled sorceress looks. Trust me, your seer was much older than she let on.”
   “Nonsense, only witches hide their appearance like that and they are evil. Ariadne was not evil.”
   “No, she was merely confused. However, would your father have allowed a woman that looked ancient in his court? Do you remember anyone at court looking old? Many have gone to extreme lengths to hide their age for fear of being kicked out. Your father is very focused on outside appearances. To look anything but perfect is to be ridiculed or not allowed entrance. It is most amusing to look in mirrors at meals and see what people really look like. I cannot wait until tonight to see what everyone looks like in the mirrors in the ballroom. In all their finery many will look atrocious. As to all witches being evil, that is another myth like the one that humans can own unicorns. Most witches are merely knowledgeable humans. Only the truly powerful can manage to outlast death and live for years. However, Ariadne was old and her power was leaving her. She knew her time was coming. She had already spoken to your father about leaving to find a peaceful place to die, it just was not supposed to be so soon.”
  “You keep saying that the unicorn Father brought home last month is not real but it sure looks real.”
   “Yes, a white horse with a small white horn is rather convincing but if you look at him in a mirror you merely see a sad older man. My guess is that magic has aged him beyond his years but that man is not happy. He also is not a unicorn. Besides, real unicorns glow white in a way that horse does not.”
   “You speak so simply, like everyone knows such things. Sometimes I wonder if you are merely telling stories or truly know. Oh, nevermind, go, you need to get to your dance lesson before it is time for you to prepare for the dance tonight. You must shine tonight. Go,” she said, again waving her hand as I gathered my tapestry that I was embroidering and left the room.
   Later that night I was in what I had realized was considered servant’s clothes, only one dress, no petty coats nor overdress or stays, and using a candle to search the books in the library. The opening ball had been lovely. Dancing with so many men weighing my dowry and connections against the fact that I have yet to speak in society during each dance was almost amusing. At least dancing with some of the married men compelled by wives who wanted to be associated with me was more amusing as some of them actually tried to talk to me and got a few smiles. However, something had happened halfway through the ball. It seemed like all the unborn boys in the kingdom had fallen ill at once. Some of the younger ones had already died and the princess’s precious little ones were no longer healthy. The babies cried out to me, their pain kept me from sleep and I was searching the palace library for a book I hoped could answer some questions.
   “You should be sleeping, My Lady,” the prince said as he stopped beside me.
   “So should you, My Lord, but you do not seem to be either.” In fact, he seemed weary of something.
   “Point taken, some things came up during the ball that needed to be dealt with. I had just finished when I noticed the candle in here.” That explained why he was still in ball dress I suppose.
   “Events are starting, I do believe. The stars would not grant me sleep until I find a book they say is here.”
   “What book?”
   “I am not sure but it is supposed to be quite ancient. I will know it when I see it but these history books do not seem to be it.”
   "How about we ask the librarian? He would know where the older books are kept. It is a large library.” He was already walking away before I could tell him not to bother the sleeping man, that I could find the book alone but he returned with the sleepy-eyed man who led us to where the nature books were kept and pulled out a book practically falling apart. After putting the book on the desk nearby, the prince bid him to return to his bed and he left without complaint.
   I got so focused on the book and the language I hadn’t read in many years that I didn’t realize the prince was still there until he started stroking my spine gently. “Well, this is definitely what the stars wanted me to find, I just cannot figure out what I am supposed to find here,” I said to cover my uncertainty. As much as I liked his touch, it made me want to turn into his chest and just relax. He had never done this before. In fact, this was the first time we’d ever touched, not counting the polite kisses on my hand that were part of society and meant nothing. I had no clue what he meant by the touch, nor the rapt look on his face as his eyes followed his hand. Best to focus on the book.
   “How can you understand that? I have never seen writing like that.”
   “No, this is the language of the Ancients. It’s said that the Greatest herself created this language for her children. Agalia taught it to me so I could be her scribe during my time with her and write her journals. Interesting writing as she was so old and had had so many adventures in her time, but this book is not nearly as old as Agalia. My bet is that this was written by a lady too old to train an assistant or wanting to make a name for herself. Foolish but common about three hundred years ago.”
   “Can you read it to me?”
   “I am not that stupid. This is a book of spells and stories of magic. To read it aloud would make the spells stick, most likely to you and some of these would not be pleasant, although so far they have been rather harmless.”
   “Why would the stars want you to read a book of magic?”
   “A curse was put on this land tonight during the ball. I am hopeful there is a counter spell that can be found to undo it.”
   “I felt nothing, I mean no disrespect but are you sure?”
   “Positive. Every unborn male cries to me in pain, many of the younger ones are already dead. The powers that be are most unhappy. So many miscarriages were not meant to be. Your sister’s twins are hurting and she knows something is wrong. If something is not done they will be stillborn and she will go with them as so many mothers have done this night. Hm, interesting.”
“What have you found?”
“It seems I have found the spell for turning a person into a unicorn. That explains the horse in your stables.”
“Are you saying that the unicorn Father brought back that he so brags about is really a man under a spell?”
“Of course. If that were a real unicorn the stars would have exacted their revenge for separating the unicorn from its herd and the pastures and the palace and most of the town would not exist. Sad but true. It seems that the only way to break the transformation spell is to kill the one who spoke the words. The best I can do is modify the spell to remove the horn so the horse looks like a normal white horse and say a spell that will allow the cursed to be human by night but horse by day. Small joy that.”
“Will that not mean you need to die for them to be free?”
“Not according to this. If I do that, there is another spell I can use to allow the cursed to be human all the time. The day/night transformation seems to more be a joke curse than the more permanent one. In fact, there are a number of stories here about how a prince discovered this spell and turned his mistresses into horses to hide them from his wife. Unfortunately that had interesting effects on his offspring. The ones that were born by day looked like horses but acted like humans and could speak but the ones born at night looked like humans but acted like horses. Needless to say, his fun didn’t last long. The author even speculates that this spell may explain the origins of the centaurs somehow.”
“Interesting. Do you know what the man in the stables looks like?”
“Of course, that’s why I never go down to visit him anymore. It breaks my heart to see how sad he is.”
“Could you draw his face?”
“I can try. Drawing people is not my strong suit.” I tried a few times on the paper in a desk drawer but nothing came out so I glanced back at the book. There was a story about a young virgin that the prince liked so he turned her into a mare and himself into a stallion. Unfortunately, that meant he didn’t have a voice until the sun was fully down and they were captured and sold for labor. Needless to say, he never tried that again and the “pretty filly” never went near him nor court.
“That is rather good,” the prince said as I finished the story. Looking down at my hand, I realized I had drawn the face nearly perfectly one handed without thinking about it nor looking at the paper. “In fact, I do believe whoever sent the unicorn has a sense of humor. Twisted, but it makes sense.”
“Why do you say that, My Lord?”
“I do believe that is my uncle. He disappeared from his bed some months ago, in fact, his daughter is now at court and his son just left to marry Lady Edwina. My uncle always scoffed at my father’s near obsessive need to see a unicorn. To have my father think my uncle is a dream come true does have a sense of humor to it, though a rather twisted one. Father will be most disappointed that he has yet to see a real unicorn.”
“It may be for the best that your father has not seen one. He seems like one of the foolish humans that have tried to make a unicorn their pet and quickly died.”
“Yes, I do not imagine Father seeing a unicorn and not claiming it as his own. Anything the foolish man wants, the foolish man must have. Are you alright?”
“Yes, I am just suddenly very tired, I believe I shall go to sleep now,” I commented, leaning heavily on him as my body suddenly seemed made of stone.
“What of the babies?”
“I doubt that spell nor its reversal will be in this book. This thing tells minor spells, it’s more a history of magic and its spells than a spell book. I don’t believe something as powerful as the death of so many young ones, the most sacred of beings, would be found in here but I will look tomorrow morning.” Leaving the book and drawing as they were, we started to walk out of the library but it was slow as I was leaning heavily on him. Suddenly we stopped and he slid his free arm under my knees and swung me up into his arms. “Hmm,” I muttered, cradled snuggly but gently against his chest, “if only I was awake enough to enjoy this.”
“I could always do this again sometime when you are fully awake,” he said quietly and I heard it in his chest.
“That would be nice, my Rhodri, that would be very nice,” I muttered as I fell asleep as he walked. I was barely aware as he lay me gently down on my cushion under the stars but as soon as he backed away, I was back in my pasture with Hermana. She was still grilling me about the prince, even though she didn’t know his name nor job or title, as she always was when I felt eyes on me and turned. There, not too far away stood a white horse with a small white horn.
“Oh, how lovely, a unicorn!” the lady exclaimed as she ran to it and it shied away.
“No, darling, not a unicorn. Another hostage. Oh Rhodri, he got you as well, didn’t he?” I asked as I slowly approached the sad horse and gently petted his snout.

A Dream Meeting

   It was early that night that I finally put away my stitchery and slipped into my cushion on the porch. Closing my eyes, I waited for the mellowness of sleep to descend and take me to that pasture I saw only in my mind. She was there again, she usually was these days while our conversations had been sporadic when I had been with the herd and with Agalia. I had no clue who she was, merely that as I aged, so did she. We were very close in age, it seemed, and looked very similar but I knew not who she was, nor why I could talk to her in my dreams.
   “I sense there is a man, Hermana mia. Who is he?” she asked teasingly, stroking her belly.
   “There is always a man for you, Hermana, why is today any different? And congratulations on the girl.”
   “A girl? Are you sure? Of course you are, you always speak the truth, though how you know these things is a mystery. How you knew Madre would give me that necklace is still a surprise to me. However, I meant there is a man in your heart and something happened today that you are still thinking about him. Do tell.”
   “Yes, your greatness,” I replied with a mock bow that she laughed at before I sat down to the drawing paper in front of us. “He is so handsome, Hermana, so breathtaking that I nearly couldn’t speak to him. He knows I can speak now so I had to respond. Oh, Hermana, this was the longest conversation we’ve had and he was so kind. I watch him at meal most nights and he is so kind to the servants and although he often gets annoyed at the antics of those at court, he still tries to pretend he doesn’t know about them. People would be so embarrassed if they realized he knew all about their lovers and most of their other secrets. He can be forceful sometimes when he needs to be but he is so gentle with his sister. He is so loving and all kindness to me and her, even to his cousin when his father would rather ignore us. Sometimes I think the father would rather none of us were at court but the son takes such care of us we never feel neglect. I merely wish that I could manage to have a conversation with him in which I didn’t feel like such a fool. He has a habit of jumping from thought to thought in a single conversation that sometimes I have trouble keeping up with my slow translation. Oh, Hermana, he is so busy, it was so nice of him to come looking for me so I wouldn’t be bored since my teacher decided to leave for a vacation today. He came in while I was playing the pianoforte and though the song I was playing disturbed him for some reason he didn’t tell me never to play it again as his father has been known to do. He heard my accent too, I got so tongue tied that I couldn’t focus. I barely spoke in his language, I nearly spoke in our language to him, but he barely mentioned my flub. I so wish I could manage to have a single conversation with him where I don’t look like another girl with no brain.”
   “Relax, Hermana, I have never heard you speak for so long about anything. I shall have to tell Madre about this man. She will not be happy you found a man to interest you before you return to us. When will that be again?”
   “Hermana, you know I cannot return to you until I have set right what has hidden the stars.”
   “Ah, right, that compelled sorceress you feel is dangerous to your forest. Why do you not let someone else deal with her and you can return to us where you belong.”
   Fighting the panic that always came when returning to a home I don’t remember, the place I had been taken from by him so long ago, I replied. “Must we go through this again? No one else is able to read the signs as I do. The seer here has practically blinded herself from her inner sight. This is where the stars want me to be, where the trouble will begin. If it is not stopped here, the danger will spread throughout the human world and into the Great Forest. Do not think the danger will skip you. This man wants total control and you and your unborn will still feel it if it does not get aimed at you. No, I can see where I belong in this human world when the danger is finished. Only then will I think about seeing you in person.”
   “And there is no way I can change your mind? No way you can visit before you go about saving the world by yourself?”
   “No, not a chance.”
   “Very well, I tried. Oh dear, I hate to leave you like this but I do believe I am being awakened. We will speak again tomorrow, yes?”
   “Of course, go about your life, I may need sleep for tomorrow.” After a quick hug she disappeared back to her waking body and I welcomed the darkness of deeper sleep.

Gossip Fest And A Lesson Change

   I was sitting at the loom a few weeks after Agalia had gone back to sleep when the news came. I was supposed to sit in the main parlor for an hour each afternoon listening to the ladies here. Each day, while I carefully tie little pieces of yarn to the threads that are woven onto the loom, I listen to the conversation of ladies rarely saying what they mean. The conversation was usually centered around a person not in attendance and usually wasn’t nice. One of their favorite conversations was about a Lady Edwina that seemed to have just gotten caught in a “compromising position” with a young lord and they had both left court shortly after but separately. As much as every lady here said they would never get caught in such a position, and with such a man! He would never do the right thing and marry the fool. As much as they went on and on, I sensed most of them would have loved to be the girl. Apparently the lord had a fine title and even better looks and was rumored to be magnificent in bed. However, for some unknown reason he had not visited any lady’s bed for many months until they found him in her nearly naked arms in a parlor somewhere. Many of the lady’s would have loved to be in the young man's arms, married or not. Oh the hypocrisy.
   They had just started on her again when Lady Stelton rushed in breathless to inform everyone that a unicorn had been sighted in a village just outside the Black Forest and the King himself was riding out to confirm it. Immediately most of the ladies started collecting their stuff, talking about how their husbands would want to join him and they must prepare for the journey. Quickly the ladies filed out leaving just me, my companion for the day, Countess Belsty, and the king’s niece and her companion. As both of us were wards of the king, we had no husbands to demand we travel with the king’s party so there was no point in hurrying. We finished our hour in near silence before tidying our belongings and parting ways for whichever was our next appointment. Mine was a ten minute gossip session with Princess Eglantin. I suspected that the only real reason the princess had me sit in there for an hour a day was so I could inform her of all the latest gossip and the truth behind it but I say nothing about that as she is so isolated from all the news and her ladies rarely tell her the truth as they all have their own agendas.
   “Well, what did you hear today?”
   “All the gossip is the same, My Lady, they were dissecting Lady Edwina again for most of the time they were there. When news came of the unicorn sighting-“
   “Unicorn! Oh, what did they say about that?” the princess asked, suddenly excited.
   “Supposedly there was a unicorn sighting in a village near the Black Forest and the king has gone to confirm it.”
   “Oh, he gets all the fun! I hope Father brings it back here so I may see it.”
   “Do not get your hopes up, My Lady. Unicorns never enter the Forest unless in grave danger. If only one came out of a forest to be seen IN a village, something is horribly wrong. Unicorns travel in herds, even the Great Forest cannot separate a herd, only death can and a unicorn that is the last of its herd would never approach a human building, let alone a village. If there is a unicorn in a village, it will be there by force and I would not like to be one of the villagers nor whoever caught it.”
   “Why, is a unicorn dangerous?”
   “It can be but that is not the problem. A unicorn is protected by the universe. Anyone that possesses one by force is cursed, as are all those around it. If there truly is a unicorn in a village, no matter what spell is on the stars, there will be no village there come morning and the unicorn will be gone.”
   “You are sure? Is there no way to see a unicorn?”
   “If you wish to see a unicorn, one must go up the mountain in the Great Forest to the pastures they graze in. There you may see one and possibly even touch one without getting cursed but very few have ever ridden a unicorn and survived the week. To make one leave the pasture, a person would need a powerful…spell.”
   “You just thought of something, what is it?”
   “There is a man, I saw him in a dream, he has control of a powerful sorceress, one that hid the secrets of the stars from us mortals. In my dream he was saying that his first plan to spread havoc did not work but he had others. One would need a sorceress of that power to compel a lone unicorn to leave the pastures.”
   “Is Father in danger?”
   “Possibly, but not from the unicorn. They were saying the trip would take days there and days back. By then the village will be gone or the unicorn will be a fake.”
   “But what about from the man?”
   “That I cannot say. The human mind confuses me and I have no clue why a person would want to create havoc but I sense that at the moment the man only wants havoc, that any other plan will come later, if there is one.”
   “Well, if he wants to create havoc, it is likely a distraction for something else. I’ll have to tell Rhodri to be vigilant in case this is meant to make the castle vulnerable. With Father, most of the court, and all their guards gone it would be easy to attack the city or palace, especially if Rhodri needed to go somewhere. Oh how I wish my dear Ifan were here to talk things through but he’s been sent to look into a disturbance up north. This isolation is so annoying!”
   “Relax, My Lady, it will all be worth it in a few months, you shall see.”
   “Oh, I know that, I am just annoyed that I must sit here while everyone else is free to wander. Now go, you have your violin lesson now, I believe, and you should not keep him waiting. I shall be fine doing my stitching. I must work more to have enough for two now. Go,” she said smiling with a wave of her hand.
   As I left the room I was met by Countess Cintwod who would take me to my violin master before my dance lesson in the same room. We arrived a few moments early and I sat down to warm up while we waited. When I was done with all the warm up exercises I looked around and found myself alone. The countess had apparently decided to run off and try to flirt more with the man she was trying to turn into a lover and my violin master had not yet shown up, which was strange. However, no one was around. The music room was empty. I set down the violin and stared at the instrument across the room. The pianoforte stood prominently in the corner on a small stage. It was the instrument of choice for the princess and she was rumored the most beautiful player in the land, possibly the world.  I had too many ghosts surrounding it to be able to learn it as they wanted. However, no one was around. Maybe I had time to remember, maybe this time I could find that peace that eluded me during lessons… Not really thinking, I stood up and walked to the bench. Sitting down softly, I paused a moment to let that old memory wash over me, a memory of gentleness and love, of softness and innocence. My hands felt the old familiar keys and with my eyes closed I played as the voice from the past praised me.
   “Magnificently done, Lady Streya, magnificent,” a male voice said from not too far behind me as the last cords faded from the room.
   Instantly I stood and faced the prince, my mouth working of its own accord. “My-my lord I did not realize-I thought I was alone-.” Realizing that I was speaking, I shut my mouth and waited for his anger. In all the months I had been here he had often spoken to me and seemed to want a response and I had never given him one.
   “Ah, you do speak and with such an accent. Likely why you do not speak in court. Relax, my lady, I did not mean to surprise you, your violin master is running around trying to go see the unicorn with the rest of the court. I did not want you in here bored stiff. Why is it you did not choose to learn the pianoforte? It is obvious you have a talent for it.”
   It was hard for me to speak as the handsome prince dazzled me, but I focused on my accent and forced the words out. “It is hard to learn one way when I also hear a voice from my past training me another way. I choose to learn an instrument with no ghosts to confuse me.”
   “True. That is a song that has not been played here in a very long time, a very long time…but you played it magnificently and your accent is nearly perfect when you have the time to think on it. As I said, I apologize for startling you. How are you feeling here?” Something seemed to disturb him when he first spoke but now he seemed to put that thought away and was all composed.
   “I am quite happy, it was difficult to adjust but your sister has been a big help and is most kind.”
   “So she knows you can speak? Good, she seems quite thrilled with you as well. It is good, she needs company these days and her ladies-in-waiting do little to relieve her boredom. In fact, where is the one that is to be your companion at the moment?”
   “Well, um, she was, um-“
   “You are not that good at lying are you? I assume the Countess was assigned you and she is off somewhere searching for that man, right? Nevermind. It is likely a good thing she runs off as soon as she is released from my sister. I doubt her company is quite the thing for you. Also, you may prefer some time alone. Eglantin says you are doing quite well on your dancing and should be ready for the ball and the Season it opens. She speaks of you looking for a husband and that she thinks you will likely be promised by the Summer Court.”
   “With all due respect, My Lord, you sister has dreams of that, she wishes to hear about all the men who will try to court me and has given me a list of whom is unacceptable and whom is preferred but I have no desire to marry this year. I left the herd as times among the humans are bordering on bringing trouble to the Great Forest. I must stop whatever trouble brews here and will doubtfully have time to look for a life mate any time soon. I allow her to plan as it relieves her boredom but there is no other reason. I am not looking to marry anytime soon.”
   “Good, good I do not want you to feel forced to marry anyone. You are welcome to stay here as long as you want, single or otherwise. Ah, here is your dance master. As your music teacher was unavailable, I asked that your dance lesson be moved up some for today. I hope you have no objection. If you will excuse me, I have something to attend to. I pray you have a lovely day.” That said, I curtsied as he turned and walked out of the room before my lesson started. With a mental shake of my head, I turned to the elderly dance master and tried to focus on my lesson.

The Stars Speak

   That night my dreams were in a mist. There was an old lady sitting on a chair, her weary hands rested on the arms of that chair. I seemed to be watching from beside her.
   Suddenly a man could be heard being loud. I could hear him saying she lied, that the monster was dead and she had lied. She must explain how that was so.
   “Must I?” she replied, obviously weary of his demands.
   Something glinted in his eyes as he replied: “You must.”
   She sadly looked at me and said: “There was a child, she put the dragon to sleep again.”
  “You told me that by killing that herd of centaurs, no one could put that monster away, that she would reek havoc on all things again.”
   “The child was with the herd but your men thought her dead so they did not kill her. Had all who had been in that clearing that day been killed, your dragon would have created the chaos you so seek.”
   “They left one alive? Where is this ‘child’?”
   “I do not know.”
   “You are lying.”
   “I would not dare lie to you. You made me hide the knowledge of the stars that see all. I no longer know everything, even my friend is not that powerful. If you wish to know all, you must let me unblock the stars.”
   “No, you wouldn’t lie, would you? You know what will happen if you do. No, I will create my chaos another way. A dragon is easiest, but there are other ways. I must see my men.”
   The sorceress looked so old and weary as she stared into the mist I saw through. If only I could help her…
   I awoke with a start as the dream left me. I had no clue how, but I knew that dream was no dream. The stars had been hidden by a powerful sorceress compelled by a man somehow to also awaken Agalia to create havoc. It seemed as though he had other plans as well. He wished to create havoc, but why? My head spun in circles as I thought on that but my idea of how a human thinks was limited so I fell asleep, my head still buzzing.

First Tea

   I had barely managed to stand up before Lady Demton started shrieking at me something about running around in such improper clothing like some hussy and how my heathen ways would not stand in the way of her being companion to the king’s ward, or something like that. My body hurt and now my ears were ringing so I tried to ignore her. Goodness but she had a high voice. I barely managed to roll out of the way before her cane came down hard on the flagstones I’d crumbled down upon again. I knew it did no good to avoid her punishments, they only got worse as she got more angry, but I wasn’t in the mood for more pain. I could deal with her starvation techniques at meals as I had been taught how to summon small amounts of food while in the herd. It was her beatings that I had trouble with.
   “Mrs Demton!!!” a male voice roared from the door behind her and her eyes grew large as saucers before she swallowed and meekly turned to face the man who had introduced us two months ago. “I believe it is time to pack your bags! Go, we will discuss this later. Now!”
   “Yes, My lord, profuse apologies if I have offended you,” the seemingly meekest servant of all murmured just loud enough for him to hear as she curtsied her way out of the room.
   “As for you, my girl, your maid will be coming soon to help you wash. I do not know where you flew off to just now but have been told we owe you a great debt for something not yet explained. I do not know what that means, but I do know you were riding a griffin a long time and that it has been over two months since last you rode anything. Also, that jump could not have helped. Hot water is very good on sore muscles. Relax for a few hours. Mid-meal will be sent up here and before late-meal you will have tea with my sister. She is in her time of isolation and needs some company. Tomorrow you will get a new…companion. For now, rest with our thanks.” He ended as a manservant entered with a nearly over flowing bucket of water on both sides of his neck, hung on a wooden object that reminded me of what had attached the horses to the wagon in the caravan. He dumped both buckets into the washbasin in a corner of the room and left, the well dressed man following him out.
   As soon as they had left Meg stepped out of her spot behind the door chattering about how happy she was they had now left so she could see to me proper-like and how it was so nice of His Lordship to remove that villainous “Lady” from my presence, even if it was after two months. I let her babble wash over me and sooth my mind as she scooped out two smaller bucketfuls of water from the washbasin and hung one above the fire and the other was placed nearby to be ready. When the manservant returned, she took another bucketful of water to put near the fire and after the manservant had finished his third trip to the washbasin with water, she bolted the door and carefully helped me fully undress and slip into the soothing water she had dumped the first two bucketfuls of boiling water into. The water was now delightfully warm and some of the burning in my muscles eased. I was just starting to dose when she brought a light meal to “break my fast,” as they say here, meant to be eaten with my fingers. That done, she washed my hair with the last bucket of boiling water before dumping it into the cooling water. Eventually I got up and dressed in a light night dress and my wrap before hiding my tiny bundle and settling into a fluffy chair to practice my writing and read some before eating the mid-meal, again designed to be easy to eat and for my body to handle.
    As Meg took the tray away, I pulled out my sampler, as Lady Demton had snidely called my attempts at sewing for society instead of functionality. I forced myself to work on it, carefully sewing each letter of the dictations Lady Demton had read to me on how to survive in court, whatever that was. After two lines I deemed that I had done enough and pulled out the book I had chosen the last week in the library. It was about the history of two lands that were always verbally picking at each other and whose courts joined together for two weeks each year at an ancient castle for tournaments of all kinds from swordplay to hairdressing competitions between lady’s maids and sewing competitions among the ladies. My tutor hadn’t wanted me to read such an unlady-like book so I picked up a book on confusing poetry and picked up the history book while she wasn’t looking.
I hadn’t gotten far in the book before Meg reappeared to dress me in more layers than the simple chemise, shift, and dress I’d worn with Lady Demton. For this meeting I wore a chemise, a stiff high belt around my waist that raised my breasts a few inches and made them seem thicker, a shift over that, three layers of what Meg called “petticoats” from my hips down, a dress over all that and another dress over that which had a large opening down the front to show off the first dress under the laces. After all that was put on, Meg did up my hair in a bun that had more curls than I’d known my hair could allow and put on an odd necklace that had a heavy stone pendant in front and a stiff cloth collar behind seeming to hold up the stiff curls. If this was just for tea with a sister, what would late-meal with society be like? All this time Meg was rejoicing in finally being able to dress me as a “proper lady” instead of a servant or such. All this for tea?
   I finally made it down to the lady’s parlor and instantly realized she was in “isolation” because she was pregnant with twins. She couldn’t know they were both boys, she may not even know there were two of them, but they were healthy and would be rascals, one more so than the other. The lady I was to have tea with sat in a large fluffy light purple chair doing embroidery and listening while one of the other ladies read aloud from a book. There were four other ladies in the room, three of them sitting on a soft but not necessarily comfortable red couch embroidering while the one reading sat on a soft orange chair. A servant led me to a yellow couch and I was about to sit before the lady on the purple chair beckoned me to sit closer on the blue fluffy chair. Some look passed between the other ladies in the room but no one said anything as I took the seat and pulled out my embroidery. As I worked on the precise stitches needed to cover the pencil marks Lady Demton had left when she designed my sampler, I glanced at what the others were stitching. The only letters or numbers I saw on those were names, and only those in small print on a corner. One lady was stitching a number of different birds above a simple cottage like those that dot the edge of the Great Forest, another was stitching what appeared to be a man fighting a very bad rendition of a centaur while neither had weapons, and the other was stitching a number of different flowers in some sort of repeating pattern. I also realized the book being read was an adventure, some man riding a horse on some quest or other. It was not a book Lady Demton would have allowed me to read. We sat in that stuffy room for about a half hour before tea came and the lady on the fluffy purple chair ordered the windows be opened slightly. With the tea having arrived, she put down the small blanket she was embroidering a scene of horses in pasture on and everyone else put down their embroidery. Teatime meant conversation and it tended toward family for a while. The lady sitting in the middle of the couch was the oldest of the ladies in the room and seemed to be a grandmother, her youngest grandchild, a boy, had just turned a year old and she was stitching the cottage scene to be the focus of a wedding quilt for her youngest daughter, set to enter society in the next few months. The lady to her right had all her children at school at the moment and seemed to be rather unhappy with her husband, though she didn’t say so aloud. I sensed she was the least intelligent of the ladies present but was not one to anger. The third lady in the room was doing the bad rendition of the centaur and I sensed that though she longed for adventure, she was content with listening to her husband’s stories of his adventures. Unfortunately, her beloved husband was not so thrilled with her and his stories were as false as her idea of a centaur was. The book reader was the quietest, though I guessed more from her lack of high rank than of her own choosing. I was right in sensing the sister was with child. She said it was a recent announcement but as it was her husband’s first child and the first grandchild of her father, she was put in isolation as soon as the announcement had been made to protect the child.
   Once tea was finished she shooed her ladies-in-waiting, whatever that meant, out of the room for a moment to speak to me. “Ariadne said that you should thanked and kept safe for what you did today and so I shall thank you most prettily. My brother informed me that I was to judge your training and decide on a new companion for you as the one he chose was a mistake. I cannot imagine what she would have done to make him admit that but those days are over. Show me your embroidery. Oh dear, where did you find those rules? Oh, never mind. I thought I had ordered that book removed from the library as too old and no longer useful. Those dictates were written years ago by a man who thought morals were being forgotten. A more stuffy book I have never read. Although they are interesting to keep in mind, especially around some of the dowagers who forget what they did years before, for the most part you can ignore these. Find something better to embroider. I shall have you taken to my arts room where you can pick up some cloth and thread to make something else. Also, I believe you are able to eat with the court. Starting tomorrow you will be allowed to eat whenever you want with the court, my brother will assign you a seat. Also, have you learned to dance? No, we shall remedy that. Music? No? That will not do. I shall have my maid look at your wardrobe as well. If your companion chose those, they may need to be replaced quickly, most especially before the ball and the Season starts. Now, I know you can’t speak, but how you look, your other accomplishments, and being my father’s ward should get you a husband quite nicely. Do you paint or sketch or such? No? That must be at least attempted. I’ll speak to my brother and make the arrangements. I do believe you will be more than ready for the ball and the Season it opens. Now, go rest. The footman outside the door will show you to your rooms and my maid will fetch in my ladies for more tedious embroidery. You need not remain here,” she replied with a swish of her hand towards the door.
   I gathered up my embroidery and had stood up before I turned back to her and spoke for the first time in nearly three months. “They are fine, my lady, they are healthy. The babies are, I mean,” I continued at her perplexed expression. As she made no comment, I turned to go. I only got a few steps before she spoke, clearly uncertain whether to believe me or not.
   “Babies? As in plural?”
   “Yes, My Lady, you carry two healthy boys that will be a handful to raise, no matter what age they are.”
   “You are positive? Ariadne could not even tell if one was healthy.”
   “With all due respect to her, she is too distracted by humanity to listen to the words of the world. The stars are silent enough without her trying to interpret them herself.”
   “But you can listen, you hear more than her?”
   “We hear the same things, I just hear fewer things. Her thoughts, her wants, and the demands of others have added so much noise to her mind that she has trouble hearing her inner voice. My thoughts are simple as have my wants always been and no one demands anything from me. Also, I was taught when young to hear only my inner voice when it speaks. It is now my constant companion.”
   “Speaking of speaking, why have you not spoken before?”
   “I am new to this land and still learning the language. My accent can be thick at times and my vocabulary is limited. I often read words I do not understand. I would not like to embarrass your family after all they have done for me.”
   “Hm, yes, I see your point and can think of no reason to tell my brother nor my ladies that you speak. We can do so alone if needed.”
   “Thank you, My Lady. May I continue on my stitching? It may be meaningless words but it is a challenge and will give me time to think of something to stitch in parlors. When I finish this I will start something else.”
   “I see no reason you cannot finish that. You have a point. Tomorrow you will start a number of lessons, I believe I will have you taught how to use a loom as well, another useful thing for a wife to know. Whether you use it or not is up to you. Do you have a preference as to what instrument you learn?”
   “I do not know what an instrument is, my lady.”
   “Hm, good point. I will ask that you learn all of the ones available and tell me which you would prefer at the end of next week. That will give you time to get past any dislike due to awkwardness and decide on the merits of the instrument itself. Anything else?”
   “Could you inform whoever that I may eat at the big table for only one meal a day for awhile?”
   “Hm, less pressure on you to eat there every meal? Yes, yes, I like that. You can get comfortable in society without getting swamped with it too fast. Very well. However, you will eat at least one meal a day at the table downstairs or at my table with my ladies and possibly my husband, brother, and father and their men. The choice of meal is yours but I will not allow you to hide completely anymore. Is that acceptable?”
   “Yes, My Lady.”
   “Lovely, now, what is your name?”
   “I do not remember my human name. The herd called me Star Chaser but that is what they called every young one.”
   “I am sorry for your loss. You must have been very young when they took you in if you do not remember your name. We shall think of something similar. You should go and rest now, you had a busy morning and the next few days will be hard as you adjust to your new schedule.”
   That said I curtsied and left. The footman took me back to my quarters where I pretended to embroider but really just stared at the fabric debating on what to stitch next. Nothing quite felt right, none of the scenes I thought of. Eventually Meg brought the late-meal with word that my day would begin with dancing lessons shortly after I broke my fast in the morning so I should get to sleep early. It felt good to be able to slip into the cushion on my balcony without trying to hide it from my guard of a tutor.

Madre Awakes

   I had been working with “Lady” Demton two months by the fateful morning I woke up to the red sky. Instantly I jumped out from under the thin blanket I slept under and ran for my wrapper.  Meg, the maid assigned to me, Had showed me how to wrap it so it seemed like a dress when I stood on the balcony, but I would need it for more than that today. This time I awoke terrified. I knew only one thing that could turn the sky that red in the morning and it did not bode well for this town or any other one on this island. She had awoken.
   Glancing out the open doors to the sky beyond, I knew time was running out. They were coming for me and the people would panic, even though they should already be worried. When she woke up without her guardians there, she must have been confused. That confusion obviously didn’t last long, I thought as I raced through the building heading up. I barely noticed anyone as I ran, I knew that what I was doing was improper but it had to be done. If they got here before I was visible, things would get bad, real bad. Up and up I ran, not thinking about the pain I’d be in while I tried to go faster up the spiral staircase. Finally I reached a window large enough to climb out of and jumped down to the roof below just as they reached the city and the outcry went up.They flew straight for the roof they saw me on before the foolish humans could prepare the weapons. Landing rough as we needed to travel fast, the two griffins rushed for the far edge of the roof as I sped towards them. I made it onto the larger one’s back moments before they jumped off the roof to resume flight. Wings outspread, they soared around the building the humans called a palace and headed back for the Great Forest. We flew for nearly an hour over the Forest before I saw her. The great dragon, one of the original Children of the Greatest, was soaring around a growing clearing, fire sprouting from her mouth on her whim.
   “Madre mios, madre mios,” I started to sing as we approached. Immediately she spun on us, her ears fine tuned to the well known song. “Madre mios, madre mios, why do you scare them so? They are not your food, they are not your foe. Madre mios, calm down, I am safe. Relax yourself, madre mios, relax. I am well, you are too. What need is there for anger?” By now the dragoness had quit her query, likely an unfortunate human caravan again, and was following us. No longer breathing fire, I knew she had calmed herself and was ready to talk. With a word to my griffin friends, we flew higher above the trees so I could be eye level with her, though necessarily far away as the griffins would only get so close to the ancient one. “Madre mios, why are you awake? You still have many years before your nap was to end.”
   “I am weary, my dear. I do not wish to be awake, surely you know that. I know not why I am awake, I feared you had woken me in need of assistance. Why else would I be awake?” she queried in her gravelly voice as she spoke the slurred speech of the ancient reptiles in the Great Forest.
   “Are you ready to go back to sleep, Madre dearest?” I asked, well aware what could happen if she chose not to.
   “I am weary, love, and you are well. Why should I stay awake? Let us return and I will sleep.”
   “Good, Madre, you need your sleep,” I said just before she dove under the griffins and I slid off the griffin’s back and onto her hard scales. That done, we flew deeper into the Forest, following her path of destruction, both brand new and centuries old. Finally we came to her cave and though the griffins refused to enter, Agalia flew me deep into the earth that sheltered her ancient den. Once there she lay down and I redid the sleeping spell that started her hibernation cycle. As I listened to her breathing, I searched for what had woken her but found nothing had changed since I had left with the herd so long ago.
   I had nearly left the den, shaking my head at the puzzle, when I stopped. There was one thing I had left here, one thing I didn’t bring to the herd. It had meant nothing while I had been with the herd, but now I was among humans. It may mean something there one day. One day I may wish I had that little bundle that he had wanted. He hadn’t known I had it, he thought they had left it when they brought me. Maybe there was some significance to it in the human world. With that thought in mind, I quietly crawled over the horde Agalia had accumulated to a small cave in back for her guests, or as the villagers had once called them, sacrifices. There in the back of a drawer under a pile of mold-free clothing was the little bundle, still wrapped in the blackened handkerchief I had saved from his fire. That in hand, I hurried up the wide passageway to the griffins and they flew me back so I landed soft enough not to break any bones on my balcony before heading back to their family.

Civilizing Begins

   I awoke to the frantic talking of a young female. I couldn’t understand her rushed accent but she seemed to be explaining something in panic and she was in the room I’d been given. Climbing out of the bed I’d made myself, I adjusted the clothes that had moved to cover less than they should over the night before entering the room through the curtained doorway. Inside I saw the girl I assumed was my maid frantically explaining something to my male visitor from the night before and an older lady. Since my maid had her back to the door I’d entered through, the male was the first to notice me.
   “Enough, she is fine,” he stated with a slight smile, his eyes still on me. “M’lady, lovely to see you this morning. I trust you slept well. I take it that you took the blankets and slept on the porch?  Unusual but it may be what you are used to. This is Lady Demton. She will be showing you how to survive in society. I wish you luck, good day.”
   “I can see I am just in time. Now girl, you must never NEVER again sleep outside! No civilized female would dare sleep outside..” the lady started as the man walked to the door.
   “Madam, loathe as I am to interrupt, I disagree. She is used to sleeping outside. I see no problem that could come of her sleeping on her porch in her own room, as long as she stays low and is not seen indecently clothed by anyone below. We will need her wide awake for training. If she is not comfortable in a bed, perhaps we can find her a cushion that will fit on her balcony.”
   “Of course, Sir. It shall be done,” she replied submissively before he left. As soon as the door closed, she turned to me and I saw by her expression that she did not like being contradicted. “Now, let us begin. I can see I will have my work cut out for me if we are to take the savage out of you in a few months, heathen.”

First Night

   They expected me to sleep here, I thought as I stared at the soft yellow cloth draped above me over the massive bed I lay on. It had been a long day but I couldn’t sleep.
   This morning the caravan of white clothed humans I had traveled with for the past moon, since the destruction of the only family I knew, had dropped me off at some gate and driven off. When I had tried to follow them, to continue on with those that I slightly knew, they sent me back to the gate. The leader of the white clothed humans had spoken to a man dressed in darkened animal skin from neck to knees, not counting his upper arms that were open or the metal wrapped around his lower arms from slightly below the elbows to just above the wrist. He carried a thin but straight stick as tall as he was and disappeared inside the gate when the leader walked away. After I was forced to return to the gate, he returned a few minutes later and a younger man dressed much the same way motioned for me to follow him. He led me into a room filled with drying plants where I stood for a long time before a lady came towards me and reached for me. I started to back away but realized she meant me no harm. I sensed the youngish looking lady was really much older than she looked, in fact, she reminded me of the Seer in many ways. At this point she was merely curious. She spoke to me but I couldn’t understand. When she approached me again, I refused to back up. When she touched my face numerous times I sensed she was confused and scared. Something was happening that she had no clues to and that was very different from what she was used to. Her confusion was blocking her inner sight but she did not realize it and I had no way to tell her. After touching my face a few times she stepped back and looked at me for a moment before spinning and walking off.
    I stood there for a while until someone brought me a liquid filled with juicy meat and soft vegetables that I ate by hand and drank as they gave me nothing else to use. I was aware that to do so was rude to humans, to eat with one’s hands, but I had no choice as they gave me nothing else to use, just the dirt bowl they gave me. I had watched the humans in the caravan have this type of food at night around their fire but they had used small wooden things in their hands to poke the meat and vegetables and a different wooden tool to pick up the liquid. Having only been given the hard meat or raw vegetables I found when I wandered into the forest they refused to enter, I had never learned to use those tools. However, I knew enough to know it was likely rude that I had not been offered those tools to eat my meal. Still, I said nothing when the girl left the food and when she came back some time later to retrieve it. Not that I could say much as the language they spoke was different than the one the white clothed humans had spoken and I had just started to understand what those humans had told me to do.
   Eventually three women had shown up and led me to this room where they took my cloths off and laid my skin coverings, the ones the herd had helped me make that I had worn under the whitish cloths the members of the caravan had insisted I wear, on a wooden curved box against the back wall. Completely naked, they scrubbed me down until my tan skin turned red and they poured extremely hot water over my head. It ran down my skin to pool at my feet in the large wooden bowl where I stood while it cooled and the women roughly dried me before leaving the room. A few moments later a young women barely older than a girl came in to help me dress in a few layers of cloth that covered me completely from neck to toes. That done, she took the whitish cloths I had been wearing and backed out of the room smiling nicely.
   I had then used the rest of the water still in the massive bowl to clean the skins brought in by my trips hunting with the herd and laid them on the stone outside the door to a stone area suspended high above the ground below that allowed me to see for a long distance over the city below. I was just coming in when a man knocked on the door leading to the main room and entered. I immediately sensed a lot of anger was stirred in him at the sight of me though I didn’t know why. He reached out to touch my face and I stopped myself from backing up towards the door outside after a few steps. He meant no harm to me, in fact, his anger seemed to be on my behalf. His gentle stroking of my skin brought slight pain but I doubt I reacted. He muttered something I didn’t understand as he stepped back before standing tall and talking in a language I was surprised to understand. He said he was sorry for my rough treatment and would see to it that they were punished and I was never treated that way again. He understood I likely did not understand the words he was saying but that his father had taken me in as his ward and the son would make sure I was taught all I needed to know to take up that role, beginning with basic manners. In the morning a lady would meet with me to teach me things like how to eat, posture, curtsying, and hopefully how to speak. Once I managed with the basics I could be allowed to eat with the others in the main dinning room under the supervision of my tutor or choose to eat alone with my tutor until I was more comfortable. However, he told me there was a ball set for four moons away and I would be expected to be there and not be an embarrassment or his father would send me to live with a relative until I learned better. The way he spoke was very flowery and managed to say in two hours what I could have said in five minutes, as Hermana would have said, although I don’t believe he spoke for two hours. I had never before understood what she had meant when she used that phrase. Now I did and it almost made me laugh. As much as the herd would speak in riddles, at least they said what they meant. This man was trying to say I needed to learn to be human without saying anything was wrong with me. The way he contradicted himself all the time was most amusing.
    Anyways, eventually he backed out of the room assigned me and I was alone again. I was standing out on the stone area above the city when the girl returned with a long metal tray, I think it’s called, and a cup of hot water with plants in it similar to what I was used to from the herd and a juicy meat, vegetable, and wheat dish with the tools needed to eat it. The girl showed me how to use the tools and returned later to take the empty dishes. I ate very messily and was glad not to have an audience but soon the food was gone and I was again at a loss about what to do. After the tray had been removed, as had the massive bowl of dirty water, the girl had moved some of the cloths on the bed and motioned me to get in after helping me remove some of my clothes.
   Now I was in the bed and couldn’t sleep, even turning this way and that didn’t help. The clothes I still wore continually got tangled in the bed clothes and I couldn’t get comfortable. Finally I got up and stood on the stone area high above the city and stared at the stars. As with so many nights these past moons, the stars held no message but the familiar sight calmed me and I had no wish to leave the night for the stuffy bed. However, I couldn’t sleep there, or could I? The stone was hard and I doubted many humans choose to sleep under the stars when a bed is nearby, but could it be done? Rushing back to the bed I removed some of the thick blankets and dropped them in a messy heap in the stone before returning for a pillow and a thin cloth to lay under. With the cloths under me and some protection from the slight breezes as well as the stars above me, I finally fell asleep.

The Welcome

    The room in the massive stone building had only four people in it. An old man sat in an ornate chair while a younger man sat next to him and they both stared at the man and magically youthful woman a few feet in front of them.
    “Have you any news today?” the older man asked the woman.
    “No, Sire, nothing the normal way, Sire,” she replied.
    “And what about the non-normal ways?” the man asked, leaning forward slightly in his chair. It had been too long since she had shared anything.
    “A girl was brought in the gate this morning. For some reason I was drawn to her.”
    “Have you any idea why?”
    “She is different, Sire, I do not know how to explain it but she was not raised by humans.”
    “What was she raised by?”
    “I do not know but she has a reason to fear humans. What little she knows of us, up until lately, has only shown her terror.”
    “Where is she from?” the seated man asked the man standing a few feet away from the woman.
    “The Easterners who brought her said they found her in a clearing in the Forest that was soaked in blood, as was she. They said they knew not what to do with her but leave her at the gate.”
    “What do you propose we do?”
    “Sire, if I may be so bold, take her in.”
    “Why should I do that?”
    “I do not understand what is happening that the Fates can no longer speak to us, but I do know she is connected. Whatever is coming, she will play a large part in events. It would serve us well to have her on our side.”
    “That I can agree with. We have many empty rooms, see she is put in one and properly clothed. She will be my ward until things are settled. See to it," the man stated to the younger man seated next to him before the conversation moved on to the next item of note.

The Story Begins

   I woke up this morning to see a dark white something swaying above me blocking the light of the sun. I couldn't remember ever seeing that before so I closed my eyes and tried again. It was still there.  The distance looked to be just barely above my head if I stood up. That was when I noticed my other senses. I could hear strange creaking noises, the plodding of unhappy horses at work, and voices speaking in an unrecognizable language. The smells were odd, as if only the most fragrant of plants in the Forest were put together in one place and died, covering the faint scent of human sweat. HUMAN sweat??!! As the ground beneath me suddenly dipped down to my left a little before dipping deeper to the right and leveling off, I scrambled to my knees and looked frantically around. The hard ground was really wood and from it sprouted a whitish "cloth", I think it's called, that went from one side of the wood box to the other, curling overhead. To one side I saw the back of a what seemed to be a person wrapped in a similar but dirtier cloth and holding the ropes to control four sad horses pulling this thing, lined up two by two. Out the other side I saw a person in similar garb riding another horse drawn contraption, wrapped so only its eyes were showing and even those were squinted.
   Instantly I hugged my knees to my chest as I recalled the distruction wrought by people in similar garb but the cloths were black, a nearly pure black that warned too late of their intent. They were dead, all of them, Gazer, Moonbeam, Starlight, Student, Scholar, the Children, even the Seer was dead. I could still see the distruction around Starlight's dead body, the blood on thier metal as they rode off on the armoured horses, the blood silently screaming as it seeped into the ground, the body pieces laying all around as I collapsed to their screams in my head. So much pain, so much death, I thought as I again surrendered to the welcome darkness.
   When I opened my eyes again, a human female was bending beside me saying something. She was trying to sooth me, I figured, but I slipped away from her hands, hands that can do damage at any second. But no, I felt no danger here, these people meant me no harm. Closing my eyes, I recalled what the seer had said the morning of the attack.
    "'Tis time for you to return, Young One. The time has come for you to find your place among your people."
    "I don't want to return, Most Wise One, they bring pain, you all bring peace and calm," I replied.
    "Yes, love, I know you have no wish to return but you must. The stars call for you."
    "Can you at least come with me?"
    "I wish that we could, Young One. I know that would make it easier on you, but the stars say that this journey you must take must be taken alone. There is turmoil in the stars, this we have all seen. What little can be understood these days must be obeyed. You can help clear the stars, the confusion among them and bring harmony again. You must follow this path as the stars summon you to."
   "I understand, Most Wise One. I just don't want to leave."
   "Many of us are called upon to do things we do not want to do but we must obey the Fates," he had replied with a far off look in his eyes as if he too had been asked to do something he had not wanted to. Moments later the black wraiths had descended upon us as I reeled in pain all over my body. Defenseless and in shock, I had watched the gloved hands swing the sharp metal at my peaceful friends as the panic grew. Starlight had fallen on me, begging me to stay down until they left with her last breath. After the horses had ridden off I managed to push her massive body off me and staggered to my feet, her blood dripping down me. The screams of the dead bogged me down and I collapsed in the middle of the circle they had been herded into. That was my last memory before waking up in this contraption.
   Opening my eyes, I saw the wizened woman again. More accurately, I saw her wizened eyes through the layers of nearly white cloth as she handed me something. It looked like reddish tree bark and felt much the same. She was saying something, trying to get me to do something with it but I didn't understand. Finally she pulled a smaller piece from her cloth and broke off a much smaller size and put it in her mouth before starting to chew it and pointing at the piece in my hand. Reluctantly I broke off a small piece of the meat in my hand and stuck it in my mouth. The taste was bitter and bland, nearly tasteless and I realized this single piece of meat, a little bigger than my hand, was tough enough to likely last the whole day. It wasn't like the sweet and juicy stuff the others used to feed me, the fresh squirrel or rabbit we got a few times a new moon. No, this stuff was old and dry but I sensed it wouldn't kill me so I ate it.
   It was time to start my journey to find my place in my world. It was time to look foward and act as these humans act. No looking back. I can never look back.