CHAPTER THREE
A UNICORN
Katie’s first instinct was to call out, to make her presence known. She remembered the shadow guard and quickly decided against the plan. Surely the creature would hear her and come back to finish the job. No, she would have to find another way. She closed her eyes. The voice of her father rang in her head, “If you’re ever lost, you should stay in one place.”
Katie had heard her father speak those words many times. She wondered if he hadn’t been speaking them to himself. Katie smiled. It was just like her father. He always gave good advice, but seldom listened to it himself. Katie shook her head. She turned her attention to the matter at hand. She would have to find her own way. That was the only solution. Katie covered herself in mud. She didn’t know if it was the mud that had drawn the creature away or something else, but she wasn’t willing to take that chance.
Once covered, she made her way along the forest floor. Katie knew her eyes would do her no good. She remembered hearing stories as a child about people relying too much on their eyes.
“You can only see what your eyes want you to see,” Katie’s mother had once told her. Her mother’s soft voice seemed to douse any remaining fears or doubts that Katie might have been harboring.
She would be brave. She had to be. If not, she would remain lost in the forest forever. Katie closed her eyes and felt along the trees. Not only using them as a guide, but marking them as well. By touching the trees, the mud would rub off. If her uncles were to pass this way, they would see the smears and know she’d gone this direction.
Katie listened. The forest was deafeningly quiet. She listened for a voice, a sound, anything that would lead her in the right direction. She sniffed the air. Searching for any unearthly smells, like cologne or aftershave. Nothing would escape her. If there were the slightest movement, or the faintest of smells, she would find it.
As with most of her ideas, she had seen her father do it before. As a little girl she liked to mimic his actions, though, at the time, it was just play. Her father would often get upset with her for interrupting. Her mother would get upset at him in return. When they fought, Katie would start to cry, which usually made them stop. Her mother would hold her while her father would go back to sniffing and listening. Katie would watch. Only now, being lost herself, did she truly begin to understand him. He was a brilliant man. He had taught her much, whether he meant to or not. Though she was grateful, Katie had never had the chance to thank her father for all that he had done. Even now her heart ached to see him.
It wasn’t just her father whom she owed thanks. Her mother had also taught her many things. The lessons from her father often went forgotten, until she needed to remember, like when she was lost in the forest. What her mother had taught her was something far more valuable. It was something that she cherished deeply. It was something that held strong and true in her heart.
Her mother had taught her how to love. She had taught Katie how to care for others, even when they didn’t care for themselves. Katie’s mother had always put the lives of others before her own. If faced with the choice, she would jump in front of a train for a perfect stranger. She was a true heroine. For that, Katie loved and respected her mother above all else. Even after her mother and father left her, Katie’s uncles continued to teach her those same lessons. Perhaps that was why she loved them so much. Some years ago, Katie had woken with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. On that day, she knew that she would never see her mother again. Katie often wondered how her mother had died. She regretted not being able to say a proper goodbye. Listening on, she tried to ignore the pain swelling in her chest.
All that Katie could hear was the crunching of leaves beneath her feet. There was nothing else. Not even in the vast reaches of the forest. There were no animals, no running water, and no life. There was nothing but empty silence. It was a maddening silence. Still she pressed onward. Knowing that her uncles were somewhere in the forest gave her hope. However small it might have been. In a place such as this, even the smallest sense of hope could make all the difference. On and on she went, her uncles nowhere to be found. Just as she was about to give up, to let the sadness overtake her, she heard something like a neigh.
At first, it was faint. Then close, then faint again, then close once more. Katie’s eyes flew open; they blended in perfectly with the mud that she wore. She looked wildly around. There was nothing. Her eyes fell suddenly upon a beautiful yet mysterious silvery light. She had to get a closer look. Katie took a step forward. The light stirred. She took another step forward. The light darted off into the forest. Determined to find out what it was, Katie ran after it. She didn’t know what, but there was something about that silvery light. She trusted it. It gave her warmth.
It was all she could do to keep up with it. Where it was leading her she didn’t know or care; her only thought was to capture it. If she could just do that, just long enough to figure out what it was, she would be content. Weaving through the trees, she would catch long and short glimpses of it. The light forced her in many different directions all at once. It was an overwhelming feeling. Katie’s determination would not let her give up. She would catch it if it were the last thing she ever did.
Finally, the light stood still. Katie ran toward it as fast as her legs would carry her. When she arrived to the spot where the light had been, it vanished. Katie kicked the dirt out of frustration. Through the bushes came a noise. Something was there. Katie looked around. She picked up a twig and hurled it into the brush.
“Ouch!” A voice came from behind. Bahumaku came out rubbing his head. “When did you learn to throw like that?” Katie flung herself around her uncle.
“I suppose we should try to find my brotheh,” Bahumaku said. He put his arms around Katie, practically peeling her off him, then looked down at the blue mud on his tan coat. Katie gave an apologetic smile.
“That won’t be necessary,” Chander spoke up. Katie turned and hugged him as well, leaving an imprint of blue mud on his green overalls.
“So you did have enough sense to follow the silveh light,” Bahumaku said.
“That, my deah brotheh, was no mere light. It was a unicorn. And you call yourself a story telleh.”
“A unicorn,” Katie said in wonder. Her eyes grew large with excitement.
“Indeed,” Chander said.
“I thought they were extinct,” Katie said. Her books back home had said something to that effect. Katie couldn’t remember, exactly, if it said they were extinct or endangered. Either way, seeing a unicorn had always been a dream of hers, ever since her mother first told her about them.
“Heavens no. There are many unicorns left. I should know. I have seen theih city,” Chander said.
“What was it like?” Katie asked. Her voice filled with wonder. Her eyes glowed like stars.
“It was the most beautiful thing these old eyes have eveh seen,” Chander said. He stared off into the distance as if he could see the city standing before him. Katie looked, but could see only the sapphire trees.
“We might as well rest here foh the time being,” Bahumaku said. He took out his wand and gave a whistle, and in an instant the tents were up and the fire lit. Upon Katie’s request, Chander told the story of how he discovered the unicorn city of Ctesias.
“It all started back when I was a boy. I would travel these woods daily. My brothers hadn’t been born yet, and fatheh was away. As you can imagine, it became quite lonely sitting around the house.
“They neveh cease to amaze me, these woods. Eveh changing they were. They still are. One day while I was traveling the forest I heard a scream. Naturally, I went to investigate.
“What I saw was the king of all unicorns. Alicorn, or Pegasus, as you might call him. He was caught in a trap. A human one, from what I can remembeh. Who would want to trap such a wonderful creature is beyond me.
“As I sat and watched him, he caught my eye. He spoke with a voice that I will neveh forget. ‘You there,’ he said. ‘Help me out of this contraption and I shall reward thee.’
“It’s strange, but I don’t eveh remembeh saving him.”
“Yes, because you have such a good memory,” Bahumaku interrupted.
“It just happened,” Chander said, ignoring his brother’s comment. “One minute he was trapped and then he was free. He spoke to me.
“‘Pray tell. What dost thou want most from this world?’ At that age, my wishes were simple. I told him I wanted a great adventure. ‘Then climb on by back and you shall receive one,’ he said. He took me to Ctesias.
“I immediately fell in love with the city. When the time came, I did not want to leave. ‘You must,’ Pegasus told me. I wanted to cry. I wanted to stay there foreveh.
“The city was a part of me. ‘Do not weep, virgin child,’ he said. ‘The time will come when you return to this city.’ To this day I’ve yet to find anything more beautiful than that place.”
Katie sat without word. “Why are you covered in mud?” Chander asked, truly noticing his companions for the first time since he arrived. Katie told how the shadow guard had chased her. She told how the mud had supposedly saved her life. And she told how she had made her way through the forest using all of her senses.
“You’ve had quite the adventure,” Bahumaku said.
“Yes. I was lucky I met Eland when I did,” Chander said.
“Who’s that?” Katie asked.
“It’s thanks to him you found this place. He and I met in Ctesias. He’s all I have left of that city,” Chander said.
“Could you introduce me?” Katie begged.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Chander said with a smile.
“Well I don’t know about you two, but as foh me, I’m off to bed,” Bahumaku said. He stretched his arms, let out a loud yawn, and vanished into the tent.
“I think I’ll do the same,” Chander said. He put out the fire and disappeared into the second tent.
Katie stayed up for just a little while longer. She thought of the day’s events, and of the unicorn. She had always wanted to meet one, almost as much as she wanted to see her parents, almost. Katie thought once more of her mom and dad. She missed them terribly. No longer did she blame herself for them leaving. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder. Had her parents not left her, had she stopped them, maybe, just maybe, her mother would still be alive. Katie knew that she would never see her mother again. As for her father, Katie was sure he was still alive somewhere.
At last, Katie retired into the tent. She woke the next morning by the gentle voice of Bahumaku. They ate a quick breakfast and set out.
Katie was sick of the woods. She was sick of the color blue. She wanted out of this miserable place. They must have been in it for almost the whole bright season.
“Can’t we just use magic to get to your friend’s house?” she complained.
“In retrospect we probably should have. But we’re here now,” Bahumaku said in answer.
A small white house with a red brick chimney and boarded windows stood before them. The house
looked as though it was built right into the mountainside behind it. At last, Katie and her uncles had
reached their destination.
See what happens next. Buy Neverworld now on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Neverworld-Great-Dragon-M-Draklore-ebook/dp/B074HFN7VN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14T77S0FM3RPV&keywords=neverworld+the+great+dragon&qid=1656625739&sprefix=neverworld+the+great+dragon%2Caps%2C362&sr=8-1
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