Unicorn Lost

Presents

A	s her Queen and daughters bunched up behind her, Rebecca calmly gestured to their enormous guest. "Please...have a seat," she said in a clear and authorative voice.

Stan drew in his tail and crouched down before her like a cat, bringing his house-sized head low to have his eyes on level with Rebecca. Now the others could clearly see the tureen-sized jewel embedded in the horny scales of the dragon's brow, and how little points of light swirled around inside it, like fish swimming in a bowl.

Rebecca put a paw on her green bracelet. "I know you, Dragon," she stated softly. "You have haunted my nightmares for years."

"My apologies," Stan said.

"There is no love lost betwix our people," Rebecca went on. "But I believe that we now have a common enemy."

Stan said nothing--merely raised an eyebrow.

"The creature who placed that jewel between your eyes," the chipmunk continued. Stan, rolling his pupils up in a vain attempt to follow the aim of her finger, reached up a claw to probe around on his head. "He is evil, and would destroy every living thing in this land, to feed his bitter vanity."

A spark shot up from the jewel and stung Stan's finger.

The same spark bit Rebecca's arm, and she flinched with a stifled cry. The dragon scowled at her, but she quickly spread her paws. "I am not the one who inflicts pain on you, dragon," she told him. "This bracelet can act upon your controlling stone, because it is from the same mine that rendered up the great jewel. If we join forces, we can help free all of us from the evil power of the great ogre."

At the mention of the word "ogre" Stan's eyes became fiery. "YOU MUST NOT DISPARAGE THE MASTER!" he snarled, curling a fist.

"He is not your master!" Rebecca cried desperately, her voice almost lost in the dragon's roar. "He is capturing unicorns! You know as well as anybody that unicorns are meant to be free. That their magic is what brings life and love to this world! If your--if the ogre succeeds in capturing every unicorn in the world, then we shall all be buried under the cold and darkness of despair!"

Stan blinked, the great lamps of his eyes growing misty.

"Yes," Rebecca pressed, nodding, as she gently stroked the green bracelet. "Unicorns must be free. Unicorns cannot be enslaved."

"Canst thou bind the unicorn?" Stan murmured in a daze. "Can you force him to draw your plow, and eat at your crib like cattle?"

Rebecca regarded him closely, inclining her head and gazing up at the huge monster like a mother would look at her naughty child. "The answer is no," she told him softly. "Unicorns die in captivity. They can't be killed...but they can die, of a broken heart."

Stan then made a throaty sound, like a beginning of a roar, but ended by rubbing his wrist under his nose, as a fat tear fell to the ground and dissolved a pit in the stone. "Who would hurt a unicorn?" he asked in a blubbering voice. "Who would hurt a pretty little unicorn?"

"The ogre would," replied Rebecca, rubbing the bracelet harder.

Now Stan's eyes became hard and cruel. "THE OGRE!" he hissed. "WE HATES THE OGRE! HE HAS STOLEN OUR PRECIOUS UNICORNS FROM US!" He whipped his head around to look down at the little creatures. "QUICKLY! ON MY BACK! WE MUST RESCUE THE UNICORNS!"

Rebecca allowed herself the slightest hint of a smile. "No, we cannot go so precipitiously," she told the dragon. "We must needs plot out our strategy...and for that, we need Florence, Kathy and the sorceress...and...well, you'd better let me speak to my daughter first. She's not all that fond of dragons."

Rebecca turned to her other daughters and her Queen. With a curtsey, she said, "You wait here. He won't harm you. And see if you can't get more information out of that donkey and his side-kick."

"Oh dear," Olivia said, touching a paw-tip to her cheek, and furrowing her brows. "I'm afraid we rather forgot about them, when the dragon showed up."

They looked around, but in vain. QuickSilver and Blackfoot were gone.

-page oo51-
written by Nightstar

Copyright and Credit:
  · Florence from "Freefall" © Mark Stanley.
  · Magic Gardener © Hortmage.
  · Jeanette © Jeanette Isabelle.
  · Kathy from "Carry On" © Kathy Garrison.
  · Kamida © Guest #1.
  · ToraKiyoshi - Writer.
  · Tiger_T. - Writer.
  · White Pony from "Cross Time Cafe" © S.Kidwell.
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