Unicorn Lost

Presents

T	hree hours into their journey, K and his driver make a stop at Jacob's Springs.

As the team pulling the carriage got water, K's driver climbed down from his post and opened the carriage door as K retrieved the travel bread in the brown paper package. Still in his seat, but now positioned closer to the open door, K opened the brown paper package, which had a white paper inner lining, broke off a piece of bread and handed it to the ferret. As K was eating his half of the bread he noticed a message on the inner white lining which could only be seen by the unique type of tinted glasses K was wearing. K removed the inner lining discreetly so not to alert his driver. As he read the message, K pulled from memory the file on Stan. "Stan may not be responsible for the death of Sir Alex, but he is not without blame," K read to himself, then winced at the thought of the looming trouble this message spelled out. K folded the white paper in two and placed it with the bread so to not raise any suspicion.

~~~~~~~~~~~{ Meanwhile }~~~~~~~~~~~

Quicksilver, galloping back to the kingdom, was almost in tears at the thought of how his perfect scheme had collapsed like a house of cards, yet still wondering how on earth he can manage to pull it off. As he was doing so he came across Jacob's Springs and saw two figures in the distance. Quicksilver came in for the approach and as he did he spotted a well-dressed kitsune, carriage and driver. "Ah, a kitsune...and a privileged one at that. Handled with kid gloves, this son of an aristocrat could be the stooge I need." He mused and for a brief moment felt hope rekindled, "If you don't have a unicorn, a kitsune would do." However reality began to snuff out what little hope was budding, "How skilled is this kitsune in his natural abilities and even if he is, his clairvoyance could rat on me." With nothing to lose, Quicksilver went in for the kill stopping short so not to invade K's space and yet close enough to converse. With his smooth as velvet voice, Quicksilver greeted the kitsune, "Good day to you, kind sir. What brings you out to these parts?"

K recognized Quicksilver, but revealed no indication that he did; and then wondered how to lose the court jester. "If I lie to him and he insists on following anyway he will know something is not kosher." The best plan K could come up with on the spot was to reveal part of his plan in the most absurd sounding way possible. "The king has sent his army to arrest a member of his royal court and to rescue the queen from the ogre. The two of us are in pursuit of the army."

Blind sided, Quicksilver took a step back and then to himself, trying not to laugh, "The ogre has the queen as hostage, the king sent an entire army to arrest a member of his royal court and this Indiana Jones want-to-be in a grey fedora, and his chauffeur, are chasing that army...Got it." Without even so much as a flinch, K's driver looked at Quicksilver as though he knew exactly what the donkey was thinking. Quicksilver, now grinning on the inside, but reserved on the outside, "Oh, this is too easy." Then to K, with the tone of enthusiasm, "Can I come?"

"What?" K's driver burst out; then to himself, "Is this guy nuts too? Maybe he didn't believe a word K said or maybe...oh, I don't know. It's no fur off my back. Maybe the ogre will eat this guy instead of me."

"Great," K thought to himself, "any dissuasion now is a red flag for sure."

Quicksilver stood there, but K did not answer him, so he began to ponder this predicament. "This kitsune does not answer 'yes' or 'no.' He is therefore not happy with me being here, and yet he is reluctant to say so. Why? Apparently he is not old money like I first presumed, otherwise he would have told me to get lost if he wanted to like a spoiled child would. If he is new money then why would this self-made man be on such a harebrained adventure? However if he is a self-made man then he may more likely have the drive to be skilled with his natural born abilities as a kitsune. This is good, to a degree; but with his silent treatment this will be difficult for sure...and he would unlikely assist once we do reach the ogre's castle. And depending on how clairvoyant he is, he may already know." Quicksilver became a little concerned but did his part to conceal it. "Do I travel with him in silence or persuade him to talk without revealing too much my self?"

Quicksilver trotted to the spring next to the team pulling the carriage for some water to clear his head as he tried to work out a plan. "If this kitsune is clairvoyant then I may need to play the truth card, but I won't know his hidden agenda if he has one." With his thirst quenched, Quicksilver trotted back to K, who remained seated by the opened carriage door. "I too am an adventure seeker and with you being a kitsune you already know that. I have a proposition; if we continue this adventure together, I know how to make it more profitable for the two of us."

Finally K's expression changed. "So, the court jester thinks I'm a thrill seeker, not that I blame him. I can play to his assumption," K thought to himself. Either forgetting himself or simply underestimating the court jester, K took his walking stick and limped toward Quicksilver.

Quicksilver recognized the walking stick and realized what manner of person he'd been addressing. Wishing he was anyplace else, Quicksilver tried to quietly calm himself, "Don't panic, Quicksilver. The kitsune has money to burn and because he has a limp he needs a walking stick anyway, right? He had a replica built for him. That's all. Get a grip Quicksilver! Just how many would recognize the walking stick? Right, very few indeed. Why would this kitsune have a replica made if he wouldn't otherwise recognize it's design? To an unsuspecting eye there's nothing extraordinary about it." The jester took a deep breath and played this real cool. "My sincerest apology, sir. Had I known, I would not have suggested such an idea. I don't mean to make excuses; all that climbing and crawling over rocks would be difficult, even with your walking stick."

K could certainly handle those challenges with or without his walking stick, but that was not the point. Certainly the jester's actions were suspicious and required further investigation. However, K was actually feeling relieved in losing the donkey.

Keeping in mind what the kitsune said about the king's army heading to the ogre's castle, Quicksilver continued his way to the kingdom, but only far enough to be out of sight of the kitsune and his driver.

As K climbed back into the carriage, the ferret asked, "What spooked the donkey?"

K sat down and with both paws on the walking stick he shruged, "Beats me."

-page oo62-
written by Jeanette

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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