literature

The Black Unicorn- Prologue

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KatharineRose5's avatar
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Literature Text

When I was a little girl, I met the Black Unicorn.  I had dreamed for years of meeting a unicorn; those beautiful creatures of purity and light. I had been deeply deceived.  Those unicorns exist in myth and legend, but not out in the open for us to see.  The beast I befriended was made of darker things.
I was seven, and lost in the woods near my family’s home.  I made my way to the clearing in the center of the forest, and sat under the large oak tree I found there.  I heard its hooves bump-bumping along in the soft grass before I saw him.  The midday sun glinted off of something in the trees; a horn.  He stepped through the trees and the sight of him made my breath catch in my throat.  He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
Pure midnight black all over.  His horn; a spiral of dark silver pointed right at me. His silvery hooves marched in a steady pace towards the tree where I was sitting; no, he was marching towards me.  When I finished drinking in the sight of him, I realized he was getting very close.  He stopped, with the tip of his horn barely and inch away from my neck.
His eyes were a mix of silver and the deepest purple I had ever seen; and he was staring at me.  “Why are you here?” he asked the question, but I couldn’t tell if his lips were moving with them.
Being such a small child I didn’t really know enough to be afraid. “I’m lost, can you help me? Are you a real unicorn?  How come you can talk?  What is your name? My name’s Lydia.” Looking back, I think asking him that many questions in rapid succession wasn’t such a good idea.
He drew back and shook his head as if sorting things out. “I am Melnorn, I speak because I wish to speak, and why should I help you find your way?”
“I want to go home,” now I was on the verge of tears, “Please, Mommy will be worried about me.  I’m not supposed to be this far in the woods.”
Melnorn tilted his head to one side, “If I help you, will you come back?”
“Yes Mr. Unicorn, I promise.” I sniffled.
“You promise? Will you promise to come back tomorrow?”
“Yes, I’ll even bring you a cookie.”
He seemed to smile, and then he lowered his neck.  “Climb on my back, I shall take you home.”
I had wandered farther into the forest then I thought I had.  I fell asleep on the ride back, and when I awoke, I was at my front door, and the sun was setting. My father came outside and saw me there. “Lydia, where have you been, we’ve been worried sick!”  He scooped me up in his arms and put me to bed.  I dreamed of silver moonbeams and hooves and a Black Unicorn with silver-purple eyes.

The next day, while we were eating breakfast, my mother noticed that I was perkier than usual. “Sweetie, why are you in such a good mood?”
I didn’t think it was a big deal so I answered, “Yesterday, I saw a unicorn in the woods!”
She stopped eating and stared at me, “Lydia, unicorns are make-believe.”
“Nu-uh, there’re real!” I tried to convince her, “He helped me get home, he’s my friend and he isn’t make-believe.”

My mother wrote it off in her mind as an imaginary friend, and by the Powers That Be, I wish I was making him up.  
Later that day I went back to the forest.  I went as far as I could go without getting lost and sat by a small tree.  I closed my eyes from the patch of sun that had leaked through the trees and when I opened them, he was standing next to me.
“You kept your promise, but why did you not come to the clearing?” he questioned.
“I didn’t want to get lost,” I reached into my pocket, “Look, I brought you a cookie.” I held it out for him to see.  
He looked at it, and then snorted loudly, “I don’t want the cookie; I want you to do something for me.” He turned his head towards the city. “I need you to find something that belongs to me.  I do not know where it is, but you’ll know it when you see it.  It is a key. It will be small, and it will have an emerald in it. Here, take this,” He leaned his head down.
I stood up so his horn was at eye-level. I noticed a small golden, knot work ring on the end of his horn. I slipped it off and put it on.
“When you find the key, you can hide it with this ring.”
I didn’t really understand, I was busy looking at the ring, “How can a ring hide a key?”
“When you touch the key to the ring and say my name, the key will turn into a jewel on the ring. When you have done this, bring the ring back to me. Promise me that you will do this.”
“I promise. Can I come back tomorrow?” I asked.
“No. Come back when you have the key.” He looked at me like an angry teacher.
I cowered a bit, “Ok.”
He touched his horn to the tree where we were standing and a mark appeared on it. “This is where we shall meet once you have the key, come here and say my name.”
I started to head home when he stopped me, “Lydia…never tell anyone my name. Promise me.”
I thought that was a silly thing to promise but I did anyway, “I promise.”
Story I started writing a year or so ago.


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© 2006 - 2024 KatharineRose5
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PaganFireSnake's avatar
Sounds interesting so far. Looking forward to reading more.:)