Alys marched angrily along the deeply rutted road, keenly aware of the last few coins jingling in her purse. Her brow furrowed even more than it already was before she thought about those coins again.
Money had been tight for a few years now, but these days she was downright starving. She hadn't been able to find a unicorn for months, much less catch one. She was no longer willing to believe that it was a mere councidence.
If the rumors were to be believed, it was all the fault of that wretched King Haggard and his red bull.
She gave a small rock a lofty kick as she went and immediately regretted it, remembering the worn state of her shoes.
She swore under her breath and knelt to rub her toe. She stood and pushed her long, dark hair away from her face. She sighed in frustration and practiced in her mind, for the hundredth time, what she would say to the king.
The weather seemed to grow colder the closer she got to Haggard's land. She had never met the king, only heard the rumors about him.
He's evil; the moment he touched his land, all the plants and animals died; none of it worried her much. Even if he had her executed, it wouldn't be such a loss. Being alive only meant having to keep herself alive some more.
The trees thickened as she walked on. She clutched at her purse, making sure once more that she was, in fact, as poor as she thought.
For anyone else, this journey would've been hazardous, for the woods leading to Haggard's kingdom were dangerous and full of criminals. But being something of a criminal herself, and a sorceress on top of that, made her an unappealing target.
She heard whispers and a twig breaking behind her and turned to see two people hiding unsuccessfully in the foliage.
"Come on out, then," Alys called, slightly annoyed. She didn't like to use her magic any more than she had to, but she would if some buffoon tried to threaten her.
"Oh," a voice said, "Heavens, it's only Alys."
The two figures emerged. She squinted at them. One she recognized as Molly Grue, a resident of the forest with whom she was familiar. The second was a tall, lanky man made taller by a pointed blue hat.
Alys rolled her eyes at their pathetic attempt at hiding. "Well?" She asked, "What do you mean by sneaking around, following me in the woods? I could've turned you into two little bluebirds just now."
"N-nothing," the strange young man stammered, "we just happened to be traveling the same way."
Alys tilted her head suspiciously.
"I don't think we should…" Molly began. But it was too late; a third figure appeared.
She emerged as if from nowhere, as delicate as a thin white mist. A horse-like figure and yet so ethereal and ancient that she was recognizable immediately as only one thing: a unicorn. Alys had seen hundreds of them in her life and had captured many of them.
"Now listen, Alys," Molly said, stepping protectively in front of the creature, "I won't allow you to--"
"Don't worry your head, Molly Grue," Alys said, "I'm… er… not on duty."
Molly and the strange man glanced nervously at the unicorn.
"I trust her," the unicorn said, her voice wise and echoing, "Though I know what she is and what she does. She has an honest heart."
Molly sighed in relief. "Alys, this is Schmendrick the magician. And this… is the last unicorn in the world."
Alys gazed at the unicorn. "I believe it. I haven't so much as seen a unicorn in three months. And...well, finding unicorns is sort of my job."
She gave the group a wry smile, wondering if her joke was a little too dark considering the circumstances.
"We have a hunch that the other unicorns are--" Schmendrick began.
"Trapped?" Alys interrupted, "Yeah, so do I. I'm going to King Haggard's castle to, um, reason with him."
If kicking the old goat in the shins is what you'd call "reasoning".
"Our quest is somewhat similar," Schmendrick said, "You could join us if you want."
"Or you could join me," Alys retorted, lifting an eyebrow and smirking, "Who's in front here?"
Schmendrick gave Molly a look and Molly nodded in reply.
The unicorn was the first to catch up to Alys, walking slowly beside her. Molly and the magician lagged behind for a while, probably keeping their eyes on the untrustworthy character they'd accepted into their party.
The four of them continued down the road together, not speaking.