Long ago, in times so different from now, there lived a village with a castle on the hill. The villagers were a kind people. They did no fighting unless they had to. No over hunting or over gathering. They had fields for farming and a large forest for food. The king was a nice man, well beloved among his people. His son however, was secretly filled with greed and hatred. The prince also knew a secret he kept to himself: The forest was filled with unicorns. Sure, everyone thought they were horses and left them alone. But the prince knew them and hunted them. His secret room was filled with the pelts of unicorns.

But now they were getting harder and harder to find. He searched and searched everywhere for them and still neither sight nor sound of a single unicorn. His name was Taji. He was a great pretender. He acted sweet and kind to anyone around him, a flirt to women, and humble. If only they knew. One day the King passed away of old age. That was a day all mythical creatures regret. The prince was often out hunting for his prizes. He gave up on the forest by his home, searching elsewhere.

Which was what saved this group of fourteen's lives. Fourteen unicorns, a blessing, lived in secret within the deepest confines of the forest. Their leader was almost as harsh in secret as the prince. They all lived under strict rules that were never meant to be broken. They have lived there for who knows how long.

But at the present, a girl named Tohru Honda walked out of her home, looking at the painting of her parents and smiled. "I'm going out! Watch the house for me until I come back!" She ran down the path to the forest and smiled. "Time to get some firewood for tonight." She walked around for a long time, collecting sticks and branches that came her way until she stopped to have a picnic. "Hmm! So good!" she giggled as she ate then cleaned up after herself, picking up her pile. "Now… which way is home?"

That's when she had a panic attack. "Oh no! I can't believe I'm stupid enough to get lost out here in the forest! How am I going to get back?! Oh dear! Oh dear!" Across the way, stood a light grey unicorn. Hiding from sight. He frowned and ran around her then created a lot of noise.

She gasped, "I wonder what that was…" She slowly made her way over, but the noise moved further away! She hurried, but they were still much faster than her. Before she knew it, she was back home. She turned and saw something pass her. Something small… but there none-the-less. A light silver sliver of hair… She picked it up and blinked. "But… where did it come from?" she wondered out loud. She looked to the forest and smiled, "Anyway… thank you for saving me!" then turned and went inside.

'You're welcome.' the unicorn smiled a bit, 'And… welcome home.' He walked back to his home with the other thirteen.

'Where have you been?!' a thin and sickly dark blue leader snapped. He might seem frail, but he would stab you through the hand with his horn if you upset him. 'We've all been searching for you! We thought you'd been killed!'

He lowered his head and ears. I'm sorry Akito… But I had to help a girl get home. She's been a kind girl, never hurts anyone. I've seen her a few times but-'

'I've heard enough.' Akito growled, 'You let a girl see you?!'

He shook his head. 'No sir, I didn't. I maintained a large amount of distance between us. And when I turned to make sure she wouldn't follow me she was heading inside, that's all.'

Akito strode over to him then slammed his horn into the silver's, making him wince. 'I'm the one who decides the rules, Yuki. You're my servant. You do what I say! This was not one of the things I allow! She should have just stayed there and died of starvation.'

'But Akito!'

'Silence!' Akito snapped at him then pushed him back.

Eyes widening with horror, Yuki lowered his head to show he was not a threat and started shaking. 'I'm sorry...'

Akito snorted then walked off. Yuki raised his head and started walking off to be on his own. The white and black unicorn, Hatsuharu, walked over to his friend, but Yuki merely walked away saying, 'Not now Haru…' He watched his grey friend then sadly went back to his mate, Izuzu, or Rin as she was preferred to be called by. Yuki laid down under the fir tree and fell asleep.

"Hello Yuki, it's nice to see you!" a feminine voice called out from the darkness, "I have a surprise for you! This girl here," then the girl from earlier appeared, "Needs you to survive. Needs all you unicorns. And you need her as well. She's not like other humans. That's all you need to know for now, keep an eye and ear out for her Yuki. Her name is Tohru Honda. Be good to her, for me."

He woke up and blinked in surprise. Everyone else was asleep. Was it the middle of the night? And who was it that was talking to him? Right now he was too tired to care and went back to sleep. Perhaps he'd see this 'Tohru Honda' tomorrow, if he could slip past Akito.