"This be where the unicorn came from?"
Molly Grue furiously brushed back locks of curly, auburn hair from her watering eyes. Memories of the unicorn always left her with the bittersweet salt of tears.
"Yes. This is where she was born, and where she had stayed until she journeyed with us. There must be others living here. The forest is as green as ever and it's late October," Schmendrick the Magician observed the forest with scrutinizing eyes. The sunlight seemed to glisten with sparkling particles of magic. He knew this magic well.
Robust maples and sycamores seemed to rupture from the soil with beautiful, twisted roots that sprouted skyward then back down again, like russet dolphins. Multicolored wildflowers pollinated the grass with their vivid purples, pinks, and yellows. In the distance, the soft garble of a stream tumbling over rocks sounded into the air. It was water thought to be long dried up. But, unicorns can end any drought.
Molly's brow crinkled in distress, "You don't think it's her?"
"No, she's a wanderer now. A part of her is still human, and she grows restless just as humans do. There is no way she would return. If she did, she certainly wouldn't stay long," Schmendrick sighed. He couldn't deny what he knew was true.
"How cruel! How unfair! Damn you for turning her into a human! We are horrible beasts!" Molly let the aching in her chest take over as she sobbed, mourning the loss of her radiant unicorn. When she was a young maid who wished to see a unicorn more than anything, a unicorn never came for her. They never deemed her worthy. None but that one. She was horrified at first, for she had lost her youth. That didn't deter the unicorn though. The unicorn could see through things such as age and beauty. It felt like it was the first time she had a friend who understood the innermost workings of her soul. Now she was gone.
Molly crumpled to the ground as she replayed the journey in her mind. The long-forgotten road to Hagsgate, the castle of King Haggard, the Red Bull and Prince Lir, everything. It was all soterrifying and yet so marvelous. Now it was over.
Schmendrick stepped toward Molly, unsure if he should touch her or stay put. The air was stiff with tension. The woman was mad at him, blistering mad. It was his fault that the unicorn was now different from the rest. But what could he have done? Let her die by the horns of the Red Bull? No. Molly would've been even more upset with him if that was what he had done.
"You're not that horrible, Molly. I think you are a rather beautiful human being," Schmendrick said, attempting to soothe her. Molly abruptly stopped weeping and looked at him in surprise.
Only then did he realize he said the word beautiful.
A blush adorned his pale cheeks as he stammered, "I-um…didn't—"
"What do you mean I'm not horrible? What about you? You mean to tell me you're not human?" Molly's eyes narrowed with irritation, for she felt as if this was another secret that he had been hiding from her.
Schmendrick exhaled, relieved she looked over his slip of the tongue, "Some days, I don't know what I am."
Molly sniffled, trying to regain composure, "God, I wish I didn't know. I wish I could be more than I am. More like you and the unicorn."
"It is more of a curse than it is a blessing…" Schmendrick trailed off as he saw a glimmer of silvery white leap from the open and into a large laurel bush. Molly followed his gaze and gasped, tears springing loose once more.
The magician puffed out his chest as he commanded the unknown to step forward, "You there! Make your presence known!"
"Schmendrick!" Molly chastised softly, for she knew the nature of their visitor.
A small unicorn came out of the shrubbery with careful hooves. It seemed shy, much less daring than the one they had come to love. It spoke with a timid whinny, and Molly could immediately tell it was a young male, "I heard the maiden crying…"
Molly looked upon this young unicorn, speechless. So many years of yearning to see a unicorn, and now she sees them left and right. Schmendrick seemed just as stunned. The unicorns that were trapped in the sea for centuries must have been lost in this new day and age, where humans could not see them, and didn't want to. This one was lucky he happened to stumble upon true believers.
"Was it you…who made her cry?" The young foal stuck his own chest out, readying to defend the damsel.
Molly snapped out of her stupor, giggling at the unicorn's delightful attempt to protect her, "No, my sweet, he wouldn't hurt a fly."
"Then why do you cry, my lady?" The unicorn trotted to Molly and huffed as he lay by her side with his head on her lap.
Schmendrick stepped into their conversation, becoming annoyed by the affection the unicorn was showering onto Molly, "She cries for the unicorn that we once knew. Then, she was known as the last."
"You mean the one who freed us from that bottomless pit of an ocean?" The unicorn whickered in excitement as he glanced up at the magician from where he was.
"The very one." Molly smiled, laying her hand between the creature's ears.
The unicorn turned his head towards the young woman with a sparkle in his eyes, "I saw her once! She weeps with great sorrows and joys that I will never understand. Her tears make flowers of the most unusual sort bloom."
"What kind of flowers?" Schmendrick asked.
"White Roses. It's unheard of! Roses devoid of color!" The unicorn eyed Molly curiously, ignoring the magician.
Schmendrick and Molly glanced at each other then looked back to the unicorn.
"Did she leave any here? Can you show us?" Molly pleaded.
The unicorn sprung up, eager to help his newfound friend, "Of course! Follow me, my lady!"
Schmendrick rolled his eyes. Unicorns always seemed to like Molly better.
They followed the frolicking beast into a clearing just to the side of the forest path. There, they gazed upon a small bouquet of three with roses spurting out of the ground. Their petals seemed to glitter with tiny flecks of iridescent blue and purple dust. Schmendrick was reminded of the unicorn's eyes, how they seemed to sparkle just like that. Maybe these floras were specific to her tears.
Molly bit her lip, desperately trying not to get her hopes up, "Unicorns don't cry often do they?"
"This only happens we are so moved…we can cry for years and years without feeling so much as sad. It is so rare. Only one unicorn in a thousand may weep like this," The unicorn whinnied in confusion. He was too young to understand.
"Schmendrick…do you think…" Molly started.
"She might've made a trail?" Schmendrick finished.
A squeal left Molly's mouth as she embraced the unicorn foal, "Thank you, O unicorn! Your guidance will live on in our hearts!"
As soon as she let go of his broad neck, she took off to the ends of the forest, proclaiming something about another great adventure.
"I…I'm not sure what I did," The unicorn stuttered, for he had never been squeezed by a human.
Schmendrick suddenly felt foolish for becoming so irritated with this innocent creature. He smiled and bowed to the unicorn before he himself went bounding into the woods after Molly.
"You've done the deed of a brave unicorn. You've stopped a maiden's tears."