The Gump
"Where is the boy?"
" Over here, my lord. The princess came with him soon after the snow started fallin'."
" What happened?"
" The devil's wolf is what happened, milord. The princess told me how Jack fought it and nearly lost his arm."
" The devil's wolf…?" There was a long, deadly silence and then, "Are you certain that's what the princess told you?"
" Aye, milord Gump. 'Tis the way she spoke of it, with horns and an infernal howlin'"
" What else did she say? What of the other unicorn?"
" The wolf took it away, she said. She thinks it still lives and went to look for it."
"Lilly." Jack slowly opened his eyes to pain and shadows. He was on his back upon a straw mattress and covered in a thin quilt. "Where—Where am I?"
" In a cottage on the edge of the forest," answered a low voice.
" And Lilly? She's—"
" Gone, I'm afraid, on a fool's errand."
Jack turned his head towards the speaker, who was sitting stiffly in a crude chair at his bedside. " Gump."
The elf returned Jack's stare with a searching gaze before speaking in a clear, even voice. "You disappoint me, Jack. Whatever could have driven you to betrayal?"
"It was not betrayal." Jack struggled to sit up and grimaced as pain shot down his arm. " What I did, Gump, I did it out of love."
" And I suppose just saying so wasn't enough?" Gump rose angrily from his chair and turned away, his fur cape flaring behind him. There were several more elves standing quietly about the room, staring at Jack with small glistening eyes.
" I know nothing I say will make it better," Jack called to Gump's back. " But please try to understand that I love Lilly, and I only wanted to please her. She'd wanted to see the unicorns and I had made a promise to her that she will. I—I didn't mean for this to happen."
Gump
turned back to the forest child, the anger having left his face. "I
understand your reasons, Jack. You will also come to understand that
you will be accompanying my men and I to search for the last
unicorn."
"Do you know where it is?"
" I have a good
feeling as to where it was taken." Gump settled back into the chair
and fixed Jack with a solemn gaze. " Tell me, before the incident,
did anything unusual happen today?"
"Drake" the Huntsman
The forest had become a cold and unfriendly realm. The pathways Lilly had trekked countless times before were hidden beneath the snow. The wind tormented her as it howled about her and pulled at her dress; it did little to protect her from the bitter cold. The surrounding trees, which only this morning had been thick and green with leaves, were black and barren. Everywhere the princess looked, there was nothing except death.
Snow stung her eyes and frost had gathered on her lashes and eyebrows. She could not feel her limbs anymore as she was forced to march through the snow. She didn't care, however. The world had changed because of her and she was determined to make it right again. But how, she wondered.
Lilly remembered what happened, although it seemed now like a distant nightmare. When the wolf stole the horn from the fallen unicorn, it forced the remaining one into the forest. Lilly could do nothing and she didn't care once the wolf's call possessed her. It felt like an eternity had passed when she finally willed herself to move and remember the boy in her arms.
Jack remained a motionless heap, his shattered arm lying awkwardly in the water. Lilly had taken hold of the hem of her dress and ripped off a piece of the silken cloth. With the utmost care, she wrapped her lover's arm in a crude splint and took him to Nell's cottage; that's when it had begun to snow. Despite Nell's warnings, Lilly had stayed briefly before venturing out in the icy world. She couldn't stand the thought of just sitting there, doing nothing.
The princess gasped for breath and immediately began to cough as snow flew into her throat and chilled it. Her grueling march was taking its toll on her legs until each step became an effort of will. Lilly's mind wandered back to Nell's cottage, where it was warm and cozy. The thought made the princess shiver all the more violently. She paused briefly to glimpse at her surroundings. Perhaps if she returned to that place, she could go in the direction the wolf had gone. It was her only chance at even guessing where the last unicorn was. If it wasn't dead already.
"And pray tell, what has led one as yourself out into this hellish cold?"
Lilly turned with a startled yelp towards the speaker. A man was leaning casually against a tree, swathed in black furs and wearing a peculiar grin. Upon seeing her startled appearance, he gave a stiff bow.
" My apologies, good lady, I mean no harm." He paused and fixed the princess with a curious stare. " Forgive my rude tongue, but aren't you a little well…underdressed for weather such as this?"
" I am Princess Lilly, and I've lost my way—"
" The Princess Lilly? Oh, my dear lady." The man dropped to his knee in the snow. " I am yours to command."
A
sense of relief came over Lilly and she regarded him gratefully.
"Thank you, good sir, as I am in need of assistance. What is
your name?"
The man stood, his eyes dark and mysterious. " I go by the name of Drake Night. I am a hunter and know my way through this forest, be it spring or winter. If it pleases you, your majesty, allow me the honor of escorting you safely to the palace."
Home. Oh, how Lilly longed to be back within those marbled halls! At first she couldn't stand being away from the forest or her love and now she found herself wishing to return, to nestle down in her warm bed and sleep this nightmare away. She shook her head free of those tempting thoughts, banished them from her mind.
" No, Sir Night—"
" Please, just call me Drake."
"—Drake, but I cannot return to the palace. Not yet."
The hunter raised an eyebrow and moved to Lilly's side. "Oh? And why not?" He unclasped his heavy fur cloak and dropped it onto Lilly's trembling shoulders. " I have not seen a winter this harsh in years, and you are ill suited for the cold. I'm impressed, my lady, that you made it this far without freezing."
Lilly greedily wrapped the fur cloak about herself, thankful for its warmth, and stared in Drake's face. He was incredibly handsome, with dark glittering eyes and a chiseled face. His hair was as black as his clothes, short and falling into his eyes.
" I…did something terrible, and I'm determined not to go home until I make things right again," Lilly replied.
Drake slid a well muscled arm around the princess' shoulders and tried to turn her in the direction she had just marched from. "I doubt whatever it is you have done is so severe that you cannot wait until tomorrow, or perhaps when the snows die down—"
" No!" Lilly tore away from him with tears threatening to break free from her eyes. " I have to fix this, Drake. It's my fault it's like this. Don't you remember that this very morning it had been spring? Now look." She made a brief gesture to the forest. " It's the middle of winter."
Drake looked into the distance, then spoke a moment later. " I do recall it sunny when I first set out today…"
The tears tried to run down Lilly's cheeks but were snatched away by wind and cold. She turned and began her march through the snow and heard Drake easily catch up beside her. He seemed unmoved by the cold and constant snowfall, and had little trouble in trudging through the snow drifts.
" So, if your destination is not home, then where is it?" he asked a moment later.
" There was a rocky stream not too far from here that I must return to," Lilly began. " I know it's buried in snow but I know the surroundings once I see it."
The princess was half expecting the huntsman to further question her purpose but when he only nodded in silence, she was relieved. The cloak had warmed her and she moved more quickly, her breath coming in short gasps. Drake moved effortlessly beside her with his eyes straight ahead. When they reached a small outcropping of rock, Lilly stopped so suddenly that the huntsman almost didn't notice and paused a short distance from her.
" This is the place," she told him as she marched past him, her heart beating furiously with fear and exhaustion. " Please, walk carefully."
The small stream that had been red with blood was gone and buried beneath layers of snow. It was knee deep and Lilly marched slowly and cautiously. Somewhere, beneath the snow and locked in ice, laid the corpse of the unicorn. She was loathed to step on it yet she needed to know where it lay to point her in the right direction. She ventured further up the icy creek bed with her eyes searching the ground, trying to picture where the unicorn had fallen.
Lilly raised her leg high then tentatively pushed her foot into the snow and came upon something hard and grim. Her heart leapt into her throat and she swallowed thickly as she began to dig with her bare hands. Drake was beside her in an instant and once the unicorn was revealed, he gasped and stumbled backwards.
" By my soul," the hunter breathed, staring at the frozen creature in awe and horror. " I never thought I'd live to see one. Who, or what could have done this?"
The unicorn was on its side in the same position it had fallen, partially locked in ice. A hazy halo of red surrounded its body and its mouth was open in a silent scream, and where its horn had been was a black jagged stump coated in ice. To Lilly's shock, its eye was open, a large black orb that stared accusingly at her. She could see herself reflected upon the glassy surface, a pale-faced girl fighting back tears. She did not answer the hunter, not trusting herself to speak.
" My lady, what has happened here?" Drake placed a heavy hand upon her shoulder. " Were you a witness to this unicorn's death?"
Lilly nodded fiercely and pointed ahead. " The murderer went that way. I have means of following it, for it took the last unicorn with it."
Drake regarded her thoughtfully and spoke in a solemn tone. "Tracking the murderer will be difficult, if not pointless as the snow would have erased any tracks he would've made."
" I don't care," Lilly interrupted, frowning. " I must find the beast that killed the unicorn before it kills the other one, and I will do so with or without your help!"
Drake took a step back and bowed respectfully. "My apologies for upsetting you. Well, shall we begin?" He carefully walked around the frozen unicorn and began in the direction Lilly pointed.
Lilly was glad to be moving. She hung back and watched Drake trudge through the snow, pausing once in a while to inspect markings upon a tree trunk or wait for her to catch up. As they traveled further into the forest, the hunter picked up his pace.
At last, Drake stopped and looked around. Lilly came up beside him, panting for breath and slightly doubled over. When she looked up, however, she gasped with fright.
Far in the distance stood a massive oak tree the likes of which Lilly had never seen. The trunk was bulging outwards, capable of housing a small town within its base. Overheard was a maze of twisted limbs that spread overhead and reached for the black sky. The tree sat in the middle of a filthy swamp, the black waters tinged with white.
"What—What is this place?"
Drake snaked an arm around Lilly's shoulders and his face was aglow with pride and pleasure. " Why Lilly," he crooned, his voice dropping into a sensual baritone. " This is your new home."
The princess opened her mouth to protest but froze when she saw Drake's hair shrink into his head. His skin faded into a bright red, like fresh blood, and a pair of thick black horns began pushing through his skull. He grew several more feet and his clothes writhed and turned into an elegant robe. The arm around Lilly's shoulders thickened and pulled her closer into a sinister embrace. The hunter had become a demon.
Lilly squeaked, her eyes bulging in fear. She couldn't take her eyes off that heavily chiseled face or the dark eyes and protruding horns. Her mind reeled; it was too much and her legs gave out beneath her as darkness consumed her.
