Failing
Rain poured down throughout Stormhold, creating puddles on the dirt cross road that purley white hooves sploshed in, The Unicorn seemed able to see through the blur of cascading water, while the Star could not, her eyesight was normally good at night, better than it was in the daylight, but tonight just threw it all off, the rain drenched her through to the bone, her silky silver dress stuck to her skin and her water logged red hair became plastered to her face. The Unicorn whinnied and tiled its head forward, Gwen looked up, squinting through the rain, at first she couldn't see anything, then a flicker of warm light caught her eye, A house there was a house up a head, the Unicorn progressed forward. As she got closer to the warm light she saw that it wasn't a house she'd been staring at, it was an Inn, the Unicorn stopped just outside the door, Gwen climbed off its back and limped to the door she knocked of few times then after a loud hissing whisper a dull faced grey haired woman opened the door, she didn't say anything but gestured for Gwen to come inside. A flirty voice that rung out "Mom, who is it?" it coughed then repeated its question in a less flirty manner. A tall, slender girl came to stand next to her; she had odd, shining hair that in the lamp light shined white.
The old woman didn't answer, she just walked away, the girl rolled her eyes "Sorry about her, her age has made her insensitive, I'm Char by the way" she held out her hand "Gwen" said Gwen shaking the proffered limb, "You'd best come inside, I'll get my Dad to look after your... Horse" she peered around the Star at the unicorn, frowning. Once inside the old woman ran a bath and a tufted, white haired old man walked out into the rain. "How do you like your bath?" said the old woman, her voice was as dull as her face "Warm, hot or boil a Lobster" she attempted to smiled but it looked more like a grimace "I honestly don't know" Gwen replied "Then let me choose for you" said Char, she chose warm then helped her out of her sopping silky dress then into the tub. "Feeling better?" Char asked, she sat next to the tub talking to the Star, her finger tip in the water "Yes, thank you" said Gwen "And your leg, any better?" she sent a slither of her magic from her finger down to the Star's leg, it curled around her ankle then sunk into her skin. "My Mom says that warm water does wonders" The Star, noticed that the pain in her leg had gone, she lifted her ankle out of the water and moved it around "Oh My Gosh" she said "That's amazing it doesn't hurt anymore. In fact it feels great" "That's good, I'm glad you're feeling better" Char said with another false smile though the star didn't see this as she'd closed her eyes, a sparkling silver light glowed from the top of her head "You look happier in yourself too"
"I do feel happier, Less troubled" The Star agreed Char smiled again, then helped her up and passed her then bath robe that had been warmed by the fire, The old innkeeper woman showed her to her room, by then she shone even brighter "My Mom asked me to see if you wanted anything?" "No, I think I'll just go to bed" Char nodded then left, she came back a little later carrying a knife when she thought the Star was asleep. She moved the Star's bath robe out the way, the pink Amethyst still rung around her neck, then raised her knife, A loud knock on the door interrupted her, she lowered her knife looked down at her victim, the Star stared back up at her, smiling "I'll be right back" she rushed out of the room and into the Kitchen. Outside Kevin and Prince Primus stood in the rain, "Maybe we should carry on to the Next inn" Kevin suggested, shuddering as the cold water ran through his clothes and across his skin "Especially if the Stone is as close as your Runes say" the description he'd been given of the stone was vague, but that didn't make him want it any less, Prince Primus would have a fight on his hands if Kevin found the stone before he did. "I'll give it one more try" said Prince Primus he raised his arm to knock again but the door opened before his knuckles made contact, an aging woman with grey streaked hair in a murky brown dress stood before him "Ah, Finally. We need accommodation" said Prince Primus "Help him take the horses to the stables" he gestured to Kevin, was twiddling with the horses reigns, a man appeared next to the woman, he has a stringy grey beard and a odd look of 'Goat' about him.
The man walked past Prince Primus without acknowledging his present and helped Kevin to usher the tired horses off of the Carriage and into the musky warmth of the stables, the Woman took Prince Primus's arm and pulled him inside, then wandered off somewhere. Char flipped her platinum hair and extended a perfectly manicured hand down between her breasts, then withdrew holding a small bottle of darkly coloured liquid in between her fingers; she uncapped it and tipped the contense into the goblet that she had previously filled with wine. Prince Primus looked around, the room was wide as most importantly, warm, with a blazing fire against the far wall and a bathtub a few feet from it, "Hello!" he called looking around, upon getting no reply he stripped out if his drenched clothes and slumped into the warm water in the bathtub. Upstairs, the glow emanating from the star's hairline faded as he became bored, she sat up, deciding to go looking for the nice innkeeper's daughter, she walked cautiously down the stairs, extending her curiosity, A man sat in the bath tub she had sat in before, he looked up at her and spoke "Ah, I'm accustomed to better service, but your awake now and that's what counts" his voice sounded regal and important, Prince Primus's dead brothers sat on the ledge above the fireplace, gawking at the huge chair around the Star's neck "Prepare your best room" Prince Primus continued She's got the stone his brothers chorused, though they knew he couldn't hear them.
"I'll thank you not to bother our guests" another girl said, coming over to Prince Primus's side and lowering the goblet she held for him, Prince Primus faltered for a second, overwhelmed by the her beauty, she had long platinum hair and strange magenta eyes "I am the lady of this Inn" she continued, Prince Primus made to take the goblet from the beautiful girl then stopped himself "No" he said "I have sworn to only drink my own wine until my brother is Dead" he paused, thinking for a moment "I'm sure my Friend" his eyes narrowed at the word, as though he wasn't sure of its accuracy "will enjoy a drop" he tried to peer around the beautiful girl at the girl who had come from upstairs in the bathrobe but the beautiful girl blocked his view "Your best room perhaps?" it wasn't a question "Of course" she smiled then passed the goblet to the old woman, telling her to do as Prince Primus asked, and ran upstairs to retrieve her weapon. As the old woman left Prince Primus spoke to the star "I'm sorry I assumed that..." he didn't finish the sentence, instead started a new one "travelling alone are we?" he lifted a leg out of the water and stretched the strong muscles in his calf "I've just stabled my four black stallions and my carriage, well I say mine" The star, nodded, getting more board by the second, though she didn't want to be impolite "It was really my late father's" Prince Primus continued seemingly trying to impress her.
The aging woman burst into the stables, carrying the goblet, she strode over to were Kevin stood, removing the reigns from the horses, took his hand and thrust the goblet into his palm "Er, thanks" he grunted "Your welcome" the woman said, Kevin hadn't had a real conversation in days, not counting the distraught Star he'd been lumped with as she only talked to him in dire need "I'm Kevin, who are you?" that had always been his motto: know as much as you can about everyone you can, and he was also pretty tired and hungry, so he hoped that of he was nice to the old woman he would maybe, possibly give him free lodgings "Bernard" the woman replied then left. Char, now melting out of her disguise and returning to her original glowing form, her plain dusty dress growing in adjust back to the low cut black dress with flashes of purple in the skirt and corset, she slowly descended the stairs, clutching her amber knife in her left hand, Prince Primus still babbled on and the Star still looked bored until he realised what his brothers had been hinting at, he reached out at the Star, seeing the Amethyst around her long neck he started to ask her to come closer but the words never came out of his mouth, being careful to make no sound Charmcaster crept up behind the Prince and, though she knew that the Star could see her perfectly well and her actions would possibly cause her to never shine again, ran the blade of her knife along the Prince's throat, creating a long gash in his skin, with royal blue blood flowed out of, she didn't bother to wash the knife nor did she notice as another brother joined the five above the fireplace, as she turned on the terrified Star.
In the Stables, Kevin raised the goblet to his lips, when suddenly a huge white horse with a single hour sprouting of its head burst through its wooded stall, using all of the power in its legs, and knocked the goblet from his hands "What the Fuck did you do that for?" Kevin yelled, the House bowed its head at the patch of straw on which the goblet lay; the straw was black and smoking, Kevin realised everything, somebody had tried to poison him, the horse was not a horse, it was a Unicorn, like in his dream, it said that... If the Unicorn was here, then so was the Star! "Gwen" he gasped as ran out of the Stables and in to the Inn "Prince Primus!" he yelled, taking no notice of the two women in the room "Don't-" he saw the gash through the man's throat and stopped, he saw the woman with the knife standing over the Prince's body, then remembered the Star, he looked over his shoulder, she was stood next to the stairs, her eyes wide with terror, her hands covering her mouth. Kevin ran to her side "Are you alright!" she nodded weakly. Charmcaster called for Billy, the old man appeared from behind the counter "Get Him!" Billy the Goat man leapt over the counter and charged directly at Kevin, who shielded the Star behind him and readied himself to attack, he didn't need to, The Unicorn, glowing in the moonlight galloped into the Inn, bent ins horned head and collided with the Goat Man, head on, A Man ran forward but a white Goat flew back against the wall, in the man's place, dead as a doornail.
The Unicorn the turned on Charmcaster, but was easily taken down with a wave of her hand and the purple fire that erupted from her fingers, Kevin, holding the Star's hand made a break for the door, but another wave of purple blocked their way, The Star pulled him to the window, but the purple fire blocked them there too, Instead they ended up trapped in the middle of the room, with no way out and Charmcaster approached them, Kevin and the Star backed away until their back were pressed up against the wall by the fireplace, Charmcaster held her knife up to her face and said "The burning golden heart of a Star at Peace, is so much better than you frightened little heart" she shrugged and smirked "Better than no heart at all" Kevin dug into his pocket, and clutched the lump of Wax in his hand "Gwen" "yeah" she replied, squeezing his arm "Hold on to me and think of Home" he said, squeezing her hand, that he still held, she threw her arms around his chest and Kevin shoved his hand into the purple flames, it burned right the way up his arm but the nub on the end of the candle lit and in a flash of warm orange light the Star and the Boy were gone, just as Charmcaster lunged towards then, her knife raised, she hit the wall, as they vanished and the blade shattered.