And so the echo of his footsteps reverberated through the tiny tower room. Agitated hands, long and slender, crept like white moss over the stone window's edge and gripped tightly. The view nearly drove him mad: foam-capped peaks crested the curve of the azure waves that crashed with a slap and a spray on a jagged beach, darkening the congealed sand. The smell of salt and seagulls permeated his nose; the combined effect almost instigated a frenzy.

"Schmendrick!"

He came almost immediately, bowing in that silly way of his, cap almost falling off and robe flapping idly in the sea breeze. "King Lir... How may I be of service to you?"

His golden hair had paled to strands of iridescent sunbeams, his features had sharpened, and his voice, when he spoke, was rich with weariness. "It's no good, Schmendrick, my friend. You must bring me to her, and change her back. She will, I know it; how could I feel want this strong with her wanting it, too? You must do this. The magic will do as it will."

Schmendrick did not answer for a moment filled with breaking waves and silent harpy's cries. And then...

"Still I have read, or heard it sung
That unicorns, when time was young
Could tell the difference twixt the two:
The false shining and the true,
the lips' laugh and the heart's rue.

"I don't need the unicorn to tell of your heart's rue. Yet are you sure, my prince, you would take her body away from her?"

The reply was fierce. "I would take nothing away from her she wished to keep, and would give her nothing she would not delight in the having of."

"Lir, Lir... haven't we gone over this before, so many, many times? As a human she was always a unicorn: it was a unicorn you loved and a unicorn that loved you. A divine creature in any form, but she could feel her human body dying all around her. Doubtless she loves you... but..." The sentence hung midair, near as tangible as if it were ink on parchment.

"I have made my decision." Tight words, tight and demanding and resolute. "Do you not think I haven't already reflected upon all of these facts? I know that as a mortal, she is... mortal. But I need her, and she needs me. And we need you, to help us. Please, Schmendrick. You're the only chance we have."

Schmendrick was again silent for so long as to cause his monarch irate agonies. "No other girls," he said, finally, slowly, "could ever equal a unicorn... I will find her, and I will meet with her... but I make no guarentees as to the final outcome."

The lack of enthusiasm did not seem to bother Lir, and his pale face warmed up with a small leer before easing itself into a creaky grin. "Excellent, Schmendrick, my man. I knew I could count on you. We shall - "

At this point Molly chose to make her appearance. "I demand to know what you are planning to do to the poor creature," the woman said firmly as she strode into the room, obviously unperturbed by her blatant eavesdropping.

Lir did not seem to have any qualms for his part. "My magician shall change her back for me, because it is our will."

Large eyes went wide and sad, or angry, or both. "But you cannot! She is a unicorn! I understand you love her, but please, for the love of all things sacred, leave her in peace! She is gone now, please, please..." She was almost crying with her sense of urgency: her heart told her she must not change back.

But the king was stalking out already, cold eyes crashing against her, paralleling waves and sand. "Foolish woman... you don't understand." Schmendrick touched the back of Molly's hand, but reluctantly followed him out.

Molly Grue narrowed her eyes obstinately. She was a woman with a strong sense of purpose, and it took little time for her to come to a decision: she was following them.