A recap of the last chapter:

Teldaine's voice rang pure and harshly as she spoke the words that made many fairies tremble with fear.

Naslandarthai Komunlayen Thauresil, Naslandarthai Shlarmenthayei Thauresil.

Teldaine was a great queen, but if anyone went too far in making her mad, especially concerning the Great Mother Goddess, or the welfare and pride of her people, her punishment could be cruel.

-I sentence you, Gwenyfar, to two full days in the land of Thauresil. There, you will suffer, and the pain will run deep. But I can guarantee you Gwenyfar, that by the end of it, you will realize the true power of the Goddess.

                                                                                    ~

Chapter 3: Spririt of a unicorn

Gwenyfar screamed, and tried to run away, but a fairy woman, surprisingly strong for her height grabbed her, while another tied her to a pole facing the throne. Gwenyfar shuddered, wondering what kind of evil magic had been cast to make the pole appear where minutes before there had been nothing.

-Now, Teldaine cried, bring me my golden bow and arrows.

-No, Gwenyfar shrieked, you cannot hurt me!

The small woman who had gone running at Teldaine's cry had just come back, one huge, and beautiful golden bow in one hand, and a quiver of arrows in the other. Teldaine stood tall and raising her arms in a sweeping motion, made a small shrine appear before Gwenyfar's very eyes, bearing a goblet black as a hole, painted to look like the night sky, even in the summer heat. Frothing inside the goblet was a silver liquid, thick and metallic.

-Unicorn blood, Teldaine said quietly, but loud enough for Gwenyfar to hear.

-Unicorns do not really exist. It is only in fairy tales that you hear of them.

-Indeed, but you seem to forget my dear Gwenyfar, that you are in the Summer Country, or if you would prefer, the land of Faery! Or were you trying to forget it? Any way I can assure you that unicorns do exist here, and there are actually quite a few of them near us right now! You see, when the first unicorn that lived here died, she gave her best friend, the fairy queen at the moment, and all the queens after that, the gift of her blood, so that they may use it to punish the blasphemous. Then, the fairy queen, called Malilia, plucked a few strings off the mane and tail of the unicorn, and twined them together to make the string of this bow. The unicorn's horn, which fell off when she died, was broken into tiny splinters, which were soon formed into deadly arrows that will never fail to hit their target.

Teldaine took a deep breath, waiting a few minutes to see how this information would affect Gwenyfar. She watched as disbelief, anger, awe, doubt, and finally fear etched themselves across the face of her captive. She then continued.

-Because she was the first unicorn in Faery, her spirit will always remain, so that the goblet will always be full, the bowstring will never break, and the arrows will never run out. If you are pierced by one of these arrows, dipped into the blood of Glory, our beloved unicorn, you will be sent to Thauresil, where your punishment awaits you.

Then, smoothly and powerfully, Teldaine gripped an arrow between her two hands, lifted it up, and brought it back down, plunging its point into the goblet. The fairy queen's figure suddenly seemed to grow taller, and the look on her face was terrifying. Gwenyfar shuddered as she felt the energy surge all around her as Blade met Blood and the earth shook with a strange pulse. But in an instant it was all gone, and Teldaine returned to her normal size.

-You cannot hurt me! Gwenyfar screamed once again. Lancelet will realize I'm missing, and he will come and save me.

-Lancelet. Now that is another thing altogether! But, hear this, the usual entrance into Faery is somewhere in Avalon. The only reason you came here was because I wanted you to.

-But he will find a way!

-You love him and he loves you. Isn't that right?

Gwenyfar blushed and looked away. Although she tried to hide it, a look of longing swept over her youthful face.

-There is no need to deny it. Here in our land, and even in Avalon, it is no sin.

-But to I, who follows the teachings of God, it is a grave sin indeed. I am a married woman, High Queen of Britain, and yet, I love another man, and I have been involved in adultery.

-You should turn to the Goddess Gwenyfar, for she will help you find yourself. To her, it would be no sin for you to love Lancelet.

Teldaine's voice had grown soft and quiet, even kind. But to Gwenyfar it was too much like pity.

-NEVER! She shrieked.

-So be it! Teldaine's voice echoed loud and clear. With that, she raised her bow, fitting the arrow to it, and taking aim. In a graceful, fluid motion she let go, the arrow piercing Gwenyfar's heart.