The Balinor Chronicles: The Celestial Herd

Chapter Five: Bush and Bee

This chapter is dedicated to FFRikku.

Mellifer was from the sun herd, and thus had a bright yellow coat. His mane and tail were black, complemented by a black dorsal stripe and black lower legs. The black on his lower legs continued upward, giving him the appearance of having stripes. His jewel was a yellow citrine, and his horn and hooves were made of carnelian stone. All the young mares thought that Mellifer was quite the charmer, although Solaris had some hinting, nagging feeling that Mellifer was always up to no good.

Mellifer, though not the most popular, had plenty of friends, a good social standing, and a breezy attitude. He also had a secret and was terrified that someone would find out.

o!o

Arodousna was from the fire herd, and anyone could tell you that, given her bright red coat with just a hint of pink. Her red coral horn and hooves went nicely with her red zircon jewel. She was popular, well-liked, and everyone, including Mulciber, admired her brilliant coat.

She had a white blaze, white stockings, and a charming personality. She also had a secret and was terrified that someone would find out.

The secret was this: every second Tuesday and every third Thursday Arodousna would sneak into the woods and every second Tuesday and every third Thursday Mellifer would be there to meet her. They kept the days long apart because they had learned from Derecho and Izquierda: better careful than caught. But meet they did and their love blossomed.

For years they continued their secret meetings, and no one suspected a thing. However, the time came when all the other stallions in Solaris's Herd had chosen a mate. Mellifer had not. When confronted by Solaris, Mellifer said that he had no interest in mating and having to put up with youngsters. Solaris let the topic slide, but his watch on Mellifer increased threefold. And Solaris noticed Mellifer snuck into the forest. Solaris didn't need to follow to know what was happening. But he was patient, so he waited for the right moment to regain control of his contrary stallion.

As it would happen, all the mares in Mulciber's Herd had paired off with red stallions to make the Herd grow larger. But of course, Arodousna was too in love with Mellifer to choose a mate. Mulciber grew suspicious, for many young stallions were clamoring to run with the mateless mare. And Mulciber saw the red-pink mare sneak into the woods, and Mulciber followed.

o!o

Arodousna and Mellifer have also learned from Thaya and Eneus: Long absences make discovery prompt. Keeping this in mind, the two had set a rule for themselves: No more than an hour. If they kept their meetings under an hour long, they had a better chance of not being missed. But today, when it comes time to part, Arodousna begs Mellifer not to go.

"Please, wait. I don't want to go back. We can run away, like the others have."

"The others were all caught in the end," Mellifer points out. "We would be too."

Mellifer ignores the rest of Arodousna's pleadings and turns to leave, but Arodousna's voice stops him in his tracks.

"Who sent Eneus and Thaya to where they are?"

Mellifer stops short, and tries to think about the rumors that he has heard. They are all different, ranging from foal to no foal, from caught to banished to dead. But if Aeoleus had caught the two lovers, then why did he let them stay together? He should have separated them, like Orcinus did to Derecho and Izqueirda… Mellifer pauses. "The Mare must have," Mellifer says slowly. He turns to Arodousna. "The Mare must have sent them away."

Arodousna leaps up. "She could do the same for us!" He voice is desperate, almost pleading. Mellifer looks into her eyes. "But if we're caught…" He trails off. Even if they are caught, he will take that risk if he just has the chance to spend forever with the beautiful mare in front of him. "Let's go."

The duo takes off, the red mare running alongside the yellow stallion who is her love. Neither of them notice the smell of burning wood behind them, and neither notice the brilliant, flame red Stallion take off in the direction that Mellifer had come from.

o!o

Solaris is grazing on the edge of his Herd, on top of a grassy knoll that allows him to see all the goings-on of the Herd. It is a breezy, clear day, but it's going to get very hot by noon-time. He thoughtfully chomps on a bit of grass, flicking his tail back and forth in the ever growing heat. He stops mid-chew. It is getting hotter… but too hot. And only on one side. Solaris drops his mouthful of grass.

"What in the name of…." He trails off and grins. "Oh hello! Mulciber, it's been what, one, two hundred, years since we last talked."

The Fire Stallion glowers at Solaris. His brilliant red coat is so hot that sweat is steaming off of it. Superheated air blows out of his wide nostrils. He shuts his bonfire eyes and thinks carefully.

"It's been one hundred and thirteen years, four months, and ten days." Mulciber replies, if somewhat grumpily.

"What, you're not going to break it down into the hours?" As Mulciber opens his mouth, most likely to break it down into hours, minutes, and seconds, Solaris continues, "What brings you to my humble corner of the Valley?"

Mulciber sighs. "You're never going to believe this."

"Try me."

Mulciber cocks an eyebrow. "One of your stallions has stolen one of my mares."

"Don't be silly, Mulciber. He just sneaks into meet her. He always comes back."

"No! They've run off!"

Solaris wheels and gazes down at his Herd. He scans furiously, and then looks again. Nope. Mellifer is not there, and he had snuck off, what five hours ago? He never spent more than an hour with whatever mare he was meeting.

"Holy locoweed," Solaris mutters under his breath. "Look, we have to go catch them. If they escape like the last two…" This last part is directed to Mulciber, who instantly catches the hint. The two Elementals take off, their fierce speeds eating up the four-hour head start that the runaway lovers had.

o!o

Arodousna and Mellifer are still running hard, but their lead is slowly slipping away from them. They aren't quite sure where they should look for the Mare, but Mellifer has heard that Eneus and Thaya disappeared in the mountains by following the river, so that is the path that these next two lovers take. They run hard, not knowing how much time they have left before they are caught. The pair follow the river, entering the mountains and marveling at their height. Neither of them are used to such closed in spaces; their homes have always been meadows closed in by trees.

Sooner rather than later, they hear hooves rapidly approaching behind them. The pair break into a sprint. Leaving the course of the river for a tree-lined path that offers greater coverage, the two soon become hopelessly lost amongst the mountains. The faster they run, the stronger the smell of smoke becomes and the wooded path slowly shines brighter and brighter.

Mellifer is becoming desperate, praying that they won't be caught. He looks around wildly, for someplace to hide. His eyes fall on a cave, which seems deeper than any of the others. Nudging Arodousna, he leads the way. The two duck inside as the Elemental Stallions turn a corner and come into view. Arodousna turns and sees the Elementals gallop past the cave. She thanks whatever luck allowed that to happen and turns to Mellifer.

He is standing in a startled position, his eyes wide, ears forward, and jaw hanging slightly open. He is staring straight ahead. When Arodousna follows his gaze, she starts to stare, too. They have no words for what they see, for such things have never before been seen in the Valley. They were also not seen for some time after this, so I will explain it to you in words of the Mortal Realms.

There was a table, made of wood, mahogany to be exact. There are chairs, also mahogany, identical in every way to each other. There is a bed with a feather mattress in one corner, and a sort of nest in another. In a third corner, there is a pile of dried grasses, and that is the only resting place that looks like it is still in use. But the main feature, and that is one which is the most important, is an oval pool in the middle of the cave. Its water is still, except for the ripples that form when water dripping from the ceiling lands in the center of the pool. The floor of the pool is covered with gems: a sort of black stone, which gives the water an eerie and foreboding feeling.

Arodousna stares entranced, gazing at her reflection in the water. Mellifer, already uneasy about the appearance of the cave, jumps when a unicorn suddenly appears at the other side of the cave.

o!o

Mulciber's temper is starting to get the better of him. They had been running for hours, chasing a mare and a stallion that Solaris had obviously known about. Mulciber had thought that his brother had better sense than this, but obviously he is still lacking in that department.

A few trees burst into flame as Mulciber runs past. Solaris, a few steps ahead, turns his head and whinnies at Mulciber to stop. Not all unicorns are as comfortable with fire as the Fire Stallion is.

The Elementals are still running strong when Mulciber starts to notice that something is wrong. The underbrush is still intact, and the prints have long ago disappeared. So he calls out, "Sol, hold up," and surprisingly enough, the Sun Stallion slows.

Mulciber starts to sniff the ground, sparks from his nostrils igniting some of the grass. Suddenly he pins his ears back. "We've lost the trail!"

"What do you mean, we lost the trail!" Solaris speaks with a snort of laughter, confident that no one can outwit an Elemental.

"I mean they didn't come this way."

This grabs Solaris's attention real fast. "Huh?"

Mulciber wheels around back the way that they had come. This time, he's tracking the runaways.

o!o

"I believe that you were looking for me?" The white unicorn's voice is calm and mysterious, spoken with the air of someone who knows more than you ever will.

Mellifer and Arodousna are nervous now, make no mistake, but they have come too far to go back now. Arodousna waits for Mellifer to reply to the white mare. When no response comes, Arodousna takes over. Her jaw doesn't seem to work right; she is so nervous. Instead of the cool and confident speech that they had planned, Arodousna's voice is shaky and foal-like. "Y-yes, we w-were looking for y-you."

"And?"

Arodousna's voice slips into the pleading tone that she has so often used on Mellifer. "Please…S-s-send us away! Like the others!"

The Mare seems to think. She stares at, around, and through the two lovers. She cocks her head, and then sighs. "Look into the water." The duo does so, looking at a land that is so similar, yet so different from their own Valley. Wolves roam this land, as do lions, tigers, vultures, and all other sorts of predatory beings. Arodousna turns her head into Mellifer's shoulder. Mellifer nuzzles her red-pink neck before turning to the Mare. "Will you help us, then?"

The Mare flicks her ears and draws a deep breath. "The Mortal Realms is no place for a unicorn. Much less two." She pauses before continuing, "If I send you, you must be changed. You cannot remain a unicorn. And you must choose, for Solaris and Mulciber return. But you cannot remain a unicorn."

Mellifer stiffens. To no longer be a unicorn? What other life was there, then, than this? What could there be if not the taste of the grass, the scent of the flowers, the wind in your mane? What was there for a unicorn, if it could not be a unicorn? He turns to give the Mare his answer….but then he stops. He looks at Arodousna, the red-pink mare, as trusting as a filly, who had followed him this far. If they go back she would live a long, if loveless life, as unicorn….but there is no going back, Mellifer realizes.

With the wisdom of one who is more a stallion than a colt, Mellifer knows that he would rather spend a lifetime as not a unicorn, than five minutes as one. For Mellifer knows that his heart belongs to the red-pink mare, who is gazing at him with those rose-colored eyes that he loved. He would do whatever the Mare asked, as long as he could remain with Arodousna.

So as the pounding hooves of the Elementals grow louder, Mellifer and Arodousna plunge into the icy could water. But instead of hitting the black stone floor, they keep falling. Arodousna feels her horn shatter. As she falls, the sharp bits jab into her skin, drawing blood that stains her red-pink coat. Mellifer cries out to her, but his horn breaks off of his forehead and falls behind him. At the same time, his whithers are aching, aching, aching…

o o

Mulciber and Solaris pound into the cave. Perhaps what Arodousna and Mellifer saw was just an illusion, or maybe some trick of the Mare's, but The Elementals do not see the fantastic things that the lovers saw. They see just the Mare and a pool of water. They pull up short, keeping on their side of the pool, while the Mare remains on hers. Mulciber looks around the darkened cave, using Solaris's brilliant light as a torch. Their eyes flicker over the image in the water and peer into the darkest corners. Finally, they turn to the Mare.

Soalris, the most impatient of the six, inquires, "Mare, where are they?" The white mare just smiles coyly at them. For a moment she looks like a flirting youngling looking for a mate. And then she is herself again. And then she answers: "They are not here."

Solaris exhales irritably, and glares pointedly at Mulciber and then trots out of the cave. Mulciber lingers behind a little longer, gazing at the image that hangs suspended on the water. He grins, tosses his mane, and follows his elder brother out of the cave and back to their valley.

The image that Solaris scoffed at and Mulciber laughed at glows in the water just a few moments longer. It is a rosebush, covered with thorns, but with flowers that are the most beautiful red-almost-pink color that the mortal realms has ever seen. And, fluttering around the red "horned" bush buzzes a lone insect. It is a brilliant yellow, stripped with black. It carries a poisonous horn on its rear and has wings growing from its shoulders.

Despite the beauty of its rose, many people have scorned the thorn bush for its sharp prickers that tear clothing and bleed fingers. Despite the sweetness of its honey, many have loathed the bee for the bit of its stinger that causes pain and even death.

But there is no greater love than that of the rosebush and the bumblebee.