"There was once a King in this land, not too long ago. He was a good King, very beloved by his people. Under his rule there were rich harvests, many festivals, and no one knew poverty or hunger. To ensure justice was served he would travel around his lands, sometimes in disguise and sometimes in official attire, to see the people's wants and needs and to make it so.
One day the King was disguised as a peasant walking through the woods between Ermina & Tekka. In a flash he saw a creature rush by followed closely by two men with weapons drawn. Though the man could not see the creature in detail he could feel its fear in the air. Without thinking he followed with great speed, leaving his own escorts behind.
Through the forest he ran until he was deep into its very center. The trees were thick and overgrown, and though it would be easy to get lost, somehow the King knew the way. Finally, he made it to a clearing at the very heart of the forest. In this grassy area he saw the men pointing their weapons at the frightened creature, that seemed to have called the king to its aid.
It was a horrifying beast with the body of a deer and the hooves and head of a horse. Blue and green scales covered its body except for its silver mane which flew about as if made of flames instead of hair. In the center of its forehead was a single horn, almost like an antler. A unicorn. Despite this frightful appearance, the King felt no fear for himself. As the men took aim he rushed forward and threw himself between the men and the creature.
"Stop," commanded the king.
"Get out of the way," the first man replied, "or I'll shoot you through the chest."
"I am the king! I command you to stop and leave this creature alone!"
"King," laughed the second man, "In peasant clothes? Move or die."
The men were clearly not from his lands. They didn't believe that he was the King and so his authority meant nothing to them. They were there for the creatures horn and seemed determined to stop at nothing to get it. What was the king to do? He felt he needed to protect the creature in his-"
"Why were the men after the unicorn," interrupted Natsu.
Abaddon blinked confused for a moment at the break in his story.
"I have questions as well," Erza informed the group.
"No questions in the middle of stories," Arawn told them, filling their cups with tea. "It ruins the flow of the story."
"Story?" They all turned to see Wendy appearing from the woods. She looked around the camp, then at the fire with the kettle bubbling over it. She placed her small pile of wood on the floor before sitting on top of it. "I guess we didn't need wood after all."
"Our new friends brought us some," Erza said happily. "And they are sharing a story with us from this land."
"Where's Lucy," Gray asked.
"She said she wanted to continue her walk for a bit and collect a few more pieces of wood. I think she was enjoying herself in the woods," Wendy replied, taking a seat next to Happy and Carla.
"Since the flow is interrupted already," Natsu said slyly, "tell us why the men wanted the horn."
Abaddon nodded to Arawn, who explained. "Some say a unicorn's horn has magical properties. It can purify all poisons in any drink if made into a cup or heal any wound if made into a bandage. But it is most legendary for allowing the possessor of an unaltered horn immortal life and power."
"So that's why the men wanted it," Natsu said.
"That's why the men wanted it," nodded Arawn.
"Okay." Natsu rested his chin on his hand and looked deep in thought, almost painfully concentrated.
Gray opened his mouth to begin another question, but Erza held up her hand to silence him. "Please continue," she instructed and Abaddon complied.
"The king was at a loss of what to do, if the men would not listen to his authority as king, was he doomed to be shot through? The men prepared their weapons, leveled them to the king's chest, and the king began to accept his fate. Suddenly, the king felt a strange warmth spreading across his back and into his heart. From the warmth came a swell of power rising up within him. His eyes turned black as night and he lunged at the men with a fearsome roar. They shot their arrows at him, but with a swipe through the air, the king knocked them away unharmed. A single arrow managed to hit the king in the arm, making the king pause long enough to rip it out. The wound immediately healed. The men were now frightened by the change in this mysterious man. They dropped their weapons and ran out of the forest never to return.
As the men disappeared into the trees, the king felt the new power draining from him, out of his heart and out of his back, returning him to normal. Turning to the unicorn, he found that the hybrid creature that had been there before was now replaced with a silver horse- like creature with a single golden horn upon its head. It had changed to its other form, having chosen the king to use its power to protect them both. It had chosen the king as its friend.
"What has happened," asked the king. "Where has my strength gone?"
The unicorn said nothing, but the king knew without words what had occurred.
"What the legends say is true," marveled the king and he pet the unicorn, who nuzzled into his hand. "Be free, my friend, and stay safe."
The unicorn bowed and disappeared into the forest, leaving the king to continue on his way back to his castle.
But to feel such power at once can change a man. A unicorn is absolute goodness, but humans are made of both good and evil and though the unicorn chose the king as its friend because of his good heart, the evil within was also empowered by the unicorns touch. At first, all was normal upon the king's return, but slowly, slowly, the king began to change. Where before he was patient, now he was quick to anger. Where before he was kind, a sourness grew in his heart. He began to be cruel and unfair to his people and he became obsessed with thinking of the power he had once had. He desired for it day and night, night and day.
"Why should I, a king, be relegated to such a weak existence," he would mutter to himself as he paced his castle late into the night. "When I could hold such strength now and forever." Thus, the king's heart was completely corrupted and he began his plan to capture the unicorn and kill it in order to take possession of its horn. He researched the legends and came to his plan. Unicorns are attracted to a pure heart and they cannot avoid assisting another creature in need. So the king sent his men out to find the kindest and most gentle person in the kingdom. They were to kidnap this person and meet the king in the clearing where the unicorn had once been cornered.
Just on the edge of the kingdom there was a small village with an even smaller boy named Clem. On the day of his birth, the village said a hummingbird landed on the edge of his crib, peered in at his gentle face, and flew off again. At five, Clem had shed tears over the unhappiness in a story about a boy who loses his favorite toy, so large was his heart with empathy. He was known to give all of his food to those who needed it more, whether it be a poor beggar or a hungry stray dog. When he was ten, he was kidnapped by the king's men and tied to a tree at the edge of the forest clearing, far from his village home, to attract the unicorn.
At first, the forest was silent except for the soft crying of Clem tied to the tree. The king and his men hid behind some bushes and watched. Slowly, after some time, the unicorn appeared silver with its golden horn. Seeing Clem so hopeless and afraid mad the unicorn very sad. He moved to free the boy, but paused at a rustling in bushes. One of the king's men had dropped an arrow and, in his haste to retrieve it, had given away their hiding spot. They leaped out of the bush to face the unicorn. The unicorn looked at the king and saw the corruption of his friend. He turned into his frightful state once again, rearing up his horse legs as the light shimmer off his blue and green scales.
The king's men had not been expecting such a change. In their fright, they dropped their weapons and ran. But the king felt no fear in his heart, only the greed for the unicorns immortal power. So he grabbed his men's abandoned weapons and approached.
"You've had plenty of time and power on this Earth," reasoned the king. "Now it is time to share." The king turned his weapon on Clem who trembled in fear. "Give me the horn, or this young boy will die, and all of his goodness with him."
The unicorn knew nothing would stop the kings greed and this reality brought great sadness to the unicorns heart. Its big eyes began to get wet with tears thinking of how good and kind his friend had once been and how good and kind the small child Clem was. The unicorn knew that the king's corrupted heart was because of the power he had lent the king, which saddened the unicorn even more. Tears began streaming from the unicorns face and when he tossed his heads they flew across the air, landing on every part of its body from nose to tail.
"No," shouted the king, turning his weapon away from Clem and towards the unicorn instead.
But it was too late. The unicorn cried and cried and every place the tears touched,the unicorn began to turn to stone.
The king launched towards the unicorn to try and grab the horn before it was too late, but when the king's hand grasped the horn, it was nothing but an oddly shaped stone. In order to safe Clem and the goodness that still remained in the king's heart, the unicorn had turned to a rock, its power hidden and dormant, perhaps forever.
Instead of easing the king's corrupted heart, the evil grew more and more with rage. How would the king get the unicorn's power now? He turned his heads to the stars and heavens above and to them he proclaimed, "I will wait until the ends of time if it takes to get the power that is rightfully mine. Even if I disappear from the physical world, my spiteful spirit will remain for all time until the unicorn is mine!"
And so he has. Waiting in the forest for the day the unicorn is awoken again by a heart of kindness. Then the king will also awaken and take what he believes is his: the rock unicorn's horn and power."
"An excellent story," Erza proclaimed excitedly.
"I still have some questions," said Gray thoughtfully. "Like what ever happened to Clem?"
"I liked him as well," agreed Wendy.
Abaddon shrugged. "I only know what the story tells."
"I'm sure he lives happily ever after, since he's a good guy," Natsu assured Wendy. He peered up at the stars. "Lucy says good guys always live happily ever after in stories. This was a good one. I'll have to remember to tell Lucy when she gets back.
No one responded, though Happy put both paws over his mouth as if containing his comments and glee.
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