Syrena waited until after Lockslear closed the front door to his house, before she proceeded down the village. She stopped upon Lockslear joining her, extending his arm to her, in hopes that she would take it.
She smiled, not knowing what to do. A few hours ago, Lockslear kicked her out of his house. Now, he wanted to be her friend? Well, she couldn't blame him. And yet, she knew that some things were meant to last, while other things didn't.
"Come on," Lockslear gestured with a tilt of his head, a gesture from his arm, and a fair smile, "Don't you trust me?"
Syrena looked at him like he came out of a dream. She sighed, knowing that first impressions were important. So, why was this moment so different from when they first met?
"Um… yes," she took his arm with a smile, as he put his hands in his pockets, securing her arm to his, while they walked. She looked up, admitting freely, "yes, I suppose I am starting to trust you."
Lockslear looked at her in interest, pointing out, "Aslan told you I was a gentle soul, right?"
"Yes, I suppose he did," she said, remembering Aslan's words. He did say that about Lockslear. How could she forget? She looked at him with a smile, resting her head on his shoulder, while they walked.
It was nice being with Lockslear. Her world just felt complete being around him. How come she didn't notice this before, with Whipstaff? Well, with Whipstaff, Syrena felt friendship towards him, nothing further. With Lockslear, her world felt more complete, more secure, like they were always meant to be together.
Huh. She guessed fate worked in their favor.
.
"Look!" Lockslear said, holding onto her.
Syrena looked up, spotting a grey painted building with red roses painted along the building's exterior. Green stems and leaves flowed elegantly from these painted roses, giving them life and a reason to live.
Syrena watched the mural as the red roses danced their dance, making up their own tune with joyous delight. It truly was a wonder that she came to this inn. It made her day brighter.
She looked at Lockslear as they made their way towards the front door. She caught a glimpse of the signpost, before they went in the building. A red rose had been etched into the wooden sign post, right above the name that was also etched in fine letters on the signpost's wooden surface, reading in bold writing: The Red Rose Café.
Syrena was confused. What was a café? Did this mean that she would get to see an inn for the first time, since leaving the Land of Unicorns behind for this trip to the Land of Talking Animals? She was about to find out.
"Lockslear, what's a… a café?" she asked him, quite confused.
"It's a restaurant," Lockslear explained.
"Oh. Is there food inside this building?" Syrena said, smelling the sweet fragrance of maple syrup and meaty sausages coming off from somewhere inside the building.
Lockslear chuckled. "Yes! There's food inside!" He gestured for her to follow, as he opened the front door for them both. "Now, come on! Let's go in, before we get kicked out."
Syrena nodded, following Lockslear inside the Red Rose Café.
.
Inside, Syrena gasped at the elegance of the building's interior.
All around them were floral patterned carpets, as well as rounded light oak wooden tables with black chairs, complete with their own floral-patterned cushions. Long couches were nestled along the walls, as well as long, light oak tables adjusted for these booths. Long rectangular glass windows, complete with their own grey, floral-patterned curtains, stood out along the walls, brightening the room up and giving it a warm welcome feel. It was something that Syrena missed since leaving the Land of Unicorns. She was grateful to have it now, along with Lockslear, who she cherished greatly.
Much to Syrena's surprise, there wasn't that many people in this building. She was surprised. She thought there would be more people here. So far, there didn't seem to be that many, which was good. It meant that she and Lockslear could have the café to themselves, for a time.
"Do you want to sit down? Pick a table, and we can sit there," Lockslear said, giving her the freedom to choose which table she wanted.
"Um… okay," Syrena said, gazing and walking around the room for the perfect spot. At last! She found one, a little way off from the centermost part of the room, where the sun shone just right in the room around them. She sat down next to Lockslear, who pulled up a chair for her.
She thanked him, as he sat down, admiring her, as she observed the butter holder.
He asked her, curiously, "So, how are you adjusting to your human form? I trust being a unicorn is not easy."
"It's not," Syrena said at once, leading them to complete silence for several minutes.
She looked up, right as the waiter came and she ordered her food. She looked at Lockslear, who did the same, before he pressed her with further questions. Somehow, she knew this was going to be a long morning.
.
There was so much more Syrena wanted to tell Lockslear, even as they ate their breakfast. Syrena went into detail about the unicorn gangs and pirate unicorns that she had seen and witnessed, while she stayed in the Land of Unicorns. She told him how the unicorn gangs and pirate unicorns came into being, after the unicorn Fae doubted Aslan, back in the First World.
This interested Lockslear. Syrena hadn't expected this reaction from him. She told him about when a unicorn reaches their first year, they are granted permission to work with the Tree Unicorns, as well as unicorns who were older than a year old, who became their companions.
This was how Whipstaff became her companion, and how they became good friends. It was also what drove Syrena from her homeland, the Hills, back in the Land of Unicorns. Either way, Syrena was lucky to have Whipstaff by her side, but was even gladder that she had her lover, Lockslear, by her side, guiding her the rest of the way back to the Land of Unicorns, where they could finish their deed on time.
Lockslear waited until after Syrena finished explaining things to him, before going on to say, "So, you and Whipstaff. That's all you are. You're friends, right?"
"The best you can find," Syrena said. She pointed out, before Lockslear could fall into depression, "Oh, trust me, it's not romantic! Whipstaff and I are just friends. Nothing more."
"Well, I'm glad." Lockslear recovered, "Not that I mind Whipstaff being your friend! I'm sure I'll meet up with him, too, once we get to the Land of Unicorns." He looked at Syrena, telling her, kindly, "I'm glad you found a good friend."
"Thanks," Syrena said, returning to her meal.
"Don't mention it," Lockslear said, looking at her for a moment before he, too, finished his meal and paid for their food and their drinks. He looked at Syrena again, as he said, "Do you want to leave? I mean, I'm just saying because we have a quest to finish. I will need to complete some things first, before we leave the village." He sighed, mentioning to her, "You know, I didn't plan on staying here, in this village, for long. The agreement I made with the mayor is that, once a unicorn would come, that I would be allowed to leave the village. He'll need proof that you're here, though."
"Then let's go and see him. I'll show him my unicorn self and we can go," Syrena said with a warm smile.
"You sure this is what you want? I'm not ready. I have to grab my things, first, before we go," Lockslear told her, worriedly.
"Aww! I thought you were ready to leave," Syrena asked, curiously.
"It's just a precaution," Lockslear said. "Come on. You ready?"
She looked at the empty dishes, saying, bluntly, "Yeah. I'm ready."
"Good. Let's go," Lockslear said, standing up and helping her with the chair. They made their way towards the restaurant's front doors, checking to make sure it was safe to leave, before they left the restaurant entirely.
So far, so good. Now, Lockslear hoped the mayor wasn't too angry with him, when he arrived at the mayor's house with Syrena.
.
The mayor's house stood a way from the rest of the village. As soon as Syrena and Lockslear got there, Syrena gasped at the sight of the green leafy bushes and the flowers growing throughout the front yard. The roses greeted her with joy, dancing and swaying to their tunes, just like the roses in the mural did over by the Red Rose Café.
She smiled, grateful that nature had taken its course here. She looked on at Lockslear, as they climbed up the front steps to the white painted porch, in front of the two-story, beige painted house, with its dark blue shutters and pillars standing on the porch, which secured the porch's roof, while protecting Syrena and Lockslear from the sunlight. Lockslear rang the doorbell, waiting for someone to answer the door.
He looked up, the second the front door opened, revealing a blonde-haired maid wearing a black dress with a white apron flowing over it. The maid looked at them with kind, confused eyes. She wasn't expecting anyone at this time. At least, that's what Syrena saw from the maid's confused eyes.
"Lockslear! What brings you here?" the maid asked, concerned about him.
"I came to speak to the mayor about…" he whispered in her ear, "…about the unicorns. It's time. I brought one of them with me. You understand, right?" He moved away, watching the maid nod to him, as she looked Syrena over.
"Come with me," the maid said, leading Syrena and Lockslear inside, straight to an office, where a man with burly auburn-brown hair, tan skin, and donned in the finest green robes available to him, wrote his notes on a blank piece of parchment. He glanced up, as the maid presented Syrena and Lockslear before the man, the mayor as it were.
"Lockslear, you remember Mayor Whitmore?" the maid asked, informing the mayor about Lockslear. She pointed out Syrena, asking her, "And you are…"
"Syrena," Syrena said in introduction.
"She doesn't look like a unicorn to me," Mayor Whitmore said, looking Syrena over. "In fact, she does have a pearly white star on her forehead. I noticed that, the minute she walked in."
"Oh," Syrena said, rubbing her star on her forehead. It certainly felt like a unicorn's horn could go there, "yes. I suppose that's where it came from. When I transformed into a human, the star must have taken my horn's place."
"Well, Lockslear, if you don't need anything, then I suggest you be on your way," Mayor Whitmore said, showing Lockslear and Syrena to the door.
"No. Wait. Syrena can transform! She's the unicorn I spoke of," Lockslear said, nodding to Syrena to shapeshift before the mayor of this village. He looked at her, pointing out with great care, "Go on. I trust you. This won't take long."
Do it, Syrena! Aslan's voice called out to Syrena, giving her the courage she needed to transform into a white standard-coated Hill Unicorn.
"Okay. Here I go," Syrena said, closing her eyes and focusing on her transformation. In seconds, she was a Hill Unicorn, whinnying and neighing for all to hear. She looked at Mayor Whitmore, approaching him and allowing him to pet her muzzle. "See? Being a unicorn isn't so bad."
Mayor Whitmore petted her muzzle, seconds before she transformed back into her human form, now wearing a white sparkly dress as she stood up. A white rose was nestled in Syrena's hair, pinning her hair up into a half ponytail, while keeping her brunette hair out of her eyes.
She smiled at the mayor, informing him, "I trust this will be enough to ensure that Lockslear comes with me. I wouldn't want him to miss anything in my homeland."
"Yes, a treaty will be made between the Land of Talking Animals and the Land of Unicorns," Mayor Whitmore said, stunning Lockslear.
"Come again?" Lockslear asked, confused.
Mayor Whitmore patted his shoulders, telling Lockslear, "Well, you are the prince of this realm. What do you propose?"
Lockslear looked at Syrena, informing her and the others, "No, you're right. Let's do this. Let's form that treaty. Any unicorn will be allowed in this realm and in the other five realms in the second Seven Realms. I don't know how the centaurs will react to this, but we can work with them on this task, once it's over and done."
"Excellent. I'll send word out to the leader of the Unicorns, Silvestra, and Aslan. I'm sure they'll want to hear this," Mayor Whitmore said, sitting down at his desk again.
"You mean, she already knew we were coming?" Syrena asked, looking quite confused. "Silvestra, I mean."
Mayor Whitmore looked at her again. Syrena had such kindness that he couldn't ignore. Was it enough that the Land of Unicorns remained hidden from the rest of the realms? Of course not! But he was willing to try something to unlock the Land of Unicorn's barrier.
"Of course, she knew you were coming to my house," Mayor Whitmore said, finally. "The centaurs have gone wild, but they're in good hands. They'll come around."
Lockslear wanted to protest. The unicorns and all the leaders in the second Seven Realms were ahead. Was this good or bad?
"What am I supposed to do?" Lockslear asked, quite confused.
"Well, you're free to leave. Don't worry. Your stuff will follow you, while you travel," Mayor Whitmore said, casually.
"Right. Like it's that simple," Lockslear said, stunned by this.
"According to Aslan, it is," Mayor Whitmore said, shooing them away. "Now go. I have paperwork to do."
Syrena smiled. Good. Everything worked out according to plan. Only, whose plan was it? Silvestra's plan or Aslan's plan? Aslan knew what he was doing. This much was so. But would everything work out? That's what she wanted to know.
"So, when do we leave?" Syrena asked Lockslear, curiously.
"Oh, we can leave right now," Lockslear said, looking at the mayor one last time, before making his way to the front door. He grabbed Syrena's arm, leading her back to the front door, "Come on! It's this way!"
"Good luck! You'll need it," Mayor Whitmore said, watching the couple leave his house. He chuckled, telling himself as he worked, "Good luck. You'll need it."
.
Syrena and Lockslear found Lockslear's painted horse. Very quickly, Lockslear saddled his painted horse, before helping Syrena on the horse's saddle. He mounted his horse a moment later, riding through the village, towards the village gate.
They were stopped by two guards, wearing silver armor, donned with a lion's head etched into the chest plate. The guards eyed Syrena suspiciously, as if they knew what she was up to.
"State your business!" one of the guards asked Syrena, staring at her in mild amusement. He jumped, the moment Syrena transformed into a unicorn and back into a human, all in a manner of seconds. The guards were speechless. The first guard said, still shocked by what he saw, "The unicorns have come!"
"Yes, and we would like to leave. We have important business to attend to," Lockslear said in a kingly manner.
"Um… yes, right away," the second guard said, as he and the first guard allowed Syrena and Lockslear to pass by them unscathed.
Syrena looked at the guards in angst, telling them, kindly, "Thank you!"
"Don't mention it!" the first guard said, watching Lockslear ride on, keeping Syrena in front of him and secured, as he rode across the plain countryside and out of sight.