CHAPTER 3
Her body was tingling like when your arm falls asleep and the pins and needles prickle your skin. Sarah felt very strange and laid there a minute to put her brains back in her head from a light electrocution and get her equilibrium back. Sarah said, "What was that? It sure packed a wallop. Thank you for the blessing, my friend, but that kinda hurt a bit."
Sarah stood up and looked at the other statue next to the first one. It had an item in their hand. She thought it looked like a sword worn down to a nub. Sarah patted the stone sculpture and said, "I bet that sword and your details were wonderful also." She touched the sword and her hand felt warm for a moment. She said, "I am glad to have found all four of you in this obscure place. It's amazing how you still lasted so very long."
The third statue had a hollowed vessel before it of stone attached at about waist high. Sarah smiled and remembered that revered statues in ancient times took gifts from those who visited them of grain. Sarah reached inside her food bag and tore off a little piece of bread. She took the piece of bread and placed it in the bowl. She said, "Here thank you for letting me visit all of you. It's been an honor."
The fourth statue had a lump still visible in front of it. Sarah put her hand on the stone in front of the statue and said, "I wonder what this once was? Whatever it was, I'm sure it was something of great value to all of you. I sincerely appreciate you allowing me to visit you all. Blessed be to every one of you." Sarah's hand was glowing on the stone and she took her hand off quickly. Sarah smiled at them all and said, "Goodbye, dear friends."
Sarah was a bit quirky in her affinity to relics of the past. She believed that she could almost see and feel how the items were touched by someone else's hands so very lost in time. It gave her the privilege to be the one to find it and touch it for the first time in centuries or eons. She was very respectful of it. She was thinking while looking for an exit, 'The spear, sword, cauldron and the Lia Fail stone of destiny were the four treasures of the Tuatha De Danann, right? The Sword of Nuada, the Spear of Lugh, the Cauldron of the Dagda, and the Lia Fáil (Stone of Destiny). She wondered if they were the effigies of the Tuatha De Danann she touched and was talking too?'
As she wandered the tunnels she saw a reflection of light. She followed it and found an overgrown exit. She took out her knife and hacked away at the vines and brush. When she finally hacked away enough to get through on her hands and knees, there was a large forest in front of her coated in a light snow making it look crystalized and sparkling.
Sarah walked through the forest looking at the immense old trees around her as big as rooms or small houses. It was beautiful and incredible. She wondered just how many rings were inside the trees. Thousands she would bet. Sarah stopped dead in her tracks and saw a beautiful white unicorn with a golden horn in front of her. It was eating things under the light coating of snow.
Sarah said softly in a state of awe, "Oh my, you are so incredibly beautiful. Please don't be afraid of me."
The unicorn looked at her chewing and in her mind she heard a beautiful feminine voice that said, "You have been blessed by the gods of this realm. I do not fear you."
The unicorn said in her mind, "This is unusual because you have been blessed but humans are not treated well here and are slaves to the fae, if you are not a human fae changeling child from the Goblin Kingdom, you will not be accepted." Sarah approached the unicorn slowly.
Sarah asked still in awe, "Can I pet you? I have heard about your kind and it would honor me if you would let me?"
The unicorn looked her in the eye and said, "You are respectful to ask first. I will permit it." Sarah slowly put her hand out and the unicorn had much softer hair than a horse. It was a silky texture.
The unicorn spoke saying, "You are a kind and gentle person. You are pure of heart and spirit. You emit healing magic when you pet me. Do you know that?"
Sarah said astonished, "No. I didn't know that but if I do it must be because I am content and happy. You truly are beautiful. Thank you."
The unicorn asked curiously, "How will you travel this realm, on foot in the winter?"
Sarah honestly replied, "I haven't thought that far in advance. I suppose if I make it to a town or city. I could buy clothes, food, and a horse companion to help me on my journey to see this realm."
The unicorn said, "I would like to take you to your destinations. We could travel together. People here do not harm us or they die. I am protected with my own magic also. It will be unusual for you to be riding a unicorn around the realms but you are an unusual female in a bear animal fur coat. You need to keep your hood up and not let others know you are human and a female. Female humans are coveted by the fae more than human men. Tell them you are from far away and I am your friend only."
Sarah asked the unicorn, "What is your name? Mine is Sarah? You will need a saddle so I can tie my bags down." A soft leather saddle appeared on the unicorn's back. Sarah started tying down her baggage to the saddle rings built into it.
The unicorn said, "My name is Aurora. Nice to meet you Sarah. Are you the Labyrinth Champion, being you are human?"
Sarah giggled and said, "Yes, I suppose I am. I did it in ten hours and brought my brother home. I wished him away in a stupid fit of frustration when I was a teenager of 15 years old. I have grown considerably since then. I am twenty eight now. I fell through a portal to get here. I lived with a beautiful dragon for a couple months and her kind were going to eat me if I didn't leave. But she will always be a good friend to me. So I found a tunnel in a rock formation and I saw four statues that were worn away by time. I think there must have been a portal nearby. I was talking to them admiring how they must have been grand once upon a time. One shocked me knocking me down that had a spear and one emitted heat that had a sword. I gave a grain offering to the one holding a bowl and the one holding a stone glowed when I touched it. They were washed out but incredible statues."
The unicorn said, "Yes, you are a kind woman. I am sure they all blessed you and it seems Nuada did something to you in the shock you received. You are lucky, not many get blessed by four deities. Nuada was from a tribe of dark haired fae. He must have taken a liking to you."
Sarah said, "That's good to know. Thank you, Aurora. If you need to stop or if I'm too heavy, please let me know. I would hate to think you're uncomfortable because of me."
The unicorn said, "I will and you do the same. I appreciate your consideration." Sarah mounted her. She was the size of a quarter horse.
They rode on through the snow bound meadows and woods. Aurora and Sarah talked and laughed with each other. Sarah told her about her life in the Aboveground and Aurora told her about some of the things in the Underground. They came to a beautiful place where a brook was running by the woods.
Sarah dismounted Aurora and said out loud, "I really 'wish' I had a tent and heavy warm blankets to sleep in." A tent appeared out of nowhere all setup infront of her. Sarah gasped in surprise.
Sarah said excitedly, "Aurora did you see that I wished for it and it appeared?"
Aurora chuckled and said, "It seems you also have wish magic. You should be careful when you wish and watch your words. Be specific, Sarah."
Sarah took off her belongings and the saddle. She placed them in the tent and she went looking for wood and rocks for a fire. She started a fire by wishing for it. Sarah got out her bag of food and she took a chunk of mutton and put it on a stick with a carrot. Aurora came over to the fire and watched Sarah cook her food.
Aurora asked curiously, "Why do humans, elves and fae cook their food?"
Sarah replied, "I guess, because it purifies the meat by fire. Some things we eat raw like vegetables, fruit and herbs. Meat can make us ill if eaten uncooked."
Aurora said understanding, "Ah, I see. So most animals that eat uncooked meat do not get ill?"
Sarah said smiling and confirming, "Exactly their stomachs and body's are made to not get ill from it. People are more susceptible than they are."
Aurora said softly, "You have a nice way of explaining things."
Sarah giggled and said, "I did a bit of teaching while doing research for my professors. You will be a wonderfully resourceful friend to help me for as long as you can here in the Underground. If I forget to ever thank you, I want to thank you now." Sarah took her meat off the stick and started eating it with a piece of bread and her carrot was still cooking in the fire.
Aurora said, "Yes. I like you Sarah. You are not pretentious like the fae or frightened like most humans here. I can not blame them for being intimidated by magic. They are at an extreme disadvantage and the fae are not very kind to them."
Sarah asked, "Why do they change human children?" Sarah was still eating her dinner and sipping her water from a cup she acquired.
Aurora said, "Because they are not very fertile in having their own children. They revere the fae changelings and are well sought after for mates here when they grow up because they have less fertility issues."
Sarah said, "So basically they are substituting human children for the ones they can't make? Seems like some of the stories I found Aboveground have traces of that truth. Interesting." Sarah wished for six apples. She cut one up and offered it to Aurora.
Aurora exclaimed, "Oh my favorite. I ate too many when I was a foal from an apple tree and my stomach didn't straighten out for three days." Sarah giggled.
Sarah giggled and said, "I did the same thing as a child with plums. A lesson well learned." Aurora laughed.
Aurora told Sarah, "Wish magic will come in handy for you, Sarah, because you can use it to outfit yourself and supply any food you need."
Sarah said thinking about it, "Yes, I didn't think of that. I must have got it but never used it because I won my brother back during the Labyrinth run. I was afraid to wish again for years, but I am still surprised by it. The entity told me before I fell into the pit that it was my destiny to come back to the Underground. She also said the magic will make me into who I am to become after it builds up inside of me. I am not clear on that. I wonder what my purpose will be? It will be interesting to find out if I have a destiny."
Aurora said matter of factly, "We all have a destiny. I was destined to meet you at the exact place at that exact time when you needed my help. We will both find it interesting, Sarah." Sarah smiled at her and put her leftovers in a leather bag She drank her water in her cup.
Sarah said smiling at the unicorn, "Thanks, Aurora. You are very helpful. I'm going to wish to secure the perimeter from all threats and go to sleep. Do you need anything like hay or grass to eat? I can wish for it."
Aurora replied, "Fresh tulip bulbs would be nice."
Sarah giggled and said, "You got it. I 'wish' for the perimeter to be secure from all threats and a medium size pile of fresh tulip bulbs, for my friend Aurora."
They appeared and Aurora said, "Thank you, Sarah. Goodnight."
Sarah said fondly, "You're welcome, my friend." Sarah climbed in her tent and pulled down the flap of the tent and crawled into her bedroll with her fur coat over her and went to sleep.
During the night, a faun came up to Aurora and asked, "What are you doing here, Aurora? Your brother has been wondering where you went?"
Aurora said, "I am with my new friend in that structure sleeping over there. She is wonderful, very beautiful and kind. She is a human from the Aboveground, who lost her way here and is on her own but was blessed by four gods. I am helping and traveling with her. She emits healing magic and wish magic, but most of all she is pure of heart and spirit that attracted me to her. I have never sensed anyone like her before.
The faun was surprised by what she said. He replied, "Ok. I'll leave you to it. I'll tell him you are traveling with a human that has a destiny. Good morrow, Aurora."
She said, "Good morrow, Dax." He walked into the dark woods.