Chapter 4
Questions and Answers
When I woke in the morning, I had lots of questions. I guess the Dragon knew that, because he did not make me do anything. Instead, we started the day by eating a breakfast of cooked rabbit meat. Then he sat on his bed, and I sat on mine.
"Now, you have questions. I will try to provide the answers. Go ahead, don't be afraid."
I took a deep breath and began. "Well, I'd like to know your name. If you want to, sir."
He chuckled and smiled at me, making me relax a little. "Of course. My name is To Do. I don't go by that name much though. Usually I'm called Clant. Don't ask me why. It's a nickname I guess."
I racked my brain for more questions, and remembered one I'd been trying to think up an answer to the day before.
"Ummm... When Leader Clyte said that I ‘passed the test', what did he mean?"
Clant was clearly surprised and seemed happy I'd brought up the subject. "Well, I'd like to start from the beginning. It started when we parted from the Unicorns. We had to find a place to live, so we moved down here. It was awful at first, but we needed to stay here. Dragons were sent all over the world to recruit new or lost Unicorns. We found some of the Unicorns to be traitors and had to dispose of them. We were sad that we had not judged the Unicorns correctly. We needed Unicorns to turn into Dragons. But we needed loyal Unicorn converts. Unicorns who would kill another Unicorn, if need be. There was rumor that a young Unicorn had appeared. It had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. When Gafht was searching for Quint, he found a new Unicorn. Gafht was surprised because he had never heard nor seen the Unicorn before. It was pure black and very mysterious. He said it gave him the shivers, and that he hated it with all his heart. But, he was able to keep from attacking it, and finish the job he was supposed to be doing. However, he never found Quint. That is why he was thrown against the wall in the Main Room.
That is the name of the room. Call it that from now on.
Like I said, we needed a way to test Unicorns. So we devised a test to see if the Unicorns would be strong and courageous. By standing your ground and by not taking any of the objects, you proved perfect for a Dragon. We just needed to turn you over to the good side. That is why you passed the test. Because you took neither a step forward or a step backward. You did not fight the enemy, but you did not back away. That is what we have been looking for in a Unicorn. That is why you passed the test."
Clant sat back farther, and leaned his back against the wall. I looked at him, wondering why he seemed so curious about me. He had his eyes on the ceiling and seemed to be thinking deeply.
"Sir, what shall I call you?"
He smiled and said,"Call me Clant. Master is so stupid. I hate the title and would never allow you to call me such a thing. That old thing you were put with was not worthy of such an honor. I am glad you came back to the Main Room. But, we must get going. I have much to show you."
With that, he stood up and walked out into the big room. "This is simply called the Uji. Don't ask how it got the name, I wouldn't be able to tell you. It has many hidden doors and many doors that are clearly visible. Our's is clearly visible. Straight across is the exit. Follow me."
He led me through the Uji room and into a tunnel. I knew this tunnel led to the mud room, so we were obviously heading to the surface. We came into the mud room and Clant reached up toward a hole in the ceiling. He jumped up and hung on to something. Slowly he lowered to the ground, and I saw the log in his grip. He had jumped and grabbed the log, sinking it in the swamp for us to ride to the surface. He pulled it down to the floor and helped me on it. Then he hopped on and gripped the sides of the log. I gripped the sides also, and we began to float toward the surface.
"This is a special pully system. Don't worry about it. We have Dragons there to operate the machine every day. Maybe we'll get that duty sometime soon."
He held his breath as we came out of the deep dark hole and into the swamp water. I also held my breath and waited for the water to part around me as we broke the surface. It took forever to come above the swamp water. Once we broke the surface I breathed deeply of the foggy, swamp smelling air. We jumped off the log and swam to the side of the swamp.
"It will be too hard to fly with wet wings. We had better walk to Lake Fisher," advised Clant.
I nodded and walked five feet behind him. We walked for about two hours, making small talk and stretching our wings so they could dry. Clant told me a lot about himself, and I told him little pieces here and there about myself. We came to the lake and drank deeply of the fresh water. I waited for Clant to walk in first, then I walked to a shallow place far away. I swam under the water, enjoying the fun of feeling so free. I came out dripping wet and told Clant I was ready to fly. He laughed and told me we had to wait for our wings to dry first. We lay on the grassy bank and waited in the sun for our wings to dry.
I was the first to see it. Two feathered wings above the tree tops. I spread my wings, knocking Clant into the water. I jumped up and flew into the air. Clant scrambled out of the water and beat his wings fiercely, trying to rid them of the liquid. I flew straight up and came above the tree tops. I was right. It was a Unicorn, and she had spotted us. She was flying gracefully above the trees and didn't notice when I came after her. I came closer and closer and was ready for my attack. I made a wrong move by flying above her. I blocked the sun with my body, and a great shadow spread across her. She now knew she was being attacked and frantically flapped her wings. I dove at her, ready to cling to her back with my claws. I missed! But I hit her with my wing on my way toward the trees, and she came tumbling down with me. Clant was flying above us, but I was falling back first into the trees. The Unicorn was trying to regain her balance, but she was falling too fast. We hit the ground, with her five feet from me. I struggled to my feet, trying to catch my breath. The wind had been knocked out of me and her as well. I ran toward her and grabbed her back hoof, just as she was ready to run. She tripped and fell. I dragged her to a clearing and flew into the air. She flapped her wings and bit my foot. I screamed and swiped her face with my claws.
She whinnied in fright, and asked me,"Why are you doing this?"
I kicked her head with my foot, and she went unconscious. I flew to Clant, and he carried her the rest of the way back. We flew to the forest this time and dove down into the cave, carrying our prize. We swooped into the Main Room, and presented the Unicorn before our leader. He glared at her but gave us an approving nod. Then dismissed us with a wave of his hand and told us he would reward us later.
I was pleased with myself, but I did not understand what she had said. "Why are you doing this?" she had asked. I had felt angry then, but now I wondered what that was supposed to mean.
We flew out into the humid air with the trees shading us from the scorching sun. Clant did not say a word as we flew, and I kept silent as well. The view was wonderful, but not something a girl my age would notice. After all, I had more important things to do than look at lakes and grass. I kept my attention on Clant, copying his every move. He swooped down to a corn field and landed in the middle of it. I swooped down after him, landing a few rows away.
"I have one question for you."
"What's that?" I asked him.
"What is your name?"
I pondered the question for the moment, and said,"Let me think on that one."
"Alright," he said.
Then he told me he would be heading off to a meeting, and that I should find something to do. He suggested swimming in the many lakes or exploring the forests. Maybe even going Unicorn hunting. Then he told me he would be back the next day and to meet him on the grassy bank at Lake Fisher. I agreed, and he flew off into the sky.
I waited in the corn field, till he disappeared. I flew into the sky and soared to my favorite spot in the woods. It was much harder to get into my woodsy hide out since I was a Dragon and so much bigger than I used to be. I did manage to get through the tightly clustered trees and into the roomy place. I lay on my back and let the sun stream through the trees onto my scaly skin. I thought of what the Unicorn had said. I recalled being a Unicorn and feeling the strength in my wings. Of soaring gracefully to the clouds and talking soothingly to Quint. I closed my eyes and dwelt on the memories. But they soon faded. I opened my eyes and scanned the branches.
Something had caused a shadow for an instant, and I wanted to catch another Unicorn. I wanted to ask it what the other one had meant. I smiled at the thought and rolled onto my four feet. I jumped into the air and broke branches as I slowly made my way above the treetops. Once above, I saw nothing. Then, I noticed a sparkle in the sky. Just to the right of it, and much closer, I saw movement. I laughed with joy and flew after the thing I'd just seen moving. I flapped my leathery wings harder and gained altitude quickly. The form took on shape. Closer and closer I came. It was a Unicorn! My smile broadened, and I flew straight towards it. It spotted me and flew faster. It was trying to reach the sparkle! I flew faster, flapping my wings harder. It flew faster, flapping its wings harder. The determination on its face was incredible, but I would reach it before it reached the sparkle. I swooped under it and hit its legs with my wings. That set the Unicorn off balance, and I rose a little higher. This time, I brought my wings up with great force. I knocked my wings against hers, and sent her falling from the sky. I dove after her, and caught her in my clawed hands. When I looked at the face, I noticed that it was not a her! I had never really considered there to be male Unicorns. I mean, where there are females there are also males. But still. I nearly dropped the Unicorn but recovered from my shock quickly. I now gripped the Unicorn by holding all four of his legs at my waste. His head was at my shoulder. I flew downward quickly, not wanting to be spotted by humans. We came crashing through the trees and landed awkwardly on our sides. I scrambled to my feet and grabbed his mane, holding a sharp claw to his neck. He braced himself, getting ready for the nasty swipe of my claw against his neck. It did not come. I slowly lowered my claw, and released his mane. He fell to the ground, gasping for breath. He had held his breath while I had held him. I smiled mockingly down at him, and sat in the grass, clearly amused. The Unicorn looked up at me with surprise. I spoke to it.
"No ordinary Dragon, yes?"
"Ummm... Yes is right. You are no ordinary Dragon."
He said no more, so I continued. "Why am I not ordinary? And tell me the truth, do not worry for your pitiful life. I would not take your life if I had the chance."
He took a deep breath to steady himself, and began. "Well, for one, you are a female."
That startled me and I stood on my hind legs. "What's wrong with that?!"
"Why nothing. I mean, ummmm..."
I studied him carefully, then relaxed when I saw how nervous he was.
"What I meant to say, was that it was quite a surprise to see a female capturing Unicorns. Usually males are picked for that job. But, there is nothing a male can do that a female can't. Well, almost nothing."
"Yes, of course. Continue."
"Well, you see, any normal Dragon would have taken my life by now. Or, they would have carried me to their leader. You are clearly not an ordinary Dragon, yet you are not Unicorn. I do not understand it. I am sorry if I offend you during our conversation. I do not wish to offend any creature."
I nodded, and spoke to him in an impatient manner. "Yes, yes. Now, on with the rest of your story. I want to hear how ruthless you unicorns really are."
That clearly caught the Unicorn off guard, and he racked his brain for words. "Ruthless?" Was all he came up with.
"Yes, yes. You and your tyranny. Tell me now."
He looked at the grass, as if he'd lost his place in the script and was trying to find it again. "Well, no. We, I mean. Ugh, let me start over, please. You want the full story of the Dragons and Unicorns?"
"Yes," I said simply.
The Unicorn stood and walked over to a tall, wide tree. I watched his every move and tensed whenever he changed positions. I wasn't about to let him get away.
He leaned against the tree and began his story. "Well, let me warn you before I begin that this is all second hand. I'll explain why later, but listen for now.
The Dragons got jealous. The Unicorns were smarter, prettier and more talented. They were better than the Dragons in everything, and the Dragons grew more and more jealous because of that. A young male Unicorn had tried to make friends with these strange creatures when he was little, but the reality finally kicked in. The Dragons wanted nothing to do with the Unicorns, because they were too good for them. They started to ignore the Unicorns, and the young Unicorn's mother kept him from playing with the other Dragons. He longed to see who was the fastest at flying but wasn't allowed near one of the scaly creatures. The Unicorn cried for a day; he lost many friends that week. His mother told him to find other friends, Unicorn friends. He tried, but they were too nice. Unicorns are not very competitive, unlike the Dragons. Dragons thrive on pressure, love competition and try to excel at everything. The Unicorn started secretly sneaking to his friends' houses, and that's when it happened. He snuck to a friend's house and asked him to play. The young Dragon said that the Unicorns were ‘too perfect' and that the young Unicorn couldn't play with him anymore. The Unicorn dared him to race. That only made him mad. Dare after dare, it soon was too much for him. He was trying to obey his mother by not being around Unicorns, but the temptation became almost unbearable for him. He jumped on the Unicorn, and they tumbled down the grassy hill that his house was on. The Unicorn had not meant to upset him; he'd just wanted some fun. The Dragon dug his teeth into the Unicorn's front leg, and he screamed in pain. He jumped back, teeth bared and threatened to kill the Unicorn if he ever saw his face again. The Unicorn jumped into the air and glided back to his house. He snuck in the back way, then ran to his mom's room. There was no use trying to hide from her. The Unicorn told her everything, and she scolded him. But she said that his bite was punishment enough. He started hating the Dragons, and so did all the other Unicorns.
Two years later, there was news about the Dragon and Unicorn leaders. The Unicorn leader had confronted the Dragon leader, and they had gotten into a nasty argument. The Unicorn I heard this from had heard it from his Unicorn neighbors and from his mother. A year later, the Unicorns could no longer stand the Dragons. They were killing the Unicorns off, and the Unicorns had to do something to save their race. The Unicorn leader banished the Dragons, but they did not go without a fight. The Unicorns won only because they had trained Unicorns to fight for them. The Unicorn leader had been predicting this all along. They drove the Dragons out of their land, and they settled on the earth.
I heard this from a dear friend. I was assigned to spy on the Dragons. We've been spying on them ever since banishing them from the Sparkle, making sure they are keeping out of trouble. They have not attacked yet, but we know an attack will come soon. That is why I was over this forest today. We know where they're located. I am not the best spy as you know, but they needed someone to go out today and I volunteered. Is there anything else you want me to tell you?"
He looked up at me and saw the tears in my eyes. I shook my head and took three deep breaths. I could not show any weaknesses, no matter how moving the story was. That's all it was and ever would be; a story. I lay back against a tree and fell asleep. I guess the Unicorn did the same, for he was not gone when I awoke. He was still lying against the tree, staring at me. I yawned and told him to stay there. That I would come back alone a little later. He nodded, and I caught the faintest hint of a smile.
I jumped into the air and flew up through the branches. I flew through the clouds and back to the swamp. I was going to get some food and meet some other Dragons. I had to let my emotions subside before talking with the Unicorn again. Otherwise I would be too vulnerable.
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