Chapter 9
The Biggest Choice I Ever Made
I awoke in the morning to the smell of raw meat. I jumped out of bed and hurried to the little table in my room. A big bowl of meat was there, and I wolfed it all down. After my meat, I scrubbed my teeth with a cloth and oiled my scales. I waited for the oil to sink into my skin before turning human. I walked out the door and into the Main Room.
"How are you? Have you a name yet?"
Clyte, of course. I turned to him and smiled.
"Yes. My name is Huirette."
"Fine choice. Very nice. Are you going to roam the land today? Get comfortable with your surroundings?"
"Yeah, I might as well."
I quickly changed to Dragon and flew to the big doors. Two guards ran to the doors and opened them. I ran through the tunnel, to the mouth of the cave, and flew above the treetops. I knew not where the secret place for Unicorns was, but I would find it. I knew it was in a cave. That's all I knew. I flew around until I found a clear spot in the forest. I swooped down low and landed in that spot. Walking around, I looked for the cave. After an hour of walking, I finally stumbled across it. I walked up and pressed my hand against a loose stone. I pushed it in, and the door opened. I quickly changed to Unicorn and waited for the door to fully open. Groaning and moaning, I tried to keep the pain from showing. I quickly pasted a smile to my face and tried to talk and walk normally. A guard Unicorn led me inside and closed the door behind us. Then he walked me to Brian's room. He shut the door and left us there together.
"What are you doing here?"
I looked him in the eyes and said,"I am sorry. I was foolish to be with the Dragons. To even think I could live with them and stay sane was a mistake. I talked to the creatures and they all knew I had changed. Everyone said I changed for the worst. I couldn't take the anger and sympathy in their voices. I had to come back. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."
I changed to human and hung my head.
Brian also changed to human and said,"Do not hang your head. You are the most important thing in my life. I will not and would not stay mad at you. I forgive you. Please take this."
He held up a silver necklace with a crystal on it.
"Oh! You found my necklace! Thank you!"
He smiled and slipped it around my neck. "You're very welcome."
I giggled and tugged at his arm. "We have many things to do. I'm not sure, but I think we can get the monsters on our side of the fight. Please help me. And please trust me. Let me plan this battle. I know I can do it!"
I started walking toward the door.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You just got back from the other side, and now you want me to fully trust you?"
I hung my head and began to mutter to myself.
Suddenly, Brian exclaimed,"Of course! We have no better plans! Plan my friend, plan my Princess, plan, plan, plan!"
I laughed and he flashed me a smile. He opened a door and extended his hand toward it. I pretended to lift my skirts, even though I had none, and pranced through the door way. He bowed, shut the door, and kissed my hand. We laughed together as we walked across the empty room and to another door. He opened it, I curtsied, and we shoved our way in. Barely fitting in the narrow doorway, we both fell to the ground when we were free of the doorway.
"Hahahahhaahaaa."
We laughed and laughed. The Unicorns, standing around a marble table, looked annoyed. I quickly put on a serious face. So did Brian.
"This, my friends, is Sariah."
"But my name's not..." I began to whisper, but Brian cut me off.
"She will start the plans for us."
Every eye turned to me and waited expectantly.
"I guess we should start with a map. Do we have a map of the woods?" I began.
A strong old Unicorn stood. He was tan in color, and had soft brown eyes. "No maps. We can make some if you need them, though."
I nodded my head and said,"Yes, we need maps."
One Unicorn stood and walked out of the room.
"He will get Unicorns to map the forest for you," said the tan Unicorn.
I thanked him and turned to Brian.
"Brian, I need..." But he cut me off.
"My name is no longer Brian. My name is Brayan, and your's is Sariah. Can we leave it at that?"
I looked up at the ceiling and thought up an answer. "I know we'll never be human again, but do we have to change our names?"
He stared down at the ground and said,"Yeah. We'll never see our parents, brothers, or sisters ever again. Every time I'm called Brian, I get sad. I have to stay bold and strong, but it's too hard with you calling me that. Please call me Brayan."
"Alright, I understand. Then, I am Sariah. I might as well change my name too."
He looked up at me and smiled. We turned to the Unicorns. They all had smiles on their faces.
"Well, I need to talk to Brayan now. Where can we talk privately?"
The Unicorns pointed their horns to the left of the table, and I followed Brayan to a door. He opened it, and I walked through. He shut the door behind us.
It was a nice small room. Two comfy chairs and a glass ceiling that let the sun shine through. I sat in an emerald green chair and turned my face toward the sun. Brayan watched me for a minute or two.
"We should change back to Unicorn."
"No!" I quickly said.
He looked at me curiously and seemed a little surprised. "Why not?"
"Because, that wound will still be there. I'm not ready for the pain again."
"You did not give it time to heal?!"
"No! I couldn't take the pain! I could barely keep my voice from shaking as I talked to you earlier!" I clenched my teeth, thinking of the awful pain changing back would bring.
"We have Unicorns that can bandage you up and let you heal," said Brayan.
I shook my head and explained. "I want to, I really do. But, I hate pain. I can barely stand it. My side would hurt too much. I can't do it."
Without even noticing it, I gripped my side.
Brayan looked right at me and said,"We have doctors. Hear that? D-o-c-t-o-r-s. Doctors. They're very good at treating wounds."
"No, no one's touching my wound. I'm going to stay as Centaur or something."
Brayan shook his head and sighed. "Fine, alright. No one touches your wound. We'll just let it be there when you decide to change back. Tell me when you wanted it treated."
I nodded and relaxed my grip on my side. Brayan changed Centaur and kneeled by the chair. He pulled a fur rug out from under it and laid it on the floor in front of the chair. He sat on the rug and changed to Unicorn. I changed to Dragon and pulled a rug out from under my chair. I set it on the floor in front of the chair, and sat on it, just as Brayan had done.
"Bwayun." I lifted my clawed and scaly hand to my jaw. A scowl came over my face.
"Guess your Dragon isn't the best after all, is it?" he commented.
I glared at him and moved my jaw around. Wincing in pain when it settled where it was supposed to, I decided it was better to speak slurred. "Bwayun, we hove ta ga ta tha dragans cov." I shook my head and changed to human. All the while, glaring at Brayan's amused look. Once I was fully human, I began again. "Brayan, we have to go to the Dragons' cave. We need to see if the monster/creatures will side with us."
He nodded and tried to wipe the amused grin off his face.
"I know, I know. So what if two of my forms are injured? So what? And who cares if my third form will be injured because one of my other forms is. Who cares?" He chuckled to himself, and I stood in irritation. "Come on."
He stood and followed me out of the room. I stood in the room with the table, but the Unicorns were gone. I walked to the door we had first entered that room from and opened it. We walked through the door, and I stopped. Dozens and dozens of doors. Doors everywhere. I stood there, waiting.
After about two minutes I exclaimed,"Why are you just standing there!"
He laughed and said,"I thought you were showing me around."
I sighed, threw my hands up in the air, and waited for him to step in front of me. He walked in front of me and led me to a door. It was amongst dozens of others, and I'd probably never find the room on my own. Inside were plates. Lots and lots of plates.
"What is this?" I asked him.
He gestured toward a chair and pulled it out for me. It was an end chair on the left side of the table. I seated myself and waited for Brayan to do the same.
"This is our dinner. I hope you'll enjoy it. We have fruit, ham, turkey, chicken, broccoli, corn, honey and bread."
I looked at him, clearly puzzled. "I thought Unicorns didn't eat meat."
He smiled and said,"The meat was something special. Since we're humans, and we'll most likely eat as humans for a few weeks. The Unicorns have prepared these meals for us until we want to eat as Unicorns." He shrugged and found a Centaur. "Hey, can we have dinner now?"
The Centaur nodded, bowed, and trotted off to find the cooks. He came back again and again. Each time carrying a platter of meat or some other good food. I took turkey, then a thick slice of ham, some corn and a little broccoli. I ended my meal with chicken and a fruity drink that reminded me of Koolaid.
"I didn't know they could make such good Koolaid. This is better than the real thing!"
Brayan nodded as he stuffed another piece of chicken in his mouth. After he had swallowed, he said,"They make everything the best. I don't know how, but they do." He took a scoop of corn and practically inhaled it. We had a wonderful dinner.
A little later, I decided we should scout out the places I had seen most of the Dragons. We walked out of the cave and flew up into the clouds. I stayed as Dragon. Though it hurt to talk, it would hurt to fly as a Unicorn.
"Alright, where to from here?" asked Brayan.
"Aw dank et's ower der," I replied.
He nodded and swooped down a couple of feet lower. I jumped off the cloud and followed him. A Unicorn trailed behind me, and he soon flew up beside me.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"Ta da lost lace aw saw da dragans."
He gave me a puzzled look and flew up beside Brayan. "How can you understand her? Please tell her to change to Unicorn."
Brayan shook his head and said,"She has to be brave enough to do it herself. I can barely understand her, but if you want me to interpret for you, I can do that."
"Yes, please do. Can you tell me what she just said?"
Brayan called me to come closer, and I repeated my sentence. "She says,'To the last place I saw the Dragons.'"
The Unicorn thanked Brayan and swung in line behind me. Brayan stopped above a small patch of trees that had been removed.
"Yo, this it?"
I flew up beside him and looked down. "Ya, dat's da lace."
He smiled at my slurred words and slowly floated toward the ground. They were looking for any Dragons close by. I spread my wings and tucked them as close to my body as I could. Diving down, I landed faster than either of them. I walked in the woods for about ten minutes before they came circling down. By that time, I'd already killed a rabbit for breakfast and numbed my jaw in the creek.
"Where to?" asked Brayan.
I pointed to a large tree and walked toward it. We walked past the huge tree and into a part of the forest familiar to me. We walked in the forest for about an hour before coming upon the cave. When we reached it, the Unicorn that had been following us took off for the Unicorn cave. We waited, until we saw two Unicorns circling off in the distance. We barely caught sight of them through the trees. Brayan flew up and brought them down to the cave entrance. They made sure not to fly over the glass ceiling. I had told them where it was, and that they shouldn't fly over the spot. We all discussed the problem of mapping where the cave would be. Finally, we agreed to let a Unicorn named Jura map the land. We flew back to our cave, where we would start planning with the other map we had.
I stood in the room with the marble table along with two other Unicorns besides Brayan.
"Aw oh really imhressed wi dis mah."
Both of the Unicorns smiled and nodded their heads, showing that they understood what I had just said. I sighed and changed to human. I felt so weak in human form, but I would have to stay in this form for anyone to understand me. We drew lines across the map, marked different spots, and wrote words and names everywhere. When the Unicorn returned with the new map, we went to bed. I would plan and point out the things, but I needed a rest from the exhausting choice filled day. I was walked to a small cozy room with many fur rugs. I changed to Dragon and tried to sleep. My jaw hurt too much. I changed to human and slept for five hours. The transformation woke me. I needed at least seven more hours of sleep. I changed to Centaur, but the body and position I was laying in was uncomfortable. I finally changed to Unicorn. My side had hurt as a Centaur, but I didn't want to be uncomfortable and wounded. I lay on my deer skin rug, as comfortable as a wounded Unicorn can be. I slept for ten more hours, which proved to be a good thing.
"How are you feeling? Why are you in this form? Are you sore?"
I had only just opened my eyes, when Brayan had started asking me questions.
"I...I dunno." I rolled onto my side, and jerked up in pain. "Aaaah, what was that?!" I looked down on my rug, but nothing sharp was on it. I glanced down at my side and saw the wound. Instantly, I remembered everything. I was wounded, had needed sleep, and had changed to a Unicorn. I yawned and stood carefully. "Well, I remember now. I tried sleeping as Dragon, but my jaw was too sore. I tried sleeping as human but was awakened by my transformation after five hours of sleep. I also tried sleeping as a Centaur, but it was too uncomfortable. I finally settled on this form." I looked down at the rug and gasped in surprise. I fainted.
My whole body shuddered, and I opened my eyes. I was laying on a bed of straw covered with sheep wool. I moaned at the pain in my side. Not wanting to lay down any longer because of the awful cramps in my legs, neck, and back, I stood.
"Oh, my side."
Brayan rushed into the small room. He trotted to my side and kneeled beside my bed.
"You need to lie down."
"No, I have cramps in every part of my body. I'm sore, hungry, and not tired. Don't try to make me lay down," I told Brayan.
He sighed and stood up.
I took a deep breath and finally managed to ask,"What happened?"
A flicker of worry crossed his face, but he shook his head and turned human. Then he sat on the bed and looked up at me. "You were sitting there talking to me. You looked at the rug and fainted. The rug was soaked with blood, and when you saw it, the blood loss finally kicked in. I don't know why it did at that exact moment, but it did. We stitched up your wound, and you should be better in a couple days. Though, you'll be quite sore. All you will do is plan and prepare."
I shook my head and said in disgust,"No way. I've been waiting for this kind of thing for a while. I'm read up on the history of Dragons and Unicorns. I know most of the traditions, and I'm not gonna lay around. I'm not gonna lay around and ‘just rest' while the Unicorn race is wiped off the face of the planet. No, you are wrong. I will not only plan and prepare, I will fight and win."
Brayan straightened his shoulders and held his chin up high. "No, you will obey what I say."
I glared at him and straightened my Unicorn shoulders. I held my head high and stood, stomping a hoof on the ground. "I will not listen to you! You are not the boss around here! Get out of my way; I have things to do around here." I took a few steps forward, but he wouldn't move. I tried to move around him, but he stepped in my path each time. "Let me pass!"
"You will not pass with that attitude or disrespect. You will lay here, and I will make sure of it."
He called for Yuin and glared at me. Yuin, a chestnut Unicorn, walked into the room. She listened to Brayan for a moment and glared at me.
"You will do as he says," she said.
Then she changed to Centaur and snapped her fingers. I stared at the floor, and she grew impatient.
"No, I won't obey you or Brayan."
Yuin cocked her head and shoved me onto the bed with her side. "You will lay there, you disrespectful little snaut!"
I gasped in surprise. I stood up and walked to her. "Don't you ever call me a name like that again. I will personally see that you are disrespected, make a note of that if you like. But it will happen, Yoin."
"My name is Yuin!"
"Yes, of course it is. But who cares about the name of an errand female?"
She gasped and slapped my face with her hand. Brayan stepped in and tried to calm Yuin, but she would not calm down. I changed to Dragon and gave her a knock on the side of her head. She fell unconscious.
"You did not need to do that! You're both acting like toddlers," scolded Brayan.
I shrugged and said,"No one makes me do anything."
Brayan grabbed my scaly arm and threw me to the floor. He pinned me to the floor. "I'll not make you do a thing. You don't belong here."
He yanked me off the floor. Brayan had amazing strength for a human. He pushed me outside my room.
I started to cry, saying,"Yor huring me! Shop it! Shop it!!"
He reached down and grabbed my scaly wrist. I reached up to bite him, but the guards stepped in. Brayan stood, straightened his shirt, and said,"Get her out of this cave. I never want her in here again."
"Bwayan! I bewong. I know I do!" I cried as the Unicorns turned to Centaurs and dragged me out of the cave. They flew me to Lake Fisher and dropped me in the water there. Then they flew away, back to Brayan, back to my home, back to where I belonged. I swam to the shore and cried for hours and hours. Never stopping. Never wanting to. Never needing to.
To read the next chapter of this story, please Click Here
Or go Back to the previous page.
Back Home
