Steffy's Little Corner on the Net

My dreams that night were terrifying. Most of them had to do with water. I didn’t get much sleep, due to so much tossing and turning. More than once I woke up covered in a cold sweat, panting in fear. After trying to go back to sleep, I clutched my covers close to me, maybe to try and prevent nightmares from recurring. After that, I fell back into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning was calm. The man from yesterday I soon recognized as Peter. When he saw me stir, he immediately came over to me.

“Are you okay? Do you need anything?” He asked me.

“I’m fine, thank you. Something to eat would be nice.” I started to get up, but Peter put his hand on my shoulder.

“No, you stay here and rest. I’ll take care of you,” he told me. I smiled at him. He smiled back at me, and that made me get an odd, but nice, feeling inside. Peter went to the fire, and poured some hot water into a bowl. He came back, and in the bowl was some soup. “Here. This will make you feel better.” He sat down next to me, and watched me eat the soup.

“I saw you didn’t get much sleep last night. Have nightmares?” Peter asked me. I nodded in response and looked out towards the river. “I suppose I was wrong about the water… It never used to be that fast. I’m sorry.” He put the back of his hand on my cheek and rubbed softly.

“It’s not your fault,” I said with a smile. “You didn’t know. And thank you for saving me. I almost drowned.”

“You’re quite welcome. Now, rest today, and maybe tomorrow we’ll be able to get back on track, okay?”

“Okay.”

That day went by slowly. Peter and I sat and talked about our past. Peter mostly told me about how he came to live with the unicorns.

“About 16 years ago, my mother left me orphaned in the forest. I don’t think she did it purposely, but all I know is that the unicorns found me stranded in the forest, crying. They said that there was something magical about me. Something different than normal human babies. They also told me later on that had they not felt the presence of magic, they wouldn’t have taken me home with them.” He paused, obviously deep in though about his past. “I often wonder what there is about me that the unicorns sense that I don’t know.” He sighed and looked down. “Maybe someday I’ll know.”

I smiled at him. “Well, the unicorns certainly aren’t the only ones who can sense magic,” I told him.

He smirked and replied, “Well, you have to remember. You are a unicorn.”

I laughed at myself, forgetting. “I don’t remember anything other than being human. But I can certainly sense something magical about you. Maybe that’s why you were able to do that spell.”

“Hmm. Well, I’m sure I’m not the only one magical around here,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. I looked as closely as I could without being suspicious. Something in his eyes gave me a great feeling of warmth.

After that, we just talked about what we were going to do, and how to be prepared for it. Night came soon, and we slept.

* * *

That morning, we set out once again. My back was a little stiff, but I would be able to continue. We continued out long trek north, not knowing what was awaiting us. There was a slight wind coming from behind us. The wind blew my hair in front of my face, because I hadn’t tied it back. The farther north we traveled, the colder it got. I soon had to put on my jacket. Peter had put his on too, and moved a bit closer to me.

“Getting quite chilly. Might be better if we stick closer together,” he said. I smiled and agreed.

Most of the day we continued in silence, neither of us finding the right words to say. Soon enough night settled in, and we had to use our tent since there was no close shelter. Peter set it up, and started a fire just outside of it. I changed into a pair of warm pajamas, and put my jacket on over them. Peter had just put on a sweater and pants in place of his jeans and shirt. The sweater was green and yellow, which perfectly complemented his hair and eyes. He was sitting in front of the fire, facing the tent. He poked at the fire with a stray stick he found, and just stared into the depths of the fire.

“I think it’s going to be really cool tonight,” I said as I rubbed my arms up and down. Peter looked up at me.

“Come, sit down. It’s warmer by the fire.” He patted next to him. I walked over and sat down. “Did you notice a tower on top of a mountain?” he asked me.

“Yes, when we first started.”

“I think that’s where we should head. Call it instinct. And anyways, it’s the only real place to go,” he told me.

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” I replied. I was getting cold, and moved a little closer to Peter and rested my head on his shoulder. He put his arm around me, and whispered in my ear.

“You know, I’ve really liked you ever since I met you,” he said softly. I sighed happily and nodded.

“Me too.” I look up at him, just to stare into his beautiful emerald eyes. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. I soon returned my gaze to the fire. He kissed me on top of my head and put his on top of mine. That night I wasn’t cold at all. I slept next to Peter, his arm around my shoulders. This is everything I’ve wished for and more… I thought before I fell asleep.

* * *

The next few days nothing major happened. The same old trudging along, making our way slowly towards the mountain. We plodded on for about 4 days before we struck upon a major setback.

We stopped a couple of feet before the brink of a chasm. Peter and I slowly moved towards the edge and peered down. Peter kicked a pebble into it, and we heard it bumping against the inner wall for about a minute before it hit bottom.

I groaned. “What are we going to do now?”

Peter looked around, as if looking for a bridge of some sort. “Aha!” he exclaimed. He ran over to a rather large tree, with extremely big leaves. He took down a couple of them, and arranged them in the form of a raft. He said something in some tongue I didn’t quite understand, and when he was finished, I was in awe. The leaf-raft was floating about 2 feet off the ground! I ran over to Peter staring in wonder.

“How… What… Oh my goodness!”

Peter smiled smugly at me and said, “I knew these wizardry classes would come in handy.” He then jumped on top of the boat and held his hand out. I looked warily at the craft, but took Peter’s hand and cautiously leapt into the pile of leaves. I was amazed that it was holding both Peter’s weight and mine. He gave it the command to go up and forward, taking us over the chasm. My hair flew back behind me as we picked up speed.

“Wow, this is wonderful!” I exclaimed. Peter nodded and looked ahead. I looked down, and saw the plains passing by way below. I guessed we were at least 100 feet in the air.

Last | Unicorns