I am so glad you have returned as I have to finish our
story.
Mardrake had claimed to have news of the prophesy that the King had
feared and immediately held the attention
of King Orious, Xaviar, and
Arianna. Mardrake went on to tell them that he was told that a new Unicorn
had
been seen outside the King's land and that this was the Unicorn who would
take the King's throne and all his
wealth. Prince Xaviar demanded to know who
would make such a claim? Mardrake replied "I was visited by an
elderly man
who claimed to be the son of a sorcerer from long ago." And did this man have a
name? Xaviar queried.
"I did not ask him." Mardrake replied. The king had
summoned his guard and instructed the guard to hunt down this
Unicorn and
bring him his head. Upon hearing this, the prince begged the king to wait until
he could find the truth.
King Orious turned to look at Princess Arianna and
saw tears welling up in her eyes. He must have been touched
by this as he
granted Xaviar one week to find "this truth" and put an end to this
prophesy.
Xaviar asked the King for two of his best soldiers and five swift
horses. King Orious asked what the fifth horse was
for? "Mardrake will also
be going with us" Xaviar replied. Mardrake started to protest, but the King held
up his hand,
"Why does the man who would claim to know of this prophecy, be
unwilling to learn more of it?".
Mardrake did not have a good answer for the
King. "Forgive me, my lord. I will accompany the Prince and Princess
to find
the truth."
After preparing the horses and supplies, they left for the
Eastern end of the King's forest hoping to find this Unicorn that
Mardrake
claims to have been warned about.
On the third day of their journey, Mardrake
claims to have caught a glimpse of the Unicorn off in the distance. Of
course,
no one else saw it.......Xaviar decided to make camp at that point,
so it was their that they would contact the Unicorn, if
indeed, there really
was one!
Nightfall came quickly, and Xaviar sat outside the tent and whilst
staring at the stars, used his magic to call out to the Unicorn.
Xaviar had a
special bond with the Unicorn race, one that was as old as the world itself. No
Unicorn could refuse an audience
with a sorcerer, it was a sacred law among
the Unicorns. Morning came and Xaviar received no response from any
Unicorns.
It was Xaviars proof that there was something else going on. The
others were still asleep, so Xaviar crept into Mardrakes tent
and as Xaviar
suspected, Mardrake was not there. Xaviar awakened the King's soldiers and had
them search the area for
Mardrake. He then went to Arianna's tent and awoke
her. Arianna knew something were wrong, but she remained silent.
By midday
the soldiers returned but without Mardrake. Xaviar told everyone to break camp
quickly. "We must return to the
King's castle for I believe he is in grave
danger".
Xaviar knew that Mardrake had a good head start and would get to the
King before Xaviar could. He instructed the soldiers
to take Arianna and head
back to the castle, he would catch up to them. Xaviar then put himself into a
trance as he did last
night except that this time he called out to the
Unicorns back at the tower.
Xaviar remained in trance for many hours. You
see, he was directing a Unicorn to where he was. Unicorns can run like
the
wind, Riding on a Unicorn he could make to the king's castle in half the
time it would take a horse. The Unicorn arrived at
Xaviars side by nightfall.
It was the biggest Unicorn Xaviar had ever seen! The Unicorn knelt down so
Xaviar could ride upon
its back. They rode all that night and all the next
day. They arrived at the King's castle by sundown.
Xaviar and the Unicorn
rode into the castle only to find emptiness. Xaviar could find no one. The
castle looked as if it had been
empty for years. Xaviar decided to travel
south into Mardrakes land, he was sure Mardrake was behind this so-called
Unicorn
prophecy. It did not take long to reach Mardrakes land and finally,
his castle. Xaviar and the Unicorn stormed the castle and
found King Orious
chained to a wall in the great room of Mardrakes castle. Xaviar freed the King
and told the Unicorn to
return King Orious to his castle. The King at first
protested, but Xaviar assured the King that Unicorns have never harmed
a
human except in self defense. Xaviar proceeded to search the castle for
Mardrake. It took a while, but Xaviar finally found
him in a small room with
what appeared to be an alter of Unicorn horns. Mardrake was startled by Xaviar's
appearance, to
the point of nearly passing out.
Xaviar grabbed Mardrake by
the arm and pointing to the alter, demanded an explanation. Mardrake would not
say why he
had the Unicorn horns, but Xaviar remembered his father telling
him of a sorcerer in the old times who used the Unicorn horn
as a source of
magic. Xaviar placed Mardrake in chains and took him to King Orious where he
would be tried for his crimes.
King Orious was at a loss for words once
Xaviar explained how Mardrake used the King to gain Unicorn horns.
The King
could not look upon the Unicorn knowing that he had so many Unicorns put to
death, but the Unicorn walked up
to the King and rested his head in the
King's lap. Xaviar told King Orious that the Unicorns granted the King
forgiveness.
King Orious decreed that from this day forward, any Unicorn that
needed a place to congregate would be protected on all of
the King's lands,
and any who would harm the Unicorn would be put to death.
This made the
Unicorn happy and he turned to leave for the great tower, but before leaving he
told Xaviar and Arianna that
the unicorns were thankful for their help and
would see them soon.
Wasn't that a wonderful story? I would be willing to bet
there is more about Xaviar and Arianna!
I will continue looking for more
stories and pictures in my castle. Please return soon as I always welcome
guests.
Princess Stacey