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Chapter Six

The foursome moved along solemnly, each wondering what unicorns did to trespassers? Hold them hostage? Turn them into the authorities? Or even...execute them?

The one called Hanagata slowed down to match their pace. She let out a nicer vibe than the other two.

"Excuse me..." Jillia spoke up, quiet enough so that Kemuri and Fureku would not hear, "What's Koa gonna do?"

Hanagata frowned. "I have no idea. He is strict, but...strange with things that interest him." She faked her expression to look more bright. "And well, you four are certainly  interesting!"

"Any tips?" asked Jillia hopefully.

The yellow unicorn though for a moment. "Listen carefully to what he says. Even if he seems like he's being nice, there's always a barb buried beneath the feathers."

"I hope you're done getting acquainted back there," said Kemuri, obviously suspicious, "because we're here."

"Good luck." said Hanagata quietly as Fureku shoved them into a den.

The den was built into a hollow in a hill. It looked like it could have formerly been made by walkese. It was patched up with moss, bark, and twigs.

There was a jet black unicorn in the center of the room. He was discussing something with two others.

"No, if we don't act now, we-" he was saying, before Fureku interrupted him.

"Sir." he said.

The unicorn whipped around angrily. "What is it, can't you see I'm-" As his gaze came to Jillia and her friends, his expression softened. "Oh, why didn't you say we had company?"

"We found them wandering in the territ-" Fureku continued.

"Yes, yes, now shoo. Go! I want to speak with our visitors...alone." he said.

"If that is what you wish, Sir..." said Fureku, clearly taken by surprise as he left the room with the other two unicorns.

    "Welcome to my humble abode!" said the unicorn once they were the only ones in the den. "I am Koa. I apologize for the rude behavior of my loyals. Take a seat anywhere you choose."

    Jillia sat down, feeling uneasy. Shika looked incredibly jittery, hiding behind Masama.

    "Now, I imagine you came here with a mission. If I can get you anything, anything at all, let me know." he said.

    Masama was the one to speak up. "We found her," Masama motioned to the frightful alicorn with her wing, "In the middle of the woods. We thought you might know her."

    "Ah, yes..." said Koa, bringing his face close to Shika. The alicorn let out a small squeal of terror, "I definitely do."

    "So...she's and alicorn? That doesn't...surprise you, or anything?" Mallumo asked.

    "Ah ha, I see we are in the presence of loyalty. Welcome, noble Prince Mallumo." Koa said.

    "Well, I don't know about noble, but yeah...I'm pretty great." responded Mallumo, failing to look modest and humble. He seemed quite pleased that someone recognized him.

    "Feel free to stay as long as you want. You all look exhausted!" Koa said, sound sympathetic. Now that he mentioned it, Jillia did feel a little weary.

    "Kemuri will show you to your room." said Koa, as the grey unicorn walked past the den.

    Jillia left with her companions. Kemuri was very cold and suspicious towards them, so they were all silent along the way. They were able to talk more when they reached a small lean-to in some tree roots.

    "He seemed nice." remarked Masama, fluttering in the air above Mallumo, who nodded.

    "A fine specimen indeed!" he agreed.

    Jillia smirked at his attempt to sound fancy. She thought about what Hanagata had said. but, well, it's not like he threatened to kill them or anything. Maybe he was just misunderstood.

    "What do you think, Shika?" Masama continued, "This seems like a nice place to live."

    Shika stared back at them fearfully and shook her head slowly.

    "It'll be fine." said Masama, though she looked somewhat sad.

    "Let's just try and get some rest." Jillia said warily.

    That night, they all slept peacefully on the soft mossy beds. Well, all except for Shika who restlessly and worriedly stared up at the moon being covered up by clouds all night.

    They woke up late the next morning. The sun was already high in the sky, and unicorns were bustling around the main clearing.

    They were immediately approached by Hanagata. She started to speak, but then apparently decided against it. She considered an appropriate statement before talking.  "How did it go?" she asked finally.

    "It went well." said Jillia. The others, except for Shika, nodded in agreement.

    Hanagata came in close before responding. She spoke in a raspy, barely audible whisper, eyes darting back and forth.

    "Listen, you need to..." she began. Kemuri trotted out of a den and caught Hanagata's gaze, giving her a menacing glare. Hanagata quickly turned away from them, as if she had seen a ghost.

    She craned her neck over her shoulder and looked directly at Shika before looking forward again. "I'm so sorry." the yellow unicorn muttered under her breath as she galloped away.

    "What's her problem?" said Mallumo. Kemuri approached them.

    "Forgive her." he said, "She is...unwell." Even he looked a bit guilty and regretful.

    Jillia thought about these events. Something must have happened to Hanagata, she figured, and Kemuri thought it was his fault.

    Mallumo spoke up again. "We should go." he said.

    Jillia nodded. Masama looked sad. "Do we have to?" she asked.

    "Shika needs to be with her own kind. Besides, it seems fine here." Jillia reassured her.

    "I suppose so." Masama agreed. "Bye Shika."

    Shika did not respond. She just looked on fearfully. Jillia assumed she was probably jsut nervous about being in a whole new situation.

    Jillia, Mallumo, and Masama bounded up the slope leading away from the unicorns. They felt as if they had lost a member of their family, even though they had only known Shika for a day.

    "I know, that's it for the best, but I do miss her." Masama said.

    "Me too." Jillia agreed. Mallumo grunted in response, clearly trying to hide his affection for the little alicorn.

    A few moments of silence later, they heard the pitter-patter of small hooves running up to meet them. Jillia turned around to see that it was Shika.

    "Wait!" called the small equine. Jillia blinked in surprise, not knowing that she could speak.

    "I want...to come...with you," Shika said carefully, testing how the words rolled off her tongue and how they sounded once she had spoken them.

    "Are you sure?" Jillia asked, surprised but somewhat happy.

    Shika's eyes didn't meet the gaze of her friends. "Koa...I don't like Koa," she said. "He frightens me."

    Before anyone could say anything else, they heard a loud thunder in the distance. Rain? No...the skies were clear.

    Suddenly, equine bodies poured through the trees, surrounding the four. They were the unicorns from the herd. They looked fierce, but it was obvious that that was only a mask, covering their guilt and regret.

    "Sirs and madams, we must command you to accompany us back to our quarters," said Fureku, lacking his usual confidence.

    "Why should we?" challenged Masama, flying close to Fureku's face, angry.

    Fureku had a hard time answering, so Kemuri took his place. "She belongs to us," he said firmly.

    "She doesn't belong to anybody," Mallumo objected, stepping forward.

    "Please...I want to go with them," Shika insisted quietly.

    The crowd parted and Koa came through.

    "You have your orders," he said, turning to the forces behind him, "Bring the alicorn back to camp."
    "You'll have to go through us first!" Jillia proclaimed stubbornly.

    Koa merely smirked. "Very well then." he said, walking back behind his army.

    The unicorn mass stepped forward as one, giving them no route of escape. Jillia, Mallumo, and Masama bit and scratched at the soldiers, but they barely acknowledged them.  They were pushed back to camp against their will.

    "Please, run away." Shika said, "I'll be fine."

    "I'm staying with you." said Masama. The other two nodded in agreement.

    "We'll find a way out of here..." said Jillia, "somehow."

    "All my subjects, gather round!" called Koa, standing on top of a large boulder.

    "It is time for the ceremony!" he said. The crowd murmured quietly.

"Bring me the sacrifice." Everyone was silent as Shika was shoved forward. Jillia noticed Hanagata at the back of the crowd, turning away in shame as their eyes met.

"What ceremony is he talking about?" Jillia asked. Since they had met, Mallumo had constantly spouted off random facts, showing how brilliant and amazing he was.

Mallumo shook his head slowly. "There aren't any unicorn traditions that involve a sacrifice." he said, "I don't think so, anyway. Unicorns are known for being peaceful plant-eaters."

"What are you doing?" shouted Masama. Koa grinned at her.

"I was hoping you would ask." he said with a slight chuckle.

"You see, I was once a very handsome unicorn, with a pelt white and pure as snow. I had a beautiful mate, and I was highly respected by my peers." he began.

"One day, I was walking with my best friend and my mate when we came across a strange cavern. In it was an ancient ruin. It was a pile of sticks, with a circle drawn around it. On the wall behind it were strange symbols. My friends were nervous about it, and I, wishing to display my courage approached it."

"I placed my hoof into the circle and suddenly the sticks started to spark, and bright smoke surrounded me. I cried out, but the fumes acted as a gag. I heard whispering in my ears. They talked furiously of how I had disturbed them, and they said they had cursed me."

His voice trembled with rage as he spoke the next part of his tale. "When the smoke cleared, my pelt was as black as ebony. My friends were terrified and disgusted, my mate left me. I was an outcast."

"I went back to the ruins and begged that they heal me. They told me that the only thing that could lift the curse was an alicorn's breath. I was shocked. Alicorns were only a legend, after all. But it was my only hope. "

"I tried to ask my comrades for help, but they shunned me. So I killed the current leader and took over the herd. I also took the life of all who opposed me. Soon, I was challenged by no one, and I searched for the one thing that would turn everything back to normal.  It took many years, and I was starting to lose all confidence of ever finding you...but now..."

Koa looked off into the distance, as if he could see his future through the trees. He began to laugh.

Jillia stared at him in awe. It was difficult to imagine him before his transformation.

The silence was broken by the unicorns shoving the four once again, this time away from camp. They came to an area that didn't look special, but Jillia knew from her time living underground that there was a hollow space beneath them.

"Dig!" yelled Koa. The unicorns glanced at eachother warily before pawing at the ground, eventually revealing a gap that, sure enough, led to a small cave.  It was just as Koa had described, only part of the circle looked like it had been pawed away.

"Shika, we have to get you out of here." said Masama, looking around for possible escape routes.

Mallumo nodded. "Maybe one of us could distract the unicorns, and then..." he began. Shika cut him off.

"No, " she said, shaking her head, "I wish to help him. Perhaps this is my destiny."

Shika solemnly followed Koa inside the cave. Jillia and her companions were kept from entering. Koa called for a few of his unicorns to block the exit, ensuring that no one would escape. One of the guards was Hanagata.

Koa trotted to the center of the room, careful not to go near the shrine. Jillia saw as Shika was shoved forward, landing on the pile of strange objects.

"Spirits," said the black unicorn, "I have done what you have asked for me to do. Please, use your powers to cleanse my pelt of shadows!"

Koa turned to the guards. "Kill her." he said.

"No!" Masama cried.

"Let us through!" growled Jillia. Mallumo looked on, took horrified to say or do anything.

Shika shrunk back as Kemuri's horn made contact with her flank. She scrunched up her face and tried not to cry out.

"Stop this madness at once!" Hanagata shouted, stepping in front of Shika protectively Kemuri hesitated, turning to Koa to see how he would react. The dark grey unicorn seemed somewhat relieved to put the terrible deed off for a few moments.

"What?" said Koa, furious, "Step down!"

"I'm afraid the mare is correct, sir." Fureku agreed, clearly terrified to stand up to the black unicorn.

"You too?" In just one instant, Koa had changed from calm and cold to wide-eyed with rage. "Execute them, Kemuri!"

Kemuri seemed to be contemplating something. He blinked and looked up. "No."

"Why?" Koa demanded.

"Because it's pointless." said Kemuri strongly, "Even if your pelt is cleansed, your heart will always stay as black as coal."

The unicorns behind Kemuri stamped and pawed angrily at the ground, inspired by his words.

    Hanagata bent down to Shika's level. "Get out of here." Jillia heard her say quietly. Shika nodded and did as she was told.

    The young alicorn bounded up to join them. Jillia knew she should run away, but something compelled them to stay and watch the revolt taking place right in front of their eyes.

A rush of unicorns flooded the cave, slammed into Koa. He was soon knocked into the circle surrounding the ruins, bruised and bloody.

    Suddenly, a swirl of light mist twisted around Koa. However, they could still see him clearly. The unicorns backed up in fear.

    Koa's eyes darted about. "No...no..." he pleaded. Jillia wondered who he was talking to, now that the attack had stopped.

    Koa then started shrieking with ear-piercing agony, flailing around and stomping his hooves hard against the cave floor, raising up dirt and dust.

    Then, as Jillia gaped in horror, Koa started to melt away before her very eyes. Koa's hind legs started to melt and twist, as if they were being sucked up by the ruin, before disappearing completely. This spread up his whole body until there was no trace of him.

    Jillia couldn't take it anymore. She ran, and her friends, including Shika, followed.