Chapter 14: Cambria, Part 2

The unicorn ran at full speed through the open field, dodging trees, weaving in and out. Seth's eyes were filled with fear at first, as he buried his head in the unicorn's mane. Then his fear turned to exhilaration as he watched the countryside whir by. Feeling the wind blowing through his hair and on his face, for the first time in his life, Seth felt free. Then in the distance, Seth saw it.

"Whoa, boy!" Seth shouted as fear filled his voice, but the creature paid no attention. "Whoa, boy!Stop!" Seth yelled at the top of his lungs, trying anything he could think of to stop the gorgeous, massive creature. Seth pulled hard on its splendid mane, but the unicorn ran faster toward the edge of a cliff.

"Stop!" Seth yelled frantically as the cliff's edge came dangerously close. "Whoa, stop, boy!" But the unicorn didn't listen, having a mind of its own, running like lightning across the open field, nearing the cliff's edge. Suddenly, the powerful creature looked over its shoulder and into Seth's eyes, communicating in silence, almost as if telling him to hold on tightly. Seth understood and held on to the unicorn's mane for dear life as the unicorn leaned forward, running faster. Seth knew it was too late to jump off.

He was going to die.

A second later, the exquisite creature unfurled its glorious wings at its side, undulating. The realization dawned on Seth as they neared the cliff's edge. Exhilaration replaced his fear and he held his breath and leaned forward as he felt the ground leave the magnificent animal's feet. Seth held on tightly and leaned forward, feeling his heart go into his throat, as the white-winged unicorn dipped down, then flew upward, its wings undulating through the breeze, curling its hooves beneath him. They flew out over the edge of the ocean where he could see the high mountains jutting out in legs from the shore. Then they turned back toward the harbor between two mountains, where steep cliffs stood majestically on the shore. The sun was shining on the crystal blue water, contrasting with the verdant mountain cliffs and Seth knew he had never seen anything so magnificent in his life.

Seth hooped and hollered exuberantly, still holding on, but not as tightly, clearly enjoying the ride. Everything was beautiful. They flew up and down past the dense green forest, passing close enough by a tree to touch a leaf, then on to a crystal clear lake shimmering like glass in the sun. From his aerial view, Seth could see huge fish swimming at the bottom of the still, blue water. Seth had never seen water so clear in his life other than from a tap at home. The unicorn then dipped its head and began a slow descent in wide circles around the lake. Seth's breath caught when the unicorn extended its legs, and its hooves touched safely onto the ground with a jolt. The unicorn trotted at bit upon landing, then came to a stop by the water's edge. Seth breathed heavily, smiling wildly, filled with elation from the experience. He leaned forward over the creature into a hug, lying on its back and placing his cheek on the exquisite creature's mane to catch his breath. Seth closed his eyes, inhaling the creature's sweet scent, as it dipped its head into the water to drink.

Then Seth suddenly felt a strong hand grip the back of his pants, pulling him abruptly from the back of the exquisite unicorn, landing with a hard thud on the ground.

"What, pray tell, do you think you are doing, boy?" yelled a voice with a heavy English accent. When he turned over, Seth could feel the hard steel of a sword at his throat. The sun was shining brightly behind, casting the figure into silhouette, making it difficult for him to see who it was.

"Hey, I come in peace!" Seth said quickly, edging away from the sword's tip, holding up his hands. The unicorn stopped drinking for a moment, looked around, then nonchalantly turned its head back to the water, oblivious to what was happening. "Some friend you are," Seth mumbled to the unicorn under his breath.

"I said," the voice continued, pushing the tip of the sword into Seth's neck, "what do you think you are doing, sir? This is my unicorn!" Seth was disoriented and held his hand up to block the sun from his view. "I didn't know it belonged to you!" Seth replied, trying to see who was speaking, while sliding on his back away from the sword's very sharp point.

"Liar!" the voice continued as the sword's tip pushed further into his neck, but still it didn't pierce the skin.

"He came to me from the forest and he has no markings, no brand, and no shoes," Seth tried to reason, being mindful of the sharp sword at his throat.

"Shoes?" the voice said in disbelief. "Are you an imbecile?"

"Horseshoes, and no, I'm not stupid."

"I'm not stupid, either!" the voice continued. "I know what horseshoes are, but you don't shoe a unicorn! I will see that you hang for this, vagrant! Or, better still, I will have you drawn and quartered for this, horse thief! Or better still, I'll do it myself!" The sword tip was removed from Seth's throat as its bearer wielded it high above, ready to strike, blocking the sun from Seth's view, enabling him to see.

"A girl?" Seth replied, clearly in shock.

The girl froze with the sword above her head.

"A girl with a sword?" Seth repeated.

"Yes, I'm a girl, you idiot!" she said. "What do you think? And I'm not a girl. I'm a woman. I just turned sixteen."

"Yeah, right," Seth said, sitting up, annoyed. But he looked up in awe to view a beautiful girl wearing what he assumed to be plain, men's tan riding pants, and a loose fitting white buttoned shirt. Seth noticed that she wore men's brown riding boots on her feet. From his sitting position, he could tell that the girl was shorter than he, with a slender build and long sandy blonde hair, with light blonde streaks, pulled back into a long braid at the nape of her neck, falling down her back, and piercing emerald eyes. Then he realized it was the girl that had been haunting his dreams. "It's you!"