Lil' Dragon, Ch.2

Chapter Two: The Unicorn's Home

The unicorn lived next to a deep blue pond, bathed in a constant moonlight, and surrounded by trees that looked like beech, only they were always green and had some sort of glowing, blue fruits. The forest wasn't so dense here, and there were several glades with neat grass. Coming from the surrounding forest, it was almost like walking into a park, but in no way as tame and flat and tidy as parks tend to be. Not to mention that there were tall trees on all edges. I might say it looked like the trees were embracing this section of the forest, but actually it was the other way around. For most of the magic in the whole forest came from the creature that lived here.

The little friends didn't know that, they only knew that the unicorn was big and that she knew things. Which was also true. They found her standing next to a tree, holding a green vine in her mouth. She was fitting it to the tree, neatly and carefully. Just as the group approached, she finished placing it on the bark of the tree. The vine gave a slight glow, and a wind seemed to blow through the tree. The unicorn blinked and smiled towards the children, who exchanged anxious glances. "See, they made friends," she said to them. "Hello, young ones. Oh, don't be afraid. You seem to have something to tell me." As the said the last words, she looked at them all in turn, and when she did, they seemed to ease up and dare to speak. But just one of them had something to say. "I..." began the little dragon, but then he remembered that he didn't really know how he should say it, because he wasn't really sure what he wanted to say. Then, the unicorn turned her head sideways and looked at him, a glint in her eyes, and for some reason he found he couldn't look away. At that moment, he felt his wish very strongly, so strongly it almost made him cry, but he didn't show it. He looked bravely into the eye of the unicorn. It was she who shed a tear.

Turning her head back, she walked up to the dragon and gave him a hug. Then she hugged the others, too. She told them to head back home, but the little dragon should stay. Since she was an adult, they did as they were told, though they didn't like much to be parted from their friend just like that. Especially not since they felt that something wasn't entirely right. In fact, they liked it so little that they turned around and went back to spy on the conversation. If the unicorn knew then, she would've been very angry with them, but in time, she'd be happy that they did this. Even a creature as magic as a unicorn cannot predict the future.

As they walked alongside eachother at the edge of the pond, the little dragon trotting a pace behind, the unicorn had a sad look in her eyes. "I am going to miss you," she told him. "I will miss you, because you will have to go very soon." The little dragon was stricken with shock at these words. "I don't want to go anywhere!" But the unicorn hushed him with a very mild voice, and he calmed down. "There is a big world out there, my little friend," she told him. "And you are part of that big world, not just of this forest. Your parents are out there, and all those who are like you. You can feel it, can't you?" She sighed. "I was actually hoping you could stay here. But it seems like your nature is the strongest. You have been in this forest for a very long time, but now you're growing bigger, and soon you can no longer be happy here." She stopped and turned towards him, her horn glowing in the moonlight. "I am so sorry I haven't told you about this earlier. Living in this forest, you have always been one of my children. The forest and I are one in heart. I would hate to see you leave, but I realize now that you must." She shed another tear, and a red flower sprouted where it hit the ground.

Looking at the flower, the dragon felt very sad for a while. But then, all of a sudden, he brightened up and said, "so there are more like me?" The unicorn nodded. "And... my friends will come with me, won't they?" There was a silence then, and at last the unicorn answered, "They do not have destinies like you, my dear. They know the forest, and will ever know little else. They cannot follow you where you must go."