~ The Crystal Of Light ~

by

Catherine Anne Collins

A strong urge pulled at Bryanna, until she found herself laying a hand on either side of the unicorn’s neck. Strength flowed through her veins and she rested her forehead against a muscled neck. Comfort, understanding, and knowledge seeped into her. But that wasn’t all. Visions assaulted her. At first, they were visions of a young unicorn playing in meadows and galloping in full abandon among a herd of unicorns. Joy and contentment filled the days of the young creature. Just as quickly, the visions darkened with blood and terror until pain overwhelmed Bryanna. She lived the unicorn’s pain and watched the slaughter of others like her for nothing more than a trophy.

She lived the horror, experienced the fear of a young unicorn until she whimpered and slid to her knees. The velvety touch of a muzzle touched her cheek and the pain was gone, but the visions and knowledge remained. A name whispered in her mind. Not spoken a loud, but a part of her. Inherent in her soul. The name of the unicorn.

As if to protect her, the unicorn took a step between her and the others, allowed her the chance to stand up and face the two who had kidnapped her and brought her to this strange place. Confused, she faced the man and the old woman. For the first time, she noticed the minor characteristics that marked them as different from her. Adoneesis had pointed ears and eyes that slanted ever so slightly upward at the outside corner. His physique was that of a man, yet everything was a fraction out of kilter. His arms too long, his shoulders too broad, his hands too large.

Bronwen possessed pointy ears as well, but she wasn’t nearly as attractive as the man. Short and shriveled, she also had misshapen, arthritic looking hands. Upon closer inspection, Bryanna noticed that her hands looked like claws. She gasped and looked up at the woman’s face. For a flicker of a moment, as if in a reflection in a mirror, the woman appeared to be tall, golden, and beautiful. Bryanna blinked and was once again looking into the intelligent eyes of an ugly hag. There were no other words to describe her, and Bryanna felt a stab of pity, and then remembered that these two kidnapped her and brought her to this strange place.

Fighting the effects of her visions, Bryanna took a deep breath and wondered if she’d somehow fallen in to the rabbit hole of Wonderland. All of Bryanna’s life, her aunt had told her that there was more to life than meets the eye. Late at night, she’d whispered tales of lands that existed even beyond the imagination, and gave warnings of not believing such. Bryanna now knew that her aunt had been preparing her for this moment. The deathbed letter enforced that belief. Bryanna always knew she’d been different; she’d just never been willing to accept that. In fact, she’d spent her whole life fighting such a notion--for all the good it had done. Here she was in a land that defied description, with people who didn’t fit the mold. Acceptance that things were not what she knew grew within, just as total acceptance of her bond with the unicorn became fact.

This realization of being taken from her familiar world and brought to this strange but beautiful land sent shivers of fear stabbing through Bryanna, but she warned herself not to show weakness. She must remain strong until she found out her purpose here and what these two planned for her. Locking her gaze on her kidnappers, she demanded, “Who are you? Where am I? What do you want with me?”

The unicorn nudged Bryanna’s arm and snuffled. Bryanna didn’t know how, but she understood that it was a warning to hold her temper and listen. Jeez, could this day get any stranger?

“Speak, Adoneesis. It is your place,” the old woman urged.

He frowned and contemplated Bryanna with a cutting gaze. “I do not think she should be told yet. She is merely a human and could not handle the truth.”

Human. Each confirmation of her suspicions only managed to make Bryanna’s heart pound more fiercely.

“She is stronger than you think and the blood of the ancients runs through her veins. Do not forget that. Never forget that.”