Budding Magic
Chapter Nine
Sherrie was the first to awaken. She looked around confused—such wild dreams. She remembered the black unicorn. She remembered touching his beautiful horn, the shock, the deep sleep. Kellan quietly walked over to her, and motioned for her to sit quietly because Tessa and Elle were still sleeping. Sherrie looked over at Tessa and Elle. Elle was smiling in her sleep. Tessa was very, very still. Sherrie looked at Kellan with concern. Kellan just shrugged and indicated that she was breathing.
Sherrie wrinkled her nose at the pungent odor. She didn't remember that being here before her—sleep.
Rhoswen was picking common blue-berries—common except that they were the size of her fist and were positively succulent. She paused with her hand in midair, and knew that Sherrie had stirred. She figured one each would do and made her way back to the circle. Sherrie grinned when she saw her. Rhoswen happily handed Sherrie one of the blue-berries. Sherrie bit into it. Juice squirted down her hand, and then her arm. She didn't even pause. She just sighed with delight, and continued to devour the fruit. Kellan caught Rhoswen's eye and nodded toward the forest.
Rhoswen took that as an indicator that she would be escorting Sherrie around the forest to make sure she had truly learned her lessons. She pushed down her disappointment. She had been hoping to spend more time with Elle. She handed most of the blue-berries to Kellan, and pointed towards Sherrie's bag to indicate that she was to come with her.
They were about to walk away when they heard a thunderous roaring buzz. Kellan signaled for them to stand still. Rhoswen stared in amazement as a swarm of Bumble-bee's flew overhead. She was scared silly when one curiously flew around them—frightened because these Bumble-bees were bigger than Kellan's head—which she thought was pretty big—and could sting a person over and over again. She shivered in fear when she felt the big, black, red-butted, fuzzy, flying insect brush against her arm. It flew up to peer into her face. Its buzz, vibrating through her skull. Then just as casually, it moved on to inspect Kellan. She watched in amazement as it allowed Kellan to gently stroke its fuzzy head. It then flew up to join the others.
Kellan nodded and Rhoswen led Sherrie away from those still asleep.
"So how was your sleep?" Rhoswen asked her after they had walked far enough away from the field.
"Busy," Sherrie answered uncertainly, "but I'm not sure how much I remember."
"It will be like that for a little while," Rhoswen assured her, "until the knowledge settles. You have to admit, it's a pretty bloody fine way to learn your lessons—and a lot faster. So let's open that bag of yours and you tell me why you're carrying that stuff."
Rhoswen let Sherrie lead her around the forest and tell her about their friends and foes.
"But their bunnies," Sherrie complained when Rhoswen prevented her from petting the cut little rabbits.
"Yah," Rhoswen said scathingly, "bunnies with teeth. Watch this."
Rhoswen picked up a branch and shook it at one of the cute little bunnies. It growled viciously, sprang up, and savagely bit into the branch with its canines. Rhoswen dropped the branch and sprang back. When the other bunny curiously walked over to the branch, the first sprang on it, biting it viciously. The second bunny let out a dog-like scream and hopped away.
"Not all rabbits are vicious like these," Rhoswen told her. "These are rather stupid. There are those who are very smart and like to play."
"How can you tell them apart?" Sherrie asked.
"Toss them a stick," was Rhoswen's surprising answer. "If they catch it and toss it back, they're called Honey's—the playful ones. If it rends the stick, it's a Fabbit, you may want to retreat quietly while it's still gnawing on the stick. They look identical—except for the teeth."
Rhoswen took out a dart tube and loaded it with a red-tipped dart and blew it at the closest fabbit. It dropped like a rock.
"I would like to show you a Faerie circle later, and this critter may come in handy," Rhoswen told her placing the fabbit in a special bag.
"Do fabbits like human flesh?" Sherrie asked nervously.
"Oh yes!" a voice said from behind.
Both Rhoswen and Sherrie jumped violently. Rhoswen swung around, and then relaxed.
"They love human flesh," the white unicorn told Sherrie, "but they know we would stomp every last one of them, if any of them were to attack our guests."
"Hello, Fiona," Rhoswen said gaily. "This is Sherrie."
"Hello, little trouble maker," Fiona replied and then turned to Sherrie. "Fathion has warn… told us of your arrival. My daughter and I would like to know if you would like to ride around for these dreary lessons of yours."
Sherrie was surprised to see another white unicorn beside the first. She hadn't noticed her arrival. She had the same curly, cream hair as her mother, the same golden eyes, and the same impatiently swishing tail. They both stood tall and strong. The daughter's horn though, was not as long—or as lethal—as her mother's.
"Wouldn't that be disrespectful?" Sherrie asked bemused.
"Oh no," the new arrival told her. "We love to play—riding is play."
"We would be honored," Rhoswen dipped into an elegant bow.
Fiona sank down so Rhoswen could mount. Sherrie watched curiously as Rhoswen simply climbed onto Fiona's back and was lifted up.
"I am Feather, by the way," the daughter told them. "I will choose another name when something comes to mind."
She sank down and nodded for Sherrie to mount. Sherrie hesitantly climbed onto Feathers back. Feather smoothly stood. Sherrie sat rigid, not knowing what to do with her hands. It felt strange to just have her feet dangling. She watched as Rhoswen played in Fiona's mane and watched the evident joy this brought the unicorn. She did the same with Feather, and was pleased when Feather pressed into her touch. They started walking towards the sound of running water.
"Did you notice, by the way, that you are talking common Elfin?" Feather asked Sherrie. "The King did that. You will need to remember to talk your language when you leave here, otherwise they will probably lock you up someplace. Which would be sad because I think I really like you. Oh look, flower honey. You can't have any though or it will make you sleep, and then you cannot tousle my mane. Mother, why are these girls barefoot. I thought all human children wore shoes, except the poor of course. Oh, I am sorry—are you poor? I like you with bare feet. I think boots would be rough against my sides."
"Quiet daughter," Fiona told her. "She is a little excited."
"But it is so exciting," Feather bounced, jarring Sherrie who was not a practiced rider. "Oh, I am sorry."
Rhoswen laughed to herself as Feather continued to chatter about this and that. Rhoswen let Feather do the teaching. She was covering things Rhoswen hadn't thought about in a very long time. Sherrie seemed to be enjoying the ceaseless chatter; she was wearing a bemused grin.
"Let's stop here a minute," Rhoswen requested.
"Oh," Sherrie said excitedly, "it's a Faerie ring."
Indeed, a ring of red topped toadstools circled an odd little dwarfed oak. They climbed down and sat in the grass outside the circle. Feather and Fiona took the opportunity to roll in the grass.
"You never want to enter into the ring," Rhoswen told her. "There is no way to tell if the Fey are friend or foe—even if you had just visited them the day before. Time in Faerie is not the same as here. Your friends of yesterday could be gone, leaving you to deal with a demented beast."
"Look," Sherrie said in awe, "it's a pretty little faerie."
The faerie was dainty with long blue hair. She smiled dreamily as she expanded her gossamer wings and sunned on a flower petal. She looked very enchanting.
"Watch," Rhoswen told Sherrie.
Rhoswen brought out the fabbit and dropped it just inside the circle. The faerie ignored the animal and continued to bask in the sunlight. Rhoswen took out another dart, this one blue-tipped, and shot it into the fabbit. They watched as the fabbit got clumsily to its feet.
"Ohhh," the faerie excla
imed. She walked over to the sluggish fabbit and cuddled up in its fur.
Sherrie started to warn the faerie, but Rhoswen yanked on her arm. The faerie continued to cuddle in its fur, stroking the inside of its ear. She then walked into the fabbit's ear. The fabbit screamed a terrible cry and then lay dead. They watched with morbid fascination as the fabbit became thinner and thinner until it was just a skin of fur, and a head with blank, staring eyes. The pristine little faerie pulled herself back out of its ear. Her gut horribly distended from consuming the fabbit. She gave a very crude belch and returned to the flower to continue basking in the sunlight.
Sherrie stared at Rhoswen accusingly. Her face was pale, her forehead sweaty, her stomach sick.
"Some things you just have to see to really understand," Rhoswen told her unrepentant. "If I'd simply told you that some faerie folk look beautiful and pure, but are really ravenous monsters, you wouldn't have believed me—now you believe—and you will never forget."
Sherrie heard the shuffle of feet and looked behind them startled. Tessa and Elle had joined them. Their faces reflected the revulsion from that which they had also just witnessed. Dara and Alana just looked on with somber expressions.
"Oh, hello," Feather stopped to stare at the other riders. "This is my new friend, Sherrie."
Dara and Tessa rode double on a beautiful stallion unicorn, with intense blue eyes. Alana and Elle's unicorn was a mare and equally beautiful. Sherrie noticed a slight hum about these two unicorns which was lacking in Fiona and Feather. It was interesting, but for some reason, it set her on edge.
"We thought to show our humans the spring falls next," the female spoke out. Her voice rang out like a soft bell. "Would you like to follow us?"
"It would be our honor," Fiona answered.
Feather was strangely quiet. Sherrie stroked into her mane and realized that she was petrified. Sherrie continued to scratch and stroke. Feather started relaxing into the attentions.
The unicorns walked steadily up a steep incline. Sherrie was afraid that she would slide backwards, but soon realized that something else—besides her legs—was holding her securely in place. She relaxed and started enjoying the ride. The higher they climbed the more of the forest she could see. It was vast, much bigger than the villagers believed. It smelled heavenly fresh. She could hear the roar of the falls.
"Here they are," the female unicorn called out.
Stretched out below them were ten cascading waterfalls, aligned in a semicircle. They had been climbing a path which was even higher than the falls, so they could see all the falls in their forceful glory.
The first thing Sherrie noticed was that they popped straight out of the ground. There was no river running to a cliff, and then crashing to the land below. The water rose from artesian wells, shooting high into the air, before crashing to the land below. It formed a large lake. They could see offshoots of littler rivers and streams moving away from the lake.
"Wow!" Tessa exclaimed. "Feel that power!"
Indeed, magical and physical power was pouring out of those wells. The two lead unicorns were aglow from it. Sherrie realized why these two unicorns hummed—and why Feather had been so intimidated. These two were mages.
"Where does all that water go?" Elle asked.
"Mainly to the elfin realms, but some will travel back to the human worlds." The male mage answered.
This was the first time Sherrie had heard him speak. His voice rang out with power, unlike the sweetness of the female's bell voice, his voice felt a little harsh to the ears. Sherrie found herself cringing and reminded herself not to ask him any questions. She glanced over to Tessa and Elle and found them with equally distressed expressions.
"Isn't this an elfin realm?" Alana spread her arms outward.
"Alana," the female mage chided, "this is a—to-and-from realm—you know that."
"Of course," Alana grinned, "silly me."
"Come," the female mage called out, "we have lots to see yet."