Sapphire

“Ava.” The voice was far away. “Ava.”

  Ava. Ava?

  “Ava!”

  She opened her eyes. The blue of a cloudless sky filled her vision, and then a pair of eyes were looking down at her. For a moment her mind couldn’t latch onto her surroundings, then as she slowly came back to herself and to the earth beneath her body, she gave a cry of unbelievable joy.

  “Orin?” she gasped in disbelief.

  He gave her a huge smile. All she could do was stare at him, at the nearness of him. He was here, he was alive, just as she was!

  “How—” she began to say as he helped her up.

  “I don’t know,” he interrupted. “Last thing I knew, that moloch had me and then…I woke up like you, lying on the ground. Surrounded—”

  “Surrounded?!” She cut him off and spun around, expecting to see the hosts of dark creatures as before.

  Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground again before Orin could catch her. Not one murderous molten eye glared back. A sea of gleaming silver, dark, or crystal-clear horns, black coats, and deep gem colored eyes were all turned towards her astonished face. They were encircled by thousands upon thousands of unicorns, pawing the earth and tossing their proud heads.

  Her jaw dropped open not only from the beautiful creatures before her, but also from the people standing amongst them. People of all ages mingled, talked, and shouted or smiled as they were reunited with loved ones. Although, most of them looked pretty shocked to find themselves here and to be near so many unicorns. Then something else happened that nearly made her faint. She saw a glint out of the corner of her eye, then it slammed into the side of her neck and wrapped its little arms around as far as they could go.

  “Avaaaaa!” squealed Lula so shrilly Ava thought her eardrums would rupture.

  She burst into tears and laughter as Lula flew up beaming and talking excitedly, “…I knew everything would be okay again. I knew I couldn’t have a friend that destroyed the entire world. That would just be ridiculous. I mean, you can sometimes be a little scary, like in Karuna’s realm, but—”

  “Ava.” Another voice immediately sent tingles up her spine.

  She jumped to her feet and turned around. Her parents rushed over, throwing their arms around her, full of tearful joy. There was a long time of embracing, cries of happiness, laughter, and lively talk. Ava beamed at her parents, and her father wiped her joyful tears away with his thumb.

  “My little guardian,” he said.

  Then Capella and Sparkle emerged from the crowd.

  “Move!” Capella demanded, smacking the rump of a unicorn standing in her way.

  The unicorn jumped and snorted, then moved aside as Capella pushed past with Sparkle tucked under her arm. Sparkle squeaked cheerfully when he saw Ava, flapping his leathery black wings until Capella finally shoved him onto her. He crawled onto her shoulder and promptly fell asleep, his foxy-face squinched up in delight.

  “Useless bat,” Capella muttered before shuffling over to Ava. “Well,” she said, peering from beneath her layers of wrinkles. “Took you long enough.”

  Lula zipped over with her hand raised and smacked Capella across the face. The old woman stood stunned, her wrinkles quivering, and she looked about ready to turn Lula into a pile of ash.

  “That’s from Ava,” said Lula, as Ava burst out laughing, remembering her request of Lula during their stay in the village. “And this is from me.”

  She hugged Capella’s arm with all her little heart, and Capella also burst into cackling laughter. “All right, all right. Get off,” she said, shaking her arm.

  Ava then flung her arms around her, and Capella hugged her back before pushing her away and snatching at Chester mid-leap between them.

  “Chester! You nipple-wart!”

  He croaked defiantly, then allowed himself to be shoved back into her tangled mass of hair.

  “Sirrush?” Ava asked. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear that he was all right or not.

  “Oh, those harpies carried him off, the slinky little lizard.” Capella waved a hand like it was a stupid thing to ask. “I s’pose it got a little boring after you left.”

  Ava gave a crooked smile but didn’t pursue the subject. What did she care where Sirrush was? He had manipulated them all. The further away from them he was the better. She heard a familiar hrumph and looked around to see Antares clearing a wide path as he padded towards them. Before she could run forward and throw her arms around him, Lula beat her to it, plastering herself across his muzzle. Antares looked surprised, stopped in his tracks, and stared down his nose at Lula. He wrinkled his muzzle then sneezed from her cloud of dust.

  Lula tumbled through the air with snot dripping off her. Antares erupted with roaring laughter and everyone else couldn’t help but join in, even Lula. Ava was so immersed in pure happiness, embraced by all her friends and family, that it took her awhile to realize Mira had not yet joined them. Her eyes looked everywhere for the raven coat, silver horn, and violet eyes but could not find her savior. The true savior of them all.

  She looked further and further across the valley, then finally her eyes rose to the ridges. The guardians were gone. She turned to Antares.

  “Where did they go?”

  He followed her gaze. “Back to their realms. They did what Mira asked of them.”

  “What she asked of them?”

  His dark red eyes caught hers. “Why do you think she took you to all the realms?” His whiskers twitched. “To gain their support, of course. All the guardians were needed to balance such a powerful curse. She wanted them to believe in you as she did, and you did a good job of proving yourself.”

  She touched her temple, flashes of her memory-melds with Mira and Lesath surfaced, but she couldn’t remember any specifics. She blinked and pushed such elusive feelings aside, then asked, “Aren’t you going to leave too?”

  “Perhaps.” His eyes, however, were not on her.

  He was searching for something, and she had a pretty good idea what, or whom. As she turned away to resume her own search for Mira, she gasped and stepped back into Antares. The unicorn lord was approaching her.

  He was magnificent. Sparks of golden fire ignited wherever his massive obsidian hooves touched the earth and golden light swirled within his black horn. He stood before Ava, and she could feel the power of the sapphire shards she had carried flowing from him.

  “We thank you, Ava,” he said in a voice as deep and ancient as Lucidia itself.

  He inclined and arched his head while the rest of the unicorns in sight emulated his gesture. Without another word, he turned away. Some of the unicorns began to walk after their lord, being careful not to tread on any humans.

  “Wait,” Ava called out, taking a step after him.

  He paused and turned to look at her.

  “Where are you going? You’re just leaving? Where’s Mira?”

  Unicorns were striding past everyone, heading towards the glowing archway.

  “We must leave,” he said. “You’ve proven your kind can change, but never again will you be tempted by a power you should have never possessed. As for Mira…” He paused, and Ava thought she saw a flicker of—anger? Then it was gone and replaced by calm detachment. “We are not mortal as you are, and thus do not die as you do.” One of his ears turned back. “Yet, that was no ordinary sword, or curse.”

  “You still haven’t told me, where is she?” Her eyes searched his large abyssal ones, but she could see nothing in their alien depths.

  “We are as the world is, and the world is as we are. One reflecting the other. She may yet return in another form.”

  She let him go and watched the unicorns leave the world, never to return. Lesath’s hopeful words flamed through her and she vowed to find Mira as Mira had once found her. Someone stepped next to her and she looked up to find Orin watching the amazing procession before them. Unicorn after unicorn, tossing their heads, rearing, crying and kicking out just for the joy of it, trott
ed past for hours towards the giant bright arch. During that time, people found one another, friends and families reunited, and as entire villages were reestablished they began to disperse towards their own homes. Each person seemed intent on looking ahead and forgetting what had happened. Many, however, watched the unicorns leave. When the last unicorn had vanished through the portal of light, Lesath faced them.

  He did not cry out, or kick in joy, as the others had. He turned a dark eye on Ava. It narrowed ever so slightly, then he too turned and disappeared through the light. She wondered for a moment about that gaze, the flash of something behind it, but in an instant the massive arch groaned, cracked, then began to crumble. Everyone cried out in astonishment as the archway crumbled and fell to the ground in a cloud of dust, nothing now but ordinary stones. Another series of echoing cracks and rumbles reverberated from the other side of the valley. They all turned to see the distant castle collapse, truly becoming the ruin Lorna had disguised it as.

  “So, it was held together by unicorn magic,” Lula whispered in awe as she flew over to Ava.

  Ava looked at her parents. “It was made from their power?”

  Adhara looked so regretful and sad that Ava was sorry she’d asked.

  “Yes,” Adhara said, looking at the castle ruin. “When our reign and power was strong, Lorna created an impenetrable fortress with the—” She pursed her lips.

  “With the unicorn horns,” Warwick finished for her. “Imbedded into the very walls themselves.” He put his arm around his wife.

  Ava shuddered at the thought of how many horns had been ground into the mortar of that castle, that prison.

  “I don’t know what you’re griping about,” grumbled Capella, waddling over to stand next to Adhara. “At least you got to keep your looks.”

  Adhara laughed and put her arm around the hunched back of her sister. Ava had wondered why the sisters she had seen in Acumen’s Mirror and the sisters before her were so vastly different, but she wasn’t able to ask until now.

  “You,” she said, pointing at Capella.

  “Yes, me. You’re learning new words, very good.”

  “No,” Ava said, ignoring Capella’s jibe. “You aged, while—”

  “While your parents didn’t?” Capella finished for her. “Thank you for noticing. Your observations truly astound me.” She clucked her tongue and shook her head. “Honestly, Adhara, we’re lucky to be standing here at all.”

  “The castle,” Ava said, turning to her parents. “Did that keep you young?”

  “Well, my tea certainly doesn’t,” Capella muttered.

  Adhara nodded at Ava. “Lorna trapped us all very long ago when we tried to stop her.” She walked over and put her hands on Ava’s cheeks. “I was so afraid that you would never return, that we’d never see you again. You were the only child we could ever have.”

  “The only? Why?”

  “Though the unicorn’s power kept us young for many years, it seemed to also keep us from changing at all, in any way. It wasn’t until the power began to weaken, and we began to age again, that your father and I”—She threw Warwick a loving glance—“were able to have you.”

  “Thank the unicorn’s sparkling arse,” said Capella. “Or the world’ah been overrun with more spoiled brats.”

  Ava rolled her eyes while Adhara and Warwick laughed.

  “Who’s joking?” Capella said seriously.

  While her parents and aunt talked amongst themselves, Ava felt an overwhelming comfort with her true family and friends and the remarkable world all around them.

  “Look,” Lula said, flying up higher and pointing down the hill.

  Many of the people had left, but some remained and a group was walking up to them. At first, Ava didn’t recognize them until a little body came racing as fast as its chubby legs could carry it, arms outstretched, all smiles and sparkling eyes.

  “Ant-Aewwwyyy!” Mia squealed, racing straight for Antares.

  Ava had never seen such a look of shock and joy on his proud stoic face before. Mia threw herself at him yelling, “Ant-Aewy,” over and over, while Antares just stood there looking on the verge of either swatting her or bursting into tears. Her pudgy little arms squeezed his leg, and she buried her face in his fur. Finally he gave a choking cough and wrapped her up in his paws, rumbling as he put his large head against hers. Mia was in raptures with laughter and started trying to climb all over him.

  “Is he,” Lula said, hovering next to Ava. “Purring?”

  Ava looked at her and gave a little shrug. “I wouldn’t say that too loudly. He might hear you.”

  Antares rolled onto his back with something like a smile on his face and let Mia climb onto his belly.

  Faolan and Parla, the boy who had made the boots and scabbard, the kind old lady, and a few others from the village followed Mia’s squeals up the incline. Everyone greeted each other with excitement. Faolan grabbed Orin up in a big hug, and then welcomed them to journey with their company back to the village.

  “It seems I was wrong,” Faolan said, walking over to Ava. “We paid dearly for our ignorance.”

  She saw respect but also a vestige of old pain and fear in his eyes before he turned back to Orin. She let them converse and stood quietly alone listening to everyone. Soon, one by one the company began to turn towards the eastern mountain range.

  Antares hesitated for a few moments, looking at the peak where Kryos had stood.

  “Ant-Aewy, huwwy up,” Mia said, tugging on his whiskers.

  He gave one last look behind him then crouched down to let her climb atop. She clapped her hands and crawled to sit between his shoulders, kicking her heels.

  “Yah! Yah!” she urged him on like a pony.

  He snorted and a little shock of electricity made her hair stand on end. Mia froze mid-kick with a stunned look on her bright red face. Ava wondered if the little girl was about to cry, and if Antares would get booted in the head again by an angry Parla, but Mia just screamed in glee and kicked him even harder. Lula giggled as Antares sighed in defeat and trotted down the hill with an excited Mia yelling, “yah! Yah!”

  As the sun set behind full clouds, streaked with orange and magenta, Ava paused to look at the fallen arch. The large stones lay cold and unremarkable, casting long shadows, a desolate monument to such powerful and beautiful creatures. She wondered what their realm was like now and wished she had been able to see it.

  “Ava.” Orin, who was a ways down the mountain, was shouting and waving for her to catch up to them.

  With a last look at the ruin, she then turned and jogged down to join the procession back to their new home.