The unicorn's cave

It was night. Bough and Thorin watched as the masked men rounded up everyone in their village. They were helpless to do anything without being caught. They watched as their parents were made to lay on the ground in a line with the others. 

From their hiding spot they could see everything that happened,

“What are they going to do to them?” nine year old Thorin asked.

“I don’t know but we can’t do anything now. We have to get away from here.”

Something behind them moved and the children gave a start but did not scream. A young man dressed only in some baggy pants got down next to them, “Do not be alarmed, it’s Daniel.” 

Bough let out the yell that had caught in his throat in the form of a long sigh. “Missionary! You scared us! Wh-what are you doing here?”

Daniel smiled grimly, “I saw you make a brake for the woods when the Ravens arrived.”

“R-ravens?” Thorin asked, “What- you mean the masked soldiers?” 

Daniel nodded.

“What do we do now?” Bough said trying his best to act like a warrior,

Daniel looked around, “I need to get you away from here.”

“What about you missionary?” Thorin pulled on Daniel’s sleeve. 

Daniel chuckled, “You can call me ‘Daniel’. I’ll be right behind you.” 

Noises from the ‘Ravens’ told them they had been found out, “Get out of here you two, Bough do you remember the cave the elders spoke about?”

Bough nodded, but Thorin gasped, “The cave? But- They said there was a dragon called unicorn lives there!”

A gunshot split the air, Daniel flinched and then peaked over some foliage, “You two have to run I’ll distract them!”

Bough’s heart began thudding in his chest, “But what if-?”

Too late Daniel sprang from his hiding place and bolted to away from the children, “Hey! Over here!” The Ravens swooped down on him firing shot guns and screaming.

“Mr. Daniel!” Thorin cried out,

“No time Thorin, we have to get out of here!” Bough saw a tear fall from Thorin’s face as she nodded. He grabbed her arm and began running as fast as his legs would go. 

Leaves and moss slipped under their feet causing them to stumble but they pressed on deeper into the jungle. Dark trees blocked the light of the moon and the twinkle of the stars. Harsh voices called after them sending a chill down Thorin’s spine.

They ran blind in the dark unable to see what the step in front of them looked like. Bough was trained in these woods and bowled through them only tripping once or twice but Thorin crashed through the foliage in thick confusion. The Ravens behind them were closing in, but they did not have the experience the children did. They grew up here. This was their home. But only a miracle could get them the light they needed to out run the thugs.

Thorin remembered Daniel talking about praying. She shut her eyes, it didn’t make much of a difference to her and cried out in her heart, God please, we need your light! Help us!

Instantly a light appeared in front of them coming from behind. The Ravens had needed light as well but they had flash lights. They kept the light trained on the children as an eagle trains his eye but now Thorin had what she needed. With new confidence She leapt forward on gazelle’s feet.

They ran faster and faster burning the oxygen in their lungs faster than they could suck it in. They were almost there. Both children knew it. Only a little further . . . “There-! I see it!” Bough gasped so only Thorin could hear. The flashlight had landed very briefly on a trapdoor hiding spot just before the cave. Bough skidded to a stop instantly disappearing into the little hole. Thorin came swiftly after him.

They waited breathless in the dark. The Ravens were so close Bough could have reached out and tripped one of them, but he kept his hands to himself. 

There were three of them and they all carried guns. The one in front had the flashlight. He was grumbling and snarling, “Where did they go?” 

Another one of the thugs grunted, “Agh! We’ve lost them.”

The first thug swung his flashlight as if he was going to hit the other two with it, “Well, find them! Or it will be our heads when Blackfoot finds out.”

They tramped away all in different directions. Thorin’s eyes were welling up with tears but Bough was too breathless to be afraid. They listened for the three masked men to leave. 

“Come on Thorin, It’s now or never.” Bough got up to leave but Thorin grabbed his hand and pulled him down again.

“Bough, I’m scared . . . What if . . . What if there really is a unicorn dragon in that cave?”

Bough thought for a moment then smiled, “Then we’ll just have to tame it!”

Thorin was still griping Bough’s wrist when he got up to run again and was pulled out of the little hole. The rush of flight fell upon them again. They tried to keep up with the ground beneath them but the darkness had taken over again which slowed them down.

Bough’s eyes searched desperately for the cave, the moon suddenly broke through the covering of trees ahead and they could see the dark entrance, “there!”

Their pace slowed to a near stop as the entered the cave. It was cold damp and dark. The cave was fairly small but a tight fitting tunnel lead deeper into the earth. The children followed the path down, deep into the darkness. The space choked them with it’s walls and filled their noses with mist. Ahead they could see a faint light but could tell it was a cold light. It was blueish but as they grew closer discovered it was very bright. 

“Where is that coming from?” Thorin wondered aloud,

“I-I Don’t . . . Wait Thorin, look above us!.” There over head the tunnel ceiling had grown to be the height of four elephants and imbedded into the walls and far off roof were glowing crystals. There were all kinds of colors, green, purple, pink and the most common: blue. There were now a few of the crystals dotting the path. And the tunnel grew wider too, until suddenly it all exploded into a gigantic cavern lit by thousands of brilliant crystals. They were everywhere! On the ceiling, the floor, the walls and lining the entrances of many other tunnels. 

Among the crystals dotting the floor was a pattern. A spiral of pink and purple crystals that swirled around a bundle of something in the middle of the room. 

“What’s that?” Bough squinted at the thing and moved closer careful not to trip on any of the crystals or step on their sharp points.

“I-It looks like . . . A bush? Made from straw?”

Bough was nearly upon it and could see it clearly. The pattern seemed familiar to him somehow, as if he had seen it before . . . The floor dipped down slightly so that at first you could only see the large bundle of grass and hey but now he saw what no human eye had seen in thousands of years, “Th-thorin, there . . . It’s a unicorn’s egg!”

“What? How can you tell?”

Bough gave her a look from where he stood in the middle of the pattern, “Well you don’t exactly see ostriches laying their eggs in an underground nest now do you? Besides, these are different they have a swirly pattern like the crystals around them and they look metallic! They must weigh at least . . .” Bough froze. Something was watching him. He swept the room with his eyes not daring to move but could see nothing.

“Bough, I don’t think we should be here. It doesn’t feel right and . . .” Thorin suddenly caught sight of it. The creature was huge. It had four feet but two of them it seemed to use like a squirrel, long enough to touch the ground but not nearly strong enough to support its weight. This was perfectly balanced by its huge thick tail that swayed back and forth. The back two legs were thick as a tree trunk and very muscular. It’s eyes were large and black. It’s skin was a pale light that glittered in the crystal light. It’s face was long and had a hard mouth like a ducks. But the thing that was most prominent was it’s horn. It shot back from it’s forehead and over it’s shoulders. 

It turned and saw Bough next to it’s eggs and you could see the change in it’s expression. A fire was lit in its eyes and it began slowly staking forward and showing Bough its battering ram forehead and horn. 

Bough backed away slowly. Each step sending a coldness up his spine that seemed to burn from the unicorn’s eyes. Thorin watched breathless and helpless. The creature breathed in large strokes like a rhinoceros. The horn seemed to amplify each low huff and sent it bounding through the cavern and down the dark tunnels. 

Bough felt rock behind him and realized the creature had put him in a corner. He shuddered as the unicorn took each step closer in long measured paces. Finally it ended up with its blazing eyes staring into Bough’s face. It was so close he could feel the scales on the unicorns horn tickling the fine hairs on his forehead. 

The creature’s eyes drilled into him and he almost thought he knew what it was trying to say to him . . .

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you . . .” 

Thorin’s hands were shaking, “Bough . . . ? What are you-?”

The creature backed up slightly so Bough had room to breathe. It blinked once and sniffed at him as if it smelled something that it recognized. There on it’s forehead was the same swirl pattern that was on the eggs and on the floor. Where had he seen it before?

Bough felt the unicorn’s breath in warm gusts on his bare chest. It tilted its head slightly and then caught sight of his necklace. It was a piece his father had given him as a sign of his forestry training. Bough flinched as the creature nibbled at it with its hard mouth. His reflexes got the better of him and he pushed the animal’s face away with his hand . . . The one with the tribe’s tattoo . . . a swirl.

Tears streamed down Thorin’s face, “Bough, what’s it doing to you?”

Bough paid no attention to her, the unicorn had not tried to shake his hand off nor did it snap at him. They matched, his hand and its forehead, “Its okay Thorin, I . . . I think she’s a friend. My hand, the tattoo. It matches her.”

“Her? Y-you mean the unicorn . . . ?” Thorin wiped her eyes and took a step closer. The unicorn sensed her movement and spun around quick as lightning and leapt in front of her. Thorin fell to the ground and cowered behind her shall. 

The unicorn crept closer and touched Thorin’s bare foot with it’s nose. Thorin jumped back convinced the creature was about to eat her. The unicorn startled by the girl’s sudden movement began to prance about creating noises like thunder with each step.

Bough ran to Thorin’s side and tried to comfort the beast with soothing words, “It’s okay! It’s okay! Calm down!” To his amazement the creature responded by slowly settling to a nervous stomp. Then to both the children’s astonishment the unicorn lay down next to them. Bough timidly put a hand out and began stroking its smooth scales.

“Now what? I mean, wow. We found a unicorn . . . !” Thorin said half dazed.

“I don’t know but if we are going to help Mom and Dad . . .”

“And Daniel”

“ . . . And Daniel we’ll need some help.”

Thorin nodded, folded her hands in her lap and closed her eyes, “God, help us find a way to rescue Mom and Dad and Daniel . . . “

Bough placed one hand on Thorin while he stroked the unicorn with his other hand, “help us be like warriors . . . Help us be strong.”

The unicorn gave a low moan, got up and then lumbered over to her nest. She put her nose in among the straw as if she was looking for something. Bough held Thorin’s hand and they followed her to the center of the room. The unicorn pulled at something underneath the nest and finally got it out. She turned around with two large green leaves in her mouth and gave one to each of the children.

“It . . . It’s a warrior’s mask!” Bough exclaimed. Had the unicorn understood what he was talking about? 

“But does that mean . . . You’ll help us?” Thorin asked the unicorn. 

The unicorn nodded.

“Then what are we waiting for?” 

~ ~ ~

The villagers trembled as the group of terrorists looked them over. Their leader Raven Blackfoot sneered as he examined each one, “You know who I am looking for. The boy with the key. Where is he?”

No one answered.

Blackfoot growled, “My men come back after chasing the boy for a mile and say they simply disappeared. Considering your tribe has its secrets and tricks one of you would know exactly where he would try to hide.” Still no one spoke up.

Blackfoot turned to Daniel, “Ah, the only ‘white man’ in this village. Surly you would help your fellow countrymen! Do you know where the boy is?”

“Even we don’t know where he is! Leave missionary alone!” A large tuff looking villager said in Daniel’s defense.

Blackfoot spat, “If you don`t mind I was asking him.” He turned to Daniel once more, “Where, is, the boy?”

Daniel was silent for a long moment. He looked into Raven Blackfoot’s eyes, “You are not my countryman.”

Blackfoot slapped Daniel hard, “Insolence! Where is the boy!” 

Suddenly from the forest came the loudest trumpet sound any of them had ever heard. It grew in pitch and in volume as what seemed to be the sound of thunder rumbled from behind the trees.

Blackfoot stood, his mouth open, his eyes confused. Daniel spoke up, “I’ll tell you where the boy is! There, you are too late.”

One of the village elders smiled from ear to ear, “He found it! He found the unicorn!”

Blackfoot screamed above the growing noise of trumpet, thunder, and cheering from the villagers. Then Bough and Thorin came crashing out of the jungle wearing warrior masks and seated magnificently on the back of the white unicorn! The trumpet had been the sound of their new found friend’s call. 

The unicorn had finished her bellowing roar and was now puffing with rage. The fire in her eyes was unmistakable. The group of Ravens, including Blackfoot, stood petrified in front of the raging beast. 

“Say hello to Whitetail the unicorn! It’s a good thing she’s on our side!” Bough laughed, “What do you say Whitetail? Shall we round up these roughens?”

Whitetail gave a swift trumpet and charged. The terrorists stood their ground for about . . . two seconds before dropping everything and running. Whitetail perused them with snapping mouth and thrashing tail until every last one was gone.

The children dismounted and removed their masks once they were back in the village. The people crowded around them praising them for finding the long lost legend. White tail the unicorn stomped nervously but Bough and Thorin assured them she was just as happy as they were. 

“Unicorns can be fierce when they need to be but she’s just not used to all the attention!” Thorin laughed.

Daniel slapped Bough between the shoulders, “So you did find her after all. I was hoping you would.”

Bough looked at Daniel, “You mean, you knew the legend was real?”

“Yes. She met me a few days ago and I startled her so bad I though she’d trample me to death. But she seems to have taken a liking to you!”

An elder who had been listening waddled over as he leaned on a walking stick, “She’s a beauty young one!”

“Thank you,” Thorin said shyly, 

“It’s a good thing you had the mark of the key on your hand or she would have surely killed you in a heartbeat!”

A broad smile spread across Bough’s face, “So what now? What if the Ravens come back again?”

The elder smiled back and then slowly climbed onto a large rock overlooking the village, “Listen people of the Minikin tribe!” Everyone turned to face him, “Today the dreaded Ravens attacked but now the one called Bough has tamed the legendary Unicorn Whitetail! We cannot stay in this village after today, So behold! Your leader: Chief Bough, leader of the Minikin Tribe!”

Everyone erupted into a roaring cheer, including Whitetail. Bough and Thorin could have smiled until their ears fell of! 

And that, was just the beginning of the adventures of Bough and Thorin the Unicorn tamers.

THE END