Unicorns Kidnapped
When Jola and Uni eventually left their reception, they were accompanied by Cookie, Roddy and their fairies, while everyone cheered and clapped and held up drinks in toast to the newlyweds. Many of Jola’s friends threw confetti, others took the chance to get a closer look at her new wings, Kasandra took the chance to eat some of the while carnations before her grandmother spotted her.
Finally with Cookie having to nudge the still posing fairies with her foot, they walked out of the doors, Cookie was still having trouble herding her reluctant fairies, all wanting to explore the sights of the big city. As they neared their destination, the secret, invisible door that led to the fantasy world they came from, Jola’s head came up suddenly, Ahead of her, standing in the darkness was a pretty black girl, in a lovely grey pant suit, crying and twisting a black twine purse with straps in her hands. Jola recognised her instantly as one of her guests who had not turned up tonight, she was a friend of Kim, a very lovely dark skinned girl who had not arrived at the reception either.
Jola put her arm softly around the terrified girl’s shoulders and sked gently,” Do you know what happened?”
Arleen was in shock, confused and upset, her answer was hard to understand, but Jola listened carefully, “There was a door, ” She said looking around and not seeing it, “hands, they grabbed Kim and pulled her through the door, she screamed, dropped her purse, and was gone, before I could do anything.” She held Kim’s purse out to them as if it was proof of what she was telling them.
Jola said to her still gently, “It might be dangerous where we are going, we will brig her back.”
“Can I come to help you?” Arleen asked, tears still in her eyes.
Roddy stepped forward, a determined look on his young face, “I have been through this same thing,” He said, tears in his own eyes, “When Cookie was kidnapped long ago. I blamed myself for not being able to save her. It is a task of the soul, to save hers, she must prove to herself that she did all she could under the circumstances.” Suddenly Cookie and all the fairies stood next to Roddy, in support.
Cookie said softly, her hand on Roddy’s own, “Yes, she will survive the dangers with our help, but she may never survive the feelings of betrayal if we force her to stay behind.”
Arleen looked at Roddy and smiled, she had never found much to like in men, but she could still see the pain in his heart and liked him instantly for baring that pain for her.
“Then it’s decided” said Uni in his quiet but authoritative voice, “Arleen will come with us.”
Cookie reached into the emptiness in front of her and opened a door, she let Roddy hold it while they all stepped through.
As they stepped through the doorway, Jola could see the badly wounded body of a young centaur filly lying ahead of them, Cookie cried out “Melicity, are you alright?” but Melicity’s eyes were glued on Jola and Uni.
“Unicorns” she gasped as the pain of her wounds made her breathing difficult. “Can you take this taint from me? Or Kill me before the change affects me too?”
Jola stood frozen in shock, she did not know how to heal her, but she refused to kill her, she looked at Uni desperately for help.
Uni changed, and suddenly the white unicorn was back, “Yes” He said “I can do this,” and so saying touched Melicity with his horn. Roddy ran forward and helped Melicity to her feet, and she stood uneasily, still healing inside.
“This is my fault.” She said simply, “I am a trained warrior, a centaur, I will take this task.”
Uni walked slowly with her, as he explained. “I know your sire, Velocity” he said with a smile on his face, “one of the greatest centaurs ever, I fought beside him in the great war, he alone destroyed more minotaurs than any other.”
Melicity looked in awe at him, “You are the out of time unicorn, our legends still talk of you and your bravery on the field that day, my own sire says you saved his life many times.” She bent all of her knees in a deep curtsy, and offered her service to him without hesitation.
Jola looked at her new husband in awe, she had no idea that he demanded such respect here.
Uni spoke once more, “Werewolves will try to kill the weakest first, we will do this together, defending our own while we push the attack, and in the end we will be victorious, with no loss of our own lives.”
Melicity suggested that she knew of more who would join their cause, and she led the way in silence along the banks of a fast flowing stream, until they came upon a small camp, and there they saw a giant of a man, his muscles bulged with every ease movement, and Cookie, Roddy and the fairies flew and ran to hug him, “This is Bruce, Roddy said with a huge smile, “he’s me mate.”
"Too bloody right I am,” Said Bruce with a smile and he slapped Roddy on the back, making his legs buckle immediately. But he never hit the ground, Bruce’s huge fist caught him by the back of his shirt, and he held him effortlessly under his arm.
The fairies all giggled, but Cookie held her hand over her smile. Bruce looked at Uni and said, “Give us bout an hour mate, then me mates will be awake and we’ll all give ya a hand, eh?” Then he spotted Arleen, standing behind the others, just staring at him. “Well I’ll be buggered,” he said, his smile widening, “ I haven’t seen a girl as pretty as you for yonks, not since me and me mate, the bunyip, lived up in the Territory, but I don’t remember the girls being as pretty as you,”
Arleen’s face lit up, “Will you help to save my friend?” She asked shyly, still smiling. “I have a photo of her.” She rummaged around in her purse and finally brought out the photo, and handed it to Bruce, and his reaction was just what she had wanted.
His mouth fell open, his eyes opened wide, she could even see his massive heart beat faster in his chest. After a very long time he said, in a softer voice than she imagined him ever having, “Flamin’ hell, she’s a bloody beauty, I’d walk naked through Hell for this little beauty.” Arleen smiled and she knew he was the one they had both been looking for, this man would be the one who would save her, and they could easily share him, he wouldn’t tire quickly, This world was coming up with more surprises than she had ever imagined.
A few minutes after the sun went down, two old, battered coffins at the rear of the camp opened, and out of them climbed two people, both vampires, one a man wearing a battered and much repaired pink suit and cape, the other a young girl, dressed in the more traditional Gothic attire. They both started arguing bitterly straight away, but halfway through their sentences, they suddenly fell into each other’s arms and kissed passionately, only to stop halfway through their kiss to start arguing again.
Jola stared at them in amazement, turned to Cookie and asked if they did this all the time? Cookie answered with a smile, “Ever since we have known them, I guess they just aren’t good night people.”
“But they are vampires.” Jola said in surprise, “Aren’t you scared of them? “This pair, no way, besides, they are both vegetarians.” Taking two large Blood red apples from a barrel next to her she threw one to each of hem , “Time for breakfast kiddies,” She said with a laugh, “now you have visitors and a task to rescue a kidnapped girl from werewolves, so give it a rest for a while, please.”
They both spun around, now holding hands, and said hello to those people they knew, and then introduced themselves to those they didn’t, “Hello, I’m Cecil,” said the man with a smile that showed his fangs, “and I’m Vesther,” said the girl with an equally big smile, “and for those of you who think I’m too young, I had my 300th birthday before I came to this time-stopped world, so I think I qualify as old enough.” She said the last looking straight into Jola’s eyes.
Cookie called her fairies too her and said,” Go to the White Wizard and get silver, we need three weapons, ogre gauntlets and four vampire fang sheaths, hurry and meet us here as soon as possible.” The fairies popped out of sight, and the remaining group began to prepare for battle.
When the fairies arrived back they handed out swords to Cookie, Roddy and Melicity, the ogre gauntlets to Bruce, and the fang sheaths to the two vampires. Jola became the black unicorn, the two vampires changed to bats, Bruce told Arleen to climb on his back, where she clung tightly to his back, still smiling, and they headed off at a rapid pace that very soon saw Cookie and Roddy left far behind.
Jola’s senses easily saw the scent trail, and it was easy to follow it, and soon they could hear the howling of the pack. Bruce carefully put Arleen down out of reach of the werewolves, where she could still see clearly, and then said to Uni, “I will go in first, follow me!” Uni nodded, looked at Melicity, letting her know she would be the second to attack, and then at the two vampires, who would go in third.
Bruce lumbered forward, he wasn’t fast, but very nearly unstoppable, within seconds of smelling his approach, the werewolf pack began to howl and charged him, and soon Arleen couldn’t see him under the werewolves clinging to him, biting and clawing. But he never stopped moving towards the naked body of Kim, tied to a tree ahead of him. He left a trail of dead and dying werewolves, and his own blood.
Next Melicity charged in, screaming her own father’s challenge, with her silver sword she killed werewolf after werewolf.
And then the two vampires, now back in human form, ran together into the combat, snarling and biting whatever they could reach. Their own terrific strength enabled them to repel their attackers as well as keep up their own attack.
Finally the two unicorns attacked, Uni began to fight off the werewolves attacking Bruce, while Jola headed straight for Kim, to stop any last minute killing attacks on her helpless body.
Arleen watched in terror, wondering if even the massive Bruce could survive this punishment, until, just as Cookie and Roddy arrived, a twisted, drooling face appeared just in front of her own, only to fall with Roddy’s sword deep in its brain, through its left eye. “To me blacks!” Screamed Cookie, “Protect Arleen, while we kill off any werewolves nearby.” The fairies moved into a protective formation around the terrified girl, as Cookie and Roddy began to fight another werewolf, who had spotted the weakest of their team. Both were glad of the many times Melicity had trained them with weapons since they had first met.
Jola was surrounded by dead werewolves, and rearing she crushed the skull of another with her fore hooves, and as Bruce reached her he snapped the neck of yet another. Cecil and Vesther, suddenly appeared, covered in blood, their hisses, and snarls caused even the blood frenzied werewolves to hold back, but the sight of Bruce’s heavily mauled body brought her to tears. He was a walking wound, there was not an inch of him that hadn’t been bitten or clawed. His silver gauntleted fists killed the last of the werewolves attacking them.
Cookie and Roddy were fighting the last werewolf, the fairies bravely swooping in unarmed to cause confusion as the last werewolf attacked viciously. Below them Uni was already healing their wounded, Jola again in human form was untying Kim, as both Cookie’s and Roddy’s swords both pierced the heart of the last werewolf.
Arleen was hugging Bruce, even before Uni had healed him, and she smiled at Kim and gave her his arm to hold, while she held the other tightly. Kim felt instantly that she had known him forever, and she smiled shakily at Arleen. Both decided right there that they would stay in this world for a while with their new boy friend. It was a decision they made without speaking, but both knew they would not easily lose this man/ogre. The battle was over, Cecil and Vesther were arguing again, Jola was kissing Uni, and Bruce felt something he had never felt before, wanted. Even Cookie and Roddy were holding hands.
