... Zara ran her fingers across the
ancient mosaic tiles on the bathing room wall, moist from steam, matching them to images from her text books, trying to understand how things got so
twisted up. She paused at the doorway and peered out into the hall, there was
no one around. She traced her steps back to the reception area, the front door
was still open, it was getting dark already. She slipped out quietly into the twilight and searched the overgrown garden for signs of danger but the air was still, not even a dried up leaf over the doorway rustled in the wind.
There
was a path that seemed to lead around the side of the spa, it was a little
obscured by spirals of wild brambles but without too much effort she found her
way through the garden into a small glade of trees beyond, fragrant and mystical in
the mist, rolling in from the sea. Beyond the trees there was a wall, beyond a glimpse of a
vast open field, illuminated by the full moon, rising above the countryside.
Zara paused, stopping in her tracks; there was white figure out there, glowing in the moon light, grazing in the field… Was it a Unicorn? Unable to
resist a closer look, she crept forward through the trees to catch a better
view over the stone wall. But as she neared the wall it seemed bigger than she thought, too
tall to see over from below. She studied the obstacle in her way, it looked easy to climb, and so without too much trouble she managed to clamber up
the slippery rocks, eventually hoisting herself up high enough to see beyond...
It
was a Unicorn! There was a whole herd
of them grazing in the fields behind the Spa! In spite of their evil nature, it
was a magical sight, for a moment her fears were overcome by their beauty.
Their horns, illuminating the darkness were a supernatural sight, their coats
were such a brilliant white their entire being glowed in the misty moonlit night!
She
bit her lip, resisting the urge to look but found herself captive to their
presence. She knew the truth; these creatures belonged to the god of Death, she
wasn’t stupid, this really was some sort of evil power drawing her in. The truth was... Nulu was
in danger?
Panic
struck. What should she do? Perhaps she could scare them away? It was the least
she could do to repay Nulu for her help. Empowered by feelings of gratitude and urges to demonstrate that gratitude in chivalrous ways, Zara climbed over the wall and dropped down the other side, got up
onto her feet and crept through the long grass toward them.
After
a short while, one of the Unicorns looked up from his grazing, sensing her approach. He tossed his mane
with a snort and began to walk towards her. The others looked up and spotted
her too, they too began to walk and snort towards her.
Terrified
now, Zara stepped backwards…The Unicorns continued to advance towards her. She
turned and hurried back towards the wall… They broke out into a trot. Panicking,
she broke into a run… She didn't have to look back, she knew the Unicorns were chasing her, they had lowered their heads, their
horns were pointing straight towards her! Zara ran as fast as she
could, but the Unicorns were galloping, their hooves were pounding the
soil behind her… Gasping for air and frantic, she was clumsy scaling the now enormous wall. Her hands fumbled
and slipped on the moss, she almost fell but eventually made it to the top and
hoisted herself up and over, dropping down to the other side, hard. She stumbled
to her feet and ran back through the bush towards the Spa.
But
the Unicorns leapt over the wall behind her, with a thud they were on her heels
again, she could feel their thundering hooves beating the ground behind her,
the snorting moisture from their breath and the burning heat of their horns,
aimed to skew her heart and condemn her to Hellias forever. Then suddenly, her
toe caught on the underbrush, sending her hurtling face first into the ground...
"AAAAGGGGHHH!"
With
a splash Zara lurched forward in the tub, returning violently to consciousness,
gasping for breath…
"Something
chasing you?" Nulu offered, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
A
tender hand touching her shoulder eased Zara's transition back to reality,
assuring her it was just a dream... A nightmare! She
was still in the bath... She scanned the room, still panting, stoned on shock... They
felt so real... She could hear their hooves... Feel the
Athenia
watched the sunset colors fade away from her dorm window in Lochia. As the
lights began to flicker on across the water, memories of better days filled her
mind, thoughts of longing, longing to return to the big city, longing to retire
from the Breeding program already, maybe this would be her last time? This
Breeding assignment had ruined her life, how did it happen? She knew there had
to have been some mistake, but no one would listen to her, they all saw her
being crowned the Goddess of Finias, everyone expected her to be a well paid Vine Goddess some day and now it was as if it had never happened
at all, and no one thought anything of it. It made no sense.
Her
thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door, it was always good news when
Eden brought her food, Eden was perhaps the only one who went out of her way to
make the Breeders feel better.
"I
managed to save you some of the lamb." Eden placed the tray on the table
and checked her vital signs. "How are you feeling tonight?"
"I'm
ready to give birth" Athenia confessed, burdened by the strain of last few weeks. "I
can't wait for the little monster to come out!"
"Has
he been kicking you again?"
"Hard"
she lamented."It will happen soon enough and you’ll forget the little monster, especially once you get your gold beads" Eden smiled warmly, knowing the right words to raise spirits; she was good at it, that was why it was her job. "Dr Seton says your Product could be very special, you know what that means, don't you? Eat up, he needs all the very best nutrition you can give him right now."
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