The Snow Unicorn

by Bridget McGowan

  The prince was in a room with a huge, highly polished wooden desk with brass accessories. She didn’t know what most of them were for. He wrote with a quill pen on parchment.

  A window behind him reached nearly to the ceiling, and the blue drapes were held back at the sides of the window, giving Caitlyn a view of the formal gardens and several fountains.

  Michael looked up as she entered. He smiled, then stood.

  “Lady Caitlyn, it’s so good to see you!” he said, approaching her.

  “And I’m glad to see you. I heard you’re going to be married,” she said, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice.

  “Yes, it is true. I hope you will be here to attend the wedding. It will be very festive.”

  “I would like that,” she replied.

  A young woman came down the hall as Michael led Caitlyn out of his office.

  “Ah, Alexandra,” he said. “Come. I would like you to meet my dear friend, Lady Caitlyn, who comes from the real world. Caitlyn, may I present Lady Alexandra, who is soon to be my wife. I do hope you both can become dear and sacred friends.”

  “Hello, Caitlyn,” Alexandra said. “The prince has said so many kind things about you, I fear I was jealous of your friendship. But I did hope to meet you one day. I do hope you can forgive me and that we may be friends.”

  “Yes, of course,” Caitlyn said. “In my eyes you are a very lucky woman to be marrying the prince.”

  She hoped no one was offended by that. Imagine Alexandra being jealous of her! Perhaps Alexandra could like her since she was only ten.

  Michael and Alexandra both smiled, and they walked down the hallway to a room Caitlyn hadn’t been in before. They all sat at a table, and they taught her to play Snicks, a game from their realm. It was something like checkers only three or four people could play it. She liked it very much and wished she could find one to bring home. That way not only could she teach it to her friends, but she could also prove she’d been here.

  When they had played several rounds of Snicks, the prince stood and apologized, saying he had duties, and must end this time of play. He and Alexandra walked with Caitlyn to the audience room, and the footman brought her coat. Then he escorted her outside where Storm waited.

  Since Caitlyn wasn’t yet ready to return to the cottage, Storm took her around the village. It was market day, so many people selling food and other goods had stalls set up and were selling their goods. Those who saw Caitlyn on Storm knew she was from the real world. They smiled and waved, some greeting her.

  “Would you like to buy anything?” Storm asked.

  “I haven’t any money.”

  “You are Lady Caitlyn. You have credit.”

  “But I can’t pay.”

  “There is a pouch inside your cloak.”

  She checked and found a pocket she didn’t know was there. Inside was a pouch full of money. She slid off Storm and began walking around the stalls.

  Caitlyn bought some vegetables and fruits for her supper. Then she bought a bracelet for Elsie, an apple for Storm and a very unique pin for herself. She pinned it inside her sweater so she’d have it when she returned home. Then people would believe her.

  When they arrived at the cottage, Elsie was pleased that Caitlyn had thought to buy food. She was thrilled to receive the bracelet saying no one had given her such a gift in a very long time.

  “Did you buy nothing for yourself?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Caitlyn said. She took out the pin.

  “What a strange place to put it.”

  “I didn’t want it to get lost. I want to save it for something special.”

  “Perhaps you can wear it to the prince’s wedding.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t be invited.”

  “Of course you will!”

  “But what if I’m not here then?”

  “I’m sure you’ll get to go to the prince’s wedding.”

  Caitlyn spent days wandering about the woods with Storm, and evenings sitting by the fire with Elsie, learning the traditions and lore of the land.

  “Is everyone here from my world?” Caitlyn asked one evening.

  “No. There were people here already. And not everyone from your world can come through. It used to be that many came. Now only a few like you come.”

  “Why?”

  “I would guess there are more things to occupy their minds, and less imagination. People don’t believe as much.”

  “And you’re from my world?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you didn’t get to marry a prince like Michael’s mother did?”

  “There aren’t enough princes to go around. And not everyone is meant for a prince.”

  “But you’re alone. Why did you stay?”

  “There are many reasons people stay. Not everyone comes to marry a prince. My life in your world was a terrible thing. I experienced things too terrible to speak of. This was my refuge.”

  “You didn’t want to stay there and fight?”

  “Caitlyn, there was no way to fight. I would have died if I’d stayed.”

  “Then I’m glad you decided to stay here. Still, it’s a shame there was no one for you to marry.”

  “There were plenty. I did not wish to marry. I am content.”

  They sat in silence for a long while, the fire crackling. Caitlyn couldn’t imagine a house like this in her world.

  “It’s a shame Michael has no brothers,” Caitlyn said.

  “Oh, but he has. His younger brother, Peter is away being educated. His brother, Ambrose, who is a year younger than he, is a knight in the king’s army. And he has an older sister who is married to the crown prince of another country.”

  “He never mentioned any of them,” Caitlyn replied.

  “There was no need.”

  In the evenings that passed, Caitlyn learned there were seven major countries in their land. The country they were in was called Aldanus. Michael’s sister would one day be the Queen of Zestria, and their closest ally country was Belgee, where Alexandra was from.

  Caitlyn also learned of the festivals of the land: the flower festival in spring, the King’s Coronation Day in high summer, the butterfly festival, also in summer, the Day of Souls in the autumn, when people remembered their ancestors and had picnics featuring favorite foods in their families, and the Snow fest in midwinter.

  In each of these days towns were decorated, gifts exchanged and a holiday atmosphere made people happy.

  “Do you have hospitals here?” Caitlyn asked.

  “Yes, but they don’t look modern, as yours do. We don’t seem to have some of the illnesses here that are in your world.”

  “Are there poor people and homeless people?”

  “No. We take care of our own. You might consider some people poor, but everyone has what they need, and people choose the way they live.”

  Caitlyn also learned that some of the trees and flowers, as well as animals, were different from those at home. In addition to the flowers she was used to, there were flowers with alternating pink and purple petals. These flowers were called Tunelilies. There was a tree that was very short, with wide branches full of nuts called Kettlenut trees because the nuts were shaped like little tea kettles.

  Elsie told her she had already had kettlenut stew. When Caitlyn tasted the nut, she discovered it tasted almost like beef.

  The animals she was used to were there: cows, horses, chickens and sheep. But there were small woodland creatures she’d never heard of, like the wiglund, which looked like a cross between a rabbit and a chipmunk. There was the Opala, which was the size of a tall dog with a face like a horse. The Opala could run faster than any creature she’d ever seen. It needed to; it appeared to be frightened of everything.

  Talking drapes were the most annoying. Night creatures something like pink swans, they made noises that sounded like women chatting over lunch. The sound went on most of the night without any break. Only the sun coming up over the horizon silenced them. Even on rainy days
they made noise because they couldn’t see the sun. If the sun broke through suddenly, they grew silent and scattered in confusion. It was fortunate that they only arrived in summer.

  A month passed pleasantly, with Caitlyn riding Storm every day. He told her things about the woods that only an animal would know. His knowledge amazed her, and she wondered what kinds of things other animals who couldn’t communicate with humans knew.

  The time came for the prince’s wedding. Caitlyn received an ornate scroll inviting her to the wedding. Elsie received one, too.

  Caitlyn was overjoyed as much about how pretty the invitation was as that she’d received one. She was very happy that Elsie was going, too, so that she’d know someone else there.

  They spent days looking through dresses and shoes that Caitlyn might wear. She loved trying on all of the beautiful things.

  “What about you, Elsie? What will you wear?”

  “Oh, nothing as grand as what you have to wear.”

  “Why not?”

  “You are a lady and I am not.”

  “But you come from my world.”

  “And when I chose to stay, I chose the life of a commoner.”

  “Why?”

  “Balls and other grand occasions are very nice when you are young. But after a while, they lose their luster. I chose, instead, to have a gingerbread house in the woods, and live quietly. Everything I need is provided, and I get to take care of Storm.

  Until that moment, it had never occurred to Caitlyn that someone took care of the unicorn. Yes, when she was in the magical world, she knew he stayed in the barn at the back of Elsie’s house, but she thought that was for her convenience. She had assumed he lived in the woods when she wasn’t there.

  “Was his name always Storm?”

  Elsie laughed. “Yes. You ‘named’ him that because he put the name in your head.”

  “Who named him?”

  “I did,” Elsie said with a laugh. “He was born in a storm. But perhaps I didn’t name him, either. Perhaps he put the name in my head when he let me see the story of his birth.”

  “How did he do that?”

  “Storm has the ability to show people things by putting the pictures of what happened into your mind.”

  “Oh. And I thought I was just picturing things when he said them.”

  “We all thought that originally. Eventually, anyone who has talked with Storm has realized he was doing it.”

  Caitlyn thought that over for a bit, and then Elsie brought her back to the present.

  “Come, it’s late. You need your rest.”

  The big day came. Elsie helped Caitlyn dress for the wedding. Elsie, too, was going, but she wore less courtly clothes. She was, after all, a simple peasant now that she lived here, and Caitlyn, as someone from the real world, was The Lady Caitlyn, and due more respect.

  Caitlyn felt elegant in the fancy gown. She wore a pink gown, one of the ones she hadn’t chosen the first time she went to the castle. She had pink slippers to go with it, and her hair hung in long curls with pink flowers woven in.

  She and Elsie both got into the carriage Storm pulled, and travelled through the woods to the castle. When they arrived, the footman opened the door; he helped each of them out.

  The wedding was everything Caitlyn could wish for. The bride wore a long blue gown and a gold crown with a pale blue veil attached to it. The groom wore a white uniform with a red sash diagonally across his chest. There were six men and women who walked down the aisle ahead of Alexandra.

  The ceremony was longer than the few Caitlyn had attended in the real world in her ten years of life, but after the joining of Michael and Alexandra in matrimony, the Lady Alexandra was crowned princess of the realm.

  Although they sat together at the wedding itself, Elsie sat at another table at the banquet. She knew the others at her table.

  Caitlyn didn’t know the people sitting at her table, but they were kind to her. They included her in their conversations. Everyone knew who she was, and she made new friends that day.

  When the meal was over, the dancing began with the prince and princess having a first dance together. Afterward, the king and queen danced together, and the princess’ parents also danced. Once the first formal dances had finished, the other guests joined in.

  A boy in uniform approached her. He was tall but looked about thirteen. His light brown hair fell almost into his brown eyes. Caitlyn had seen him in the wedding party, but didn’t know who he was. He smiled at her.

  “You are the Lady Caitlyn?” he asked. His voice was deeper than Caitlyn had expected.

  “Yes, I am,” she replied.

  “I am Peter. Michael is my brother.”

  It was odd that he didn’t introduce himself as Prince Peter, she thought, but she liked the fact that he didn’t need to prove himself by using titles.

  “I’m pleased to meet you, your highness,” she said.

  “Oh, please just call me Peter. I hate all of that royalty rubbish.”

  “Am I allowed to call you Peter?”

  “Of course. I said you could. Would you like to dance?”

  “I’m afraid I’m not very good at it,” she said.

  “Michael said you were very good. Does that mean you don’t want to dance?”

  “No. I’d be happy to dance with you.”

  He led her out to the dance floor and they had a wonderful few dances. She learned that he had three more years at his current school and then he would become a soldier like Ambrose. After the required two years as a soldier, he would return to one of the universities to complete his education.

  “Ambrose will be a warrior for life, but I don’t want to spend my time that way. It will be bad enough to spend two years at it when I know it isn’t what I want.”

  “Why do you have to do that?”

  “All boys must train from age sixteen into eighteen. The king can’t make an exception for his own sons or the people would rebel.”

  “I’m glad I don’t have to do anything like that.”

  “What do you do in your world?”

  “I go to school. I’m only ten.”

  “When will you finish school?”

  “When I’m eighteen, unless I go to college.”

  “Do you think you will?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t decided what I want to be when I grow up yet.”

  “You get to decide?”

  “Yes, of course. Don’t you?”

  “Well, as the king’s son, there are several things I can do, but I couldn’t simply do any occupation. I couldn’t be a blacksmith, for example, or a merchant.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m the king’s son. I have to follow one of the noble professions.”

  “What do you think you’ll be?” she asked.

  “A historian. I want to chronicle the history of my people.”

  When the music ended, Peter led her over to where Elsie sat. He greeted Elsie and told Caitlyn how much he enjoyed dancing with her. Then he went on his way.

  “How about that!” Elsie said. “You danced with Prince Peter. I had no idea either of you could dance.”

  Caitlyn told Elsie what things she and Peter had discussed while dancing. Elsie was impressed with how well Caitlyn got along with the prince.

  “It looks like you won’t have to worry about finding a prince,” Elsie teased.

  Caitlyn blushed and drank juice from a goblet.

  She also met Ambrose and danced with him, but he was older, nearly twenty-two, and she didn’t know what to say to him. It was strange that she’d never had difficulty talking with Michael. Something about Ambrose put a distance between the muscular blond and the little girl. He looked as if he weren’t really listening, but was, instead, thinking of something he’d rather be doing. Still, he was polite and answered whatever she said.

  All too soon the wedding feast was over, and it was time to return to Elsie’s house.

  Caitlyn was tired when she arrive
d, and the woman helped the girl out of the fancy gown. Caitlyn was nearly asleep before she was completely in bed. It had been a good day

  Chapter 3

  Although she was happy for the prince and princess, Caitlyn couldn’t help feeling sad. She had dreamt of marrying Michael. It didn’t matter to her that he’d been ten years older than she was when she first met him. It didn’t even matter that now he was thirteen years older. She believed that in this magical land, anything was possible.

  She had never stopped to consider Elsie. The woman in the cottage didn’t get the prince. In fact, there had been no prince. Still, she came to live here.

  I guess everyone can’t be a princess, she thought.

  With the prince and princess away on their honeymoon, there weren’t any balls to attend. Instead, Elsie took her for picnics or to the town market.

  Other people in the town became Caitlyn’s friends, and she spent days with them. Every day was another adventure, and she began to forget about home.

  One night she became afraid. She heard the wolves howling in the distance, and feared for Storm’s safety. There had been only a single wolf howl before, but now the numbers were growing. She thought there were at least four. Why weren’t the prince’s foresters doing anything about it?

  Some nights she barely slept for worry. When the howls became particularly long she crept out to the stable to protect Storm.

  “I am fine here,” he told her. “No wolf can reach me here. The door is closed, and they cannot get in.”

  His reassurances didn’t make her feel better. She knew the cagey wolves could get to Storm somehow.

  “You can’t worry yourself sick over Storm,” Elsie said. “Storm is safe. He can take care of himself. Besides, everyone’s time comes, and when it does, there’s nothing anyone from your world or ours can do about it.”

  Although there may have been no point in worrying, Caitlyn couldn’t make herself stop. She couldn’t bear to lose Storm.

  The wind howled, and it was difficult to tell what sound was wind and what was a wolf. Caitlyn tossed and turned, sleeping fitfully. She had gone to sleep afraid that something bad was about to happen. She had wanted to go out to Storm, but the wind and later rain were too intense. It sounded like a hurricane.