Family
Secret I suppose every family
has a secret. Some would be disastrous if discovered.
Others would merely be embarrassing. My family has kept a
secret for over 500 years, for both reasons. Today,
however, we would face no inquisitions or witch hunts,
and I cannot imagine many people believing the secret,
let alone ostracizing us for it. For you see, my family
has a rather long-lived friend. One which modern science
cannot acknowledge and normal religions disbelieve. Our
friend has no real business in our world other than to
keep magic alive for the benefit of future generations.
Our friend is an 825-year-old unicorn. Her name is
Francine. She has told us that her dam named her after St
Francis of Assisi, who was apparently a friend of hers. I
know. The timelines don't match. Suffice it to say that
time does not always flow at the same rate in every
universe. I'm afraid I don't know more than a few stories
from our history, and as Francine necessarily doesn't
spend much time with us, I haven't had the opportunity to
ask her about my ancestors. But I CAN tell you about her
from my grandparents time up to the present. My
grandmother Gussie Miller was a real Covered Wagon
settler of the Old West. All right, it was one of the
last such journeys of the 19th Century. And they went
that way because trains were expensive. She was 12 at the
time, and terribly afraid of "Wild Injuns".
Seems some malicious little boy had filled her head with
terrible calamitous tales of blood and gore. All purely
fictitious, but real enough for an innocent like Gussie. Several weeks into the journey, while Gussie was "taking care of business" beyond the view of her fellow travelers, she noticed a strange but beautiful animal barely visible beyond the far brush. It was smaller than a horse, and at first, she thought it was a grayish white burro, until it turned and she realized that it was sporting a horn, not long ears. She stood slowly, amazed beyond fear by this awesome creature. Slowly, hesitantly, she approached it, as it seemed to nod encouragingly at her. As she came within reach, she extended her hand, laying it gently on the beast's neck. It had a long, flowing mane, white and soft as silk, and soft fur almost like wool, but not curly. A short, white beard, cloven hooves, long, wavy, horse-like tail, and a spiral horn like that of a narwhal, but shorter, between 2 and 3 ft in length. The horn was crenellated with a white interior and black spiral casing, with several black bands or rings above the base. It had beautiful, intelligent, blue eyes, and it seemed to speak with a voice inside Gussie's head. "Hello, young one", it seemed to say. "H-hello?" Gussie responded. "I see you found the courage to meet me at last." "What do you mean?" Gussie said, “I’ve never even seen you before in my life! You’re so beautiful!" "Yes, I am! And you noticed. Very good." the unicorn continued. "You've not seen me before because you were afraid to look." "It's the Injuns!" Gussie confided, "I have to stay close or the Injuns'll get me!" "Who told you a lie like that? The nearest Indians are miles away, and several of them are friends of mine!" "They are?" Gussie asked, greatly relieved. "They are." The unicorn confirmed. "Do you have a name?" Gussie asked. "I am called Francine." "I'm Gussie!" my grandmother replied, "We're going to Oka-homa!" "Really?" Francine replied in a faintly ironic tone, "Then perhaps I will go too. Watch for me in the mornings, especially if there is water nearby. And don't be afraid of Indians!" Francine turned and
galloped away, disappearing swiftly into the distance,
and Gussie returned to the wagon. Gussie was fairly
bubbling over with excitement as she returned to her
mother's side, and told her of her experience. Her father
overheard and scolded her for lying and threatened to
whoop her good if'n she kept on lying like that. But
later that evening, her mother told her of the Secret,
and of her own experiences, and advised her to keep the
Secret for her own good. She did, but unfortunately, that
is why she no longer remembers her mother's story. Of her
own story, she tells only of how she and Francine met,
and of how she learned courage, and of how the unicorn
saved her life. Those last two were actually related. It
was still early spring, as they had planned to travel
until summer, then get a late crop planted as soon as
possible. They stopped in a wooded area, unaware there
were bears nearby, and set up camp for the evening.
Gussie was sent off to fetch some water, and Francine
appeared soon after she found the stream. They spoke
quietly of doings in other lands and of days long gone,
when out of nowhere, a large black bear appeared,
shuffling toward them in search of forage. Gussie
screamed and dropped her water bucket, and the bear stood
up on its hind legs, a good 8 ft high. Gussie saw that it
was thin from its winter fast and very, very hungry. Fear
rooted her to the ground where she stood. Francine turned to face the giant beast. Brandishing her horn like a Cavalry sword, she charged the monster, slicing and stabbing, then whirling away as those huge claws swiped toward her. She harried the bear away from Gussie, until she was sure it had had enough. Returning triumphantly, she proudly accepted all the praise Gussie could give her as she walked into the stream to rinse the blood from her coat and horn. Gussie delightedly assisted, pouring buckets full of water over Francine's back, petting and caressing her as she checked her coat, marveling how she had come away unscathed from the experience. Taking that formidable horn in her small hands, she marveled at its beauty and the intricate patterns, not unlike antelope horn, which covered it. "Some say that
there is magic in that horn," Francine commented,
"and in some worlds, that is very true. But at the
moment, the only magic I possess is centered behind the
horn, not within it. |
Next Page (Chapter 1 continued)
