I held Ikko's hand and followed the others so he wouldn't fall when he stumbled. After I looked ahead of the trail and saw that we were coming up a hill, I sighed and looked around the trees to entertain myself with the scenery. I didn't know why, but this forest seemed familiar to me. I found that strange since I had never been here before.
Just after I finished my thought, I caught a glimpse of something white in the corner of my eye. I turned my head but didn't see anything white at all in the peaceful forest beside me. I stopped walking as if my heart was pulling me into the woods. I felt very strange at my sudden desire to run off the path, and it wasn't long before Arine and Cienar realized I had stopped and done the same. Ikko squeezed my hand as he looked up at me. "What is it?"
I broke out of the spell that had seemed to come over me and led Ikko to Cienar's side. "I'll be right back. Can you watch him for me?" I asked. Cienar nodded and Arine raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?" He questioned me as if he was suspicious that I was going to go bury a body. I hesitated. 'Where AM I going?' I asked myself. I honestly didn't know. I decided that my best bet was to come up with something believable. "I um, have to pee. I won't be long." I then turned away and jogged into the forest without another word.
I slowed my jog to a walk as soon as I was out of sight. I didn't know why I was here or what I saw, but I had to find out. I looked around the forest and began to feel the pull on my heart again. I hoped with everything I had that this wasn't another trick like a celestial orb because I was too far hooked to turn back now. I approached a stream and stopped. 'I should go back,' I thought as I watched the sunbeams through the trees sparkle on the water. I was about to turn away when my ears caught a faint, yet beautiful sound.
I looked up and I couldn't believe what I saw. A white mare that seemingly appeared out of nowhere glided out of the shade and into the sunlight toward me. Her coat sparkled as she moved through the sunbeams and I was speechless at the sight of her. She was a beautiful horse, but what was most surprising was the long spiraled horn sprouting from her forehead. It sparkled just as her fur did, and my mouth fell open.
One of the last unicorns in the world was standing before me. I was mesmerized by her beauty and how close she was to me. In all my life, I never thought I would get the chance to see a unicorn, let alone get within touching distance of one. One soul of a unicorn is more valuable than every other soul in the world combined. Because of this, they've been hunted to extinction. So Why was such a rare and powerful creature luring me to her? She slowly walked across the stream and up to me. She looked at me and I slowly reached out to pet her. She flinched, but let me. I pet her face and reached to touch my fingers to her horn.
I could feel the power in it, and it was so familiar. She then tilted her head so her horn brushed my cheek. I smiled. 'I don't know why I feel so at home here, but I want to enjoy this moment with her.' Then suddenly, I heard Arine call for me. I stepped back and looked behind me. There was no one there and I exhaled in relief. 'I should go back.' I turned to say goodbye to the mare, but she was gone. I looked around and she was nowhere in sight. 'That was weird.'
Later I came back to the trail where everyone was waiting for me. Arine had his arms crossed. "There you are! Come'on! We're almost to the town." Cienar began to turn around. "It's just over this hill, so not too much longer." I hurried up to follow them and took Ikko's hand.
We made our way up the hill and all the time I was trying to figure out what happened to me. 'It must've been a hallucination or something. It couldn't have been real. Why would I just happen to see a unicorn in a forest as small as this one? And why on Earth did it let me touch her?' I pushed the questions to the back of my brain so my head would stop hurting.
We reached the top of the hill and saw the town in the distance below us. It was alongside the beach and had docks with many ships and traders. Arine pointed to the docks. "We'll need a ship if we're going to make it to Devil's island. That's where the sorcerers castle is."
We started to walk down the hill and Cienar turned to Arine. "Why couldn't I carry all of you across using water?" Arine kept his eyes on the docks. "It's too far. And I'm sure that me and Ikko wouldn't like our wings being wet for that long." Cienar nodded and we made our way through the town and to the docks. We got looks from anyone who saw us, but that I expected.
There were a lot of fisherman there, merchants, traders, and it reeked of fish, seawater, and men. I held my breath when I could, and an old man approached us with a smile. "Can I help you fine travelers?" Cienar looked to him. "Yes. We need a boat." The old man pushed his glasses to his face. "A boat, well, that would cost a lot of money." Cienar tossed a coin to him and the man smirked.
"One gold coin isn't nearly enough lad." Cienar tilted his head. "Look at it again." He raised an eyebrow and held the coin up to his face. He suddenly gasped. "Why, t-this is a coin from the treasure of the lost city of Atlantis! How, how did you get this?!" Cienar smiled. "Let's just say that having gills is useful." The man looked at him surprised and realized that he was a siren. "A boat coming up right away! It'll be just a moment." He left and I couldn't help being impressed. "Is that common money where you come from?"
Cienar turned back to me. "No. I'm actually the only one who knows where Atlantis is." Arine's mouth dropped. "What?! Why didn't you tell anyone?!" He sighed. "When you've seen what I've seen, you would know that most things are better off left a secret." Those words went deeper into me than I thought they would. It was true in a way, like if everyone knew where the last of the unicorns were, hunters would come for them, and the balance of the world would shift and die.
Later after we had gotten our boat, I went out to get some food from the market so that we wouldn't go hungry before we reached the island. I headed back to the docks with Ikko still holding my hand. I hadn't let him leave my sight and he was fine about it. He was really quiet actually. He was usually quiet, but it was weirder now that he was a kid.
"Is something bothering you?" He was quiet for a moment longer. "Yeah, but you don't want to hear it." I looked down to him surprised. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I want to hear it?" He sighed. "It's about the blood you gave me."
I blinked. "Oh. Was it, not good?" He looked up at me. "No. It was the opposite. I can't stop thinking about it. It also bothers me that the first time I tasted it was when I was in this stupid body." I was surprised. "You... Wanted to taste my blood before...?"