Chapter 10
There were no classes on Friday. Lauren woke up to the hustle and bustle of people preparing for the Unicorn races. Turns out that this was a huge deal and everything else comes to a stop until these races are concluded. The Unicorn races were not only about speed, but they also checked for agility. strength. Intelligence and conning; and poise under pressure. The order in which the unicorns finished each race determined the steeds line up.
"So, I don't get a say in this at all? Lauren asked.
"You could do a discernment on each of them and use it to make the final decision." Evandalyn offered. "After all you are the one that must be able to ride them and tolerate them."
"Ok. That's something." Lauren replied.
All around the center court of the palace, fair food was being served. There were also rides and shops open. It really was an amusement park with races on the side. It was so much fun. Edmon and Demeatral stayed with Lauren the entire time, which was great because she always had someone to ride a ride with. They ate fair food and drank fair drinks until they were stuffed. Finally, the first races were announced, and they moved to the Keepers's box to watch.
Speed races were first. The Unicorns looked radiant in their equestrian forms. Each horn was iridescent, but it had a different colored base and tip. She looked to see Davis' aquamarine coloring. He sparkled. He wore a band around each hoof and jewels in his mane. Each Unicorn was extremely well groomed. They lined up to parade in front of the Keeper's box, well, in front of Lauren. One by one, they entered the center stage, and Davis was first.
"I am Master Davis. Aquamarine. I hail from the Indus Civilization. I am marked by the leprechauns, a blend of fire and water. I pledge my allegiance to Lady Lauren." He pranced off to the opposite side of the stage allowing Jon to step forward.
"I am Master Jon. Diamond. I hail from Crystal City. I pledged my allegiance to Lady Lauren" Then off he went.
"Why didn't he give any more information as Davis did?" Lauren asked.
"I guess Davis is more prepared. He really wants to be your steed." Demeatral teased.
The parade of steeds continued. "I am Minister Charles. Topaz. I hail from Ireland. I pledge my allegiance to Lady Lauren."
"I am Byron, son of Davis. Sapphire. I hail from the Indus Civilization. I pledge my allegiance to Lady Lauren."
"I am Sir Christopher of Larksley. Opal. I am very pleased to meet you. I pledge my allegiance to Lady Lauren."
"I am Headmaster Grant. Turquoise. I hail from the Indus Civilization, and I run the schools. I pledge my allegiance to Lady Lauren."
"I am Tom. Emerald. I am from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. I pledge my allegiance to Lady Lauren."
"I am Frank, son of Grant. Alexandrite. I hail from the Indus Civilization. I pledge my allegiance to Lady Lauren."
"I am Peter the wildling. Ruby. I have no home to hail from. I pledge my allegiance to Lady Lauren."
"I am Patrick from Galdiland. Garnet. I pledge my allegiance to Lady Lauren."
"I am Guy, son of Sam. Peridot. I hail from the Indus Civilization. I pledge my allegiance to Lady Lauren."
"I am Master Sam. Amethyst. I hail from the Indus Civilization. I am the seventh son of a seventh son. I pledge my allegiance to Lady Lauren."
The whole thing fascinated Lauren. The different titles, places of origin, and the pledge of allegiance were a lot. She wanted to ask them questions, but she knew she had to get the races started. As she was instructed, she removed a handkerchief from her wrist and dropped it down into the racing rink. The twelve stallions moved to the starting gate.
"So, my dear, do you have a favorite?" Evandalyn asked.
"I haven't thought about it yet. Right now, if I had to choose Davis."
"Why him?"
"Because he took it upon himself to speak to me the first day and he is in my birth month, wearing my birthstone."
"Two very good reasons." Edmon agreed. "Plus, he is the fastest here with Sam a close second. You will see that in a minute. He would make you pick up your pace in PE class."
"I like Sam." Demeatral chimed in. "The strong silent type. Besides, you wouldn't have to worry about him hitting on you constantly. He is happily married."
"With Guy and Sam here, his wife must be a bit lonely." Lauren pointed out.
"No," Demeatral replied with a little laugh. "She does not just have one husband. She is the matriarch of her family and has seven husbands. Grant is one of her husbands also. Frank is one of her many sons. She and Sam have 10 sons in all. Seven sons can only give their wives boys until they have seven sons. His seventh son is named Carl."
"Seven! Wow! That's a lot." Lauren replied. She digested the information trying with wonder to grasp how much wonder there is in that family.
"It is normal in the magical realm and since there are not a lot of unicorns left, she has to be generous. You'll get to meet her in Indus after all this is over. Indus is her civilization."
"I see." Lauren started to think about the fact that there were not a lot of unicorns, alicorns, and pegasus. She would have to do something about that quickly. "I will read my creation book next and try to master it. If there were more good beings here, it would be easier for everyone."
The Unicorns were in the starting gate waiting for the postman to slide the pin free so the gate blocking their progress would spring free and start the race. Suddenly, everything went silent. Then, a loud bell dinged, and the race began. Just as Edmon predicted, Davis was in front followed by Sam, with Jon pulling in third. Headmaster Grant was in last, but Lauren didn't think he cared. Tom and Peter were in fourth and fifth places. Charles was in sixth. Byron, Christopher, Frank, Patrick, Guy, and Tom were the tail end of the pack. Headmaster Grant crossed the finish line last and bowed.
"He really doesn't want to be in this race, does he?" Lauren asked.
"Oh. he does. He just knows he is not as strong a runner as the others. He will win the intelligence test and be in the winning pack for weaponry." Edmon observed.
"You seem to know these fellows very well. Why don't you just pick my steed?"
"That is not the tradition. Besides, I don't have to ride him now, do I. You have to pay attention to what they are doing and how they handle situations. You have the final say of who will be your steed. These races are to let you see them in action as a unicorn. I hope you have been paying attention to them as humans as well." Edmon stated.
Lauren realized that Edmon was right. She was going to have the last say. Grant really acted like he didn't want to be here. Maybe he was missing his job as Headmaster of the schools in Indus. She really needed to be able to ask them questions.
"Evandalyn, is it possible that I can interview each of the unicorns as one of the tests?" Lauren asked.
"You personally, no. But you can write up your questions and watch as Edmon and Demeatral ask them in a different room." She replied.
"Like on the crime shows!" Lauren said excitedly.
"Yes. Your scoring will count as two votes. The races, five votes. Seven votes in total." Demeatral said. "Does it make you feel better, now that you have an active role in picking your steed?
Yes. Actually, it does." Lauren replied. "What happens to the unicorns that don't get first through third places?
"They are given a choice to live and work here or to go home. If they have family, they can bring their families here to live. Some already have. Sam's family lives in the western coastal region of the kingdom, right outside of the palace. She had them build her a beautiful structure that she now calls home. You will meet the rest of the unicorns tomorrow after all of the races and tests are complete. That will be when you announce the winner and give him a hug. Possibly a kiss." Evandalyn teased.
"A hug, I can do. I don't know about the kiss. I may not be a virgin, but I don't kiss people I don't know that well."
"I understand. Evendalyn said. "I'm only teasing. I didn't kiss them at the ceremony either. I just love to make you blush."
The second competition was agility and conning. Cosh and Tosh designed an obstacle course that was out of this world. As Edmon explained it, six "Damsels in distress" were in different towers and six "Crazy women" in the other. The unicorns had to use their intelligence to figure out if the woman they were going to rescue was friend or enemy and then actually rescue her as they figure out traps and fight the kidnappers that were trying to stop them. It was all extreme and Lauren loved it.
The bell tolled and the competitors were off. They scrambled their way through obstacle after obstacle. Every once in a while, you would hear a yelp or a curse word because they sprung a trap. Back in their human forms, they were able to summon their magics to use them to find the women. Davis used water to spring traps before he got caught in them. He took his time and listened to the voices of the kidnappers. He snuck by them, not having to fight. He stood still at the bottom of one of the towers and observed the woman at the top. She sat there looking bored, crossing and uncrossing her legs. When Chris popped up over the opposite side, she hit him over the head with a frying pan.
"Wow, so not friendly." Davis thought. He moved to the next tower and peaked in. This woman was in chains. She growled at him and reached out to him with sharp claws and fangs. When he looked into her eyes though, he saw her tears. He stepped inside the tower. Slowly, with his hands out palms up, he walked toward her. She calmed down. He moved to her chain and freed it from the wall. She jerked it but he didn't let it go. He slowly led her out of the tower, watching both their steps and looking for booby traps.
She followed him without fighting back. He guided her to the exit of the obstacle course, stepping around deep holes and over bridges where sections had fallen away. Davis gained first place again.
"What is wrong with the woman Davis brought in?" Lauren asked.
She has been bewitched. She is really just a girl that ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now that she is here, she can be healed.
"Wait. You mean to tell me that the Damsels and Crazies are real people that need help? You know where they are and wait for days like today to rescue them?"
"No, my dear. We are not heartless. We have been planning their rescues for some time. We just needed the manpower. Now we have it. Remember, I am not well. I can't open the portals like you can. You are making these rescues possible." Evandalyn explained.
Chris woke up from the hit of the frying pan and was carrying a fighting woman across the finish line and to the healing team. Seems she had also been bewitched and her treatment made her fears a reality.
One by one, the unicorns saved the women. Some of them fought not knowing they were being helped. Some fainted.
The last woman used spells and tried to trap Sam where she was being held. He resisted the magic and pulled her through the portal just as it was about to close. They continued to fight once she was in the arena. "We accept that she is Sam's quarry. Unicorns help him bring her into the infirmary."
They did as they were told and surrounded her. They combined their magic and created a magical bubble that drained her power and strength. They were finally able to get her in the infirmary.
Davis was now in the lead, Chris second and Peter, who mesmerized his woman and just made her walk to him without even going through the portal, was in third. Sam had moved down to fourth place. The rest came in the order of Jon, Frank, Tom, Patrick, Guy, Charles, Grant, then Byron.
"Wow. Well, that was certainly interesting." Lauren said. "I hope that now that I'm here, we can put a stop to the damsel in distress situations. It was horrible to see how they were treated. I mean, I could have found myself in a situation like that."
"It would never have happened." Edmon growled out. "I never would have let it." He seemed to be deeply offended.
"I'm sorry, Edmon. I wasn't spurning your ability to keep me safe. Remember until recently, I didn't know you were there for me. Being taken as a human fear all women suffered with." Lauren reassured him. "As a child, my cousin went missing for six hours. My parents became extremely overprotective, and I wasn't allowed to go anywhere. That made my fear of being kidnapped grow."
"Fears are like lures for creatures of this realm," Evandalyn said. "Be careful and learn to control them."
"You don't have to worry about being taken. We're here to protect you." Edmon replied.
"I know," Lauren replied. "Knowing that I have support and protectors like you help make me stronger. Thanks for always being there even before I knew you were."
Edmon nodded his head accepting the thanks. He knew he would work hard to ensure Lauren always felt safe.