Unicorn

 

The woods were deep and dark. In the distance, the sound of bells and a woman singing echoed. The wildlife went still with each bell tinkle, waiting for proof that the men had gone before they came alive again. Despite this chaos, there was a sense of peace in the woods. The sweet smell of lilacs hung in the air and fireflies danced around the perfectly clear blue pond. 

I inhaled the scent, holding it in my mouth. It had been years since I had been in the quiet magic of a forest like this. There was no terror here, no frightened beast that linger in the dark. The Woods were magical in their own right but the lingering presence of their protector left a newness in the air. 

The fireflies flitted in the air as I walked by the pond. In the light of the full moon, I could see my reflection, eyes wide with eagerness and lips parted in anticipation. There were no prints by the edge of the water, though I knew that she lingered here. Her kind was vain. Pools were the perfect places to admire themselves.

Gentle tinkling grew closer as the bells ran. Owls hooted and fell quiet. Crickets crescendoed in song and grew silent with each toll of the silvery bells. A woman’s sweet voice silenced the wildlife. Her song was gentle and shallow, the kind of song only a princess would ever sing. Someone who had never felt the hardness of the world.

I stepped out of the clearing and ducked behind a tree, watching the fair woman walk. Torches were lit by the men who followed behind her, horses nickering and skittish. The smell of their prey excited them, making their skin quiver and their ears perk forward. The knights struggled to control their mounts. With every step they hesitated, turning to manage the great beasts.

The woman strode with confidence, a golden bridle with the little silver bells in her hand. She shook it loudly while singing her song. I pursed my lips and shook my head at the bold idiocy of mortals. As though being loud and awkward would lure in an immortal creature. 

Yet there she was, liquid light in the darkness, hiding in the shadows just beyond the torchlight. In mocking grace and playful dancing, she wandered ever nearer the human party, ears perked forward in curiosity. As I watched her prancing along the wooden paths only she could see, she was a creature of singular beauty. The moonlight touched her coat, making her glow she was so white. 

The unicorn slid closer, moving like a shadow on the sea. I tilted my head and inhaled to let her know I was nearby. Her head turned, glancing back at me with clear blue eyes. We watched each other in the moonlight, one immortal to another, a playful smile on my lips as the girl sang her song just behind us.

Her ear twitched at the song. In a soft and sweet voice, she spoke, head turning back to the ruckus going on in her woods, “What is it do you think they are trying to achieve?”

“They say you’re drawn to virgins, silver, and bells. She must be very boring.”

I didn’t know unicorns could laugh. But a strange horse-like snicker and human giggle came from her delicate frame. The lion-like tail swished behind her, moving as though of its own accord. The great horn shone in the dark, moths dancing about it attracted to the low light. 

“I think,” I continued, “That you find it curious enough to get just close enough… they might see you. Or worse.”

A haughty expression showed on the goatish face. She turned, walking away from the mortals and back towards the clearing where her pond rested. I followed, leaving footprints where she didn’t. 

“I didn’t mean to offend.”

“Yes, you did,” the unicorn replied, eyes staring at me without hesitation.

I shrugged. “When’s the last time someone mocked you?”

A long silence sat between us. She finally snorted and turned her head to the side. “What do you want? Or did you come here just to mock me?”

The scent of lilac lingered in the air, clinging to her as it did to the flowers that lined her woods. “I had heard you were lonely.”

Her tail flicked again. “Unicorns do not get lonely.”

“You’re immortal and solitary.”

“And?”

“You watch things grow, mate, birth, and die. That’s… hard… to do alone.”

The unicorn turned, finally looking at me straight on. Her head lowered gently, as though she wished for me to touch her. 

“May I?” I asked.

She gave a hint of a nod. I moved my hands forward, touching the silken fur on her head, fingers caressing the smooth shell texture of the base of her horn. She went still beneath my hands, so long it had been since someone had ever touched her. Then came a tremble as my hands moved over her ears, stroking the long thin flesh and down her neck. 

Her mane was as soft as silk, fine and delicate. My fingers ran through its inhumane silken strands. They glowed in the low light, opalescence and nearly blue-white. Her body swayed, moving to meet my touch in gentle rubs and shivers. I moved down her neck to the narrow shoulders. 

She wasn’t a horse with a horn. Her body was slender and delicate and filled with a different kind of grace than any other creature. There was beauty in every angle, with strange slenderness that would have been awkward on any other creature. Her white hair shimmered as my fingers ran through it, over the arch of her back, across her withers, and to the angular hips.

The tail moved as a cat’s would, seemingly with a mind of its own. It flicked back and forth, sometimes brushing my leg or hip now and then as my hands worked her body, massaging and caressing, letting her remember what it was like to be so touched and desired. I lowered my face down, planting small kisses along her back and shoulders, each touch made in reverence to the creature she was.

“Do you want more?” I murmured against her hair, glancing upward to the silhouette of her horn and face. The moonlight bathed her and it caught my breath, too beautiful to behold.

“I do,” she finally admitted after a prolonged silence. Her body moved, pushing her backside against me. The tail shifted, offering me access that I had not expected. My eyes widened, just enough for the surprise to show. I could have sworn the unicorn smirked.

I lowered myself down, kneeling behind her. My lips parted, tongue lashing out to tease the delicate flesh of her opening. Pale pink met my tongue and she shivered again, giving the faintest of whinnies while the girl still sang in the dark woods, bells ringing in the faint distance. I lapped at her opening, teasing the folds of flesh and diving into the depths one stroke at a time.

My tongue found the sweet bit of flesh that drove her wild. The hoofs stamped, tail flicked, and body quivered at my dancing tongue. With each moment she grew more restless, moving against me and forward. I held to her, unrelenting in my attention as the mare released a silvery sound of lust that hung in the air, silencing the bells and the song.

Her body shuddered as I stood, keeping her backend pressed against me. My fingers played with the folds, opening them to slide inward. The unicorn’s ears twitched towards the sounds of the distantly approaching humans. I ran my nails down her back, pulling her back to me, before pushing another finger in and then another.

The beast cried out again, snorting out air she didn’t need to breathe. I shifted, pushing my thumb in and then sliding forward until my hand moved inside of her entirely. Within, I balled my hand, forming a fist. Slowly I pulled back, nearly pulling out of her, before pushing forward and deeper. 

My arm thrust inward, building speed and moment, moving harder than I would have with any mortal woman. The unicorn made a gasping sound of joy as she planted her hoofs down, anchoring herself so that I slammed into her with my fist. We moved together, bodies weaving back and forth while she rode my arm, allowing me to go deeper with each passing moment.

Light threatened the edge of the clearing as the humans grew ever nearer. I could feel her hesitancy, the need to run away, tempered with the need to stay and to feel the ecstasy that was coursing through her. I pushed deeper again and harder, ramming my fist against her inside entrance. 

The beast trembled and shook, hoofs giving one last stamp before she cried out in a beautiful whinny. The muscles around my arm tensed, squeezing hard, keeping me clenched within her. The humans moved into the clearing, their princess leading the way, just as the unicorn turned to face me, my arm sliding out of her and coated in her fluids.

I caressed the hair that rested around her horn with my dry hand, gently and lovingly. “You should go,” I whispered, knowing it was just moments before the mortals would see her.

Her cheek touched mine, the most loving gesture she knew. “I will remember you.”

“And I you,” I whispered. 

She was gone in a flash, vanished into the deep woods around me. The scent of lilacs clung to me as I rolled my sleeve back down and turned to face the young woman who approached. 

“Have you seen a fabulous beast?” she asked, eyes wide with excitement. “We are here to capture it!”

I smiled. “You can’t. I already have.”