Voice of the Wind

Ending and Beginning

Leslie peeked outside again, just to make sure and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"There's a unicorn, there's a unicorn, there's a unicorn." she repeated to herself, like that would make it more believable. She shook her head. "Ok....what to do, what to do, what to do...ok...I should probably head back to bed and pretend I've been asleep the whole time....and think about this in the morning. Where's Skenteos I wonder."

With that decided she slipped back to the bed and snuggled up in the still slightly warm covers.

And yet she couldn't get back to sleep. She jumped at every little noise, thinking it was a unicorn coming to run her through with their horn for some unknown reason.

It seemed very likely now that she had literally met a unicorn.

Finally she fell asleep, after much jumping and looking around for the various noises.

The unicorn heard the rustling inside the hut and lay down. Leslie sounded fine, if she was moving that much. She figured she could take a break.

The Next Morning

Leslie got up out of the cot and stretched, looking around. The sun was reaching into the hut and its golden rays touched the pot over the ashes of the fire pit.

Leslie walked around the pit and peeked outside. Skenteos was back, sleeping on the ground and her bag was a few feet away from the door.

She slipped over to the bag and opened it. She starting digging through it, looking for the gold that Skenteos had.

"Looking for this?" she heard a voice behind her and turned around.

Skenteos was standing behind her, gold in hand.

Leslie ducked her head in embarrassment and shame. "Yeah." she admitted.

"I have to keep it with me at all time." Skenteos told her, "You know why?"

Leslie shook her head, looking up.

"Because of this." Skenteos told her. Skenteos held up the gold in one hand so that the sunlight caught it perfectly. The gold dissolved and standing where Skenteos used to be was a beautiful unicorn.

"You're the unicorn?!" Leslie shrieked.

The unicorn huffed, "Of course I am. I can't believe you didn't realize that." she lowered her head and pawed the ground.

"You can talk?!" Leslie shrieked again, backing away from the waving horn.

"Of course!" Skenteos huffed again, rearing up and glaring at her.

Leslie screamed and ran into the forest. Skenteos trotted after her, keeping up easily.

"You know you're gonna get lost in here." she told Leslie, pausing to nibble some grass.

"Please help me get out!" Leslie begged her, falling to her knees in front of her.

Skenteos eyed her, then went back to eating the grass.

Leslie sighed and leaned against a nearby tree. "Please?" she asked politely.

Skenteos looked at her, "Do you know why I chose you to come into the forest."

"You...like me?" Leslie guessed.

"You're living in my house. The unicorns had been using that house and then your father bought it. If I keep you here, you'll learn to love the unicorns and your family will move away." she told Leslie.

Leslie sank to the forest floor. "I'm gonna become a unicorn?" she asked.

Skenteos dipped her head. "Yes." she changed back to her human form and held out the gold. "You want to get it over with?"