Ginger princess's Arc

Chapter 2 of 7

The three dark unicorns kept their circle. They did not climb higher and they did not drop. The ginger princess watched them turn against the pale sky and knew nothing about them yet, not whether they would bite the mare or the baker who fed her. She wiped flour on her apron and made a choice. If they would not speak, she would feed them. She went to the outdoor oven behind the cabin and slid a fresh tray in. Honey, butter, cream, the good flour she saved for people she loved. She worked fast. Thomas stood at the porch rail with his sword drawn across his forearm, watching the sky. "One pass low," he said, "and I put one down." His voice was flat. He meant it. She did not argue. She only said, "Give me the buns first." Fancy Pants came from the stable leading the spotted horse by its mane. No rope, no bridle. The Appaloosa followed her like a dog. She stopped at the porch and looked up once at the circling shapes. "They're hungry," she said. "Not angry." She did not explain how she knew. She never did. The ginger princess pulled the tray out. The smell hit the meadow. She carried the buns past the porch, past the corral, into the open grass where the sky could see her. She set the tray on a flat stone. She stepped back three paces and knelt with her hands open. "Come down," she said. "Eat. Then we'll talk about staying." The first unicorn broke the circle. It dropped fast, wings folded like a hawk's, and landed hard enough to shake the stone. Its red eyes fixed on her, not the tray. The second landed behind it. The third stayed up, still watching. Thomas took one step off the porch. She raised a hand behind her back. He stopped. The lead unicorn lowered its horn to the tray. It ate one bun. Then another. Its shoulders dropped an inch. The second joined it. They ate without sound. When the tray was empty, the lead one lifted its head and looked at her the way the gray mare had looked at Fancy Pants on the first day. Not tame. Chosen. The third came down then and stood apart, wings half open, refusing the empty tray. It watched the tree line to the west and pawed the dirt once. Whatever had followed it here, it had not shaken off. The ginger princess stood slowly. "You can stay," she said to the two. To the third she said, "You too, if you tell me what's behind you." It did not answer. It only kept watching the trees. Thomas sheathed his sword halfway and left his hand on the grip. Fancy Pants stepped closer to the Appaloosa and went still. The haven had grown. So had whatever was coming for it.