June 2009 Story Contest

The Last Unicorn: Chapter Two- A Horse of a Different Color...? by Thesoapgirl3 (Emily J.)

Editorial note: read chapter one here

 “Who’s there?”  Selena Cried, “Who said that?”

Selena saw nothing but Shinagah, her white horse, standing there.

And yet there was a voice. Some one had said something.  

Then it dawned on her- Could Shinagah have just, spoken?  

No, she thought, That’s not even possible.  

 “Are you deaf, child?”  said the voice, “Did you hear what I’ve said?”

 “Huh?” Selena couldn’t believe her ears.

She just stood there in that stunned moment, while everything that she believed, or rather, didn’t believe in was completely destroyed. Horses didn’t talk! But yet, who was she to judge?  She’d just had the gallop of a liftime, and didn’t fall off. She’d just ended up at this, this,  place, and it sure wasn’t in Wiggins.

 “I’m not sure what’s going on here,” she began,  “but it’s just a bit too weird for me.”  

 “Calm down child, I shall explain it all in due time. ” said Shinagah.

  “But you’re, and we’re, and horses don’t, and I’m, oh...”  She sighed, giving up on figuring out anything herself .

 “As I was saying,” Shinagah continued, “I am not what appear to you.”

 “Th- Then what are you? Who are you?”

“Well, as you have already discovered from the small fragment of Driniacan fabric, my name is Shinagah.”

 “Wait, what is Driniacan?” Selena rolled the difficult word off her tongue, not easily.

 “Driniaca is the land of my birth, and the land I must return to, with your assistance of course.”

 “MY assistance?”  She cried, “Why do you need my assistance? I’m just one kid!”

“Yes, you are only a child, but you are the one that I happened opon.”

“What do you mean  - “ Selena was cut off.

 “SILENCE!!” Cried Shinagah. “You humans and your constant babble! Perhaps if let me tell you my story with no more interuptions, it would clear things up a bit. And I’ll be sure to use small words so you’ll be sure to understand.”

Selena nodded, but in insult. It was apparent that Shinagah doubted the intelligence of human beings.

“Now, where was I?”

“Driniaca.” Selena said.

 “Oh, yes, thank you. Driniaca is the land of my birth which I am trying to get back to. I was sepperated from the rest of my kind during the Great Crossing.” Selena’s head was filled with questions, and Shinagah saw this in her eyes.

“The Great Crossing is a journey we Unicorns make every  millenium or so - “

“Woah woah woah, “ cried Selena, “UNICORNS?!”

“Yes. That’s what I said, so anyways - “

 “But there’s no such thing as Unicorns!!!!”

“Why my dear girl, your looking at one.”

“Huh?” It was all she could stutter.

“Oh, my apoligies. I hadn’t realized I was still in my mortal form.” With that there was a great white light, the English tack fell from the great creature, and Shinigah became more white that any other white that had ever been wittnessed. But as this transformation occurred, Selena had been completely awestruck with one particular feature of the great beast - A single, irridesent horn.  Like christal and white fire it shone, until it dimmed into a thing more earthly.

Selena looked on, dumbfounded. She couldn’t speak.

“Now do you believe me?” said Shinagah.

Selena nodded and blinked.

“Good. As I was saying, we Unicorns make this journey every millenium or so, to find escape from the Great Dark Dragon.”

“D - d - dragon?”

 “Yes. And by escape, I do not mean to imply that all dragons are evil. The Great Dark Dragon is the only bad one that I know of. Every millenium he awakens, to continue the Great Hunt.”

“There’s a lot of  “Great” things in Driniaca, isn’t there?”

 “This is not a laughing matter. The Great Hunt was started at the beginning of time, and every millenium in continues. The reasoning behind this is that, we Unicorns did the Dark Dragon an intollerable service.”

 “What did you do?”  

“That knowledge has been lost to us long ago. All I know is at the beggining of time,  we made him very angry and he swore to annihilate all Unicorns from the face of the earth, and you know how that goes. So we moved to a different demension, and when the Dark Dragon followed, he could not cope with the difference from there to the earth, and was placed in a kind of limbo.  He only has enough strength to come out of this limbo every millenium or so, and he only stays out of it for about a month or two.”

“So when he awakens, you all move to a different demension, and move back when he re-awakens again?” asked Selena,

 “Yes, exactly. I knew you humans were not all completely dense.”

“Gee, thanks.”

 “So anyways. I got separated from the rest when the Dark Dragon attacked, and I was the first one that he singled out. I escaped of course, or else I wouldn’t be here. But now I am separated, and I need to get to the Third Demension before it’s too late.”

 “But wait,” saide Selena, “We aren’t in Wiggins, so aren’t we in the Third Demension?”

 “It is true that we are not in what you call, “Wiggins” . We are in a Projection, which is a sort of, “safe haven” between the three and a half demensions.”

“Three and a half?” Selena inquired. “How can there be half of a demension?”

“Don’t ask.”

 “I won’t. But you said you have to get back before it was too late, what will happen if you don’t get back?”

“Something horrid. If a unicorn is separated from the rest of the herd for to long, every unicorn will perish. You see, there is always a steady number of one hundred unicorns, and if there is any more or less, then, well...”  Shinagah trailed off, and a saddness came into her deep, ebony eyes...

Dear readers -    Look for the next chapter in Shinagah and Selena’s adventures:  “A Journey and a Secret”  in next month’s issue of the  Wiggins  Weekly story writing contest!!!