VIOLET

Though I didn’t want to admit it to myself--and certainly not to those two--I was starting to grow fond of my fellow travellers. Especially since my pain was gone and I had become better on my feet. It also helped that Bear had stopped asking so many questions, and Iris was starting to show some compassion. Along the journey, every time Bear would ask Iris anything, I would cringe, knowing what was to come. Her irritation was intolerable, and I had to endure it each and every time. 

Though she would never admit it, I saw her true nature seep through. While at first, I was jealous of Bear’s constant ogling of her, I couldn’t really blame him… she was breath-taking. I mean, my word, those wings! 

We spotted many more creatures and beautiful sights than I had envisioned from the glimpses I had recalled of Sugarland back home. My sisters, Essy, and I had stumbled across a magical box when we were children. When you opened it, it showed visions of secret lands and other magical things. Not long after we found the box, my father found out and destroyed it. He said the box was not for children and no good would come from looking at it. We had been told tails of the war outside of that, but what I found in abandoned ships had only ever so slightly reflected the true beauty of this place like the box had. 

There was something about experiencing such breath-taking views that brought you closer to your fellow travellers, and for us, it had done just that. I thought about Esmeralda and how she would be fuming with anger toward me right now. I shuddered when I thought about what awaited me back home. It wasn’t going to be pretty. By now, my father would know everything and my sisters... No doubt they would be delighted to share the news with him. I turned forward and kept my eyes on the path ahead. I had come for an adventure before I was to take over the throne, and that was just what I had gotten. I just hoped it was worth it. I was starting to worry that the length of my journey was going to jeopardize my position. It had already been four turns of the sun and moon. My sisters were like a ticking time bomb and would spare no time between when they had realised I was missing, to going to my father with the information.

A glimmer beamed my eye from the corner of some shrubs. I turned to see what it was but before I caught it, it was gone. “Did anyone else see that?” I looked ahead at the others, who were spaced out before me. 

“Hmm?” Iris murmured, sounding deep in thought. Bear didn’t reply at all. The thing with travelling was, when you were walking for days on end, talk became something you only did when you really had something to say. Idle chit-chat was no use and tiring because if you talked all day, you would lose your voice and run out of breath. Thus, we all turned to losing ourselves in our own thoughts. 

“There it was again!” I exclaimed; this time more certain I hadn’t imagined it.

Bear stood as still as if he were dead, and Iris sucked in a breath. Before us, stood the most majestic creature I had ever laid eyes on. A gleaming, golden horse with a horn that shimmered a beautiful pearl, which matched the shade of my tail. Its mane was a stunning shade of cream that shot off glimmers that almost blinded you. It scuffed its hooves on the grass, shaking its head about. Suddenly, our eyes connected and it was staring deep into my soul. Of course, I had never seen a horse before, let alone one with a horn, which I didn’t think the usual ones had. I only knew what it was when Iris announced, “A unicorn. It is a type of horse. People ride them sometimes.” 

 “I have never seen a horse like that before,” Bear replied. 

Never had I envisioned something this picturesque. “Wow,” I breathed, struggling to take in the unworldly sight.

It made a peculiar sound--a ‘whinny’ Iris had called it--before it reared up and then down again. It began to make its way over to us, a shimmering halo gleamed around its stature, as if it existed inside its own bubble of light. “It's a sign of good fortune,” Iris informed. Her voice sounded matter of fact, but I could tell she was just as mesmerised as we were.

“How do you know?” I asked in a small voice, still not taking my eyes off the beautiful creature.

“I can see it. It's going to take us where we need to go.” She walked toward the beast, reaching out to stroke its snout. “Climb on.” 

We obeyed. Trusting Iris seemed to be the way we had gotten to where we were currently--safe. The horse let out a beautiful rhythmic sound as it reared its head. Once we were safely upon its back, its hooves made a hypnotic cadence as he galloped forward, taking us with him.

We rode by horseback until it felt like we had been riding for days. This method of travel was so foreign. My muscles ached from my position on its back, and despite its body feeling somewhat cushioned, with the three of us on here, it was pretty cramped. Bear leaned into me to avoid Iris's wings in his face. In the beginning, it was a lot smoother and it almost felt like we were gliding. 

I was lost in my thoughts as I often was on this trip when we came to a sudden halt. I looked up to see where we had landed, when before us stood a strange but equally magical creature. A fox. This was no ordinary fox; it was standing on two legs, had a top hat, a little tailcoat, and a gold-dipped wooden cane. Brass buttons splayed in a neat line down the front of the coat and the back came to two points around his knees. He remained unmoving as I peered around him, spotting a beeline of strange creatures in his wake. Each collection of creatures was placed equal distances apart with about a kilometre separating them. 

Losing my tail had in no way impaired my vision--I could easily see two large canines with silvery fur. One appeared to be a shaggier breed, while the other had very short hair, with long ears that dropped down, framing its eyes. Above them floated two large pieces of rock and accompanying them was a bright coral-coloured lobster. I recognised this from back home and wondered how and why it was here.

Peering past them, a rabbit came into view. It was cute and looked like the one we had seen earlier in the field; though, unlike the other, this one was unmoving… the same as the fox and the canines. Another differentiating feature was that it had hooves instead of paws, and under these hooves, it had a floating blue sphere. I wondered what it was. I would have to find out once we got closer.

Farther down the land, there was… No, it couldn’t be. I gasped, horrified. A floating head with a crown placed upon it. There was something else… a large fish, swimming in a pool of water surrounding the head. I shook my own cranium in sympathy--that's what my father always called it, a cranium. “Why do you have a cranium, if you never use it?” he would ask. What did this poor old man do in his life to have this as his consequence? 

The farther I looked, the stranger the creatures became. I tried to decipher them when the fox cleared its throat. “Ahem.” He was looking directly at us, straightening his coat and twirling his cane on the ground as if impatiently waiting for us to acknowledge him. When he was sure he had all eyes on him, he cleared his throat once more. “Have I got everyone's attention?” the strange little creature asked. We all just stared, unmoving and dumbfounded by his clear vocals. 

He continued, “Good. Now, you must all listen carefully because I am not going to say this twice. Where you need to go is straight ahead. Do not take any turns. Approach each creature behind me and listen to them carefully. They will give you your next set of instructions. Do not talk to anyone besides them, unless they have clearly stated that they were in contact with me.” When we continued to stay quiet, he proceeded. “You will make your way past the portal and continue to the Isle of faeries, but you must take the lesser-known route instead of taking the portal, which would lead you right there...” 

“See, I told you,” Iris murmured, giving us a look.

The fox looked at us sternly. “The portal is very large, cotton candy pink, and resembles a hurricane. You cannot miss it. However, you must not go through it directly; instead, take the route via the clouds beside it.”