The Unicorn Tales by Evelyn J. Steward (red white and royal blue hardcover TXT) 📕

The Unicorn Tales

Shanna pushed through the crowds that filled the aisles of the Saturday market. Jostled and elbowed as she was, she could hardly keep up with Jansis, her long-time friend who was on a mission. She wanted something nice for her mantelpiece and this was the best market to look in for knick knacks of the kind she was after.
The market was stuffed full to bursting with food stalls whose freshly cooked snacks were mouth-wateringly aromatic. These scents mixed with the raw smells of butcher stalls, wet fish stands and the spicy aromas of tables full of Indian and Afro-Caribbean spices, sweets and fruit. The fragrance of humanity, sweat, perfume, after-shave and dirty clothing combined with the odd stink of damp dog hair clung to the aisles, sunk to the ground where the rain of early morning had yet to dry. There were stands of flowers which added to the cacophony of pungency and the less strongly scented tables of leather goods and damp cloth whose subtle aromas laid a base strata upon which the other layers could lie, then waft up above to create a homogenous tang. This then dipped back down to spread as a cloud of odours where if one wished, one could separate out the component parts, or sup the whole as one harmonious smell.
Shanna's nose wrinkled as passed the area where on another day, horses had been trotted up and down to catch the eye of some reluctant buyer, and where the sluicing of their dung had not quite fully washed away the stick of equine urine and manure. Once past this area, her nose twitched on strong Garam Masala, curry leaves and cardamoms, cloves and the sickly sweet cloying aroma of the cooked sugar of Indian sweets. Where was Jansis taking her?
A family of two children and parents suddenly walked in front of Shanna, blocking her view of Jansis who seemed to duck out of sight. Trying not to push past the family who were debating what to buy next; the children clamouring for sweets, the adults refusing their ploys, Shanna finally managed to side-step the group. She could not see her friend. Slightly worried, she tried to jump in the air, failing miserably to perceive Jansis. Then a familiar sight across in the next aisle made her dive sideways as Jansis must have done. There was a gap in the stalls and there she saw her friend busily going over the wares on an unattended stall.
Turning, Jansis waved at Shanna. "Look! I've found just the thing," she called.
"Thought I'd lost you," said Shanna. "So many people. Never thought there would be crowds like this today. What have you got there?"
"Isn't it sweet," cooed Jansis. "The price is a bit high but it is a pair. The woman is searching for the other one in her boxes." She pointed to a rounded hump the other side of the stall that seemed to rise up and down in a rhythmic movement.
"Oh!" Shanna noted the moving hump then turned to her friend's clasped hands. "Are you going to show me?"
"Sorry! I am so worried I will let it go, I am hanging on tight. Here, I'll open my fingers a bit." She unclasped her thumbs and both forefingers only revealing the tiniest porcelain figure of a unicorn. Barely two inches from front to back and head to hoof, it was of the finest china with little lilac flowers on the sides and a yellow horn. Pretty but small.
"It isn't very big!" stated Shanna who wondered that Jansis had not chosen something larger.
"No, but it is precious. That horn is real gold."
"Not much of it."
At that moment the hump rose majestically above the flat top of the stall. "I found it at last," stated the stall owner. In her arms was a large bundle of papers which she plonked gently down in front of the two women.
Jansis could hardly contain herself, her excitement was great as the woman gradually peeled layers of paper off, discarding them behind her with little thought of the mess. When the final layer came away, it revealed another unicorn but one made of brass that dwarfed the ornament Jansis held tightly in her hand. "You can't say there isn't much of that one," she whispered as Shanna looked askance at the one-horned horse.
"Hardly a pair," remarked Shanna. She thought the small one cute but the large one seemed brash and rough by comparison with the delicate bone china piece.
"They are a pair, I heard them talking."
"Well," remarked Shanna, "now I've heard everything. Send for the men in white coats."
"Alright! Alright! Well, they didn't exactly talk but I had a feeling they belonged together. You know how sometimes you know something is right. You don't know how or why but it is just so."
Shanna could go along with that. Jansis had always been a bit of a oddball. A nice oddball. Someone with eclectic tastes but a nice person none-the-less. She always wore off-beat clothes that came from charity shops or car boot sales, made her own jewellery, burned incense and candles, had statues of Shiva and Bhudda dotted about her small flat. She supported Greenpeace, Save the Whales A belated hippie is what someone once called her.
"How much?" Shanna enquired of the woman.
"Two hundred."
"Two hundred!" gasped Shanna.
"Worth every penny!" stated Jansis triumphantly. She had to allow the small unicorn to lay in her left hand so that she could get her plastic out.
"Cash Only!" said the stall holder, getting ready to retrieve the small figure.
"Come on Shanna, how much have you got on you?"
"Not that much! I can't believe you would pay that much."
"How much?"
Shanna dipped into her bag, searched out her purse and counted out the notes. "Fifty six and some change. I suppose about sixty all told."
"Well, I've got about . . " It was at that moment that her hands became entangled with her bag and the precious ornament slipped from her grasp. It smashed onto the concrete, breaking into many pieces.
"Oh no!" screamed Jansis and the woman in unison. Jansis swooped on the pieces, tears pouring from her eyes.
Shanna lifted her hand to her mouth, knowing they would have to pay the woman but also knowing her friend would be inconsolable.
As Jansis began picking up the larger pieces, a lilac thread of smoke oozed from the head and wafted high up in the air. It grew larger and reformed into the shape of the unicorn just broken. Jansis and Shanna looked up in amazement. The woman stared open-mouthed.
The unicorn pawed the air and the brass version on the table melted apart to release a blue thread of smoke that joined the first to become the mate of the golden- horned beast.
The woman came back to her senses. "What about my money?" she cried.
The lavender unicorn bent his head and the golden sheath from his horn slipped off. It dropped onto the table. The woman grabbed it fast, examining the gold. The mythical horse dropped lower until his silver shoes touched the ground behind the stall.
"Will you come with us?" he asked Jansis. Her head almost fell off, it nodded so fast. The horse bent his shoulder to Jansis who climbed aboard without hesitation. The blue unicorn landed and dropped her shoulder. Shanna, though terrified, got on. Both creatures unfolded hidden wings, shook them loose and lifted high into the sky. The two friends hung onto their manes as they watched the world beneath disappear.

"I am glad I discovered you," shouted Jansis to the unicorn as the wind rushed past her ears and allowed her yellow hair to stream out behind her.
"I meant you to." answered the stallion.
"They will have seen us," Shanna yelled across open air to her friend as she clung desperately to her ride. "What do you think will happen? The papers will have a field day."
Her blue unicorn bent her head around and answered. "They will have seen nothing. It will be as if no happening occurred." The mare turned her head back and looked longingly at her mate who had now taken up a station in front of her.
"See," shouted Jansis louder so her friend would hear. "It has all been taken care of. You worry too much. Just enjoy the ride."
"But I can't ride!" Her comment disappeared into the wind.
"I know! Isn't it fun?" Jansis laughed out loud, not really hearing what Shanna has said. "He says his name is Searcher and you are on Goldmane." Shanna barely caught the words as they rushed by on the breeze. She gazed at her steed as if for the first time, she did indeed have a golden mane. As the animals picked up speed, Shanna stowed her fears, grabbed the mane tighter and locked her legs to Goldmane's flanks.
Just then the clouds parted and the warm sun bathed them all in a glorious glow. Searcher, his lilac coat turned pink by the sun, dipped his head so that his great horn pointed into the light. Honeyed sunbeams wrapped themselves around the twisted curls of his horn, clustering until they solidified into solid gold. Once more his great spike gleamed like molten metal. "We can now continue our journey," he stated. "You will stay with us, won't you?"
Jansis looked behind at Shanna who shrugged her shoulders. There was no way she was going to annoy either beast high up in the clouds as they rode. Thrilled to be asked, Jansis nodded energetically.
Searcher whinnied. Goldmane, now more lilac than blue, answered. Both beat their wings vigorously as they rode the air currents into the westerly setting sun.
As the first pink rays of morning lit the dark sky, Searcher dipped his head and flew down towards a thick forest still hidden in night. Goldmane arced towards her mate, carrying her sleeping charge Shanna gently down to earth. Both unicorns landed lightly, feared of waking their new friends.
"We are in the Troll Forest Goldmane," he announced quietly. "Here we must be careful not to be caught by little demons. But first, we must find food for the humans."
Goldmane tossed her head in agreement. "To the wizard's cottage then."
They trotted softly through the trees on velvet grass, watching for any movement, ears pricked for any sound.
The Wizard's Cottage was empty. Had been for centuries. It was named so when a visiting magician stayed there from