Lilac woods
(The Last Unicorn reimagined) It began in the lilac woods. A magical forest that thrived, plants never wilted and snow never fell. They housed a…
Author: Itzel Santiago
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(The Last Unicorn reimagined) It began in the lilac woods. A magical forest that thrived, plants never wilted and snow never fell. They housed a…
(The Last Unicorn reimagined)
It began in the lilac woods. A magical forest that thrived, plants never wilted and snow never fell. They housed a species of mythical creature, magnificent things that caused the world to thrive in their presence.
With fur whiter than fresh snow and magic that exuded their every move. Innocence and tales of miracles surrounded them.
Unicorns preserved the spring in the places they called home. They seemed to live up to every sweet story that was told of them. They would prance in their homes, knowing nothing of sadness or even happiness.
Not capable of feeling human emotion, they were immortal, and a little vain as they liked to spend days or even weeks admiring their reflection in gentle puddles.
They were ghosts. Unseeable by most, other than the kind hearted maiden. But maidens stopped calling them for help long ago, the only other human that had the honor to see even one, was a wounded king.
He had raised his blade to a dragon much too large and fierce for the likes of him. A unicorn had just so happened to hear his cries and had trotted to aid him, she had killed the dragon for him and had healed him.
What she didn’t know was that he would follow her, to the lilac woods. Her magic had allowed him to be able to see these wonderful phantoms dancing around. He watched in awe as they pranced around, manes shimmering like moonlight on water and eyes shining like seafoam.
Then the essential glamour of it faded and he started noticing small things. How smaller unicorns would shy away from the ones that seemed older and full of more wisdom. How some gazes would last too long between them, or how he would search for a particular unicorn with a certain identifying feature, and just not be able to find it.
It was a clear night when he witnessed it. The woods quiet, the lilac hue feeling more menacing. Air heavy with the scent of iron, then he saw the source, two unicorns were bent over a bloody mess, innocent white fur stained dark, it’s magical horn now dull, the sound of bones snapping in elegant jaws rang out. The soft snorts of the feasting pair didn’t help the dread he felt, his stomach lurching he stepped back, his foot landing on a twig.
Their heads snapped up to look at him, eyes shining in a way he once found beautiful. Blood dripped thickly from their snouts, their horns accented by the crimson that stained them. He thought of nothing to do either than run, and run he did, he ran until his lungs burned. He rushed over mountains and towns without pause. The image of blood on fresh snow haunted him.
Hiding in his castle, the King ignored whoever attempted to approach him.
It all felt like too much, so he began to search for a way to solve it. The want to watch those mythical beasts parade around to flaunt their elegance with sweet eyes was stronger than any fear.
Determination soon murdered the fear, and he set out to find a way to ensure no one else would witness the horror that unicorns truly were.
His answer came in a witch. She was nothing like he imagined a witch to be. She was young, hair a permanent disarray of curls the color of freshly made coffee, skin the pleasant shade of chestnuts, and her eyes grey with wisdom. The way she turned to greet the King made him think she already knew what he was there for.
“You followed a unicorn home did you not, my king?” the witch crooned with a fake sympathy “what a foolish way to ruin their image of purity.”
Cackling while she turned the king felt a twinge of irritation as she began to pull down herbs and jars from her walls.
“I want no one else to see what I did, no one else can know the truth.” She paused at his demand, and turned her face perfectly poised in curiosity before smiling cattily.
“To hide the truth? Is that not rather deceitful?”
“I didn't ask for your opinion, can you help me or not?”
“Well an illusion would not work, because unicorns will continue to disappear, changing their nature would be impossible.. So we kill them.” The King startled at that, gaping at her before shaking his head
“No, that is… that is not what I want, I still want them around.. We cannot…” he trailed off, the witch frowned before huffing out a breath.
“Then we will trap them.” she decided, beginning to pull bigger jars from lower shelves “leave one so she can help maidens, make people still believe that there is something left. We hide the others where no one can see the truth.”
The bright red potion’s light reflected in the king's eyes as he mulled over the idea. Gaze hardening he clutched his hands and nodded to the witch who let out a pleased, deranged giggle.
That was how the fiery bull was born. From the desires of a king and the magic of a witch. The bull did his job well, rounding up dozens of unicorns and forcing them into the deep dark ocean that would serve as their prison. The king watched from his castle as the bull guarded them, and he could confidently say that even imprisoned, the unicorns looked beautiful. Water would rise and crash against the sand as they would gallop around in the water. The king would also be guilty if he didn’t admit to finding the last free unicorn from time to time to check on her, it seems after only a handful of years she had forgotten of her companions, it was fascinating how wise but forgetful these mythical creatures were
One night the unicorn approached him, her eyes glowing as she stood honest next to him, she seemed to consider him for a moment
“You are the one I saved from the dragon, are you not?” Her curiosity was soft as she gazed at his aging face, “that is why you can see me.”
The king chuckled and nodded his head.
“Tell me, what happened after? I seem to have forgotten something that feels important.”
“It was not.” The unicorn stared at him before looking out at the forest, a hazy look in her eyes.
“Are you sure? It feels lonely here.” His head turned to her and something pulsed in her eyes for a moment. “I feel hungry.”
“It is lonely because maidens do not seek you anymore, but trust me dear creature, it is for the best you do not remember.” the king murmured, before turning to leave. The unicorn stared after him before looking up at the sky.
“It is for the best.” she trailed off, her curiosity died as she settled down in the grass “this is for the best.” She decided, taking his words to heart, the truth was buried.
Empires rose and fell, wars were waged and gods died. The sun glittered across the lilac woods, and two hunters descended from humans who died a world ago were passing by, chattering quietly between them as they looked around the woods.
“I dislike the feel of this forest.” one huffed patting his horse as it spooked slightly “creatures that live in a unicorn’s woods learn a little magic of their own in time, mainly concerned with disappearing. We’ll find no game here” the younger of the two scoffed at that.
“Unicorns are long gone, if indeed, they ever were. This is a forest like any other.”
The unicorn watched and listened as the men chattered, a shock traveling through her body, her attention drawn back to them as their horses were pushed to a gallop but the elder hunter paused for a moment and looked in the woods with an intense look, for a heartbeat she swore he could see her.
“Stay where you are, poor beast. This is no world for you. Stay in your forest, and keep your trees green and your friends long-lived. Pay no mind to young girls, for they never become anything more than silly old women. And good luck to you”
With that they were gone, and she was in turmoil.
“I am the last unicorn” her voice scared her, they had to be the first she had spoken to herself in millennia.
But to be the last there had to be more at one point, and she desperately tried to remember a time when she was not alone, and she could not.
So she did the one thing she could think of and ran, she ran and ran until she exhausted herself, and found herself in a red hue woods. She could feel a power in the forest but it was unlike her own.
“You finally made it” the unicorn turned her head to meet grey eyes and coffee colored skin. “The unicorn called Amalthea”
The name pulsed in her and she got up on shaking limbs and looked towards the witch.
“Yes! Why can I not remember? There used to be more like me, tell me what happened to them, witch.” She practically begged the witch’s eyes glittered for a moment
“You have forgotten your king? You saved him worlds ago, from a dragon, he was so enamored by you creatures that he pushed them into the sea by his castle to keep all your beauty to himself.” the witch purred as she patted the unicorn's neck “he decided to spare you as you were his favorite, he named you Amalthea.”
Something felt wrong, about the words the witch gifted her, but it was the only thing she had to off of, so she clung to them.
“Will you help me?” the witch stared at her and grinned
“It is what I am for.”
For some reason though, the unicorn could not shake off the feeling that she should not be doing this, and as the now abandoned and dilapidated castle came to view she was positive she should turn back. But the sheer desire to know the truth pushed her forward onto the soft sand of a beach.
The ground shook and the witch let out a giggle as the air grew humid, fire licked at her ankles and the fiery bull the witch had briefly mentioned was looming over them.
“Oh my, he looks tired.” The witch tutted, “I think it’s time I put you to rest, after all I will not be around much longer either.”
With an elaborate sway of her hands the bull lowered its head and seemed to sigh as he laid down, his body melted to ash and the flames died down.
“You served my king well” the witch seemed to pat the ashes and moved forward with her hands now stained black, the unicorn cautiously moved past the carcass as if he would spring up at any moment and attack.
“Amalthea!” The witch waved her hands and motioned towards the ocean “here is your family.”
It was wrong. There was nothing, the ocean was still, dark almost black, the water was still, and the air heavy with the smell of iron.
“Where… where are they?” The unicorn looked at the witch for answers and she just laughed loudly
“This is the truth my dear, your species are all hungry.” She giggled moving forward and beginning to wade into the water “the king kept them here hoping no one else would find out that you all love to bite into each other’s flesh, but they found ways to kill each other even when the ocean was pulling at them so violently they still snapped each other’s bones!” The witch grinned before waving at her and then submerging herself into the water, the unicorn moved towards her and blinked as she realized she was gone.
“No, no she must be lying, that cannot be the truth!” The unicorn cried desperately before looking back at the blood stained water. “It has to be a lie!”
Water lapped at her legs, and she stared out at the bloodied water.
“It has to be a lie.”
For the first time, the leaves in the lilac woods fell.
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