The Bloodforged Kin

Chapter 255 247: Jaidyn - A Horse of a Different Color

Jaidy scrabbled to the lip of a short stone pillar. The climb had been hard, but it wasn't very tall and she was practically an adult now, so she knew she could do it. She'd seen one of the horses up here and she wanted to see if she could get close.

As she pulled herself over she dusted off her knees. That had barely hurt at all! Her breath caught in her throat as she saw what was ahead of her. The stone tower wasn't super wide, but it was a good ways across. In the middle stood a shining white horse, its coat gleaming the purest silver she'd ever seen. It was munching on some tough grass that had pushed through cracks in the stone. Jaidy didn't know how it grew all the way up here, but she never got to that part in school so she figured it must just be what grass did. As beautiful as the horse was, though, that wasn't what made her wiggle in excitement. It was the horn sticking out of its head, spiraling upward and glowing with an inner light.

She clutched her hands to her chest and whispered "Are you a unicorn??" It noticed her then, eyeing her sidelong before looking around the plateau for any other dangers. When none showed themselves it bent to continue munching. Jaidy had read EVERYTHING about unicorns and knew that they were sweet and nice and that they loved little girls! It was so, so perfect! She held her hand up and took a tentative step forward.

"Please don't run away. I just want to pet you. Is that okay?"

If it heard her it didn't pay her any attention. Her steps were nervous and her heart thumped heavy in her chest at the thought of it leaping away, but she had to push forward. This was a real unicorn and she needed to pet it more than anything in her life, ever!

She got within reaching distance and stopped. The unicorn's head was bent low to the grass, but it had stopped chewing - its eye focused intently on her.

"Oh please, please don't be scared. Please don't run away. I just want to…" She reached forward nervously - more scared now than of any monster she'd ever faced. Her fingers touched the fur of its muzzle and she squealed with delight.

The unicorn continued eating as Jaidy walked carefully around it, running her hand across fur that felt both rough and silky at the same time. She knew it'd be a mistake to try to jump on it - not that she could anyway, but something in her class as a Contract Domain Specialist let her know that it needed to agree. It was like the sprites - contracts were very important. So were negotiations. She walked slowly around to its front to look it in the eye. She hated when adults lied - and they did it so much! - so she decided to be truthful.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"This is my trial and I want to find something that can run fast. Would it be okay if I ride you?"

It looked at her with eyes far too intelligent not to understand the full depth of what she was asking. This wouldn't be just a ride, it would be a contract with it as her prize. It huffed and snorted, shaking its head.

"Okay, okay!" She panicked and stepped backwards. "Okay, so what about this. If I can ride you, you don't have to agree to come with me. I don't want to force you anyway! I've just never imagined in my whole life that I'd meet a real unicorn. Can I just ride with you even if it doesn't mean you come with me?"

It seemed to consider. If Jaidy had had any duplicity in her words it would have disappeared, but there was none in her. It may have felt her Charisma working on it but without any intent to deceive it went unnoticed. With a sigh of acceptance it bent its front legs, lowering itself to allow Jaidy to climb onto its back.

Jaidy screamed so much she thought she'd never stop, the thrill of pure speed of the unicorn was like the best roller coaster she'd ever ridden. It leaped over huge gaps, landing with a spark of hooves on the next stone tower, only to sprint forward again. At times it seemed to push off the air itself, always turning to land safely - even when she thought for sure they were going to fall to their deaths below.

Jaidy never wanted it to end.

As they ran she saw other unicorns - each a different color and type. Some looked like they were made of stone, others out of water. One seemed to be made of clouds! Each was slightly different and she just knew, deep inside of her, that there was only ever one type of each unicorn.

Their running grew slower and finally came to a stop, the unicorn breathing heavily, its chest working like bellows under her legs. As much as she hated to admit it she knew that the ride was over. She was about to climb off when she saw something in the distance - something new.

"What is that?"

The unicorn followed her pointed finger and snorted, stamping its front paws in agitation. The unicorn she saw was bigger than all the rest - she wouldn't even be able to touch its tummy if she stood underneath it! But what made it so beautiful was how black it was - like it was carved out of the night itself. She could barely make out thick muscles that rippled under its skin, but her eyes were drawn to its - red and glowing like an ember of the deepest crimson.

"Oooohhh… I want to go to him."

The unicorn whinnied and stomped again, bending to let Jaidy off. She gripped its mane harder, squeezing it with her knees to stay on. "No! I said we need to catch him!"

It whinnied again and Jaidy felt bad for what she was about to do, but sometimes you had to be in charge and make people do things.

"I. Said. RUN."

Her power pressed down on the unicorn and its eyes widened in fear as the command took hold.

They were off in a flash of silvery sparks, running so fast that she was sure lightning wouldn't have been able to catch them.