Last of the Unicorns

"You are behaving like a troll!" She shouted.

"Perhaps I should have left you in the more amusing company of Nicholas than? I'm sure your discussion of breeding was endlessly intriguing." Gavin spat at her.

"Actually it was Lord Gavin de Moncrief; entirely more interesting than standing here fighting with you when you're acting like a complete brute!"

"Maybe I should haul you into the alcove and show you just what a brute I can be." Gavin growled.

Alorna heard the sharp crack of her hand meeting his face, the sound echoing in the hall. She turned on her heel even before he could recover from the slap and she stormed off to her chamber leaving Gavin standing in the great hall rubbing his cheek.

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Gavin sighed and rolled over again in bed. She wasn't going to come and he really didn't blame her. He had acted like a total savage and he couldn't pin down why he had picked a fight with her. He struggled with the warring emotions in his brain until he finally pinned down an answer. Jealousy. He had been jealous of the time she spent with another man, even as innocent as that time had been. Jealousy was an entirely new feeling for Gavin, he had never been jealous of another person in his life.

Gavin stood and paced the chamber for several long minutes before stalking into his library to get another bottle of whiskey. He fished a new bottle out of the cabinet and paused at the unicorn horn encased in amber. He wondered how the mare had died and hoped that he had not been the cause of it. He stroked the soft stone then picked it up and carried it into the bedroom with him. Gavin placed the stone on the table on the wall opposite the end of the bed and admired it while he drank himself to sleep.

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Alorna stood and stared at the painting of Aurora dying. She didn't cry although she felt the tears stinging the back of her eyes. The depiction of her sister's death carried with it the pain Aurora had felt as her life had ended. Alorna was deeply saddened to find the painting within the walls of the castle.

"Horribly sad isn't it?" Guinevere's voice came from behind Alorna. "Such a horrible end for such a gorgeous creature. I've always hated that painting and I wish Russell had let me burn it."

"I suppose it was important to Lord Russell." Alorna whispered.

"Nothing was important to Lord Russell." Guinevere smiled sadly. "He kept this painting because it was favorable for his position with the king; the king still sanctions the hunting of unicorns although none have been seen in years."

"Perhaps they are all dead." Alorna turned to leave.

"I really hope not, I'd like to apologize to them for what Gavin's great grandfather did. I think it would help." Alorna looked at the sad woman staring at the painting of the dying unicorn and said nothing; she walked back toward her room with a thousand thoughts running through her head. Unicorns were not supposed to feel such pity and empathy for humans, they were not of the forest and they were not friends to the unicorns. Why then did Alorna feel like her heart was being squeezed when she listened to Guinevere speak of the death of the golden unicorn? Alorna was so deep in her thoughts that she ran smack into the hard wall that was Gavin's chest.

"Oomph." She grunted and braced herself to keep from falling.

"Deep in thought my lady?" Gavin helped to steady her.

"Yes actually, sorry to bump into you." Alorna muttered.

Gavin smiled and cupped her chin in his hand rubbing his thumb along her jaw line. He could feel her soften under his touch and could almost smell her growing aroused from their contact. Alorna jerked her face out of his hand and brushed past him, walking to her chamber and closing the door behind her. Gavin muttered a string of curses and stalked out of the castle.

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It had been three days since Alorna had slapped Gavin. Alorna had slept in her own chamber every night since that day and refused to be alone with Gavin under any circumstances. The maids whispered about the lover's quarrel and the men placed bets on how long it would last. Gavin's mood continued to get darker and fouler as each day dragged by leading most of his men to pray that the Lady Alorna would return to his bed to improve his temper. The battle lines had been clearly drawn through the castle and everyone who knew what was good for them avoided the east wing.

Alorna was stretched out over the top of her bed, the covers pushed off and the window open to admit the cool night air. The evening was sweltering; the heat of the day failing to retreat with the setting of the sun and the light breeze did little to stir the air. The fires had been allowed to die out throughout the castle and most of the windows were opened to whatever breeze they could catch but it was still oppressively hot.

Alorna lay on her stomach with her arms wrapped around one of her pillows, her backside was illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the window and her hair had been plaited into a braid to keep it off her skin. She was snatched out of bed, blindfolded and her hands bound so fast she could barely shake off the sleep before she felt herself being tossed over someone's shoulder and carried from her room.

"Let me GO!" She screamed and pounded on the person's back thrashing and trying to kick. "Put me down! Untie me right now! Let me go you bastard! Filthy bastard. HELP!"

Alorna thrashed and screamed as she was being carried down the hallway. She called for May and anyone else she could think of not believing they would allow her to be taken without a fight. She heard a door slam shut and suddenly found herself on her feet for a brief moment before the rope around her wrists pulled tight lifting her to her tip toes and preventing her from removing the blindfold. She struggled and kicked yanking at her hands but was unable to get loose nor was she able to stand fully, the rope holding her to where only her toes made contact with the ground and her thrashing only wrenched her arms.

She felt strong large hands run down her naked sides and pull her body back against a naked, purely male form. The scraped of an unshaved chin against her shoulder and along her neck set her heart pounding like a race horses' that had run a mile. The tug of teeth on her earlobe caused her to gasp and sway on her toes while his hands held her hips pressing her bottom against a throbbing erection.

"Forgive me." Gavin's voice purred against her ear lobe as he licked where he had nipped her.

Alorna moaned, the fight draining from her body almost completely as his hands slid up her chest and over her breasts. He kissed her neck and along her shoulder as he caressed her breasts with his hands, his cock pressed against her ass resting along the crack. She twisted her hands in the bonds that held her and begged him to untie her but he ignored her soft pleas and trailed his lips along her shoulders as he brought one of his hands down to the juncture of her thighs and rubbed the heel of his hand in a slow circular motion over her lips where her clit was hidden. The exquisite torture of being touched and unable to touch in return was driving her to madness.

Gavin stepped away from her and admired the site she made. Her body was stretched tall, her breasts held high by the pull of her restrained arms, her legs stretched sexily as she tried to retain her stance on her toes, and her spine curved to a delicious angle. She looked every inch of an ancient sacrifice awaiting the pleasure or pain of her captors. She struggled her hips shifting as she tried to work her hands free from her bonds, a site that was infinitely erotic.

Gavin walked around to stand in front of Alorna and kissed her hard pushing his tongue into her mouth as he wrapped his arms around her and supported her weight to take it off her bound wrists for a moment. His erection pressed against her belly, smearing her soft skin with a pearly trail of his precum. She was panting when he released her mouth and lowered his mouth down to her exposed throat trailing a line of bites and kisses to her collarbone.

Gavin knelt before Alorna and lifted her off her feet with his hands under her bottom. He pushed her thighs apart forcing her to trust him to hold her up as he kissed his way inside of her thigh. His lips passed over her sex and he slipped his tongue between the lips and ran his tongue over her clit in a slow dragging motion. Her gasping whimper along with the jerk of her hips was a heady enticement and Gavin flicked her with his tongue again, sliding it down and over the entrance to her body as well. He used his thumbs to spread her lips while keeping his hands supporting her weight and gently sucked her clit into his mouth. Alorna cried out her head falling back as she pressed forward into his mouth, the suction of his lips sending tremors along her spine.

Gavin nipped ever so lightly at her swollen clit and slid his tongue inside her body curling it to drag along her inner walls. Her begging whimpers and desperate pleas for him to untie her only provoked Gavin to draw out the slow torture with his mouth; he blew cool air over her moist skin and watched her jerk. Moisture was running out of her body and down the length of her slit, it tasted tangy and just a bit sweet like exotic fruit, Gavin licked it from her lips and slid his tongue into her again tasting the temptation that she was. His mouth drew her to the edge of reason, Alorna was crying from the sheer torturous pleasure of it, her body ached in a way she never felt possible. The abstinence from his bed had made the return to it even sweeter and her body that much more greedy for the release he promised her.

Gavin felt the moment she orgasmed and felt the hot flow of her release against his tongue, tasting it for several moments before he stood up and held her trembling against him. Gavin picked up his knife from the dresser and cut the rope binding Alorna's hands. He turned her and bent her over the end of the bed, spreading her legs to a wide stance. Gavin slid inside her from behind, groaning as her hot slick hole sheathed him to the hilt. He rocked himself in and out of her body watching her grab fistfuls of the coverlet on the bed. He reached around and stroked her clit as he moved inside her, feeling the orgasm sensitive nub throb against his fingers as he brought her back toward climax.

Gavin thrust hard and fast against her ass, feeling his balls slap against her as he moved inside her. Her muscles tightened and he felt his testicles swell. He came inside of her with a primal cry letting her slip over the edge into another orgasm and milk the cum from his twitching cock. He stood there softening slowly inside her for several moments before pulling himself out and picking Alorna up to take her to bed with him. He laid her down next to him in the bed and pulled the loops of rope off her wrists and removed the blindfold from her eyes.

Her brown eyes were sleepily assailed and she smiled at him. Gavin kissed her slowly and tenderly before he drifted off to sleep.

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The mood in the castle greatly improved from that evening on and the next couple of weeks slipped by in a blissful haze for Alorna. She spent her days riding, walking in the garden, spending time with Guinevere, and talking with May and the other maids. Every morning before dawn Alorna would slip out of Gavin's bed and back into her own. Several hours later May would arrive with a basin of water and help her dress for the day.

May bustled in humming and tossed open the curtains for the morning, pouring the bucket of water she had brought up into the basin for Alorna to wash her face with. Alorna groaned as the light hit her and woke her up, she felt bad, very bad. She slowly sat up and moved to the edge of the bed feeling a wave of pain hit her abdomen. She panicked and wondered if humans got colic like unicorns and horses did. She started to open her mouth to ask May when she grasped the empty bucket and felt her body purge everything she had eaten the night before from her system. Surely she was dying she thought as another wave of bile hit the bucket.

Alorna was dimly aware of May rubbing her on the back and holding her hair out of her face as she finished emptying the contents of her stomach. When Alorna had finished with the bucket May handed her a damp rag to wipe her mouth with and sighed. May clucked softly and shook her head.

"It was bound to happen eventually." May watched Alorna curl up in the bed looking pale.

"What was?" Alorna whispered through her raw throat.

May sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, stroking the lady's hair out of her face. "Lady Alorna, a woman cannot lay with a man without consequences. You've been sharing a bed with Lord Gavin for over a month, it was only a matter of time before you got with child."

Alorna blinked slowly and looked up at May. "A child?" She felt her heart constrict painfully. "I'm pregnant?"

"Yes milady, I'd be willing to bet that you have been for a couple of weeks." May smiled at the girl and picked up the bucket to dump it outside.

Alorna placed her hands over her stomach and smiled. Finally she could go home! She frowned slightly and wondered why she didn't feel happier about it.

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May burst into Gavin's chamber at an ungodly hour looking like an angry dragon. Gavin cracked an eye and surveyed the situation wondering who had angered her to this level.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself." May hissed at him.

Gavin sat up and blinked. "Me? What on earth could I have done this early in the day?" Gavin scratched his head in bleary puzzlement.

"You got that poor girl pregnant!" May nearly screamed at him. "If you don't have the decency to marry the girl then you should have at least taken precautions you idiot!" May turned and stormed out of his room slamming the door.

Gavin blinked. He rubbed his head again. Alorna was pregnant? A purely masculine wave of pleasure swept over Gavin. Alorna was pregnant with his child, Alorna was his. The entire day took on a much brighter outlook as Gavin got up to dress and find Alorna and make her his for good.

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Alorna made one last trip to the weeping willow tree. She knelt beside the old tree and pulled the dagger out of her pocket.

"Aurora my sister," Alorna whispered. "I beseech you to release your hold on this land and her people. Leave them at peace and grant your sister this boon."

Alorna cut her palm and squeezed her blood out onto the ground, watching it pool on the barren earth and sit for a moment before it began to sink into the soil.

"What have you done?" Gavin's shout rang out only a moment before he snatched her up off the ground and took the dagger from her hand.

Alorna was confused at the fury on his face and Gavin was too angry to speak as he picked her up off her feet and dragged her onto his horse in front of him. He rode hard back to the castle and slid off the saddle dragging Alorna with him, holding her in his arms as he stormed up to her chamber screaming for May the entire way.

"May bring water, salve, and some bandages to Alorna's room immediately!" He thundered.

Gavin set her gently on her bed and moments later was using the water May had brought to clean the cut in her palm, slathering it in salve and wrapping it in a bandage. May gave Gavin a murderous look and left quickly.

"Alorna," Gavin looked pleadingly at her. "You know I will take care of you, you don't need to bring harm to yourself because of this. I won't leave you alone."

Alorna looked genuinely confused. "Harm myself? I wasn't harming myself; I was just making a pact with an old friend." She looked at Gavin. "Why on earth would I hurt myself?"

"I was afraid you were trying to kill yourself." Gavin whispered hoarsely. "You and the child."

Alorna gasped in shock. "Never! I would never harm myself or the child I've conceived. I've never been happier than I am right now."

Gavin pulled her into his arms and held her. Alorna felt like her heart was going to break. It was going to hurt like hell to leave him, he might never understand. She held him tight and prayed that in time he would forgive her.

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Gavin was lying in the bed with Alorna pleasantly satiated and beginning to drift toward sleep. Alorna was sitting next to him running her fingers through his hair. She seemed on edge but she had made love to him with a passion he had never experienced even from her before. Perhaps the knowledge of the coming child had brought down the last of the walls she had erected around herself. Alorna looked down at Gavin and sighed. She moved to the edge of the bed and got out. Gavin watched her sleepily unconcerned with her actions.

Alorna looked at her horn sitting on the table wrapped in amber. She looked back at Gavin and sighed. "Gavin, someday I hope you will forgive me."

Gavin blinked and sat up preparing to ask her what she meant.

Alorna turned to the amber wrapped horn and closed her eyes. "Grandfather Oak, I call in thy troth, release thy sleeping captive and restore that which thou has guarded." Alorna knelt before the desk and watched the amber glow and turn to liquid; she pressed the gem on her forehead to the softened amber and felt the horn and bone reconnect.

Gavin shielded his eyes and stared wide eyed as the beautiful woman he had known as Alorna spoke enchantment and pressed her forehead into the amber stone. Light filled the bedroom and suddenly Alorna was gone. The dappled gray unicorn stood where Alorna had once knelt, her horn freed from the amber stone and connected to her forehead.

Alorna flicked her ears forward and lashed her tail for a moment before she reared onto her hind legs and splintered the door to Gavin's chamber. She looked back at him once and cantered down the east hall nimbly picking her way down the stairs into the great hall. She could hear Gavin screaming her name and running down the hall after her. Moments later men at arms surrounded the top of the stairwell to the west corridor, May stood in the doorway that led down to the kitchen, and Gavin stood at the top of the east corridor hallway. Alorna heard the gasps and whispers, saw the wonder on the faces of men who had never seen a unicorn and women who believed they did not exist.

"Alorna." Gavin's voice broke. "Don't go."

Alorna looked at Gavin and snorted. She pawed the stone floor with a cloven hoof and shook her long mane in the negative. Alorna lowered her head and flipped the bar holding the doors closed, watching them swing slowly inward.

"Alorna, please." Gavin was at the bottom of the stairs only steps away from her.

She turned her equine eyes upon him and closed the distance between them. She blew lightly against his neck and rubbed her cheek against his bare arm. She looked at him for a long moment then turned and walked out the doors. In the courtyard Alorna reared a final time, crying out to the moon above before leaping into a gallop that took her down the road to the castle and into the hills of her forest again. The wind whistled by but didn't manage to block out the anguished cry from the castle.

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The winter had been very hard that year. Lord Gavin rarely left his chamber anymore. His descent into melancholy had effective every member of the staff. May had cried for weeks after the unicorn they had know as Alorna had left. The spring had come early and the fields were unusually ripe, bearing a new fuller load of crops. May had told Gavin that the weeping willow tree had healed and the barren ground beneath it had sprouted flowers of all colors. Alorna had restored the land before she left; it made sense to him now. The death of one unicorn had been appeased by the blood pact of another.