Unicorn Fire

I sighed. This was hard, but I had to persevere. Nobody said it would be easy.

I took a deep breath before trying again.

*****

All afternoon I tried over and over to load the bow and I just couldn't do it. Eventually I realized that trying to notch it like I would my longbow was likely hindering me. I examined the crossbow closer and saw a little bar jutting out at the far end. I assumed that it was to hold while aiming, but I put together that it could also be used for another purpose. If I put the crossbow towards the ground and stood on the bar I could grab the drawstring with both hands and pull up with my whole body. I was able to get it back much farther using that method.

Continuing that thought process, it occurred to me that I didn't need to hold the arrow while I was pulling the drawstring like I did with my longbow. That helped with pulling the drawstring a little more, but I still couldn't get it all the way back.

After doing it for so long my grip started to weaken and it became even harder to pull the cord. It kept slipping out of my fingers and whipping against my feet. I was sweaty, tired, and felt defeated. Perhaps that was all I could do today. I needed some rest.

I heard a horn and saw all the other soldiers walking in the same general direction. I vaguely remembered Luristan telling me that a horn during the day was a signal for the battalion to gather in the center of camp. Aching and sore, I followed everyone to the meeting point.

When I got there I saw Gerard, but what caught my attention even more was who was next to him.

She was a towering woman with a muscled body and sharp features. Strength radiated off of her. She was the most intimidating soldier I'd seen in Peregrine. But it wasn't because of her size and power. That was only part of it.

What was most intimidating was that she was powerfully, stunningly beautiful.

I'd never before seen such perfection. It made me feel weak in the knees. I was speechless.

Gerard interrupted my thoughts by calling everyone to attention.

"Brothers and sisters in arms, I've gathered you here to quickly tell you about some new developments. First of all, as you can see, Jacqueline has returned from her scouting mission, unharmed and with useful information," he gestured to the beautiful woman at his side.

Jacqueline. That was the other founder of Peregrine, second in command of the entire battalion. She was a species I'd never heard of called a valkyrie.

"But there's also something else. Today we got a new recruit. He's joined our archer squadron. Where are you, Wisteria?"

I raised my hand. "Here, Captain," I said timidly.

"Come forward and introduce yourself."

Had I known I'd be the center of attention I would have made myself look more presentable beforehand. At the moment I was sweaty, tired, and had sores on my hands. I walked to the area where Gerard was standing and faced the group.

"My name is Wisteria. I'm a male of the unicorn species and I've spent my life training as an archer. It's nice to meet you all."

Thankfully, the reaction from the battalion was very positive. I saw a lot of nodding and warm smiles.

"Thank you, our new brother," Gerard said sagely. He looked at his battalion. "That was all I wanted you to know. Dismissed."

The soldiers left gradually. I walked to the archer's tent and risked one quick look at Jacqueline. She nodded to me. Looking into her eyes made me feel nervous, but somehow happy as well.

Smiling in spite of myself, I left to go to my tent. It had been a long day and I was ready to eat some dinner.

*****

It was apparently on every individual to prepare their own food when the battalion was traveling, but that wasn't an issue for me. I'd been foraging for nuts and berries in this very forest my whole life. Still, that meant I needed to learn about the edible plants in other regions when the battalion left my forest.

By the time I had eaten and cleaned myself in a nearby river it was already night and I was ready to go to sleep. Luristan said that all soldiers not stationed for lookout duty were encouraged to turn in sooner rather than later, since everyone was expected to wake up early in the morning. When I got to the tent the other archers were settling in as well. I sat down on the floor before one of the other soldiers spoke to me.

"Hey, Wisteria, was it?"

I nodded and turned to see a female ent. She introduced herself as Xipe. She was tall and slender, like a sapling, with vines and roots growing on her body. Ents were familiar to me, I knew several of them growing up.

"Where's your bed?"

"I talked about it with Luristan, and I've been sleeping on the ground my whole life. No reason to stop now."

We talked some more before she retired to the side of the tent the females slept in. Soon the lanterns were extinguished and a problem became apparent almost immediately. Someone spoke up.

"Damn, Wisteria, that thing is way too bright."

The horn of a unicorn always emits a glow, which we call unicorn fire. It was non-destructive, but very bright. It wasn't as noticeable during the day, but in the dark it was like a beacon. I'd been sleeping with it my whole life and didn't notice it anymore, but the rest of my squadron wasn't used to it.

"That's like twenty torches. I can't sleep with that shining," someone else complained.

"Is there a way you can put out the fire?" the reptilian in the nearest bed asked.

I shook my head. Unicorn fire only extinguished when the horn was severed or the unicorn died.

"Then cover it up." One of the soldiers threw a blanket at me. Embarrassed, I wrapped it around my horn and that dampened the light enough that the rest of the squadron could sleep.

Eventually I was able to relax and drift off as well, tired after a very eventful day.

*****

I wasn't sure what time it was when I woke up, but it didn't take long for me to know that I wasn't going to fall back asleep anytime soon.

I decided that I might as well get back to my training.

Exiting the tent I removed the cover on my horn and the unicorn fire glowed as brightly as it always did. My horn had always been useful for navigating at night.

I didn't encounter any other soldiers on my way to the archery range. I assumed that the only ones awake were those standing watch.

I got the crossbow out from the shed and continued to attempt pulling back the drawstring. My hands stung, sore from my previous attempts. I still felt so weak. I decided that perhaps I should try building up my strength little by little. I started seeing how many times in a row I could pull the drawstring back three-quarters of the way. I could only make it to twenty before my grip gave out. I needed to do better if I wanted to pull it back all the way even once, let alone ten times.

I was working on more repetitions of pulling the cord when I was startled by a voice.

"What are you doing?"

I lost my grip and almost fell over before steadying myself and turning to see who spoke. To my shock, it was Jacqueline.

She was even more majestic up close. I felt my heart beat faster. What was happening to me? I'd never had this reaction to anyone before.

"You're the new recruit, right? Why aren't you in bed?"

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly feeling very dry as I spoke.

"I...I couldn't sleep. I thought I might as well get my training started early."

She looked down at the crossbow.

"Oh, right, Luristan makes all the new archers work with that thing. But it's better to rest when you can to keep your energy up."

"I suppose, but..." I averted my gaze.

"What's on your mind?"

I didn't want to say it out loud, but she asked me a question and I wanted to give her an answer.

"It's just...humiliating. I thought I was strong. I trained for years to be the best archer I could be, but now I'm here and it all seemed for nothing. What good am I if I can't even pull a cord?" I kicked the crossbow in frustration.

"You shouldn't think like that. Gerard told me about how incredible your accuracy was. You have a talent for archery not many possess. This is just a step to refine that skill."

I felt myself get a little choked up.

"Really? That's nice to hear."

"One thing I've learned over the years is that sometimes it's better to take a step back and try again later. Trying to do this now, tired and alone in the dark, it can't be very encouraging."

I realized she was right.

"That's true. I really should get more rest and try again in the morning. Thank you for the advice."

I started to leave but she stopped me.

"Wait, hold on."

I stopped and looked at the valkyrie.

She walked closer and bent down, picking up something.

"I think you dropped this."

She showed me what she was holding and I saw that it was the wisteria blossom my mother had given me the previous morning, which felt like a lifetime ago. I would never have noticed that it fell off. I would have left and lost track of the last thing connecting me to my past life. I felt myself get choked up again, hoping she couldn't see my tearing eyes well in the night.

"I...thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done if I lost that."

"We in the Peregrine Battalion are a family. We look out for each other. It's the least I can do."

I nodded again.

"Thanks for everything, but I should probably go now."

I said that, but part of me wanted to stay, talking to Jacqueline for as long as I could.

She walked off before I returned to the tent, wrapping my horn in the blanket before entering. Laying down, I felt drowsy almost immediately. Jacqueline was right, I needed some more rest.

Just thinking about the valkyrie was making me happy in a way I couldn't quite describe. At that point I was too tired to wonder why I was feeling how I was feeling. I just drifted off, falling asleep once more.

*****

It was dawn when the horn blew signaling all the soldiers to wake up. I yawned and stretched, feeling better than I had yesterday. Once again I took off the blanket covering my horn.

"Good morning, Wisteria."

I turned and saw the reptilian who had sleeping in the bed closest to mine. He held out his hand and we shook.

"My name is Naja. I'm sorry we all got so curt with you last night."

I raised my eyebrows and he clarified.

"It wasn't right of us to give you a hard time over something you couldn't control. Peregrine is about accepting everyone, and we didn't do a good job of that."

He looked around, and I saw a few other soldiers nodding in agreement.

I almost laughed.

"You don't have to apologize to me. I wasn't upset about it. It's fine."

That seemed to lighten the mood a bit and we all got ready for the day.

"If you're willing to cover up the horn at night, you should probably go to Ruelle and Graphire and ask them to craft you something more dignified than a blanket," Naja told me.

"That sounds like a good idea," Xipe chimed in, walking up to us. "I'll take you to their tent if you want."

I smiled. I already felt so much less alone than I had yesterday. I was making friends in my squadron.

"That would be nice."

After breakfast Xipe and I went to the crafting tent and met the two members of the battalion that fashioned and invented nearly everything we used. Graphire was a type of reptilian called a drake and Ruelle was a species that nobody could identify, herself included, but she looked a bit like a huma. I told them about my situation and they looked interested immediately. Ruelle had ideas right away and went off to fashion some prototypes.

"You're an archer as well, correct?" Graphire asked. "We'll get together with Luristan to craft a bow for you when you're done with your training."

My training. I was in such high spirits I had forgotten about that.

I spent the rest of the morning training with the crossbow. Soon it felt like I had the overall strength to pull the drawstring back all the way, but my hands were so sore and sweaty that the cord kept slipping from my fingers. I looked around at my fellow archers and noticed that some of them were wearing gloves. That looked like it would help me. I went into the shed and got a pair for me, which were the smallest I found. Standing over the crossbow, I took my position and started to pull back.

My muscles ached and my hands stung. I kept pulling and pulling, feeling like something was going to give until—

Click!

I was so surprised I fell down. But when I got back up, I saw that the drawstring was indeed pulled back all the way, held in place securely.

I had done it!

Ecstatic, I jumped and shouted "Yes!", which made everyone else immediately turn to look at me. Initially I felt embarrassed, but I heard words of encouragement from my squadron.

"Good job, Wisteria!" Naja said.

I smiled, overjoyed to cross my first obstacle.

Now it was finally time to see what an arrow fired from this crossbow was capable of. Loading up one of the crossbow arrows, which were apparently called bolts, I walked over to a firing station and took my aim.

The crossbow was heavy and I was still weak, but even with my shaking I aimed and pulled the trigger.

The bolt launched out with more force than any arrow I had ever fired. It pushed me back. But my aim was true and the bolt stuck itself deep into the target's center, much deeper than any arrow I'd fired with my own bow. When I walked over to the target I discovered it was so deep in that I couldn't even pull it out. I tried with all my might but it was stuck fast in the target. Maybe I was just too weak at the moment after exerting myself for so long, but something told me that it was just the power of that crossbow.

I looked at the sun and saw that it was near noon, when the battalion was set to pack up and continue our journey. Being able to fire a shot from that crossbow seemed like a good note to end on here. I helped with everyone getting ready and before long it was time to set off. This was an interesting moment for me. Even though I had joined the battalion, if I left my forest with them that would be committing to a mission that would take me far away from everything I knew. When we left the forest, I reached into my tunic and pulled out the wisteria blossom. Ever since my close call the previous night I resolved to keep it safely with me at all times. I thought of my parents and all they had done for me as I followed my other family out into the unknown.

*****

While we were on the road we didn't have much time for training. The camp set up in the forest was more complete because they were waiting for Jacqueline to return from her scouting mission. When the battalion was traveling that was what was happening most of the day and the camps we set up at night were a lot more makeshift.

On the second day of traveling Graphire approached me and gave me the horn covering for sleep Ruelle had made me. It was beautifully crafted out of leather, and it fit my horn perfectly. I was stunned.

"How was she able to make this so well?" I marveled.

"That's just Ruelle for you. Hope you make good use of it." I thanked him and he left.

That certainly helped make sleeping in the tent with my squadron a little more comfortable, but I'm sure a bigger part of that was the fact I was making friends with my fellow archers, Naja and Xipe in particular.

It wasn't just them, either. During our long days on the road I tried to meet up with people from everywhere in Peregrine. I wanted to get a feel for my brothers and sisters in arms. I befriended one of the lancers, a merfolk named Nodis. I got to know Hush better, as well as Femt, the elf on the medic team I'd heard about. Gerard was right, I did look a little like them. Femt was so interested when I told them about my life in the forest. They had only lived in towns and never had the opportunity to live in the wild.

"It always sounded appealing," they admitted. "Living as one with the land and being free from the rules of civilization. But I've known for a while that my place is here, with Peregrine."

I dearly hoped that I would come to that conclusion myself before long. I did enjoy my time in the battalion so far, but there was still something very new, very different about it that I wasn't used to.

Even so, after several days I felt like I was a part of the group. There was only one person I still didn't feel too comfortable around, and that was Jacqueline. I always found myself getting flustered around her, unable to keep my composure. She was so intimidating, an otherworldly kind of beautiful and powerful. And she already demonstrated her kindness to me. She seemed so perfect.

It occurred to me that this might be what love felt like, though I couldn't be sure. I thought of how my mother and father acted. That was love, and I didn't see many similarities. They made each other complete, they were more themselves when they were together. That probably just came with familiarity, but it seemed like a far cry from how I felt about Jacqueline. But even if it wasn't love, I knew at least that I was attracted to her in a way I couldn't ignore.

What made it worse was I apparently couldn't hide that very well. Naja pulled me aside on our last day of travel to talk.

"When are you going to stop swooning over Jacqueline and actually do something about it?"

I felt my cheeks heat up.

"What do you mean 'do something about it'? What is there to even do? We're fellow soldiers. It's not appropriate."

Naja laughed. "You do know who sleeps in the same tent as the Captain every night, don't you? There's nothing taboo about forming relationships in Peregrine. Keir and Wendigo are married, and they met in the battalion."

Really? I supposed that shouldn't have been much of a surprise. Wendigo was the banshee who led the berserkers, and she was horrifying. Her emaciated body and earth-shaking cry served well to terrify enemies and keep her squadron in check. She seemed like just the type to attract the headless rider.

"Well, even if that's the case, I can't very well just walk up and talk to her about it. If you haven't noticed, I tend to get nervous around her."

"Yeah, everyone notices that. But I know who can help. Talk to Nodis about it."

I cocked an eyebrow.

"What would he know?" Nodis had told me about his wife he was fighting for back home.

"It was before I joined, but apparently Nodis used to go to Jacqueline's tent nearly every night. I don't know what arrangement they had or how it ended, but he might tell you more."

Later that day I walked over to where the lancers were and asked if I could talk to Nodis in private. He must have seen that it was important to me because he asked the squadron leader if he could be dismissed for a short break. All the squadron leaders had different styles, and the head lancer Keket was notoriously strict. She was a sphinx that ruled with an iron fist. Her face was always blank and expressionless and when she looked at someone she seemed to look right through them.

Keket stared at me and I felt like she was imagining all the different ways she could kill me before she spoke.

"Very well. But make it brief."

The two of us walked until we were out of earshot from everyone else.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"It's about Jacqueline."

I saw his face flush. I suddenly had a vivid mental image of what I looked like when I heard her name.

"What do you want to know about her?"

"I've heard that you used to be her lover. Is that true?"

He sighed.

"I don't think 'lover' is the right word." He looked around, as if to ensure nobody was listening.

"She and I had an arrangement where we used each other to fulfill a need. There was nothing emotional about it. It wasn't like what Gerard and Hush have. When I found my true love she let me go with her blessing. I don't really like talking about it now."