The kingdom was thrilled when King Letrin and his queen, Maliana, finally had their first child. The small girl was born on a clear night, and this would have been seen as a good sign, except that the tiny princess was almost a month early and was very weak. The queen, too, had a dificult time and almost didn't live to see the heir to the throne. But the royal physicians managed to pull her through, both she and her daughter were soon gaining strength. The next few years passed quickly, and while both grew stronger, the queen was not quite back to her former strength when she became pregnant again. Shortly after Princess Ariaera's fifth birthday, the queen began having complications, and the physicians had to order to rest. This helped for a while, but before long, she gave birth to a small boy. This time, unfortunately, the queen was not strong enough to pull through. It grieved the king greatly to announce to his subjects that his queen had died in childbirth. The boy lived, though, and that was one reason he couldn't linger in his grief. The second was his daughter. Ariaera had been extremely close to her mother, and the loss weakened the already frail child further. She caught an illness, and the physician's found themselves at a loss; this illness was beyond their skills to cure. The head physician had only one suggestion: find a unicorn. Unlike the mythology of some worlds, the healing powers and restrictions of unicorns were well-known here. In order to utilize the power of a unicorn, it must help assist you willingly. Once the horn is removed, or the unicorn dies, the power is gone, and all that is left is a sparkly trinket. The king sent out his hunters, not to kill a unicorn, but to find one who may be willing to help his daughter. The hunters spread out, searching far and wide, but again unlike many unicorns, these were not the invincible, all-powerful beasts some would expect. They were occasionally hunted by larger animals, especially some of the evil dragons, who liked to collect the golden spirals. A few weeks after being sent out, one of the hunters, an wild elf named Liona, found one of these. The unicorn mare was lying near some brush, hide torn open in multiple places, a gaping wound above her eyes, and a trail of blood coming from the north. She hadn't died immediately from her wounds, and that surprised the elf. Normally, dragon's prey didn't survive long enough to try to get away. She checked the poor mare over, looking for what had driven her to drag herself from the place she was attacked. When she noticed the slightly large belly and full udder, she understood; the mare had a foal she had been trying to get back to. Liona looked around, listening carefully, then heading into the trees. She stopped in a pristine clearing, and sat down to wait, humming a lullaby. A short time later, the foal crept into the clearing, legs wobbling as he tried to be quiet. Somehow, at less than two days old, he could tell something was very wrong. Liona almost cried at the sight; he was so skinny, but even at such a young age, his horn was already present. A golden nub about two inches long sat above his brow, and she hoped he may be enough to help the king's daughter. "Easy, little one, you'll be safe now." She spoke softly, not wanting to scare the tiny creature. He jerked a bit, but continued to walk towards her. She wasn't much larger than his mother, and since she was sitting on the ground, she didn't seem much of a threat. ::Where's Momma?:: Liona was startled by the thought that just appeared in her mind. She hadn't realized that he would be able to use his telepathy already. "There was trouble with a dragon, and your mother fought to protect you, but she wasn't able to win. She won't be coming back. I'm sorry." She hated having to tell such a young thing it's mother was dead, but she didn't have a lot of choice. "Would you like to come with me? I know someone who needs you, and they will take good care of you, until you are grown." She had learned, some time ago, that it was best to be forthright with magical creatures; they could tell if you were being dishonest. ::Oh:: The elf could hear the sadness in his tone, and it nearly broke her heart. ::Alright, I'll come:: She carried the little one back to her horse, and rode with him in front of her, back to the castle. Once there, the king took one look and called for a nurse mare, then led the wild elf and her gift up to the princess's room. As soon as the foal saw the frail girl, he asked Liona to place him by the bed. He nuzzled her hand for a moment, and when she woke enough to look around, he touched his tiny spiral to her fingers. Ariaera blinked rapidly, then sat up, and gazed at the foal. They stared into each others eyes for several moments before the unicorn's tiny legs gave out from exhaustion, and he sank to the floor. "Take him to the nurse mare; he looks to be starving." The king ordered his most trusted bodyguard to carry the poor infant back down the stairs. "Father? Will he come back? I want him to stay." The soft words were the first the young princess had spoken since her mother's death a few weeks earlier. The king looked at the wild elf, who nodded, before replying. "Yes, my precious little girl, he will stay." At that, the small girl fell back asleep, looking a good bit healthier than she had but a few minutes before. The king headed back to the audience chamber, indicating that Liona should follow. Once there, she told him what she had discovered, and that the unicorn would be willing to stay with them, as long as they took care of him. He had no where else to go, but he could refuse to help if he was mistreated. King Letrin asked if there was anything she wished as a reward, anything at all. She declined an actual reward, simply being glad she could help. But she did ask that she be allowed to come visit the young one now and then. Readily agreeing to such a simple request, he thanked her heartily and said she would be welcome at the castle any time. Accepting his thanks gracefully, she left and stopped by the barn to say goodbye to the little one. He looked up from his meal, a somewhat content look on his face. ::Hi:: "Hi, are you going to be okay here?" The elf asked. She wanted to be sure he wasn't regretting coming. ::I think it's good here. You were right; she does need me. Will I see you again?:: "I'll try to come back and see you, but I don't know when, or how often I'll be able to come. I probably won't recognize you the next time I see you." She laughed, but the foal got a thoughtful look on his face. ::My name is Nikyje. It's what my momma called me. If you know it, you'll know it's me:: Smiling at the young unicorn, she thanked him for the thought, and headed out. Nikyje went back to his meal, his tail twitching happily.