Chapter One It was a young red fox that ran for her life. She had done absolutely nothing to them, and none of the men needed her to feed their families. They simply wanted her fur for show. The hunters had brought their dogs and invaded her forest. It came to the point where she reached the edge, a gathering of small pine trees that served as a barrier between her forest and an open field. The field, she thought, shuddering. In the field there would be nowhere to hide, but she had to keep running. The dogs would not give up her sent.
On the other side of the field there was a river. They would surely lose her there. If only she could make it that far. She hesitated a moment, but the hunters were close behind. With a jolt of fear she was off, running for her life in plain sight. She was fast, but definitely not faster than the death wounds that hunters could make appear on any animal simply by pointing their sticks.
My life means nothing to them, she thought. My fur won’t be used to keep anybody warm or for a special gift to remind a child of nature like a feather or a rabbit’s foot. I will have served no purpose other than to be in a display case.
No fox ever wanted to die, but Vencora had learned to accept that someday her time would come. It would happen to all creatures eventually, but it wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Death, she thought, happens to us all, and every creature is hunted by someone, but it isn’t right that there are so many. This isn’t fair. So many hunters and their slave dogs all after one fox. Me.
And suddenly it happened. The sound of thunder. And a horrible pain. She knew she was wounded and kept running. She was almost to the other side. Almost to the river. She could smell the cool running water. She could taste the mist in the air. If I must die, she thought, they will never find me.
That’s when she pinpointed it. Her fur was gone, replaced by a bluish blanket, and she was much larger. Her original paws were gone, and what replaced them were two square shaped paws with long slender toes in front and two large chubby-looking back paws with toes that didn’t seem to match. Her nose had sunken in much closer to her eyes and her ears no longer started at the top of her head.
When she looked up to see who had spoken to her, she noticed that this creature had all of these same features, and she recognized this creature as human. “Who are you?” she asked, but then she realized. “I...I’m sorry,” she replied. “I do know you. You are the girl that only nonhumans can see. You are the Keeper of the Unicorns.”
The mystical blond-haired young woman smiled back at Vencora. “You may call me Cienna, if you wish. I watched the hunt. It seemed rather unfair and I’m happy that you got away. Unfortunately, the only way I could save you was to turn you into a human. I hope you’re not angry with me.”
“Of course I’m not,” Vencora replied. “You have given me a second chance at life. How can I ever repay you?”
“Walk with me when I do at night,” Cienna replied, “and help me protect all the creatures of the forest.”
“Gladly,” Vencora replied. “I look forward to biting the necks of many humans.”
Cienna gasped in a fit of laughter. “I’m sorry, my friend, but now that you’re a human you can’t really go around biting other humans.”
“Oh,” Vencora replied sadly. “What if I just nibble a little bit at their ankles?”
“No, no,” Cienna replied, “but don’t worry, someday humans will learn to live fairly among the other creatures again. Then you won’t feel the need to bite anyone. That will be the day when unicorns show themselves again to the humans.”
Vencora glared at her in confusion. “You mean humans can’t see the unicorns?”
“No,” Cienna replied. “Once there was a time when all creatures could live in harmony with each other and everyone abided by the laws of nature. Somewhere between then and here, humans became too greedy. Only when they understand that all animals have the same rights and that all hunts must be fair will their eyes behold the beauty of the unicorn. So,” she added, “will you help me try to keep justice in this forest?”
Vencora nodded. “I believe it has been my duty since the day I was born.”
-June 7
