to himself, though he was troubled at seeing her so unhappy.
“So where does the unicorn come in?” I asked.
He comes into the story now, actually, Nebu replied.
Here’s where it gets interesting, Tia added.
The lion was the equal of the princess in many ways. All ways but one, in fact: the princess didn’t eat meat.
“Oh.” I blinked. “Why should that matter?”
It wouldn’t normally, and she knew the lion only ate meat to satisfy his hunger. He didn’t kill arbitrarily. Still, it bothered the girl. She who loved all beings couldn’t stand knowing that her fiancé caused the death of innocent creatures.
“So what did she do?”
She cried over each kill until the lion stopped eating altogether. A few months passed, and though the lion tried to eat fruits and vegetables as she did, he became weak. Never in his existence had he experienced such lassitude. But so great was his love for the girl that to make her happy, he went on ignoring his instincts.
One afternoon, they headed to the forest and unpacked a picnic of apples, carrots, and strawberries. The still hungry and unsatisfied lion lay down beside the girl he loved, and with her hand on his back, he fell asleep.
While he slept, the girl walked through the trees, seeking flowers, and came upon a secret grove, opulent and lush, that only one with an innocent and pure heart could find. It was the home of a unicorn—a great, noble beast, who had also been blessed by the gods.
Tia gave me the mental equivalent of rolling her eyes.
Interested in meeting the person who’d found his home, the unicorn stepped into the clearing and saw the beautiful girl picking his flowers. He approached, and when she looked up they both knew that they were meant to be together. His great heart melted.
All at once he loved everything about her, from her demure expression to the warmth of her presence. The unicorn found her effervescent laughter delightful, but most of all, the purity of her heart, the richness of her soul, drew him. Like the girl, the unicorn was beautiful both inside and out. He, too, could read the hearts of others.
He possessed the same kind of magic that drew others to him and made them want to better themselves. His heart was pure. He was worthy. He was her perfect match. She was as drawn to him as he was to her. It was a feeling, a conviction unlike she’d had with any other, and yet the knowledge broke her heart.
The princess stayed with the unicorn all afternoon and told him that being together would be impossible. She was betrothed to a lion, and the goodness inside her would not allow her to break her vow to wed. The unicorn wept with despair, for he knew her heart better than anyone else’s and he would never ask her to be less than she was. He laid his head in her lap, determined to make the most of the stolen time they had together.
She left as the sun set, and told him she’d never seek him out again. He accepted this, though his heart broke at the knowledge. He brooded as the days passed, but the princess was true to her word and did not return to the unicorn’s hidden grove. He tried to tell himself it was over. That their love was a mere dalliance, hotly burning but quickly extinguishable. In his truest heart, though, he knew that he told himself lies.
He was wild with love for the girl, and the separation from her caused him unbelievable pain, ineffable torment. So he stole into the human world just to catch a glimpse of her once more. When he did, the unicorn could see that she was as despondent as he was. That their being together was essential.
That’s your opinion! Tia hissed, though the unicorn was not privy to her thoughts.
Neby went on to say, Now, a unicorn possesses a certain amount of magic, and it’s centered in the alicorn, the horn that protrudes from the top of its head.
“But you don’t have one.”
That is correct. And now you’ll understand why. The unicorn was desperate, so he did something no other unicorn had done before.
He tricked the lion! Tia shouted in my mind.
He sacrificed the power he had to offer a gift to the lion.
It’s a lie! It was no gift. The lion was deceived! Tia exclaimed.
“Tia, shh,” I said.
This is the part where the lion and the unicorn disagree, Nebu explained.