The Tale of the Unicorn Slayer

Prologue

A young woman with shining auburn hair entered the enchanted forest, her deep blue, almost purple, eyes sparked with the light of anticipation. She drew the hood of her cloak over her hair and knocked an arrow into her bow. Confidence was obvious in her silent stride as she trod a barely visible path. As she approached a rise with an animal track forging through the undergrowth she crouched down to check the prints. She smiled to herself, the prints were fresh - today was her lucky day.

She began following the hoof prints until she came to a clearing. Shafts of light filtered through the canopy, through them faeries danced, their eyes glinted with harsh mischief as they flew in a swarm towards the huntress. She was ready though and she drew a veil of powder from a pocket and shattered it on the floor, sending powder everywhere. The faeries instantly recoiled and cursed the woman for burning them with her iron.

The woman smiled to herself again and looked across the clearing where the track she had been following began again. Quickly she ran across the grass avoiding the toadstool circles of the faeries and once again entered the trees.

As she jogged along the freshly made path she looked around her at the magikal creatures, their tracks and their habitat, faeries flitted around giving her evil glares, news travelled fast between the wild Fae, as she came out of a hap-hazard zig-zag she came across a pool of shining water. On the far side centaurs were  conversing with the water nymphs and as soon as one layed eyes on the huntress all eyes turned towards her; the nymphs wailed and dove beneath the water, dispersing in different directions whilst the centaurs drew their spears and one stepping forward, its coat a deep chestnut matching its hair and eyes, yelled "Great Slayer! How dare you enter these woods?"

The huntress smiled at the floor, the centaurs stayed there with their spears raised awaiting her reply, before the leader toppled into the water, his eyes were glazed and a blood spread across the waters surface from beneath him, staining the waters crimson with swirls stretching ever further across the waters. The rest of the centaurs stood there in shock before all together turning and galloping away from the grinning huntress. Adjusting her cloak she searched the outside of the pond before finding what she was looking for, a separate set of prints from the centaurs with a more distinct size. She once again followed the tracks, it wouldn't be long before she saw her prey.

As she had guessed, in the next clearing stood a magnificent beast. It had a glossy ivory coat over lean limbs, sturdy white hooves ended long legs and a long flowing tail whipped around its hind legs, the tail matched the silky mane that covered the neck and top of the raised head where a spiralling horn that shimmered like pearl grew out of the forehead ending in a sharp point; it's deep ebony eyes turned to look at the huntress as she approached. Its ears flicked towards her at the sound of her foot fall and she stopped. The unicorn spoke,

So this is the Great Slayer. You have power within you - why do you not harness it and join me, together we could be very powerful, we could enlist the help of others and kill all of the traitorous human rulers, rule the world.

"I am wise to your word play and I shall not fall for it" replied the huntress, her long auburn hair had escaped from her hood and was lashing around in the wind. Anger flashed in the unicorns eyes and it lowered its head, preparing to charge the woman, but she had years of experience behind her and before it had chance to move one step she had loosed her second arrow which embedded itself just beneath the horn, piercing the skin and fracturing the weak bit of bone here.

The unicorn shrieked and began to move but it was too late, for the huntress had her dagger out now and as the beast tried to step forward it collapsed, blood was already filling its brain and stopping it functioning. She stepped forwards and lent over the creature, her dagger was in her right hand and she held the unicorns horn down on the grassy floor and it struggled to get up, panic clear in its rolling eyes as it realised the truth, it was not going to get up so its lungs would flood and it would suffocate, that is if the blood in its brain didn't kill it first.

The woman smiled as she saw it realise this, she bent her mouth to its ear, easily avoiding a spasming foreleg "You are going to die, and I shall not be merciful" she whispered, joy in her voice. She crouched there as the beast writhed on the floor and watched as the life faded out of it, she felt it as the unicorns life left and she laughed, the high of murdering one of her magikal brethren making her ecstatic. This was what she killed them for, not for the money, nor for the fame or respect, but for the intoxicating feeling she got as the life was leeched out by the wounds she inflicted upon them.

~Leafscatter