Journeys

“There are two unicorns traveling with you?” Carp asks.

“Yes. We call them Leitis and Aingealag. They came to us shortly after we arrived in Faerie. Being unicorns they come and go as needed but the pair have been with us for many years.” The young man says. He scratches Aingealag under the chin and she nickers in contentment.

“Sister?” Carp asks.

“Yes. She and Leitis appeared to us when we first arrived. They have been with us ever since.”

“Have you been here long?” Black Buck asks.

“We have been here for several years.” The young man says, offering his hand. “Romani Novak.”

“Carp Fischer.”

“I hope you don’t mind my inquiry, how did you get here?” Black Buck asks.

“We were camped out on the outskirts of a village. We had not seen soldiers for several days and thought that we were safe. If we had thought that we had been spotted we would not have camped near any village much less a Jewish one. Late that night, soldiers raided the village. They killed many of the villagers during interrogation. They were looking for us when the platoon discovered that it was a Jewish village.”*

“So they took the village over.” Carp says.

“Yes. Thankfully, it was a small Zugtrupp and we outnumbered them.”

“Zugtrupp?” Black Buck asks.

“Zugtrupp, it’s German for platoon.” Carp says.

“We watched, waiting in the woods until they began relieving the homes and shops of their valuables, storing supplies, and became distracted while taking custody of the most opulent home for their headquarters. We snuck in and freed as many of the hostages as we could. We ran into the deepest part of the forest to hide. When we ventured out again we found ourselves here. Tell me Mr. Fischer, what brings you to this place? Are you a sympathizer? Are you fleeing the Germans as well?”

Carp thinks about whether he wants to question that last statement but decides against it. “No. I lost some friends here.”

“Who? I could probably tell you if they’ve passed through the village or the surrounding woods.”

Carp wonders about mentioning Dobby and the kittens for a moment then reminds himself that Romani is standing next to a unicorn.

“Have you seen a tall, muscular man flying around in a giant bubble? He’s wearing...”

Romani holds up a hand in a “quiet” gesture. “Bubbles don’t fly through the villages. They stay on the outskirts along the edge of the woods.”

“There are also two kittens, litter mates. One of them has a pair of spots on his back. They may be traveling with an adult cat...an orange tabby.”

Romani raises his hand again. “A moment,” he says. He quickly makes his way to a fish shop across the road and knocks on the door. An orange tabby answers. Romani exchanges a few words with the cat and returns.

“No. There are no new cats in the village. There are stories about two renegade kittens hunting a stranger wearing a target on his chest on the outer borders of the Meadowlands as well as an orange tabby who is strangely dressed and overly outfitted with weaponry in the rain forests to the east. The orange tabby has a native guide.”

“Is the native guide named TP?” Carp asks.

“Yes. How did you know?” Romani asks.

“The pair find a lot of trouble together. Where is the heaviest flow of bubble traffic?” Carp asks.

“Continue past my people at the north end of the village. When the road ends walk through the fields heading Northeast. You will see flying bubbles soon enough.”

“Thank you Romani. You have been most helpful.” Black Buck says.

“Yes. Thank you.” Carp says.

“You’re welcome. It is nice to see other humans. May you enjoy your stay.”

Carp and Black Buck continue their walk.

“Watch your heads!” Romani calls from behind them. “There are height restrictions but the bubbles move so fast that they don’t always keep to them.”

Carp raises a hand and waves in acknowledgment.

“What shall we do next?” Black Buck asks.

“Head Northeast to the outer borders of the Meadowlands. Either we will see Tinkletoes in a flying bubble, run into the kittens, or find our way into the rain forest. We seem to be headed in the right direction. Sooner or later we have to run into somebody.” Carp stops walking. “Did you hear that?”

“Not again.” Black Buck says.

Carp looks at Black Buck and continues walking.

A white unicorn appears behind the pair following like a devoted companion. A silver unicorn appears following the white one.

“Where is he?” Dobby asks, holding a frog up to the squirrel monkey’s face.

The monkey’s eyes grow wider with every movement of the ginger tabby’s paw.

Rain drips off of palm fronds that are visible through the window.

“Where’s Monitor Man. Tell me. Now.”

The monkey’s lips quiver for a moment and a series of high pitched chirps erupt.

“What?” Dobby asks.

The monkey repeats himself.

“Dobby?” Writer Lady calls as she enters the hut. She sees Dobby, the monkey tied to a chair, and the frog in Dobby’s paw. “Dobby! What’s going on here!”

“I have to find Monitor Man. He must be destroyed.”

“Dobby Cat, you’ll do no such thing. You’ll let the monkey go. Immediately!”

“Your mom’s right.” Tinkletoes says, walking up behind her. “You don’t need the monkey. This war exercise is over. ‘Sides, he answered your question. Let him go.”

Dobby walks to the window and places the frog on a nearby branch. “O...kay.” The ginger tabby returns to the chair, with a few swift claw passes the monkey’s restraints have been cut.

The monkey jumps from the chair, skitters across the hut, and climbs Writer Lady to sit down in the place of greatest safety. On her shoulder. He blows raspberries at Dobby.

Writer Lady looks at the monkey. “Just because you’re safe doesn’t mean that you have to be smug about it.”

The monkey kisses her on the cheek in apology and sets about checking Writer Lady’s hair for bugs and other things as she takes charge.

“Dobby, what is this place? How did you get here? Did TP put you up to this?” Writer Lady asks. Her vision comes and goes as hair appears and disappears from her line of sight. “What’s going on?” She asks, getting a mouthful of her own hair. She removes the hair from her mouth and looks at the monkey. “I understand that you’re grateful but I can’t do my thing as long as you’re doing your thing.”

The monkey drops his hands and grins in apology.

Dobby looks behind Writer Lady and says, “Take him home.” Two full grown panthers emerge from the darkness. The monkey jumps from Writer Lady’s shoulder and lands on one of the panther’s backs.

“I’ll go with them.” Tinkletoes says to Writer Lady. “And make sure that nobody eats anybody.”

Writer Lady nods and waits until hut is empty except for herself and her cat. “Dobby Cat, I think that it’s time for us to have a talk.”

*Romani Novak and his companions have been in Faerie since World War II.

Enter Faerie Village

“Bubble can you see to it that the kittens float out about 150 yards and stay there until I call them back?” Tinkletoes asks.

“Yes sir.”

The kittens' bubble takes off, coming to a complete stop exactly 150 yards away and out of the direct path of floating traffic.

“They are not telling the truth about where Dobby is.” Tinkletoes says.

“I agree.” Writer Lady says. “Why? What is their motivation? As long as they don't tell us where he is then they are in trouble. Why don't those kittens want to get out of trouble?”

“That's easy.” Monitor Man says, without looking up from his note taking. “Dobby's the way cooler older brother with the keys to the family car. If they say anything, no more unsupervised fun. No more adventures.”

“Dobby hasn't been very nice.” She points out.

“This isn't about brotherly love.” Tinkletoes says. “Monitor Man's right this is about feeling closer to being Dobby's equal. It's about adventures.”

“But...” Writer Lady begins.

Tinkletoes raises his hand and holds up his index finger, “We're guys. It's what we do. You're going to have to let me take over.”

“And do what?” She asks.

“Laps.” I'm going to set the bubble down and those ankle chasers are going to actually have to move.'

Writer Lady rolls her eyes. “They're kittens. They run around all day every day and most of the night.”

“Then...the punishment is climbing.”

“Have you seen my furniture?”

“Yeah. I guess that they do that already. Would ya let me beat it out of 'em?”

She gives Tinkletoes her “Hell No” look.

“No. I just wanted to make sure.”

“I think that I might know how to find Dobby.”

“Okay.” Tinkletoes says. He looks at Monitor Man. “Girls are good at sneaky stuff.” He turns back to Writer Lady. “Watcha got?”

“It's quite simple.” She says, looking at the ceiling of her bubble. “Bubbles, take us to Dobby.”

“If the silver unicorn is extinct then why did we just see one?” Carp asks.

“That is a good question.” Black Buck says.

The pair continue making their way through the grassy meadow, their path runs parallel to the abandoned road. The rustling sound changes, Carp stops for a moment and looks at Black Buck. “Did you hear that?” He asks.

“Hear what?”

“The rustling continued after we stopped walking.”

“It was just me. I am walking on all fours.”

“This was after you stopped walking.”

Black Buck blinks and smiles. “You are still nervous about our visitor coming back.”

“If it was the silver one there would be snorting and the stamping of hooves. This was different.” Carp counters. “If you didn't hear anything then I guess we'll keep going.” He says.

The two continue walking through the meadow.

“If memory serves we should be entering a village soon.” The antelope says. “Some food and rest may be just what is needed.”

“That sounds good, Black Buck. That sounds good.”

A white unicorn appears several feet behind them. She follows the pair like a devoted companion and disappears moments later.

Less than a mile further down and over the next rise Carp sees his first Faerie village. The village begins at the edge of a forest. Unable to continue cutting through the land parallel to the road the pair move to the abandoned road. Most of the dwellings they see at first are small faerie houses nestled among the trees. Tiny pixie houses hang in the upper branches of those same trees. The faerie houses give way to more open spaces lined with thatched huts and fenced off yards with kitchen gardens. Families are in the gardens. Working together on the hoeing, weeding, and picking of their bounty. Carp and Black Buck hear the music long before they reach the center of the village which begins to appear gradually. The music is cheerful, like at a circus or festival. At first, there are a few random cottages with signs posted offering room and board. The cottages become inns, then restaurants, and eventually bakeries, cobblers, herbalists, and other businesses. Children shoot marbles and play games along the edge of the street, running in and out of a chocolate shop seemingly at whim. A young woman in a dress with a colorful and flowing skirt dances to the cheerful music at the far edge of the village while similarly dressed people clap encouraging her.

“You dirty humans are always making trouble.” Snort!

Carp turns to see where the sound has originated from. He sees a three and a half foot tall creature in full village garb. It appears to be a pig standing on its hindquarters.

“We are not trying to make trouble sir. We are entertainers.” A handsome young man stands next to the pig. “We are looking everywhere. Arienh and her sisters have been dancing for hours trying to call Leitis back.”

“Which is why unicorns should not be allowed to travel with humans.” Snort. “ They are prone to flights of fancy and make trouble for the rest of us.” Pig man says.

“We are doing everything that we can. I am sure that Leitis will return to us soon.”

“Someone in Faerie complaining about flights of fancy?” Carp whispers to Black Buck. “Aren't those a prerequisite?”

“Imaginations are a prerequisite for living happily in Faerie.” Black Buck says. “Pig people came to Faerie because they are so insufferable that no one else would have them. The natives do their best and through the generations the pig people have become less difficult but have never seemed to embrace their new home completely.” Black Buck gestures towards pig man with his head, “What this pig man does not understand is that unicorns don't embrace flights of fancy. They are magical creatures. They heal, they bring hope, and they assist those in need. If one wanders away it has located one who is in need.”

“You'd better hope that you find her before she finds her way into my apple orchard or the ogres will enjoy a fresh batch of unicorn steaks in the near future.”

Carp and Black Buck hear a snort behind them. A white unicorn appears where nothing existed before. Everyone looks at the unicorn and a smile crosses all faces. The merrymakers and the dancing girl cheer from a distance. All eyes turn to Carp and Black Buck. The pig man makes a dismissive gesture to the young man that he was talking to and walks away. The young man runs over to the unicorn offering a closed fist in greeting. The unicorn lowers her nose, sniffs, and offers her head for a gentle scratch. The young man reaches up and complies.

“It looks like you found your unicorn.” Carp says.

“Alas, she has found me.” He responds. “Aingealag, where have you been?” He asks, looking into the unicorn's right eye. “What am I going to do with you? Most importantly, where is your sister?”