The Black Unicorn

Promotion

Bernard and Andela walked with you as you made your way to the door that would take you outside and into the courtyard. You kept your head down as you walked, still deep in thought about everything that had gone down.

You felt Andela place a hand gently on your arm and you looked over to her with a small smile. She looked up at you with sparkling ice blue eyes and a big smile.

" It's alright Y/N. You did nothing wrong. You were going to be blamed for what those people were doing and that was something that needed to be fixed." She said, trying to lift your spirits. You looked down at the floor where your eyes gazed at the carpets as you walked over them.

" Did it have to happen like that though? We don't know what happens to the servants that break the rules. It could be anything from as little as a slap on the wrist and relocation to something much more horrible." You said. " Plus, what if they had families they were just trying to take care of too?" Bernard spoke up from beside you.

" Don't worry about their families Y/N. As harsh as it sounds the only thing you need to worry about is yours. They would have stopped being taken care of if you got blamed for a false crime. They need you to help them Y/N." He said while leaning down slightly, trying to look into your eyes.

You still did not look up, not wanting to meet his eyes. Though you did nod to let them know you understood and let a small smile twist on your face.

" Thank you guys, it helps with you guys here. Thank you for standing by me as well." You said. They both nodded in response. The doors to the courtyard were right up ahead. You turned to your friends.

" Alright, you guys. Thanks for walking with me but its time to get to work on your own duties before you get punished." You said with hands on your hips. You all smiled at each other and they waved to you as they went on their own way.

You watched them walk down the hall until they both turned and were lost out of sight. As soon as they were gone you let your hands flop down and hit against your sides as you let out a sigh.

You leaned against the wall for a moment. Letting your mind try an process everything for a few moments before you got to work. You missed your family. You wanted to hug your father like you always did when you were stressed and upset. You wanted to be in the market making jokes with your brother as people wandered by. You wanted to be cooking with your mother in the kitchen as you talked about your day.

You missed all the farm animals and the herb garden. All the thoughts and memories of the life that was taken away made tears come to your eyes. One slipped out and you wiped it away with your hand as you sniffled. You were wasting too much time. You needed to get to work now.

You pushed off of the wall. Brushing out the folds in your dress before pushing out of the doors and into the sunny courtyard. The grass had just been cut, leaving the area smelling of fresh-cut plants.

You made your way over to the storage area as the horses neighed at you. Telling you to hurry up because they were hungry. You smiled at them as you hefted the hay bales up and carried them over to the stalls.

Straw landed on you as you threw the bales over your shoulder and into the stalls. The horses immediately moving over to it to eat it all up.

Once done with that you grabbed a shovel and pitchfork and started getting to work on cleaning the stable. It was not horribly dirty. So it did not take very long. Other than you have to stop every few minutes to wipe the sleep out of your eyes.

Once done you put it all back and grabbed the box that needed to be taken over to stable 1. Something on the inside rolled around when you picked it up. You held it out, trying to think of what was inside, but you quickly dismissed the thoughts and continued to walk across the yard.