Several minutes later, the world slowly came back into focus as a soft voice moaned, "What's wrong with me?"
The sound of a rustling skirt reached his ears while a blurry figure hovered over him and healed the wound he had inflicted on himself. The healer turned and laid her hand on the woman sitting beside him. "I didn't want to have to tell you this yet," she said in soft, comforting tones, "but you suffered brain damage from your ordeal with the meteor."
At last, the prince's eyes focused, and Drake watched fear spread across the grand champion's face.
As the dust from the destroyed cavern lazily floated to the floor around them, Zaphaniea's back turned rigid. Her long-lashed eyes widened and her voice trembled as she asked, "How bad is it?"
"Not good I'm afraid," Olivia whispered, turning away from the champion. She stared unseeingly at the ground. "The damage is causing several malfunctions in your system, most of which can be artificially corrected with modern medicine and daily treatments. But the majority of the neural passageways around where your spells are stored, have turned to scar tissue. That means your white blood cells are receiving mixed signals." Olivia took a deep breath fortifying herself for her next words. "Because of this," she said, "they are undergoing rapid cellular degeneration."
Zaphaniea frowned, the streaks of dust caking her cheeks and forehead wrinkling in the motion. "What does that mean?"
"Your condition is a rare problem among those who use advanced spells and push things too far," Drake answered for Olivia while sitting up and wrapping his arms around his knees. He looked straight at the champion, his face devoid of emotion as he continued, "But essentially your immune system is dying faster than it can repair itself. Someday soon, it will lose the war, and when it does, it will take with it your ability to use magic and your capacity to live in the outside world. In order to survive, you will have to live inside a sterilized environment," Drake finished, the words coming from his mouth sounding strangely robotic.
The grand champion's eyes grew to the size of saucers as terror affixed itself to her face. "You're saying I'm going to become a bubble girl?" she panicked, her limbs trembling.
The prince wrinkled his brow in consternation. Zaphaniea was referring to a popular hollow vid about a girl who lived inside a giant inflatable balloon. He hadn't seen that particular vid, but he believed it ended with her kissing her true love and dying shortly thereafter—not in the least bit scientifically accurate or at all appealing to him. But for all intents and purposes, the concept was right. "That's not the technical term for it, but yes," Drake answered.
"No, no, no!" Zaphaniea exclaimed, curling in on herself. "I can't live like that. I'd rather die!" she blubbered, tears welling up in her eyes as she buried her face in her hands.
Alf, who had been standing silently over them, laid his hand on Olivia's shoulder. "Isn't there anything we can do?" he asked.
The healer shook her head.
"But you and Harold have done multiple brain surgeries before," the young High Lord argued, as always trying to find solutions to impossible problems.
"But those are different things like aneurysms and blunt force trauma," Olivia explained. "This is more like someone drilled a hole into her skull, injected fire into her brain, and cauterized certain portions of it. At most, I could go in and remove the scar tissue, but that would most likely exacerbate the issue."
"I'm going to end up being stuck inside a ball for the rest of my life," the champion moaned. "And all because I chose to save you guys," she added bitterly, waving her hand at the motley group.
Suddenly, the door to the oven fell open with a ringing clang, and the smell of burnt meat filled the cavern as the lights from the overhead gems flickered.
"And now even dinner is ruined," she moaned, sinking deeper into a pool of self pity.
Finally, the three maids, who had been standing idly behind the group, moved in and kneeled beside the blubbering woman.
"Oh dear, you didn't just save our lives," the silver haired maid said. "You saved tens of thousands."
"So what?" Zaphaniea spat, tears running down her face. "Now I'm going to be an invalid!" she sniffed, and the sound of her whimpering filled the destroyed cavern as the three sisters tried to comfort the grand champion to no avail.
Drake stared blankly out at the shattered rock around them. The second floor walkway had fallen, and what remained of the balcony lay scattered all across the floor. Above him, only a single stalactite remained hanging on the ceiling; all the others had either been smashed into oblivion or snapped off. Several yards away, the kitchen, along with all the furniture and other odds and ends, was no more. And even the hallway leading into the rest of the house had collapsed. It was hard to imagine that someone capable of doing all of this, would eventually be so weak the germs carried by the wind could bring her to her knees.
"Let's pray!" Alf suddenly proclaimed.
"What?" Drake said, wiping at the dirt that clung to his skin. He'd need to wash up again.
"God can heal her. He's a miracle worker," the young High Lord answered, hope flooding his voice while the lights overhead flickered and brightened.
"Alf, now is not the time for your fanta-"
"No, he's right," Olivia said, cutting Drake off. Her face glowed from the newly charged lights while her expression morphed from one of sadness to determination. "I might not be able to help her, but God can," she said scooting closer to the champion. "Can we pray for you?"
Zaphaniea shrugged, her arms limp and shoulders hunched like a puppet whose strings had been cut. "Can't hurt. I'm going to end up being a bubble girl either way," she moaned.
Alf knelt down and took Olivia's and Silver's hands. Then the head maid reached out and took her sisters', and together they formed a circle around the champion.
Drake rolled his eyes, stood up, and marched away.
He had had enough of religion, and no amount of moaning and crying to an invisible, fictitious being was going to help their situation. The sad fact was that Zaphaniea was going to slowly deteriorate, and nothing, and no one, could stop that now.
The prince blocked out their mumbling as he strolled over to where the hallway had once been. Large, jagged chunks of solid rock barred his way. He'd have to wait until they were done so he could enlist Alf's help to remove them.
"No, you can't!" Scarlet's voice rang out, filling the room.
Drake turned around to see the red-haired maid clinging onto Pony's arm with both hands, desperately trying to pull her back.
Pony yanked her arm away and declared, "No. Alf was right. A lot of bad things happen because God's children stand idly by and do nothing. And I'm not going to be one of them," she stated stomping her foot. "Especially when I can stop it!"
Suddenly, a shimmering wave of light flooded the room, burning away the shadows and eclipsing the maid from view.
Drake raised his arm to protect his eyes as an enchanting sound akin to the fluttering of birds wings and rustling skirts sounded in his ears. The ambrosial smell of healing magic, coupled with the scent of spring flowers, overwhelmed that of crushed rock and dirt. Then, from the glowing light, the sound of four hoofs landing on the clay floor echoed throughout the room.
The prince had experienced this once before when Silver had revealed herself to him, but it still took him by surprise when a golden-brown unicorn emerged from the light. Her single crystal horn scattered rainbow-like reflections about the room, and her white mane rippled in the air. The golden filly was not as delicate, or majestic, as her older sister had been, but the magnificent creature still caused the air to catch in Drake's lungs.
Alf stumbled backwards, his arm catching on Olivia, and together they tumbled to the floor while staring in awe at the magical unicorn.
***
Pony shifted her hooves nervously as the others gazed at her. She hadn't revealed her true form in decades, and now seeing their intense stares made her feel self-conscious. She hadn't exactly been watching her weight, she thought while her palomino hide and silvery mane glistened in the dappled light.
Like baby calves staring at a new gate, Olivia and Alf sat tangled in each other's embrace, gazing at Pony with their mouths hanging wide open. Zaphaniea's eyes looked like they were about to fall out of her head, and her expression of delight reminded her of someone tasting a hot fudge sundae for the first time.
The prince's eyes, however, narrowed, and he stared at her with suspicion.
Pony closed her eyelids, her long eyelashes batting away the floating dust, and shut out their emotions of wonder and surprise pelting her consciousness. Then she slowly opened them again as she turned her long equine neck to gaze at her sisters.
I hope they're not too mad at me, she thought, swishing her tail. Pony had always been considered as the impetuous and overly optimistic sister, and that had often landed her in loads of trouble...
Scarlett glared at her, and her red hair moved on its own as if it were a halo made of fire. Silver, on the other hand, simply stared at her, her serene face emotionless.
With a surge of determination, Pony reached out with her mind, trying to feel what they thought, but both had closed themselves off to her. Shifting her weight, she swished her tail once more and stomped her foremost right hoof. You know I'm right! Pony mentally shouted at them.
"You, you're a unicorn?!" Alf exclaimed.
At last, Silver's face softened. Yes dear, you are, her voice echoed in Pony's mind.
Scarlett twisted to stare with raised eyebrows at their eldest sister, and Silver's violet eyes saddened. Times have changed. We can no longer remain as we once were, and our time is nearing an end. Let us do what we can while we are still here, Silver told them without saying a word out loud.
"How is this possible?" Olivia asked. Her face shined with wonder and excitement as she tried to unscramble herself from Alf.
"A unicorn," Zaphaniea muttered dreamily, still stuck in her ice cream-like faze. "They are real."
With the soft sound of slippers gliding across the clay floor, Silver joined Pony and placed her hand on her mane, then motioned for Scarlett to join them.
***
Alf stared in unbelief. He had to be dreaming this, he thought as Silver and Scarlett joined their sister, and the room once more flooded with light.
It couldn't be possible. It just couldn't! The three women had always a mystery, but this! This was too much to believe. Since the day Alf was born, he could remember Pony dangling him on her knee, Scarlet stealing off so she could read in secret, and Silver keeping a constant motherly eye on him. Of course, in all those years they'd never had those names; they'd never had any names at all. Which, come to think of it, was definitely suspicious.
Wait! If he'd known them since he was born, just how old were they?
"Just how old are you guys?" Alf blurted out, his words drowned out by the sound of magic as Olivia finally managed to push him off of her. Together, they watched enthralled as two more unicorns emerged from the swirling magic: one a glistening, crimson gold and the other the purest of whites.
The unicorns stared down at them for a moment. Then their three, crystal horns touched and the room seemed to vanish around them, whisked away by the rainbow reflecting through the magical being's horns.
"Yes, we are unicorns," three voices said as one, the harmonious words coming from nowhere but everywhere at the same time.
"How?" Alf blurted, echoing Olivia's earlier question as a chunk of rock gave loose and clattered to the floor.
"In the era of 'The Great Wars', we were created by those who contrived the dragons," the three voices answered. "We were to be life and healing where the dragons were death and destruction. However, we were genetically sabotaged, and as a result, we turned out to be failed experiments. We were slated for destruction until they discovered our horns multiply magical energy tenfold."
"They do?" the champion declared scrambling to her feet, bits of rock tumbling off of her as she finally broke free from her stupor.
"Yes, they do," Drake answered for them, stepping forward and crossing his arms. "And as a result, the unicorns were enslaved and bred for those horns. From my understanding, it is not a pleasant story. Which makes me curious. Why are you revealing yourselves to everyone here at this moment?" he asked raising an eyebrow and glaring at the majestic beings.
"Because there is something we must do," the trio answered.
"And that is?" the prince insisted, locking eyes with the white unicorn.
Alf's brow wrinkled in confusion. How could Drake know who they were when Alf had never even suspected it? In fact, in all their years together, he'd simply assumed they were quiet—if somewhat strange—women who helped the Brockovich household run smoothly.
At this rate, Alf thought, Drake's probably going to transform into a dragon and Zaphaniea into a... I don't know, maybe a sylph. Alf shook his head. Right now, he really felt like he was in the middle of a fantasy novel where the characters turned into fantastical beasts and the majority of humanity walked around clueless.
One of the unicorns neighed as if they were laughing, and the sound of chiming bells filled the cavern.
"Wait!" Olivia butted in. "Drake, you knew the maids were unicorns?" she asked echoing Alf's thoughts.
"Yes," the prince answered. "My father knew as well."
"Oh," Alf muttered. Drake and his father must have access to that knowledge because they're royalty, he thought. Then his thoughts began to run wild. By Eldrin's beard, he mentally exclaimed, maybe every High Lord has unicorns secretly in charge of their households. Maybe unicorns are hidden in every nook and cranny of the kingdom. And just maybe...
"But!" Olivia blurted again, cutting Alf's ridiculous thoughts short. "That doesn't make any sense. You definitely didn't know who they were when we first met. But if you know no-"
"Do not derail the conversation," the prince snapped, cutting Livy off, and turned his attention back to the unicorns. "The existence of your kind has been a secret for almost a millennia. Why risk it now?" he asked, a note of accusation in his voice.
"Because I know what is right and what is wrong, and I will do what is right, no matter what," the palomino unicorn answered, once again stomping one of her white-socked hoofs.
Drake turned rigid and stopped moving as if someone had struck him with a paralyzation spell. The prince stood there, his mouth clamped shut, and his eyes fixated on the maid who had transformed into a creature straight out of a fairytale.
"I always knew there was something off about you guys," Zaphaniea finally spoke up, glaring at them. "In my visions of the future, you always kept acting strange," she added. "And now you have to go and do this," she said motioning towards their horns and hooves, "right after I learn I'm going to end up a bubble girl." She crossed her arms and pouted.
"Oh dear," the white unicorn said, stepping forward and nuzzling Zaphaniea's forehead. "We didn't do this to take attention off of you. We revealed ourselves because we can help you."
The grand champion's face softened, and she stared into the unicorns' eyes. "You can?"
"Yes, but we need Alf and Olivia's help to do so," Silver said looking past Zaphaniea at the others.
Alf placed his hand on his chest. "You need my help?" he asked in bewilderment. How could such fantastical creatures need his help when they could take on human form any time they desired. Why, one would think with the power their horns provided, they could move mountains, topple kingdoms, and rule the galaxy.
Another chuckle sounded, this time in his mind, and the white unicorn gently shook her head. "Hardly dear," she said. "Even with our horns we don't have enough energy to do this on our own." She swayed her slender, equine neck towards Olivia. "And Olivia, we need your medical knowledge and precision to remove the scar tissue."
Olivia's eyes scrunched together. "That's not an easy task," Livy answered, finally distracted from trying to figure out how Drake knew who the maids were. "And even if I do, like I said, it isn't going to help much. The neural formations which held the knowledge and information are permanently gone, and there's no way to reform them."
"We can reconstruct them using my own as a blueprint," Silver told her, a scrying appearing at the tip of her horn that showed a diagram of the procedure.
Olivia stared up at the image in fascination, and her eyes scrolled across the text as she stepped forward. "You can do this?" she asked in wonder.
The three unicorns nodded as one.
"But if you could do that, then you could..." Olivia exclaimed and trailed off.
As the scrying dispersed, a ripple ran the length of the white unicorn's hide and she swished her tail. "Yes dear, we can and much more. It is one of the ways the unicorns have stayed hidden all these years."
"Oh," Livy gasped.
"They can what?" Zaphaniea demanded, squinting at the dispersing fragments of the scrying as if trying to figure out what Silver had just shown Olivia.
"Manipulate people's memories," Olivia answered simply.
"Oh."
"It is not something we have ever done lightly, and it is not easy, but it can be done," the head maid informed them. "This ability also allows us to read thoughts to some extent and communicate telepathically."
Well that explains how they always seem to be talking without saying a word, Alf thought scratching his head. Between shooting himself into the air like a human projectile, riding the waves of a broken damn down the river, and barely surviving Zaphaniea's earlier onslaught, this was, hands down, the greatest experience of them all.
Undoubtedly, Alf concluded, this day would go down in history as the most exiting day in his life, right next to the day when Vackzilian killed him.
"Why are you telling us this?" Drake spoke up, free from his strange paralyzation at last.
"Because we can heal her," the fiery red unicorn said tossing her head at Zaphaniea. "And if we do, she will gain our abilities, at least to some extent. Something I'm very much against," Scarlet stated, glaring at her sisters.
Zaphaniea yelped, "I will?"
"You're already do to an extent dear. It's why, when people speak, it sounds extra loud to you of late. You're hearing their top layer of thoughts and their words at the same time," Silver told her, her bell-like voice echoing throughout the destroyed cavern. "The truth is, we tried to heal you on our own, multiple times, but we lacked the medical knowledge and energy."
"So that's how we saw her visions of the future back at the damn," Drake suddenly concluded as if he were solving a great mystery.
The three unicorns nodded as one.
"And it also explains all those weird dreams," Zaphaniea mumbled, gazing into the distance with a dreamy look on her face. Then, all of a sudden, the grand champion's face lit up and she clapped her hands and hopped in anticipation as she declared, "Well, if you can help me, what are we waiting for?"
"Not so fast dear," Silver told her. "This won't be simple, and there is a chance that you'll die during the surgery. Also, telepathy is not an easy thing to live with. Are you certain you want our help?"
"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" Zaphaniea exclaimed. "Besides, death is far more preferable than being a bubble girl."
The white unicorn glided forward and bent her head until her shimmering horn gently touched Zaphaniea's forehead.
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," the grand champion muttered a few seconds later, the joy on her face fading away as her eyebrows scrunched together.
Alf's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he realized the unicorn was talking to Zaphaniea telepathically. He shifted his weight to his left leg. Every fiber of his being wanted to step forward and touch the unicorn's crystal horn so he could hear what she was saying.
But he forced himself to stay still.
The idea that unicorns walked the face of the earth in this day and age filled him with a sense of wonder, one he hadn't felt since he was a little boy. Alf glanced over at Olivia and saw the same wonder and excitement on her face. Yes indeed, this whole adventure was turning out to be a fantastical tale straight out of the pages of a storybook.
"I understand," Zaphaniea said as Silver raised her head and stepped back.
"Do you still want us to help you?" Pony asked trepidatiously, her voice full of worry and concern.
In a plume of dust, the grand champion plopped down in the dirt, rocked backwards, and hung her head while she gazed thoughtfully at the shattered floor. After several moments, she finally looked up. "I do," she said.
A horsy smile spread across Pony's face, and her four golden legs, each covered in a natural white sock, began to prance in anticipation. The sound of her hooves clomping on the hard surface echoed in the chamber, and her silvery mane bounced up and down in excitement. Compared to her sisters, she seemed more like an adorable pony than a majestic unicorn, but then again, maybe that was why she had been given the nickname Pony.
"Alf, Olivia, wash up," she said in a high, sing-song tone. "We have the grand champion to save."
Sighing deeply, the crimson gold unicorn standing on the other side of Silver, swished her tail and said, "I hope we don't regret this."