The King's Remorse

Unknown

ASTRA

Chapter 1

The King and His Dragon

The first time I see another living being other than my stepmother or the mice I eat is the same time she nearly kills the newcomers.

They arrive around midday, a few hours after I woke up on a lazy morning and hunted a few mice for breakfast.

I paw at the bones as my tail flicks in the grass. They're fun to play with, and they snap when I bat at them.

Sun filters through the clouds and warms my fur. I flutter my short wings, ruffling the feathers until they sit right. It's uncomfortable when they sit wrong. They aren't big enough to fly, but I use them when I run, angling them just right to help me stay steady and go faster.

Brook, my blue unicorn stepmother, snaps her head up. She was grazing, nibbling on grass. Her ears swivel as she scans the Field, our home. It's a ring of grass with a huge oak tree in the middle. A barrier surrounds it that swirls with a kaleidoscope of rainbow colors that mesmerize me. Neither of us have ever gone beyond the barrier.

We can't.

But why would we? Everything we need is right here. We don't need to leave the Field, and we can live forever here. There's always food and water and lots of space to play.

"Astra, come here please," Brook says.

I trot over to her, tilting my head to the side.

"Why?"

"There are others here," she replies.

"Others?" I echo, tilting my head to the side.

It's an exciting concept. I've never met anyone else, and I think it would be fun. My fur fluffs out as I bounce on my paws, ears pricking.

"Astra," Brook says, lowering her head to look me in the eye. "Focus, please. Listen to me closely, ok?"

I nod eagerly.

"Thank you. I need you to hide at the top of the oak tree, alright? Do not come down under any circumstance until I tell you it's ok. Don't come down for anyone else. Do you understand me?"

I nod. "I-I... ok."

I don't understand why. Wouldn't new creatures in the Field be a good thing?

"Hide at the top of the oak tree," Brook reminds me gently.

"O-ok," I echo.

I take a few steps toward the middle of the Field, and then dig my claws into the grass and launch myself forward. The edges of my vision blur and a clap sounds in the Field. I smile as I take one bounding leap, then another, and then throw myself upwards, spreading my wings to guide myself through the air.

When my paws land on the branch I aimed myself for, I flare my wings as far as they'll go to slow myself down and flex my toes for balance, wrapping my dew claws around the sides of the branch like an opposable thumb to completely stop me. I shake myself to get the long mane of brown fur tied at the nape of my neck to fall over my back. I turn around and crouch low, pressing my belly to the rough bark that pokes me through my short fur.

Brook lifts her head high and a breeze stirs her mane and tail and the feathers around her hooves.

As I sit in the oak tree, I think back on Brook's words and why others in the Field might be a bad thing.

I remember a story my stepmother had told me many times. One with an evil King and his evil Dragon.

Maybe the visitors are the King and his Dragon.

I shiver at the thought and press myself closer to the branch I lay on, ears drawing back. I don't want Brook to have to fight an evil King on her own, but she told me to stay here.

She's strong. She's the strongest creature I know. She can defeat a King. He's just a King. She's a unicorn. She's stronger than a King. She kept me safe when my parents were forced to leave me.

Four creatures enter the Field, and I freeze and drink the sight in. None look like Brook, but two look like me.

They're both huge. One has short fur, just like me, but it's black and covered in fire. The other is fluffy but almost the same color fur as my beige pelt. I flick my tail in excitement and inch forward on the branch to get a better view, and the black cat looks up at me.

But the other two stand on two legs. It takes me a minute, but I remember Brook describing the King in the story as a human.

Maybe one of them is the King?

Brook charges halfway down the hill of the Field, head lowered. Her hooves pound on the grass and her mane and tail stream behind her in waves of purple with pink ribbon. She's angry. I don't like it.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Brook asks. Her voice is cold. I've never heard her talk like that.

I draw my ears back. I don't like her tone. I don't like how upset she is. She's never been... furious like this. She's always been so nice.

"We're here cuz my brother found the idea of a rainbow portal absolutely irresistible," the black cat drawls, jerking his chin at the tan cat.

"Who are you?" Brook repeats.

"I'm Phoenix, that's Ky," the black cat says.

"I'm Alex," one of the humans says, the one with longer and light brown hair and a triangle necklace with a chip on one side.

"I'm Grey," the other human says, the one with blonde hair and a green circular necklace with a silver wing on it. He offers a slight wave of his hand but lowers it when Brook glowers at him.

"How did you find this place?" Brook demands.

Her ears are pinned to the sides of her head and her neck is flattened straight. I've never seen her like this, and I don't know what to make of it.

Are they all dangerous?

I tilt my head to the side and study the four new creatures.

Phoenix looks back up at me again, and Brook snorts. She slams her hooves on the grass to get Phoenix to turn his attention back to her. She keeps her back to me.

"We all know you've got that little kitten up in the tree," Phoenix murmurs, "so why not ask her to joi-."

Ky swats a forepaw at Phoenix's head, claws unsheathed. I jerk back with a gasp. That would hurt.

"I'm sorry for Phoenix. He's apparently forgotten his manners." Ky glares at Phoenix.

Grey inclines his head. He doesn't meet Brook's eyes.

"We found it by accident," Grey explains. "Phoenix fell through the portal, and then we all came through to see what it looked like. We thought there might be a being named Arcane here who had made this portal. Is there someone named Arcane here?"

"No," Brook replies. "Who is Arcane?"

"The... Arcane is the Midnight Wolf. Do you not know who he is?"

Brook squints at Grey. "No, I do not."

Grey hums. He doesn't say anything else.

"What do you think of the King?" Alex asks.

Have they heard the story too? Do they know the story of the King and his Dragon?

Brook doesn't reply.

Phoenix throws his head back and sighs. Flames flicker on his fur. "It would seem that we are at an impasse. Let me guess, you both hate the cream puff, and we hate him too. We'd all like him dead, so how about we continue on with this conversation. I'm hungry, and I want to sleep."

"Phoenix!" Ky hisses.

"What? They're literally hiding in a fucking portal. I don't know how much more obvious it can get. Maybe a flag that says I Hate the Cream Puff? Either the cream puff put them here, in which case any reasonable being's gonna be awfully pissed about that, or they came here by choice, in which case they're gonna have a damn good reason for hiding. The portal wasn't meant to be found. They hate the cream puff, Ky. I can basically guarantee it."

Ky squints, then turns to Brook.

"Is he right?" he asks.

Brook studies the four.

"Tell me what your necklaces are, and then I'll answer," she replies, jerking her head to the two humans.

Grey looks to Alex, who nods.

"It's called the malachite medallion," Grey says, holding up his green necklace. "Alex has the pewter pendant."

"So you're the Wolf and the Dove, then, aren't you?" Brook murmurs.

Grey flinches but dips his head in response. "Yes, we are."

"Phoenix is right, Ky," Brook says. "I hate the King."

Is the King real?

I stare down at the five in wonder. Does that mean his Dragon is real and dragons really can exist?

I shiver at the thought, at how cool it would be to see a real-life dragon and not just have to use my imagination.

"Who's she?" Phoenix locks eyes with me, and I freeze. Fire burns on his body, but it doesn't seem to harm him.

"That is none of your business. You may leave now. I have things to do."

"Things like what?" Alex asks.

Brook fixes her with a cold glare. "Things like trying to find a way to repair what you have done."

"What did we do?" Ky presses. "I apologize. We can help. We didn't mean harm."

"You just put us both in extreme danger."