Once Upon A Time, part V

The witch was fairly indecisive on which task to accomplish next. The unicorns were further away, but the dragons were nastier. In the end, she decided to catch the dragons on the way back and hope it was naptime.

It was almost night when the trio reached the unicorn homeland. Since unicorns are nocturnal creatures, the witch thought they would have the best chance of catching one in the evening, while they grazed. She had no idea where they slept, but was pretty sure her broomstick could outrun one.

They searched for thirty minutes before they found a lone unicorn, nibbling grass in the moonlight. The witch sighed. “Good, he’s already eating. We won’t have to use the snodgrass.” She turned to John and whispered, “You’ll have to drive.”

“What?!?” John whispered back. “Me? I don’t know how to fly one of these things!”

“It’s easy,” the witch muttered. “Lean right for right, lean left for left, and try not to fall off.”

“What are you going to do?” Jane asked, with a quiver in her voice. John wasn’t a good driver to begin with.

“I’ve got to lasso him, tie him up, cut the toenails, and get back on the broom before he gets free,” the witch replied. “You’ve never seen anything like an angry unicorn, believe you me. Makes that rhino attack look like a pillow fight. You’re going to have to hand me the clippers when I ask for them, Jane.”

Jane didn’t speak. She had turned a pale white.

They were hovering two hundred feet over the unicorn. “When I say go,” the witch instructed, “dive. When I say pull up, pull back on the broom handle as hard as you can. It will flatten itself out, don’t worry. Follow the unicorn, and slow down once the rope is on it.”

“Where are the brakes on this thing?” John wanted to know.

“Just loosen your grip. Everything will be fine.” She waited a few more seconds. “All right. On three. One...two...three! GO!”

John pushed down on the broom handle, and the broom went into a dive. They were heading towards the earth at a startling speed. Jane started to scream behind him. The unicorn looked up suddenly, saw them, and took off. He seemed to be flying, he was moving so fast.

“NOW!” the witch cried. “PULL UP! PULL UP! PULLUPPULLUPPULLUP!”

John did. Immediately, the broom flattened out and they were racing along the ground at a frighteningly quick pace. But, they were catching up to the unicorn.

“Left!” screamed the witch. “More! Now right! More! More...there! Straight! A little to the left!”

“OK, OK,” muttered John. “Stop being a backbroom driver.”

They were almost upon the unicorn now. The witch started twirling her lasso and let go. On the first shot, it went right around the unicorn’s neck. Jack loosened his grip and the broom immediately slowed to a virtual halt. The witch yanked the unicorn off its feet and leapt from the broom. She charged the struggling body and flung the rope around the rest of him, and immobilized him. “CLIPPERS!” she called.

Still white as a sheet, Jane ran forward with the clippers. She then darted back to the broom and grabbed hold of John, almost cutting off his air.

The witch carefully cut three toenails from the unicorn as it struggled to free itself. Once done, she bolted for the broom. “GET READY!” she screamed as the unicorn finally burst through its bonds and charged. She hopped on the broom, and John squeezed the handle. The broom shot away, leaving a very angry unicorn in the dust.

They stopped about five miles away for a rest. The witch was sweating profusely, but grinning broadly. “Now, you see why we needed more than one person,” she chuckled.

John was on an adrenaline high he had never felt in his life. He couldn’t believe the rush from flying that broomstick. It was like nothing he had ever experienced.

Jane had passed out soon after they outran the unicorn.

So John and the witch sat there, breathing heavily and grinning at each other, not saying a word, for about fifteen minutes. Finally, the witch said, “We need to get moving if we’re going to get to Honalee by sunrise.”

“Is that where we’re going?” John asked in surprise.

“Yep,” the witch answered. “Only known dragon habitat left on earth.”

“We going to go see Puff?” John asked with a smile.

The witch shook her head grimly. “Do you know how many stupid people have been killed in Honalee because of that stupid song?” she asked. “More than I’d care to count. They all hear the song, and say, ‘Ooo, a nice dragon in Honalee! Let’s go see if it’ll be MY friend!’ Dragons are not nice. Dragons are mean, vicious animals that will barbecue you from a mile away, IF they’re feeling generous. If not...I don’t even want to talk about it.”

John was flabbergasted. He had been making a joke.

NEXT: Honalee