Saturday, April 7, 2012

Greymist Grove #atozchallenge

 


For the A to Z Challenge, I'm having twenty-six flash fiction pieces from my Foxwick Kingdom and its surrounding neighbors. Soon A to Z Flashes of Foxwick will be available in e-book format. You can add this to your Goodreads list here.

 
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Greymist Grove


“I once saw a unicorn in Greymist Forest,” Orin said, his arrow notched in his bow.
“A unicorn, really? Everyone knows unicorns don’t come to men.” Quaylin crept forward as the mist swirled throughout the trees.
“Well this one didn’t get the decree.” Orin watched every step he took. One wrong move would send their game in flight. If the brothers came back empty-handed again, he doubted Quaylin’s wife would let them sleep inside for a month.
“What did it look like?”
A bird flitted through the trees. Orin paused and listened, but the quiet sounds of the forest continued. They hadn’t scared away their prey yet.
“Well?”
“Keep your voice down.” The trees and heavy fog slowly thinned. Once they entered Greymist’s grove, they would be able to set up and wait for a deer to come by the stream. “As for the unicorn, it looked like a horse ’cept with a horn.”
Quaylin laughed. “Sure it wasn’t a horse?”
“I’m sure.”
The brothers stepped through the mist and into the grove. A trickling stream flowed nearby. The bubbling water sounded like music to Orin’s ears. Birds tweeted in the distance. A clean, sweet scent of fruit trees rushed through his nostrils as he turned his face toward the shining sun. There were few things greater than the outdoors.
“Do you see that?” Quaylin lifted his bow.
Near the edge of the forest, two dark shapes drew closer.
Orin’s blood rushed through him as his heart rate increased. He squinted to see the creatures clearly when he recognized them.
“Hold your arrow, Quaylin.”
“Why?”
“They’re unicorns.”
The brothers froze as the unicorns crept from the forest. Their silvery hair gleamed in the sunlight. Horns shone proudly from their foreheads. The unicorns danced to the stream, sipped the water, and then disappeared into the misty forest.
With a wide grin on his face, Orin nudged Quaylin. “Told you I saw a unicorn.”





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9 comments:

Unknown said...

Very nice :) I love Orin's smugness at the end.


Jamie
Fellow A-Z bloggy buddy
Mithril Wisdom

Rek Sesh said...

I love scenes where one of the characters get redeemed - in the sense that their experiences and visions get through to the others. I enjoyed reading the hunting scene and the banter between partners you have created.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Very glad they didn't shoot them.

Unknown said...

I'm with Alex, I am also glad you didn't shoot them. I am a fan of the old unicorn!

Sarah Tokeley said...

What a lovely ending :-)

Jaycee DeLorenzo said...

Ha-ha! Loved that he got to show he wasn't lying. So glad Quaylin didn't shoot - that would have been tragic Loved it. :D

Botanist said...

This is an intriguing approach to the Challenge! Good job Quaylin wasn't too quick with his bow.

Unknown said...

I'm curious about the "unicorns don't come to men" part. Do they generally only appear to women? And I love Orin's name ;-) Cos, y'know, it sounds just like Oryn (one of my own fave characters!).

Christine Rains said...

Hehehe! I love that. It's exactly how brothers would be with one another.