THE MOMENT
Franklin froze as soon as he was awake. He was pulled out of his dreams by noisy rustling against the outside of his tent. He remained still in the hope that whatever was sniffing around didn't get interested in poking its head inside. But, as he listened, he became aware of two things. First: the rustling of his tent was sporadic, and it was happening on both sides. Either he was surrounded by wild animals or something else was happening. Second: he could hear a woman singing.
He could not make out the words, but there was no mistaking a beautiful voice filled the forest that night. His curiosity built up until he had the courage to peek outside. Franklin waited until there was a lull in the rustling, then he scrambled out through the flap and turned around so that he was facing whatever was there.
"Hey, buddy... what's going on?" Franklin asked out of curiosity. At first, he was relieved to see it was another human walking by his tent. But, a quick glance around at the dim forest revealed dozens of other men all headed in the same direction; towards the lake. He regretted his question as soon as the stranger stopped walking and turned around. All the men around Franklin stopped to look at him. "Uhh.. nevermind....," he stepped back when the men began to approach him. "It's none of my business..." Franklin backed up until he bumped into something tall and firm.
"Mistress Majicka requests your presence at the lake," a deep voice said behind Franklin as he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. Then, a flash of darkness consumed his vision. When he could see again, he was shoved to his knees on the lakeshore.
The most beautiful woman Franklin had ever seen floated in the water; her voice filled the air with an enchanting melody. But, she stopped singing as soon as Franklin hit his knees. She turned her attention to him and glided closer to the shore.
"Hi," she smiled at him and Franklin's suspicions were confirmed: she absolutely was the most beautiful woman in the world; unnaturally so. He had enough sense to keep his guard up. She leaned forward and he pulled back.
"My name is Majicka, what's yours?" she asked. Every syllable sounded like a chorus of angels. Franklin shook his head to clear the enchanted fog that was growing; it was getting more difficult to think of anything but her.
"Franklin," he answered curtly.
"Don't you want to swim with me, Franklin?" she asked. As she did, she leaned back to show off her body in the orange morning sunlight. "Everyone else does...," she gestured at the men gathered on either side of him.
"No...," Franklin lied. His hands clenched the sandy shore as if that could keep him from joining her. He wanted to join her; but, over the years, Franklin had gotten adept at lying to himself. He hoped that talent would come in handy here. She sighed like a spoiled child that realized they needed to ask again.
"Are you sure you don't want to join me?" she asked.
"Positive...," Franklin answered through gritted teeth. He was fighting the impulse to jump into the lake with her.
"How boring...," Majicka pouted. "..I don't like boring people...," she said. She dismissed him with a casual wave of her hand and Franklin felt instant relief. The urge to be with her disappeared and Franklin let himself relax. "Chip...," she looked past Franklin and he followed her gaze.
"Yes, Mistress?" he asked. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man and Franklin recognized his voice as the one he bumped into. "This one doesn't interest me any longer; put him somewhere out of the way," she said.
"As you wish," Chip bowed, then strode towards Franklin. He did not run, it sounded like she was letting him go. Franklin watched as the other men began to dive into the crystal blue water; then, he watched it turn blood red as Chip put a hand on his shoulder. After a flash of darkness, Franklin found himself somewhere else.
The lake was replaced by a narrow brook that ran alongside a different forest. It no longer felt like morning, but it was difficult to see any sunlight through the dense canopy. But, the thing that stood out the most was the immense white unicorn sipping at the stream. Its coat seemed to almost glow with white light. Its mane was blood red and its horn was pitch black.
"Well..," Franklin chuckled to himself in relief. "..hell if I know what happened; but, at least I got to see a unicorn...," he said. But, it looked up at him as he spoke; Franklin was sure he heard a heavy sigh.
"DAMNIT!" the unicorn said. He tilted his head and pointed downstream with his horn. "Go on. You're too ugly, get out of here," he said. Franklin had a close call with a mermaid that called him boring moments ago; and, he did not want to push his luck with the unicorn. He immediately started walking. But, he heard the unicorn mutter as he left.
"Why is it so hard to find food that's pretty?"