Now Kael and Mira knew something.
The queen hadn't just wandered off, she had been hiding something long before she disappeared. But they still didn't know how she vanished… or where she might be now.
They pressed the old man for more, but he only shook his head. "If the king didn't tell me, boy, he won't tell you either. Some truths stay locked away for a reason."
Which meant one thing: if the king had kept it secret even from someone in the village, then it wasn't just a mystery. It was a dark secret. And dark secrets had a way of protecting themselves.
So, they had to be smart about this.
Step One: The Map of Whispers
Kael bought a worn-out map from a traveler who quited making maps after he got tired of it. He marked all the places locals said were "unsafe" or "haunted," all the areas people avoided without explanation.
Mira, surprisingly, was good at spotting patterns.
"Look," she said, tapping the parchment, "people keep saying they saw strange lights here, here, and here."
Kael leaned in. The three points formed a rough triangle in the deep forest, far from any main path.
Step Two: Following the Birds
The old man had mentioned that the queen seemed "not quite like ours"almost magical. Kael remembered something from his own travels: magical beings often attracted certain creatures. So, they started watching the sky at dawn and dusk.
When they noticed flocks of white birds heading in the same direction every evening, deep toward the triangle of their map. Kael grinned. "If I were hiding somewhere, I'd follow the quiet places the birds go."
Step Three: Listening at the Right Places
Instead of charging into the forest blindly, Kael and Mira visited the outer edges first, finding old hunters, woodcutters, and herbalists who lived on the borders. They didn't ask about the queen. They asked about odd changes.
Water levels dropping in streams. Certain flowers blooming out of season. Strange music in the night.
And one herbalist, a bent-backed woman with hands stained green from years of work, gave them something new:
"Some nights, when the moon is high, I hear singing in the east part of the forest. But when I follow it… it stops. Every time."
By the time they pieced it all together, Kael and Mira had a rough guess.
If the queen was still alive… and still somewhere in that forest… she was likely east of the old hunter's path, in a deep glade that lay inside the triangle on Kael's map.
But they also knew this: whatever kept her there didn't want to be found.
And the deeper they went, the more the forest itself would fight to keep its secret.
They wandered deeper into the forest, guided by nothing but instinct and the fading sound of running water, until the trees parted and they stepped into a clearing. A lake lay before them, wide, still, and so perfectly reflective it looked like another sky trapped beneath the surface.
Kael crouched by the edge, dipping his fingers into the cold water. "Come Mira, let's drink and rest for a bit." he shouted.
Then came the sound, soft, rhythmic, impossibly light hoofsteps. Mira stiffened, her gaze snapping to the other side of the lake. Emerging from the mist was a creature straight out of the oldest bedtime tales.
A unicorn.
Its coat was pure white, gleaming faintly even in the dim forest light. Its mane flowed like liquid silver, catching each breeze as though the air itself was enchanted. And its eyes, deep, calm blue, were so human in their emotion that both Kael and Mira stared longer than they meant to.
Before Kael could whisper a word, the unicorn tilted its head, as if acknowledging them, and turned away. It didn't run, it walked slowly, glancing back every few steps. A silent invitation.
They followed, weaving through ferns and moss until the trees opened again.
This time, the sight took Kael's breath away.
Half a dozen unicorns grazed in the grass, their coats all the same luminous white, their manes rippling like threads of moonlight. And every single one of them had those same startling blue eyes.
Mira whispered, "Kael… they look like her."
He didn't need to ask who she meant. The princess. The king's daughter. And if these creatures bore such a striking resemblance to her…
Kael's mind jumped to the only possible conclusion, one that made his stomach tighten.
If the princess looked like them… then so did her mother.
And if her mother looked like this, maybe she hadn't truly disappeared at all.
They followed the unicorns. Step by careful step, deeper into the forest. The air thickened, damp and heavy, filled with the scent of moss and wildflowers. Light filtered through the canopy, golden and soft, painting the ground in patterns that shifted as the branches swayed.
The unicorns moved ahead, silent. Graceful. Untouched by mud, leaves, or even shadow. Their eyes, blue, so startlingly bright, watched everything, yet nothing. Mira whispered something Kael didn't catch, her breath trembling. He didn't answer, too captivated.
The forest began to change. Trees twisted, older. Bark knotted like it held secrets. Small flowers glimmered where sunlight barely reached, petals glowing faintly, lighting the unicorns' path like tiny lanterns.
One unicorn slowed. Lagged behind. Its eyes… different. Not just blue. Sharp. Intelligent. Almost aware. Kael felt it. A prickle at the back of his neck. Mira noticed too.
"That one…" she said softly. "It's… strange."
Its coat shimmered, faintly, rippling with something unseen. It paused, glanced over its shoulder at them. Not fear. Not warning. Watching. Testing.
The forest grew thicker here. Shadows deeper. The air heavier. The wind whispered through the leaves like a voice they almost understood. The unicorn turned, moving away from the others, weaving into the shadows, toward places sunlight could not touch.
Kael held his breath. Mira's hand brushed his arm. Neither spoke. They just followed.
Something about this creature felt… important. Something hidden. Something waiting. Something they needed, but didn't yet know.