The unicorn never stayed.
Every time Mira and Kael got close, it would turn, mane flashing in the light, and vanish between the trees like mist.
Mira stood there, hands on her hips. "We're not going to catch it like this."
Kael glanced at her, then at the empty path where the unicorn had been. "Unless…" His voice trailed off, but the thought was already forming.
"The princess," Mira said quietly.
So they went back, through the winding forest paths, over the moss-covered stones, until the castle gates rose before them.
Inside the courtyard, they found her. The princess looked surprised to see them again so soon.
"What is it?" she asked.
"We need your help," Kael said.
"My help?" she tilted her head.
Mira stepped closer. "There's a unicorn in the forest. It… it looks like you. And we think it might be—" she stopped herself, glancing at Kael. "Just trust us."
The princess's eyes flickered with curiosity. "Father won't allow me to leave."
"Then don't tell him," Kael replied.
She hesitated… then nodded.
From under her bed, she pulled a dark cloak with a hood, wrapping it around her pale hair. "If we go, we go now."
The three slipped out quietly. Back into the forest.
The air felt different this time, tense, expectant.
When the unicorn appeared again, it stopped.
Its blue eyes fixed on the princess.
And the princess… froze. Her breath caught, her hand trembling as she reached forward.
"I… I can feel it," she whispered. "It's her."
But before anyone could move closer, the unicorn turned and, with a flick of its mane, vanished into the trees again.
They followed for a while, but it was gone.
Back at the castle, the king was waiting in the hall. His face dark with worry.
"You left without telling me?!" His voice echoed. "Do you have any idea—"
"Father," the princess cut in, "I saw a unicorn… and I think… I think it was Mother."
The king froze.
His shoulders sank.
He sighed.
The king's voice was low.
Almost as if speaking the words out loud would make the memories too real.
"A long time ago… before my daughter was born…" he began, staring past them as if looking into another life,
"I returned from an adventure… and found myself at a lake.
And there… I saw her."
His eyes softened.
"Pale hair. Blue eyes. She looked… like an angel had stepped out of the water itself."
Mira and Kael stayed silent.
"I knew… she was a unicorn. I knew it from the way her presence felt… the way the air moved around her. But—" he paused, his hand curling into a fist,
"I took her necklace. The one that allowed her to become a unicorn. I kept it. Because… I loved her. And I wanted her… here. With me."
He drew a slow breath.
"When we came to the castle… we married. I didn't let anyone question her. No one was allowed to speak of where she came from. She lived here… beside me… and we had our daughter."
His gaze flicked to the princess, then away.
"But every day… I felt it. She was missing something. Her eyes wandered… her heart wandered. And one day… she was simply… gone."
The hall was quiet.
Only the sound of the wind pressing faintly against the high windows.
"And when she was gone…" the king's voice wavered,
"…the necklace disappeared as well."
He lowered his head.
"I have carried this guilt… every day since."
The princess stepped closer, her voice gentle.
"Father… feeling guilty won't bring her back."
Mira nodded.
"Yeah. It's not gonna change anything if you just sit here and drown in it."
Kael crossed his arms.
"What matters now… is finding her. Before she disappears from this world for good."
The king looked at them… and something in his expression shifted.
Minutes later, they stood at the castle gates.
No guards.
No servants.
Just the king, his daughter, Mira, and Kael.
The king had left his crown behind.
His heavy robes, too.
Now he wore the same kind of travel gear he had worn when he first met her… years ago.
They walked into the forest together.
The air grew quieter.
The smell of moss and water filled their lungs.
And soon… the lake came into view.
The same lake.
The same stillness.
The king stepped forward alone,
just as he had the first time.
Hoping that if she saw him like this,
she would recognize the man she had once loved.
The water stirred.
Ripples spread outward, soft and endless.
From the lake's silver surface, she emerged.
White hair trailing like silk, flowing down to her feet.
Eyes blue and deep, as if the whole sky was inside them.
The unicorn no more.
Now—
a divine girl.
The princess gasped.
"Mother…"
She ran forward, not caring about the water soaking her dress,
and threw herself into the woman's arms.
"Don't leave me again, Mom!"
The queen froze for a heartbeat,
then wrapped her daughter tight,
fingers trembling as if afraid she would disappear at a touch.
"My little star… I never wished to leave you."
Her voice was like a soft hymn.
"I was searching… always searching… for the part of me that was taken."
The king stood a few steps back.
He could not move.
He could not breathe.
When her eyes finally lifted to his,
he lowered his head in shame.
"I… I stole your freedom.
I thought love meant keeping you beside me.
But it only made you wither.
If you wish to leave now… I will not stop you."
The queen looked at him a long time.
Her expression unreadable, sadness, longing, anger, love, all at once.
Mira whispered to Kael,
"Feels like we're standing in the middle of something way bigger than us…"
Kael nodded.
"Yeah… this is no fairy tale. This is their truth."
The queen's gaze softened.
She lifted a hand, brushing her daughter's cheek,
then slowly reached toward the king.
"I did not leave because I hated you," she said.
"I left because I was incomplete."
Her fingers lingered in the air between them,
not touching yet,
a question waiting for an answer.