Serena wandered aimlessly through her glade. She couldn't explain her unusual restlessness this evening.It didn't seem to have a cause she could put her finger on. She simply had the feeling she needed to be elsewhere. The light from her horn flickered warningly, and she reared and spun, pointing the tip at the oncoming creature. She trembled with suppressed energy as she readied to charge whatever beast approached in case it attacked.

A small deer walked out from behind the dense bushes in front of her. She relaxed, privately amazed at how natural the feeling of rearing and running had become. To her, it was almost the same as breathing, even to use her magic. She did it almost without thought these days, from impressive feats such as the creation of her glade to small, trivial things that eased everyday life, such as adding flowers to her mane when she looked at the pool and gazed...

The pool!

She could have kicked herself. The pool would show her where she was needed! That was its purpose after all.

Running to the pool, she dipped her horn briefly in the water. As the ripples spread across, she wished briefly she knew where she needed to be.

The ripples abruptly flattened out like a wrinkle under a hot iron. A picture formed quite clearly and distinctly, almost as if she had switched on a television. A magical television.

Serena stared down at the image of a little girl stumbling through tangled blackberry bushes, whimpering and crying piteously as the sharp thorns scratched her delicate skin. She seemed lost, somehow separated from her parents. She couldn't have been more than five, Serena thought as her little fist grabbed hold of some berries and she shoved them hungrily into her mouth. The dirt on her face and smudged in her blond hair showed that she had been wandering for some time. It was a miracle that she hadn't ended up as a bear's lunch yet.

The lost girl had clearly been the cause of her anxiety, Serena thought. Which meant that she must be fairly close to the glade indeed, as she had learned to shut out the outside world's pain through practice.

In response to her thought, the pool blurred at the edges slightly as the view rose up rapidly into the sky. In the span of a single breath, she peered down onto her forest. She recognized her glade at the topmost extreme left of the picture, with the little girl wandering in the exact middle. She knew it would be about a thirty minute run for a good horse, by which time the girl could have toddled off in any direction a good deal. Fortunately, she was a unicorn.

Rearing again simply for the sheer joy of it, she flung drops of pool water off her horn and back into the pool as she raced in the direction the pool had shown her. As she ran, her hooves touched the ground so lightly barely a whisper of noise passed under her. The magic of her being caused the plants to immediately straighten and any that had been sick or lazy grew vibrant and tall as she passed. Trunks blurred into a solid line around her, such was her speed and agility. No root hindered her and bushes leaned back out of her way. In seconds, she had reached the girl.

Before she got into view, she halted just outside the blackberry patch. From her height, she could make out the girl still stuffing the meager offering of this bush into her mouth, blood trickling down her arm from dozens of scratches. Her clothes were torn badly, as if from a fall, and great bruises purpled the skin in several places.

Serena now had a good idea of how she had been hurt, but she needed the girl to come with her willingly. How could she do that without being able to speak to her?

Serena felt torn by indecision. Should she break the pact of secrecy? Reveal her unicorn-self to the girl?

Of course I should. We made the pact to protect ourselves, but we never meant it to mean we would stand idly by and let the innocent suffer! This girl needs my help, and I am going to give it too her. The pool picked me to do it, or my magic did anyway. I'll do it. She snorted hard as she came to her decision.

Stepping forward, the blackberry bush gave way before her, the vines practically rolling back in a green wave. The child took no notice, focused as she was on getting the very last berries to feast on. Serena lowered her horn to the nearest frond. The plant froze in mid-movement, the stem thickening slightly. In front of the girl a flurry of blossoms bloomed and fell, leaving rapidly ripening fruit that stopped only at the peak of their maturity.

The girl gasped, but didn't hesitate to grab the new bounty. For several minutes she ate and ate, as the berries constantly budded, bloomed, and fruited after each picking. At last her appetite was sated, and she slumped backwards in a sigh of contentment.

Serena nickered quietly to gain her attention. The girl whipped around at the noise. Her eyes grew rounder then dinner plates. Her mouth might have been unlatched, for it hung down near her feet. She made no sound out of her cherubic toddler's face.

Laughing quietly to herself (the girl looked so funny!) Serena took a few steps forward and placed the tip of her horn on the girl's breast. The horn flared brightly for a moment before dimming back to it's normal glow. The girl looked down at herself, startled. Her torn and stained clothes had been mended and cleaned. Her skin looked washed and new again, no scratch or scar marred her now flawless complexion. Her hair shone in the light, as if it had been vigorously scrubbed and brushed to perfection.

The girl gasped, staring down at her clothes and her arms. Serena wished she had a mirror to show her the changes, but she would have to make do without. But, how to talk to her?

Serena felt that she had lots of options, but she didn't quite know how to go about them. A horse's lips, even a unicorn's, weren't made for the gift of language! Yet she could talk to her friends and let them hear her "voice", even without them. A form of magical telepathy, turning thought into voice for them when she needed it. Could she do the same here? The girl needed comfort though, a human voice.

"Are you a unicorn?" The girl asked in a sweet voice.

Serena could only nod. She nickered to her and pointed to her back. Dropping to her belly, she stayed still, hoping to entice the child to climb up so she could whisk her away to her parents.

Instead of getting on her back, the girl giggled happily as she hurried up to her and dropped to all fours, snuggling tight against her belly. Once snug, she curled her legs up to her chest and placed her hands beneath her head.

Serena eyed the child closely as she apparently slipped into a quiet slumber. She seemed utterly exhausted from her ordeals, whatever they were. Perhaps a quiet rest was the right thing. As much as Serena wanted to get her back home, she also wanted what was best for the child. A few hours wouldn't make much difference to her.

To pass the time, and feel as if she were managing to do something constructive with herself, Serena summoned several small birds and smaller creatures to her; such as the fox, the coyote, and the deer. She told each who came to fan out in her forest to search for the parents of the human child and to report the presence of any large group men in the forest.

The animals melted away. Serena knew they'd do their jobs well, and would get word back to her. She shook her snow-white head. She wished she'd had known about their networks and ways when she was human. They made Disney seem trite with their portrayal of human-like knowledge and attributes to these fantastic creatures. Their intricate knowledge of the forest, of hiding and smelling and hunting, were second to none. With just a hint of guidance and a little extra warning that she provided, none had ever been harmed by hunters in the time that she had been here. Of course, that could also have something to do with the truce she enforced in her glade. No animal dared harm another while she was around.

In less time then she expected, a small hawk came winging down from the sky to land in front of her and give his report.

"The humans search many (she substituted the word "miles" for "many long time soarings") over there." He gestured with his beak. "Many humans, in various coats."

"Thank you for your diligence. May the sun warm the air and give you lift." Serena replied politely.

"May your nest be warm and hunters stay far away." The hawk replied after the polite fashion of his kind.

Seeing that the girl needed to be wakened now, Serena nudged her with her nose, but the stubborn girl remained determinedly asleep. It seemed a stronger effort would be required. Or would it?

Serena used her magic to lift the sleeping child onto her back. The girl laid flat, her legs and arms dangling on either side. Serena set off, stepping as carefully as only a unicorn can. She had no fear the child would fall off, but it would be long before she reached the humans.

She'd only gone a short distance however, when a small green light darted from a clump of ferns to alight lightly on her head, near her ears. Serena experienced a slight tickling sensation as tiny feet searched for purchase in her mane.

"Serena, what are you doing with that child?" came Stacey's small voice. She sounded worried.

"I'm going to take her back to her parents. She was lost and wandering in my woods." Serena replied. She was glad Stacey could understand her speech. Otherwise she might have gone mad with no one to talk to. Even if she'd been talking less and less, as her brother claimed. How could she get a word in edgewise when the blowhard spoke? It had to be his imagination, she sniffed.

"But, but, you'll reveal yourself! All of us!" Stacey objected.

"So, you want me to let her die?" Serena asked aggressively.

"No, of course not." Stacey replied defensively, the heat in her voice dying. "But surely there had to be another way of leading her back to her parents or bringing her parents to her. It's not like the animals would attack her if we told them not to."

"There's many miles between us." Serena told her. "I asked everyone to search for the parents. They found large search parties deep in the south. So that's where I'm going now. I'll stay out of sight and have her call to them when we get there. No one will ever know I was there but the girl, and they'll simply assume it was simply a flight of fancy."

"That's curious." Stacey's voice took on a puzzled tone.

"What?"

"That the search party should be so far south. I mean, she doesn't look old enough to have wandered that far on her own. A mile, maybe. Depends on what happened, I guess. But miles?"

"True." Serena responded thoughtfully. "She doesn't look it now, but her clothes were badly torn and stained, and she had immense bruises on her arms and legs."

"You don't think...?" Stacey's voice came in breathy horror.

"What? No! At least, I don't think so." Serena said in a rush. "I think she must have tumbled. My first thought had been a cliff, but the distance is too great for that. Now I wonder if she didn't fall into a river and float a great distance downstream before climbing out in a calm patch."

"That could be. If so, it's a miracle she didn't drown."

"Right. But since you raised the possibility, I'm deeply concerned. I'll have you watch her a moment and run back to my glade to consult the Seeing Pool. I should get the answer there."

"You want me to watch her?" Stacey asked disbelievingly. "Serena, I'm less than six inches tall! She'll ignore me in a heartbeat or try to catch me!"

"No she won't. Not if I lay an enchanted sleep over her. She'll remain happily asleep while I'm gone." Serena soothed.

"Well, all right." Stacey acquiesced reluctantly. "But hurry back. I mean, what do we know about enchanted sleeps?"

Serena laughed. "Stacey, what do we know about any of what we've been doing?" she asked. "We've been pretty much willing whatever we want to happen and our instincts have taken care of the rest."

"Perhaps, but that can't last for long. Rachel and Brian have been warning us about that for a while." Stacey warned as she watched the child float off Serena's back and come to rest in a rapidly forming nest of grass and wildflowers.

"I know, but..." Serena sighed as she touched her horn to the girl's fist. "I just don't think I'm cut to be the military type, you know? Even before I wasn't wild about fighting. I just growled large and fierce and most folks left me alone which worked. I wouldn't hesitate to fight, but I really didn't want to. This body is even more reluctant to fight. I would much rather run or hide than actually fight." She admitted.

"Just because you don't want to learn to fight, doesn't mean you shouldn't train." Stacey scolded her fondly. "You should at least learn to get better control of your magic. Instead of groping in the dark and wondering what you are actually capable of during moments of crisis, you should practice and learn what you can before a crisis, so you know what to do."

"Maybe you're right." Serena admitted as she watched her tiny friend fly off her head and land cross-legged on the child's head. "But I seem to have so much power, I worry that if I practice, some sort of disaster could strike, and it would strike a much larger area than we could possibly contain."

She had to strain to catch Stacey's next words.

"Perhaps, but Rachel thinks that we might be experiencing the beginnings of magic re-emerging into the world. She's concerned that so as good appears to be going strong in us, then evil will have it's own monsters out there, hurting nature and people. We'll have to face them someday."

Serena nodded to show she understood, before turning and running for her glade. It wasn't far, but as she ran she gave considerable thought to Stacey's words. The last warning in particular worried her. It would make perfect sense for evil to be staging somewhere out in the world. There was plenty of evil acts occurring for it to feed on. She was mighty in the power of good, but could there be evil out there with just as much power as her? She shivered at the thought. Such a creature must be terrible indeed!

At the glade, she placed her horn in the pool to activate its magic and stepped back. This time the mirrored surface showed her a happy scene of a young mother and father holding the little girl now resting with Stacey near a bank at the river. They were fishing in the early morning and seemed quite happy. Serena leaned forward and touched the very tip of her horn to the father's image, then the mother's. Each time it touched, the surface of the water turned silver and calm. She knew in her heart that it meant them to be good of heart.

Relief filled her, and she wanted to hurry back to her charge. Curiosity kept her rooted however, and she continued to watch. The girl held a tiny, pink rod and reel in her hand, giggling as she tugged it up and down. Her efforts caused the fly on the end of her line to jump up and down in the water. Not the best method for catching fish perhaps, but clearly the child was enjoying it and the parents seemed resigned to not getting any fish.

The mother turned away to open the picnic basket, but the latch stuck a little. The husband went over to help when the little girl's reel bent nearly in two! She had gotten a bite!

The girl held tight onto the pole, but the fish was strong, and began pulling her towards the river. Serena could see her mouth open in a shout of surprise or fear, instantly attracting her parent's attention. Both adults lunged towards her, but fell short. As they scrambled up after her, the fish gave a terrific tug, toppling the girl into the water.

She stayed in the river a good while, letting go her pole at last after the fish had pulled her a good distance with the current. Gasping and flailing on the surface, she caught hold of a log that fallen in. But it's grip on the bank proved precarious, for when she got entangled in the branches, the base gave way and the entire affair rode the water. Rapids buffeted the rough boat, tossing its passenger against the limbs that saved her from going back in. At last the river broadened a little and calmed. The tree floated close to shore and the child, clearly exhausted but afraid of staying in the water any longer, hopped off her perch and splashed ashore.

For whatever reason, whether it was a desire to get as far away from the water as possible, or because she heard noises that frightened her, the child plunged into the forest in the wrong direction. She quickly became hopelessly lost and ended up sleeping uncomfortably in the hollow of a tree root. The pool lightened and darkened twice more, indicating she had been lost for three days and two nights, grabbing whatever food she could get to along the way. Berries, it seemed, were her only diet while wandering, and occasionally she could drink from a clear stream or tiny creek that she stumbled across.

Serena watched it all with sympathy and horror. She could well imagine the difficult struggles it had taken, and was amazed that a little girl could last so long on her own. She had to see her safely back to her parents.

Now the pool was showing her arrival on the scene, but she didn't need to see that. She thanked the pool and raced back to where she had left them quicker than thought.

Seeing Stacey still sitting guard on the girl's shoulder filled her with warm relief. Neither said a word as Serena used her magic to place the girl onto her back again. This time however, she could see Stacey settling in near the shoulder. She murmured something, and the plants reacted. A single, thorn-less vine appeared and wrapped carefully around wrists and feet, slinging underneath Serena's belly in a tickling sensation, to tie the girl onto her back. Serena glanced at the fairy as if to say, "really?".

Seeing the look, Stacey fluttered up to her ear to whisper.

"What if she wakes up and panics? This way, if she does she'll only squirm a little instead of falling off."

"It seems more of a way to ensure she does panic on waking," Serena replied. "But perhaps a little extra security will help. I think she'll remain asleep until we get to her family. I have a good idea where they are, and after her adventures I am sure they are worried about her."

"Oh, yes." She responded to Stacey's inquiring glance. "I checked. They're good people. The pond turned silver when I questioned it. They were all fishing when the fish almost got the girl! It dragged her in and she ended up taking a log ride down the rapids before spending three days in the forest. Poor tyke." She added sorrowfully. "If only I'd been there sooner. Might have been able to spare her a lot of what she's gone through."

"Well, it's over now." Stacey said comfortingly. "She'll have her own warm bed tonight. And probably a disliking for any kind of fish!"

Serena laughed. Now that she had no worries of any kind about the girl falling off, the journey went much faster. Stacey rode on the girl, humming softly in a tranquil tune similar to a tree song, deep and full of rooted wisdom. Serena turned one ear back to listen as she went.

Despite the increase of speed, it was still getting dark when they came across the search party of eight. They were on an official park trail near the river. Six of them appeared to be park rangers but it was the couple in the back dressed in brightly colored civilian clothes that attracted Serena's attention. They were clearly the two adults she had seen earlier in the pool.

She watched them walk past her hiding place, calling loudly every few steps; "Saaam! Samantha! Where are you?!".

She felt a light stir on her back, as if the girl were trying to respond in her sleep, but quickly quieted.

"We need to hurry." Stacey's voice came suddenly in her right ear. "She seems like she wants to wake up. But how do we get her back to her parents? Everyone is watching. They're bound to notice a unicorn."

Serena nodded without thinking. She heard Stacey yelp and curse slightly. Embarrassed at her thoughtless, she immediately froze her head.

"Sorry." She whispered in apology.

She looked down the path and sighed. "You're right though. I've got to think of a way to get the girl to them without revealing who we are. Come on, we've got to get ahead of them."

Silently they followed. Her passing stirred no leaf or hint of air. The clumsy humans made more than enough noise to cover any sound she made, even if she crashed through the woods like a bear. More than once she shook her head and wondered how they could possibly make any more noise than they were. They would disturb half the creatures in her forest if she let them continue.

A fragment of conversation caught her ear and she listened.

"Strange how there's no snow here this late in the year." A strong male voice commented.

"It is. Everywhere else there's been snow for about three weeks, and here it looks almost like summer." A woman agreed.

Serena could just make out a pair of park rangers that were farther on the left of the trail and so closer to her than the others. They were evidently bringing up the rear.  

"Yeah. Even the plants are acting like it's late summer. I mean, I saw a group of blackberry bushes just last week that were just dripping berries off them. Same with the salmon berry and the raspberries. Even the Oregon grape is in full berry production." The man added.

"What do you suppose is causing this strange weather?" The woman asked again.

"I don't know. It's driving the weather prick buggy though. Keeps muttering to himself every day this lasts."

"Serves the creep right." She laughed. "Perhaps a few more days of this and he'll leave. That would be nice."

"Fat chance. Probably make him want to stay longer. Besides, I don't think the weather acting up would be enough to tear him away from gawking at your chest."

She muttered something just past Serena's hearing that made the guy roar with laughter. Serena had heard enough though, and hurried past them. Apparently, her magic was more widespread than she'd thought! She hoped it would be blamed on a freak weather phenomena rather than a more earthly source!

Now ahead of the group, she paused, wondering what the heck she should do now. There still didn't seem to be a good way to do this. Should she leave the child asleep in the middle of the trail for them to find? Hope that they tripped over her in the dark? What if one of them accidentally stepped on her? It was possible.

"Oh, how I wish I was human and could give her straight to their arms." She snorted angrily.

Her horn flashed bright in the night air. Thankfully she was under the cover of dense bushes, so the chances of the light being caught by the searchers was slim. Coldness seeped into her arms and legs just as a startled, "whoa!" came tiny and faint to her ears, nearly drowned out by a much louder thump.

"Wha--?" Serena asked dazedly, spinning around to see what had happened when her hand came in front of her face. Her human hand.

She stared at the pale limb in surprise then glanced down at her nude form. She was human again, in her old body it seemed, though her hair was white and hung far longer than she remembered, almost to the ground. It spread across her body, some locks covering her pert breasts and the V of her hips.

"How...?" she began but stopped herself. How was obvious, the question should be how long.

"Well, this solves some of the problems." She told Stacey who fluttered to about eye level after checking on the child. She was, fortunately, still in a enchanted sleep. "But I still can't go down to them looking like Lady Godiva." She felt pleased to note how gentle and rich her voice sounded, like silver bells on a spring breeze.

"I wonder if I can magic up a dress for myself." She said. She thought hard about a dress, any dress. Willing it to appear.

A rustle of cloth announced the arrival of a dress. Serena looked down at herself and suppressed the urge to giggle. The dress wouldn't look out of place on Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings movies. It was more silver though, and the sleeves weren't flowing. In point of fact they necked down to a simple loose cuff upon which silver clouds were embroidered. The rest of the dress had been similarly embroidered as well, though the designs changed from clouds to various trees and animals. If the stunned awe in Stacey's eyes were any indication, the entire effect had to be impactful.

"Bugger." She burst out laughing. "I hadn't meant a ball gown!"

"It's very...nice." Stacey said doubtfully.

"For a prom, maybe." Serena agreed. "But no one would wear this thing out in the woods."

"No time to change it now." Stacey pointed at the lights just starting to appear down the trail. They were scanning back and forth, evidently looking for the source of the flash.

"All right. I guess this will have to do." Serena agreed. She bent at the waist and picked little Samantha up. She seemed to weigh no more than a leaf.

Picking up the hem of her dress, she hurried out onto the trail, discovering in the process that her feet had acquired matching slippers. She saw the people pause farther ahead as she went towards them. She noticed the mist from the river swirling around her feet as she walked but paid it no mind. Her goal was ahead, and in her mind she rehearsed what she was going to say.

When she stepped close enough to see the faces of the rangers she felt her stride hitch a little. The looks on their faces were unlike any she had seen before; curiosity mixed with awe and, perhaps, a little fear? She couldn't understand why that would be the case; surely they had seen folks in gowns before. She flattered herself to think she was attractive, so perhaps that was it?

"Excuse me, please." She said to the rangers in front. They stepped aside, eyes wide as she passed. The parents stood in shock as she approached, until they noticed her burden.

"Sam!" Her mother cried, running up to take the girl from Serena's eyes. Her father cupped her head tenderly, hugging his wife with tears in his eyes.

Sam stirred. Opened one eye, then came completely awake with a shriek of glee.

"Momma! Momma! Pappa!" she burrowed her face in her mother's neck.

"Oh, Sam. Oh, Sam. It's a miracle." The older woman sobbed.

"Yes. And we have..." Her father looked up and jumped, startled. In the midst of the happy reunion, Serena had managed to disappear into the dense brush behind. She could still see them clearly, though it was obvious that they couldn't see her.

Emotion moved her and without pausing a moment to think it through, she called out; "Farewell, strangers. May you have pleasant dreams tonight! Stay on the path, and it will guide you home."

The rangers cried out in surprise, the beams from their flashlights splaying the woods around them wildly.

Serena shook her head as she felt the dress vanish and her normal body return. (Strange, that. How quickly her unicorn body had become "normal"). Those humans were going to wind up doing something stupid if she didn't keep an eye on them.

Stacey joined her after a couple of minutes, and when she didn't make another appearance or sound the humans gave it up and started walking away.

Just for an instant, Serena thought she saw a flicker of recognition light Samantha's eyes. Then they went around a corner and were gone. Serena then stepped out of her hiding place and turned to follow them.

"Where are you going?!" Stacey asked shrilly.

"To make sure all get home safe." Serena replied stubbornly.

Seeing that there would be no changing her mind, Stacey settled in to wait out the night.

Despite the dark, the rangers knew the trail very well, and guided the family quickly out to a parking lot filled with lights of every sort. Floodlights, flashlights, RV running lights; nearly ever sort of light source that one could imagine was there, illuminating the hundreds of people gathered and gathering there. For Serena could see, and sense, dozens of other search parties filtering back in.

The family was quickly surrounded by a crowd, fussing over the little girl. Medics ran up with their bags of tools, reporters too appeared to be there.

In the midst of it all, just before Serena turned away, she saw the little girl twist in her father's arms and look back out at the forest. For whatever reason, everyone fell silent as she called out in a surprisingly clear voice; "Thank you, Lady of the Wood!"

Serena could barely hear her, but she raised her head and gave a loud whinny. It was obvious that people heard it, for many jerked in surprise and turned to the forbidding woods. The little girl laid her head on her father's chest and the trio were whisked into a tent and out of sight.

Serena turned her hooves towards home, waiting until Stacey was firmly anchored in her mane before running as fast as she could through the trees. The forest became a solid tunnel of brown and green, illuminated by her horn as she ran.

That felt really good. She thought. Helping people out makes me feel better about myself. I would do it again, in a heartbeat.

The dangers would be plenty with such a course, and she feared it would eventually lead the world in discovering all of them. From then on, as Jake had warned, they would be hunted. Whether for their gold hoards, her magic horn, or the novelty of owning a centaur, people would be looking for them for good or for ill.

We will be cautious, she insisted,but we can't just hide in the shadows. I know I can't, the restlessness, the need to help that little girl makes it obvious that I can't simply hide. I'll have to help. Maybe Stacey is right. Maybe with a little more training I'll be able to use my abilities and strengths in a less obvious way.

She made a promise to herself to seek out Rachel first thing in the morning and see about testing her abilities out.