Gift of the Unicorn

14. Free Bird

“Alright, Iseut. We’re all here. Now tell us what happened yesterday.”

Iseut clutched her warm milk in her hands tightly and started to relay the story. She and her friends were having their usual weekly morning meeting in the tavern. Everyone around the table leaned in, save for Stace who was sitting back in her chair with her arms folded.

Eda was sitting on one side of Amis, and Stace on the other, each holding one of his hands. Firmin and Noll were sitting together, watching Iseut with wide eyes and holding tightly onto each other. Wilmot, Jocosa, and Meggy all sat off to the side, listening intently.

When Iseut was finished, she sighed and sank down in her seat.

“Wow. How are you feeling?” Wilmot asked.

“I’m glad it’s over. Otherwise I’m fine. I got what I wanted all along.”

“We’re just grateful you’re okay,” Jocosa said quietly, “That sounds like a dangerous situation.”

“I’d like to just put it behind me,” Iseut admitted.

Several of her friends nodded.

“I can get you a drink if you want,” Meggy offered, gesturing back toward the kitchen area.

Iseut replied with a hollow laugh and said, “Thank you, but no. I’d appreciate it if we just moved on.”

“Can do,” she said, “Eda, I think I have your boots.”

“Is that where they went?” Eda asked, frowning, “I’ve been looking for them for days now.”

“Yeah, it took me a while to figure out why I had so many pairs of shoes. Then I actually put them on and realized ‘oh no, these are way too small for me.’ I can drop them off later.”

Noll turned to Stace and asked, “You and Aldith didn’t get into any trouble, did you?”

Stace shook her head.

“No, everyone just wanted to forget the entire thing. And Aldith really chewed the chief out when it was done. I don’t think he’s going to be overstepping his boundaries with her again any time soon.”

Firmin asked Iseut, “So you still get to learn magic from her too, then?”

“I am,” Iseut replied, “But less often. I’m trying to better balance all the different things in my life, so my training is going to go a lot slower from now on.”

Conversations continued around the table while Iseut watched. Firmin and Noll were admitting to Jocosa that the two of them wanted to get a pet. Eda was leaning up against Amis while Meggy and Stace talked magic. Wilmot was just staring off into space and yawning occasionally, clearly still tired from the day before.

Iseut started to chuckle. Everything felt right. Everything was… perfect.

“Iseut? You’re crying,” Firmin said suddenly.

Iseut reached up and wiped away a few tears.

“Oh, honey,” Wilmot said, “You must still be shaken from the events of yesterday. We understand. It’s okay to cry.”

“No, it’s not that,” Iseut said, sniffling, “I mean, maybe. But really I”m just so grateful to be here.”

“You know we would have stayed friends with you no matter what, right?” Stace asked.

“Yeah, I know, it’s just…” she took a deep breath, “I’m glad I get to be here as myself. I’m so happy for the life I get to live now.”

Everyone around her was smiling now. Slowly, Stace got up from her seat and sat down next to Iseut, then grabbed her in a gentle hug.

“We’re glad for you too,” she said.

Iseut sniffed and nodded, leaning into the hug. After a moment, everyone else started to stand up too. They gathered around Iseut and joined in the hug. She was surrounded by the warmth of her friends.

“I really need to go,” she told Stace, “Ro is expecting me.”

“There’s no need to rush.”

Everyone sat back down to continue talking. But Iseut did have plans that morning and had to leave early. She gave them one last tearful goodbye and started walking toward the edge of town.

Iseut had to stop at her bunkhouse to pick up her bow. When she arrived at the hunting cabin, Rohesia was already there with a group of eight young men and women. The new recruits were a few years younger than Iseut was, and held their weapons uncertainly in her hands.

“Glad you could make it,” Rohesia told Iseut, “We were about to start without you.”

“Sorry about that.”

“You ready to show them how it’s done?”

Iseut grinned and picked up a quiver of arrows. She took a spot in front of a target and nodded at Rohesia. The recruits were watching, still muttering among themselves.

“Alright!” Ro cried, getting their attention, “Now I’m going to show you what my very best student can do. If you put your very all into practicing, you might one day be half as good as she is.”

It was flattering, but also a little nerve-wracking for Iseut to hear. She wasn’t nearly as good as she used to be, and now she had to show off for a bunch of newcomers who had never used a bow before. Iseut could feel the sweat already forming on her forehead.

“Iseut, whenever you’re ready.”

She nodded and took a deep breath. Time to put on a show. In one swift movement, Iseut pulled an arrow from her quiver, nocked it, and released the bowstring. The arrow pierced the air and landed in the dead center of the target. Without pausing, Iseut launched another arrow, and another. Her accuracy was strong, and all her shots ended up clustered toward the center.

Then she turned slightly and fired another arrow at a different target, coming at it from an angle. Her shot came close to the center of the target. Without breaking her flow, Iseut drew another and aimed at a different target, at an even sharper angle and slightly further away. It too found its mark at the center of the target.

“Very good, Iseut,” Rohesia said, “Go and collect your arrows. Everyone else, grab a quiver.”

Iseut could breathe easily. She quickly retrieved her arrows and sat the quiver down against the wall of the hunting cabin with her arrows. While Rohesia was giving instructions to her new students, Iseut sat down and tried to relax. Once the trainees were all firing, Rohesia took a few steps back to stand next to Iseut.

Still watching her students, Ro asked Iseut, “How are you feeling after what happened yesterday?”

“I’m fine,” Iseut assured her, “It’s going to take a while for things to feel normal again, but I’m going to be alright. Thanks for asking.”

Rohesia nodded curtly, then said, “I’m glad. You’re really important to me, Iseut. I want you to be happy.”

“Am I the daughter you never had?”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Rohesia snapped, but Iseut could see her cheeks flush. “Help me with these trainees. Their form is terrible.”

Iseut chuckled and stood up. They went between the different students, helping to adjust their stance and form. A couple of times, Iseut had to demonstrate again, telling them to focus on one or two things about her posture in particular. After about an hour, most of them had shown clear improvement.

One in particular, though, was still struggling. Rohesia barked at him a few times, and Iseut winced. She gestured for Ro to ease off, then walked up to talk to the young man.

“You’re okay,” she told him, when she saw that he was struggling not to cry.

“I’m not good at this,” he muttered. His arms were shaking and he was holding his bow limply.

“Nobody is when they start. But Rohesia is the best teacher there is. Now hold up your bow. I’m going to show you again.”

The trainee followed her instructions, but frowned.

“She’s just so strict.”

“She is. A little too much. But she does care about you. And she’s going to make you a great hunter. Rohesia is good at finding someone’s inner strength, even if they themselves don’t realize they have it. And if she’s too hard on you, remind her that I said it’s okay to cry.” Iseut gave him a little wink. “That should get her to lay off a bit.”

The young man managed to smile a little bit and nodded. Iseut helped him fire off a few shots, and he seemed to calm down. Then she left him and walked back over to Rohesia.

“He should be fine,” Iseut said, “Just be gentle.”

“If you want steel, you need a hot forge and a heavy hammer,” Rohesia reminded her, “It’s not going to be easy for them all the time.”

“Just don’t break them like you almost did me.”

Rohesia didn’t look her in the eye, but nodded.

“I need to go,” Iseut continued, “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

“You did a good job today,” Rohesia told Iseut, patting her swiftly on the back.

“Well, I had a good teacher.”

Iseut ran, and by the time she reached Hamon’s workshop she was a little out of breath. She took a moment to tie her hair back with her ribbon and wiped the sweat from her brow. When she was ready, Iseut opened the door and walked inside.

“Am I late?” she asked, setting her bow down on a table.

“I expected you a little earlier, actually,” Hamon replied, looking up from the pair of trousers he was working on.

“I’m sorry. I was helping my mo— um, teacher.”

“It’s not that much of a problem,” Hamon said, “But please do try to be more wary of time in the future.”

“I will. What are we working on?”

“There are a couple of shirts on that table that need mending. You can get started on those.”

Iseut got to work, but after a few minutes Hamon asked, “How do you feel, by the way?”

“I feel great,” Iseut answered honestly, fixing a torn sleeve, “Why?”

“Everyone’s already heard about what happened earlier,” he answered, “If you need some time—”

“Really, Hamon, thank you,” she interrupted him, smiling softly, “But I really want to work right now.”

Hamon nodded. They worked mostly in silence. Occasionally they’d hear the door out front open and Hamon would step outside to see whoever had arrived and what they needed. Iseut barely noticed for the most part; she was that involved in her work.

“Iseut?” Hamon asked, getting her attention, “These folks are here to see you.”

Iseut looked up from the shirt she was working on to see a man and woman she was unfamiliar with, along with a boy she recognized.

“Randel?” she asked, stepping away from the counter.

“Hello, unicorn lady,” Randel said, “This is my mom and dad.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you,” the boy’s mother said, striding forward and surprising Iseut with a hug.

“Wow. Thank you? What brings you all here?”

“We wanted to thank you,” Randel’s father said, “Our son has told us a lot about you. We’re here to thank you for everything you did.”

“For what I did?” Iseut asked, looking between the two adults.

Randel’s father nodded, continuing, “We would have had no idea how to navigate what he was feeling. Without you, he probably wouldn’t have found the words to express what he needed from us.”

“He’s so much happier because of you,” Randel’s mother added.

“That’s… thank you. Thank you very much,” Iseut said, tears welling up in her eyes, “It wasn’t that much, really. I was just there to lend an ear when he needed it.”

“Regardless, nobody could have provided the help that you did.”

“I…” Iseut felt her face burning. “I don’t know what else to say. Thank you. Truth be told, talking to him helped me figure out a few things about myself as well.”

She turned to look at the kid, who was standing by one of the mannequins and tugging lightly at the half-finished outfit. Iseut couldn’t help but smile a little bit. He held himself so much more confidently than he used to.

“Randel,” his father said, and both the kid and Iseut turned to face him, “We need to go. Your friends are waiting.”

“Coming, dad,” he said, letting go of the mannequin and walking back over to the adults. Turning to Iseut, he said, “Thank you, unicorn lady.”

His mother cleared her throat and said, “Randel, be polite. Use her real name.”

“Thank you, Miss Iseut.”

Iseut felt like her heart was going to burst. She bid a quick goodbye to Randel and his parents and they left the workshop. Afterward, Iseut just needed a moment to breathe and take in what had happened.

“Iseut?”

“I’m here!” Iseut cried, snapping back to attention. She turned around to face Hamon, blushing. “Sorry. That was a lot to take it.”

“It’s okay,” Hamon said, “But we really need to get back to work. You have to leave early today and there’s still quite a bit to get through.”

“That’s right. Thank you. I’m sorry today’s been so hectic.”

“It’s okay. You’ve been through a lot recently. It’s going to take a while before things go back to normal.”

Iseut said goodbye to Hamon early, slung her bow across her back, and headed toward the edge of town. She stopped by Aldith’s hut and knocked on the door. Aldith presented her with a small bouquet of flowers and wished her good luck.

Her heart was thumping as Iseut made her way to the edge of town. It had been a long time since she’d done this. She resisted the urge to start pulling the petals off the flowers from anxiety.

It didn’t take her a very long time to find her mother’s grave. It looked like it had been undisturbed for a long time. Weeds had grown over the plot and the writing on the tombstone had faded. Iseut placed the bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone and knelt down.

“Hi Mom,” she said, “It’s been a while.”

She sat for a few minutes in silence.

Then Iseut curled her legs up beneath her and continued, “I realized something recently. I’m actually a woman. Have been this entire time. I… I took your name. I hope you don’t mind.” She blinked away a few tears. “Things have been rough between me and Dad, but everyone else has been really supportive. Well, I lost my best friend. But my teacher, Rohesia, she’s been doing a lot to take care of me. I think you’d like her. And Aldith is… she’s something. I wouldn’t have realized who I was without her and her apprentice.”

Iseut fell silent again for a moment, then concluded, “I hope you’d be proud of me, Mom.”

Her daily meditation practices made Iseut a lot more aware of her surroundings than she used to be. She could tell that someone was standing nearby even though they were trying to be quiet. Now that she was done, Iseut stood up and turned to face the newcomer.

Her father stood slumped and defeated. He wasn’t looking directly at Iseut, but it was obvious he was here for her. Iseut snorted and took a few steps closer.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Hello, Iseut,” her father mumbled.

Seeing him here was quite an experience. Hann wasn’t the imposing, menacing figure that Iseut had always imagined him to be. He could barely stand straight anymore. It was hard to look at him and feel anything but… pity.

“I want to make this clear, Father,” Iseut said, folding her arms, “I don’t want to have a relationship with you anymore. Not after what you did. So you can forget about any more family dinners.”

After a moment, Hann nodded.

“Alright,” he said, “If that’s your decision, I’ll respect it.”

Iseut shook her head.

“I don’t need you to respect me. I just need you to leave me alone.”

She didn’t wait for a response. Iseut just brushed past him on her way out of the cemetery. She, at least, could leave with her head held high.

There was still one more thing to do before the day was over. Iseut returned to her empty bunkhouse and started changing into her nice dress. Her stomach was in knots. This was the hardest thing she’d have to do for a long while.

“You’re early,” Meggy told her, when Iseut sat down at the bar, “He’s not even here yet.”

“I’m so nervous,” Iseut admitted, “This is the first date I’ve been on… um… in a long time.”

“Ever?”

Iseut shrugged and Meggy chuckled. Meggy gave her a drink to calm her nerves. Iseut drank slowly and focused on her meditation exercises, hoping that she could stop shaking before Wybert got there.

Eventually Meggy tapped Iseut on the shoulder and pointed her at a table. Wybert had entered and sat down, and was looking right at her. He waved, and Iseut nearly choked on her drink. Meggy filled the tankard up and sent her on her way.

“Hey,” Iseut said, sitting down opposite Wybert.

“I’m glad you made it,” Wybert replied, smiling softly.

Iseut asked, “Do you want to get something to eat?”

“Yes, of course. Where’s—?”

“What can I get you?” Meggy asked, sliding up to the table.

They gave Meggy their order, and Meggy gave Iseut a wink before heading back to the kitchen.

“Thank you for asking me here,” Iseut said.

“It was my pleasure, actually,” Wybert replied.

Iseut folded her arms on the table and leaned in.

She asked, “How are things at the stables?”

“The horses are wonderful,” he replied, “Magnificent beasts. Do you know how to ride? I could show you.”

“I’m more into unicorns, actually.”

“Oh?”

“I got to meet one. Twice.”

“That’s how…?” he trailed off, then gestured at Iseut.

She frowned.

“Yeah. That’s how this all happened.”

“Well… lucky me, I guess.”

“Oh?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“My father would have never made you his apprentice otherwise,” he said, avoiding her eyes, “And then we would have never met. And I feel like I’d be worse off for that.”

“You do?” she asked, “So do I.”

She could see a pinch of red in his cheeks.

Meggy returned at that moment with a fresh tankard of ale for Wybert.

Iseut continued, “You know… I’ve never spent time with a guy… like this.”

“Like this?” he asked, but the deep flush in his cheeks told her that he knew what she meant, “Since the transformation or…?”

“Ever,” she admitted, grinning sheepishly.

“Then I am a lucky guy.”

Iseut giggled.

Then she asked, “So… do you mind?” When he blinked in confusion, she continued, “That I used to, well, live as a guy?”

“It doesn’t bother me. You’re definitely a woman now, aren’t you?”

“I think I always was and never realized it,” she admitted.

“Well, I like women. And I think you like men?”

She nodded.

He continued, “Then I don’t see a problem.”

Iseut hadn’t even been aware of the tension that suddenly melted off of her shoulders.

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?”

“For not getting hung up on it.”

“Iseut, I like you.” Iseut felt the heat rising to her cheeks and she grinned stupidly. “Maybe a month ago we wouldn’t have had anything, but as long as you’re happy—”

“More than you can ever imagine,” she interrupted him, placing her hand palm up on the table.

Wybert got a twinkle in his eye and placed his hand on hers. Iseut grabbed a hold of his hand and struggled to shove down the butterflies in her stomach. His hand was warm and rough, exactly like she’d imagined it would be.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

They continued talking. When their food arrived, the two were forced to separate their hands and eat, but in between bites Iseut made sure to get in quite a few long stares. Wybert really was very attractive.

“I’m really glad you came,” Wybert said once his plate was empty.

“So am I,” she said, “Can we do this again?”

“At the next opportunity,” Wybert promised, reaching over and taking Iseut’s hand again.

Iseut closed her eyes and tried to enjoy the moment. This was more than she could have ever hoped for. She had friends who loved her and wanted her to be herself. She’d met a guy who accepted her for who she was. For the first time in her life, everything felt right. For all the struggle the past few weeks had been, Iseut finally felt free.

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