A Young Woman's Declaration

Mari stood high up in the bow of a tree, surveying the landscape. “So there really is a village in the middle of nowhere?” She mused to herself. “And this mercenary guy lives there. Now how to go about this?” 

Her knee-length white hair; the only thing covering her human form at the moment; billowed around her like a silky dress

“Hmmp!” she huffed, plopping down and crossing her arms and legs. 

“Just walking into the village would be a bad idea. They might be paranoid of strangers, ‘specially with a war going on.” She mused. “And it’s not like he knows that I can turn into a human yet. Definitely better to get him alone first. I feel like I know him better than anyone else, but I don’t even know his name, do I...?”

Mari knew she was probably being "weird" again, but she didn’t care. She was a holy creature with extra-sensory abilities; discerning human natures was literally what she was made for. The moment she had seen his true nature, she knew. 

Barely any grown humans were able see her kind and males being able to see them without the aid of magic was so rare that it was generally accepted as impossible. Aside from innocent children, only those who were exceptionally righteous could see unicorns in their true form. 

Here was a grown, male human who could see her! Not only that, but he was basically a murderer for hire and he was still good enough to see her. He might seem intimidating on the surface, but he had a heart pure enough to make the impossible possible.

 It was like one of those ‘diamond in the rough’ fairytales where the most unlikely people were secretly the most good-natured. In spite of their near-universal dislike of humanity, her people would tell the tales of people who had seen unicorns in times past. 

Mari had been stunned and dazzled by the man, once she got over her initial panic. Someone who seemingly had multiple moral strikes against him, yet was still able to see her, just like the old tales...

She had completely fallen in love with him in that moment. 

It didn’t matter that he was a Mercenary or that she didn’t know his name. It certainly didn’t matter that he was human. How could she not fall in love with someone who had such a pure spirit? He was a rare abnormality and too precious to let go. She wanted to see him again. No, she wanted to stay by his side until the end of time! 

The idea of him not returning her feelings or being repulsed at having a mystical creature fall in love with him didn’t even cross Mari’s mind. She didn’t care if he didn’t love her back romantically. She just wanted to be with him.

 She was going to be a part of his life, whether he was ready for her or not!

That was that, but there was still the question of the best way to approach him. Mari dangled her legs over the edge of the branch and thought back to his behavior in the clearing. 

He’d been perfectly calm and polite, but the second he realized that she knew what he was...

She recalled his broken, defeated look as he called himself vile.

  ‘He’s like me...someone considered undesirable.’ Mari realized. 

He may have been covered in blood, but he wasn’t a monster. She hadn’t sensed an ounce of ill intent from him. If anything, he seemed scared of her. As if he expected to burst into flames for coming into contact with her. Like he thought he was unworthy of seeing her...

 Regardless of what he thought of himself, she knew that he was a good person. But that was all the more reason that she needed to be careful so that she wouldn’t scare him off.

“He has to leave the village at some point. I mean, it’s so small and maybe an hour as the crow flies from the capitol. He’ll have to leave for something. If I travel through the treetops, I won't be seen. I can get close and find a spot to watch the village.” 

Mari clapped her hands together with glee. “Yes, that’s it! Don’t overthink it! If I just wait, then I can follow him, get him alone and talk to him!” 

Mari jumped up triumphantly.

“Perfect! This guy can’t be anything but my soulmate, and I’m definitely going to make him mine!

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“It’s going to be a hot summer.” Azreal murmured to himself. His little brother had been talking repeatedly about wanting to eat fried spring fish and, since he hadn’t received any further instructions after returning from his last mission, he might as well humor the kid. 

Azreal never knew what to do with himself when was between missions, anyway, and, with tith the war shaping up to be a drawn-out conflict, he didn’t know how long he’d be away from home in the coming months.

As he walked, Azreal’s mind couldn’t help wandering to the Unicorn he had encountered four days ago. ‘That was...amazing.’ He recalled the beautiful, white creature with its silver horn and electric eyes.

 ‘I thought that they feared humans...’  He tried to shove his nagging regret back down, but it lingered like a bitter taste.

‘I hope I didn’t hurt it. Touching a holy creature and getting blood on it...I don’t know what I’d do if that innocent animal was cursed because of me...’ He stared at his hand, haunted by the memory.

 He hadn’t even realized that it wasn’t a normal horse at first. He had been wrestling with his dark thoughts from the job he had just completed and attempting to bury them deep before he returned to his grandmother and brother. Seeing the horse had raised his spirits and felt like a sign from God that things would be okay. Until he realized what the animal actually was. 

Recalling how terrified the poor unicorn had been at the blood covering him, he felt incredibly guilty. It had to fell the malice radiating off him; the accumulation of blood on his hands. But then it suddenly lost all fear and acted as if it was trying to comfort him! It had not only allowed him to pet it, but to bury his face in its neck as he cried out his despair. 

'But what’s really confusing to me is...’

How had he been able to see it? A mystical animal repulsed by the evil in mankind’s souls; one only the pure and righteous could see...

’I’m stained by the blood of the innocent and guilty alike. No matter how much I pray otherwise, my transgressions and the pain I’ve caused can never be wiped away. So how me, of all people? I can’t understand it.’

Azreal had been unable to think of anything else in the last few days. The questions had gnawed away at his mind. He’d prayed and pondered it until he had a headache and couldn’t sleep. It was driving him crazy. 

‘ No, now's not the time for this.' He shook his head. 

'I need to clear my head. With a war on the horizon, now’s not the time to dwell on questions that can't be answered.’ 

Azreal forced himself to take deep breaths. He was alive and there were things he could reach out and do. He wanted to make his brother happy, and that was what was important right now. Fleetingly, he couldn’t help but hope that he’d see the unicorn again, but he dismissed that idea instantly. 

'The other day was a fluke. There’s no way that creature would want anything to do with...’

*Crack*!

Something thudded above him. ‘Damn it! I was so lost in my thoughts like an idiot, I didn’t notice my surroundings!’

“Hey!”

Azreal snapped his head to the right. “I finally found you, Mr. Mercenary!” A chipper voice sang out. Slowly, he looked up and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  ‘All the fighting has made me lose it. I have to be seeing things this time...’ He blinked, but it was still there. Or, rather, she.

Standing above him in a tree, looking like a graceful flower, was a young woman. She was tall and lithe, with white hair that flowed down her body and an energetic face. She was more beautiful than a painting, and very out of place. With a large grin, she jumped down to a branch a foot away from his head.

 “I’ve been waiting for you for days!”

“Wha-? Where are your clothes?” He stammered, finally clocking in that the girl was completely naked except for her hair obscuring her body. 

His skin tingled as he looked up at her. “Who...are you?” He whispered in confusion. Every fiber of his being sensed that she was more than an ordinary human.

“Come on, you forgot me that fast? ” She laughed, looking down at him. The two locked eyes and, as confused and flustered as he was, Azreal couldn’t look away.

He was drawn to the confident aura she omitted and something about her seemed vaguely familiar. After a moment it clicked. Her bright green eyes. The small horn like a goat’s that protruded from the left side of her forehead. 

‘White hair, green eyes, that silver horn! She's human but...’

”T-that unicorn?!” He gasped, stumbling back slightly. “You?”

The girl beamed. “Yay, you didn’t forget! I knew you’d remember me!” 

The situation was so bizarre that Azreal’s mind struggled to form words. “Why are you here?” was all that could come out.

“Well, that’s obvious!” The girl declared triumphantly. “The moment I sensed your soul, I knew!” She stood up, clearly intending to jump down.

‘crapcrapcrap!’ Azreal panicked as he braced himself to catch her as she launched herself down at him.

“You’re my soulmate and I’m in love with you!” She exclaimed gleefully as, with a supernatural level of grace, she landed lightly in his arms. He was left holding her  in the air by her waist with his head pounding from the adrenalin and shock.

 The girl looked overjoyed and he felt a twinge of annoyance.

“Geez, be more careful! You’ll hurt yourself acting like that! Do you not realize how high those trees are, you idiot?” Azreal scolded. 

Then her words sank in and he flushed bright red, sure that he had to be hallucinating now. The girl steadily held his bashful gaze with a level of affection that took his breath away.

“I knew I’d never meet someone as special as you ever again! And I found you!” Excitedly she reached down and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“From this moment on, I’m staying by your side forever!”

“W-w-what the helllll?!”