Chapter 1 - Love and Pity

At the age of nine, Nyneve learned a hard lesson.

Never sought out anyone for attention.

“Father, do you think we can still catch a rabbit at this hour?”

They walked in the forest while her father seemed not to hear her question.

“It’s not yet dark but there are already some stars in the sky. They’re pretty.”

Again, Nyneve did not hear any response. But she insist on having a conversation about a topic she did not know then was a sensitive one.

“Father… do you think mother is up there watching us?”

Something hit her face. It came as a shock while she held her left cheek as it bleeds and burns. She cried once the pain registered. She screamed because part of her face was torn. Her father who just slapped her with a wooden torch stood frozen next to her.

Father… it hurts! It hurts!

Tears and blood mixed on her cheek. She kneeled while trying not to touch her tore skin. But a much deeper pain began when she saw her father ran away. He left her in the forest where they should be hunting. Her scream for help later on caught the attention of a passerby and she was treated in the nearby town.

That night, she was delivered back to her father but Nyneve no longer talks or ask any questions. She clearly remembered that it was her chattering that made her father angry. She only needed to be useful and polite. Perhaps that would make him happy.

Despite covering the lower half of her face, people would recall the incident the moment they saw Nyneve. They would talk as if she was deaf and was not in sight.

Was love and pity the same? Nyneve thought once when she was eighteen. She could not help but compare the two when their neighbors often look at her sadly. She felt their concern but it did not comfort her. Because their words only offered her sadness.

“I still think he was planning to abandon her in the forest,” a woman said to an older woman.

“But why? His wife died while giving birth to her so blaming her after all these years seemed cruel. And we know him ever since he was a child. He cannot be that horrible.”

“Yes, he used to be a sweet child. And he loves his wife so much that losing her might have been too much. Besides, despite him making a living, it was not enough for the two of them.”

“That’s why I’m helping deliver our goods,” Nyneve replied to the woman who started the discussion. The two froze and was caught off guard but Nyneve walked passed them and organized the delivery on the front door while they stood still near the garden. Once she was done she smiled and wave at the two women and went on her way.

Usually their customers preferred to have their fruits and vegetables delivered at their houses. It was convenient for those who could not leave their home while they took care of their young ones or those who are too weak to go to the marketplace.

Nyneve, despite the rumors, kept taking care of her father. She started learning how to plant at the age of ten. And though her scarred face can no longer be repaired it did not affect her confidence as long as it remained covered.

By noon she was done with all her deliveries. She pushed the wooden wagon she brought with her and parked it inside their farmhouse near a field. She kept the coins she collected in a pouch and place it in the dining table. They will count it later that night. It was their routine to set aside money for whatever they need. Lately, her father was in poor health. Herbs and medicines were bought but it seemed to get worst. He often cough and would rather sleep than eat a decent meal.

When Nyneve search the house she could not easily locate her father. Everything is quiet. But she went through the backdoor to check if he was checking on their new plants in the greenhouse. But the moment Nyneve stepped out from the doorways he could not help but look up at her father hanging from the beam near their veranda. She never thought she would scream again the way she did that night when she was left alone in the forest.

Did he thought I could now live on my own?

The quietness of the house made Nyneve stay in her bed. It was several weeks after the funeral. And it was several weeks since she was not seen by her neighbors for she neglected her duties since then. Some of their crops remained alive due to rainy days.

Maybe they were right. Maybe I was meant to be abandoned after all.

Her father did apologize to her when he slapped her that night. But their relationship did not change. He remained cold and distant despite her efforts to be useful to him. She no longer ask random questions. She just asked him what was necessary. Some say it was grief that made his father that way. He changed ever since he lost his wife.

Despite the years that passed, her father could not he accept that he was now only a father and no longer a husband. And it hurts Nyneve to hear those words from strangers. Because even if she does not know them all they all know them too well. That town was where her father was born. Everyone said he grew up to be a smart boy and eventually a gentleman. Nyneve can only imagine what it was like to meet him in the past because the person she met was so different from what they were saying to her sometimes.

Will I also end up like my father? Will I one day tried to…

Nyneve shook her head. Normally, she will just sleep and eat a little. But her mind is drifting onto things even she is scared to face. She stood from her bed. Took a quick bath and went to see the town. But while walking near the lake she thought of several possible scenarios.

“Wait. I don’t think I’m ready to mingle with anyone right now. They will surely ask me how I’ve been. Or worst, I’ll hear more rumors or they’ll just pity me again. No. I should go back!”

She rushed back to her house but something caught her attention. Something was sinking in the lake. It was a huge black horse. It was still moving so she rushes to a nearby tree and used the thick vines that she could grab on. She rushes to the horse and tried to help him by throwing the loop knot that she just made.

The horse looked at her direction and seemed horrified.

“Bite! Bite this!” she yelled.

But the horse did not heed her command.

“Bite it. Please! Or you’ll drown. I’m helping you!”

The horse seemed to be moving to the deeper part of the lake so she quickly pull to gather the vine and throws the loop again. This time it landed on its neck. She throws the rope on a thick branch of a tree nearby and used it like a pulley. Her hands gripped the vein so hard that she no longer care if it will possibly blister later.

The horse was strangled with the rope and it has no choice but to bite it. Eventually, it swam towards her direction. Once it was standing on shore, Nyneve approached it to remove the vine on its neck. But the moment she looked at its head she was frozen.

There is something pointed covered on its forelock. It was a spiral horn that she never noticed earlier since it was a mere inches. But Nyneve recognize what she is staring before her.

“You’re a unicorn,” she gasped.

The unicorn seemed angry with her words. Its eyes glared at her. To her surprise the unicorn change form and easily became a tall man. He was wearing black clothing that are now drench.

“You should have let me drown human,” he told her in an irritating tone.

“But I… I was only helping—”

“I do not need your help!” he yelled.

Nyneve was so shocked with everything she was seeing and hearing that it became harder for her to respond to the next thing he says.

“What now? Are you going to make me your slave?”