Chapter Thirty Five
The sun crept in between the curtains earlier than Justin would have liked. Even though he did not look at the clock, he was fairly sure he had only fallen asleep an hour or two before the sun rose.
He spent the wee hours of the night going over every possible scenario for what might take place today. It wasn't until he was exhausted and could barely put two thoughts together that he realized that much of what could or would happen would greatly depend on the whims of the royal mages.
After a quick, uneventful breakfast with the king and Magdalin, the king excused himself to go check on his wife and daughter, and Magdalin and Justin made their way to the library. He wasn't surprised to find the mages already deep in conversation.
"Good morning, your highness, and Master Justin." Justin was about to protest to the formal greeting when Cora stood from her seat and walked over to him. "Come, we have much to do today that requires your help." Justin allowed her to direct him to his seat, and he promptly sat down. He felt rather than saw Magdalin sit down next to him.
"My fellow colleagues and I have spent much of last night and this morning going over the best course of action for solving the unicorn problem." Art barely took a breath before continuing. "We have come to the conclusion that we must first create the new living arrangements for them." Looking directly at Maggie, he spoke. "Beyond the physical construction of the boundaries for their new home, we will need you, your Highness, to help the guards coax the unicorns out of the stables."
Looking then to Justin, he cleared his throat and continued. "Justin, with your knowledge of unicorns, would it be best to remove the pair as one unit or remove the female or male first?" Justin was surprised by this question so early in the meeting. He didn't realize that the mages would have already determined what needed to be done. In his mind, he figured that decision would have taken at least the rest of the morning.
Sneaking a glance at Maggie, he felt the full force of the situation as her safety was at stake. He could feel sweat begin to form on the nape of his neck, and he desperately wanted to rub it away, but thought it might draw attention to his nervousness.
Finally, after a long pregnant pause, he spoke. "I think if Maggie connects with the female and makes her trust her, then the male will not feel threatened. He should follow his mate calmly if the female remains calm."
Cora smiled broadly at his answer. "I believe you are right, Master Justin. I was thinking much the same thing, and if you hadn't suggested it, I was going to." Relief flooded through him. It was comforting to know that his thoughts had been on the right track. If something did go wrong, which it couldn't, he wouldn't let it, but if somehow it did, it would not be all of his own creation.
"How do you propose we build the boundaries for the enclosure, and what are we building them out of? If they are obviously made by human hands, the unicorns may become suspicious. Besides, if they discover they are still being contained because they run into a wooden wall, then they might stop behaving normally and regress." Maggie's questions were pointed and directed at Art. He gave a slight bow, acknowledging their importance, and looked at Oaklie to respond.
"Your Highness, we have thought long and hard over those very same questions. We believe the best way to keep the unicorns from suspecting that they are in an enclosure is to put natural boundaries that the unicorns wouldn't normally try to cross in front of the man-made ones. We will create bushes with thorns and thick foliage that would be difficult at best for the unicorns to push through. The walls themselves will have vines and flowers on them, creating the look of a curtain of greenery. If all goes well, the unicorns will never actually see the walls."
Oaklie looked at each of the mages before he spoke. When he did, his voice was much less animated. "The only way we could create the enclosures in a timely manner would, of course, require the use of magic." Maggie leaned back hard in her chair and frowned. "Wouldn't that be problematic? I mean, unicorns are magical creatures and might be able to sense the use of magic around them. Wouldn't that tip them off that something isn't right?"
At her words, all eyes turned to Justin. Philip spoke haltingly. "Is that... is that the case, Justin?" A wave of self-consciousness ceased him as he pulled his hands into his lap and rubbed his fingers together.
He needed a moment. He had studied a good amount about unicorns, but surely he didn't know this. I mean, there was only so much folklore could tell you, considering in his world unicorns didn't exist.
Racking his brain over the poems and stories he had read about them, he landed on a bit of knowledge that, yes, in fact, most unicorns could detect the use of magic. He knew in his gut that if the walls were created by magic, then the unicorns would sense their presence.
That reality deflated him. Everyone in the room could see him visibly sag in his seat. "Yes, I am afraid that unicorns can detect magic. They would sense that the magical walls were there, even with the barriers in place.
Art leaned forward in his chair and ran his thin fingers through his hair. "Well then, that causes us a major problem. I am afraid we do not have time to build the walls by hand. Not to mention installing the barriers. Besides, if we hired enough people to do it quickly, I am sure the unicorns would notice the odor of so many humans and be scared off from entering the enclosure. We all know by now that unicorns don't mix well with people." The other three mages nodded in agreement.
Justin felt the hope he had been clinging to begin to pull away from him like a forgotten dream. "The unicorns can detect the magic in the walls. The unicorns can detect the magic in the walls. The unicorns can detect the magic in the walls." His thoughts raced and then came crashing to a halt. "But what if the walls weren't magic?"
Once again, all eyes were on him. He was surprised to realize he had said that question out loud. Maggie was looking at him with a mixture of hope and confusion in her eyes. "Come again."
Justin sat up straighter in his chair as the rest of his fragile idea came into sharp focus. "Yes, what if the walls weren't magical walls? What if the walls were made from normal, everyday wood and nature, but the walls were built by magical creatures that could get it done faster than humans could?"
Art sat back in his chair and stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "Are you suggesting that we enlist the help of other magical creatures to build the enclosures for the unicorns?" Justin exhaled in relief at not having to explain himself further. "Yes, that is exactly what I suggest. That way, once the boundaries are in place, the magical creatures can leave, and there will be no trace of magic around. Since there are a lot of magical creatures around, I doubt unicorns will pick up on anything unusual, and they won't be smelling humans."
Cora lit up and nearly jumped out of her chair. "You know, it just might work. What do the rest of you think?" Oaklie and Philip nodded at each other in agreement, but Art still looked thoughtful. "It might work if we enlist the help of the correct magical creature. Many creatures do not interact well with one another and cannot work together. We would need to involve only one or two different creatures."
Justin's mind was racing as he ran through the list of potential builders. As he lighted upon an idea, he looked from Maggie to the mages. "Tell me, are there gnomes in this world?"