My first submission for 's Forbidden Love Contest [link] or [link]

Alright, story time, kiddies!


Once upon a time, there was a king who had three sons. The eldest of these sons was very clever, but he was also manipulative and thought only of himself. The youngest was very curageous, but he was also violent and thought only of battle. The middle son, whose name was Justin, was both clever and curageous, but lacked the manipulative nature of his elder brother and the violent nature of his younger brother.

The king reigned for many years, and one day he fell very ill. He sent for his three sons and said, "I am sick to the point of death. In a grove in a forest not far beyond the western border of our kingdom lives a unicorn, and in that grove also there is a pool. I saw it once long ago on a hunting trip. Every day, this unicorn dips its horn into the pool, and so the water has great virtue of healing. Whichever of you can bring me back a vial of that water so that I might be cured shall inherit the kingdom. Be warned, however, that the unicorn guards the pool jealously, and be warned also that there are many other dangerous things lurking in that wood."

Now, the youngest, who was the most fierce, spoke up first, and said that he would try, and with the king's blessing, he departed.

He rode to the wood, and fought his way through until he reached the unicorn's pool on the third day, whereupon he called to the creature to come forward, saying that he would fight it for the precious water. The unicorn did come forward, and a large and terrible beast it was indeed. It fought the youngest brother until it had disarmed him and had its horn pressed against his breast.

"You have told me you would fight me for my water," it said, "You have done so, and I have won. Depart directly from my woods and never return, for if you do I will kill you."

The youngest brother, terrified, ran for his life, and his father was sorely disappointed when he came home empty handed.

Now the eldest brother, who had coaxed all of the details of his youngest brother's journey from him, thought he saw a way he could get the water by cunning and stealth. He asked his father for permission to try, and with his father's blessing, departed.

He too rode to the wood, and with his cleverness, managed to avoid running into any of the forest's inhabitants. Late in the third night after his entering the forest, he crept to the pool, and was about to fill a vial, when he felt something pressed between his shoulder blades. He turned, and found himself face to face with the unicorn.

"You have tried to steal my water," it said, "And this I will not have. Depart directly from my woods and never return, for if you do I will kill you."

So the eldest brother also ran for his life, and again, his father was sorely disappointed when his son returned empty handed.

Now the middle son, Justin, was perplexed, for he had thought his brothers far more likely to succeed than him, which was why he had not hurried to put himself forward. He had no wish to see his father die, so he resolved to do his best and asked permission to try. With his father's blessing, Justin, too, departed.

He rode to the wood, and when he got there, he stood at the edge and called out, "I am not here to rob you, but my father is very ill and it seems that only a vial of water from the unicorn's pool will cure him. If this is agreeable to you all, please let me pass there safely, and I will be very grateful."

He stepped into the wood, and had not gone very far when the largest and most beautiful she-lynx he had ever seen trotted out of the brush and fell in beside him. She seemed to have no intention of hurting him, and as it was late at night, he found himself rather glad of her company. They walked together for a few hours, and finally Justin decided to stop and make camp. He lit a fire and prepared dinner for himself and for his companion. She seemed very pleased with it and purred a great deal. After that, Justin slept.

When he awoke the next morning, the campfire was lit and a beautiful girl if about his age was preparing breakfast. He asked her politely what she was doing, and she laughed, and said that as he had made her dinner last night, it seemed only fair that she should make breakfast. Rather surprised, he asked:

"Would I be correct in assuming then, that you are in fact the lynx that accompanied me through the forest last night?"

She smiled and nodded, "I heard you call out from the borders, and so I came along and protected you. The creatures of this wood will do you no harm while you are with me. I am normally as you see me now, but on full moon nights I am compelled to take the form of a great she-lynx. Do not be afraid, for while I may be more wild and have more of an appetite for meat as a cat, as you saw last night, I keep my right mind in that shape. I will guide you to the unicorn's pool, but tell me, what were you planning to do when you got there? I saw the end to which your two brothers came."

Justin shrugged, "I was going to ask the unicorn politely," he replied.

She laughed again, "That is well! What is your name?"

"Justin."

"Very well, Justin, you may call me Leona."

All that morning and into the afternoon, they walked and talked together, and Justin found himself liking Leona more and more as they day wore on. They continued their journey until on the third day, they reached the pool, and on the bank opposite them stood the unicorn. Justin bowed very low to it, and explained the situation very politely. It nodded its great, beautiful head, and Justin bent and filled a vial with the pool's water. He thanked it cordially, and was just about to turn and go when the unicorn spoke to him.

"I am very pleased with your integrity and humility, Justin. Today, I have rewarded you for your good nature. A day may come in the future when I will reward you for something else. Do not lose hope no matter what evil befalls you, for if you have faith and patience, there will come a time when I shall set it aright."

Justin thanked the unicorn once more, and he and Leona left. By unspoken agreement, she accompanied Justin to the castle.

When they cought sight of it, Justin stopped, and turned to Leona, looking rather embarassed. "When we arrive and I present this vial to my father, I was hoping to ask his permission to marry you. Would that be agreeable?"

She merely smiled, and inclined her head.

So hand in hand, they entered the castle, and Justin presented the vial and told his father of his adventures, concluding the story by expressing his desire to marry Leona.

To his surprise, his father threw into a rage, "You, a prince? Marry some half-beast?" He bellowed, "Unthinkable!"

Justin, however, refused to relent on the issue, and his father, in his fury, brought down a curse on his son's head. The king was not a magician, but in those days, all curses when uttered with conviction carried great power, and the king had more than enough conviction to cause this one to come to pass.

"This girl if yours," he said, "Turns into a lynx under the light of the full moon. Therefore, I curse you to take the form of a hare, except when the light of the full moon falls upon you, at which time you will resume your right shape until the morning. Go with her, and much good may it do you, for although you will be together, you will be forever seperated. And have a care, for if the enchantment ever goes amiss and you are both animals at the same time, it is like as not that she will fall upon you and kill you."

Immediately, Justin shrank and became a snowshoe hare, and Leona, who had been listening in horror beside him, snatched the little animal up and ran. She thought immediately of the unicorn's words, and headed for the wood, but when she and Justin reached it, the unicorn was gone.

Now, therefore, they remain, as the old king said, always together, and always apart, until such time as the unicorn's words come to pass.


WHEW! If you're still reading this, you get a ton of love and kisses. Pictured above, as you can see, is a dawn after a full moon. Resuming her human shape, Leona reaches out to Justin just as he changes back into a hare.

INSPIRATION

Obviously, this story was based very heavily on the wonderful 1980's movie, Ladyhawke. The only other inspiration I took was from the eating habits of canadian lynxs, whose diet consists almost exclusively of showshoe hare.

Download for a slightly bigger version.