Memories of a One-eyed Teddy Bear
Pudge, a scruffy white rabbit with a black circle around one eye, suggested a trip to the copse at the end of the lane. It was a beautiful July day and the shade under the trees was inviting.
They went, a mismatched cluster meandering down the dusty road.
It took far longer than expected to get there. Shiny Knight kept dropping his sword. His armor prevented him bending to pick it up. Tiny Dragon would stand on the blade and taunt him until All In Red, the lion with a bright red coat with shiny silver buttons and the unofficial leader of the group, made Dragon give way. Bear wandered to the edge of the road to smell the flowers. Pudge nibbled leaves in case they were food.
They welcomed the coolness of the copse and the fresh water from the gurgling stream they found there. Tiny Dragon flitted over the water, dove in and emerged with a small silver fish in his jaws. All In Red napped under a large oak.
The light turned orange as the sun set. They decided to spend the night under the trees. An adventure!
The first unicorn appeared at moonrise. She snorted and stamped around the group before trotting off down the lane.
Tiny Dragon quivered in fear, pushed up hard against Shiny Knight's leg. "Unicorns. Nasty. We must go."
Pudge wiggled his nose. "But who knows the way in the dark?"
No one answered.
"It was only one," said Shiny Knight, so stiff in his armor he could only swing his arms forward and back in a slicing motion. His sword was long, with many nicks.
All In Red settled it. "Their horns get tangled in the branches. We're safe here." He growled softly to emphasize his words.
Bear had his doubts. He'd heard unicorns lived in forests. They must be used to trees. And they were territorial.
Knight knew, too, and said as much, but his voice was muffled by his face plate so All In Red found it easy to pretend he hadn't heard.
The others fell into restless sleep. Bear stayed alert under a beech tree.
And so it was Bear who gave the alarm when the unicorn returned with her friends.
Knight slashed at a bay unicorn. It turned and kicked him in the chest with both hooves. Knight's armor rang like a dinner bell and he fell back into the dead leaves.
After that Bear's memories were disjointed, mere flashes. A dappled grey unicorn with All In Red's coat dangling from his mouth, Red's stuffing wafting among the branches. Pudge skewered and shaken on a glistening black horn. Bear's last memory of the fierce battle was a silver horn heading toward him.
He woke to the morning songbirds. All around him were the bodies of his friends, the ground torn up by many hooves. The world was aslant, cockeyed.
Bear still has nightmares.
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