The Unicorn's Blessing | #ONC2025 ?

Oskar marched into his chambers and placed the new horn on his desk. He then went to where he kept the original horn. However, when he reached beneath his mattress, his fingers were met with something unfamiliar—no longer the smooth, solid horn he had hidden earlier before.

Pulling it into the light, his breath caught. The once-pristine ivory had crystallized, its surface now semi-translucent with a milky, opalescent sheen. Faint veins of gold and silver threaded through the structure, catching the candlelight in a way that made it appear to pulse with a dying glow. But the most unsettling change was at the edges—where the horn had once tapered smoothly, it was now fractured, flaking away in brittle shards like a relic on the verge of collapse.

"This is new," Oskar said as he brought the crystal to be with the other horn.

"Your Highness?"

Oskar looked up as Matthias entered the doorway with a pile of folded linens in his arms.

"Matthias," he said with a sigh. "You did not remove the horn from beneath my mattress, right?"

"You gave explicit instructions to keep it there," the servant replied as his eyes grew wide. "And I have made certain that no one enters without your permission or consent."

"Breathe, Matthias. You have done well. I did not mean to shock you just now."

Matthias nodded and exhaled as the tension in his shoulders eased. He made his way to the wooden bureau and Oskar turned his attention back to the black horn on the table, and the crystal in his hands. He placed the crystal on the table, pulling out the chair and sitting down.

"A second horn?" Matthias asked as he placed the linens in the drawer. "And different than the first?"

"I am as surprised as you are," Oskar replied, blowing out his cheeks as he exhaled. "And the reason I asked about the original horn is because I thought someone might have replaced it with this crystal. But you say you did not touch it, and no one else has entered this room... I do not know how to explain this."

"Perhaps there is more literature on the topic that you have not read yet?"

Oskar met Matthias' hopeful gaze and nodded.

"That is very possible," he said with a sigh. "The bookkeeper is holding certain texts for me... I suppose I should go retrieve them from her before someone else tries to take my assignment. Bring me my satchel, Matthias. Please?"

"Straight away, my prince."

* * *

When Oskar entered the library, it was different—too quiet, too still, as if someone had just been there and vanished the moment he arrived. He made his way to Clara's desk and found her in disarray. Her eyes were red and puffy, she blew her nose into a hankie, and her mousy hair was frizzled all over.

"Clara, what's the matter?" he asked, clutching the strap of his satchel, tight.

"Someone wanted the texts I found regarding the banner scroll," she replied, a sob erupting from her chest. "Two men—they wore coverings on their heads and faces. They said they would return soon... I did not give them the texts."

Clara disappeared beneath her desk, standing back up with two medium-sized tomes in her hands. Oskar took them from her, but he was more concerned for her well-being.

"You are not required to stay here," he said, glancing toward the doroway. "Come; I will escort you. Do you live in the servants' quarters, or do you commute from the town?"

"I live with Cook," Clara said, her voice becoming a gentle whisper. "She is my aunt."

"Good, let me take there."