Please, Maximilian, let it be you!
A white mist, too dense to see through, was drifting through the forest. It moved closer and closer, and on reaching her, it dispersed.
From out of the mist, a white horse came forth, so bright and luminous it seemed to dispel the darkness of the forest. Its mane was the same silvery white as its tail, which was swishing back and forth. And gleaming on its noble brow was a white horn that sparkled in the light. The creature regarded her with its bright blue eyes and made a soft whinnying sound.
Was it a unicorn?
Hannah blinked several times. This was the reason the forest gnomes had fled? But it didn’t look evil or dangerous!
“Oh, those forest gnomes!” it whinnied, and strangely enough, Hannah could understand it. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that all they can do? Just tie someone up and drag them along? Are you all right?”
Hannah merely nodded, unable to utter a sound.
“I’m glad. What are you doing here in the forest? It’s a dangerous place for you humans.”
Hannah had to swallow several times before she could answer. “I’m here to help the prince. He’s been struck by a curse.”
“The king’s son? What was his name again? Prince Gregor von Steinberg?”
“Maximilian von Lichtenberg,” Hannah replied, correcting it. She eyed the creature in amazement. It looked pure and noble, good and wise. It slowly took a few steps toward her and moved its muzzle closer and closer. What was it going to do? Surely it hadn’t also been lulled by the forces of evil to turn aggressive?
The unicorn opened its mouth. With its teeth, it pulled on the rope that the forest gnomes had used to tie her up. After just one tug, the rope came loose and dropped to the ground—and Hannah was free. How had the creature accomplished that so quickly?
“Thank you!” Hannah cried. She rubbed the parts of her legs and arms where the gnomes had tied the rope so tight that it had nearly cut off her circulation. “My name is Hannah. And who are you?”
“I am Irmgard. Irmgard, the unicorn.” With that, Irmgard proudly raised her head and shook her mane. “If you want, I’ll lead you out of the forest so that nothing more will happen to you. There’s a brick pathway that a great enchantress created. I’m afraid I’ve forgotten her name. You’ll be safe on that path!”
“That’s very kind of you, but I need to find the prince and save him,” Hannah replied. Then she quickly described all that had occurred up to that point. “I can’t abandon him. I need to find out what happened back then, when Mirabelle fled to the forest.”
“Mirabelle? The timid young girl? I was here at the time! I can tell you.”
“You know about that?”
“Of course. We unicorns are wise and clever, with excellent memories, and we know everything that’s ever happened in this forest!”
“Please tell me! What happened after Mirabelle fled to the woods?”
The unicorn knit her brow and pondered. It took her a while to recall the events precisely enough so that she could relate them to Hannah.
20
A long, long time ago
Miserable and desperate, Mirabelle had fled from the prince and his guests and run through the castle garden until she’d reached a small gate. She’d hurried through it and rushed into the forest. The birds were twittering and the deer and rabbits were scurrying about, but Mirabelle hadn’t seen them. She hadn’t noticed the peace or the pastoral scene but only the anguish and pain in her own heart.
The tears had been streaming down her cheeks, and she’d been sobbing loudly as she ran deeper and deeper into the peaceful woods. She was running barefoot, and yet her feet felt nothing—no stones, twigs, pinecones, or thorny vines. The anguish over what had befallen her had completely taken over. First, the terrible illness, and then the evening that had exposed her for all to see. Never again did she wish to see a human being. Never again did she wish to leave the forest, never again to consort with another person.
Oh, if only the illness had killed her! What was left of her life since the fever had robbed her of her beauty? Nothing at all!Nothing was left of the glorious and magical future of Mirabelle Madeleine Alice von Taustein.
She cursed this life she despised, cursed the insidious disease, cursed the arrogant prince. He had made it all even worse. He was to blame for her being here now. He had besmirched her own and her family’s name forevermore!
How ashamed her parents must have been of her! And how her beloved sister Annabelle would surely have to suffer—now that the reputation of the von Taustein family had been ruined for all time and Annabelle had no chance of marrying well.
Mirabelle’s steps grew slower, but she did not stop, and so too did the flood of tears keep streaming insistently down her cheeks. She wanted nothing more than to jump to her death down the nearest ravine! He was to blame. The prince was the evil one!
Amid her loud sobbing, Mirabelle had failed to perceive how her anger and hatred had awoken something that had been lying dormant deep inside the forest. It rose from the ground like a dark mist and drifted through the woods. Wherever it flowed, the forest was robbed of its light; wherever it passed, the animals fled, and the leaves of the trees turned darker. The mist became denser and darker and gradually took form. It drifted along, following after Mirabelle, who sensed nothing of what was lurking behind her back.
“Oh, how I curse the prince! He took everything from me! He took everything from my family! He shall suffer!” she exclaimed, her ranting growing louder and more enraged. “He shall pay! I shall curse him!”
