Chapter Five

As Remus ran forward, all he could imagine was the Prince being gored by the horn or kicked by a hoof. It would trample or kick afterward, and if that didn't kill him right away, Remus might not be able to get him back to camp in time to be healed by one of the men who had the ability. That would be a terrible way to go, although the Regent would be thrilled when he heard about it.

Sébastien made a faint noise of surprise as Remus's weight slammed into him hard enough to knock him aside. He felt the hooves hit the ground, and the unicorn stamped and neighed again. Sébastien snarled as he twisted, and Remus expected hooves to stomp his back.

Instead, something sharp poked his asscheek.

"Ow! What the fuck?"

The unicorn snorted and backed up. Remus scrambled to get off the Prince who shoved at him.

"Get the fuck off! How dare you!"

"I was saving your dumb ass!" Remus grabbed his arm to pull him up and to the side. The unicorn had backed a few steps away, but that didn't mean much.

Sébastien yanked his arm from Remus's grasp. "I didn't need you, and you almost scared him off!"

"It was about to attack! What am I supposed to do if you get your skull knocked in? You just stood there like-like a dolt!"

"You spooked it, and everything was just fine before you came. Blame yourself." Sébastien's eyes blazed with the look that meant a slug was coming. Instead, he whirled toward the unicorn who was watching them.

"Sébastien-" Remus tried not to think of the horror stories he'd heard before of threatened unicorns. "He stabbed me in the arse."

"Good. Come here. Don't mind the idiot."

That time, the unicorn immediately came forward with a little bounce in his step as if he hadn't been frightened at all. He even allowed the Prince to rub his nose and get close enough to pat his neck. While Remus rubbed the asscheek that had been poked by the horn, he noticed the unicorn had scars on one side of his body.

Someone had attacked him and left deep cuts. One ran down his neck, and two more were on his side. A spot of fur was messed up as though he'd been stabbed, and the fur hadn't quite grown back as before over the scar. Overall, he seemed well, so he had properly healed since then. His other side hadn't been marked.

Maybe it was the mean one he'd heard about back in the village, and it was only violent because someone had tried to hunt it. Eating them was rare, but some people wanted the horns to collect even though they were pretty useless trinkets, and some even wanted the pelts or the hooves. Supposedly, there were a couple of rituals that could be done with a powdered horn, although Remus was sure that was pure nonsense.

It took a monster to do that to such a beautiful animal.

The unicorn nuzzled Sébastien's hair and allowed him to hug its neck. Okay, perhaps the Prince wouldn't be gored, stomped on, and left for dead on the forest floor thanks to the sudden change of heart. Remus's unexpected scent might have spooked it since it likely associated fairies with pain.

Except for Sébastien. For whatever reason, it seemed to suddenly adore him.

Sébastien took a linen hanky from his pocket to wipe the tip of the horn. "It looks clean, but just in case there's any blood from the idiot…"

"I'm right here," said Remus. "I can hear you."

"So?"

"I thought you were about to get killed, so should I have simply stood there and watched?"

Sébastien ignored him, flung the hanky on the ground, and planted a big kiss on the unicorn's forehead. "Aren't you just the prettiest? Do you want to come with me? I won't let anybody hurt you, and if they even think about it, I'll stab them in the throat."

Remus suppressed a sigh as the unicorn gave a doubtful snort and seemed to mull that over. Since the Prince was occupied with his new best friend, Remus pulled down the back of his sleep pants to check his asscheek. The nick wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was almost as if the unicorn had done it as a mean joke like he'd been annoyed that his new pet fairy had been shoved aside so abruptly.

While unicorns could be spooked and have wrong intuition about certain things, they were often pretty good at sensing if someone was good or bad, at least toward themselves. Remus wouldn't exactly call the Prince "good," but the unicorn seemed to like Sébastien who was still hugging his neck and stroking his sleek fur. It was odd to see him being so…nice.

"Why did you come out here?" asked Remus. "Alone, I might add."

"I noticed bits of silver through the trees a few times while we were riding," said Sébastien.

"You saw him?"

"What else would be silver out in the woods?" Disdain dripped from the Prince's voice. "Someone in that village told me he'd been abused. I don't think anyone else noticed."

Remus hadn't seen anything silver moving out in the trees that day. "And…you decided to come out here to find him?"

"If he was that close to our group, maybe he was interested in someone. I don't think he would approach such a large group on his own. It could have been anyone else, but I took the chance to come out. He found me, and unicorns are smart. He knows I won't be mean to him."

"Lucky you."

He must have wanted the poor, abused animal so he could keep it safe. Probably because nobody had kept him safe. Sébastien's face further softened as he peered at the unicorn and rubbed around the base of his horn. Remus had seen him speak to the little girl and fix her hair, but he didn't know what to think about the Prince being so gentle with an animal when no one was around to see it. Remus's opinion of his image didn't count.

It was so at odds with what Remus was used to. If it wasn't genuine, the unicorn would probably know that and not allow himself to be touched.

"I used to have one when I was sixteen in Arquous. I only got to keep him for a couple of days because he tried to break away from the stablehand grooming him to attack my Uncle. He chased Uncle halfway across the Palace grounds and tried to ram him with his horn before he was caught."

Remus raised his eyebrows as he imagined that. "Do you think he somehow guessed the Regent would later commit treason against you? Or not treason specifically, but something wrong."

Sébastien shrugged. "Uncle demanded the unicorn be put down, and I fought him on that. He was taken away and released in the Glasswood Kingdom so he could be free. He liked me, but I don't think he'd bonded very well yet, so he never tried to return."

No wonder Corentin had been snappy when they went to the city to arrest Martin, and a man had been riding his unicorn up the street. Remus figured he might be a bit uneasy too.

"It's a shame the unicorn didn't flatten your Uncle's skull. Then again, perhaps you wouldn't have felt the same back then at sixteen since you didn't know what kind of person he truly was…"

Sébastien gave him a look that Remus wasn't sure how to read, and he had the feeling he'd said something wrong even though it was true. If Corentin had died years ago, Sébastien wouldn't be stuck with someone who saw him as an annoying bump in the road to the throne.

"What?"

"I wish his skull had been flattened." Sébastien turned back to the unicorn. "Do you want to come with me? If you don't like it, you can go away."

The unicorn seemed to consider it again before lowering himself to the ground. For once, Sébastien's smile didn't have murderous intent, and he slung a leg over before gripping the mane. The unicorn easily stood despite the added weight and started toward the camp.

"If you stay, I'll call you Whisper."

Remus collected the lanterns and followed. He stayed far enough back from the hind legs in case the unicorn decided to kick him for funsies. "Is this all you came out here for?"

"Yes. Do you think I wanted to take a walk in the woods at night?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "All I could think of was that you'd been eaten by a panther. The last thing I want to find is you as a pile of gnawed bones."

"Thanks for the image."

By the camp, Sébastien slid down under the cover of the trees and leaned on his new pal. "You can stay, and no one here will hurt you. I'm not tethering you."

The unicorn might not be around by morning. Some would allow pats and even a quick ride because they liked the attention. It didn't always mean they wanted to be buddies for life. If he liked Sébastien but preferred to roam free, then he'd go his own way and be gone before morning. If he wanted to stay with his new fairy, then the Prince would have a new mount.

Some unicorns ended up being so loyal and loving of their chosen fairy, they'd fight to the death if needed or travel across Kingdoms to find them.

Sébastien told Remus to wait ten minutes before he came into the tent and walked off. Remus stood by the unicorn and out of easy poking distance.

"So, uh, are you staying, Whisper?"

Whisper snorted.

"I'll pretend that's a yes. Are you going to poke my arsecheek again?"

Whisper side-eyed him, and Remus put out his hand to see if it would let him touch. Whisper came over to sniff him and allowed himself to be patted. If Sébastien seemed alright with Remus, the unicorn likely figured he was safe enough. Remus wouldn't try to ride him without Sébastien around and agreeable because the unicorn had something special with him. They could be quite particular about who rode them.

"You're both two abused souls, aren't you? Is that why you followed us and found him in the woods? It's a good thing he saw you. No one else noticed anything silvery in the trees."

Whisper remained quiet as his nose was stroked.

"He'll treat you better than me," muttered Remus. "I think terrible things happened to him, and since you know what that feels like too in a way, he wants someone who gets it. Be good to him because he certainly likes you."

Whisper whickered.

Since Whisper would be allowed free roam, Remus simply left him outside. In the tent, the lanterns were off, and with the light from the one Remus held, he caught sight of the Prince under the blankets in his bed.

"Turn that off."

Remus tapped the lantern out and rolled his eyes. By feel, he got behind his curtain and took off his sword belt. Once he was on his pallet, silence settled over the tent as he stared at the dark. A slight rustle came from the bed.

This was the first time they'd slept without at least one locked door between them. Remus remembered the knife to the throat and wasn't exactly comforted although he was pretty positive the Prince wasn't going to try that again.

Before he finally fell asleep after a good fifteen minutes, he was sure the Prince was still lying awake.

***

Whisper stayed, and everyone was talking about him the next morning. The Prince's men bumbled their way through taking down the camp while Whisper watched them all with a lofty air.

The Prince said Whisper had come in the night, although not exactly how, and the men accepted it. Unicorns occasionally did stuff like that. Everyone wanted to look at the new member, although they didn't try to touch him. Whisper didn't seem to want to get too near them judging by the suspicious looks he kept shooting at anyone who got within ten feet.

Lord Rochefort said it was a fine unicorn, and Lord Dubois said Sébastien shouldn't try to keep Whisper because he had been injured by fairies at some point. According to him, unicorns always turned and lost all of their goodness when they'd been abused, and they could never be trusted again.

Sébastien told him to shut up.

While the group rode that morning, a guy somewhere behind Remus said the silver unicorn was proof that the Prince was a virgin.

His buddy had been complaining about the pollen, flowers, and every form of plant life that morning, and he sniffled. "That's not true."

"Yes, it is. My Gram said so. Silver unicorns like virgins."

"Bullshit. Is your Gram from some backwater village in Glasswood? That's total nonsense, and unicorns just pick people they like for whatever reason. Maybe he likes the Prince's hair since it's kind of silvery, and they have the same color eyes too. They kinda look alike."

"It is true because they like purity. Even humans know that."

"Bullshit," repeated Sniffles. "That's also a lie that the humans started, and some idiot fairy brought it back to our realm. Humans don't know shit about unicorns or anything. They don't even have unicorns on Earth, so I certainly wouldn't consider them an authority. Besides, the Prince probably isn't a virgin."

"I think the Prince is a virgin. He's all pent-up, and that's why he's so stiff."

"He's got his slave."

"He's a dirty Rowland."

"So? Why do you think the Prince keeps a big guy like that around? For his conversational skills? I'd bet my entire wage that Prince Sébastien's getting railed by him every night. You'd be stiff too if you'd had someone of that size up your arse. I'm surprised the Prince can still walk."

Remus clenched the reins and gritted his teeth. It wasn't the first comment he'd heard. That morning, he'd caught some of Lord Dubois's men talking about what they imagined the Prince looked like naked, preferably while on his back with his legs spread. A couple had been glancing at Remus and laughing.

Remus's glare had made them shut up, fortunately without nasty words being exchanged. That didn't mean they'd stop. The two behind him lowered their voices. Remus was pretty sure he heard the word cock so they had to still be yammering about the Prince getting pounded into his bed.

He turned his head. "Can you two shut the fuck up?" Both glared at him, and a few snorted.

Tom, who was ahead, heard Remus's loud voice and told them to all be quiet. Remus faced front. At least the two behind him stopped running their mouths. Fools. He wondered if he should tell Sébastien, who assuredly knew to some point that others talked about him like he was a street whore. Technically, the Prince could tell everyone to keep their mouths shut about improper topics, but if he did, the group would likely guess what he was referring to. They'd nod, and half of them would be busy picturing him naked and in an obscene position.

No, it was probably best to not bring it up. Sébastien would likely snap at Remus, enraged that someone was still imagining him under his slave.

Whisper stayed alongside the Prince and his horse, and he seemed quite jealous of the grey charger. When they stopped for lunch, Whisper kept nipping at Sébastien's sleeve while he ate and sat on the backboard of a wagon. Whisper would calm down when petted, and then start looking at the sleeve again.

"Why is he doing that?" Remus asked when Whisper looked ready to have another nibble.

The Prince shrugged and set his bowl down. "Do you want some more attention?" Whisper neighed and backed up as Sébastien slid off the backboard. "Are you jealous? How about a ride?"

Whisper appeared beyond pleased once the Prince mounted him, so he must have wanted to be the new Royal Steed. The charger could suck oats. With his hair glinting silver in the sunlight, Sébastien appeared like a storybook Prince despite his black, tightly-laced clothing.

"I'm kind of jealous," said Remus.

"You should be."

Remus rolled his eyes. Sébastien rode Whisper around their perimeter at an easy pace. He had good form despite the lack of a saddle and no reins, and the unicorn practically seemed to read his mind with barely any direction. They were on the edge of the woods, and ahead, rolling green hills sprawled out.

At a low word from the Prince, Whisper suddenly broke into a gallop away from the group. Whisper, like most unicorns, was certainly faster than the charger.

"The Prince is a fool," Lord Dubois openly stated from several feet away. "That thing is going to throw him one day, and what are we supposed to tell the Regent? Whoops?"

"He's not a five-year-old on his first pony," said Lord Rochefort. "He has an excellent seat."

"I've seen grown men with more sense and experience break their necks on a wild ride. He didn't even put a saddle on it."

Plenty of older men might comment on the brashness of youth, but he was a friend of the Regent. Lord Dubois didn't push it with further comments and didn't need to. It had been a good way to let the others know what he thought of the Prince.

As Remus finished his food, he debated saying something and decided not to. Complaining to a lord over a comment that technically had a little truth would make him look bad. Lord Dubois would bitch to Sébastien that his slave needed to shut up.

In the distance, Whisper came charging back with the Prince hunched low over his neck. The unicorn veered off with plenty of space between him and the nearest man. Sébastien straightened up and guided him in a slower arc around. Whisper had barely broken a sweat and appeared beyond proud since everyone had gotten to admire him. Thanks to his stamina and speed, he'd certainly be useful if the Prince had to flee for any reason.

Sébastien nudged his mount to walk between the men at a slow pace until they reached the cooking fire.

"Once the last man is done eating, I want everything packed up as before. Afterward, you're all going to make camp, and I expect it to be done properly. Tom, you won't do anything except direct and watch the men to see who needs the most help."

A couple grumbled, and Lord Dubois squinted as he rose from a crate.

"It's too early to stop for the day, and we're going to-"

"We're going to practice setting up camp because last night and this morning were a disgrace. I don't know what Commander Martin did in his time with you, but a man needs to know more than how to swing a weapon. Setting up a camp is just as important and requires the men to work together as one. It's a sign of discipline, something a good deal of you must be lacking in, so we're all going to practice."

Lord Dubois tugged on the end of his mustache. "My men do just fine at setting up camp, and Lord Rochefort's do too."

"Then they wouldn't mind helping and participating in this exercise since my men were under a Commander who was more concerned with treason instead of proper training. I'm sure you haven't forgotten Commander Martin."

The whole Kingdom had likely heard of that. Lord Dubois huffed. "Yes, but you can train your men later-"

"They all need to work together, and this exercise will help build camaraderie." Sébastien gave Lord Dubois the dangerous smile. "Surely, our group needs that since we're heading to Midland, and a little brush-up isn't bad for experienced men."

Lord Dubois frowned. "Fine."

Putting everything away was a bit slow. Remus did his bit with loading, and a couple started to tug crates from a full cart.

"Wait, what are you doing?" asked Tom.

"Everything is to be finished first," Sébastien called as he watched from atop Whisper. "That means the horses need to be hitched too. We can't have some putting things away while the rest get started on unloading again. You'll get everything confused." He slipped down and gestured to Remus. "You know your duty."

Sébastien's horse had to be unsaddled, and Remus approached Whisper afterward. Sébastien should be doing this himself since it was his unicorn, and he was so new. The unicorn allowed his neck to be patted and seemed willing to stand still so he could be readied like any Royal Steed.

The horses were hitched to the carts and wagons, and the men took care of their mounts. The charger didn't seem to care that he'd been replaced. Less work for him.

Once everyone was mounted as if they were ready to go, and the Prince was atop Whisper again, he ordered them to make camp.

Remus had to unsaddle Whisper before he helped with unloading. Sitting on his bare unicorn, the Prince watched as the men bumbled their way through the task once more.

Lord Dubois's set up their tents with ease. Show-offs. Tom watched the Prince's to see who sucked the most. They finished last, and two more rods for tents were broken. Remus and another got the Prince's up with little issue.

It was too late in the afternoon to bother leaving at that point, and Remus was sure they had another round to go.

Once they finished, Sébastien started to speak to Tom, and a tent collapsed sideways. One of Lord Dubois's men snickered.

"Tear it all down." Sébastien got down to speak to Tom while the process started once more. "This time, how about if you try keeping the tents in neater rows? Or is that too hard?"

Tom had to mix them to force the groups to work together once everything was packed. Lord Dubois's men were content to stand around, watch, and do nothing when every man should be busy with a task since the group needed to work together.

Remus ended up paired with a couple of Lord Rochefort's, and they swiftly unloaded a cart once he unsaddled Whisper. He knew how to do a tent with ease, and they set up the Prince's with no trouble.

Tom was permitted to instruct some on how to ease the rods into the slots without snagging them on the oiled cloth. A few who seemed to want to do a good job on their own grew smarter about where to put crates so they didn't get in the way. Others marked tent spots so they could be lined up in a neat fashion. They were a little faster that time, but it wasn't good enough. Sébastien, side saddle on Whisper again, watched and proclaimed that they were pathetic once they'd finished.

Someone tried to complain and received sharp words from the Prince that shut him up.

It was long past dinner and nearly dark by the time they finished again. Remus was sweating, Whisper was boggled as to why he kept being saddled and unsaddled, and the men were tired.

Still, they were a little faster with Tom trying to keep it organized and giving instructions. Sébastien said they'd practice again the next day.

"Get started on dinner."