Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 16:20:05 EST
title: preparations
authors: teri, stana, ian

Teri looked up from the leather-bound lesson book and stood up eagerly as the
door opened to a number of dresses.  On returning from the private meeting
with the rulers of S'kae the previous day, Teri had been asked to try on
clothes for the next day's banquet.  But all the outfits had been of Tashisei
fashion- those long filmy robes with strange ropes and whatnot embroidered on
them.  Nice for a priestess or her aunt margaret, she supposed, but hardly
something she'd be comfortable in, not to mention feel attractive in.  And
this was going to be some dinner party, from what she could gather.

It had taken some wheeling and dealing with the seamstress, along with some
doodles from the "magic quill" Teri  took from her bag to get across her own
idea of court fashion.  She'd never known a fantasy palace that wore muu-muus,
even in this hot weather.

So now, apparently, she got to survey the results of the night's sewing.
Three dresses, all in red, all breathtakingly beautiful. Teri bit her lip,
excited.  She'd tried on dresses like these at the mall, just for fun-- but
never dreamed of being seen in public in them.

She chose a dark red dress made of some stiff and somewhat shimmery material
she'd forgotten the name of, with a snugly fit bodice and long skirt sweeping
to her heels. Delicate flames of gold embroidery climbed one side of the
skirt.

Teri couldn't thank the woman enough...  she knew she was being silly, but at
this point, really didn't care. And the seamstress seemed intrigued by her
"original" (teri laughed at that) designs. So they made plans to discuss more
"outlander" fashion.

***
"You're not getting me into that." Stana said flatly, staring at the
dress. It was breathtaking to say the least, Green satin, the emerald
of the deepest forest, spread down to the ground in a warm embrace.
Golden gilt edged the seams and around the waist was a fishnet belt of
a yellow brown. Beautiful-and completely out of the question. "No.
Not. Ever."
        "But- the banquet?-as honored guest it is our pleasure to
clothe you in the finest-"
         "And most uncomfortable thing you could find. What do I  look
like? that thing has so many frills that you couldn't lift a leg to
walk. What do I do? Float into the room? Or are you supposed to carry
me?  No. You can find me a pair of pants and a shirt thank you. No
that's quite all right, don't worry about me."
        The epic battle continued, the maids wept with stories about
how she was declining their honor and the mistress *would* be so
distraught and how could they ever take pride in themselves again...
         Stana let this go on for some time, calm and implacable. Then
when the sniffles died down and they saw she was still unmoved, the
maids scurried to obey.
          Clip poked his horsy head through the window and snorted.
Moments later he had shimmered into human form to deliver this
statement.
          "Humans!"
          She gave a small sigh and a grin touched her lips and was
gone. "Humans." she agreed "and were you and I still racing over the
plains and not stuck here in a city full of them.  But, the princess
commands we obey."
          "You handled those women well enough."
          She shrugged uncomfortably, wondering if it had been her at
all. There seemed two of Stana lately. Clip was still talking so it
was easy to cover the silence she had lapsed into.
          "If one more dewy eyed maid tries to come up to braid
flowers in my mane I swear I will have to burrow into the ground to
hide."
          The smile found her lips this time "ah, the real reason you
are in this form now comes to light.  I figured it must be something
drastic. No one knows that unicorns can take human form do they?"
          "Neigh." he said "were the mortals to know they would hunt
us the more ruthlessly. For not only be we immortal and magic, yet
also we have the ability to take their form. This no mortal could
stand the thought of."
           "I can." Stana said mildly.
           "You are not of this world." Clip responded, shimmering
back into Unicorn form. He blew a trumpeted sound and made to go.
           "If you aren't ready to going back and dodging princesses,
you are always welcome to come to the dinner banquet with me."
           Again human he stuck his head through the window. "Methinks
the flowers be safer then the words that may fly." There was no
question about his intent
           "Teri."
           "Aye. She -" he hesitated "she seemed upset."
           Stana looked at him for a long moment, and he tried not to
fidget. She had changed a lot since their journey. She had gotten
quieter, more reserved, and more contemplative. Speculating carefully
before wording her thoughts. Or was it that she didn't trust her
thoughts any longer?

           "She will be. More so because of everything that has
happened. There was a time that she was-attracted to you." did he
blush? Was that a real cough, or a cover-up? "And she realizes I now
knew you were not mortal all along. We also left her alone to go to
the princess. She will not be in the mood to hear about "destiny" and
"higher calling". So yes, she is "upset" The support I could use from
you would be appreciated."
           He gave a short nod. No words were needed at that point.
#######################################

        Even outside, the lights from the palace were very bright, even so
bright as to cause some of the dimmer stars to vanish from the heavens
for the moment. The moon tonight was brighter still, as if it awaited
it's chance to illuminate some grand occurence. The only sounds this
far away from the hubbub of the banquet hall and ball room were the
trickle of water from a nearby fountain and the occasional nightingale
or cricket. Shinji looked up from his thoughts, and once again took in
the sublime radiace the royal garden had. On other occasions, he might
have strayed farther away to more lose himself in this man made
paradise and forget the tension of the evening, but tonight, he knew,
would offer little or no time for comfort. Suddenly the cricket
stopped. Probably eaten by the nightingale, thought Shinji somberly.
Oh well, that's the way life goes. As he got up and prepared to
return, something caught his eye. Looking closer, he saw what could
only have been the royal stable. And where there are stables, there
are horses.
        Or in this case, Shinji thought, a Unicorn.

 * * *

        The royal stables were huge, just like the rest of the place.
Despite it's size, it had been pretty obvious where the animal/person
he was looking for was kept. Large double doors were swung open along
the far end, letting golden light spill out across the well-kept lawn.
Approaching it quietly but with no direct attempt at stealth, Shinji
stepped into the light and leaned against one of the open doors. The
stable wasn't as much a stable as it was a parlor for horses. Despite
looking a little hastily done (you couldn't blame them; who would have
expected the Earth Guardian to show up on a Unicorn?), it was very
much the horse equivalent of the Presidential Suite. But he hadn't
come here to admire the quarters of a Horse. Clip's back was turned,
and he was just adding the finishing touches to his attire for the
evening.
        "Must have been hell trying to explain leaving a whole set of human
clothes in the cell of a Unicorn, huh Clip?" Shinji said, smirk
returning unbidden to his face. Clip stopped, but didn't turn around.
        "You're getting better, I didn't hear you till just now. What is it
you want?" he answered, letting Shinji's question die unanswered.
        "Hello to you too," Shinji sighed, stepping further in as Clip
turned around, regarding him with a gaze that bordered on arrogant
snobbishness. "You guys made quite an entrance a while ago," Shinji
commented, "I was pretty sure I saw two or three old guys keel right
over."
        If Clip was amused, he gave no notice. Instead, he just stood there
and looked at the intruder. "That's funny, so why are you still alive?"
        Shinji raised an eyebrow quizically. "Shake the heavens, the Unicorn
actually made a joke!" he scoffed, though he was genuinely suprised at
the response. "Still, all humor aside, I was taken back when you two
got up and left us at Rashka's. Makes me think I'm unloved," he went
on, feining painful emotional anguish. Clip narrowed his eyes, but
made no reply. Brushing his sleeve, the Unicorn walked up to Shinji
and then past him out the double doors.

        "It wasn't your business then, and it isn't now," he said simply,
then he was gone. Shinji stood there for a while longer, listening
again to the silence of the night.

        "Still the same people person of old," he chided to no one in
particular. Suddenly a new noise came from the palace, probably to let
the guests know it was time for dinner. Far being it from him to be
late to a meal, Shinji turned on his heel and made his way back to the
castle, returning his bandana to it's pocket.

 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=
banquet
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
           The banquet hall shimmered with crystal and gold- goblets
filled with thick red wine, flower-scented water for rinsing fingers,
and a room filled with bejeweled, berobed, bewealthed courtiers. Teri
paused at the double doors, adjusting the strap of her new
dress, and fidgeted some more.  The nervousness in her stomach and the
excitement at the thought of what waited beyond the heavy doors was
giving her pause.

               A light touch on her shoulder made her jump--

               "Guess who I happened to see?" Shinji whispered as Teri
regained her composure and casually brushed a strand of hair behind
her ear.

               "Oh let's see- this is a tough one," she replied
sarcastically, the unease of a moment before now forgotten. "Could it
have been Stana?"

               The young man broke out into a wry grin. "And her
not-so-equine companion, too."

               Teri's eyes looked away angrily. "Clip."

               He nodded. "In human form again. Let me tell you- aside
from the slight beginnings of a sense of humor, his bad personality
sure hasn't changed much."

               Teri hmphed. "I don't know what I ever saw in him," she
muttered, straightening her dress again. Well, she did know what she'd
seen in him-- but was aghast to find out that "what she had seen" had
really been a unicorn, in disguise. She scolded herself for almost
falling for a.... horse.  (And she pronounced "horse" in her mind as a
deliberate insult)

               "Huh, what?" Shinji asked, "I'm sorry- I couldn't hear
you."

               Teri looked back and smiled warmly. "Nothing. You look
nice this evening," she said, tapping his forehead-- bare of the
traditional white sash. "Shall we go in? Maybe the two canker sores
had the decency to bathe before coming to dinner."

***********************************************

      Stana sighed; looking down at the flowing split skirt she had
been coerced into wearing. It was actually a throw up between pants
and skirt. The pants legs were so wide and billowy that it gave the
impression of femininity where there was none. Green of course, They
had been adamant about green.  Her blouse was simple as well, and that
was a victory she had won after more tears and wails. Those maids kept
trying to weigh her down with jewels and finery.  Every refusal she
spoke had resulted in bemoans of hurt feelings and guilt trips.
       "Yuck" she said quietly, looking around at the very
baroque-esque surroundings. Too rich for her. She felt out of sorts
with so much dazzle.  Weren't there glare filters or something?
       And people everywhere, laughing and joking. Being happy or at
least pretending very well.
       In the center of the crowd, she was very much alone.
       "I like not this." Clip said anxiously, his emotions jumbling
his speech. "Would that I could transform here and escape."
       "Better not." she advised "you'd miss dinner, and Ter's
company. I had a taste of it today, might as well share the wealth."
         She didn't take his arm. She didn't dare. There were limits
as to contact with a Unicorn.  But the two did move closer together
and strode further into the group as they would have into battle. Side
by side, and more than a little gun shy.