Part Four. The Sorrow-Eating Bull Beast and the Broken Lands of Sorrow!
The fastest horse in the kingdom began to slow her gallop to a trot. The lord of wings had little luck in gathering his fellow fowl to rally up to the cause. And the fox tailed servant of the great and magical Lord Volpetail stared in horror at the desolation of the land.
A broken vineyard which should have looked very familiar had been rearranged. A herd of sheep had been scattered and lost. And an orchard of olive trees lay in waste, "These ruined lands give me an eerie feeling of sympathy," said the fox tailed child who gripped the reins tightly as the large raven perched upon a nest of silver hair between the child's pointed ears.
"They should to me, for these are the lands of my birth." The fastest horse in the kingdom said sounding glum and sorrowful as her head began to droop and her hooves began to drag.
"Do you mean to tell me, quick steed, that these are the very same lands we left this morning?" the fox tailed servant gently combed the mane of the fastest horse in the kingdom with clawed fingers comfortingly.
By this time, there were no creatures left who could escape by air, they had all fled and the land was left in an early dusk. The lord of the wings tilted it's beak to peer down at the horse better from the perch of the fox's head.
"The very same, young fox. I have a fear of traveling much further, my heart aches for the tragedy which has befallen these lands and I do not wish to face this bull beast if I can avoid it. Please don't ask me to carry you any closer." The horse hung her head as much as she could with the bit and bridal holding her back. She hung her head not just for her sorrow, but for the certainty that she would be ushered on once more against her will, as was the fate of all beasts of burden.
Much to the surprise of the fastest horse in the kingdom, the reigns were lowered, bridal loosened, and bit unhooked to give her freedom of head movement once again. One ear followed the sound of those jingle bell boots hopping once more from stirrup to saddle then from saddle to the ground. She turned her head as she felt the fox tailed servant gently stroke her neck and saw a gentle smile upon the young face, "Don't worry, I won't force you to come any further then you wish to, speedy stallion. You've served very well in bringing me this far and putting a distance between myself and the caravan. I think I can manage from here, and I hope you find safety. But if you would keep yourself available for when this task is done, I would appreciate it. I am sure the guard who rode you before would be rather upset if he thought I lost you along my way."
In complete disbelief and much relief, the horse trotted into a free circle around the fox and the wing lord before clip clopping those speedy hooves into the wooded area near the road, "My thanks, gracious fox, for my freedom. I will await for your call once the task is complete. My boyfriend who dwells these valleys may be of more assistance than I anyway. I shall seek him and ask him to aid your quest. Oh, and one more thing . . . I am a mare." Were her last words before vanishing into the shade of the trees.
�My thanks, I shall await the aid of your boyfriend, my merry maiden mare!� The loyal servant of the great and magical Lord Volpetail and the raven noble watched as the horse vanished then turned to face the darkness ahead as they listened to menacing waves crash and break on the rocky shores.
"The birds shall forever sing of the cowardice of the mare who did not follow through with the quest . . . " the wing lord raucously croaked, seeming insulted.
"Don't be so hard on her! She has served me well, and there is little time to waste with finger pointing or rather, feather pointing. Come, my noble wing lord, we must hurry to the castle and find a way to free it from this accursed bull beast!" Those jingle bell boots sang out as the fox tailed servant ran forth with the long whip and bandit's sword at hand, and pie feathered companion over head on the wing.
Near the abandoned port of the town, the fox tailed servant and the lord of the wings followed the sounds of a most distressing cry. Knowing that the bull beast fed from sadness and sorrow, these sounds were sure to lure the monster straight here giving them their first glance at the enemy. With slow and steady steps, the jingle bells upon each boot were muffled, and the child crept with much stealth behind crates upon the dock. A questioning raven between a pair of triangular ears and a head of silver fluff peered around the side of the crates to spot the source of the crying.
�A cat!� the wing lord ruffled his sable feathers.
Indeed, it was a cat but a diminutive one covered in black and white baby fur and a black patch over one eye. It�s head was upturned as it continued to sing out in great sadness until one tiny ear caught the sounds of the bird. Looking up with a curious, if sniffling, mew, four tiny paws immediately galloped over and the kitten pressed it�s head and body into one jingle bell boot.
The fox tailed child looked down as the kitten began to circle each boot and produce a buzzing noise, �What makes you cry, little cat, and why did you not follow the others out of town?�
�Arrr, thar be no othars to follow, me hearty, for I be a mate on a pirate ship,� the kitten mewed with a piratical accent, �Me crew mates spotted thah abandoned town and docked fer a bit o� plunderin� but thah plan she went awry when a bull beast chased me mates away, and I be stranded here wit� no escapin� me doom. Mew! Mew!� the tiny cat cried in fear.
The regal raven shifted a bit atop the fox tailed servant�s head, cocking his crooked beak to the side as beady eyes peered down with suspicion at the flustered feline.
�Worry not, my purring pirate, for this is the valiant lord of the wings I am the servant of the great and magical Lord Volpetail and we are here to defeat this foe and rescue the castle of my lord,� The eager fox tailed youth explained, lifting the furry sailor in those clawed hands.
�Ha-har, ye expect me tah believe that ye two alone kin defeat thah fiery bull beast? Nary a cutlass nor a saber kin harm it�s foul skin. But I be so sad an� so alone in this world, could ye be so kind as tah take a young sailor on ye quest with ye?� the purring pirate asked, curling up into a small and pathetic ball of black and white fur in the fox tailed servant�s hand.
�Why certainly, in fact I think I have the perfect task for you to perform, my sobbing sailor!�
The beach was now gray, it�s sand made only from the gnarled rocks at the base of the seaside castle which loomed above, and the tide was coming near.
Upon the gray sand, the tiny abandoned ship cat mewed. Pathetic in isolation, he cried of how lonesome a sailor�s life was with no deck to swab. Praying, he begged the seas to come and swallow him herself for at least to be dragged down to Davy Jones�s locker was better than life alone lost ashore.
The fox tailed servant sat crouched with the raven royal, hidden in the great rocks which covered an opening into the mysterious caverns below the castle which is where it was said that the bull beast did dwell until forcing his own release in hunger for more sorrow. The bandit�s sword was put to work, stabbing into the crevasses of the rocks which overshadowed the cave�s mouth, and making quite a loud ruckus which was only dulled by the roar of the coming sea.
The sea was now black and unsettled. The skies over these lands were once again gray, only a shade away from the dismal sand upon which the one-eyed cat cried.
The rocks shook where the fox and the raven sat, shuddering with a sudden shriek from within like a burst of anger erupting from the heart of the cave itself.
That was when it's lump of a body appeared, like muscle off the arm of the strongest man in the world, red and throbbing with strength. It's head was hollow like a cleaned cow's skull with two horns reaching out like the arms of a dead tree that never fell and forgot it was dead. The bull beast came upon two hooved legs, standing upright like a man.
"I hear you, do not frett, for I shall come drink in your unhappiness until you are no more..." it's voice was hard and cruel like the raging sea before them.
All the fur stood upright upon the cat, his tail sticking up like a thunder-bolt. Small, helpless whisks of breath escaped those tiny teeth, pathetic defensive hisses at the mass of fiery doom emerging from the cave. To no avail, each ear soon pressed down upon the kitten's fluffy head, that tail dropped, and the animal fell into the sand like a tiny bump of black and white fluff. One eye was wide, staring up at the bull beast.
The wind suddenly rustled with the fluttering of sooty feathers.
Just as a massive hand, flesh covered in a swirl of red and orange flame, was lowering towards the ground, the wing-lord swooped down. Black talons snatched up the mewing morsel before the bull beast could so much as guess it's flavor.
The winds now sang out with a beautiful jingling of bells.
With a loud, clanging music, those polished leather jingle-bell boots landed upon the gray sand just as the gurgling foam of the sea was lapping up towards the cave's mouth. Eyes as yellow as the moon looked up to the flame-covered beast, "To swallow my unhappiness would be to drink in all the oceans..."
The fox tailed servant took one confident step forward which seemed to force one red hoof backwards in the same motion as if in a practiced dance. A taste of the sea slid up the sand beneath their feet, lapping at their ankles.
The lord of the wings dropped the kitten atop the rocks where those tiny paws were set into motion, digging and pawing, while those now empty talons snatched up a new task.
The long whip with a bandit's sword tied to the tip danced through the air until it's grip was snagged by one claw-tipped hand, "... If the oceans were lonesome from being empty of life..."
A second step carried the other jingle-bell boot forward and drove the other red hoof backward into the shadow of the rocks above. The sea receded, pulling away sand from beneath the deeply implanted hooves which steamed from her cool touch, and those leather soled boots.
"... And never even had the skies to look up to!" the bandit's blade danced through the air, swooping and flying at the end of the long reaching whip until the sword found a home with a loud clank into the crevasse of a rock which shuddered at the strike.
The seas herself seemed to rear back in answer to the fox's words, dark and angry were her waters as they bulged back, readying to strike forth with her jealous fury.
The dismal skies above agreed as yellow lit up their cloudy creases now, filling up the usual stagnant air with movement and emotion.
"Foolish fox..." that empty cattle skull spoke in a roar with heat to match the flames flaring from that red muscled body, "You truly think that poetry and arrogance shall drive me away? I am sorrow! I am loneliness! The seas know nothing of my wrath! The skies are paled by my immense horror!"
"To swallow my unhappiness would be to drink in all the oceans if the oceans were lonesome from being empty of life and never even had the skies to look up to... Would you like a taste, oh drinker of sorrow?" clawed fingers gripping the whip, the fox-tailed servant of the great and magical Lord Volpetail pulled the whip's length taunt. For a moment, those jingle-bell boots dug their heels into the sand before bent knees sprang upwards. Like a pendulum, the child swung forward, boot soles aimed for the bull beast who's hollow skull opened it's gory jaw in waiting.
Answering the charge, the sea herself slung forth a mighty wave like a frustrated fist to follow the fox's swing.
Simultaneously, the furious feline and the lord of the wings hopped up and down upon the crumbling rock doorway until the threshold of the cave itself began to rain down upon the head of the sorrow-eating monster.
Baying in maddened rage, the bull beast grasped it's fiery arms at the oncoming fox-tailed servant, but those eager clutches caught naught but laughter.
"You missed!" one boot jingled and jangled as it kicked away a hand, sending the fox now into a spiraling swing around the bull, "You see, you may devour sorrow, but I chase it away! Sorrow, loneliness, it cannot survive so long as I am around! You and I, we are not unalike each other, but it is laughter which I feed from! I shall now claim these lands, plant my seeds, and harvest my crop of happiness!"
The bull met a wall of water as the sea punched it with all of her insulted might. The foaming brine gurgled and foamed as it engulfed the cave while large black boulders gulped as they sank into place, piling at the flooded cave's mouth.
The raven and the cat's horrified screams were drowned by the sounds below, as were the two sets of galloping coming up their rear, "Are we too late?"
The razor-sharp beak of the wing-lord turned up to regard the familiar voice of the fastest horse in the kingdom. The one-eyed pirate purred nervously and looked up to see a white horse with the mare, a single spike protruding from it's forehead.
Seven eyes then looked down as the sea began to reel herself back in, emptying the cave for now and revealing the cave's mouth to be mostly collapsed just as the fox had planned. And in the swirling sea-foam, riding the flow back out of the small opening now left, was the jingle-bell boot wearing, fox-tailed servant of the great and magical Lord Volpetail still clinging to the whip's grip. As if stepping up with the water's surface itself, the child tugged on the whip and used it to spring up into and forward flip just as the bandit's sword impaled into the rocks now broke it's perch free, and the last rock fell into place.
"Oh! Please, help the fox!" the fastest horse in the kingdom bucked and whinnied.
The one horned horse dipped his head forward over the ledge so that it's horn reached out. With miraculous agility, the toe of one jingling boot met the tip of that white horn and perched there a moment. As if in silent agreement, the horned horse then threw his head back, launching the fox-tailed child who left a trail of glittering brine in the air and landed safely ashore.
The animals flocked to the fox, mewing, cawing, neighing, and their paws, hooves, and wings danced in rejoicing circles.
Yet a horrific scream echoed their cheers, killing their laughter as it echoed and rumbled from the door of rock below which shuddered with movement.
As if to answer, the flashing skies above now gave their response to the horrible beast's insult. A line of yellow flashed, crashing down onto the rocks with heat enough to sear them together.
In perfect chaotic harmony, the sea sloshed back upon those rocks causing them to temper and steam, sealing the doorway for as long as earth and stone can hold.
The tide was now at it's fullest. The skies had dispersed their anger. A pink and orange sunset burned the watery horizon, lighting it with life and color.
The fox tailed child, the purring pirate, the lord of the wings, the fastest horse in the kingdom, and the unicorn all stood upon the drawbridge leading to the steps of the castle, those twisted towers were ablaze with the colors of the sunset and reaching ever for the deep blue and soft clouds in the sky above.
"So this is your boyfriend! There really is a unicorn in this valley, ha ha!" the fox laughed, holding the mewing sailor aloft while the regal raven royal sat upon a throne of silvery hair between two triangular ears, "How is it that a horse and such a mystical beast fall in love? That's so curious!"
"She is the fastest horse in the kingdom, how can I escape?" the unicorn tipped his horn to one side carelessly, but when the mare's muzzle lovingly pressed against his neck, he changed to a whimsical tune of voice, "I mean resist!"
"The last are still in ruins, the fields wasted, and the village crumbled and uninhabitable. How will you save your great and magical Lord Volpetail's home in time before his inevitable approach?" the wing-lord cawed.
One clawed finger tapped at a pouting lip as those moon yellow eyes lifted thoughtfully to the sky and the fox-tailed child loudly hummed in thought, tail swishing and fidgeting in behind.
"Well, my girlfriend has told me of your noble task, and I do feel a bit disapointed in myself for not coming sooner to your aid! Perhaps the magic of my horn can help rebuild these dwellings of man..." the unicorn's horn began to twinkle as if to prove the magic held within.
"I would be so humbly grateful for your kind services, oh graceful lover of the fastest horse in the kingdom!" the fox-tailed child leaned forward into a light bow, careful of the raven royal.
"Thar be true happiness ashore afterall, me sees! Har, prrrhaps me misjudged the landlubber's ways!" that tiny kitten's head pressed into the fox-child's chest with a purr.
"I do not know what this place once looked like, so you may need to explain it to me as I go, young fox," the unicorn now danced into a circle then bowed before the fox, asking to be mounted.
The fox-tailed child grinned a toothy grin with much mischief glistening in those yellow eyes. Jingle-bell boots sang as the servant sat upon the magical handy-man's back. One clawed finger pointed to the twisting towers overhead, "Well, those were once of beautiful coral, and the floors were of pearl!"
With twinkling magic dancing from the enchanted horn, the unicorn bucked and the fox's words were made true. Galloping as light as a feather brushing upon the earth, and followed by the fastest horse in the kingdom, and the lord of the wings soaring over head, the unicorn carried the fox through the streets of the village.
"These poor structures were once alive! The village was built of a colorful garden of flowers and fruits!" with the fox's instructions, it was made to be true. The wood of each house became green with life, thatched roofs now leafy ivy dripping forth with floral life and delicious fruits.
The reddening seas at their back, the team raced up the road through the ruined orchard of olives, the raped vineyard of grapes, and the broken pasture where sheep once lived, "These trees once produced the biggest, juiciest olives in the land! This vineyard had grapes so divine that their juice was already wine! And this pasture is missing it's sheep of rainbow colored wool!" It all came to be with a glimmer of magic.
Just in time, as the road ahead sang out with the sound of hooves and feet stomping and clomping, voices singing the memorized tales of the great and magical Lord Volpetail, and laughing about how life never existed before him.
The fox nimbly leapt from unicorn to mare and sat upon the saddle once again, but bowing to the horse's magical lover, "I am in your debt, horned one!"
The white creature danced into the shade of one of those wine-producing grape vines, but looked back to the fox child, "No, I and these lands are in yours. I know full well that these lands were never so miraculous, but without your laughter and determination, they would have remained dull and dead. The land, the sky, and the sea herself owe you and your great and magical Lord Volpetail our greatest thanks for filling up the emptiness with laughter where there was none. Carry this faithful servant back to this great and magical lord for me, honey! I love you!" and the unicorn trotted away.
The fastest horse in the kingdom whinnied happily and turned to face the oncoming humans. Boots went once more from stirrup to saddle as the fox-tailed servant stood, cat at hand, raven on head, to welcome the oncoming kingdom to their new and magical home far far away from where they were before.
