The Horned King

A/n Hi! Welcome to the last book in this series. T^T You don’t HAVE to read the others! The other characters won’t show up much, and if they do, a general description will be given. This is also probably the grittiest book I’ve made as well. Kid gloves are off. In this world, men rule it, and the only way to keep said power, is to be powerful. There will be swearing, violence, blood, and gore. Be warned now that if that isn’t your kind of thing, this one WON’T be tame!

Oh and one last thing… I’m kind of a one man show. All the writing and editing is done by me (Lani), so there are mistakes. I try, I really do, but I felt that was needed to say as well, since I know it turns people off.

Samira

I woke up to a knock on the castle door… I was thankful that no one could see the shameful dream I had… It was the same black haired, hazel eyed man. That handsome black stallion… gods, he was so fit. I was a virgin only because of obligations…. My thoughts were so lewd… I know the maids could smell it, the downside of being supernatural…..

“My lady, you’ve been summoned.” Said a servant bowing deeply…. Already in uniform…. Weird.

The knowing look wasn’t…

“Oh my, who would want me at this hour?” I asked. The alarm clock on my nightstand said it was 6am… The sun was still in the process of rising…

I wondered what they would need me for, but what made me suspicious was how distressed the servants looked. Unlike other castles, our people employed all, even those who can’t shift, the horseless… I figured someone important is either visiting the castle, or about to arrive…

I wonder who it would be?

I put my long white hair in a ponytail. It sparkles as if I put glitter in, but that was about the only thing I inherited from TWO illustriously high noble families…. That and being so pale, many thought I was a snow elf….

I silently wished it was my mate…. Granted if I did have one, I’d have found him at 18, the age I still look… I’m 100 tomorrow. Maybe … just maybe the dreams I’ve been having for 6 months… maybe once I find someone it’ll stop.

I wake up insatiable…. I had to buy a …a Darn vibrator! What’s Worse is that being in the castle… everyone knows too… Nobody outright said anything, but the Unicorn King disapproves that I’m still without a husband.

King Allister, my brother has ordered that I, the last-born princess marry his Third Council Chair, Lord Medas Redmane, the Fiery One…. Likely he was here to collect me…. And I would go even though I don’t want to… I cannot mar my family’s image….

Only ancient, elder blooded royals get titles. That’s something all races have in common…In our world, supernaturals exist, all kinds, however humans are protected so long as they remain ignorant… in 1605 and 7, all the leaders and the Church of the Light agreed to that. Ancient bloods like us are meant to lead our people, and protect this world from the Old Ones….

Ancient blooded lines that didn’t hold kings served them, like Redmane.

Being ‘Fiery’ meant his kicks, bites, and unicorn magic were flaming fire…Being on the Council seat meant that of all the unicorns, non except the king and the Second Seat were stronger than him. Any other mare would do nearly anything to marry that high… but I didn’t want a husband.

Plus, Tamira knows him personally; she told me Redmane had a temper, but that wasn’t why I didn’t want to be with him. I will…. But….I know I won’t be happy.

We are unicorns. He won’t treat me poorly, but that doesn't mean his opinion of me is any good. I heard him refer to his ‘future’ pony wife on the phone with another council member.

He sees me as the highest unicorn insult one could throw….. I may not attend court, but I do have ears.

My twin wouldn’t understand… She married Frostmane, the Second Seat, being a prodigy herself… She welcomed this part of our culture with open arms, yet here I am, wishing for something that doesn’t even happen with my people unless you commit a feat of strength, or save the world…

Even If the mysterious black stallion was real… he wasn’t royal, I’d know. If he’s my mate though, I’d still take a life of eternal poverty with someone who would share half my soul and all his heart… than be rich and eternally forced to love someone else.

Lord Redmane is a pure blood unicorn noble too… The dream man would be no match for a betrothment battle.… Unicorns are actual, literal purity given a flesh form… Redmane’s attitude won’t be as bad as a dragon or anything… Unicorns can’t really cheat either…

Redmane would defeat the non-noble, be faithful, and learn to love me… Despite the fact that I knew he saw me as… well… a pony. He’d never said it to my face, but I have ears…Some of my siblings see me this way as well….

We are immortal; there’s plenty of time to get to know him, and I know he wouldn’t mistreat me sitting at my brother’s left… If anything, he’s probably just a sassy stallion… What I didn’t want was this kind of responsibility.

I dodged it my entire life… but now I had to get ready to meet with whoever it was. I let the servants clean while I picked a cardigan, a pastel yellow, long-sleeved shirt, and a long skirt to match the black cardigan. I slipped on some ballerina slippers, and walked out my castle room.

I was nervous, but I was brave. There are so many old royals of incredibly high standing, and now that our parents retired, I’m sure someone might want to ‘snatch up’ the only single child of Queen Skylia….

I didn’t want to be the wife of a high ranked noble…

I didn’t need it. I just wanted to be free… and mother let me. Mother didn’t mind at all, being the daughter of the First Unicorn…. being a warrior even demon lords feared.

She was…

She was amazing.

When she used a sword, it was like she was dancing… When she shifted, she was a mighty mare the size of a large, 28 hands high agent of the Light…. There was nothing she couldn’t do, and she held no fear even encountering and speaking with other supernaturals.

Every supernatural creature had a King, and my mother was one of the Very few Queens who ruled her people. My father was the Elf King, and they were mates. He was 7 feet tall, the tallest I’d ever seen another supernatural creature; any taller would be a demigod or something….

Father was the First Elf…and could weave magic as well as he could wield his holy sword made of Sun blessed, flaming silver… Father would often scold me that I should take a position in the court before they retired… but I didn’t listen.

He’d also scolded me that since I was so abnormally tiny, that I should marry high to keep my status high… That when they retired to sleep after living so long, and unable to die… that I should do this to take care of myself.

Allister is king... I am no longer the daughter of the Queen… I am no longer a princess, technically... His children are now…. They are the new heirs…. Father was right.

Unicorns weren’t a mean people, but they did ostracize the weak to lower casts…. My brother wouldn’t do that; it was why he thought it best I at least have a suitor.

Now I walked painfully slow.

I didn’t know Lord Redmane well, since unlike my other 7 siblings, I was the weakest… and least social. That was a terrible combination. My twin Tamira was as skilled with a blade as father, and 23 hands high….

Yet I was no stronger than a human in this form, and no bigger than a small mustang shifted, only 10 hands high… I’m the size of a teenager! A little pony; the weakest born to literal warriors…. Being a ‘pony’ is a terrible insult… but what can I do if it really is true?

I brought silent shame to my mother…. They’d never make me feel like that, but… I would never be able to contribute to my parent’s former mission….

My parents were tasked with subduing the Old Ones…. They too were unable to die… and they were grotesque beasts. Some were giant spiders-centipede hybrids… others giant snakes. They battled those beings for thousands of years….. But now they rest since there is finally peace….

Now my brother Nanatori runs the Elves with an iron fist, and Allister is no different…. He rules we unicorns like a general commands his soldiers. They’re taking this responsibility seriously, and according to our eldest brother, the Elf King, I am a slacker. We don’t talk much, since he lives in another country in a different castle, but I know Nanatori would agree with Allister… that I needed to be married off if I wasn’t going to personally be able to contribute…

I made my way to the throne room. An incredibly tall, ebony skinned Old One held a letter…. His scent was like tar… yet my brother sat there almost annoyed….

I couldn’t believe it though…. An Actual Old One… That was not someone I would expect. Long hair with men signified strength, as it only grows the stronger one is… He had black locks that were so long that he had them braided to his hips. The ends of them were a deep crimson; he radiated darkness…. His presence took the light from the room… His serpentine eyes were crimson….

I bowed to be respectful to both my brother and this man… His power could be tasted. Should he be hostel, my brother alone would not be able to best whatever beast he could turn into…