Chapter 2

"Did you get it?" The figure asked as his partner stepped out of the ephemeral portal, that appeared as nothing more than a distortion in the air, such as created with hot temperatures in the summer.

"Yes, I got the Heart of the Forest."

"And the unicorn?"

"It appeared, but I scared it off. It should still be somewhere in there."

"It better be. You know what problems will occur if we allow it to wander out around here."

"As long as you seal the forest properly, now that you're here, we won't need to worry about that."

"Good, Heathcliff will be pleased."

The first figure begins to summon his magic to seal the portal. "Through and through you nothing shall pass aside from those seeking to abandon the past and not find anywhere; until this seal is lifted by one with the key."

"Do you have to make it so dramatic? The second figure asked. "It doesn't need to be so complex."

"It does if I want to leave a path back in there in the event there's something we missed."

"I assure you that the Heart is all we need to open the gate."

"That may be, but we're dealing with records almost a thousand years old. There may be more we're not aware of that is required. This will allow us to reenter and not have to worry about the unicorn leaving as it's forest dies around it."

"Then we better hurry. If the forest does die before we're done and there's anything we still need from there, then it will be lost permanently. If that happens, then Heathcliff won't be happy, to say the least. You know as well as I do what will happen if he's not happy with our results."

"Speak for yourself, you're the one who determined what is needed to open the gate. If there was something you missed, then you will be the one who screwed up Heathcliff's plans to reopen the gate. My only task was to seal the portal after you returned with the Heart. I did what I was assigned to do. Heathcliff will have no reason to be unhappy with me. If you missed anything that stops the gate from being opened, then you will have to answer for that."

The second figure shrugged off the comments, as he started to walk towards the road with the first following. "There was nothing else on the document I found. It made it clear that the only way to open or close any of the gates is with the Heart of the Forest from a Unicorn's forest and that is the only item that can do that without a unicorn opening or closing it themselves, and it was I who figured out that there was a unicorn's forest here in the first place."

The first figure snorted in amusement. "You didn't 'find' it. You stumbled on it without even realizing that it was there until you were in it."

"It doesn't matter how I found it. The fact is that I found it. So we could at least get the Heart we need. Now all that's left is to find out how to use this Heart to open the gate. If nothing else, we'll just have to go to the gate and see if there's any reaction to it."

"You better hope that's all there is to it. For your sake."

_

Even though Charlie hadn't been told that she'd have detention, she avoided where she expected Mr. Samuels would be, given that she didn't want to get seen by him, on the off chance that he'd merely forgotten to give her detention. It didn't happen very often, but when it did, it was generally assumed, by the faculty at least, that detention had been given and the student was trying to get out of it. At least, every time Charlie knew of these circumstances that's what happened, though this was the first time she'd been in this situation. In all, Charlie felt it was best to avoid the only one of the faculty who she really knew about her nap in math class.

So, as she made her way out of the school, she took the entrance she usually didn't use. Not only was it on the opposite side of the school in regards to where she lived, it was also where most after school activities typically occurred. While she'd avoided joining any of these when the school year started, she wasn't sure if any of those groups would try to recruit her; some could be rather... insistent, in addition to how some recruiting never ended. She never really understood how these worked, just that none of them interested her and felt like a waste of her time, regardless of how it would look on her school record. It also wouldn't do to have others notice her there, especially if it was one of the teachers, given that it's well known that teachers didn't like students to plot their own way out of the building, and could get testy, to say the least, if they found a student somewhere that they didn't 'belong.' That if they didn't have any business inside the school, they needed to make their way out as quickly as possible. Besides, Charlie was sure that she'd be able to come up with an excuse, though she'd much rather just go unnoticed here. If she was assumed to be with another group, then she'd be able to get out of there quickly, but she was rarely that lucky.

"Charlie, what are you doing here?" Charlie nearly cringed when she heard the words spoken to her. Not only was she noticed, but she knew exactly whose voice that was. Beth Howard: Mid-length wavy blonde hair, hazel eyes of the same shade as Charlie's, about an inch taller than Charlie's four feet and ten inches, and with skin so clear Charlie could only hope to have. While Beth wasn't anyone Charlie had negative encounters with, she still wasn't someone Charlie held in high regard. Besides, she was friends with Ralph and Tim.

"Heading out of the building. What's it look like?" Charlie replied, not caring if it sounded a little sharp or sarcastic.

"Why this way? Didn't your last class let out on the other side of the building?"

"I have my reasons, I don't need to share them with anyone."

Beth giggled. Charlie felt her hand clench into a fist at that before she could stop it. Beth giggling always seemed to get on her nerves, even though she couldn't really explain why.

"So, if you'll excuse me, I'll just finish leaving school," Charlie said lamely, hoping there wasn't anything else Beth might want to talk about.

"Oh, did you hear about the horse on the football field today?" Beth asked, as Charlie tried to walk by her and failed when Beth took hold of Charlie's arm.

Charlie struggled to free her arm as she answered, "I heard about it, but didn't see it. I didn't go outside during lunch and that's when someone saw it."

To Charlie's dismay Beth's grip on her arm was solid and she started walking in the direction Charlie was heading, so it became more difficult to extract her arm from Beth; not that she didn't stop trying.

"Well, you are going to meet her near the bushes by the football field, right?"

Charlie was speechless. There should be no possible way that Beth should know about that. However, Charlie knew better than to admit to it, at least to Beth, especially when they were where plenty of other people could hear. While Charlie didn't know Beth as well as Mr. Samuels, she did know enough about her to know that she was one of the top gossips in the school. She tended to know things that were happening before most and would share that knowledge, regardless of who it impacted. So, more so than with Mr. Samuels, now was the best time to play dumb.

"What are you talking about?" She asked after a moment when she found her voice, certain that Beth wasn't going to accept that response. After all, if she did know about Charlie's appointed rendezvous with the 'voice,' then she wasn't going to let Charlie out of this so easily. "And how do you know the horse is a 'her?'"

"Don't even start," Beth replied cheerfully, which actually sounded genuine to Charlie's surprise. "Ralph told me everything. He doesn't know more than you, but we know what you agreed to do. Plus, someone there said that the horse was a mare."

Charlie was about to add another protest when Beth added a statement that stopped her. "And I'm coming with you." Even if Charlie managed to convince Beth that she didn't have any idea of what Beth was talking about, there wasn't anything Charlie would be able to do to stop Beth from accompanying her to where she was going to meet the 'voice.' Plus, there wasn't any way that Charlie was going to not show up where she'd agreed to meet with the 'voice' given that she'd promised to show up, and unless there was something that occurred that was completely out of her control that would prevent her from showing up, she'd show up, even if word got around school of her hearing voices in her head.

"If you're going to accompany me regardless of what I say, then could you at least let me have my arm back?" Charlie asked. If she couldn't get rid of Beth, she could at least get it so she wasn't in actual physical contact.

"Sure," she replied, letting go of Charlie's arm. "Don't want Alex getting jealous, right?"

"What are you talking about this time?" Charlie asked, confused.

Beth looked at Charlie carefully as they neared the exit to the school. "You really don't know, do you?" She mused.

Charlie shook her head. "Never mind, I really don't need to know." Charlie only knew of three people at least called 'Alex' and all were in the school. One was the quarterback for the football team, one was known for being a 'teacher's pet' for Mr. Samuels, and the other was one of the cheerleaders who sat at the lunch table with Charlie. Maybe there were more, but it wasn't anything that Charlie cared about.

"So you say," Beth replied, with a knowing smile. Charlie wasn't a violent or confrontational person, but right at that moment she wanted to hit Beth just to wipe that smile off of her face. It wasn't a strong urge, but she certainly felt it. She ignored it, knowing that Beth likely wanted Charlie to react like that. For what reason, Charlie didn't know, but was confident that there was one.

Charlie closed her eyes as they left the building. Normally she didn't have to, but the angle of the sun as it set against the foothills of the town was right in her eyes as they opened the doors, and Charlie always found that her eyes adjusted faster to the bright light when she closed them for a short period. Charlie then let Beth move ahead before she turned to the left. Beth continued walking the direction she had for a moment before she realized Charlie wasn't with her anymore. Charlie might have tried to hide from Beth's eventual search, but there wasn't a point to it, given that there weren't any hiding places nearby that would allow Charlie to potentially give Beth the slip in the first place and that she probably really knew exactly where Charlie was heading anyway.

"Don't think you're going to get away from me that easily," Beth informed Charlie as she quickly caught up to her.

"I'd be shocked if it was that easy," Charlie admitted, not caring about Beth's offended expression.

"But, isn't the football field that way?" Beth asked, pointing to the direction she had been going.

"Yeah, but that's also the way to go where everyone would see us. This may take a little longer, but it'll also be easier to not be seen."

"How often have you come this way?" Beth asked.

Charlie glanced at Beth, half expecting her to be taking notes for a story or some such for the school newspaper. However, all Charlie could see was Beth walking next to her, not overtly taking notes at the very least. "Not that often really, just when it's the better route, rare as that is. Usually I also walk around the entire school."

"Why take this route then?"

"You heard about my nap in math class with Mr. Samuels, right?" Beth nodded. "Well, he didn't tell me I had detention, but I'm not willing to risk that being an oversight, so I thought I'd go this way just in case."

Beth laughed. "Yeah, Mr. Samuels can be unpredictable sometimes, and I can see him doing just that. Though I don't think he does it intentionally, just he doesn't always plan out what consequences to give until he has time to think about it by himself."

Charlie nodded. "Wouldn't surprise me at all. I sometimes wonder if he comes up with his lesson plan during class rather than ahead of time."

Beth laughed. "I could see him doing that too. Sometimes when he's presenting the lesson, he'll stop and have to make corrections."

"I remember at the start of the year when he did that, some of the others in the class laughed and he singled them out for about a month after that."

"He definitely doesn't like to be embarrassed."

"What do you think will happen if he did want me in detention and I don't show up today, but still show up in class tomorrow."

"There's nothing he can do. Did he give you a detention slip?" Charlie shook her head. "Was there anyone else around to verify that he did or didn't give you detention?" Charlie shook her head again. "Then you should be fine. He won't have anyone to corroborate any accusation like that and I know for a fact the principal doesn't care about 'missed detention' if there's nothing to corroborate the alleged detention requirement."

Charlie looked at Beth as they reached the corner of the school building and turned away, starting along a path often used by students after leaving the school, who didn't bother with the main road on the other side of the building. Charlie hoped no one noticed her going this way with Beth. It wasn't about her worried about rumors being spread, but rather didn't want to be considered connected in any way to Beth. Charlie also wouldn't like it if she became thought of as a gossip like Beth. While it might not affect her that much, other gossips might start talking to her during passing periods, thinking that she would be interested in the latest gossip or rumors. It would likely end the peace and quiet she enjoyed being merely another student, not anyone worth any note. At least as far as most of her fellow students were concerned.

"What's the horse like?" Beth asked as they started along the path, walking side by side.

Charlie sighed. "As I told you, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Come on, we both know you were talking with the horse."

"I never left the cafeteria during lunch, so I can't think of how I could have talked to the horse when it was on the football field," Charlie replied, happy Beth gave her that bit of wiggle room.

Beth glared at Charlie. "You know what I mean. Ralph explained that it was like you could hear each other's thoughts, so you didn't have to have gone out to the football field."

Charlie stopped walking, forcing Beth to stop as well; after she took her a couple steps before she realized Charlie had stopped and turned to face her.

"Unless you can prove that, I will deny it and nothing you do can make me admit it, especially when what you're saying sounds like something that would get me a reservation at the funny farm." Charlie didn't consider this outburst her losing her temper. She'd merely lost her patience with Beth, though admittedly she never had much for her to begin with.

"If you can communicate telepathically, then that wouldn't get you sent to the funny farm."

"And how many people at the funny farm tell others that they can do just that?"

It was clear to Charlie that Beth didn't have a response to that, so she continued walking down the path, stepping around Beth as she did so. Beth sullenly started following Charlie this time.

Charlie felt a little bad at that, but she was comforted that she at least had some peace and quiet, aside from the usual after-school sounds as well as the sounds that normally come from an afternoon in the foothills. These were the sounds she'd been looking forward to listening to through the school day. These sounds always helped her feel calm and relaxed, regardless of what had occurred through her day. What typically prevented her from enjoying those sounds usually was Beth and her friends going to Tim's house and talking all the way. Though, most of the time they weren't that close to her, but occasionally they were.

Which actually brought to mind something that Charlie had been wondering about for quite a while. As even when she'd leave school late because of detention or needing to remain to work on something in one of her classes that she couldn't do at home, Tim and his friends would almost always be going to Tim's at the same time Charlie would be heading home. She'd never been able to figure out why, and here was a perfect opportunity to ask one of Tim's friends about that. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything else to do, and it also might get Beth from looking so sullen, just because Charlie wasn't interested in the line of conversation that Beth had been on. So, against her better judgement, Charlie initiated a new phase of their conversation.

"By the way, I've been wondering why you and your friends always seem to be going to Tim's at the same time I'm going home," Charlie asked, not looking at Beth, unsure of how she'd react to her question.

"Oh, it's simple. We make sure you're not going home alone."

"You mean you guys are always following me?"

"Not like that," Beth replied, waving a hand in front of her face. "Have you ever seen the anime 'Erased?'"

As taken aback by Beth's candor as she was, Charlie didn't even have to think about that. "No."

Beth nodded, like she expected that. "I won't go into the details of what it's about, in case you get interested in watching it, but the short part of it is that if someone is seen as always by themselves, then they could become a target for people who might want to prey on them."

"So, you're saying that you think that I'd be a possible kidnapped victim or something if it's thought that I'm by myself all the time?" Charlie asked dryly.

"The problem with your statement is that it assumes that someone who might want to do something to you, like kidnap you, might be someone that everyone in the community trusts. Like in Erased, the bad guy was someone even the hero trusted and didn't suspect. Although, in the foothills, it might not even be a human that's singling you out. Could be something like a mountain lion."

Charlie digested that thought for a moment before responding, not mentioning any of the logical problems she could think of about Beth's statement, like if it was a mountain lion that attacked Charlie, what could Beth and her friends do at that point? "So, you and your friends decided to follow me around like the hero in that anime?"

Beth laughed. "No, in the anime he found ways to befriend the people that were the bad guy's target. We didn't try to make friends with you because it's well known that you don't have friends. No one knows why, it's just known that it's the case."

Charlie nodded. At least she knew that her putting everyone at arms length was working, but at the same time it made her feel a little lonely because of that. She couldn't place her finger on why, but it felt like she was getting in her own way because of that single fact. Though she couldn't figure out how exactly.

Which thought she brushed away about as soon as it came to mind. There were other things that were more immediate in concern to her at the moment.

"So, you just decided to do something completely not creepy in a rather creepy way, right?"

Beth laughed again. "I guess you could put it that way. None of us thought of that. I can't remember whose idea it was to do that, but no one objected."

"So, I take it all of your group has watched that show?"

"It's not a show, it's an anime, and no, not all of us," Beth replied, rather defensively Charlie thought.

Sor-ry, Charlie thought to herself, not sure what nerve she touched there. Charlie was about to ask more, when she noticed the football field through the trees in the distance. Charlie stepped up her pace a little and she could hear Beth doing the same in response.

–It's about time,– Charlie heard the voice say in her mind sullenly.

I got here as soon as I could, Charlie thought at the voice. I didn't forget you.

–But Ralph was able to get here faster.–

Charlie sighed. She could tell that this was likely to be as big of a headache as dealing with others had always been for her, including her family.

Ralph has different classes than I do and might have been closer for his last class than I was, she thought at the voice.

As Charlie neared where she knew the meeting place was, she saw Ralph first, the same Ralph as she expected. Ralph Ward. He had black hair, dark-brown eyes, a little heavy-set, and a tan that made it look like he either was just at the beach or took time to sunbathe, unless he used an artificial tanning solution. Then what she saw next she wasn't prepared for.

At first glance she was looking at a solid white horse with a silver mane and tail, but there was almost a phantom horn growing out of the center of the horse's forehead. The horn was also solid white, but had iridescent colors on it and the locations of those changed as the angle from the light and Charlie changed in relation to the horn. At one moment it wasn't there, but then the next it was. Charlie couldn't be sure if it was real or if she was imagining it, however, it was clear that Ralph and Beth couldn't see it. Charlie couldn't be sure if it was a horse or unicorn.

"So, is everyone here then?"

Charlie jumped as Tim Cooper walked from behind the creature, followed by Wes Masters, Hannah McKenzie, and Amelia Adams. Tim had green eyes, almost matching hair color as Charlie's honey-brown, and was around five foot five. She didn't see them from behind the animal, but still wasn't happy that she'd been so caught off guard.

"Now that you're here," Tim said before Charlie could say anything, "we can get started to where the forest is."

"What forest?" Charlie asked, again caught off guard, much to her annoyance.

"The horse's forest," Ralph replied.

"Yeah, that tells me what forest you're talking about," Charlie retorted.

–The forest is my home.– The voice said in Charlie's mind.

"Ok, fine, we'll go to the forest home," Charlie replied impatiently. Clearly if no one was going to fill her in before they moved out, there wasn't any reason for her to be patient with them either.

Tim, Hannah, Amelia, Ralph, Wes, and Beth gave Charlie a surprised look, much to her satisfaction. "How'd you know the forest was a home?" Beth asked, looking a little uneasy to Charlie.

Charlie walked over to the 'voice's' physical form and patted her neck. "She told me." The denials she made to Beth of being able to hear the horse came to mind and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt at doing such a reversal on that at this point, but easily shrugged it off.

"I told them she said you could hear her," Ralph said, looking annoyingly smug to Charlie.

"Doesn't matter," Charlie said her impatience showing again, just wanting this to be over for ever increasing reasons. "Let's just go."

–This way,– the voice said, starting to move towards the road that passes by the school, but not towards the way by the school. She started moving towards where it starts going up the biggest hill in the town, clearly eager to get moving.

Charlie places her hand on the horse's shoulder, as she moves with it. How far is it? Charlie thought at the voice.

–It's not far. Though I'm not sure if there's a better route to take than this one. It's just the path I took to get here,– came the reply.

Charlie thought about that for a minute. 'Not far' wasn't really very descriptive in her opinion, given that Charlie's idea of 'not far' could be different from the voice's, especially with the 'voice' having the body of a horse. She started to consider what environment the forest would be in. Especially when they were essentially in a forest already, though of mountain trees rather than the trees that she glimpsed in the voice's mind.

"So, are you sharing secrets with the horse?" Beth asked, causing Charlie to jump, not having noticed Beth come up on her.

After a moment of trying to get her heart to calm down and catching her breath, she asked her own question, "When did you come up on me?"

"I came up as we started to leave, but that's not an answer to my question." Charlie tried to ignore her, but Beth merely confiscated Charlie's arm. "I'm not letting you go until you give me an answer."

"You better answer her, Charlie," Wes called out from the other side of the horse. "She's like a dog with a bone. She won't let it go until she's done with it." Wes had grey eyes, light brown hair, and was the tallest of the group, at around five foot seven, and all indications that he was still growing.

Charlie wished she could just disappear right now, both visually and physically. She'd never much cared for being around others, let alone groups like this, and she didn't know how to handle it either. Maybe if she was more confrontational she would attack the others and get away, but at the same time, she'd given her word to the voice that she'd help, and unlike many she'd known and seen around, she actually cared about keeping her word. She just had to endure this until they helped the voice out and she could just let this whole thing blow over and get back to how her life had been before today.

"Well?" Beth prodded, her hands clasping Charlie's hand, while still maintaining control of her arm.

Charlie sighed. "I'm not sharing secrets with the voice. I'm thinking about how far the forest might be. The voice said that-"

"Petals," Ralph interrupted.

"What?" Charlie asked, confused.

"Her name is Petals."

"Is that her name or just what you decided to call her?"

"That's the name Petals chose while she waited for us to be done with school."

Charlie shook her head, wanting to be done with this more than ever now. "Anyway, Petals told me that it's not far, but that doesn't mean we'd think the same."

"Like the word soon!" Amelia cried, laughing. "If I tell you I'll be over soon, you might think I mean five minutes, but I might have in mind something like fifteen." Amelia was a slight girl, she always seemed to have a 'skin and bones' look, despite how much even Charlie had seen her eat on occasion, she had dirty blond hair, she stood at 5 foot seven, and her eyes were the blue-grey of a darkening sky before a rainstorm.

Charlie thought about it a moment before replying. "Yeah, I guess something like that. I just want to be done with this."

"I know what you mean," Ralph commented. "It's tough being forced out of your home. After all, that's where you're supposed to feel safe, but when someone makes you feel unsafe to be in your home, that's not a fun place to be."

Charlie was stunned, despite herself. The way Ralph talked, it sounded like he'd had more experience with that subject than she would have thought. Not that it made her feel more comfortable around these other people. It brought to mind that the same could possibly happen to her, which wasn't a very pleasant thought. Though, aside from that, she also had meant being done with dealing with others with the problem of helping Petals. If it was just her and Petals, then she would have been fine with it. She didn't mind animals so much as she did people. Which brought to mind a different problem.

"Could I get my arm back now?" Charlie asked Beth.

"Don't worry, Alex won't find out anything from any of us," Beth replied, wrapping her other arm around Charlie's arm and hugging it tightly.

"What are you talking about?" Charlie asked, starting to lose her temper and trying to extricate her arm from Beth's embrace, without much luck. Aside from that, Beth still was in essence holding Charlie's hand, and she couldn't get even her hand out of Beth's grip. Even, more aggravating was the fact that Beth didn't even seem to notice Charlie's efforts.

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," Beth replied, releasing Charlie's arm as she then put her right arm over Charlie's shoulders, which Charlie was able to shrug off her much more easily.

–It must be nice to have others you enjoy being around.– Petals commented, the smile in her mental voice clear to Charlie.

I don't enjoy being around others, Charlie replied, not caring to listen to the conversation that was continuing around her.

–Why? I've been by myself for as long as I can remember because I didn't know that there were others at all and seeing all of you makes me want to stay, even though I know I might not be able to,– Petals answered.

I've just never been comfortable in social situations. When I was younger I always felt out of place when I was around others, then eventually everyone else started to leave me alone and I was fine with that. It never bothered me to be left by myself. It also felt easier to deal with others with things that way.

–I see,– Petals replied, sounding a little sad to Charlie. –I just wish that I at least had a friend in my forest now. Before my forest was hurt, I was by myself and I didn't know that there was another being out there. I didn't mind, but that's because I didn't know what it was like to be around another creature.–

What if you allowed some animals, like birds or squirrels in? Charlie asked.

–What are those?–

They're small animals that I see from time to time.

–I'll think about it,– Petals replied after a moment of silence.

"Come on, Charlie!" Ralph cried out, startling her. "You're missing the fun!"

Charlie looked to behind Petals to see Ralph, Tim, Wes, Amelia, and Beth throwing around a nerf football. Hannah stayed off to the side, clearly not interested in the 'fun.'

"Hannah doesn't seem to be interested in your 'fun.'" Charlie replied. Hannah stood at about five foot two, had black hair and blue eyes that almost seemed to Charlie to be full of electricity.

"That's because last year my fingers got stubbed. Then because of that my piano teacher went ballistic. She went on about how that I was lucky my fingers weren't permanently damaged. So, I stay out of it so I don't have to get another earful," Hannah answered.

"Well, I'll pass, all the same. I'm not that interested," Charlie said, turning away from them and facing the direction they were heading in.

–You might regret that later,– Petals commented to Charlie.

Maybe, but I'm fine with that, Charlie thought at Petals.

_

Charlie was dumbfounded. Not only were they by her house, but it was almost on the property line between her family's property and Tim's property and Petals informed them that this was the place she could enter her forest. Looking at the others Charlie could tell they were as confused as she was at the location the forest was supposed to be in.

Now, there was considerable growth in the area, bushes kept most from being able to look in on this place from the outside, but that hardly counted as a forest. Charlie could even see where the garden she kept was, which made her wonder if there was something else that connected her to Petals, given she hadn't had everything explained about the horse to her, and aside from being able to communicate with Petals, there wasn't much else she'd been able to determine for certain.

"You're sure it's around here?" Charlie both asked aloud and thought at Petals.

–Yes, it's around here, but now I can't tell where it is. It's like it closed, or the passage to it closed.– Petals took a deep breath, and Charlie could tell that Petals was getting close to being in a panic over the situation. –When I left I could feel it there, even when I'd been gone for a little. Though the farther I got, the fainter the sense became. So, I don't understand why I can't feel it now.–

"Well, maybe you can't feel it because whoever attacked your forest left," Ralph replied, exploring the area with an almost childlike enthusiasm.

"If it's here, maybe we should make a grid to-" Beth started to say when she suddenly backed up while meandering around, as if she had bumped into something, despite nothing but air in front of her. Her hand went to her nose, as if it had taken the brunt of the blow, despite no clear indication of anything having happened to her nose. "I think I found something."

Petals moved over to where Beth was quickly. –Yes, I think this is it!– Petals was clearly excited, and after a moment of looking at Ralph, who showed no signs of passing along anything Petals said, Charlie relayed Petal's excitement about the discovery. Petals tried to step forward herself, but stopped mid-step. –I don't understand. I can feel the passage to my forest, but I can't enter.–

Charlie walked over to Petals and started walking through the area that both Beth and Petals indicated, learning that only through the direction that both Beth and Petals used would there be some sort of soft wall that kept her from continuing forward. However, even an inch to either side would allow Charlie to pass by it without any indication that it was there.

"Is there anything you can think of that would cause this to happen?" Charlie asked and thought at Petals.

–No, I wasn't even aware of this world or the passage to this world until my forest was attacked.– Petals lowered her head. –I've never been here before so I can't say whether this should be expected or not.–

Charlie relayed what Petals said again, as Ralph continued to show no signs of doing so himself.

"I'm going to assume that this isn't what you should have expected, Petals," Beth replied.

"Yeah," Hannah chimed in. "Until we know for sure, we should treat it like something was done here that keeps Petals from returning to her forest."

–None of you want to join me in my forest?– Petals asked, and it sounded like she was rather alarmed at the thought.

"It's not like that," Wes assured Petals. "We aren't sure if there's anything special we would need, but you should be able to return without a problem. As none of us have heard anything like this before, so it might be that we would have needed to do something special to enter."

Petals thought about that for a moment, but before she could finish, Tim brought up a matter Charlie had completely forgotten about. "We'll think about that and meet up here later. Right now each of us should probably start heading home. It's already later than we usually spend together after school."

Charlie looked at the sun, startled. It was already getting close to the horizon. She didn't realize that it was so late. She'd usually return home by this time, even on the rare occurrences when she'd get detention. Though the route Petals took to get them here was a little meandering, Charlie thought to herself, noting that a chunk of that time probably came from that point.

"Should we meet back up tomorrow or Saturday to continue looking into this?" Beth asked.

Charlie would rather just consider the matter settled, that there wasn't anything they could do about it, but couldn't think of how to make that argument. "I'll let you guys know if I can make it tomorrow, if I show up here. If not, then I'll be here Saturday." She couldn't think of a reason she'd be able to give of why she wouldn't show up, but determined it would be easier to get away with not showing up if she didn't actually have to come up with a reason.

"Well, I'll be here tomorrow," Ralph declared. "I'll see if there's anything that can be done, as I'm sure something was done to whatever it is that connects Petal's forest with our world. There just has to be some way that Petals can get home."

"Well, I'm in," Amelia stated, moving over to stand next to Ralph. As if that's supposed to mean anything, Charlie thought but didn't say.

"I can help on Saturday, but not tomorrow. I have piano lessons then," Hannah said.

"I guess I can help," Tim said,

"I'm in too," Wes said, grinning like he'd done something impressive.

"I'll see if I can get out here tomorrow, but there's a meeting at the student newspaper. I don't know how long it'll take, but I'll try to get here," Beth said, starting to walk away, which seemed to prompt everyone else to start walking away, each in the fastest direction to where they lived.

Charlie waited until everyone was gone before she walked back to Petals, placing her hand on her shoulder. "Even if I don't show up, I won't forget you and your problem," Charlie said to Petals softly, still thinking at the horse at the same time.

–Thank you. That makes me feel better, but do you know where I could stay until then? I don't want the Animal Control to take me away.–

"You should be fine here. No one in my family comes over here and I'm sure no one will be able to see you in here. I just hope you'll be comfortable here."

–I'm sure I will be as comfortable as I can be here.–

Charlie looked at Petals, worried about her, but unable to think of anything else to say or do. Eventually she had to look away and start walking towards her home.

If she thought that her troubles would be over for the day, that notion was dispelled when she entered the house and her younger sister, Cherie, saw her from the living room. Cherie had honey-blonde hair, bluish-green eyes, and was the same height as Charlie, which neither could understand, given Charlie was an inch or two shorter when she was that age.

"Would you tell your friends to stop asking me about you?" she demanded while pausing the show or video she was watching, leaving Charlie confused as to what she was talking about. "I know you're not as smart as I am and not that interesting, but I don't like getting bothered with my friends having others coming up to ask questions about you."

"I really don't know what you're talking about," Charlie replied, not sure what else to say and starting to feel like a broken record, she really didn't know what Cherie was talking about.

"Who else would want to know what I think about you? I almost got in trouble with Mrs. Willows when a note was passed to me. I almost had that note read to the entire class and I really don't want that headache again!" Cherie's voice was rising in volume the more she said, until she was yelling at Charlie. "It was bad enough when others would regularly ask me questions about you while I was at my locker during passing periods."

Good thing mom and dad aren't here, she thought to herself. "I really don't know what you're talking about," Charlie replied, not sure what else to say. Though, maybe Alex might be behind it," she added, suddenly remembering what Beth said earlier.

"Who's Alex?" Cherie retorted, clearly not accepting her answer.

"Not sure. Just someone Beth mentioned to me, hinting that they might be interested in me."

Cherie laughed. "Now that would make you interesting. I've had more boyfriends than you've had friends, period." Cherie paused a moment before continuing. "Who's Beth?"

"Tim's friend."

"Oh. Yeah. Her."

Charlie wasn't sure if that meant Cherie didn't care for Beth or if she was just put out by whatever happened to her at school that day, though her tone said that it might be more about Beth. Or maybe it was that she was Tim's friend, whom neither of them were happy that he was a distant cousin of theirs, especially with how he was also their neighbor.

Charlie was about to go upstairs, not caring to try and see if there was anything else that Cherie wanted to talk about, but stopped when Cherie called out to her again.

"If you don't put a stop to it, I'll tell mom and dad."

"I really have nothing to do with what's happening to you. I don't know anything about that." Charlie started to continue on her way upstairs when she thought of something else to say. "If it was me who was behind it, why would the questions be about what you know about me? You should know that I'm not self-absorbed," she added, leaning over the banister.

She waited a moment waiting to see if Cherie had anything else to say, but when there wasn't anything else and could hear the TV resuming whatever show Cherie was watching, she finished making her way upstairs and headed straight to her room.

Once in there, she dropped her backpack next to her bed and hopped on her bed, laying face down on the bed, imagining the stress that occurred through the day to just seep out of her, the dark of her pillow letting it seem like there was nothing aside from her. Where there wasn't a horse with a phantom horn waiting in the bushes near her garden. Where she hadn't agreed to meet up with Beth and her friends on one of her most personal days of the week: Saturday.

When Charlie realized what she'd thought, she lifted her head from her pillow. When did she start thinking of the other's as 'Beth's friends' instead of 'Tim's friends?' As far as she could remember she'd always thought about them in regards to their relationship to Tim, not Beth.

Charlie dropped back on her bed, rolling so she was on her back, staring at the ceiling. Was that significant? She wondered, as she let the white ceiling pull her upwards towards it, the same way she had allowed the darkness to envelop her a moment ago, continuing to let the stress continue to seep from her in her mind.

Normally she'd be able to let her mind go blank and take a short nap, but today thoughts just kept crowding in her mind, each demanding her attention over the others.

Finally, Charlie got up from her bed and walked over to the window in her room, which not only provided a clear view of the family garden, which was close to hers, but not fully, but also the bushes Petals was being hidden in.

Can you hear me? Charlie thought at Petals, not sure why she was doing this.

–Yes, did you think of something that can help me get home?– Petals asked, her anxiety coming through just as clear.

Sorry, I haven't thought of anything yet. I was just wondering if there was anything you might need right now.

–No, there's only one thing I really need right now and you know what that is.–

I understand, Charlie thought and was about to turn away from her window when another thought came to her mind. Is there really a horn on your head?

–Of course,– the thought came, sounding as if it should be obvious to her. –It's always been there, why wouldn't it be?–

It's just… Charlie's thought trailed off, not sure how to put this. It's just that we don't have anything like you around. We have horses and ponies, but they don't have a horn anywhere on their heads. Of course, they can't communicate like this with us, but I wasn't sure what to make of the horn.

–No one else said anything about it,– Petals replied. –Everyone didn't even take a second look at it.–

Yeah, I'm not sure anyone else saw it. I only saw it flicker into existence and out while I looked at it. I wasn't sure what to make of it.

–Don't all unicorns have a horn like mine?–

There're other unicorns? Charlie thought, her eyes widening with surprise.

When she was a little girl, she'd always play as if there were unicorns just out of sight in the foothills around her home, but of course, that was the imagination of a child, not reality. So, having a unicorn in the flesh around her was another kind of exhilarating, which she couldn't help get a little giddy at the idea.

–Of course there is. If there's more of your kind, why wouldn't there be more unicorns somewhere?–

Of course, Charlie thought dryly to herself. Why wouldn't there be? To Petals she thought, In this world unicorns are considered a fantasy, something that was believed long ago, but not real. It's accepted that they were magical creatures, but even magic is either considered not real or a trick of the eye; something that can be explained logically and doesn't defy the laws of physics.

–How would you explain my existence or my home?– Petals thought, a little too smugly for Charlie's liking.

I'm not sure I can, but I know that wouldn't stop a lot of the adults I know. Some have a hard time believing what doesn't fit what they've already decided the truth is.

–I'm not sure I understand,– Petals replied after thinking about what Charlie said for a minute.

I'm not sure I do, either, Charlie thought back. That's just how it seems to me, with the experiences I've had with adults.

–I'll think about this, but I'll need to think about it by myself. If you can think of something I can try to get home, then would you let me know right away, but otherwise let me have time to think.–

Alright, Charlie thought to Petals. I understand needing time by yourself. I'll be here if you need someone to talk to.

Charlie waited a minute for a reply, but when Petals didn't say anything she turned away from her window and walked over to her backpack and pulled out her homework. Afterwards she walked to her desk and settled down to try and mull her way through her math homework first.

She'd barely finished her math work, most of it she was certain was wrong, when she heard the front door open and close. Which meant her father or mother had returned from work. She looked back at her homework in front of her. Main reason she didn't think she'd done very well on it was because she just wasn't able to bring her usual amount of concentration on it. At least with everything that had happened that day.

Sighing she put her math homework back in her backpack and got up to head downstairs. If she hadn't done very well, she'd find out soon enough after she got it back from Mr. Samuels.

_

"What I need from both of you is to come straight home after school tomorrow. We're going to a dinner with a potential client and I need both of you to look your best."

Charlie stared at her father, her fork stopped just above spearing a tomato in her salad. She hadn't heard anything about this before and a quick glance at Cherie said she hadn't either. Their father ran a security firm and while it wasn't a large one that could attract anything like military contracts, it wasn't a small one either.

"What do you mean 'look you best,' dad?" Cherie asked, her eyes lightening up, which opened up a hole for Charlie's stomach to drop into. While both were sisters only a couple years apart, they could hardly be more different. Cherie was social, constant honor roll student, popular, active in a few school clubs, and favored of her teachers from what Charlie could tell from listening to her parents. While Charlie tended to be more of a loner, apart from all her classmates when possible, and in trouble much more often than Cherie. Plus, Cherie loved fancy dresses, and while Charlie didn't mind dresses, she preferred softer fabric than Cherie or their mother preferred, and their mother tended to have the ultimate say on whether or not to get them any particular dress or other piece of clothing.

"You'll need to wear your best dresses and have cleaned off any dirt or sweat before your mother or I get home," he continued. "Do not take up so much time Charlie can't get her shower done before we get home." Their father looked pointedly at Cherie.

"Why are you singling me out?" she protested, clearly offended by being singled out.

"It's because we know that you tend to take your time and sometimes you'll take an hour or more in the bathroom," their mother said gently.

Cherie still wasn't happy about it, but couldn't come up with a response to their mother's gentle remark.

"Now, this will take the entire evening and we'll need both of you on your best behavior. This dinner will take place at Heathcliff Roberts' home where he and I will discuss the possibility of my firm being contracted with the security of a new digging site his firm is looking into." Charlie was liking this less and less. Whenever they did these dinners she tended to be left to her own devices, conversation-wise, and she usually got bored. She once tried brining her homework with her, so she'd at least have something to do, but the idea was shot down before she'd even gotten out the door, let alone in the car.

"And Charlie," her mother said, causing Charlie's head to jerk up as she realized she'd stopped listening to them and the conversation had continued and she didn't know where it was at the moment, "while we usually leave you alone and don't include you, your father and I think it would be helpful to your father if you would express an interest in learning about what his business does. Not only do we think it would help your father's chances, but we think if you got a summer internship there, that might help your academic pursuits after you're done with high school."

It took Charlie a moment to come up with a response, while her parents waited expectantly and her sister looked at her, a entertained gleam in her eyes. "Would me getting an internship be legal at this time? I mean, I'm just barely in high school, I thought internships were for people in college and stuff."

"If calling it an internship is a problem for it, consider calling it volunteering. After all, only until recently most internships were unpaid, which made them essentially volunteers. In turn that can be what you can phrase it as, as most things in the business world and any job you might try to get when you get older comes down to how you phrase things. A single word can sometimes change the entire meaning of a sentence," her father advised, not making Charlie any happier with the whole situation.

"I'll try to come up with a phrasing to say," Charlie replied defensively, wondering what way she should phrase it so it sounds to her parents that she really tried but still didn't get Heathcliff to say 'yes' to the proposal of her 'volunteering' at his business during the summer.

"That's all we can ask," her father said, letting everyone know he was done with that topic. "Also, the surveyor's office called and said that they finished what they needed to verify on our property, but there still is a small possibility that they'll be back again if something doesn't want to work in their systems."

"Wish they could get it fixed and let us in peace," Charlie's mother replied in between bites of the salad.

"Mom, don't you have to work at the hospital, tomorrow evening?" Charlie suddenly asked, remembering her mother's shift schedule. Her mother worked in the hospital and typically couldn't shift her schedule around very easily once it was given.

She merely gave Charlie a knowing smile, which Charlie took to mean she knew what Charlie was attempting. "I already got one of the other doctors to cover my shift. I'll be working a double shift next week, so don't worry dear," she said. "We'll be able to make the dinner tomorrow."

Charlie didn't say anything else for the rest of dinner, after that. She also couldn't find in herself to enjoy the grilled chicken in the salad or the ranch dressing, which had always been her favorite parts of this salad in the past.