“We didn’t get funky,” Ryan muttered.
“Step three: defeat Myrin using dragons and smiting all our enemies and regaining all that we have lost… somehow. That’s the one that’s a work in progress, in case you couldn’t tell. And finally, step four: live happily ever after. And also find Justin a boyfriend.” I squinted at him. “Unless you already found a boyfriend? Because if you did, that kind of ruins my whole plan, and so we should just go with whatever you wanted to do. I’m totally okay with that. I’m so happy for you.”
Justin banged his head on the table.
“So no boyfriend, then. Huh. Well, I can get right on that part if we want to reconvene in, say, a week or so—”
“You spent,” Justin said, glaring at me, “all that time in the woods, and you don’t have a plan?”
“Hey! I told you. I was learning how to wizard.”
“Why can’t you just storm the castle using those things?” Lady Tina asked. “Isn’t that what you got them for? I mean, what else is a dragon for?”
Kevin snarled at her, teeth sharp and glinting as I said, “Those things have names. And we can’t just storm Castle Lockes. Not without knowing what we’re facing. I don’t want to risk them only to find out we’re outmatched. I don’t know what’s happened to Myrin since he….” I sighed. “Since he consumed Morgan’s magic. I don’t know how strong he is. I can’t risk them like that. It’s not fair to them. Because while they may be dragons, they’re still my friends. Most of them. Okay, all except one, but only because he’s an asshole and thinks he’s better than everyone, which, to be fair, he is older than literal dirt, so….” No one looked very reassured. I had to try to make it better. “Look, I always come up with a plan, right. And they’re always—”
Gary coughed.
“Okay, fine. And they’re usually—”
Tiggy sneezed.
“Oh my gods. And they’re sometimes… anyone else? No one? Great. They’re sometimes good and we end up coming out on top. I don’t see why now should be any different.”
“That may be true,” Justin said, “but the stakes are so much higher than we’ve ever faced before. This isn’t about one of us getting captured and the others riding in to the rescue. This is about the freedom of the people of Verania. The City of Lockes has been turned into the country’s largest prison. Our people are trapped.”
“I know, but—”
“No,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “You don’t know. You haven’t been here. You haven’t seen the things we have. The treatment of the citizens I am supposed to have protected. You think it’s a little rough here? He has enslaved our people. This is bigger than anything you’ve seen.”
A chill ran down my spine. “I’m sorry.”
Ryan took my hand as Justin shook his head. “I don’t want you to apologize. I want you to figure it out. Okay?”
I nodded and silently promised my best friend 5eva that I would do just that.
“Good.” He looked at the others in the room. “Now, we have two things to focus on which take precedence over anything else: rescuing the King and finding Gary’s horn.”
“Why is the horn a focus?” Vadoma asked, sounding disgruntled. “Shouldn’t our priorities be directed elsewhere?”
“Sam.”
“Yes, Gary.”
“I have a strong dislike for your grandma.”
“Noted. I support your right to have such feelings and agree with them completely.”
“Tiggy too,” Tiggy said, glaring at Vadoma.
“A unicorn is a being of pure magic,” Mom said. “They’re incapable of corruption. Right?”
Terry snorted. “Well, we used to be.”
“Terry,” Dad scolded. “Don’t be mean. And Gary, stop getting glitter everywhere. Aren’t you two in your seventies now? You’re no longer children. It’s time you started acting like it.”
“But he started it—”
“Gary.”
“Ridiculous,” Terry muttered. “Ryan should come stand by me and comfort me.”
“The horn is the focus,” Justin growled, “because from what I understand, it’s a conduit for a unicorn’s magic.”
“It is,” Terry agreed stiffly. “Humans are capable of stepping into the light or succumbing to the dark. Or even staying firmly in the shadows. Unicorns know only purity. We are incapable of evil because of the clarity of our souls.”
“And we need all the help we can get,” Justin said. “Terry has agreed—”
“Maybe I’ll change my mind. You don’t own me.”
“—has agreed to join our cause. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, because this is his home too. Myrin and the Darks affect all of us, humans and magical creatures alike. And while having him here is a boost to our cause, having him assist us in finding Gary’s horn is why I’ve asked him here.” He looked at Gary, and his face softened a little. It was startling to see him directing such an expression toward Gary. “I know it’s a… tough subject, and obviously traumatic, but any insight you can give would certainly help.”
“You’re probably going to regret saying that,” I warned Justin, even as Gary’s eyes widened.
Justin frowned. “Why would I regret—”
“Sam! Tiggy! Did you hear that?”
I sighed. “Yes, Gary. I heard.”
“Do we have to?” Tiggy asked mournfully.
“What’s going on?” Vadoma asked.
“Justin asked Gary about his horn,” Mom told her. “There’s a… performance. About what happened. It’s very theatrical.”
“Sam! Tiggy! Take your places. Don’t make me ask you again!”
“What are you doing?” Ryan asked as I started to walk away from him.
I shrugged. “It’s part of the Sam/Gary/Tiggy Friendship Pact of Love and Respect. Anytime someone has the balls to ask Gary about his horn directly, we have to perform the story.”
Justin’s face was in his hands and his voice was muffled when he said, “I don’t know why I can’t see these things coming.”
“You remember your lines?” Gary whispered to me as I came to stand beside him. Tiggy was fumbling with a lantern, wrapping a stiff piece of parchment paper he’d snagged from the table around it to make a spotlight.
“Do I remember my lines,” I scoffed.
“It’s a fair question. For all I know, your eyebrows negate your acting abilities, what little there is. You’re a child of the forest now. Maybe you don’t remember how to people.”
“You made us practice this for four weeks straight with only three hours of sleep a night in case this very moment ever happened. I won’t be able to forget it no matter how hard I try.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“You threatened to murder me if I didn’t wake up during the third week.”
“Well, yeah, you were being lazy.”
“I think there’s a difference between passing out due to exhaustion and—”
“Semantics,” he said, flipping his mane prettily. “All that matters is that my story will finally be told, and this is my moment to shine. If you ruin this for me, I will never forgive you until tomorrow.”
“I’ll do my best,” I promised him.
“Good. Now go fold that piece of paper on the table over there into the shape of a horn and attach it to a string around my neck so it sits atop my head.”
“Where the hell am I supposed to get a piece of—”
He turned slowly to look at me.
I gulped and moved as quickly as possible.
“Everyone,” Gary called out while I found a blank scrap of paper and began to fold it. “Yoo-hoo, everyone! Yes, that’s right. Look at me. Look riiiiight at me. Thank you. Now that I have your attention, I would like to say thank you for coming to the Camp HaveHeart debut performance of the tragic story that is my life. I ask that no one speak during the production unless it is to praise me profusely or to cry at the beauty that is myself. If you decide to throw flowers at me at the end, I will allow it. And please remember that while there are others involved in the story, played ably by Tiggy and somewhat less ably by Sam—”