Feeling thoroughly chastised, Ellie apologized. “You don’t understand. I don’t want to hurt him, but . . . It’s an impossible situation.”
“Because our parents won’t let him marry you,” Rafiq said. “I’m not stupid. I know what’s been going on. But just yesterday Omar told me he won’t marry anyone else.” He grabbed Yasmine by the hand. “C’mon. She doesn’t care.”
Yasmine looked back over her shoulder as Rafiq dragged her away. Her sorrowful, accusing eyes haunted Ellie throughout the day. A deep loneliness weighted her heart. The more she was around laughing, chattering people, the lonelier she felt.
True to his word, the Gamekeeper sent her a message that afternoon: He would arrive early in the morning to collect the sprites, and the unicorns as well if the mother wished to see the reserve.
Ellie immediately walked to the maternity barn and found Ulrica waiting for her. The unicorn sent waves of polite welcome and glowed brightly in the dim barn. Ellie would have loved to touch the beautiful creature but knew such liberties would be inappropriate.
As yet, Ulfr cared nothing for his dignity. He bleated and capered around the stall then butted his stubby horn into Ellie’s leg and looked up at her with liquid-dark eyes. She petted him for as long as he would endure, and when he scampered off again, she turned to his mother. “The Gamekeeper will arrive early tomorrow. Do you wish to travel over the mountain pass to see the reserve?”
Ulrica answered in her wordless language that she was willing to go if Ellie came with them.
Ellie nodded. “I will come.” Being far away on the day of the Summer Ball sounded ideal.
Her next stop was the director’s office. The door was ajar, so she knocked then peered in. Madame looked up from her desk, and her already hard expression turned to slate. “What is it? I am busy.”
“I need to inform you that tomorrow morning I will travel with the unicorns to the Gamekeeper’s reserve. Ulrica has agreed to go as long as I go with them, and the Gamekeeper has given me permission.”
Madame’s green eyes seethed with scorn. “If you are foolish enough to go there, I will not stop you.”
“Thank you” hardly seemed appropriate, but it was the only response Ellie could produce.
As she withdrew, the director added, “You are wise, no doubt, to be far away when the Khenifran prince’s betrothal is announced.”
The Gamekeeper arrived before dawn. Ellie heard the wagon arrive on the service road and hurried to open her door. For some reason, today when the Gamekeeper’s indistinct figure appeared from the darkness, a shiver ran down her spine. To conceal her reaction, she spoke with forced cheerfulness. “The sprite cages are here by the door. I’ll help you load them before I bring out my things.”
“You are coming?” The deep voice sounded surprised.
“Oh. Yes. I forgot to send you a message, didn’t I?” Ellie’s uneasiness increased. “I remembered to tell Madame but not you. I’m so sorry! Ulrica said she and Ulfr would go to the refuge if I came too. Do you . . . May I still come along?”
“You may.” He stood there on her walkway, and she sensed that he was tentatively pleased. His uncertainty increased her courage. A little.
Ellie picked up a few cages and stepped outside. “I’ll wait to load them until you show me where they go.” She bravely walked past him and approached the wagon. It was hitched to strange creatures she could neither name nor fully perceive, creatures that seemed to gaze at her with luminous yellow eyes. Thinking back, she could not recall ever noticing any creatures hitched to the Gamekeeper’s wagon. Yet always she had known it was a wagon, not a car or truck.
Not until the sprites in the cages she held began to crackle did Ellie realize she was shaking. Immediately she took a deep breath and spoke soothingly. “The Gamekeeper is good to all creatures, little ones. You needn’t be afraid. I am traveling with you this time, and once we arrive, you will meet many more sprites and live in comfort for always.”
The sprites yawned and squeaked sleepily. For once, her comforting words had calmed her own heart as well, and by the time the Gamekeeper approached she was able to speak to him normally.
“You have two sprites in a back room,” he said. “Are they coming or staying?”
“They’re coming with me,” Ellie said. “I’ll bring them.”
Somehow, having those two little sprites along for the ride was a comforting idea. Their single cage was easy to carry, so Ellie picked up her backpack on her way out the door. Sparki and Frosti squeaked questions as she walked back to the vehicle. “We’re going for a ride, little ones,” she said softly, “to visit friends. And if you like it there, you can stay.”
As she approached the wagon, her feet stopped moving. Sprite cages filled its bed, though she had no memory of the Gamekeeper carrying or loading any. She could not recall loading the first two she’d carried out. And now Frosti and Sparki peered at her from their cage directly behind the seat, next to her backpack. Her hands were empty.
So . . . the Gamekeeper truly did not enter her house when he collected sprite cages. Somehow this evidence of his truthfulness and respect for her privacy gave her courage to climb up on the seat beside him for the short ride to the stables. Again, he seemed mildly pleased but made no attempt to engage her in conversation.
Ellie tried not to notice the shadowy creatures pulling the van, and she almost succeeded. Part of her thought she might wake up any minute now and laugh at the bizarre dream she’d been having.
When they arrived at the stables, the Gamekeeper climbed down and walked to the back of the wagon . . . only now it was a van. Sprite cages filled a flatbed area behind the seat, but the rest of the vehicle was enclosed. The Gamekeeper opened the van, lowered its ramp, and instructed Ellie how to close it once the unicorns were inside. She followed his instructions, now nearly certain she was dreaming this entire adventure. Everything about it felt surreal.
“I will keep my distance from the unicorns until Ulrica is used to the idea of me,” the Gamekeeper said humbly. “Once we are at the reserve, the other unicorns will ease her remaining fears.”
So Ellie entered the maternity barn alone. Miria and Howurl greeted her at the door, their mournful faces even longer than usual. “The unicorns are ready to go,” Miria said, “but how we shall miss them!”
Even Howurl mumbled something about sadness and lonely. Ellie smiled, sensing his genuine affection for the lovely creatures. The brownies seemed real enough, and the stable smells were familiar and comforting. Maybe she was awake, after all?
The stall door was wide open, yet Ulrica and Ulfr waited at its threshold, their bodies and horns gleaming like starlight. Ulrica’s glow dimmed briefly as she asked where the Gamekeeper was.
“He said he will keep his distance until you are used to him,” Ellie explained. “I think he will allow the other unicorns to convince you of his goodness.”
Ulrica bobbed her head up and down, waving that sharp horn about like a sword. Ellie clearly understood that Ulrica did not fear for herself, only for Ulfr. “I believe the Gamekeeper understands your feelings as well as I do,” Ellie told the devoted mother.
She stood aside as Miria and Howurl made their farewells to the unicorns, speaking in a language she couldn’t find words to describe. Then she led the unicorns to the van and explained how it would close up around them, leaving space above the ramp for air to flow. “You will be able to see the stars as we travel.”
Ulrica paused, gazing toward the front of the vehicle, then led her son up the ramp and settled down on the bed of fresh straw in the spacious interior. She told Ellie that the pookas assured her of the Gamekeeper’s goodness, so Ellie should not worry. Ulfr obediently lay down beside his mother, but his wide eyes sparkled with excitement.