Writing Contest entry

Phew!  Just on time to put out my entry for Morning's writing contest!!
And would ya look at that?  30 followers!  Only 5 more until my current goal!

Well here is the entry!! Enjoy!  I don't think it's that good... but... oh well, I tried.



Janelle looked out the window of her little home. Her mother was cooking in the fire place with small portions of dark hair slipping out of the handkerchief tied in her hair. Her father was still working at the cheese shop, which didn’t pay much. Her brothers were out by the pond, most likely.
Janelle twirled a piece of light brown hair in her finger. Her pale pink dress was clean and her gray blanket was old and comfortably worn.
Outside of Janelle's comfortable little home, she often snuck away to the forest to meet and watch the so called 'strange creatures', that many people these days would capture and kill because they were 'useless' and 'dangerous'. Janelle secretly, one of the people who still loved these unusual and slightly dangerous animals. Even if her family knew she supported these creatures, they couldn’t afford to help keep them alive. So Janelle kept it to herself.


That cloudy day had past and it had warmed up a little. At the break of dawn, Janelle threw on a white dress and her blue hooded cape. She grabbed a basket and told her mother she was going to find some berries, which she would... but she was off to see the animals.


She rushed out into the crisp morning air, breathing it in. She went out to the field, beyond her home and the cobblestone road. She ran through the field of damp grasses and purple flowers and came upon the woods. It was dark, and the sun crept through a few of the entangled branches. You see, after the people started to rebel against these animals, they all fled into the forest, to a hidden sort of oasis. She slowed her pace when she came upon the hidden animals. There was a large parting in the trees above, where the sky shone clear and blue, and the golden sun glimmered. The grass was soft and was greener than any other grass. It was an almost magical place. There were rocks, where the large, bird\lion creature, the griffin, lay. It's eyes opened slowly and Janelle peeked through the dark forest into the 'oasis'. Above her, a phoenix cawed like a raven. The phoenix could do many more things, but the interesting creature kept a low profile. Janelle smiled at the griffin and sat beside and pet it. She looked up as a centaur, a human\horse creature, came out of the brush.
“Hello Janelle.” It said with a very human like voice. It was a calming voice. Janelle replied with a grin and a nod. The phoenix swooped down with a powerful thud as it hit the ground. Janelle looked around and many other centaurs could be seen in the forest. And griffins casually walked amongst them. More phoenix came down from the air and fauns walked out from the forest, some were picking berries off of small branches. Then all went silent at the sight of the very last unicorn. The unicorn walked into the clearing and the voices of the merry centaurs and fauns were hushed. The unicorn began to speak to the other animals, and if Janelle listened close enough, she could understand it. When she listened at first it would sound like a horse neighing. But when she tried hard, it was like a calm breeze that spoke to her heart in whispers. Sometimes Janelle would close her eyes to hear it, and she could almost feel the soft, breezy words. A voice that cracked like the branches Janelle stepped upon, and like the grasses that swayed in the breeze near the field. This time, the unicorn seemed troubled and said, “I have felt a disturbance... Janelle,” the unicorn looked over at her and she looked up and flipped a piece of hair from her face, “You must not come here any longer,” it continued, “I fear that the other humans are ready to strike for the last time... we have lost many of us already,” the unicorn said and the other creatures looked down with sorrow, “We need to escape, and Janelle, you must go and never say a word to anyone of our whereabouts, do you understand, child?” The unicorn finished and looked at Janelle.
“I understand.” Janelle said.
“It is settled, we shall flee in the night,” the unicorn said and the others agreed. The unicorn turned back to the forest, its white mane and coat glimmered a pearly white and its horn... many different colors. Janelle was worried. What if they were caught? Would she be to blame? The fauns gave her berries to give to her mother and she shook hands with them and said goodbye to the others. She took her cloak and ran back to home.


Later that evening, after Janelle's family had gone to bed, she heard many feet going through the streets. She went to the window and saw them. People going to the field, to the... animals. No. It was happening. Janelle thought. She quickly slipped on her shoes and her cloak and went quietly out the door, running very fast. She ran swiftly along the side of the field so she was not seen. She was ahead of the people, she would make it. When Janelle got there, she whispered, “Are you there? They are coming!” There was a sound from the forest and a faun came out. Its eyes were wide and frightened. Janelle looked behind her, she could hear people and saw lanterns not too far away.
“Go!” She whispered to the animals. They quietly ran. The people approached and Janelle stood alone, scared and cold, in the clearing.
“Where are the animals?” One of the people grabbed her cloak and shook her and she fell to the ground.
“I-I don't know...” she realized that was a bad lie, because why else would she be here. The person tilted his head with unbelief. He gestured to the rest of the people and they ran towards the animals.
Janelle stayed behind, she couldn’t risk the be trampled by the fighting people and animals. Before long, she heard cries and fighting in the distance. She snuck closer in the woods and watched, painfully.
Fauns fell to the ground... they could not defend themselves. Centaurs tried to run and fight them off but it was no use, they were surrounded. Phoenix were all shot down by arrows. The animals were not ready for a fight, they were losing terribly and unprepared. Then the great roar of the griffin. A roar and a caw at the same time. It was loud and strong and there was a flash of light as it turned itself to fire. And then the roar sounded painful and fell silent. All that was left was the unicorn. It could not defend itself. The majestic creature put off a blue-ish glow from its white, iridescent coat in the moonlight. Janelle saw one of the people slash it with a sword and the unicorn began to low even brighter and its horn shone with blinding light. All the people fell to the ground. But Janelle could see right through the light, like the unicorn was showing her something. She heard the stick crunching, grass blowing whisper say to her... only her, “Your friends are gone, but they are safe... I will see you elsewhere, Janelle. Thank you for all you have done,” and that that, the light stopped and it seemed all the people were temporarily blinded as the moaned and all kept saying that they could not see.
Janelle was in awe. She laid down on the grass and fell asleep beside the brush.
In the morning, she sat up straight and brushed off her dirty dress. The people were gone and so were the bodies of the animals. The people must have ran home, but what of the bodies of the animals? Had the unicorn taken them? As Janelle ventured through the woods where the fighting had been, she stood right on the center of the trampled, damp leaves and looked out in the deep woods and saw a glowing figure. It was the unicorn. It galloped closer, silently. It looked ghostly, but it was there.
“Janelle,” it said in it's calming whisper, she listened as it's words created a soft breeze around her, “I am here. I will always be here. But I will be hiding. And in the future, when even you are gone, I will keep you safe, and farther in the future in many years, people will not know me, but they will admire me. This will be a pastime and seem only a fantasy, not a reality that was lived by a person. It will be seen as a myth. Not a lie or a tale, but as a story that many people, especially children like you will admire over thousands of years,” Janelle nodded and the whisper ended and there were tears on her face, she was so surprised and shocked and she sat in the woods and thought until she went home and never spoke of this again. Janelle only smiled when people mentioned it. She knew something they didn’t, and she was proud. Every once in a while, the unicorn would speak to her in the woods and she would keep it a secret. She knew it was always there.





xxLizzie