Chapter 10

Lance watches the sea but sees Lotor and says "Your Highness" Lotor laughs "Love is slowing you down, My Lord. I will catch you at last if you love much more" Lance scoffs "Whatever you're saying won't impress me. You slain enough innocent beasts that have suffered already" but when Lotor says "The beasts mean nothing to me now. There is only one other thing that has ever made Mother happy" and when Lance asks "What is that?" Lotor grabs him tightly and yells "Do not mock me! I know very well what you have come for and you know very well that I have them. Try to take them if you can but do not mock me" Lance retorts "My Prince, in all your castle, in all your realm, there's nothing of yours that I desire. Good day, Your Highness" Lance pulls away from Lotor but when Lotor shouts "I know you"

Lance gasps as Lotor explains "I almost knew you as soon as I saw you on the road coming to my door. Since then, there is no movement of yours that has not betrayed you. A pace, a glance, a turn of the head, the flash of your throat as you breathe. Even your way of standing perfectly still, they were all my spies. I tried to win your affections in order for your true self to reveal to me. You made me wonder for a little while but your time is done" Lotor looks at the ocean and says "The tide is turning. Come and see it. Come here" Lance walks towards Lotor who smirks "There! There they are! They are mine! They belong to me! The Red Lion gathered them for me one by one and I bade him drive each one into the sea now they live there and every tide carries them within an easy step of the land but they dare not come out of the water. They are afraid of the Red Lion"

Lance watches the sea as Lotor explains "Mother loved to watch them. They filled her with joy. The first time she felt it, she thought it would last forever. It was Mother's birthday and she wanted to see a unicorn but never had the heart to cage it nor tie it with a rope. I said to the Red Lion "I must have them! I must have all of them! All there are! For nothing makes Mother happy but their shining and their grace" so the Red Lion caught them. Each time I see the unicorns, my unicorns, it is like that morning in the woods and without them, Mother never smiled again" Lotor looks at Lance and says "You are the last" Lance argues "My Prince, I don't understand. I see nothing at all in the water" Lotor yells "Do you still deny yourself? Do you dare still pretend to be human? I'll hurl you to the others with my own hands if you dare deny yourself"

Lance asks "What are you saying?" Lotor angrily replies "It must be so, I cannot be mistaken yet your eyes have become empty as Keith's as any eyes that never saw unicorns" Lance sees Lotor in his eyes as Lotor smirks "Makes no difference, I can wait. The end will be the same" Lotor walks away as Lance feels tears pour into her eyes and sobs "He is mad! Mad" Romelle arrives and coos "Shh, don't, don't, don't. It's all right, we'll find them. Come on, come with me" Krolia arrives and asks "What's all the commotion?" Romelle replies "We're on a quest to find the unicorns" Krolia asks "Unicorns?" Romelle replies "The ones Lotor pushed to the ends of the Earth. We're on a quest to find them" and when Krolia says "I'm ready" Romelle argues "You can't go with us. You're the Queen" Krolia smirks "Do you think it matters to me? I want to help" Romelle sighs "As you wish" 

Romelle hears Lance crying and says "Oh please, please don't cry. If you've become human enough to cry then no magic in the world can change you back. Just come with me. Shh, don't cry" Krolia asks "What do you mean by that?" Romelle replies "Lance is the last unicorn. I turned him into a human so Lotor and the Red Lion won't recognize him but now that we have hope of finding the others, I may change him back into his true shape" and asks "Have you seen a unicorn, Your Majesty?" Krolia replies "I'd love a tame one but I don't have the heart to cage it much less tie it with a rope. I promise you, Lance, we will find them" Romelle, Allura, Krolia and Lance arrive in the great hall while hearing the skull laughing like a hyena as Romelle shouts "Shut up, you pretentious kneecap! How would you like a punch in the eye?!"

Allura says "Romelle, you made it laugh anyway. Maybe that's all you need for the riddle" Krolia explains "That's Bob, he's the skeleton. His body may be gone but his spirit still lives" Bob laughs "It isn't" Allura gasps "You can speak! Romelle, it worked" Bob guffaws "Come on! Ask me how to find the Red Lion. Even Prince Keith doesn't know the secret way but I do" Romelle says "Oh you do, eh? Answer the riddle then, Tell us the way" Bob says "Say please" Romelle sighs "Please?" Bob says "No" Krolia asks "Why not? What kind of game is this?" Bob laughs "It's so nice to have someone to play with. Try me tomorrow. Maybe I'll tell you tomorrow" Allura begs "But we have no time. We may be too late now"

Bob says "I have time. I've got time enough for all of us" Romelle scoffs "Never mind him. Give me the wine. Let me see what I can do with the wine" Bob beams "Wine? Did you say "Wine"? Speak up" Allura says "I couldn't find any, I've looked everywhere" Allura hands Romelle a bottle of water and says "I thought if you had some water to start with" Bob laughs "Her? Turn water into wine?" Romelle says "Let me have it, I'll give it a try. Now you understand it's not gonna be very good wine. Vin ordinaire, if that and it'll be too sweet. Here goes" Romelle turns around chants her spell in a foreign language, drinks the water and says "Didn't work. It's weak at best. No nose, no body. Hardly any bouqet at all. Well, that's done it. That's finally done it" 

Bob panics "No! Wait! Hey don't! Don't do that! Give it to me if you don't want it but don't throw it away" Krolia says "But you're dead! You can't smell wine or taste it" Bob says "But I remember" Romelle says "Well, if you should happen to remember the entrance to the Red Lion's lair  as well as you remember wine" Bob says "Done! Give me one drink now and I'll tell you anything you wanna know" Krolia says "You can have all of it after you tell us the way" Bob explains "The way is through the clock" Romelle asks "Through that?" Allura asks "You mean when the clock strikes the right time, it opens and there's a secret stair" 

Bob replies "That clock will never strike the right time. You just walk through it and the Red Lion is on the other side. Give me the wine" Krolia asks "Walk through a clock? What are we, magicians?" Bob replies "To reach the Red Lion, you have to walk through time. A clock isn't time, it's just numbers and springs. Pay it no mind, just walk right on through. About that wine now" Krolia gives Bob the wine and as he starts drinking and moans "That was the real stuff. That was wine. You're more of a sorceress than I thought"


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