Morning Glory – Starstone (V2) – Ch. 2 Legend of the Unicorn Maiden

Summary: Morning Glory’s second take on telling the Star Stone story starring Anastasia and Knight Star!

Archival Note from The Jewel Riders Archive: This story is presented as it was originally published on Stormy’s “Avalon” fan site in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is presented for archival purposes and for the enjoyment of the Jewel Riders fandom. If you are the author of this story and wish to have it removed from the Jewel Riders Archive (or wish to share more!) please email us at archivist@jewelridersarchive.com. Happy Reading!


Jewel Riders: The Star Stone Saga

Chapter 2: Legend of the Unicorn Maiden

 

 

It was a dark and rainy day in Avalon. As the rain poured down, and the sky was gray, with little glints of lightning flashing before the clouds… and then came the loud clap of thunder.

“Oh… why did it have to rain today? This is when our circle of friendship ceremony was supposed to be!” a young girl said as she and a black unicorn ran for shelter of the rain.

The two finally found refuge in a little gazebo, in the royal garden. The unicorn and the girl crowded under it.

“The storm came up pretty quick…” said a familiar voice.

“Fallon! Moondance!” Anastasia was quick to recognize the voice as she looked up from under her soaked black and silver hair.

The Moon Stone rider and her unicorn crowded under the gazebo also. She and Anastasia sat down and found themselves cramped for space as the two unicorns tried to get comfortably situated.

“Lousy timing, huh. To think it would rain today…” Fallon said with sympathy.

“Oh it’s alright, I guess Queen Anya can reschedule the ceremony for some other day…” Anastasia smiled.

Moondance overheard the young lady talking to Fallon.

“She’s always so nice. She never puts herself first, and she doesn’t complain. Why is that?” the unicorn thought to herself. “Now I know that there is something special about her… but I can’t think of what it is…”

The Star Stone rider looked out and she saw the flowers in the royal garden. As the rain splashed against their petals, she could almost see them grow stronger, and taller, up towards the sky.

Anastasia looked at Fallon and pointed to the roses growing on the gazebo. As they watched closely, they saw the rosebuds unfold as drops of rain ran off the roof of the shelter and trickled onto them.

“See how beautiful the flowers become when it rains? Rain isn’t always bad…” Stasia murmured as she listened to the rain falling. Her eyes began to close and then she jumped up and blinked fast.

“Are you all right??” Fallon laughed.

“Yeah, the rain has always put me to sleep.”

The Moon Stone rider listened to it.

“I’ve never paid attention before… it sounds so soft and soothing…” she said as she closed her eyes and took in the smells and sounds of the fresh rain.

As she opened them she saw Anastasia, asleep! The dark skinned girl smiled and chuckled softly.

***

Deep within a realm of misty dreams, Anastasia found herself flying through the clouds with a pair of long feathery wings on her back. They took her soaring across the sky until she found a castle made of white marble. The wings folded upward and she put her feet down, stepping onto the castle.

As she walked further on the white marble, she saw the mist that was in the dark shadows behind the castle towers.

She looked around and movement from the shadows caught her eyes. As she turned her head to see what it was, she saw a young lady, about the same height as her walking out from the mist.

As the lady came closer, Anastasia realized that she was about the same age, and as she came even closer she realized… it was *her!*

The maiden had a long blue dress with sparkling jewels adorning her neck, her waist, and even her forehead. Out of her back sprouted a pair of translucent blue butterfly wings and a blue bow that matched her dress with flowing ribbons. She stepped forward and took Anastasia’s hand.

“Anastasia…” her voice was a whisper and her lips did not move.

“Y… yes?” the Star Stone rider stammered.

The maiden looked down at their hands and they opened. Inside was one of the replicated Star Stones! This was the sparkling blue Sapphire Star Stone.

“I am the Unicorn Maiden, you must find me.” the maiden’s voice filled Anastasia’s head again as their eyes met.

“I don’t know what you mean…”

“I lie deep in a spirit produced by both good and evil. You are the only one who can find me…” the maiden’s voice trailed off.

Anastasia still had no clue of what she was talking about.

The maiden’s hand slipped out of Anastasia’s and she began to float slowly back into the shadows, with her toes barely sliding over the marbled floor.

“Wait… please…I still don’t understand…”

“Find the five other rainbow Star Stones, and the Sapphire Star Stone will reveal everything to you.”

As the voice trailed off again, Anastasia looked down at her hand and saw the Sapphire Star Stone glowing with an odd glow. As the Star Stone rider looked at it closer, the blur light swirled around her and she disappeared.

***

“Anastasia…”

“Anastasia…”

The young girl opened her eyes and for a moment she saw the maiden again but as her eyes focused, she saw that it was Fallon leaning over her.

“Fallon…?” Anastasia said and with question on her voice.

“Yeah…” the dark skinned woman said as she giggled.

“Oh. I had the strangest dream.”

“Yeah, dreams are always strange. But anyway, the rain is letting up so I figured that we could make a brake for the front doors.” Fallon said as she pointed to the sky, and the rain had gone down to a soft sprinkle.

“Okay.” said Stasia as she lifted herself up.

Fallon and Moondance stepped out of the gazebo and ran towards the front doors of the Crystal Palace. Anastasia watched as they ran.

“I guess it’s our turn…” she smiled as she gestured to Knight Star and they both ran in the same direction.

***

Later that evening, at the dinner table, Anastasia sat down and felt something heavy in her pocket. Everyone else was busy eating, so she quietly reached into her pocket and brought it out. As she quickly glanced at it without anyone noticing, she realized that it was the Sapphire Star Stone!

She slowly returned to her dinner, but she could hardly eat any more of it because she was so awestruck. The ‘dream’ must have been real!

***

After dinner, Anastasia sat in her room and stared at the blue star-shaped jewel. As she compared the blue jewel with her Star Stone, she realized that the shape, size and facets were *exactly* the same.

“Knight Star…” she said, “who is the *Unicorn Maiden?”*

Knight Star’s ears perked up.

*”The* Unicorn Maiden?” he asked.

“Yes. Who is she?”

“She’s a fairy tale princess. My mother and father told me the stories of her adventures when I was young.”

“Is there anything else about her?”

“Not really. The elders, a group of wise, old unicorns, once claimed that she was real, and that someday she would vow to protect all unicorns from the eternal darkness. They made a bunch of weird prophesies, but over thousands of years, she never came and it has since become a fairy tale.”

“That’s interesting.”

“Why?” asked the black unicorn.

“Because I met her.”

Knight Star, who was lying down in his stall rolled over and jumped up.

“Whaa?” he said as he shook some straw off of his back.

“Yeah. I met her in my dream… and she looked just like me. But it was real, because she gave me this…” said Anastasia to the unicorn as she pulled the Sapphire Star Stone out of her pocket.

“Serious??” asked Knight Star as he examined the jewel.

Anastasia nodded.

“Maybe you can find a book or scroll about her in the library…” he added.

“Alright! Let’s go!” said the Star Stone rider as she ran out the door, followed by Knight Star.

***

In the library, the two bumped into Gwen, who was studying a map.

Anastasia walked up to her and read it from behind her shoulder.

“Is this a map of Avalon?” she asked. It didn’t look like any of the maps she’d seem before.

“Yeah, this is what the philosophers say it will look like in a couple hundred years.”

“Is this part of your training for queen?”

“No, I just thought it sounded interesting.”

“Oh.” Anastasia said as she backed away. Gwen being serious? Nah.

***

As the girl and the unicorn searched for a book which included the legends of the Unicorn Maiden. Far back on a shelf with few books, Anastasia dusted away some cobwebs and found a huge book with brown leather coverings and a gold carved emblem on the front, with a blue jewel inset.

“What do you think this is?” Anastasia asked for Knight Star’s opinion.

“I would pull it out of there and see.” Knight Star answered.

Anastasia nodded and pulled the book out. It was heavy!

She stumbled over to a table and dropped the book down with a large THUD. It was quiet before, but everyone went silent and looked at the dark haired girl and the black unicorn.

“Uhhh…” said Stasia as she began to blush, “Sorry.”

***

Soon, everyone had cleared out of the library except for Anastasia and Knight Star. They still stood, reading the huge book.

Anastasia was absorbed into this marvelous piece of literature. Every tale, every adventure, every description of the beautiful Unicorn Maiden was revealed.

As Knight Star read the ancient text, he realized that this was one of the books and scrolls that were given to the first Jewel Riders of Avalon when the princess long, long ago shared a special bond with the unicorn queen of that time.

He had to turn away to rest his eyes, but the young Star Stone rider didn’t even blink.

“She’s really serious about this.” he thought to himself.

After another period of long reading, Knight Star’s eyes began to close.

“Stasia, I’m going upstairs, I’m too tired to read anymore.” he said as she shook his head to keep himself awake.

“Okay…” Stasia’s voice filled his head, but she didn’t open her mouth to speak.

“Good night.” Knight Star said quietly and headed out the door.

“Good night,” Anastasia echoed.

***

The next morning, Anastasia awoke and found herself in her bed. As she looked around with half opened eyes, she saw Knight Star moving around in his stable.

“Knight Star,” she said as she rolled back over, the opposite direction.

“I brought you back up here a few hours ago… you were sprawled out over your book, asleep.” said the unicorn.

“Where’s the book?” asked the girl, her voice raspy and slow.

“Relax Stasia, I brought it up too. The queen said that the Circle of Friendship ceremony was rescheduled for next week…” he trailed off when he realized that she was asleep.

 

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