The Unicorn

By Dawn Natelle

Retirement had been a total mistake, I realized as I wandered idly through the woods in late August. I was in the scout camp where I had experienced many fine days as a Boy Scouts Cub, nearly 60 years ago. I turned 65 in June, and already I was totally bored with my idle life. I was single, never having remarried after the death of my wife from cancer 23 years ago. I had never seemed lonely when I was working, but now days and weeks would go by without my having a meaningful conversation with anyone other than the cashier at the variety store where I bought my daily newspapers. Five of them - I had nothing better to do than read different newspapers reporting the same news.

Even the walk in the woods had turned into a bit of a bore. It had been more exciting when I was 8, but maybe that was because then I was surrounded by the other Cubs in my pack. Now I had no friends, and my hope that reconnecting with nature would somehow make things better was proven a failure. I turned around and started back for the main road, where I had parked my car.

I had only gone a few hundred yards and was still in the deepest copse of the forest when I heard the crack. I was pretty sure it was a rifle shot, which was completely wrong. First, this was a non-hunting zone, and secondly, deer hunting season doesn't happen around here until late September, a month from now. It must be poachers, hunting illegally.

Then there was another shot, and a second later an animal suddenly appeared in front of me. I don't mean it had bounded out of the bush ... it had just appeared, as if it had been invisible. It immediately toppled on its side, and I realized the reason. There was a red smear spreading across the snow white fun on its haunch. I walked over cautiously, knowing that a wounded animal could be extremely dangerous. It appeared to be a horse at first. It was small, perhaps two thirds the size of a normal one, but with the build and appearance of a horse, not a pony.

Then I noticed the horn. A single long silver horn spiraling out a good 18 inches from its forehead. The horn shone like metal - highly polished silver or chrome. It was a unicorn, I realized, even though my brain was telling me such beasts are mythical, and couldn't really exist. But it would make sense, the way it had appeared suddenly in front of me. A shot from the errant poacher's rifle, and an injured animal was no longer able to maintain the magic that had made it invisible.

I put my hand on the wound. I could feel the blood gushing out. I put pressure on the wound, and the flow seemed to slow, perhaps even stop. I was amazed at how soft the white fur was, at least in the areas not being sopped by its blood. The instant I touched the animal it flinched. For a second I thought it might turn on me, and I suspected that its horn could be lethal, with or without magic. But it seemed to sense that I was trying to help, and I could feel it slowly relax. Then it spoke to me.

Not with a voice. It was not my ears that heard it speak, but my hands. Specifically the hand that was pressed against the wound. I clearly felt its voice through my hand, as amazing as that sounds.

"A man," it said in a clearly female voice, sounding disappointed. "Are you alone? Is there a girl with you? Or even a woman?"

"No," I replied, speaking. "I am alone. You are hurt. Can I help you?"

"You are helping now," she said. It could clearly hear and understand my voice. "But I think you are just delaying my death. Unless there is a woman near, I cannot be helped. A woman, ideally a virgin, could hold my horn in one hand, and the wound in the other, and I could feed the power through her to heal the wound."

"Then let me do it," I said, getting desperate. I wanted so much to see this beautiful animal live. I reached for her horn, just out of reach. If she was to just bend her head towards me, I could reach it.

"No," she said sharply. "I cannot be. Of all humans, only a virgin girl can touch the horn of our people. I could transform a woman into a virgin with my powers, but you are male. Most women would gladly give up their age for youth. But a man ...?"

For a moment I said nothing, mulling over an idea. Finally I made a hard decision. "Could you make me into a virgin? A virgin girl?"

"I could," she said. "But I couldn't make you male again later. That is magic beyond my powers. If I changed you, you would be a woman for the rest of your life."

"Do it," I said. "I don't have much left to live for, but if I could save the life of a unicorn ... well, that would be an accomplishment worth having lived for. Give me your horn." I could see that she was fading fast.

She hesitated a moment, and then bent her head towards me. I stretched, and finally, with an extra effort on both our parts, I was able to grab the tip of the horn.

I felt the power immediately flowing into me. It swirled around within my body for a second, then flowed down to my groin, where I could feel my penis and testicles shrink and retract into my body. I could even feel the testicles pull back further and further until they were in position, then they changed into ovaries. Meanwhile, my penis had become a clitoris, and a vaginal cavity had formed. I could feel all of it happening, from the inside, as if I was watching a movie or medical animation. It was like I was watching an x-ray or ultrasound of my insides. Then I felt the power shift ... it has spent only two or three seconds around my groin, and now it moved to my hand pressed against the wound.

I felt the power flowing out from my fingers and back into the unicorn. It took only a few seconds before I could feel the wound closing and healing itself. After another second the wound closed, but not before I felt something else in my hand. The power stopped, and the unicorn scrambled to its four feet. I looked at my hand. The blood on it was gone, and I held a small clump of lead in it. It was the remains of the bullet that had struck the creature. I dropped it as if it was hot.

She bowed before me, dropping her silver horn nearly to the ground a few inches from where I still knelt. I scrambled to my feet as she rose her head and spoke, this time directly into my mind. For the first time I was able to look directly into her eyes, which seemed deep and knowledgeable.

"I am well," she said. "Thanks only to you. I am lucky you were here, and were willing to sacrifice yourself as you did. Only a very tall woman would have been able to reach the wound and my horn at the same time. I must now finish your transformation.

With that she leaned the long silver horn until it touched my shoulder. This time, the power felt different somehow. Not so vibrant, and I could not see the internal changes to my body. I only noticed the first changes when I noticed that I was now looking up at the unicorn. My height, once 6'2" was over a foot shorter, and my clothes were loose all over as my body shrunk. Like most elderly people, I had gained a little weight over the years, but it seemed to fall off my body as my waist got thinner and thinner.

My eyesight changed, and I had to reach up and take off my glasses. I could now see perfectly without them. What's more, colors seemed more vibrant and alive through these eyes. I realized that the color deficiency I has suffered through all my life was gone, and I was seeing the world as it really was.

As I took my glasses in my hands, I could see that now my hands were changing. At first they got smaller, thinner, and more female looking. Then I saw them get younger looking. The skin tightened, wrinkles and age spots disappeared, and suddenly the hands of an old man became the hands of a young woman.

I popped my glasses into a pocket, and felt that my hair was growing, streaming down my face on either side of my range of vision. I grabbed a tress, and held it up. No longer grey, it was now a bright blonde color, and soon was several feet long, ending below my waist.

I was distracted from that by feeling my chest swell. Breasts, I thought. I'm going to have breasts. And over the next minute or two I could feel them growing under my jacket. At the same time I could feel my hips growing. My male butt had been big enough that the growth now didn't stretch the material. There was more than enough room from when my entire body had shrunk 20%.

"It is done," she said. "You are now a virgin. Your birthday is the same, but the year is now 46 years later. You are 19. I will adjust your clothes ... and other things.

With that I felt my clothing shrink to fit my new body. I felt a bra develop around my chest, securing my still unseen bosom. Other clothes I was wearing changed from male to female. It felt strange to have panties and my jeans so tight around my waist, hips and legs. My boots shrunk over two inches to a female size 6 from a male size 12 and went from an E width to AA.

My jacket and shirt both shrunk as well, and I learned that women tend to wear both of those much tighter than men do. Finally a shoulder bag appeared on my left arm, with a large purse. I had reached into my pants pocket and took out the glasses I had put there a minute before when the pants had gotten too tight to hold bulky things in the pocket. As I dropped them into the purse, I noticed that they were now designer sun glasses, not prescription lenses.

"You will find a more suitable vehicle where you left yours," the unicorn said. "You live in the same house, but that is because you inherited it from an uncle who died a few months ago. He left you all his assets, which happen to be the things and money that you amassed over the old part of your life. You are enrolled in the local university, where you will start classes in a few weeks. You will meet friends, and your life will be interesting again, as you take your second chance at life."

"Thank you," I said, hearing my new female voice for the first time. "Will I ever see you again?"

"You may," she said. "Or one of my sisters. There are only a few hundred of our kind left in all the world, and we hide ourselves most of the time. Only virgin girls that can see us, and when they do we always warn them not to tell others about it, so sightings are rare. If you spend a lot of time in the woods, alone or in the company of only virgin girls, you may see me or one of my sisters. But only so long as you remain a virgin. Once you have had sex with a man, then you will no longer be able to see us."

"I will never have sex," I vowed.

"You will, one day, I hope," she said. "It is natural and normal and should occur. Right now too much man remains in you, but that will seep away over time, and you will eventually become attracted to men. However I give you a gift." A small necklace materialized on her horn, as she bent it down towards me. I took the necklace, and saw the small charm on it was a unicorn. On closer inspection, I saw that it was her ... my unicorn."

"Thank you," I said in a whisper of gratitude, putting the chain around my neck. "I will treasure this always."

"It is more than a keepsake," she said. "It will protect you. Wear this and you will never be in danger from a man. It will protect you and your virginity, until you willing decide to give it up. And even then it will protect you from being forced sexually. It is very powerful."

"Thank you again," I said. "Will you stay with me a while?"

"No, dear," she said, and I realized with a start that I could see through her. She was fading as we spoke. "I must go now, to meet others of my kind, and tell of our encounter. Soon all my sisters will know of your bravery and sacrifice."

"Please don't go," I cried out, but it was too late. She was gone. I felt as though something precious had been taken from me. Then I heard a faint voice.

"Don't cry my darling," she said. "If ever you get down, and worry that you made a bad decision today, remember that you have saved the life of a unicorn. The thought will restore you and make you happy." The voice faded as it spoke, and the last few words were less than a whisper. Even so I could hear them clearly.

"I saved a unicorn today," I told myself, and to my surprise I did feel better immediately. And I found that my hearing had been temporarily been improved, perhaps by listening to the unicorn whispers. I could hear sounds in the forest miles away. That was when I heard the human voices.

A man. Then another. I could tell the direction, and started walking towards it. They must be the poachers whose careless shot had nearly killed the unicorn. They were several miles away, but I could tell that they were walking at an angle to me. I could hear the river gurgling beyond them, and realized that they would have to walk along it to the foot bridge. I headed to the footbridge myself. I got there about an hour later, and could hear them talking. I stopped at the bridge. I intended to give them a piece of my mind about poaching.

Then they got into normal hearing distance, making a great racket as they walked. No wonder they don't hunt fairly, I thought. Making that much noise they would be hopeless during season. Soon I could see them coming along the river. One taller, and one shorter.

It was only when they got very close to me that I realized that my plan might be flawed. All my life I have been bigger and taller than all but a few people, and therefore I was seldom scared to speak my mind. But as these guys approached I realized that the tall one was about 6'4" while his friend was just under 6 feet. And I was about 5'1" and 100 pounds. The big guy could weigh three times that, and his friend was at least twice that. And they were carrying loaded rifles. What was I thinking?

"Hello," the shorter one said. "What have we here, Ben?"

"It sure is a purty one, Joe," Ben said. "Ain't it?"

I decided to brave out my plan. "You two are poaching, aren't you," I said as they walked closer. "It is out of season, and your stray bullets were going all over the place. One nearly hit me."

"Natter, natter," Joe said. "That's all a woman does. And it isn't what they are good for. Come give me a kiss, Blondie."

"I'd rather die," I spat out. They both reeked of beer and body odor.

"That's an option," Joe said, grabbing my arm. "But I wasn't askin', I was tellin'."

With that he pulled me close and tried to kiss me. It was the most disgusting thing I have ever experienced. His breath was bad and he hadn't shaved in a couple days, causing his bristly stubble to chafe against my new, softer face. He tried to force his tongue into my mouth, but I clenched my teeth. Then I made what might have been a big mistake, bringing my knee up fast between his legs.

He dropped like a rock, and moaned on the ground for a minute or two. I turned to run, but Ben was able to grab me after a couple of steps. When I turned around, I saw that Joe had recovered, and was coming at me with a knife. "Hold her tight, Ben," he said. "Missy needs to learn a lesson."

I tried to fight it, but Ben's arms were like a vise. I had no chance against him. Heck, the male me, in my prime, wouldn't have been able to get out of his grip, let alone skinny little girl me. I was really scared now. These guys could kill me, and leave my body hidden here in the woods. No one would be looking for me ... I was a guy before, and had no friends. And even if the two didn't get away with it, I'd still be dead. Joe certainly had death in his eyes as he approached, with the knife out in front of him. It was also clear that he had other plans for me before he stuck the knife into me.

"Just a kiss, Blondie. That's all I wanted," he said. "But now I want a lot more." He unzipped my jacket. The t-shirt under it was a pale blue, not the checkered flannel shirt I had put on this morning. And I could see that there was a very ample bosom beneath it. Joe took his knife and put it to my throat. I gulped in fear, and was glad there no longer was an Adam's apple on my throat, or it might have been nicked.

Joe reversed the knife and slid it down, slicing my t-shirt nearly to my waist. It was tight enough that it pulled back to reveal my pink bra, showing it clearly to the two thugs, who leered widely as they ogled my new bosom. I gulped again, and then Joe sliced through the bra, causing it to fall away revealing my naked breasts, with nothing there except the glowing silver unicorn pendant, shining a faint light at the attacking men.

Then, the anger-lust in Joe's face changed. First to confusion, and then to fear. He dropped the knife, and grabbed his groin. At about that time Ben let go of me, and I stumbled a few feet away. Ben was also grasping his groin. Joe, meanwhile, had loosened his belt, dropping his jeans and pulled down his jockeys. Suddenly I saw what the problem was. His genitals were female. And apparently, it was a recent event, based on his reactions. Then he tore off his shirt as well, leaving him naked except for boots and socks.

Ben had done the same. Then he reached behind himself, screaming "What's this?" He turned around and I could see that he had a wide flap of skin over his sternum that was rapidly being covered in hair.

"She's a witch," Joe said. "She turned us into girls and ... I dunno what ... but that looks like a deer's tail." He felt his own rear. "I'm getting one too!"

I watched as a brown fir grew around the new tails on both the poachers. It spread around the waist, and then up their chests. When it reached their arms, they fell on all fours. Joe looked like he wanted to say something else, but when he tried he found that he could only make a whining sound.

His face distorted, with his chin and nose elongating into a snout and his eyes sliding around to the side of his head. Slowly it became apparent that he had been transformed into a white tailed deer. A doe.

Meanwhile, Ben had also changed, but remained bigger, and it soon became apparent that he was now an elk cow. Both were standing with their rear legs in the men's boots, and once their feet had transformed into hooves, they neatly stepped out of the boots. The doe still had one red sock on her foot for a few steps, until it fell off. That seemed to signal another change, as all the clothing strewn around the area faded and disappeared, along with the guns and packs the men had carried. I looked down, and saw that my bra was growing back together, and the gash in my t-shirt was healing itself.

When I looked up at the animals, they both turned and bolted, heading different directions into the wood. I looked down at my new chain, and picked up the charm. "Thank you again my friend," I said to it.

It replied: "You did well. They will have a few weeks to learn the ways of the wilds. Then they will face two weeks of fear in hunting season, and an entire winter of trying to survive from hunger and the wolves. If they make it to spring, they will get to experience the results of the rut. You'll be virgin longer than they are, if they survive."

I looked down and saw the knife, sticking point first in the dirt. For some reason it hadn't disappeared.

"Pick it up," the unicorn said. "I didn't want to have to take more from you, but when the chance came to pay those ... creatures ... back, I felt I had to take it. I am sorry they violated you. Normally, when you are going into trouble like that, I will warn you. Don't worry, none but you can hear my voice. But I suppressed the warning this time to allow them to get close and to assault you. Only then could I get my revenge.

"Pick up the knife, and put it in your purse. It will become magical, and will disappear, only to reappear when you need it. Like all other things, it will remain magical only so long as you remain a virgin. Again, I say farewell."

"Farewell," I said, knowing that there was no chance of me convincing her to continue talking once she had said her piece. I bent over and picked up the knife. I could feel unicorn power emanating from it, ever so slightly. I dropped it into my purse, and it disappeared immediately.

With that I turned and headed back to the road, satisfied that the poachers had gotten their just rewards, and wondering at the power in the necklace around my neck and in the knife in my bag. At the road I looked for my green Buick, but in its place was a sporty red Sunfire coupe. I slid into the seat, finding that it was set for my new height and size. I pulled the shoulder strap across, wondering if I would ever get used to the two breasts that the belt now bisected. I drove carefully home knowing that I didn't need any further incidents that day.

~~~~~~

This is a story I wrote for another website in 2015. I felt it would be an interesting interlude while I work on the River saga. For fans of that series, I have finished two more chapters, and will get one up later this week, and another early next week. Alas, that will be the end of the twice a week schedule, since I am back to work and I will have to drop down to what will be a weekly schedule for a while. I won’t even be able to keep that up, as I have two cataract surgeries that will occur in the middle of each March and April. I have no idea if that will slow me down or not.

When I wrote this story two years ago, I suggested it could be the start of a series. On reflection, and due to my naturally lazy disposition, I decided that it works best as a standalone. Oh, there are many stories that our pretty young protagonist can experience (we don’t even know her name, either as a man or a girl). But it is up to you to write those stories, in your dreams and in your fantasizes.

Peace, Dawn