" Unity Hinman! " my mother screamed " What is taking so long?! The royal court is waiting for you! "

When Dulceanne used my full name, I instantly knew I was in trouble.

Contrary to what popular media has branded unicorns to be, real unicorns aren't always sweet and happy... Or horse-looking, for that matter. Most of us have human-like forms and we use them fairly often. Mom and I - and unicorns in general - are from the Mirror Universe, a world parallel to Earth in which every widely renown fairy tales or belief systems come to life.

Although she loved to travel to the planet thanks to which we exist, and she always brought me along, we spent most of our time working in the Mirror Universe. My mother was able to accomplish any task she set her mind to, she had multiple talents and that's why she could fit any job description she stumbled upon. Dulceanne Hinman absolutely adored travelling from kingdoms to lands to seas to realms and back to kingdoms again, always attempting to surpass herself. She had an extensive and increasingly impressive collection of employers. As a young unicorn, she began working for nobodies, the farmers who made more profit in her natal village. Quickly, with her amount of skill, her powers and her unquenchable determination, she rose up in the world. Even having me did not discourage her in the slightest. I was her pride and joy, the perfect apprentice and worthy heir of her fame, regardless of her inscrutable refusal to tell me even the tiniest detail about my birth father... " His identity is irrelevant, Unity. You are all that matters, your success is all that matters. " I heard that sentence at least a thousand times, before I got tired of it and decided to stop asking useless questions. I didn't need a father figure, as long as I had Mom. Besides, she was right. A man would have only came in the way of our duties. The two of us were our own family: tight-knit, ambitious, goal-driven and effective... Most of the time.

     " I know! " I squealed back, struggling to tie my hair into acceptable pigtails.

I was notably unprepared, with my jester costume hanging off the rustic high wooden footboard of my bed, my hair ribbons still in my suitcase and my jester shoes hidden away in an unknown corner of my bedroom at the time. Luckily, my makeup was already applied and my jester mask was in place. An overly powdered white face, apple red glossy lips and exaggerated freckles in the form of big pink dots covered my natural features. Paired with my dark silver over-the-top jester mask, I was barely recognizable. The delicately crafted yet sturdy mask bore alternating purple and black points along the top part, like on a classic cap and bells, and it ended above my nose, wrapping around my nose bridge. Purple jewels on the side of each eye hole, black crystals running down the forehead area and small silver bells completed the intricately engraved piece of my costume. Overall, all the components of my costume were embellished to a maximal extent with silver dust and bells, black pearls, purple gems or any fitting decoration of the colors in which the ruling couple of the kingdom dressed up their servants.

I hurriedly got into uniform, thanks to my unicorn abilities. Unicorns being such iconic creatures, they're just as powerful as Earth tales portrayed them. Depending on their lineage, most unicorns can basically develop literally any magical power they can dream of. Seriously, unicorns acquire new abilities by dreaming about them, with an interesting variation of Creation Magic. Needless to say, unicorns value their sleep. However, there is only one thing in the universe that all unicorns care about more than having a good night's sleep and therefore becoming more powerful. We all must obey a single rule throughout our lives: unicorn magic can never be used to kill. No one truly knows what happens to those who break The Sacred Commandment, but it's a pretty simple concept and I doubt any unicorn would dare to breach it.

I swung the door open with a mere thought, subtle rainbow sparks escaping my horn. Just like my mother's, my horn was on the tall side, slim, pearly and gleaming with a rainbow tint under bright lighting. It was the only characteristic from my horse shape that crossed over to my human one when I transformed.

     " Unity, we will talk later! " threatened Dulceanne as I began sprinting down the wide corridors of the castle, accompanied by the regular chiming of the many bells that had been sewn onto my clothes.

The royal palace belonging to the king and queen of the Crystal Kingdom was just as immense as it was stunningly beautiful. Consistent with its universally renowned and prolific mines that went on for miles and miles, covering their whole realm, it was entirely built out of crystals. I loved to watch the sun, the stars and the moon as their light penetrated the huge panes of translucent jewel and illuminated everything around me with psychedelic rainbow patterns. In that moment, though, I was focused solely on getting to the throne room for my evening jests.

While I worked as a successful court's fool, Mom had scored the role of the kingdom's chief event organizer. This wasn't unusual, of course she always shone brighter than me. Still, being a jester felt natural. I loved acrobatics, dancing, singing, making people laugh... I was good at it, too, gifted, even. I adored shopping for props, designing my costumes, writing new comedy numbers... The less pleasant parts, like scrubbing pie filling out of my clothes, always making sure I didn't forget a rubber chicken under my bed or falling on my face for half my routines seemed amusing to me. That's how much I loved doing it, how much I wanted to make my mother proud. All my efforts would be worth it, one day... One day, all the royal families in the world would know my name. That was, my jesting name: Hope.

Physically, according to the references I had of Earthlings who aged normally, I looked not much older than 20 years old. My young appearance was enhanced by my height. I was shorter than anyone I knew, excluding my parent, who was exactly my size. Dulceanne kept me at various ages for long periods of time before accepting that I age. This, added to our numerous trips to Earth, resulted in my absolute ignorance of my actual age. It's not like I cared or anything, I liked to believe I had a spirited soul, and that it matched my outside.

  While I picked up my marotte from the opaque crystal tiles that constructed the floor, since I had dropped it multiple times to amuse the sovereigns' guests, I distractedly watched the servants who were rushing to lead the royals out and serve them drinks on dark silver trays that were more elegant than necessary. I waited for them all to exit, but one person stayed behind. A young maid, whose name I couldn't recall, spun around and, shuffling back into the room, called out:

     " Your Highness?! Can I help you? Your parents requested..! "

The prince cut her off:

     " You may join them. If they inquire about my whereabouts, inform them that I am occupied. "

His voice was warm, without the slightest hint of disdain, it felt trustworthy. Unlike what his eerily pale violet eyes suggested, nothing about him was cold.

Prince Topaz didn't bother watching her leave, he was already walking my way. His bright smile carved dimples into his handsome face, his eyes sparkled playfully and his white suit molded his fierce build to perfection. Maybe every possible suitable young royal that met him was instantly seduced, but I refused to be an enamoured damsel in distress. Ironically enough, I wouldn't let anyone make a fool of me. Topaz was my good friend. If anyone would be falling in love desperately, it surely wasn't going to be me.

     " I hope I didn't make you too late, earlier. " Actual concern and genuine happiness were spilling out in his tone.

He was nothing like the guys whom I had hung out with in the past.

     " It's quite alright, I got here, didn't I? "

     " Just in time, as always. Will you make an appearance at the banquet? "

     " Perhaps, but I'm not invited. "

     " Nonsense. Consider yourself invited, Hope. "

     " I didn't insult you, did I? Maybe I shouldn't have joked about your quest to find your future life companion. "

     " Do not fret. My aunt is who you should be worried about. She seemed especially murderous after your imitation of her. "

His grin widened and I laughed. " Oops! "

I noticed how purposefully he kept his gaze anchored to me and questioned him:

     " Is there something wrong with my outfit? If my belt was unhooked this whole... " Speaking, I bent over to be able to look at my lower body through the slits of my mask. Before I could finish my statement, I felt a sudden weight push my horn upward.

Fingers.

His fingers.

We remained still, staring at each other, three of his right-hand fingers held against my horn. Touching a unicorn's horn is an extremely intimate gesture. I wasn't certain whether or not he was aware of unicorn customs, so I had allowed him to flick my horn in the past, for instance. Although my makeup thankfully hid it, I could feel how violently I was blushing when I stepped away, clenching my jesting sceptre's handle for moral support.

     " There is positively nothing wrong with you. "

     " Well, Your Eminence, I humbly accept the compliment. "

He laughed with me at my joke, as he never failed to do. Then, I left the coronation hall and began looking for Mom.

  I stormed into my bedroom, slamming the rough crystal door behind me, uncontrollably sobbing. I stumbled toward the piles of boxes and crates that were stacked on the left side of my bedroom, supporting myself with the closest one. Slouching over the wooden surface, I shook from head to toe, crying silently. I pinched my lips to attempt to regain control and, annoyed by the acrid pasty taste of lipstick, I promptly rubbed it off.

I stared through my tears at the red smears on my left glove, which was purple while my sleeve was black on that side. Frustration rising in my stomach, with plenty of tears still rolling down my face, I ripped the jewel and pearl-adorned lace collar from around my neck. Still feeling as if I was choking, I pulled the ribbons out of my pigtails. Undoing them, I noticed the copper and golden highlights normally present in my dark blond hair weren't even any visible in the darkness. Like any other domestic of the king and queen, my bedroom wasn't made of costly translucent crystal, but rather of thick, opaque crystal bricks. A single crystal window pane stood in the right corner adjacently to my vanity.

I had torn my gloves right off my trembling hands, slowly ceasing to weep. I didn't want to take my mask off yet, knowing very well that the large amount of makeup I wore was dripping into a horrible smudged mess. Unexpectedly, someone knocked at my door right then. I deftly brushed my hair with my fingers, sniffling away any ounce of sadness. I heaved a sigh, waiting for my visitor to either let themselves in or leave me alone. The gem hinges squeaked...

     " Hope? "

My eyes widened with shock and I turned only my head, to gawk at the prince. His gorgeous violet eyes narrowed and his slight smile immediately morphed into a worried expression, as he strode over to me. I backed up, and he stood in front of me, with a ray of light coming from the door he left ajar illuminating part of his finely sculpted face. Topaz briskly added:

     " What happened? " His gaze fell on the dent in my costume over my right thigh, on the bruise that was painfully visible through it, and his irises turned paler, colder, harder than I'd ever seen them before. "  Who did that to you? " He nearly growled.

     " It doesn't matter... " I shrugged, ashamed of my dishevelled appearance and droopy makeup. Oh, and of course, my voice clearly betrayed that I had been crying recently.

Before I could stop him, he delicately picked the mask off of my nose. I averted my eyes, panicked, wiping them off as best as I could without seeming crazy. The prince threw my facewear on the nearest cardboard box.

     " It's just me, Unity. "

     " Don't use my real name, Your... " He interrupted me: " No, use mine. "

It was an order, from the prince. Except that did not mean anything anymore.

     " My mother is resigning, she is leaving your family's service... I am leaving. " My voice was wavery and scarce, barely a whisper.

     " No, you're not. "

     " What..? "

I was not done pronouncing the "t" that he gently pushed me. My back was against the wall, and he was towering over me, not detaching those light purple eyes from my frail body. His pupils pierced me like the shiniest, sharpest daggers. Topaz suggested, in a low voice.

     " Stay here, at the palace. I will give you everything my kingdom can offer. Be my jester. Forever. "

The young man inched closer to me, to my face, to my lips.

     " Prince Top... "

     " I am in love with you, Unity. "

His minty breath brushed the tip of my nose, and I gasped softly, sputtering out:

     " S-sir... Y-Your Majesty... I don't know what to say... "

  The truth is, as I frantically ran in the woods, panting, ducking from the flying arrows aimed at me, my skin and clothes getting lacerated by the crystal thorns of the bushes... I realized that I really did love him back.