Alice was woken up the next morning by several of the clocks on the living room wall chiming musically at the same time. She groaned, shoving one of her pillows over her ear, and then squawked in surprise as something bounced on the end of the bed, jostling her out of her sleepy stupor. She glared up at Altair, who was – for some reason – already up and dressed, his hair still wet from the shower. The only reason she didn’t punch him was because he didn’t have a shirt on and she was far too distracted. He crawled onto the bed and poked her in the side, and she squealed and tried to wiggle away, getting tangled in the sheets, “Quit it. Stop that! That tickles.”

            Altair growled playfully and threw one leg over her waist, sitting on her hips and pinning her to the bed, “Good morning!” He leaned in close and brushed his lips along her jaw line, and Alice tried to hold back a shiver. He smelled like cologne and shampoo.

            “Quit it!” She protested half-heartedly, “your hair is dripping on me!”

            He laughed, shaking his head vigorously so that droplets came flying off his shaggy hair, landing on her face and neck, “Hey!” She tried to drag the covers up to guard herself.

            “Get up!” He said, eyes glinting with mischief, “I have a surprise for you.”

            “Is it bacon?” Alice said hopefully.

            “It’s better then bacon,” he winked at her and leaned in even closer, and she finally gave in and reached up, running both hands over his back, enjoying the feeling of his warm skin under her fingers. He growled in his throat and nibbled at her neck, making her tilt her head back, hoping he’d continue. Altair drew back though, “No, no. Come on now, I’m not kidding. Get up and get dressed. I want to show you something.”

            She sighed and threw the covers off, and Altair hopped off the bed, “I’ll meet you downstairs. Wear a jacket.”

            “Alright,” Alice said, puzzled. She had a fast shower, curiosity burning, motivating her to pick her outfit – blue jeans and a green sweater – as quickly as possible. She threw her black jacket on before jogging down the stairs, through the back room – where she waved to Maya who was working behind the desk - and into the shop, which was already busy with customers. A couple of little boys were playing with the talking whoopee cushions, which screamed out “Ow! You’re sitting on me!” each time someone sat on them. One of them, a little black haired child with wide blue eyes was poking one and laughing uproariously when it shouted. Azura was explaining to a very large, sweaty looking man that the love potions didn’t last forever, and Gabriel was selling a group of gothic looking teenagers a crystal ball that lied to you, or insulted you, depending on its mood. One of the goth kids was holding it at arms length, his eyes – outlined in roughly a pound of black liner –were filled with awe as the crystal ball glowed brightly, the light slipping through his black nail-polished fingers. The voice that came from the glass ball was smoky and mysterious, and very very rude,

            “You’re a mealy-mouthed toad,” it said mysteriously, “a prancing, polish -wearing prat.” It continued, “a dish-water-drinking delinquent.” And then it finished off, in a very proper tone, “and you’ve the face of a rabbit.”

            The gothic kid’s jaw was hanging open, revealing very large front teeth, and he looked rather offended. Gabriel had one hand over his mouth, as if he were trying very hard not to laugh.

            She found Altair leaning against a nearby stand of head-warming hats, his arms folded, tapping his foot impatiently. “Come on, come on!” He waved her forward, “we can’t keep him waiting.”

            “Keep who waiting?” Alice said, completely baffled.

            “Him,” Altair escorted her out the door and into the square, and Alice stopped short, her mouth hanging open in shock. Parked in front of Threads was a shiny black carriage, its wheels capped with silver, a red leather roof was attached to the back, and right now it was pulled back to show off the velvety looking seats inside. The driver sat up front proudly, a long thing whip in one hand and a top hat on his head. He winked at her and said, “Good day, ma’am.”

            Alice murmured a greeting, but she barely looked at him. She was too busy staring at the animal pulling the carriage. The horse was brilliantly white, the color of freshly fallen snow, and the figure it cut was both fierce and beautiful. The most remarkable thing about it was the long pearly horn on its forehead, it was nearly as long as Alice’s forearm, and every time the creature moved the light reflected from the horn and fell in dazzling colors on the paving stones.

            “A Unicorn,” Alice breathed in awe, “No way.”

            Altair looked down at her, smiling, “Do you like it?”

            “Oh my goodness, it’s beautiful,” she wanted to move toward it, but her feet seemed to be rooted to the spot.

            “You must go see him before you ride,” the driver said firmly, “he won’t give you a ride if he doesn’t know you. Both of you.” He indicated Altair as well, who suddenly looked a little nervous.

            Alice was so excitedly she could hardly walk in a straight line. She took a few cautious steps  toward the Unicorn, unsure of what to do next. “His name is George.” The driver said helpfully.

            Alice’s eyebrows shot up. George the Unicorn. Seriously?

            “Hi…George,” she murmured quietly, and the Unicorn swung its head towards her, regarding her with soft brown eyes. She held one hand out cautiously, and George nuzzled it gently, blowing into her palm and tickling her. She giggled, his breath was warm and smelled like freshly cut grass.

            “He likes you,” The driver said happily, “you next, boy.”

            Altair smirked, perhaps at being addressed as “boy” and sauntered up to the Unicorn, hand outstretched. George eyed him, with what Alice thought might be a critical look, but he still stretched out his neck and nuzzled Altair’s hand, “Hey,” Altair said, “I think he likes…”

            Altair grimaced as George sneezed, shooting a green spray into the palm of his hand, “Oh gross,” he groaned, wiping his hand onto his blue jeans, “Thanks a lot, George.”

            The driver was laughing, “Okay you two, you’ve been accepted, each in your own way. Climb aboard.”

            Altair helped her up the stairs of the carriage, and then hopped in himself, grumbling about how he’d thought Unicorns were supposed to be majestic. The carriage rumbled forward, and Alice watched George’s fluid movements, thinking to herself that she’d never seen anything more graceful. The driver adjusted the whip in his hand slightly, leaning it against his knee, and she frowned, “You don’t use the whip do you?”

            The driver looked back with a laugh, “Oh heavens, no! It’s just for effect. Tourists like seeing the entire getup. I wouldn’t dare use this on dear old George. He’d probably impale me.” He said it quite seriously, and Alice blinked, trying to imagine the delicate white creature impaling someone. The driver seemed to sense her skepticism, “Oh, you’d be surprised at how violent Unicorns can be if they’re threatened. I’ve seen the damage that horn can do, and it’s not pretty.”

            Alice winced and sat back, and the driver turned around again and began to whistle softly. Altair put one arm around her, pulling her closer to him on the broad velvet seat, “Well, is this romantic as hell, or what? How many brownie points do I get?” He grinned, and Alice laughed and shook her head, “I think that’s minus some points for the phrase ‘romantic as hell’.”

            “You’re no fun. Hey, it’s colder then I thought it would be today.  My face is freezing.” He tried to stick the tip of his cold nose in her ear and she gasped, turning to scold him, and Altair leaned forward and kissed her soundly, successfully ending her protests. The driver tactfully ignored them, still whistling, and when they pulled apart Alice could feel herself blushing, “Okay, you’ve regained the brownie points.”

            They circled the Old Town Square once, very slowly, and Alice leaned back against the plush seats, enjoying the noise and chatter of the square, the beautiful church towers rising in the distance and Altair’s arm around her. When they were at last dropped off  in front of the shop she thanked the driver and said goodbye to George, delighted when the Unicorn nuzzled her neck with his soft nose.

            “Go on in,” Altair waved at her, “I’ve still got to pay the man.”

Alice stretched up on her tip toes and pecked him on the cheek, “That was amazing.” Altair gave her a cocky grin, “What can I say. I’m the best boyfriend ever.”

            She laughed and shook her head, “I won’t argue, just this one time.”

            The bell tinkled happily as she entered the shop, joining Azura behind the desk, who took in her messy hair and flushed cheeks with a smile, “Do I see a Unicorn out there?”

            “Yes,” Alice said eagerly, “isn’t he amazing? I didn’t even know they existed!” She paused, “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised. I just didn’t think about it until now. That was amazing.”

            “Wow!” Maya was pressing her nose against the glass, staring in awe at the Unicorn, “Wow! Look how long its horn is!”

            Gabriel looked a little cross, muttering about Altair being a “show off” as he gift-wrapped a pair of hand-warming mittens for an older lady.