Of Balloons and Unicorns: The Champion

         Anastasia could not control her emotions, staring at the wonderous creature that stood before her. It was a unicorn, just as beautiful as she had ever dreamed- moreso, even. Afraid to move from her prone position, she stared, slackjawed.
         The creature spoke again, "Highness, ye must arise. Time is not on our side." It realized to her that while it spoke clearly enough, and looked right at her as it did, the words were not coming from it's mouth.
         A single, choked word escaped from her lips, "H- how...?"

         The unicorn was taken rather by surprise at her question. It's eyes went wide for a second and it took a step backwards. "How, Majesty?" It waited for an answer that did not come. "Anastasia, do you not remember who I am?"
         The other sat up in her bed, and felt the weight of her bosom for the first time. She was again nude, and without the comfort of a blanket, she was quite cold. But for it, and the light the unicorn before her eminated, she did not feel much of anything at all. She shook her head slowly, "How could I know you, noble beast? We've never met before."
         With this spoken, the unicorn reared up, kicking the air before it. It's call rang out, oddly in her ears, like laughter. "Never met? Highness, it is I! Your captain! Your champion! Milady, dost thou not remember the first we met? When you were so young?"
         Her mind was so totally engrossed in this beautiful beast that she thought nothing of the impossibility of the conversation. So she continued, "I am an orphan, unicorn. I do not have many memories of my youth. And I certainly don't have memories of actually meeting..." she reached out slowly for the creature, "something as stunning as yourself."
         Before she could actually touch the creature, it reared up again, making her hand snap back to her side. "You do not remember? Anastasia, I am your sworn protector, and yet you know me not?"
         In response, Anastasia's mind filled with images of her youth. Twisted. Sinister. The death of her parents to a car crash. Her wretched schoolmaster at the Orphanage. The bullying boys who yanked her hair and spat in her eyes. "A fine protector, to let such horrible things happen," she thought to herself.
         The unicorn stared at her long and hard, "If I may be so bold, milady- I do not like the darkness in your heart. I can see now why you have forgotten the magic. The darkness blots out the light."
         As the words were spoken, Anastasia could feel the weight of them on her chest. Heavy, tight, most overbearing. "How do I know you are not a figment of my imagination? What if I am just losing my mind, like everyone at work seems to think?" she asked aloud.
         The questions caused a reaction in the unicorn that was swift and severe. It snorted at her, causing her to jump back. "If thou questions the magic, Highness, the magic will surely question thee." It stood on hind legs for the longest time, a rampant unicorn as majestic as any picture. It came down next to her, stamping it's feet insecurely. Finally, it stopped. "Ye question my reality. Feel of my back, milady." Hesitant, she reached forward, then pulled away. "Do not question it, Majesty. Touch it."
         Finally, Ana felt her fingers touch against the strong back of the creature. In response, muscles rippled beneath it's skin, then held still and proud. It was like nothing Anastasia had ever felt! To compare it to silk, it was to silk as silk was to burlap. It was not smooth, nor furry, nor feathery soft, nay. This feeling was like touching the breeze- holding it in your hands. She stroked the skin, causing another slight ripple beneath.
         "I am real, milady. As real as thou art." Ana felt up to it's mane, feeling hairs to pale cornsilk, each strand stronger than anything she had ever felt. She felt relaxed with this creature, and pet it affectionately.
         Suddenly, the creature reared up once again, turning it's head and coming down, it's horn less than an inch from her forhead. With only slightly less control, it would have impaled her, probably killing her instantly. This time, Anastasia did not flinch back, nor cry out, or make any reaction whatsoever. Instinctively, she knew that this unicorn would never harm her.
         "Touch of my horn, majesty."
         Her mind nearly compelled her voice to ask, 'What?', when she heard it's voice in her head, "Question me not! If you question the magic, it will question you." Reaching up, she touched the tip of the horn with her fingertip. She felt it- warm, terribly sharp, and seeming to pulsate to a beat of it's own design.
         This tactile sensation left her almost immediately, replaced by an image so pure and white, she could only shield her eyes. After a moment, she squinted through the glow, and saw an image unfold.

         An image was of a red station wagon driving down a country road. Even the windows were rose-tinted, giving the look a surreal distinction. Looking deeper, she saw a contraption in the back seat of the vehicle. Two figures sat in the front seat, but she was unable to make them out. Concentrating on the back seat, she looked harder, and saw in the contraption a baby. After much looking, she realized that the child she was looking at was herself, at only three years old! On the very day that her parents were killed! Her eyes darkened as the scene did the same, when a shadowy dancer crossed her path. The vehicle swerved, and she could hear screaming from all around her, some were human voices, terrified; others were sinister, almost pleased with the carnage.
         The image shifted as suddenly as the realization hit to the wreckage of the same vehicle. Flames danced around, threatening to engulf the car and all it's precious contents. At that moment, the flames parted, and through it came the unicorn, strong and swift, who grabbed the baby in teeth and turned on it's cloven hooves, bounding through the flames, escaping...
         The image faded, turning a pale red color, and soon Anastasia was staring again at the unicorn's head.

         A change had occured with the noble beast, one that Anastasia saw immediately. The colors, so bright and pure, had faded considerably. It's coat was now a dull grey, it's mane a limp ash. Even the horn she held in her hand had faded, from silver and gold to pale yellow and brown. The unicorn stared weakly into her eyes.
         "Oh... oh no!" she whispered, looking at the weakened beast, "Oh, what have I done? Unicorn, what is happening to you?" she released the creature's horn, grabbing it by the neck and hugging tightly.
         "Majesty, I am forbidden to tell, or ask, or even hint." it replied, then faltered and fell to one knee. It fell to one knee, a mockery of the majestic bow it had done before.
         "You... you're dying!" she exclaimed. A moment of silence ensued, the words sitting heavy on her heart. Even now, she could feel her heart beat in her chest, feeling her love and undying affection for this noble creature pour out of her. It was a heavy burden on her chest, and she felt almost overwhelmed by the loss she was feeling. A tear fell from her cheek, splashing against her breast.
         And when she looked down at it, she was shocked to see that her underdeveloped, almost non-existant breasts had been replaced by more-than-ample ones, and watched in surprise as they became bigger yet, almost spherical. They were still quite high on her frame, large but not drooping, and she could only stare, amazed. A pressure was building behind a muscle she didn't even know existed. As her fresh tear rolled down this fine curve, it finally touched the tip of her darkened areola. And with that felt, the muscle behind and beneath it twitched, and a single jet of white erupted from within her.
         Without another word, without even another thought, Anastasia knew what to do. She guided the noble beast to her breast, and pressed it's soft muzzle against her. It nudged and nuzzled against her for a moment, then took hold.
         With a sigh, she felt her milk let down, and wash against the tongue of the noble beast. She closed her eyes, feeling the joy and magic returning to the animal, when another vision was set upon her.

         She was thirteen. She remembered this time well. Her schoolmaster, harsh and cruel, had spanked her for having a wrinkled shirt. 'Why, with such horrible grooming habits, no man would ever have you!' he would say between each swat. She hated the man for saying such things, and hated the punishment for such a petty crime. And for this, Ana had ran away to the countryside, hoping to find something, anything better than what she had.
         She was in a large farmhouse, far removed from the city she called home. The house was deserted, but the front room shone brightly through the broken windows. She sat in the middle of that room, sobbing gently at the cruelty of the world.
         She had two possesions with her, her only two toys. The first was a rag-doll, hand-sewn and threadbare. It lay at her feet, torn in two; it had not survived the journey. The second was a sea-green catseye marble given to her by a kind old woman who had planned to adopt her. Anastasia furrowed her brow at this, for she remembered the empty promise well- the old woman never returned, never kept her word. The marble usually stayed in the doll's belly, pushed through a small hole between it's weather-worn legs.
         Now, as the doll was torn open, the marble could be seen poking through the stuffing. In anger, she kicked the doll away, vowing never to have a friend like it ever again. When she kicked, the marble scooted across the floor, hitting the wall with a loud 'clack!'
         She scowled at the sound, watching the marble intently. It seemed to wobble a bit, then fell into a nice groove in the wooden floor. It rolled quite smartly back to her, touching her hand gently. She flicked her finger, and the marble rolled back across the floor, jumping one groove here then riding in another, until it came to rest against a large knot. After a second, it seemed to turn around, and rolled back into the same groove it had taken before, until it touched her hand again.
         And thus a new game was created. The younger Anastasia spent a great afternoon rolling the marble across the floor, only to have it always roll right back to her. She kicked it, flicked it, tossed it, and blew it across the floor for hours, and never seemed to grow tired. For the elder Anastasia, the vision was a fond one, a memory from her youth that she would always cherich. From memory, she remembered getting sleepy, curling up right there on the floor like a great cat and falling asleep.
         But not in this vision. In this vision, she knelt down, continuing her game, to blow the marble away from her. In her haste to play, she had not inhaled first. So when she drew in a great breath, hoping to blow the marble clear across the room, the tiny object flew into her mouth and down her throat.
         Choking, Anastasia drew her hands up to her throat, her tears welling up again. At that moment, the evening sun chose to peek through a cloud, and through a window Anastasia was caught in it's brilliant light. A sudden calm fell over her. In her throat, she felt a coolness that she knew was the marble, but now it was cooler, and wasn't hard as it had been. It was as a cool summer breeze trapped in her throat, and slowly it slid down into her gullet. It didn't stop high up in her belly, where she knew her stomach to be, but instead moved lower, passing through organs like a spectre, into her lower tummy. Indeed, she was too young to have yet reached womanhood, but it was there that the feeling paused, seemingly reactant to the sunlight that warmed her skin.
         Sitting with legs crossed, she felt the coolness in her tummy seem to grow, and suddenly a pressure just above her pelvic bone began pushing in all directions within her. Unsure what to do, or how to react, Anastasia just rocked back and forth in the sunlight. The coolness in her tummy continued to grow, and seemed to fill her with a cool light. The heat of the evening sun and the coolness inside of her gave her skin a tingle that she had never felt before, her developing hormones making her breathing somewhat erratic. A long, low moan escaped her lips at the strange feelings filling her senses and belly.
         When she next looked down at her legs, with surprise she saw that she seemed to be swelling gently but firmly about the middle- half of her crossed legs were already hidden beneath her stretching tummy, making her seem pregnant, and quite so at that. With each second in the sunlight the pressure grew, until at last she sat with her legs completely covered by the taut, round skin above. Every inch of her tummy felt alive, and yearned for the warmth of the sun to grace it, but it was at this moment that the sun ducked again behind a cloud, and the room fell mostly dark.
         Biting her lower lip in newfound pleasure, she leaned backwards, feeling her tummy lift from her legs. It was very light, not at all what one would expect for it's size or position. Laying herself out flat on the floor, she gently rubbed her great ball of a belly, seemingly that of a woman heavy with child, or many children even, only not heavy at all.
         As the room continued to get darker as evening turned to dusk, and dusk to night, Anastasia became aware that her belly was giving off a glow of it's own. It seemed that the marble within had stored the light from the sun, and now shown it back outward, her tummy taking on the faint reddish hue one sees when looking at light with the eyes closed, or in the joints of the fingers when one covers a flashlight with the hand. For the longest time she spent happily massaging her tummy and staring at it's warm glow. Her chest, her high-and-non-developed breasts, began to bud high on her frame, swelling gently but firmly outwards as she watched. She could feel her skin spreading outwards, and the breath from her nose was wafting across them, sending prickles of emotion through her frame. The eerie glow from inside of her made the whole scene all the more entrancing.
         When the glow dimmed and went out suddenly, she was plunged into almost total darkness. At this time, she began to hear scritching in the walls, whispers of whispers echoing through the house. She became frightened, feeling her body so foreign and exposed, and the sounds that adult Anastasia knew to be shadows frightened her like nothing else. Indeed, adult Anastasia wanted to cry out for the girl to run! But instead, she just watched in fear and silence.
         A cry of pleasure erupted from the girl's lips even as a rosy glow erupted from her hips. She spread her legs wide now, feeling the glowing shape inside of her pushing through her cervix into her birth canal. It was exhausting, exhilirating work that was both pleasureable and frightening at the same time. The innocent girl had no idea what was going on, but only followed her instincts and pushed down yet again. The shadows, now dancing around her, scattered at the growing intensity of the light. In this hour, with those dark witnesses, the young Anastasia birthed a white-light-intensified balloon. And it was in this hour that she vowed 'No man will ever take you,', for it was then that she realized that her body was a temple not meant to be defiled.
         When the last of the balloon left her, Anastasia sat upright, exhausted but needing to see more. The balloon before her sat motionless on the floor for a long time, then began to sway back and forth gently. A bulge formed on one portion of the balloon, then a different portion, and Ana realized that the balloon seemed to be getting smaller even as she watched. A shape began to take form inside of it, and when a small, knobby little horn finally poked it's way free, Anastasia was right there to help the unicorn foal be born.
         The shadows boo'd and hissed at the scene, crying out, "Leave her to us!" and "She belongs to us now!" and "She's one of us! Go away!"
         The unicorn foal stood on wobbly knees and looked into her eyes with beautiful, sea-green eyes. Without a single word spoken, Anastasia heard a voice she recognized, saying, "As you have birthed me and given me life, as I shall forever protect yours. You are my queen, and I am your champion."
         The unicorn baby bounced up suddenly, a spring in it's step that startled Anastasia both young and old. The foal darted about, butting heads with the shadows it came across, and where the horn pierced the darkness, the darkness shrieked and dissolved into nothing. In short work, the shadows were gone, but the foal looked very tired, weak, exhausted.
         Instinctively, Anastasia knew what to do. Pulling the noble creature to her breast, she willed it to latch on. And it did, and began to give suck, lulling them both into a peaceful slumber.
         Anastasia thought to the rest from her memory, how when she awoke she was in her own bed in the orphanage. To the rest of the children, and even the schoolmaster, she had never left.

         The unicorn huffed once, awakening Anastasia from her vision. The creature looked rejuvenated, revitalized, and ready to face the world again. "You needed nourishment." she stated, and the unicorn nodded once. A look of consternation came across her face. "But, the visions I saw, you were there when I was younger, yet I birthed you when I was older? How is this possible?"
         Light flared from the unicorns nostrils and horn as it reared up again. Stamping downward, lightning shot out from beneath it's thundering hooves. "WHY DO YOU STILL QUESTION?" it bellowed, making Anastasia sink back further onto her bed. As soon as this registered, the unicorn calmed.
         "I...I'm sor..." stammered Ana.
         "Majesty, no! Do not apologize. I am the one who is sorry. My outburst has frightened thee, and for that I beg forgiveness. Anastasia, I know not what hast made thee forget, but I know yet what willst make thee remember. Pray, eat again a piece of that balloon."
         Ana held still a moment, considering this creature before her, then began searching for the remaining pieces of the balloon. After much looking, she found two. Hesitantly, she swallowed one of them.
         "Now, climb on my back, milady. Hurry, I feel it working already!"
         Surprised by the request, she clambored up onto the unicorn, grasping two fistfuls of mane as she climbed. She thought to ask 'what is working?', but again she heard it's voice command "Do not question the magic!" And a second later, it would have been an unnessessary question anyway.
         Beneath her bare hips, against her bare chest and tummy, the unicorn was beginning to swell. She sat straddled on this noble beast as it began to stretch outwards, like an inflatable balloon animal now more than a real one. She felt it's skin beneath her pulling the folds of her womanhood apart, and without thinking, she began to rub against it's growing back.
         The unicorn began to lose it's extremeties, it's horn retracting into its head, while the head began to merge wholly with the neck and torso of the animal. She rode the ballooning creature as it carried her higher and higher towards the ceiling, her legs now spread-eagled across it's bulging frame. She could faintly begin to see objects beneath the unicorn now, chairs and her endtable being pushed aside by the constant swell of her unicorn beneath her. The balloon no longer resembled a unicorn at all, save the mane and lion-like tail.
         Finally, she felt herself brush against the ceiling, then get pressed tighter into it. She watched through the semi-translucency of the balloon beneath her as every inch of the floor was invaded by this balloon, her bed finally giving way under all the pressure it had suddenly been forced upon. Finally, pressed tightly against the balloon and the ceiling, Anastasia felt the taut skin that held her begin to soften, and in one swift motion, she fell through it as if plunged underwater.
         Now she felt the opposite of what she just had- instead of restraint and pressure against her, she felt weightless, capable of moving anywhere. She floated for a time in the bubble, watching as the translucent walls became opaque around her. She was in a dim grey light.
         "Highness," came the unicorn's voice, seeming to echo through the balloon, "Now all can be shown to thee. This is my final offering to thee this night."
         The room was suddenly filled with such a brilliant, wonderful light that Anastasia felt she was engulfed within it. It was as if she were looking outwards from within the light source, as if she had somehow become a part of it. "In the beginning, Majesty, there was Light. Pure. All things existed in this Light, and felt it's beauty and warmth. . Thou art in that Light now."
         Anastasia suddenly felt a pulling against her arms and legs, trying to drag her out of the Light. "In the Light, dissention grew for a small number. They did not want the Light to see all that was in their hearts, for they were evil thoughts." Anastasia kicked against them, trying to move away, separate from the groping feelers.
         "A Light unhindered shines forever on, and never casts a shadow." The Light suddenly moved away from Anastasia, and she watched it pass. She felt a bitter chill, seemingly for the first time. "Only when another body is introduced is a shadow cast. Only when something else is present to block out the Light. When those few began to oppose the Light, the first shadow was born." She turned around and saw that behind her, where the light did not touch, a writhing mass of darkness was growing. She took in a deep breath, watching the scene unfold. "The shadows were born from this dissention?"
         "Yes, milady. And those within the Light could not see them, for the shadows were in a place the Light did not touch. For a long time, those who opposed went unnoticed, for they reflected the light back inward, while casting a shadow out. Indeed, they seemed to glow with a stronger sheen than most, and this was their downfall."
         "But if the Light could not see the evil, how did it know it was there?" she asked.

         The scene faded to a dull grey once again, and the bubble itself began to squeeze down on her. "But, why are the shadows invading my dreams so much? What does this have to do with me?"
         In response, the bubble seemed to collapse around her, her arms and legs starting to conform to a fetal position. "Please... unicorn? What is happening?" The bubble continued to shrink, forcing Ana now into a full fetal position, with legs tucked in tight beneath her, her arms hugging her knees.
         "The anniversary of the shadows being cast out is fast approaching. They want to return. And conquer." Now the bubble was conforming to Ana's shape, and she could feel a soft warmth overcoming her. A faint pulse beating to a rhythm all it's own could be heard in the distance, making Ana want to fall asleep.
         "Wait, unicorn, wait. I... I don't even know your name..."
         There was no reply.
         "Unicorn? What are you called?"
         After a moment's hesitation, and the thrumming of a heartbeat gradually getting more predominant, "I am thy champion and protector, milady."
         "But what," she yawned, her lids heavy, "is your name?"
         The color around her had changed now, back to the rosy-red she had begun to expect. Another long pause before, "I have no name."
         Anastasia struggled a little in what now felt like a tight sac around her, her movement jerky and difficult, "No name...?" she murmured, her eyes droopy, "...Why... not?"
         "Because, your Majesty," it whispered, "Thou hast never given one to me."
         And then she fell fast asleep.