//------------------------------// // II: Hampton Court // Story: The Lioness and the Unicorn // by CrackedInkWell //------------------------------// Both unicorns trotted close by as they walked through the gates of the brick palace. The sheer size of the structure suggested being the residence of someone very important. Even the castle-like roof seemed to indicate it among its many chimneys that each was uniquely carved. In the flashes of lightning, they could barely make out the designs of the masonry of red, white and black brick that form diamond designs, windows that glowed of hearth and candlelight. Yet, they didn’t stay too long in this courtyard as their strange captures dismounted the horses and form a kind of square around them before they walked forward pass some heavy wooden doors.             Immediately turning left, they entered into another door, going directly into the palace itself. Almost immediately, the cold night had been banished as they felt the warmth. Both ponies took notice of the sounds of a mandolin playing to accommodate the chatter of voices.             But before they could go any further, the guard that had the image of a crown and rose on his uniform halted “Wait here.” He told them as he stepped forward before turning right through a brightly lit passageway.             “Master,” Clover whispered, “What are these creatures? What are they going to do with us?”             “I do not know,” he answered with a comforting smile. “But isn’t this exciting? We might be the first ponies to come in contact with such beings. Oh, the knowledge we could learn from them in this kingdom of… well, whatever kingdom this is, we shall certainly record it!”             “If we get to record it,” his student pointed out. “We don’t know if they have some sort of malicious intent, nor do we know if they are friendly.”             “Fear not, even if that were the case, we can still get out if we have to.”             The head guard returned, bidding them to enter. Following him, they came into a great hall of dark wooden floors, pure white walls that were covered with bright, colorful and detailed tapestries. Above them among the candles were towering stain glass windows and the stuff heads of stags (which made the ponies feel unsettled), the ceiling was supported by flying wooden buttresses and arches that were gilded with gold. That each had a seal of a lion and a white unicorn holding up a shield. All around them, they felt the eyes of these other creatures were upon them from both sides on the hall. Unlike the guards that found them, these wore more flamboyant colors where nearly all except for their heads and hands were uncovered.             At the end of this great hall, the two unicorns saw a smaller table that faced them. Behind it on a chair was one that had the most lavish clothing of all. The creature had a bright red curly mane with a pale face and ruby lips. This thing had on a dress made up of gold, pearls and blue satin, with a white collar around her neck. The creature’s eyes were upon them, to which she put down her silver chalice. “You weren’t exaggerating,” she addressed to the head guard. “And you found these on our grounds?”             The guard confirmed it to be true.             Star Swirl stepped forward and cleared his throat, “Uh yes. Forgive us for trespassing, but we were hoping that you might be able to help us?”             Instead of responding right away, she slowly stood up from her table. “Cecil,” she called in which an older creature with a white beard came to her side. “It appears to me that this unicorn has spoken.”             “Indeed I heard it too, Majesty,” he nodded.             “Please tell me,” Star Swirl began again, “Are you the Mistress of this palace?”             “I am more than that,” she responded. “You are addressing to the Queen of England and Ireland herself.”             “Oh,” the old unicorn blinked, “Forgive me, but what shall I call you?”             “I wish to be addressed as Queen Elizabeth.” She leaned forward, “And how is it that you speak?”             Star Swirl shrugged, “It’s just that we do, Your Majesty. If you give us the time to explain ourselves, we should be out of your hair in no time.” The Queen granted it. “My name is Star Swirl and this is my student, Clover the Clever. We have been sent by Princess Platinum from the newly formed Kingdom of Equestria to record all the knowledge in the world and to bring it back to her. However, during our travels, by very unusual circumstances, we have been transported here on your grounds and we frankly have no idea where in the world we are. So, if you could show us where exactly we are, we would make our way back.”             “We don’t mean, or want to be the cause of any trouble,” Clover spoke up. “We are lost and rather cold from the storm outside. So, would it be possible if you show us a map and maybe give us shelter from the rain for the night, that we may be on our way with our travels mistress.”             The Queen raised an eyebrow, “I’m afraid that I haven’t heard of this kingdom.”             “It’s brand new,” the old unicorn interjected. “Only shy of a few years old, so it might be no surprise that you’re not aware of its existence. However, if you could show us where exactly we are, we’ll be out of your mane before you know it.”             “Ma’am,” the creature is known as Cecil spoke up. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that two real unicorns appear at your doorstep. Perhaps we ought to keep them as pets of the royal court. It would have something that no other monarch on the continent would have.”             Just as Elizabeth was considering the option, Star Swirl objected, “Wait-a-minute! We’re just asking for directions, not to being able to stay!”             “That,” the Queen nodded, “And these two have minds of their own, just like any humans – though I won’t object for them staying in the royal stables for the night.”             “WHAT!” the old wizard marched forward, “Now see here you-” But before he could take another step, he was created with two ax blades in his way. The unicorn looked up at the guards in annoyance, “Let me through!”             “You are not allowed near the queen,” one of them told him.             “Not allo- Not! ALLOWED!” he roared in which nearly many creatures stood up to draw their swords; this only got an eye roll from Star Swirl. “Oh, I don’t have time for this!” His horn shined a bright blue, and before anyone could do anything, they found their weapons enveloped in the same light, being taken out of their grasp and have their blades pointed at them. The great hall was now flooded with shock to have their swords, spears, and knives being taken up in the air without anything holding them in place except for light.             Star Swirl, his eyes glaring at the queen, stepped between the guards that tried to hold him back. “I don’t want to hurt anyone,” he said sternly. “I don’t like doing this. At all. I absolutely hate to use my magic in such a manner. But you know what? We came here looking for help, as strangers to this kingdom of… whatever it’s called, and yet, you and everypony here see us as nothing but animals. We just want to know, where the living Tartarus we are. That’s it! So let me put it like this, either show us a map, or we walk out of here! Now, which is it?”             The Queen, instead of making a reply, walked around her table, and taking notice of Cecil’s sword that was pointing at him, reached up and took hold of it into her own. “I am not easily threatened,” she said as she walked around until she was before the unicorn. “And you sir, don’t you ever dare underestimate me.”             “Master,” Clover interjected meekly. She walked in between her teacher and the queen, “We are causing trouble. Let us go before anypony gets hurt.”             “They have mistreated us,” said Star Swirl.             “So let us go to some other kingdom that will give us directions. Come on Master, let’s leave.”             The bearded unicorn stared at her for a moment before breathing in deeply then releasing the weapons from his aura. “Yes, let us leave,” Glaring at the Queen, he added, “Perhaps we’ll find a friendlier kingdom than this.”             But just as the two unicorns were about to leave the great hall, the queen spoke up. “I’m afraid that won’t be likely unless you two plan on swimming across a sea to get off our islands.”             This piece of news made them halt in their tracks. Clover craned her neck around, “Islands?”             “My kingdom and that of Scotland are the only lands that you could go to without any means of getting across waters. Although, I strongly advise you don’t visit the Scots.”             The two unicorns looked at one another. “We’re on an island?” the older unicorn inquired.             Elizabeth too starts to walk out of that great chamber, “Spirit, with me!”             The assumed adviser, Cecil ran right behind the queen, “Where are we going?”             “Drawing room,” she replied, “Have they bring the map of the world for these creatures.”                     It was a map alright. Star Swirl couldn’t deny that. If anything, it was one of the most detailed charters that he had ever seen. It showed seas and still being explored continents, and it had names of cities that he had never heard of before. However, as the old unicorn stared at it, he came to a realization that turned his spine to ice.             “Master,” Clover spoke up, “Do you know where we are?”             He made no reply. The whole drawing room that contained a long table where the map was placed down was surrounded by himself, his student, the Queen and even a few of her closest adviser. They were waiting for him to make an answer.             Still, he couldn’t give one.             “Master,” his student spoke up again. “Are we lost?”             Star Swirl reached out towards the islands that were called England, “So if we’re right here… then we must have moved from… from…” He retraced the gray hoof, staring at the map blankly. “I have no idea where we are. These cities and lands… I don’t recognize any of it! There’s no Equestria or anything resembling it!”             “Could it be possible that your homeland must be over in the new world?” Cecil pointed to part of the map that was still remained uncharted.             Queen Elizabeth inquired of both unicorns, “Have either of you heard of any Spanish ships, in particular, that of the Conquistadors?”             “The what?” Clover blinked.             “I’ll take that as a no,” the red hair queen put a finger to her chin. “And if this country is as big as you say it was, I don’t think that even Magellan’s ships would have missed something so colossal.”             Star Swirl sighed, placed both hooves over his eyes and elbows on the table, hunching over the map in candlelight. “But… how?” he muttered. “How did we move? That cloud must have done something… but what?”             “Perhaps, it is the will of God,” Cecil suggested. “It could be that this is the Lord’s doing.”             “That doesn’t give answer anything,” Clover the Clever pointed out. The mare turned to her teacher, “Master, what are we to do now?”             “I wish I knew,” he moaned. “And the worst part is we don’t know what that cursed cloud did or why it sent us here. It was obviously charged beyond the brim with wild magic, so what spell did it do?” The unicorn yawned, “I need to rest from all of this.”             “Your Majesty,” the Queen’s adviser spoke up, “May I have a word with you?” The Queen excused herself and the old man to a separate room. Once they were out of earshot of the unicorns, he said to her, “Ma’am, I do believe that perhaps we should keep these two around in our court.”             “Why? Those ponies don’t want to be here.”             “What if we convince them otherwise? I mean, we all saw what that bearded one did in the great hall, how he disarmed all of us, using nothing except the light of his horn. Maybe he could be of use to us.”             Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, “How so?”             “Ma’am, we both know that the Spanish are preparing to invade the shores of our kingdom. Our spies tell me that they are preparing their armada to attack by sea then march onto London. The fact of the matter is, Your Grace, is that we need all the help we could get when we are without allies to help us. May I propose to your Majesty, that those unicorns could be the key to our future and your protection?”             “Spirit, even if we do gain his trust, we still don’t know if he’s capable of taking out the Spanish navy.”             “But that is point precisely! Imagine if he did the exact same spell upon our enemy’s cannons. How quickly he might able to disarm them or use the sea to overturn their ships, or even command the wind to blow them back to Spain. I say that as long as both unicorns are here, they could assist us.”             The Queen pondered over this for a moment, “How are we to regain their trust? We’ve clearly offended them from the start.”             “Perhaps we take small steps. Give them a proper room within the palace walls, time for the elder to teach his students and assist with whatever inquiry they have.  Surely, they may repay us with the hospitality that England will have to offer.”             “You do have a point Spirit,” Elizabeth nodded, “Come, let us negotiate their stay.” Upon returning to the drawing room, the Queen told them that they’ve decided that until they find a way to return to their homeland, they will remain with their court. “We shall give you rooms with servants, as an apology for the treatment you received upon your welcome. You two will be seen as guests in our court, to be given our English hospitality and service until you decided on what to do for your return.”             Star Swirl blinked, “That’s… generous of you. But I suppose that while we’re here, we also must fulfill our mission on behalf of Princess Platinum, to record all the knowledge in the world. So not only do I ask if we could visit your libraries, but being able to record your subject’s knowledge, customs, and history to give our report from.”             The Queen turned to her adviser, “I believe that we can arrange that.” Cecil replied, “Would there be anything else you require.”             “Now that I think of it,” the old wizard replied, “There is one thing that I need: a history book about this world before I retire to bed.”