The Stalked

A hunter was left shaken & permanently scarred in Brittany. For a few days he had stalked the forests near his home for deer to kill & bring home. Such a creature would feed his extended family and some of his community for a number of days. Thinking that he could get one he had set out to the forests with his bow & arrows, and trusty axe.
Deep in the wilds like this he soon found a set of tracks leading deeper in to the darker parts. Minding what the elders & druids had said, strange things lay there deeper in but he had the spoor of a seemingly large & powerful buck now. Knowing this would do more for the community than most, it helped him continue the hunt.
Deeper he stalked through the forest drawn ever closer to the centre, the tracks and the spoor getting fresher as he went. It was soon apparant his prey was ahead, and had went into a clearing. Stalking quietly & carefully he went, nestling himself in the undergrowth surrounding the clearing. What he saw next surprised him.
In the middle eating lush grass & drinking from a brook, was something he didn't expect. A Unicorn stood there in all it's splendor.
At the sight, the hunter knew no-one would believe him, so raising his bow he knew if he could get the horn alone of the unicorn he would be marked for greatness. Forgoing the warnings that he druids to beware of harming Fey creatures he couldn't resist. LNocking the arrow he let it fly. The arrow barely found it's mark, slicing through the top of the unicorn's back.
It ran, ran into the bushes & trees at the far side of the clearing. At that point he had made a fatal mistake. When such a creature is wounded, it will not hesitate to call for aid.
Making his way across following the blood trail, he soon found the path the unicorn had took. Spending the next hour following it, he had all but forgotten about the buck. He got the worst shock of his life when he next gazed upon the unicorn up ahead near a tree. It looked tired but was facing him.
Reaching for his axe he knew if he could get close enough he could finish it off. Unfortunately that was not to be. The buck was there, coming up on his right side. Huge & black in colour, it speared him on its antlers hitting the side of a tree at full pelt. Pulling it's antlers out, he dropped like a limp fish, and his dying though was that as he had stalked the unicorn, the buck had stalked him to protect the guardian of the forest. No one will now harm any creature of the Fey now.

by Colonel 101