The Unicorn's Forest

Beth couldn't be sure how long it took, but when she found Charlie, she was wearing only a pair of panties curled up in a fetal position, hovering a foot or two above Shirley's sleeping bag in the tent that Shirley had been carrying, a fiery glow illuminating Charlie and the surrounding area, letting Beth make out a good amount of detail for about twenty feet from the hole in the tent.

While she'd normally assume that Charlie really didn't need her help anymore, she still heard Charlie calling out for help with her magic. Almost like it was on a loop, so she rushed to her friend, but stopped when she saw Shirley around fifteen feet from the tent. The young woman was naked and the whole front of her body was burned to the point blisters were forming, some breaking from the power of the rain falling on them. Completely unconscious.

While Beth wanted to go help Charlie, she felt that at the moment, helping Shirley was the more important task. Especially since it looked like Charlie was out of immediate danger and the burns didn't look good, especially with the rain causing some of them to break from the impact of the rain.

–Amelia?– Beth called out with her magic.

–Is Charlie alright?– Amelia asked, her worry clear in the response.

–Yeah, I think Charlie's okay, but I think we need to heal Shirley.– Beth replied, looking at what she was seeing.

–Did you check on Charlie first?– Amelia asked.

–Actually, I haven't Charlie's floating in the air with I think a protective shield around her, so I think she's mostly okay, but Shirley is covered in burns all across her front side and blisters are forming.–

–Blisters? That sounds like a second degree burn.– Amelia remarked and Beth could hear the wince in Amelia's reply. –Here, put your hands on Sheila and do what I tell okay?–

–Sure, I can do that. Um, does it matter where I put my hands on her?– Beth wasn't sure what exactly she was doing, but trusted Amelia enough to follow every direction, no matter how weird it sounded.

Soon, Beth could see the blisters disappearing, and not because of them getting broken by the rain, but as if she was watching a video in rewind showing the blisters forming. When she finished, Beth felt exhausted. It took a lot more magic out of her than she had thought it would, but then there was a lot of surface of Shirley's body that had been burned.

Then as Shirley began to wake up, Beth moved over towards where Charlie was. She briefly hesitated when she got to the fiery shield that surrounded Charlie, the heat causing all the rain that had made its way through Beth's rain shield to evaporate in seconds. However, she decided that Charlie wouldn't have put up that shield and call out to Beth for help if it wouldn't let her through.

Even with that idea in her mind, she couldn't help but close her eyes as she passed through the shield. Then as it didn't burn her, she wrapped her arms around her friend. "I'm here, Charlie," she whispered, "You're okay now."

Then as Charlie's body began to shake and slowly move back down to the ground, Beth started to worry that something bad was happening to her, until she realized Charlie was crying quietly. The stress of what she'd had to endure finding an outlet at last. Similar to what happened in the first 'dream conference' that they'd had after Charlie's near-death experience.

Beth didn't know how long she'd held Charlie while she cried for a minute or two before the sobs started to slow, then when she was sure that Charlie had fallen asleep, she laid the girl on the sleeping bag that was now starting to get soaked from the rain that could now enter through the gaping hole in the tent.

Beth then turned her attention to Shirley, who just stood there in the rain, not doing anything about being naked. Beth shook her head in disgust and began pulling the torn parts of the tent together, using her magic to try and reconnect the stitching. The results weren't ideal, but it was certainly better than letting a gaping hole remain in the tent in this weather.

When she was almost done, she poked her head out of the remaining hole in the tent and called to Shirley. "If you're going to stay there, that's your business, but if not you better get in here because we need to talk," Beth said, adding a touch of her magic to her voice, to amplify it. Mostly because if she didn't do something to vent her anger, she probably would use her magic to blast Shirley away.

After all, right at that moment Beth wouldn't mind if Shirley remained out in the rain the rest of the night like that, where she'd probably die from exposure, but there were a few things she'd like to ask her, as well as some information she might have about some magic Beth wanted to try to help Charlie with what happened.

At first it didn't seem like Shirley was going to move, but as Beth finished her magical repairs to the tent, Shirley entered the tent through the entrance of the tent.

Beth then looked around, saw Shirley's underwear and tossed them to her. "Put something on, I'm not going to talk with you until you do," Beth ordered. While she didn't have the problem Charlie seemed to with nudity, she didn't care to deal with others who were, unless she was in a romantic relationship with them.

Shirley didn't say anything, just started putting her clothes back on while Beth got Charlie's sleeping bag unrolled, and did her best to use her magic to remove the water it was soaked in from it.

After that, Beth began working at moving Charlie into her sleeping bag. While she worked at that, she kept an eye on Shirley and once she had at least her underwear on, Beth asked, "So, what exactly did you do to Charlie? And I mean what magic you used on her, not just what you did that made her burn you like that and need me to help her."

Shirley was silent for a minute, and Beth was starting to think she wasn't going to say anything as Beth zipped up Charlie's sleeping bag with her in it. As she was about to move away a little, she noticed Charlie's bra on the floor and merely stuffed it in the sleeping bag with Charlie.

"On the trip here, I used my magic to make all of you tired, but Charlie wouldn't fall asleep. Then I gave her some urges, like taking her clothes off as well as walking as fast as she could. Later while she was asleep, I adjusted her metabolism for today to have her more hyperactive so she'd used up more energy and be tired during this time. Then after the rain came, I made it so she couldn't say no to anything I told her or asked her to do as well as to not resist what I did," Shirley finally said in a defeated tone, almost like she was expecting to be executed for what she'd done.

Beth nodded as she listened, trying to hold her anger in check. Which was rather a challenge the more she learned about what Shirley had done as well as the extent of it. "What did you physically do to Charlie? As in what did you do after you took her ability to consent away?" Beth asked through gritted teeth.

"I began taking her bra off, touching her and having her touch me," Shirley replied quietly. Beth wouldn't have gotten angrier with her at this moment, but she had the audacity to blush as she said that and Beth had to force herself to remain sitting next to Charlie in order to not attack the older girl.

"You realize how illegal what you did is, right?" Beth had half a mind to turn Shirley over to the police right then, but she hesitated because she had concerns about how it would affect Charlie. Not just the legal proceedings but emotionall as well.

"Yes, I do," Shirley replied. "Heathcliff didn't care."

Beth nodded. She suspected Heathcliff was behind this and even if Shirley hadn't just ratted him out now, she would have held him just as responsible for this as Shirley anyway.

"So, if you made it so Charlie couldn't do anything to protect herself, what happened that caused her to be like she was when I got here?" Beth asked, pretty sure that somehow Charlie had broken free of Shirley's magic.

Shirley shook her head. "I really don't know. I've never heard of this happening before," Shirley answered, sighing. "It was like she used a burst of pure magic to blast me away and then to protect herself, but with the enchantments I used, she shouldn't have been able to do that. Only a…"

Beth waited for Shirley to finish after she trailed off, but after a few minutes, when it didn't seem like she was, Beth sighed impatiently. "Only a what?" she snapped.

"Only a thought mage could have done that."

Beth scoffed and had to look around to avoid hitting Shirley in the face. "What the hell is a thought mage?"

"A thought mage is a rare talent that, as the name suggests works with magic in the mind. Most can hear the thoughts of others, but some aren't. Very few can see inside of another's dreams and even communicate with them there. Then there are those who can't hear the thoughts of others, but they can understand the intentions or others while making themselves understood, or not, as they choose. Regardless, they can let their thoughts be heard by those who can communicate with magic even without using magic of their own. It's almost as rare as true enchanters, those who can leave a part of themselves to enchant objects without any significant cost to themselves. However, thought mages are much more common than those, despite being rare themselves."

Beth started to shake her head in annoyance while Shirley spoke, but stopped as she suddenly remembered about the 'dream conference' that Charlie had started with all of them. "Okay, yeah, I guess some of that sounds like Charlie, but what I want to know now is what you're going to do to fix this," Beth said. She did want to know more details, but it had been a long day and she could feel her body trying to fall asleep on her, and she still needed to get back to where her own sleeping bag was. So, she thought she should wrap it up. Besides, there was still something she was concerned about with Charlie.

"I failed, so I have no idea what Heathcliff will do to me. I wouldn't be surprised if he took my magic away and let me live a normal life, only knowing what I could have been able to do," Shirley answered.

Beth couldn't help but feel her anger dissipate a little. Enough that she no longer wanted to hurt Shirley, but not enough to let this go. "Anyway, is there a way to make it so Charlie doesn't remember exactly what you did to her?"

Shirley stared at Beth. "I can't change the past. No magic can do that."

Beth shook her head in annoyance. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about keeping Charlie from being traumatized by the sexual abuse you inflicted on her. Is there a way to keep her from remembering that?"

Shirley thought for a moment. "The only way would be to put a seal over her memories for that. However, if it isn't done carefully, you might seal away all of her memories," Shirley said, and stopped for a moment. Then when Beth was about to say something, she continued, "Then it also has to be done by someone who Charlie trusts completely. Because she is a thought mage, any seal created by another anywhere in her mind would slide off like water on glass."

Beth sighed. That meant it would be left to Beth, and regardless of how tired she was, this was something she would be willing to risk her health over. "Tell me what I need to do," Beth said, glaring at Shirley, hating that she actually did need help from the one who caused this mess in the first place.

Shirley nodded and began explaining what Beth needed to do to seal Charlie's memories of what happened to her away. She planned on letting Charlie know about the seal in the morning and let her decide if she wanted those memories or not, but for the time being, Beth thought it better to keep her from having to remember that trauma. At the very least, she knew it would take years of therapy to get over how badly it seemed to Beth that she'd been traumatized over the sexual assault she'd had to endure from Shirley.

Even though they didn't trust Shirley, neither of them had expected that she would have done something like this. The enchantments on Charlie weren't that surprising to Beth, but why the assault?

When Beth was finished sealing Charlie's memories, she turned to Shirley. "Why? Why did you do this to her?" Beth asked, her anger fizzling out from fatigue.

Shirley sighed and looked away. "Because when a person reaches the peak of pleasure during sex, their mind is completely unguarded and any number of enchantments can be placed on them that would hold tighter than at any other time. There are other times that occurs, but engaging in sex is the most reliable way of making it occur," Shirley said.

Suddenly Beth didn't want to leave Charlie alone with Shirley anymore, but she was starting to get cold in just her bikini.

"Do you have a blanket for me to use?" Beth asked. "I'm not going to leave you here with her like she is."

"Even if I tried again, she would use her magic to stop me," Shirley said.

"Even if she's asleep?" Beth asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Unless she dies, she'll use her magic instinctively to protect herself, or unless her magic is completely drained, such as from overusing it."

"Fine, but I'm only leaving so I can get my sleeping bag. I'll be back here as soon as I can," Beth informed Shirley. Then, using her magic, she reached out to Amelia. –Amelia, can you bring me my sleeping bag? I'll meet you on the way.–

–Okay, but it's getting late.– Amelia replied, then as Beth was about to leave the tent, Amelia asked something that surprised Beth, even though she realized she should have been aware of it. –Hannah finished charging your phone for you, should I bring it with me?–

–Sure, I forgot Hannah could charge things with her magic.–

Beth heard Amelia giggle with her magic, which made Beth chuckle as well. –Yeah, she's very good with electronics that way.–

–Okay, I'll meet you partway. Use your magic to create a light for you and I'll find you easy.

–I'll be there.–

_

Charlie stirred in her sleeping bag. The day was already bright, showing the sun had been up for some time already. She started to sit up, but when she felt the material of the sleeping bag slide against her skin, she realized how little she was wearing and felt her face start to burn up.

She looked around frantically and was surprised to see Beth in her own sleeping bag, asleep in the tent. However, as soon as she felt that, she couldn't help but wonder why was she so surprised? Then, as she thought back to the night before, she remembered encountering Shirley in the rain and going to the tent, but then… nothing.

Charlie looked around and saw it was just her and Beth in the tent, so she sat up, letting her sleeping bag fall down, the morning air tickling her chest, which is when she saw her bra in the sleeping bag next to her, which she promptly picked up and put on, before climbing out of her sleeping bag to rummage in her pack for something to wear.

She was appalled at how everything in her pack was soaked through. She pulled out a shirt and new pair of shorts and put a drop of her magic in both, somehow knowing that it would have them dry out. Then, while they were still steaming, she began to put them on, more worried about either Beth waking up or Shirley entering the tent from wherever she had gone.

When she was dressed, she breathed a sigh of relief, though the shirt and shorts still drying out felt weird to her. Charlie then picked up her pack, opened the tent door and stepped outside. She saw Shirley in front of a campfire, cooking some breakfast sausages.

While the aroma of the food called to Charlie, she felt almost like something was holding her back from approaching Shirley. She couldn't say what it was, only that part of her mind was telling her to stay away from her. Sighing, she instead began to look for somewhere she could hang her clothing up so it could dry and not get any mildew, doing her best to walk carefully enough that her bare feet wouldn't step on anything too painful.

She wanted to use her magic on each piece, but for some reason, just putting a drop of her magic in the shorts and shirt she was currently wearing had left a burning feeling and she wasn't sure if it was safe to continue using her magic at the moment.

What happened last night? She wondered as she began putting her clothing on the lower branches of a tree, making sure each one separate from rest, including her socks. She used the branches of two trees before she finished, at which point she saw Beth coming out of the tent, wearing her bikini.

Charlie left her backpack hanging on a branch, hoping it would dry out with the rest of her clothing as she went over to greet Beth for the morning.

"Morning, Beth!" Charlie called, cheerfully.

Beth turned to look at Charlie and smiled. "Morning!"

At the sound, Shirley looked up from the sausage and called out, "Morning you two! Up a little late, huh?"

Charlie wanted to reply, but at the same time her throat closed up, and she felt a sharp sense of fear that she couldn't explain.

"Charlie, you okay?" Beth asked, clearly seeing something in her reaction.

"I- I'm not sure," Charlie replied, starting to wonder if something happened that hit her hard, such as maybe why she couldn't remember anything after going into the tent.

"I think there's something I'll need to tell you about, then," Beth said, putting her arm around Charlie's shoulders, in an almost tender manner that made Charlie feel a little confused. Typically Beth did it in a more companionable way, not like she was about to give bad news.

When they were almost out of sight of the tent, with the fire on the other side, Beth motioned for Charlie to sit on a rock nearby as she did so herself.

When Charlie was seated, Beth looked at her hands and sighed. "I just wanted to tell you that I sealed your memories of last night."

Charlie was stunned. "W- why do that?"

"Because of what happened to you. Of what Shirley did to you," Beth replied bluntly. "If you want to remember what happened, I can remove the seal, but if I do, I don't think you'll be able to go looking for the crystal for at least a few years. Not until you get therapy to get you through the trauma you experienced."

Charlie took what Beth said in. Whether or not she could remember, she was sure it was still affecting her, but didn't want to say anything, because she could tell that Beth had only done that to help her out. She didn't want Beth to think that what she'd done was useless, even in part. "Well, maybe until we get Petals' memories back in her, I can live with not knowing what happened."

Beth smiled. "Thanks. If you change your mind at anytime, I'll be willing to remove the seal. Just let me know."

"Thanks, Beth," Charlie said, as she started to stand back up and walk back to the tent.

"No problem, short stuff," Beth replied.

"Hey!" Charlie cried indignantly, causing Beth to laugh. "That's not funny!"

_

On the last day of the trip, they got back to the cars around ten in the morning. After the rest of the group had caught up to them on the second morning on the trail, they decided that they wouldn't go any father towards the mountains, so they could get back in time so they could be rested for the first day of school.

Though, they still waited for Charlie's clothes to dry before they started to head back. Charlie suspected that Beth told the others of what happened, which was fine with her, she wasn't sure she wanted to know the details; at least right then. Though, she hoped Beth didn't give them too many details, since she didn't know what exactly had happened, she wasn't sure what the results might be in the end.

She couldn't stand to be near Shirley, so when it came time to get in the cars, Charlie begged to travel with someone else, to the point where she threatened to walk home if they wouldn't let her ride with someone else. So, in the end, Charlie rode in Lily's car with Hannah and Amelia.

However, she felt like Beth wanted to talk with her, but since that morning, they hadn't had a chance to talk privately, not that either of them really tried. Charlie also couldn't put her finger on how she knew that Beth had more to say to her. Maybe she was still hearing the thoughts of her friends without trying on occasion or it was something else. She just couldn't be sure, which annoyed her to the point she just wanted to pull her hair out.

Though, as they left, Charlie found herself falling asleep, leaning towards Hannah, who when she fell asleep learned towards Amelia and when Amelia fell asleep she fell towards Hannah as well.

Apparently Lily thought it was so cute that she took a picture of them like that and sent it to them after they got back in town. Much to Charlie's displeasure.

Though, on the way, they stopped at a Golden Corral, because of the promise to stop somewhere on their return trip that had cake. Amelia was in heaven there. Charlie wasn't sure how much Shirley, Nick, Lily, Cassie, and Rick had expected Amelia to be able to eat, but when Amelia went back to the buffet line for her tenth plate, Charlie and her friends were teeming with suppressed laughter from the expressions on their faces.

Though, when they got dropped off at Charlie's house, the sun was setting and it took Hannah a few minutes of shaking Charlie to get her to wake up. Part of the reason was because she was having a dream of her first day back to school, and was ecstatic that she had all of her classes with Alex, even when they weren't in the same class, somehow. But with the logic only possible in dreams, it worked.

Charlie hoped the first day of school would be like that, but didn't really expect it to. After all, when did life ever happen the way it did when she was dreaming?