Magic, do as you will..."
After a long way through a dried-out, dangerous world, a world that lost its magic, they finally arrive at Hagsgate near Haggard’s castle, and the town folk try to draw them into a plot against Prince Lir, Haggard’s stepson. Fear rules the town - fear of an ancient curse spelled out by a witch who wasn’t paid.
The same night - in a dead forest before the fortress - the bull scents the unicorn and hunts her down. In the last moment Schmendrick lets go of his own personal, limited power, calls on the source of magic - "magic, do as you will" - and turns the unicorn into a beautiful, fairy-like young woman that the Bull can’t recognize. They enter King Haggard’s court in disguise and stay there - for ages, it seems.
Time seems to stand still in Haggard’s strange, labyrinthic castle. They are trapped in a half ruined fortress that keeps altering its shape - it almost behave like a creature itself - the architecture reflects its mood swings. As the seasons pass by, the Lady Amalthea (formerly the unicorn) falls in love with Prince Lir, a foundling with unknown parents, adopted as a baby by the lonely tyrant king.