Reven Nuu's mystery box

"Hmm...how interesting..." Reven brought an item closer for inspection, turning it around in his hands every which angle.The toyfair was abuzz with sellers of all kinds of wares, brought far and wide for the sole purpose of serving as hellish entertainment. Succubuns crowded around trinkets that glittered when twisted, and ooed at wind up dolls that danced graciously to a rapt audience. There were puzzles and board games and gadgets galore - many delightful in their simplicity, though the *thing* in Reven's hands rejected such straightforward identification.

 

It was a box - smooth on every side, and decked in an array of gems. Its bright colors were what first drew his attention while he flit from one stall to another. As a decor, it would've been too gaudy for Reven's tastes...but as a toy? The store owner assured her there was more than meets the eye, and sure enough the contraption spoke of tiny treasures within when lightly shaken. There was no readily apparent lock nor lid; and the jewels obscured whatever secrets it hid along its presumably tightly pressed ridges. They refused to explain anything further: "the mystery is part of the charm." It truly was; much tinkering and fussing later, Reven's pocket watch chimed, reminding her of an upcoming client meeting. She'd been so utterly preoccupied with figuring out the contraption that a whole 20 minutes had flown by without notice. Needing to go but unable to leave the toy alone, she put down a handful of carats as payment and took the prized possession home.

 

***

Finally, after a long day of work, he was free to inspect with the box again. Earlier he'd already run his polished nails over most every surface, finding a few seemingly loose jewels; 1 or two on every side. Back at the stall he couldn't go much further than that, unsure whether these were points of progress or indicators of the toy's shoddy make, but now that this is well and truly his...gloves off once more, he put firm pressure on each point until he heard a small "click". Reven's heart skipped with excitement (and relief that he wasn't scammed with a defective product). The surface made a clean curved split, twisting on invisible hinges on the top most side to reveal a smaller box inside, along with a small golden key. She carefully extracted the box and turned it around in her hands once more: Light reflected off the stained glass sides, glinting along its clean-cut, perfectly square segments - no hole to fit the key in just yet. Tapping the glass gave a clear, low clink; there were still more secrets to be uncovered. 

 

Nudging every piece revealed a loose spot that came off with ease; the surrounding pieces could be slid into the new hole, allowing Reven to rearrange the positions of every glass tile. Its a picture puzzle! Completing each side revealed a story of a unicorn born with silvery gossamer wings and a gilded horn. Its bridle was decorated with a few dazzling gems, much like the ones that covered the box's first layer. The last side however was a depiction of a lock, with the empty space right where the key hole would be. She inserted the key, and twisted it - then twisted it again, and again, and again. Finally...tiny notes played out, and the sides of the box collapsed outwards to reveal a beautifully intricate music box with the little unicorn spinning slowly at its center. Rainbow light scattered off the gem decked base. Reven clapped in amusement, well and truly satisfied with finding such a wonderful prize at the fair. Now the music box is a permanent display in the living room of her humble abode, occasionally wound up from time to time to fill the room with color and song.