They walked into the forest.
Henry and Grace went first, and John and Robert followed.
Even though Horak had said this was not the true forest yet, it looked very green to Henry, Grace and John. It was summer time, and all the trees were covered in leaves. The color of the leaves varied somewhat from tree to tree. Some of them were light green, some of them were dark green. Down at the eye level, each tree was separate, but above their heads all the branches seemed to interlink with each other, forming a roof of green colors.
Green ivy also hung down from many of the trees, and there were several green bushes along the forest floor.
There was no road, or even a visible dirt trail. But Robert knew that there were still various paths that the animals followed, even if they couldn’t be seen by the untrained eye. If Robert had been in the front, he could easily have found one of these paths through the forest, one that didn’t involve stepping over so many bushes, or pushing aside so many ivy vines. But Henry was in the front, so Robert just followed him.
John tried to talk to Robert. “How well do you know this forest?” he asked him.
“I was born here,” Robert answered. “I know nothing else.”
Henry turned around. “What do you mean you were born in the forest? Where are your parents from?”
“My father was born in some town somewhere,” Robert said. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen it. He never went back to the town. He just stayed in the forest. I don’t remember my mother. She left us when I was very young. But she was from the forest.”
“People are from towns or villages somewhere,” Henry said. “Only animals are from the forest.”
Robert hesitated. Clearly, he was afraid of correcting royalty. But then he found his voice. “She was from the forest. She was one of the forest people. My father told me there is a kingdom somewhere deep inside the forest.”
“This whole forest is part of the kingdom of Mora,” Henry said. “There’s no separate kingdom inside this forest.”
Having corrected royalty once, Robert now ventured to do it again.“You will see once we are several days deep inside the forest,” said Robert. “The creatures in this forest have never heard of the king of Mora. They have their own laws, and their own kingdoms. There are many kings inside this forest.” Robert paused, and then added, “We will meet the Bear King in two days’ time, if all goes well. But he is just one of many kings in this forest. Perhaps there is also a human kingdom buried somewhere deep inside the forest. It is possible.”
“Did you know your mother?” asked John.
“I can’t remember her,” said Robert. “She left when I was very young. My father didn’t like to talk about her. He just told me that she had to return to her people.”
“We can’t remember our mother either,” said Grace. She didn’t say anything more, but the four of them now felt like they had found some sort of common bond.
They let the moment sink in as they walked in silence for a bit.
The forest was peaceful, but they did see animals pass by from time to time. Sometimes the animals would stop and greet Robert.
“Greetings, son of Midor,” said a fox, as it passed them. “It’s been several months since I saw you in this part of the forest. Where are you going today?”
“Greetings, friend Russell,” said Robert, addressing the old fox by name. “I am going to the Bear King’s kingdom.”
“Give the Bear King my regards,” said the fox. The fox briefly scrutinized the others. “Who are these other humans with you?’
“The princes and princess of the human kingdom,” said Robert.
“Ah…” said the fox. “So these are the humans the forest is talking about. They say that soldiers have entered the forest looking for them.”
“The soldiers are in the forest already?” said Grace. “I thought they were one day behind us.”
Robert decided now was the time to take the lead. “Thank you, friend Russell,” he said. “We must be off.” Robert indicated to Henry, Grace and John to follow him, and dashed through the forest.
Grace repeated her question. “How did the soldiers get here so fast?”
“They must have been on our tail the whole time without us realizing it,” said John.
“It’s okay,” said Robert. “They won’t be able to catch us. None of them know the forest as well as I do. We’ll go into the thicket.”
They followed Robert into denser and denser foliage. The bushes and trees got closer and closer together, but Robert could always find a small path between them. He moved fast, but the others were able to keep up. Branches and ivy and leaves went by rapidly on all sides.
When Robert stopped to catch his breath, they all found themselves on a path underneath a tangle of branches and thorns. The thorn bushes were in bloom, so there were flowers in the branches all above them, and green leaves to their sides. The ceiling of branches and flowers shaded the walkway somewhat, but the sun shone through in the cracks, causing the walkway to be illuminated by several criss-crossing sunbeams.
“The flowers are so beautiful,” said Grace. “I’ve never walked under so many flowers.”
There was actually a pathway before them, so that they could walk through the thorn patch. “This is the road the wood nymphs built long ago,” Robert said. “It goes straight through this thornpatch for miles. As long as you stay in the middle, the thorns won’t touch you.”
“Who are the wood nymphs?”
“They are magical creatures who live here in the forest,” said Robert. “They are closely connected with the tree spirits. And they can influence how the trees and bushes grow, if they so choose. They caused these thorn branches to make this deep thicket, so that they could travel through the forest undisturbed. But my father knew the way in.”
“Are we in any danger here?” asked John.
“No, the nymphs know who I am. They’ve given me permission to walk here. Besides, it’s not only for their exclusive use. Lots of the animals know about it.”
Robert pointed up ahead to a couple of rabbits who were hopping down the walkway. The rabbits, noticing Robert at the same time, called back to him. “Greetings son of Midor,” they called out.
Robert called back to them. “Greetings Titus and Multus. Safe journeys to you.”
Robert led the others through the path. It went on for miles, and the others followed, him, marvelling at the beauty of all the flowers.
Several bees were buzzing around the flowers. Insects, as a rule, do not usually take much notice of the world of humans. But a couple of the bees did stop to recognize Robert, and stopped to greet him. “Greetings, son of Midor,” they buzzed.
After the bees had flown past, Robert turned to Henry. “The bees have their own queen, and their own laws, and do not recognize the authority of the king of Mora. The same with the ants. As I told you, there are many kingdoms in this forest. Once you enter into the forest, the Kingdom of Mora has ended.
Henry was having trouble absorbing all this information, but John just laughed. “What liars our school teachers were,” John said. “They told us everything within the borders of Mora was under the control of the king. How little they knew.”
“It is sheer folly to claim to rule this forest,” said Robert. “No one even knows how deep it goes.”
As they kept walking through the shaded path, they passed many more animals. Two hedgehogs were walking in the opposite direction, and both of them greeted Robert as “Son of Midor.” Robert greeted each of them by name.
A family of frogs was hopping down the path. They also said hello to the “Son of Midor”, and Robert also called them by their names.
“How do you know the names of every animal in this forest?” asked Henry.
“This forest is my home,” said Robert. “I grew up here. Just as you know all the people who live in your neighborhood, so I know all those here. But the forest is so deep that no man knows it all. After we’ve walked for a few days, I’ll be a stranger to the animals, just like you.”
They stopped for lunch after walking for a few more hours. They sat in the shade and ate cheese and bread and berries, and washed it down with wine and water.
“We should have enough water to keep us going for one more day,” said Robert. “Then we’ll have to go to the stream to refill our sacks.”
“I don’t suppose there’s any more wine in the forest,” asked John.
Robert laughed. “The Elves make wine. They have several villages inside this forest. They may give you some wine in exchange for some of your jewels.” ****MAKE EXPLICIT EARLIER THAT THEY ARE CARRYING JEWELS***
“We’ll have to go without wine,” said Henry. “We’ll save the jewels for when a real emergency comes. You never know what could come in the future.”
While they were still talking, they saw a figure that looked like a beautiful young woman walking down the path towards them. Robert, who had been reclining on the ground, quickly bolted to attention and bowed down on his knees. “Quick,” he said to the others. “It’s one of the nymphs.” The others bowed with Robert.
The nymph smiled as she walked up and lightly touched Robert’s face. “Arise, son of Midor,” she said in a sweet voice. “You know you are always welcome here.”
Robert nodded his head, and silently rose to his feet. He indicated Henry, Grace and John, who were still kneeling. “These are the princes and princess of Mora,” he said. “I am taking them into the forest to escape their enemies.”
The nymph looked at Henry, and realized he was quite handsome. “This one is welcome to stay here with me,” she said. “I can hide him inside the oak tree.”
Robert considered this briefly. Humans generally don’t like living in trees as the nymphs do. But it would at least ensure Henry’s safety. No human soldier would ever be able to find him once the nymph had hidden him inside of her tree.
The main problem was that nymphs always got very jealous and possessive. It would be okay as long as Henry promised to stay in the tree with her forever. But if Henry ever tried to leave, and return to his kingdom, then she would wreak terrible vengeance on him. Nymphs had magic, and their curses were terrible to behold.
While Robert was still thinking, Henry answered for him. “Sweet lady of the forest, I only wish I was truly deserving of your affection. But you see me now fleeing from my enemies. Until I have faced my enemies, and won back my birthright, I am unworthy of your love.”
The nymph bent down and kissed Henry on the lips. “I will be waiting here in this forest,” she said. Then she walked off, and left Henry, John and Grace still kneeling on the ground.
“You may stand now,” said Robert.
Henry’s handsomeness was becoming a liability. Robert hadn’t anticipated this before. As they started walking, he said to Henry, “Before our journey is over, you may meet many more nymphs or other women of the forest. They may also declare their love for you. Be careful in how you respond. That one already considers you promised to her. She will be angry if she hears about you with another nymph.”
“What about me?” John called out from behind them. “Why aren’t you warning me about the nymphs? If Henry is already betrothed, surely the next nymph can be mine?”
Robert hesitated before answering. The truth was the nymphs would not be as interested in John. John was shorter, and not as handsome or as muscular as Henry. John was not unattractive. He had soft skin and deep brown eyes. But at only age 14, he still had a childish looking face. But should he tell all this to John directly? Not being used to human interaction, this was one of those social skills Robert had not picked up yet. When should he hide the truth, and when should he tell it?
The other thing Robert had never really learned was how to hide his emotions, and his consternation showed on his face. Henry and Grace laughed when they saw Robert’s troubled face. “John’s just joking,” Henry said.
“This is his way of being funny,” Grace said. “You’ll get used to it soon enough.”
John gave an apologetic smile, and then said, “Sorry, I’ve got a strange sense of humor. I can’t help myself sometimes.”
In truth, John knew full well that the women always went for his brother, and always ignored him, and he had learned to live with it over the years, and started making jokes about it.
The four continued walking down the flower-lined thicket path.
“Tell us about your father,” Grace said to Robert. “All the animals call you ‘Son of Midor’. Don’t they know your name?”
“It’s a compliment,” said Robert. “When they associate me with my father, they are paying me respect. They are implying that his greatness is connected with me as well. If we ever meet one who calls me only ‘Robert’, and does not mention my father, then be on your guard, for that one does not wish me well.”
“Why was he so great?” asked John.
“Peter and Horak spoke respectfully of him,” Grace said. “But we had never heard of Midor before they brought us to you.”
“He travelled further in this forest than any other ranger ever has,” said Robert. “He knew every pathway, and every secret. He brought peace between the Elves and the Bear King. He was the only human that the Bear King allowed into his territory. He was the only human that the Elves respected.”
“But what happened to him?” asked John.
“No one knows,” said Robert. “He went into the forest one day, and he never came back. It’s impossible that he could have gotten lost in the forest. He knew it too well to get lost. So the only other explanation is that he must have died.” Robert paused. “We’ve so far only encountered friendly creatures today, but there are many dangers deep in the forest.”
“Great,” said John sarcastically. “Maybe we should have stayed in the city and taken our chances with King Richard.”
“Don’t worry,” said Robert. “The safest place for you to be is in the forest. I will guide you away from all the dangers. But King Richard’s soldiers will have no one to save them. If King Richard is not careful, he could lose his whole army in this forest. It’s happened before to kings in the past.”
***********************************************
They walked the whole day, and eventually, when dusk came, they were all exhausted.
“We shouldn’t sleep on the pathway,” Robert said. “It belongs to the nymphs, and we only use it with their permission. Let’s leave the thicket, and find a tree to sleep under.”
Henry, Grace and John could no more find their way out of the thicket than they could have found their way into it. To them, it still looked like the pathway was enclosed by thorns on all sides. But Robert somehow found a space between the thorn branches, and they followed him out.
They were back in the forest now--away from the pink and white flowers of the thorn bushes, and back to the dark green of the forest leaves.
Robert led them through a group of trees, until they got to one which he thought was suitable for sleeping under.
They began to set up camp. Grace and John found some sticks on the ground for making a fire.
Henry attempted to break a branch off of one of the living trees, but Robert quickly stopped him. “You must never harm the trees in this forest,” Robert said. “It is the most dangerous thing you could do.”
Henry did not understand. “People chop down trees all the time,” he said.
“Not in the forest,” Robert said. “For one thing, many of the nymphs live inside these trees. If you harm the tree with a nymph inside it, she will take horrible vengeance. But more importantly, the trees themselves will get angry.”
The others did not understand, so Robert had to explain. “The trees can talk to each other,” Robert said. “The more they talk, the more awake they become. But the less they can talk, the more they sleep. In the towns and villages, the people are many, and the trees are few, and so the trees have no one to talk to. They become sleepy, and they are silent. But in the forest, the trees are awake. The ones here don’t say much. We are still on the outskirts of the forest. But the deeper we get into the forest, the more the trees are active. Once we get a few days in, the trees will be able to talk. And if they are provoked, they can move. They can swing their branches down, and hit out at anyone who attacks them. Once we get deep into the forest, you must always treat the trees with respect, or they can kill you.”
Later that night, as they got ready for bed, and lay down on the ground, John murmured to himself, “What liars our school teachers were. They never told us anything about nymphs, or Bear Kings, or talking trees.”
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