Chapter 4: The Secret Path

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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.”

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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.”

Chapter 3: Escape into the Forest

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Everyone was nervous, but the escape went as planned.  Henry, Grace, and John were able to sneak out of the South Gate using soldiers’ uniforms.

Horak and Peter, two of King Trad’s old friends, met them outside of the city with horses.  

The horses were also loyal to King Trad’s family, and so had agreed to be ridden in order to help the young princes and princess escape.

They rode for several days.

Inside of the city, it had always been crowded and noisy.  There were too many people, and too many buildings, and barely any trees in sight.

Even outside of the city walls, the city sprawl continued for miles.  Houses, taverns, temples, and inns were everywhere.

But gradually, as they rode on and on, the buildings became less and less.  And the fields became more and more.  Until eventually, they were in the rural farming area.

There were a few farmhouses and grain storage towers out in the distance.  But mostly it was just endless fields of wheat and barley.

This went on for a couple days, but then this too became less and less.  As they rode on, there were still some cultivated fields, but more and more the land was empty and unused.  Sometimes it was just empty grassland stretching out, but then more and more they began seeing clumps of trees and small wooded areas.

Eventually there were more and more trees, until the road was surrounded on all sides by forest.

Henry thought that now they were in the great Western Forest.  But Horak corrected him.  “We’re getting close, but we’re not there yet,” Horak said.  “As long as there is still a wide road to ride on, we’re not truly in the forest yet.”

The trees were filled with the chatter of birds.  Most of the birds cared little for human affairs, and just chatted endlessly about the forest gossip.

But Horak knew that birds make the best spies.  They could fly everywhere and see everything, and the army of Mora always kept a few birds in their employ.  Horak tried to keep his eyes open for birds who looked like outsiders--birds who were not gossiping with the others.

King Trad’s friends had spies of their own, and occasionally Horak would get messages.  A bird would fly down to his shoulder and whisper something in his ear.  

Henry, Grace, and John could never hear what the bird was whispering.  But it was seldom good.  Usually Horak’s face would get worried, and he would tell the horses to go faster.

Occasionally, they would hear the sound of animals--wolves, or other wild dogs--running through the trees.  It seemed at times like the sounds were following them.  When the sounds came very close, Grace would fit an arrow to her bow, and Henry would put his hand on his sword.  

But in the end, they never saw anything.

At night, they slept in shifts.  Always two were awake, keeping watch while the others slept.

After the third day of travelling through the woods, they reached the woodsman’s cabin, just as the sun was beginning to go down.

The cabin did not mark the end of the road.  The road continued on past the cabin, and Horak told them that the road continued on through the forest, and eventually led to another town on the other side.  “But this is not the real forest,” Horak said.  “To get into the real forest, you have to leave the road behind, and walk through the trees on foot.”

The woodsman and his wife came out, and Horak made simple introductions.

All of the travellers were exhausted, and the ranger had not arrived yet, so Horak announced that they would spend the night in the cabin.

The woodsman and his wife lived in a simple cabin, and did not have beds for the visitors.  They barely had floorspace for everyone.  It was a big change from the beds in the palace that Henry, Grace, and John were used to.  But they were so exhausted from the travelling that they didn’t care.  They flung themselves down on the ground and were fast asleep.

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We’ve not yet properly met our young princes and princess, so now may be a good time to make brief introductions.

Henry was the oldest.  He was 17.  

Of the three, he was the only one who had clear memories of their father, and the only one who remembered anything about their mother.

Henry was 6 feet tall.  He  had brown hair, which he kept neatly parted on the left side, and green eyes, and a sharp strong jaw line.  

Throughout his teenage years, Henry spent most of his free time out in the field practicing his military exercises.  He had grown strong and muscular from all the exercise.  He knew how to use a sword and shield, even though he had never been in a real fight in his life.  

Henry had spent his whole life expecting to be king.  And now, even though he had no throne, he still acted like one born to rule.  He gave orders, and expected others to do as he bid.  He did not react well if others told him what to do.  Horak and Peter he tolerated, because they had been his father’s friends, and so he had been obeying them so far on this journey.  But anyone else he refused to listen to.

This is not to say that he had no good qualities.  Although he expected to command and to be obeyed, he would never have ordered others to do anything that he would not do himself.  He felt that as the rightful king, it was his duty to protect those under him.  And he would always expose himself to danger first, rather than risk the life of someone beneath him.

And he never hesitated to expose himself to danger.  He was also very brave.  Like his father, he was probably too brave--he cared nothing for his own safety. And, if he had ended up becoming king, he might well have ended his life at a young age the same way his father had done, by needlessly exposing himself in battle.

Grace was the next oldest.  She was 15, two years younger than Henry.

Grace was the only one out of the 3 to have red hair.  Henry and John both had brown hair, like their father, but Grace took after their mother.  Until recently, Grace’s long red hair had been much remarked upon for its beauty.  But now Grace had cut it all off.  Her hair was now shortly cut around her head, like a boy’s.

Grace had green eyes, like Henry, but they were wider and bigger.  Because of the earnest look that Grace had when she was talking to someone, her eyes were often remarked upon.   People called them “bright” and “sharp” and sometimes “piercing.”

Like Henry, Grace was accustomed to being obeyed, and she was naturally commanding.  But she was also more thoughtful than Henry.  Whereas Henry usually charged into any situation, Grace usually thought carefully before she took any action. 

Grace had resisted the efforts of the household servants to make her into a perfect princess.  And since she outranked them all, there had been no one to force her.  She had not learned how to knit or embroider or to dance.  

She had often joined Henry out on the training fields.  But whereas Henry favored the sword, Grace had loved archery.  She was very good with the bow and arrows.  And she was swift on her feet--faster than both of her two brothers in a race.

The youngest was John.  He was 14.

John had brown hair, like Henry, but John’s hair was much thicker and longer.  The hair covered his forehead, and every so often John had to brush the hair up to keep it out of his eyes.

And unlike his older brother and sister, John was the only one who had brown eyes instead of green eyes.

John had spent his whole life in the shadow of Henry and Grace.  They had commanded everything, and he had quietly gone along with them.

He had also spent his entire life expecting to follow rather than to lead.  

Unlike Henry, John had a quiet, unassuming voice.  And he spent a lot of time quietly thinking.

He had had some military training, and he could use a sword if he had to, but he much preferred reading and studying.

These were the three children of King Trad.

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The ranger arrived in the morning.

Horak and Peter were expecting him, and met him outside first, before they brought him in to meet the Princes and Princess.

The ranger was dressed all in green.  He had a green shirt, and green pants, and even a small green hat. He had short black hair, and blue eyes.

Horak and Peter introduced him.  “This is Robert.  The son of Midor the ranger.”

Robert was only 16, younger than Henry was, and barely older than Grace.  He held out his hand for Henry to shake, but he looked nervous.  

Then, when Robert was being introduced to Grace, she looked at him with her piercing eyes, and Robert instinctively looked down and his face reddened visibly.  He tried to recover by quickly re-establishing eye-contact once he realized what he had done, but Henry and John both noticed, and Grace definitely noticed.  

Horak and Peter noticed too.  They weren’t particularly surprised.  The boy had spent too much time in the woods.  What little human contact he had had was mostly with old rangers.  He almost never met a girl his own age.

Horak sensed that there was a potential danger developing.  Henry was too imperious, and Robert was too meek.    He stepped forward and with his left hand grabbed ahold of Robert’s hand, and with his right hand he took ahold of Henry’s hand.

Horak turned to Robert first.  “Robert, they know nothing of the forest.  They’ve only ever lived in the city.  You must teach them everything. Do you understand?”  The boy nodded silently.  “Good.” Horak turned to Henry.  “Henry, in the forest, Robert is the king.  You follow everything he says.  You do not disobey him.  You do not do anything without seeking his counsel first.  Do you understand?” 

Henry’s eyes briefly lit up with a look of defiance.  But then it passed away, and Henry nodded.  “Yes, I understand.”

Horak decided perhaps a little more explanation was necessary.  “Robert has spent his whole life in this forest.  He knows which berries you can eat, and which ones are poisonous.  He knows where you can safely sleep, and where you cannot.  He knows which animals are friendly, and which ones are deadly.  He knows which trails are safe, and which are not.  If you want to survive, you must do exactly as he says, when he says.” Horak paused, before deciding to continue just a little bit more.  “There are many strange legends about this forest.  Some of them have come down from ancient times.  No man living has ever crossed the whole forest, so who knows what you might find once you journey deep into the forest.”

The woodsman and his wife prepared the rest of the food, which was put in knapsacks and distributed to the 4 travellers.

As the travellers were putting on the knapsacks, another bird flew down from the sky and landed on Horak’s shoulders.

“King Richard knows you’re here,” the bird said.  “Somehow he got word.”

“I knew it,” said Horak.  “There are too many spies in this forest.”

“The soldiers are coming,” said the bird.  “They are already on the road to the forest.”

“Why won’t he leave us alone?” asked Grace.  “We can’t possibly hurt him all the way out here.”

“It’s too late for that,” said Horak.  “He’s already mobilized all of his soldiers to look for you.  The entire army of Mora, all of the humans, and all of the animals, are coming for you now.  King Richard couldn’t possibly call them off now.  And he knows that if he ever did call off the hunt, he’d never get everyone mobilized again.  This is his only chance to make sure you never bother him again.”  Horak looked sternly at the Princes and Princess.  “Be prepared.  You could be in that forest for months.”

“We can handle it,” said Henry grimly.

“The forest has spies,” Horak continued.  “Most of the animals don’t concern themselves with human affairs, but a small handful of them are in King Richard’s employ.  But King Richard’s informants are only at the outskirts of the forest.  Keep going deep into the forest, deeper and deeper, and eventually you’ll be out of Richard’s reach.  Now go, quickly.  Before Richard’s soldiers find you.”

Chapter 2: The Friends of King Trad

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It was spring, and the rains were pouring down.  The sound of the rain beating the roof filled the small room.

The door opened, and Horak came in.  He took off his wet cloak, and hung it on the wall, while the servants helped him take off his muddy boots.

Horak started speaking before the servants had even finished.  “It’s just as we feared.  The order has already been given.  And not just Henry. All three of King Trad’s children are in danger.”

“They’re in a secret place now,” Peter said.  “But we can’t hide them in the city for long.  There are too many spies”

“They should have left this city years ago,” said Philip.  “It’s a miracle they’ve survived this long. That boy can be so stubborn…”

“Does he at least realize now what danger he’s in?” asked James.

“Yes.  Now that it’s too late to do anything about it, he’s finally realized his situation,” said Peter.

“The boy can be stubborn,” Horak agreed. “He should never have pressed his claim to the throne.  We all told him that. But it only hastened the inevitable.  Richard would have had him killed sooner or later anyway.”

“But if he had left the city when we told him to…”

Horak waved his hand to stop Philip.  “None of that matters now.  How soon can we get him out of the city now?  The soldiers have already begun searching the houses.”

“We’ll sneak them out the South Gate tomorrow morning,” Peter said.

“How?” asked James.  “You’ll never disguise them as servants.  Their hands are way too soft.”

“They can pass as soldiers.  They’ve all had military training as part of their education.  They can act the part.  And we’ve managed to get some spare uniforms.”

“But what about Princess Grace?”

“She’s had the military training as well.”  Some of the members looked shocked at this, so Peter added, “It’s a bit unorthodox in the case of a princess, but Princess Grace herself insisted on it.”  Still looks of surprise.  Peter cleared his throat and made yet another addition.  “I’m afraid the three of them have had a lot of freedom over the years.  Richard and Queen Eleanor have given them very little in the way of parental supervision, so they’ve mostly been on their own since King Trad died.  And because of their status as princes and princess, no one has ever been able to tell them ‘no’.  They’ve been used to getting everything they want since they were five.”

“No wonder the boy is so unmanageable.”

“Yes, they are spoiled,” Peter admitted.  “But they have good hearts.  King Trad’s spirit lives on in them.  In spite of everything.”

“Getting back to the disguises,” said James, “What will you do about Princess Grace’s hair? It’s far too long to ever…”

“The princess has already cut it.  She cut it all off herself just this evening.  She still has a beautiful face, but she could possibly pass for a young soldier as long as no one looks at her face too closely.  We’ll try to put her in between her brothers as they walk out.”

There was an awkward silence that followed, so Peter decided to say what was on everyone’s mind.  “I know it’s risky.  But this is the only chance we’ve got.  We can’t risk leaving them in the city another day.”

“And then once they’re out of the city?”

“Yes, what then?  Nowhere in the country will be safe.  Richard will send his soldiers into every town and village to find them.”

“We’ll have to send them to a foreign country. It’s the only place they’ll ever be safe.”

“The problem is that Richard has done too good a job of making peace.  He’s allies with all the other kings.  There’s no kingdom nearby that’s not friendly to Richard.”

“We still have some connections.  We could possibly arrange something with a foreign court…”

“But that could take weeks, or months.  We don’t have that kind of time.”

“We’re sending them into the Western Forest,” said Horak.  “It’s their best chance.  The forest is so big, and so thick, and so dark, that they might just be able to elude Richard’s army for a few weeks.”

“But they’ve grown up in the palace! They’ve never foraged for food in their life.  They won’t last two days in the forest.”

“We’ve managed to make some arrangements,” Horak said.  “At the edge of the forest is a woodsman’s cabin. He’s a friend.  At that house, we are sending several bags of food: bread, and vegetables, cheese, dried fruits and figs, and some nuts.  They’ll go to this cabin and pick up these bags from the woodsman before they enter the forest.  They should be able to live for at least a week off of that food.”

“And then after a week?”

“We’ve found a ranger who will guide them through the forest.  He will help them find their way through the thick foliage, and help them make shelter, and then once the food runs out, he will help them forage for new food.”

“No one knows their way through the Western Forest.  Not even the rangers.”

“A few rangers do.  Do you remember Midor the Ranger?”

“Yes, he was the greatest ranger of the kingdom.  But Midor died years ago.”

“Not before he passed all of his knowledge on to his son.”

“His son?  His son is only 16!  We’d be sending children to lead children!”.

“He is the son of Midor.  He is the greatest living ranger in the kingdom.  If anyone can keep the princes and the princess alive in the forest, he can.”

Chapter 1: The Children of King Trad

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Long long ago, far far away, there once was a kingdom named Mora.

The king of Mora was named Trad.  He married his one true love, the beautiful Queen Selene, and together they had 3 children: Henry, Grace and John.

Unfortunately, Queen Selene got sick and died shortly after John was born.  

King Trad was heart-broken.  Selene had been his one true love, and he knew that no woman could ever replace her in his heart.

But a king has certain duties, and marriage is one of them.  The king needed to secure his alliances with the powerful families of the kingdom, and so he took another wife from one of the old families.  He married Queen Eleanor from the family of Anet.

The next year King Trad died in battle.  No one was surprised.  King Trad had always been too brave for his own good.  He had always led his army from the front, and he had always plunged himself into the most dangerous parts of the battle.  His nobles had warned him to be more careful, but he had never listened.

When King Trad died, all of his children were still young.  The oldest child, Henry, was not quite 5 years old at the time.

So Queen Eleanor married King Trad’s brother, Richard.  And together, Richard and Eleanor became the caretakers of Henry, Grace and John as the three children grew up.  Richard and Eleanor were the official regents of the kingdom, ruling in place of the young prince Henry.

As time went on, Richard and Eleanor became more powerful.  And Richard found that he was actually good at ruling the kingdom of Mora.  He knew how to please everyone.  He kept the noble families happy, and he kept the generals of the royal army happy.  He kept taxes low, and unlike his brother, he kept the kingdom out of unnecessary wars.  People liked Richard.

Eventually, Richard and Eleanor had children of their own.  And at this point, people began to suspect that the children of King Trad were in danger.

Even though he was dead, King Trad still had many old friends left who were loyal to his family, and these friends began to urge Prince Henry to flee the country in secrecy.  Henry would not listen.

When Prince Henry was 17, he decided that he was old enough to rule the country by himself, and assume his rightful title of king.  His friends begged him not to do it, but Prince Henry would not listen.  He challenged his Uncle Richard in front of the council of nobles.

The nobles liked Richard and Eleanor, and besides, Eleanor came from one of the most powerful noble families. Henry was young, and knew nothing about ruling. But the nobles knew that lawfully the crown belonged to Henry as the firstborn son of the King. 

While the nobles were debating, various whispers began to be heard.  It would solve a lot of Richard and Eleanor’s problems, people said, if Henry and Grace and John were to disappear.  And perhaps that would not be such a bad thing, people said.  After all, Richard was a capable king.  And Henry was young and untested.

As the whispers grew and grew, the friends of King Trad realized that Henry’s days were numbered, and they would have to move fast.