King Henry

Chapter 40 - Finding Merlin

**** Two Hours Later ****

Eleanor, Richard and Joan were now all three dressed as monks, wearing long dark maroon robes with their hoods pulled down to cover most of their faces.

They had already visited Father Lawrence and just as Richard had predicted, he knew exactly where they could find Merlin. Father Lawrence always seemed to have all the answers. He had been around a long time and knew everyone.

The three of them climbed into the front seat of Father Lawrence's wagon and headed out of town towards a place Eleanor thought she'd never go, the forbidden forest. It was forbidden because legend had it that those woods were full of evil spirits and anyone that stepped foot in there would never be seen or heard from again.

The only ones that ever went there willingly were thieves, murderers and people that were hiding away from the world. The latter was the case with Merlin. He was hiding away from everyone and everything, but Eleanor hoped he would be willing to come out of hiding to help the King.

After they left London, they made a few turns until they finally turned onto a disheveled old gravel road that looked like it hadn't been used in years. There were weeds growing up through the rocks and the trail itself was overgrown and in desperate need of trimming.

Eventually they came up to the edge of the forest and the horses slowed to a stop, neighing and rearing up as if they didn't want to go into the forest either. The forest was so thick with trees that it made the trail look pitch dark, even in the daytime.

"There it is. The Forbidden Forest," Richard said, hesitating.

Then he smacked the reigns lightly and the horses hesitantly walked forward, very slowly. It was almost as if they could sense they weren't meant to be there. Eleanor felt the same way and a cold chill went across her skin, making the hair on her arms stand up. If she wasn't so desperate to save Henry she would've turned right around and forgotten all about this place, but unfortunately that wasn't an option.

As soon as they left the sunlight and entered the dark forest, the temperature immediately dropped and there was a cool breeze that whistled through the trees, making the twisted branches creak and groan in the tall trees above them.

Eleanor looked around them, seeing large thorn bushes surrounding the trail on both sides and damp green moss covering the tree trunks. This forest was unlike any she had ever been in before. In the distance she could hear the growl and snarl of a pack of wolves and she hoped they wouldn't come any closer, wringing her dress in her hands anxiously.

Joan noticed and she looked over and gave Eleanor a reassuring pat on her hands. "It's going to be fine. We'll find Merlin and then we'll get out of here as soon as we can."

She nodded, swallowing hard and trying to look calm, even though on the inside she was anything but. Her heart was pounding and her hands were sweating.

"Whoa," Richard said, pulling back on the reigns and bringing the horses to a stop. Eleanor noticed there was a large tree blocking their path and her heart sank. 'Why couldn't anything ever just go smoothly?' she wondered.

Richard got off the carriage, tying the horses to a tree and grabbing an axe out of the back of the wagon. The loud banging sounds of him chopping away at the logs echoed through the trees and Eleanor realized he was alerting the entire forest to the fact that they were there, not that they had much choice.

The minutes dragged on slowly and Joan decided to take a nap in the wagon, while Eleanor attempted to help Richard.

She was picking up a log when she heard an unfamiliar male voice say from behind them, "Drop the axe and put your hands up and no one gets hurt."