Arthur Hood: the Heir of Robin and King

Chapter Thirty

Arthur huffed with exhaustion as he slogged through a shoe-sucking swamp, the trolls carrying Morgana and the Sheriff up ahead. He wanted to stop, to rest, but a stick in his back told him to keep moving.

'Don't even think about it,' the boy with the bowler hat said from behind.

Arthur continued. And when he eventually made it to the other side of the fetid bog, he saw their final destination.

Inside a hollow sunken into the earth were the strangest of stones he had ever seen. Twice the size of the tallest man, they were arranged in a circle and glowed with veins of sparkling blue.

Arthur could tell there was magic within them. Then down he and the Wild Children climbed, joining Morgana and the Sheriff, who were now out from the carriage and standing in the very center of the circle, the crown perched on top of a fallen stone.

'Bring him here,' Morgana shrieked at the boy with the bowler hat, and he quickly brought Arthur to her. She then said to Arthur without looking at him, 'You're coming with me to relinquish your right to the throne.'

Once again, she muttered under her breath. And when she was done, the veins in the stones began to pulsate with a thumping hum. Louder and louder it got until leaves and twigs from the forest floor flew into the air like before.

Then something else happened that not just shocked Arthur, but the Sheriff and all the Wild Children too.

The surrounding stones started to shake. The vibrating grew so violent that the forest felt as if it was convulsing.

Suddenly, the stones lifted and joined the twigs and leaves now whipping around.

Dust and debris pummeled Arthur's face. It made his eyes burn, but he kept them open to see the sudden blurry image of Camelot grow more and more sharp until he knew the portal had fully opened.

Morgana's cackle of pleasure bounced off the walls of the hollow. 'Camelot is now mine.'

'Let's get to it then,' the Sheriff gruffed. 'The faster this pit of a forest is destroyed, the better.'

Several faint whimpers from the Wild Children sprang forth before a girl with bright green eyes stepped forward. 'Must it be done?'

Arthur turned to her as did the other Wild Children, the boy with the bowler hat looking at her with guilt and fear. Then the Sheriff stormed over and lifted her up by the scruff of her shirt.

'I warned you,' he growled before spinning around with a grunt and tossing the child out of the hollow and through the trees.

As the girl's screams dwindled to nothing, Morgana cackled again.

The Sheriff glared at the shocked and terrified faces staring at him. 'The next one to question me, I will do much worse.' He then wheeled around before he and Morgana stepped towards the portal.

This was it, thought Arthur. He had failed. The Shadow was about to get its king and queen. The world was surely doomed now.

However, the moment Morgana and the Sheriff were about to step through, they were stopped.

'What is the meaning of this?' Morgana shrieked, her twitchy hands pressing against what seemed to be an invisible wall.

With fury, the Sheriff grabbed another child, a boy who looked younger than Arthur, and tossed him at the portal. And like that, he disappeared through.

'It looks like the forest isn't allowing you two to leave,' replied Arthur. Though he didn't show it, he was glad.

Morgana yelled, as the Sheriff stared daggers, before rasping, 'The boy may speak the truth. But wait . . . what is that I see?' She was now peering inside the portal with the most curious of curiosities. 'It looks like an army, an army on foot and in the air. They're advancing towards us. They're getting clearer. YES! YES! My children. I see my children. And there are men with them. Men who look like you, Sheriff.'

The Sheriff was quickly back to Morgana's side. 'Yes, they are men of my ilk.'

The two then backed away before a fairy and a Sheriff's Man appeared out from the portal. And Arthur tensed up at who they were. It was the fairy princess and the Deputy. The two then looked around, stunned at all they were seeing, the trolls, the swirling stones, before their gazes descended on Morgana and the Sheriff. Instantly, they dropped to the ground and bowed in fealty.

'My lord,' the Deputy groveled, 'my wishes have come true. The world will finally be as it should.'

'And my queen,' cried the princess fairy, 'the Queen of the Fays. I thought this day would never come. We searched and searched for Your Majesty for hundreds and hundreds of years. Your children are here to serve. And may I present to you a gift.' The fairy held out her hands before a slender object materialized between them.

It was the final piece of the Sword in the Stone.

With fervor, Morgana took it into her grasp and stared at it with fire in her eyes. 'With the power of Camelot and King Arthur's sword, we will be unstoppable. The entire world will bend its knee.' She shot her gaze at the carriage, where the conjoined piece of the Sword in the Stone sat. Then with a wave of her finger, it labored into the air, something which clearly displeased her, and toiled over. And once she took it, a thrust of the final piece caused a blinding flash to explode all around.

When the light finally dimmed, Arthur was shocked to see that the fully formed sword had found itself plunged into the stone where the crown was nestled, its newly blossomed hilt of whitish-blue and coiled into the shape of a dragon beaming from a ray of brilliance. Relief, however, quickly washed over him.

Not surprisingly, the sword's entombment didn't have the same effect on Morgana.

'AHHHHHHHH!' she shrieked before fumbling over. She then tried desperately to pull the sword from the stone but it wouldn't budge. 'AHHHHHHHHH!'

The Sheriff too gave it an attempt, his voice straining and groaning at his exertion, but again, King Arthur's blade remained confined.

Morgana tried to free it with her magic, the fairy princess coming to her aide, but their combined power had no effect.

Even if Morgana's magic was at its strongest, Arthur was sure it still wouldn't budge. He then had an idea.

'Let me try,' Arthur said with hope. 'I'm sure I can get it out for you.' Being that he was the heir of Camelot, he was positive that he could.

Morgana, the Sheriff, the fairy princess and the Deputy turned their heads towards Arthur and snarled with suspicion.

'Do you take us for fools?' Morgana howled, her skin cracking as if it was glass.

Arthur turned to the sword, tempted at lunging for it, but the Sheriff stepped between him and the stone.

'It would be the last move you make,' he barked.

Arthur stepped back from the frothing man.

'So, this is where you ran to, little boy.' The Deputy was back on his feet and glaring at Arthur.

The sword was quick from Arthur's mind and he shouted angrily, 'What did you do with my parents? What happened to the Merry Knights and the witches from the Home for Enchanted Girls?'

The fairy princess answered this with a wicked grin. 'There's no need to worry yourself with any of that. You'll never see them again.'

Instantly, Arthur's anger turned and a tear began to run down his cheek. And as the Wild Children stared at him with what looked like compassion, Morgana and the Sheriff contemplated their next steps.

'Let it be known,' said the Queen of the Fays, 'I will find a way through the portal. Whatever it takes, whatever the sacrifice, I will sit on the throne of Camelot.'

'In the meantime,' the Sheriff said, turning to the fairy princess and his deputy, 'show me your army. Show me the army that will destroy this forest.'

With a bow, the Deputy entered back into the portal and disappeared. Arthur then heard a faint and garbled shout in turn from the man.

'Onward, we march,' he said.

Right away, hundreds of fairies, Sheriff's Men and other monsters of the Shadow began to appear.