Forbidden Love - Merlyn [2]

Chapter Forty-Three: The Challenge

Merlyn was right; it hadn't ended well. A story of the rope being too short, Merlyn unable to hold Arthur's weight for forever and a patch of dung on the street below Arthur's three storey high window had a not so good ending for Arthur. After that fiasco that Merlyn had found quite funny, Arthur and Merlyn had somehow safely and undetectably made their way out of Camelot. Brutus and Major had taken the pair further into the woods, out of sight - both were well aware that their absences would not go amiss for long so they made no plans of stopping. They had ridden through the night and into the day, Merlyn following Arthur faithfully who had absolutely no idea where he was heading - he had headed them off in the same direction that he had seen Morgause ride off in but he had no idea once he was in the woods.

Whilst the ride had been straight all night with the road not splitting off, Arthur and Merlyn had had a simple ride. But that was no longer the case. Arthur and Merlyn pulled their horses to a stop as a fork in the road appeared before them. Two paths leading in two different directions with not a signpost in sight. There were no directions for anyone - granted most people knew which way they were heading when they travelled and didn't need such signs.

"Which way?" Merlyn questioned, not understanding why Arthur had stopped. the young witch turned her eyes upon her prince to find him staring at the paths utterly confused. That didn't bode well. "Do you actually know where we're going?" Merlyn tilted her head towards Arthur, elegantly lifting her eyebrow in question.

"It's this way" Arthur said, gesturing to the left trying to prove he wasn't as lost as Merlyn. However, his horse didn't agree. Arthur nudged Brutus with his feet and yet the horse just snorted. "Come on." Arthur tried again but Brutus only whinnied in complain. "What is wrong with this horse? It's even dumber than you, Merlyn!" Arthur was staring down at the animal in utter confusion, his hands gesturing as such before the horse suddenly shifted position, his great head pointing towards the right path. In a heartbeat, the horse's hooves began to move and Brutus was carrying Arthur along the righthand path, to everyone's confusion.

"Where are you going? I thought you said it was left" Merlyn complained, watching as Arthur carried on trotting away from her whilst she remained in her spot.

"It's not me! It's the horse!" Arthur shouted back over his shoulder. Merlyn nodded before she suddenly frowned as she registered his words. Was Arthur blaming the horse? "Morgause told me. When the time comes, you'll know your way." Arthur seemed perfectly calm about the fact even though the only way that the horse could know the way was through magic.

"So, the horse knows where we're going. Great" Merlyn sarcastically muttered to herself as she sighed heavily. Gods only know where they were heading. With a click of her tongue and a nudge of her feet, Major slowly began walking the right path that Arthur's horse had taken. Neither was aware of the panic that had set in in Camelot as the king and Gaius found Arthur's and Merlyn's rooms to be empty.

~8~

Brutus and Major were slowly making their way through the woods, their great strength easily carrying their owners for such a long period of time. Merlyn couldn't see much beyond trees, trees and more trees. It was a densely packed wood with slim trees everywhere and great big patches of wild grass growing amongst it all. Whilst Merlyn liked the nature around her, she didn't appreciate the unknown feeling that was surrounding her. She didn't like not knowing where they were going, she didn't like not knowing what Morgause wanted.

"What if Morgause challenges you to do something you don't want to do?" Merlyn asked trying to gleam exactly why Arthur would put himself in such a precarious position. He had entered a challenge with a woman he knew nothing about and he had sworn on his honour but Merlyn knew there was another reason why he was hunting Morgause. It was something more than just honour that had compelled him to climb out of his window and ride away under the cover of darkness.