The horn blared again. This time, it sounded closer.
'The Children of the Forest,' several children below growled with hatred before a war cry echoed all around.
'YEYEYEYEYEYEYEYEYEY!'
Then on a branch halfway up a tree behind Arthur appeared a girl with rosy cheeks and wearing a necklace of twigs and flowers.
'You dare to cross the Babbling Brook to set up traps, no doubt to capture us,' she boomed down to the forest floor.
'These are not our traps.' the boy with the bowler hat yelled back. 'We heard a cry for help and found these three. We were just about to rescue them.'
The girl eyed Arthur, Little Johnny and Merlynna with curiosity, just realizing their presence, before saying, 'Please don't insult me with such lies. Wild Children rescuing others? Don't make me laugh.'
The boy with the bowler hat grinned madly and snarled, 'One day, one day, Robin's Wood will be ours and the Children of the Forest will be no more. Mark my words.'
Arthur, Little Johnny and Merlyna glanced at each other and mouthed together, 'Robin's Wood?'
As in Robin Hood, Arthur wondered.
'Not if we have anything to say about it,' the rosy-cheeked girl replied. At this, more and more children appeared on branches all around, soon outnumbering the painted-faced children. 'Now be gone with you. Go back to your side of the forest and never return. If you do, there will be war.'
Arthur could tell the boy with the bowler hat didn't want to back down as the tips of his ears flushed. He also clenched a fist before calling out, 'Wild Children, back across the Babbling Brook.'
And as the painted-faced children leapt away, vanishing into the undergrowth, the Children of the Forest whooped and hollered in victory, drowning out Arthur's cry.
'Wait!' he shouted, straining to free himself from his net. 'I want my things.'
But Pridwen and the sword were not coming back. The boy with the bowler hat had taken them.
Soon the triumphant roars stopped and all eyes descended on the ensnared three. And it was the rosy-cheeked girl who made the first move. She jumped and swung from branch to branch until she leapt into the air and landed on top of Arthur's net.
Impressed, Little Johnny shot out, 'Whoa. Quite the skills you have there.'
The rosy-cheeked girl looked over at him and replied, 'Thank you. Nice coat.'
Little Johnny puffed out his gnarly hooded fleece with pride. 'Thank you, too.'
'So, are the three of you lost?'
'I guess you could say that,' Arthur replied, staring up.
'I thought as much. That's why the forest brought you to it,' the rosy-cheeked girl replied. 'Now, would you like to get out of your traps?'
'That would be nice,' replied Merlynna. 'By the way, any chance of you seeing a cat flying around.'
'A cat flying?' The rosy-cheeked girl looked shocked.
'Yes, his name's Fury and he's mine.'
'I'm very sorry to say, I haven't. We haven't.'
One by one, Arthur, Little Johnny and Merlynna were then lowered back to the forest floor, where they were released from their snares.
'Thank you,' Arthur said to the rosy-cheeked girl as more children drew closer.
'You are quite welcome,' she replied. 'My name's Esme.'
The three introduced themselves before Arthur hastily said, 'Any chance of telling me where they went? The ones that did this to us. They stole a couple of things of mine and I'd like to get them back. They're very important.'
'The Wild Children will be long gone by now,' replied Esme. 'But whatever they stole, we'll help you get them back. I don't know how but we'll think of something. Now, are you thirsty? Hungry? You definitely look like you could do with a rest.'
'I just want to get my things back and find out why we were brought here,' Arthur replied, getting nods from Little Johnny and Merlynna.
'So you being lost isn't the reason you're here then?'
'We are lost but there's another.'
'I will not pry, but if the three of you want to share, we are all ears. Now, please, come with us back to our home here in the forest where we can plan out some ways to find your flying cat and to get your belongings back.'
'I think that will be a good idea,' replied Merlynna.
'Me too,' said Little Johnny, grabbing his staff which he had left on the ground.
'Let's go then,' said Arthur.
'Excellent,' said Esme, brimming. She then yelled so that all the other children could hear, 'They're coming back home with us.'
The surroundings filled with cheers as Esme began to lead Arthur, Little Johnny and Merlynna in the opposite direction that the Wild Children had fled.
'So did I hear you right,' said Arthur as they rounded a thick trunk, 'and that this forest is called Robin's Wood.'
'It is,' said Esme. 'And it's named after a famous Robin. I'm sure you can figure which one.'
'Would that be Robin Hood?' asked Little Johnny.
Esme smiled. 'That's correct.'
Arthur could tell Little Johnny was about to let slip something about who he really was and quickly gestured for him to keep quiet. Though they had just rescued them, Arthur didn't know if the Children of the Forest could be trusted.
'So did Robin Hood live here then if it's named after him?' asked Arthur.
'He did but that was a very very long time ago as you know,' Esme replied. 'Now this forest is home to the forgotten and the ones that want to be forgotten. And it's not just children who live here. Or humans either. Or your usual animals.'
'What do you mean by that?' Merlynna asked as she kept a lookout for Fury.
'There are creatures here that many would describe as mythical,' Esme answered.
Being that Arthur, Little Johnny and Merlynna were quite aware of the existence of fabled beings, they only showed little surprise. And this didn't go unnoticed by Esme, who crossed her brows quizzically.
Then as if she had just realized something, Merlynna snapped towards Esme and said, 'Are there witches here?'
This brought a more inquiring look to Esme. 'We've never come across any, but there's definitely magic here.'
Merlynna nodded without expression before going back to scanning the canopy for Fury.
Arthur soon realized something too. Was it possible the Shadow could find them here? Despite not wanting to divulge too much, he thought that he should warn their rescuers.
'Someone's after us,' he came right out and said. 'Someone very evil. You could be in danger. This forest could be in danger.'
'That's probably the reason why Robin's Wood appeared to you,' replied Esme. 'And we are not in danger from them here. This forest only appears to people and others who are good at heart.'
'What about the Wild Children?' asked Little Johnny. 'They don't seem to be good at heart.'
'They once were,' said Esme, her tone turning sad. 'The Children of the Forest and the Wild Children got along well, lived in peace, but they were led astray not too long ago.'
'I'm sorry to hear that,' said Arthur.
Esme dropped her head. 'Thank you. It was very tough for us.'
'So, do you know if there are any other legends associated with Robin's Wood?' Little Johnny then asked sheepishly. 'I don't know, maybe relating to King Arthur or something?'
Arthur glared at him.
'Hmm,' Esme replied, 'funny you should say that. But first, I almost forgot.' She reached into her pocket and pulled out a familiar toy. 'Does this belong to any of you? We found it lying on the ground.'
Merlynna's attention shifted and she eyed the object in Esme's hand. 'That's mine. I dropped it while I was chasing after Fury.'
'Well, here you go. And I must say, it's quite something.'
'You tried it out?' said Merlynna, taking the toy.
'I did. I had to. I haven't played with one of these in years. Not since coming to the forest. Not the typical yo-yo, is it? In fact, it almost seems magical.' Esme smiled. 'Witchy perhaps?'
Arthur, Little Johnny and Merlynna smiled back uncomfortably, which sent Esme's grin even wider.
'Come on,' she then said, trotting ahead, 'We're almost home.'