Dragon's Mother

Chapter 2

"We're can't go in there! We'll die immediately or be enslaved for the rest of our lives," Ansel whined, gripping the back of Sir Chester's shirt trying to pull him back the way they had come but all four knights were stronger than him so it didn't matter who he latched onto because they easily dragged him along with them. His feet were easily sliding over the ground and it didn't matter if he tugged, pushed, try to put a halt in their movement they were walking from their latest campsite after packing up toward the horses.

"Grab your bag already so we can get going. We have to move quickly if we have any hope of making it to the castle," Sir Stephen said, both womanizers having become serious now that they were so close to the Cacodemon Forest. If Ansel looked to his right, he could see the forest edge roughly a mile away that looked so dark and ominous even from here. "Be sure to keep up with us because I won't be held responsible if you get dragged off by a beast. You can blame Hendrick if you want since he's the one who insisted you come," Sir Stephen said as he rose up onto his horse, petting its mane and gently kicked it into motion.

"What could you possibly need from the demon king? Do you guys have a death wish?" Ansel asked but he knew it was useless. No one would tell him anything! "I know it's the kings business and all but what could be so important to risk our lives like this? Did the demon king steal something from the king or kidnap someone?" Ansel thought with a sigh, lugging his bag onto his back, and he started following behind the horses with his heart thumping in his chest. "C-can I at least have something to protect myself with or ride with one of you?" Ansel asked with a whimper.

"I'd love to let you but..." Sir Chester said when he tensed up feeling Sir Rodwell's glare on his back.

"Squire's don't ride horse's," Sir Rodwell growled, pissed, causing Sir Hendrick to laugh.

"That's just your own opinion but whatever. It'll give the kid a chance to get some muscle though, I don't care what anyone says, we're letting him on one of the horses when we reach the tree line," Sir Hendrick said, going from humorous to serious in an instant and they started on their way toward the forest.

"I have another question though. Why did we leave the carriage in the last town? Aren't we going to need it?" Ansel asked, glancing over his shoulder but from where they were now they couldn't see it at all. "They brought it all this way but now that we're here, they paid the stable keeper extra to keep it for a whole week," Ansel thought wondering if the carriage horse would be treated well. "Wait... why couldn't I just use that horse!?"

"You think we'd be able to get the carriage through that thick forest? Plus we're trying to be as inconspicuous as we can be so try to be quiet when we get there," Sir Stephen said and for the rest of their journey, they were silent as the dead.

Ansel followed along with them diligently, offering their water to everyone since they might have filled it up for the last time for a while if they couldn't find a water source within the demonic forest, and before he knew it they were standing at the edge of the forest. It felt like little time had passed but they seemed to travel that mile in an instant leaving them staring up at the tall looming forest. The trees had to be well over one hundred feet, maybe even a hundred fifty feet, with dark almost black bark and thick bushy leaves that almost completely blocked out the sun creating this dark curtain to fall. It was a bright sunny day outside with the vibrant green grass blowing in the wind but the minute you hit the trees it was like you had walked into the night. One could only imagine what lurked within the shadows which Ansel was hoping was merely little bunnies and squirrels but something told him something much bigger, and much scarier, lived in the woods of the demons. Ansel eagerly climbed onto Sir Hendrick's horse, not wanting to seem like the weakest link dragging behind for easy pickings, and he could only whimper a little as the horses started ahead.