To Break a Curse

Chapter 4

Hi everyone! Here's chapter 4 for you all to enjoy :) Again, if you have any feedback then please don't be silent - I'd love to hear it! To make up for the last chapter being a little short, this one's extra long...

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They all sprinted into the forest, Will trying to make sure that he kept Rose, Tom and Oliver in his sight. But it was no longer than a minute before he heard feet pounding up behind him and felt hands grabbing him to pin him facedown onto the ground. Shouts and yells told him the others had been caught too. Will tried to fight back but felt his hands being tied tightly behind his back and was then hauled upright. Rose, Tom and Oliver were hustled over to where he was, their hands also tied.

He caught Rose's eye and raised his eyebrows to ask silently if she was alright. She nodded a 'yes', grim faced.

'You've only made things worse for yourselves now,' growled the knight who was holding Oliver. He nodded at the other knights, 'let's go.'

'Wait! Let me explain-' began Rose desperately.

'Are we going to the Castle of Camelot?' interrupted Tom. He knew he shouldn't be feeling excited at the prospect, but even if they only saw the inside of the dungeons, it would still be amazing.

The knights didn't deign it with a reply – Tom took it to mean 'yes'.

Oliver gave Rose an incredulous look, mouthing, 'how can he be excited now?'

Rose shrugged and smiled weakly; it was impossible to feel too scared with Tom looking so enthusiastic beside her.

The knights formed a horseshoe shape around the four, in effect herding them back past the stone circle and though the woods.

'What do we do?' whispered Rose.

'Let's just go with them for now,' Oliver whispered back. 'I don't think we'll be able to run with our hands like this. Also, Merlin mentioned he's got friends in the castle so maybe they can help us once we're there.' He winced suddenly. 'Is it me or have they tied the knots too tightly?'

'Yeah, my hands are going a bit numb,' Will tried to flex his fingers but to no avail.

'No talking!' One of the knights gave Will a blow to the head, it was glancing, but still made him stagger.

They were silent as they trudged through the trees. Rose noticed that they were starting to thin out when she heard Tom say, 'look! There it is!'

A stone, cream-coloured turret had come into view over the tops of the trees.

Tom turned to the knights, 'can we go a bit faster?'

'Tom!' Oliver was finding it difficult enough not to fall over without the use of his hands – he didn't need speed adding to his problems.

'No, we are not going faster,' said one of the knights, irritated.

They left the forest and started to follow a short track through a field. Rose and Will were trying to pinpoint where they were in relation to the geography of their farms in the 21st century.

'I reckon we're on my farm,' Rose said in an undertone to Will. He looked around and nodded; the general landscape hadn't changed over time, he could almost imagine Rose's farm around them. It was an odd feeling to say the least.

'In fact...' Rose looked at the surrounding fields even more closely. 'I think we're near the farmhouse – ow!'

A knight had given her a shove, 'I said no talking!'