Enchanted Elms

The twins had wandered too far and lost their way.

They had left home that morning for a day of adventure. The king and queen had specifically warned them against traveling too far; had even reminded the prince and princess to stay protective of one another. Princess Alana had remembered their parents' directions and meant to abide by it; Prince Meric either hadn't remembered his parents' advice or, as usual, had chosen to ignore their words.

The very sight of the allegedly enchanted woods had been enough of a signal for Prince Meric and he wanted to traverse them as far as possible. What tales he could tell his friends of the kingdom! What adventures he could share with his future children (let alone the future woman whom he wanted to make his bride)! Prince Meric pointed ahead to the woods before them.

"Alana, care for a picnic day?" he called back to his sister in hopes of planting the lure that would encourage her to follow and dissuade her from reporting back to their parents.

Princess Alana felt summoned by the enchanted forest glade as well and had barely heard her brother's own suggestions of rebelliousness disguised as "just a picnic spot." What mystery could wait for her in those trees! What legends of magic surrounded the elmchanted forest before them! Princess Alana had barely heard her brother's suggestion of entering the woods; yet, she still nodded her consent as traversing the glade had felt like her idea.

One way or the other, the twins had agreed to their voyage. They were traveling together; if Prince Meric had the sense of adventure, Princess Alana had sense enough to protect him and watch over him! They would only travel a couple of miles on a well-marked trail; they could easily find their way back later! It was the noontime of a clear Autumn's day; there was no threat of storms or thieves! The youthful pair advanced on their new destination.

The picnic had been a filling one and Prince Meric was ready for more adventure. Without so much as a word of warning, he picked up a stick to pretend for a sword and lunged off. Princess Alana took in her twelve-year-old-twin's youthful exuberance, rolled her eyes in quiet consternation, shrugged, and lunged after him. She had already looked over her shoulder to determine that, yes, the path was an open one that they could easily walk back through. As she lunged after her brother, however, no one saw the trees around them begin to move, close in, and hide the path that they had specifically made...!

It took a couple of hours more of play and evening was beginning to set in before Prince Meric had finally tired himself enough of their game to head home. He had even successfully allured Princess Alana into joining him if only to keep an eye on him. When the pair got back to their picnic blanket and basket, however, they were startled by the repositioning of the trees.

The twins had wandered too far for too long; they had lost their way! The last vestiges of Prince Meric's faux heroics melted away in the exhaustion of his full afternoon of play and his eyes registered fear.

"Alana!" he gasped. "If here is our picnic spot, then shouldn't our path to home be...?"

"...Where we left it as well?" Alana completed the question in no less concern.

The evening twilight suddenly revealed a multitude of woodland animals as well. However, their behavior was unnatural as they surrounded and stared down the Prince and Princess.

"Lose your way, young majesties?" a haughty displaced voice asked.

The twins glanced around for the source of the speaker. As they looked around, the trees shifted and moved again as well, opening up their former path a bit at a time. The moving trees stunned Alana; if they had done the same to Meric, then he only allowed it to do so for a moment before he started to move toward the path.

"Wait, Meric." Alana whispered, tagging him on a shoulder. "Did you not see the trees just...move?"

"Your sister is the observant one, isn't she?" the displaced chuckled.

The twins glanced up once more and, for the first time, saw that the towering willow tree had a face.

"You," Prince Meric declared even as he knew that his next words were farfetched, "uh...spoke?"

The tree's "face" formed a bemused chortle and a rumbling laugh came out.

"...and here I thought that your sister was so observant!" he sniggered. "I am Elmhurst of the Elmchanted Woods. This is my kingdom and the trees and animals of its grounds are my people."

Princess Alana took the lead next and scooped their picnic leftovers into their basket.

"We meant no harm, Mr. Elmhurst; we were just packing up our picnic and were truly about to go on our way home until..." she began, "...well, forgive us, sir, but your trees they...moved. We cannot find our path."

"You little ones have been away from home for a long while, haven't you?" Elmhurst asked; then, "My tree family did not move in punishment to you. When you had left the confines of your kingdom, you were pursued by a pair of thieves and robbers; rebels against the fair and just rule of your palace. They had pursued you this far from a distance and meant to take you for ransom here where they could not be seen."

"You and your trees blocked them out instead of locking us in!" Prince Meric observed.

A breeze picked up and the army of trees "nodded" as they still surrounded the youths.

"In spite of you plucking that branch directly from my son, Willan, yes." Elmhurst insisted. "Though in the future, you might wait to pick up a limb that we have dropped naturally."

"Yes, Mr. Elmhurst, of course." Meric answered, astonished at what had just transpired. "Many apologies...Willan, was it?"

The trees promptly moved once more and revealed the very clearly marked path that the twins had used.

"Go." Elmhurst declared. "The varlets have gone for a moment; but night approaches and you really ought return to your kingdom before others come out."

The twins of royalty nodded in agreement and went on their way, pursued by three strong bucks as strength against oncoming robbers and birds of the air to see them on their safe journey...