Chapter Three – The Calm before the Storm
King Fergus and several of the clan's best warriors valiantly rode deep into the forest; the collective stampede mimicked the ferocity of Mother Nature's fierce thunderstorms which caused the earth to rumble beneath the charging hooves of the horses. The colossal quake frightened the forest dwelling animals which recoiled in fear and disappeared from sight.
His wide aqua eyes desperately inspected the passing scenery of the woodland which blurred together as his eyes threatened to water, stubbornly Fergus wiped the offending tears and concentrated on leading the search party while keeping his emotions buried behind the powerful leadership facade, in front of his men.
The sun had long since submitted to the thick dark clouds that consumed the entire sky with a never-ending horizon of menacing clouds which plunged the forest into darkness, a premature abyss and forced an eerie silence to fall upon the wildlife that inhabited the forest. The forced silence amplified the cacophony of the clan as they careered through the woodland with furious turbulence, Fergus clutched tightly on the leather reins of his horse while mentally he clung desperately onto the diminishing hope that a sign would indicate as to his wife's whereabouts.
The two large dogs used to aid the clansmen, normally in the hunt, had remained beside the horse of the tracker who rode upfront as they followed the trail that the injured horse had taken, able to track the lone hoof prints and the trail of fresh blood in the long grass.
"Elinor!" his voice bellowed, threatening to reveal his anguish, "Elinor!" he shouted again.
Suddenly, the dogs caught the scent of something and bolted from the unsuspecting tracker, Fergus felt momentarily rekindled his faltering hope. His heart raced to the harmony of the galloping horses that continued to plough through the forest.
It was not know if the great love shared between King Fergus and Queen Elinor was the source of tremendous strength or a flawed weakness as the evidence concluded that an unknown enemy of the clan and exploited the Achilles heel of the king and in doing so to the clan also. Fergus could feel the furious fire and agony burn deep within his soul, for he would go to the very ends of the earth in order to hunt down whoever was responsible for this and have his revenge. The cold metal of his sword would be tainted with the enemy's blood.
Fergus swallowed nervously as he and his men fast approached a small clearing surrounded by low hanging branches, the dogs jumped and barked excitedly and waited patiently for a reward from the tracker. Fergus dismounted from his horse as did several others who withdrew their swords and carefully scrutinized the area for sight of the queen or the unknown enemy.
"No! No...No...No!" gasped Fergus as he fell to his knees in denial
Slowly, he reached out and paused, his eyes desperately wanted to believe that this was part of an inescapable nightmare conjured cruelly by his subconscious and that Elinor would wake him from this hell. Her crown lay on the ground as if it had been carelessly discarded or perhaps planted there as another sickening bid to torment the king.
"This cannot be true...cannot be real." Whispered Fergus and he clutched the crown into his giant chest, "Oh Elinor!"
One of the men cleared his throat which seemed to bring their leader back into the present time. King Fergus grumbled and with a heavy heart, walked back to his horse. He glanced around the silent group of men, each of them casting a downward glance at the ground as if mourning the loss of the queen.
Fergus tightly gripped his wife's crown, the symbol of her authority and royalty that had been simply discarded on the ground but there was a flickering chance of hope that Elinor was hiding or lost in the forest with the unknown assailant still pursuing her, Fergus knew that despite Elinor's small stature that she was a fiercely strong woman and possessed the inner strength that could be equal to his own after all he had witnessed this during the bear incident when their family and clan had been threatened by the demon bear Mor'du.
Fergus mounted his horse, before he was able to utter an order to continue their search, a piercing scream emanated from somewhere deep within the forest, the two dogs instantly bolted quickly followed by the men. Fergus hastily tucked the crown into the leather saddlebag and then chased after his clan.