Decisions of the Heart
by Cheyenne
The sounds of the forest hung heavily in the warm summer air. Birds sang nearby and although they usually would have sounded sweet, today they only served to remind Robin of his loss. He should pull himself together and return to the others he told himself. He knew they were wondering about him. He was wondering also. His heart was aching and suddenly he was questioning if it was all worth it.
When he had walked away from his former life, he had done so with a conviction that it was the right thing to do. He had seen enough injustice from the King, the Sheriff and even his own father to be convinced that the people of England deserved better. But now, with Marion gone, he was questioning his decision for the first time.
Had it been right to forsake his inheritance and his title to follow Herne and become the Hooded Man? Perhaps he could have served the people better if he had stayed with his father and fought the King from his position as the future Earl of Huntingdon. But Robin knew better than that. He would have had to appease the King, just as his father did now. Until the nobles took the stand to force King John to rule with a more just hand, no one Earl or Nobleman would be able to bring about the needed change alone. Robin's role as Herne's Son would provide the people the needed courage and hope to continue on until such change could be brought about.
"It's right..."
Robin heard the words again that Marion had uttered mostly to herself when Robert of Huntingdon had first stepped into the role of Robin of Sherwood.
She had been speaking of Robert taking over the responsibility of her dead husband, Robin of Loxley, but insistently the words echoed to Robin.
"It's right - It's right - It's right......"
Yes. It was right. He knew this was where he belonged. Strangely enough, Robin felt no regret about his former life. He felt closer to his friends in Sherwood than he ever remembered feeling towards his father. Marion's decision to enter the convent hurt and he suspected that he would carry that hurt with him for the rest of his life but still his life in the forest felt right. Here he was needed, not because of who he had been born and would one day be but because of who and what he was now.
He whirled as a twig snapped behind him and faced Tuck. His thoughts had been so intense that he had not heard the friar until he had been very close. A deadly mistake, had it been Gisbourne or one of the Sheriff's men. His months in the forest had sharpened his senses and now he felt irritation at himself for becoming so lax as to permit such a foolhardy slip.
"Robin?" Tuck called softly to him as he saw Robin turn. Tuck paused. "Is it Robin? Or is it Robert now?"
Robin smiled slightly and sighed. Time to go on.
"It's Robin, Tuck." he told the brother as he put his arm over Tuck's shoulders and they started back to find John and the others.