Please forgive me for this if you are a fan of Will and Djaq, but I needed a tragic end somehow, so here it is. Also I'm not sure I am doing this right!
The sky seemed closer Will noted from his position on the leafy forest floor. Perhaps he was imagining things. A gentle breeze blew threw the wood. Will's dark brown hair blew across his face, shielding his eyes from the sun. Lying amongst the greenery Will let his mind wander.
For some reason an image of his mother and father, now both deceased was the first thing to come to him. He saw them standing together in front of the home he had been born in. His father was tall and strong, with hair the color of straw. His mother… his mother was beautiful, she was just as he remembered her, lanky and tall like him, with the same brown hair and green eyes that both he and his brother possessed. Both his parents were smiling at him.
The imaged that flashed threw his head was that of his brother Luke. It was a memory of a day not long passed, when Luke had looked upon him proudly as he revealed a memorial to their father Dan. Luke stood, looking up at him, no longer a boy, pride gleaming in his hazel eyes. It was a moment not to be forgotten.
Then he saw an image of the gang, all the woodsmen. It was one of their evenings around the campfire, eating one of the interesting recipes which Much had concocted. He saw stout John Little, Little John as he was fondly called. The man was a giant, but as harmless as a field mouse, most of the time. Much stood over the fire pit trying to look mad as Robin reached over to sample some of the meal. Robin smiling as Much flailed the stirring spoon at him. Then Djaq, beautiful, courageous Djaq, who…..
"Will"
His thoughts broken Will turned his head, confusedly, in the direction of the voice.
"Will" someone called again.
Will now recognized the voice of his friend and leader. "Here", he called out, his voice was horse though and escaped his body as more of a croak than a reply.
"Will…" leaves crunched and twigs snapped as a pair of feet ran toward him. Robin knelt by Will and let out a shrill whistle. Soon other feet could be heard crunching through the underbrush.
Will heard Much before he saw him. "Where has he been, everywhere we tromped looking for you, and you weren't anywhere, lolly-gagging arou…." Much stopped mid-sentence, which wasn't unusual. But he hadn't been cut off or shushed. He was hushed by the sight presented as he emerged from the trees. Will was lying on the ground gripping his side fiercely, Robin knelt by his side.
"Will, let me see," Robin coaxed Will's hand away from the place he was grasping. There protruding from his stomach was a broken off arrow shaft. The brown canvas shirt which Will wore bore a dark stain around the jagged wood.
All the men were hushed as they watched Robin quickly tug Will's shirt loose from his breeches, and push it up to his chest. At the sight of his bared flesh Robin drew in his breath, John gasped and Much looked horror stricken. None could seem to comprehend the bloody arrow protruding from the skin of their friend, until that point none had ever been seriously wounded.
"That bad, eh…."wheezed Will attempting a smile. "I guess they got me good this time."
"Will…it…I…you" Robin seemed at a loss for words. This seemed strange to Will, as he always had something to offer in a bad situation. Will knew what it ment.
"Well boys," breathed Will harshly, "I guess…wait….where's Djaq?"
As if to answer his question, at that moment Djaq broke through the leaves. "You lot, you're always leav'en me, just because I am female…" her words trailed of when she saw Will. To late he realized that his bleeding wound was visible to her eyes, he tried to pull his shirt back down, but he was growing weaker.
Only for a moment did Djaq pause. Then she flew to Will's side. Hastily she ceased his attempts to adjust his clothing to cover himself and tore a piece of her sash, pressing it to the wound.
Will moaned in pain as the pressure was applied. "Must you be so forceful?" He asked the question under his breath, struggling with the effort of keeping the pain he felt from his voice.
Djaq said nothing, but her warm brown eyes met his hazel ones. He looked at her deeply, trying to glean some meaning from the expression he saw there. "It's no use," he said it quietly, as he said it he grasped her arm, the one who's hand she was using to stifle his blood flow. "No use at all."
Djaq's eyes became moist, but she didn't let up the pressure to his wound. The entire group of woodsmen was deathly silent.
"Djaq," Will whispered her name. His hand slid down her wrist to her hand which he held gently in his own. He pulled her hand away from his wound and brought ist to his lips, kissing her palm, never taking his eyes off of her.
Her eyes closed as his lips met her skin, and a tear streamed down her cheek. "Will…"she started her voice came out as a sob.
"Hush… I must… say this while…while I still can." Will's sentence came out in fragments as he struggled to speak. "Djaq, I…I love you…always have," he said it quietly, his voice barely a whisper. "Try…try not to… to forget…me."
At this Djaq could no longer bare it. She broke into tears and crumpled atop his chest, sobbing.
"Could you… maybe… tell me what…what you think of that?" Will's voice was even more labored with the extra weight of Djaq across his chest.
She straitened a bit, and seeing his smile, smiled herself, through her tears. "Oh Will! I love you too!" The words were a sob, a mournful cry torn from her body.
Will reached the few inches that separated them, and caressing her cheek drew her to him. She kissed his lips, sobbing still, her tears dripping to his face and mixing with his own.
As she pulled away from him a slow smile spread across his features. Then his eyes fluttered closed, and his breathing ceased.
"Will…sobbed Djaq "Will!"
He lay still, his lips still curled in a smile. Djaq reached down, cradling his head with one hand and gently kissed each of his eyelids, crying silent tears of grief.
The woodsmen stood, looking on. Tears in each of their eyes as they witnessed the passing of their friend and the tragic end of this newly realized love.
A gentle breeze blew threw the wood. Will's dark brown hair blew across his face, as if once more shielding his eyes from the sun. The passing air gave a mournful cry, as if the woods themselves were bewailing the loss of such a man as Will Scarlet.