Remember Me for Centuries
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, no matter how much I wish I did. Also, the title of this story and the inspiration for the plot come from Fall Out Boy's music video for the song Centuries. Hope you enjoy this!
A bell tolls in the near distance. The horse carriage with a prisoner in the back of it pulls to a stop outside of the arena gate where the prisoner will go because of his crimes. The prisoner is a young man of twenty named Will Scarlet. He has been charged with a numerous amounts of crimes, most pertaining to robbery and thievery of some form. A hooded figure approaches the carriage as the driver goes to open the gate to the arena where the cages are kept for the prisoners. The hooded figure comes over to Will and slips an object in his clamped hands. Will looks up and finds the hooded figure is gone and looks at the item in his hand. He wonders how in the world he is going to be able to use a piece of rope to help get himself out of the rope binds he's in.
"Guess I'll have to wing it. This bloody piece of rope isn't going to help," Will whispers to himself as the driver gets back in and takes him into the arena's holding brig.
On another side of the plaza, another man convicted of thievery sits in the back of another carriage. The famed thief, Robin Hood, is also being put into the arena for his crimes against the Crown and Empire.
"I should've known better than to trust the word of Will Scarlet. He's younger and less experienced than I am. 'The best thieves never work alone' he says. Well, look where that's got me," Robin thinks to himself, letting out a sigh as the carriage approaches the gates of the arena.
He knows that his fate is pretty much sealed at this point. No one's ever escaped the arena alive before, so Robin knows it's best not to hope he will be the first one to survive whatever manner of torture he will have to endure. A hooded figure approaches him right when he's about to pass through the gates and slips him a piece of rope. Robin can't figure out for the life of him why this random stranger would give him a piece of rope at a time as dire as this. Even so, Robin slips the rope into the pocket of his pants, hoping that maybe it will bring him good luck.
"Bloody hell, not so fast!" another prisoner, this one with black hair in piercing blue eyes yells at the carriage driver as he nearly falls out of the back.
The prisoner, Captain Killian Jones, has a strange suspicion that the carriage is heading towards the arena and that he will be executed for his crimes there in front of everyone to see instead of at the castle. As they continue along the bumpy cobblestone road, Killian starts to wonder what type of execution King George and Queen Cora are going to impose on him. The carriage pulls to a rough stop, interrupting Killian's thoughts. As the carriage driver unhooks the horse and starts to open the cell that Killian is going to be held in, the same hooded figure that has appeared to the two other prisoners appears to him. The hooded stranger slips him a small, empty black bag, which Killian looks at in confusion.
"What the bloody hell is this for?!" he demands, but the stranger has disappeared from sight.
The carriage driver drags Killian by the ear towards his holding cell, which makes Killian mutter every colorful word he knows under his breath. His list of crimes is a lot more extensive than Will and Robin's, but his most known crime is piracy.
Just a little ways away, another prisoner is being brought to the arena as well, bringing the total prisoners/ soon to be executed citizens tally to four. David, once a shepherd whom had become King George's son after his twin brother James died, is also being punished today. His crime is that he betrayed the king's orders by refusing to kill innocent villagers that were causing King George to look like a selfish, cruel monarch, which is what he is. David also tried to set a pirate free, which was not one of his best ideas. He runs his hands over the white stone that some hooded figure gave him, letting the smooth surface of the rock calm him ever so slightly. Once they arrive at the arena, David is shoved into a holding cell to await for his turn in the arena. Each man that is being put in the arena today gets a separate time in front of the crowd in which their crimes are brought up once again to make the crowd want to see their blood shed on the floor of the arena. From where the guard throws him, David can just see the crowd, already cheering to see some blood spilled today. It makes the ex-prince's blood run cold just to think of how barbaric the people have become under King George's rule. It was never this bad under King Leopold's rule.
"Come on, Scarlet, it's your turn," a guard harshly says before grabbing Will by the collar of his shirt and literally dragging him out in front of the crowd.
This is an all-too familiar feeling for Will Scarlet. He's been in this situation several times before, but he's had Robin or the other Merry Men to save him before he was brutally murdered. This time, this isn't the case, because Robin's about to be executed too.
"Will Scarlet, you have been brought here today to be punished for your crimes of: theft, fraud, posturing, in-posturing, gambling, disturbing the peace, and public nudity. Do you have anything to say to defend yourself?" King George loudly asks, making Will cringe the slightest bit.
"In my defense, I was tied to a tree and stripped of my clothes, so the last one wasn't really my fault," Will announces, wanting to make that very clear in case he does die today.
He doesn't want people to think that he purposely walks around the Enchanted Forest nude, because he doesn't. The guard who brought him out in the first place places handcuffs on him before leading him off to the side of the arena to wait for his sentence to be carried out. The next prisoner to be called out is Robin. The guard leads the famed thief out of the tunnel between the holding cells and the arena at knife-point, making it very clear he will kill Robin then and there if he tries to escape or do anything else funny. King George once again reveals the charges against his prisoner, letting each word come slowly off his lips as if to prolong Robin's feeling of fear.
"Robin Hood, you have been convicted of conspiring to set free a man convicted of crimes against the Crown and Empire and condemned to death for his crimes, this man being Will Scarlet, your partner in crime. You are also charged with many instances of thievery, for which you will be punished today alongside Will and two other men," King George roars, which makes Robin feel a twinge of fear rising in his chest.
"This is what it feels like to be at the end, huh?" Robin asks Will quietly as he is shoved beside the younger man.
"Aye. I guess it is. It was nice knowin' ya, mate," Will softly returns, being careful not to allow the guards to hear him.
When the two men were talking, the guards had brought Captain Killian Jones out in front of the crowd, and he is now receiving a reminder on what he has been charged with.
"Killian Jones, for your willful commission of crimes against the Crown, you were brought here today. Said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature. The most egregious of these to be cited now: Piracy, smuggling, impersonating an officer of the Royal Navy, impersonating a cleric of the church, sailing under false colors, arson, kidnapping, looting, poaching, brigandage, pilfering, depravity, depredation, and general lawlessness. You are without a doubt the worst man in the entire realm. Your death will be a relief to the kingdom. Put him with the others," King George makes known.
Killian Jones smirks after hearing his charges, not ashamed at all with what he's accomplished in his few short years as a pirate.
"The bounty on your head must have been a fortune, mate," Will says with a smirk to try and lighten the otherwise somber mood.
"Aye. More than you and Robin put together, I'd wager," Killian smiles to go along with the attempt of comic relief.
This makes all three men smile, despite the grim conditions they are in. Finally, the guards all move away in order to drag David out into the arena and take their positions near the other gate.
"The first chance we get, we try to help each other escape. Agreed?" Robin speaks up, looking at Will and Killian in turn.
"Aye," Will and Killian respond simultaneously.
"David, after betraying me once I took you in as my own son has led to your being here. If you truly are as noble as your mother claimed you were, then you will still be alive at the end of this battle. If not, then you will be dead like these other three no-good men. May the odds be in your favor," King George tells his former adopted son.
David is shoved over to where Will, Robin, and Killian are standing and they soon reveal their plan to him as the guards cut their handcuffs off. That's when the gate opens to reveal the biggest, fiercest giant anyone has ever seen in their entire lives. All four men immediately get in a defensive position, forming a sort of rectangle as the giant approaches.
"Aw, bloody hell!" Will groans as the giant snarls, realizing that they are intended to fight the giant using only their wit and the few weapons lying around.
"You can say that again, mate," Killian agrees before letting out a low whistle of fear.
The giant rolls his huge shoulder blades before letting out a fearsome roar. The crowd erupts into cheers, and Robin, Will, Killian, and David exchange a look, trying to silently come up with a strategy between the four of them. Robin instinctively picks up a sword in his hands, the blade shining in the slowly setting sunlight. The giant begins to stomp towards him, and Robin feels his blood start to run slightly cold. The giant makes taunting hand motions, daring Robin to come closer. At this, Queen Cora claps her hands, knowing this is going to be a good fight turned execution. Robin takes off running towards the giant, sword raised in the air, but he doesn't get very far. The giant raises his humongous foot in the air and kicks Robin directly in the middle of his chest. Robin falls to the ground on his back and shoulders, his head starting to pound now as well. The pain spreads through his body, so he just lays there for the moment being to try and get some feeling back into his muscles. King George lets out an evil laugh as soon as Robin hits the ground, enjoying every last second of watching his prisoners' suffering.
The giant lets out another roar and pats himself on the chest, which causes the crowd to burst into happy yells and clapping. Will decides to use this moment to his advantage. He begins to sneak towards the giant to execute a sneak attack. Hearing footsteps behind him, the giant turns around and grabs Will by the throat, constricting the young man's windpipe and source of oxygen. He starts to squeeze Will's neck, and the thief feels like he's going to pass out very soon. Will does the first and only thing that comes to mind: he punches. He slams his fists into the giant's chest and stomach, hoping to relieve the giant's grip on his neck in the process. The giant simply laughs at Will's pathetic attempts before he launches him in the air, throwing Will thirty feet backwards. Will crashes into the ground and moves a hand to his neck while gasping to regain his breath. His lungs take in as much air as they can; and Will feels relieved to be out of the giant's grasp for the time being.
Next, David attempts to attack the giant. He puts his fists up in front of his face to protect himself in the process. However, seeing as he is not a match for the giant at all, the prince gets smacked across the face, which sends him spiraling in the air. David spins in the air before painfully landing on his chest, which cracks part of the solid ground in the process. He lays there gasping for breath while Killian prepares to take his turn up against the beast that has terrorized his newly found friends. Killian throws himself at the giant, and is able to actually block most of the giant's punches. However, as Killian begins to tire, the giant grabs him around his middle and throws him backwards. The pirate collapses on the ground but is quickly back on his feet and helps David get back on his feet afterwards. Now, all four of them come to the center of the arena, watching in horror as the giant goes to retrieve an ax, one that is normally used to behead citizens with.
"Well, this has turned bad rather quickly," Robin speaks up, swallowing the lump in his throats.
"It was nice to have known ya, mates," Will adds in, looking away from the ax wielding giant.
He pulls out the piece of rope he got from the hooded figure and studies it. Will then happens to look up into the stands and notices the hooded figure standing not too far above the four of them.
"Mates, look," he says in an awe-struck whisper.
Killian, Robin, and David focus their attention to where Will is pointing and all notice that the hooded figure is watching them. They simultaneously pull out their remaining pieces of equipment.
"Okay, we've got two pieces of rope, a cloth bag, and a stone. What the bloody hell do you propose we do with them?" Killian demands, fearfully watching as the giant creeps steadily closer, raising the ax slightly.
"We could make a slingshot!" Robin quickly announces, which gets the four new-found friends working hard on the slingshot before the giant gets any closer.
Eight hands frantically work on the tiny slingshot, making sure everything is in place.
"Who's gonna throw it?" Will asks his friends, wondering who they think has the best shot.
"Well, we've only got one shot at this or we're dead," Killian says, which makes Will roll his eyes.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," he remarks with a groan lacing his words.
"Well, I've seen Robin shoot a bow and arrow, and he's quite good. I think he's our best chance," David announces.
Will and Killian agree with this notion and hand the slingshot over to Robin where he can do his thing. Robin swings the make-shift slingshot around and throws it when the giant gets close enough. The rock imbeds itself in the giant's forehead, bringing the colossal beast to his knees. The ax drops from his hands, and just like that, he's dead. Robin, Will, Killian, and David let out screams of victory and throw their hands up in the air, purposely looking over at King George and Queen Cora.
"We did it," Will says with a sigh of relief.
"We survived," Robin and David smile, happy to be the first ones to survive the arena.
"Good work, mates! Look up there," Killian remarks, pointing his index finger at the hooded figure.
The hooded stranger takes off his hood and reveals himself to be none other than August, each of the four men's friend. He jumps down from the stands and joins in their celebration, telling them how amazing they did under the pressure and congratulating them on being the first people to live through the arena's tough challenges. King George lets out an evil laugh and another gate opens. Three lions come out of the gate, followed by a tough looking knight.
"It looks like we'll be fighting Sir Lancelot and lions," David unenthusiastically tells his friends.
"Of course we bloody are," Will mutters, just wanting this whole ordeal to be over with.
"You got any more bright ideas, mate?" Killian directs to August.
"Not at the moment," August remarks, swallowing the bile beginning to rise in his throats.
"Then we better start thinking," Robin adds in.
Author's Note: And there's Chapter 1! I don't know where the inspiration for this came from, but I love the idea of these five guys being friends and fighting a giant together. The next chapter will be the five of them fighting Sir Lancelot and the lions; so stay tuned for that. I hope you enjoyed this; and please leave a review with what you thought; those are always appreciated! Have a good day/afternoon/evening.