Scarlet Rose

Will Scarlet & Rose Lockwood

Chapter 1

The sound of dogs at her heels met the young woman's ear as she ran, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. The hooves of the horses beating upon the ground and kicking up loose dirt from the earth came to her ears as well as she nearly tripped over her own feet. Never had she been so scared for her life. Actually, that wasn't necessarily true, but that's beside the point. At the moment, she was terrified of being caught.

Earlier, she had been caught trying to steal a small loaf of bread, her wrist still painfully red from the incident. Now, here she was, running from the sheriff's men after a just beating. The young woman even had bruises that were starting to show as a result of it hours earlier. Her only hope now was if she could make it into Sherwood Forest in time, otherwise, she'd have no chance at survival.

"Faster!" one of the Sheriff's men yelled, urging his horse to go faster.

The young woman gasped for breath as she ran, her feet tired and nearly raw from her hours of running away. Granted, the men hadn't been chasing her for all those hours on their horses, but she'd still been running from them just the same.

Almost there, just a bit further, she thought to herself as she urged her feet a bit further.

Just a few yards from entering the forest, she heard a whistling noise coming toward her, before she felt an arrow pierce through her left shoulder. She then stumbled to the ground, hand clutching at her shoulder painfully. Quickly, she got back up and ran forward, not wanting to be caught by the Sheriff of Nottingham's men.

"Go after her!" the head yelled, watching as one of his men rode forward into the woods.

The man tried his best to ignore the eeriness of the forest, but about a quarter of a mile in he fled, not wanting to be in there any longer. That left the young woman to herself finally, though with an arrow still protruding from her shoulder.

Her chest continued to heave as she continued forward, dragging her feet slowly and painfully across the leafy forest floor from fatigue. She felt like she'd collapse at any given moment as she walked aimlessly through the forest, already becoming lost. To her it was like walking in circles, her mind slowly wandering elsewhere. All that she knew was that she was getting deeper and deeper into Sherwood forest.

A hour later, the sound of little birds chirping slowly met her ears, along with the sound of water. It came to her in sweet waves, something that soothed her tired soul.

"Water…" she whispered softly as her eyes landed upon the rolling river before her.

A tired smile slowly curled onto her face as she stepped forward, her footing faltering before she collapsed onto the ground unconscious, her body no longer able to withstand what she'd been through. She had never even seen the young man hiding in the bushes across the river watching her or stand up and make his way across after she collapsed. The man himself held curiosity and slight worry in his eyes as he looked down at the woman before him, his eyes taking in her long brown hair that hid the bruise on her face. He also took note to the arrow in her left shoulder, along with her bloody feet, and bruised wrist. All of this was a shock to him as he knelt down before her, staring down at her face before braking off what he could of the arrow, leaving the rest in her shoulder for the time being. Normally, he'd be a bit skeptical about helping someone outside of his camp, but her being a woman changed his mind. He knew that he couldn't leave her lay there like that.

"Let's get you somewhere safe," he said quietly, though more to himself as he picked her up, careful not to injure her further.

T

Two days later, a dark haired woman woke up to the world around her with a groan, her entire body aching. The last thing that she remembered, was running away from the sheriff's men. She didn't really know what happened after that, save for the fact that she had managed to make it into the forest. Upon opening her eyes though, she let out a scream at the face she saw inches in front of her own. She thought that it had been one of Nottingham's men until two other men came running in at the sound of her scream.

"Bull! Get out of here!" a man whom looked to be about the same age as the woman yelled, shoving the curly haired man out of the hut.

He then turned toward the woman, kneeling down in front of her.

"Are you alright my lady?" he asked, a bit of hair falling down in his eyes before he brushed it out of the way.

She just sat there staring at him, unsure of what to do. Her eyes then traveled to the large, tall man that stood by the opening of the hut, his kind blue eyes staring after her with concern.

"Who…who are you?" she asked the two of them softly, still a bit frightened.

Noticing the look of fear in her face, the young man before her spoke.

"Don't worry, we're not of Nottingham's soldiers," he said, disgusted at the mere thought of the Sheriff of Nottingham. "My name is Will Scarlet my lady," he said, introducing himself to her as he bowed his head.

"And I am John Little," the giant of a man replied.

"Now, may I ask the name of the lady?" Will asked, a handsome smile on his face.

"Rose…Rose Lockwood," she said softly, raising her eyes to meet his own.

She gave a small smile at his blue-green eyes, seeing the kindness in them. As she sat up a bit more she grimaced, wincing and holding onto her shoulder. It was then that she noticed it was bandaged and that her shirt had been changed, making her face go red.

"Don't worry Miss Lockwood, my wife is the one that took care of you," John told her, assuring her that no man had touched her.

"I wrapped your feet though," Will admitted, causing her to look at him once more.

"Thank you Master Scarlet…Master Little…" she said, bowing her head.

Will went slightly red at being called master, not used to such titles or respect. Little John merely chuckled, a smile on his face.

"Bugger me, I never been called Master before," John said, turning to Will afterward. "Don't think he has either," he added with a grin.

Although, after thinking about what she said, he had to wonder where she came from. Not only that, but how she came to Sherwood Forest as well. It was all too obvious to both Will and John that she'd been running from the Sheriff's men.

"Say, where about do ya come from little missy?" John asked curiously.

At this she turned her eyes away, before slowly standing up, wincing as she put pressure on her feet. In fact, she would have fallen if not for Will catching her.

"Th-thank you," she stuttered, before trying to push away and walk out of the hut, but Will wouldn't have it.

She didn't like thinking about the way that she had lived. She truly hated it. In fact, it had been the reason why she had run away. For most of her teenage years and part of her earlier years, she had basically been a slave, treated like dirt if not worse. She had run away the night that her 'Master' had tried to bed her. How she hated it, causing shivers to run down her spine.

"You're not going anywhere," Will said, setting her back down on the bed of hay and cloth.

"I apologize, but I would rather not speak of such things to that of strangers," she told them, having no intention of speaking of her past.

"I ain't goin' ta force ya," John said, raising his hands up in the air in defense.

This seemed to put Rose slightly at ease, but she was still wary of these two men for she knew nothing of them save for their names. After a few minutes of silence though, John finally spoke.

"Well, I think I'll leave ya for now. See if I can't scrounge up some food," he said, before nodding his head and walking out of the hut.

That left Rose and Will behind to themselves, leaving possible chance of talk.

"So…" Will began, trying to start up a conversation. "Exactly what was it that ended you with an arrow in the shoulder, if you don't mind my asking?" Will questioned.

"Apparently, they see being hungry as a crime," she said simply.

Her face turned slightly sour when Will let out a chuckle in response.

"I mean no disrespect miss, it's just that it seems your skills as a thief need work," he told her, a slight smile on his face.

"You think I don't already know that? I've landed myself in trouble plenty of times as a result," she said bitterly, remembering the whippings she'd received at times from her former 'Master'.

It made Rose's back hurt just thinking about all of the torture she'd been put through over the years. No longer was the skin of her back soft and flawless, nor smooth to the touch as it should be. Every time she would brush her fingers over it she became disgusted, each scar upon her back a constant memory of her life before. She had been struck so many times that she'd lost count the number of scars placed upon her back.

"So, I guess that means it's safe to say this isn't the worst you've gotten then?" he assumed.

Rose merely turned her head away before standing up, biting her tongue at the pain. She ignored Will's protests of her moving and left the hut, walking as far away as possible into the forest. She just couldn't stand there with those questions looming in the air. There were too many memories brought up at such questions.

"Far too much pain to remember…" she spoke aloud to no one in particular save for herself.

She had no clue of the ears in the forest that followed her, her thoughts set on clearing her mind and possibly running away again. After all, she had nowhere to go, no place to stay, no family, no nothing. To her, life was an empty chasm on the road to nowhere.

Quietly, she lifted her shirt up just below her chest, gazing down in disgust at the discoloration of her skin. The sickly color almost made her feel nauseous, though the pain that she felt was far worse.

"I wish I didn't have to run all the time," Rose exclaimed solemnly, running her fingers over her scarred skin.

"Then don't," came the sound of Will's voice as he stepped out of his hiding spot in the trees.

"Will," Rose stuttered in surprise, quickly fixing her shirt. "Have you been following me?"

"Stay with us instead of running. Take up home here," he told her, watching the change on her face.

No one had ever said anything like that to her before, never offered such a thing. The thought itself had crossed her mind once, about just staying in the forest. After all, she too was an outlaw now, being hunted down for nothing save the mere need for food.

"And why should I trust you?" she asked, her eyes trailing over his face.

"Why not?" he countered, a sly look on his face.

"Because I know nothing of you," she said, turning away from him and starting to walk away.

"Wait!" he called out, running forward.

She stopped for a moment, turning her head slightly to look at him.

"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked.

"Well, I'm always out here. After all, I'm normally on watch duty," he informed her.

"Watch duty?" she questioned curiously.

"Yes. I tax any rich man whom wishes to cross safely through Sherwood Forest," he said proudly.

This made Rose let out a faint laugh at his tone of voice.

"It's also the only reason that I found you by the river my lady," Will spoke truthfully.

This made her turn around to look at him properly, a strange emotion lacing her features.

"You…you're the one that found me?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, my lady, that would be me," he said, giving her a slight bow.

She stood there for a moment in silence, thinking things through. She could tell that there was no deceit in his words. All of them were true, he had saved her.

"Then I…am indebted to you," she whispered, bowing her head to him.

"What? No, you don't…"

"I shall stay," she whispered, her head still bowed in respect for the man before her.

This silenced him for a moment as he looked upon her. She had just said that she would stay. She would stay for the mere reason that he had been the one who had found her. He then smiled at her, before coming forward and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

T

Three weeks later

Rose was blending right in with everyone around her. Her shoulder was healing quite nicely as well, only leaving behind the beginnings of a reddish scar. It still hurt her though if she strained herself too much or pulled it wrong, but she was getting used to it. Also, Will had been particularly nice to her for the most part. There were times though when he was rather blunt if in a bad mood, but he was still fairly nice to her. Although, nice or not, she was still indebted to him.

Within the next week, there was little to no discrepancies with her presence among the camp. Although, given the current amount of supplies, she was still sleeping in Will's hut. Still, she had been attempting to collect supply for her own. It was not out of disrespect for Will, but merely for her own peace of mind. She didn't like feeling as though she were a burden or taking up much needed space. That is why she was so persistent on scrounging up materials.

"Rose!" a male voice called out, startling her and causing her to drop the firewood that she'd been gathering in her arms.

"Much," she exclaimed, finding the slightly older man standing before her.

"My apologies my lady, I didn't mean to startle you," he said.

Rose merely let out a sigh as she began picking the firewood back up, struggling to hold all of it in her arms properly.

"It's alright Much. What was it that you needed?" she asked kindly, turning her eyes to the thin haired man.

"Well," he began with a smile, "we found ourselves coming across some extra money and thought you might like to accompany a few of us men to get some new clothes. At least somethin' more suitable for a lady such as yourself," Much explained, causing a bit of heat to raise upon Rose's face.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," she whispered, watching as a smile quickly formed on Much's face.

"Come then my lady," Much proclaimed, taking hold of her arm and dragging her along, the firewood that had been in her arms now on the ground once more.

T

"I'll give you this piece of silver for any scraps of fabric you have laying around," Rose bargained with the tailor.

The tailor in question had plenty of fabric just laying around on the ground, pieces both large and small. She had hoped that her offer would work, even more surprised when the tailor started throwing bits and pieces into a basket for her, filling it right up to the top.

"I was debating on whether or not to throw them away, but with the offer you've given me, I think I've found an alternative," the tailor smiled happily.

Rose even watched as he swept up a few bits of leather and placed them in the basket. Whether it was on purpose or by accident, she was grateful. That bit of leather would work well for making a pair of shoes for her worn feet. When he was finished, they found that he had put together two whole baskets full of scrapped fabric.

"Now, if you come back in a week or two, I'm sure I can put together the same amount of scraps if not more," he told her.

"Much appreciated sir," Rose said, bowing her head to him as she gave him the piece of silver.

After that they exchanged their goodbyes with Rose's promise to return within the following weeks. From there, she went in search for Much and Bull, finding their absence slightly unnerving.

"Much? Bull?" she called, looking around her, but found no response.

She sighed heavily as she walked through the town, trying her best to locate her friends. While doing this she also thought a few things over in her head. As she gazed down at the two baskets she carried, she took notice to particular bits of fabric that kept showing up. It was a nice red color, instantly reminding her of Will. He had a red shirt of his own, but it seemed to be a little worse for wear. Perhaps there would be enough warmer fabric for a scarf as well, perhaps one for both of them. This thought made her smile.

"Lady Lockwood!" came the hurried call of Much's voice.

Turning around, she found him running toward her with Bull right behind him. Just behind them, she saw one of the sheriff's men.

"Oh no…" she whispered, quickly turning and running as fast as she could. "What did you do this time!" she hollered over her shoulder, holding the baskets close to her as she ran.

"Nothing, I swear!" Bull called frantically.

"Someone recognized us," Much chimed in, nearly tripping over his own feet.

Before they knew it, they had more than just one man chasing them. Instead, they had several, just because of Bull's negligence.

"My lady, I have us a horse!" Much shouted, pulling a horse along, before mounting it.

Once he did that, he rode forward, holding his arm out to Rose. She gripped it quickly, allowing him to pull her up onto the horse's back, where Bull soon joined her. With that, they were able to run away, avoiding a possible capture. The last thing that any of them needed was to get caught.

Once they managed to get back into the forest, Bull let out a cheerful holler, happy to be back. Rose laughed quietly at this, finding his antics slightly amusing. It wasn't until they were further in that they saw Will's skeptical face looking back at them, his curiosity turning toward Rose and her slightly red face.

"What happened?" Will asked, jogging forward to meet them.

From there, Much and Bull proceeded to explain the incident at the same time, rambling on and on. Will merely groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose, quietly making his way to the side of the horse and helping Rose off of it.

"Hello Will," she smiled faintly, trying her best to shake off the adrenaline that was still running through her system.

It didn't do her much good though as she stood there, her fingers curled around the sleeve of Will shirt.

"What's with all the cloth?" he asked curiously as he looked at the two baskets full of material.

"Oh, um…" this seemed to bring her to her senses as she blinked a few times, processing his question. "It's for clothing," she said finally, answering his question.

"All of it?" he questioned.

She nodded her head, grabbing the baskets in her hands and handing one of them to Will.

"Yes. That's why there's so much. The tailor said that if I came back next week, I'd likely get even more for a single piece of silver. He even threw in a few pieces of decent leather as well," she finished, a faint smile on her face.

"Really now?" he asked, looking through the pieces of material for confirmation.

While looking through the cloth, Rose caught him lingering upon the pieces of material that she had eyed earlier. A knowing smile made its way to her face as she watched him.

"Does anything in particular catch your interest?" she asked simply.

"Hm? Oh, no, not really," he lied, placing the cloth back into the baskets as they once were.

"Are you sure Will?" she asked, wondering if she'd change his answer.

"Yes, I'm sure," he replied with a nod of his head.

She could still tell that he was lying, but wasn't going to push it. She just let him be and took the baskets back to his hut, a small smile on her face.

"Whatever you say Will, whatever you say," she whispered to herself, chancing a glance at him.

She found him staring at her though when she gazed at him, sending a rush of heat to her face.

Okay everyone, I hope you enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the first chapter isn't nearly as good as the others. I assure you though that 2, 3, and 4 are much better. I just have to finish up a bit more editing and then they'll be up as well. Please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with comments. :)