A/N: I finished my undergratuate degree about a month ago and after discovering this strange thing known as freetime, I stumbled upon some Robin Hood BBC fan videos on Youtube. This in turn lead me to wanting to watch the whole series again and rediscover why it was that I loved this show. Also, I found the early Robin Hood stuff that I wrote about five years ago hiding in a corner of my hard-drive, and thus the plot bunnies started to attack. I have removed the original fanfiction 'Embers of the Forest' gutted it, re-plotted it, rewritten and re-edited it.
WARNING: There is a OC character in this fic, so if you dislike OCs far warning. Elizabeth is mine.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own BBC Robin Hood or any related characters.
The Time of Thorns
Prologue
Some men are destined for greatness; other have it thrust upon them. Some men desire the glory of battle and thus become legends. Others achieve it through the strength of their character - defending those who can not defend themselves from the relentless darkness. And thus a hero is born.
The long absence of King Richard in the Holy Land was felt across the lands that he had left behind - the people of England suffered at the hands of those in power. Faced with the threat of constant starvation and the continual demands for increased taxation, friend turned against friend and families were torn asunder.
England was tearing itself apart.
England needed a hero. She cried out for a hero.
And he answered her call. He became the hero that England craved.
I have often his name whispered amongst the people of England even now: the legend, the hero, the man. Robin of Locksley. Robin, the Earl of Huntingdon. Robin Hood.
Recently returned from the Crusades, Robin could have left things as they had been in his own absence in the Holy Land, but he did not. His sense of justice would not allow him to see things continue as they had. He gave up everything that he had and became an outlaw in Sherwood forest. He robbed the rich and gave it to the poor. He defied the Sheriff of Nottingham. He gave the people the courage to make a stand against tyranny and fight for something that was worth fighting for.
Robin was also an ordinary man: prone to making the same mistakes that man, woman or child would make. He was arrogant to a fault. He leapt to conclusions, and allowed his own thirst for revenge to overpower his common sense.
The daylight starts to fade, my dear readers, as I begin to commit these words to paper, and yet I find myself drawing closer to the fire in the cottage that has been my home for the last ten years so that I may continue to write. It is long past time that I committed these events and those involved in them to paper. I confess myself afraid - I have scarcely known where to start for there have been so many stories that have been told of Robin Hood and his Gang. But no longer.
It is time.
This is the story of Robin Hood. This is the account of the man behind the legend. This is the story of those that lived, fought and died by his side for freedom against tyranny and injustice. It is my hope, dear reader, that Robin will inspire you as much he continues to inspire me to this day.
This is his story; and with it the start of my own.
[Written in the Year of Our Lord 1213]