Swords were drawn, axes were held aloft and Little John menacingly brandished his stick. In a clearing in the forest, the gang stood facing almost certain death. They weren't just surrounded by trees, but by the Sheriff and Guy's soldiers. Arrows were pointing fiercely at their bodies and any escape route was less than forthcoming. Simple capture was not an option, they would go down fighting, plus, the Sheriff had no use for any of them alive except Robin.
In the split second before the fighting began, each of them realised that they were not scared, and with this realisation came the truth of what exactly they were scared of.
Allan feared the day when it would all be over. Even though he couldn't quite see the day in his mind and found it hard to believe it might be coming, Allan still feared the day when he was no longer an outlaw. When he would have to go back to a meaningless life with nothing and no one. He would be a common criminal bereft of the guise of noble intentions. He'd become rather accustomed to the fragile honour that accompanied being one of Robin Hood's men.
Djaq feared the future in general. She felt safe in the past, where she knew what had happened. She was excited by the present and thrived on reacting to situations as they were thrown at her. The future was an unknown place that she didn't want to visit; it held events that she could not predict or control and Djaq feared the uncertainty. She'd come to rather like the lack of future that accompanied being one of Robin Hood's men.
Much feared losing Robin. It was that simple. Since he was young, it had been his job to look after his master and if he lost his master he would have nothing. Much would have no purpose in life because he lived for Robin and couldn't imagine a world without him. Robin was the reason for everything else. He rather liked revelling in the prestige that accompanied being Robin Hood's man.
Will feared for the people of Nottinghamshire. Whereas Robin worried about everything from home to the Holy Land, Will's was an intense, localised fear for the people with which he had grown up. He feared for the families who had shared food and blankets with his during the harsh winters. He worried about Arthur and Kate, with whom he had played games when they were young and were now married and had a baby. He'd come to rather like the opportunity to look after the poor that accompanied being one of Robin Hood's men.
Little John feared nothing. Death is the ultimate eventual consequence of most dangerous actions and when you have nothing to live for, you do not fear death. In fact, he welcomed meeting his maker. John had lost his wife and child to another man and the safety of a different county - and they had been all he had left. Little John had begun to embrace the opportunities for death that accompanied being one of Robin Hood's men.
Robin balanced so many fears on his shoulders that his once skinny and rounded upper arms had broadened dramatically since returning to England. There were fears he could not even articulate to himself, let alone the rest of the gang. He wasn't sure if they truly understood the fears he could explain; if the Sheriff triumphed, if the king was killed, the continual oppression of the poor. Did they really understand what it all meant? The consequences for the future of their country, indeed the rest of the world, were Robin's most persistent fears. Robin had come to rely on not needing to explain himself. It accompanied being the outlaw leader, Robin Hood.
The split second was over, but the gang had an advantage – higher ground. Admittedly it was only slightly higher, but in battle, higher ground was better ground. They'd faced worse odds than two to one, hadn't they? And the Sheriff's men were bullied, demoralised men with only money in their pockets for justification. With a quick nod to each other for reassurance, the gang ran screaming down the mound, weapons ready. They were Robin Hood!