"For the good
of all men,
and the love
of one woman,
he fought to
uphold justice
by breaking
the law."
-Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Prologue
It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon; serene and seemingly uneventful. A light breeze gently caressed the tree leaves. The air smelled of honeysuckle. Lying in a grassy field gazing up at the sky was a young boy of about fifteen.
Suddenly the boy heard a faint noise. He sat up slowly and listened intently. Dogs. Dogs were barking. The sound got closer, and then he could hear shouting too. Men's voices. The boy stood up and looked out over the field.
Emerging from the trees at the edge of the field was a small boy, maybe nine years old. He was running away from something, and kept glancing over his shoulder as he ran. Seconds later a group of men emerged from the trees, holding back great dogs by their leashes, obviously in pursuit of the boy. They were several meters behind him, though, and the boy was gaining distance every second.
Then they released the mutts.
The lad reached a tree just in time and scrambled up it quickly. He pulled his foot up just as the dogs reached the tree, snapping their jaws and growling ferociously. This is what they were trained to do, and they loved it.
By the time the men reached the tree, the outraged young man had picked up his bow and arrow and ran over to the tree to meet them.
He realized with disdain that they were the sheriff's men.
"May I inquire as to what manner creature is so dangerous that it takes six men to capture it?" asked the young man.
The sheriff's men all stopped in their tracks, their expressions surprised.
"This does not concern you, boy," one of the men said. He was the largest, the most forbidding, and the only one on horseback; clearly the man in charge.
Ignoring him, the young man peered up through the tree leaves and chuckled.
"A small boy! Oh yes, truly fearsome."
"This boy killed one of the king's deer! He has broken the law, he must be punished!"
"We're hungry, we need the meat!" the child called down suddenly.
The young man stared at the sheriff's men with his penetrating gaze. "Is it not a greater crime to starve a family?" he asked quietly.
The man who spoke before, the leader, stared right back.
"May I have the pleasure of your name, Sir?" he asked coldly, narrowing his eyes.
"Robin of Locksley."
"Well, Robin of Locksley, I suggest you move on and mind your own affairs." He began to turn around.
"No."
The man stopped. He turned slowly to face the young man called Robin. His followers were deathly quiet. No one dared make a sound.
"What did you say to me, boy?" The look in his eyes was murderous.
Robin was unfazed. He crossed his arms over his chest in defiance. "No."
The man gazed at him for a second longer, then ordered, "Kill him."
With astounding speed, Robin lifted his bow and shot at the nearest man, before any of them had a chance to draw their own weapons. The man fell to the ground in a heap. The child in the tree gave a cheer, and Robin grinned up at him. Robin shot at another man and hit him squarely in the chest, then ducked as an arrow soared past his head, missing him by mere inches. A third man, deciding on a different strategy, lunged at him with a sword, but Robin quickly reached down and pulled a sword from the scabbard of a man lying at his feet and ran him through with it. He watched in amusement as the last of the sheriff's men dropped his bow and ran off back towards the cover of the trees, glancing back at Robin in terror as he hurried away.
The leader of the group, still mounted on his horse, called out as he rode away, "This isn't over, Robin of Locksley! The sheriff of Nottingham will not tolerate it! Mark my words, you will pay for this!"
And so he would. He had defended a criminal and murdered three of the sheriff's men; he himself was now an outlaw. There would be a reward for his head—he could no longer return to Nottingham.
And thus was born the legendary Robin Hood.