Daniel walked through Sherwood Forest, running his fingers along the thick tree trunks, among which Robin Hood and his merry band had been rumored to live. The legend had died many centuries ago, if he had ever lived at all.
Daniel shrugged. He didn't generally believe in that sort of thing, but then again there was something magical about the massive trees and their emerald green carpet and ceiling, capped by a massive sapphire expanse. One could believe anything here.
He walked further into the forest and came across a small glade. In the center of the glade was an ancient grandfather tree, a tree that dwarfed all others. As he advanced towards it, he noticed something carved a short ways up the trunk. As he squinted and reached forward, the world turned upside-down. When it righted itself, he was standing in front of the same tree, but there was nothing carved into it, and there was a good deal more sunlight filtering through the canopy. As he stood there, something thudded out of the tree in front of him.
Daniel almost fell over backwards, but there was suddenly someone there to catch him. Once he was steady, the two people began prodding him along until he succumbed and began walking out of the glade.
As he was moving hastily along, he noticed people dressed all in Lincoln green, excepting soft brown leather boots and a stripe of browns of varying shades down one shoulder of a green tunic, emerging from the woods and following him on silent feet. This formed an odd procession of him crashing through the underbrush escorted by innumerable silent green-and-brown-clad wraiths.
After some time, Daniel and his escort of noiseless Lincoln green came into another clearing, this one slightly larger. The crowd, rather large by this point, diffused into the woods until only a token force remained visible.
In the middle of the clearing was a stand of trees arranged around a small spring, around which were piled rocks. Next to the pool formed by the spring, at a makeshift desk, sat a person dressed as the wraiths in all Lincoln green, with an almost-black stripe down the shoulder.
"Robin Hood?!" Daniel exclaimed incredulously.
The person looked up from the scratching at the desk and made a face at him.
She, for it was in fact a she, swept her hat off her head and allowed masses of dark brown curls tumble down her back. "As if!" She retorted.
She started mumbling about pretentious idiots coming to the forest looking for Robin Hood to save them, and how they were always disappointed when they happened upon her camp instead of his etc.
Daniel shook his head, bewildered.
"Steph," one of the women that had come in with Daniel said gently. "Give him a chance."
She made a face. "Oh, fine," she grumbled. "My title is Rowan Hood," she announced with a glare over her shoulder. "Stephanie to my closest friends. You and this was punctuated with narrowed eyes, "are not one of my closest friends. Therefore you may call me Rowan Hood, or simply Rowan."
"Yes, ma'am," Daniel muttered darkly, not liking not being liked.
"Now, Hannah will get you some decent clothes, Annie and Laria will tend to weapons outfitting and training, Eva to your lessons-"
"But I already know how to read and write and all," protested Daniel.
"No doubt Eva will find something for you to do," muttered Rowan, rolling her eyes, "Megan will take down your picture for future reference, and see Anna Kate if you need anything else. I'll be around, and if you have any problems with anyone, see me. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am." Daniel turned to Hannah first, as Rowan sat down at her desk and resumed scratching at her parchment.
* * *
Six hours, one clothes fitting, one portrait sitting, one school lesson and one unbearably long beating disguised as a weapons training later, Daniel staggered back to the glade. Totally exhausted, he searched for Anna Kate to find out where he was supposed to sleep. She issued him a sleeping fur and told him to pick a piece of ground. He wandered off into the woods and came across a clearing, just large enough for him to lie down in, and he flopped onto the fur, asleep before he hit the ground.