Loop. That was what they called me. Loop, such a childish name, but it couldn't be helped. They needed me, as we brave through the seasons by living off the land, and the villagers.
All of us, we needed to be able to control something, this I recognized, as well as how we would do it. They became the soldiers of Sherwood. And I? I became their Captain.
Lady Marion was our first close call, the lady could shoot, was what he told me. He, being Wolf, the boy with the face of the beast, he was my commander of the littler ones. The ones who hid their faces with masks. They were the best for raiding the town. It is an unfortunate task, but we must do it to survive. They actually managed to pick up some money from four travelers in the woods. I am proud of my soldiers.
However, I fear for them. One of them began coughing, and when one begins, more will succumb. We need to conduct more raids, but I am fearful for our lives, we will soon get caught if we begin to raid the village on a more regular basis. We will have to harvest from the forest the best that we can.
She may have been our first close call, but she soon became our secret keeper. I almost wanted to curse Wolf for leading her to us, but after the boy explained the circumstances, I understood. To bring her here, would be groundbreaking, she could go back to the village and tell them all of where our hide out is. It was risky, but it would have been worse if she brought the boys back with her.
The lady, turned out to be a godsend, without her, at least two of the boys would have died, and more, deserted. She helped us regain our health, and even brought back some food for us, so that we could eat more nutritious meals, or so she said. Lady Marion became the mother that the littler ones needed, that we needed. She became the adult that we could trust.
Her husband recently joined Lady Marion in helping us. Of course, Wolf and the others thought that he was a spy, I was proud of my soldiers. Until he told us otherwise. He said that we were poachers! The nerve of him. That we were thieves! Of course, he had a point, but I wasn't going to let the boys know. He said that he would teach us how to tie knots, which trees to use for strength and how to make arrows fly for more than 20 feet. It was an amazing opportunity, actually. For a war-hardened soldier, a lot like our fathers who weren't coming back, to offer to teach us to do all these things? I accepted, of course. What else could I do? And soon, Sir Robert Loxley, became our second secret keeper.
Wolf had come back with an alarming message, that soldiers were forcing Lady Marion into a building. I, fearing the worst, ran to the village with one other boy, and we climbed the roof that Wolf had told us housed Lady Marion. I heard a gurgled grunt and quickly moved aside the hay, setting the other boy on watch over the rooftop. Calling for Lady Marion, I heard her relieved voice; she handed me a sword, which I pulled up, and then heard the sounds of her climbing, and put my arm through the hole to help her through the roof.
We soon descended from the roof, and I told the other boy to wait in the forest, I didn't want any of my soldiers to be hurt. The Friar and I followed Lady Marion, who had us help the villagers who were locked in the burning building. We managed to save them all, so I quickly disappeared back into the forest, as my soldiers began to melt back to our camp. Lady Marion knew where we were if she needed help.
My warriors and I fought in that battle. The one that Robin revealed his identity, the one that England won against France, and the one where the vicious traitor that almost had the village killed, was killed himself, by our very own Robin Hood.
After the battle, Robin and his fellow men, Merry Men, they called themselves, became outlaws. Declared by the King himself. It seemed to suit our needs just fine, for we welcomed the crusaders, and Friar Tuck, with open arms, and they adopted us. Lady Marion will now never leave, and we will soon learn how to hunt better and other things that Robin promised he would. Though I am sad to see our ranks disappearing day by day, I am glad, for they now can be the children that they are. And though I welcomed the power and the responsibility of my troops, I finds myself relieved that the burden of responsibility is taken off my shoulders.