Title: What Happens Now? Part 2
Disclaimer: The Characters of the BBC's Robin Hood do not belong to me in any which way, I am just borrowing them to satisfy my inner Will/Djaq shipper.
Rating: Teen, for now.
Summary: Set during and eventually after Peace? Off through to A Clue: No. A Djaq/Will romance eventually.
Note: Italics are used for a memory or event in the past
Djaq turned her face heavenward as she exited the cave where she and the other members of Robin's "gang" had taken refuge from an earlier rain storm.
The rain had slowed significantly since then and Djaq took a deep breathe, savoring the sweet smell in the air.
No matter how much she might complain about the dark, cold, wet weather of this country, she loved how the land smelled of rich earth and glowed green after a good rain fall.S
She had grown up in a land of deserts and droughts, and although her people had compensated for this with innovations in irrigation and the like, there was nothing as green as this forest there.
Djaq walked leisurely down the hillside, taking in the water clinging to the leaves and listening to the sounds of the forest.
She valued moments like these, when it was quiet and she could be at peace.However, if she were to be truly honest with herself, she was not at peace in this moment. A dark cloud cast shadows over her thoughts, taking the form of King Richard. His arrival would change many things. Things which, in Djaqs opinion, did not require changing.
It was true that the Sheriff and Gisborne were not good men and should be removed from their positions of power, but that meant that her new family would more than likely be torn apart.
Robin would regain his title and lands (and most likely marry Marian), Much would finally get his bit of land, John could go and see his son, Allan would do…whatever he wanted and Will…
Djaq wiped angrily at the tear that had escaped her eye. Damnit. Will…Will would join his family, wherever they were…and then he would find a nice, quiet, pretty, normal English girl to marry.
Djaq kicked at a rock on the ground at that thought. She did NOT like that idea. Not that she wanted Will for herself. She did not need a man.
She would be fine on her own. She had survived alone before and she would do so again if she had to. Not that she necessarily wanted to. Not that she had one clue as to what she would do.
Perhaps she would return to her land, rejoin the fight against invading crusaders. However, she would have to pretend to be a man again. She would have to live a lie in order to live her life the way she wanted to; to be free.
It occurred to her that by accepting her into their group Robin, John, Much, Allan and Will had unknowingly set her free.
Before she had come across these men, she had thought that she had found freedom, even if it was only because she pretended to be a man.
Now, however, she was free as a woman.
Although, the men did treat her somewhat differently because she was a woman, by keeping her out of confrontations as much as possible and arguing over putting her in harms way, they never forced her to do or not do anything. They treated her more or less as an equal.
She doubted that she would ever find that kind of freedom again.
Djaq wandered further into the forest, mindless of where she was headed. Her thoughts were too consumed with the bleak future ahead of her.
As if the forest felt her pain, a drop of water fell on her shoulder, then another, and another. It had begun to rain again. Djaq sighed. She turned her head up and let the rain hit her face. Perhaps, if she stood here long enough, the rain would wash away her sadness.
She wished Will was there.
That thought struck Djaq hard, and she stumbled slightly with the impact.
No…no…she must not think like that…she was reacting emotionally. She must think rationally.
But the thought would not leave her. The memory of his hand holding hers to his chest earlier on and the way his eyes seemed to burn into hers with an intensity that left her gasping for breath invaded her thoughts, refusing to leave.
The knowledge that even in her thoughts, Will still stood his ground, made her smile.
She wondered what it would feel like to be held close to him, to feel the quiet strength in his embrace, his lips…
Djaq shook her head, water flinging to the ground from her now wet hair and ran her hands over her face. What was going on?
Why could she not get him out of her head?
Or, perhaps, it was not her head that was the problem?
The rain started to pound harder against her and that brought Djaq back to reality.
She turned around and started back toward the cave. It would do no good for her to be sick. Not when important things were happening. She needed all of her strength to face the road ahead.
Her thoughts still lingered on Will, however, apparently determined not to let her push it aside, as she had done so often of late. It was ridiculous, because nothing could ever come of these kinds of thoughts. Will would never see her like that. She was just being foolish and overly romantic.
When had this started? When had her thoughts become so often filled with the young carpenter?
The answer to this question came to her much more easily then she would have thought, given that there were so many questions left unanswered lately.
It was during the time when the crusader, who Much had named "Harold", had been brought to their camp. He had attacked her during one of his episodes of madness.
Djaq remembered the cold steel of the knife as it had pressed against her neck and she also remembered the look on Wills face, a mix of rage and fear.
Djaqs eyes locked with Wills the instant the edge of the blade had touched her throat. She tried to talk to Harold, but he pressed the knife harder into her, so she quieted.
Much was trying to talk the mad crusader down…but Djaq was not convinced that it would work.
The man was sick in the head, his ability to reason was gone; and he had a knife at her throat.
As the student of a physician father and a warrior in Saladin's army, Djaq knew that "Harold" had the knife pressed against a spot that would surely kill her if he chose to press down. She had seen men die within moments after having their throats cut and she knew that it was not a pleasant way to die.
Djaq tried to think of how she could get herself out of "Harolds" grasp without getting her throat slit in the process.
She could see Will, Allan and Robin inching closer, ready to attack at any moment, while Much continued to talk. Where was John?
Just then, she felt her captor jolt forward and then backward, the knife slicing a shallow cut along her neck, as Djaq was thrown forward to the ground.
Clutching her neck to staunch the blood, Djaq tried to catch her breath. Will was with her immediately, his hand on her back, his deep hazel eyes searching hers to make sure that she was alright. "Are you alright?" He asked, his voice soft and concerned.
Djaq nodded in affirmation, yet continued to apply pressure to the cut on her neck, she could feel blood under her fingers, sticky, but not gushing praise be to Allah.
Will watched her carefully, his brows knit together in concern. "Are you sure? Here let me take a look."
Djaq hesitated for a moment, knowing that the man before her had little to no expertise in the field of medicine, but she relented at the look of determination in his eyes.
"I am alright. It is just a scratch." she said wincing slightly as she pulled her hand away.
Will gave her a look that told her he was not convinced as he replied "Sit back a moment."
Djaq gave him a look, to which he replied "Please."
Djaq's expression softened. She then did as he requested and sat back on her backside.
Will moved forward, his hand resuming its place on the middle of her back, as he leaned in to get a better look at the injury. "We should get this cleaned and bandaged." Djaq didn't reply to the statement, she was too distracted by the feel his hot breath on her neck and shivered, but not in pain.
Will got up and went to retrieve something to clean and bandage the wound with, while Djaq sat quietly, half listening to the argument going on between Robin, Much and Allan.
Though, it was, mostly just Robin and Much; Allan was standing slightly off to the side, throwing comments in here and there.
Djaq found it interesting that suddenly, Robin and Much had switched their roles, with Much now defending the man he had named "Harold" and Robin arguing for his incarceration.
The man in question's unconscious form now sat tied to a tree, with his head hanging forward.
Djaq moved her head gingerly to the side and caught John's gaze. He too had been quietly watching the argument from the sidelines. John nodded his head at Djaq and slowly pulled himself from his crouched position against a tree and made his way over to her.
A large, but kind hand rested on her right shoulder as John spoke "Y' alright, lass?"
Djaq slowly angled her head up and looked at the bear of a man beside her as she replied "I will be well, thank you John".
John smiled warmly down at her and softly patted her shoulder in a fatherly gesture, one that had tears springing into Djaqs eyes.
John spoke again, as Will returned with a pail of water and some cloth, "I 'spose I better go deal with that lot, eh?" He let out a sound that was half laugh, half growl as he moved forward, nodding to Will in acknowledgement as he did.
Will sat on the ground next to Djaq and began gently cleaning the wound. The first dab of the wet cloth made Djaq wince in pain.
Will's head wipped up, a chagrined look on his face "I'm sorry…" before he could finish, Djaq had her hand up, silencing him. " It is alright… just stings a little, continue…please."
Will grit his teeth, but continued the task of cleaning the cut. Once finished, he loosely tied a bandage around her neck to cover the wound.
His fingers were rough against her skin, but Djaq did not mind. It made her shiver, in a good way, which in turn made her blush and she turned her head away from Will.
Will noticed the movement, "Djaq? Did I hurt you? I'm sorry…"
Djaq turned back around quickly to look at Will, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder in an effort to reassure him.
"No, no, it is alright…I…it was nothing, do not worry yourself, Will"
Wills eyes searched hers, to see if she was indeed telling the truth. He seemed satisfied with what he found there. His gaze then dropped slightly to where her hand rested on his left shoulder.
He slid his gaze along her arm until their eyes met. Djaqs heart beat faster at the look in his eyes. They seemed to be darker then usual…they looked hopeful…and was that maybe, desire?
No, that could not be, Djaq thought, but the feeling would not leave her. A part of her was telling her to look away, to not act like a foolish young girl, but she ignored it. Her breath caught in her throat as Will moved slowly forward, his head angling closer to hers.
She felt his warm breath against her lips, and her eyes began to close…
Suddenly, a loud shout startled them, and they both pulled back. Another shout drew their attention back to the bickering men before them. Apparently, John had decided to put an end to the argument by thumping Much on the head.
Will muttered something quietly before gathering up the pail and leftover cloth and all but running away. Djaq sighed and ran a hand over her face. What had just happened?
Djaq was rudely brought back to the present as she slipped on the muddy ground and suddenly fell forward and landed hard on her hands and knees.
She stayed in the position where she had fallen, she did not move and for some reason she could will herself to.
Then, Djaq did something that she had not done in many months, she bowed further forward until her head just touched the wet ground and she prayed.
Djaq prayed to Allah that he would be merciful and not take her new family away from her. She prayed that she would be strong enough to face whatever might happen. And she prayed that she would not loose Will.
After several long minutes, Djaq rose to her feet and slowly continued the trek back to the cave.
She decided in the end, that the rain was good today, because it masked the tears that had begun to fall from her eyes.
Sorry it took a little while to get this part up and posted. There is a lot more coming...I plan on uploading more tommorow...let me know what you think.
I know it is going alittle slow now, but it will become more energized a little later on, promise:)