Thanks to those who reviewed! Onto Chapter Two
Thanks to Neaptidea for the beta :)
Chapter Two
The ground was still wet when they made their way to the village. Robin could see the places where the water had washed out the ground, small trickles of water still running along here and there. He was treading carefully through the forest, Much following behind. They were in no particular haste, Locksley being the closest village to the camp and the planned meeting with the others still hours ahead.
Robin didn't worry that Allan would turn up at Locksley either, no matter that he could know they were coming. He just didn't think the man would dare to show his face.
The sun was just coming out from behind the clouds in the sky, given them hope that no further storm was to rage through the forest for now, as they made their way into the village. People were at their daily work and few looked up as the two outlaws carried on.
Robin didn't notice it at first, but the he felt that the looks they were receiving were not quite the same as usual. He pushed the thought aside, frowning at the concerns his mind came up with. Then he came to a stop, as he saw the havoc in front of him once they had walked around the houses that had previously concealed it.
The house had lost most of its structure, only blackened ruins remained behind. The fire had done its work, and at the sight Robin could only hope that no one had still been inside, when this had happened.
"Much?" Robin put down the sack he had been carrying, looking over where Much was trailing behind, as he was watching a group of villagers at the other side of the ruins.
Much was quick in scurrying up alongside him, dropping his share of the supplies on the ground in a heap as he stared at the charred remains in front of them.
"What happened?" his mouth was agape, the slight horror evident in his voice. Robin could only shake his head. That he couldn't say for certain.
"Maybe someone here can tell us," he was turning, but still confused as the villagers were regarding them with wary gazes. It was as though they were afraid, hesitant to approach or ask for any favors. Something was wrong, Robin could feel it in his bones, but he couldn't know unless someone told him. His eyes searched the crowd, trying to pick out a friendly face, someone he could trust, but instead he saw the same worry, and in some, anger. An anger he could not be certain was even there.
He nodded then. They would not find out what had happened, if they were not to ask the people. Hefting the sack over his shoulder again, he marched towards the group.
"What happened here?" he asked, as he approached them at speaking distance.
"You should know," one of them shouted suddenly, bitterness in his voice. "You and your troublemakers, thieves hiding in the forest. What happens after this?"
"Excuse me," Much interrupted indignantly, "but we have no idea what you mean by that."
Robin ignored him, taking another step forward. "We have done nothing but help all of you."
Robin could remember a time before, back when Joderic had been killed. Labeled as a killer, Robin had been shunned from most of the villages, he and his men chased down by dogs, and hardly anyone had trusted them.
He wasn't sure what was going on here though, but resolved to keep his calm for now and find out.
"Please, what happened here? Is there any way that we can help?"
"Now you want to help? Had you kept the likes of yours away from here, this would not have happened!" The man stepped forward, motioning the house.
"What does he mean by 'the likes of us'?" Much asked, following him.
Robin shook his head, both in answer to him and in denial to the other man. "We have not been here for days. Whatever it is, we are not at fault."
"It was one of you," the man argued back, "they saw him, the Scarlett kid. You think we wouldn't know him?"
"Will?" Robin asked sharply. "What does he have to do with it?"
"He was here last night," the man shouted angrily, taking another step forward. Now there was only a few feet which separated them both, and Robin felt uneasy. His weapons were at his side, but he didn't draw them for fear of making the entire situation go out of hand. What was needed, was reasoning.
'He couldn't have been," Robin started, "he was..." but then his voice fell short as he remembered. He was going to say that Will had been with the rest of them, back at camp. But that wasn't true. Will had not fessed to his whereabouts, and Robin found himself looking back at the house, the strong odor of smoke still lingering in the air. And he could remember the burn on the man's hand. But it
couldn't be...
He knew it couldn't be because there was no reason and no way Will could be responsible.
"It was an accident, surely?" Much insisted now.
"It was not," the man emphasized. "We saw someone running from the house and into the forest."
"Will?You can't be serious," he was shaking his head. "It was probably the storm. It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened, right, master?"
"You saw someone running into the forest?" Robin questioned, "After the fire had started?"
There were affirmative answers around the group. Robin shook his head, "How could you have known it was Will? Much is right, the storm started the fire, nothing else."
Maybe Will had been here, maybe he had seen the fire, had tried to help and had received the burn then. Robin did not know why the man would have run then, but there were many reasons that might explain it, fear, guilt maybe, at not having been able to save the people inside...
There were more accusations, more yells from around the crowd as a man pushed his way to the front. He was disheveled, marks of soot and burns evident on clothes and skin as he came to a stop, his face tight in anger.
"You mean to say that I am a liar?" he demanded, his voice rising. "I saw what I saw, one of you scoundrels, and I saw…my wife, my little girl. They couldn't get out!"
Before Robin could say anything the man was running. Robin barely had time to duck out of the way, supplies forgotten as he danced to one side. A hand fell to his sword, but he still didn't draw in fear of starting real chaos and panic. What had the man said? His wife and daughter?
"Whatever happened was an incident," Robin replied loudly, enough so that everyone could hear. Then he lowered his voice, true compassion showing through. "I am sorry for your loss, but blindly accusing others for something they did not do will not fix anything."
"An incident? They are dead! My wife and my little girl are dead," the man yelled back at Robin. "And you come here...!" The man reached out again and Robin ducked to the side once more, retreating now and glancing around to see where Much was.
He didn't like to leave it like that, but unwilling to use any violence against the villagers, even to defend himself, he knew they had to leave for now.
"Master?" Much called to him, and Robin nodded, knowing that it was time.
"Back to camp."
He followed, letting Much lead the way as they quickly departed the village. The food and supplies had been left behind, but Robin figured they would be put to good use. Despite how angry and confused the villagers might be for the time being, no one could deny the fact they still needed help. Other, more prominent matters lingered on his mind for now.
"I can't believe them," Much was the first to speak once they had reached the forest edge. None of the villagers had followed them, something Robin expected, but even still he kept at a hurried pace well into the forest before slowing down.
"After all we've done, and they treat us like that? What were they saying anyway? Thinking Will was burning houses down. The nerve!"
Robin shook his head only slightly, more to himself than to Much's indignation. Of course it was rubbish what the villagers was accusing Will of, but this wouldn't help Robin or his men if they couldn't convince them of that fact.
Robin figured it was best to let things calm down for now, even though he knew that the loss of a family would leave pain for a long time. Sighing, he wondered what else they could do for the people.
He'd have to ask Will about the past night again, ask him if he had been there, demand of him to admit if he really had been there and had fled the fire for whatever reason. He didn't think for a moment that it really was Will's fault, but he still wanted to inquire why the people would think he had been there. Until that much was figured out, they couldn't offer any help.
It had been dark and the weather unfavorable. Whatever they had seen could have been anything, but denying what the villages proclaimed hadn't helped anyone. Robin felt for them. That was the worst of it all. Locksley was his home, despite where he lived now. And part of the village had been destroyed, and the people were anxious at best. What would Gisborne, or the sheriff say, for that matter, when they came to believe that Robin and his men were the ones responsible?
Suddenly he had an ill feeling, one that he knew could in no way be good. News traveled fast, and Robin was not only beginning to worry about his own fate, but Will's as well. If the men of Locksley had been angry enough to attack him, someone who had not been involved in any way, what would they do to Will, the man they believed to be responsible for everything? And worse…what if Will was?
He came to a stop as the thought hit him, the uncomfortableness apparent as he stood where he was. How could he even think such thoughts? He had been trying to deny it thus far, and then out of nowhere…Robin shook his head. It would not be the first time he was betrayed. Was he too trusting? Had he let his guard slip? Had he given Will extra allowance out of sympathy? But what gain could Will possibly have in burning houses down? More than anything it was Will who wanted to keep the people safe.
"Master? What is it?" Much broke through his thoughts, and Robin was quick to shake his head. He couldn't explain to the man what he was thinking, or why he was even considering it. Instead he glanced around, taking in their surroundings, the time of day. It was almost noon now. The others would return to camp soon enough. It was best for everyone if they just turned in now. Robin would have time to consider his thoughts, and speak to Will about what had happened in Locksley.
"Come, let's get back to camp. I'm sure the others will be hungry soon."
"Ah, yes," Much nodded, catching up to his sudden stride. "I was thinking of that deer we saw last night. If it's there again, we could hunt it, eat that. That would be much better than the bread and cheese we have leftover. Most of it is stale already, but maybe some of the others were able to get fresh stuff from one of the other villages."
Robin listened as they walked on, but only halfheartedly. He doubted that he'd be the only one to not eat tonight, but there was no reason to spoil that illusion for Much.
It had been almost a year. A full year…he could hardly believe it. Things felt as though it had happened not so long ago, as though living in the forest had started only few weeks, maybe a few months ago. Will would be the first to admit that he wasn't the most literate person around; his mother had taught him some of the basics, he knew the letters, and knew what sounds they made. His father also schooled him as well, enough to learn how to spell when making engravings on special orders. He could read, but it was difficult, However, it was enough to keep track of the days. And it had been nearly a year.
This realization had struck him nearly a month ago. It had been when his father died; Will had made the marker for his grave, including the date. And later, when he was visiting his father's grave, he had remembered. And he had wanted to do something for her.
It was foolish when he thought about it now. He, Djaq and John had gone around to make their drops. Clun was the last of their stops before heading back to camp. So far, the day had gone well. The people were glad to see them, and the day went by without a sign of Gisborne, or any of his cronies. It left their spirits high, and talk between them was open and unhindered as they made their way back to the forest. By then, John had taken the lead, leaving Will and Djaq to follow behind, walking step-in-step next to each other.
And through the entire time, he could not take his mind off of her. She had been with them for nearly a year. How she had changed since then…how he had changed as well. Before he had thought of nothing else than helping Robin in feeding the poor, and oppressing the sheriff. It seemed like the only option, evading the law, help those in need, and bring justice back to the land no matter how small it truly was. But it was something he noticed, bit by bit, with each passing week. And now, he couldn't think of anything else.
It made the matters all the worse. He had nothing to offer her; he was but a simple outlaw, with no title, no lands, not even a house to his name. All the things a man was supposed to provide. All the things he could not have. Why would she have any interest in him? A strange, small English boy who lived in the woods?
True, she lived in the woods just like he. But Will never expected her to stay. This wasn't her fight, after all, and she had a home that was thousands of miles away. No doubt she had suitors back home as well. Suitors that would do far better than he when she did go back. But she hadn't, not yet. It had been nearly a year.
For the past few weeks, he had been sneaking out a night. Perhaps it was the wrong thing to do, regarding the recent turn of events with Allan, but Will wasn't sure what his other options were. There wasn't much privacy back at camp. Someone would catch onto what he was doing, and ruin everything. In all fairness he was careful, waiting until everyone had gone to sleep at night, and returning before anyone woke. Almost, that was. He did not expect Robin to be awake that morning.
Out of everyone though, he should have at least suspected it. Robin never overlooked anything for long. He could only hope now that the man would simply forget what had transpired. After all, it wasn't like Will was doing anything wrong. And it would only go on for a little longer, until he was done. Then things would go back to normal, and there would be no worries, and no more deception. That would be a relief…he already felt guilty for what he was doing now.
"Where have you been?" Djaq asked all of a sudden, and he turned his head towards her quickly, wondering instantly how she knew about it.
"I've been with you," he said quickly, confused.
Her expression was open, showing only mild curiosity. She just wanted to talk, nothing else. He smiled, feeling some embarrassment rising in his face.
"Last night," she clarified.
"Nowhere, really." He hesitated. "Just men's stuff."
"What distinguishes that from girl's stuff?" she shoot him a small grin.
"Nothing," he said quickly, knowing at the same time that he was not making any sense. He shook his head once, at himself not at her, and she grimaced in confusion. It was stupid that he was worrying about her knowing, when she just wanted to make conversation.
As they walked on, another thought came to him, one yet more troublesome. He thought of the other man who had been hiding things. It wasn't anything like that in his case, but it was stupid that she might now wonder about it, just because of his hesitance to tell.
She wasn't pressing him though, and the next thing he heard weren't words from her, but a clear signal sounding through the forest. It was whistling, one they had agreed as a signal to come to camp as quickly as possible. Exchanging glances with Djaq, Will hurried his step, seeing John do the same a little ahead of them.
When they reached camp, Much and Robin were waiting on them. It was good to see the two men at the last, knowing that the urgent call didn't concern any danger for them. Robin's expression was dark though, and Much seemed troubled, too. Will quickly wondered if it had something to do with Marian, knowing that it might be a cause that would worry Robin deeply.
He felt the man's gaze on him though, as he and Djaq came to a stop.
"Will, we need to talk."
Will frowned in confusion, but nodded, despite feeling uncomfortable. He was reminded too much of the situation a while ago, when Robin had pulled him aside as well, but then to lure out the spy in their gang by pretending to banish Will.
Followed by curious looks from John and Djaq as well as an agitated expression from Much, Robin led Will a little away from the camp, Will's mind racing as to what might be wrong. There was nothing that could cause Robin to want to talk to him privately... Robin had questioned him about his whereabouts last night when had returned after the thunderstorm, but there was no reason for him to pick up that conversation again...
When they were out of earshot of the camp, Robin turned to him keeping his voice low anyway.
"Where were you last night?"
"Nowhere," Will repeated what he had told Robin the last time he had asked that question, increasing wonder as to what the man was getting at.
Robin set his jaw, and Will could see more clearly that he wasn't in a cheerful mood. "Tell me the truth, Will."
"It was nothing, really," he assured him stubbornly, unwilling to tell their leader of all people of his foolish ideas.
"Will," Robin said insistently, his gaze fixed on the younger man. "I need you to tell me the truth: where were you?"
"I can't tell you," he answered.
He didn't offer more, but Robin kept staring at him, arms crossed in front of him now. His expression was still dark, and Will still couldn't imagine what was troubling the man. It couldn't be that he worried so much about any silly thing Will might have been up to; something else had to be behind it. Was he suspecting that Will had done anything that might hurt the gang? Was he thinking there was another traitor?
Now he wondered if it was worth it. To avoid sounding like a fool simply because he didn't want to confess. What if Robin did think there was another traitor? What if Robin thought it was him, simply because Will refused to confess? He had to tell, but where to begin? Already he could feel his cheeks burning as he sorted it out in his mind.
"There was in incident in Locksley," Robin began, having not even noticed Will's struggle.
"An incident?" he raised an eyebrow, confused now. Had Robin simply forgotten what he was just previously asking? It was unlike the man, but then Robin did a lot of things he couldn't understand. Perhaps this was just one of them.
"A fire. A house burned down. People were killed."
A fire? Will held his breath. There had been a storm the previous night. That he could remember, he had been caught in it. Lightning strikes weren't unheard of. He watched Robin, unsure of what to say, when a new thought hit him. Robin was watching him, the same hard expression in his features, unmoving. Suddenly Will realized what the man meant.
"Me? You think I did it?"
"Some of the villagers say they saw someone fleeing to the forest."
"And how does this indicate me?" he demanded, shaking his head. How could Robin even assume something such as this?
"Some say it was," the man explained quietly. "This is why I must know where you were. I cannot protect you unless you tell me. All I know is that you were gone."
"I wasn't there," he protested, "I wouldn't do something like that."
"You poisoned the sheriff."
"That's not fair," Will continue to argue. How could Robin even bring that up? He had made a mistake, that he could admit. But poisoning the sheriff, a man who had seen to the death of his father, was far different than killing innocent people. "I didn't do it."
"Where were you?"
Will let out a sigh, knowing he had no choice. But the words came easier than expected as he explained. "You know that clearing, past the North Road?"
Robin nodded, but said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
"I've been going there…I've, I've been making something…for Djaq. For her birthday…well, not her birthday, but her…she's been with us for a year…"
"Why didn't you say something?" Robin didn't seem put off by his explanation. That was a good sign, for it meant that Robin still trusted him.
"I wanted to keep it a surprise," he confessed.
"How did you get the burn?" the man indicated to his hand. Will held it up, realizing now how guilty he must have looked. Slowly he unwrapped the bandages, showing the other. The burn was not bad, but it had hurt when he first had received it.
"Camp fire," he told him. "I slipped when it started to rain. The wood was still hot. You must believe me."
Robin took all of this into consideration before nodding. "I do believe you."
Will felt the worry ease a little, feeling more confident now that he was being given trust. With everything that had happened in recent times, Will knew that he was lucky; Robin did not have to trust any of them simply because they said so. Allan was a good example of that.
"Until things calm down, I'll need you to stay here."
"What?" that part had been unexpected. "Why?"
"Villagers think you are responsible; I don't want to risk you getting hurt."
"But we have Nottingham tomorrow, the drops-"
"Which the rest of us can do just fine. Stay here; I mean it, Will," Robin pressed, using that tone he knew only too well. It was the one Robin reserved for the final say, when one could easily tell that the argument was done, and the man would not change his mind.
He let out a sigh, then nodded in agreement. After all, Robin could have simply banished him like he had done with Allan. But then, he had proof of Allan's wrong-doings. Will knew his situation was different, but still counted himself lucky that he still had Robin's trust.
TBC