Sorry for any grammatical and spelling mistakes...
Hope you like it...
Chapter 2: Death for Love
Raven was dragged out into the village by one of Gisborne's men. The entire village was there accept for her mother who was at the castle in Nottingham. She was pushed down to the ground to kneel with the rest of the villagers next to a woman named Alice, then very same Alice who was there when she was delivered.
"I have come to visit Robin of Locksley to find her, not at home. Perhaps one of you would like to inform me of his whereabouts. He and I need to have a little chat, conversation." The Sheriff said. "Nobody knows. Nobody knows. Then there is a reward. Shall we say, twenty pounds? And then all of a sudden somebody does know."
Guy shouted, scaring the Sheriff just a bot. "Loosin' your tongues or loose your tongues."
The Sheriff nodded to a guard and they brought forth a man from the village named Gregory.
"Cut out his tongue." The Sheriff said. "One an hour, till somebody talks." The Sheriff looked to Raven as she tried to avoid eye contact.
One guard held Gregory down as another began to snip away at his tongue. It was horrifying and possible the worst thing Locksley has ever seen. Gregory's screams were unbearable, especially for little children that had to watch.
For half an hour everyone sat in silence, awaiting someone to talk. Raven hoped that no one would rat her father out, but yet again they would all lose their tongues every soon if someone did not. She almost wanted to jump up and tell theme how to find him, but she couldn't bear to find her father dead after words.
"Tick-tock. Tick-tock." The Sheriff said board out of his mind. He took a sip of his wine. "Have I told you that I can't taste wine?" he asked Gisborne. "Not the best. Of course I don't have the pallet for it." He dumped out the rest of the wine on the ground. Gisborne, out of frustration, grabbed it from the Sheriff. The Sheriff than, as a joke to himself, used his fingers as a scissor and pretended to cut out his tongue.
After an hour, the Sheriff got up and began to walk around. "It is unfortunate. Man goes to war, his sprit could be damaged, his vision blurred, his understanding of law and order. This is what has happened to Robin. I have heard that there are camps in the Holy Land were men are taught to hate their own land, to return home to wreak havoc and destruction. Maybe this is what happened to Robin, we don't know. But what we do know it that by his actions in Nottingham, your former master, he did not, as some of the romantics might believe, strike a blow for freedom. Make no mistake about it. He perverted the course of justice and in so doing he attacked the very fabric of out state. Hum? The state that we all work for. The state that we all pay our taxes for. He would rob us of that? Of out taxes? Of our work?" the Sheriff looked to all the people that kneel before him, unsatisfied. "Another tongue, I suppose."
A guard came over to Raven, but picked up Alice instead. She began to scream in horror. The other guard came at her with the clippers and teased her with it. It was so unbearable that Raven couldn't watch, but was forced to by her screams. She wanted to so something, but nothing she could do would help Alice.
As the guard was ready to snip out Alice's tongue, an arrow came out of nowhere and knocked the clippers out of the guard's hands. Another arrow broke the clippers in two. "Father?" Raven asked herself.
"He's here." The Sheriff said. "Find him. Let's go."
After a second of nothing, a voice called. "Good scheme. Sheriff." Everyone turned their heads. "Very affective. Impressive logic. Now, I wonder, if I tell you were I am, can I calm the twenty pounds? That would be a pound or so the each family here. Eat a whole winter off that."
Raven looked up at her father as he stood by where she knelt in the dirt. The Sheriff looked at her, then Robin. "Amusing. Ah, put down your weapon, you're surrounded."
Sir Guy looked at Robin. A guard took Raven off the ground and placed her on her horse which somehow had gotten out of the sables to the middle of the village. The guard bounded her hands to the settle so she could not run.
"I am Guy of Gisborne, the new Lord of this manor and soon to be Earl of Huntington. Your presence here is no longer required. Put down your weapon."
Though it was not armed, Robin let lose of the string on his bow as it pointed to Guy. For some reason this amused Raven just like it did her father. She is certainly her father's daughter.
Robin tossed his bow to the ground as two guards put swords to his throat. Guy mounted his horse as the guards tide up Robin hands with rope, smacking Robin on the face then pushing Robin to the ground, connecting is rope shackles to Raven's settle. "That was a cruel game to play." Robin told the Sheriff.
"Game?" the Sheriff asked. "You don't understand. You do not play games with me." Robin chuckled. "You made a mistake in Nottingham. Trying to be the pesents hero."
"Why do you try to be the pesents hero and show me how it's done?"
"Aw. Shall we have a meeting in the morning to discuses it? A clue: no." the Sheriff said. "In the morning, you shall hang."
A guard began to lead Raven's horse as soon as Guy began to move to Nottingham. The ride was silent until Robin began to jog beside Raven's horse. "How are you doing, child?" he asked concerned.
Raven smiled a bit. "I'm fine, father. It's not the first time Sir Guy has had me bound to my horse."
Robin gave her a look. How could she be so calm and used to this? "What has Sir Guy done to you over the years?"
Tears burned up in her eyes. The truth was coming out sooner rather than later, but Robin deserved to know since he would be hanged in the morning. "You know that red mark mother had on her face when you came home?"
Robin nodded. "It wasn't a door. It was Sir Guy. He hit us, both of us."
Robin hated to see his daughter cry. If there was one thing he couldn't handle at times it was when someone cried. He just wasn't that good with tears. He loved to see his daughter smile, but couldn't stand her tears.
"It will be alright." he told her.
"No it won't." she spat at him. "You are going to be hanged and leave mother and I with Sir Guy. He'll force mother to marry him like he tried to do the day you came home. You are going to leave me again, I don't want you to."
He shook his head. "Your mother won't do that. And I will always be with you in your heart."
Sir Guy had turned his horse around as everyone still walked. He road up on the other side of Raven. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Nothing, Sir Guy." Raven said trying not to get smacked. Sir Guy swung his hand and slapped her across her face. "Do not lie to me." Sir Guy yelled.
Robin began to boil with anger. "You do not lay a hand on my daughter, Gisborne."
Guy smiled. He road up to the front of the lot. They were almost to the gates of Nottingham.
When they reached the gates of the castle, Guy dismounted his horse. He let Robin help his daughter down from the horses. Raven's hands were unbounded and she was pushed in the direction of her mother who was outside. Robin was led into the castle.
"Mother." Raven cried.
Marian hugged her daughter. "Shhhhhh. It will be alright."
Raven pulled away. "Why is everyone telling me that? It will be alright? Father, Will, you...Newsflash mother. It's not going to be alright! People are dying beacuse of a flawed system. One person, out of hundreds that say they would do something, stood up to system and fought back. Now that person is going to hang...Father is to hang and you think it's going to be alright!" Raven cried as she made her way to the castle.
"She gets more like her father each day." Marian smiled.
Raven made her way to the grand hall where the Sheriff was sitting, talking to Gisborne.
"Sheriff, may I have a word?" she asked as she walked over to the Sheriff.
He rolled his eyes. "Ah, Miss Raven. What can I do for you?"
Raven was pissed as hell at the Sheriff and didn't care what he said from this point on. "Why?"
"Why what?" he asked.
"Why do you insist on hanging my father? Why do you insist on putting the monster everyone calls Sir Guy of Gisborne in my home and let him abuse me and my mother?" she demanded.
He looked to Guy who shrugged. "Your father had abused the law. As for Sir Guy...I happen to like him."
Raven scoffed. "Then you better hang me tomorrow, too."
"And why's that?" Guy asked.
"Two reasons. One, I can not live in this unjust world where you enjoy robbing people. Two, I was the one who took the ten sacks of flower from stores." she spat at him, slapping Sir Guy in the face. "That was for all the tears, burses, and broken bones I had revived over the years thanks to you."
The room was silent for while. "Fine then." the Sheriff said as a guard grabbed her by her arm. "You will hang with your father tomorrow."
The Sheriff led the guard to the dungeons. As they arrived, the Jailer led the Sheriff to a cell. Raven was too far back to see whose cell it was or to hear what was being said. When the Sheriff left the cell, Raven was pushes into the cell.
"Raven?" a voice asked.
"Father?" she returned the question.
Robin hugged his daughter. She began to cry once more. "Why are you in here?"
Tears where still in her eyes. "I am to be hanged tomorrow with you. I told the Sheriff that I couldn't live in this unjust world. That I stool the ten sacks of flower from the stores, and I smacked Sir Guy."
Robin pulled his child in for another hug. "That's my girl."
After a while they both feel asleep in each others arms. They sat in the corner of the cell. Robin sat up straight as his daughter leaned on his shoulder, his head onto of hers. The screams and cries of the other prisoners didn't even wake them. Not until the sun began to shin did each of them wake.
"Today's the day." Robin sighed as they both stood up.
Raven sniffled. "Yeah, and I guess I'll see you later."
Robin shook his head. "No. This is goodbye."
The sound of footsteps and keys gangling echoed in the dungeons. Marian walked by following the Jailer to the interrogation room. She stopped and looked into the cell to see Raven was also there. After she went into the room the Jailer came back and brought out Raven and Robin to the room. The two were pushed in; Raven tripped and feel into her mothers arms.
"Where is it?" Marian asked once Raven stood up and walked to the edge of the room.
"Where is what?" Robin asked.
"Please. The ring my father gave you years ago before he knew the wickedness of your heart." She returned.
The Jailer cut in. "Madam, like I told you before. Asking doesn't usually work." He walked over to the wall to bring out something terrifying. Raven back herself up to the back of the room, as far from the Jailer as possible.
"Will those work?" Marian asked him.
"These? There lovely." He told her.
Marian move toward him. "When he speaks, will you hear?"
The Jailer looked at her. "Well, of course."
She quickly looked to Robin then back to the Jailer. "Then take I can not allow. You might get there first and steel the ring."
"Madam I can assure you, I am a man of simple pleasures. Inflicting pain, now that enough for me."
Marian chuckled. "That may be, but if the ring is not were he tells me, suspicion shall fall on you and that would be unfair. I will speak with him alone first, you may go."
"I can't do that."
"Wait outside. They can not escape and they dare not hurt attack me."
The Jailer went to say something but Marian told him to leave. He left for he had clearly lost the battle with her. Once the door closed she yelled at both of them.
"You are an utter fool. The both of you."
"You said that already." Robin told her as he rubbed his wrist and walked to his daughter.
"Oh, you listen?" Marian questioned. "I also told you confronting the Sheriff wouldn't work. You didn't listen to that."
Robin was getting a bit mad. "I did not have much choice."
"Everything's a choice, everything we do." She spat at him. "Grow up."
Robin stepped forward. "I prevented unjust hanging; I protected people from our village."
"Oh, that will make your death romantic." Marian joked.
"It will make it honorable." Robin told his wife..
"Honorable? And what about the people you are so honorably protecting?" Marian asked him. "Who will protect them when you're dead?"
Robin did not have an answer.
"What is with mean and glory? Glory above sense and above reason?" raven asked her father.
"It is princable." He told her crossing his arms.
"Princable," Raven scoffed as she moved across the room. "Is making a difference and you can't do that if you're dead. You could have staid here in the first place instead of following your King to the Holy Land if you cared so much about your precious people. But you didn't. You chose war. You chose glory."
Robin looked into his child's eyes. "What is this about?"
Raven swallowed her pride. "It about you leaving us here. You left us here alone to fend for ourselves. We needed you! You went off gallivanting thousands of miles away from the ones who needed you the most. Maybe if you stayed I wouldn't have gotten that broken arm last winter, or mom wouldn't have gotten slapped in the face twenty times a day. It made us think you didn't care. You never wrote a letter to us…not once. England did not need you. We did." Robin hugged his child as tears formed in her eyes but never fell. "Why did you travel thousands of miles to fight for your country when the real cancer was right here, killing everyone you love?"
Marian picked up a bag that held a dagger. "Right. This is what we do. Stand by the door, I scream, in he comes you strike him and run. I paid a man at the east gate; you'll not be seen if you go now before day watch. Take these."
Robin shook his head. "I cannot go unseen."
Marian argued. "Well, you cannot be seen."
"I cannot let the Sheriff win."
"Have you not heard a single word I've said?" she asked her childish husband.
"Trust me. I have a plan. Half a plan."
He looked to his wife as she gave him a dirty look. He smiled. Raven just stood close to the doorway. "I love it when you look at me like that." Marian sighed.
Robin took the daggers and ran to the door as he heard keys gaggle outside. Raven pushed herself up the wall. When the door opened the Jailer came in, but fell to the floor unconscious. Much appeared out of the wide opened doorway.
"This is a rescue." He said as he handed Robin his bow and arrow. Robin gave the dagger belt to his daughter, who attached it around her waist. Raven looked behind Much out the door to see Will and Allan standing watch. "And we are undetected."
A man shouted. "In the dungeons. Outlaws. Open this door."
Much felt awkward. "Ah-ha!"
Robin grabbed his daughters arm as they ran out of the room. Guards passed them as they hid in the shadows, but two attacked them. Once they were beaten unconscious, Raven took both their swords. They ran through the castle's hallways until they reached the court yard where three outlaws waited.
"Thank you for coming." Robin told the three men.
The second tallest one, named Roy, said, "Let's go before they've seen we've opened the gate."
As Roy was about to run away, Robin stopped him. "Hang on. Hold an escape rout for me. I need five minutes. There's something I must do before I can go with you."
"What?" Allan questioned.
"If I'm longer than that, leave without me." Robin said.
Raven nodded along with the tallest of the men named John. "Yes." He said.
"Thank you." Robin said in return.
Robin looked around and then started to move to his right. Much grabbed him before he could go any farther. "Master, no. You can not go back in there. If you go back in and die then I will die…of grief. So you must come now, if only to save me."
Robin grabbed hold of Much's arms. "See that is why I love you. But Much, if I do die in there, I want you to watch out for my daughter. You and Will are the only one's I trust."
Robin looked over to his daughter and smiled. He turned his head to Roy once more. "And you, I need help. It is dangerous."
Roy agreed as her followed Robin over to some rope. Robin tied to roped onto one of his arrows and shot it up to a banister on the sedge of the castle wall. "Why him if you love me? Why not me?" Much asked.
Everyone readied themselves as guards began to enter the court yard. One by one did the guards come and each one slain. With the two swords that Raven head she was able to fight one guard twice as fast or two guards at one. Since Raven was a little girl she was taught who to fight with swords and shot a bow and arrow. It was second nature to her.
As she fought a guard came and sliced her back. The cut wasn't deep enough to cause serious damage. The cut through the man as the pain went through her body. She could feel the blood seeping down her dress. Ten men came at her and each was slain by her, a seventeen year old girl.
"Stop! Guards!" someone yelled. Everyone looked up to the tower to see the Sheriff standing there. "Don't hurt those men – and girl – they are free to go. I have an announcement to make! I, Vasyey, Sheriff of Nottingham, in recognition of my illegal actions yesterday in Locksley do humbly apologies to the innocent people who have suffered at my hands. I promise to pay…"
The Sheriff chocked on his own words. He began to mumble to himself and turned around. When he turned back to window, he yelled "Stop those men!"
Everyone began to fight once more. Robin appeared on the edge of the castle by where she shot his arrow. He began to pull up the rope and shouted. "MUCH! MUCH!"
The Sheriff shouted, "And shoot Locksley!"
Robin shouted once more. "MUCH! Tie this up!" He tossed down the rope. Much franticly ran around with in trying to find a good place to tie it.
John told Much to give him the rope. John stood his ground and held the rope around his waist. John ordered Much to protect him. Raven began to make her way to the main gate as two archers aimed for her father. Will took out one while she took out the other.
All the people in the court yard looked in amazement as Robin swung down from the edged of the castle to where John was. The outlaws all gathered to the gate once Robin knocked down two men on his landing.
Roy told Robin, "That arrow hurt, Lavender Boy."
"Heart braking."
They all inched back to the gate until Robin said, "Ready? GO!"
Everyone but Robin ran out of the gate. Robin fought off guards as he tried to cut the rope that held the gate opened. Once it was gut, Robin rolled under the gate as it closed. The outlaws cheered in victory and ran away, Robin and Raven taking up the rear.
Once they got to forest they slowed down a bit. Everything seemed in balance again, like all was right with England again. Raven took in a deep breath of good old Sherwood air. She was an outlaw now and nothing could change that. She had her father, Much, Will and some new friends. What could go wrong?
As they turned off the path to go deep into the words, Raven got a bit light headed. She tried to stay strong but it must have shown because her father stopped at soon as he saw her face.
"Raven, you look so pale. Are you aright?" he asked.
She smiled a weak smile. "I'm fine, father. Trust me."
His trust disappeared as she fell forwards into Will's arms. He then noticed the blood that was seeping out of her back. Will picked her up and carried her to a nearby platform in the woods. Robin and Will quickly took off Raven's dress and looked at her wound. Will did not seemed fazed by all the other marks on her back. After they fixed up Raven's back they dressed her in Will's spear cloths that she had gotten him the day her became an outlaw.
Raven was out cold, leaving the men to talk to one another. Robin took this opportunity to ask Will about Raven.
"Will, what happened to Raven's back?" he asked. The others just listened in on the conversation.
"She got hit by a sword." He said puzzled.
Robin shook his head. "I'm talking about the other marks on her back. How did those happen?"
Will looked back into the memories he tried to block out of his mind. "Sir Guy would whip her. If she had done something bad, she'd get whipped. If she spoke out of turn, she'd get whipped. I wanted to do something, but I couldn't."
After a while of everyone talking about their lives before becoming outlaws, Much decided to say something. "You know, I myself, have no family at all. Of course, no family, not wife, no children. Strangely doesn't bother me. Not at all. Not at all."
John looked to every while Much's back was turned. He picked up the stick in which had two rabbits on it and made a noise. Much turned around. "Excuse me. I think you'll find that's not properly cooked."
Everyone laughed. The laughing of everyone woke up Raven.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Will walked over to where she lay on the ground. "Come with me."
He held out his hand and helped her up. They began to walked, but not far from the others just out of ear shot. They walked hand in hand through the greenwood of the beautiful forest.
"Thank you for the cloths, Will." She smiled as they went closer to a waterfall near the camp.
"No problem, but I wanted to tell you something." Will said as he turned to the girl.
Raven looked into his scarlet green eyes. Once more did she see compassion in his eyes. "What is it?" she asked.
"I realized today that I never got to tell you that I, too, also feel those feelings, but I did not know that those feelings were always there. At first I thought it was just our friendship, but then I saw you fight and I knew. I knew that I didn't just love you as a sister, but I loved you as a lover. I love you, Raven Wilhelmina Locksley." Will said.
At first she was shocked and confused but then it was clear. "But why did it take you so long to find it all out?"
He looked back on the years before. "Before your father left, I saw you as a strong independent woman that could hold her weight. Once your father left and Gisborne came, I saw you as a broken woman that needed someone to support her but could find nothing. I guess, when I saw you fight earlier, I saw that strong woman that I fell for when I was a young boy."
Raven stepped on a rock to be eye leave with the man she loved. She leaned in and kissed him. This was the man she loved, and this was the man she would always be with…
What did you think?
I'll update as soon as possible...