Chapter 2

The man put his finger to Robin's lips to silence what was about to come out of his mouth.

"I'm not who you think I am. I can probably guarantee that."

Robin reached up with one of his hands and shooed the man's touch away.

"You're trying to tell me that you're not Guy of Gisbourne?" asked Robin as he tried to sit up straighter.

"No, I'm not Guy. Although I may look a little like him."

"You look exactly like him," stated Robin. "Who are you then if you're not Guy?"
"My name is Tyrell. I'm Guy's twin brother."

"I didn't know Guy had a twin," said Robin in shock as Tyrell cupped some more water into his hands from the river and placed it to Robin's lips.

"You also didn't know that you shared a half-brother with him 'til a couple days ago," said Tyrell with a smirk on his face. "You don't know everything Robin."

Robin drank the water and once he had swallowed it, he looked at Tyrell.

"I never said that I did."

"No, but you certainly act like you know everything," said Tyrell as he sat back on his haunches and studied Robin.

"What do you want from me?" asked Robin.

"I saved you from death because I need you to help me with something."

"What could you possibly need me to help you with?" asked Robin. "Why can't you do it yourself?"

"You would have preferred if I let you die?" asked Tyrell, rising his eyebrows in question.

"I would prefer if you would leave me be and let me go back to my gang."

"Your gang still thinks that you're dead, so no worries. We have to make sure it remains that way if my plan is going to work," responded Tyrell.

"What plan? Out with it already!" stated Robin.

"I would if you would kindly stop interrupting me."

Robin studied Tyrell as he reached into his cloak and took out some weird kind of root. He held it out to Robin and said, "Here. Eat this. You need to regain the strength that the poison took from you."

Robin hesitantly looked at the root in Tyrell's outstretched hand for a minute, not touching it.

"I won't harm you Robin unless you give me reason to."

Robin reached out and took the root out of Tyrell's hand. He started to eat it while Tyrell cleared his throat and began his story.

"As you now know, I am Guy of Gisbourne's twin brother. No one knew that I existed, not even Guy and Isabella, because I was kidnapped as an infant. Guy and I were both abducted when we were toddlers, playing in our yard. Yet our father saved him and didn't have enough time to save me. So I grew up with a bunch of outlaws in the forest who taught me their ways. I learned many different tactics on how to survive. That's how I survived so long out here by myself. I remember one day when I was about eighteen, I saw my father out wandering the woods. He was a little ways outside of the leper camp and the very sight of him caused me to be consumed by anger. So, I put an end to his misery and my own."

"You killed your own father?" asked Robin as he swallowed the rest of the root.

"He abandoned me. I wanted to clearly show that I abandoned him too."

Tyrell stood up for a moment and looked at the forest of trees that surrounded them before saying, "When I heard that your father and my mother had had an affair, resulting in the birth of Archer, I became angry. What business did your father have in seducing my mother? When they both supposedly died in the fire, I thought that your father was lucky that the fire had killed him and not me. But then I found out that your father was still alive and kicking. And not only that, but he had reunited you and Guy by telling you about Archer."

Tyrell stopped speaking for a minute and took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists at his side.

"I was angry with your father, as you should be Robin."

"I was angry with my father!" interrupted Robin. "But it's no use letting the anger fester! It's in the past. There is no way to change it now so why not just let the matter go?"

Tyrell turned and glared at Robin for a minute.
"You think that Guy and I must be the same because we look the same. Don't be mistaken though Robin. I don't have the same gullible heart that Guy did; the one that got him killed."

"You still haven't told me what you want me for," said Robin, watching Tyrell's every move now, more than he had before.

"Your father has something that use to belong to my mother and I want him to give it back to me. That's all."

"What exactly does my father have that belongs to your mother?" asked Robin. "And how can you be sure that he has it?"

"Your father has my mother's gold locket. It's worth a fortune. I know that your father has it because my mother gave it to him as a token of her love. I want you to retrieve it for me and return it to me. Get it back anyway that you can."

Robin knew that there must be something more to the locket than Tyrell was letting on, but Robin had no idea what it was at the current moment. However, he was determined to find out what it was.

"You seemed more like a hero when you saved me from dying than you seem now," said Robin, breaking the awkward silence that hung in the air between them.

"Well, you're wrong Robin."

"I still think you could be a hero. I think that you're just misunderstood."

Tyrell smirked at that and replied, "I'm not misunderstood. I'm also not a hero, Robin, and I never will be. I'm a villain; a man of the shadows. And you will become one too and help me with this mission if you want your friends to live."

"Do you even realize who you are talking to anymore?" asked Robin in irritation.

"Yes," said Tyrell. "I'm talking to a dead man."

Before Robin could think of a rebuttal, Tyrell produced a necklace from his cloak and threw it at Robin. Robin caught it in his hands and stared at the stone arrow fastened to a thin, black cord.

"It's time to exchange necklaces," said Tyrell. "Welcome to the shadows, Robin."