Evolution Chapter two: "The one who beat Robin"
(My computer broke down so sorry this took long. Oh and this is set after brothers in arms. This story runs along the line if the Tattoo what Tattoo didn't exist and so forth…)
Marian had closed her eyes from the bright light. She felt herself be jolted around until it came to a stop. The onyx pedant turned into a small sapphire set in a sliver cross on a chain as she landed. Marian slowly opened her eyes and looked around. It looked just like Sherwood Forest except it was a bit smaller. The trees looked younger. She then realised she was on her own. She swivelled her head around for her servant.
"…Gavin? Hello? Is there anyone here?"
Then she heard a "nay" and a crashing of brushes. There came out Gavin covered in branches just hanging onto the horse. Marian held back laughter.
"Yeah, yeah you can laugh"
"Well thank goodness for that"
"Do you know where we are My Lady?"
"Well it looks like Sherwood Forest but I can't hear the fair or see much"
"Well we must keep our hoods up and search for help"
"Good idea but the problem is I'm hungry"
"Here"
Gavin handed Marian a sack that was full of toffee apples.
"Where did you get these?"
"They were on my horse"
"They weren't there before Gavin"
"Hey look!"
Gavin pointed to her belt. Apart from the bow and arrow that lay on her back, a sword was attached to her riding shorts along with a collection of other sacks the same colour. They held: a dagger, some herbs, a safety harness and some coins
"This is as weird as what happened to dear Allan"
"...Miss?" They started trotting in a direction across the woods
"You remember Allan? He disappeared when he was twelve. I was ten at the time. It will be nine years to the day tomorrow. He was my best friend you know. We played sword fighting all the time."
"Ah yes. You two made the living room come down from insisting on using real swords and shoving them into the wall"
"We were just testing their sharpness"
"If your father was around he would have made sure you never went near weapons"
"Yeah but he isn't around is he? Just like Allan"
A tear went down her face. She was clinging to her necklaces: One was one side of a best friends' heart with the word "best" in it, one was of a silver sword and the other of course the emerald cross.
"Oh miss um… I can't deal with a crying woman"
"No I'm fine let's just find our way home" she said wiping her cheek.
"Well let's keep on our guard because if we came here and are given swords. Then there must be some very dodgy people around here"
Just at that moment, Sophia or "Jack" was hiding in the bushes with Much, Will, Robin, Little John and Allan. Robin and Allan weren't very interested. They both lost things precious to them in the forms of Allan's little brother and Robin's love. They weren't in the mood for watching two "men" ride through the woods.
"Look they have food!" Much said
"And money" Sophia replied
"And food!" Much answered back.
"Come on you guys! Let's go" Sophia said and with that started heading off with much to stop the "men".
"Robin! Allan!" Will said. Both went out of their daze. "Come on!" and they followed.
Marian and Gavin were going along peacefully until a man stopped in their way.
"You know you have to pay a tax for going along this forest" then several men surrounded the two. Marian went to speak but Gavin got in first.
"Why may I ask?"
"Because all must donate something to the poor" another man said which Marian thought was a woman instead. She was confused. All were in medieval clothing. Gavin kept on speaking
"What if we don't want to?"
"There is no choice" They pulled out bows and arrows along with sticks and swords. Marian wasn't paying attention. Her head was turned to look at the trees. Something wasn't right. Gavin started coughing for her attention.
"Huh ummmmm.."
Marian still didn't notice
"We can't wait all day. Get off the horses." Marian turned around. She didn't feel like fighting today anyway so she got off the horse. Plus she would get back her horse later. Gavin nervously followed suit
"Will tie them up" and another man came with rope and tied them to two trees next to each other.
"Thank you for your kind donation gentlemen. You are free to carry on" and with that they left with the horses.
After a while had gone, the two were left and Gavin tried to talk to Marian
"They thought I was a man"
"Why didn't you do anything?"
"Well I didn't feel like fighting"
"But now we are tied to a tree"
"No you are" said Marian just let the ropes go.
"What? All that time…"
Marian held up her dagger and cut off Gavin from the tree.
"Well we had to make them feel like they won"
"Ohhhhhh" he rubbed his hands from the rope burn
"Let's go. I think they went that way"
"What are you going to do?"
"I'll tell ya on the way" She picked up her bow and packet of arrows they left on the ground and started to run in the direction they left.
---Later---
Much was examining the toffee apples.
"It's like a cunning trick. It looks good so you go and get it but it turns out you can't bite it" Sophia took the toffee apple off him and with her knife cut it open and began to eat it.
"Oh" was all he said.
Robin was contemplating by the fire with Allan. Allan was playing with a chain of some sort. Little John was talking to Sophia and Will was looking at one of the arrows he took from the men. It was black with carvings of vines with a little shield by the arrow head. At that moment the two hooded figures they robbed appeared beside Will.
Marian told Gavin to do all the talking. She wanted to appear as a man and since her voice didn't do that she got Gavin to talk instead.
"Well we didn't actually donate as donating means to give freely but we will give freely if you beat my friend in archery." Everyone looked around as Robin stood up.
"Can't your friend speak?"
"He had his tongue cut off when he was a boy"
He looked at him.
"What are your terms then?"
"After one arrow shot by each, the whole narrow closest to the mark wins. If we win, we get our stuff, if we lose you keep the stuff and if there is a tie, you keep the stuff"
Robin was a bit suspicious but was feeling a bit bored
"Done" and he shook the man's hand.
"Who decides the mark?"
"We do since you get to win if we tie"
"Fine"
"So mark, what's it to be?" and Marian under her cloak pointed to a tree far away.
"Are you sure?" Gavin said nervously. Marian nodded her head.
"Fine by me" said Robin and both lined up on the spot with their bows.
"That mark is going to lose" said Much as Robin fired a perfect bull's eye. Everyone hooted.
"Looks like an easy one" Robin said. Marian smiled and aimed for the sky and fired.
"That was a silly thing to do" Much said
"No look!" said Sophia. The arrow soared through the air and landed in the tree below Robin's. But instead of just landing there, it crushed Robin's arrow in pieces, leaving only the arrowhead remaining. Much stood speechless.
"I believe we won"
"You didn't win!" said Much
"Ah but we did. After one arrow shot by each, the WHOLE arrow closest to the mark wins, not the arrowhead"
"But that's cheating!
"It is only cheating if stated in the rules. It wasn't."
"Fine…Much, give them back their stuff"
"WHAT?"
Marian made some sign language.
"But Mark says you can keep the food and some coins. But we must have some money and horses."
"Can we keep the hard apples as well?"
Marian thought for a moment, and then did a series of hand movements.
"Yes you can and they are called toffee apples"
"WHOOHOO! Thank you Mark!"
Marian was still doing some signs
"No problem. But he would like one though" Gavin said as they mounted. Sophia handed Marian a toffee apple.
"Good day" Gavin said as they waved.
"Bye" they said to them
"They seem nice enough" said Much
"They planned to do that." Replied Allan
"What do you mean?"
"An old friend of mine used to do the same thing when we were young when were fighting over bread
"Where are they now?" said Robin
"Dead I think"
"I'm sorry" said Sophia
"It will be nine years tomorrow"
---To be continued---