'Okay, we separate, you to Mrs Rogers, Alan, John take the Marshes, and I'll go to Katie

'Okay, we separate, you to Mrs Rogers, Alan, John take the Marshes, and I'll go to Katie. Come back here when you've finished, and try and be quick,' Robin said. They were just in the tree cover surrounding the hamlet of Bonchurch, having taken about half an hour to arrive. The cloud cover was increasing, and the shadows were lengthening. They parted ways, and Robin trotted his horse down the road to the left of the hamlet, passing the house that had been and would be Much's. A light shone in one of the upper storey windows, Robin wondered who the Sheriff had put there as Much's replacement. He dismounted outside a little thatched cottage. There was smoke coming from the chimney, and he could see light shining from behind the shutters. He knocked on the door and waited for a reply. Out of the habit of companionship, him and Much usually made deliveries together, especially since Marion's departure. Robin didn't appreciate being on his own entirely since then, especially in the dark. Her death had added to the dark thoughts that would seep into his mind if he allowed the slightest weakness in his mind. The fear of them overtaking him forced Robin to concentrate on the house again. He listened carefully for the voices, and heard someone stirring. The bolt on the door was undone, and little Katie Martin's head peered round the door.

'Oh, Robin! We didn't think you were coming!,' she said. 'It's okay!,' she said back into the house, and her three children, two were her own, the third, a little girl Annabelle, was the daughter of her sister, who had died when Robin and Much were in the Holy Land.

'Sorry I'm late, we've had a rather evntful day.'

'Oh, no problem at all, come in,' Katie said. Katie was in the mid-30s, she had served in the castle in the days of Marion's father.

'I can't stay long, it's getting dark.'

'Since when has that been a problem for you lads?,' she joked. She then seemed to notice something, and a look of surprised worry came to her face. 'Where's Much?' Robin gav her an equally worried look.

'He's had an accident.' She gasped. Few people in the parts seemed to have known Much in his youth, or any of his family, even Robin did not know as much as he would like. All he knew about Much's childhood was that he spent an awful lot of time at Robin and his father's house, he was Robin's best friend throughout their youth, they had always played together, but Robin didn't actually recall seeing Much's own home. One of the theories was that he was an orphan. But what Robin did know was the Katie had a long history with Much, and had known him perhaps even as long as Robin.

'Oh god, nothing serious?,' she asked, her voice shaking a little.

'I'd rather not talk about it Kate,' Robin said, turning away. 'I think I better be going.' He took hold of her hand and put a bag, which contained some coins, a loaf of bread, and some wrapped ham, in it. He turned to the door without another word, and opened it, striding quickly out to his horse and mounting in a clean leap. He nodded farewell to her, and turned his horse, cantering off. He raised an arm back to her in a wave. She stood at the door, her children gathered about her, tears gathering in her eyes. She slammed the door shut and ran to her bed, burrying her head in the pillow, tears steadily flowing from her eyes, and multiple sobs escaping her throat.

Robin was too far away to hear her anguished sobs, but came back to a walk as he reached their meeting point. He was the first to reach it, and halted his horse, leaning forward on it's neck, and rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. He wondered if he'd done the right thing in not giving her the details, from a personal and village morale perspective. Maybe he should have told her all, but it seemed that he couldn't think of it in a good light, he looked worse as a leader as a result, it made the Sheriff seem the stronger of the two. But surely it would have been better than them not knowing whether he was dead or alive. But he really wasn't sure whether he could talk about it, there was a lump in his throat at the thought of Much, lieing nearly dead on the ground in the mud, with arows sticking from his chest. Robn shook his head, as a similar image came to his head, of Marion lying on the ground in the sand, with a sword sticking from her torso. He didn't know what was happening to him. In the space of barely three months, he had lost his beloved wife, and even though it could not really be his fault, he felt to blame for it. And then months later, through a mistake that was only his own to make, he had nearly killed his dearest friend. He was taking too many risks that weren't his own to take. Why should he assume the loyalty of his now few friends when he threw away there lives so easily?

'All right Robin?.' Robin jerked out of his thoughts, and sat up in the saddle again as Alan spoke to him.

'Thinking,' he said.

'Ah,' Alan said. 'Bad for you, too much thinking.'

'For once, I'd agree with you on that Alan.' They sat in silence for a minute, Robin staring at his horses right ear, and Alan looking to the few stars that managed to shine through the now thick cloud cover. The last flickers of light were shining through, and dusk was quickly drawing in. There wasn't any chance of them being back at camp before dark.

'They were asking how everything was,' Alan said. 'I didn't tell them about Much.'

'Good, I think that's the best for now. Until he's well enough to come out again.' They heard hooves, and turned to see John trotting towards them.

'Sorry to be so long, the child's got colic, I didn't want to leave them.'

'Good, do you think he'll be alright?'

'Yes, I gave him some herbs, he threw up, and things seem to have calmed down.'

'Okay, let's go.' They turned their horses back and cantered home.

It was almost pitch black by the time they reached the depths of the forest where their camp was located. They came down to a walk as they drew closer. Something caught Robin's eye, and he walked forwards to the tree. Panic swept through his body when he realised it was an arrow sticking out of the tree. The fletching told him that it was one of theirs. His head snapped round towards the camp. The door was shut, but Robin could has sworn he saw something, or rather someone, lying on the floor in front of it. The person sat up when they realised Robin, John and Alan were there.

'Robin?!,' came a scared call from Much, the person lying on the floor. Robin spurred his horse into a canter, stopping abruptly about a foot away from Much, and jumped off, kneeling at Much's side.

'Robin, there was somone there, I swear there was someone there, there was someone, I saw them,' Much said, quickly before Robin could get any words out.

'Much, calm down,' he said, comfortingly. 'Are you hurt?.'

'Not any more than before, but there was someone there Robin, I swear on my life there was someone coming to the camp.'

'Ssh Much, you'll hurt yourself!.' Alan and John had dismounted too, and knelt next to Robin. Much had his bow in his hand, and there was an arrow lying on the ground next to him. 'When was this?'

'Oh, I don't know, maybe a quarter of a hour ago, longer perhaps, maybe less. Not that long ago.' Much was breathing quite fast, dressed in his trousers, boots, and only his long sleeved top on top.

'Okay, lie back now,' Robin said, pushing Much back onto the slope leading up to the door of the camp. He put his hand to Much's forehead, which was quite hot. 'Did they hear you, see you, was the camp open?.' Much gulped, took a deep breath, and began.

'No, I don't think they saw me in detail. And the camp was shut. I came out to wash as per usual, having slept for a bit, taking my bow and shutting the door behind me. Was just washing when the horses neighed a bit. I looked over, didn't think too much of it. But as I looked back there was something in the corner of my eye. There was someone behind Jenny, she was skitting about, and then whoever it was moved off behind the trees. I stayed where I was, knocked an arrow. I lost track of them, then there was a splash in the water just up from me, behind me, towards where you came from. Then they came clearly, I say they, I don't know how many there were, I only saw one at a time, but there might have been three, might have been one, I just don't know. Anyway, they came clearly towards me, and I fired the shot, re-knocked, knew it'd missed, so fired another a bit closer, and they turned and walked off. I thought I heard a noise of some sort from them, but it wasn't a recognisable noise or anything.'

'Okay, don't worry, we're back now. It's fine,' Robin said. What Much had said the night before about Death waiting for him came back into his head, but he shrugged it off, he knew better than to doubt Much's word. It just helped to explain why Much was unusually shaken. John had walked off to take a look around, taking the horses back to examine where they were kept, where Much had said he'd seen someone. Alan opened the camp, and re-lit the fire.

'I thought it'd be best to let it die with only me in,' Much said, turning his head to where Alan was working.

'Yeah, good idea mate,' Alan said, cracking his flints together. He reached for a torch, then lit it, and walked over to John. Robin and Much followed him with their gaze, but then Robin turned back to Much.

'Are you all right? Honestly?'

'Yes, just worried. Really worried in fact. It's probably nothing, I just don't really want to...to. Well, you know what I mean.' Surprisingly, Robin did know.

'Robin,' John called. Robin stood up and walked over to John. John pointed at pile of horse dung that was now under Jenny. Jenny was Much's horse, a dun mare he'd 'borrowed' on a permanent basis from Guy's stables the month before. They had been making a delivery in the town when Guy's soldiers had the audacity to shoot Much's horse from beneath him, something they had not tried before, much to Much's horror. So he went and got a new one. Robin put a hand on her flanks to move her, and bent down to see the muck. There was a clear footprint in it. Not a particularly large one, but a footprint all the same. Robin felt a strange wave of relief pass over him.

'Well, he was right then.' They walked back to the camp, where Much was still lying, his eyes tightly shut, a frown on his face. He opened his eyes as they drew near.

'We found a print, but any more examination will have to wait till the morning, when we've got a bit more light.,' Robin said. Much nodded his head, and turned over, to push himself up. Robin took one of his shoulders to hold him still, and put his hand to Much's forehead again. It was cooling down, but he looked very pale in the light of the fire. They sat by the fire again, and John turned to the kitchen, picking something up from behind the cooking range. He turned to Much.

'Eat this,' he said, thrusting a carrot into Much's hand. Much looked remarkably crestfallen. 'Doesn't matter if you can't manage the whole thing, just gnaw on it a bit.' They chuckled at the site of Much trying to get out of eating.

'On a serious note,' Robin said after a few minutes silence, as they were all deep in their own thoughts. 'We need to start facing this problem head on. We're being followed, that's clear enough. The person at the clearing is likely to be the same person Much saw tonight. Do you know if you hit the person?.'

'I can't be sure, the second one may well have.'

'Right. We need to consider the camp's integrity. Guy may have known something about this. We need also to consider that it may be him who is following us.' Alan let out a noise of disapproval, but was interrupted by Robin. 'I'm sorry Alan, but we have to consider all the possibilities. We'll keep a watch tonight, I'll go first, then Alan, then John.' Much raised a hand, the one in which he held his carrot. 'No Much, do you really think I'm going to let you sit up all night?'

'Thought I might give it a try anyway.' He returned to gnawing away at his carrot, taking tiny little bites.

'No fire tonight, in case, and tomorrow we'll go looking for more evidence.' They nodded agreement, and then Robin opened the camp door. Alan and John went out for last minute necessities (facilities) and Robin settled himself on the hill just outside the door, a good vantage point for the surrounding wood.

'Did you believe me Robin?,' Much said to him, quietly. Robin hesitated, then said

'Yes. Yes, I did believe you. Maybe not for a moment, but it was a moment that passed very quickly. Don't take that badly though, I myself hardly know what I'm doing.'

'No, I wouldn't. Deliveries go alright?' Robin hesitated again.

'Yes, fine.' He decided not to mention what had passed between him and Katie. 'The Marshe's son's got colic, John had to help, that's why we were late.'

'Ah, poor lad, he going to be alright?'

'Yes, John thinks he'll pull through.'

'Oh good, I don't think they'd cope with another lost child.' The Marshes elder son Bertrand had gone missing several weeks ago, and no news had been heard of him.

'No,' Robin said, absent-mindedly. John and Alan returned, and settled into their beds.

'Night then lads!,' Robin said.

'Night!,' they replied, as Robin shut the door.

'Ah! Gisbourne! Just who I was looking for!' The Sheriff greeted Guy as he walked into the Sheriff's personal chambers. 'Any news? Any news?,' he said, rubbing his hands. Guy glanced quickly about the room. The bed covers were messy, there was someone in them still, and the Sheriff was dressed only in a robe. 'Come on Guy, come on, I don't think you're really her type, leave her to me.'

'Sorry, sir,' Guy said, distracted.

'News? Anyone alive in there?,' the Sheriff said, knocking his fist against Guy's skull.

'Yes, news, there's news,' Guy said, drawing his eyes away from the bed, and his mind back to the present. 'Hood and his men made deliveries last night, minus the one they call Much. Hood is reported to say that Much had "an accident", and that he didn't want to talk about it.'

'Oh good, jolly good! A pity they got away, but their location hardly makes a difference now. How did you pick up this information?.'

'He spoke to one of the local women, and it's now common news amongst the townsfolk.'

'Splendid! A good morale dampener! Lovely! How long has it been? Quite a while now, you think the poison will have worked by now?.' Guy had not told the Sheriff the details of what had gone on in the hall, all he knew was that Robin and his men had overpowered the guards, and fled on their horses.

'Yes, probably just about. He may be drawing his last breaths at this very moment.' Guy could have sworn he heard a sob from the bed, but shook it off when he noticed the Sheriff was staring at him expectantly.

'Sorry, what did you say?,' he asked, feeling foolish.

'Really Guy. I would let you have her, but she's a special one. Particular to me, I want her just for myself.' He gestured to servants waiting at the door, then pulled Guy to the other side of the room, facing the window. 'What we need to do now is draw Hood in. I'll be working on something, in the meantime ensure that the news is spread far and wide that we enflicted a slow and exceedingly painful death on Robin Hood's most faithful friend. Hood's probably in pieces, especially after what you did to Marion as well!,' the Sheriff continued, gleefully. Guy looked away suddenly at the mention of Marion, especially what he did to her. He saw the woman from the bed being lead out of the room, hands tied behind her back, and he saw a rope round her honey coloured hair, which must have meant they had gagged her too. When the Sheriff heard the door shut, he turned back round again. 'Do run along now Guy, you're not being very useful today, try and pull your thumb out by tomorrow, otherwise I'm going to have to advertise for a new sidekick!.' He pushed Guy out the door, and slammed it in his face. Guy groaned a snarl in his throat, and turned away, just in time to see a swish of light blue material between the two guards being led down one of the narrow corridors that led to the maintenance areas of the castle.

'It was here somewhere, I'm sure!,' Much said, nibbling another carrot.

'Here somewhere is quite a large area Much!,' Alan said, the first hint of frustration showing in his voice. They were where Much thought he must have fired the shots the night before. They had already found the arrow stuck in the tree, and were now just trying to find the shot which Much thought might have hit its target.

'Found it!,' John shouted, from a good way away from them. Alan ran over, but Robin hung back. Much was still very weak, having eaten only half a carrot in a day and a half, and his body still not nearly having recovered from the amount of blood he had lost. His bandages had been changed that morning, and were found to be slightly bloody, but not half as bad as Robin had been dreading. They walked over to where John was, and he held up one of Much's arrows. Much took it, and examined the tip.

'It's bloody,' he said, passing it to Robin and Alan. There was a dried trickle of blood down the shaft, and the point was covered in dried blood on one side.

'Look's like it's caught them and slid past,' Robin said. Much nodded. 'Pretty good shooting considering the dark and your health!,' Robin said, patting Much on the back.

'We'd have something to recognise them by now, if we happen to notice anyone we suspect,' Much said. The others gave various grunts of agreement. Much took a large, crunchy bite from his carrot. They all looked down at the arrow, all imagining different pictures of the person who could be watching them at that very moment.

Guy walked into his bedroom, and sat on the bed heavily, with a sigh. The evening was drawing in, and there was still no sign of Hood. He wondered if the rumours were true, and Much really had died. He rubbed his eyes with another deep sigh. He stood, and went to the window, leaning his arm on the top of the window frame, and resting his head against it, looking towards the road leading into Loxley. There was no movement. He turned back to the room, the walls draped in black cloth with the emblem of the Gisbourne family, a stand hlding his battle armour in one corner. And yet it was obviously not his room. Something he had discovered recently ate away at him. He had been lying awake in his bed in the early morning, unable to sleep, a constant montage of scenes from his life playing through his mind, when something on the left top corner timber of the four poster bed caught his attention. H had squinted, then sat up. He leaned closer, and read 'Robin & Marion' in a small heart, in an uneven carve. From Robin's youth perhaps. Robin had never moved into his fathers room, and for simplicities sake, Guy had not bothered changing sleeping arrangements. He looked back towards the window, and was met by Robin.

'Hello Guy,' Robin said. Robin had his sword in his hand, and Guy quickly glanced back to his bed, where his own sword lay. 'Fear not, I have come to talk, not to kill,' Robin said. Guy visibly relaxed. 'My men are below, we will talk in the dining hall,' Robin ordered. Guy moved straight to the door, and ordered his guards to leave. They left through the door, and then Alan, John and Much came in, John walking right next to Much, offering him discrete support. They did not speak, but followed Guy with their eyes. He bowed his head, and locked the doors of the hall. Robin had followed him into the room.

'Food?,' Guy asked, turning to Robin.

'No thank you, we've eaten.' Guy turned to Much.

'How are you?.' Much hesitated, glancing at his friends, before answering.

'As good as can be expected thank you.' Robin took a seat, and the other three followed his suit. Guy looked on for a moment, then took a seat on the opposite side of the table to them.

'I don't really know where to start,' he said. 'I can't begin to apologise,' he started, before Robin interrupted.

'Guy, there is no point in trying to cover that ground. We all know the pain you have inflicted on us over the years, particularly the past few months, and of course the occurances of the last day or two. But I recognise the look in your eye. I know you feel the same pain as I, in fact I can only imagine the pain you feel. You are responsible directly for the death of the only thing that kept you sane. The thing you lived for. The thing I lived for. There is no way we can properly express the feelings we have deep in our souls. All I can say is that this is what she would have wanted. You're doing the right thing, she would have wanted you to help. To resist the temptation of superficial power.' Guy bowed his head, and shook it. 'What we need to discuss today is the here and now.' Guy nodded, and looked up to Robin. There he saw the look of sorrow reflected in Robin's face, and he knew that he was doing the right thing.

'The Sheriff is delighted. The whole county thinks you are dead,' Guy said, motioning to Much, 'and that Robin Hood will be broken down, and that the Sheriff's triumph will shortly follow.' Much looked surprised at the news that he was dead to the county, and turned his head questioningly to Robin.

'We haven't seen anyone since when you saw people last night. News travels fast,' he said to Guy.

'Well, I only heard this morning. I almost believed it.'

'If he'd been a bit less resolute they wouldn't be wrong,' John said, a slight snarl to his voice. John had always found it hard to be objective about the people he saw as the 'bad guys' in their story. Reconciling the Guy who had killed Marion with his sword, and ensured Much was hit by multiple poisoned arrows and nearly killed with the man who sat before him now was not easy, despite how elemental he was to their escape from the castle. Alan was a little uncomfortable, the change of sides was hard for him in that he had so recently been part of the side that Guy was abandoning. He was pleased though, happy that he had been part of the cure. Much was looking at Robin, he could see the distress Robin was in on the inside, having to stare the killer of his wife in the eye, and befriend him.

'There are no plans as yet, as far as I have been told.'

'Are you still in the Sheriff's trust?,' Robin asked.

'Trust?!,' Guy asked with a sarcastic laugh. 'I was never in his trust! But from a simple need to not do work himself, yes, in a way I am in his trust, in that he gives me orders and knows I will follow them. In simple terms, if he wants something doing, I'm the one who will be doing it. So I'd know if he had something going on now. You said you saw someone though?.'

'Yes, is that anything to do with you? Someone was at the camp last night while we three were out. We don't know how many there were, but Much injured one with an arrow.'

'No, I don't think that's us, and none of my men are injured. It can't be us.'

'If you think so. But earlier in the day someone had been watching us too. We were in the clearing in the forest so John could stitch Much, and we heard something. We didn't find or see anyone, but we did find this piece of cloth,' Robin said, handing the cloth to Guy, who took it in his hand and closely examined it. He knew he'd seen in somewhere, then it clicked in his mind.

'There was a woman in the Sheriff's bed this morning. She wore this colour,' he handed the cloth back to Robin. 'She seemed upset when I mentioned about Much.'

'Did you see her face?,' Robin asked.

'No, but they took her away tied and gagged. Lightish hair.' A thought flashed through the back of Robin's mind, of Katie's reaction to him telling her about Much the night before.

'You didn't hear her voice?.'

'No, just the sob.' Robin sighed.

'Is there anything else you know?.'

'The Sheriff is currently plan-less on the larger scale, he is still recovering.' Guy did to want to mention the Holy Land by name. 'He's trying to gather his allies about him again, but systems are still in a weak state. I'm afraid though, that despite this, I can see nothing immediately that you can do to stop him. Continuing your current work will be simple, but there is no way of overthrowing the Sheriff at the moment, unless you were to overthrow the Prince.' Robin nodded.

'We need to keep this up. Perhaps a regular meeting. We no longer have any way of gaining information from within the castle,' Robin also did not want to mention why, 'and we need information. If we could meet again in a day or two, we aren't in any state to do anything ourselves at the moment.'

'Certainly, name a time and place,' Guy said immediately.

'Meet us at the crossroads again, tomorrow perhaps.'

'Of course, I'll assume during the day this time?'

'Yes, midday.'

'Certainly, anything else I can do for you?'

'No, I think we are sorted for the moment. Take good care of my house.'

'Of course.' They were just standing when Much suddenly turned back to Guy.

'What about the man who shot me?' Robin and the others turned too, and sat again, looking as if they were silly to have forgotten.

'Ah. He is from the East Indies, a mercenary of sorts. The Sheriff and him seem to have had private correspondence, when we returned..returned from the Holy Land, he was at the castle waiting for us. I think the Sheriff intended to use him to kill the King, but he was too late, so he has adapted his use of him.'

'Where is he now?,' Much asked.

'He is still in residence in the castle. The Sheriff's personal guest. I don't know if he intends to leave.'

'Keep him there, I don't want him active,' said Robin. They stood again, and Guy offered his hand. Robin took it first, then Much, shook it, the John, with a grim look, and finally Alan.

'Wouldn't have thought we were in this situation a few months ago, eh Guy?,' he said, heartily shaking Guy's hand.

'No..no we wouldn't,' Guy said, shaking his head. When the other three had left the room, Alan leant in and said

'Well done mate, this is a really good thing. I am obliged to do this though,' he said as he put his other hand into a fist and gave Guy an almighty punch in the jaw, which pushed him back and he fell against the wall. 'That, my friend, is for putting my best friend through unbelievable pain and nearly killing him. See yah!.' With that, Alan walked from the room.Guy sat up, and rubbed his jaw.

'What was that?,' Much asked, as Alan joined them at the horses.

'Ah, just catching up,' Alan said, looking back to the door of the house, as Guy came to stand at it. He climbed into the saddle, and kicked his horse into a brisk trot to catch up with the others. Guy watched from his horsestep, his jaw still aching, and it took him a moment to recognise the dun horse that Much was riding off on. He almost shouted, then decided against it, and turned back into his house.

'I think it was Katie,' Robin said, when they had left the village of Loxley. They were only walking so that it wasn't too strenuous for Much. All the same, on hearing Robin, he pulled Jenny to a halt, and his mouth hung open.

'Why on earth?! How can you say that! Kate is more loyal than me!,' Much said. It was a clear statement, no-one could ever question Much's loyalty. 'Robin! I think you're clutching at straws here. Why would she?'

'I don't know Much. But she knew before everyone else, and she couldn't have spread that about the villages on her own. Word doesn't travel that fast.'

'But she would have already known by the time you talked to her.'

'Exactly, an extra boost to the speed it spread at.'

'But I'm not dead,' Much said quietly, and sadly. Robin sighed.

'I know Much,' he said, in a similar tone of voice to Much's. 'But she might not have realised. Or she might have just said it anyway. She worked in the castle, she might still be, just without us knowing.' Much was still just sitting, Jenny nickered and turned to poke Much's knee.

'Robin...Katie?,' he said.

'Maybe. I think we need to consider it. That footprint was small.'

'How can she have been in two places at once?!,' Much said, sudden inspiration coming to him. Robin remembered the timing of the last evenings events.

'She could have cut across, and we were waiting for a good while for John.'

'I still don't think it can have been her.'

'I think she should just consider it.' Robin looked at the other two, who gave signs of agreement.

'Fine.' Much squeezed Jenny into a walk, and she was over zealous and trotted, her energy from the last few days pent up. Much trotted between them, and ahead, into the wood.

'Much!,' Robin called, cantering to catch up. 'Much!,' he said, reaching the dun and holding her reins. Jenny slowed to a walk, but Much wouldn't meet Robin's gaze.

'I'm sorry Robin. But you're telling me that you think my oldest, dearest friends has been sleeping with the man who the day before tried to kill me. How am I expected to react?.'

'Don't be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry, I just think we should check,' Robin said. He smiled. 'And I thought I was your oldest, dearest friend?'

'Oh shut up Robin!,' Much said, a little lighter, giving Robin a push. 'You know what I mean. She's known me, well, nevermind.' Robin looked a bit puzzled, then shrugged it off.

'You feel up to going tonight?.' Much looked away, and ran his hand through his hair, removing his hat.

'Fine.' He turned Jenny towards the Bonchurch road. John and Alan had been hanging back whilst Robin and Much had been talking, but caught up as they all trotted towards Bonchurch.

As they reached Katies house, Robin dismounted, and tied his horse to the fence. John and Alan dismounted too, and did likewise, but Much hung back. Robin knocked on the door. The door was opened, and one of the children appeared, with red eyes.

'Hello Tom, is mummy in?,' Robin asked, leaning on his knees. The child nodded his head. 'Can you go and fetch her for us please?' The child nodded again, and disappeared into the house, shutting the door behind. 'Great,' Robin said sarcastically. A moment later the door opened again, and Katie was facing them.

'Robin,' she said quietly. She had obviously been crying, her eyes were red, and her voice was a little shakey. 'John, Alan. I've just been hearing details. Would you like to come in?' Robin sighed, and pulled himself up.

'Katie, where were you this morning?' She gave him a confused look.

'Here, why? Well, I was in the hamlet, I was over at the Marshes helping with their son.'

'Katie...I have reason to believe that you might have been...feeding information to the Sheriff of Nottingham.' She looked completely gob-smacked, and then slapped Robin hard on the cheek.

'How dare you?! How DARE you!,' she shouted. She moved forward to hit Robin again, and slapped him on the other cheek. She went to slap again, but John moved forward and gently held her back. 'What the HELL do you think gives you the right to accuse me of such things! Can you not SEE I'm falling apart here?!' Tom moved forward to hold her by the leg, she pulled her arm free of John and gently pushed him back. 'Go inside Tom.' Tom stepped back, but didn't go inside, he looked further outside. 'Damn you Robin! How could you?' She broke down in tears, and fell to the floor, curling up, holding her head in her hands.

'Uncle!,' Tom shouted, pointing out of the garden, beyond the fence. It was so dark Katie had not noticed the dun mare standing beyond the garden. Much jumped off Jenny, and ran forward to Katie, kneeling down in front of her and pulling her into his arms.

'Katie, Katie please,' he said. She drew her breath and pulled back, slapping him in the face.

'Much! Don't...how could you?!.' She broke down again, falling back into Much's arms. Tom ran back into the house, shouting

'Uncle Much is back!,' over and over again.

'I thought you were dead, Robin said, and then everyone was saying,' she said breathily, taking huge gasping breaths between words. 'What happened?,' she asked, slowing down a little.

'Too much to explain now, can we go inside?,' Much asked.

'Yes, yes, come on in,' she stood, and was surprised when John came forward to help Much up. John supported Much, and took him inside, Katie following, shock and worry still apparent on her face. The children moved out of the way, mouths open at Little John, and the sight of Much being nearly carried into their house. 'Over here,' Katie said, moving her sewing off her bed. John moved over, and sat Much down on the bed. Katie knelt in front of him, and took his hands, standing up and kissing him on the cheek before she knelt down again. She moved very fast, and it was clear she was far from recovering from her various frights. Much sat for a moment with his eyes shut, catching his breath. Katie had left the door open, but Robin hesitated before walking just inside the door. He looked rather sheepish, and Alan walked in and stood just behind John.

'What's happened?,' Katie said, making a conscious effort to calm down.

'A lot. It's all happened in what feels like a short amount of time,' Much said, even though for Robin it had seemed to take all too long an amount of time. 'On, um..' He was still trying to catch his breath, he took one of his hands from Katie's and held his side over his wounds. Katie let go of his other hand, and moved his hand from his side. She pulled up his shirt, and gasped when she saw the wounds.

'It's fine, it's fine Kate,' Much said. 'Thanks to John,' he smiled at John. 'I got shot a few times the day before yesterday. But it's fine now.' Katie moved onto the bed and pulled Much into a hug. Much put one arm around her, pulling her tight, and held his side with the other one. 'Katie, it's fine, really.'

'Katie, I'm sorry,' Robin said, moving forward. Katie gave him a scowl, ignoring what he'd said. 'Katie, please, let me explain myself.' She turned, and sat on the bed next to Much. She put her hand on his forehead, checking temperature, and then ran her hand through his hair. Much leaned against her, and she spoke to Robin.

'Go on then.' Robin started by explaining everything that had happened since he had recieved the note from the Sheriff, up to the moment when he voiced his concerns about Katie and Much had disagreed, and then gave her the same reasons for thinking so that he had given Much. She frowned throughout, and told the children to cover their ears for the points when Robin explained Much's wounds.

'I'm sorry Robin, but I really don't see how that makes me seem the most obvious option.'

'I know Kate, I'm sorry, I can't say that enough. But I'm at my wits ends here, someone's trying to kill him, and I can't do anything about it. I let this happen to him in the first place, it was MY fault, and then I go and leave him to fend for himself again, and someone comes to the camp.'

'It wasn't your fault Robin,' Much said, as soon as Robin had stopped speaking. 'It was as much your fault as mine, as anyone elses! We could all be to blame if we used your logic Robin.' Robin shook his head, then looked at the ground, before looking back up at Much and Katie.

'But that's not the point Much, it FEELS like it's my fault. I can't get anything right anymore. I'm falling apart. I'm losing it. I nearly let you die Much!.' Much stood, and strode towards Robin, pulling him into a strong hug.

'I will NOT let you say that. It's not true. You don't need this, don't do it to yourself.' Robin hugged back, and leaned his head onto Much's shoulder.

'I'm sorry. So sorry.'

'Don't be, please.' Much stood back, and smiled at Robin, whose eyes were glazing over with tears. He turned to John and Alan.

'I'm sorry boys. I'm just..' John walked forward and hugged him, lifting him off the ground, before putting him down. Alan hesitated a moment, then moved and gave Robin a deeply sincere hug.

'Robin, you got to understand, we don't mindlessly follow you,' Alan said. 'If we thought you weren't the best possible person to lead us, frankly, we wouldn't follow you. Well, Much would,' he added, with a smile. Robin smiled, and ran both his hands through his hair. He turned back to Much, and gently pushed him back into sitting.

'I'm sorry, it's hard. I don't need to tell you that. I just need to get my head back into this.'

'Look, don't worry Robin, I'm sorry I was harsh to you. But I've been distraught since you told me he'd had an accident, and then to have you say I'm against you all, and then to find Much is alive, it's all too stressful.'

'I completely understand, I'm sorry I didn't make things clearer in the first place.'

'Maybe you should all stay the night, it's very late, and I think the rain's beginning to come down.'

'Much stay definitely,' Robin replied.

'No, you stay too,' Much said.

'Yeah, come on Robin, it'd do us good.' Robin looked to John.

'I've got to agree, I think it would,' he said.

'Right then, if you can cope with all four of us, we'll stay the night.'

'Of course I can.'

'Go and see to the horses,' Robin said as a general order to whoever wanted to obey. Both Alan and John went, unable to escape the trail of children following them.

'Lie down now Much, get some rest,' Katie said. Much nodded, and lay down, letting out a big breath. His eyes shut as soon as his head hit the cushions, and Katie and Robin began to whisper.

'I'll get blankets.'

It was nearly midnight by the time they were all settled in beds, and they were all tired. Alan and John and the children, and of course Much, were all fast asleep, but despite the deep tiredness in his limbs and head, Robin did not want to sleep; his eyes were wide open. He sat up, loosely covered by the blanket, and leant against the wall. He didn't jump when he heard a voice.

'Are you awake Robin?.' He turned to look at the other side of the cottage, where Katie was also leaning against the wall.

'Yes,' he whispered. Katie was on the side of the cottage with the children. She stood up, wrapping her blanket around her and tiptoeing over to Robin. She slumped herself down next to him.

'Why not?'

'Too much to think about I guess. I'm so tired though,' he said, rubbing his hands over his face.

'Been a rather stressful few days.' Katie had known Robin in his youth, but more as a passing figure, she hadn't been a major player in his childhood.

'Definitely...Don't know I'd have survived if he hadn't.'

'I thought he hadn't. Words can't describe the feeling.' Robin turned to look at her face, only a vague outline in the darkness.

'What are you to Much? You hardly ever see him, yet you still seem so close.' Katies sighed.

'It's just, well, I don't really know what I am to him now. Friends. But it used to be a bit more like sisterhood. I found him you see.'

'Found him?,' Robin asked, puzzled.

'You haven't heard the stories?,' Katie asked, turning to him.

'Stories? Well, I remember some of the rumours I suppose, but not stories as such.' Katie sighed again, and turned to look at Much.

'Well, I found him when he was little. It's not entirely true that he's an orphan. He might have parents, somewhere. Or might have had, I just don't know. There were people we thought must be his parents, but they left so soon.'

'When he was little? How little? Where? How?,' Robin could not believe the new information he was hearing about his friend, after over two decades of knowing him.

'He hasn't told you? Well, I suppose not, I don't know how much he knows. When I was about 15, 16 or so, maybe a bit older, a family came into the village of Loxley for a day or so. They seemed to just stay in their cart, on the outskirts. No-one had really bothered talking to them, they were not known, and there were rumours of pox about at the time, so we didn't welcome strangers. Someone said they'd seen a child, but we didn't bother investigating much. Us girls weren't interested once we knew there was no-one our age with them. We saw them pass through the town, fully packed, a day or two later. We assumed that was the last we'd hear of them. And it was. But a few days later I was in the wood looking for garlic, and I heard someone crying. That, frankly, terrified me, you know the sort of stories that went round about the woods, about the ghost, etc, it was all silly, but I looked about me, didn't hear anything more, so just walked on. Went round the corner of the path, smelt some wonderful garlic, ventured off the path, and was confronted by this tiny little blonde thing. I screamed my head off, he screamed back, and I nearly ran off. And that was Much.' Robin was horrified.

'Much?.'

'Yep. When I came to my senses, I realised how grave the situation was. He was tied to the tree, there was a noose round his neck, and I realised who he must be. I thought he might have the pox, covered my face, and ventured closer. He had perfect skin though, silky little blonde hair. I took my knife out, he screamed some more, tears pouring from his eyes, and he pulled away. The noose got tighter, and I hurried to cut him free from the tree. He calmed down when he saw I wasn't out to kill him. He crumpled into a little heap on the floor, curling up into a little ball. I dropped my basket, and pulled his little limbs apart, and pulled him into my arms until he'd shut up. God, I'll never forget it.' Robin was still speechless.

'I took the rope from round his neck, his sobbing subsided, and I got his name out of him. Much, that was all he'd say. For a good long time. He must have been in that wood for three days and nights at the least. There was a bright red mark round his neck, from the tightness and the scratchiness of the rope. I took him home, my mother was terrified, my dad was more sensible. My parents had tried to have more children after me, but it hadn't worked. After a while my mother realised she'd like having him around. He must have been between 4 and 6. I still don't know how old he actually is. He wasn't ever quite my parents son, my brother. He spent so much time around your house after a while, and in the early days it was difficult to get him to stay put. He'd go back to the wood path, wait for his parents. It was awful. I suppose he was almost like a surrogate son to me. I grew up before him, was married when he was a teenager, when you were teenagers I should say. Then the parents died, and before you went away, I had the twins, and then Henry died, and he was there for me. Then you both went off.' There was silence for a few minutes, as Robin thought over all the things that Katie had told him.

'He never mentioned it at all. Not once.'

'Don't take it personally, he never spoke of it to me either. I can't even figure out how much he remembers. It's affected him though. He's more of a thing than a people person. Doesn't trust easily. He waited for them for about a week, then he began to stop going so often, and eventually just stopped going at all. He's never mentioned them since. I don't think they were even his parents. They were probably thieves who found him in the house, and took him as well as his parents possessions. So we have even less of an idea who he actually is. He didn't really fit into the family as much as we'd have liked. We were close, extremely close, but that was the only thing that made it like sisterhood. He told me things. More like a very close female friend, which is what I was. It didn't seem to occur to him that it was slightly odd to have a woman friend who was ten years his senior.' Robin stood, and walked over to where Much was sleeping, looking down at him.

'It's funny, you can know someone their whole lives...and yet I've never thought to ask, it's never occurred to me how little I know.'

'You know more than anyone else Robin. You've been through things with that I can't even imagine,' Katie said, and Robin knew she was referring to the Holy Land. 'He doesn't invite comment anyway, he keeps attention away from his roots.'

'He always talked of coming home to Loxley, he never mentioned family. And yet he didn't even have a proper home to return to.'

'Had things been different I would have taken him in. But no, he had no real home, real family. Nowhere he was entitled to live. He's a smart lad though. Smarter than he lets on. He'd have found his way, even if you or I didn't take him in.' They sighed, and Katie joined Robin at Much's side. 'Perhaps you should get some sleep, Robin?,' she said.

'Oh, yes, sorry, you too. Night.'

'Night,' she said, creeping off to her side of the room. Robin lay back on his bed, but still couldn't go to sleep. Memories floated through his brain, all the memories of Much he had in his childhood, of the two of them playing, when they learnt to ride horses together when they were 13. He tried to remember the first time he met Much, but try though he might he couldn't. He couldn't bear to think of the Much he knew in his childhood, the youngest Much he could summon, tied to a tree, abandoned by people who may not even be his parents, left to die in a wood. A surge of hatred came over him as he thought of the people who had been so cruel as to abandon him to such a fate, in a part of the wood he knew few people would go. But for a garlic trip, Much's child skeleton could be in the wood at that very moment. In a fit of passionate rage, Robin turned over suddenly, and wrapped the blanket around him, screwing his eyes shut, determined to get some sleep.

When Robin woke, the others were all just waking up also, apart from Much, who was standing at the window. Robin moved over. Much was staring at Bonchurch Hall. Robin suddenly realised why the promise of the small estate had always meant so much to Much. He patted him, and put his arm round Much's shoulders.

'It will be yours one day my friend, I promise.' Much sighed.

'Miracles happen,' he said, turning to Robin. 'Sleep alright?'

'Yeah, okay,' Robin said. Little did he know that Much hadn't been thinking about the house, feelings of needing to find a home completely forgotten in thoughts of the woman he had loved. 'How you feeling?'

'All right. Well, ok.' Much turned his back to the window, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. 'What's the plan then?'

'Well, I think we need to get back to camp, sort things out a bit, then meet Guy.' Alan and John were standing up, and Katie was already stoking the fire.

'Move out soon then?'

'Yeah, I think that'd be good.'

'Staying for breakfast?,' Katie asked from the fireside. Robin looked to John and Alan, who were looking sleepy and stiff.

'Yes, I think we shall if that's good for you.'

'Of course it is.' Her and Much smiled at eachother, then Much headed for the door.

'Just going to check the horses,' he said, shutting the door behind him.

'You haven't mentioned it have you?,' Katie asked Robin.

'No, not yet. I think I might though.'

'Hmm, I'm not sure that'd be the best idea.'

'Well, I'll see how it goes. He seems to want to be on his own a bit at the moment.'

'He's got a lot to think about I suppose. Anyway, must get cooking!' She walked off, glowing with fake cheer for the sake of her children. Robin opened the door, and walked into the garden, stretching his arms. He enjoyed being in Bonchurch, it was a place that held few associations for him. It wasn't his or Marion's place, it didn't hold memories for him. He turned towards the horses, Much was standing patting Jenny, giving her a groom with a handful of straw he'd plaited together. Jenny was standing as if asleep, but when Much leaned on her neck, his head buried in her mane, she turned back and nibbled his shoulder, as she would groom another horse. Much put his arms round her, and Robin nearly went over to talk to him, but decided against it as he took the first step. Much stood back again, put a hand to his face, and untied Jenny's leadrope. Their tack was lying on the ground next to them, but he didn't bother saddling up before he put a foot on the fence, and climbed onto her back. She turned round, answering his leg aids, and as he turned, Much saw Robin watching him. Their eyes met across the hamlet, and then Much walked Jenny down the road, in the direction of Loxley. Despite the obvious dangers of Much walking about on his own, Robin didn't try to stop him, especially when he saw Much turn into the wood, and down a nearly hidden path. He turned and went back into the house.

'Where's Much gone?,' Alan asked, handing Robin a bowl of porridge.

'He's just gone out for a bit, a walk.'

'Robin, that's not safe!,' John said, nearly slamming his bowl down.

'Don't worry, he'll be fine. He's on Jenny, she'll look after him.' John looked doubtful, but realised there was no point in arguing, so returned to his breakfast. Alan stared at Robin with a perplexed look for a moment, then did likewise.

They were all finishing up the last scraps of their breakfasts when Alan decided it was time to check where Much was. He opened the door, looked to the horses and saw the Jenny was tied up again, but he could not see Much. He turned round to tell the others, then jumped, startled to see Much sitting leaning against the wall of the house a foot from the door.

'Bloody,' he began, then remembered that he was near children, and toned it down. 'Made me jump out my skin Much! Not hungry?'

'Not really. We off soon?' The others had heard, and Robin came to the door.

'I think we need to be yes, sure you don't want anything?'

'Yeah, I'm good thanks.'

'Okay, we'll be off then Katie.' John had been playing with the children, and popped the little girl back on the ground, picking up his staff in her place.

'Right.' She smiled. 'Been good having you all.' Much walked back into the hut. Katie smiled at him. 'You silly moo, Much! Don't ever do that to me again!' He gave a sort of half smile, and then walked and took her in a hug. Robin and John looked on for a moment, and then left the house.

'I'm sorry Kate. So sorry.'

'Don't be, you silly moo. Just try and look after yourself.' They released eachother, and Much took the children in a joint hug.

'Here's a useful piece of advice,' he said to them. 'Try and be as unlike me as possible,' he said, standing again. He hugged Katie again.

'Thank you. Thank you so much,' he whispered, then turned and left. She stood at the door, surrounded by her youngsters, and waved them off with a sad smile.

They had hardly arrived at the camp before they had to leave again to meet Guy. He was waiting at the crossroads, the very place Much had been shot just a day or two ago. Robin was shocked to see brightly coloured fletching of the arrows he had broken from Much's chest. Much dismounted next to them, and picked them up.

'Souvenir,' he said to them, examining the fletching. There was still a sort of stand-offish feel to their meetings, with Robin and his men stood in one line, Guy opposite them. Much, who stood away from the line as he was looking at the arrows, turned to them, and looked from Robin to Guy.

'Why don't we sit over here?,' he said, gesturing to the area around him. Robin turned, and the others followed. Naturally they arranged themselves into a circle, Robin on one side of Much, Guy the other, with Alan next to him, and then John in-between him and Robin. 'Funny these things, I think they must be parrot feathers,' Much commented, to get the hypothetical ball rolling. He looked at the ground beyond the arrows, and saw a clump of leaves, stuck together with dried blood. He swallowed, and pulled his eyes away from them.

'Yes, he keeps a supply of them in his room, makes the arrows himself,' Guy said, in a similarly light tone.

'Hmm, interesting.' Robin rubbed his eyes.

'We better get on with things I think, if you two don't mind,' he said, with a touch of the tease. 'We have met one possible candidate for our spy, and were completely mistaken, but the rumours of Much's death will hopefully have been but to rest.' He put a hand on Much's shoulder as he said his name.

'I did a little research on that matter. The woman is a former spy of the Sheriff's who wronged him. He now keeps her for his own personal amusement. She is held in a holding house just inside the northern castle walls.' Much's eyes flashed.

'Any name?,' he asked.

'No, people do not talk of her freely, and I do not know if any knew her before.'

'Right then, it seems we need to get into the castle again. Can you help us with that?,' Robin asked Guy.

'If you are not seen as yourselves. Then I can get you in. But, well, I can't push my luck. I can't get found out.' Robin gave a look of disbelief, but Alan nodded fervently.

'He wouldn't do anything to you surely?,' Robin asked.

'Oh he would. Very little matters to him, nothing beyond himself and his own ambitions. If I were found to be working against him, I'd be gone in a flash.'

'You're a strong man, you can look after yourself,' Robin said, dismissively.

'No, it's true Robin, give 'im a rest. The Sheriff could have him killed in minutes.'

'I suppose you are in more danger being in the castle already. Already trapped,' John said, sensibly.

'Fine. I'm sorry. You won't get found out. All we need is a little cover around the area of the holding cell. We can't really afford too much activity, with Much out of action as well.'

'Of course, I can get them in for briefing or something. When do you intend to make the move? And what will you do with her?.'

'I shall decide that when the time comes. We will do it tomorrow, unless we tell you otherwise, we'll get a message to you at Loxley if that is the case. When would be the best time for you?'

'Some time in the afternoon, that is when the men usually get briefed.'

'Okay, fine, we'll be in not long after lunch. It's highly unlikely we'll see you. But if you meet us at some point in the next day or so,' Robin began, before Guy said

'The next early morning perhaps, I ride to the castle, I could go through the forest.'

'Yes, that will be good, we'll meet you somewhere on the way.' Robin stood up, and that seemed to signal the end of the conversation, so the others stood, and they remounted their horses.

'Farewell, and good luck,' Guy said. Robin nodded at him, and they all shook hands again, and then turned their opposite ways. Robin waited for Guy to have trotted off before he turned in the correct direction for their camp.

'What are we going to do with her?,' Much asked.

'As I said, I'll decide that when the time comes. I suppose we'll have to do something with her, we can't have her continying spying on us. She's already spread the rumour of your death.' Much hesitated.

'You think that was her then?.'

'Well, I don't know if she directly spread the rumour, but it strikes me as pretty obvious that it was her who told the Sheriff first.'

'Yes, I suppose so.' They arrived at camp, and they each saw to their own horses. Much always paid particular attention to Jenny, and gave her another groom, before returning into the camp with the others. John was slicing some bread, and Much fetched another carrot.

'Some time you're going to have to start eating normal food again you know Much,' Robin said, jokily. 'Didn't you ever hear the story of the king who died from carrot poisoning?'

'That, Robin, was a complete myth. He was just far too fat anyway. The carrots probably did him good.'

'You'll be able to see better in the dark now!,' Alan said from the other side of the camp.

'You'll turn into a horse,' John said, handing around plates of normal food. Much took his, and placed his carrot on it.

'Fine. Although that comment on the size of my nose is frankly rather hurtful John!.' They all laughed, and Robin gave Much a playful shove. They ate in silence, Much munching his carrot, along with, to the other's relief, the rest of his food. John placed his empty plate down, and said:

'I'm going to need another look at your wound today, Much.'

'Okay. It's not hurting so much now.'

'Good, let's get that done now.' Much went to move, but John got there first, sitting in front of Much, and undoing his shirt. He pulled his long shirt up, and put his hand against the bandage.

'Ee!,' Much winced, as John pulled the bandage off. There was a crust of dried blood sticking the bandage to his wound.

'Sorry.' He slowely pulled the bandage away, and uncovered the wound, in all it's gory glory. Much looked down, but was only met by the site of John's hair. John sat back, grabbing some new bandages from a cubby hole. Much frowned.

'Going to be some good scars there, eh?,' he said to John.

'Indeed. Well, you don't have any others do you?'

'Yes I have, there's one on my back. But that's probably not a good as these'll be.'

'I think it's coming along all right, but I don't think it'll be coming back together for a while.' Much held the pad bandage in place, and John wrapped the long one around his chest, to hold the pad in place. He tied the knot, then turned to Robin.

'I think I better go down to the mill, we're low on supplies and we'll need to make a payment to them in the next few days anyway, so I might as well get it done now, before we've got a bit more on our plate.

'Right, good plan.'

'I'll go with 'im,' Alan said.

'Okay, you taking horses?'

'Yeah, we shouldn't be long,' John said, fetching his staff and one of the little bags they kept with payments in them.

'See yah!,' Alan said, putting a bow on his back and trotting off to the horses.

'Shut the door behind you will you John?,' Robin said.

'Will do!,' John said, exiting the camp, and shutting the door behind him, before running to the horses. Much and Robin sat in silence, listening for the sound of John and Alan departing.

'Come on, get out of it!,' they heard Alan say, followed by a little neigh, and then the sound of retreating hooves. Much sighed, and leaned back on the timbers of the camp walls. His eyes were shut, and Robin watched him for a moment, before sitting up slowely and speaking.

'I was talking to Katie last night.' Much didn't move.

'I thought you might have been. She forgiven you?'

'I don't know. I think so.'

'Good. I knew she would, she's too nice not to. I'm glad.'

'As it happens, we weren't really talking about ourselves.'

'Really?,' Much said, almost dreamily, more likely sleepily.

'Yeah. We were in fact talking about you.'

'Well I don't blame you, I'm a fascinating topic of conversation.'

'So I've discovered.' Much turned his head and looked at Robin, worry in his eyes.

'Really?'

'Yep. 'Fraid so.'

'What did she tell you?'

'Quite a bit. Most of it I think.' Much looked away again, staring at the ground in front of him.

'Oh.'

'It doesn't matter you know Much.'

'It does though really, doesn't it?'

'Not to me.'

'Not to you, but to other people. Well, maybe not so much now. But if things had been different, and if they're ever right again.'

'Much, you're not defined by who your parents are. You will be known for you deeds, good and honourable. That's all that will matter.'

'What did she actually tell you?' Robin hesitated, remembering that Katie had said Much might not remember some of it.

'Well, she told me she found you, about the people who left you. Who your parents might have been.' Much leant forward and put his head in his hands, running them through his hair.

'Like a sad puppy. I don't fit in. I don't fit in anywhere, 'cos I've no idea who I actually am. You say it doesn't matter, but whether it matters to other people or not, it matters to me,' he said, anger in his voice, slightly shaking. 'I don't know who my parents are, I don't know where they are, whether they're alive, they're probably dead by now anyway. I'm sick of this bloody cycle. My whole life I've been trying to avoid it. Avoid thinking about it, avoid doing anything about it. And then the thought that maybe they were my parents. Maybe they just didn't want me.' The anger had left, he sounded hopeless, Robin moved over, sitting next to him. He was surprised to see tears on Much's face, and didn't really know what to say.

'Much, I'm sure that wasn't the case. You fit in right here, with us.'

'How long did that take? I mean, I probably don't even know the details. I don't know as much as I ought to. Katie doesn't want to tell me. And I've made it worse for myself. When Jane and Roger were around, I distanced myself. Shouldn't have, I really shouldn't have. Now they're not here, and I went off to the Holy Land, right when Henry had died, and then I came home and Jenny was dead too.' Robin remembered that the daughter wasn't Katie's, Jenny must have been the sister Katie lost whilst they were in the Holy Land.

'Much..there's probably nothing I can say, is there?' Much sighed, and pulled himself up, wiping his nose on his sleeve, and shaking his head.

'Not really. There's nothing I can do. It's stupid to think about it. I just...I just wish I had done something. There's no hope of finding them, whether them is the people who tied me, or whoever they took me from.'

'So, you do remember then?'

'Yeah, not really the sort of thing you forget that easily. I wasn't that young. Katie doesn't know I remember though.' Robin put his arm round Much, and pulled him closer, resting his chin on Much's head, as Much was still slouched forward. 'I mean, I hardly think about it, it's always there, in the back of my head, but I don't think about the whole thing most of the time. And Katie doesn't either, but nearly dying seems to have the effect of getting people to think about how it all started.'

'I asked her why you were so close, I don't remember you both together much in our youth.'

'No, as I said, I wasn't grateful enough, I never felt quite right with them, preferred being on my own. Or round yours of course.'

'So all that time in the Holy Land, when we talked about home, where were you thinking about?'

'Oh, Loxley of course, but just the general area. The town more than the a specific place in it.'

'Why didn't you ever tell me? You know everything about me, about when mum died, about Marion, everything.'

'I'm sorry Robin. Shame maybe. I didn't want to, well, I just didn't want you to know I suppose. It's something I'm completely uncomfortable with, I hardly know what to think myself, I didn't know what you'd think of me, I didn't want anyone else to know about it.'

'Much, I could never judge you because of this. If anything it just improves my opinion of you. You're my best friend, the best friend I've ever had and ever will. I would never let something like this get in the way of our friendship?'

'I should have told you. I know I should have, but it's hard to talk about. I'm just so uncertain about what I come from. I mean, what if they were my parents? Crooks at best! What sort of person would abandon a child like that? And what if they weren't? What if I DESERVED to be left?.'

'You KNOW that's not true Much, don't say that. We don't know what happened, it's highly unlikely we ever will, but that's not what matters to us, we only care about what you are now. And if you ever marry, the girl's parents will only think about what you've done, not what your parents may or may not have done.' Much took a deep breath, then blew it out through his mouth, his eyes shut. He put his hands on Robin's shoulders, and pulled himself up.

'I'm sorry, I wish I'd told you sooner. Don't take it as a slight, no-one knows, I only didn't tell you because I don't like talking about it. I know you'd never let it affect you.' He winced, holding his side.

'Are you going to be okay for this thing tomorrow?'

'Yes, I want to come. Far better come and be not too helpful than get left behind again.'

'Right, of course. Best get rested then.'