Title: "Dear Carter" – Part 4

Author: dcwash

Characters: Robin, John. But Robin quotes Carter back to himself and mentions other gangstahs.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to BBC/Tiger Aspect

Rating: E for Everybody.

Length: 1142 words

Summary: In which Robin discusses his new plans. And John issues a pity comment about those plans.

Dear Carter,

Please rest assured that I do not take offense at your assumption of the role of tactical confidant—as I once said to Will Scarlet, a wise man listens to advice. Such advice is doubly valuable coming from a man who is not only a true and understanding friend but one experienced with the harsh ways of the world.

I took your suggestions about "working to our strengths and not our weaknesses, no matter what our desires may ask" to mean that you believe we should rethink our hopes of directly attacking Vasey. As much as I loathe the man, I have—however reluctantly—come to agree: we no longer have Marian's eyes and ears in the castle, so any attempts to circumvent his schemes would be fruitless. Also, King Richard now knows how things stand in England, meaning he not only knows that treason of a massive scale is afoot, but of my own reduced fortunes. My tiny cadre, alone, cannot keep Prince John from usurping the throne. It will take armies to do that, armies that I would be proud to join and even to lead, but that only the king himself can raise.

Which is not to say we cannot make life more difficult for the traitors, and better for the common people, by "going through back channels," so to speak. I have been surprised to learn that Vasey's power comes from below as much as from above. I had assumed that fear motivated any support he received from the yeomen and gentry, but instead I find this part of Nottingham is full of his willing minions, vassals he has amply rewarded for their loyalty and their ability to collect and pay taxes. But that loyalty is conditioned on the belief that Vasey will continue to make them rich, or at least that he is strong enough to keep them safe from any who may want to interfere with their lucrative livelihoods. In this, I am happy to prove them wrong. For who is better prepared to interrupt the making and hoarding of money than a band of desperate outlaws? Especially outlaws such as mine! Little John, it seems, learned the finer points of cattle stealing during his youth in the border country. Allan a Dale's list of criminal accomplishments is so long as to defy description (off the top of my head, I remember he has been a successful housebreaker and cutpurse and tavern trickster) but he is also skilled in many forms of gambling, winning even when he plays by the rules. And while I trust that Much is no such expert in thievery, I know he is a quick learner and the bravest of fighters. I am confident that once Vasey's lesser allies realize the truth—that ties to him makes them more vulnerable, not less, to our depredations, and that his brute force is regularly outmaneuvered by a handful of men who can melt into the shadows of the forest only to emerge to steal again—they will seek a new liege lord. At the least, Vasey will spend so much time and treasure quelling discontent among his ranks that he will be of little use to Prince John.

In truth, despite what may sound like bravado, I find such a strategy almost shameful. The honourable thing would be to meet the king's—and my!--enemies face to face instead of harrying humbler men a step removed from the treachery. But that brings me to your second point, that I must reexamine my own leadership. As you noted, you and I and the others of our class are raised to issue orders and are used to being obeyed. You are right that that that works well in a battlefield or in a court, but is perhaps less applicable to my current state. For instance, I have long resisted my gang's urgings to steal in whatever way possible from whomever has a fat purse. To me it was obvious that the highway robbery we committed had a certain integrity, since it required us to take a stand before our foes, and I demanded that the members of my gang see things likewise. I am only now realizing the discontent that has engendered. The men, even Much, have made it clear that seeing some forms of theft as expressions of gallantry while condemning others as common and petty is the luxury of a nobleman raised with a sense of chivalry, one that genuine outlaws can ill afford. They have also made it clear that, for them, the virtue of helping the poor and hurting the king's enemies is not quite its own reward. Allan in particular has repeatedly pointed out that, without roofs over our heads and with rags on our backs, we are now the poor, a fact that I have been almost constitutionally unable to admit. I will try from now on to defer to their respective skills in the new manner in which we pursue our goals; perhaps that is the best way to command without being a tyrant, to show respect without ceding all leadership. It will be trickier to find a way to compensate them more materially while still standing for a higher purpose, but it must be done. They are grown men, after all, and as such do deserve some fruits of their labors…and the freedom to enjoy those fruits.

In short, I must stop thinking in political terms and to pay more attention to the welfare of my people, whether that means my comrades in the forest or strangers who have nowhere else to turn to for help. Marian has long urged me to concentrate on what I can do instead of what I should do, and I am determined to follow her lead in this matter. For despite the wealth I described earlier, there is also much poverty here. Vasey's friends are petted, his enemies are punished, and the rest—the peasants—are taxed and then ignored. Though there are political gains to be made by transferring the wealth of the masters back to their servants, I must remember that the relief of suffering is, in and of itself, a goal of far greater nobility. Marian believes that so thoroughly that she has joined the convent of St. Martha's as a dairymaid! I cannot countenance it; neither, I imagine, can her poor cow.

Yours sincerely,

Robin

P.S. John asks to add a note, attached below.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Deer Carter

Thank u for the sandalwood. It makes life in camp much more pleasant. It has stopped raining, which also helps. As for the rest of Robin's letter…FINALLLY!!!!!!

(But Marian has not joined the convent or becum a milkmaid nun, or why else was she here this morning? She did help me with my spilling and punctation, though. Nice lass, that.)

Your friend,

John Little of Locksley