I'm back! And as for the typos in the last chapter I apologize, I was half asleep while proof reading. I will do better with this one. Thanks again for the review! I still only own Gwen, Enjoy.
It was well after midnight before Gwen put her plan into action. The fires still glowed their hellish light and she eyedd one of the guards across the room. A man named Edward, whose wife and baby daughter Gwen had saved when the midwife had given up on them both. "Psst" she hissed and tried to catch his attention. He ignored her and she rolled her eyes.
Noting a small rock just outside the bars of her cage she grabbed it and chucked it across the room, and struck the man on the side of the head. "psst" she hissed again and he noticed her that time. Taking time to be sure no one was looking he approached her cell. "What witch?" He grumbled and she pouted, "Well that is a fine thank you for saving your family Edward." She whispered.
The man frowned, "I paid my debt," he growled and she shook her head, "no you paid half your debt, the other half I told you would come in the form of a favor." He looked down at her, "Come on old man, Say you have a little spell on you, you couldn't help yourself. You just dropped the keys on the floor and walked away."
Edward looked around, unsure. "If the sheriff finds out…"
"You'll tell him the Witch controlled your mind." She interrupted him, "Come on, think of little Elisa huh? How would she feel if her father let the woman who saved her life sit in a cell?" The man grumbled and unhooked his keys and slipped it through the bars quickly, "No one must ever know." He warned and she nodded.
"You're a good man." She waited until left before unlocking her cell quietly. And just for fun, closing and relocking it before hiding the key in her bodice and slipped up the stairs. She grabbed a basket and a cloth and tied the cloth over her head like a scarf to cover her hair and look like a servant girl.
Slipping past the guards was easy, for they were all drunk and passed out. And soon she was on her back to her house outside the village. The entire cottage was black and she lit a few candles in the windows to light the place. She corralled the chickens into their coop and gave fresh water to the sheep and horse before returning to the house.
She had not eaten all day and she used the knife on the wall to chop carrots from her garden and prepare a rabbit she had killed in the woods yesterday. Boiling these two in a pot Gwen waited patiently until she heard movement outside her house.
Endless possibilities flew threw her head, guards discovering her escape and coming to arrest her, villagers with torches coming to burn her and her house down, she clutched the knife in her fist and grabbed a half melted candle before peering out the window. She saw two shadows and she opened her door and walked around the house.
"Who's there?" she demanded and the two figures step forward, Wulf Little, and an older boy, about Gwen's age named Will Scarlett. Gwen let out a sigh, "that's a good way to get yourselves Killed, you know that don't you?" she lowered the knife and propped her fist on her hip. "Now what are you two doing here?" she eyed Wulf, "You, young man, have caused enough trouble for one day."
"Two strangers entered the woods today, and they told us to come find you." Will said, obviously not happy to be taking orders. "did they now? Was one them about…" she motioned with her hand over her head, "yea tall? Strange sword and clothing, following a trouble making blonde?"
Will nodded, "yes, that's the one." Gwen sighed, "Well, I just put on supper" she looked back into to cottage where her soup was probably boiling by now. "would you two like to come in?"
Wulf jumped on the chance, having always wanted to see the inside of a witch's house. But Will was a bit reluctant. "Come come boys" she led them in and closed the door. "Wulf, How fairs your mother? I have yet to see her these past few months." Fanny Little usually came around Gwen's house once a month for a pain tonic when she went through her monthly courses, but she had not come yet.
"She is well yet." Wulf informed her. "she is with Child, seven moons along now." Gwen turned in surprise. "really? Well you must congratulate her for me." The stew was ready and she poured a good serving into her bowl and two other bowls for the boys.
"Eat up lads, with that bloody sheriff starving the people of this town, who knows when you'll get your next meal?" Wulf thanked her and nearly choked horking it down. Will took his time, as did Gwen.
"Tell me." She hummed, "how does the mighty Will Scarlett fair huh?" she eyed the man, he had once come to visit her often but for some reason he came less and less until he simply stopped. "well enough" he mumbled, not looking at her eyes. "I spotted a stag in the forest three nights ago. Haven't seen'im since though."
"Hmm" she finished off her soup and collected the bowls. She wanted an explanation. She wanted to know what he just up and left one day and never came back until now. "Alright lads, lead the way." She followed them into the Forest.
It took a while but they came across a group of men in circle around a fire laughing and drinking. "There you are!" John Little greeted them. "What took you so long?"
"Sorry for the wait but around the fifth or sixth time that dungeon is just a bitch to escape" Gwen informed him and Robin looked up. "You were arrested then?"
"Was there ever any doubt?" she sat beside him in the circle and Will climbed a tree to overlook them. "Did they… you know?" He eyed her and Gwen laughed, "Whip me? Nah…" she slipped down the shoulder of her dress to expose her shoulder and part of her back which were scarred with long, thin and thick strips from a lash. "after the fourth time, they figured out it wasn't much a deterrent for me"
She was passed a bottle which she sipped from and passed along. "So John, I hear congratulations are in order" she laughed, "Your son tells me there's to be a little Little running around."
John nodded and Robin looked around, "Why is it that so many are in hiding?" he asked and John looked around the fire, "Well, we are all outlaws. We have prices on ours heads." He pointed at his son. "Even that young lad there. The blasted sheriff, he says we owe him taxes"
Gwen scoffed, that man would put a tax on the air if he could.
"Well your ghosts will only keep the sheriff's men at bay for so long" Robin pointed out, and Will looked down at him, "well they've worked so far, have you got a better idea?" Robin shrugged. "You could always fight back." The whole circle roared with laughter, even Gwen chuckled and shook her head.
"I reckon I must have cracked that noble head of yours." John calmed down, but then saw Robin was no joking and sobered up "Well these are all good lads here. They have hearts of gold. But they are farmers. It would be lambs to the slaughter. They say the sheriff was raised by a witch."
Gwen scoffed, "That harpy…" she cut in, "Is no witch" she shook her head. "She knows every man's thoughts," Wulf insisted, "you can see her eyes flame and she flies!"
John shook his head, "that's a load of cuswhallop Wulf"
"What does the rich son of a devil worshipper care about a group of outlaw peasants?" Will spat and Duncan shot up. "My master was a good and generous man! Who among you dare to believe…?"
"My father was no devil worshipper. And I'll have words with any man who says otherwise." Robin cut in and eyed the group dangerously "But he's right. I was a rich man's son." He admitted and stood up "But When I killed the sheriff's men, I became an outlaw like you."
Will sneered from up in the tree. "You're nothing like us" he hissed and leapt down and stormed away. Gwen watched him go and sighed. "I'll go after him." She muttered and stood up.
Leaving the group behind Gwen followed the irate young man through the wood until she found him by a spring. "You never did have a good grip on that temper of yours." She said, watching his back. "Go away Gwen." He told her and she frowned. "No" she said flatly.
"So is this why you stopped coming?" she inquired, "You're wanted now?" Will didn't say anything. "Why didn't you just tell me?" she asked. Will didn't turn around but he finally spoke up. "Your relationship with the village is strained enough, the last thing you needed was some outlaw hanging around to do more damage."
Gwen was toughed, "I just didn't want to give them reason to hang you." Gwen came up behind him and touched his shoulder gently, "Will, they wouldn't hang me…." She assured him before pausing and saying, "they would have burnt me, But before they did I would have laid a curse on the whole town."
Will stared at her before laughing. "Aye" he said between chuckles, "I believe you would do just that."
They sat down as the edge of the pool and Gwen sighed. "Could you do it?" will asked suddenly. "If you really wanted to?"
Gwen sighed and laid back in the grass, her hair fanning out behind her like a halo, "no." She shook her head, "I'm not that kind of witch Will, My soul still goes to God."
Will laid back as well beside her and rested his hands behind his head. "Pity." He muttered, "I'd give anything to see the Sheriff catch a case of boils or something."
Gwen didn't bother saying that she could do something awful if she really wanted to. She could poison the water supply, she could run through the fields at night and toss about seeds of parasitic plants so the crops would not grow healthy, she could also collect the oil off ivy leaves and rub it on farm tool handles, and on hanging laundry so that the owners would get an itchy rash.
But she knew she would get caught, she was already blamed for things that weren't her fault, it would be foolish to give them a real reason to burn her, plus her beef was not with the people of the village, at least not all of them.
"Do you have anywhere to go tonight Will?" she asked and Will shook his head, he didn't want to go back to the group of outlaws tonight, not with that new man there. "Very well." She sat up. "You shall come and stay with me." She informed him. Will looked up at her in surprise.
"I couldn't…"
"You can and you are, and I will hear no arguments or I will turn you in for the bounty myself" she warned him.
"You wouldn't do that."
"No, I'll just turn you into a toad or something"
Okay, so I'm not sure if there will be romance between Will and Gwen. Or just a close friendship. Tell me what you think.
