We where surrounded. "Scuse me." One man called from over head. I swung my bow around and aimed it at him. "This is our forest." They came down and took my bow and the others weapons.
"Alright take off your clothes, the lota ya." A giant of a man said. He was clearly the leader of this band of misfits.
"Excuse me?!" I yelled shrilly.
"I'm sorry m'lady." He said coming closer. "Take off your clothes." He said louder. One of the men came up to me and looked me up and down expectantly. I cocked a brow at him.
"And what are you lookin at?" I asked. He smiled and laughed.
"I would reconsider your actions mate, she's a wild one." Allan told him. The man scoffed and I punched him square in the jaw. He fell to the ground unconscious and two of his men tackled me.
"Get off of her." The giant demanded. "Your clothes miss." He said holding out his hand.
"I've got an undershirt, do you want that as well?" I said taking off my shirt and throwing it at him. I took off my britches and dropped them. I was left in a tight-fitting undershirt and cotton warmers. I sighed as one of his men tied me to a tree next to Robin. Allan was being tied to the tree across from me. He looked at me in the same way the man I socked did. "Allan I swear to God if you look at me like that again I'll gut you." I threatened.
"You are making a mistake." Much said as the men went through our things.
"What? you gunna send an army to hunt us down, tear us limb from limb? Do you think we're frightened of the sheriff? Are we frightened?" One man asked the giant. He replied negatively.
"No we are also against the sheriff."
"What do you want a metal?"
"We should be on the same side. We should." Much replied. "Master tell him." The giant picked up the rabbit I had caught and started to take a bite. "That rabbit is." Much started as the giant looked at him. "I think you'll find that it's not fully cooked." He said. I rolled my eye and his naiveté.
"Robin I think I can get out of this. If I just-"
"Stay where you are. I have a plan." Robin said.
"Well what is it?"I asked as I watched Allan being searched. They took a ha'penny from his boot and tossed it to the giant.
"How come ya got no purse?" the ginger man asked.
"Because I was not planning on coming to the woods!" Robin said. "Is this what you do?" Robin asked the giant.
"Is what, what we do?"
"Stealing willy nilly?"
"Stealing willy nilly?" the ginger repeated. "I can't understand what he's sayin. Can you understand what he's sayin?"
"Do you care who you steal from?" Robin asked seriously. "My friend has but a ha'penny. What you take may be all he has."
"Yeah it's all I have." Allan said.
Heart breakin. Do we care?" the ginger asked. The giant scoffed to the obvious statement. "We don't care."
"We're dead men. Think about it. Outlaws." the sort man told Robin.
"Oh, that is sophisticated."
"Oh, big words, scary." The ginger said putting his mace to Robins throat.
"Robin can I kill him?" I asked so they could hear. The short man put his dagger to my throat.
"No, Wolf. Call your pack if you must." Robin told me. I smiled understanding what he was doing.
"What d'you mean pack? there more of ya out there?" The short man said.
"Why d'ya thing my names Wolf? I was raised by wolves. We run in packs." I said. I whistled loudly. "And right now mines on it's way. D'you know what wolves do to humans who hurt one of their pack?" The giant whistled them off us and they went to him. "They're like dogs." I whispered to Robin who stifled a laugh. They gathered our things and left. Robin lifted the rope that was supposed to be holding us to the tree.
"Well those where horrible men." Much said. I went over to Allan and cut the rope holding him with the knife in my boot. He smiled and thanked me. I scoffed and replaced my knife.
"You let me think." Much started. He stomped over to Robin. "If you two could have freed yourselves then why didn't you not fight?"
"I uh, I thought it best to wait." Robin said.
"Why?" Much asked.
"Because Much, you where right." Robin said picking up branches. "We should teach them a lesson. Gentlemen." Robin said tossing the branches to Will and Allan. I found a branch of my own and I walked to Robin.
"Oh no master surely." Much said gesturing to his lack of clothing.
"Come on Much. Think of who is worse off." I said gesturing to myself. He got a defeated look on his face.
"But you are not normal." He muttered. I laughed along with Robin. We walked off in the direction the giant and his men went.
"Can you track them Wolf?" Robin asked.
"The trail is fresh and it did rain two nights ago, it shouldn't be hard." I said spotting the trail, leading the men after it. The giant's camp was a half mile from ours. Robin surveyed the surrounding area coming up with a plan of attack. I looked at him and with my eyes asked the plan. He pointed to the ridge above them and then to me the left side of the ridge then to Will. Much and Allan where on the right. I looked back at Will who had a confused look on his face.
"You and I are going up on the left side of the ridge. Much and Allan on the right. Robin in the center... where'd he go?" I whispered to Much.
"Sorry I saw this and thought it'd be useful." Robin whispered. He held up a bow smiling. I shook my head and pulled Will to our allotted spot on the ridge.
"Excuse me!" Much yelled down to them. "This is our forest too. I think you'll find!" I snickered and tried to look as menacing as possible. They all had a look of surrender and disbelief.
"Now take your clothes off!" Robin called to them. We descended from the ridge as they all took of their clothes. I grabbed some rope and motioned for them to stand together. When I was finished I searched for my clothes and put them back on.
"Do you think its funny?" I said walking up the short man who held a dagger to my neck. I grabbed mine out of my boot and help it up to the center of his throat. "Making a woman disrobe and rob her friends?" He shook his head silently pleading with me not to take his life. I smirked and went off to gather the goods they had taken.
"You are revolting, you know that?" Much said. "My master and I fought for five years in the holy land and for what?"
"I was there too ya know." I said.
"So that people like you can run a muck. With your lawlessness and your disgusting camp." Much continued on kicking a cup into the fire. "And your snide... Your snide..."
"Your snide, snide what?" the ginger asked.
"Dance." Robin ordered. the ginger gave robin a quizzical look. "Dance." he repeated.
"No way." He said. immediately after Robin fired an arrow at his feet. Much, Allan and I laughed.
"Dance!" Robin said again. They started dancing and Robin fired more arrows at their feet.
"Very good. Like dancing bears." Much said with a smile. They stopped and looked at him.
"How does it feel? You treat you fellow man like an animal!" Robin yelled. "How does it feel? You take from those worse off than yourselves and then you leave them to die."
"Alright you've made your point." the short one said.
"You are not Englishmen. You are not the England we fought for." Robin said pointing to Much and I. "Men who think it is a boast to be dead. What do you think you are doing robbing him when the sheriff is robbing us all twenty times over?" Robin yelled. "Stalking in the woods when he steals spirits and lively hoods."
"What are you doin stalking in the woods? What are you gonna do about it?" The ginger asked.
"I'm going to stop him." Robin almost whispered. He looked at Much and I. "I'm going to stop him." He repeated louder.
"We can't stop him. Only the crown can withdraw his license." Much said.
"When the king returns he will have his come-up-ins until then we will scope out his sadistic punishments. We will stop his insane taxes and give them back to the people. We will rob him!" Robin said enthusiastically.
"Well how we supposed to do that?" I asked.
"We are three trained warriors. We fought for King Richard in the holy lands and we'll continue here." Robin tried to persuade me. "And if you dead men had a spine in your backs that's what you would have been doing all along."
"Rousing lavender boy." The ginger said. His friends called their good lucks and farewells. Robin drew back his bow and aimed. "Uh that'll be a mistake." The ginger said nodding to our surroundings I looked around and was at least 20 men surrounding us. Robin tossed his bow to the ground and held up his hands.
"you are in no position to argue Dunderhead." Much said.
"Much, stop." I said putting my hands up as well.
"What?" He asked. When he saw my hands up he looked at robin and then to the men surrounding us. "Oh." He raised his hands. The men came further into the camp and untied the giants men.
"His I do not like." The giant said after being untied.
"The feeling is mutual." Robin said. I laughed as I was grabbed by an unknown man.
"Can I keep this one boss?" he asked. I elbowed him in the ribs and flipped him over my shoulder sending him crashing to the ground. Allan came up behind me grabbing me around the waist, holding me back from killing the man.
"Calm down. he's not gunna want you after that." He said as I continued to struggle against him. The man got up and groaned. "She's a wild one, she is." Allan told him. "Raised by wolves." I had to smirk at that. Allan released me and I walked away from him. Disliking the closeness to him. A man in a silly hat whispered in the giants ear. A shocked expression came to his face.
"Are you Robin of Loxley? Robin Earl of Huntington?" The giant asked. Robin nodded. "Good." The giant said turning away. Quicker than I had expected a man of his stature to move he punched Robin in the face, knocking him out cold. " Alright, tie up the lot. We're going to Loxley."
I was grabbed again and threw in a line in front of Will and my wrist tied together. Allan was tied in front of me and Much after last. Robin, being unconscious, went over the giants shoulder and his wrists bound like ours. They pulled us forward and began the walk to Loxley.
"I think I'm gunna start keeping a knife up my sleeve." Allan said.
"Provided we live. They're probably taking us to Loxley to turn us in to Gisbourne who, if he doesn't kill us on the spot, will take us to the sheriff to be hanged." I said. "It's not a bad idea though. I might as well."
"Provided we live?" Allan retorted. I laughed as the short man told us to shut up.
"If we get out of this alive, I'm killing him first." I whispered to Allan. "Second is the fat bastard who asked to keep me."
"And next on your list of murders?"
"I don't know. You maybe. Or that ginger."
"Me? Why me? I haven't done anything."
"You kept staring at me when we where tied up."
"I wasn't staring."
"Oh please. You couldn't keep your eyes off me. I'm not some tavern girl."
"I said shut it." The short man yelled and kicked the back of my knee making me fall. Will caught me so I didn't hit the ground and set me back of my feet. I thanked him as we entered the field just beyond the village. The giant dropped Robin on the ground and pulled out a water skin and poured it on his face, waking him up.
"At least have the decency to untie him." Much begged. Robin sat up and looked around at the new surroundings. His eyes landed on the village and he chuckled.
"Loxley? You've brought us home." Robin said.
"It seems there is a reward." Much said.
"Twenty pounds." The short man said as if we wanted to know.
"Twenty pounds is that all? I'm word at least a hundred to the sheriff of Northshire." I told the short man. "Probably more by now."
"You take him down. See if we can get some for this rabble too." The ginger told the short man.
"Me I'm supposed to be dead." He said.
"Yeah, me too, they wont recognize you." The ginger said.
"Well if they do I'll be hanged. John?" He said nodding to the giant.
"If their gunna recognize anyone it'll be John." The ginger said.
"We all go." The giant John said. He grabbed the rope pulling us all up and dragging us to the edge of the village. We stood there and watched a woman being pulled in front of the rest. she screamed no over and over. John looked horrified at the woman's screams.
"That is nasty. That is just brutish." Much said.
"That is Alice!" John said.
"Alice?" Much asked.
"My wife."
"Your Alice's john? She thought you where dead." Will told him.
"It's you they want we go now." John told Robin and picked him up. Alice screams continued.
"you can't let them see you John they'll arrest ya for sure."
"There is no time. I can save you wife if you put me down." Robin said. John hastily put him down. "Untie me and my bow, quickly. I'm good with a bow. Trust me." John untied him and the ginger handed Robin his bow and arrows. Robin quickly aligned his shot and let lose the arrow. He hit the shears meant to take Alice's tongue and the where sent flying from the guards hand. Robin drew another arrow and the shears where split apart in an instant. Everyone, excluding Robin, Much and myself, where shocked at his accuracy.
"Let's go." I told them ushering them out of the village.
"God speed." Robin said.
"Master no."
"You have served me well my friend, and I have led you to this. You to Wolf. I'm sorry."
"Robin." I begged.
"Go." He ordered. "I will find a way through this."
"the sheriff will hang you." I said.
"If' he does at least I will not die a dead man."
"Robin, please. Please, don't." I pleaded. John grabbed me around the waist carrying me. I struggled against him trying to get back to Robin as He jogged into the village. "No we have to go back, he's gunna get himself killed." I yelled at John.
"It's no use lass." John said.
"You'd get caught to." Allan told me, trying to get me to see reason.
"I don't care, he can't die. I promised." I said struggling even harder to get out of John's grasp. We made it into the forest where we had a better view of the village. I watched as Robin was arrested. I gave up struggling, knowing that it was pointless now. John let me out of his bear like grip and I dropped to my knees. I buried my head in my hands.
"Wolf?" Will asked. "You alight?"
"I have to go back for him. I promised to keep him alive." Will and Much grabbed me under my arms getting me to my feet and led me away from the village. John told the men to untie a few miles into the forest. I started in the other direction.
"Where you goin then?" Allan asked.
"To get Robin." I said without looking back.
"You can't do that. Come on." He said getting in front of me.
" Yes I can and I will." I said not stopping like he wanted. He grabbed my arm spinning me to face him.
"What are you gunna do? break in to the castle flirt past the guards and get Robin out?"
"I'll offer them a trade. I'm worth a lot more than him."
"You can't you'll die."
"I have to try. I made a promise and I intend to keep it."
"What promise?"
"I promised Robin that I would keep him alive. I promise him that no matter what I wouldn't let anything happen to him."
"Do you love him?" Allan asked dropping my arm.
"Yes. I would die for him."
"Not being funny but that's a bit extreme don't ya think?"
"You wouldn't know what that feels like because the only person you think of is yourself."
"that's not true. I'm thinkin about you not gettin yourself killed."
"Bullocks. I'll be fine." I said trying to push past him.
"No, I'm not lettin you get yourself killed over some guy you fancy." He said.
"Yeah and what are you gunna do to stop me?" I asked incredulously. He reared back his fist and It was lights out before I could dodge.
Oh. My. God. IDEK why it took me so long to get this out. I've been a little out of sorts recently. I wanted to finish this one fanfic I've been reading and It just kept going on. next chapter is gunna be difficult if I continue on the way I have been. I'm sorry this is short but I wanted to get it out before the week was up like I said I would. . I think its been under a week.
as Always I love you all.
May the stars watch over you.
