Robin Hood: Tournament

By: Shadow Chaser

Author's Notes:

Robin Hood and all of its characters do not belong to me. This story is written for fandom and not for profit. This story takes place roughly at the end of June around the summer solstice. A general note is that I graduated college with a minor in History (could have almost double majored except for a few more credits) and have a pretty good knowledge of the Crusades along with European, American, and Asiatic history.

However, this does not mean I know much about nobility titles within England – that is one of my weak spots. Take all noble titles given in this story (with the exception of already established ones within the TV series) with a grain of salt.

Story:


Part 4 – Loyalty

NOTTINGHAM TOWN

Allan-a-Dale awoke with a startled grunt as he kicked his legs up a bit and sat up suddenly, his breath coming in gasps. The last thing he remembered-

"I should have done what you should have done in the beginning," Robin shook his head and he closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.

His hands immediately patted his own body, but he could feel no holes in him, no warm sticky slick blood, just...a lot of bruises. Some of whom made him wince as he touched them in an effort to find any stab wounds on himself. He grunted in pain and finally looked around him. He had been lying on a bed, straw covered and definitely very uncomfortable as he could feel a few twigs poking him in the back, but it was definitely a room with dim light from the fireplace and waning sunlight.

"Oh, you're awake!" a young voice spoke up to his left and he saw Lydia peek in from the door, her face stained with ash, but a bright smile on her lips, "I'll go get the Mistress." She closed the door and Allan heard her steps fade away slowly before a few seconds later heavier footsteps approached the door and it opened to reveal Anna.

"Allan," her smile was genuine and she quickly closed the door before crossing to his bedside and reached out to brush an errant strand of hair from his face.

"Anna, what..." he could barely remember what had happened. He knew that she had been held hostage by the Sheriff, and he had been fighting Robin...but Robin had struck him down...and was about to kill him, wasn't he?

"You were knocked out cold for a while there when the peasants trampled the arena;" she sat back, "Dennis rescued you..."

"Dennis? But I thought-" Allan stopped mid-sentence as the door opened slightly again and in walked Dennis, mousy-haired and all, looking down at the ground. He was carrying a tray of food and Anna took it before waving him away.

Allan recognized the almost long-forgotten gesture between master and servant, something he had witnessed to when he had been with Anna, courting her. Back then, he was just a mere peasant like the rest of Rochdale, but with Anna, his status was all but irrelevant. Servants treated him like he was a noble, a concept that was very foreign to him when he had first met her, but soon had gotten used to it.

He stayed silent until Dennis left the room without another look and let a noisy sigh of relief out of his mouth. That was the most uncomfortable thing he had ever felt for a long time. He had gotten so used to being a peasant again, a thief, a con-man, that having someone wait on him made him a bit squeamish. When he had met Robin, he had expected Much to do the same thing Anna and her servants had, but Robin was a much different master. He disliked servitude, considering all to be equal. It had been such a breath of fresh air to see someone who was so dedicated to the welfare of others, so selfless...

"I can't go back, can I?" he asked quietly, staring at his hands.

"Why would you?" Anna asked as she began to slice pieces of bread and cheese, handing him a piece to which he absently nibbled on.

"You lied," he looked at her with steady eyes, "you lied about fighting the Sheriff. That was Robin in the armor and those colors. You lied when you said Rowan was out of the tournament in the first round."

"I did no such-"

"Anna, I spent my whole life lying. Don't start with me now," he cut her off.

He saw her look at him for a long second before placing the knife and bread she was cutting down on the tray. "Allan, what I did..." she started quietly and he immediately felt like her words were cutting into him, "I did for you, for your future, for our future..."

"By having me kill Robin," he stated flatly.

"You really wanted me to die? Like your brother Tom? Is that it?" she shot him hurt look and he looked away.

"No," he grimaced before turning back to her, "no, I didn't...you know I would never..."

"The Sheriff," she started haltingly, "offered me a chance to regain my lands and for him to put in a word of favor to Prince John after he killed my family a few weeks ago. How could I say no? Rochdale was burning, the people hated the Rushcliffes after what they did to you, to Tom, even to the Fosters and the Coopers."

"No...not them. But Ronald and his family-"

"All driven out by my father," she shook her head sadly and he felt a pang of sorrow at the loss of the two peasant families that had been the life of the town at times. The Fosters and Coopers were considered some of the most generous peasants around Rochdale, always treating others and taking care of anyone who was sick. To hear that Lord Rushcliffe had done such a thing. Things indeed had changed, for the worst, in his home town since he and Tom were exiled.

He hadn't realized he had spoken his last thought out loud until he heard her.

"I agree," she hedged a slight breath, "I didn't know that you were working for Robin Hood. If I had known...oh Allan, I'm so sorry. I wouldn't have gotten you involved."

Allan knew she wanted him to say that it was all right, but how could he when he felt so torn. He had attacked Robin, had chose Anna over his loyalty to the man who had saved his life twice. He didn't know what had made him really snap, but what he had felt when he saw Anna, being held hostage by the Sheriff...

"Why did he hold you hostage when you agreed to his plan?" he asked quietly.

"Why does any megalomaniac man who only wants things for himself like power and prestige? You should know, having clashed with him so many times. You know what he did to the people of Sherwood, what he did to Tom," she looked down, her hands folding in on themselves.

Allan nodded absently, having finished his piece of bread and cheese long ago, but he did not feel hungry anymore. Another thought occurred to him. "Why Dennis?"

She looked up and a sad smile graced her beautiful face, "Dennis and Lydia were the only ones who were loyal to me while I was growing up. They were the only real friends I had all along. Dennis...I told him that if anything were to happen to me, he would go to the Sheriff, offer him his services and assassinate him. Lydia...well, she would never leave my side."

"But why attack Robin? He's never-"

"It's all part of the deception, don't you see?" she looked at him, her voice cracking slightly, "I had to attack Robin because then he would have suspected."

"I don't mean to be funny," Allan shook his head, "but Robin's not like that. He's different. He understands people, knows where they're coming from. He would have tried to help you. You didn't need to resort to this..."

"Too late for that," Anna murmured and Allan knew she was right. It was much too late to go back and apologize to Robin. But what if it was all just a misunderstanding? Maybe if they could somehow get a message to Robin to come here so he could properly apologize, so Anna could really tell her story.

"What if we got a message to Robin to come here-"

"No!" Anna's sharp tone startled him and he looked at her, surprised.

"Why not?"

"No," she repeated her answer and took a deep breath, "I…just don't want to deal with Robin or anyone else at the moment."

"But we at least need to make sure Marian-"

"She's fine," Anna cut him off and he looked at her, surprised, "I made sure that she was fine, along with her father and that young man, Rowan."

"How do you know this?" something told him that Anna wasn't quite truthful and was becoming very evasive with her answers. No one could have all of the answers, yet Anna seemed to have everything. Just what was the deal she had made with the Sheriff?

"I…" she looked away towards the windows, "didn't want Marian to get hurt. She's a fellow noble, you see? She has so much potential, and she's just an innocent in all of this."

"I don't mean to be funny, but she's as guilty as you or I are in helping outlaws. And what's this about being a fellow noble. Robin's formerly a noble, did you consider that?"

"Robin chose to be an outlaw," she looked at him flatly.

"So, you did too, what does that make me? Lower than an outlaw?" he frowned.

"No, no," she reached out to reassure him, but he leaned away from her touch, "I didn't mean that. You're always going to be special to me Allan."

A sudden surge of anger filled him; those were the same words he had heard her say to his brother. "And what about Tom? Was he also special to you when you decided to take him under your care?"

"Tom's dead," she looked at him, withdrawing her hand, "and you're still letting petty jealousies get the best of you?"

"That's what got us kicked out of Rochdale the last time," his eyes flashed angrily. "I thought you were happy with me. But it seemed that you were also content to fool around with my brother. Did you know that he robbed me our first night in the woods? That's when I learned I couldn't trust anyone so please; don't even think of telling me that petty jealousy is what it's all about."

"You trusted me after all these years. You believed me when I told you that the Sheriff was wearing those colors," her brown eyes flashed with hurt.

"Only because I thought you were in real trouble. That you had a solid plan!" Allan half-shouted, feeling his anger growing at her, "God, Anna, why do you do this to me?! You come into my life after all these years and think you can mess with it, consequences be damned."

"The consequences can be damned because I love you too much to lose you to that heartless outlaw Robin Hood!" she shouted back at him and he recoiled, shocked.

"Robin is not heartless-"

"He killed Tom," she had stood up and was now towering over him, her voice frozen cold, "he could have saved him, but he killed him. Just like the Sheriff killed him. Tom's dead because no one did a damn thing. I came to save you, Allan-a-Dale. I came because you are my last love, the only person left I would die for and I don't think I can stand watching you throw your life away for a murderer."

She abruptly turned around and left the room, slamming the door shut with a loud bang, but Allan didn't even hear it as her last words hung in the air. Shock, love, anger, despair, hurt, betrayal, a torrent of emotions filled him as he processed her words.

It all made sense now. Her enthusiasm at learning the tricks of the trade from Robin; the attack by Dennis on Robin, the Sheriff, and Gisborne; her excuse from their planning to head to Knighton Hall where Robin and Much were going over their end of the plan with Marian and Rowan. Her expression when she had pitched her plan to kill the Sheriff in the tournament. She knew it was Robin underneath the armor. She was counting on his love to her to obey her every whim and deception.

Had she really been held hostage by the Sheriff who had told him to either kill Robin or she would die by Gisborne's hand? Was it part of an elaborate plan, ruined by Robin himself as he sought to escape? Did she really mean it when she said no harm would come to Marian, her father Edward, or even Rowan? Was everything she had just told him a lie?

The torrent of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him suddenly stopped on one particular one: horror.

"What did I do…?" he whispered.

OUTLAWS' CAMP, SHERWOOD FOREST

Robin awoke with a start as he felt something poke his hip and glanced down to see Djaq holding a needle with a string on it, pulling it tight before dipping back down again and making the final knot into the stitches she had been suturing together.

"I'm almost done," she muttered before he felt a slight tug and a pinch of pain followed by a soft sigh of relief as she sat back, admiring her handy work. Robin tentatively lifted the clean shirt he was now wearing, and glanced down at the now closed wound to see that she had expertly stitched up his wound. There was no blood, only a ring of angry red marks around where she had stuck the needle and pulled the string through.

"You're awake," Djaq's voice made him look up to her to see her smiling at him.

"How long was I out?" he pushed his shirt back down and saw that sitting next to her was the remnants of his old shirt, now just a pile of bloody rags.

"A couple of hours," she gestured to the sky and Robin noticed that the sun had just about set, setting the sky ablaze with a beautiful red-gold twilight with hints of blue-black night creeping in.

"The others?" he pushed himself up with some help from Djaq into a sitting position and leaned against the tree trunk he had apparently been moved next to.

"Will left a few minutes ago after coming back to tell you that Marian, her father, and Rowan are all safe and back at Knighton Hall. It seems that someone had attacked Rowan while you were in the arena so the Sheriff was reluctant to believe Marian's story. They also didn't see any signs of Allan or Anna around the castle. I sent Will back to Knighton Hall make sure that the Sheriff wasn't bluffing."

"Good," he felt like it was a weight off of his shoulders. It also meant that he didn't have to think of the unpleasant consequence for Allan when they found him. He had been considering threatening Allan with his life if any harm had come to Marian. Allan knew how much he loved Marian and knew that to endanger her was a death sentence on everyone.

"Robin," Djaq patted him lightly on the arm, "I know you also sent Will away because you don't want him to know what's going to happen to Allan, right?"

He looked away from her, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"He betrayed us, attacked you," Djaq continued, "I do not know the exact circumstances, but he must have a good reason for doing so. If you just hear-"

"Djaq," he finally faced her, "I don't know…"

She looked at him for a long moment, her dark eyes seemingly seeing deep into him before she spoke up. "You're going to kill him, aren't you?"

He opened his mouth to protest such a thing, but a part of him couldn't speak. Allan had betrayed them because of Anna, for all he knew he could have been working with the Sheriff all along and Anna was most certainly working for the Sheriff he knew that. The man was very adept at lying and putting on a façade. He had been a bit disgruntled lately, especially when it concerned money. He had almost convinced Will to take the loot they had gotten from Gisborne's stash and run away to Scarborough.

Robin's initial reaction when he realized Allan had chosen Anna over him was despair. The second reaction was to attack back, to get revenge for what Allan did to him, to also injure him.

He abruptly stood up, steadying himself briefly by putting a hand on the tree trunk before looking down at Djaq. "I really…don't know," he said, "but what I do know is that we're going to find him and save him." With that, he walked down to the rest of the camp, seeing Little John, Walter, and Aaron look up from whatever they were doing around the fire.

"Where is this safe house you all had decided?" he glanced at Walter and Aaron and the two of them scrambled to their feet.

"We can take you there," Aaron said, grabbing his sword and Robin nodded before looking at Djaq and Little John as they too grabbed their weapons. They all headed out of the camp and Robin hoped that Allan and Anna were at the safe house, otherwise, they were probably in the castle and that called for a rescue plan that he did not feel up to planning.

NOTTINGHAM CASTLE

"Your master said this plan was foolproof!" Vaysey shouted, banging his fist down upon the table in Great Hall, making the person standing in front of him flinch at the noise.

"I'm sorry, milord," the sniveling mousy-haired servant muttered back.

"I don't want apologies, I want results!" he shouted before advancing forward and abruptly tilted the young man's face so that they were seeing eye to eye. "I let you in to attack myself and Gisborne here because your master was gracious enough to present to me the seal of Prince John. Do I have to now dismember you in order to get your master's attention that I am completely serious about this?"

"N-No, sire," he looked down, shaking a bit in fear.

"Tell her, that if she doesn't kill Hood by tonight, I'll come to her precious little safe house and burn it down myself, do I make myself clear? I don't care if she's Prince John's little wannabe assassin," he abruptly shoved the mousy-haired servant towards Gisborne who was leaning too casually for his like against the door.

"Gisborne," he managed to put enough sneer into his voice without making it sound like he was completely annoyed by his lack of effort during the tournament, "do make sure Dennis here gets back to his little master. Oh, and if you do happen to see Hood anywhere in town, though I doubt that since her little pawn had done a better job in actually wounding Hood than you, or any of the guards have done in the past few months, do make sure he is dead."

"Milord," Gisborne looked at him with a neutral expression before yanking the young man away and the doors closed behind him.

"And make sure you do it, otherwise…I may have to revisit our little agreement on your leper friend," Vaysey muttered mostly to himself.

KNIGHTON HALL

Marian wrung her hands worriedly as she paced around the room. She barely noticed that three pairs of eyes belonging to her father, Much, and Rowan were watching her walk back and forth. Just once she had seen her father try to approach her, but she had held him at bay with just a single look.

If Robin were to die…

No she couldn't think such thoughts. Robin would live, he would always live. He had been through worst. She had seen the scar he had gotten from the assassin in the Holy Lands. The same scar that had sent him back to her. He would not die from a stab wound.

"I'm sure…" Rowan started quietly before trailing off.

"Robin was up and talking when he sent us off…" Much also started, but his boisterous tone faded into nothing as she continued to pace around.

Where was Will? She had sent him out what she thought was hours ago and he still wasn't back. Did he get caught? Did the Sheriff figure out their ruse? Were they coming to arrest her and her father?

The gentle knock on the house's front door made her jump slightly before she rushed towards it, fumbling with the locks and opened it, only to see Will standing there, a bit breathless.

"Will!" she opened the door fully and let him in before closing it behind her and locking it once more.

"He's fine," was the first thing out of his mouth and she breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the tension she had been feeling since she saw Robin stabbed ebb away. "He was unconscious when I left, but Djaq said that he would live. She was putting stitches-"

"Unconscious?! Stitches?!" Much looked like he was about to faint if he had not been holding onto the railing of the staircase. "I knew we shouldn't have left, I knew it! I should have-"

"Much," Will reached out and grabbed the hysterical man firmly by the shoulder, "He's fine. Djaq says he'll live. It was deep, but it didn't do too much harm to him."

"At least none that she couldn't see," Much muttered, "I mean what if it was infected-"

"Much!" Marian had enough of the man's hysterical ranting. She knew how devoted Much was to Robin, but if he became this panicky each time Robin had been wounded, it was a miracle that he had survived the Holy Lands without passing out from anxiety. "Djaq's a capable healer. Remember what she did for me?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," Much finally quieted down before looking up at Will, "Sorry…I didn't mean…"

Will shook his head, accepting the apology and it was the first time that Marian noticed something about the young carpenter's expression when Much had been talking about Djaq. She recognized the expression…and resisted the urge to giggle at the secret she had discovered about Will's feelings towards the Saracen woman.

"So does that mean we can go back now?" Much looked around brightly.

"Djaq says not to, just in case the Sheriff is only bluffing, but I should go back to Nottingham to make sure that he isn't sending guards out…" Will looked towards the door and Marian thought it was a good idea until she saw that his eyes were not really focused on the words coming out of his own mouth.

"Will," she approached him gently and placed a hand on his arm, "what's wrong? Is it Robin?"

"Huh?" he turned back and stared at her for a second before shaking his head, "oh, no, no, not about Robin, but-"

"Will," she looked at him carefully, "if it isn't about Robin, then why are you so intent on going back to Nottingham?"

"It's…" he looked torn.

"Allan, isn't it?" Much filled in for him, but his tone was full of contempt, "you want to go and look for that traitor."

Will's face turned into a grimace of pain and Marian instantly understood why. She knew through her conversations with Robin that Will and Allan were the best of friends, Allan occasionally mentoring Will and helping him get his life adjusted in the woods since he became an outlaw. To see such a betrayal from such a close friend, it had to be eating at him. But she had thought that he had escaped the town along with Anna and Lydia after she had seen the two women and a young man pick Allan's unconscious body from arena and head towards the gates of Nottingham.

"They've been captured by the Sheriff, haven't they?" she guessed.

"We don't know," Will looked sullen, "but Anna's men said that they had a safe house within Nottingham-"

"Then go," she smile sadly, knowing that it had to be eating him inside for him to follow Robin's orders while he wanted to look for Allan.

"Will-"

"But Robin said-"

"I'm not a delicate wallflower," she replied, "I'll be fine. Rowan can stay in the guest bedroom tonight and I'll send him home tomorrow. Go, before it's too late."

"Y-You sure?" Will had a hopeful expression on his youthful face and Marian nodded.

"Go," she repeated her assent and Will gave her a grateful look before hurrying out of her house, Much following close behind. She saw the worried look Much gave to her, Rowan, and her father before he disappeared, closing the door behind him.

"That was a very brave thing you did, Marian," her father spoke up from where he stood in, mostly silent ever since they had returned to their home. "Either very brave or very foolish."

"I know," she replied.

NOTTINGHAM TOWN

It was easier to sneak past the guards when they were still in the throes of the nightly celebration from the three-day tournament. Most of them had a little too much to drink and were only half awake guarding the gates to Nottingham town. They had slipped in just as easily behind a group of raucous tournament goers and both Walter and Aaron lead them through the winding side streets of the walled town to a ramshackle looking building that was about two stories tall and mashed in between other closed shops and houses.

"Stay out of sight," he cautioned both Djaq and Little John, the burlier man moving down the street and stayed by another house near an intersection to make sure no guards were nearby.

"What about us?" Walter hissed as he prepared to climb to the second story, which he could see flickering lights of candles signaling that someone was inside the building.

"You two come from the bottom. And if you even think about any funny business-"

"If Anna did kill our leader, we'll deal with her," Aaron growled, looking a bit surly. Robin didn't blame them, but it also did not mean he implicitly trusted them to watch his back.

He nodded at them before grabbing hold of an awning and pulled himself up. Once there, he shuffled to the side and grabbed another awning and his feet found purchase on a couple of beams of wood sticking out from the side. He climbed all the way up and slid to the side of the building where the windows were open and he heard soft voices coming from the room.

Carefully peering in, he saw a flash of curly-blonde hair and pulled his head back slightly before he thought she saw him by the window.

"Are you still angry at me?" Anna's voice floated out of the window, "I did it because I was afraid to lose you."

"If you were so afraid, why couldn't you just tell me the truth?" Allan's voice floated back the reply and Robin's grip on his perch tightened.

"That I wanted you to stay in Rochdale? That I am sorry I loved both your brother and you? That I was just a silly little girl who couldn't choose which one of her heart's desire she should pursue?" Anna gave a bitter laugh and Robin realized that he had misjudged Allan.

By the way Anna was talking; he had never realized what implications were for Allan and why he had left Rochdale. In all the months had known the man, never once did he realize how much the thief had not told him about his past. He had kept it buried within him, so deep that it had only begun to reappear when Anna showed up in Treeton. It sounded like they were star-crossed lovers, pulled apart by family and society status differences, reunited under the most bitter of circumstances.

"I'm sorry," hesitation now clouded Anna's soft voice, "I'm sorry I drove you away. I should have kept you closer…"

A slight bit of uneasiness filled Robin. He felt like he shouldn't listen to such a private conversation, heart-wrenching as it was, but… He realized that no one was talking anymore and peeked in just in time to see both Allan and Anna standing in the middle of the room, their lips locked in the gentlest kiss he had ever seen. The tenderness between the two of them reminded Robin of him and Marian in some ways, but he could see tears on Anna's face. She had been crying…did she regret whatever deal she had made with the Sheriff?

He had no concrete proof, but it was all too simple to see the puzzle pieces fit together in regards to Anna's deal with the Sheriff. She was no different than Allan or even Tom, conning people to get her way, making deals and double-crossing them. But…

He cursed silently as he made a fist and gently hammered the wall he was sidled up against. Why did everything have to be so complicated? He suddenly heard the closing of a door and peered in to see that Anna had left, leaving Allan alone in the room. This was his chance, he realized, to get some straight answers and finally figure out what he was going to do with the man that had betrayed him.

Making sure his grip was secure; he quietly vaulted through the open window and landed cat-like. Removing his bow strapped across his shoulder, he notched an arrow into it, but held it pointed down on the ground.

"I was wondering where my attacker went off to," he started conversationally, startling Allan who spun around and looked at him owlishly.

"Robin," he looked surprised, "I…"

"Save it," all of the sympathy he had felt earlier at seeing Allan and Anna was replaced by anger as he stepped forward, letting Allan see his notched bow clearly in the flickering candlelight. "Why did you do it Allan?"

"I…" he looked away for a second, his face a conflict of emotions, "I didn't know, I couldn't let her die; Robin you saw her being held hostage by the Sheriff! I couldn't just let her die!"

"Did you know she was working for the Sheriff?" he asked, hoping to startle him with his announcement and was a bit puzzled to see him look down instead. He tilted his head, "You knew…"

"Yeah-"

"You knew and you still went along with it?!" now Robin was really angry and brought his bow up, pointing it straight at Allan.

"Whoa, wait, Robin-"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you dead right now," he said icily, a part of him despairing at the knowledge that Allan knew about Anna's involvement with the Sheriff and yet still went along with her plan.

"I didn't know until a few hours ago!" the thief half-shouted, "I thought…I thought she was really trapped by the Sheriff that Gisborne was going to kill her. I didn't have a choice-"

"We all have a choice," he cut Allan off viciously, "we all have a choice whether to do it the easy way or the hard way."

"Because I love her, that's why! Because I can't see another person I love die! I saw my brother die because you couldn't save him in time. I won't see another person I care for hang or worst be killed in front of me!" Allan shouted.

Robin shook his head, his expression stricken, "Did you think so little of me that I would let Anna die if I had known what was going on? Did you think that I did not try to save your brother? Allan…"

"Of course you didn't save Tom-a-Dale. Why would you, he was nothing more than a peasant in your eyes. A thief, a low life," the door suddenly opened and Anna stood there, a sword in hand, her hazel eyes blazing with anger.

Robin immediately focused his arrow on Anna and quickly glanced to see Allan standing to the side, surprised.

"Anna, what are you-"

"This is the man that killed Tom, the one who would surely kill you now because of what you did. What are you standing there for, Allan? Finish it!" Anna looked at Allan incredulously and Robin dared to dart a look back to see if Allan was going to comply with her orders.

However, he saw that the thief was frozen on the spot, his head swiveling back and forth between the two of them, his expression torn and confused.

"Allan!"

"Allan, don't do this," Robin warned out of the corner of his mouth, "you can still turn back-"

"Why are you hesitating! Kill him!" Anna screamed before suddenly she launched herself at him and Robin fired off his arrow.

The arrow glanced past her shoulder and he immediately blocked her wild overhead blow with his bow before kicking her roughly in the stomach. She was knocked back into the bed and tumbled head over heels to the other side with a shriek and Robin made a move to follow when Allan stepped in front of him grabbing at his arms.

"No, wait!" Allan pushed against him.

"Move," Robin narrowed his eyes, "Allan-"

"Please, don't," the taller man looked scared, "don't hurt-"

Anna stood up with a furious cry, her hair askew, and sword still in hand before she rounded the bed and suddenly Allan turned and held his hands spread from his body like a shield.

"Anna, please stop!" he said, his voice cracking with emotion.

"What are you doing?! Get out of the way!"

"No, I'm not going to let you kill Robin either," he looked stricken; "I know you loved Tom, but Robin did not kill him. Tom was a fool, Anna, he knew he was the main reason why we left Rochdale and he got himself killed because of his recklessness!"

"You lie! Tom was-"

"He was a fool," Allan reiterated, "I didn't even want to save him when the Sheriff announced that they were going to hang. Robin was the one to convince me otherwise. Don't you see? The person you should be killing is me, not Robin. I didn't even want to save my own brother…"

The fury suddenly drained from Anna's face, only to be replaced by sorrow and something Robin couldn't exactly identify. "Oh Allan," she reached out a tentative hand when just as suddenly the door flew open once more and Robin immediately ducked as the silvery glint of a dagger went flying just where his head used to be and impacted the wall.

"Dennis!" Anna looked surprised, "what are you…?"

"The Sheriff wants him dead so I will kill him before he can kill you, milady!" Dennis lunged towards Robin only to be held in check by both Anna and Lydia who had come from behind to stop her brother.

"No!" Allan made a move to go forward, but Robin grabbed his arm and pulled him back, seeing the look on Anna's face. He recognized that look, having seen it on many of his soldiers in the Holy Lands. It was the face of one who had accepted his or her fate and understood what was at stake. He saw Anna look at him before her gaze traveled to the candlesticks in the room and he knew what she was planning to do.

He shook his head, unable to keep the pain from his own face. There had to be another way… He was about to speak up when Anna smiled, barely restraining Dennis who was still fighting to reach Robin.

"Allan, I'm sorry, forgive me. But please, wait outside while I deal with Dennis," she asked gently and Robin slackened his grip on Allan's arm slightly as he nodded, unaware of what the real conversation was happening silently between her and Robin. For some odd reason, it gave comfort to Robin that Anna still knew the subtle communications of the nobility through eyes and little slight gestures that would have gone unnoticed to the rest of the populace, Allan included.

"Robin," she looked at him, "I…owe you an apology…and my thanks."

He shouldered his bow and nodded before ushering Allan out of the door and closed it firmly behind him. Robin bowed his head slightly for a second before heading downstairs, his heart heavy, but he knew what he had to do. He heard Allan follow him silently and when they reached the first floor he turned and looked at the thief.

"I can't come back, can I?" Allan looked very forlorn and lost.

"We'll see," Robin still hadn't quite made up his mind about Allan yet, but for now, he would do as Anna had entrusted him. He glanced to his left and saw both Walter and Aaron a bit bloodied and unconscious, but definitely not dead. It looked like Dennis had incapacitated them before heading upstairs to try to kill him. He was about to move towards them when he smelled the first signs of smoke and glanced up the stairs to see little puffs of it seeping out from underneath the door.

"Why does it…" Allan followed his gaze and his eyes widened in shock, but before he could make a move, Robin was ready for him and grabbed onto him tightly.

"Djaq! Little John!" he shouted, trying to restrain Allan's flailing arms with little success and the pounding of feet before Will and Much's faces appeared before him and helped him drag the protesting thief out of the building and into the street.

"What are you-"

"Marian sent us," Will provided by way of an explanation as they all held onto Allan who was screaming curses at them while trying to get back in. Out in the street, Robin looked up and saw that the second floor of the building was already beginning to burn…

"Robin, the Sheriff's men!" Little John ran from where he had been looking out and he looked behind Little John to see the distant forms of soldiers running towards the burning building.

"Quick, Much, Little John, get Walter and Aaron. Then let's go!" he ducked an elbow to his face from Allan before finally punching the man in the head, knocking him out. He winced a bit as he shook out his hand, bone on bone hurt a lot.

Djaq suddenly appeared from another corner of the street, leading four horses already all saddled up towards them. Robin quickly mounted his and accepted Allan's unconscious form across his saddle before noting that Much was helping Little John put Walter across his saddle and Djaq helped Much drape Aaron's form across his saddle before she and Will mounted the last horse. Seeing that all of his men were secured, he gave the burning building one more glance before spurring his horse on just Nottingham's soldiers' shouts were within hearing range.

He could hear the cries of the soldiers shouting to get water, to go after them, and to evacuate the buildings nearby before everything got out of control as they rode through the streets and into the main street of Nottingham town before charging past the startled guards at the gates and made a beeline towards the forest.

In all of this, he never noticed a small figure stealthily climbing up the side of the burning building and disappear inside.

OUTLAWS' CAMP, SHERWOOD FOREST

It was near midday the next morning when Allan awakened, finding himself tied to a rather large tree trunk. He shifted against his bonds and that was when Robin finally noticed that he was awake. He dropped the stick he had been whittling to make a new arrow and approached Allan who looked up a bit owlishly at him before his gaze became flat.

"I guess I'm going to be killed," he muttered sullenly and Robin didn't blame him.

His hip wound was still pulsating a fiery pain, especially with the climbing and riding he had done last night. Djaq had chided him for doing such strenuous activity and immediately gave a liquid herb that had made him fall into a deep sleep to which he had only woken up an hour or so ago.

"Is that what you really want? To die tied up?" he asked carefully.

"No," Allan replied, "I want to live, breathe, same as you. But…" He looked away for a second, "the room, it was burning wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"You knew she was going to burn herself," Allan said and he blinked in surprise.

"Yes," the words fell out of his mouth before he could recall them.

He gave him a sarcastically faint smile, "She taught me, you know. Taught me how to be all like you, like her. Like a noble…"

"You let yourself be led out of there," Robin was very surprised. "You knew what she intended to do…why?"

Allan looked down and Robin thought he saw a bit of unshed tears in his eyes, "Because I thought she was going to follow, after Dennis…why did you stop me?!"

Robin wanted to say because he knew Anna wanted to die. To atone for her own sins and grief, and to ultimately free Allan from the burdens of his past. He wanted to say that Anna knew Allan now belonged here, with a new liege to serve so to speak. One that would never test his loyalty nor ask more than he could give. That Allan was now free to choose his path, whether it be for good or for worst – the easy or the hard path. But he knew he couldn't say any of it. They weren't his words to say…they were Allan's own words to find.

He sighed and reached over and cut the bonds holding him to the tree. "I can't tell you the reason why, that's for you to figure out, Allan. But, it's now up to you to decide where your loyalties lie." He gestured to the forest and to the rest of the camp, knowing that the others were still sitting by the fire, with the exception of Walter and Aaron who had taken their share of the loot back to Rochdale earlier in the morning after promising to help the poor in the town.

"If you decide to stay here, know that I will never test your loyalty to me or to our cause. But if you end up betraying me ever again, I will personally find you and deal with you myself."

"So, that's it? I can leave?"

"With your share of the spoils if you wish," he said in a simple tone, "you can return to Rochdale, or even go wherever you wish. But you will never be welcomed back again."

"She's dead, isn't she?"

"We heard reports that they found bodies in what was left of the safe house…"

He saw Allan look towards the woods and up at the ceiling of green leaves before scratching the back of his hair. "Some tournament, huh…"

Robin couldn't agree more. "Some tournament."

KNIGHTON HALL

She was loaded gently onto a cart in the twilight hours of the dusky evening. Her wounds were still healing and a shawl covered her face to hide her disfigurement and burns. But she was alive…

"How do I thank you?" her voice once boisterous and full of live was now just a mere crackle of what it once was.

"This is my thank you to you for saving my life, my father's life, and Rowan's life. Without Dennis' aide under your orders, we would have been in deeper trouble. So consider this a debt repaid," Marian replied, placing a gentle hand on her cloth covered one. She was still dressed in a facsimile outfit of the Nightwatchman that she had hastily found deep in her chest of clothes the night before. But she had made sure no one had seen her slip in and out of her home.

"I promise I will write and explain everything to you," she said faintly as the cart started off its long journey to the nunnery at Rufford.

"Farewell, Anna," she lifted her hand in a wave of goodbye as the cart disappeared over a ridge and into the woods.

~END~

Author's Final Notes/Q&A:

I hope you all enjoyed reading Tournament, technically the second episode in my virtual season of Robin Hood, Post Season 1. This story leads straight into my next one, called Quarantine. Quarantine will bridge the events of Tournament into The Assassin's Gift, so for those of you who have already read TAG, you can now re-read it with a better understanding of Allan's mental state in that story. As always, I enjoy your reviews and comments!

What did you base this story on?

This story was written after I wondered what it would be like to expand on the silver arrow episode. I had planned Allan's betrayal of the gang long before I even saw or heard of Season 2's take of Allan's betrayal so I was quite surprised to see how it was handled. My beta and I agreed that we both felt Allan's reason for betraying the gang in the real Season 2 was pretty petty. So she wanted me to flesh out this one into him having something more than money.

Is that why you gave him a love interest?

Sort of. I always had Anna in the back of my mind while I was planning out my little set of stories. I always envisioned a star-crossed lovers type of thing between Allan and Anna, more to the effect of Romeo and Juliet. The funny thing was that I originally was going to have Anna go berserk and accidentally kill herself in the fire instead of committing suicide, but by having her commit suicide to "free" Allan from his burdens seemed more poignant. As you can see, she survived only through Marian's intervention. That will be a major discussion in Quarantine.

Speaking of Anna, she's always lying, plotting. What's up with that?

Anna is very insecure, if you couldn't tell. Actually the actress I had envisioned to play her if I was filming this was Anna-Louise Plowman, who played Sarah/Osiris on Stargate SG-1. I like to pretend Anna's always lying and plotting because of her background. She is a noble, and has that nobility disdain for lower class people, yet she tries too hard to hide it and bury it that it manifests so wrongly for her. It's why she was so irrational and believed that Robin had deliberately killed Tom and not the other way around.

Any other questions can be directed either in your reviews or through private messaging! Thank you again for reading! Here's your updated list and the list of how the stories are supposed to be read!

Well Met Steel – completed

Tournament – completed

Quarantine – in progress

The Assassin's Gift – completed

Solace of Silence – in progress (takes place pre-Robin Hood)

Witch Hazel – planning stages

The Return of King Richard Trilogy – planning stages