Disclaimer: I don't own Robin Hood or other related characters. These characters belong to the BBC and Tiger Aspect companies and are their properties. I'm not getting anything from this except a lot of enjoyment and hopefully you are too.
Author's notes: This is the chapter when Achilles enters the story properly. Hopefully some people have been able to figure out who it is. But I promise that this doesn't signal the end of the story just yet (personally I don't want it to end at all, but alas it must). This chapter took the longest to write and some things have happened that I never intended to happen but have quickly become an important part of the story. Here it is I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 6: Enter Achilles
Faith began to regain consciousness. Her surroundings swam around her as she slowly opened her eyes. She was staring at a hard stone floor. Raising her head she saw two rather menacing walls to either side of her, which she was chained to by some wrist shackles that held her up, while the wall opposite her was composed of bars. She was strung across one of the cells in the dungeons of Nottingham castle. She swore under her breath and breathed out in frustration. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Outside the cell a rather excited jailer was leering at her through the bars.
"Someone's in trouble." He jeered with a wide grin. "The Sheriff is coming to see you later. Rather you than me." Faith took in her surroundings and ran the scenario through in her head. She calculated the possible outcomes of this predicament. The Sheriff would turn up. Not good. Robin and the others would turn up only for their entry to be detected. Not good. Both Robin and the Sheriff would turn up. Even worse. She slumped so she wouldn't see the jailer's ugly face. This was not a good day.
Much hid behind a beam not far from the castle gate. He was all for rescuing Faith but he couldn't remember how he'd got into being the distraction so the others could get in undetected. He slid out from his hiding place and whistled loudly.
"Hey!" he yelled. "Idiots! Bet you can't catch me!" The guards began to run at Much who turned and ran off into the streets of Nottingham. "I hate being the distraction." He muttered under his breath.
Robin watched his former manservant lead the guards away from the gates and he along with the others slipped in through them silently. Each of them found places to hide around the courtyard like under a cart or behind a barrel, while some more guards rushed past to watch the gate again. Allan was next to Robin and when they'd passed he whispered to his leader.
"That was too easy." Robin nodded. He stood up and crossed the courtyard and found an open door that was unguarded. He signalled the others and they quietly followed him. Entering the castle corridor they all hid in an alcove.
"We need to split up." Robin told them. They nodded in agreement. "She's likely to be in the dungeons but she could be anywhere."
They decided to split into the same teams as when they were in Locksley; Allan with Robin and Will with Little John.
Faith couldn't stay in the cell. She knew that Robin and the others would attempt a rescue. Then surely they'd find out. She knew they'd find out eventually, that was as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening. She couldn't just do nothing.
The adaptable girl stood up and took the strain on her chains. Taking a deep breath she pulled on them, attempting to remove them from the walls with sheer strength. It was well known that the Sheriff tended to be tight-fisted when paying for his castle to be updated, making it that little bit easier to rip the fixed chain points from the wall. Even so it was incredibly difficult and Faith was beginning to turn red from lack of oxygen yet she didn't stop pulling.
After several minutes the wall gave in and the chains were wrenched free. Faith collapsed onto the cold, hard, cobbled floor and gasped desperately for breath allowing the oxygen to flow round her body and bring feeling back to her limbs. The shackles were still clasped round her thin wrists but at least she wasn't strung up like a piece of meat anymore.
Getting to her knees, she finished catching her breath. Time was swiftly growing short so Faith stood up and slowly made her way to the locked door. The jailer was nowhere to be seen, having tired of taunting the girl quite quickly. Picking the lock would be simple. Moving around the vast guard-ridden castle unnoticed while dragging chains behind her; that would be the challenge.
Allan could hear his heart beating heavily against his chest. Both he and Robin had managed to move around unchallenged by guards which made them wary. He was worried. He kept getting the feeling that someone was following them but every time he turned there was no one to be seen. Robin wasn't speaking, most likely focusing all his attention on keeping unseen. Creeping had always been tricky in the castle as there were very few places to hide in the corridors so if they were seen they would have to make a run for it.
Before they split up Robin had spoken to them as a group.
"I doubt he will have put her in the dungeons. He'll expect us to look there first" He had whispered. Allan, Will and John had nodded and they'd split up.
They carried on in silence. The only sound was their feet clopping on the stone floor as they moved through the numerous corridors. Allan could feel his stomach doing somersaults in his body. There was no way this much silence could be good news. Surely there'd at least be the odd couple of guards chatting to each other or servants walking to and from each room, but no; nothing; no one. Something wasn't right.
Suddenly, a hand clamped itself around Allan's mouth. His hands shot up to his mouth as a reflex. He tried to shout but the hand had his mouth clamped shut tight and he felt himself being dragged backwards, away from Robin who hadn't noticed. Allan struggled with all of his might. He kicked and twisted trying to get free or at least to alert Robin but his efforts were futile. Allan was dragged, still struggling, into a room and thrown to the floor by his captor. His head hit the floor quite hard. It wasn't enough to knock him out but it was enough to make him severely disorientated. He tried to stand up but was knocked down again by a heavy blow to the back of his head. This time he was barely conscious.
"Who's there?" he croaked weakly at his assailant. "Who are you?" Allan was given a swift kick to the face and he was finally unconscious.
Gisborne looked at the pitiful outlaw sprawled helplessly on the floor; although it had taken longer to knock him out than he had anticipated. Usually one blow was enough to keep them sleeping for hours.
Allan's mouth was surrounded by blood that was pouring from his nose and mouth. Also he had a deep cut on the left side of his forehead from his second impact with the floor. Gisborne glanced at his boots and grimaced as he saw that they were spattered with blood.
"You're a bit messy, Gisborne." Said the Sheriff from the shadows of the room. "Did you have to make such a mess?"
"He was resilient, my Lord." Said Gisborne, smiling at the limp figure at his feet.
"Yes, well," the Sheriff commented staying well back, "that's the problem with outlaws. Peasants don't bother to fight; they know they're beat. Outlaws have more spirit. Makes them harder to break." The Sheriff shuffled forward tentatively. "Mind you, there is a lot of blood. He'll be no use if he's dead" He walked round the room to the door making every attempt not to touch the body. "Make sure you bring him with you." And he opened the door and left.
Robin had crept round everywhere and hadn't seen Faith. He reached the great hall where the Sheriff had held the feast on Robin's return from the Holy Land. Now it was empty. Cautiously Robin scanned the room. No one was here.
"There's no one here, Allan." He said. "Let's keep look-" he turned and saw Allan wasn't there anymore. "Allan!" he called retreating part way down the passage. "Allan!"
"I think your friend might be lost." Came a cold, snide voice. Robin turned and saw the Sheriff and several guards coming towards him from another corridor. The outlaw removed an arrow from his quiver and drew his bow.
"Come no closer," ordered Robin, "or I shall shoot." The Sheriff laughed but stopped where he was stood.
"You can shoot me if you want Hood." He turned to one of his guards. "Will my last words be a mutter of regret, hm?" he turned back to Robin. "A clue: no. They'll probably be 'Kill those men.'." he pointed to something behind his nemesis.
Slowly Robin turned, still gripping his bow, and felt a wash of guilt. Behind him were three guards. One of them had Will in a headlock while the other two were struggling to restrain Little John. Both were wearing apologetic looks on their faces. Not long ago, Robin had sworn that if anyone was harmed as a means of getting to him, he would kill the smarmy Sheriff. But if he shot the Sheriff, his comrades would be killed. He put the arrow back in his quiver and hooked his bow over his shoulder. Vaizey laughed at the feeling of power over his enemy.
"Why don't we all go in the hall, hm?" Robin allowed himself to be shepherded through the hall doors and down the wooden steps. Will and Little John followed somewhat more reluctantly, Will having been released from his headlock. "This is fun isn't it?" The Sheriff seemed to be struggling to stop himself from skipping as he walked. "All of us here. But wait," he put up a finger, "we're missing someone, aren't we?" he clicked his fingers and another guard came through the door roughly escorting Much. Robin's former manservant seemed angry at getting himself caught.
"I'm sorry, master." He apologised. Robin shook his head.
"You needn't be. We got in." The Sheriff clapped his hands in delight.
"Oh, today is a good day." He paraded in front of the outlaws.
"You disgust me." Said Robin.
"Oh don't worry, Hood." Vaizey stopped before the man who had stood in his way many times before. "You're not the one I'm after for once. No it's you're charming little friend, I want. And she ought to be here any second now."
Faith was walking cautiously through the corridors. She hadn't liked having the shackles clinging hard to her wrists and had spent a long time attempting to slide them free. It hadn't been easy and blood had been drawn. She still carried one of the chains so she could use it to attack anyone who stood in her way.
Things didn't feel right. There was a particularly ominous feel about the corridors. Faith didn't know where she was going to go. Running away would be considerably difficult. Staying would be dangerous. She sighed. Why did she have to make decisions like this? It would be easier to have them made for her.
She heard some footsteps behind her and swung round. She came face to face with a guard.
"'Ere you should be in the dungeons." He said.
"Should I?" he approached her and drew his sword. Faith swung the chain round her head and it swung into the side of the guard, making him double-up.
"You little-"The girl hooked the chain round his neck and pulled from behind causing him to choke.
"I'm really sorry, I wouldn't do this normally but times change and so do people." She didn't want to kill him. Just subdue him. "Can you tell me where I can find the Sheriff?" she loosened her grip so he could talk.
"He's…he's in the great hall…with his prisoners." He struggled to breathe.
"Prisoners?"
"Yes…Hood…and his gang…they entered the castle."
"Where's the great hall?"
"That way." He croaked, pointing don the corridor. He could almost feel the air leaving his lungs and passed out. Faith took the chain from round his neck and lowered him on to the floor placing the chain beside him.
"I'm sorry and thank you." She whispered as she took his sword. Faith then stepped over his unconscious body heading towards the great hall.
Slowly Faith walked through the door to the great hall and began to descend the wooden steps. She saw Will and Little John being restrained by some guards while Robin stood on his own not far from the Sheriff who was dressed in his black robes.
"At last," said the Sheriff, "the guest of honour arrives. I believe you're what could be called 'fashionably late'." He saw the sword in her hand as she stopped half-way down. "Oh and she's brought a toy." Robin looked at the sword. It was standard issue for the guards of the castle. He glanced further up and saw blood trickling from her wrists.
"What happened?" he said concerned.
"Oh," the Sheriff was very sarcastic, "your new friends care about you."
"At least someone cares about me." Faith said spitefully. The Sheriff's smile slipped.
"What?" the impertinent girl smiled slightly.
"You heard me." Robin grinned. She seemed surer of herself now than she did earlier. The Sheriff wasn't very happy anymore.
"I wonder," he said out loud, "if they know who you are." Faith stopped smiling. She knew this would happen. "I wonder, if they'll care as much when they know." He looked her right in the eyes and she saw that he would tell them. She'd never doubted it. "Come down here and see your little friends, hm?" Faith continued down the stairs.
"You're not very observant, are you?" she said.
"What do you mean?" he seemed irritable and Faith just wanted to see how far she could push him before he lost it.
"You said 'little friends' yet it is clearly obvious that I am smaller than they are." She smiled again as she reached the foot of the stairs and stopped. "All power and no brains, that's you isn't it?" Vaizey scowled. "Oh, have I hit a nerve?"
"You are already treading on thin ice." He said through gritted teeth.
"Well, I believe that if I am, as you say, treading on thin ice that I have every right to jump up and down on it." Her grin seemed to be taunting him. His face wore a look of pure hatred now. "Are you angry with me, big scary man?" she said patronisingly and then she laughed. He struck her across the face with the back of his hand.
"Hey!" said Robin. He stepped forward but the guard holding Will grabbed him, pulling him back.
Straightening up, Faith lifted her hand to her face. Pulling her fingers away she saw there was blood. The Sheriff waved the hand he'd struck her with. There were two rings on his fingers; they must have cut her cheek as he smacked her. Now she was over the initial shock of his actions she just shrugged it off.
"I must have really upset you for you to backslap me."
"You were supposed to kill him."
"What?" said Robin. What did the Sheriff mean?
Vaizey smiled.
"Shall I tell them?" he said. Faith wasn't smiling anymore and she didn't reply either. "Now you decide not to talk."
"Faith? What is he talking about?"
"Faith?" the Sheriff practically laughed with delight. "Is that what you told them your name is?"
Much watched. Suddenly something clicked in his head and it all made sense.
"No." he said in disbelief.
"Do you think he's twigged?" asked the Sheriff, calming down.
"No." Much said again.
"Yes."
"Much what is it?" Will said.
"She's that assassin." He said. "The one that Peter warned you about."
Robin turned from his former manservant to Faith. He didn't want to believe it but it all made sense. She had shot him and when she hadn't killed him had no doubt given them money to gain their trust. He shook his head.
"Faith." He said quietly. "You're Achilles?"
Next: Duel to the Death