Hey hey! The winners of the review game are Watership's Nightwish Rat and Charlotte! And their prize is an all-expenses-paid trip to virtual cookieville! I tweaked the second half of the last chapter just in case you want to check it out.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sherwood Forest, so by extension, I don't own Robin Hood
"I killed my parents," Kiara stated breathlessly.
Azeem rushed into the room knelt next to Marian, and put his hand to Kiara's face. Archer trailed behind the Moor.
"Archer, this is an adult conversation," Marian said gently. "Go over to the Little's and tell them that you need to spend the night there."
Normally, Archer would have argued that he was old enough to hear what was going on. This time, though, even the seven year old boy could tell that he did not want to be present for this talk. Archer nodded obediently and headed out the door toward the Little's hut.
"Kiara, tell us what happened," Marian urged in a soft voice.
Azeem dipped a cloth in a bowl of water and dabbed Kiara's face with the damp cloth in an attempt to cool her down.
Kiara struggled to find the words. She just stared forward as she tried to slow her breathing.
"Kiara," Marian repeated. She placed her hand over the orphan girl's as a sign of comfort. "You can tell us. Nobody here will judge you for anything you say."
Kiara took a deep breath. "Ever since I left France, pieces of memories appear in my dreams. Sometimes they are from before my parents died, but most of them are from the day of my parents' death." Kiara swallowed back her tears. "But never before have I seen a full memory, just flashes of objects: a boot, a sword, a tree. The worst of all is the silhouette encapuchonnée."
"Did this cloaked figure appear tonight?" Marian asked.
By this point, Azeem had stopped wetting Kiara's face and let the girl describe her nightmare. Sometimes, talking a problem out was the best form of healing.
"Tonight, I relived their death. I was out on my first hunt. Suddenly, these men, English-speakers, began chasing me. I escaped, but I found my parents fighting with similar men. I shot an arrow through the chest of the one trying to violate my mother. He died instantly. My father managed to defeat his opponents and we embraced each other like our lives depended on it." Kiara began weeping into her hands. "Then, out of nowhere, this cloaked man showed up with more men and they tore us away from each other! I do not remember the fight." Kiara looked up and Marian could see the tears staining the girl's cheeks. "All I remember was my parents lying dead on the ground and my hands covered in blood while the hooded figure kept saying 'You killed them!' After that, I fled before the man could take me wherever he planned on taking me."
There was a long moment of silence.
"The mind works in strange ways," Azeem explained after finally coming up with the right words. "Just because something happened in a dream does not mean that is exactly what happened in reality."
"But it was so detailed!" Kiara exclaimed. "The only part I did not see was my parents actually dying."
"Then that does not mean that you killed them," Azeem reasoned.
Kiara wanted to argue, but Azeem's reply made total sense.
Suddenly, Robin walked into the house from his night watch-duty. Robin had decided to increase patrols with the sheriff's clear interest in capturing Kiara. "I saw Archer heading over to Little John's. What happened?"
"Everything is fine, Robin," Marian insisted as she stood up to address her husband. "Kiara was just having a nightmare. Azeem and I needed to talk it out with her."
"Are you sure?" Robin inquired, directing the question at Kiara more than Marian.
Kiara sighed and said, "Tout va bien, Monsieur Robin. I am simply having a bad night."
Robin accepted the girl's answer with a nod.
Kiara stood up from her cot and flattened her dress. "I think I will go outside and watch the stars. The night sky has always helped me when my dreams keep me awake at night."
"Go ahead, dear," Marian responded.
After Kiara left the hut, Robin stepped closer to Azeem. "Azeem, what's really wrong with Kiara?"
Azeem got off his knees and dusted off his robes. He let out a deep breath. "Somebody in her past convinced her that the death of her parents lies on her shoulders, and that guilt has finally caught up with her."
"Wait, so Kiara killed her parents?!" Robin questioned.
"I do not believe so. I believe that her mind is blocking out their actual deaths, so what she does remember is playing tricks on her."
"Well then how can we get her to remember who the murderer was?!" Robin replied.
"All she remembers is a cloaked figure," Marian answered. "But at least she knew the figure was a man."
Robin sighed and placed his hand to his forehead.
"Robin, Kiara has experienced more than any child should. Perhaps even more than any member of the Crusades. She will remember everything when she is ready." Azeem wiped the water off his hands with a dry cloth and left the hut.
Outside, Kiara was laying on her back on the platform holding up the huts as she stared up at the stars. Suddenly, the sound of heavy boots echoed on the wooden boards.
Wulf sat down next to Kiara. "Twice in one day? We need to stop meeting like this."
Kiara chuckled lightly.
"So why are you out here?" Wulf asked.
"Bad dream," Kiara stated. Her eyes were still focused on the sky above her.
"Was it about your parents?" Wulf guessed.
"How did you know?" Kiara turned her head toward the boy.
"Traumatic events tend to stay with us, even years after they happen." Wulf kept his eyes on the stars so Kiara wouldn't see the tears in his eyes.
"Do you know this from experience?" Kiara inquired.
"Eight years ago, I almost died," Wulf explained. He shifted his head to the side. Kiara could see the pain in his eyes as he recounted his tale. "The old sheriff had taken a bunch of Robin's men, including me, as prisoners. As a 'wedding gift' to Maid Marian, he was going to hang us all in front of Nottingham castle. In his dungeons, I was beaten and shackled. If it were not for Robin, Azeem, Will, my parents, and the others, I would have died. I was seconds away from suffocating. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night feeling like the rope is still around my throat."
"Oh Wulf, quelle horreur!" Kiara exclaimed.
"But I am sure it is nothing compared to what your dream was," Wulf dismissed.
Kiara turned her head back to the sky. "Well I awoke convinced that my eye was freshly cut and my parents' blood covered my hands."
Wulf looked taken aback. "That definitely is worse."
Both teenagers returned to silent stargazing. However, for once, it was a comfortable silence. They had reached a new level of understanding with each other.
Wulf reached out his hand and it grazed Kiara's fingers before he settled his hand next to hers. They were not exactly holding hands, but it was close.
I know this is a short chapter, but the next one is going to take place a week later and revolve around the sheriff. Review if you think you know who the hooded figure is from the last chapter.