Author's Note: The usual disclaimer applies.
I am so very sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I've even broken my own personal rule of not posting before the next chapter is written because you all deserve the next chapter. I have been exceptionally busy the past few days, but I will hopefully get back on schedule tomorrow. I am preparing to move into college next weekend and I have also been out of state playing softball so I haven't been with my computer to work on anything. I am about halfway through writing chapter 8 at this moment. The plan is to finish chapter 8 and 9 tomorrow when I get home from the tournament I'm playing in. If I am feeling particularly inspired I will attempt to write chapter 10 as well. Please continue reviewing especially in regards to pairings because I am attempting to start establishing pairings from the next chapter forward. If there is anything that would especially bother you please message me or leave a review because I do not have personal pairings that I really prefer, it is all about what I feel is believable with the characters, but if there is any sort of pairing that would turn you off to my story please let me know because I don't want to turn readers away. Thanks again, I'll shut up now so you can read the next chapter. Cheers.
Nottingham Castle
Robin and the gang continued walking towards the remaining rubble of Nottingham Castle. They were moving a lot slower than they wanted to, Robin was still hindered by bouts of pain and fatigue. The rest of the gang knew they should probably stop and take a break, for Robin's sake. But they also knew their leader, he was determined to get to Nottingham and short of another full blown injury or illness, nothing could stop him.
Allan and Will walked ahead with Robin, while the rest of the gang hung back a few paces. The strategy was normal for their trips to the castle, but their motivation behind it was different. In normal circumstances, three would go ahead so if an ambush was planned, they would find it before the others who could either hide or attack back depending on the size of the threat.
Today the reason for the three ahead strategy was due to Robin's condition. He wanted to continue as normal, so there was no stopping him from attempting to surge ahead, but Allan and Will accompanied him only out of fear for their leader's safety. At this point they would have all preferred to be as close as possible. Almost losing multiple people in one day takes a toll on company morale after all.
As they neared Nottingham, it was evident that Prince John had sent men ahead. They could see signs of their camps the closer they got to the castle. But the unsettling thing was that they didn't see any of the actual men, just their supplies. Other than a pair of Prince John's guards posted at the entrance to the castle, they didn't see another enemy for as far as their eyes could reach.
They decided to split into two groups. Little John, Allan, Archer, and Robin would be the first group. And Will, Djaq, and Tuck would be the second. They wanted to be able to cover the castle as quickly as possible so there would be less chance of running into Prince John's other guards that had to be hidden in the castle since they weren't outside. The groups split at the edge of the forest and approached the guards from the sides. Allan was at the lead of the first group and Will was at the lead of the second. The two made eye contact and then rushed forward at the guards. They slew them with one stroke of their weapons and the guards crumpled to the ground.
Allan's group headed to the left while Will's group headed to the right. The groups canvased the castle, only finding a mass number of dead Sheriff's guards, and a lot of rubble. Then Allan's group came to the room where they had thought they would make their last stand only a day ago. The first thing they saw was Isabella; she lay covered in blood from the wound they could only assume had killed her. As they shifted around through the room, they heard a groaning noise. The four quickly turned to where the sound had come from and saw Sheriff Vasey sitting trapped under the rubble. They could see blood on him that they assumed had come from injuries. Allan drew his blade and ran at the Sheriff with the intention of killing him. But Robin let out a roar, "NO!"
"There will be no more bloodshed today Allan." Robin appeared weary as he looked at the bodies that surrounded him. "Robin, he tried to kill us all! He shouldn't be allowed to live!"
"If he dies, Prince John will send men to destroy Nottingham."
"Destroy it? It's already been destroyed! What can Prince John do at this point, blow up the rubble? Add a little more dust to the situation! We have nothing left to lose here Robin, he should die for the things he's done!"
"He's right…" the Sheriff groaned out. "He's right you know. I do deserve to die. I killed so many, and what did I gain? Nothing." He wheezed. "I thought Prince John liked me, wanted me to help him lead, and would give me more power. I was wrong. He told Gisborne to kill me to prove his allegiance. I was nothing more than a pawn. Is this how it feels Hood? Every time I caught you and belittled you? Did you ever feel like a pawn? Because I've never felt more insignificant in my existence."
"No, Robin. No. Do not let him convince you that he's really not bad at the heart. Don't let him play with your emotions. He's still the ruthless Sheriff. He still killed Gisborne. He led us all to this madness. Don't let him play with your head Robin!" Allan exclaimed.
Robin glanced from Allan to the Sheriff and back. "Allan, you are right. He does deserve to die. But we don't always get what we deserve in life. We get what we are dealt. And he was right all those years ago. I have lost my taste for bloodshed. I saw enough of it in the Holy Land and I do not wish to add more blood to my total today. He will come back with us. He will be our prisoner. At least until we figure out something to do with him."
With that he turned to the Sheriff. "And if you ever betray the fact that I showed mercy on you, I will add to my blood count. Let's get you up and let's get out of here."
"Hood I can't." The Sheriff groaned. "My leg, it's trapped, but I can't remove the rubble. I'll bleed out if I remove it."
Robin looked around and saw a tapestry that used to hang on the castle wall looming in the corner. He used his dagger to cut a few strips of it off. He told Little John to lift the rubble and Archer to put pressure on the wound. As Little John removed the rubble, Archer immediately crushed his hands down on the Sheriff's leg to try and hold back the bleeding. "Ouch!" The Sheriff groaned out. "Suck it up!" Allan sarcastically spit back. Robin hastily tied the makeshift bandages around the wound. The wound was still bleeding, but the bandages were at least slowing it.
"We have to get him back to camp, Djaq can fix him up." They started to leave but then realized that the Sheriff could hardly walk. "You owe me big time." Little John said and threw the Sheriff over his shoulder. They walked out of the room and saw Will's group across the castle. Robin motioned for them to follow them out of the castle. All of a sudden, an arrow flew in from his right. He managed to dodge it and loaded his bow to return fire. As he went to fire the arrow, a great scorching pain coursed through his upper body and he dropped to the stone covered ground, crippled with the pain.
Archer grabbed his own bow and fired his arrow at the shooter. The shooter fell out from the shadows; it was another one of Prince John's guards. Suddenly, the gang of outlaws realized they were surrounded by guards, all peeping out from the shadows. Allan let out a hearty battle cry and ran towards the nearest guard. The others followed suit and began fighting the guards. Little John swung his staff all the while still protecting the Sheriff who remained hanging from John's shoulder.
The gang defeated the guards, but decided they had better leave before more returned to take them on. It was at that point that they realized Robin was still down. He was on the floor, writhing in pain in his arms. Djaq said, "I knew he couldn't be better already!" And went to Robin's side. "The pain always gets worse right before they get better." Djaq started to tend to him, but Allan stopped her. "We do not have time here. There will be more guards in a minute. Allan grabbed Robin up and the gang started running towards the forest. Once they were a few hundred paces into the forest, they all stopped to catch their breath. Allan placed Robin down on the ground as Little John did the same to the Sheriff. All was calm as they gasped for breath until finally Will broke the silence. "Why in the world is the Sheriff with us?" Robin let out a temporary smirk and then returned to his pained grimace. "Robin will have to explain that one." Allan said.
Then Little John spoke, "Apparently according to Robin, him we like."
