Chapter 7; Saints and Sinners
"Wake up." Grunted a voice. Little John loomed over him, nudging Guy with his foot. His eyes opened to check his surroundings. Dense green trees hosting a thousand leaves was the first thing that greeted him. He moaned inwardly. Guy was stuck in some godforsaken part of the forest bound to a tree. He tilted his head to get a better look at what was in front of him. There was a small fire, with a hare roasting over it. The rest of the gang was there; Much sitting by the fire, Tuck nesting in the arms of an oak tree, Robin leaning on his bow. Allan seemed to have disappeared. An uncomfortable silence followed. Nobody didn't really know what to say to each other. They looked at him with eyes warped with uncertainty and confusion but never losing the old hatred. His actions had left their minds tangled and the fact that his fate lied in their hands was... unsettling, to say the least. But of course getting captured by Robin Hood wasn't part of Guy's plan either. Robin walked over, with his usual smugness about him, and torn the gag off Guy.
"You have a lot of explaining to do." Robin remained, breaking the silence. It was hard to tell if he was angry or not. "And what if don't? What you going to do? Torture me like you did before?" Guy mocked, his voice sounding venomous to his own ears. "No, I won't. However, the Sheriff would probably put a lot of pounds on your head. That money could feed the poor of Nottingham." What little colour was left on Guy's face immediately drained. To kill him was bad enough but to give him to the sheriff was another matter. He could only begin to imagine what horrors Vaisey would inflict upon him. "That's better. Now, first things first, why did you try to kill the sheriff?" Robin asked, trying not to lose his temper.
"I wanted a pay raise but he said no." Guy hissed sarcastically. Smack! Robins patience died. "PRINCE JOHN WOULD HAVE BURNT THIS PLACE TO THE GROUND!" Robin roared, shaking Guy by the shoulders. "You know that better than anyone!" Robin continued to yell. "Robin, calm down." Little John muttered, pulling him away from Gisborne. "He deserves to die." Much commented. "People will be killed, left homeless!" Robin continued to rant. "Well, you're the hero, that's your problems." Guy snapped back. Everyone gasped in shock."I have never in all my life heard anything so selfish." Much sneered. "Not only did you try to kill the sheriff but you publicly tortured him." Tuck added. "Are you surprised?" Guy mocked. Tuck sighed, Robin however was vivid with rage. "I swear Gisborne, you will pay for what you've done." Robin spat, the stormed off into the forest.
"Robin, wait." Tuck called after him. 'What now?' Robin thought but nevertheless, he waited for Tuck to catch up. How he hated Gisborne. He took his wife, almost King Richard and countless other lives. The very air around him was polluting Robin's mind, turning into a monster he had been in the Holy Land. Robin vowed to himself he would never become like that. He vowed he would save lives instead of taking them. It was difficult than said when Guy and the sheriff stood against everything he believed in. Robin needed a break to gather his thoughts, especially after today's events.
"Robin-"
"Can't you see I want to be alone, Tuck?" Robin snapped. He instantly regretted it. The monk was only trying help. "Calm yourself Robin." Tuck commanded. Robin sighed, then took a deep breath through his nose, then out slowly through his mouth. It helped... a little. "That's better, now I need to talk to you." Tuck started. Robin twitched with his head, then walked over to a fallen log, and sat down. Tuck was unsure how to start, but his educated mind soon thought of something. "What will you do to Gisborne?" Tuck threw out. "I dunno... Much is right, he deserves to die, or at least be handed into the sheriff."
"Yes, but what do you think, Robin?"
"Like I said, I don't know. My mind is divided- one half wants to kill him but something has changed inside him to make him want to kill Vaisey."
"Exactly. There was a gleam in his eye, something has changed, inside of him." Tuck exclaimed. "You mean he's finally developed a conscience?" Robin said sarcastically. "Well, I wouldn't go that far but at least some minor form of a conscience, yes."
"But what about Prince John? Nothing has changed, he's still as selfish as he was and we don't even know if someone payed him to the kill the sheriff. For the right amount, I think there is a fair chance it could have happened."
"If he was payed for it, he wouldn't have chopped off his hand, he isn't the type to mess around when he's killing people. And as for his selfishness, there were times that you tried to kill the sheriff."
"That was different, Tuck. The Black Knights were all in the same room and I had the King's interests in mind."
"Point remains you would have sacrificed people's lives and homes to rid the land of the sheriff and the likes of him."
"Yes but-"
"There you have it! You and Guy aren't so different after all. The world isn't divided into saints and sinners." Tuck advised. Robin on the other hand, was furious. "I had the intentions of ridding England of all it's evil in tyranny! Besides, I didn't even know if Prince John would really tear this place to the ground, it could have been a bluff."
"Look Robin, I'm not having a debate to see who's the better man here, but the point remains that Guy of Gisborne tried to kill the sheriff. It matters not whether it was for personal gain, but something has happened between the pair and whatever that something was, it made them turn against each other, or at least Guy in this case."
"Yes, so what you getting at?" Robin inquired, taking a sip from his waterskin.
"Well, if his loyalties have changed, then maybe, just maybe, we might be able to sway him to our cause." Robin choked, sending him into a fit of coughing. "Are... you... mad?" Robin gasped, his face mingled with laughter. It was the best thing he had heard all day. "Robin, this isn't funny." Tuck snapped. "Yeah, because I can really imagine Guy swooping in the save the villagers from the sheriff."
"He doesn't have to fight along side-"
"You got more chance of the sheriff being nice-" Robin interrupted. "He knows more about Vaisey and the castle-"
"We got Allan for that." Robin ranted. "I promised his-"
"Robin!" The pair looked over their shoulders at the sound of a third voice entering the conversation. Allan was racing towards them, sweat dripping off his brow. He stopped, his back bent-doubled as he tried to catch his fleeing breath. "There's... army... North road." Was all a tired Allan managed to gasp. "Prince Johns?" Tuck asked. Allan straightened his back, his chest raising heavily, then said, "I didn't recognise... the insignia."
"How many?" Tuck inquired. "Dunno... more than a hundred, less that a thousand, I didn't stop to count them all. They're on the move." Allan added.
"Let's get a closer look." Robin instructed, racing back to where they tied Guy up.
Guy's ears were bleeding at the sound of Much's constant babble. To think the Hood had given up all his land to be stuck with him, was something he could never understand. Even with a mouthful of hare didn't cease to stop his chatter. Food. The thought of the roast hare made his mind stray to where his next meal was going to come from. Guy wished he hadn't skipped breakfast, but he cursed his body for betraying him. There was no way he was going to accept food from outlaws, even if he was one himself. Guy didn't want to think of himself like that. A lair, a traitor and a murderer he could live with, but not an outlaw.
The knight sighed to himself. Locksley was taken away from him, his dreams and ambitions shattered. The only thing he had left was revenge, revenge that lied in freedom. But that too had been taken away from him. 'Not for long, though.' Guy thought to himself. On the outside, he looked fed up, but inside he had an invisible smirk on. After the day he escaped Prince Johns men, he made sure that he always had a trick up his sleeve- or a knife.
Robin, Tuck and Allan came dashing to the small camp they'd made, fallen leaves crunching under their boots and tree roots threatening to trip them up. Guy spared a glance at Allan. A purple bruise dominated the left side of Allan's face where he had elbowed him. Allan didn't respond too friendly, but Guy had excepted no less. He was used to being despised by people. "There's an army approaching on the North Road." Robin stated. "Carrying gold?" Little John asked Robin. Robin turned to Allan. "Probably. I didn't hang 'round for long." Allan answered. "What about him? We can't leave him, can we?" Much muttered. "It's not as if I'm going anywhere." Guy grumbled without invitation. "True." Tuck said. "We need to move fast, if we're to catch this army." Allan insisted. "But I haven't finished my hare." Much complained. "You can come back to it later." Robin reassured. "But It'll be cold." Much continued to whine. "Well you can catch another one."
"But-"
"Much!" Robin yelled. Much sighed, then put his hare down sadly before following Hood into some part of the woods that was foreign to Guy. The rest disappeared after him. They remained him of a pack of wolves, obeying Hoods every command. As soon as their footsteps faded well into the distance, Guy began to work on the ropes. He slid his middle finger up his sleeve, then pulled the knife down into his hands. The ropes that bound him were soon cut with ease as though they were made of butter. He smirked at Hood's foolishness. 'Did he really think that I'd sit and wait for him to return.' His eyes darted around for his sword. It lay motionless and uncared for in a bed of fallen leaves. He picked it up, the familiar weight of it by his side made him feel safer and more confident. He turned to walk away but a man blocked his path. "Now where'd you think your going, Gisborne?" The monk asked politely. "Get out of my way or I'll kill you." Guy threatened, pointing his sword at Tuck. "I can't do that, sorry."
"Then prepare to die." Guy raised his sword above his head. "You are better than this. Your father wouldn't have wanted that." Tucks words instantly struck a nerve, making him hesitate. "My father? Shut up, you know nothing about me!" Guy snapped, advancing on him. "I know more than you think. He was a great man." Tuck argued, backing away. "He pissed off to the Holy Land and left me and my mother to fend for ourselves-" Guy bit his tounge sharply. As soon as those words slipped out he regretted it. He had never talked to anyone about the past, for the same reason that it always brought along a new wave of guilt. However, a small part of him was curious. How did Tuck knew his own father better than he? Had they knew each other? Fought against or alongside each other? The other 99.9% of him however was filled with fresh rage. 'Hood had obviously been telling stories about his wonderful childhood.'
"That isn't true, Guy. He loved you very much and his only regret was that he never came home to see you grow up." A vein popped on the side on Guy's head, his whole body was tense and shaking with rage. "Don't-mock-me." Was all he managed to growl. He charged at Tuck, determined to kill him but to his misfortune, Tuck blocked with his sceptre. "I am not mocking you. Just calm down." Tuck protested. Guy swung again and still failed to hit the retreating monk. He paused for a second. Voices could be heard echoing in distance. The gang was returning. 'How could I be so foolish. Of course he never knew my father, it was a lie to bind for time.' Guy cursed his own folly, then shoved Tuck aside and raced off into the woods.
"GISBORNE!" Robin yelled to the top of his voice at Guy's back. Guy glanced over his shoulder. Hood indeed was catching up with him, while the others lagged behind. He pushed his protesting legs to go even faster. Like it or not, Guy knew he couldn't running at this pace, but he couldn't allow to be captured by Hood. 'Think!' He screamed mentally to himself. He hadn't been to this part of the woods before and had no idea where his feet would lead him. There was the army, and an army would have horses. He was trapped between two Hell's, and it was hard to tell which hell was worst. He took a sharp left towards the road. The hill inclined upwards. Guy scrambled up as fast as he could, his nosed inches away from the ground. But when he got to the top, he was in for a shock. Sat at the head of the army on a white horse was a man with the most incredible likeness to him, except his face was decorated with numerous of battle-scars. It was his French uncle, Gareth of Gisborne.
I hope this chapter isn't too bad and I haven't portrayed Robin falsely. Like I said, I prefer Guy but I have no intention of bashing any of the characters. Note; the bit about Tuck will be explained into future chapters All reviews are welcome and I appreciate them deeply. Thanks.
