The morning went by slowly and boringly. The two prisoners were mostly ignored by the outlaws, with the exception of Will Scarlet, who appeared to despise them the most and kept throwing the two men dark looks. His hatred seemed to consume him, and Gisburne began to wonder what dark secrets tainted the man's past to leave him in such a state. Once or twice, as they crossed eyes, he had felt as though Scarlet was on the verge of insanity. Gisburne had seen that same look before, in the eyes of men who lived solely for revenge or for fighting. The steward was by no means easily intimidated, but that outlaw left him always ill-at-ease. Unnerved and irritated, he did his best to ignore Scarlet pointedly.
A moment later, the lord wolfshead came close to the prisoners and stopped just in front of Gisburne. The steward looked at him, hating the fact that he had to raise his eyes to do so. Usually, his considerable height allowed him to look down on people, and he was not used to the other way round. Yet, Robin remained silent, and after a few minutes that dumbness began to get on Gisburne's nerves. He glared at the outlaw leader, who calmly looked back. The steward eventually tired of the "glare at each other" game, and let out an irritated hiss.
"What is it you want, Wolfshead ?" he finally snapped, when Robin still did not react.
"I need to speak with you..."
A faint feeling of dread, a dark premonition crept down the steward's spine. He was not certain what the outlaw wanted to talk to him about - although he did have a vague supposition - but he was sure that he would not like it.
"Well, I don't want to speak with you", he said coldly, but he knew it was useless. Robin Hood had he and the Sheriff in his power.
"Unfortunately for you, Gisburne, I don't care what you want", the outlaw replied just as the steward had expected, but with more harshness than anticipated. "Tuck, untie him. Little John, keep an eye on the Sheriff. Will, if Gisburne tries anything, you can shoot him."
That was the first time Gisburne saw Robin Hood display such cold, restrained anger. It was not obvious, but he could see it - the fists tightly clenched, the emotionless voice... - and he knew it was a bad omen for him. The rope fell around him when the renegade cut it, and Gisburne slowly rose to his feet, aware that he had now choice. He felt the Sheriff's eyes boring holes in him, but he did not look back at his employer as he followed Robin Hood, out of hearing range. Obviously, whatever it was the leader outlaw wanted to discuss, it was to remain private - not that Gisburne would complain about that.
Sensation began to creep back in the steward's limbs, and he felt as though thin needles pierced his skin. He let none of this unpleasantness show on his features, however, and waited for Robin Hood to begin. If the lord wolfshead was going to complain about something, Gisburne certainly was not going to make it easy for him. For a little while, Robin Hood seemed to consider what he was going to say, then he began to speak in a low, hard voice.
"Was it a way to take revenge on me, Gisburne ?"
The steward blinked, genuinely confused. "Was what a way to take revenge on you ?"
"Don't play dumb", Robin Hood hissed through gritted teeth. "I don't find it amusing. Why did you leave my father behind ? Instead, you saved him !" The outlaw gestured vehemently towards the Sheriff, eyes full of disgust.
Taken by surprise, Gisburne stared at the other man for a moment, unable to think. Then his brain resumed working and he glanced at the Sheriff as though considering the idea for the first time. He had not though - had not had time to think - when he had escaped. Taking De Rainault along had just seemed like the thing to do at the moment - not that he would tell Robin Hood that. The steward hesitated, then shrugged.
"He was closer to me", he said, then looked at the lord outlaw, moved by a burning desire to hurt him as the other had hurt him. "And he is more useful to me to get my position back", Gisburne spat wickedly. "Huntingdon is nothing to me, Wolfshead. When will you get that in your thick head ?!"
"Doesn't he represent an earldom to you ?" Robin retorted bitterly, but Gisburne merely sniggered.
"As if he would have given it to me after you were freed..."
"He gave you his word !" The outlaw looked at Gisburne with contempt. "But that means nothing to you, I suppose."
"Don't tell me about honour, Wolfshead !" the steward snarled in fury.
But the leader outlaw shrugged, unmoved. "Anyway, even if out father's word was not enough, you witnessed his treason. You could have blackmailed him, he would have had no choice but to give you what you demanded."
Gisburne had a low, bitter laugh. "What kind of world do you live in, lord wolfshead ? That would have been my word against his. Who would have believed a mere knight ? But it's only normal you would not have thought of that tiny little detail, isn't it ? After you grew up getting everything you wanted. All you had to do was demand it."
"Is that what you think ?" Robin enquired calmly. "Then you are sorely mistaken, brother. Rank is a double-edged sword. You have no idea what the price to pay is, do you ? You would probably make a very poor earl, you know", he continued, ignoring Gisburne's glare, full of hatred. "An earl's duty is to protect, at the price of his own life if need be ! An earl's role is to care for his people. Do you even know the meaning of that word ?"
"Care for his people ?" the steward sneered. "What about his son then ? Don't give me lectures about duty !"
Taken off-guard, Robin Hood took a step backward, and for a split second he looked truly sorry. But quickly enough, he steadied himself and regained his composure - so quickly in fact that Gibsurne wondered whether it had been just an act. Robin Hood was obviously good at deceiving people, after all...
"I thought that even you would understand such simple things as the most basic decency", the outlaw said slowly. "Obviously, I was mistaken. Yet, unfortunately, the Sheriff is right - I might need your help to save our father. Or shall I say my father, since you seem so intent on forgetting what relation you have to him."
Gisburne was sorely tempted to point out that the earl had been the one to betray him first, but even in his state of anger he realized how childish that would sound. Instead, he just replied, "say whatever you want. I don't care."
"Thank you so much for your kind authorization", the lord wolfshead ironized, then called out one of his men. "Will, tie him back to the Sheriff, will you ? John, a word..."
Roughly shoved forward by Scarlett, Gisburne heard nothing of the rest of the sentence but a soft mumble. Not that he cared what the outlaw might say. He had thought he hated Robin Hood before, but at this point his feelings for the man were beyond hatred.
"Please try something", Will whispered in his ear. "I would love to slit your throat. Just give me a reason."
Not being suicidal, Gisburne kept silent, trusting fully the insane outlaw to be true to his word, but inwardly he thought that the man hardly needed a reason. If not for Robin, he and the Sheriff would probably both be long dead, but the thought did not make him feel grateful - quite the contrary. The steward did not need anyone's pity or mercy, and especially not his brother's.
Seemingly disappointed that Gisburne had behaved, Scarlett nastily pushed the steward to his knees and tied him back to back to the Sheriff, tightening the rope more than was needed, although he did make sure that blood circulation was not entirely stopped. As much of a killer as the outlaw might be, and as much as he might want to see Gisburne suffer, he was not a torturer, even if the steward suspected that Scarlett might just enjoy watching him suffer if given the opportunity.
He wondered why the man hated him and the Sheriff so much. Perhaps he had been punished at some point for breaking the law and blamed them for it... Gisburne could not tell for certain, in his years of service he had seen so many people punished for breaking the law... And no convicted man had ever admitted that it was just the law and that the sentence was fair. Of course, the populace liked the law well enough so long as it protected them, but when it punished them... Yet, they could not just pick which rules they wanted to follow or not, otherwise it would be chaos. Not that they would understand that, but that was hardly surprising ; they were just commoners and serfs.
When Robin Hood gave orders to speak to Gisburne privately, the Sheriff knew for sure there was something he did not know. He had been suspecting that something was not quite right, but he had not been certain. Now, he could see that there was definitely something going on between his steward and the chief outlaw. He watched intently as Gisburne was taken away, out of hearing range, and Robin Hood began to speak, obviously annoyed with the steward - well, that made two of them then, even if the Sheriff loathed to have anything in common with Hood.
The outlaw gestured in the Sheriff's direction, and de Rainault stiffened, vaguely expecting something unpleasant to happen to him. But no, the conversation continued, leaving him burning with curiosity, wondering what had been said about him. From where he was, he could not see Gisburne's face, but he did notice the steward's tense stance, and his clenched fist betraying the man's anger. De Rainault could have screamed with frustration.
One thing was clear - he had to find out what was going on between Gisburne and Robin Hood. Although he had no idea what it was, he confusely suspected that it had to do with his current predicament. Now that he thought of it, his steward had behaved strangely ever since he had come back that night, seriously wonded. At first, the Sheriff had thought it was just because of his humiliation, but now he wondered. What had happened, that night ? Gisburne had been made prisoner - how had he escaped ? Had Robin Hood offered him something ? Just what had the steward been up to, behind de Rainault's back ? Had he betrayed him ? Perhaps he had even helped Robin Hood escape ?
Suppositions, deductions, suspicions twirled in the Sheriff's head, leaving him more confused than anything else. Frustrated, he heaved a sigh, and watched as the two men's conversation ended. Scarlett led rather brutally Gisburne back, causing the Sheriff to have a few doubts. Robin Hood certainly was not treating the steward as he would treat an ally... Then again, he probably did not have much more consideration for Gisburne than de Rainault himself had.
After Gisburne was tied again and Scarlett had walked away, the Sheriff cast his fellow-sufferer a side glance. If he asked, he doubted very much the steward would tell him the truth, but even a lie might give him a clue. If the steward tried to mislead, he would at least know what the problem was not. Besides, it would seem strange if he kept silent, and he did not want Gisburne to discover that he had suspicions, else the man would be more guarded. Of course, de Rainault could outwit his steward anytime, but why make it harder than necessary ?
"So", he asked with his best casual tone, "what did Robin Hood want with you ?"
Being back to back with him, the Sheriff could not see Gisburne, but he felt the shrug.
"He wanted to ask me things about Huntingdon."
De Rainault arched an eyebrow, even if the effort was wasted since the steward could not see him either. "Hardly a subject one would deem necessary to discuss in secret."
The question was implicit. "Apparently he blames me for not saving Huntingdon", Gisburne replied evenly.
He sounded so convincing that the Sheriff would have been fooled, had he not known better. As it was, he felt a flicker of doubt. Robin Hood obviously had not been happy that his father had been left behind, and it would not be surprising if he blamed Gisburne for that. De Rainault, for one, thought that Huntingdon would just have to take care of himself, like everybody else - conveniently overlooking the fact that he himself probably owed Gisburne his life. That last thought was too unnerving for him to think about it for the moment - and he had other priorities, quite frankly.
Still. He would have to keep an eye on Gisburne. Just in case...
"Find information, find information..." Much grumbled unhappily as he shuffled his feet along the main street of Nottingham. "What does he think I am, a carrier pigeon ? But of course, when there's boring stuff to do, let's ask Much. He's here for that. No other use for him."
The boy knew perfectly well that he was being unfair, but it made him feel better. Just because he had a friend... well, alright, a girlfriend, was no reason to send him to Nottingham. It was a long walk, and he would have much rathered spent the afternoon fishing in the river or doing some such thing, even if that mission did give him an occasion to see Vivian. The only thing that cheered him really up was that this time, for once, he did not have to dread to possibly run into Gisburne, and the other soldiers did not know his face, so he figured he was pretty safe.
Casting a wistful glance at the morsels of broiled meat and the scones as he walked by several stands, Much finally reached the drawbridge and crossed it. The guards did not cast him a second glance, busy as they were to inspect a wine merchant's cart. Much was obviously not the only one taking advantage of Gisburne's absence ; the steward would not have tolerated such behaviour from his men - although he might very well have confiscated one or two kegs for himself. Much had heard enough people joke about the Gamekeeper's Entrance Fee to be sure of that.
Once in the courtyard of the castle, nothing was easier than slip unnoticed in the kitchens while assuming the attitude of someone dreadfully busy. Much pivoted on his feet and eventually located a red mane that could belong to only one person. He crept behind the girl, who was dutifully rubbing crockery clean, and he was about to catch her off-guard, when she calmly spoke.
"If you're trying to scare me to death, that's not working a second time, Much."
He tried his best to look innocent.
"Scare you ? Not at all !"
She turned to face him, eyeing the boy dubiously, and he relented.
"How did you know it was me ?" he asked grudgingly.
Vivian looked at him as though he was mentally impaired. "I'm cleaning up silverware, silly. I saw your reflection. Besides, you made so much noise you could not possibly hope to surprise me. Now, what is it you want ?"
"What makes you think I want something ?" he protested.
She snorted. "Every time you've come to see me, you asked for something. Besides, boys always want something, whether it be food or something else."
Much turned a deep red. Not that he was totally innocent, but he was not used to such things being mentioned so casually. He was actually older than Vivian, but each and everytime they were together she made him feel like a retarded little brother.
"As a matter of fact, I do need something", he admitted sheepishly.
She looked heavenwards. "Ha ! I knew it. Well, on with it then ! I can't remain idle for too long, you know."
The girl resumed scrapping her silverware, and Much suddenly thought that he might stand out, being idle in the middle of the kitchens where there was always something to do. Hastily, he plunged his hands in the hot water, pretending he was washing up as well.
"You don't have to pretend, you know", Vivian observed caustically.
Taken aback, Much glanced at her. "What ?"
"I mean that since you are here to ask for a favour, you might as well earn it and give me a hand washing this. It dried during the night and it's a nightmare to scrub the grease off silverware."
"But... but I don't know how to..." the boy stammered.
Vivian snorted. "I'm sure you are a fast learner. Aren't you ?"
Feeling it was the safest course of action, Much quickly nodded. "Uh, yeah", he said, trying to sound convincing. But as he was not convinced himself, that made it hard to convince someone else of his goodwill. However, Vivian kept staring until he grabbed the moss that was commonly used to clean the dishes and began to scrub half-heartedly. Once again, he wondered how it was that he enjoyed the company of such a scary girl. But then, he had never been very clever, had he ? So it made sense.
"So, what was it you wanted to know ?" Vivian asked after a few minutes.
"To know ? Oh, right. Have you heard anything about the Sheriff and Gisburne ?"
Only silence answered him at first, and Much crept a glance towards his friend. She was staring at him in disbelief, then burst out laughing. "Oh... heaven", she choked. "I mean, that 's what you've come to ask ? It's all over the town ! What are you, deaf ?"
Somewhat vexed, Much bit his lower lip sulkily and focused on a particularly nasty spot of grease on the silver plate he was cleaning. "I came straight here", he muttered. "Didn't listen to gossip."
"Well, if you had, you would have learnt that our beloved Sheriff and dearest Sir Guy encurred the King's wrath and have been declared outlaws and traitors to the crown. Mostly everybody had a good laugh, I must say. Except the earl of Huntingdon, I reckon."
"Why ?"
She stopped scrubbing for a moment and stared at him. "You've really not heard anything, have you ? He was declared a traitor as well. Since he's an earl, he will be judged by his peers, but with King John here to supervise everybody knows what the outcome will be..."
"When ?" Much urged her. "When will the trial take place ?"
Surprised by his insistence, Vivian looked thoughtful for a while. "What does it matter to you ?"
"Well - er - hum, I mean..."
She sighed. "Don't bother lying, Much. I would know."
"I can't tell you", he blurt out.
The girl eyed him critically. "At least that's honest, I suppose. But that's not good enough. Either you tell me, or you can go and ask someone else."
Disgruntled, Much frowned at her. "And why not ? You just said that everybody knew all about it."
"I did not say that everybody knows the date of the trial. That one information belongs to the kitchens only. So you can ask the grooms, the maid servants or the manservants all you want, they won't be able to tell you."
Much nodded, aware of the rivalry that existed between the various sections of the household. It often happened that some knew of special bits of information that were not common knowledge, and fiercely withheld them to trade in exchange for a mug of beer at the tavern or for a coin. If Vivian was to give that kind of information for free to someone who was not part of the kitchen, it might well be considered treason, and that would make her life very difficult. Yet, he could not tell her he was one of Robin Hood's men, could he ? As devoid of importance as he considered himself to be, there still was a reward offered for the capture of any of Robin Hood's outlaws. Although that might have changed with the removal of the Sheriff by the King...And speaking of it, who was going to replace him ? Well, the King had probably not yet chosen someone... then, Much remembered Philip Mark, and he shuddered. Perhaps it would be a good idea to help the Sheriff get back his former rank, in the end.
"I need this information for a friend", he said reluctantly.
But Vivian shook her head. "That's still not good enough. Who's this friend ?"
Much began to squirm uneasily. If he came back without the information, Robin would not be happy, and once again he would have proven his worthlessness. But he knew Vivian would not relent, which meant he would get the information only if he told her about himself. It would have been a lie to pretend he was not afraid at the idea, but on the other hand he could not bear the idea of failing the simple mission Robin had entrusted him with. In the end, the one question was, did he trust Vivian enough to tell her about his being an outlaw ?
Taking a deep breath, the boy braced himself. "All right." He lowered his voice as much as possible. "I need this information for Robin Hood."
A deep surprise appeared on Vivian's face, so much that he wondered whether he should consider himself insulted by her disbelief. "Robin Hood ?" she squeaked, in a voice slightly too high-pitched.
"Shhhhh !!" Much hissed, glancing frantically around him to make sure no one was paying them undue attention.
"You are the one who is going to draw attention if you keep acting that way", the girl commented dryly. She looked at him with calculating eyes. "Can you prove it ?"
"Prove it ? What do you mean ?"
She smiled wryly. "Much, dear boy... you can't just tell me that you work for - for you-know-who, and expect me to believe it just like that." She snapped her fingers to illustrate her point.
"Well... I... but..." he began, dumbfounded. "How do you want me to prove something like that ?"
Vivian grinned, and Much noticed once again how much her smile brightened her features. "Introduce me to him."
Time is relative, and can go slowly or quickly, depending on one's mood. In this particular case, it was going slowly rather than quickly, at least for the Sheriff of Nottingham. The good side of the situation was that neither he nor Gisburne had been killed so far, which was rather encouraging. On the other hand, nothing much had happened. Robin Hood had been speaking with his men, and had seemingly sent away several of them. The only one who stayed was the Saracen, but the man was easily forgotten for he seemed to speak as though there was a limited amount of words he was allowed to use in his life. But he kept an hawk's eye on the two prisoners.
It was only in the middle of the afternoon that it changed, and that came as a relief for de Rainault, who was beginning to feel tremendously bored. Robin Hood approached the Sheriff and Gisburne, fists on his hips in an overbearing attitude. All he received back were two hateful glares.
"Your story was confirmed", he announced. "It seems you said the truth, finally."
"So what is your decision ?" de Rainault grumbled. Gisburne wisely kept silent.
"Unfortunately", the leader outlaw sighed, "I might need your help to exonerate my father. I don't trust either of you, but I think we can reach a truce, at least until my father is safe. The question is, how are we going to proceed ?"
De Rainault smirked. He had been waiting for this moment. "It so happens I have a plan", he said, savouring the sweet feeling of domination over the chief outlaw - even if the said feeling was considerably fainter with him captive and tied up. "But we need to get inside the castle..."
He trailed off and looked expectantly at Robin Hood. He had been wondering how the outlaw had managed to get so easily past his guards on several occasions, and that was a golden opportunity to find out. That kind of knowledge would be useful when he got back his position.
Robin Hood merely shrugged aside the comment. "That won't be a problem", he merely said, and obviously was not going to give any more details.
Hiding his slight disappointment - but he would find out sooner or later anyway - de Rainault merely nodded and continued, "Once in the castle, we have to capture the girl, uh..."
"Aceline", Gisburne supplied. Trust him to remember that kind of details.
"Whatever", the Sheriff sneered disdainfully. "She is the one who made these false accusations. Once we have her, we can interrogate her and find out the truth. And once we know who is responsible for this mess, we can get them to the King."
Robin Hood pondered the idea for a little while, then nodded. "It sounds reasonable", he said. "Although I will add a small detail to that plan ; we will also free my father. At least, that way we will have more time. They cannot execute him if they don't have him."
Aware that he would most likely not be able to change the outlaw's decision, and even though he deemed that freeing the earl of Huntingdon was more dangerous than it was worth, de Rainault shrugged his agreement.
"There is one more thing", Robin Hood went on, "how will we find the girl in the castle ?"
"I know where her personal chamber is", Gisburne said.
"Of course you do", the Sheriff sniggered. And here he had truly thought that his steward had done nothing with her but dance... he cast the blond man a suspicious glance.
"My lord !" Gisburne sounded genuinely offended. "I know it only because I was the one who assigned the rooms to each guest !"
"Hmmm..." de Rainault mumbled thoughtfully. Could all this be a clever plot on Gisburne's part ? Did he have that much ambition ?
The answer was definitely yes. The steward definitely had enough ambition. But probably not the brain capacity to plan something like that. Then again, perhaps he had just been manipulated... Well, the Sheriff would probably know that after Aceline was made to answer his questions.
"All right, we will act tonight."
"Tonight ?" De Rainault raised an eyebrow. "Why the hurry ?"
Robin Hood eyed him coldly. "You might have forgotten that tiny detail, Sheriff. But my father is going to be executed, and sooner rather than later. I am not taking that kind of chance. Neither should you, Gisburne."
Wondering what on earth the outlaw meant, the Sheriff turned sharply his head ; but already Robin Hood was walking away, and in his back he felt Gisburne tense noticeably. What was this secret that his steward and the wolfshead shared, de Rainault still did not know, but he was beginning to suspect that it was only loosely related to their current predicament. It almost sounded like an old feud...
He would get Gisburne to tell him, and sooner rather than later.
Some time later, the Saracen came to cut the ropes that tied the two prisoners. The Sheriff rose awkwardly to his feet as feeling slowly came back in his limbs, while Gisburne remained sitting and rubbed his wrists. Just walking had never felt so wonderful, but de Rainault was left little time to relish it, for soon enough Robin Hood gathered his men around him, and the two prisoners were kindly invited to join in. The chief outlaw explained the broad outlines of their objectives, then began to dwell on the more practical aspects.
"We will form two groups", he said. "I will be in the group that frees my father, since I will have to convince him to follow us. Little John, Much, Marian, Tuck and the Sheriff will be with me. We know where the gaols are, so that should be no trouble. We will just have to take care of the guards. In the meantime, Gisburne, Nasir and Will, you'll go and take Aceline. We will regroup here. Any question ?"
"Yeah", Scarlett said. "You are really goin' to follow the Sheriff's plan ? Are ye suicidal or somethin' ?"
"Will, we have already been over that", Robin said with the face of someone who is tired of repeating endlessly the same thing. "I have checked their story, and we have no time to waste. My father's life is at stake."
Scarlett snorted and gave Gisburne a dirty look. "You'd better not try anything, gamekeeper", he said nastily. "Or I'll make sure that's the last thing you do."
Gisburne just glared and kept silent. He had been doing that a lot of late, the Sheriff thought idly. That was weird, in previous times the man had never known when to shut up. He should be happy that his steward had finally learnt the virtues of silence, but he could not help but feel, well, concerned. He did not like people behaving strangely, because they were bound to do something that was not in their character, and that he had not anticipated. And that was dangerous.
"Nothing else ?" Robin enquired.
"Yeah, there is somethin' else", Scarlett interjected once again.
The chief outlaw rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. "All right, what is it this time ?"
"All right, we follow their plan and they have to come, but we're not goin' to give them weapons, are we ?"
Robin blinked. "Well... I don't know..."
"How are we going to defend ourselves without weapons ?!" Gisburne protested immediately. So much for learning the virtues of silence.
"I don't care, and at least you won't strike us in the back", Scarlett retorted.
"He has a point", Little John commented.
"Well... hum..." Robin hesitated. He glanced around, crossing the eyes of his men, who all seemed unanimous on the subject, and he shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." Then he narrowed his eyes. "But that does not mean I don't expect the both of them to come back. Alive."
Scarlett pursed his lips and said nothing. Robin shared a look with Nasir and sighed. "Yes, right. Let's go."
