Here it is, chapter 10 (OMG I never thought I would actually post chapter 10! I thought I would abandon this when I reached chapter 5. That's what happens with most of the fics I write.) Anyway, let's get on with the story.
Chapter 10: Together Again
"Marian? Is that you, or am I going crazy?" Much asked. Marian chuckled and said: "You are not crazier than you use to be, Much. I am very much alive."
Ruby hesitated before she made her way over to the woman his brother had always loved. Marian looked at her. "Lady Marian, my name is Ruby. You don't know me, but you know my brother very well." Marian studied her and suddenly she realised. "You are Robin's sister." Robin looked at Ruby and his smile got even wider. "Hi, Robin," she said. Robin stood up, although he still felt a bit weary and held her tight. He felt happier than he had been in months, and why shouldn't he? He had been united with a lost part of his family and a lost love. They were together again.
"I don't understand," Djaq said. "How can you be alive?"
Marian shrugged. "The truth is I don't know myself. One moment everything was fading away, the next, I was lying in a bed in Jamal's palace."
Ruby had a thoughtful expression on her face. Suddenly she realised something. "Wait a minute. If you are Lady Miriam, as Fatima and... the other one-"
"-Khaled-"
"-said then you're the one who's behind all this. You are the one who ordered the assassins to kidnap Robin. You are the reason why all of us were nearly killed."
Marian was suddenly busy studying the ground. "Ruby, I know. But-"
"-It wasn't her fault," Robin said. "Marian suffered from amnesia. Everything she did is nothing she can be blamed for. At least, I don't. And I don't think any of you should."
The outlaws looked at each other, but Ruby did not let the matter rest. "The fact she suffered from amnesia, does, of course, make things a bit better. But even if she wasn't Marian, the things she has put Robin through is nothing anyone should endure."
"Ruby," Allan said softly. "Let it rest, please. We should all be happy that Marian and Robin both are alive." Ruby looked like she was going to protest, but she finally nodded in resignation. Instead she asked: "What are we going to do now?"
Robin and Marian looked at each other before they both said: "We are going home." They looked deeply into each other's eyes and were in their own small world, when Djaq's voice brought them back. "Sorry to interrupt, but we all still need to rest; especially you Robin."
Marian looked at her. "No, we can't rest. We need to go."
"Marian..." Djaq began, but she interrupted: "The assassins won't give up until they have our heads on a charger. We have to go to Acre, rather sooner than later."
"And then what? We may not be able to get on a boat back to England. If we do, we are very lucky."
"Djaq, even if we don't get boat, we have to keep moving. The assassins can come every moment. Please, listen to me. We have to go to Acre!"
There was silent for a moment, when John suddenly said: "We go to Acre."
--
Halil looked at the group. They were all ashamed by the fact that they had lost the battle, and he saw several white bandages under their black clothes. He murmured curses under his breath as he paced before them. None of them dared to say anything, and they didn't dare looking away. Suddenly Halil stopped and saw them, and all of them saw something scary flash in his eyes. All of them felt a shiver down the back.
"Hunayn, Yaqub you ride to Haifa. If you find the outlaws on the way, shoot them, show no mercy. I want them dead, all of them."
The two assassins exchanged looks. "But what about Miriam, Fatima and Khaled? If they are with them-"
"-if they are with them, they are all traitors. Kill them too! And if you fail, I will have to punish you. With death."
Hunayn and Yaqub quickly mounted their horses and rode away. That left Abdul and Samir with Halil. He mounted his horse and the other two followed him. But they both knew something had happened to Halil that night. He was insane; there were no other words to describe it. Of course Hazem's death and the Englishmen's escape was a tough blow, none of them had ever imagined Halil would go crazy. Before he had gone to England he had been calm and had never once lost his temper, except in extreme situations, but now both of them wished they could resign, but they couldn't. Only one person could resign from The Faithfuls, and that was the leader, and only when their master had decided he had done his duty. The only way out for them was death.
Samir reluctantly rode up to Halil and asked: "Where are we going?"
"Acre. As a crusader, Locksley will have a special bond to this place, so they are most likely to go there. And stop asking me questions," he snapped. Samir slowed down his horse so he could ride along with Abdul. "He is crazy," he said. "I know he's my brother by blood, but right now I can't take him."
"What shall we do?" Abdul asked, casting nervous glances at the back of their leader. "If we betray him we will be outcasts forever, and you know that Samir."
"We have to persuade him to leave again. What was Miriam thinking bringing him back here? Who gave her that stupid idea?"
"Actually, you did Samir. You recommended him 'cause he was, as you said, the best."
"Yes, he was the best, but things have changed. He is no longer worthy calling himself a part of us. We have to get rid of him, can't you see that Abdul? And if he doesn't leave, we'll have to..." he paused and looked at his friend and co-assassin and maybe soon to be traitor. "We'll have to kill him."
--
Robin gave Marian a hand and pulled her up on the horse. He grimaced slightly as the wounds on his back protested at this. But he had dreamed of being able to hold her hand for something that felt like a lifetime, and a few wounds were not going to stop him. She smiled and put her hands around his waist as they rode towards the city of Acre.
"Marian, I have longed for such a long time to take you back to England as my wife. But do you think that once we are back in England we will be able to have a proper wedding? With priest, flowers, pretty dresses, pretty bridesmaids... ouch!" he said as Marian hit him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Marian, I was only joking. We can cut out the flowers."
"Grow up!" she hissed, but still there was a joking tone in her voice, like the one there had been in his voice when he spoke about pretty bridesmaids.
"They do seem rather close," she said.
"Who?"
"You know who. Ruby and Allan." Robin looked around and saw Ruby and Allan riding next to each other. Ruby was laughing and Allan had a rather contented smile on his face. "Yeah, they do seem close. Is it now I should scare him off?"
"No, can't you see it? They are perfect for each other," Marian sighed. "So different, and yet so alike. Like us."
"Yeah; first of all you are a woman, and I'm a man..."
Marian hit him again. "You are quite a jokester today, aren't you?"
"How can I now? I must be the happiest man on Earth. I have everything I've ever wanted. Fantastic friends, a wonderful sister and the most beautiful, kindest, bravest woman as my wife. I have to express my happiness somehow. And since you chose to ride with me, you have the unfortunate honour."
A few metres behind them rode Much and John. "You know," Much began. "All this love - Robin and Marian, Djaq and Will, Allan and Ruby – makes me miss Eve. She was quite a woman. The only woman who's ever loved me back. I can't wait 'till the King get's back, then I will go and find her, and we'll live at Bonchurch and I will take care of her, and possibly our kids if we have any. I hope so, because i want to have kids, and..."
"Much, shut up!" John said loudly. Some of Much's talk struck a nerve as it brought back memories of Alice and his son John. He wished he could be with them; see Little Little John grow into a man. But he had lost it all when his family believed he was dead. Now they had Luke, a good man who would be able to take proper care of his family. He knew he should be happy for them, but a part of him was insanely jealous.
He looked around and saw they had ridden many miles already. He wondered exactly how long they had been riding. It felt like a few minutes, but he could see the landscape began to change. It wasn't as wild and cliffy as it had been by Jamal's palace, it was turning more flat.
"Are we near Acre?" he asked.
"Yes, I think so. It all seem very familiar to me. You know Robin and I spent a lot of time here while we were fighting here. We were also at Cyprus, it's a beautiful island, you really should see it. And we were also..." John ignored Much as he kept talking about all the places he had seen while he was a crusader. He looked behind and suddenly noticed a small dust cloud in the distance. He immediately sped up and was soon next to Robin.
"Robin, look," he said and pointed at the cloud. Robin swore but then he said: "It may be the assassins, but it could also be a pair of peaceful travellers, but just in case, we have to hurry." He raised his voice and yelled: "Faster!" but both the horses and their riders were exhausted, but they kept on going and finally, as the cloud kept nearing they saw the walls surrounding Acre.
--
Samir and Abdul had been speaking about how to get rid of Halil, when the person himself suddenly yelled: "Look, you idiots! It must be them!" They both looked and saw a large cloud of dust on the way towards Acre. "It is them, I can feel them," Halil muttered to himself. He prayed to Allah, that everything would turn out well for him, so he could return home as a victor. He would be received as a hero for killing all the traitors who had infected their home. Even his own daughter. He snorted. If he had been in charge of her upbringing she would never even have thought about betraying them. Asmaa must have been too soft, he concluded. And now she would be punished when her daughter was killed. After all Fatima was only a traitor, she had conducted the worst crime any human – any servant – could possibly do. She had betrayed her master. And so had Khaled and they were both going to pay for that.
"Halil," his brother suddenly said. "Maybe we should just go home. We are soon at Acre; we won't be able to get to them."
"Those are the words of a coward," Halil said."Is that what you are? A coward, too cowardly to fight these outlaws, and win. 'Because we will win, with you, or without you. And if you even think about betraying me, I will personally chop your head off!"
"Halil, I know you are upset. This is your first assignment which has ever failed, and your son is dead but please see sense!"
"I am seeing sense, Samir. And so should you."
Samir withdrew from his brother in resignation. He looked at Abdul and shook his head. Halil would never step back from this crazy idea, which meant they had to go through with it. After all they couldn't kill him now, they would have to wait until Halil had calmed down. Right now he was too paranoid. And as things were he was clever to be it.
--
"The city of Acre, ladies and gentlemen. Once again we are back in this godforsaken town," Much said. They dismounted their horses and ran towards the port. Most of the boats were small fishing boats, that would never be able to take them back to their beloved home country.
Suddenly both Fatima and Khaled stopped. All of the outlaws looked at them.
"This is where we part," Fatima said. "We cannot go to England. We'll stay here."
"It's too dangerous..." Marian began, but Fatima interrupted her. "Yes, it will be dangerous, but this is our home, and it has been so all of our life. Hopefully we will find a place to hide."
Djaq stepped forward and grabbed her around the shoulders. "If you insist on living here, I suggest you live at Bassam's house here in the city. Many people know where it is, but no-one will suspect the two of you live there. Here," Djaq said and handed Fatima her tag. "Give this to someone if they question you have my permission to stay there. Now go, and may Allah be with you."
"May Allah be with you, Djaq. And may your children grow up to be as beautiful and as brave as their mother," Fatima said. Djaq smiled, and they all said goodbye to the young couple who would now, hopefully, have a happy life in Acre. Marian took a ring of her finger and gave it to her. They hugged and they were both teary-eyed when they said goodbye. Khaled grabbed Fatima's shoulder and they walked away. A few seconds later they were gone, hidden by the crowd.
"She is a good girl," Marian said and dried the tears away. "I hope they will live happily ever after."
"Me too," Djaq said. "She has not lived an easy life. I talked to her on the way. And she told me all about her fights with the rest of the people at the palace, because she is who she is. I wish there were more people like her."
"Yeah," Allan said. "Hey, does this mean what I think it means? You two lovebirds are going back to England with us?"
"Yep," Will said. "Look what happened when we left you the last time. And beside we are Robin Hood, and we should stick together." The gang cheered, but suddenly Robin suddenly felt watched. He looked around but could only see the ordinary people who walked around. He didn't like this at all.
"Let's go find a boat, quickly," he said. They ran towards some of the bigger boats, when a voice suddenly said: "Well, well, fellow Englishmen, I presume."
A tall, thin man, a monk, judged by his clothes, made their way towards them. He had long black hair, and yet his skin was incredibly pale. His brown eyes sparkled with joy at the sight of them. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you. It's been almost a week since I've last spoke to some from dear, old England. The name is Tuck by the way. Brother Tuck. I'm a missionary here in the Holy Land."
"It's nice to meet you, Tuck. I'm Robin of Locksley, and these are my friends and family."
"Nice to meet you Robin of Locksley with friends and family. Since you have made my day, maybe I can help you with something. A loan? A horse? A boat back to England?"
"The last thing would be nice," Marian said.
"Ah, you are just in time. My boat is sailing in about five minutes; I was on my way over there now. Do you have any belongings you need to fetch?"
The gang exchanged looks before they all shook their heads. "Splendid," Tuck said. "Then let's all go down to my boat." It turned out the boat was only just big enough for them, and wasn't in the best shape, but it was a boat nonetheless; a boat which would take them back to England.
They had only sailed for about five minutes, when the gang saw three persons on the shore. They all wore black clothes and it didn't take long time for the gang to realise they had narrowly escaped the assassins. They all sighed and relief and more than one laughed when one of the assassins started to jump up and down in hysterical rage. Everything seemed funnier now. They were on their way home, they were all alive and none of them cared about the future. Now was what mattered.
--
Meanwhile Halil continued to jump up and down. Finally he dropped to his knees and yelled after the boat: "This is not over, Locksley! One day I will get you, and you would wish you had never come to this land!" Then he ran away, and as Samir and Abdul ran after him, they could see him ride away. Not towards Jamal's palace, but towards some new adventure.
"Well, we didn't have to kill him," Samir said as they walked towards their horses, hiding in the shadows of alleys. He had just committed a crime, the most terrible crime one of the assassins could ever do. He had saved the life of the Englishmen. But he would not let the madness Halil had become win; rather let a couple of English dogs live.
"No, and I don't think we will see him for a while. How lucky are we?" Abdul answered.
"But sadly we'll have to find two new assassins, and someone will have to inform Jamal about what has happened."
"Hopefully not me," Abdul said and shuddered.
"Not me either. Maybe Hunayn, he's always had a tongue of gold."
The two men continued to discuss the future of the Faithfuls. Halil was gone for now, and the outlaws were on their way back to England. It seemed almost everyone was happy, except Halil of course.
--
The end of another chapter. This was so fun to write and I hope you all enjoyed it. Those of you who have seen S3 know that I've changed Tuck, but since S3 hasn't aired here in Denmark yet, I thought it would be better to write Tuck my way. In the next chapter I give the outlaws some time to return to England and devote the entire chapter to Gisborne and Diana.
Thanks to my, as always, wonderful reviewers CaptainDjaq, Felineyx, bubzchoc and Little Miss Fox. You really made my day.
I wish you all a very happy New Year! ;)