Hey everyone! My apologies that it has been a very (and I mean a VERY) long time since my last update. Story is getting juicier! Hope you guys enjoy!
Please note that the Rating has now been changed to T as this chapter contains mild language.
'The King is coming to Nottingham?' Much exclaims, as all of us look surprised. Robin nods to his question as he exchanges glances with Marian, who looks angelic with the firelight flickering across her face and her long dark hair in a braid, her cloak hanging gracefully off her shoulders.
'I have a source on the inside that has informed me that the Sheriff has been making preparations for a dinner party to be happening within the next few days, and they have overheard that they are expecting King Richard to attend.' Marian tells the gang, looking at us with her determined gaze. I'm intrigued by how Marian has sources within the walls of Nottingham Castle, and I am admittedly a bit jealous. To me, Marian has everything; she is practically family with the Outlaws, is childhood sweethearts with the famous Robin Hood and has a the alter ego as the Nightwatchman. What isn't there to admire and be envious of?
'So what is the plan?' The booming voice of Little John asks the two of them. Robin smiles at his words, and I wonder if the word 'plan' makes him excited.
'We're meeting Marian's source at the tavern near the Castle in a little while, we will ask them if they know anything else and advise them to keep their ears low to the ground. Then we can scout the Castle for when it is the evening of the party, so that perhaps we can search for anything that can go wrong. If anything is going to happen, we will be there to stop it.'
The other Outlaws nod their heads and begin to get up and get themselves ready, so I follow suit with my cloak fastened and my dagger on my hilt. I feel someone come up behind me and see the anxious face of Robin as I turn around. I spot Marian behind him talking to Much in her friendly manner, but she keeps looking over to where I stand with Robin. I look up at him, confused as to his sudden expression and manner.
'I was thinking it might be best if you stay here at camp...we don't need everyone to come to the tavern.' His voice is low and he isn't looking me in the eyes.
I feel like I've been hit in the chest and I know the hurt must have shown on my face. I have to look away from his face and settle for looking at my hands, way of not wanting him to see how his words have affected me.
'You think I'd be in the way?' I ask him, my voice quiet with a wounded tone. Robin sighs and runs a hand through his hair.
'No, definitely not. I just think that all of us going would be too obvious.' He says, shaking his head at me. I feel childish for feeling so hurt. I am a young girl from the village, I do not have much combat skill or stealth. But it doesn't help the feeling of being unwanted.
'Do you need me to come then?' Alan asks Robin as he holds his cloak in his hands. Robin looks at Alan curiously but shakes his head, looking almost relieved.
'It should not take long at all but I would like to meet this source that Marian has, to see how trustworthy they are.' I notice that the other Outlaws are shoot sly gazes at us as they pretend to look busy fastening their cloaks, preparing to venture out. I see Djaq giving me a curious look, wondering if I am okay. I nod and smile at her as I unfasten my cloak and place another chunk of firewood on the burning low fire. Alan comes over and sits across from me, reassuring me with a crooked smile as he stokes the amber flames. The other Outlaws say their goodbyes and head out, giving us comforting smiles as they leave.
'You're awfully quiet.' Alan tells me, his expression of worry. I shrug at him, attempting to be as cool and relaxed about the situation as any of the other Outlaws would be if they had been asked to stay behind. But I cannot shake the weight off my chest, the nagging thought at the back of my mind: you are not helpful, you are not wanted. In my stubborn manner, I refuse to tell Alan this, he would only think of me as a silly girl and I've really come to like Alan A Dale. I appreciate his boyish manner and rogue behaviours, how he knows when to be quiet or lighten the mood. It makes me reflect on how little friends I had when I lived in the village and how quickly that can change.
Alan sighs and dampens the fire down to a low ember burning on a lone piece of wood, as he stands up from where he was sat and reaches for his cloak.
'What are you doing?' I ask him, watching as he fastens it in a flash and grabs mine where I had folded it up.
'Let's get out of here.' He says simply, watching for my reaction.
'...but Robin said to stay here, in camp.' I tell him, but his eyes have a flash of mischievousness in them when he turns to me and speaks.
'I remember him saying that he didn't need us at the tavern. I don't remember him saying that we weren't allowed to have a little stroll.' He grins as he holds my cloak in one hand and offers me the offer. 'You're an Outlaw Gwen, start acting like one.'
His tone isn't harsh but the words certainly sting, like a slap that has woken me from a daze. Will l ever feel like a true Outlaw? At this moment in time I still feel more of an inconvenience. But with Alan stood over me with his outstretched hand, I'm reminded of the first time that I had met Robin and the other Outlaws, when I had been attacked and chased by the Sheriff's guards. And just like that time, I take the hand out in front of me with a firm grip.
Alan grins as he wraps my cloak around me and opening the latch on the camp's door. The air outside has cooled down considerably, and I wrap the cloak around me tighter. As Allan places the door back securely and we walk silently through the forest, I take in just how different the forest looks in the moonlight. Shadows look sinister, trees stand like figures in the distance and the wind whistles through the branches sounding like a song out of tune.
As we continue walking up towards the village ahead of us, I can see a few lights on, perhaps with families eating their suppers or some going to sleep for the night. Me and Alan stop a few meters from the clearing of the village and we both sit down on the cold hard ground; I sit cross legged and gaze up at the midnight blue sky as Alan sits with his back resting on the trunk of a tree, a look of peacefulness on his face. I can see my breath in the air in front of my face and I feel the tip of my nose becoming pink in the chill air. I can't help but smile as we sit and gaze out to the village, Alan must have noticed because his voice breaks the serene quiet that had fallen over us since we had left the camp.
'What are you smiling about?' He asks me, a smile twitching on his own lips. I let out a big sigh as I stretch with my arms wide open, welcoming the evening chill and I smile wider.
'Me and my mother used to warm up milk and lay down outside the house. We would just lie there and watch the night sky. Sometimes we wouldn't talk and sometimes we would. But it was what we did when either of us got upset or stressed and we would only go inside when we got unbearably cold or hungry.' I look over to Alan and see that he is looking out towards the village, his gaze looks intense in the half light and I am curious as to what he is thinking about.
'You must miss her.' He says after a moment, and his words make me feel the pain of her loss again, as if it were yesterday. It is as if the numb ache in my chest has become part of my day to day life.
'So much,' is all I say in reply to him, I don't trust myself to say anymore without getting too emotional. So instead I lie back on the ground and am greeted with the magnificent view of a sea of stars on black silk, a few dark clouds scattered here and there. The view takes my breath away, and the steady rhythm of my relaxed heartbeat could almost make me fall asleep. I hadn't realised how much I missed this, gazing up at the stars and forgetting the world around me. It is impressive how easy I find myself slipping, losing the world I am living in, only focusing on the bright star lights ahead of me.
We didn't stay like that for long though, as the still peace that came over us was slowly slipping away as the distant sound of footsteps floated over a few meters away, behind one of the villagers houses. Slowly, I began to sit up, suddenly very aware of my surroundings. I glance over to Alan, who is on high alert as well, his eyes darting over the shadows from the villages buildings. He motions for me to join him behind the tree trunk, trying my best not to make a noise I join him at his side. Both of us are tense, hidden by the large Oak tree's trunk, as we watch several shapes emerge from the shadows and head towards the forest. As I narrow my eyes, the shapes form into figures of the Sheriffs guards. Instinctively I tense more and Alan and I exchange glances. What were they doing out here so late? They appeared to be moving cautiously through the trees, looking around the darkness suspiciously.
'What is the Sheriff up to now?' Alan whispers so low that I almost didn't catch it, but one look at him reassures me that he did speak and that he was equally as confused as to their actions as I was. I shrugged in response as I watched them silently trek deeper into the woods, and started to struggle finding their figures between the trees.
'What should we do?' I ask Alan, confused at the situation. I can see his eyes darting to where the figures of the guards last were in the shadows of the large forest, struggling to understand what is happening. And without the rest of the Outlaws for input, it is just the two of us to try to understand.
'Why of all nights, does it have to be when the others have gone?' Alan mutters under his breath, I can see him trying to think of what to do now, perhaps wondering what Robin would do in this situation. I notice him check his sword strapped to his belt with a reassuring hand on his hilt, he looks at me.
'We need to follow them. I don't have a good feeling about this.' I nod, feeling exactly the same. It is never a good sign when the Outlaws see the Sheriffs guards, but more so that they appear to be heading in the direction of the Outlaws camp. Alan carefully treads over the grass and fallen leaves and heads into the denser parts of the Nottingham Forest. I quickly follow suit, treading as carefully and silently as I can in the woods, as the two of us creep and dodge between the woodland, we barely make out the several figures ahead of us. Alan motions for me to stay behind a tall trunk as we watch the guards scan the surroundings. I notice that they definitely look like they are trying to find something, but what?
A thought pops into my head, what if they are trying to find the Outlaws camp? When I met the Sheriff, after I had been captured by Guy of Gisbourne and the other guards, hadn't he asked me for the whereabouts? It has been a known fact in the Village that the Sheriff has offered riches to and even tortured the villagers in exchange for knowledge on their location and hide out.
I look over to Alan, who appears to be thinking along the same line as me, his gaze is sharp as he studies the guard's actions. They appear to have slowed their pace down, studying the woodland around them as they go. The two of us look at each other, disturbed in their direction and how close they are getting to the area of the Outlaws camp. As the guards are far enough out of whispering range, Alan leans in close.
'They are getting too close, we have to do something.' He motions for us to move a few meters closer, treading ever so carefully on the fallen leaves so as not to alert the guards ahead of us. I wonder if Robin and the other Outlaws are still at the Tavern with Marian's source, or if they were heading back. What if the guards spot them as they approached the camp? They would inform the Sheriff who would probably rain fire on their sanctuary in the middle of the woods. The forest air feels tense as we watch the guards slowly trek ahead, glancing around the dark forest surrounding them. I can tell Alan is getting anxious at the growing situation and is thinking of what to do. There are three of the Sheriff's guards compared to the two of us, the odds are not in our favour especially as the rest of the Outlaws are either at the Tavern by Nottingham Castle or on their way back to the camp. It appears that Alan has an idea, as he carefully leans next to me, his gaze on the guards ahead of us.
'They are getting too close Gwen, I'm going to have to distract them the other way. I need you to run ahead and get Robin and the others.' His tone is serious as breaks his gaze away from the guards to look at me. I feel dread creeping into my stomach, settling like a heavy stone, as he tells me of his plan. I look again at the guards, aware of how close they are getting to the area around the Outlaws camp.
'You're right.' I tell him, nodding. 'Are you going to be okay with the three of them?'
Alan gives me a cocky smile as he reassures me that he can handle the idiots in the armour, but I can see the nervousness behind his attitude. He pulls his sword from his belt, watching the guards in front as they scout.
'On the count of three?' He whispers, already putting himself in a fighting stance as we stand behind a tall trunk. I look across the forest, in the direction that heads to the tavern by Nottingham Castle, then back to Alan. I try to give him my best cocky smile, but he sees through me. We are both nervous as we nod to each other.
'Three.' We say it at the same time, and he slips around the tree trunk and sneaks behind the guards, who are still walking their slow pace.
I linger behind a few of the tree trunks, cautious of the guards and my footsteps on the fallen leaves. The trees are sparser for the next few meters, until the gradual slope that would lead me in the direction of the Tavern and to find the other Outlaws.
Just as Alan swings his sword at the guards, I take my cue to run out from behind the shelter of the trees. From behind me I hear shouts from the guards, and the sounds of metal clanging together. I dare to look behind me to see if Alan is okay, and see one of the guards on the floor, presumably from the sneak attack and Alan fighting another one of the third Guard is running towards me, his heavy footsteps seeming to echo in the calm and eerie woods. Panic rises inside of me, and I turn back to face forwards, willing my legs to run faster as I struggle to release my dagger from my belt. I can hear Alan and the other guards shout as they clash swords somewhere further back. Suddenly I feel a harsh pull on my cloak and for a second, I am weightless for a second as I feel my feet come off the ground. I hit the forest floor so hard and fast that I am stunned, the wind completely knocked out of me. My cloak is pulled so tight against my throat I can feel it cutting off my air supply and I let out a few raspy gasps for air as I blink and see the threatening figure of the guard standing over me, a look of triumph on his face. With a sinking feeling in my gut, I look upon the face of Robert, the guard with whom I headbutted and was chased by in this very forest. With that grin, I think he remembers me too.
'Well, well. Look who it is.' His lips curl in a malicious sneer as he looks over me as I lay on the forest floor, still in shock over the attack. Instinct takes over as my hands fumble to the hilt of my dagger, cursing myself for not taking it out of my belt sooner, but Robert tuts at me as he roughly grabs the dagger from my belt and throws it along the forest ground, a few meters away. Fear floods my body as I attempt to get up and run, but Robert swiftly pulls his sword from his belt and has the sharp tip pointed at my chest, which is heaving heavily after struggling to catch my breath. I stare up into the eyes of the guard who attacked me and vice versa, hating his very existence at that moment.
'Where are your beloved Outlaws now, eh?' He asks with a cruel laugh, noticing my panic in the situation. I curse myself for not having my blade out sooner, for not running fast enough and for even being out in the forest without the other Outlaws. I can still hear the sounds of swordfighting in the background, so I am reassured that Alan is still okay and fighting. The guards above me sneers at me as he watches the fear in my eyes, still keeping the tip of his sword on my chest, restricting me in place on the hard earth.
Thoughts race through my mind as I try to think of a way to get out of the dangerous situation I am currently in. I look beyond Robert's shoulder, staring at the nothingness of the forest trees but feigning relief at some imaginary figure. The guard takes the bait, whipping around on the spot to where I had been looking, in an attacking stance to fight off the supposed Outlaws that I had seen. I take this short opportunity to roll sideways on the forest floor in the direction of where Robert had thrown my dagger and snatch it from where it lies on leaves and grass. I struggle to stand on my shaking legs as I hear him curse at me once he realises that there was no one stood behind him. I can't help but let a small smile appear on my face, feeling rather cunning to deceive the threatening guard in front of me. Robert's expression was now of anger as he studies me in an attacking pose, holding my dagger in my hand.
'You stupid little brat!' He spits at me as he walks towards me, swinging his sword. I can feel the adrenaline coursing through me, mixed with fear and something else...anger. I'm angry, at this Guard, at the Sheriff and overall at this situation. My grip on my dagger tightens as Robert suddenly lunges towards me, thrusting his sword at my stomach but missing as I side step his attack. I quickly step around Robert as he maintains his balance and I lunge and attack at his leg with a hard swipe. He cries out as my blade swipes his thigh and in retaliation he swings his sword in wide motions and narrowly misses my arm as I block his attack. The sound of our blades clashing together rings in my ears and echoes those of Alan's and the other guards. The look on Robert's face is now almost murderous as he places a hand on the gash I made on his leg, his palm coming up bright red. He growls at me as he wipes off the blood on his other leg, and charges at me. I barely have enough time to move out of the way before he crashes into my side, sending the two of us to the ground with loud thuds. With my dagger still in my hand and struggling to catch my breath, I see Robert attempting to grab his sword where it lies a few feet from him on the ground. I push myself off the ground and fall to my knees beside him, the point of my dagger at his throat and my heart beating so fast that it seems to be the only thing I can hear. Robert's eyes are ablaze with fury and as he motions to grab me, but I put pressure on my blade as it rests against his throat. Instantly he stills, raising both hands in a surrender motion as we both breathe heavily.
I have no idea what to do at this moment, I have never thought about killing anyone in my life and now that I am here, kneeling on the floor next to the guard that has attacked me, with my dagger against his throat, I am hesitating. Which is stupid, because if it was the other way around, I don't think that Robert would think twice about killing me.
'Go on then girl, do it.' Robert hisses at me, as the point digs deeper into his flesh and a spot of blood appears. He watches me as I think about what I should do, suddenly very aware at how real this situation has become. 'You can't do it, can you?' His bitter tone almost scolds me as we look at each other.
'If it was the other way around you would already slit my throat.' I say to him, my tone has an edge to it and I try my hardest not to seem as emotional as I feel inside. His face twitches in reaction to my statement and he looks apprehensive to respond.
'Although that would have given me great pleasure, my orders were to find you and bring you to the Sheriff, not to kill you.' He watches my face as I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.
'Your orders? Why to bring me to the Sheriff?' I can't help but ask him as my mind goes blank, I had been so sure that the guards had been sent to kill the Outlaws in the Nottingham Forest.
'Not just you, the other one as well. The foreigner.' He replies with sneer and a malicious edge to his voice. The confusion deepens, did he mean Djaq? What the hell did the Sheriff want with the two of us? As I make a point of keeping my dagger in its position at Roberts throat, I hear Alan call my name, hearing the fear and worry in his voice. Instinctively I look up towards the direction that it came from, and before I can call back to him in response, something hard and fast hits the side of my face. Pain blossoms from my cheek and skull as I sprawl sideways and land with my face on the dirt and leaves. I gasp in pain and I realise how stupid I had been to get distracted whilst Robert was on the floor, but I stagger to my feet and watch as I see him starting to sprint up the incline in the direction of Nottingham Castle. I hear Alan call my name again, more urgently, but I run after Robert as his words still ring in my ears. I couldn't let him run away, especially after hearing what he had said. He was going to attack us in the forest, all of us Outlaws, and take me and Djaq, for what? I had to find out what the Sheriff was planning and did it have anything to do with the King's apparent visit?
I start to ascend the slope after Robert, who was struggling with the wound on his leg. Behind me I hear Alan's voice more clearly, he must have seen us running up the hill. I see Robert reach the top of the hill a few feet from me and he disappears from my sight, I push myself to reach the top so not to lose sight of him but as I reach the top of the hill and look around the sparser forest grounds, I cannot see Robert anywhere. I walk a little way forwards, still gripping my dagger in case he jumps out from behind one of the trees. Up ahead is the smaller clearing that leads out to the village and I can see a few lights on in windows as people prepare to go to sleep for the night. All I can hear around me are the normal sounds of the forest, no running footsteps as they gradually get further away, no heavy breathing apart from my own.
'Damn it'. I curse, looking upwards to the night sky in anger and annoyance at myself. I had let him get away. The sound of footsteps behind me make me turn around and swing my dagger, but it is only Alan, looking a little worse for wear as he steps backwards in defense.
'Whoa there, are you okay?' I sigh heavily in response, feeling a little bit worse for wear myself, but glad to see that Alan is unhurt. I study the forest around us once again, but have resigned to the fact that Robert was gone. Alan comes to my side, placing both hands on my shoulders and forcing me to look at him. 'What's the matter Gwen, why are you-' He cuts off as he looks at my face, and I realise that Robert must have left a mark when he had hit me to the floor. I reach a hand up to the side of my face, my cheekbone and the area above my eye feeling tender and sore. Alan lifts a hand off of my shoulder but I shake my head at him, trying to reassure him that I was fine. He was having none of it.
'Are you okay?' I ask him, as we both start to calm down after the events that have just occurred. He tries to give me a coy grin as he places a hand on the hilt of his own sword but I can see the strain on his face as he moves his body. He must have taken a few hits from the other guards and I try to see where it is that he is injured. But as I place my hand on his chest, he winces and I sharply withdraw my hand.
'It's nothing, just a couple of bruises. The first one was easy to knock out, same can't be said for the second. I heard you guys going at it as I was finishing up with the idiot.' I can't help but give him a shaky smile but still anxiously watch the trees and the shadows cast in the evening light. 'Tell me what happened Gwen, what's freaked you out so much?' Alan urges me to tell him, so I do. We start to head down the hill and back towards the Outlaws camp as I describe to him what happened in my fight with the Sheriff guard, and what he said to me as I threatened him on the ground. Alan's face looks just as confused as mine did as we reach the clearing just before the camp.
'What did he mean by that? Did he tell you why the Sheriff wanted you and Djaq?' Alan asks me as we both cautiously approach the clearing, making sure that no other guards of the Sheriff are hidden around.
'No, I was about to ask him but I heard you call me and I took my eyes off him for one second, that's when he hit me and managed to get away. I can't believe I was that stupid!' I had been doing so well to defend myself up until that point, all of my training with the other Outlaws had really helped. I still cannot shake the worry at the back of my mind as I watch Alan reach to open the latch and we walk into the camp.
'It appears that the others have not returned yet, we should probably get the fire going.' Alan says as he goes about starting a small fire to warm ourselves. I sit beside the newborn fire, warmth seeping through my cloak which I take off. The flames lick the dry twigs hungrily, the sound of the fire crackling fills the empty camp. Alan gets us both a flask of water and I finish mine in a few gulps, not realizing how thirsty I had been. I notice Alan gingerly checking the side of my face where the Guard hat hit my cheek, and the two of us sit in silence, our minds elsewhere. My limbs ache after the strain of the fighting, and I feel heavy with confusion and uncertainty.
A rustling outside of the camp makes the two of us tense instantly, my hand moves to the hilt of my dagger on reflex and we wait nervously as we hear a familiar snap of a trigger and the door to the Outlaws camp opens, revealing Will and Djaq first, Little John towering behind them and lastly Much and Robin all come traipsing through, making their way towards us beside the fire. They all look pleased to see us, smiles on their faces which dissipate as they get closer to the two of us. Will comes closer to myself and Alan, looking us over as we sit down.
'What's happened? Why do you look all roughed up?' He asks us, taking a seat next to Alan as the fire continues to crackle. The others have noticed as well as the come closer, I suddenly feel very aware of the ache on my face from where the Sheriff's guard had hit me. I imagine the bruise will be very colourful. I notice Robin as he approaches the two of us, his eyes seem tired as if he longs for his bed, but the expression on his face is of concern.
'Me and Gwen went for a little stroll up towards the village for some fresh air.' Alan started to explain, as I took another few mouthfuls of water. I watch the expression change on Robin's face as Alan tells him of how we saw a few of the Sheriff's guards sneaking into Nottingham Forest and we followed them, resulting in an exchange of blows. His expression changes from concern to troubled. The way that he is currently looking at myself and Alan reminds me of a parent telling off a petulant child and I get the impression that we are going to be scolded for our irresponsible actions.
'It's a good thing we did follow them. They were trying to find your camp!' I said, finally finding my voice. Robin and I look at each other and I see the troubled look in his eyes start to soften, the crackling of the fire seems to fill the silence within the camp.
'The Sheriff's guards are always trying to find our camp. But you two shouldn't have -' Robin started to explain as he walks around the fire and takes a seat on a large sideways log, but I can't stop myself from speaking out.
'The Sheriff wanted his Guards to capture Djaq and myself and take us back to Nottingham Castle.' I blurted out, watching the Outlaws look up at me in surprise, Robin looks sharply at me.
'How did you find this out?' Will asks me, nervously glancing at Djaq as he does so. I look at her as well, she has a stunned look on her face as she processes the information.
'When I was fighting with the Sheriff's guard and I had my blade at his throat, he told me to kill him. I said that if the roles were the other way around, he would have already have slit my throat and then he says that his orders were to bring me and Djaq back to the Sheriff at Nottingham Castle.' I explain, my eyes grazing from each of the Outlaws as they digest what I have told them. Robin looks to Djaq, then Much and then back to myself, before finally settling his gaze on the flames licking the kindling. Me and Alan exchange glances, I was glad that I had told them all but the mood seems to somehow have dampened.
'What happened with you guys and meeting Marian's source at the Tavern?' Alan asks the others as they begin to take their cloaks off and sit with us around the fire. Much responds to Alan's question.
'Um, well...The King has indeed been invited to a dinner party by the Sheriff in 2 days. The kitchen staff have been informed that it is to be a grand feast in his honour.'
Me and Alan exchange glances, and I wonder if this has anything to do with the Sheriff's plans to bring me and Djaq to the Castle.
'So what's the plan now?' Alan asks, as he tears into some bread that was leftover from breakfast. Robin looks at him as his chin rests on his thumbs and forefingers, in a prayer motion.
'We prepare ourselves to go to the feast.'
More soon, I promise! I hope you guys are liking the story so far! Please review and let me know what you think :)