Kings or Pawns of Men
Chapter Eleven
Beyond the hill…
Throughout the night, more and more men gathered together to join with the Baron in his fight against Robin Hood and his men, as many of them had been forced out of Nottingham when the thieves killed the sheriff. Even a small number of thieves with no moral compass joined in the fight in exchange for a small sum. By morning, the small army well outnumbered Robin's men who remained on Marian's lands.
As the men finished preparing for the battle ahead, the Baron rode up to the front of the line where Lucas was resting beneath a tree, due to the sword wound to his shoulder Robin Hood had given him days ago, while keeping an eye on the proceedings. Despite the lack of function in his left arm, the marksman refused to stand by and watch, especially when he had a score to settle with the prince of thieves and his brother. Until two days ago, Lucas had yet to fail a task given to him and seeing as Will Scarlett was still alive, he still had a job to finish.
The redheaded Baron dismounted uneasily thanks to his own injury and then said, "The men are looking good. Robin Hood and his band of thieves can't possibly defeat us this time."
Without looking up at him, Lucas responded coldly, "Which is what I am sure the sheriff of Nottingham assured you when you were plotting with him to take over all of England and the rest of the countries within Great Britain. Am I right?"
"I may have been a fool to put my trust in that venomous snake, but this time, we are not using the Celts as our army," the nobleman retorted angrily. "These are fierce soldiers hungry for revenge and bloodthirsty thieves, all ready and willing to kill, for me. You yourself understand how necessary this fight is."
"I never thought differently and you're right, I do have a high stake in this battle, as my reputation as an assassin is on the line, but I do not make the same mistake as you, thinking that just because we outnumber the prince of thieves and his own band of thieves that we will be victorious," the archer answered. "Being overconfident and underestimating their own wills to win will finish us before the fight even begins."
The Baron nodded and then replied, "You're right. Just do not let me down, Lucas, because if you do, then you better pray that Robin Hood finishes you off this time. I will not accept failure again."
A short time later, two soldiers walked over to the two men in charge of them, then spoke up saying, "We are ready to begin, my lord. The men are prepared and anxious to draw blood."
"Excellent!" the Baron responded coolly. "Proceed with your orders. Let this fight begin and remember, I want Robin Hood brought to me alive. I shall be the one to kill him, as his brother, Will Scarlett, belongs to Lucas here. Is this understood?"
"Yes, my lord," another one of the men answered, then joined with the rest of them as they began their march upon Marian's homestead.
Back outside the homestead, Robin's men were busy scrambling around to get ready for the fight ahead, while inside, Robin remained with Will inside his room, as did Marian, who was dressing in her own armor that she wore on hers and Robin first encounter, and Sarah as she worked with Fanny to prepare bandages, blankets, food, and supplies needed for the men and women staying behind to defend themselves and their home. Fanny also refused to leave the homestead along with most of the women and children, just as Robin expected she would.
"I'll be all right here, Ro… Robin," Will spoke as he could see the concern in his brother's face. "You have to… to go… to lead us… again. Those men, the… Baron, he wants you de… dead, so… please don't…"
Robin gently lay a hand down on his chest as he replied, "I told you, I'll be fine. We defeated the sheriff and the rest of the traitors to our king. And now we have sent word out to Richard for help. It won't be long before we will outnumber them and take them down. The Baron will not kill either of us."
Will shifted beneath Robin's hand in order to try to make himself more comfortable, then he responded, "I was going to say, just try… not to do any… thing stupid to… to make matters worse."
"You know me," Robin answered as he smiled, mostly because Will was already beginning to regain his sense of humor, despite the hell he's suffered over the last several days. "I'm going, but I need you to promise me that you'll stay here and rest. I can't lose you like I almost did over these last few days."
"I promise," Will replied and then closed his eyes as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Fanny looked down sadly at the young man lying so still beneath the blankets and then back over at his brother as she said, "Don't worry yourself too much, Robin. Sarah and I will look after him. If anyone comes in here to try to harm him, we will kill them first. I promise you."
It was then that Wulf came running back in as he cried, "They're here and they are heavily armed. It's a small army."
"And Azeem, your father, and Bull?" Robin asked quickly as he stood and looked out the window toward the direction of the soldiers. "Have they made it back yet?"
"Not yet," the boy stated. "But they will be. I'm going out to search for them."
Robin watched him leave, then turned to the women as he spoke again saying, "It's time. By tonight, we'll have defeated another enemy just as we have before. Take care of each other. I'll be back."
As he and Marian left the room, Fanny said sadly, "I do pray that that husband of mine and the others get back here before the fight begins. Robin will need them at his side if we are to succeed."
