Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
The Long Road Home by Ecri
Part 10: Desperation
Robin counted his arrows once again. He knew he had as many as he could carry. He knew that they were all in fine condition. He knew they were as sharp as he could make them. Yet, he could not stop checking and rechecking his quiver.
His sword, too, was sharpened and honed to a fine edge. It was polished and in as fine condition as his arrows. That, too, he could not leave alone.
He looked up from his latest check of his equipment to find Azeem walking smoothly toward him, his hand on the hilt of his scimitar. "Christian, all is ready. The search parties will leave in the morning."
Robin clenched his fists in frustration. "It is time wasted. Azeem…" Robin began, but stopped himself.
Azeem nodded and sat by the fire. "Christian, none could blame you for the fear you feel in your heart. You worry for him. We all do, but you have the most to lose." He looked into the fire for a moment staring into the flames. As he spoke, his eyes reflected the flames' dancing light. "You must leave the worried brother behind. Bring along only Robin Hood, the defender of Sherwood, defeater of Sheriff Nottingham and Robin of Locksley, the man who broke out of a foreign prison with a Moor he barely knew."
Robin looked at Azeem and understood how right he was. He shook his head in defeat. "I can no longer separate these men."
Azeem smiled. "Ah! That is better. If you are a whole man, a man who has found a way to permit the different sides of himself to live as one, then you will be ready to do whatever you need to do to free the Young Christian."
Robin shook his head. "This is wrong. He shouldn't have to go through this. He's barely recovered from his wounds. What if…"
Azeem placed a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Do not dwell on these questions. We will find him…" He smiled. "As you told me once when I mentioned that it might not be possible to save everyone, we will because we must."
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
The search parties went out just before dawn, everyone being eager to begin. Will and Azeem tracked the horses but it didn't lead them far. The ground was too hard from the recent lack of rain, and before long, the pair was forced to recognize their lack of progress.
Robin, not willing to turn back, decided to see Marian in the chance that she might have heard something or might help them work out who was behind this.
By the time Azeem and Robin reached Lady Marian's home, the sky was dark with both late evening and an impending storm. Marian met them immediately. "Robin!" She shouted his name with joy and more than a little relief. "It's been too long with no word. Are you all right?"
Robin nodded grimly. "I am as well as can be expected under the circumstances." He then filled her in on Will's abduction and on their ongoing search. He handed the note to her. "Do you know who this man might be? The note is unsigned."
Marian read the letter. "The writing is familiar, but the seal is not." She shook her head. "I don't…" she stopped and a small gasp escaped her.
"What?" Robin asked.
"Robin, if you read this through again…don't you see…it must be the Duke!"
"Allah, I am blind!" Azeem muttered. He turned to face Robin. "She is right, my friend."
"Why? Because of what happened when he was here…because Will…"
"Accused the Duke of murdering his mother." Marian said. "Robin, it's serious. Obviously, the Duke intends to be sure Will can't tell anyone else about his mother's death. He also doesn't like that Will has claimed to be your brother. He makes an allusion to how Will's mother died. It must be him. Who knows that except people who were there at the time?"
"Allah, be merciful," Azeem whispered and Robin wondered if that were a prayer for Will's well being or for them to be able to find the Duke and persuade him to release Will.
"Where does he live?" Robin asked.
"You cannot go to him!" Marian was shocked at the notion.
"I have to find Will!"
"Of course you do, but you don't seriously think he'll just let you walk into his home and accuse him of taking your brother?" Marian paused and thought about it.
"So…what do you suggest?" Robin hoped against hope that Marian would have an answer.
She looked up at him. "I'm afraid I've no idea, but let me talk to some friends, discreetly. Perhaps someone can help."
Robin sat down with a defeated slump to his shoulders. "I've failed him," he said in a whisper. "I promised to keep him safe, to keep him from harm…I've failed him."
Azeem put a hand on Robin's shoulder. "You have not failed yet, Christian. We will find him, and you will yet get to know your brother."
Robin wasn't as convinced of this, but took refuge in the plans once again. "Come, Azeem. We should start our search once more."
Together they rode out hoping to find some sign of Will Scarlett.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
The second night in the cage was much rougher to Will than the first night had been. While he'd been terrified, cold, and hungry the one thing that had worked in his favor was the distinct lack of wind. That first night the air had been still. Now, a harsh, cold wind whipped through the bars of the cage. It whistled through the ruins of the castle making odd, ghost-like noises, which put Will in mind of the Duke's parting words about his father's ghost. He didn't believe in ghosts, of course, but as dawn broke he began to realize that he was falling ill. His fevered imagination insisted on having conversations with his dead father. His brain conjured images of him standing nearby, hovering in the air as though that were normal, though he supposed that, for a ghost, it would be.
He'd called for Robin off and on as day and night bled into each other, but his voice was little more than a hoarse whisper thanks to the Duke. Thirst and injury to his throat robbed him of his only chance to call attention to himself. He lacked the strength to rock the cage, and, being tied to it, he couldn't rattle the bars or jump about to get someone's attention. Not that anyone ever passed the castle. The tales of why Lord Locksley had been killed prevented anyone turning up.
So, as the feeble rays of the sun failed spectacularly to warm his cage Will hung there, held upright by the very ropes that hindered his movement, talking to his long dead father and wondering if he'd gone mad.
The third dawn was no better. He was weaker, he knew that, but he no longer felt cold. He thought perhaps he should be worried about that, but couldn't remember why.
All he could think now was that it wasn't so bad not shivering. On some level he supposed he must be dying. He worried about Robin. He had no way to get a message to his brother telling him it wasn't his fault.
Thinking of Robin that way made him recall what they'd shared since they'd met. Words came to him, and though he had little enough voice left, he could not keep them to himself.
There was a Lord returned from War
A better life he was after
He lived in Sherwood
Was called Robin Hood…
Will's voice stopped the sing-song rhythm and dropped to a whisper. "…and I wasted time full of anger…"
He blinked rapidly and looked up at the dismal, graying sky and began again.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Each day that passed without any sign of his brother set Robin further on edge. He grew distracted, preoccupied. He snapped at his friends. He slept little, for when he did his memories and his fears collided in a freakish panorama of what-ifs. Will in the Holy Land prison from which he and Azeem had escaped, Will being held by Nottingham, his blood the price for Robin's transgressions, and Will being burned alive at his mother's side by the Duke.
Robin began leaving Sherwood early each morning and riding in random directions. The other search parties went out later in the day, and some didn't go out at all. The winter was becoming hard to ignore—bitter temperatures, scarce food sources—and more of the groups were needed to prepare for it. Sherwood was a beautiful home, but if unprepared for the cold, wet, English winter, the so-called outlaws would not live to see spring.
As their de-facto leader, Robin didn't begrudge them the time and manpower to prepare for the winter, but as he became more and more desperate to find some sign of his brother, he knew he'd never make it through the winter himself if he didn't find Will Scarlett soon. Something inside him was breaking, and without his brother by his side, Robin didn't think it could be fixed.
Today marked the third day since he'd returned from a hunting trip to find Will missing. Azeem insisted on accompanying him, and though they didn't often speak, Robin was glad to have the company.
They'd been searching for hours, when Azeem spoke, startling Robin out of his thoughts. "Christian, we've seen no sign. Perhaps we should consider another plan."
"What sort of plan? Finding him is our only hope."
"We can go about finding him a different way. Surely we can find this Duke and persuade him to release your brother…or perhaps we can follow him and see if he leads us to Will's prison."
Robin nodded. "I'd love the chance to speak to the Duke, but Marian thought it a bad idea. I don't want to make anything difficult for her. She's put herself at risk for us already, and if she loses everything…"
"She will still have you, Christian."
"Yes, and while my ego hopes that is enough, I cannot see depriving her of her home. Also, if King Richard returns and finds she's put him in an untenable position, he might not support her if it were a politically compromising thing to do." Robin shook his head. "The rest of our people are counting on King Richard's pardons…"
"Ah, Christian, they would not prize that above your brother's life."
"Then…we should go to see the Duke." Robin smiled and urged his horse to gallop. Azeem was close behind.
As they rode, Robin realized that his brother's disappearance had forced him to make one decision. As soon as he found Will, and as soon as they were both pardoned, he would do everything he legally could to be sure that Will was afforded every opportunity the name of Locksley could obtain for him. He would have half of the Locksley lands, and a title and anything else Robin could get him to accept.
Getting him to accept would be tricky. He wouldn't take charity, and Robin had no idea if he would be willing to agree to take on the lands and titles of a man who had, in essence, rejected him even if it had been Robin's fault. Will was obstinate, angry, frustrated and still full of bitterness and hatred. He was also suspicious. He expected Robin to let him down somehow, and that fact in itself worried Robin.
He knew Will had every reason to expect to be let down. It was a recurring pattern in his life, and Robin was in many ways the person who had set that pattern in motion by forcing his father to reject the peasant woman who would later become Will's mother.
These thoughts were, as his father would say, tomorrow's worries. His priority now was to find Will, and to do that, he had to find Henry, Duke of Essex.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
"Lady Marian! How wonderful to see you!" Henry, Duke of Essex greeted her warmly, but Marian had to wonder how genuine the greeting was. When last they'd seen each other, he'd insisted that he was in the midst of business for Prince John. Why he would be staying on at Nottingham Castle concerned her.
"When I head you were still here, I had to come see you!" Marian wondered then what Robin would say when she told him of this visit. She'd all but forbade him to do it himself, and here she was visiting the man they suspected of kidnapping Will Scarlett. Still, now that she was here, she had to play the game. "You seemed in such a hurry the last time we spoke." She smiled with a slight coquettishness, and hoped he would find it as flattering as she found it nauseating. "You were a bit mysterious about that as well, Your Grace, but I'm glad you found reason to stay here." She looked around Nottingham Castle, successfully repressing the urge to run from this hated place and the memories it stirred. "Will you be taking up residence permanently?"
"Oh, Lord, no! I'm not looking to expand my territory that way! I have no wish to take on the late Sheriff's duties. To be honest, he was never well liked at Court. His duties would bore me to tears, I'm sure."
She laughed with him. "Tedious, they must have been." She agreed with him. "So you're only here for a short time. I should have guessed the Prince would prefer to keep you in London. Well, London's gain is Nottingham's loss, I suppose."
"Ah, Lady Marian, your mother is so right about you. She laments that you have not joined her at Prince John's Court."
"I desire to see my mother more than I can say, but I have a duty to the people…there are so many children who have been displaced by the former Sheriff's policies." Marian forced tears to her eyes. "It breaks my heart to think of them homeless and hungry." She knew the Duke would now write her off as a weak, softhearted woman, and would not see her as a threat. She needed that if she were to be of any use to Robin.
"I see," the Duke said, not unsympathetically. "To be honest, I thought it was something like that. You are too kind, Lady Marian. That is your only flaw."
Marian blushed and looked away. "Oh! Your Grace, you're much too kind."
"I assume your visit is in aid of something."
"To be sure, Your Grace, I've come to see if there is any way you might let Prince John know of the surfeit of foundlings living in and near Nottingham. Perhaps there is some aid the Crown might render?" She turned hope filled eyes on the Duke and forced herself to look as clueless as she was able.
He laughed. "Is that all that you require?"
"It seems like a great deal to me."
"The caring of the peasant women and children, that was why you had Robin Hood's people staying with you wasn't it?"
"I'd hardly permit a criminal—let along a band of them—stay with me otherwise." Marian admitted, with seeming reluctance.
"I thought as much." He seemed to consider something and then slipped an arm around her shoulder. "What do you make of Robin of the Hood?"
"Well," Marian pretended to be flustered by the question. "While I understand his reasons, I cannot say I support the notion that crime is any way to solve a man's problems." She paused. This was it. She would push one last thing…baiting the hook. "Least of all a nobleman!"
"You know, I'd heard you were friends with Robin of Locksley." The Duke said.
Marian laughed. "No. My brother was his friend. All I remember of him is that he used to burn my hair when I was a child."
He made a show of looking at her long, dark tresses. "A crime if ever there was one!" He put an arm around her shoulders and moved gently toward a table. "Lady Marian, what were your thoughts of Will Scarlett?"
"The boy? I don't really know him. I've only spoken to him a time or two."
"Yet you defended him when he accused me of crimes too heinous to describe in polite company."
She looked chagrinned. "Ah, well, I must beg your forgiveness for that. I was concerned. Robin's men were there and armed. If he had supported his brother in an armed conflict, they would have weighed in as well. There were dozens of children in the courtyard…" She sniffed and dabbed a handkerchief to her eyes.
"Ah, don't trouble yourself Marian. I understand completely. I think you might be interested to know that Will Scarlett will never again make any accusations—or claims—to any nobleman."
"What do you mean?" Marian's heart hammered in her chest, and she felt her cheeks flush. She could only hope he would consider it natural in the circumstances.
"I have given him an appropriate end."
"You cannot mean…he's dead?" She felt much as she had when Will had told Nottingham that Robin was dead.
"Oh, I would think he is by now. He was alive when last I saw him. Let's just say there's a castle nearby with another ghost!" He laughed, and she forced herself to join him. She spent the next hour visiting with him so as not to raise suspicion. When she could finally break away, she made for Sherwood and hoped that, since she had yet to be at their new campsite and had no idea where to find it, Robin would find her.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
?There was a Lord returned from War
A better life he did search for
He lived in Sherwood
Was called Robin Hood…"
Again Will failed to find a decent last line for his rhyme. He could barely get the words out, and he'd all but lost his voice.
His need to immortalize Will in words was the only thing that occupied his mind. He had stopped shivering earlier in the day, and his hunger had left him. He could not cry. Tears would not come. He could not call out, for his voice was all but gone. The singing, such as it was, was less music and more just croaking.
Sleep would not come. He supposed he must be dozing at times, but it did not feel like sleep. It seemed more like a waking dream. The words, though they still seemed to fail him, were the only way to occupy his mind and his time.
He cleared his throat, but it was sore and rough. Wincing, he tried again.
"There was a Lord returned from War
In Sherwood Forest he did live
His men thought him good
He was called Robin Hood…"
Frustration angered Will, but he had not the strength to do anything about it. He took a deep breath. Again, he told himself. Try again.
"There was a Lord returned from War…"
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Lady Marian rode as fast as she dared, and was so preoccupied with her search, that she was upon Robin and Azeem before she realized it.
"Robin!" She cried out in relief and desperation. "Robin, it's he Duke! He did take Will!"
"What?" Robin asked. "When? What have you heard?"
Marian related what she'd gotten from the Duke. "'A castle nearby has another ghost…' that's all he said. I could get no more out of him." But as she spoke, Robin was turning his horse around.
"I know where he is!" Robin declared and rode on. Marian could only stare after him. Her horse was too tired to follow.
"Go, Azeem! My horse is tired. I won't be able to keep up!"
Azeem turned and followed Robin, and Marian prayed they would find Will in time, or she feared Robin would not bear it.
"Where are we going, Christian?" Azeem called as loudly as possible as they galloped across the English countryside.
"He said, 'A castle nearby'! He means Locksley Castle."
"How can you be so certain, Christian?"
"I cannot, but it is the only answer I have. It would appeal to a man like Essex."
Azeem did not argue.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
It was dark when he reached the outskirts of his land, and he had no clue where to begin to search for Will. He could only hope he was right, and Will wasn't being kept somewhere else. He did not think he could take another day of this, and certainly Will would be better off if Robin could find him soon.
He slowed his horse as the castle walls came into view. Azeem came up beside him. "Where do we look?" The Moor asked.
Robin sighed. "Everywhere." Robin rode slowly around the grounds, but hopped off the horse so he could look inside the castle…such as it was. "It's a ruin. No walls to speak of…nothing left of the home I knew. Where could he be?"
Azeem shook his head, but then stopped and cocked it. "Do you hear that, Christian?"
"What?"
"Listen."
Robin strained to hear what his friend had heard. He moved slowly, silently. Then he heard it. It was a sound like groaning, but not groaning precisely. Robin moved around the ruins, his eyes darting all over the place, but the sound would stop and would start again, and it echoed over the broken bits of stone and support until Robin became confused and almost dizzy with moving his head to try to see what made the sound.
There was a cough, dry and hacking, and then the sound was replaced by soft words spoken so softly, he had to hold his breathe in order to hear them.
"There was a Lord returned from War.
The Sheriff cursed his behavior
He lived in Sherwood
He was called Robin Hood
To the peasants, he was a savior."
Then a soft croaking laugh echoed down from the highest ramparts.
Down! Robin thought craning his head to look up. The laughter continued for a time, and became again a cough and then, suddenly, all sound ceased.
"No!" Robin shouted, thinking the worst when the familiar tune disappeared.
Azeem pointed up. "There, Christian!"
Robin saw it a moment before Azeem pointed it out. He scrambled up the side of the castle leaping over broken stone, and crawling when standing became impractical. The cage was too familiar, and he shuddered at the memory of the last time he'd seen it…or one like it. It was too much, he thought, for Will to end up here.
He found the rope that held the cage in place, and, with Azeem's help, he lowered it to the ground. He wanted to be gentle, but he found himself rushing the job out of a desperation born of fear.
When it finally touched ground, he raced to it, and there he was.
"Will?" Robin called softly. His brother was tied, wrists and ankles strapped to the rough iron bars of the cage. He was shirtless and all but blue from the cold. When Robin called his name, he did not move.
"Oh, Will," Robin whispered. He tore open the door and reached inside. He first untied Will's ankles and then moved inside to free his wrists. Immediately, his brother fell, slumping forward into Will's arms. Robin touched Will's face. He drew his hand back in surprise. He was cold. Ice cold. The cold of death.
"Azeem!" He called to his friend, his fear lodging in his throat and choking off any other words he might say.
Azeem moved to the cage door. "Get him out of here, Christian." Azeem pulled off his own cloak and spread it carefully on the ground. "Here," he said indicating the cloak. Robin gently placed Will on the still-warm cloak and tore his own from his back to place on top of him.
"Is he…" he could not finish the question.
"I cannot say, Christian. He is not yet dead, but he is colder than any man I've ever seen."
Robin looked at his brother and saw the purple, red, black and blue marks around his brother's throat. "What did he do?"
Azeem hissed. "It looks like he was nearly strangled." Azeem fingered the bruises. "I do not think it is serious. It is the cold that worries me." He looked at Robin. "We should build a fire for him, but it is not warm enough here." He gestured to the wide-open area, and the wind, as if to prove his point, picked up robbing them both of breath for a moment. "If he is to have any chance, we must take him somewhere warm. How far to your Lady's home?"
"If we hurry, we can be there soon."
"Hurry, Christian. If he is to live, he cannot spend another night out here." Azeem gestured to the horses, and Robin quickly mounted. Azeem passed Will, still wrapped in both cloaks, up to him. "Keep him close. Your warmth can save him, Christian."
Robin didn't have to be told twice. He rode as fast as the terrain would permit, Azeem somehow keeping pace. Will's stillness scared him more than he'd ever been in his life since the day he'd been locked in a prison ten thousand miles from home.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Will felt movement and wondered if the wind had picked up again. He felt no colder, but then he hadn't been able to feel the cold for some time. He felt…warmth. Surprise sped his heart, and he tried to open his eyes. Finding himself unable, he moved his head toward the warmth. It was a confusing feeling. The warmth had a scent and a sound. He heard a beat, and thought for a moment it was his own heart, but he knew that was wrong. He wanted to speak, to ask who was there and where he was, but only a groan came out.
"Will?"
That was Robin's voice. Had he started to hallucinate? He groaned again in reply.
"Will!"
"R'bn," was all he managed to say before he felt himself slipping away. Just before he did, he felt as though he were moving faster.
To Be Continued