Chapter 26
For a few days following Sir Edward's death, the outlaws did not do much, out of respect to the fallen man, to allow themselves time to grieve, and to give Rhiannon extra time to recover from the wounds she sustained in captivity. The peace, however was not to last.
It had been Marian who signaled that the time to fight back after her father's death was upon them, and Robin and the others had been too happy to comply, conducting raids on the rich, and giving the profits to the poor at a increased frequency. Only one thing was different from it had been in the past. After many protests on Rhiannon's behalf, Robin had ordered her to don Marian's old Night watchman costume, to conceal the fact that Rhiannon hadn't died during the hanging. It had been Allan who had arrived in the camp, telling the news that the Sheriff was celebrating the death of a known outlaw, and someone who was closely tied to the outlaws, within the space of a week of each other. Robin had decided to take advantage of the situation, by making it seem that the outlaws were actually short a member, and that the Night watchman was helping them during the 'staff shortage' The plan also cleared all of the outlaws, Marian included, of being the Night Watchman.
The only real flaw in the plan was the difference in fighting styles between the Night Watchman and Rhiannon. For this reason, Rhiannon was primarily using her bow during fights, staying away from fighting in a close proximity. Rhiannon hated the restrictions Robin had placed upon her, but she could see the sence in them.
Three weeks following Sir Edward's death, however, the gang received word that the Sheriff himself would be travelling through the forest, supervising the transfer of a large amount of tax money to Prince John's men on the other side. Robin's face lit up as he heard the news.
"He's fallen for it."
"He's what?" Allan asked.
"Fallen for the trick we set out for him. He thinks we're under manned, so he's going to test us."
"Let's go for it" Little John growled.
"Yes, we shall, but it will need planning. There will be many guards. We'll need our full numbers for this, but I don't think the Night Watchman will be needed."
Rhiannon's face fell, and she bowed her head, hoping that none of the others saw the tears shining in her eys. Marian glared at Robin, who was smiling.
"We will need Rhiannon of Basford though." Rhiannon looked up at him, widely grinning.
"Are you serious?" she asked.
"Yeah, I am. I figured you'd be able to help mere when you weren't hiding in the bushes. Just try to stay out of trouble."
"Yes sir." Rhiannon replied, grinning. Robin grinned back at her, before switching back into his 'leader' mode.
"Alright, so this is the plan…" he began to talk.
RH RH RH RH RH
"Despite what Robin said" Rhiannon found herself saying, "I still ended up hiding in the bushes"
"At least it's not on the ground," Marian replied from where she was crouched. Rhiannon nodded,
"Well, yeah, I guess" she shifted uncomfortably, "That's it. I'm going to my position."
"Okay, go" Robin whispered up to her. Rhiannon crawled further along the tree branch she had been sitting upon until she was directly over the road that the Sheriff would be travelling along. She hugged the branch, checking the knots on the rope she had tied there earlier that afternoon, before sitting up. She was completely concealed by the branches and leaves that sprouted off the one she was sitting upon.
Gripping one end of the rope in her right hand, Rhiannon drew her sword in her left hand, holding it close to her body. She glanced at the direction that the Sheriff would be coming from and tensed herself, waiting.
A few minutes later, the outlaws could feel the pounding of hoofs hitting the ground, and could even hear the sound of armor jingling as the riders drew near. From her hiding place, Rhiannon crouched low, feeling her pulse and breathing quicken. She tightened her grip on the rope and her sword. The riders rounded the corner and came into view. From her heightened elevation, Rhiannon could see that there were over twenty guards in the group, along with the Sheriff, Gisbourne, and the guards that were bound to be hiding in the carriage that also, hopefully, carried a great deal of money. She glanced over her shoulder, looking down at the bushes she knew Marian and Robin were hidden in. She could not see them, but she knew they were there. Biting her lip, she faced the oncoming riders once more, staying as still as she could as they passed beneath her. As the front riders passed a pair of trees, however, a mechanism sprang into life, bringing up nets that blocked the road at the front. At the rear, as the last guards passed another pair of trees, a similar mechanism snapped into action. Rhiannon glanced down, smirking when she saw the Sheriff and Gisbourne were trapped right beneath her. Rhiannon moved she let herself slide of the branch, swinging from the rope. She kicked out her legs, knocking five guards, the Sheriff and Gisbourne from their horses. She dropped down, landing in front of the Sheriff as he scrambled to his feet. In less than a second, Rhiannon had her sword at his throat.
"You!" He yelled as the other Outlaws jumped from their hiding places. Rhiannon tilted her head.
"Who did you expect, the Easter bunny?"
"You, you're dead! Gisbourne!" The Sherriff recognized Rhiannon as a fight broke out around them. He looked around for Gisbourne, but he was already fighting his way towards Robin. Rhiannon looked thoughtful.
"Well, if I were dead, would I be able to do this?" Stepping forward, Rhainnon swung her right fist as hard as she could at The Sherriff, smirking when a crunch was heard when her fist collided with the Sherriff head. The Sheriff dropped to the ground, unconscious.
"A clue! No." Rhiannon grinned, before changing hands with her sword, and turning to face the next guard.
The fight continued onwards, until the last guard was felled by Allan. The outlaws looked around the scene.
"A nice little fight" Allan panted, pulling his sword from the stomach of the last guard he faced.
"Not too bad" Djaq admitted, "Is anyone hurt?" Everyone shook their head.
"Who did Gizzy?" Allan asked, pointing at the unconscious Gisbourne sprawled on the ground.
"Much threw his shield at him" Marian told him.
"That's not the cool way you do it, Much" Allan whined, "Who got the Sheriff?"
"Er, I did. He was sort of underneath me, so I knocked him off his horse." Rhiannon said.
"Then you punched him." Little John added.
"Well, yeah. I needed to prove a point."
"Which was?" Robin asked.
'That I am still alive. He needed some persuading."
"Ah, nothing like a good fist to the head to prove a point." Allan joked as Will begun to cut the ropes that had held up the nets. Rhiannon laughed as she climbed up onto the carriage. Robin opened up the back of the carriage, letting out a cry of triumph when he saw many chests, stacked neatly. Getting to the closest one, he pulled the lid open, before letting out another cry of triumph, as it was filled with coins.
"Well, I think today has been a good collection day for the poor, hey John?"
"That it has. A good day." Te fight continued onwards, untill the last guard was felled by Allan.
e Sherrif, Roobin.into place.hat blocked the road at th
"I'll say" Allan added, peeping into the chest.
"C'mon, let's hide this out the storehouse before these guys wake up" Much suggested. Rhiannon climbed to the front of the carriage, taking the reins while the others cleared the guards away, placing them just off the road. The others then all climbed on as Rhiannon shook the reins once, turning the cart around and driving the carriage back along the way it came.
RH RH RH RH RH
The outlaws sat around the fire that night, enjoying a few well earned mugs of Ale. The food they had eaten that nigh had been better than usual, improved by Much's use of herbs that Rhiannon had found during the afternoon when she and Will had gone gathering honey and herbs together.
Rhiannon relaxed by the fire, leaning against the wall of the shelter. Beside her, Will was dozing, made weary by the Ale. Rhiannon was surprised she was not sleeping either, but then she had a feeling that Djaq had been making sure that Rhiannon's drinks were watered down. Smiling, Rhiannon downed her mug, before setting it down on the ground beside her.
By the end of the night, Allan and Much had passed out. Much had taken Allan up on his offer of a drinking contest, and then Allan had felt it was his duty, as winner, to try and double what he had already drunk. Robin was grinning as the remaining members made their way, albeit unsteadily, to their beds.
"Tomorrow is when we pull in the 'every man for himself' rule" he whispered loudly to them.
"What's that?"
"You have to clean up your own mess." Robin giggled, before slipping over and, somehow, landing on his bed, snoring. Rhiannon giggled.
"He won't be using that tone tomorrow, I bet" she whispered to Marian, who nodded.
"Of course he won't."
"Men" Djaq muttered darkly under her breath, and Marian and Rhiannon nodded.
"Would we love them in any other way, though?" Marian asked. Both Djaq and Rhiannon shrugged.
"I don't know" Djaq admitted. Marian shrugged, and they both looked at Rhiannon.
"What? Mine is still able to function normally." Rhiannon said, before clapping her mouth shut.
'I should NOT have said that.'
A.N. Yay, another chappie. The next one will be I don't know when. Still in that really bad exam period I told you about, so, I don't know.
By the way, it's my birthday next week, so if that makes you feel more enticed to review, it's appreciated. Hint hint.
Also, don't forget that little poll on my profile page. You know, the one you vote in. (I'm being subtle today, can't you tell ;)
R.W.