Chapter 29
Rhiannon groaned as she slowly began to wake up. Her head was throbbing, as was her arm, where the blood had dried, forming a scab. She lay silently, waiting for her head to stop hurting. Slowly, she began to sit up, wincing as the world span around her. Blinking, Rhiannon noticed that the pain had begun to diminish, thankfully. She leaned up against the back wall of the hollow, breathing deeply. Satisfied that she could start moving again without risking another collapse, she rolled to her knees and crawled out from behind the branches, getting gingerly to her feet.
Comfortable with the fact that her legs could hold her weight, Rhiannon moved off, hurrying through the undergrowth, stealthily weaving a path that would be near impossible to follow. A slight noise from up ahead, however, made her freeze, and crouch behind a bush, as she watched something large creep through the undergrowth, crossing her path up ahead. She frowned.
It was large
And hairy
And human
"Little John!" Rhiannon whispered as loudly as she dared, standing up. Little John stopped, turning around and spotting the younger outlaw.
"Rhiannon. Where have you been?"
"Er, hiding. What about you?"
"Resting, once I lost those buffoons that were sent after me. They lasted for longer than I expected them to."
"So did mine. They took a wrong turn."
"Have you been back yet?"
"No, have you?"
"No. We should go back though, it's getting late. Are you injured?"
"Yes, but it's not too bad, I'll fix it up when we get back to camp, we're not far off. Are you hurt?"
"A few nicks, but nothing too bad. Come on." Little John beckoned, and Rhiannon followed him as they hurried towards the camp.
RH RH RH RH RH
Marian and Much sat in Silence. Much had lit a small fire, and they both found themselves watching the flickering flames. Tears shone upon Marian's face, and Much sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve. The camp felt empty with only the two of them within it.
Several hours had passed since the unsuccessful raid, and Marian and Much remained the only pair whom had returned. It was mid afternoon, and, though neither said it, they both knew that every minute that passed meant it was less likely that the others would be returning unhurt, or alive. Much sighed, fidgeting uncomfortably. He didn't want to think of the possibility that Robin could be dead, laying in some ditch with a arrow protruding from his chest, covered in blood. They both jumped when they heard someone say something outside the shelter, but they couldn't see whom the speaker was, because they'd closed the shelter door.
The both glanced at each other, and Marion picked up a sword, while Much gathered up his shield and sword. They both adopted a fighting stance as the person outside pulled the lever to open the Shelter door. Light steamed into the shelter, silhouetting two figures standing in the doorway.
RH RH RH RH RH
Rhiannon and Little John squinted into the darkness at the two armed people facing them.
"Rhiannon?" Marion finally said.
"Marion? Much?" Rhiannon let a brief smile flicker across her face.
"Little John, did you see any of the others?" Much asked as Rhiannon and Little John entered the shelter. Rhiannon flopped to the ground beside the fire, wearied by the walk back to the shelter.
"No, I didn't see anyone, did you Rhiannon?"
"No, you were the only one I saw." Rhiannon shook her head, before gingerly crawling over to Djaq's medicine box and pulling out some supplies.
" So, we're the only ones who've made it back?" she asked as she put some ointment upon her injuries. Marion nodded. Rhiannon dropped her gaze, tears prickling at her eyes. Robin, Allan, Djaq, WILL. None of them had made it back yet. They could be gone, dead. Rhiannon finished tending to her wounds, Much wordlessly helping bandage the deeper cuts, before leaving her to go and find food.
When he returned, Rhiannon quietly offered to prepare their evening meal, which Much was grateful for. He joined Marion and Little John by the fire, and looked at it, his eyes misting over with unshed tears. Rhiannon swallowed as she cut up the freshly skinned squirrel. It was far too quiet. The camp was not overly noisy, they were supposed to be in hiding after all, but there was usually some chatter going on, usually involving Allan. Even in the dead of night, there was noise. Little John's snoring, Robin and Much's night time murmurs as visions from the war came back to them, the creaking of wood as someone shifted in their bed. Now, everything was silent. Even the forest was unnaturally silent, no rustling of leaves, nor chirping of birds, no whistling of wind through the trees, nothing. It was like the forest was dead, like the others might be.
'Don't think that' Rhiannon closed her eyes, sliding the chopped up squirrel into Mutt's heavy pot, and carrying it over to the fire. She stirred it tentatively as the meat began to brown, before adding some vegetables and herbs, and leaving the mixture to cook into a stew. As she cleaned her knife, she glanced out of the shelter, noticing the weather.
"It's raining" she told the others as she rejoined them by the fire. They looked at her, their eyes tear filled, their expression's grief stricken. Rhiannon bowed her head, unable to look at them any more, and watched the stew slowly bubble away, unaware of the tension that surrounded it.
After Rhiannon served up the stew, they ate in silence, nobody saying anything. Rhiannon satisfied herself with imagining how Allan would have said how much better her stew was compared with Much's, just to irritate Much. Putting aside the leftovers, just in case someone came back, Rhiannon sat back beside the fire, jumping slightly when she felt someone place their hand upon her shoulder. Looking up, she gave Little John a weak smile, letting the large man gently hold her in an embrace, letting her rest her head against his chest. Rhiannon half closed her eyes, watching the fire and listening to the steady beating of little John's heart. She dozed, waking up to find that someone may have shifted slightly, or that someone had draped a blanket over her (She guessed it had been Much). Time passed, and night fell, and still, nobody else had returned.
A.N. Well, here is the latest offering (sorry if it's a little Short). My exams are over at last, YAY. So updates might be a little more frequent from now in (Double YAY) Just a note that the poll on my page is now closed. Thank-you to the five of you who voted, you know who you are.
Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
R.W.
