My writer's block is going to kill me, I swear. I got through a tough bit, hope you guys like it.

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Five

All Gone Wrong

"What are you talking about?" Julia asked as she stopped in her place. She turned to face the smaller woman. Djaq could really see her for the first time in weeks. Her face was the color of snow and her eyes were so dark. Her cheeks were sunken and she looked so much older than when she first met her. She must be so tired.

"Julia. My father was a physician. I know the signs. You are not sleeping or eating. You are weak. And you have been more irritable than usual lately," Djaq conveyed as she took Julia's arm. Djaq could feel the anxiety that Julia had been hiding for weeks; her body was shaking.

"Don't tell anyone. Especially Robin," Julia's voice quivered as the words came rushing out; almost like when an hourglass is turned.

"What will you do?" Djaq inquired.

"I will think of something, but please keep this between us. Djaq please," she begged as she grabbed onto Djaq's forearms. Djaq looked at her and saw that her eyes were welling with tears. Julia was terrified and Djaq needed to protect her.

"I promise,"

"Thank you," she said a soft whisper and pulled Djaq into a hug. The two women walked back to the camp and Julia feigned hunger to pull eyes away from her. Djaq never kept anything from Will and was not looking forward to keeping this one, but what choice did she have. Julia had taken on a huge burden when she went into Locksley under disguise and now she was asking for Djaq's help.

She was not going to turn her back on her now.

Gisborne was having a much harder time.

He had returned to the heartless self that he had been before he met Julia or Charlotte. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that she was two people. That everything they shared had been a lie. It was hard to believe that every touch, caress, kind word had been false. Perhaps he did not believe it because part of him didn't want to. He had rarely felt any kind affection in his life and he was trying to hold on to it; with both hands.

Another part of him wanted to punish her. To punish anyone and make them feel as empty as he did at this moment. His nights were not exactly lonely either. Whenever he slept at the castle, he was not alone. There was always a chambermaid in the castle.

The sheriff was glad to have Gisborne's attention again. He was rarely returning home to Locksley lately. Perhaps something happened with that Charlotte creature. He was getting rather sick of Gizzy's new little leper friend. He disliked her even more than Marian. At least with Marian he could keep her in step. All he had to do was threaten her father or some innocent townspeople and she would cower. But this Charlotte was nothing like any other woman he met.

"I'm not afraid of you," she told him. Those words had gotten to him more than anything else in his life.

"Ahh, Gisborne. Just the man I was looking for," the sheriff said as he walked into the dungeon. Gisborne had been spending much of his free time in the dungeons in the last few weeks. Gisborne looked at the sheriff from inside the cell he was in. There at his feet was a local farmer that had been arrested by the sheriff's men for consorting with outlaws. The man was alive, but just barely. Gisborne's new style of interrogation was delightful for the sheriff to behold.

"Yes, my lord?"

"I have a little plan for you," the sheriff said in almost a cheerful voice. Well, as cheerful as the Lord Sheriff ever got. Gisborne left the man on the floor and followed the sheriff out. "With your new enthusiasm with all things torture, I have a plan to get our merry band of outlaws. You remember the monthly shipment of grain arriving this day?"

"Yes, my lord," Gisborne replied as he wiped blood from his hands. The sheriff then detailed his plan to Guy, who was rather encouraged by the change in events. Normally, the shipment is brought directly to the castle under a battalion of men, but this time would be different.

Robin and the men were in Nottingham Square; gathering supplies and intelligence from the market. Robin rushed over the group after getting some interesting news from the castle cook. He was able to locate them near one of the pottery vendors and all were in attendance. Robin was glad that Julia had decided to come with them this time. He knew that she had been sneaking to Locksley nearly every morning. He followed her several times.

Once she hid in the barn and tended to a pregnant mare. Another time she stood looking into one of the manor windows. But mostly she would stay just inside the tree line and watch Gisborne as he left for Nottingham. She would watch him leave and then return to the camp. He did not want to read anything into what she was doing, but he knew that he would have to confront her about it at some point. Their relationship was sort of precarious at the moment and he was not sure where to tread.

"There's a shipment of grain coming into Locksley today," Robin whispered as he gathered them close to him.

"Why Locksley?" Julia inquired.

"Apparently, several of the Black Knights are coming to get supplies for their respective homes tomorrow," Robin replied.

"But why not the castle?" She inquired again.

"Central location and no prying eyes," Robin answered.

"Except for ours," Much chimed in; never wanting to be outside of a conversation.

"Exactly. Come, we need to plan for tonight," Robin finished and the gang began to disperse. Julia did not like it. She grabbed Robin's arm and pulled him aside. This had been the first time she touched him in many weeks and Robin noticed.

"Robin, I don't like it. This does not make any sense," she whispered.

"I don't care if you like it. We need to take this opportunity while it exists," Robin insisted and continued towards the forest. Julia was not going to take this as cavalier as Robin did. Something was not right and she was going to stay on her toes until this plan of his was finished.

The sun had set and most of Locksley was turning in for the night. Robin, Will, and Allan had done quick looks around Locksley to be sure that they could get in and out of the barn without drawing too much attention. As they approached the newly finished barn, torch light could be seen illuminating the inside and its inhabitants. Allan checked through a gap in one wall and returned to the gang's hiding place.

"Looks like five soldiers inside, guarding the loot,"

"All right. John and Allan, you two will be in front as we enter the barn with Much, Julia and I bringing in the rear. Djaq will stand guard and warn us of any approaching problems," the other nodded as he concluded his plan. Julia still had an uneasy feeling. She had tried twice on the way back to camp to convince him otherwise, but Robin would not listen to her. He had been acting differently around her, but she was to him as well. Her ruse at Locksley had changed many things; her friendship with Robin was high on that list.

All of them were standing outside getting ready to charge in, but Julia stopped them. She had a better idea. She put her hand up and got Robin's attention. She pointed up at the hayloft and at a rope dangling from beam jutting out from the roof; the rope was about eight feet up. Robin looked up and then back at Julia. He wasn't sure what her plan entailed, but he was willing to trust her.

With a boost from John, Julia managed to grab hold of the rope and pull herself up into the hayloft. The second floor of the new barn, which housed the hayloft, was nearly finished, but there were still many exposed beams that opened to the barn floor. She had to tread softly and hope that she didn't slip. She could finally see the bottom floor and the five guards sitting around a lantern. They looked extremely bored and she was sure that she could take them by surprise. She also finally saw what she was looking for. She knew that there were actually two haylofts, one on each side of the barn. She was standing at one end and needed to get to the other. There were only a four beams between. Julia took a long breath and jumped at first beam. She landed on it quiet easily and quickly jumped to the second. The third beam creaked as she landed, which caused her to swiftly jump to the last. That fast leap made her jump less accurate. She managed to connect with the beam, but then her left foot slipped away and she crashed down onto it. Julia did manage to stay above the men, but her outlaw necklace fell off her neck and landed on the floor below. She held her breath as she watched the guards for a few moments.

Did any see it?

As soon as she realized that none of them had seen anything, she slowly stood on her shaky legs and made the final jump to the opposite hayloft. Julia took a brief moment to calm her pounding heart before she continued. She had spent many hours watching the construction of the new barn and knew the inside of the place like the back of her hand. Creeping along the edge of the loft, she saw what she wanted. She stood at the very edge of the wooden floor and looked down at the five men. None of them knew what was about to happen. Julia took in a deep breath and jumped. She reached as far as she could and managed to snag the rope that released the hayloft trap. One of the guards did look over his shoulder as twenty hay bales slid off the hayloft and onto them. Julia crawled down the rope and looked around. All five guards were either unconscious or too injured to bother her.

Quite proud of herself, she sauntered over to the barn doors and pushed one open. Robin had been pacing as he waited for some sign of her motives. She smiled at him with a cheeky grin and stepped aside to allow them to enter. Allan and Will laughed as they saw what she had managed to do all by herself. Robin was pleased, but he did not want to show it.

Just past the mess that Julia had created was what they were after. Bags upon bags of grain. A small fraction of this could feed half of the country for a month. Robin knew that they could not take all this, but they would carry all that they could. Just as they were able to get all that they could, Robin heard a whistle coming from outside.

Djaq was giving the signal.

Robin ducked his head out the door and saw that there were at least ten guards coming toward the barn's doors. He jumped back inside and shut the door with a hard clank. He turned back towards his gang and had to tell them.

"That was Djaq's signal, there are at least ten guards just outside this door and more coming from the forest,"

Julia dropped her load and turned her back to Robin. She knew that there was a catch to this. It was much too easy to get in, but she knew that fighting with him would be a waste of time. She would just have to make a note of it for later. John managed to barricade the door, but it would not hold.

"This is like Nettlestone all over again," Will mumbled to himself.

"This one is not my fault," Much piped in. Robin paced around the barn, he needed to think of something.

"Hood!" A voice called out from the night. Robin looked out and saw the sheriff and Gisborne waiting from them. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Robin gave the area around them another glance and saw that the ten guards had become forty. Robin stepped away from the door and walked past the unconscious guards. As Robin took one more step, one guard reached out with his sword and swung at him. The man's blade sliced deep into his side and Robin fell to his knees. John kicked at the man and he was indeed out this time.

"Master!" Much screamed as he jumped to catch his friend. There was no way they would be able to escape with only five able to fight and an injured man. Robin pressed his hand to his side and managed to slow the bleeding. The door groaned as the guards outside tried to gain entrance. John leaped toward the door and pressed his body against it. Julia joined his side to assist. Both of them pressed their backs firmly against the wood and used their feet to hold them at bay.

"All right, John, Allan and I will distract them while you two get Robin out of here,"

"That will never work," Much spouted out quickly.

"Do you have a better idea? The longer we wait, the worse Robin will get," she answered back just as quickly. The door heaved as the guards tried to force the doors open. The men looked at each other and slightly agreed with her plan. She looked at John and they locked eyes. She nodded and he returned it. They were ready.

John with is quarterstaff and Julia with her sword, they turned around and readied themselves. Will stood on one side of the door and Allan on the other. Julia counted down to one and both doors swung open. John and her ran out into the night and into the fray. They were doing their best to fight off the men as Will and Much snuck away with a semi-conscious Robin. The sheriff's men kept coming in waves as the three of them fought them off.

"Allan! Go!" Julia screamed as she sliced her sword across the body of a soldier. Allan gave them one more look and ran toward the tree line. John and Julia fought bravely, but there seemed to be no end to the siege. Julia and John stood back to back and she said to him. "We have to run, there is no end to this,"

"Right," John replied. They took care of two more guards and made a dash toward the tree line. The guards chased after them. Just as Julia was about to get over the hill that preceded the forest, a guard standing just inside the barn raised his bow. The arrow sliced through the air and entered Julia thigh just above her right knee. Julia cried out in pain and collapsed into the tall grass. John turned back and attempted to reach her, but the new onslaught of arrows that rained on them, made that impossible. John reluctantly left her there and escaped to safety.

Julia pulled at the arrow, but only pain was there. She groaned in frustration and anger. The guards casually walked to her and stood over her. She looked up and saw four men standing over her; all with swords drawn. One of them leaned forward and placed the tip of his sword under her chin. The cold metal pulled all of her attention to him.

"Call out to your outlaw scum!"

Julia looked from man to man and took a long breath.

"Robin!"

Robin, barely conscious, was being held up by Much. He saw Julia writhing in pain with guards standing over her. He hated that his plan had so horribly gone wrong. She was right. He wished that he had listened to her. He was finding it extremely hard to trust her after all that had transpired with Gisborne. And now she was suffering because of it.

"Robin!" She called out again. She laughed lightly to herself and called out one last time. "RUN!" The soldier holding her in place, delivered a hard kick and knocked her out. Robin winced as he watched the soldiers gather Julia up and carried her to a waiting wagon.

There was nothing he could do now and he knew it.

And then Robin was unconscious.

Julia and Sheriff have a bit of a face-off. I am really excited to write that one :)! Julia has it out with Gizzy as wel!

Stay Tuned!

Don't forget to read and review. The comments make me write faster!