CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Friar Tuck awoke in considerably better spirits than his quartet of escorts. His nights spent sleeping in Robin Hood's camp and other outdoor sites throughout Nottingham and Sherwood Forest had left him able to slumber just about anywhere, but the guards were accustomed to the proper bunks of their barracks, and even with a bedding of straw between themselves and the dirt floor of Otto's workshop, they arose to greet the new day grumbling of sore backs and kinked muscles. Tuck suppressed a chuckle; if these were the most elite troops the Sheriff had, it was no wonder Robin had been able to best them time after time!

When Otto appeared with a simple morning repast, he bore it on a tray with five separate bowls, mindful to supply enough for the guards as well as his old badger acquaintance, lest the hungry soldiers cause trouble if they felt deprived. Tuck tucked in with great enthusiasm, thanking the hound for his generosity. The guards slurped down their porridge with considerably less grace, which was hardly surprising since they felt peasants were beneath them and there only to serve, obey and be kept in line.

Tuck hastened to depart as soon as he could, wanting to liberate Otto from the overbearing presence of the grumpy soldiers. If trouble was to come of all this, Tuck wanted to make sure it was his trouble alone, and not foisted onto any other innocent bystander through his own carelessness. Involving Otto in his plight was bad enough, and he wanted to avoid doing so to anyone else if he could possibly help it.

For most of the morning he simply wandered throughout Nottinghamshire, stopping to rest whenever it suited him and then setting off again with no particular destination in mind. To his escort, it must have seemed that he strolled hither and thither without rhyme or reason, and this was partly correct - but only partly. For Tuck realized this was not a predicament from which he could extract himself on his own, but only with outside help.

He certainly did not wish Robin or Little John to risk exposing themselves or taking any foolish chances on his behalf. After all, he did not seem to be in any immediate peril. But Sherwood's famous outlaw would want to know about this situation, and Friar Tuck knew that the best way to achieve that would be to parade himself and his living cordon around in public for all to see. Robin had other eyes and ears in Nottingham, and Tuck hoped he could attract the attention of some of them.

His wish came true halfway toward noontide. Many townsfolk had passed him during this time, and a good portion of those stopped to gawk or stare or simply puzzle over such a curious sight. Thus, the guards thought nothing of it when one particular matronly hen paused to trade knowing glances with the former friar before moving on, blending with the rest of the passersby on the avenue.

Lady Kluck ducked behind the corner of a nearby homestead, where Will Scarlet stood waiting for her. "Well?" the gray fox pressed. "Is he under arrest or not?"

"I .. I nae ken tell," Kluck answered. "They aren't goin' towards th' castle, which you'd figure they would be if they were taking 'im there. An' their pace was too leisurely ... almost like Tuck was leadin' 'em 'stead of the other way 'round. I can't make beak ner tailfeathers of it!"

Will glanced around. "Well, you're not widely recognized as a member of Robin's band, and while I'm a fox, no one with a brain in his head is gonna mistake me for Robin Hood, so I guess we're free to stroll around the town without drawing attention to ourselves. Don't know what else we can do except keep an eye on Tuck, and be ready to come to his rescue if he needs one."

"Sounds good t' me!" Kluck agreed, and the two of them stepped out from behind the building to resume their unobtrusive surveillance of Friar Tuck.

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Being back inside the jails of Castle Nottingham summoned up a nightmarish flood of bad memories for Skippy. His previous time spent in these cells as a younger rabbit had been brief, but not so brief that it hadn't left its mark. The difference between then and now, however, was that during his prior incarceration he'd had his friends and family around him for support. Now he was alone ... and as his captors dragged him through the barred iron door of the jailhouse, Skippy knew he'd be facing this trial entirely on his own.

At Gisbourne's direction, the guards hauled Skippy up the winding stone stairs to the main holding cell, and there they dragged him over to a pair of arm manacles set into the bare wall, fastening first one and then the other of the rabbit courier's wrists into the unforgiving iron bracelets. When it was done, Skippy hung splayed spread-eagle upon the wall, his feet dangling high above the floor. Even after just a few moments, he could feel the metal chafing at his fur and flesh, feel the circulation in his pinioned arms growing sluggish. This was going to get very uncomfortable, very quickly.

The two guards stood back in the shadows while Gisbourne stepped right up to the frightened youngster, thrusting his face forward. "So - Skippy, isn't it? - tell me again how well you know Robin Hood ... "

"I already told you," Skippy said. "Robin of Locksley came here often, and we showed him around the castle wherever he wanted to go ... "

"Ah, but I did not ask about Locksley, did I? I asked about Robin Hood. Tell me, when good King Richard was off on his Crusade two years ago and Prince John sat on the throne, and Robin Hood became such a hero to the common people - how well did you know him then?"

Skippy swallowed, unsure of just how much he should reveal. "Robin Hood helped my family when we would have starved, just like he helped a lot of families. We were never part of his band or anything ... "

Gisbourne glanced around the jail. "This is not your first time in here, is it? You were part of that prison break that Robin Hood staged the night this castle burned, were you not?"

"The Sheriff had every peasant in Nottingham in chains!" Skippy protested, overstating the truth but not by much. "Robin Hood liberated us! Prince John and the Sheriff were the ones who committed crimes, not us! King Richard said so himself when he got back to England! He pardoned Robin Hood, and punished Prince John and the Sheriff for what they'd done to us!"

"That is a royal matter, the policies of one ruler against another. But the simple truth is that you were being held in detention by the legitimate authorities as they stood at the time. One of those authorities is now king, and he remembers such intransigence. He remembers specifically, on the night of the jailbreak, that a rabbit boy sat on Robin Hood's shoulders across the moat as the castle burned, taunting and ridiculing him." Gisbourne leaned even closer, his whiskers brushing Skippy's. "Would you happen to have any idea who that child might have been?"

"Th-there're lotsa rabbit families living in Nottingham ... "

Gisbourne went on as if his prisoner hadn't spoken. "Might that child even have been ... you?"

Skippy suddenly found himself unable to speak through a dry throat, but the fear in his wide eyes and his quivering lower lip told Gisbourne all the panther need to know.

"Just as I thought. We have a traitor in our very midst, wearing the uniform of the court. How many others, I wonder, will we find?"

"I'm no traitor!" Skippy shouted, loud enough to make Sir Guy flinch and draw back. "I served the Earl loyally these past two years, and I'm proud of my service! You're the traitor, helping the ones who killed Lady Marian! King Richard wouldn't have allowed any of this to happen! And Robin Hood will put you in your place, you just wait and see! Long live Robin Hood!"

"He may live longer than you, with that kind of attitude," Gisbourne snarled softly. "Hangman's nooses can be made to fit even small necks. But for now, I will leave you to think about the wisdom of your current loyalties. Enjoy your time in chains ... "

Gisbourne spun and left the prison chamber, only to find himself standing face to face with the Earl in the corridor beyond. Avery, apprehension filling his twisted features, was at the noble's side. The white cat did not look pleased; clearly they had arrived in time to overhear Gisbourne's threats against Skippy.

"Congratulations, Sir Guy. You've just taken a perfectly loyal servant of this court and turned him against us. At this rate, all of Nottingham will be driven to Robin Hood's cause in droves."

"If Nottingham knows what is good for it, it will not stand against me," Gisbourne declared with chilling calm as he pushed past them, descending the stairs to make for the courtyard.

The Earl followed him, with Avery sticking close by his side. "Nevertheless, I cannot have you torturing my couriers. I must insist that Skippy be released at once."

"Torture, Earl? You will know it when I resort to torture, by the screams that will be heard from one side of Nottingham to the other. And I do not allow traitors to roam free. You heard him yourself. This youngling is an ally of Robin Hood's. He will remain where he is ... until I say otherwise."

"I must protest ... "

"You may take it up with King John, next time you see him," said Gisbourne. "Until then, I am the king's arm and the king's law in all matters relating to the capture of Robin Hood and the security of Nottinghamshire. Do not meddle in military affairs, Earl, or it will end badly for you."

Once the two guards had joined them in the courtyard, Gisbourne slammed the iron door shut and turned the key in the lock, then deposited the key in a pocket of his tunic. "And I'll hold onto this, to spare you any temptations you might later regret, Earl. Now why don't you go see what the rest of your staff are up to, before they too join the ranks of the enemy?"

Gisbourne strode from the scene, his two guards in tow. The Earl stood looking after him helplessly ... but not as helpless as Avery felt, standing at the Earl's side with wet eyes.

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"I say, this is getting ridiculous!" Will Scarlet snorted.

Lady Kluck found that she had to agree with the gray fox. For much of the morning now they had followed Friar Tuck all throughout the streets of Nottingham, always maintaining a discreet distance so as not to stand out to the four soldiers who flanked Tuck at all times. Their observation had led them to conclude that their friend was indeed free to wander where he would and not under arrest at all. Or at least, not under any manner of arrest Will or Kluck had ever seen before. But that quartet of ever-present watchers might as well as have been a prison, for all the freedom it allowed its mobile captive.

"Aye, 'tis a fiendishly clever ruse o' Gisbourne's, an' nae doubt about it," said Kluck. "Poor auld Tuck can't be seen goin' to Robin's camp, or associating with those he might betray to the Sheriff or Sir Guy. He's stuck, plain an' simple! Ooo, how I wish Robin t'were here! He'd know what to do!"

"Hey, my cousin's not the only fox in Sherwood," Will said with mild umbrage. "And I think it's about time we stir things up a bit. Come along, Klucky - let's go introduce ourselves to these fine, good keepers of law and order, who would so diligently protect us from the threat of a fat old defrocked friar ... "

He started through the thin crowd toward Tuck and the guards, but the hen held back. "Will, what are you going to do?"

"That's what we're about to find out. But there's two of us - three, including Tuck - and only four of them. And you'll notice Tuck's led us right to the very edge of town, just a stone's throw away from the forest fringes. I'll bet that was no accident. He knows we're shadowing him, even if his guards don't, and I'm guessing he wants us to make our move now. So let's oblige the good fellow and not keep him waiting any longer, eh?"

Will sauntered up to Tuck and the four guards, his paws in his pants pockets and his attitude as devil-may-care as the mild spring day around them. "Why, howdy, boys! What goes on here, that a good badger of the cloth is not allowed to roam freely in peace?"

The soldiers, already on alert at Will's mere approach, now broke into a frantic debate amongst themselves.

"Look, it's Robin Hood!"

"Naw, that ain't Robin Hood! Color's all wrong ... "

"Well, mebbe it's him in disguise! He's a master of that, y'know!"

"That's stupid! If he were gonna disguise 'imself, why would he do it as another fox?"

"Then let's ask 'im. 'ey there, red boy! You wouldn't 'appen to be Robin Hood, wouldja?"

Will flashed a disarming smile, even as Kluck unobtrusively worked her way around to Tuck's other side. "Oh, no, I'm not Robin Hood! You flatter me by too much and a half!"

"Too much an' a half? Wot's that mean?"

"Whatever you want it to, my good wolf. Now then, you still haven't answered my question about this pious fellow ... "

"'ee's askin' too many questions!" one guard accused. "Even if it ain't Robin Hood, I bet he's workin' for that rouge!"

"Yeah," another agreed, drawing his sword and stepping toward Will. "An' didn't Sir Guy order us t' arrest all foxes on sight anyway? Ye're comin' with us, sonny!"

"Sonny? Only my grandsire ever called my that, and you most surely are not he. For that insult, I'll just have to be on my way ... " With that, Will turned tail - most literally, indignantly swirling and swishing his gray brush toward the guards - and strode from the scene.

"Hey, you, come back 'ere! Ye're unner arrest!"

"Oh, I am, am I? Then, catch me if you can!" Grinning like an imp, Will broke into a sprint, threatening to disappear into the heart of Nottinghamshire unless pursuit came at once.

His improvised strategy worked like a charm. The soldiers were split right down the middle; two, mindful of Gisbourne's edict on foxes, set off after Will without a second thought, while the other two, equally mindful of the panther's orders regarding Friar Tuck, stayed at the badger's side to keep him under protective custody. Thus were their forces divided ... and thus did Kluck act.

The hen had journeyed to Nottingham from Sherwood with a concealed truncheon as her only weapon, and she wielded it now with immaculate skill. Tuck and the guard on his right saw Kluck closing in fast for the kill, but the soldier on the left literally never knew what hit him; Kluck's club connected with his skull, laying him flat in an eyeblink.

The remaining soldier brandished his blade to strike down this feathered attacker, but he did not reckon on his peaceful prisoner suddenly turning warlike. Tuck dealt him a powerful, sandaled kick to the knee, knocking the guard off his footing. Kluck easily dodged the crippled trooper's weak attempts to defend himself and cudgeled him into unconsciousness along with his companion.

"Kluck! You shouldn't be here doing this!" Tuck exclaimed. "Sir Guy will put a death warrant on your head for certain!"

"Pah! You want a rescue or not, tubby?"

"Well, when you put it that way ... " The two ran for the nearby forest fringes. "I say, were my old eyes deceiving me, or was that truly Will Scarlet taunting those guards?"

"None other, an' that rascal's fool brashness has brought you your freedom," the matronly hen puffed. "So let's get to those trees, an' don't let his efforts go to waste!"

Tuck needed no second bidding, putting his head down and forcing his legs to carry him as fast as they could.

I owe you a big one for this, Will, the badger thought to himself. I just hope you're around after today to collect it.

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Will led his two pursuers on a merry chase around the northern outskirts of Nottingham. He was a fast runner, and kept the two soldiers moving too quickly to use their bows. Back and forth through the streets and byways he dashed, always careful to keep just far enough ahead of them that they would not give up the chase but not so close that they might actually succeed in overtaking him.

At last, judging that he'd given Friar Tuck and Kluck plenty of time to escape the other two guards, he turned his flashing footsteps toward the edge of town. His racing path brought him back through the small square where Tuck and Kluck's unconscious victim lay sprawled in the middle of the road. Will smirked to himself as he effortlessly vaulted over the still figures and sprinted for the tree line.

If he was counting on the guards to break off the chase once he entered the woods - and he was - Will was in for a rude awakening ... but not as rude as the soldiers were in for themselves. So intent were they upon the fugitive directly in front of them that they didn't spare a thought to their fallen comrades, or how they might have come to be that way, or whether the perpetrators of that deed might still lurk in the immediate vicinity. Not even when they glimpsed the flash of blue from Lady Kluck's dress or the motion of Tuck's brown robes along the forest path ahead, where the trees started to grow together more thickly, did they stop to consider what they might be rushing into. Or perhaps that very sight emboldened them, lulling them into a confidence that they might bring all three criminals to justice.

Will rushed between two hearty trees flanking either side of the forest path, and the soldiers pursued, with eyes only for their fleeing prey. Thus they did not even see Little John step out from behind one tree to lay low one guard with a sure blow from his quarterstaff. As for the other one ...

El-KaBONG!

Alan-a-Dale stood over the soldier he'd downed, studying the new dent in the body of his beloved lute. "El Kabong?" he muttered, musing over the novel sound his instrument had made upon contact with the guard's skull. "Now where in the world did THAT come from?"

"Maybe you can use it in your next ballad," Robin laughed, dropping out of the trees where he had been covering the scene with his bow. "El Kabong, the Castillian rooster who conquers his enemies with his music!"

Will, who'd run quite far down the path by this time, turned and jogged back to join the others. "Hey, Cousin! I thought you guys were going to stay at the camp and let me 'n' Kluck do the reconnaissance. Wasn't the whole idea to keep you away from Nottingham and Gisbourne?"

"You really didn't think we'd let you two go and grab all the glory for yourselves, now did you? We followed along at a safe distance, and stayed here in the woods, watching for signs of trouble. Good thing for you that we were, too - those guards were just about to catch up to you."

"You need to get your eyes examined, Cuz, 'cos I was just about to lose them in here so hopelessly that they'd've needed all of tomorrow to find their way out of these woods again!"

"If you say so, Will." Robin knelt to make sure the two fallen guards had not suffered mortal blows. "We'd best get going. These two will be waking up soon, and even with a headache they'll still be able to shoot ... and to follow us. We've got what we came here for. If nothing else, this will send a clear message to Sir Guy that he's not going to have things all his own way in Nottingham!"