It was black as pitch in the narrow underground tunnel leading to Nottingham Castle.
"It's dark," Much whispered. "You know I hate the dark. Master, tell me again why we can't carry lighted candles?"
"Because, Much, Tuck's carrying black powder," Robin explained for the fourth or fifth time.
Marian felt Robin was being extraordinarily patient toward Much, especially since she knew he was operating on no sleep. Having slept only a few hours herself the night before, her own nerves were stretched to their breaking point, and Much was definitely breaking them.
"Yeah," Allan agreed. "What's worse, Much? Feelin' our way through the dark, or bursting into flame under the ground? And speakin' of feeling our way through the dark, not bein' funny, but who got lucky enough to stand behind Marian?"
"Your memory is short, Allan," Marian said.
"Nothin' about me's short," Allan joked.
"You've forgotten my fist in your face. Perhaps you need a refresher course?"
Will wished they wouldn't joke. All he could think about was Djaq, suffering unknown agonies as the sheriff's prisoner.
Robin led the way to rescue her with Allan, who knew the tunnel, directly behind him. Much came next, then Marian, followed by Will, then Tuck, and finally Little John.
"Steps!" Robin warned them.
"Down or up?" Much asked.
"Down. Be careful. They're uneven, and slippery. How many, Allan?"
"I never counted 'em."
"I hate this!" Much complained. "It reminds me of that time we were in the crypt."
"What crypt?" Allan asked.
"Ow!" Much had fallen on his seat. "The one Robin, Kate and I were in, when we thought King Richard's body was there, but it was only a waxwork." He stood and carefully eased his way down the steps. "We had to hide with dead bodies. Horrible! Remember, Robin, how Kate grabbed you and lay down with you in a coffin in the dark?"
"What?" Marian asked.
Robin felt no need to explain. He had done nothing wrong, though he still remembered Kate's trembling excitement while placing her hand over his mouth, even though he knew better than to make a sound. For now, he needed to focus everything he had on their mission to rescue Djaq. But Much's mention of the king sent his thoughts elsewhere.
Marian had told him what Isabella had said about refusing to tell what duchy the king was being held in. That meant Isabella must know! After Djaq was safely back at camp, he would plan to have a word with Isabella, to learn exactly what she knew.
He had promised Marian he would not have any more interviews with Gisbourne's sister, and he meant to keep his word. But this was necessary. Marian surely would not object if she went along with him, he believed.
The tunnel was smaller at the bottom of the steps. Little John and Will weren't the only ones who needed to stoop here. "Get down," Robin instructed. "Looks like we'll be crawling for awhile. How much farther, Allan?"
"We're under Nottingham now. Just a hop, a skip, and a jump 'til we're under the castle."
"You try hopping, skipping, and whatever you said on your knees!" Much complained. "Crawling! I hate crawling! Especially in the dark!"
"Much, shut up!" Little John growled.
"Steps again," Robin told them. "This time they're up. Allan?"
"Yeah, this is it. At the top, we'll be at the cloisters."
"It's hardly a private place to appear out of nowhere," Marian said.
"Which is why we brought black powder, my love!"
"And how will we light it?"
"You'll see," Robin told her. "Trust me!"
He'd reached the top of the stairs, and the end of the tunnel. There seemed to be no way out. "Now what?" he wondered out loud. "Allan?"
"There's a stone that moves," Allan explained.
"Which one?" Robin asked.
"Don't know."
"I thought you knew this tunnel!"
"Yeah, I do. Leavin' Nottingham, not gettin' in."
"Unbelievable!" Much exploded. "Master, what do we do?"
"We try each stone," Robin said. He began pushing each one, all the time searching for any light, or moving air. His men joined him.
Much couldn't stop saying what most of the others were feeling. "Unbelievable, Allan! You really really haven't been through the tunnel this direction before? Why couldn't we have just entered Nottingham the way we always do?"
"Because, Much," Robin said calmly, continuing to push against stones, "the town is heavily guarded, with Prince John's visit. Here!" he said, feeling a whisper of a breeze. "I think I found the entrance!"
Everyone waited expectantly while Robin pushed against a stone. It budged a fraction of an inch, then fell back into place. "John?" Robin invited.
Little John cracked his knuckles and stepped forward.
"Alright," Robin told his men. "I need you to stay hidden until it's clear, then everyone out. You know where to go after that."
"Where will you be?" Much asked, worriedly.
"Lighting fires," Robin answered. "Remember, Much? We need more than one distraction, with so many soldiers about."
Little John gave one final push, wedging the stone loose.
The outlaws heard an, "Oi! Who's there?" and Robin readied himself. Leaping from the opening in the floor of the outdoor cloister passage, he quickly knocked out two guards, then dashed toward a lighted wall sconce. More guards came running toward him as he dipped a pitch tipped arrow into the fire, then tossed a small pouch containing black powder away from him. His flaming arrow hit its target. The explosion was louder and more potentially deadly than he'd imagined, but it did the trick. The guards fell back, terrified and confused.
"Now!" he ordered his men, who filed out the tunnel one by one, blinking their eyes in the daylight.
"Outlaws in the castle!" rang out a cry, followed by Sheriff Vasey's voice, shouting for his guards. A bell began tolling out a warning.
Prince John, believing he had been about to force Djaq into his bed, hid under it instead. Djaq threw open his door and told his guards, "Help! The prince has been hit by a black powder explosion!"
As the guards rushed into the prince's chambers, Djaq rushed out.
Minor explosions were happening all over the castle, as Robin dashed about, shooting flaming arrows at small bags filled with black powder. His men had reached the dungeons and were hunting for Djaq.
"Robin!" Djaq cried happily, spotting him. "Now are you happy I did not let Lambert's ledger burn?"
"You're supposed to be in the dungeon," he said, surprised, but delighted to see her unharmed. "Come on," he told her, realizing the others might be walking into a trap.
Together, they rushed down the stairs to the dungeons, only to meet his men as they were rushing up.
Will held his wife to his breast, asking her, "Are you alright?"
"My gang, this way!" Robin called, racing toward the nearest portcullis.
"Robin, the tunnel's his way," Allan reminded him, but Robin ignored him.
The portcullis was down and heavily guarded, but Robin was not deterred.
"McClellan," Robin spoke to the sheriff's sergeant, "no one has to die here today. Raise the portcullis and let us through."
"And lose my job? And most likely my life, in the bargain?" McClellan answered. "I don't think so, Locksley."
"Hey, you owe me one," Allan tried to remind his former friend from when he worked for Gisbourne, the same man who had once ordered his hand to be cut off. "Remember that bit of all right I introduced you to, from Ripley Convent?"
"My wife remembers her, too," McClellan said. "Nice work, Allan!"
"Oi! How is it my fault, your wife caught you?"
McClellan spied Marian. "If it isn't my former boss's daughter! Speaking of a bit of all right! We heard Gisbourne killed you!"
"I'll thank you to treat Lady Locksley with respect," Robin warned him. "Now, raise the portcullis, or do you want me to blast you so high you'll be walking on the clouds?"
"Playing a harp!" Much added.
"Hood!" the sheriff called, looking down from an opening in a tower. "I hear you've been causing quite a little flash, with your bags of black powder! All out of it, are we, hmm?"
"A clue...no, Sheriff," Robin called back. "I've got plenty more, enough to blow up the entire castle. And unless you order the portcullis raised, I'll remove it myself, and every guard who stands in our way."
"You're bluffing, Hood! And do you think I care about guards? You disappoint me, Robin! I thought you knew me better than that! Bored now. GUARDS! KILL THEM!"
"Marian," Robin whispered an order, "raise the portcullis, while we fight them off. Are you strong enough?"
"Yes, but-"
"No buts! Just do it. NOW!"
Robin and the others took on the charging guards, battling them aside. Marian ran and turned a wheel, raising the portcullis, while the gang successfully fought off an seemingly endless stream of guards who kept coming.
"Get the LEPER!" the sheriff screamed. "Get Hood's wife!"
No guard wanted to battle the beautiful Lady Marian. Most remembered when her father had been sheriff, but others recalled when she had merely lived in the castle. She held a sword, but no guard believed she knew how to wield it.
She proved them wrong, charging at them to rejoin her husband's gang.
"Master!" Much called. "Use the black powder!"
"We're out of powder, Much," Robin explained.
"But you said...!"
"Go! Go!" Robin ordered, as they darted under the portcullis.
"Lower the gate!" the sheriff screamed. "Get Hood!"
As the portcullis began to fall, Robin grabbed hold of Marian, shoving her under. Then, fighting off one final guard, he dropped and rolled under it himself, just before it hit the ground.
Marian had seen him do it many times before, but always from the other side of the gate. She felt exuberant, being with him now.
With everyone safe on the outside and the sheriff screaming curses at his guards and the outlaws, Marian grabbed Robin and planted a warm, victorious kiss on his lips.
Robin grinned, not even feeling his lack of sleep. "Good work, lads," he said. "Djaq, good to have you back!"
"It's good to be back."
"Come on, lads. Let's go home."
He could now, he realized, after getting some rest, concentrate on the king's rescue.