Hi, so here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy and I will get you the next one as soon as possible.
Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine. Just the character of Erin and the character of the Woman in Red.
Please Read and Review.
And again trigger warnings.
Anything in Italics in this chapter are Djaq's thoughts.
Internal Displacements
Chapter 5-God Complex
The mystery of the Woman in Red is discussed within the camp as Will's father and brother return. A tragedy occurs and the outlaws gain a new member (sort of) . Anything in Italics is Djaq's thoughts.
Tightening security at the castle meant that Marian and Erin's visits were mostly confined to what Robin and Allan could do and the news they came back with was grim at best. The Sherriff had made plans to expand his operation East of England. Support for the King was dwindling amongst the Commons in the South and the gentry to the North. It was a hotbed of men who were desperate to have a strong King and were looking more and more to the Prince who was on English soil than to the King far away from them who taxed their tenants into poverty and never came home.
Allan had muttered that over the fire after Robin had gone to get more wood for arrows. Will had shot him a look but neither one of them had voiced their opinions beyond that. John, Erin and Djaq claimed strict neutrality during any conversations such as this and Much had fought for the King even if he understood the reasoning. Robin and Marian were strictly in the camp of the King was the King regardless and that he was the right man for the job.
The Woman in Red as she had now been taken to being called in all the villages and at the castle to boot was another story entirely mainly because they were in as much dark as the Sherriff. Marian had not even had to snoop for that information. She and Erin had been in the Great Hall stitching an alter cloth for the Church of Knighton where Edward had been buried when the Sherriff had come in shouting at the top of his lungs uncaring that he had an audience about how he had no idea who this woman was or what she was doing. Gisbourne had dutifully promised to find out but none of the Outlaws had held out much hope for that.
Again the topic turned back to the problem. It was hard to tell what side she was on as the woman had only appeared once. Marian had confessed to seeing flickers of red in the cave which might have been her and Robin was convinced that the guards had been killed before they had got there (and everyone knew it was not Erin that had wielded deadly blows with such purpose) then it stood to reason—at least in Robin's mind—that she was involved.
"The problem is, is she friend or foe?" he said and not for the first time pacing around the camp.
"Hard to tell when she's killed one man who was technically neutral and then disappeared into the good night" Allan muttered.
Will said nothing instead he ran the sharp bit of metal across the arrow shaft with concentrated movement that he had long ago used to quieten the mind.
"Djaq did you see her?"
"I told you Robin" Djaq said quietly not looking up from where she was placing different herbs in a pouch. "That I don't remember much of that cave, I was in dire, dire straits when you found me after all"
That Will though bitterly, was a nice way of putting it. He personally still had nightmares about that one but he supposed if Djaq wanted to deal with it in her own way then even being flippant about it was her right after all.
Just as Robin was about to open his mouth the traps scattered around the forest swung into action and the Outlaws stood up.
It was time to hunt.
Will's father was here.
And his brother.
That was…odd…
She had no idea what to do with herself. She knew that Will kept in touch with his family, letters that Much (who could read and write a lot better than Will could and certainly better in English than she could) helped Will to spell out painstakingly slowly that he was alright and that he loved and missed them.
It was clear that the rest of the gang knew them. Robin had been Will's overlord or whatever the term was and Much had just always been there following on. Allan and Will had been in cell together that night that had gone on forever and then had stood shoulder to shoulder on the gallows almost and John and Dan had known each other for years. All in all it was an easy gathering for the rest of them. All but her.
They trapsed into Nottingham together as Robin, Dan and Will argued. The younger one Luke said nothing. There was no explanation as to why Will had to come back with them or why Luke Scarlett was looking so terrified of his own shadow but Djaq wanted to know. Will's brother clearly worshiped him from afar in a way that her own brother and she had never been liked. She tried to think if Gisela had ever looked at her like that but found she couldn't remember. She had put her sister in a box a long time ago and had done her best to forget she even existed. It was only now as she was confronted with the memories that she thought about it.
In her dreams, in her hallucination her sister had been wearing red. And two days ago a woman in red had killed with a deftness that was almost casual. Djaq had no idea what that meant but she was sure that it was nothing good. She had thought about it, not speaking much at the meetings and was still unsure if it was worth mentioning. Mentioning that she had seen a woman in red speaking to her in her sister's voice as she lay between life and death would then open the conversation to her sister and the fact that she had never even mentioned she had one and then that was a whole other conversation and though she loved and respected and admired the men in this group over the months she had been staying with them she knew she did not want to talk about the family she had lost and the family that were simply just lost to her.
Except to Will. She wouldn't mind speaking to Will about it. Out of everyone she thought that he would understand.
But suddenly she was being shoved out of the way by a mother dragging her child towards Robin. It was like that sometimes she thought, as a healer she had more knowledge in her smallest finger than Robin did in his whole body when it came to medical knowledge and then yet for some reason she was often ignored when it came to going to the Outlaws for help. Sometimes she knew it was because she was a woman. Other times she knew it was because she was Saracen.
"So what?" the voice in her head said that sounded more and more like her sister.
"If the stupid woman wants to risk the life of her child going to that dirty outlaw, then who are you to stop it? Perhaps it is Allah's will that she lose the child and then learn a painful lesson in humility"
Ah but that had been Gisella. And Gisella had always clung to their faith as if it was a comfort blanket. They had been knowledgeable, rich and secure and it had been King Richard who had taken that away from her. Had it not been for Robin's assurances that he was the only ruler who could bring peace to her nation then quiet frankly she was more than happy to let justice and vengeance to be met out.
Suddenly Much was pulling her backwards out of sight and she saw that the Sherriff was speaking off an infection of the pestilence. Or well…Marian was speaking.
"Erin's not with her" Allan said his frown etched on his face.
"She won't be for this will she?" Much pointed out reasonably. "If it is pestilence she'll be making sure Marian's clothes are safely tucked away from the rot and the dirt"
Whatever Allan was going to say next was interrupted by Will's father screaming that this was not pestilence. Personally Djaq thought he might be wrong—though there was only so much a physician could do when she was being denied access to the patient by a hysterical and probably biased mother who was now screaming that she needed help and that she was going to die.
"Smack her. Seriously. Women in our village lost their sons in droves under her King and they did not weep and beg and throw themselves against the barricades in distress"
That was…that was true actually.
Even in her head she could imagine her sisters smugness. Weather she was eleven or eighteen somethings with Gisella never changed, would never change, had never changed. Whatever, wherever she was/had happened to her.
And then there was screaming and Much was shoving past her nearly knocking her into a table. For a moment she didn't understand why and then she did.
He had gone to grab Luke Scarlett.
It was taking the combined effort of Little John and Robin to keep Will back and she peered around Allan and saw why one brother seemed to be gripped with a terrible sadness that she knew only too well and the other one with a rage that she knew only too well.
And then she saw him.
Dan Scarlett.
With a dagger in his back.
It appeared that the Sherriff had killed him in order to keep his mouth shut.
"Fuck" Allan said seeing what she was seeing at the exact same time.
Robin shoved Will backwards and she reached out and grabbed him. He was almost wild with rage and she remembered that feeling very well. It was always easy to cling to the rage when the grief became to much because rage was such an easier emotion than grief.
He looked at her and she tried to communicate it all in her eyes and she was not sure weather or not she got it all, the encompassing chasm of grief that was holding her down. He seemed to calm down a little—well he stopped thrashing—but he looked past her towards his brother and then he was gone trying to hide his brother from seeing the father they had both loved be taken away by the Sherriff's men like he was a piece of rubbish that needed to be quickly removed.
Robin touched her arm and Djaq pulled herself out of the past and into the present. There was nothing she could do for Will and Luke right now. It was time to the be the physician her father had always wanted her to be.
"Even if they hate you for nothing more than the colour of your skin or your religion sister?"
"Shut up" she said to her voice in her head sternly and Allan who had been about to open his mouth shut it looking rather hurt.
Erin had been walking down the corridor. Marian was off after making sure that they changed clothes and wearing Marian's blue tunic and trouser set was making her feel rather…exposed. She had popped out to see if she could hear any gossip about the Nightwatchman's escapades to Pitt Street (something that both she and Marian both knew was false) when she saw it.
It was a flash of red. She followed down the corridor stopping when a long leg was extended outwards. It was wearing red and the fabric was tight and she looked up from the black boots to the red corset and jacket and the red mask over the dark hair that was loose.
Shit.
"Feeling better?"
Wait…she knew that voice.
"You" she said pointing at the woman. "I remember you"
And she did. It was the woman who had saved her. After she had killed the one-eyed monster who had for so long made her life hell.
"I should think so as well" she replied in that same light melodious voice. "And I should think that we will see each other again soon."
Erin dithered. There was a clash and a clang of something upstairs and she looked up. It sounded like someone had fallen, or like a door had shut and the she heard what sounded like the distant pounding or running feat. She looked back to the woman in red and…
And she had gone.
There was no sign she had ever been there in the first place.
It was perhaps that alone that was the creepiest.
She picked up her blue skirt (thing) and ran.
It seemed to happen within two seconds. Will had been screaming of revenge, Djaq was missing and then Robin was drinking that vile stuff and then convulsing. It had been a calculated gamble that had worked and he stood up swinging the bottle around in his hand and turned to make his way to the chambers when he saw Erin leaning against a pillar with an deeply disapproving expression.
"Marian just got back into the castle." She said calmly watching him with those blue eyes that spoke of emotions he had never seen before. "And that woman in red is here as well. I don't know what she wants or who she is but she's skilled at getting in and out of places just as much as you are"
That was…worrying.
"You think I should have let Will get his revenge?" he asked. Erin said nothing for a moment but turned to walk away her blonde hair shifting over her shoulder.
"It doesn't matter does it? But perhaps it might have helped. I never thought of what I did as revenge. Just as the only way I could sleep at night."
Robin digested that for a second.
"Did it work?"
"Sometimes. But I don't wait up at night waiting to be dragged back."
Robin wanted to say that there was no way he would let that happen and then he shut his mouth again.
There was actually no way that he could say that. Because he had failed at it in the first place.
"You should go and see Marian when you have the chance" Erin said turning away. "Gisbourne will tighten security soon now he knows you and everyone else can get it. I'd make it last"
And she disappeared before Robin could say anything else.
God he hoped he wasn't going to have to deal with a woman in blue as well as a woman in red.
Joseph was dead. His Dad was dead and Luke was still there leaning on his shoulder watching as his Dad smiled at them on the rock.
"I'm staying" Luke said into he void.
"Huh?"
"Here with you. I'm staying here and I'm going to help. Weather you need me in the village or at the castle or with you then…"
"What about Auntie Annie?"
Luke got a strange look on his face that Will wanted to probe but before he could his brother was speaking again.
"She's got support in the village, and she doesn't need me underfoot. Believe me she's made that perfectly clear"
Will blinked. That didn't sound like his Dad's sister at all.
"Lukey—"
"Don't call me call that Will seriously were not five anymore."
"Alright Luke. But do you know what it's like?"
"I don't care. I don't want to back"
There was something here, something under the surface and Will wanted to scratch at it until it bleed but he couldn't find the energy, his Dad was dead and his brother had gone in the last year and a half from a boy to a man and though he knew he should tell him to go he didn't have the energy to watch the last living member of his family walk away from him.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I don't care weather or not I'm here or in the village. But I won't go back"
"Alright" Will said tightening his grip on his brother.
"Alright Luke. I guess we'll tell Much there's going to be one more for dinner"
Yeah there was something here he could feel it in his bones. But right now it was snuffed out by the all encompassing feel of utter grief and exhaustion.
He would deal with whatever was wrong with Luke tomorrow. After all, Will thought grimly, there was no one else left to run towards.
And there you go. Enjoy.
Next Chapter-Matilda is ducked as a witch after Robin's actions but her in danger. The Woman in Red makes another appearance further confirming Djaq's suspicions as she goes after.