Cearbhail: Yes, a new chapter rather quickly compared to usual. Like I said, this will start writing itself now. I already have the next two chapters in my head. It's going to be great. We get to meet...another new charater soon (a legend in her own world), and people die. Nothing happens without consequences...think about that for a while and maybe you'll figure it out. Anyway, enjoy.

[Little Red]

"We'll never make it!" Little Belle called out as the ship started pulling further underwater. We were still moving towards the harbor, but we were pulling down too much and we were slowing down.

"We won't if that attitude!" Zorro screamed to us as he continued to struggle with the helm. "I've been in worse situations than this…and I won't let it end here!"

I looked back at the entrance to the cellar and saw the water flowing up onto the deck. The water was coming up now and I could see waves splashing over our sides. No…we weren't going to make it. We didn't have enough time.

"Come on!" Zorro screamed to us. "You're a bunch of witches…right? Can't you do something about this water?" He screamed down to us.

I looked around the ship. Most of us were Littles; we only knew basic herbal magic or something that needed candles and crystals. We couldn't just…push water without something to help us along. Just like with my Fireball spell…I needed some dried out leaves to help ignite the flame in my palm before I could launch it out. Being soaked in water didn't help it either.

"I know what we can do." Little Debby said as she looked down at the water pulling us further down. "If we all pitch in and do a basic welling spell…we could possibly push enough water up to push us up out of the water."

That's right! The Welling spell. It was how we got water out of the wells when there wasn't a bucket that could reach far enough down into the well to get any. It was a basic spell, and almost every Little knew how to do it. I found a smile creeping up on my face as I realized…we could survive this if we did work together. There were about 12 or so Littles all here on this ship, and we were all scared of dying underwater. Running water depletes out magic so sinking in the river would practically kill us all. Those of us strong enough to swim to shore would survive, but the current wasn't too weak. Many of us couldn't swim in a current like this.

I stepped forward, nodding to Little Debby. "I think we can do this." I looked at everyone as I pointed to her. "If we do the Welling spell, I think we can push this ship far enough up that we won't sink. If we give it a little push while we're at it…we'll sail right onto the shore."

One of the older Littles, Little Ashley, stepped forward. "I can help push us. I know this wind spell…one that I can aim right at the sails as the others are pushing us out of the water. If we catch the wind just right…I can basically fly us right into the harbor."

Everyone started coming up with several other ideas and we all became a loud obnoxious crowd of spell knowers. Everyone was now giving out their own suggestions, while the ones of us that just wanted to get started were glancing around at the chaos as if everyone was just stupid. I was one of the ones standing around, glancing at everyone bickering their heads off. "Guys…" I started to say. It didn't get me anywhere. "Hey…hey!" I screamed.

Everyone paused and glanced towards me. I pointed to everyone to my left. "Everyone on this side will be doing the Welling spell." I pointed to Little Ashley. "The others on the right will team up with Little Ashley and get started on that wind."

With that all solved, I could see that our ship was beginning to sink underwater now. It was flowing on the deck now and we were getting ankle deep in the river again. Remember what I said about flowing water and depletion of magical ability? I could feel the water rubbing away my mana as it started to grow deeper. "We need to hurry!" I screamed.

"I need a crystal!" Little Belle screamed as she started pacing around. "I've never done a spell without one!" I watched as other Littles started pacing around now. They were just as confused and lost as Belle was. In a fit of sheer frustration and luck, I slapped my hand out. Water from the river lashed out, splashing Belle and several other Littles in the face.

"Hey!" I screamed to them. "If we don't do this…we're going to die. Now…focus!" I pushed that word hard at them. Some of them still looked worried but as I started moving my hands to the correct posture, I could see that Belle and a few others were copying me.

I pushed all my focus off the rising water that was now coming up to my knees. I pushed the feeling that my mana was leaving my body with the running water. I tried to forget that this spell might fizzle out any second because I lacked any focusing items and that I was losing all my energy. No, I had to keep focusing on the water underneath the ship, inside it as well. We could do this. We just needed…ah… I took a deep breath as a strong wind started blowing from behind me. I could hear the masts cry out as the sails caught the wind. I felt the ship begin pulling through the water. Time to help it along.

I pushed my focus outward, willing the water under me to push along with the sails, while pushing up as well. I could feel the ship pushing up. I could feel the water lowering beneath my knees, going down to my ankles. Finally, I felt it leave altogether. I allowed myself to breathe out in both surprise and joy. I had done it…well, we had done it. We not only manipulated magic strong enough to lift a ship but we managed to control a spell of water manipulation for this long. If only we could keep it up.

"You're doing it!" Zorro cried. "You're actually doing it."

I heard a loud smack and a thick accent saying, "They need to focus. Leave your mouth to yourself." I could tell it was Laila based on the fact that she was the only one with a Middle Eastern accent on board this ship.

"I could never do such a thing with such beautiful maidens aboard." Zorro said coyly as he started chuckling to Laila. I heard another smack upside his head. "Ok, I get it."

I continued to focus on pushing the ship up while pushing it forward. The wind helped a lot. At least with Zorro behind the wheel, we would reach the shoreline. I was sure that he could at least keep us on track. I could feel my arms pulling against me, my mana pulling so hard against my body that I felt like my struggling connection with the water would snap at any second. I tried to relieve the tension by exhaling slowly and relaxing my muscles, but it only made my connection feel weaker. I wish we could hurry this up.

"Brace, brace, brace!" Zorro cried. "Stop the spell-throwing. We're going to crash!"

I dropped my concentration at that very second and snapped my eyes open. My fellow Littles did the same. Right in front of us was the harbor. We were flying right towards it. "We're going to crash!" Little Belle screamed. All the Littles, myself included, screamed in horror as we ran to the side of the ship to grab onto whatever we could. I wrapped my arms around a banister and looked over to see that we were already crashing into the deck. The ship almost came to a direct stop, but I could hear the wood underneath the ship rip to shreds.

As we came crashing into the decks, several other ships were brushed aside by the giant wave of upwelling water that we had created. Some actually flipped over and were now sinking underwater. The upwelling gave us enough clearance so that we had sailed right over the docks and were now crashing into the small settlement surrounding the harbor. I looked down to see all the shocked faces of the people still outside. They had not expected us to come flying this far inland. Several shops were bombarded by loose boards of wood, while giant waves carried them into the town's area. People cried out in horror as they were swept away with the sudden tide. Even more so, people ran for their lives as our giant sinking ship bull-rushed through several shops.

"Sorry!" Zorro screamed over the screams of people crying out in horror. "I'm new to galleons!" Our ship crashed into a blacksmith's shop and we suddenly came to a stop. The pull of the crash threw me forward, as it did with several other Littles.

As we came to our final stop, I rolled over to my back and let my breath catch up with me. I found myself laughing as I lied there. I heard several other witches laugh along with me. I don't know why we were laughing. We just destroyed an entire harbor and probably caused some innocent death while we did it. No matter what, we were alive. I looked up at the helm to see Laila and Zorro nodding in appreciation.

Laila was looking out over to the field leading to Nottingham. "Is…is that my…?" She said and then started running to the edge of the ship. "I'm coming brother!" She screamed as she jumped over the side of the ship. I had no idea where she went but I knew that we couldn't stay here.

…

[Malik Ishtar]

"Come with us quietly and we'll execute you quickly after a scheduled hearing and trial tomorrow morning. The fact that you killed a guard is enough for execution, so don't bother hoping for release." A knight with a crossbow aimed at my head said as he started moving his horse over to me.

"So, if I surrender, I die. If I resist, I may die." I shrugged as I stepped towards him, bringing my sword up to him. "So…what's my incentive here?"

I watched as three crossbows here drawn up. I heard them release and I didn't have enough time to move. I felt several bolts rip across my legs, lightly sliding across me. It was enough to make me drop to my knee in pain. The guard was now standing over me, smiling. "The difference is a quick death over slow…and painful."

"Sir…the harbor…" A guard was screaming. "Look."

He turned his head away from me for a fraction of a second. That was all I needed. I snapped myself up, knocking his crossbow from arm…and I mean the hand holding the crossbow from the arm. He cried out in horror. It drew all the guards' eyes away from whatever was happening at the harbor and back over to me. It didn't matter, though. I had enough time to do what I planned next. I remember what I saw. A guard had released a reddened arrow into the air and it exploded into a bright fire. I needed one of those arrows. I flew behind the horse as several bolts flew past me. A few of them hit the horse with the bleeding/crying knight. I had just snaked my hand into the carrier bag filled with crossbow bolts when the horse took off running.

I was pulled off my feet, but I kept my hand clutched to the bag. The bag ripped open and the floor was littered with crossbow bolts as the horse charged off. The bag ripping also threw me off the horse and I fell face-first into the dirt. The bleeding knight fell off his horse, landing a few feet away from me. I looked over my shoulder to see several other crossbows being raised at me. I pushed forward, coming into a roll. My eyes darted over to the harbor for a second. I had to see what had distracted them so badly. And I could see it. The ship containing the captured witches was now sitting in the middle of the harbor, tilted to one side. I could see the witches were casually lying on the deck out of the shored ship with my 'Sight'. Good, they were safe at least. I could tell, allies appeard as a light blue in my Sight...dead don't appear at all.

That gave me enough reason to further distract and confuse my attackers. Several bolts flew across me, one caught me in my arm. So, now I was bleeding down my left arm, several spots on my legs, and I had a small wound on my chest when I accidentally stabbed myself with one of my throwing knives when I rolled on the floor. It fell out of its slot and found a small place in my ribs. I'd be just fine.

I looked down at the ground to see one of those reddened bolts. I snatched it, spun myself around, and jumped over to the knight's discarded arm. I dodged several other bolts before I dived for the arm still clutching the crossbow. I caught another bolt in my ass as I came to a diving slam into the ground. That didn't stop me. I pulled out the other bolt and slammed the other bolt in its place. I pushed myself up on my feet, grabbing the arm and hugging close to me. I had my finger on the knight's finger. "You better run!" I cried to the knights.

"You couldn't possibly be that dumb." One knight said.

"Oh yeah?" I asked rhetorically as I pulled the trigger straight at the neutral ground all around us. The bolt whizzed out, slamming into the ground. It hissed for a few seconds, all of us glaring down at it with growing interest. It finally made a popping sound, one that was so strong that I was thrown off my feet. My ears screamed out in pain as the loud screeching sound of the bolt tore through my eardrums. The knights on their horses weren't having any better time than I was. They were wearing helmets. They amplified noise most of the time. And it scared the horses. All the horses reared as they whinnied in fear. Some of them started running away, while others were running around randomly as they tried to escape the sound. That's when the bolt exploded. A bright flash overcame me, blinding me almost instantly. Then I felt a strong force throw me back and a large warmth almost overtake me.

…

[The Hood]

"Sir, did you see that?" Little John screamed to me as we watched the harbor. I nodded as I scanned the carnage. The witches, at least I believed they were the cause of it, had somehow pulled the sinking ship out of the water and had created a massive bubble wave of swelling water. I watched as that bubble of water crashed into the harbor, swallowing several buildings in the process. Damn…that was both impressive and destructive. I think I had a new fear/respect for these witches now. There were not to be messed with. I wonder which spell they used that caused the water to explode to begin with. I saw the ship rock as a massive stream of water exploded on the side of the ship. Giant flames had erupted on the side but were quickly quieted by the raging water. That's when it started to sink.

I turned to look at Little John. "Ok, I think we can get to the witches now. And…we don't have to swim to get them either." I said in joyous tones. Everyone cried out in joy as we celebrated a successful mission. Well, almost successful. We still had to get to the witches and then it was a matter of getting away without the guards filling us with arrows and sword tips. A wonderful thing to avoid at all costs.

We were still waiting near the end of the woods waiting for something to happen. The Assassin was busy keeping all the knights around him, while the watchtower kept him in their light. That was good, they were so busy that I knew that I could get across the field to save the witches. That's when I heard a massive explosion. That made all our heads snap away from the ship. The Assassin had done the unthinkable, he fired a flare bolt into the ground. That…genius! That would distract everyone from the uprooted ship drowning the harbor. Oh…the poor harbor people.

I turned to face everyone. "Ok, new objective. We're saving whoever we can at the crash site. I'll escort the witches away, the rest of you will search and rescue all survivors of the massive swell. Understood?"

Everyone nodded and we broke cover. We sprinted as fast as we could over the dead of night. The sun had set a while ago and now it was growing dark fast. With that in mind, a massive explosion of fire off to our right would keep the knights busy, well…that and a burning mine. We were the last of their objectives of the evening. So, I kept running with everything I had. Hopefully, everyone would escape alive, the Assassin included. He definitely knew what he was doing, I could see that now. In one day, we've caused more damage to the Throne than I could have in a month. Truly, this isn't the type of stuff I hoped to do: crash a ship, drown a section of town, blow up the mines…but it was working. I just hoped we were ready for the consequences of what was happening. We couldn't possibly get away with this. There would be problems following this.

I started slowing down as we came up to the previously flooded harbor. I could still see where the water had rushed over the town. Several people were gawking in horror at the docks and the ruined buildings. I turned around, screaming, "Find any wounded, treat them, and find anyone out cold or dead and try to bring them back." My men nodded and began taking off to help any wounded.

As I approached the ship, I heard someone screaming from above me. "I'm coming, brother!"

I looked up in time to see a teenager wearing the white robes of the Assassin falling right into my face. She looked just as shocked as I did as she came free-falling right into me. I held my hands up to try to catch her, but another arm materialized out of nowhere. Little John, who stood inches above me, snatched her out of the air, catching her with little effort and halting her almost instantly.

She turned and laughed awkwardly at Little John. "Hehe…thanks." She said as she started rustling around in his arms. "Now…let me go! I have to go save my brother." So, Little John set her down and she took off again.

"Wait!" I called. "The Assassin is your brother?"

She stopped to turn around. "Yeah…what of it?" She looked at me suspiciously. "You kinda look like an Assassin. Are you one?"

I shrugged. "He's turning me into one…I guess."

She smiled in return. "Wow…he's fast." She turned around and started taking off again. "Bye!"

I tried to call to her, but she was already taking off. Did she not know that the Assassin had killed himself? I saw the explosion. There was no way he could have survived that. I turned my head away to see a rope-ladder flying over the side of the ship. Several witches started climbing down the ladder and I was at the right position to see up their dresses. So, I turned my head away. I watched the Assassin girl run off towards the exploding light. I could see more knights coming up. Oh no…there was no way she was going to survive such an ambush. Then I saw the impossible; the watchtower exploded. It was fine for a second but then erupted into a massive fireball that not only destroyed the tower, but brought down a large chunk of the wall while it did fall. Man…King John was going to be pissed. What the hell did that?

I turned my head away as someone tapped my shoulder. Little Red stood just a few feet away from me, her red hair plastered to her face. She smiled at me and threw me into a hug. "I knew you'd come!" She said.

I patted her on the back and managed to say, "I'd never leave you. Now, come." I started pulling her away. "We must get out of here, now, before the guards catch up."

Little Red nodded and turned to look at the other witches. It was then that I could see that everyone was soaked to their bones. What the heck happened up there? I don't think I want to know. "Ok, everyone. We have to lie low for a while and Robin has a hideout in the forest. So…we're just going to follow him back to his place. Ok?" Everyone nodded. Good, we actually managed to pull this off. I just hope our new Assassin is up to the task of keeping us safe once she learns that her brother is dead. And I hope she doesn't do something utterly stupid.

…

[Malik Ishtar]

I lied there on the ground for a second, blindly pulling at the grass in front of me. I had a chance to get away. But…that tower was probably still keeping that torchlight aimed at me. I had to get rid of that torch. I blinked my eyes a few times as I tried to push myself back onto my feet. I could hear the knights crying out in pain. I could also hear a loud roaring fire. So…my hearing had come back then. Orange flames started appearing in my eyes and finally I could faintly see flames roaring all around me. I shook the confusion from my eyes as I looked around. The entire field had blossomed into a raging fire. Some of the knights that had fallen from their horses were crying in horror as they were cooked to death in their armor. That had to suck. I had pulled myself out of the burning circle. I glanced down to see the crossbow I had used was also away from the fire. And I could see several other flaming bolts. Good, I think I had a plan.

I snatched a few flaming bolts and loaded them in some of the discarded crossbows lying on the ground. I brought my crossbow up and aimed it at the giant watchtower with the torchlight looking down at me. I sure hope they were watching now. Because I was about to become one with the shadows in a few seconds. I released the bolt and watched as the red bolt whizzed away. A few seconds later, I saw it fly into the watchtower. I waited a few seconds, watching for anything. A giant fire blossomed and I watched as the entire watchtower exploded into a giant mess of rocks and spiting fire. It wobbled for a second before falling down, taking parts of the wall down with it.

I nodded and grabbed the other two loaded crossbows. I would need these later. In fact…I strapped the crossbows to my side pouch and began looking for flaming bolts. I found three more and quickly began shoving them up my left sleeve. I wanted these for later.

I heard several stomping hooves and I found myself groaning in annoyance. I turned around to see ten or more knights flying out of the walled city to come up to me. There were even more of them behind the ten coming out to greet me. It was a good thing I waited to get my crossbow. I unlatched one of the already loaded crossbows and brought it up to the middle of the formation. If I could tag a horse with one of the bolts…imagine the carnage of a flaming horse could do.

"Brother!" I heard a familiar voice call from my left. It was enough to make me lower my weapon and look over in surprise. It was my sister…what the hell was she doing out here? And why was she soaking wet? And…why was she wearing Assassin robes? She was barely even old enough to be one. Heck, I just got promoted and I was two years older than her.

"Laila?" I asked/screamed as she came running up to me. "What are you doing here?" I asked as several knights started forming up around us.

"Ready!" One of the knights called as the other knights brought their crossbows up to a line, aiming right down at us.

"I…" She started. She pushed into my chest, giving me a big hug. "I wanted to see you!"

"Aim!" The knights started really aiming at us now. Great…I would have to do something about this soon. Too bad dealing with my sister came higher on my list than twenty plus knights forming up to kill us.

"Why aren't you home studying?" I asked her. "And why are you in those robes? Last I checked: you were on suspension from Assassination school for catching the herbalist's shop on fire."

She smiled sheepishly at me. "Well, once you left before saying goodbye, I went to the Master. I may have leveled the town looking for you beforehand…and I may have sent several instructors to the herbalist while raging over you missing. So, the Master told me…"

"Fire.." I brought my crossbow up and launched it at the lead knight. The flaming bolt caught him in the head. He rocked back, every knight glancing up at him. He exploded into a giant fiery mess, raining melting metal onto the other knights. The horses, startled as ever, all started taking off. I clipped the crossbow back to my pouch before turning back to my sister.

"Go on." I said.

"Well, the Master called me to his office and told me that he sent you to England. He gave me a map showing me where you went and so…I decided to come along. The Master awarded me Assassin robes for beating several of the instructors and let me leave. I…I think he was happy to be rid of me."

My sister. She was a hot-headed fighter that caused nothing but destruction in her wake. But she was also a feather-brain. She didn't take social cues that well and it usually led her to a fight over something someone said months ago. And that fight usually led to a building or three being burnt to the ground. She was a klutz like myself, but I when something explodes, it's because I accidentally dropped something explosive. She…well she actually causes explosions just because she's upset. She did have one weakness, one thing she loved. That was me. She was that sister than clung to me throughout childhood, especially when Mother died. Dad did everything he could to care for us, and he did a good job. But he was usually out doing Assassin stuff, not home. I took care of our family when he was away. Just me and my sister.

My sister laughed as she looked around. "Wow…look at what you did. You don't play around. Sinking ships, burning fields, bringing down walls keeping cities safe."

I nodded. "And we blew up the mines giving them iron. Not bad for my first week in Nottingham. Now.." I said as more knights were charging out of the town. "We should go, I don't like these odds." I brought up the other loaded crossbow and launched it right at the gates leading to the city. I didn't stay to see it explode. I grabbed Laila by her soaked arm and started pulling her to follow me. "We must run now. We have to make sure the witches get away."

She smiled at me, saying, "Some guy with a green hood has them. He said he knew you."

I found myself laughing. "Locksley…good. He did the right thing." I turned our course. Instead of running down to the harbor, I was now running for the forest. Once we cleared the first tree, we were as good as safe from the knights. Nothing bad could possibly happen to us now. We were in the clear. Mission: successful. We freed the witches, I found my sister (by mistake), destroyed the mines, killed a lot of knights, blew up the wall to the city, disrupted the slave trade, and more than likely pissed off King John. All in a good day's work.

Cearbhail: Next chapter I will get the head rolling...oops?