III - Faith and Hope

The church at Fledborough was not the largest or the most ornate of churches, but the locals were proud of it. Years ago, the old wooden church had burned down, taking with it the old priest who stubbornly had tried to save what little he could. It had been a terrible loss, but the locals raised enough money to build a new church – the nobility made generous donations, the peasants gave what little they could spare, and the rest of the funds came from loans. The result was a new church made from stone, one that would act as a house of the Lord for centuries to come.

Pate had been the priest at the Fledborough church ever since it had been rebuilt. He was an old man by now, but it did not stop him from personally making sure every surface in the church was always clean. People said that they had never seen a speck of dust inside the church. In addition to the inside, Pate liked to keep the surrounding churchyard in order. Now that spring was progressing fast, he was busy planting roses.

As Pate was digging a hole for the roses, he saw a carriage approaching the church. It stopped right next to him, nearly running him over. The door of the carriage opened, and out stepped a short man dressed in black. Pate stood up and tried to rub the dirt off his hands.

"Ah, so this is the new church. Very… church-like," the man commented, looking over the building. He then turned his attention to Pate. "I take it that you're the priest here?"

"Yes, I've-" Pate started to say, but he was cut off.

"Good, then you must be in charge of money here as well?" the man asked. Pate stared at him, confused.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we have met," he said, offering his hand. The man looked at his dirt-covered hand and decided to decline the handshake.

"I am Vaisey, the Sheriff of Nottingham. Years ago, I lent money to help this church be built," he said. Pate felt a knot forming in his stomach. Vaisey's loan came with an outrageously high interest. So far, no part of the actual loan had been paid back, and even keeping up with the interest was a struggle for such a small parish. Ever since Vaisey had become the Sheriff of Nottingham, rumours about him had circulated around the shire. Pate hoped that most of them were not true.

"Oh, yes, of course. I could give you a tour if you'd like," Pate offered. The Sheriff seemed unimpressed.

"I'm afraid that I am not here to admire architecture. Instead, I would like to discuss the loan you took from me."

Pate swallowed hard. This was just what he had been afraid of.

"The… The loan?"

"Yes. I would like my money back, as well as all the unpaid interest, of course. I'll give you… hmm… two days? I feel that should be enough," Vaisey said.

"Two days? But- My lord, I hope you understand, we do not have that kind of money!" Pate said desperately.

"That's not my problem, is it? I want my money, and I will come back in two days to collect it. And if you do not have it by then…" The Sheriff picked a rose from one of the bushes that waited to be planted. "Well, we will see." He crushed the rose in his hand and dropped it on the ground. He took one more look at the church. "It is a good thing that you built this new church from stone. It at least makes the outside a lot less flammable." With that, the Sheriff got back into his carriage. Pate was left standing in the dust as the carriage rode away.

Kate ran into her mother's arms as soon as she saw her across the clearing.

"I missed you so much!" she said as she squeezed her mother tightly.

"Oh, Kate! I've been so worried. Let me look at you," Rebecca said, holding her daughter at arm's length. "Have you been eating enough? I hope you haven't been too cold; I know the nights are still-"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Mum! I'm fine!"

It had been over a week since Kate had last seen her mother. Robin had thought it would be safer if Kate didn't go anywhere near Locksley, and since Rebecca was most likely being watched, it had taken a while before they deemed it safe enough to arrange a meeting in the forest. In the meantime, Kate had tried her best to make herself useful around the camp by collecting firewood and helping Much in the kitchen, but she couldn't shake her restlessness before she could see her family and make sure they were all right.

"I'm allowed to worry about you, I'm your mother," Rebecca said and brushed a strand of hair behind Kate's hair.

"Tell me how you're doing. Is Maggie all right? Does she… does she know where I am?" Kate asked.

"Maggie's… fine. She has been asking about you, but I told her that you're visiting family. If she lets something slip, I can just say I'm trying to protect her from the truth," Rebecca said. It was a smart plan, and she wouldn't even be lying.

"And how about you? Are you doing all right?" Kate continued her questions. Rebecca looked away sadly.

"I'm all right. Everyone has been helping us with… well, everything," she said, before continuing quietly, "We buried Matthew." Kate saw tears in her eyes. She pulled her back into a hug.

"We can visit his grave together when it's safe to do so," Kate said.

Rebecca shook her head.

"No… No, we should just leave. Go somewhere where nobody knows us. We could start over and be together again!" she said with tears in her eyes.

But Kate had been expecting this, and because she had had a lot of time to think about what she should do, she knew not to take this offer.

"Mum, don't be ridiculous! Where would we even go? We don't have any family far enough away that could take us in. And what about Maggie? Don't you think she's been through enough? We can't drag her away from everything she knows," Kate argued.

"Then what are we going to do? You can't just come home - you'll be arrested."

"You and Maggie need to continue living normally. Don't let anyone know that you know how I escaped," Kate said and drew in a deep breath. "I'm… I'm going to stay in the forest with Robin. No, don't say anything yet! I'm not going to do anything dangerous. The outlaws have a proper camp, and I can cook and help by mending clothes or collecting firewood. Small things like that. And I'll learn whatever I don't know. But this way I can stay close to you and Maggie, and we can still see each other without putting the two of you in danger. It's going to be alright."

Rebecca stroked Kate's cheek and considered her words. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

"And you promise you won't start robbing anyone? I need to know that you're not out there fighting and risking your life," Rebecca said.

Kate tried to put on an encouraging smile.

"I promise I won't do anything more dangerous than what I would do back home," she replied.

Rebecca nodded, more or less satisfied by these terms.

"Fine. But take these," she said and offered Kate a bundle of clothes, "I don't want you freezing in the forest! And make sure to eat enough, and-"

"Mum! I'm a big girl already!" Kate laughed and pulled her into a hug once more, "We're going to be fine. I promise."

Pate stared up at the church sadly. Where could he find the money to pay the loan back to Vaisey in two days? The church was very dear to Pate, and he hated to even think about anything happening to it. But ever since Vaisey had become the Sheriff of Nottingham, his reputation as a ruthless man had spread all around Nottinghamshire. It would not have surprised Pate if he really was ready to try and burn down a church to get what he wanted.

"What has made you so sad on such a beautiful day?" someone said behind him. Pate turned around to see the face of an old friend.

"Tuck! It is good to see you," Pate said, relieved.

"It is good to see you too, old friend. But you seem worried. What's wrong?" Tuck asked.

Pate sighed deeply and began explaining everything about the loan and Vaisey's vague threat. Tuck did not seem very surprised by any of it.

"I knew Vaisey was a greedy person, but this seems very unreasonable."

"Yes, but I do not know what to do. Perhaps I should ask for more time? I might be able to get him at least a little bit of the money in a few days, but certainly not the whole sum," Pate sighed.

Tuck stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"I doubt that would work. When the Sheriff wants something done, he wants it done right away," he replied. Then a strange look passed on his face. "I am sure everything will be alright. You just need to have faith."

"Faith? I would need a miracle to find all that money in time!" Pate cried out. He might have been a man who firmly believed that the Lord had a plan for them all, but he doubted that the Sheriff accepted prayers as a payment.

"Trust me," Tuck said reassuringly. "The Lord will look after those who have faith."

"See? I told you it would work," Robin laughed as he and John set the heavy chest full of money on the table.

"I never said it wouldn't work, I just said it was dangerous," Much pointed out.

Allan brushed past him. "When is anything we do not dangerous?"

"What happened?" Kate asked.

So far, she had kept her promise to her mother and not taken part in stealing, but it was obvious that she was starting to get bored. There was only so much she could do while the others set up an ambush on the road or went to the villages to drop off food.

"Oh, the usual. Robin thought it would be a great idea to jump off a tree," Much explained as Kate stepped in to take a closer look at the loot.

Robin sighed and crossed his arms. "I've jumped off plenty of trees, you worried for nothing."

"The carriage was moving! You nearly broke your back!" Much huffed.

"Almost. But I didn't," Robin pointed out.

"He just needs to show off. You should know that by now," Allan laughed.

John ignored the others as they continued to discuss whether Robin had an innate need for showing off or not. Instead, he watched Kate, who absentmindedly ran her hand through the coins in the chest. John felt sorry for her. It was obvious she didn't yet feel completely comfortable living in the forest. She put on a brave face, but being apart from her family was clearly hard for her. Kate had promised to her mother that she would stay out of the action, and Rebecca had even told Robin that if anything happened to Kate, she would gladly turn them all over to the Sheriff.

The gang didn't really know what to do with Kate. Back when Will and Djaq had been with them, there had been clear lines of what chores belonged to who, and everyone had been allowed to take equal part in the work they did. But right now everyone just kept giving Kate small and easy tasks to do, and there was nothing that was hers and hers alone. John knew that if Kate was going to stay with them for good, she needed to learn new skills to survive in the forest.

Much was still going on about Robin's recklessness, when a familiar face entered the camp.

"Tuck! It's good to see you. But what are you doing here?" Robin asked and rushed to greet the newcomer, happy to get away from Much's worrying.

"It is good to see all of you again," Tuck said, making eye contact with everyone but lingering on Kate a moment longer than the others, because she had not been there the last time he was at the camp. "I'm afraid I've come to ask for your help."

Tuck told them everything he had heard at Fledborough.

"So now the Sheriff is threatening to burn down churches?" Much asked once Tuck was done with his story.

"Since when does Vaisey give out loans?" Allan questioned at the same time.

Robin ignored both questions.

"So you want us to give them the money?" he asked.

"Not quite," Tuck said, "Two days is not enough time to find that kind of money out of nowhere, and the Sheriff knows this. There will need to be a good reason for where the money came from."

Robin thought for a moment. He looked at his friends, who were all staring at him, as if they were trying to see into his head to find out how he came up with his plans.

"Allan, you're good at lying," he stated, still deep in thought.

Allan straightened up in his seat. "Huh?"

"I think we all know he is," Much commented.

"Go clean yourself up. Much, we're going to need a horse," Robin continued.

"What do we need a horse for?" Much asked but got up anyway.

"We need to get these coins to Fledborough," Robin said and patted on the chest they had just stolen.

Allan was visibly annoyed. "Why do I need to clean up?"

"Just do it, all right? I'll explain everything on the way there," Robin replied and began counting the money to make sure it would be enough to cover the debt.

John saw Kate sit down by the kitchen with disappointment clear on her face. Had she hoped to be a part of this plan?

"Robin, if you won't need me, I'd like to stay here. Kate and I need to check the traps," he said, speaking loud enough for Kate to hear. Robin looked up at him and then at Kate, before going back to counting the money.

"Sure. We'll manage," he said. John gave Kate another quick look, and although she was still a little disappointed, she gave him a small smile.

Kate followed John deeper into the forest in silence. The sadness in her was not completely gone, but she was happy to at least get out of the camp for once. After a while the paths got narrower, until they disappeared completely, leaving them with only John's sense of direction and knowledge of the forest to guide them. Kate had to watch her step and walk almost twice as fast as he did just to keep up with him.

"Have you gone hunting before?" John asked, breaking their silence.

"No, not really," Kate admitted.

"You'll learn," John said, and the two fell back into their previous silence.

Kate wished she could have gone with Robin and the others. She knew John had only taken her with him just to make her feel better, not because he actually believed she could be of any help. He had lived in the forest for years, and hardly needed a girl like her to check the traps with him.

Once they got over a small stream by walking over some very slippery stones, Kate felt like she had had enough of the silence.

"Why are your traps so far from the camp?" she asked, just to have something to talk about.

"We don't want the Sheriff's men finding them and figuring out where we live. And you don't want to set up traps near humans or the animals will get scared away," John explained.

"You must know the forest well then. To know how to find your way around," Kate said. She nearly tripped on a tree root which John just stepped over as if it wasn't even there.

"I've been living in the forest for over a decade."

"You were married to Alice before that, weren't you?"

At this point Kate knew that she was prying on things that were none of her business, but she couldn't help but be a little curious about the outlaws she was now living with.

"Yes, I was," John replied simply. Kate was walking behind him and couldn't see his face, but she could hear the pain in his voice.

"Didn't you ever want to visit her during all those years?" she asked.

"I did," he sighed, "but it was safer for her if I didn't have any contact with her. And easier, for both of us." John glanced back at Kate and saw the frown on her face. "But you can still visit your family, if you want to. The situation is different."

"But I can't live with them anymore, can I?" Kate asked bitterly.

"I'm sure you can, one day. We'll all get out of this forest," John tried to comfort her, but she could see that he was only saying it to make her feel better.

"You don't really believe that," she said.

John sighed deeply and nodded.

"No, I don't. Robin has hope that the King will return, we will get rid of the Sheriff and everything will be alright. But I'm too old to live on hope alone," he explained.

Kate thought about his words. She wasn't sure if she could believe in all of that either. It seemed too impossible that everything would magically just get better. What could five outlaws realistically do, especially when one of them wasn't even supposed to be fighting against the Sheriff? Sure, she had stood up against injustice in her own way before, but right now it all seemed so useless.

"I think you're right," Kate said.

"You shouldn't give up all hope. If things somehow do get better, you still have a chance at a normal life," John replied.

"And you don't?"

"I don't think so." Kate waited for John to continue. "When I became an outlaw, I thought it would be easier for Alice to think I was dead. And in a way, it was easier for me as well."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked. She thought about Alice's son, John, and wondered if it really was better to have a dead father than one that was an outlaw. She knew what losing one felt like, but she would have given anything to speak with her father again, even if he was an outlaw.

"The forest… It is almost like its own world. It's easy to get lost here, in more ways than one. It didn't take me long to get used to life outside of regular society. So it really was like I had died," John explained.

Kate nodded. Would it be easier for her as well if she never saw her mother or Maggie again?

Before she could think about it anymore, John continued. "I've seen many people come into the forest, most driven here by desperation. And for those that have left, there has only been one way out." He stared straight ahead, but Kate could see his face was tense.

"Dying?" she asked, feeling a little sick in her stomach.

"Yes," John said. He turned to look at her, and after seeing the worry in her eyes, he realized that perhaps this was not the best way to comfort a girl who had just been forced to leave her family behind. "But don't worry. We are not really dead. I know two people who left the forest behind and got to keep their lives. You can be one of those lucky ones as well."

Kate couldn't help but notice that John didn't include himself in those lucky ones.

"Does it really have to be me?" Allan asked and pulled on the collar of the shirt that was a little tight on him. With a little bit of cleaning up and a change of clothes, he could just about pass as a nobleman.

"Yes. Now, you know what to do, don't you?" Robin asked.

"I'll go in, tell a good story and give him the money," Allan replied, although he didn't look entirely convinced by the plan.

"Exactly, but make sure he takes the money. Don't give him a chance to say no. And be convincing! We can't have the Sheriff suspect anything," Robin said.

The plan was simple; Allan would pose as a nobleman who wanted to make a generous donation to the church. They couldn't just march in and hand over the money, because the Sheriff would be suspicious of such a large sum of money appearing out of nowhere, so it was better if Pate did not know the true origins of the donation. For that, they needed Allan's ability to lie like his life depended on it — as it often had. Much, on the other hand, was not a good liar, so he had been tasked with being Allan's servant. This of course annoyed him greatly, which he made no attempts to hide. Robin and Tuck would just hide and watch. If Pate wasn't convinced by Allan's act, Tuck could always step in to help.

Robin had decided to stay out of the whole thing this time, because if Pate happened to describe the mysterious nobleman when questioned about the origin of the money, the Sheriff would surely be on the lookout for a description of Robin.

As Much and Allan made their way to the church along the road, Tuck and Robin ran around to hide behind a fence. Fortunately, Pate was outside, so they would have a good view of the show. Much stayed behind with the horse as Allan approached Pate. He glanced anxiously at Robin. Although there was no real danger to being found out since for once there were no guards around, Much couldn't shake off his tendency for nervousness.

"Excuse me, are you the priest of this church?" Allan asked. Pate had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't even heard Allan's approach and jumped at the sudden distraction.

"Huh? Oh, yes, I am," he said, taking a long look at Allan and glancing quickly at Much, "How may I help you?"

Allan's demeanour changed immediately as he got into character.

"Oh, I am so relieved to finally find a man of God! I have been travelling for a while, but the weight of sin is too much for me to bear any longer! I feel the need to confess all the terrible things I have done!"

Robin bit his teeth together to keep from laughing. Poor Pate looked quite confused as Allan practically threw himself down at his feet.

"Well, uh, I will take your confession if that is what you wish," Pate said.

Allan continued with his theatrics and pretended to be so relieved that one might have thought he had just been saved from being executed.

The others listened as Allan made up a story about how he had gambled away his sick father's fortune, stolen from his aging grandmother and fathered at least one bastard child. He kept adding in details, and as the list of his made-up sins grew, the others struggled to keep a straight face. Once Allan got to the part where he started listing even minor things like forgetting to thank his friend after being offered ale, Much had to turn around to pet the horse to hide his laughter.

"I think something a little more subtle would have worked," Tuck whispered with a smile.

"We don't really do subtle," Robin replied.

"So I've gathered," Tuck said as Allan kneeled in front of Pate to beg for forgiveness. The poor priest was still trying to wrap his mind around the thought of someone confessing to moving all of the furniture an inch to the left while visiting his sister. But even as Allan got absolution for his elaborate list of sins, he didn't let go of his act of desperation.

"Oh, I feel so much better now that I have finally gotten all of this off my chest! But I feel that I must do something else to make up for my actions, so please let me make a donation to your church!" Allan said and motioned for Much to come closer. They took out two large bags of money and offered them to Pate.

"Oh, no, this is too much!" he protested, "Perhaps you should use this money to pay back to your father-"

"Oh, no, I may have gambled away his money, but he is also a terrible person!" Allan revealed. "He used to beat my mother and killed my favourite dog when I was only ten years old! So please, take this, I am sure you will use it wisely."

Pate could not bring himself to protest anymore and was forced to accept the money. Allan thanked him for a few more times before he and Much left, leaving the priest standing in the middle of the churchyard to ponder over the strangest afternoon of his life.

"I just can't do it!" Kate sighed and dropped the rope she had been holding. John had shown her how to set up the traps, but she was getting frustrated when she still couldn't do it properly.

"Don't worry, you'll learn," John said calmly and bent down to pick up the rope. Kate sat down on a nearby rock and dropped her chin against her hand.

"I'm sorry I'm so useless," she said.

"Life in the forest takes some practice. You're not useless, just inexperienced," John replied without looking up at her.

"Still, I feel like I should be doing more! I promised my mother that I wouldn't get involved in anything dangerous, but I can't do much around the camp that none of you already know; I'm a mediocre cook at best, and because I can't help you even with a simple ambush, I'm just another mouth to feed," Kate complained.

John finished setting up the trap and stood up.

"Can you shoot with a bow? Do you know how to fight with a sword? If you can't, you won't be much use in an ambush," he said,

"Well… I've held a bow… And I can run fast!" she said, although she couldn't help but smile at the thought of just running around the forest just to confuse whoever they were trying to rob that day. Not that that hadn't worked before.

"Well, since you're no good at setting up traps, maybe you should learn how to shoot," John suggested with a smile.

"Maybe… In fact, I would be a lot safer in the forest if I could do that," Kate reasoned, knowing full well that her mother might disagree.

The Sheriff of Nottingham was quite surprised when Pate handed him the money to pay back the loan. In truth, he had not expected to get all of the money at once. Instead, he had planned on graciously giving a little more time to pay back the rest, with a higher interest, of course. Yet here was all the money he was owed, and he couldn't help but wonder where it had come from.

"I was quite surprised myself," Pate explained, "but a generous young man was passing by and made a donation that happened to cover the debt in full!"

"Hmm, and you do not find this to be suspicious at all?" the Sheriff asked as he went through the money coin by coin, just to be sure it was all real.

"Normally I would, but I am a man of God and cannot help but believe that the Lord has decided to answer my prayers," Pate said.

The Sheriff had a feeling that the money came from somewhere else, but when Pate told him more about this man that had made the donation, it did not sound like Robin Hood. Regardless, the Sheriff couldn't complain. He had his money, so did it really even matter if it came from Hood? Afterall, it was he who had ruined the Sheriff's plan at the Holy Land, so it was only fair if he paid some of his debt to Prince John. And if it wasn't Hood, well, then the Sheriff might just start believing in the power of prayer if it meant money would appear in front of him.

When the Sheriff made it back to Nottingham with his money, Henry of Colchester was already waiting for him.

"My lord!" he called out as he approached the Sheriff in the courtyard. "They just brought him in," he said, lowering his voice so that only the Sheriff could hear him.

"Ah, good! You two," the Sheriff said, gesturing to two nearby guards, "take this money to my vault."

Vaisey and Henry made their way down to the dungeons of the castle with a single guard following them. However, they didn't go to where the cells were, and instead entered a small room with no windows or furniture. The guard stayed outside as the men closed the door behind them. At the back of the room there was a small opening, which had a view into one of the cells. The Sheriff peeked in and saw a young man speaking with one of the guards, trying to talk him into letting him go.

"Excellent," he said, "And you are absolutely certain that's him?"

The man — or rather, the boy — looked thin and plain, and the Sheriff couldn't help but feel just a little underwhelmed. The boy was young, no more than twenty, but at least that meant he was most likely impressionable.

"It's him," Henry said, although now he seemed to lack the confidence he had had earlier. "My lord, about the payment-" he started, fiddling with his fingers.

"Ah, yes, your payment," the Sheriff said and took a few steps back from the wall. He walked around Henry and motioned him to come closer. As Henry approached, the Sheriff pulled out a knife from his belt and struck it straight through the man's chest. Henry didn't let out a sound. He fell to his knees, gasping for air, and as the Sheriff pulled the knife out, blood began to pour out from his chest.

"I'm afraid I'm a little tight on money right now. But think of it this way: I have now freed you from your gambling debts for good," the Sheriff said calmly as Henry fell to the floor, life draining from his eyes, until he was left staring at the ceiling blankly. As the Sheriff walked out of the room, he turned to speak to the guard.

"Poor Lord Henry fell on a knife. Dispose of his body," he said before whistling as he headed up the stairs. It had been a surprisingly good day for the Sheriff of Nottingham.