VI – Behind the Mask

On Thursday mornings the gang often dispersed into the villages to hand out money and food to the people. This Thursday the food in question was fresh loaves of bread, and to Much, there was nothing better than the smell of fresh bread. He wished he could get a taste of it as well, but since feeding the people was more important, he would have to settle for the smell alone.

Much was fumbling inside the sack full of bread he and Robin were spreading around the village as they chatted to Peter the Tanner.

As Much offered Peter the bread, the man shook his head.

"Take that to the next house," he said.

"Are you sure?" Much asked.

"Yes. The Nightwatchman visited last night, so we have enough for now. Sarah has three children; she'll need this more than us."

Robin and Much looked at each other. How could the Nightwatchman have been here, in Locksley?

"Is everything all right?" Peter asked. He didn't seem to think anything was wrong.

"The Nightwatchman couldn't… I mean, we didn't know that the Nightwatchman was back," Much explained quickly, realizing that it might still not be a good idea to reveal the Nightwatchman's identity to everyone, even if the real Nightwatchman was dead.

Robin had an unreadable expression on his face, but Much knew him well enough to understand that a million thoughts were running through his head.

"Yes, well no-one's seen him in months, but it seems he's active again. Everyone thinks he's one of you lot, but I guess not then," Peter said.

"We've… met," Much said. He had a bad feeling that today would end up being a lot more complicated than he'd hoped.

Robin had waited until they were deep in the forest before breaking out of his thinking phase. Much supposed that anything to do with Marian was still too difficult for Robin to handle with his usual immediacy.

"I don't like this," Robin muttered when they approached the camp.

"I know," Much answered quietly. "It's weird. I mean, why would someone willingly put their life at risk by pretending to be the Nightwatchman? And why now?"

Robin just sighed deeply in answer.

"What I don't understand is why someone would pretend to be the Nightwatchman specifically," Much said as they finally stepped into the camp.

"To gain people's trust, I suppose," Robin said.

"What's this about the Nightwatchman?" Allan asked.

Much and Robin recounted to the others what they had heard at Locksley. John and Allan were just as confused about the situation as they were, but the two others weren't quite caught up on what the problem was.

"What is a Nightwatchman?" Adam asked.

"Why does it matter if he's back?" Kate asked at the same time.

The others looked at Robin, who didn't appreciate that he was being put on the spot like this. Marian was the one topic he refused to speak about with the others, so the duty to explain everything fell to Much.

"Well, Lady Marian was the Nightwatchman. And since she's… you know… gone, someone must be impersonating her."

Kate raised her eyebrows in surprise. Before now, no-one had thought to tell her who the Nightwatchman really was.

"Yeah well that still doesn't explain what the Nightwatchman is," Adam said.

This time it was Kate who answered.

"The Nightwatchman did essentially what we – well, you – do, but long before Robin even became an outlaw," she explained, glancing at Robin who was pretending to be busy sharpening his sword. "He- She gave people food and medicine, but only at night. No-one knew who it was so everyone began calling her the Nightwatchman."

"The Sheriff hated the Nightwatchman almost as much as he hates us," Allan added. "He completely lost it when he found out Marian was behind it all."

"Still, I don't see how someone handing out food to the people is a problem. Doesn't that just make our job easier?" Adam asked.

Robin finally looked up from his sword with a grim look on his face.

"The last time someone handed out food in the Nightwatchman's name, the Sheriff was trying to poison people."

The rumours about the Nightwatchman's return had reached the ears of Guy of Gisborne as well. At first he had thought that this was another one of his nightmares. Then he briefly considered the possibility that Marian's ghost had decided to haunt him. Eventually he landed on the more logical explanation of someone impersonating the Nightwatchman. And like the original, Guy wanted him caught.

The Nightwatchman was still a sore topic for him. He had difficulty connecting Marian to her alter ego. It was easier to think of them as separate people. The Nightwatchman represented all the lying and deceiving she had done. So many times Guy had almost caught the mysterious man, and once almost killed him, only to find out that the person behind the mask was the woman he was in love with.

It didn't help that the villagers worshipped the Nightwatchman almost as much as they worshipped Hood and his little gang of outlaws. Perhaps some fool had wanted a piece of this glory and taken on the Nightwatchman's identity. Or maybe Hood or one of his friends had orchestrated this just to mess with Gisborne's head. Either way, Guy wanted the Nightwatchman caught. Whoever it was that had decided to play hero was going to die. It was the only way to end this torture.

Robin stood by Marian's grave. Well, it wasn't really her grave – her remains were buried thousands of miles away in a desert – but the place where Robin had buried her ring was the next best thing. If only Marian was here. She would have wanted to know who it was that was pretending to be her. In order to honour her memory, Robin had to find out who this fake Nightwatchman was.

In the worst-case scenario, the fake Nightwatchman was another one of the Sheriff's plans. Maybe they were trying to buy the people's trust by handing out real food, only to backstab them when the right moment came. Marian would have hated just the thought of that. But why would the Sheriff try something like this now that the identity of the Nightwatchman was no longer as secret as it had once been? All Robin needed to do was tell everyone the truth about the Nightwatchman's real identity and give a warning against trusting this new imposter, and the whole plan would fail.

There was always the possibility that the fake Nightwatchman was someone who was being sincere in their actions. Despite that being the far better option, it didn't sit right with Robin. The Nightwatchman belonged to Marian. What right did anyone have to impersonate her? No-one could ever replace her. Not as the Nightwatchman, and not as Lady Marian. Not as his wife.

"I promise I'll find out who is doing this," Robin whispered. He liked to think Marian was watching over him and could hear when he spoke to her. It was a lot easier to come here, to her grave, and speak to her, or even about her, and just grieve. He was still uncomfortable whenever Marian came up in conversations with the others. There was a very selfish part of him that didn't want to let anyone else have her, even in memory. She had been his, just as he had been hers, for only a few moments under the burning sun, in an abandoned town all too far away from home. Robin should have had more time with her. Now that Marian was gone, all he had was her memory. And he would guard it no matter what.

Adam found Kate sitting alone on a large rock, leaning against her knees and so deep in thought that she didn't notice his arrival until he sat down next to her.

"Are all people around here as crazy as Robin and this… Nightwatchman?" he asked.

"What?"

"Well it seems like they have some kind of desperate need to be heroes or something. Is it something in the water?" Adam's tone was so serious that it took Kate a moment to realise he was joking.

"You do the same thing these days," she reminded him.

"Yes, but I do it because it keeps a roof over my head and food on my plate."

"So helping people means nothing to you?"

"I didn't say that. I just mean I don't do it for glory or anything," Adam said with a shrug.

"I don't think glory is what Robin and Lady Marian were going for."

"Hmm. Maybe." Adam laid back on the rock and stared at the trees stretching high above them. "Do you believe that this new Nightwatchman is malicious?" he asked.

It was Kate's turn to shrug. "I don't know. Maybe it's just someone who's had enough and wants to do some good. Many people rely on the kindness of others."

"Well too bad it's not something that's easy to come by."

"You really believe so?" Kate turned to look at Adam.

"Well there have been many times when I could have used some kindness, but no-one was willing to show it," he said bitterly.

They fell silent for a moment.

"Lady Marian risked a lot by becoming the Nightwatchman. Without her… Well, my sister might have died before she could even walk if it hadn't been for the Nightwatchman. You don't know what it has been like, living here under the Sheriff's rule."

"Well, that explains it then."

"Explains what?"

"Why everyone's so desperate to risk their own lives for whatever cause they can find."

"Dying for something you believe in is better than dying because you did nothing. I guess Lady Marian realised that, and that's why she was willing to risk her life to help people."

Somewhere to their left, they could hear a twig breaking in two. Adam sat back up and saw Allan approaching them.

"You know, she nearly did die because of this whole Nightwatchman thing," Allan said as he walked closer.

"Really?" Kate asked.

"Yeah. When Gisborne found out, she was almost executed. But I pretended to be the Nightwatchman to trick the Sheriff, and she got away with it."

"Did she continue after that?"

"Nah, Gisborne made her stop. And I got rid of her disguise," Allan said and leaned against the same rock the others were sitting on.

"Well I still think she's brave for what she did," Kate said.

"Don't tell me you're going to start hero-worshipping her," Adam said jokingly and rolled his eyes. Kate looked like she might have thrown something at him if she'd had something within arm's reach.

"I always looked up to Lady Marian, even before I knew she was the Nightwatchman," she said and turned away from him. "I was actually named for her mother." Her voice was full of pride, as if it was somehow her own achievement.

"Well, go on, tell the story behind that, then," Allan said and nudged Kate's foot.

"There's not actually that much to tell. My mother's friend was working as a maid in Knighton, and my mother was visiting her when she went into labour. There was no time to get her back to Locksley, so Lady Kate let her give birth at the manor. And then my mother named me after her."

Allan nodded approvingly.

"That's still far better than my story. I was named after an uncle who died when he got into a knife fight over a couple of chickens."

The two turned to look at Adam.

"What?"

"Your turn," Kate said. "Why Adam?"

"It's a good name, I suppose," Adam replied casually.

"Come on, give us something," Allan said.

"Really, I don't have any good stories about my name or birth. I never knew my mother. At least I'm not sure if I did."

"What do you mean you don't think you did?" Kate asked.

"I've had a few guesses, but I can't be sure if any of them are correct. Either way, it doesn't matter. Both of your stories are far more interesting than mine."

The Sheriff was not as shaken by the news about the Nightwatchman as Gisborne was.

"The whole shire is full of fools who are willing to put their lives on the line for the chance to be heroes," the Sheriff said, sitting with his feet on his desk and a goblet of wine in his hand.

"Should we still try to catch him?"

"Of course, Gisborne. No-one knows that the real Nightwatchman is dead – thanks to you – so I would say the previous price for his head still stands. And with any luck, this new one is not as elusive as Lady Marian. We'll be rid of the Nightwatchman in no time."

While the Sheriff continued to drink his wine, Gisborne couldn't shake his uneasiness about the Nightwatchman. If they did catch him, would someone else take his place? Gisborne hated thinking about the possibility of being forced to chase after the Nightwatchman again and again. Marian had given up that life – she had promised him. He shouldn't have to give up another thought to the rogue outlaw anymore, yet now someone else was making his life more difficult than it needed to be. This time Gisborne would not let the Nightwatchman escape. If he so much as caught a glimpse of the new Nightwatchman, he would not rest until the man laid dead at his feet.

The nights were already warm enough for Robin not to freeze his fingers off as he sat in the tree for who knows how long. If the fake Nightwatchman showed up in Locksley that night, Robin would catch him. He couldn't risk someone possibly ruining the Nightwatchman's, and by extension Marian's, reputation. So, seeing that this new Nightwatchman seemed to favour Locksley over the other villages, at least according to Robin's intel, this was the place where he would most likely make his appearance.

Robin wasn't sure how long he sat in the tree. He had a good view of the whole village, and he would be able to catch any movement there. But the village stayed quiet, and Robin found himself getting so tired that he nearly fell asleep in the tree. Hours after he had begun his stake out, something finally happened. A figure moved between the houses in the village below. Robin rubbed the sleep away from his eyes and watched as the fake Nightwatchman dropped something off in front of one of the houses. He was too far away to catch any details, but he began climbing down as quickly as he could. The Nightwatchman was close enough that if Robin could keep quiet, he could surprise and easily catch him.

Unfortunately, Robin's landing on the ground was less than graceful, and the figure down in the village was alerted to his presence. Robin saw him sprint off in the opposite direction from him. So, this would have to be a running competition. Fortunately, Robin knew the forest well, and it was very likely that in the darkness of night he had the advantage. Robin ran after the Nightwatchman, and the two began a silent chase through the forest.

The Nightwatchman tried to lose him by taking sharp turn after sharp turn. But Robin kept up an even pace, even though the Nightwatchman was a very fast runner. This Nightwatchman didn't have the same clothes Marian had worn – how would that even have been possible, especially if Allan's story about getting rid of the disguise was true – but his hood hung low, so Robin couldn't see the man's face. He still had no idea who this could be.

Eventually Robin got tired of the mindless chase. He let the Nightwatchman take a sharp turn to a denser part of the forest while he ran ahead using a shortcut. Once the Nightwatchman appeared from behind a tree, Robin took his chance and tackled him to the ground. Robin felt the Nightwatchman try to push him off, but he managed to turn him around and rip the hood down.

"Kate?" Robin asked in shock when he saw the fake Nightwatchman's face. His grip on her loosened, and Kate quickly scrambled back on her feet.

The two stared at each other, catching their breaths.

"You… What do you think you're doing?" he asked. Kate was the last person Robin would have expected to be the Nightwatchman.

"I'm… being the Nightwatchman?"

Robin ran a hand over his face.

"You have no right to be doing that," Robin said fiercely. "And what about your promise to your mother? If someone other than me had caught you, you could have been killed."

"I know what I'm doing."

"I'm not so sure about that. Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"

"Of course I do. But I can take care of myself. You don't need to babysit me," Kate argued, crossing her arms.

"Where did you even get those clothes?" Robin gestured to Kate's outfit. She was wearing men's clothes, but at least the shirt wasn't one he recognised – it was too clean and whole to be from the camp.

"This was my brother's," Kate said, nervously fiddling with the sleeve of the shirt. "And I took the rest from the camp."

"What even made you do this?"

"This! All of this! You constantly doubt me and my abilities. I could learn to fight and do everything the rest of you can if you only gave me a chance!"

"We work as a team. You have now twice disobeyed me, so clearly, I can't put much trust in you," Robin said, his voice colder than the air around them.

Kate swallowed hard. She kept her head held high but avoided looking right at Robin.

By the time they got back to the camp, their arguing still hadn't ceased. Despite trying to keep their voices low, the others woke up as the argument got more heated.

"What's going on?" Adam asked as he struggled to keep his eyes properly open.

"I found our new Nightwatchman," Robin declared and shoved Kate towards the others. This seemed to wake everyone up properly.

"Wait, what?" Much asked.

"I don't understand why this is such a big deal!" Kate complained.

"You're impersonating the Nightwatchman!" Robin shouted louder than he had intended.

"Not on purpose!"

"Oh, so all this was an accident then? You could get hurt, or worse!"

"Well you won't let me take part in any of your plans! I had to do something!"

"There is a reason I don't include you, Kate. I need people who can actually fight, and-"

"You've been teaching me to shoot! I'm already much better than Adam! Why are you even teaching me if not so that I can fight?"

"Shooting is not just about holding your own in a fight. You can use it for hunting."

"Oh, so you're teaching me to hunt animals and Adam to hurt people, then?" Kate asked.

A tense silence fell into the camp. Adam looked uncomfortable at the fact that he had been dragged into the conversation.

"You're making things up," Robin said.

"Am I? Then prove me wrong and let me be a part of everything," Kate said.

"I might have considered it before, if you had just asked, but you're too unpredictable."

Before Kate could give her angry response, John cut in on the conversation.

"I think it would be best if we settled this in the morning," he said sternly. But Robin and Kate were too stubborn to let the matter go.

"You could have been a part of everything. As Kate. Not as the Nightwatchman. You have no right to that," Robin said.

"No right? Well what gives you the right to dictate who gets to be the Nightwatchman and who doesn't? You were never the Nightwatchman." Kate crossed her arms angrily.

"No, I wasn't. But Marian was, and she was my wife, so I think that gives me the say on this."

This time Allan was the one to interrupt.

"I think you're being unreasonable." Everyone turned to look at him. "She was our friend too, you know. You're not the only one that lost her."

"Right, you shouldn't take your grief out on Kate," Much agreed.

Kate looked at them in disbelief. This was the first time the others had truly stood up for her against Robin. It gave her the energy and courage she needed to stand up for herself.

"Thank you," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I think the Nightwatchman belongs to whoever does what the Nightwatchman does."

Robin looked at the others in silence with his jaw clenched. He knew that he was going to lose this argument.

"Besides," Kate added, "it's not like I haven't done this before."

The others looked at her in shock.

Kate drew in a deep breath and continued. "I was the Nightwatchman last winter as well. I mean, I wasn't supposed to be the Nightwatchman, but everyone just sort of assumed that was the case. But someone had to step in and do something. No-one had heard from any of you in weeks. The real Nightwatchman had disappeared. There was no-one looking out for us, so I did what I had to. I did none of this for glory. I just wanted to help the people that needed me. I understand how Lady Marian must have felt when she started this all. So, if you want to blame anyone for all of this, blame the people that mistook me for the Nightwatchman."

Her heart was pounding in her chest. Robin said nothing – his expression was sour, but it seemed that Kate had managed to do the impossible and get him to shut up. Much gave her an encouraging smile.

"All right, now that that's settled, can we go back to sleep now? You can continue your stupid argument in the morning," Adam said and plopped back down onto his bunk.

The next morning Kate did not want to continue the argument. She avoided Robin, and the two had a silent agreement that they needed to cool off before they were ready to properly settle this matter. In the daylight Kate's thoughts were much clearer, and she somewhat understood why he was so angry. Everyone always tiptoed around mentioning Lady Marian – it made sense that anything that was even remotely related to her was still a sore topic for Robin. Still, he should have been more understanding about Kate's situation. Didn't he understand how much it hurt her that he kept doubting her?

In the afternoon Kate found herself back on the large rock where she often ended up when she wanted to think and be alone. Although it looked like soon she would have to find a new place for herself, seeing as she was constantly getting bothered by someone. This time that someone was Allan.

"You all right?" he asked and sat down next to her.

"I guess," she replied. Allan nodded. She could sense that Allan was trying to find the right words to say whatever it was that he had sought her out for.

"You know… I think Robin's wrong about you and the whole Nightwatchman thing," he said, scratching his jaw.

"Thanks."

"He's just grieving. He doesn't show it most of the time, but he is. Marian is a sore subject for him."

"I've picked up on that," Kate said sarcastically.

"Like I said last night, she was our friend too. At least I'd like to think we were friends. I mean, we sort of had an understanding back when we were both in the castle-"

"Just spit it out already."

"I think Marian would have been proud to know that someone wanted to continue her legacy." Allan placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I wish I could have known her better," Kate said sadly.

"She would have liked you. You've got spirit."

Kate nodded and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Anyway," Allan said, "I spoke with Much and John. We all think Marian wouldn't have wanted the Nightwatchman to die with her. So… here."

Kate looked up and saw that he was handing her something. On top of the small bundle there was a leather mask.

"I didn't follow Gisborne's orders exactly when he told me to get rid of all that. I had a feeling it could be useful one day, so I just hid it," Allan said.

"I… This was really hers?" Kate turned the mask in her hands.

"Yeah. But you've got to be more careful, alright? And you've got to learn how to fight properly before you start going out solo."

Kate put the mask on her face. She might have not started out with the intention of being the Nightwatchman, but over time that was how she saw herself. And now she could finally be the Nightwatchman for real.

Kate blinked away the tears threatening to blur her vision. "I don't know what to say."

"I think thank you is what people usually say," Allan laughed.

"Thank you, Allan," Kate said and threw her arms around his neck.

The Nightwatchman's outfit was just a little too loose on Kate, but it was nothing she couldn't fix by just taking in a couple of seams. Allan was quite impressed – if it weren't for the blonde hair, he might have thought it was Marian under the mask. And if he couldn't tell the difference, Kate's identity was surely safe.

When they got back to the camp, Much looked a little surprised to see Kate already wearing the Nightwatchman's clothes. He might have thought he was seeing a ghost if she had put the mask and hood on as well. John just gave an approving nod. But the attention didn't stay on Kate for long. Instead, the others looked to Robin.

Their leader had cooled off from the previous night, but his shoulders tensed when he saw Kate. He raised his eyebrows at Allan, who replied with a simple shrug of his shoulders.

"What do you think?" Kate asked, spreading her arms to show her outfit. She tried her best to keep her voice calm, but gave Robin a nervous glance.

"You really look like the Nightwatchman now," Much said, his voice shaking slightly.

"Kate, can I speak with you?" Robin asked.

Kate nodded shakily.

The two walked to the back of the camp, although they were sure the others were listening in. Kate fiddled nervously with the edge of her cloak. "I… I wanted to apologise. I think I overreacted last night," Robin said.

Kate nodded and waited for him to continue.

"I… I think you had your heart in the right place, doing what you did. And although I still don't approve of this, it seems that everyone else agrees that this is what… what Marian would have wanted. She wouldn't have wanted for people to forget about the Nightwatchman." He avoided looking directly at her.

"I understand that you're still grieving, Robin," Kate said quietly. "I just want to do good. And seeing that everyone thinks it's too dangerous for me to be a part of Robin Hood's gang, would you at least consider letting the Nightwatchman join you on your missions?"

Kate knew this was a lot to ask. They had both promised her mother that she would stay out of the action. But the Nightwatchman was providing them with a very convenient loophole to work around that promise.

Robin looked at the others nervously. They were no longer even pretending that they weren't listening to what Robin and Kate were saying. He let out a deep sigh. A part of him wanted to deny her request, and to forbid her from ever wearing this outfit again, but there was an annoyingly rational voice in his head telling him that this was the best solution for everyone.

"Alright," he said finally.

Kate's face broke out into a bright smile.

"Thank you! I promise I won't let you down." Finally, she would get to be a part of all this. She knew Robin was only giving in because the others were on her side now, but their support meant even more to her than getting to be a more active outlaw. Kate tried to meet Robin's eyes, but he kept looking away. She would just have to take this small victory for what it was.

"Well, I guess we just have to teach you how to fight properly now," Allan said.

"I already shoot better than Adam," Kate pointed out as she turned back to the others, but gave Robin one final nervous glance.

"Hey, I've gotten better!" Adam protested.

As the others bickered about whether or not Adam could hit a single tree in the forest, Robin slipped away from the camp. He would have to get used to Kate as the Nightwatchman. It couldn't continue to be a painful reminder of Marian every time he looked at her, or else he would not be able to focus.

Deep down he knew Marian would have approved of this. But his heart still ached just as much as it had months ago, and it seemed that even thousands of miles had not been enough to heal it. He could only hope that time – more time – would do the trick.