XIV – On the Edge

To call the journey to London awkward would have been an understatement. The outlaws had no problem with each other, but Gisborne's presence made them all uncomfortable. This meant a lot of long and awkward silences, which in turn forced everyone to think about what it was they were doing. If they failed, Prince John would get the throne, the Sheriff would gain more and more power and all of England would be doomed.

Guy wasn't too happy either. Sometimes it seemed as if the others forgot his presence and began joking among each other, only to remember him and suddenly fall silent. All Guy wanted was to reach London as soon as possible.

Tuck was the most courteous towards him. He at least tried to make general conversation with Guy, but if Guy was being honest, it only made him feel worse. He would much rather have travelled in silence.

Whenever Robin so much as looked at Guy, it seemed he didn't know how to act. Guy felt this same strain between them, in the few occasions they were forced to deal with each other. At least he didn't look like he wanted to actively stab Guy.

That honour went to Kate. Every time Guy caught her looking at him, her eyes were full of disdain. She didn't even try to hide it, and instead just held his gaze for a grim moment before turning her nose up at him.

John and Much were the best at completely ignoring Guy's presence, talking so decidedly with one another that none of the others, let alone Guy, could break up the conversation. Every once in a while, Much happened to glance at Guy, but quickly turned away.

Allan was perhaps the most awkward of them all. Neither he or Guy knew what to say to each other or if they should say anything at all. They were once again on the same side – or at the very least working towards the same goal – but this was all very different from before. Back in the day Allan had been working for Guy, not with him. But now it was obvious that Allan wasn't working for Robin, who did not treat his friends as if they were all standing on different steps on a staircase, with him far above everyone else. That was the dynamic Guy was more used to. He hadn't even known things could be any different.

The one person who outright bothered Guy was, surprisingly, Archer. While the others tried to either ignore Guy completely or gave him icy glares, Archer just… stared. There was neither anger nor disdain in his eyes, but instead something else that Guy couldn't quite read. Regardless, it made Guy uneasy, because he could feel Archer's eyes burrowing into him even when he wasn't looking.

And so it was a relief to them all once they finally reached London. Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – they quickly found out that they had only just made it in time. The King was set to arrive that same day, and the city was eagerly awaiting his return. This meant that the outlaws could waste no time in finding out what it was that Prince John and the Sheriff were planning.

"So, what now?" Robin asked Guy. They'd made their way to the place where the King's ship was meant to dock, and the entire area was bustling with people. Aside from the decorations that had been laid out, nothing seemed out of place.

"We should find Vaisey. That's our only way of finding out what he's planning," Guy said.

"That's it?" Much asked. "They could have hired an assassin or poisoned the wine or come up with a hundred different ways to kill the King, and all we can do is hope the Sheriff is willing to tell us his plan?"

The question was mostly directed at Robin, whose attention had gone elsewhere. He was looking at a young boy, who couldn't have been older than ten, that was running back and forth along the riverside, crouching every now and then. To anyone else this would not have meant much, but Robin had a strange feeling about it. This didn't seem like a normal game children would play. He approached the boy as he was crouched between two large barrels.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked. The boy jumped up quickly and hid something behind his back.

"Nothing," he answered in a tone that only young boys who have been caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing use.

"Doesn't look like nothing. What do you have there?"

The boy backed away against one of the barrels. The others approached them, and the boy eyed them suspiciously.

"None of your business."

Robin didn't have time to reply when Tuck stepped in. "Would you tell us your name?" He was offering the boy a coin, and as soon as the boy saw it, his eyes widened, and he took it with one hand while keeping the other behind his back.

"I'm Harry," he said and shoved the coin into his pocket.

"Well, Harry, would you show us what you have there?" Tuck asked. Harry hesitated, but another coin did the trick, and he pulled a small wooden box from behind his back.

"What are you doing with that?" Robin asked and took the box from him. It was very simple, with no decorations whatsoever, but it was sealed so well that Robin couldn't tell which way it was supposed to be opened – or if it was supposed to be opened at all.

"I'm not supposed to say," Harry said, looking at Tuck. This time he was handed two coins instead of one. "I got money to leave those all along this area. My friends as well." He pointed out a few other children nearby that were running back and forth. Robin could now see that they were hiding similar boxes as well.

"Who told you to do this?" Tuck asked, already a coin ready in his hand.

Harry shrugged. "Just some man. He promised to pay us more tomorrow if we hide them well."

Robin turned the box in his hand. "Do you know what's in these?"

Harry shook his head.

Robin handed the box to John, who wasted no time in forcing the box open. Something dark spread all over John's hands. For a moment Robin thought it was ash.

Then the realisation hit him.

"Black powder," Robin and John said at the same time. A look of horror washed over everyone's faces. Only Archer and Kate were left slightly confused.

"What is that?" Archer asked.

Robin ran a hand down his face. He ignored Archer's question and crouched to Harry's level. "How many of these have you hidden?"

"Loads. I can't count that high. But we've left them all along the river and some down those streets," Harry said. Everyone's serious reactions were clearly scaring him. "I swear I don't know anything more!"

Robin stood up and sighed deeply. "When the King arrives, he and all his supporters will be here. The Sheriff and Prince John are going to blow up this entire part of the city. By hiding small amounts of black powder close enough, they can set off a chain reaction. If the explosion doesn't kill everyone around, then the fire surely will."

Harry shifted uncomfortably while the adults exchanged anxious looks.

"We need to get rid of all of these," Robin said, taking what remained of the box from John.

"We should still find Vaisey. There could be more to this plan. And we can't let him slip away if we want to bring him to justice," Guy pointed out.

Robin let out a frustrated sigh and closed his eyes. Everyone waited as he formulated a plan.

"Harry, can you and your friends show all the places you've hidden?" Robin asked as he opened his eyes.

"This is very important. We will pay you, of course," Tuck promised.

Harry nodded. "I- I really didn't know! I swear! I don't want any explosions!"

Tuck laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Just show us where all the boxes are, and everything will be fine."

"Good. Tuck, you speak with the children and find out what you can." Robin turned to the others. "Much, John, find all the boxes you can along the river. Kate and Allan, you take care of the streets."

"What do we do with the boxes?" Much asked.

"Throw them into the river. That way they can't be lit up."

"What about me?" Archer asked.

Robin looked at him, as if he had suddenly just realised he even existed. "You… You'll come with us to find Vaisey."

The others began to spread out, leaving Robin, Archer and Gisborne alone.

"So, how do we find him?" Robin asked.

"I know where his house in London is. We should start there," Gisborne said.

A great tragedy had struck. On any other day something like this would have been only a minor setback, but now everything had to be perfect. How dare the tailor make the sleeves on this shirt half an inch too short! He should have been honoured that Prince John would become King John wearing something he made. Mistakes like this could not be tolerated!

As the rest of the country prepared eagerly for King Richard's return, Prince John was busy planning his own coronation. Of course, he would first have to play the part of a grieving brother, but he fortunately had a natural gift for acting. If he was not destined for greatness, perhaps he could have become an actor. Instead, John was born to be king. It was just unfortunate that he had been born after his brothers. But now only one of those brothers stood between John and the throne that rightfully belonged to him.

If only Vaisey's plan would work. The man was cunning, and John was glad to have his loyalty, because he would not want to be on the receiving end of Vaisey's ruthlessness. Poor Richard had no idea what was waiting for him.

After the shirt-incident, John decided to take a break from planning his coronation. After all, he had been finetuning those plans for years. Instead, he turned his thoughts to the part of London that would be burned to crisp today. Perhaps he would rebuild the area to commemorate this beautiful day. Yes, he would build a high tower for himself where he could overlook the city he ruled. Generations to come would look upon it and remember him and his greatness!

John wished for time to move faster. He had already been practicing the face he would make when someone came in to bring the news of his brother's death. Just the right amount sadness, grief, and shock. It was good that he knew how to cry at a moment's notice. It was a skill he had perfected as a child. But should he be sitting down as the news came? Or should he stand up so that he could fall to his knees? Perhaps that would be an appropriate reaction to the devastating news – after all, it was not just Richard who would die today, but his loyal subjects who were unfortunate casualties in Vaisey's plan.

Although John did not particularly care for Vaisey's willingness to commit atrocities, he had to admit that at least his methods were effective – most of the time. John did not share Richard's thirst for blood. He had never truly understood why war in particular had become his brother's calling. But if John thought of all these deaths as sacrifices towards a better future – not for the people who would die, but for John – then he could sleep at night peacefully.

Today would be the last day of King Richard's reign. Tomorrow England would get a new king, one that would bring the country to a new age.

John poured himself wine and raised a toast by himself. To England. To King John.

Much threw another armful of boxes into the river.

"Just how many of these are there?"

He and John had already been up and down the riverside several times, and they just kept finding new boxes. Every once in a while, one of the children would come up to them and show them a few more that they had missed. They clearly thought of it as a fun game. Much wondered if Harry or Tuck had told the other children how serious this was.

No-one else around them was even aware of the danger they were all in – they were just excited for their king's return.

"I just hope we can find all of it in time. I'd hate to think of the devastation these could cause," John said as he threw the boxes he was carrying into the river.

"I know the Sheriff's evil but this is just… Well, I don't know what it is, but it's worse than evil!" Much said. "At least the King is finally coming home and putting an end to all of this!"

John's answer was just a grunt.

"I can't wait until we get rid of the Sheriff for good! And Prince John as well! We won't have to be outlaws anymore, John. We can sleep in proper beds and eat proper food and-"

"You seem to put a lot of faith in the King," John interrupted.

"This is what we've been waiting for, right? Once the King comes back, he'll pardon us, and we can go back to normal lives."

John sighed. "You mean the King will do a favour for his friend Robin. I doubt he truly cares about a bunch of dirty outlaws."

"We're saving his life here, aren't we? That's got to count for something."

They began heading back downstream, dodging and pushing between people as they got closer to where some of the children were showing Tuck around.

"Maybe," John said, although he didn't sound convinced.

"What, you think we're still going to be outlaws after all of this?"

"No, but I don't share your optimism about what comes next. You all have a chance to start a new life or rebuild the ones you had. My family has moved on, and I don't think I have it in me to try to start again from nothing."

"You'd rather be an outlaw then?"

John shrugged. He watched as two young boys each tossed a box into the river, competing over who could throw it the farthest. The boxes splashed as they hit the surface of the water, then floated for a second before they sank to the river's depths.

Much followed his gaze outwards towards the children playing games with black powder, apparently deep in thought. John often wondered what went on in Much's funny old head.

"I wouldn't want to be an outlaw, if I had the choice," Much decided, turning back to him with a shake of his head. "I'd rather eat something that wasn't squirrel every day."

Guy led Robin and Archer through the narrow streets of London to where he remembered the Sheriff's house being. It had been a few years since he had been to London, so they ended up taking a few wrong turns on the way, but eventually they found themselves lurking around a corner near a large house. It was surrounded by guards that outnumbered them and the trio attempted to not draw attention to themselves.

"So, what now?" Archer asked.

"The front door is out of the question. Too many guards. Is there a back entrance?" Robin asked.

Gisborne nodded. "Yes, but there's probably guards there as well."

"But most likely less than here," Robin said.

"If we get into a fight it'll draw attention."

Robin peeked around the corner. A high stone wall ran around the house, making it impossible to get close enough to have a closer look. They had no option but to rely on Gisborne's knowledge of the place, which made Robin uneasy.

"We could go through the side," Archer suggested.

"The wall's too high," Robin said. "We could try a distraction to get rid of the guards."

"All of them?" Guy asked.

"At least enough to make it a fair fight."

"We'd lose the element of surprise."

"What do you suggest then?"

"I don't know! Aren't you always sneaking into places?"

Archer let out a sigh of frustration. "I'm tired of waiting. I'm jumping over the wall."

"I told you, the wall's too high," Robin said.

"Not for me." Archer began to walk straight towards the guards.

"Archer!" Robin called after him. With a sigh, he decided to follow his brother, making sure to turn his face away from the guards as he passed by them.

Guy was left alone, but he too decided to follow Archer and Robin. Those two would never succeed without his help.

Archer led them down the side of the wall towards the back. There were no guards here, but there was no way any of them could climb on the wall.

"I'll climb on the roof and just jump over," Archer explained and nodded at the nearest house.

"There's a whole street in between!" Robin said.

"I'd say it's more of an alley."

"Still, that's quite the fall."

"Eh, whatever."

With that, Archer began to climb up the wall of the house on the other side of the street, making sure that he was not seen.

"Is he crazy?" Guy asked.

"Unfortunately yes," Robin replied, already heading after Archer.

Guy watched as the two of them climbed up on the roof. Once again, he had no other option but to follow. There was no way he could get past all the guards alone.

Up on the roof the wall seemed far less intimidating. Unfortunately, the fall down to the ground was double its height.

"What's your plan for getting dow- Archer!"

Robin's question came too late. Archer had already jumped.

Guy and Robin peered over the edge of the roof. Archer managed to barely land on top of the wall, but a moment later he fell down. At least he was inside. Whether or not he was dead or injured remained a mystery.

Robin glanced back towards Guy, who gave him a curt nod. Robin nodded back and followed Archer with a swift jump. His landing on the wall was slightly more graceful, and he managed to slowly drop himself on the other side.

It was Guy's turn. He drew in a deep breath and jumped. He was just about to miss the wall, but at the last moment he managed to throw his arms over it. With a lot of effort, he pulled himself up and slid down on the other side. His arms ached, and his grip slipped, making him land right on his back on the ground. At least nothing broke. Bruises would be an entirely different thing.

"So, where now?" Archer asked.

He was alive, then. Uninjured too, by the looks of him. Robin was standing to his side, equally as unphased and surveying his surroundings seriously.

Guy stood up and dusted himself off. They were lucky that there were no guards inside the wall.

The trio moved silently to the house, and with Guy's guidance found the door to the kitchen.

"We don't have much time," Robin said. "We should split up so that we can find Vaisey faster."

Vaisey stood by a long wooden table, leaning against his cane. He studied the map of London that was spread out on the table. Mapmakers should rejoice, because after today, they would have a lot more work when they redrew all the maps of the city. The Prince had initially been hesitant about Vaisey's plan to destroy a portion of the city in order to get rid of King Richard, but it had not been too hard to convince him to go along with it. After all, this plan would not only guarantee that John became the king, but it would also conveniently wipe out many of Richard's supporters as well. Destroying a few buildings and blowing up some lowly peasants was a small price to pay for all of that.

Vaisey was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps approaching in the hallway. That was strange. No-one else was supposed to be here. The few servants Vaisey had here shouldn't have a reason to bother him – in fact, they had been explicitly told not to do so – and all the guards were outside. It was also too early for anyone to be coming in with a report about the success of Vaisey's plan.

The door swung open, and much to Vaisey's surprise, Guy of Gisborne walked in, with a sword already pointed at his heart. The Sheriff quickly recovered from his initial shock.

So, his former right-hand man was still alive, and most likely he had come to finish off what he had started all those months ago. Vaisey wished he had his sword on him. At least he had several guards stationed right outside the window – he just needed to stall Gisborne long enough for them to come deal with this.

"So, have you finally come to kill me?" the Sheriff asked dryly. He began to inch closer to the window to call for his guards, but Gisborne strode over to it, blocking his path.

"No. I'm here to make sure you face justice."

Vaisey leaned against his cane and glanced towards the window and then looked back to Guy. It seemed that the man was not here to outright kill him, which was strange, but gave Vaisey a chance to possibly escape. Without a sword he was defenceless, but there were plenty of other ways to hurt Gisborne than a simple blade.

"What makes you think you could do that? After all, you didn't even manage to finish me off when you had the chance," Vaisey said mockingly. "Soon justice will be what I decide it to be. And trust me, Gisborne, when that happens, I won't be the one being punished."

"We've found out about your plan to kill the King. You've lost already," Gisborne said.

"We?"

Robin burst through the door, bow in hand.

Vaisey was not so much surprised as he was annoyed.

"Gisborne, I can't believe you've sunk this low," he said, shaking his head and feigning disappointment. "Are you truly so desperate that you would team up with him?"

"Your time's up, Sheriff. You're coming with us," Robin said calmly.

Vaisey frowned. "Hmm, I don't think I will." His eyes scanned the room. Gisborne was blocking his access to the window, and Robin stood right by the door. Vaisey needed to find a way to turn the situation to his favour.

"You don't have a choice. It's time you face justice," Robin said. "And I suggest you come peacefully."

Footsteps echoed into the room from the hallway. Vaisey was nervous, but he would not let Gisborne or Robin see it. He paced nonchalantly while thinking that if Hood had brought his whole gang with him, Vaisey might not make it out of this.

When the door opened, Vaisey immediately recognised the newcomer and saw his chance. This was the one person that could still turn the tide for Vaisey's favour.

Archer was panting slightly. He looked around the room, and as he saw that Robin and Guy had managed to back the Sheriff into a corner, he smiled slightly.

"Good, you found him."

"How sweet, the whole family is here," Vaisey said. Archer and Robin glanced at each other uncomfortably. This was all the confirmation the Sheriff needed – it seemed that Hood and the boy already knew the truth. But Gisborne had no reaction at all, and when Robin looked at him nervously, Vaisey knew that he had found the leverage he needed. It was time to pull out the card he had been saving up his sleeve.

Vaisey let out an exaggerated gasp. "Oh, have you not told Guy the good news yet?"

Robin and Archer shifted uncomfortably.

"What are you talking about?" Gisborne asked. He was not eager to play Vaisey's games, but he also wanted to know what the man was trying to do to wriggle himself free from this situation.

"We should take him and go," Robin said nervously, trying to shift the topic to the task at hand. He nodded to Guy, who was still standing closest to the Sheriff.

"Now, now, Robin, isn't it fair that Guy gets to know the truth about your shared little brother?" Vaisey asked.

He watched the men's reactions with joy. Gisborne just frowned in confusion, but Archer had gone pale, and was gripping his sword so tightly that his hand was shaking slightly. Robin was looking over to Gisborne, the nervousness obvious on his face. They were all making this too easy.

Before any of them could cut in, the Sheriff continued revealing the secret. "You see, Gisborne, before your saint of a mother died, she had a child with none other than Malcolm of Locksley. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Lies!" Gisborne growled.

"Oh, this is all real. After all, your baby brother is standing right there by the door," Vaisey said with a toothy grin.

Gisborne turned to look at Archer. The boy opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something, but no sound came out of him.

Guy shook his head. "No. No, you're lying," he said slowly, turning back to the Sheriff.

"Am I? Why don't you ask your new friends, hm? Go on, Robin, tell us how you found out about this new addition to your family."

Robin and Archer's reactions gave away everything. They looked at each other uneasily, and when Guy turned his attention to them, he could see the resemblance between the two. But that still did not mean that Vaisey was telling the truth.

While Gisborne's attention was on Robin and Archer, Vaisey tried to use the moment to shift closer to the window. Gisborne kept his eyes on his companions but raised his sword towards Vaisey to keep him from coming any closer.

"Tell me it's not true," Guy demanded, looking right at Robin. But when Robin met his gaze, the guilty look in his eyes gave away the truth.

Guy shook his head again. "No," he whispered.

"Gisborne…" Robin started to say, but Guy cut him off.

"No, she wouldn't- Not with- No," Guy stuttered.

Vaisey kept inching towards the window as slowly as he could. "Oh, yes. It's unfortunate you had to find out this way," he jeered.

"Shut up!" Gisborne growled but kept his eyes on Robin.

"We can deal with this later, Gisborne," Robin said, trying to remain calm.

"That's not quite fair, is it?" the Sheriff asked. He was enjoying this so much that he almost forgot why he was trying to keep the conversation going. "You've had all this time with your brother, and you haven't even included Guy in your games! But now you can all play a happy family together."

Gisborne was only half-listening to what Vaisey was saying. "My mother wouldn't have hidden something like that…" His hands shook with anger.

"Oh, come on now, Gisborne!" Vaisey said. "You and I both know how good women are at keeping secrets. You have so much experience in that area. Even your perfect mother-"

Vaisey's words were cut off as Gisborne suddenly turned back to him, plunging his sword right through the man's chest. Rage burned inside Guy – a feeling that was all too familiar to him. He looked right into Vaisey's surprised eyes and pulled the sword out. Time seemed to stand still.

Robin and Archer watched in silent shock as the Sheriff's body hit the floor unceremoniously. Guy took a step back. The realisation hit him as he tried to calm his heavy breathing. He had committed another murder, though this time the only source of guilt he felt was from the fact that he didn't feel any remorse.

Vaisey's body lay still on the floor, his unseeing eyes staring up at the ceiling. A pool of blood was rapidly forming around him as it seeped through his clothes. Even though he was very obviously dead, it was still difficult to believe. It was as if at any moment Vaisey might spring back up, laughing and telling how this was all according to his plan. But no, this time he stayed still. The Sheriff of Nottingham was dead.

"I thought we were supposed to bring him to justice," Archer said quietly, breaking the tension in the room.

Guy turned to him and Robin. They both avoided his eyes and instead watched the blood that was seeping through the Sheriff's clothes onto the floor. Guy could still hear Vaisey's words taunting him in his head.

"Was he… Was he telling the truth?" Guy asked.

"We need to get back to the others," Robin replied, still avoiding looking at him.

"Tell me!" Guy demanded loudly. "Was he telling the truth?"

Robin looked over to Archer, who was still frozen in place, gripping his sword tightly.

"Yes," Archer said simply.

Guy stared at him in disbelief.

Robin knew he had to think fast. Clearly Gisborne and Archer were too concerned with the finally revealed truth to worry about their failed mission to retrieve the Sheriff alive. Robin ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Right now, family drama could wait. There were more important things to do.

"There's nothing we can do here now. We should go."

Tuck was exhausted. The children had sent him back and forth all day trying to find the boxes they had hidden. He probably should have told them the danger they were all in if the boxes weren't found, but he didn't want to scare them too much. Some of the children were very young, and it only added to Tuck's dislike for the Sheriff. How could anyone use innocent children as pawns in their sick game?

Much and John had also worked hard finding the boxes near the river, and Tuck could only hope that Kate and Allan had managed to clear the streets as well. If not… Tuck did not want to think about the destruction that would result in just one of the boxes being accidentally set on fire.

Many of the children had eventually gotten tired of running around and were now sitting down on the ground and eating the food Tuck had given them as a thank you. Harry was the only one missing – he had gone to find Kate and Allan to see how they were doing. Everything seemed awfully peaceful considering the fact that if Robin hadn't figured out the Sheriff's plan, everyone here would surely have died soon. The thought sent chills down Tuck's spine.

Then, all at once, the people around him seemed to gain a burst of energy. They began to move closer to the river, chattering excitedly and pointing somewhere downstream. Tuck moved from his spot near the children and shifted closer to see better. Between the people that suddenly crowded the area, he managed to get a glimpse of a ship slowly approaching.

Time was up. Tuck prayed silently that they had managed to do enough today.

"How will we even know when we've found them all?" Allan asked with a sigh. He had been going up and down the narrow streets of London so much that he was beginning to lose his sense of direction.

"I don't know, I guess we'll just have to hope for the best," Kate replied.

"Very reassuring," Allan said.

They had stopped to eat some bread they had bought – Kate had not asked where Allan got the money from – and were now leaning against a wall and watching all the people go about their business.

"None of these people even know that we might have saved their lives today," Allan said, and took another bite of the bread.

"Would you like them to thank you and tell you what a hero you are?" Kate laughed.

"Nah, I'll leave that stuff for Robin."

Harry ran towards them through the bustle of the road. He grabbed Allan's arm and pointed down the street.

"The man that gave me the boxes! He's there!" Harry said.

Allan and Kate looked where he was pointing and saw a short, skinny man standing at the corner of the street and looking around nervously. His eyes locked with Allan's, and he turned around and began to slowly walk away.

"Stay here," Allan told Harry, and began walking after the man. He tried not to attract too much attention to himself, but when the man realised he was being followed, he began to run. Allan had no option but to do the same.

Kate was not far behind, and the two were soon running down the street at full speed, nearly knocking people over as they tried to push past them.

Allan was used to running – although usually he was the one being chased – but the man had the advantage of knowing these streets well. He kept leading Allan and Kate through small alleyways and winding backstreets to try to lose them.

As he turned another corner, Allan saw him reach into his pocket and pull something out. After catching up a few more feet while the man ran into a particularly thick crowd of people, Allan got a better look at the object.

It was one of the boxes they had spent all day hunting.

On the side of the street there was an old woman selling soup. The man ran right next to her, and tossed the box under her pot, not bothering to stop as he did so.

Allan only had a moment to react.

There was fire under the pot.

He turned and pushed Kate to the ground, and with a bright flash, the world around them burst into flames.