"Where are the soldiers?" Much anxiously asked, as the gang raced down the stairs, free from their prison thanks to Djaq's acidy potion.
"Robin of Locksley," Marian shouted, kicking her legs furiously against Little John's chest while he struggled to carry both her and Queen Eleanor down the steps, "you will pay for this!"
"Cease kicking," the queen ordered. "Relax and enjoy the ride."
Robin led the escape and rescue, with Much immediately behind him. Next came Little John, carrying Marian over one shoulder and Queen Eleanor over the other, followed by Djaq, then Will, and finally Allan. Allan was getting the worst of the smoke drifting down from Djaq's potion, and he coughed so much he couldn't add his quips to Marian's threats and complaints.
There were no soldiers lining the staircase along the tower, and Robin wondered what trap he was leading his men toward. But a smile broke out on his face when he realized the truth. "Keep going, lads," he told his men brightly. "They're busy organizing a bucket brigade."
"A bucket-?" Much repeated, then smiled as broadly as his leader. "They think it's an actual fire! Ha! We fooled them! Unbelievable, and wonderful!"
The smoke in the staircase grew thicker, and soon all the gang began to cough.
"These fumes aren't-" Will began, then was interrupted by a fit of coughing. "They're not toxic, are they, my love?" he asked his wife.
"Keep running," Djaq advised.
Tears began streaming from all their eyes due to the smoke, but they kept on. At last, the first soldiers forming the bucket brigade met them on the staircase, and were shocked to find Robin and his men charging toward them through the smoke.
The soldiers, expecting to fight a fire, now began fighting Robin and his gang. Taking advantage of their surprise, Robin seized the first soldiers' buckets and dumped them over their heads, ordering Much to take their swords. "Allan! Will!" Robin called, as Much tossed the men in the rear the stolen weapons.
The gang raced downward, leaving a trail of confused, unarmed soldiers behind them, disoriented and unsure what to do.
In the heat of the moment, Much forgot that Robin and he were now equals. "Master," he asked, "why arm Will and Allan? We're the ones meeting the soldiers!"
The smoke began to dissipate, making it easier to speak and see. Marian resumed her angry threats toward her husband. "When I get you alone," she began.
"They're in the rear, Much," Robin explained, ignoring his wife's remarks while kicking the next soldier he met in his ribs, then gathering his sword and tossing it to Djaq. "Before long, these soldiers we pass are going realize there isn't a fire, and how long do you think it will take before they come racing down upon Allan?"
Much, not wanting to think of it, grabbed the next soldier's bucket and turned it over the man's head, just as Robin had done to others. "There!" Much said, triumphantly. "A new helmet for you, and a bathing!"
Soldiers below them now lined the staircase, passing buckets of water upward. All the gang were armed now except for Marian and Little John. For a short time, Robin and his men raced past the startled soldiers, and almost reached the bottom of the steps when the soldiers realized Robin's trickery.
"Attack!" the sergeant ordered. "There is no fire! It's witchcraft!"
Soldiers closed in upon the gang, some from the top and others from below. Robin's men fought as only they could. Swords clashed as the gang continued their downward rush, breaking through the attacking soldiers who were not so brave nor skilled nor determined to win.
Little John tried to do as Robin had instructed, and use Marian as his weapon. She kicked every soldier who approached, all the while ordering Little John to put her down.
It was more than Little John's powerful strength could handle. His knees buckled and he stumbled, and then, unable to stand, he dropped to the ground, falling upon Robin and the soldier he combatted. Much jumped in and killed the soldier, just as he was about to strike Robin.
"It was necessary," Much panted, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Absolutely."
Somehow Robin found himself lying flat on his back being held fast in Marian's arms, her anger temporarily suspended due to her horror of him nearly being slain. Once she knew the danger had passed, she released him and sat up, straddling him. "So," Robin said, smiling cheekily up at her, "But I hardly think this is the time or place, my love."
"You'll be lucky if there ever is a time or a place again," Marian stormed back at him.
She felt a soldier grab her shoulder and try to pull her off so that he could attack Robin, but she jabbed her elbow in a fierce upward thrust, hitting the soldier where it hurt him most. Doubled over and screaming in pain, he released her, and Robin and Marian leaped to their feet.
"I think I'd better apologize, before you try that on me," Robin teased, before turning serious and holding out his sword.
She refused to take it. "You need it to protect yourself," she objected.
"You need it," he argued back. "I won't let you fight, unarmed."
"You won't let me fight at all."
"Marian, take the sword!"
"No!"
"Listen to me, for once! Why must you always-" His angry, frustrated words were cut short by a new group of soldiers. Immediately, Robin disarmed one and forced the sword on Marian, who took it willingly, now that they both had weapons.
The battle was fierce, though short lived. Robin's men overpowered Prince John's soldiers and forced their way past them. At last they reached the bottom of the staircase and were able to run from the castle, only to find the portcullis in the bailey already lowered.
"Robin, what do we do?" Much frantically asked.
Robin thought quickly, then his eyes began to sparkle. While his men waited breathlessly, Robin raced toward an unsuspecting archer and knocked him out before he'd even had a chance to nock an arrow to his bow. "Will," Robin called, "the rope!"
Will ran and gathered up a heavy coil of rope.
"Climbing," Much said again, resigned to his fate.
Everyone watched as Robin tightened the knot he tied to his arrow, knowing he would shoot the rope over the castle wall, but no one knew where he planned for his arrow to land. Will held fast to the other end of the rope.
"Not bein' funny," Allan said nervously, watching Robin aim his arrow up and over the outer castle wall, "but what's it gonna land in that's strong enough to hold Little John's weight?"
"I'm no fat," Little John complained.
"John?" Robin invited, indicating he should try the rope first to gage his arrow's strength. "Not all the way over. I need you to lift Her Majesty."
John pulled himself a few feet off the ground. The arrow held.
"What'd you stick your arrow through?" Allan asked.
Robin grinned before answering, "The sign to the Blue Boar Inn, across the road," he chuckled. "A rival establishment to yours."
"In that case," Allan said, swinging himself up to grasp the rope.
"The queen first," Robin ordered, "then Marian."
"And Djaq," Will added, as Little John hastily began pulling Queen Eleanor up the rope and over the wall, before the rest followed them to freedom and safety.
"This goes beyond being carried over the threshold, Big Bear," the queen teased Little John. "I only wish you'd been around," she continued, as Robin dropped from the rope after everyone else was safely outside the castle, "when my husband Henry locked me in Winchester Castle. Ten years he held me prisoner!"
"Don't give my wife any ideas," Robin joked, before ordering everyone to split into twos and meet by an abandoned oratory at the edge of Barnsdale Forest, just north of their beloved Sherwood.
Much immediately followed Robin, though Robin was expecting Marian to accompany him.
"Looks like it's the two of us together again," Allan told Marian, preferring her company over Much's.
"I can't believe him," Marian fumed.
"Who...Much?" Allan asked. "Or do you mean Robin?"
Marian didn't answer, except to say, "Even Guy gave me more respect than... Oh!" she finished with a groan.
"Giz?" Allan asked. "That wasn't respect, Marian. More like the lack of a sense of humor."
She knew Allan was right, but it didn't stop her growing anger at the way her husband had treated her today. She could hardly wait to have it out with him.