I'm really trying to get this out as fast as I can. Here's the next
section.not much action but a lot of plot exposition and a good
Piper/Philip conversation. I'll definitely edit this story when I'm done
with it so the whole thing flows better.
Please feel free to review.
*^_^*
byrdgirl
Chapter 9
No one knew what to make of Lord Robert's threat or of Philip's reaction. By that evening, Piper was certain that everyone in town had heard about it. News traveled quickly. Most of the guards believed that he would join the throngs of disenfranchised in the forest. They all agreed that if that happened, it would mean trouble for the peace keepers of Nottingham. There were many outlaws, criminals, refugees,and malcontents hiding beneath the forest canopy. They were an annoyance, but they were not a threat because they were missing one important ingredient; a strong leader. With the arrival of Robert of Locksley they could easily become a force to be reckoned with.
They didn't know what the Sheriff thought about everything. He didn't emerge from his chambers all day. He received no visitors and took no meals. Piper didn't have the courage to return to the hallway outside of his door to glean some insight. Instead, she considered what this might lead to. The future did not look good. She saw a war; possibly a war that encompassed all of England. She saw many deaths, and what made her heart heavy was that she didn't know whose side she would be on.
Of course everything that the Sheriff did was for Richard, but how far would he carry out his deception? He had to maintain John's trust. Otherwise, he would be stripped of his rank and hanged for treason. Then all the work he had done for Richard would be in vain. But how far would he be called to go for his king? He had already put many hard working citizens out of their homes and turned them into outlaws. Would he be willing to kill them as well? Would he ask her to kill them? She would. She knew that if he asked, she would.
That evening, as Piper sat in her bed chamber preparing to sleep, she remembered that on the day she became a guard, the Sheriff asked her if she would be willing to imprison a man in the name of Prince John. She looked deep into the fireplace that crackled with blistering heat and whispered to herself "This is not what I signed on for." She wasn't a cold blooded killer, but neither was the Sheriff. He would do what he had to, and she knew that she would do what she had to. She had to trust that they were doing the right thing.
Piper was not a religious person, but that evening, she pleaded to a god she wasn't sure she believed in to deliver England from civil war. In that quiet moment before sleep came, she asked that she would be sparred the task of killing innocents. Her dreams that night were filled with screams and crimson, and offered very little rest.
**********
Reports started coming in early the next day. Any nobles traveling through the forest were robbed. Some came to Mark manor to complain in person. Others were found as the outlaws had left them, tied to their terrified horses, the black arrow of death still protruding from their lifeless bodies. Lord Robert had joined the outlaws, and spared no time in making his intentions plain.
Everyone was uneasy. Sarah and Milly barely spoke. The other guards were on edge. Morning training was a tense attempt to not take each other's heads off in a very literal and permanent fashion.
By midday they still had no orders from the Sheriff. Though he was now accepting visitors; quite a few irate visitors whom Piper reasoned to herself could probably stand to loose a purse or two to help feed the starving masses in Sherwood; he had not yet contacted his loyal peace keepers to inform them of a plan. Richard paced the fields, muttering to himself. Piper distractedly shot one bulls eye after another at the archery targets. Bear polished swords. Everyone had found something to do to keep themselves busy without having to talk to anyone else. Out of all of the guards, Walter seemed the least concerned. He had built a fire and was drinking hot cider.
Piper walked out to the target to retrieve another set of arrows. She walked deep in thought to the target, unaware of what the others were doing. She hated all this waiting. She wanted something useful to do. Pretending to work was not helping. Most of all, she wanted to find Much. She knew that the chances were high that he was involved with Locksley. If not, he would become involved soon. Their relationship couldn't possibly last what was about to come, but she wanted to speak with him one last time. Unfortunately, leaving Mark Manor at such a tense time would raise suspicions. She couldn't jeopardize Much's life and her career for a moment to say goodbye. She would have to wait for an opportunity.
The red headed young guard had just retrieved her arrows and was walking agitatedly away from the target to shoot again when she spotted Sarah coming towards them. The servant looked nervous and uncomfortable as she neared them. She always looked nervous, Piper reasoned, but in the presence of the guards she seemed pale and terrified. Sarah avoided contact with every set of curious eyes that she passed. She walked straight up to Richard, who had stopped his pacing upon her arrival. She never looked at him, preferring to keep her focus on the ground in front of her. "He wants to talk to you." She muttered shyly. She chanced a nervous glance around at the guards and then spun on her heals and walked away quickly.
Richard regarded his companions, then sighed in relief. "Finally, something!" He growled and followed Sarah to Mark Manor. Those that were left behind exchanged carefully guarded looks, and then went back to distracting themselves. It would probably be another long wait.
**********
It didn't take as long for Richard to return as Piper expected. Her hands were stiff with the cold and shooting and she was warming them by Walter's fire. It was through the flames of the fire that she saw Richard striding towards them purposefully. Everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around the fire for news. Richard met them at the fire and got straight to business.
"Prince John has heard about the attacks in the forest." He started. "He's concerned about the security of Sherwood Forest and has decided to come here himself to oversee their capture. We need to find the outlaws that are responsible fer these attacks before he gets here; we don't want to start a war.
" Tomorrow mornin' we'll meet here before the sun comes up. Then we'll split into pairs and search the forest. We're lookin' fer the outlaws' hiding place. If yeh find it, yer to come back here immediately and wait fer the rest of us. We're not tryin' to get ourselves killed by attackin' an army of outlaws alone. We'll decide how teh proceed after we've found them. Fer now, go home and get some rest. We'll need it tomorrow."
Piper watched Richard walk away from them once again. Now she noticed how tired he looked. His head hung down a little and his pace was slow and lethargic. Piper supposed that he had lost friends because of the taxes. So many people had been chased from their homes, and they were given no reason. How many of Richard's childhood friends had been forced into the forests? How many of them would never forgive him for what he did and for who he worked for? It was probably true about all of them. Divisions were being made in the town and the Sheriff and his guards were now finding themselves in a very lonely place. They couldn't trust Prince John's supporters, but they had lost the trust of King Richard's supporters. Piper wondered how long she would be able to keep Much's trust before he turned on her completely as well.
She sighed and forced such thoughts away. They would do her no good. She ambled around the field until the last of her fellows went home. Walter put the fire out and Bear put up the weapons. Piper covered the archery targets to protect them from curious birds. They said their farewells and went off in their own separate directions.
**********
Piper spent the rest of her afternoon pacing the Manor. She had nothing to do but dwell in her own thoughts, a pastime that she didn't relish these days. Her thought were far too dark to spend much time with. She wandered down into the less traveled corridors of the Manor, letting her mind ponder the cacophony of thoughts and feelings she was experiencing.
It was cold deep in the bowels of the Manor. There were no fires to heat the way. Light was also scarce. Piper found that she needed to use a torch from one of the sconces in a more traveled corridor. They never lit these passage ways any more. Piper didn't know why. They had been disused for as long as she could remember. They were old and moldy and damp, and she could see her breath curling and mingling with the smoke from her torch. It was the perfect place to think.
It seemed that some sort of conflict between the Sheriff and the outlaws would be inevitable. How would Much and she reconcile that? Would she have to arrest Much? Would she be able to? Piper saw her loyalties split in two. She was willing to die for the Sheriff and King Richard. She was even willing to kill for them if necessary, but she was not willing to kill Much. He was different. She was in love with him. She punched a wall in frustration. "Damn love!" She cursed to the silent walls. Life was much simpler and easier without it. "Damn Much for becoming my friend, and damn me for falling in love with him!" She punched the wall again, harder this time, and gasped as her knuckles split and bled from the impact. She sunk down against the wall until she was sitting on the clammy ground. "I can't choose between duty and love. I can't." Her voice faded into a whisper. "I can't."
**********
By the time the sun began to set and a light snow began to fall, Piper had made a decision. She couldn't choose between duty and love, so she would have to do everything in her power to avoid that choice. She made her way quietly to her chambers, a plan formulating in her head.
She stopped short of her door when she saw the looming figure leaning against the wall next to it. Philip Mark looked as though he was deep in thought. His eyes were ringed with dark circles and his black hair was unkempt. His head was lowered, but his eyes stared, unblinking, at a spot beyond the floor and beyond the Manor.
At first, he didn't see Piper. She didn't move, paused in a moment of indecision. Should she leave? Should she slip away quietly and hope that he didn't notice? She wasn't given the opportunity. He looked up and his eyes bore into hers. She had the feeling that he knew she was there all along. Then she got the unnerving feeling that he knew what she was planning.
"You've been thinking." Was all he said in the way of a greeting. Piper remained silent. Eventually the Sheriff continued. His voice was deep, but there was a rasp to it. He had probably been arguing with the greasy Norman nobles all day. He had probably been drinking all day as well. Piper recognized that look that he had. It was the look he had after the Lady Marian had come and gone.
"I suppose a lot of us have been thinking. How did we let it get so far? Why do we have to play the part of the villains? Why do we have to hurt the ones we care about." His voice had a hard edge to it by the last statement. Piper kept her face impassive, but her heart was racing. Was he talking about her and Much, or his own situation with his friend, Lord Robert? He gave nothing away, and neither would Piper; not until she knew what he knew.
"Sir, is there something you wanted?" She asked cautiously.
He regarded her, and then smiled humorlessly. "Have you always been so formal? Or is it caution? Yes, it's probably caution. I'm sure you have a few secrets of your own. We all do. You do well to guard them. Hmm," He made a sound that was almost a laugh. "You probably learned that from me. Probably the only thing you learned from me." His voice trailed off into a whisper.
There was a silence between them. It was brief, but it gave Piper the chance to realize what Philip had said. He didn't know about Much. She relaxed inwardly with relief. Then he snapped out of his revere and focused back on the conversation at hand. "Just don't let your secrets interfere with your duty."
"No sir."
He nodded, satisfied. Then, he saw fit to change the subject without telling her. "So I assume that Richard spoke to you about tomorrow."
"We're going into Sherwood Forest to look for the Outlaws' camp." She wasn't certain why they were having this conversation. This was the closest thing to a father/daughter talk they had ever had, or would ever have. It was strange, and made her feel uncomfortable. She didn't like the attention she was getting. She wished that he would finish the conversation and leave so that she could do what she needed to do.
Philip Mark stood up away from the wall. "I want you to go alone. You know the forest better than any of the other guards. I'm not certain how you learned your way around the forest. It's one of your secrets, I suspect. You'll have a better chance of finding the outlaws on your own. I already spoke to Richard about it. You'll leave separately from the other guards and proceed as you see fit. Any questions?"
"No sir."
"Good." With that, he brushed past her and stalked down the dim hallway without a glance back. Piper watched him go and shook off the vague feelings that were asserting themselves. She didn't understand them, and she didn't have time for them.
"Focus, Piper" She growled at herself and went inside her chamber. There she changed out of her guard uniform and into something less conspicuous. She didn't wear dresses very often anymore. They were cumbersome and got in the way, but that didn't mean she didn't own any. The one she put on now was simple, rust colored wool. The skirts were not very full and would hopefully not get caught on the underbrush too much. Over the dress she threw a heavy wool cloak to protect her against the cold of a December night.
She carefully listened at her door to make sure that there was no one in the hallway to see her leave. Certain she was safe, she pushed open the door and stepped out.
Chapter 9
No one knew what to make of Lord Robert's threat or of Philip's reaction. By that evening, Piper was certain that everyone in town had heard about it. News traveled quickly. Most of the guards believed that he would join the throngs of disenfranchised in the forest. They all agreed that if that happened, it would mean trouble for the peace keepers of Nottingham. There were many outlaws, criminals, refugees,and malcontents hiding beneath the forest canopy. They were an annoyance, but they were not a threat because they were missing one important ingredient; a strong leader. With the arrival of Robert of Locksley they could easily become a force to be reckoned with.
They didn't know what the Sheriff thought about everything. He didn't emerge from his chambers all day. He received no visitors and took no meals. Piper didn't have the courage to return to the hallway outside of his door to glean some insight. Instead, she considered what this might lead to. The future did not look good. She saw a war; possibly a war that encompassed all of England. She saw many deaths, and what made her heart heavy was that she didn't know whose side she would be on.
Of course everything that the Sheriff did was for Richard, but how far would he carry out his deception? He had to maintain John's trust. Otherwise, he would be stripped of his rank and hanged for treason. Then all the work he had done for Richard would be in vain. But how far would he be called to go for his king? He had already put many hard working citizens out of their homes and turned them into outlaws. Would he be willing to kill them as well? Would he ask her to kill them? She would. She knew that if he asked, she would.
That evening, as Piper sat in her bed chamber preparing to sleep, she remembered that on the day she became a guard, the Sheriff asked her if she would be willing to imprison a man in the name of Prince John. She looked deep into the fireplace that crackled with blistering heat and whispered to herself "This is not what I signed on for." She wasn't a cold blooded killer, but neither was the Sheriff. He would do what he had to, and she knew that she would do what she had to. She had to trust that they were doing the right thing.
Piper was not a religious person, but that evening, she pleaded to a god she wasn't sure she believed in to deliver England from civil war. In that quiet moment before sleep came, she asked that she would be sparred the task of killing innocents. Her dreams that night were filled with screams and crimson, and offered very little rest.
**********
Reports started coming in early the next day. Any nobles traveling through the forest were robbed. Some came to Mark manor to complain in person. Others were found as the outlaws had left them, tied to their terrified horses, the black arrow of death still protruding from their lifeless bodies. Lord Robert had joined the outlaws, and spared no time in making his intentions plain.
Everyone was uneasy. Sarah and Milly barely spoke. The other guards were on edge. Morning training was a tense attempt to not take each other's heads off in a very literal and permanent fashion.
By midday they still had no orders from the Sheriff. Though he was now accepting visitors; quite a few irate visitors whom Piper reasoned to herself could probably stand to loose a purse or two to help feed the starving masses in Sherwood; he had not yet contacted his loyal peace keepers to inform them of a plan. Richard paced the fields, muttering to himself. Piper distractedly shot one bulls eye after another at the archery targets. Bear polished swords. Everyone had found something to do to keep themselves busy without having to talk to anyone else. Out of all of the guards, Walter seemed the least concerned. He had built a fire and was drinking hot cider.
Piper walked out to the target to retrieve another set of arrows. She walked deep in thought to the target, unaware of what the others were doing. She hated all this waiting. She wanted something useful to do. Pretending to work was not helping. Most of all, she wanted to find Much. She knew that the chances were high that he was involved with Locksley. If not, he would become involved soon. Their relationship couldn't possibly last what was about to come, but she wanted to speak with him one last time. Unfortunately, leaving Mark Manor at such a tense time would raise suspicions. She couldn't jeopardize Much's life and her career for a moment to say goodbye. She would have to wait for an opportunity.
The red headed young guard had just retrieved her arrows and was walking agitatedly away from the target to shoot again when she spotted Sarah coming towards them. The servant looked nervous and uncomfortable as she neared them. She always looked nervous, Piper reasoned, but in the presence of the guards she seemed pale and terrified. Sarah avoided contact with every set of curious eyes that she passed. She walked straight up to Richard, who had stopped his pacing upon her arrival. She never looked at him, preferring to keep her focus on the ground in front of her. "He wants to talk to you." She muttered shyly. She chanced a nervous glance around at the guards and then spun on her heals and walked away quickly.
Richard regarded his companions, then sighed in relief. "Finally, something!" He growled and followed Sarah to Mark Manor. Those that were left behind exchanged carefully guarded looks, and then went back to distracting themselves. It would probably be another long wait.
**********
It didn't take as long for Richard to return as Piper expected. Her hands were stiff with the cold and shooting and she was warming them by Walter's fire. It was through the flames of the fire that she saw Richard striding towards them purposefully. Everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around the fire for news. Richard met them at the fire and got straight to business.
"Prince John has heard about the attacks in the forest." He started. "He's concerned about the security of Sherwood Forest and has decided to come here himself to oversee their capture. We need to find the outlaws that are responsible fer these attacks before he gets here; we don't want to start a war.
" Tomorrow mornin' we'll meet here before the sun comes up. Then we'll split into pairs and search the forest. We're lookin' fer the outlaws' hiding place. If yeh find it, yer to come back here immediately and wait fer the rest of us. We're not tryin' to get ourselves killed by attackin' an army of outlaws alone. We'll decide how teh proceed after we've found them. Fer now, go home and get some rest. We'll need it tomorrow."
Piper watched Richard walk away from them once again. Now she noticed how tired he looked. His head hung down a little and his pace was slow and lethargic. Piper supposed that he had lost friends because of the taxes. So many people had been chased from their homes, and they were given no reason. How many of Richard's childhood friends had been forced into the forests? How many of them would never forgive him for what he did and for who he worked for? It was probably true about all of them. Divisions were being made in the town and the Sheriff and his guards were now finding themselves in a very lonely place. They couldn't trust Prince John's supporters, but they had lost the trust of King Richard's supporters. Piper wondered how long she would be able to keep Much's trust before he turned on her completely as well.
She sighed and forced such thoughts away. They would do her no good. She ambled around the field until the last of her fellows went home. Walter put the fire out and Bear put up the weapons. Piper covered the archery targets to protect them from curious birds. They said their farewells and went off in their own separate directions.
**********
Piper spent the rest of her afternoon pacing the Manor. She had nothing to do but dwell in her own thoughts, a pastime that she didn't relish these days. Her thought were far too dark to spend much time with. She wandered down into the less traveled corridors of the Manor, letting her mind ponder the cacophony of thoughts and feelings she was experiencing.
It was cold deep in the bowels of the Manor. There were no fires to heat the way. Light was also scarce. Piper found that she needed to use a torch from one of the sconces in a more traveled corridor. They never lit these passage ways any more. Piper didn't know why. They had been disused for as long as she could remember. They were old and moldy and damp, and she could see her breath curling and mingling with the smoke from her torch. It was the perfect place to think.
It seemed that some sort of conflict between the Sheriff and the outlaws would be inevitable. How would Much and she reconcile that? Would she have to arrest Much? Would she be able to? Piper saw her loyalties split in two. She was willing to die for the Sheriff and King Richard. She was even willing to kill for them if necessary, but she was not willing to kill Much. He was different. She was in love with him. She punched a wall in frustration. "Damn love!" She cursed to the silent walls. Life was much simpler and easier without it. "Damn Much for becoming my friend, and damn me for falling in love with him!" She punched the wall again, harder this time, and gasped as her knuckles split and bled from the impact. She sunk down against the wall until she was sitting on the clammy ground. "I can't choose between duty and love. I can't." Her voice faded into a whisper. "I can't."
**********
By the time the sun began to set and a light snow began to fall, Piper had made a decision. She couldn't choose between duty and love, so she would have to do everything in her power to avoid that choice. She made her way quietly to her chambers, a plan formulating in her head.
She stopped short of her door when she saw the looming figure leaning against the wall next to it. Philip Mark looked as though he was deep in thought. His eyes were ringed with dark circles and his black hair was unkempt. His head was lowered, but his eyes stared, unblinking, at a spot beyond the floor and beyond the Manor.
At first, he didn't see Piper. She didn't move, paused in a moment of indecision. Should she leave? Should she slip away quietly and hope that he didn't notice? She wasn't given the opportunity. He looked up and his eyes bore into hers. She had the feeling that he knew she was there all along. Then she got the unnerving feeling that he knew what she was planning.
"You've been thinking." Was all he said in the way of a greeting. Piper remained silent. Eventually the Sheriff continued. His voice was deep, but there was a rasp to it. He had probably been arguing with the greasy Norman nobles all day. He had probably been drinking all day as well. Piper recognized that look that he had. It was the look he had after the Lady Marian had come and gone.
"I suppose a lot of us have been thinking. How did we let it get so far? Why do we have to play the part of the villains? Why do we have to hurt the ones we care about." His voice had a hard edge to it by the last statement. Piper kept her face impassive, but her heart was racing. Was he talking about her and Much, or his own situation with his friend, Lord Robert? He gave nothing away, and neither would Piper; not until she knew what he knew.
"Sir, is there something you wanted?" She asked cautiously.
He regarded her, and then smiled humorlessly. "Have you always been so formal? Or is it caution? Yes, it's probably caution. I'm sure you have a few secrets of your own. We all do. You do well to guard them. Hmm," He made a sound that was almost a laugh. "You probably learned that from me. Probably the only thing you learned from me." His voice trailed off into a whisper.
There was a silence between them. It was brief, but it gave Piper the chance to realize what Philip had said. He didn't know about Much. She relaxed inwardly with relief. Then he snapped out of his revere and focused back on the conversation at hand. "Just don't let your secrets interfere with your duty."
"No sir."
He nodded, satisfied. Then, he saw fit to change the subject without telling her. "So I assume that Richard spoke to you about tomorrow."
"We're going into Sherwood Forest to look for the Outlaws' camp." She wasn't certain why they were having this conversation. This was the closest thing to a father/daughter talk they had ever had, or would ever have. It was strange, and made her feel uncomfortable. She didn't like the attention she was getting. She wished that he would finish the conversation and leave so that she could do what she needed to do.
Philip Mark stood up away from the wall. "I want you to go alone. You know the forest better than any of the other guards. I'm not certain how you learned your way around the forest. It's one of your secrets, I suspect. You'll have a better chance of finding the outlaws on your own. I already spoke to Richard about it. You'll leave separately from the other guards and proceed as you see fit. Any questions?"
"No sir."
"Good." With that, he brushed past her and stalked down the dim hallway without a glance back. Piper watched him go and shook off the vague feelings that were asserting themselves. She didn't understand them, and she didn't have time for them.
"Focus, Piper" She growled at herself and went inside her chamber. There she changed out of her guard uniform and into something less conspicuous. She didn't wear dresses very often anymore. They were cumbersome and got in the way, but that didn't mean she didn't own any. The one she put on now was simple, rust colored wool. The skirts were not very full and would hopefully not get caught on the underbrush too much. Over the dress she threw a heavy wool cloak to protect her against the cold of a December night.
She carefully listened at her door to make sure that there was no one in the hallway to see her leave. Certain she was safe, she pushed open the door and stepped out.