so, here's a third fic in the works from yours truly. and it is another crossover fic. i actually like doing these. i've had one in my mind to write which would crossover casablanca and poto. i think i will write it.

anyway, this is a crossover with the ledgend of robin hood. for those of you who don't know the robin hood story very well, i suggest you go and find a copy of robert louis stevenson's the adventures of robin hood. it very, very good! so, who's who: erik will be good ol' robin, christine is maid marian (the backbone version. no whimpy christines in my fic), raoul (you're gonna love this) is the evil sir guy of gisborne! and otehr characters will appear. i think you'll like who madame giry is! i have left some character's in for historical purposes and i am considering leaving frair tuck in. i could use imput for that!

disclaimer: you know the drill, i don't own anything but if i did, i would have had several of erik's children by now! lol

enjoy the story and review! (p.s.: and read phantom of the caribbean and the comfort of a gypsy, my other inthe works fanfics!)

The Ghost of Sherwood

Prologue

England. The place of many a heroic battles, romantic feuds and dashing heroes. Of beautiful rolling hills, lush forests and ancient ruins. Of poverty and death.

It wasn't always like this. Under the Norman king, Richard the Lionheart, the Saxons lived in peace and comfort. While there would always be poor, their plight never failed to reach the ears of the beloved king. Richard always put the royal treasury to the good of the people. When a child was orphaned, the king would welcome it with open arms.

Such a child was Erik.

When the king had been riding to Sherwood, he happened to notice a babe, lying naked in the street. The lad had obviously been abandoned. Closer inspection showed why.

He was deformed; his right cheek an angry red, molted mass of skin. There were odd bumps and a heavy ridge for his right brow. It the child's face was hideous yes, but that was no reason to abandon your child. Richard intended to find out who this child came from, God help them.

His questioning of the nearby village led him to the daughter of a Saxon noble who confessed that she had lain with a Norman lord, resulting in the child. Upon seeing his face, she ordered him to be gotten rid of.

Oh, Richard's rage had been terrible, but there was nothing he could say or threaten to make her keep the unnamed babe. The best course of action he could take was to raise the child at Nottingham Palace. Richard knew his mother would be most pleased to have a small child around the dreary place. She often told him she missed the days when he, Henry and John were younger. And she was a kindhearted woman, one who looked at a person's soul first, instead of their wealth or class.

As he thought, she adored Erik, as he came to be called. Erik de Noir, as he was so much like night: beauty cloaked in hideousness.

As he grew, Erik proved to be a brilliant lad, excelling in everything he did, succeeding in all he put his mind to. But most of all, he loved his music. He had the most divine voice in all of England, composed works of a genius and even invented the perfect instrument for music: a piano.

While he was respected in the court, everyone was a little wary of the lad. Perhaps it was due to the eeriness of his white mask under which only Richard, his mother and a few close friends had seen. Or they were nervous of his talents and the ancient intensity he had carried with him from the age of two. But most of all, the people of the king's court feared his deadly skill with both blade and steel. But he was the favorite of Richard, who loved him like a son and would hear no ill word of him.

But those who favored the king were quick to gain enemies. Such as the king's jealous brother, Prince John. The spoiled prince seethed every time he saw the masked boy, as Erik had taken to wearing one early in his life. John feared that one day Erik would be granted the throne by Richard, and all the power that went with it. If there was one thing he loved more than anything, it was power. And John happened to have many a powerful Norman noble who hated the equality of Richard's reign on his side.

The most dangerous of these was Sir Raoul de Changy, of the same age as Erik. The boys hated each other growing up, Raoul was jealous of Erik's talents and Erik hated Raoul's pompous ways and arrogant attitude.

Both remembered their first meeting vividly. They were both six and Raoul had come to study to be a knight. Well, he was forced to room with Erik (who insisted on being treated like every other page in the castle) and neither was too thrilled. On that first day, Raoul proved that he could not be trusted by Erik. He didn't know how the young page pulled off his mask, but Erik greatly remembered the humiliation Raoul caused him. And the names the fop whispered to him since then.

They also shared a common interest: the beautiful Christine Daae whom both clapped eyes on when they were twenty eight and she a girl of fourteen. After her father's death, Christine came to be Richard's ward and was the daughter he never had. When they first met the lovely girl, both were immediately enamored. And then the young knight's eyes met, and the competition for Lady Daae was enacted.

At first, the girl showed interest in neither of them, preferring to go out in boy's clothes and hunt in the woods. Erik and Raoul always followed her out on these excursions, both warning her of the dangers of the woods, although Raoul always managed to engage Christine in conversation about is favorite subject: himself. Erik on the other hand, tended to give the girl advice and upon learning of her skill and potential as a great warrior, he would take the girl out himself and training her. Erik began to acknowledge her own intelligence and strength. In his time with her, he learned of her great strength, stubbornness, and whimsical, childlike nature.

In the end, Erik learned to see Christine as a free spirited equal. Raoul saw her as a conquest.

By the time Christine turned fifteen, she had begun to understand the attentions the rivals bombarded her with. She found herself attracted to neither man, determined to spend her life an unmarried woman and go and live in the woods. She respected Erik and saw him as a great friend and mentor. She greatly enjoyed her time with him and his lessons. Especially singing lessons.

Raoul was just an overdressed fop of a knight.

As long as Richard was in England, England was safe. He protected all of them, but when the Crusades came along, Richard saw it as his duty to serve his church. So, he departed with a small army and left Erik Regent of England in his absence.

This John could not stand for. He should have been regent, not a deformed bastard. With the aid of Sir Raoul de Changy (whom he promised Christine's hand in marriage), he began his plot to steal the throne and get rid of that irritating thorn in his thigh: Erik de Noir.

And this is where our story begins…