so, another chappie for you! i thought i should make a list of what poto characters are replacing rh characters and what are staying the same since there are so many versions of rh. so here ya go:
erik: robin hood
christine: marian
raoul: sir guy of gisbourne
meg: lady bess
nadir (called nadir scarlett in this fic): will scarlett
piangi: the sheriff of nottingham
madame giry: she's just in the fic cause we need her!
andre: the bishop of the black cannons
firman: dicken, a knight stripped of his rank
rh characters that are staying the same: little john, prince john, much, eleanor, frair tuck, and king richard.
Chapter Four
A week had gone by since that fateful morning. An entire week and Christine had heard no word from Erik or any of those who fled with him. She had spent many sleepless nights holding a nightmare plagued Meg and wondering just where Erik was. John had found no trace of him, yet there were strange occurrences happening, such as wealthy men losing their fat purses and the peasants being able to pay off their taxes.
John raised the taxes after he heard that.
The sun was rising on the eight day since Erik's departure. Christine disentangled herself from Meg and walked to her window, gazing out at the grey morning. Where was he?
Suddenly, the quiet stillness of the morning was pierced by the faint whistling of an arrow. Christine drew back from the window just as a black arrow buried itself in one of the posts in Christine's bed. She looked back out the window and saw a shadowy figure outside the castle walls. He saluted her once and then rode off into the woods.
Erik…
Christine ran to the arrow, spying a note tied to its shaft. With scrambling hands, she made quick work of the string and unrolled the dirty parchment to be greeted by a familiar hand.
My Dearest Christine,
Please accept my deepest apologies for what happened on your birthday. I never intended for you to see such horrors. I cannot tell you were I am, lest this falls into the wrong hands, but I am safe, as is everyone that left with me. Tell Meg that her mother has made a full recovery and is back to her usual "charming" self.
I cannot tell you more than this except that until our rightful king returns (which could be years or decades), I will be constantly on the run from the law. But the law, if it can be called that, will meet its retribution.
My darling Christine please be careful. I fear that John may use you to get to me. There are still men in the palace who are loyal to me and will protect you with their lives. Always carry a dagger or some sort of weapon with you, for you safety and my piece of mind. Mind what you say and stick close to the Queen, she will keep you safe. Look after Meg as well.
As soon as you have read this letter, burn it.
Christine rolled up the note, tears of relief welling in her eyes. Erik was safe, as was Madame Giry. With happier spirits, she took the arrow out of the bed post and threw it in the fire, the letter with it.
As she watched the flames consume the inky words, she felt a small ember of hope stir in her soul. Erik had something planned. Christine knew things were about to get very interesting.
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Erik rode hard into the foggy forest, his heart light and jovial. Though he had been at a far distance, he had seen his lovely Christine. Antoinette and Nadir had strongly cautioned him against leaving the forest like this; there was now a price on his head after all. Antoinette had been swayed when Erik promised that he would put news of her recovery in his letter, as she worried about her daughter and what she must be thinking.
He had taken a great risked, hinting that he was up to something. But Erik trusted Christine. In the two years they had known each other, they had formed a bond deeper than any marriage. Their souls were connected, even if it was not in love.
Of course, someday they would be joined in love.
Someday.
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Raoul stormed into John's study, his handsome face red as blood.
"Damn that bloody bitch! This is the last time she scorns me!" he roared.
John looked up from his desk, unfazed by his mood. "My dear Knight, I am a busy man and would greatly appreciate it if you did not disrupt me with your passions and woes of the heart."
Raoul looked at the prince, positively fuming now as he paced the room. "You promised she would be my bride and yet you let her slap me and refuse me. How long must I wait, my liege?"
John looked Raoul straight in the eye, a look like deadly poison upon his face. "You will have your prize when I receive de Noir's corpse. Until then, it is too dangerous to do anything to the girl. You know of his feelings for her."
Raoul stopped his pacing. "He does love her." Raoul looked at John, a look of wicked glee on his face. John liked that look. "My liege, that is it. Use Christine to get to de Noir. She's the perfect bait."
John stroked his red beard, leaning back in his chair with a pensive look on his face. "And just how would we use the king's ward as bait. We can't exactly have her carried off or stage some rescue scenario."
"Have an archery tournament. As much as it pains me to admit, de Noir is the best archer in all of England and he will surely win."
"And how will that draw him in?"
"The prize will be a silver arrow, presented by the Lady Christine. In addition, a kiss from her as well will be the prize. If that won't draw him out of hiding, I don't think anything will."
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Christine ran down to the kitchens, desperate to find Much. Erik had to be warned. She had been walking past to the library when she heard the prince and evil knight in conversation. What she heard shocked her. Erik loved her, loved her so much he would be willing to risk his neck for a kiss from her?
She couldn't let him do it, would not let him stain her hands with his blood.
She was running so blindly that she did not see the corpulent form of Piangi, Sheriff of Nottingham as she rounded a corner. She went crashing into him, bouncing off his great belly and onto the floor.
"Well, well, well, my lady," he said helping her up. "And just where would you be going in such a hurry?"
Christine thought fast, knowing that Piangi was loyal to John. "Oh, just to the archery fields before it gets dark."
"It's barely past noon, my dear."
"Well, you never know when an ellipse is coming."
Piangi studied her, trying to read her face for answers that eluded him. In the end, gave up his search, informing her that John wished to see her immediately in his study.
With a heavy heart, knowing there would be no warning Erik now, she trudged up to John's study. When she got there, she found no one in the room.
Suddenly, the door shut behind her, revealing Sir Raoul. Before Christine could even attempt to leave, Raoul locked the door. Christine felt for the pocket in her green dress that held her dagger. Finding its handle, she grasped it, ready to defend herself from this vile excuse of a man.
"My dear, I have an important matter to discuss with you," he said, a cocky grin upon his face. How she longed to wipe it off with a blow of her hand!
"My future?" she said with a raise of her brow. "And just why would I talk to you about my future? You have no part in it."
Christine saw with satisfaction a tic in Raoul's brow. His face flushed an angry plum color and his hands balled into fists. Christine tightened her grip on the dagger, suddenly aware of the locked state of the door and how easily she could be hurt in this situation.
"My dear Lady, I am your future," Raoul said with carefully controlled voice. Christine could hear the barely contained rage simmering below its surface. She widened her eyes in shock and felt the demons of her fierce temper rage more powerfully within her.
She kept her cool however, wanting to find out just what Raoul meant. "And just what do you mean by that bold statement, Sir Knight?" she inquired while keeping her calm façade.
Raoul smiled a smile that made Christine very uneasy. "My dear, you are to be my wife, as promised by our Prince John."
Christine could no longer contain her demons. "I'd hate, no I'd actually love to disappoint you for I shall never be your wife. Prince John has no right to promise me to anyone. I am King Richard's ward, his specifically, and only he has the right to give me away, by death or by marriage."
Raoul lunged at Christine, tackling her to the floor. Christine whipped her dagger out but before she got the opportunity to use it, the door was slammed down. There in the doorway, standing over the fallen door, stood Jason and Kily, spears held aloft.
The two charged Sir Raoul, dragging him to his feet. They revealed the Queen, who had been standing behind them. She rushed to Christine, helping her up.
Rounding on Raoul, she shouted, "What is the meaning of this! How dare you assault a Lady in this fashion!" Eleanor's face was twisted with fury, spit flying from her mouth as she shouted right up in Sir Raoul's face. "This time you will not get away with this! Take him away!"
Jason and Kily marched Raoul back to the dungeons, a little more roughly than usual. Eleanor swept Christine from the room, escorting her back to her chambers. Once she was safely inside and had been cleaned up, the Queen demanded to know all that had happened.
And Christine would never dare to deny her Queen.
She told her everything, from the Sheriff's suspicious behavior, the plot and Sir Raoul's outrageous proposal. Christine watched Queen Eleanor's face darken with fury and noticed that her hands were bone white from clenching them so hard.
After a stretch of silence, the Queen stood and said, "You are in more danger than I thought. John knows you are loyal to Richard and to Erik so he is getting rid of you by means of Sir Raoul. The protection you have being Richard's ward has no more power as long as Richard stays away. Therefore you are now under my official protection, and so is Meg for she is in danger due to her mother's action. Nothing can befall or be done to either of you without my wrath or consent. Even the King cannot defy this protection, much less John or Sir Raoul. As for the tournament, I will send Much to warn him myself. His loyalty is known to John as well and it is best that he stays out of the castle until Richard returns."
With that, the Queen left the room with her regal air, leaving Christine to ponder just how much danger the Queen was now in due this defiance of John.
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That afternoon in Sherwood found Erik making himself a new mask by the creek. The white porcelain mask he had worn in the castle was unsuitable for his new sylvan dominion. The new mask he was fashioning was made of brown leather, hard and sturdy. It would blend in better with the forest had would not break as easily. And it tied, unlike his white mask which he kept on with sticky candle wax. This new mask was still a half mask, so the ties tied diagonally across the back of his head.
A lot of his and his men's attire had changed. They could no longer wear their chain mail, as it would make to much noise in the woods. Their clothing consisted of leather leggings and sturdy boots. Wool tunics covered the rest of them. All of his men wore hoods as so to lower suspicion. Erik himself wore dark leather pants, boots and a dark green tunic with a leather jerkin over it. His belt and quiver were his constant companions.
He was just placing it over his face when he saw a skinny lad of about seventeen tearing across the creek to get to him. Erik's hand went to his sword but released it as he recognized the boy as Much, Meg's sweetheart.
Erik rose to his feet just as the boy reached the banks of the creek. He was out of breath, obviously having run very far and hard. Sweat matted his thick brown hair to his skull and his cheeks were flushed. Erik grasped his arm, pulling him ashore.
"What are you doing here Much? Has something happened?" Erik demanded, leading the boy to the shade of a tree.
"The Queen…bid me…to find you… and" the boy could speak no more for he was so winded. Erik gave him some water, which seemed to help his speech. "The Queen wanted me to find you and tell you of a plot."
Erik's eyes darkened. Just what were John and de Changy up to now? "What sort of plot, Much?"
"A plot to capture you. They are going to hold an archery tournament in a month's time. The winner gets a silver arrow and a kiss from the Lady Christine who will be presenting the arrow." Much looked at Erik with pleading eyes, "Please, say you won't go!"
Erik patted Much on the shoulder, feeling a bit sorry for the boy. This change had to hard on him too. Much's father had been part of the kitchen staff as well, but died when Much was just seven years old. Erik had looked after him, seeing that he stayed out of trouble. As a result, Much came to see Erik as a father figure, putting him in grave danger.
"Much, I must go. If I don't show, my neck will be safe, but there will be hell to pay as a result. John will think someone warned me and will kill anyone he suspects. If I do show, I will be taking a great risk but I can be prepared for that."
Much grinned weakly through the tears that were forming in his eyes. "You just want a kiss from the Lady Christine!"
Erik had to chuckle at that. "Perhaps. Tell me, how is Christine."
Much took a deep breath before answering him. "The Queen also wanted me to tell you that the Lady Christine is in danger."
"What?" Erik roared. His Christine in danger? John wouldn't dare do anything to her for that would be committing treason. Erik felt his soul darken as he silently vowed to kill any man who threatened his angel.
Unconsciously, Erik fingered the ring he made Christine, which was now hanging from a leather chord round his neck.
"Yes, today de Changy attacked her. Apparently John has promised him the Lady Christine's hand. She refused him and de Changy attacked. The Queen had her guards break down the door of the room they were in. de Changy was carted away, but John pardoned him once again. The Queen placed the Lady Christine and her maid Meg under her protection."
Silence followed Much's report. Erik felt the darkness in his soul eradicate a bit. The Queen could protect Christine better than anyone, but she would still be safer in the woods where Erik could keep an eye on her. But Erik did not want to condemn his precious angel to a life of thievery and hardship, no matter how tough a bird she might be.
"Sir Erik?"
Erik turned his head back to Much.
"Yes, m'boy? And no more of this Sir business. I am an outlaw and we have no titles."
"Sorry, but the Queen said it would be safer for me to stay here with you instead of in the castle. Is that alright."
Erik did not miss the hopefulness in his voice. Smiling, he said, "Of course, lad. After all, I could use you help."
Erik sent Much back the camp, telling him to eat a good meal and then he and some of his men would find every man loyal to England and have them come to the Gallow's Oak in two days time.
After all, Erik needed an army if he was to bring down the tyranny that was Prince John of England.