Thanks again to my reviewers!
Lady Marian -I hope you know just how much I appreciate your criticism. Sorry for thetameness of last chapter, hopefully this one should be a little livelier!
Rae-elfin-warrior - Thanks! Glad you like the story!
Remember: Reviews make the world go round and constructive criticism makes decemberunderground a much better writer. Also if there's anything you want to see in later chapters, I'm willing to listen to suggestions. The review button is there for a reason. Use it! Or I'll set my tribe of pink ninja pirates on you...
Night was fast approaching as we arrived back at camp and several small fires had sprung up, with groups of people laughing and joking as they told stories. Towards the back of the camp several men were greeting a new arrival, a portly man with thinning white hair and wearing rough brown robes tied in the middle with string. He was sitting on top of a wagon harnessed to a donkey, currently engaged in the act of unloading the several barrels that the wagon carried. Will located the fire around which Robin and the girls were sat and helped me over to it. I sat down gratefully and removed my boot. My left ankle had swelled considerably and Will frowned as he examined it.
"Wait there. I'll go and fetch a healer," he ordered and disappeared. I turned to smile at the girls and yelped as Kit hit me over the head.
"What the bloody hell did you go and run off for, gaggio?" she demanded, slipping into a mix of British slang and Italian cursing like she always did when she was irritated.
"It seemed logical at the time," I shrugged and she snorted.
"Yeah well, if you try a stunt like that again…"
"Fascinating though your bickering is, I believe you three have a tale to tell and now that the runaway has returned, I would like to hear it," interjected Robin. "Kitten and Kelly tell me that you are from London, but somehow I doubt it. Notorious though London is for its fashions, I have yet to hear of a fashion that allows women to dress as men. Plus, their accents are strange. Where are you from originally?" he asked Kit.
"The States," she replied cagily.
"Never heard of it," said Little John, arriving at our fire with Will and a short, plump woman with long dark hair and wearing a white apron over her simple, dark green, cotton dress. "Ladies, this is my wife, Fanny. She has the knowing of herbs and suchlike and is a wonder when it comes to aches and pains." He put his arm around his wife's shoulders and kissed her cheek.
"Oh, gerroff me you great lummox and make yourself useful," she grumbled good-naturedly. "I'll need some cold water and some clean cloths."
"She loves me really," said John with a sigh and disappeared on his errand. Will sat down behind Fanny as she bent over my foot and I winced as she began prodding it.
"John's right. Where is this place?" asked Will.
"The United States of America. It's a land far away to the west, about four thousand miles," supplied Kels. Robin snorted in disbelief. "I'm also from there, from a place called Chicago. Elli's the only one who's actually English."
"Don't be ridiculous. There's nothing to the west but the edge of the world," he said loftily. "Everyone knows that."
"What everyone knows now is… not what everyone knows in the future," said Kels carefully, trying to avoid suggesting that Robin was wrong. "And that's where we're from. The future."
"Ah, now I've heard everything!" laughed Robin, clapping his hands delightedly. "Now let's get serious for a moment, shall we?"
"We are being serious," snapped Kit. "We're from the year 2006 and things are… different. A hell of a lot different."
"If that is true then how did you arrive here?" asked Will softly, ignoring Robin's snort of derision.
"I don't know," I answered. "We were in Nottingham and decided to go for a walk in the forest. We got lost and fell asleep in that oak back there." I gestured towards the massive oak tree that marked the entrance to the camp. "When we woke up we were back in time and that's where you found us."
"Unbelievable!" laughed Robin. "At least you could have thought up something plausible."
"No, wait, ah hell, I knew I had my bag with me earlier… ah!" Kit found her bag and rummaged through it, pulling out her purse. "This is the money we use in the future," she said. "This is English money," she added, handing Robin a five pound note, "and this is American money," handing Robin a dollar bill.
"Paper money?" John asked, reappearing with the water and cloths. "That's the daftest thing I've ever heard."
"This is a cell phone," she added, staring at it forlornly. "Battery's dead though… It's a telephone. You can speak to anyone you like regardless of where they are in the country. And this is an mp3 player. It lets you play music, and hey! The battery's not dead! Let's see if it works!" She put one of the earphones in her ear and pressed play. "Yeah, it works! Listen." She gestured to Will and put the other earphone in his ear. He swore and jumped back.
"That's music?" he demanded, rubbing his ear. "It's just noise!" Robin glared at the contraption, his face darkening.
"What did you play him?" I asked.
"King of Kings by Motorhead," she replied with a grin.
"This is all very fantastical," remarked Will, still rubbing at his ear, looking like he didn't know whether to be scared or impressed. "But how did this happen?"
"I know how," thundered Robin, jumping to his feet, his handsome features twisted in an ugly snarl. "Sorcery!" He levelled an accusing finger at us, his dark eyes betraying his fear. "I thought the witch thing was a gross misunderstanding on the Sheriff's part, but now I see differently! I'll not consort with disciples of the Devil and practitioners of the black arts!"
"Oh, boy," muttered Kels, rubbing her temples as Robin went into a spectacular rant against witchcraft.
"Will you shut up, you silly little man?" snapped Kit. "It wasn't anything to do with us… at least I didn't cast anything, did you?" she asked of Kels and me. We shook our heads.
"Begone from my camp, foul hags!" ordered Robin.
"I said SHUT UP!" thundered Kit, jumping to her feet and pointing at Robin. There was a strange sensation as if every part of me was being gently squeezed and everything around us froze.
"Holy Odin!" I shrieked, jumping to my feet and almost kicking Fanny in the face. "What the bleeding hell have you done, Kit?"
"I… I don't know," she replied, looking shocked and staring at her finger as if it was loaded. She stared thoughtfully at the fire, frozen in mid-flicker, and reached out towards it.
"Kit…" began Kels tiredly as Kit yelped and sucked at her burnt fingers. Kels rolled her eyes. "I give up."
"How can you be so calm?" I demanded as I stared around me, my heart hammering wildly in my chest. "I'm freaking out here, look, this is me and this is me freaking out!"
"I'm a little surprised but to be honest it's not entirely unexpected," said Kels calmly. "You and Kit were saying earlier how you could feel the magic; it was only a matter of time before one of you did something weird. And Kit, stop poking things," she added, as Kit started prodding Robin in the stomach.
"Aw, but its fun," she pouted, and grinned suddenly. "Whoa."
"Whoa like a million," I amended, sitting myself back down. "Firfan, Kit! You can do magic!" Who or what Firfan was I wasn't really sure, but I had taken to using the name in place of blasphemy when the names of all other gods failed me; I think he was a god of hunters in a book I'd read a while ago.
"I know… and it's weird," said Kit. "I've never known this much power before," she added, looking thoughtful.
"Its hella weird," supplied Kels. "Now stop mucking about and reverse it."
"Uh…" Kit looked lost. "I don't know what I did!" She looked over at Robin and grinned as a sudden thought crossed her mind. "Hey, if I can do magic, then I wonder if the Harry Potter spells work? Cruc-"
"NO!" Kels sprang up and covered Kit's mouth. "You are NOT subjecting Robin to the Unforgivable Curses, there's no telling what damage you might do!"
"Spoilsport," she muttered, sitting back down on the grass and tucking her legs underneath her. "I only wanted to see if it would work!"
"It probably would and that's what concerns me, we're trying to talk him round, we do not need him writhing in agony on the ground, that'll just make him angry. Why do I always have to be the sensible one?" she added as she sat back down too.
"Because we're mentally unstable and someone has to keep us in check?" I suggested, trying to stop myself shaking. "Kit, is there any way..?"
"I don't know," she replied with a frown. "Uh… Abracadabra, hocus-pocus, bibbedy-bobbedy-boo?" she suggested half-heartedly. "Ugh, I don't know!" She balled her hands into fists and rubbed her eyes, muttering to herself. All of a sudden the squeezing sensation lifted and things around us unfroze.
Robin stopped mid-rant and narrowed his eyes. He had gone very red in the face and his lips moved soundlessly for a moment while his brain caught up with his eyes.
"What did you do?" he demanded. "You've moved, without moving, I mean… I didn't see you move," he added accusingly.
"I did some magic and I don't know how I did it, I've never been able to do that before," replied Kit calmly. "Now are we going to dispense with this black and midnight hag nonsense or do I have to kick you in the nuts?" Robin folded his arms and leaned back against a tree.
"All right, I'm listening," he muttered grumpily. "But if you cannot convince me…"
"Then shut up and let me speak, all right? Yes, I just did magic. I've never been able to do magic before, at least on that scale, although I did a bit back home. But it's nothing malevolent or evil; the power comes from nature, not the Devil. And we're bound by the Law of Three, which states that everything you do comes back at you threefold, so we won't be cursing you while you sleep or anything like that. I don't know if the other two will be able to do magic, and I don't know what I'm capable of yet, but something else brought us here and we're not leaving until we find out who, what or why." She folded her arms and glared stubbornly at the outlaw leader.
"I should agree with her if I were you, when she gets that look there's no arguing with her," I supplied helpfully. Will and John were staring at Kit as if she was insane and Fanny had gone white, although she was still diligently working on my foot.
"Where else are we going to go?" asked Kels reasonably. "We won't be any trouble, I promise. If anything we can help you and once we've found our answers, we'll be gone."
"Hmm." Robin stared at her for a long time, his lips pursed as he thought. "You can help, you say?" Robin asked gruffly. "Very well, you can stay, but you will have to prove I can trust you. You are not to leave the camp until I give my say-so, understood? I want to be able to keep my eye on you. You'll have to help out around the camp. Healing, cooking, hunting, darning, washing, anything you're good at, you do. And you'll also have to be trained; Will, I want you to give these ladies a grounding in the basics of swordplay starting tomorrow."
"Of course." Will nodded, looking thoughtful.
"I thought there were strict rules about women and fighting in the Middle Ages?" asked Kels.
"In the world at large there may be, but I expect my women to be good at it and you had better prove yourselves worthy!" snapped Robin. "Now excuse me, I see that Friar Tuck has returned with ale and I am going to go and get drunk. Will! John!" He gestured with his arm and stalked off, John following. Will looked like he wanted to stay and talk but followed his leader reluctantly.
"Well, that went okay," I muttered, letting out a breath I hadn't been aware of holding.
"He is a prat," muttered Kit darkly
"Yes, maybe, but at least we'll have some sort of protection while we're here," said Kels reasonably. "I didn't fancy taking my chances out there on my own."
"There. I'm done. That's a nasty sprain you've got there, miss; I'd keep that foot rested for a day or two," said Fanny and I jumped, having momentarily forgotten that she was there.
"Thank you," I said, prodding at the bandages around my foot.
"I've got some herbs that will help with the pain as well," she said, sounding oddly distant. "If you'd follow me, I'll take you back to my hut. Can you climb?"
"I suppose so," I replied, getting up and gingerly testing my foot. "Yeah, I'll be fine."
"You two as well, this way," said Fanny. She whistled up at the nearest tree and a rope ladder was released, swaying slightly in the evening breeze. She shinned up the rope ladder like a professional and I followed, slowly and awkwardly.
At the top of the rope ladder was a platform and I gasped; high up in the trees was a network of platforms and bridges, disguised by the uppermost branches of the trees; in places instead of bridges, some of the thicker branches had simply been tied together. Some tree-houses had been fashioned out of wood and thatched with leaves with animal skins across the doorways and here and there next to certain huts were hammocks and blankets. It was like a village had been built above the ground and I stared around me in wonder.
"It's like Lothlorien, but without the elves," I breathed. Fanny nodded at the sentry on the platform and led us across a maze of bridges, stopping at one of the larger huts. A sign had been painted on the door, a green circle with a dot in the middle.
"That means I'm a healer," she explained as Kit, Kels and I stopped to stare. She opened the door to the hut, checked inside and beckoned us in.
A lot of people evidently lived in this hut. Six beds in total were lined up in a row, one of them a double. Pictures had been crudely painted on the walls too, the largest of which showed a man with a beard and a long stick fighting a bear. Clothing and bedding were strewn all over the place. A thick aroma of spices filled the air and jars of potions lined a shelf away to our left, underneath which a cauldron sat.
"Excuse the mess but with a husband and five kids, this place is a bugger to keep tidy," said Fanny, removing some clothing from one of the beds and gesturing for us to sit which we did, to the accompaniment of the rustling of hay.
"Now, to business," she said, speaking almost in a whisper as she sat down on a crudely crafted stool. "I heard you wenches say you could do magic, correct?"
"Well, Kit can, we don't know about us yet," I replied, gesturing to myself and Kels.
"I'm sure you can, else otherwise you wouldn't be here," said Fanny simply. "Now listen, I've not told this to anyone, mainly because the rest of them'll react the way Robin did back there, but… I can do some too," she said, speaking quickly now. "It's nothing big, but sometimes I'll know things without knowing why, and I can always see John even when he ain't here." She closed her eyes and smiled. "He's filling his fat belly with ale and carousing with Rob and the lads," she added. "I know all there is to know about herbs and medicine and if it weren't for my know-how there'd be a fair few more nippers running amok, if you get my drift. And sometimes, when the moon's right… I'll see them."
"See who?" asked Kit, leaning forwards, her dark eyes shining with excitement.
"The Gentry," Fanny whispered and glanced around fearfully, as if saying the name aloud would call them here. "Fair beautiful, they are, but they're a devil to talk to, always speaking in riddles, the sly buggers. They talk about tides and forebodings and other such nonsense that I can't comprehend, but I daresay you might. If you can play their games, I reckon they might have your answers."
"How can we meet them?" I asked.
"There's a faerie ring about fifteen minutes' walk east. The moon's full tomorrow night so if you were to travel there then they might come to you. But be careful. There's many that're cruel as are kind. And take some iron with you. They can't stand iron. Says it bends the world the wrong way or something. There's plenty of horseshoes lying about the place, no-one'll notice a couple missing."
"Thanks," whispered Kit, awe-struck. "Did you hear that, guys? Faeries-"
"Please don't say the name!" urged Fanny. "It'll only call them and we don't want their mischief in the camp! And we never had this conversation, all right?" she asked sternly and we nodded. "All right. Here's your tonic, miss." She handed me a blue bottle stoppered with wax and I sniffed it gingerly. It smelt like liquorice. "Now that's over I'm sure you'd like to meet some of the gang, am I right?"
Fanny led us back down into the middle of the camp. Robin and Will had their arms around each other and were singing loudly, a bawdy song concerning the loose morals of the young ladies of Nottingham and joined by a few men, and stopped when they saw us. Some of the men nudged each other and grinned. One of them made a hand gesture which I couldn't see as it was conveniently shielded by Robin's back, and the men burst into hurriedly hushed laughter. Robin frowned momentarily before apparently deciding to play at being a good host and fixed us with a brilliant smile.
"Ah, my fine young hags!" he greeted, slurring his words slightly. "I would like you to meet my most trusted men!" He indicated the small crowd behind him and bade them to step forwards one at a time.
We were introduced to Friar Tuck, the man with the wagon, a man whose love of ale was as strong as his love for God. Allan a Dale, the bard, a tall, willowy man with blonde hair and a blonde beard who carried a harp slung over one shoulder and his wife Ellen, a slender, graceful woman who had raven hair and green eyes. Gilbert White Hand was tall and muscular with a floppy brown fringe and quite a bit of stubble. David of Doncaster was short and stocky with wiry brown hair and brown eyes. George a Greene was a tall wall of muscle with close cropped brown hair, brown eyes and a friendly smile. Much the Miller's son was a young man of about seventeen or eighteen, tall, thin and gangling with red hair and freckles. Little John's cousin Arthur almost matched his relation for size, a thin braid hanging from his temple. Wat O'the Crabstaff was short and had a mass of black curls, his face lost in a war between his hair, his eyebrows and his beard, and he appeared to be constantly grinning. Finally we were introduced to Will's cousin Cecily, an extremely pretty girl with long brown hair that fell in curls to her waist, and wearing a simple white gown that reached to the floor; my first impression was of Arwen from the Lord of the Rings movies.
"So, you're witches then?" asked Gilbert, grinning at Kels. "They say round here that if you kiss a witch you gets turned into a frog."
"No, no, you've got it wrong, if you kiss a witch she gets turned into a toad, or is it a cat?" said Wat.
"You're both bloody mad, it's if you piss a witch off she'll turn you into a frog and you has to be kissed by a princess," said Arthur.
"What sort of princess would want to kiss a frog? I can't see princesses going down to a pond and randomly kissing frogs in the hope that one of them will turn into a man," protested David.
"Ah, but see, you can still speak so you just say 'Oi, princess, I'm actually a very handsome man, come here and kiss me' and then she does kiss you and you has to be married."
"I still can't see any princesses kissing frogs, and if a frog was to speak to a princess she'd probably scream and run away, at least that's what I'd do," said George. "Or think I'd drunk too much ale, one of the two."
"Ah, but then you gives her a golden ball and then she knows your special, right?"
"Right, because there are plenty of golden balls just lying around the bottoms of swamps. Sure, right. I can see I've been daft!" said Wat.
"How would a frog pick up a golden ball anyway?"
"Don't mind them," said Will hurriedly as Kit, Kels and I laughed at the boys' bickering. "They're just simple folk, really, and not at all completely insane." He grinned and whistled to Allan. "Hey, Allan! Let's have a song, and give these ladies a proper Sherwood welcome!"
As it turns out Allan wasn't the only Merry Man who could play an instrument. Several produced flutes that they had whittled themselves, Allan played his harp, someone had a fiddle and someone else a mandolin, and within moments music rang out in the clearing, sounding impossibly loud in the calmness of the night.
"Right, men, I don't want to see you standing around gossiping like fishwives," roared Robin. "Grab your wives or the nearest available filly and let's see some dancing! Miss witch… Elli, wasn't it? May I have the first dance?" He bowed and extended his hand, staggering a little as he did so.
"Go on then." I took his hand and he twirled me around, placed his other hand on my waist and led me into the middle of the clearing.
We danced awkwardly due to the bandages around my foot; the fact that Robin kept stepping on my foot, whether accidentally or on purpose I couldn't tell, didn't help matters. I lasted a song and a half before deciding to sit down. I sat at the edge of the festivities next to Friar Tuck's wagon, gasping for breath and massaging a stitch in my side, stretching my leg out in front of me. Robin disappeared and reappeared again with two tankards of ale, one of which he passed to me.
"Here, have a drink! I hope you like ale. If not I'll have it."
"I like ale just fine. Thank you." I took a sip of the liquid. It had a pleasant taste, a mixture of malt and oak and slightly nutty. It reminded me of the real ales that the local brewery sold back home.
"Look, I suppose I ought to apologise for earlier," Robin continued, leaning back against the wheel of the cart and looking slightly flustered. "I'm not… I mean I don't… well, witches," he added, looking confused. "All my life I've believed that witches are evil and it's not something a man can let go of just like that. I mean, they must be evil, otherwise why would the Church be burning them all the time?"
"To try and keep warm in the winter?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face. "Or maybe the Church is like you, frightened of what they don't understand."
"I'm not frightened!" he protested, shaking his head violently. I raised an eyebrow and he grinned sheepishly. "Well, I'm not easily frightened," he amended. "Ask anybody here and they'll tell you that Rob's not a man frightened who's easily frightened. It just so happens that witchcraft and black magic are two of the things that bloody terrify me. So no turning me into a frog while I sleep, all right?"
"I'll try not to," I giggled. "If it's any consolation magic scares me too. I mean, not having done it before and suddenly Kitten can do it and, well, it's just as weird for us as it is for you ," I clarified, and sighed as Robin pursed his lips and stared thoughtfully into the distance. "What else are you scared of?"
"Hmm? Oh. Cats," he said seriously. "Can't stand the buggers. They make me sneeze." I laughed and he grinned suddenly, slipping his arm around my shoulders. "You know, I've never had a witch before. And you could do a lot worse than bedding me. I'm an exquisite lover as Cecily dear can tell you, can't you Cecily?" he called as the woman wandered past.
"Oh yes, he certainly is very good," said Cecily, her voice soft and musical. She paused for a moment and grinned. "The best ten heartbeats of my life." We both roared with laughter and Robin shifted uncomfortably.
"Come now, Cecily, I'm the leader of this pack, don't go insulting my manhood!" he pouted.
"You're right. Sorry, Robin. Your manhood needs no further insults, save its very presence."
"Ah, dear Cecily, always a joker," said Robin, pretending he hadn't heard that last remark as I giggled. She sat down on his other side and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Oh come now, Rob, let's not have you hassling the womenfolk just yet, eh?" groaned John, dragging the rebel leader to his feet.
"But I'm with two of the most beautiful maidens in all of Sherwood! I was having fun!" protested Robin as he was led away. Cecily laughed and turned to me.
"I know Robin's a bit arrogant but he's fine once you get to know him," she explained calmly, smoothing down her skirt. "And he really is a good lover."
"Hang on. If he's Will's cousin, and you're also Will's cousin, doesn't that make it incest?" I asked, trying to work it out in my head.
"Well yes, he is my cousin, but he's only a cousin by marriage, whereas Will is a blood relative," she explained. "Will is the son of my father's brother whereas Robin is the son of Will's mother's sister."
"And that makes it acceptable?" I asked, trying to see the logic.
"In all walks of society, including royalty," she replied with a smile. "Of course such dalliances are in the past, as I am to marry David in three weeks' time."
"Cecily!" She looked up as her beloved called and smiled.
"Speaking of which, I really ought to dance," she added, getting up and smoothing down her skirts. "I'll speak to you later!"
Later when the festivities were over Kit, Kels and I bedded down in Will's hut, which was the only one that had enough space for us - and also so he could keep an eye on us for Robin. I settled down on my mattress of straw, pulled the blankets up to my chin and stared out of the roughly-hewn window at the almost-full moon. Any adverse feelings I had about being in the past were fast dispersing and I strongly suspected I was going to enjoy myself here. I got to learn how to use a sword and a bow, run around in the forest and drink with a bunch of men - all good things in my book. And they seemed a pleasant enough bunch. Even Robin; yes, he was a bit arrogant, but with all those people under his command he had a right to be. And then of course there was magic to discover and faeries to find. I felt a shiver of excitement, turned onto my back and grinned. This was going to be fun.