Chapter nineteen:
Robin's POV:
Gisborne's eyes clouded over for a moment, perhaps recalling a ghost from his past.
"How could I forget? The little boy running around the forest, playing childish games instead of doing his duty as a Lord." He smiled at his attempt of recovering himself.
"Talking about duty, I never saw you fighting for your country in the Holy Land." How can he talk of duties when he didn't fight at all?!
"I was doing my duty from here, thank you very much!"
"What are you doing here, Gisborne? Is terrorising villagers one of your new sadistic hobbies, or what?"
A couple of villagers from the crowd shared some small smiles, some even laughed.
"You can't speak to me like that, Robert. Not anymore, I could have you hung for that!" He puffed out his chest, unimpressively.
"What are you going to do about it, whine and throw a tantrum, like you always did?"
His eye twitched ever so slightly, just as it used to when he was irritated.
"I don't have to even speak to utter scum, like you. But," he was still looking for attention, even now at nineteen years-old! He could never just leave the conversation at that, he had to leave knowing that he was important. "if you must know, these villagers have not payed their taxes, and are currently being punished for it." He snapped his fingers and a solider gave him a string of rope.
"That's disgusting, even for you. These people look as if they haven't eaten for weeks! How exactly do you expect them to give you all of the money they have, when they don't even have enough to live one?!"
"It's not my problem if they don't make enough money, that's up to them." Gisborne was Meg's wrists together now, "It's off to the dungeons for you, spitter!" he sneered at her, tightening the not so much that her skin went a little purple.
Gisborne only turned away to say one more thing, "Marian is doing just fine, by the way." With that, Gisborne strode over to his horse and galloped off. The guards mounted their horses too, one with Meg on the back and rode in Gisborne's direction.
The remaining villagers were standing, frozen in shock. There were murmurs throughout the crowd of, "Who is he?", "No one talks to Sir Guy like that!" and even "Did King Richard send him?"
This was not right. Before I left, people would dance, and sing, trade and work, live and love. They were not afraid to do so, either. Now, it looked like they were just trying to survive and keep off of Gisborne's chopping block! The fear in the eyes of the children in the crowd was enough to make me short of breath.
"Something must be done!" Turning around, I announced to my two friends.
"What can we do though? You heard him; he could have us hung!" Much's hand went to his neck, at his last sentence.
Much and I were deep in thought, when John broke the silence.
"No."
"No, what?" Much asked.
"No, as in: No, Robin's right. We need to fix this, before it's not just Meg who is taken! I'd bet she's not the first prisoner Gisborne had got either."
"Don't worry about Meg, John. I promise we will get her back!" I promised him.
It looked like our trip home wouldn't be as smooth sailing as we had hoped.
What did Gisborne mean about Marian? Horrid thoughts rushed through me head; Was she okay? Was she safe? And worst of all; Was she with HIM? Perhaps he said that just to get a rise out of me, he knew it would work too.
"First step, sneak into the castle tonight and steal enough stuff so we can pay back everyone here for what had been wrongfully taken from them. While we're there, we save Meg and escape."
"Sounds easy enough!" John sounded please at the mention of Meg's rescue.
"Yes, very easy. If you forget about the countless amount of guards, high defences and the fact that Gisborne knows we will come looking for Meg!" Much grumbled.
"We will figure it out as we go, don't worry. For now, keep a brave face on and let's inform the villagers!" With a grin, I turned to the villagers and began to speak.
"Everyone, I am the Lord of Locksley, but you can just call me Robin! These are my friends and comrades; Much and John. We have seen the great injustice in which you live with today, and have decided to make it right!" A few cheers arose from the crowd, which gave me hope. "I am so sorry that you have experienced such trauma and fear, it will go on no further! The first course of action is: sneak into the castle. While we are there, we can rescue Meg, and get you your money back!" More cheers, "But this is a complex plan, and we will need more than just the three of us to complete it. Any volunteers?"
Silence rang through the crowd, no one wanted to face Gisborne if they knew they would suffer the consequences. It was understandable, but unfortunate. Then, one hand rose up from the back.
"Yes, you, at the back! Please come forward!" At last, someone to help!
A man appeared at the front of the group. He was a little on the skinny, lanky side but if he was brave enough to come along with us, he would definitely be able to help. His hair was dark black, his face was dirty and his clothes were old and torn.
"What is your name, Sir?" Inquired Much.
"It's Will, Will Scarlet."
"Well, Will Scarlet. Welcome to the group!" John thundered over and crushed Will in a massive bear hug.
Out new friend patted John on the back, somewhat awkwardly. Once he was released, he spoke "Now, I know I don't look very strong or useful, but I assure you, I am! I may not be as strong as you guys are, but I'm a carpenter and a locksmith. You name it, and I can make it!"
"Thank you so much for joining us, Will! You will be a great asset to our group, I know it!"
"We will have to call ourselves something, so that other villages know about us too!" Much voiced.
"How about Robin's gang?" John asked, tapping his lip in thought.
"Nah, too obvious." Much shrugged.
"Ah, I've got it! What about "Robin Hood, and his merry men"?" Will exclaimed.
"It's perfect, Will! How on earth did you come up with it?" I was astonished.
"I figured, that we can all wear hoods to mask our identities and well, you all seem very merry!" He laughed, gently pushing John's arm, in jest.
"Long live Robin Hood and his merry men, who steal from the rich and give to the poor!" Someone in the crowd shouted.
"Long live Robin Hood!" The rest of the crowd echoed the sentiment, cheering as the four of us headed off, to prepare for the robbery.
About an hour later, we attempted to infiltrate the castle. We hid in the trees surrounding the castle, and waited until the guards changed positions. There were two guards stationed outside the drawbridge, they went inside of the castle for a break, leaving their stations, and the gate unsupervised for roughly three minutes. Within that brief time period, the plan was to sprint to the open gate, slide under and sneak into the castle, by pretending to be commoners wanting to speak to the Sheriff.
We got as far as the courtyard, before a guard shouted, "Hey! What are you doing here?" Panicking, we all fumbled a different excuse, forgetting what we had all agreed upon.
The guards hauled us to the Sheriff, who was in the meeting room.
"Sheriff, Sir? We've got four villagers wanting to speak to you out here." One of the guards announced, after knowing at the door.
"Go away, I'm busy. Tell Gisborne I told him he can deal with it!" A gruff, heavy voice came from inside the room. It was definitely not Marian's father!
This was not going to be good.
After getting dragged around the castle again, looking for Gisborne, we took our chances of escape while walking through the courtyard. The gate was opening for two guards who were coming in. Giving John a small nod, I stomped really hard on my holder's foot, giving me a chance to bolt, while my friends did the same. We made it out of the gate just before it closed, and ran like our lives depended on it. In a way, they kind of did!
Getting back to Will's village, we arrived to see a messenger leaving on a horse.
The villagers were gathered around the notice board, in the centre of the village, gasping and looking very shocked.
"Mother, what is it?" Will asked, hugging her.
His teary-eyes mother just pointed towards the four new posters on the wall.
"WANTED: THESE MEN ARE DANGEROUS OUTLAWS!
REWARD FOR CAPTURE, DEAD OR ALIVE = £500 FOR EACH, £1,000 FOR THE LEADER!"
Each poster had a brief description of us, and a reward for capture too. This was typical of Gisborne, to make it out like we were the villains in this.
Honestly, you try to sneak into the castle one time, and you're an Outlaw! My merry men did not look so merry now. They all had grief written on their faces.
"Guys, this only proves that we have got to do this! We can't let them stop us!"
"You're right Robin, but we have to be more prepared this time!" Said Will, his arm still around his mum.
"We will be, they won't know what has hit them!" Much pumped his fist in the air.
"I heard from one of the guards about a big party happening tonight. That means that all the richest Lords and Ladies will be there, meaning…"
"That all of their valuables will be left, unattended in their rooms, ours for the taking!" Finishing for John, I could barely contain my excitement. We would be getting a second chance!
"Let's go and wish him a happy birthday!" Much laughed, but I could still see the worry written across his face.
Will's mum gave the four of us hoods to hide our faces just as Will said when he came up with our name. There was an extra bit of cloth at the bottom of it, which could be pulled up to cover our faces, from the eyes-down. We were certainly dressed like our name suggested. "Robin Hood and his merry men" or, as for short, "The Hood". It was catchy. Before we set off, we told the villagers we would be going to Sherwood forest afterwards, as Gisborne may come looking for us.
Nerve and tension were high amongst the men, as we neared out destination. We were better prepared this time, at least, I told myself. It was the only thing that kept me from shaking, guards would be everywhere, so we would have to be careful!
The castle loomed ahead, its dark walls had never looked so high and impenetrable. This was no time to be anxious; we had to do this for anyone under the Sheriff's rule.
Aiming carefully through the dark, I shot at the top of one of the walls, where we could see there was a crack in the cement. If this arrow flew hard enough, one of us could climb up the rope, which was attached to the end of the arrow, and then lower the rope for the rest of us.
Whoosh my arrow flew and landed with a big thud in the cement. Tugging slightly on the rope, it looked as if it wouldn't hold for long. Will had volunteered to climb up, because he weighed the least. We had to wait until the guards switched positions again, so it was safe enough for us to go.
When the guards' heavy footprints had faded away, Will took his chance and climbed up. The other three of us pressed ourselves up against the wall, so we couldn't be seen from above. A small cough came from above and a thick bit of rope danged in front of my face. Smirking slightly, I grabbed it and began to climb up the wall. Will and I continued to pull up John and Much and then we ran down some nearby stairs until we were in the courtyard. From there, we snuck into a dark corridor, hidden away from the guard's watchful eyes. Most of them wouldn't even be alert, probably drunk from some stolen wine from the party.
Much and Will, split up from John and I to search some rooms, for whatever they could find. While John and I looked out for any guards in the corridor. At least we were, until I heard shouting coming from around the corner, I held up my hand for John to stay there while I checked it out.
The shouting was becoming quieter, the guards must be searching for us by now, we did leave the rope behind for our escape. It was probably not our greatest idea, but we still had more in Will's bag. After witing a few more minutes for anymore noises, I began the walk back to John when I didn't hear anything.
Turning the corner, I was shocked to see a woman, standing in front of John.
Her arm was positioned over his neck, she was holding a knife to John's throat! The corridor was very dark, so most of her features were hidden. Her dress could have concealed other daggers or knives, but there were four of us and one of her.
"I'll take my chances on option two, if I may." It was only fair to warn her about my presence, instead of sneaking up on her. We may be thieves, but we were still gentlemen. She seemed shocked, so John and I took our chances and brought her into the room we were standing in front of.
When we entered, Much and Will looked up for a split second, before going back to their stealing. John gently carefully placed the woman down on a chair, and carefully tied her to it. We weren't going to hurt her in anyway, but she had seen too much. Dragging my attention away from her, I noticed a large sack full of shiny things on the floor. Opening it up, I noticed it was filled to the brim with fine jewels and clothing, this would pay handsomely for the crimes of Gisborne and the Sheriff! It probably belonged to a wealthy Lady of the court, no doubt she wouldn't miss half of this! I was about to put it back and question the girl, like the others were doing, when something caught my eye.
It was a ring. There were two thin rings intertwining with each other. Small diamonds, placed on one of the rings, shone in the moonlight.
My heart panged, almost painfully, in recognition; could it be?
This could mean one of two things. One, Marian was here, in the castle for one reason or another. Two, that someone had taken it from her, and she wasn't safe anymore. Why would she have taken it off either way? If she lived in the castle, had she merely taken it off, forgetting all about me? Or was it forced off her, stolen or something? Pocketing the ring, I had to get to the bottom of this!
"Hey, you some type of jewellery enthusiast now?" Much asked, noticing my interest in the ring.
Fumbling a response, I was still confused about the ring, but I had to focus! People were counting on me and I could bear to let them down. The woman was crying, and I couldn't blame her. For all she knew, she was about to be murdered! I leant down to her level, and attempted to calm her down, I explained that we do not steal for the fun of it, but for the greater good. Her eyes cleared somewhat after that, even though it was dark, and I couldn't make out everything in them, I could tell that her eyes were blue. Oddly, they looked like a pair I had seen before.
We decided after some deliberation to take the girl back to camp with us, it was then that we heard the shouts again. Moving fast, we tied our remaining bit of rope to the foot of the bed, and climbed out of the window, the woman was with John. When we were on the floor again, we sprinted towards some nearby horses. Much and Will mounted quickly, but John still had the woman in his arms.
Thinking fast, I said "She can come with me; my horse looks the strongest." Walking over, I gently picked her up and put her on my horse.
It was safer for her to stay on the horse, instead of running away, so I told her to hold on tight, and kicked the horse into a gallop. Her delicate arms wrapped around my torso, and didn't weaken the whole ride. When we had come to the edge of Sherwood, (where our new camp was based), I lifted her down from the horse, and watched while Will blindfolded her. We couldn't take any chances; she could track us later if she got away.
The woman had auburn, elbow-length hair, half of which was tied up. From what I could see of her skin, it was pale, but splattered with freckles. Her lips were stained a crimson red, but they were pressed into a worried frown. No doubt about it, she was absolutely beautiful. Not the obvious type, more discreetly perfect, her imperfections made her all the more desirable.
Something in my brain clicked.
Rushing forward, I took her hands, like Much was about to and whispered, "It's okay, I won't let you fall." It all made sense! The ring, her dazzling eyes! I had found her, after four long years of waiting, I had found my love!
Smirking, I whispered into her ear; "It's nice to see you again, by the way."
What I really wanted to say was; "I've really missed you.