N/A: Welcome to chapter four! Some new characters will be introduced in this chapter and the plot will thicken a bit, I think.
Pocket Jericho: First of all, thanks so much for reviewing! It really gave me the final push to finish this chapter. Second, thank you for the compliment, now I've heard from a second opinion that my writing's acceptable.
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Chapter four: Meeting the ghosts
'Please Pilgrim, it's not that scary here.' Robin said to her horse, although she was actually trying to soothe her own nerves. Even though they had fled into the Forest at great speed, they were only moving very slowly now. Robin had to drag a very reluctant Pilgrim along, who all of a sudden seemed completely exhausted. Robin had tried almost everything to get the mare to move faster, but nothing worked. That the eerie trees were looming over her shoulders wasn't a big help either. She had to restrain herself from running back the way she had come, knowing that leaving the Forest already wasn't an option.
They halted again for a moment, and Robin decided she might as well grab something to eat while they weren't rushing anyway. While she was getting some bread from the saddlebags she had another idea. She also took a piece of corn from the bag and held it in front of Pilgrims nose. The mare eagerly tried to eat the corn, and Robin felt she had finally found something that might work. Making sure Pilgrim couldn't reach the corn, she lured the horse along the narrow trail that lead deeper into the woods.
The further they went, the more the trail disappeared and Robin had to be very careful not to lose it. Suddenly, they came to a clearing, and all of Robin's fears for the Forest melted away in the sunlight, which shone down freely on everything in sight. She let the sunlight play over her closed eyes for a while, then placed her thoughts on the situation at hand. She had heard far off water sounds ever since they had entered the Forest and now Robin could see why. The river that ran through the Forest widened drastically in this clearing, as normally one could jump over it but now it seemed one had to swim their way across.
Robin groaned lightly and tied Pilgrim to a nearby branch to avoid being followed. She walked to the water to inspect it's depth, because one way or another, she had to get to the other side. Preferably a dry way of course. Standing closer to the water, Robin smiled. It seemed that while the river had greatly expanded in wideness, it had had to give in on it's depth. She could clearly see the pebbles and rocks on the bottom of it, and the small waterfalls were nothing to be worried about. After sticking her sword in the water at several places, she found that it wouldn't be hard to cross the river with all the ankle-deep spots it had. The only trick would be to not accidentally step in a deeper part. Robin's eyes scanned the river for a possible path and when she found one clear enough for Pilgrim to pass over it too, she turned to go back to her horse.
At that moment several yells and shouts came from the trees all around her, as a previously hidden rope emerged from the water, tripping her. Now a few loud laughs came from her surroundings. Robin struggled to get up when a single voice echoed through the air.
'There was a rich man from Nottingham, who tried to cross the river. Oh, what a dope, he tripped on a rope! Now look at him shiver.'
Robin wheeled around trying to see where the voices came from, when a group of men, scattered in the trees, came in sight. They were poor- and scruffy-looking, not soldiers or anything higher in rank. They obviously didn't see she was a woman, for the man who had previously sung the song said, pointing a stick at her from afar:
'Beg for mercy, rich man.'
At this, Robin's pride came up, making her angry.
'I beg of no man!' She answered, angrily pushing her hair out of her face. Luckily she hadn't become wet enough for her clothes to stick to her body, for which she was grateful because now they still thought she was a man. There had been laughs at her answer, only infuriating her more. But she kept a straight face, as there was no use in giving them the joy of seeing her angry.
One of the men, obviously the leader had come to stand in front of her. He was very tall and broad shouldered, and had bushy brown hair and an equally bushy beard. His clothes and improvised cloak mostly consisted of torn rags sewn together. He also pointed a thick, long wooden stick at her. It was actually more like a staff when she took a second glance. The man was smirking cockily at her.
'I suggest ya keep it down a bit, seein' as ya're all alone. This 'ere's our river and anyone who wishes to cross it, must pay a tax.'
Robin paled slightly, not out of fear but out of anger. They didn't have any authority to do this! She would certainly not give in that easy.
'I have nothing.' She replied, bowing her head.
'Now tha's a load a crap, mister,' The man smirked at her again, 'Ya might not have any coin on ya, but we'll settle on tha gold medallion o' yours.' He eyed the necklace eagerly and reached for it with his stick. Robin jerked her head back, pulling the medallion out of his reach and looked at him angrily.
'This is sacred to me.' The man laughed.
'It's sacred to us too, mate. That there'll feed us for a bloody month.' Robin cocked an eyebrow.
'Then you'll have to fight me for it.'
'Love to, mate!' The man answered, and tossed her a stick given to him by one of his men.
She hadn't expected to be fighting with a stick instead of a sword, but there was no time to waste because the man was already directing his first blow at her. She barely had the time to counter his attack, and was rewarded with very painful knuckles. The gathered crowd was laughing as Robin blew on her sore hand. She glared at the man and wasted no time to attack him. It took her a while to get accustomed to the weapon, but once she had, she found she was quite good at it.
The man hadn't expected her to counter him that well, and was forced to add a bit more speed and ferocity to his blows. He figured that increasing the strength behind his attacks would work in his advantage, even though he would lose some of his agility. He had noticed that the man he was fighting was nothing more than a boy, since the lad didn't have any facial hair, a slender build and a bit of a high-pitched voice. But before he got the time to wonder why on earth the boy was traveling all alone, he had to focus his entire being on winning this fight. The lad had almost surprised him with unexpected agility and speed. But not a second time, he vowed to himself, he would not lose this fight!
Robin had noticed the growing difficulty with which she could counter the man's blows. She had been able to cope earlier, but the man was a lot stronger than her and she was tiring. With a sword she would have been able to compensate with her talent, but the stick was a much larger and heavier weapon and it didn't allow her to make any difficult moves. She needed to end this battle and fast, or else she would surely lose. Not only her precious medallion, but also her pride and dignity.
In her haste to end the battle, she decided to create a an opening for herself. It would be risky, but it was needed.
She waited for him to attack once again and quickly squared him. She then ran her stick against his, so that both arms were directed sharply to the other side, leaving both opponents' sides unprotected. She quickly tried to push him of balance, but he beat her to it.
While fighting they had moved near a small waterfall, and with one good nudge in the back, the man knocked her over the edge. The crowd cheered for the victor, who accepted it with a bow. He then turned to look at his fallen opponent. The smile on the man's face faded and his brow furrowed when he saw nothing in the water. He could swear he'd seen the boy take a tumble down the waterfall, but there was nothing to be seen. He cautiously walked down several steps while poking his stick in the water, looking for the lad. When he still found nothing, he again turned to his friends.
'It's a bloody shame tha' medallion's gone. Besides, he was a brave lad.'
After falling down the waterfall Robin had casually slid under water, only to come up again behind the boulder her opponent now stood on. She was still clutching the stick, and when the man turned to speak to his friends again, she stuck it between his legs and pulled up fast. She smiled when hearing the satisfying groan the man uttered when he fell backwards over her head. Before giving him the time to get to his feet, Robin grabbed hold of his collar and pushed his head under water. After a few seconds she pulled him up again, and asked:
'Do you yield?' The man gasped for air.
'I can't bloody swim!'
As this wasn't the answer Robin was looking for, she repeated her actions.
'Do you yield?!' This time the man knew what to say.
'YES!!' Robin smiled in victory.
'Good, now put your feet down.'
Without a word the man struggled to his feet, only to find that the water merely came to his thighs. He started to laugh, and said:
'I'll be buggered.'
His friends were laughing as well, now understanding the trick the lad had pulled. As the man reached down to pull his opponent up, he shook his hair out of his face, smiled and said:
'John Little, Best Man of the woods.' Also smiling, Robin took his hand.
'Robin of Locksley.'
John swiftly pulled her up, but as she stood, his smile faded and the men around them quieted. At first Robin didn't see why, but then glanced down at her wet clothes. They now clung to her like a second skin, revealing every shape about her that was unmanly. She winced as she pushed her now loose hair out of her face, making her look even more feminine. She smiled weakly at John, expecting the worst. As the man opened his mouth to say something, one of the others beat him to it.
'It's a bloody lass!'
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N/A: I know the fighting scene is terribly unoriginal, but it's my favorite part of the entire film and I couldn't just leave it out or replace it with a crappy idea of my own. I like how it turned out though. Sorry this chapter took so long, but I had a lot of trouble writing the fighting scene and the dialogs. I just have to practice, right? See you all in chapter five!
