N/A: Not much to say really, just that finally, the stage in my story is set. All so-called preparations, explanations and introductions have been made, and it's time for the real story to start, so to speak.

And of course a huge thanks to all reviewers; you are the best! (I know, I know, I'm very late with updating…)

So please, bear with me and read on! (sorry for any type-o's, I was too tired to proofread)


Chapter ten: Rebellion

If anyone had dared enter Sherwood Forest in the following month, they would have heard a lot of unusual sounds coming from within the heart of it. Immediately after Robin's little speech, the planning and construction of the 'tree-village' had started. It seemed that the carpenters among the men had found it an intriguing idea, as they were working relentlessly on making the tree houses as safe, inconspicuous and effective as possible.

Seeing that she could leave the building safely in the hands of the inventive carpenters, Robin set to discussing with John and a few others how they would organize the fencing and archery classes, as well as the patrols. They had decided to keep a permanent watch on the main road, which would be their main source of supplies during the winter, and was of course the only real entrance to the Forest. Tasks and chores were divided between the men, and finally there was some structure in the band's daily occupations.

When everyone had gotten used to their daily routine, the men were sent back to their villages one at a time, to collect their friends and relatives. Slowly, the community in the Forest grew, with every new resident assuming the role that suited them best. Quite a lot of the group had now acquired some skill with weapons, through which their self-esteem grew as well. Spirits were generally high.

Generally.

The only one not happy with the reorganizations was Will. He had taken the outcome of his last discussion with Robin quite badly, and would rather die than admit that her ideas had brought forth a big improvement of their well-being. And now his friends had apparently deserted him in favor of the girl, all he could do was keep a low profile and sulk. He grudgingly did the tasks appointed to him, but only because otherwise he would have both Littles glaring him to death. He avoided a confrontation though, waiting for the tiniest slip-up on Robin's part.

Robin, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to Will's sentiments. She had been working non-stop on improving camp-life even more, while also supervising the fighting-classes and listening to people's suggestions and problems. It turned out that of all people, she was the most approachable for that sort of thing. Ever since that one afternoon, now commonly referred to as the 'Turnaround', Robin was considered the unofficial leader of the community, along with John Little. Wulf had been approached as well but was very reluctant, and eventually settled for being an advisor when asked. He ended up doing a lot of work in the background, and Robin and John didn't know what they would ever do without him.


As autumn wore on, the changes in the Forest area became noticeable. An increasing number of patrols returned to the city to report that the villages were strangely deserted. At first, the Sheriff didn't pay any attention to it. It was only when it was time to collect the monthly taxes, that he became concerned: he needed that money to bribe the barons. When the fourth patrol returned without any money with them, George exploded.

'What do you mean: "No one there"?! Those bloody peasants can't just have vanished, now can they?!'

The poor soldier was positively trembling with fear, knowing what happened to men who infuriated the Sheriff.

'N-no, Milord… b-but th-'

'Then where have they gone, you insignificant fool, where?!'

The poor man took a deep breath, and mustered all his courage before stammering:

'Th-there's this rumour, you see, about the Forest,' taking George's silence as encouragement, he continued, 'they say that groups of people have entered it, and haven't returned. Entire villages going in, and none ever coming back.'

The Sheriff had got his temper back under control, and asked in a dangerously calm voice:

'And do you also know why?'

The soldier seemed to shrink under the eye of his commander, and could only whisper.

'Th-they say it's because of the ghosts… and the hooded woman.'

George raised his eyebrows. 'The hooded woman?' He furiously hoped the man wouldn't say the answer he dreaded. He hoped in vain.

'Y-yes, Milord. The woman who you wanted captured almost two months ago. They say she's luring everyone in there, seeking her revenge… No one knows who she is.' The soldier shuddered at the thought.

George tried to keep his breathing leveled, while he sought a way out of this ridiculous mess. He hadn't failed to notice the man's superstitious fear of the Locksley wench. He sorted his thoughts, and finally answered the still trembling man before him.

'First of all, we do know her name, and there is nothing about her that you should be afraid of, you superstitious fool. She is Robin of Locksley, who failed to pay her debts and thus has become an outlaw. So she is still in the Forest, you say? And gathering allies? Well, we'll see who has the last laugh…' he trailed of, but continued with renewed force, directing his speech anew to the soldier. 'Captain, I want you to issue a search for this woman. Take a patrol and enter the Forest, do everything you must to find her, but bring her to me alive. Is that understood?'

'Yes, Milord! At once!' The soldier jumped into action, relieved that he was at least going to live out this day.

When he had left, George had begun pacing. So she thought she was smart, didn't she? Hiding in a Forest believed to be haunted, gathering men… this could actually prove to be quite fun, he thought. But the problem of money still remained. With each passing day the barons were getting more and more restless because of the imminent return of the Lionheart, and money was needed more than ever to appease their worries. And there was also a second reason for haste; Prince John had also started to entertain the thought of becoming king. Even though George had a head start on gaining the barons' favour opposed to the weak-minded Prince, said Prince's title was practically perfect for becoming king. Luckily for the Sheriff, the Prince was even more cruel, perverted and disturbed than he was, so he was even less popular with the people than the Sheriff – if that were possible.

So, though not that urgent yet, those issues were enough to make George act fast. Having finally decided what to do, he walked to the heavy doors of his main hall, and yelled through them up the stairs: 'Guy!! Get down here!'

Not long after, his solemn looking cousin appeared in the doorway.

'You called, cousin?'

'Yes', said George, who had returned to his desk, 'I need you to do something for me.'


Grateful that he hadn't lost his life during his audience with the Sheriff, the captain acted out his given orders immediately. He would not waste a chance at getting on the Sheriff's good side. He started with having posters hung up in Nottingham and the surrounding towns, portraying a woman wearing a hooded cloak – who didn't even look remotely like Robin – and written underneath it: "Robin Hood. Whoever can bring her to the Sheriff alive shall receive 100 gold pieces." The captain apparently hadn't remembered Robin's real last name, and so had named her after her appearance. Since no one questioned it, the name soon took flight and was heard often in market conversations.

Secondly, the captain assembled a patrol for an excursion into a certain Forest. It was hard to find any volunteers for this, as none of the soldiers were very keen on entering Sherwood. Every last one of them believed in the ghost stories. Eventually, the captain ended up on using the ever-successful technique of "force-volunteering", and managed to gather a grand total of eight men. He thought this to be enough to catch one girl. Quite satisfied with himself, he informed the Sheriff that he was leaving on the search for Robin Hood.

The patrol rode out of Nottingham at a swift pace, and reached the Forest by midday. The soldiers had been laughing and joking loudly during the journey, but when they came to the Forest's border, not a sound was being made and none of them were smiling. Even the captain, so eager to please the Sheriff, hesitated at the Forest's forbidding atmosphere. They stood there a while, until the captain cleared his throat.

'Well men, in we go. Just keep your eyes open, and be alert at all times. Maybe there aren't any ghosts, but there are other things in there.'

Ignoring the remarks the ghost-believers behind him made, he spurred on his horse to follow the main road leading into the Forest. He hoped he would not have to leave it.

The small group had penetrated the Forest quite deep, when finally they heard a noise. It was immediately followed by a flying arrow, aimed to land just in front of the captain's horse's feet. It reared, and the man was barely able to keep his balance. Within the second, his men had pulled out their crossbows and were looking around for the offending archer. Then, the far end of a bow descended in front of the captain's face, and started pulling at the badge on his vest proclaiming his rank. Startled, he tried to grab bow, but was only rewarded with a light tap on the nose and rich laugh coming from above him. Only then did he and his men have the wit to look above rather than around themselves.

Sitting on the branch over the captain's head was a young person, with red hair just past the shoulders and dressed in greens and browns. On their face was a huge grin.

The captain made his horse retreat a bit to get himself out of his vulnerable position and to get a better view of his attacker. He could now see it was a woman sitting on the branch, and he realized he must be looking at none other than Robin Hood.

Before he could utter a word, the girl leaned backwards and somersaulted to the ground, landing smoothly on her feet. She straightened, and smiled pleasantly at the captain.

'Who are you, and what brings you into our Forest?'

The man regained the control over his tongue, and tried very hard to be intimidating.

'I'm the Sheriff's captain, and I'm ordered to arrest you, Robin Hood.'

To his dismay, the girl chuckled. 'Robin Hood? So you came up with that name! I've seen the posters you made too. Tell me, am I really that hideous?'

The captain didn't answer that question, for the last thing he could do was to tell an outlaw that she was quite pretty, actually. Instead, he sought to scare her again.

'If you do not come with us willingly, we will have to use force. And trust me, you wouldn't want that.'

Robin shook her head. 'Sorry, but I'm not going to come willingly, nor am I about to trust you. I suggest you save yourself the effort and go back to where you came from.'

'That is out of the question,' the captain said, and on his gesture, the soldiers aimed their crossbows at her, 'if I must, I will have you crippled to ease our return to Nottingham. Be sure that I will not hesitate.'

Robin merely smiled, and a voice erupted from the side of the road:

'Ye don't want to be doin' tha' mate.'

With that, a curtain made of a net with leaves attached to it, bordering the road, fell down. It revealed a group of fourteen men, all aiming their longbows at the soldiers. A very tall, bushy-haired man stepped up to stand next to Robin, smirking triumphantly behind his beard.

'Lower your weapons, if you value your lives.' Robin said.

When the soldiers had hastily complied, she stepped forward to the captain. The tall man eyed the captain warily, daring him to try anything.

Robin beckoned the soldier to her and softly said to him:

'Return to Nottingham with your men, and tell the Sheriff that if he wants to catch me, he will have to send something better than your little patrol. I must say that I find this a bit insulting. Tell him also, that his horrible deeds will not go unpunished. Before the Lionheart returns and gives him a trial, he better watch his back, for we'll be there to make him pay for what he's done.'

She retreated with a smile on her face, but he could the determination it harboured. Before he could answer her, the bushy-haired man cut him off.

'Off ye go then! And don't come back!' He then brought down his arm, and his group fired a warning at the soldiers. The least brave of them turned their horses and fled, immediately followed by their colleagues and their captain.

They rode out of the Forest like madmen, with arrows following them and laughter ringing in their ears. They didn't slow down for anything until they reached the city, and only then did the captain realize that the bloody woman had stolen his captain's badge. He slammed shut the doors of the stable angrily, and steeled himself for the report he was about to give to the Sheriff. His lord would not be happy.

Hours later, the captain fell onto his bed with pain coursing through his entire body. The Sheriff had not been mild with his punishment, but luckily for the soldier, he had not been in the mood to kill either. When the captain had told his tale and had conveyed Robin's message, George had released a furious beating on his back, accompanied by a colourful string of curses the poor soldier had never heard before. When he had calmed down enough, George had thought everything over, and had told the captain to get up and clean himself. He was the one who had come closest to Robin Hood, and though it didn't mean much yet, it was the only tool at their disposal. He was now in charge of all expeditions into the Forest concerning her, but he didn't know whether he was to be happy with this promotion or not.

In another part of town, the eight soldiers were sitting in a tavern, getting very drunk. To everyone who wanted to listen, they told the story of their mission. Apparently, they hadn't registered it was a camouflage-curtain falling down, and so they were now telling an outrageous tale about Forest giants appearing out of nowhere whenever they wanted, girls falling out of trees and mysteriously flying arrows. This story appealed very much to people's imagination, and by the following morning everyone in and around Nottingham had heard it, or at least one of the uncountable versions. It even traveled to Locksley, where a slightly worried Sarah laughed at the things her mistress had supposedly done, things she very much hoped were just gossip. But she did welcome these stories, as they told her Robin wasn't dead or captured. As long as that was still the case, she wouldn't allow herself to get overly worried.

Back in Sherwood Forest, no one knew about the legend being created about them. They were just happy to have won the first confrontation, and were already preparing for the next, which they knew would undoubtedly come. The rebellion was official.


N/A: Next chapter will be from Robin's point of view again, and I think it will include some more of Will and his issues. I am not going to reveal anything about a romance yet, but I can say that Will is not kin to Robin. I'm thinking up this story as I go, and I'm not sure yet who Robin is going to fall for.

Anyhoo, a happy and prosperous 2005 for everyone, and let's hope that the people in south-east Asia can more or less pick up their lives again.