N/A: I took some time for me to start on this chapter, because I couldn't find any inspiration. If it sucks, my apologies. I felt like I had to cross a bridge and come to a new stage in my story, and it took more effort than I expected.
Speak Out: I know, I know…. I felt really ashamed of myself when I read your review. It made me pick up the story again. So I guess I should thank you for that. I do hope not all my readers have abandoned me..
Chapter twelve: It isn't all what it's cracked up to be
Guy closed the door behind him and leaned against it. He sighed. He would never understand the workings of his cousin's mind. Not in a million years. He dragged a hand through his hair and moved to lie on his bed. As soon as his back touched the mattress, he felt the strain he hadn't even known was there, disappear. He stretched, and finally felt a bit relaxed.
He'd been up and about all day, carefully preparing what his cousin wanted him to do.
It had been a few days since George had sent that first patrol to the Forest and had given Guy his orders. He frowned once again when he recalled the conversation they'd had.
'Guy! Get down here!'
'You called, cousin?'
'Yes', said George, who had returned to his desk, 'I need you to do something for me.'
Guy looked at him expectantly, though inwardly dreading what his deranged cousin wanted him to do now.
'I just had an interesting chat with an army Captain – his name's Perry, I think – and he told me that the Locksley twit's been gathering forces in Sherwood Forest. I told him to go and arrest her, but since she's already proved to be quite slippery, I'd like to have a back up plan. That's where you come in.' He looked pointedly at the other.
'What do you have in mind?' Guy asked, actually not wanting to know at all.
'I want you to gather every scrap of information there is about Locksley's relatives, servants, friends, the lot. There's bound to be something among it we can use as a means of…persuasion for her to surrender, should she become a real nuisance. Especially that servant girl; Sarah. She was looking at me funnily that day Locksley sneaked into the city. Better yet, have that one followed.' George was obviously still brooding over the offence.
'I trust I can leave all that to you?' He added, raising his eyebrows at his cousin.
'Of course. I'll handle it.' Guy answered, his features seemingly made of stone.
'Good.' George waved his hand towards the door; the audience was clearly over. Guy turned and went for the door. When he'd reached it, George called out to him.
'Oh, and Guy? Make sure you go about it inconspicuously.'
The other nodded solemnly. 'As always, cousin.'
And that was what he had been doing for the past few days; using every possible source to collect information. He also had one of his most skilled spies tail the servant girl. He silently went over the already acquired information once more. As was already known, the Locksleys weren't wealthy by a long shot, and so had precious few servants – only Sarah and Duncan, to be exact. And as Sarah was being continuously observed already, and Duncan was just an ignorant boy who posed no threat and could easily be manipulated later on, that area of his research had been quickly covered. Next, he had explored the category of relatives. There was only one of those worth mentioning, since both father and brother were in Jerusalem; the girl's aunt, her father's sister. Her name was Rosalind, and she was at least fourteen years her brother's senior. She lived in London, and hadn't been in contact with her brother and his children since he had refused to hand over their care after his wife had died. They had had a blazing row because Rosalind had thought it highly inappropriate for a man alone to raise two children.
Since his cousin was keeping everything that had to do with the Locksley affair hush-hush, Guy didn't think it likely that the old lady knew anything about her niece's antics. And because of their lack of contact, he didn't think Robin would ask her for help anytime soon either.
Having concluded this piece of his task, Guy continued to the last part; friends and acquaintances. Luckily, all of Locksley's friends had gone with him on his crusade, and because of her tomboy upbringing Robin herself had always had very few friends. Lastly, the few acquaintances that remained could be bought with gold, something that the Sheriff himself was taking care of.
Making sure all the information was carefully filed away in his memory again, Guy proceeded to pondering other things: his cousin for instance. The man was becoming increasingly obsessed with the Locksley girl, and his overall behaviour had become more erratic than ever. Guy wasn't sure he would be able to contain him anymore if he decided to do something really stupid. All he could do was to be vigilant and try to squash every outrageous idea before it could fully blossom. Needless to say it was taking a lot out of him. When he was younger he'd never have thought he'd be a fulltime babysitter when he was thirty. Of course, he'd never have thought he'd be so tightly bound by his insane cousin either. If only he hadn't got into that horrible mess seven years ago. How different his life would've been…
You know that everything that's happened is your own fault. You're a weakling. Don't deny it.
Guy groaned, and squeezed his eyes shut in a vain attempt to silence the small voice in his mind. He could fool himself and blame everything on circumstances, but it was never long before the voice of his conscience spoke up, and reminded him of the truth: that he was in this predicament because of his own lack of character.
At this realization he was flooded with guilt and frustration over his blatant cowardice, and wished – as he had done a thousand times before – that he was better man. To avoid spiralling into depression by these dark thoughts, Guy turned on his side in an effort to go to sleep. Just before drifting off, he had the nagging feeling he would sooner or later be forced to face his difficulties.
As time progressed, the colony in Sherwood Forest acquired more and more self-esteem. Nothing could have contrasted more with the chill of the arriving winter than the atmosphere in the village. This was due to the fact that they had successfully intercepted each and every one of the Sheriff's convoys and messengers so far, as well as any occasional travellers. Because of the continuous practice, Robin's men had grown more confident in their ambushing and fighting skills, and many of the stratagems thought out by John, Wulf and Robin had nearly been perfected. Secondly, the loot also added to the good cheer among the people. They had got their hands on large amounts of information and supplies, and by economically distributing these between themselves and the peasants outside the Forest, they ensured their own survival as well as the sympathy of a large portion of the population in the Nottingham area.
In other words, life in the Treevillage wasn't bad. They had of course been forced to ration the food, but they had more than enough water and wood for warmth and weapons. Their circumstances were probably even favourable to those of regular peasants. But those people weren't stupid. Quite a number of them had tried to get into the Forest, and in the beginning, the people who were a direct relation to an outlaw already inside were readily accepted. But then they started to come from farther away. Despite the outlaws' arguments that they were safer and more needed on the outside, they pleaded to be allowed to enter. It broke Robin's heart, but to keep the community from becoming overcrowded and unmanageable, she and John decided that the limit of the Forests capacity had been reached. To admit more people, they stated, would jeopardize the safety of all who resided within the Forest, because the resulting village would become to large to remain hidden from the scouts the Sheriff continuously sent into their area. All people who came knocking on their proverbial door were offered this explanation, and were told to return to their homes.
Because the stream of applicants didn't abate, it was commonly decided to hand out larger quantities of food and money in the villages; partly to soften the ache of rejection, and partly to let as much people as possible survive the winter.
All these hard decisions were made by a small amount of people, and while these troubles didn't weigh heavy on the minds of most of the outlaws, Robin and her direct circle didn't experience Forest-life to be as blissfully happy as the others.
'Ugh, I never knew starting a rebellion would bring this much work.'
Robin stretched out on a bench near the fire pit in the middle of village clearing. She raised her arms above her head until her spine cracked satisfyingly, making Wulf cringe.
'Please don't do tha' again', he said, sitting down on the ground next to Robin, 'But really, what did ye expect? To just say to the Sheriff: "I'm dreadfully sorry, but we don't agree with your policy and we'd much rather you'd refrain from terrorizing us", and be done with it? Sorry to disappoint ye, but in that case yer gonna get a lot more than ye bargained for.'
Robin scowled at her bushy-haired companion.
'You know perfectly well that's not what I meant. I just didn't think I'd have to deal with almost a hundred people looking at me to decide what they should do next, and tell a hundred others that they're not wanted. Not to mention keeping track of food, money, info, the Sheriff…', Robin trailed off.
Wulf frowned. 'Well, I'm sorry, but ye should've thought of tha' before ye started this thing.'
Robin could hear the slight annoyance in his voice, and quietly amended:
'I'm sorry, Wulf. I didn't mean to whine like that. It's just that it's a bit much at the moment. I know you and your father share the responsibility with me, and I'm really grateful, I am', she turned her head to look at him tiredly, 'I just feel as if I could sleep for the remainder of the winter and still be tired. It feels like I have this never-ending list of things to do in my head, repeating itself over and over and over…'
Wulf turned and took a good look at his younger friend. It had been a while since he'd done that. For the past few weeks, they had mostly spoken to each other in the regular meetings they held, while outside of those, they were running around giving orders, coordinating excursions and supervising numerous tasks. Of course, he was tired as well, but now he could take in his friend's haggard appearance, he could see that the whirlwind pace at which things went was demanding too much of her. Her hair hung limply past her shoulders, and hadn't seen a comb in ages. She had huge bags below her eyes, which in turn were dark with exhaustion. She was pale, and had lost some weight, as far as Wulf could tell through the dirty, wrinkled clothes she was wearing. He suddenly felt bad for getting irritated with her. His voice softened when he spoke next.
'It's ok. You had no way of knowing this thing was going to be so big. But neither did we. Da' and I are working with you, and you know we'll be there for you when something's wrong. But we just have to get through this. If it makes you feel better, I think it's going to be a week at the most until the real winter sets in. All activity will come to a halt then, and you can hibernate all you want. All right?'
Robin nodded, and chuckled at his last choice of words. It again struck her how his accent had vanished, and she made a mental note to ask him about it as soon as she had the time and energy. They continued to sit in companionable silence, but it wasn't long before their peace was disturbed.
An arrow landed near the bench on which the two young friends were sitting, and it was followed by Notch' loud shout.
'ROBIN! There's another set o' people tryin' to find us! Ye better come an' give 'em the chat!'
Robin groaned, then stood up grumbling. Wulf gave her a compassionate look when she took a deep breath and yelled back: 'Coming, Notch! Stall them until I get there!'
A yell of assent was heard, and Robin turned to Wulf.
'What would they ever do without me?' She asked, with a wry smile.
The boy laughed and shook his head. 'Probably still sittin' in their dingy huts, listenin' to their grumblin' bellies and insultin' the Sheriff.'
Robin waved goodbye at him, and couldn't help but notice that his accent had returned with a vengeance.
Robin joined Notch – who had already climbed down from the watch tower – and his fellow watchmen, who were talking heatedly with a group of ten raggedy-looking people.
'Care to fill me in, Notch?'
'Ah, Robin!' the burly man said, smiling at her, 'These people wanna come 'n live in the village. I told 'em te wait for you, but they kept pushin' through. We tried to stall 'em as long as possible.' He added in a whisper.
Robin nodded and turned to face the group, opening her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by the largest man in the group, who was clearly the leader.
'So yer Robin Hood? I expected someone more impressive than this… girl.'
Notch and his friends made to leap at her defence, but Robin gestured for them to calm down. She looked the man in the face, the customary warmth in her eyes cooling considerably.
'Well, then surely you won't be offended when I say that I myself am most unimpressed by your appearance? Why exactly, do you wish to enter our village?' How dare the man behave like this, when he was only here to request something? Robin was definitely not in the mood to be insulted.
The man pulled himself up to his albeit intimidating height, and looked down his nose at her.
'Cause obviously, you people here have everything you could ever want, while we're outside, starvin'. That's not very fair, don't ye think? So we demand to be let into your safe hideout.' He looked very pleased with himself, while his companions spoke out their assent.
Robin raised her eyebrows. 'First of all, I don't know where you heard all that rubbish about us living some sort of heavenly life, but I assure you, it's nothing like it. We have worked very hard to accomplish what we have, and we still do. Our lives are not that much better than yours, because we divide a large portion of our supplies among the outside villages, as you full well know. Besides, you don't look as if you're in desperate need of feeding.' Robin made a show of looking the man up and down, causing him to flush.
'Secondly, you are not in any position whatsoever to be demanding things. Not to act superior or anything, but I'd say we do quite a lot for you people. So by behaving this way you're not really helping your case. Lastly, and most importantly, our village is full. We've already turned down a lot of people, so it would be grossly unfair to let you in. If we allow any more to settle here, we're bound to be discovered by the Sheriff. We're in constant danger already. So in the end, you'll be safer on the outside.'
During Robin's explanation, the man had grown more and more angry, and his companions were grumbling dissatisfiedly as well. It seemed he had taken in nothing apart from Robin's refusal, and was positively fuming by now. When she finished talking, he exploded.
'So yer sayin' we're not wanted here! Well listen te me, ye scrawny little excuse fer a woman; me and my family are not just gonna turn around and go home! We deserve to enjoy the wealth just as much as you do! So go back in there and get us the real leader of this rabble, ye good-fer-nothin' ugly little twit! Now get, before I make ye wish ye never been born!' He shouted, advancing on Robin while being encouraged by his companions.
Robin, in the exhausted state she was, was thoroughly shaken by the man's sudden outburst, and stumbled backwards. Luckily, Notch and the others stepped in front of her to stop the man. But he was very strong, and when it seemed her friends would not be able to contain him, Robin turned and fled, panic flooding her tired mind. When she ran, she thought she heard Will's voice imperiously commanding the man to calm himself, and then proceeding to give him and his companions a very vicious tongue-lashing. Where had he come from, anyway? She didn't hear the end of the ordeal, because she disappeared behind a very large tree. She leaned against it and slid down, her body shaking violently. Moments later she had wrapped her arms around herself, crying.
Interested in the conversation, Will had hovered in the background. He was content just to watch, and not draw any attention to himself. But when he had witnessed the scene escalating, and Notch and his equally stupid burly friends seemingly unable to restrain the man, he had felt the need to step in. He may not like the girl, but to see such a large, furious man bear down on her, scaring her into fleeing, was an insult to his sense of justice.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward, and gave the man a sound slap on the cheek. Abruptly, he stopped yelling and looked at Will incredulously. In turn, Will adorned his most frighteningly severe gaze and spoke, his voice dangerously low.
'Good, now shut up and listen. You and your sorry excuse for a family are going to turn around and get back under the rock you crawled underneath from, and are going to never come back here.'
Will advanced until he was only an inch from the man's face.
'Count yourselves lucky we don't know which pigsty you call a village you belong to, or you'd be completely without any further support from us.' He narrowed his eyes. 'Insulting and attacking that girl is the stupidest thing you've ever done, you fat bastard. You better watch your step from now on, or you'll find one of these men standing behind you, and trust me, they'll let their fists do the talking, unlike me. So I suggest you get your ugly, pathetic, utterly disgusting presence out of my face, before I call in some reinforcements who would just love to paint your face. Do I make myself clear?' He added acidly.
The man had paled considerably, and was alternately eyeing Will and Notch and the others, who were growling murderously. Deciding to not underestimate his opponents, he turned on his heel and yelled at his family to get a move on, and that they didn't want to stay in this decaying Forest anyway. Will rolled his eyes, and told Notch to take his gang and escort their 'visitors' to the far end of the Forest.
'And make sure they never find their way back here.' He added in a whisper. After seeing the group off, he turned to find Robin. He told himself he was just going to check on her for the village's sake, but the annoying voice that kept coming up on the most inopportune of moments said that he just wanted to make sure she was ok. He chose to ignore that particular remark, and stalked in the direction he had seen her take.
'There you are. I thought you'd be busy being coddled by Wulf right now.'
'Wh-what are you doing here?' Robin stood up, furiously wiping her eyes and not meeting his gaze.
'What does it look like? I'm here to see whether this rebellion will be needing a new leader anytime soon.' She still wouldn't look at him. Did she honestly think he couldn't see she'd been crying? She then turned away completely, and replied in a tight voice:
'Well, now that you've done that, you can go back to tell everyone that and leave me the hell alone.'
Will chose to ignore her remark. 'Wow, that's the first time I've seen you be anything less than pleasantly polite. It's quite the change I must say.'
Robin whirled around. 'Look, if you're just here to annoy me, then trust me, I don't get much more annoyed than I am right now. So if you have nothing else to offer, just piss off.'
'Oh? You'd rather I pat your arm and simpered on about how the big bad men have gone away and everything is fine? I'm sorry, but I don't pity you at all.'
'Good, because that's the last thing I need. I don't need anyone's pity, and I certainly don't need my arm being molested by the one person who hates me.'
'Well, you're acting quite pitiful right now. Pull yourself together, girl. You should know already that the world isn't filled with nice people who dote upon you.' When she remained silent, he couldn't help but add: 'And I doubt I'm the one who hates you the most.'
Robin raised an eyebrow, now distracted from her inner turmoil, which Will found unexpectedly pleasing.
'Right. And who do you think does hate me most?'
'Right now? That would have to be the despicable man that you so harshly rejected a short while ago. But in general, I think that would be the Sheriff.'
Robin smiled, forgetting the dislike she normally felt for the young man she was talking to. When he was being this witty, he was actually quite interesting to be around.
'I guess you're right.' After a silence, something struck her. 'What did you do to those people, anyway? Where have they gone?'
Will shrugged. 'I finished what you started, and told them to go back home and to not come looking for us ever again. Not that they'll be able to; I told Notch and the others to take them on a trip through the Forest until they no longer know which way is home.' He smiled maliciously at this.
Robin couldn't help but chuckle. 'You're really mean, you know that?'
'Well, I don't hear you complaining. It was either this or let the poor bloke's face be reshaped by Notch, or even worse, by John if he'd come to see what was going on.'
'Nonsense! Why would he do that? Notch wouldn't hurt a fly, and neither would John!' Robin looked outraged at the mere suggestion, but Will only laughed at her.
'Normally, I'd agree with you. But it seems that when you're concerned, every damn guy around here suddenly fancies himself your protector.' He could barely keep the unwanted jealousy out of his voice, and added hurriedly: 'Except for me, of course.'
He could see the abashed smile that had appeared on Robin's face disappear at his last words, and felt yet another unbidden surge of emotion; regret. What the blazes was wrong with him! He should finish this conversation as soon as possible, before he lost his mind…
'Yes, of course.' Robin replied, her voice distinctly cooler than it had been. 'How could I forget; though you don't hate me most, you still hate me, right?' She looked at him coldly. Will inwardly cringed, and cursed himself for it at the same time. He struggled to keep an indifferent façade, and said offhandedly:
'That I do. Well, since you're clearly back to your old annoying self again, I have more important things to do than entertaining you.' He nodded stiffly, turned on his heel, and left.
As soon as he was out of sight, he dropped his mask. He could barely keep from tearing out his hair out of frustration. Why was it that she always made him say the wrong things? Things had gone relatively well, until he had had to go and put his foot in it. Chances at a truce were now shaky at best, all thanks to him. He remained in a foul mood the entire day.
Why did he have to go and be that mean all of a sudden? They'd finally been having something resembling a civil conversation, and he had to ruin it with another of his hurtful remarks. She didn't understand him at all. She'd asked quite a few people about him, but he still remained an enigma. And on top of it all, she found herself incapable of just hating him back and be done with it. On the plus side though, they'd proved they could communicate without going at eachother's throats right away. She'd have to try and build on that. But presently, that didn't change much of the situation. She sighed in exasperation, and made to walk back to the village, deep in thought.
N/A: This chapter ended up being a bit longer than the others. I just couldn't end the scene earlier. Not that you'll be complaining, right? Consider this to be a bit of compensation for the embarrassingly long wait. -.-;
Toodles!
