N/A: So... not much to say, really. Just that I passed my exams and am extremely happy about it and that I felt the sudden urge to follow Speak Out's suggestion about updating faster. ;)

Thanks a million to: Jnr Cpl Scarlett, Greenwood Elf, Asheseth, Speak Out and Entertainedbygrass: I read the Author's Note again, and you were right. I modified it a bit now. Thanks for telling me!

And overall, thanks so much to all of you for reviewing!


Chapter thirteen: A myriad of questions

After returning to the village, Robin hadn't told Wulf about her conversation with Will. Because Will hadn't mentioned it to anyone else either, she followed his lead and did the same. Some people had noticed that they had disappeared around the same time, but when an explanation wasn't offered, they merely shrugged and forgot about it.

Luckily for Robin, Wulf's weather prediction had been very accurate. Within five days the wind had turned noticeably colder, and the first snow fell after another five. It had started in the dead of night, falling silently and coating everything in at least two inches of the cold white stuff. The large flakes had kept on falling for two more days straight, bringing all activity not concerning survival to a grinding halt. The few children in the camp, along with quite a number of the adults, had seized the opportunity to play in the snow.

On the second day, when Robin had exited her tree house in the morning, she saw immediately that performing her duties would be impossible due to the heavy snowfall. Without a word, she had turned around, and had gone back to bed. She wasn't seen again until late afternoon the next day. In the meantime, people had noticed that their usually omnipresent leader wasn't there, and had encouraged Wulf to go and check on her. He had initially come to notify Robin that she was needed by some people, but reconsidered when he saw the exhausted sleep Robin was in. He had left silently, and had expressly forbidden anyone to bother her until she came back by herself. He figured he and his father would be able to substitute for her.

Will had also noticed her absence. He had carefully avoided and ignored Robin in the past ten days, but in order to do that successfully, he needed to always know where she was. When she hadn't appeared that morning, and had failed to do so the next day as well, a part of him wondered if it was an aftereffect of their fight. Another part of him scoffed at the idea, and reasoned that it must be the exhaustion he had seen on Robin's face finally taking it's toll. Though this was the more logical explanation, he couldn't help but wonder, feeling an occasional twinge of guilt.

When Robin finally woke up again in the afternoon, she felt rested for the first time in at least four weeks. She stretched leisurely, and got out of bed, rubbing the sand out of her eyes. Standing, she brushed her hair back and upon feeling the filthy state it was in, decided to take a thorough bath. Reluctant to leave her house, Robin gathered whatever snow she could through her window, and proceeded to melt it above the small fire she had kept going since temperatures had become negative. She then rummaged around in a large (stolen) chest now containing her belongings instead of its original owner's, and gave a hum of satisfaction when she came up with a large bar of soap. After readying everything for the upcoming bath, she started to try and brush the tangles out of her dark red hair that was now almost elbow length, waiting for the water to heat up. By the time the water was ready to be poured into the basin, Robin had managed to undo all the minor tangles, but had to give up on the four-or-so (very) large ones. Knowing that washing her hair wouldn't solve the problem, she took her dagger and simply cut them clean off. She found that the act didn't feel nearly as horrible as the first time she had done it, but maybe that was also because she now had much more important things to worry about.

After securely bolting the door, Robin undressed completely and bowed her head into the basin. She washed her hair repeatedly with soap until the strain on her back became unbearable, and grabbed a towel to wind her squeaky-clean hair atop her head. Though the water had by now considerably darkened, she proceeded by taking a wash cloth and vigorously scrubbing her entire body as well.

She had never thought she would be taking a bath of her own volition. Sarah would be so proud of me! She chuckled, and succumbed to the memories of her trusted servant, starting to softly sing an old childhood lullaby of Sarah's in the process.

"Go to sleep and you will find

All your dreams come true,

Close your eyes and you will see

All that you desire.

What colour will tomorrow be?

Wait and see…"

Suddenly feeling a chill coming from the still open window, Robin was drawn out of her memories and reached for a second, larger towel. I do hope Sarah's alright. I really miss her.

After drying off, she wound a new set of bandages around her chest, liking how they kept her bosom firmly in place. She then donned a fresh set of undergarments, and finally selected some dark brown leather trousers and a burgundy-coloured, heavy tunic. Lastly, she dumped the dirty clothes she had worn for at least three weeks in the now murky water to soak. Satisfied, she proceeded to rub her hair dry once more and hesitatingly tried to slide a comb through it, waiting for the obstruction of another tangle. Thankfully, there weren't any, and Robin was assessing the damage her cutting off chunks of tangled hair had done. After examining it a while in the make-shift mirror, she decided it wasn't all that bad. It added a sort of layered effect to her hair, and gave it more volume. She cut off some more strands to make both sides equal, and finished by tying the upper part back so it wouldn't obstruct her vision.

Satisfied with her appearance, Robin slipped into her trusty old boots and pulled on a thick cloak, and finally felt confident and refreshed enough to confront the world again.


Will was just returning from using the … necessities, and was passing a clutter of tree houses on his way back to the clearing, when a soft song drifted down to him. The gentle voice compelled him to stand still and listen, and it was only when the sound died away, that he could bring himself to walk on. From a little further away, he turned to take a good look at the house where the song had come from. At least, where he thought it had come from. But since that particular house was the only one with an open window on the side where he'd been standing, Will dared to think his guess was accurate. He then started wondering who the house belonged to. He inwardly cursed himself for not paying more attention to his peers, because now he had no clue where each of them lived. But since his curiosity was insatiable, he knew there was nothing he could do except waiting for someone to enter or leave it in a way that left no doubt about ownership. Having made this decision, he walked on to the clearing, and sat down on the tree stump near the fire he had left ten minutes before.

Since there was no real community hut, a group of men had erected a temporary roof over a large part of the clearing, including the fire pit. Now large groups could remain outside even when the snow fell, and Wat could still use the large fire to cook meals.

Will continued his work of making arrows much like he had before, with one small change; every so often he now stole a glance at a certain tree house. While doing this mindless job, he contemplated the singer. He was positive it was a woman; the voice had been too high to be a man's. But other than that, he had no clue. The sound had been too soft for him to recognise anyone's voice, not that he ever paid attention to others' voices anyway. But one thing he did know; the song had touched him.

As Will finished his fourth or so arrow, Watt had come to poke up the fire and begin his preparations for that evening's dinner. Steadily, more people joined them, driven out of their houses by their stomachs. Thinking he'd done enough for the day, Will packed away his equipment and took a perch on the outskirts of the roofed area. With the growing crowd, viewing the tree house had become near impossible. Finally, when the smell of that night's stew began wafting through the village, signalling the imminent start of dinner, his patience was rewarded.

At last someone exited the house. Upon recognising the cloaked figure, Will was dumbstruck. He wasn't sure who he had expected, but the source of the majority of his inner turmoil had definitely not been it. Robin. Again. He groaned, closing his eyes briefly. Why is it always her? Why can't I do anything without that obnoxious bi-, twi-, person interfering?

Will noticed to late that Robin was walking right at him, since he was directly facing her tree house. He had been looking at her all this time, making Robin increasingly self-conscious. By the time he noticed his own odd behaviour, the girl had come too close to him for an escape.

'So', Will blurted out, jumping at the only thing he was good at: prickly comments. 'decided to join the world of the living again, have we?' He attempted a smirk, praying his lack of composure wasn't too obvious.

Robin began to scowl, and almost gave a nasty retort, when she decided she wouldn't let him spoil her good mood. Her face relaxed again, and then settled into a smirk as well.

'Yes. I couldn't very well leave you alone for another day, could I? Who knows what you would've done without my person around to loathe! God forbid you having to keep your witty insults inside', She looked at him with exaggerated fright on her face. 'Saved your life, didn't I?' She added, before giving him a wink and walking on to find Wulf and John, leaving him searching for words that wouldn't come.

Robin was quite pleased with the way she'd handled the situation. Will had unsettled her with his staring, and had stolen away her confidence as well. By taking over the conversation the way she had, Robin had regained her feeling of security, and had managed to render him speechless without being too mean. All in all, she was very happy with herself when she continued to look for the two Littles.

She finally spotted them near the fire, laughing and joking with Wat, Notch and a few others. Wulf was the first to notice her presence. He could definitely see the good 24 hours of sleep had done her. The bags under her eyes had all but disappeared, she looked much more alert and she had obviously taken her time washing up. He smiled happily at her; even though it had only been two days, he had missed her continuous presence. Not that otherwise they were always together, but he knew she was there.

'Hey, Robin!' Wulf greeted cheerfully, when she sat down on the bench, wedging herself in the small space between him and his father. 'Feel better now?'

'Yes, much.' Robin replied, greeting John and the others as well.

'Well, ye needed it.' John said in his deep, gruff voice, and turned to look at her sternly. 'Don't let it come this far again. If ye need a break, just tell us so. Besides, yer of much better use to us if yer fit.'

Robin nodded, suddenly feeling very much like a scolded child. 'I will, John. Thanks.'

Satisfied, John sat back and continued his conversation with his friends.

Robin and Wulf sat together in comfortable silence for a while. Robin contently observed the bustling crowd around them and finally settled her gaze on Will, who was still in the same spot and had his back towards her.

'Has he done anythin' to ye?' Wulf asked, obviously having noticed who Robin was looking at.

Robin shook her head, not looking at her friend. 'No. He's been avoiding me for almost two weeks now.'

'Since the incident with the outsiders, you mean.'

Now she did look.

'I might be a lot o' things, Robin, but I'm not stupid.' Wulf looked at her searchingly. 'Notch told me the entire story: how the man – we now know his name is Gill – attacked ye, and you ran away. How Will took charge an' then was seen leavin' in the direction you'd gone as well.' He became even more serious. 'It wasn't until half an hour later tha' either of ye was seen again. What are ye not tellin' me?'

Robin squirmed under his intense scrutiny, not really knowing what to say. Oh dear, how am I going to get out of this one?

'H-he came to find me, we talked a bit, and we returned to the village, separately.' Now why did you have to add that word! It's not like he's implying you're having an affair…

Where the hell did that come from!

Robin inwardly swore and fought off a blush, and looked at Wulf from under her eyelashes to gauge his reaction.

'Are ye sure that's all? He didn't insult ye, or harm ye, or threaten ye?' The scepticism was audible in his voice, making Robin cringe a bit. 'Because if I have te find out from someone else tha' he did do somethin', I'm gonna kick his ass inta next week.'

Robin's eyes snapped up to meet Wulf's. 'You can't do that!' Why am I protesting this much? 'A-and besides, you won't have to, because nothing happened.' She looked beseechingly at her older friend.

He examined her face very closely again, intent on any lies. After a few agonizing moments, he nodded.

'Alright. I trust ye. But know that I'd be very disappointed if I learned otherwise later on.'

Robin hated herself at that moment, and tried to soften her previous statement. 'Well…' she felt Wulf tense, 'some things were said, but it wasn't too bad. And I'd rather you didn't do anything about it, because if you do, I'll never be able to make peace with him.'

'Why does tha' matter so much to ye, anyway? He's done nothin' but insult ye since ye came here, and yer still tryin' to make amends over somethin' tha' was his fault to begin with!' Wulf had grown frustrated by now, and had started raising his voice before he caught himself and lowered it again. He struggled to calm down so as not to make a scene.

Robin pondered his question for a moment, but for the life of her couldn't answer it.

'I don't know, Wulf. But I'll find out.'

The bushy-haired boy opened his mouth as if to say something, but decided against it when he saw that his companion's eyes were once again resting on a certain man's back.


N/A: So, chapter thirteen! Sorry that nothing major actually happened in it, but I felt like these scenes were needed before the next surge of events. I hope I'll get to finish chapter fourteen before my move, holiday – and more importantly – the arrival of HP6, because I'd hate to leave you with an unlucky 13…