"You did what!"
Azeem raised his eyebrows, and repeated what he had just told Locksley. "I told Will Scarlett he could go with us today."
Robin opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "Azeem, you are forgetting yourself. I did not you give you any authority to go pick people behind my back!"
Azeem was nonplussed. "He will be a great asset; he's good with a sword."
"He hates me!"
"And you're brushing him off like this is not helping matters, is it?" Azeem questioned philosophically.
"He's not going."
"You all set, Scarlett?"
"Just waiting for somebody to come by."
"Don't worry; they will soon enough." Azeem squatted down next to Will, the bushes and trees completely concealing them from the main road. "When something does come down this road, let the archers handle it first, then you and I will jump, more to just show protection and strength usually than out of any real need. The soldiers in this country are laughable."
"Psst, Azeem, something's coming!" one of the archers in the trees whispered urgently.
Immediately the two swordsmen tensed, grasping their weapons tightly. The clip-clop-clip-clop quickly reached their ears. Anticipation flooded Will's gut.
The clip-clop became louder, and then a lone rider came into view. The whole band as one sucked in their breath as they watched him come closer, closer, a little bit closer.
"Now," Locksley hissed. Four outlaws from the trees drew back their bows. The arrows hit in front of the rider, startling the horse which reared up on its legs.
"Go!" Azeem yelled at Will. Will responded instantly and jumped out from his hiding spot and into the road, sword out. Quickly, the others stripped the man of anything valuable, threw a few insults at him, and then gestured for him to depart. He watched in amazement. "You're kidding me! That's all there is to it? We didn't do anything!"
"Push your eyes back into your head, Scarlett. We'll see more action today. This was a lone rider, it would be sad if he did give us some action."
Well, that was exciting, Will thought after the third passerby since morning, and it was already midday. Jump out, they handle it, jump back in. I get more exercise playing with Noah.
A carriage was plodding down the road. Will glanced up at the trees; he hadn't been told what to do when a carriage came, and Azeem had gone off with Locksley. But it looked like the others knew what to do. He settled down into his hiding place.
Quicker than normal, the arrows flew through the air before the carriage had barely made it down the road. One of the horses reared as far as it could go with the harness strapped to him, startling the lackadaisical driver out of his stupor. Quick as a flash, he whacked the reins smartly and the horses tore off.
The outlaws desperately launched more arrows, but none stopped the coach as it sped along, and understandably all were reluctant to just kill an innocent civilian. If it had been one of the Sheriff's men it would have been a different story, but it wasn't, and they didn't, and so all the outlaws could do was watch helplessly as their quarry fled from their grasp.
Instantly, he soared into flight. Jumping out of his hiding spot, Will sped away from the action taking place, flying as fast as his legs could carry him.
"What is he doing?" Robin muttered. "Already running away?"
"Give him a chance," Azeem rebuked.
The horses thundered toward him, easily catching and overtaking the young outlaw. The horses sped by, first the necks, the forelegs, body, now the hind legs. Will leapt with all his might, frantically grabbing the side of the coach.
"Aaah," Will grimaced as his newly healed hand dug into the siding. He swung his legs around and kicked the man in the head. Grabbing the reins, he pushed the man off and onto the dusty Sherwood floor. He slowed the horses, leapt down and unsheathed his sword all in one moment. Wrenching open the door, he poised himself for a last-ditch attack from the inside.
"Mommy!"
The little child screamed, leaping back to her mother. The mother's arms automatically wrapped around the young girl, but her eyes never shifted from Will, who froze, his sword halfway into the carriage.
"Hey, good job Will!" The other outlaws swarmed down the road, all very thankful that their quarry hadn't escaped. Several climbed atop the carriage, and gleefully tossed the items to the outstretched arms of those waiting below.
"What do you want?" her voice demanded. A thud from atop the carriage made her flinch. "Sir, I do not know what it is you want, but don't you dare hurt my child!"
Scarlett was appalled at this accusation. "Ma'am, I would never hurt a child." At her disbelieving look, Will hastened to justify his actions. "We are just collecting taxes for passage through Sherwood."
"Well we have nothing to give," she spat back quickly.
"You can stand down now, Will. I don't think these ladies will give us much trouble." Robin said lightly, finally intervening. Only when Robin wrapped his hand around his wrist did Will realize his sword was still poised inside the coach, a scant few inches from the woman's hardened gaze.
"M'lady," Robin continued, gently gliding in front of the younger outlaw, "each person who travels through Sherwood must pay a tax." Now where have I heard that before? he thought to himself.
"As I said to your partner," the woman nodded her head to Will's direction, "we have nothing to give."
Robin's mouth twitched as the lady's words brought memories of his own tax fiasco to mind. "Ma'am, we will just take several items of value to us, and then you will be on your way home."
"You think it's that simple, don't you Robin of Locksley? Don't look so surprised, your name is known for miles around. I just never thought you would stoop so low as to steal from a child."
"You don't look like a child to me, lady," Will remarked. Several snickers followed this observation.
"Quiet down." Robin commanded. "M'lady, if you have heard of me, then you undoubtedly have heard of our reasons for these thefts. We fight for the children, the children who had everything stolen from them by the Sheriff of Nottingham, and these taxes help give them a future."
The lady's mouth twitched, and for a moment her brown eyes sparkled with mirth. "It's very simple then; you should be giving me some money."
"Excuse me?"
"Three months ago my husband died. I've been fighting off the Sheriff for all these months and I lost. The Sheriff seized all my lands and possessions and now all that my daughter owns is on this carriage. You should be giving her some of the taxes. Instead you steal all she owns. Good work."
There was silence. Every outlaw's head was down, staring at the ground, stung by the harsh criticism of the mother. Will shook his head as he watched the transformation of the outlaws. She can really work a crowd.
"Put the lady's belongings back on. Now!" Robin snapped, and his followers scurried to do his bidding, only too happy to ease their guilt. The lady turned away from them to comfort her daughter, who was still clinging tight to her and whimpering.
"Are you kidding me?" Will protested. "We're giving it all back?" I did all that work for nothing?
"Did you hear what she said?" Giles asked incredulously from his perch on the roof of the coach.
"And you believe that? She could be lying, for goodness sake! Just hoping that someone would fall for it."
"Either way, we are not going to steal from children." Locksley was adamant on this point as he handed up one of the travel bags that had been thrown off.
"We're to be thieves with morals, then?"
"Exactly." Robin flashed a smile, then turned to the lady. "Have a good journey, ma'am, you are free to go."
"Say Robin, I don't think this man can handle driving a team." John was walking towards them, supporting the driver with his burly arms. The driver was wobbling, his feet not seeming able to support his weight. The right side of his face was already bruising from Will's first kick (Will grinned despite himself when he saw that), and a dazed expression completed the image.
"Oh Nigel," the woman sighed. "Put him in here with us." Little John obliged, and the noble took to fussing over her driver.
"Someone will have to drive the lady to her home," John spoke to Robin.
"Any volunteers?" Robin looked around. Somehow Will knew what was coming before he even turned to face him. "What about you, Scarlett? You stopped the coach," here there was a little bit of respect in the leader's voice, "do you want to help the lady to her home?"
"And where would that be? She just said that the Sheriff took her land. Where would she be going?" Will could see the expressions change on the faces of those around as they took in his words and realized he had a point. The lady might not be telling the truth, they thought. Scarlett could be right.
"Ma'am?" The woman stopped fussing over her driver and turned to Locksley. "Where are you going?"
She sighed, her frustration bubbling to the surface. "I'm going to live with my mother. I will be happy to give the driver directions."
Robin swung back to face Will. "Satisfied Scarlett?"
The rest of the outlaws were, Will saw. Mark that one more to Robin's side. He even has them feeling sorry for a noble. What a crock that is.
"I'll do it."
"Do what?"
"I'll take her to her 'mother's home.'"
Everyone turned at Will's announcement. But Will was only looking at one person. Robin had challenged him with this and he was not about to back down. Besides, if he had said no, he would have looked like a coward in front of everybody, and he couldn't afford to lose any more points to Robin in this private war.
"Hey, thief! Stop for a minute will you?" Will pulled back on the reins until the horses stopped. He had been driving for a while; the woman had quickly given him directions to her 'mother's house' and had been inside the coach the rest of the time. He hadn't heard a peep out of her until now. He leaned down to see what she wanted. The woman stepped out of the carriage and reached her hand up to Will. He took it, and only when her full weight was hanging from his hand, did he realize she wanted to get up. He then pulled and the woman clambered alongside.
"There, that's better. It is so stuffy in there." Scarlett just nodded, not looking forward to making conversation with this lady. "My daughter's sleeping, thank goodness. Nigel can take care of her. She hasn't gotten much sleep since…her name is Catherine. And I am Ellen Bennet," she trailed off with a question in her voice, but Will instantly decided not to answer it.
"Good for you."
"You handle a team very well…thief." What's your name? her innocuous statement truly meant.
Will grunted his acknowledgment of the "compliment," now fully focusing on the team in front of him. He wasn't going to give the woman what she really wanted. It was just plain stubbornness; he had no real reason not to give the woman his name. But Will Scarlett had always been a stubborn man and his ire had been raised by this entire episode. The woman sighed, and turned her attention to the trees.
"Make sure you take this road coming up," Ellen pointed a while later, "thief," she added pointedly.
The outlaw finally broke into a smile. "Will Scarlett," he conceded the battle. It was the third time she had made a point of calling him that, and the ride had started to cool him off.
"Will Scarlett…" she tried it on, "I think I like 'thief' better. It's a joke," she defended at his annoyed glance. "I'm sorry; I will try to do better next time."
"Ma'am, you don't have to try again for my sake," he muttered, but made sure she heard it clearly. He hadn't cooled off that much yet.
"Are you always this charming?"
"Only when I'm around females who make such scintillating conversation." He smiled sweetly.
"You pathetic little man," the regal lady despaired. "Just hurry up and get us there." But Will was not about to take orders from a noble, a noblewoman especially.
"Lady, do not order me around. I am doing this whole thing as a favor." His voice became sharper.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize. Was that before or after you robbed me?" Irritation laced Ellen's voice as she snapped back.
"Hey! You take your chances when you pass through Sherwood."
"And you have some property claim to Sherwood, do you?" In one unpredicted moment, the light-hearted battle of wits had become a war of words. The animals must have felt the tension, for they broke into a trot, the castle, their destination, looming in the distance.
"It's our forest! We live there!"
"Just living there doesn't give you the right to possession."
Will had practiced the art of arguing for years until everyone in his hometown would concede defeat before an argument had truly begun. He now spotted the flaw in her argument and remorselessly he attacked it. "If that's true, then what right do you have to anything, woman? All you claim to possess came from your husband's hard work, or your parent's nobility. You don't own any of the things we stole."
"But neither did you and you stole them from me!"
"I'm sorry, but some of us have to work for a living. We're not all born with a silver spoon in our hands."
"So you decide to steal the spoons of others?"
"We gave yours back, didn't we?"
The woman paused, her brow furrowed as she analyzed what he had said; more, the way he said it. "Do you wish you hadn't?" She had been fussing over her daughter so she missed the discussion on that point.
"I just don't think a true leader would give into something as trivial as a woman's pitiful tears."
"I-never-cried." She emphasized each word slowly, making sure this ruffian understood absolutely.
"No you didn't, but you gave one sugarcoated, sappy story back there."
"It was the truth."
"So what? We all have hard lives, but we don't demand pity from everyone we meet."
"I didn't demand pity."
"Yes you did. But don't worry; you have plenty of people back there that are following your demands to the letter. You'll be pitied senseless in no time." He sat up straighter when he saw that he had almost reached their destination.
"You despicable little…" she muttered.
"Tut, tut. A woman of breeding should never swear you know."
"And a man from the very fringes of life should not tell a noble what to do! Good Lord, do you always talk like this, or are defenseless women the only people you can talk down to?"
A clamor down the road broke off Will's harsh reply before it could start. He had driven up to the woman's new home, and there in the entrance, were Nottingham soldiers talking to an old woman. The noblewoman stopped talking also when she saw they were there.
"What are Nottingham soldiers doing here?" she asked aloud, her own disgust for them evident in her tone.
"Probably here to make sure you're pitied properly." Will said offhandedly as his mind churned over this new problem. One of the soldiers was standing with the horses and he turned his attention to them as the coach pulled up behind him.
Breathe easy, Will, they don't know you at all, you're just another servant to them. Just play the part. Coolly, he jumped down, and like any true servant, he held out his arm for the woman to get down. She took it silently, but once on the ground she continued their conversation in a low, angry voice.
"I should turn you in right now. Who knows, I might get a handsome reward."
"You going to turn me in to the same pigs who stole your husband's land?"
"Why not, you're all pigs to me," she replied evenly. The lady raised her voice to a scream.
"Help, help! He's one of the Sherwood bandits! He's trying to kidnap me! Catch him!"
Scarlett swore, but his instincts kicked in. He pulled his sword out and quickly swiped at the soldier nearest him. In an instant, he grabbed one of the horses, and once seated, spurred it into action. The other soldiers left the woman's doorstep and ran towards the one remaining animal and tore after the fugitive.
"Ellen, what did he do to you?" the outlaw heard the granny yell as he spurred off.
Will had been raised dirt poor and so had only seen horses as they passed by; never had he actually been on top of one. He understood the basics of horsemanship, but at this crucial game of cat-and-mouse, that point was moot. Utmost skill was needed, and Scarlett was barely hanging on. Still he somewhat managed to aim his horse into Sherwood forest. The branches tore at Will, teasing his already precarious balance.
The soldier was gaining by the minute; Will kicked his horse hoping for a renewed burst of speed. The horse, instead of increasing speed, decided at that moment to jump the fallen log that was in its way. Will had no earthly idea how to deal with that sudden change in elevation and he was flung to the ground, his sword flying from his grasp.
The soldier was off his horse and on top of him before he could react. A punch to the gut and a blow across his head dazed Scarlett. The man in the helmet grinned, and with a sick feeling, Will knew that this man would not take a prisoner today. The soldier aimed his sword straight into Will's gut— and despite its futility, Will instinctively jerked away—when the blade was neatly blocked by the shiny steel of another's.
Robin shoved the brute back as his powerful blade rolled over and pushed the opponent's high and away. The noble's sword left the other's, and the soldier barely began to defend himself before Locksley's blade gutted him. He was dead before he hit the ground.
"What did you get yourself into, Scarlett?"
"I'm fine, Locksley, thanks for asking."
"What did happen?" Robin repeated the question.
"You're poor, heartbreaking young lady turned me in. Right after I pulled up to her mother's castle, she turns and yells for these goons to arrest me."
"Please tell me you're joking."
"I wish I was. I barely escaped with my hide."
"What happened here?" Azeem ran up to them.
"Well, the lady Will was driving decided to turn him in to the Sheriff."
"Why would she do that? She seemed fine with all of us when you left."
Will shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. "Well, we were talking on the way, and we kind of got into a disagreement."
"You, Scarlett? No way," Azeem deadpanned. Will glared at him, while Robin struggled not to laugh. He really didn't want the fiery youth's ire to be on him again.
"What are you two doing here?" Will changed the subject. It was almost dusk, and traffic usually became nonexistent at this point, so the outlaws had taken to calling it quits at this point and returning home. It was a habit that none of the travelers through Sherwood had discovered yet, thank goodness, or there would be a lot fewer taxes for Sherwood.
"Well, Azeem was adamant that we stick around until you returned." Robin walked away, heading to the camp, and the other two fell into step with him.
"I had a suspicion you might find your way into some trouble," Azeem couldn't resist another barb at his friend. Then he decided to compliment the man. "By the way, Scarlett, I never got to congratulate you on stopping that coach, even if we didn't take anything from it."
"That was smart, Scarlett." Robin was always one to praise good work, even the work of a man who hated him. "You walloped that man pretty good."
"I've got a pretty good kick," Will agreed.
"Still, we should probably find a better way to take down a coach than waiting for you to run them down, don't you think?"
Will laughed agreement. The light-hearted sound was choked into silence as belatedly he realized what he'd done. He picked up his pace, quickly outdistancing himself from the others. Neither of the two tried to keep up.
"Am I mistaken, or did I just have a civil conversation with that man?" Robin queried to Azeem, who smiled back.
"Come on, Avery! Hurry!"
"I'm coming, but slow down. Hey, slow down!" Avery puffed as he ran after his friend. His friend didn't seem to hear him, he was still running. "Will! Wait!"
Will slowed and impatiently waited for his friend to join him. After what seemed an eternity, Avery ran up alongside him. Without a word, Will tore off again. Avery groaned, but followed.
"We're here," Will spoke breathlessly. Towering above him, the stone wall glared down, daring the youngster to try and pass. Avery took a step back, a little nervous about what they were doing.
"You know, your mother will kill you for this."
"If she finds out," he shot back. He pushed his dirty blonde hair out of his face. "Now come on, help me with this." Will jumped, trying to find a handhold on the great wall. Avery reached down, lacing his fingers. Will put his foot in the hold, and Avery boosted him farther up the wall. Will managed to grab a handhold around one of the jutting stones. He freed his foot from his friend's grasp and scrambled up, pushing off the wall with his feet. He reached out with his right hand and felt the top of the wall. Quickly he pulled himself up. There on the other side, stood Locksley manor.
"Will. Will, help me up." Avery called, after his friend had stayed up there for several minutes, transfixed.
"What—oh, here." Will hung off the wall with one arm and reached for his friend. Soon, Avery was alongside him.
"Wow, look at that castle!"
"Look at those horses," Will replied, gesturing towards the stables. He twisted his body until he was sitting, his legs kicking the inside of the wall.
Avery shook his head in disbelief. "Nobles get all the breaks, don't they?"he muttered, subconsciously echoing the sentiment he had always heard growing up in his small town.
"Hey! What are you doing up there!"
Will jumped in surprise. That shook his precarious balance, and suddenly he was falling, flying through the air; he screamed but nothing came out. A gaping hole opened, and he was cart wheeling through the air towards it, falling and falling; he screamed for help, but the hole drowned all sound and it devoured him into its depths…
Will bolted awake and panted for breath. He twisted out of the blanket that had strangled him during his dream. Needing air, he bolted out of his shelter.
The cold, crisp night hit him full blast, and Will welcomed the chill that instantly settled his overwrought nerves. He walked around, stretching out his tense muscles.
"You'll catch your death of cold, you know."
"I could say the same for you." She was sitting in the same place he usually found her, and amiably he squatted down beside her.
"Bad dreams?" she asked, though Fanny already knew the answer. It was always dreams that plagued the boy; what they were about she didn't know and had never asked.
He nodded, and they lapsed into silence. She noticed with concern that it took longer than normal for the slight tremors in his hands to go away. She knew the slight shaking and the disconcertedness that took Scarlett a while to get back under his tight control. He had taken far longer than usual. A different dream perhaps, she wondered.
They had spent so many evenings like this together; in fact the first time she had ever spoken with the youth was on one very such occasion. He had been in the village for a while then, but had always been cold and aloof, never joining a conversation if he didn't have to. She had been out, enjoying the peace and stillness of the night that never came in the day, what with seven children running wild around her. She had seen him, and silently welcomed him to join her, marginally surprised when he had accepted, until she had seen his eyes. His eyes told her all she had ever needed to know; he was lonely, and needing. She learned later that his needing was of a mother, a kind and generous woman who would love and accept him. Fanny, with a heart as every inch as big as her body, had quickly remedied both, and now they were familiar companions, following one of their age-old traditions.
"So, is it a boy or a girl this time?" Will asked; Fanny prided herself on having predicted (correctly) each and every son and daughter.
"Oh, she's definitely a girl."
"You're sure?"
"No doubt about it. She is a girl. I'm going to have another little daughter to cuddle and dress up."
"And teach her how to cook and clean and how to catch a man?"
Fanny smacked him hard atop the head. The conversation drifted to other things, and as the night deepened, their conversation slowed, until "mother" and "son" simply sat and enjoyed the serene beauty of Sherwood forest.