The day dawned bright and cheerful, but such was not the case in the dwelling of Stephen and his family. Stephen was out, but the mother and son left behind were in a fierce battle.

"Noah, sit still and help me mend your father's shirts."

"But Mother, Will was supposed—"

"Noah!" the worn-out woman was down to her last nerve. "For the last time, Will went with your father and the others on a hunting trip. You're too young, now either sit there and help me, or go and play with the other children."

"May I be of assistance?" a rich, cultured, and amused voice entered the fray.

"You can get this boy out of my sight." The mother turned away, exhausted and put-out.

"Well, Noah, why don't you come with me and let your mother have her breathing space?" Robin gently pushed the boy out of the house.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Noah whined as he grudgingly went along.

"Azeem wants me to come and see a fascinating new invention he wants to use."

"An invention?" Ears had definitely perked up, Robin heard more than saw.

"Yeah, it's some sort of contraption that brings the water up to the tree houses…"

"I'm home, sweetie!" Stephen crooned, pecking his wife on the cheek, happy to be home after two days of hunting. He turned and quickly started devouring some food his wife had been preparing.

"Why, good morning, my darling," she also crooned, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she watched him swallow up all the vittles.

"Good morning, Hannah," Will smiled. "Where's the little urchin?"

"Oh, he's out and about, probably tagging along after Robin again."

"Again?" Will asked startled.

"Yeah, he came by the first day and took him off my hands. Which reminds me, take that little monster with you next time you go anywhere, Scarlett. He's been griping and complaining nonstop since you left." Hannah swatted her husband away from getting any more. Turning around, she discovered she was talking to thin air.

Will had hurried out, determined to find Noah and… what? Demand that he never see Locksley again because Will was his playmate first? Even he knew how ridiculous that was.

"Will!" Scarlett oomphed as a body slammed into his, knocking him to the ground. Will panted to reclaim some of the air into his lungs, while his attacker clung to him in a fierce bear hug.

"You trying to kill me, you little urchin?" His wide grin completely made any attempt at gruffness on Scarlett's part obsolete. But hewas too happy to care about that. Noah was extremely happy to see him, which meant that Will must still be number one to the kid.

Well, of course, an inner voice chided. You were only gone two days. Did you expect Locklsey to hoodwink him? He refused to answer. He laughed as his friend released his death grip—and soundly slapped Will on the cheek.

"Ow, what was that for?"

Azeem stopped to watch the two. "Well, what do you have pinned down, Noah?"

"I got Will Scarlett," Noah answered Azeem. "Will, you have some nerve going off without me! That's what that was for!If I was older and stronger I'd tan your hide."

"Oh, you would, would you?" With one hand, Will grabbed Noah's hair, pulled him off and threw him to the side, ignoring the boy's squeals of pain.

Azeem laughed as his friend heaved himself to his feet. Noah, having greeted, threatened, and been beaten by his playmate, now scampered off to play with the other children, not wanting to listen as the old geezers discuss boring adult stuff.

"What a hold you have on that kid," Azeem voiced his wonderment as the little boy took off.

"Not as much as I'd wanted." It slipped out before he could prevent it.

"What do you mean?" Azeem's voice was puzzled.

"Aww, nothing. Forget I mentioned it." He shrugged it off, and Azeem respected his wishes. He ambled over to where Robin and John were talking and laughing. He knew they would allow Will to join if Azeem brought him and he was always working to bring peace to his two friends' volatile relationship.

"There you are, Azeem. Oh, you're back Scarlett."

"How long did you expect to keep me away, Locksley?"

"I did not try to keep you away. If I had wanted that, I would have kicked you out long ago."

"Christian," Azeem warned one verbally, and his hand on a shoulder steadied the other. Lately, he had to verbally and physically jerk his two friends out of their little tête-à-têtes. For some reason, both were geared up and looking for a fight. The Moor was always amazed how incredibly stubborn the two were. Both got so annoyed so quickly, and never had a second thought to being vocal about it. It was strange how alike the two were, but Azeem knew both would cut out his tongue if he ever suggested such a thin to either of the two archenemies.

"Now, what were you two talking about?" Azeem steered the conversation back to a civilized topic, or so he hoped.

"Actually, we were talking about Scarlett."

"Me?" Will's voice was amused, obviously intended to rankle the other.

"It looks like you're on your way to as much fame as Locksley," John answered.

"What are you talking about?"

John held up a piece of parchment. Will read:

Proclamation

One of the Hood's Men,

Will Scarlett

Dead or Alive

15 Gold Pieces

By Order of Nottingham

"What you got, Will?" Noah flew by and ripped the parchment from his hands, read it, and returned it, smirking. "Whoa, 15 gold pieces. Maybe I should turn you in. It's almost as much as Locksley's 1000." Noah ducked the crumpled paper aimed at his head and ran off, laughing at his own comment.

"What a kid," Robin murmured. "To go through so much, and to just bounce back like that."

"What are you talking about?" Little John asked.

"Noah. Before he and his family came, those pathetic excuses for soldiers vandalized his home. They took everything and buried the rest. With all that happening, the kid gets upset when the soldiers take their prize rooster."

"A rooster?"

"Yeah, evidently, that was the kid's favorite, the best of them all—his words—and so he threw a rock and clipped one of them. Well, they didn't take too kindly to that, and gave him a little beating to remind him of his place. Fortunately, the only permanent mark they made was the scar. He could have been branded all over."

"He told you that?" The question came unbidden; he couldn't believe it.

"Of course," Robin raised his eyebrows. "Didn't he tell you?" He read Scarlett"s expression correctly and proceeded to give his advice. "Will, if you want to be a good friend you need to get someone to relive something so awful, so they can heal…."

Azeem listened, a frown crossing his features. He didn't like what Locksley was doing. Azeem had wondered why Robin had suddenly taken an interest in Noah when Will had left. Robin didn't hang out much with the children, except for Wulf, of course. Really, Wulf and Robin had the same relationship that Will and Noah had. Azeem thought he understood now. He had wanted to irk Will. Robin and Will's rocky relationship was now branching out to affect others. Robin had known before that Will had never asked about Noah's scar and he had been waiting for the chance to show him up with his little speech. AndWill was annoyed at what Robin had done, Azeem understoodtheearlierquestion now.What childish antics…boy, those two were more alike than he had previously thought. Both acting like children. He tuned back in to Robin's lecture.

"…And when a child," Azeem smirked at this, "goes through something like that, you have to force them to open up. It's the only way they recover from a truly horrible experience."

"And we know who to blame for that experience don't we?" Will countered heatedly before turning away. He was mad, mainly at Robin, mainly at him for being… well, right. He knew Robin had only lectured him to annoy him, but he had gotten Noah to talk about something he had never before wanted to talk about. It was infuriating! He had been trying to do the exact thing Robin had talked about, gently leading him back into the real world, helping him recover his lost self. But he had never gotten Noah to talk all that time, and in two days that's what Locksley had done. Will remembered his earlier thoughts: Robin had hoodwinked him!

"Nightmares again?"

"No, just couldn't sleep."

"Thinking?" Fanny replied knowingly. Will nodded. "About Robin?"

"How did you—what are you talking about?" Will attempted to cover his slipup.

"Will Scarlett, this place is smaller than even our old village. I can watch you every day for as long as I want."

"And what do you see?"

Fanny ignored the condescending air of her friend. She knew he was only trying to get her to stop.It might have worked with a man, but not with a mother of five and one on the way."You're wondering," she paused to collect her thoughts, "you're thinking…and you're trying to decide."

"Decide what?" Will barely bit it out though his clenched teeth.

She smiled. "Whether you like him or not."