Hey I'm back and here's the next chapter. (The chapter after this might be up by next week.) I'm just letting y'all know, I'm going to be veering off the storyline a little. But I'm not going to tell you how much. Also, I make no promises on keeping characters, major or minor, alive. )

"God bless you, god bless you," the woman gushed as she clutched at the loaf of bread. Many of these cries echoed throughout the village as Robin Hood and his men tossed to the villagers all the food and gold they had stolen.

Will was driving one of the wagons with Azeem riding alongside. Noah was in the back, throwing out the supplies. They had visited many towns that day. As the news of Robin Hood had spread from town to town, so had the desperate cries from other needy villages. And Locksley was answering their pleas, traveling farther and farther away from the safety and security that was Sherwood forest.

"Do you think she will write the letter to Richard?" Azeem asked Robin, who was riding along beside on his, or rather the sheriff's, white steed.

"I think she will," Robin answered, wanting to keep what she had said at the lake a secret; it was special to him. "I think she will wait a couple of weeks."

"Why?" Noah asked.

"The Sheriff watches everybody, and Azeem and I were seen at her place a while back," Azeem grunted at the understatement. "And she will want to make sure that no one will suspect her jaunt into Sherwood had anything to do with this letter. She could get into a lot of trouble," Robin trailed off.

"She's a brave woman," Azeem agreed. "What's that, Christian?" he pointed at Robin's belly. Robin looked down and pulled out the dagger that he had placed in his pants.

"Marian gave it to me." He gave it to Azeem for inspection. Noah crawled over until he was right behind the two on the wagon seat to look at the knife.

"Hmm, intricate," Azeem studied the jewel encrusted handle. "Beautiful rubies. It must be worth a fortune. Marian must like you very much." He handed the knife back.

"She certainly danced with him enough." Will muttered to Noah. The kid chuckled.

"What was that?" Robin asked.

Noah was in a mischievous mood, and he decided to expand on Will's statement. "Will said that he didn't like you dancing with Maid Marian the entire night and not letting him have one chance to sweep her off her feet." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Will smacked him upside the head.

Robin glanced at Will for a second, then he slowly smiled. "Oh yes, Will, I forgot. Marian told me to tell you she was so sorry for not dancing with you. She thought the flower you gave her was so…cute." He lightly snubbed Will with the last word, but there was no malice in his words. Still, Will bristled and quickly responded.

"And you gave her, let's see, a blind, helpless old man, and an invitation to throw herself in prison. All in all, I think the flower is the better gift." Azeem struggled not to smile, he didn't think that would help the situation between his two friends all that much.

And then, inexplicably, Robin chuckled. Will and Azeem both jolted at the sound, not expecting anything akin to amusement coming from Locksley.

"'Invitation to throw herself in prison,' that was a good one, Will," Robin complimented the stunned outlaw, a dreamy look in his eyes, and then he cantered forward. The three in the wagon stared after him.

"Being in love must make you do strange things," Scarlett shook his head.

"Oh, it does," Azeem agreed quietly, his mind reaching back to a different place and time, a time where he was the one in love. Quickly he pulled himself back to the present. This was no time for Yasmina.

Will watched as Robin Hood rode through the village. He appeared to listen to every single person that said something to him, and he seemed genuinely interested in what they had to say.

Yeah right, him interested in something some village scum had to say.

But he did appear to be, and he even managed to smile and say a few words to most of them. And they would gush back with their "thank you Robin's" and their "god bless Robin Hood's", especially when he would hand each of them several gold coins.

He hands the coins to them, and throws them on the ground at me. Will forced his thoughts away. He had been up more and more at night; his nightmares would not leave him alone. Will's nightmares weren't the usual nightmares. His weren't scary or frightening—they were just humiliating reminders of the past, and the embarrassment he would still feel would keep him up for a long time. Used to, he would spend the rest of the night with Fanny, but now Fanny needed all the sleep she could get what with a brand new baby on her hands. She would usually help him keep his mind off of the dreams, but now he stayed awake just brooding over them. Will didn't need to be reminded of his past in the daytime too.

"Will, can I hold the reins?"

The people in this village were satisfied with what they were getting (they knew not to be too greedy) and Noah had nothing to hand out and nothing to do.

"No." Will was curt.

"Please," he whined.

"No, I don't trust you." In his mind's eye he saw them racing through the towns, goods just flying off, Azeem and him knocked off and the horses racing over a cliff.

"I'll keep them at a walk, I promise." Will shook his head and Noah knew that was that. But he still didn't have anything to do, and that meant sheer boredom. He picked up a feather in the wagon and twirled it through his fingers. Then the little boy grinned and slid closer to Will.

Scarlett reached his hand back to scratch off a bug that was tickling his neck. Then another bug started tickling his ear; he swatted that fly away. Then another one was back on his neck. Angrily, he slapped his neck, hard. At that moment, both Noah and Azeem burst into laughter.

"What the—Noah! You little scamp!" He latched on to Noah's wrist and threw the feather away. Giving the reins to Azeem, he grabbed both wrists in one hand, twirled him around and gave him some playful swats to the rear. Noah was laughing as Will finished and slung him over and onto the seat between Azeem and himself. "There, maybe you'll behave now." Will held the reins again. They drove on.

Another tickling on the back of his neck and Will turned around and glared at Noah. "Boy you better not—" he started, but then halted as Azeem lazily twirled the feather Will had dropped between his fingers. The wise man looked up at him and grinned. Scarlett pursed his lips and stoically ignored the two others as they began to crack up.

"Sir! Wait! Robin Hood, please!" a man ran up to stop the leader from leaving the village. Will drew the wagon up behind Locksley's horse. Wulf and Giles in their wagon in front of Locksley halted to listen also.

"Please, sir, eight miles north, the village of Dorshire, it's in desperate need. Please go and help them."

"It has grown late my friend, we cannot go today. We might be able to go tomorrow," he added as he saw the man's crestfallen face.

"But sir, some of the little ones, they are bad off. They need food now! They are real bad off, last winter almost done the village through, and this winter is about to finish 'em off. You will go, Robin Hood won't you?" the man pleaded, his hands desperately gripping the stallion's mane as he looked up into Robin's face.

"All right, we'll go," Robin agreed, his kind nature crying out as he heard the suffering of the village. He looked at the food in both wagons.

Giles spoke, "Robin, that is far out of our way. We'll never reach Sherwood before nightfall."

"It will be all right," Robin assured him. "Besides, aren't there two villages that way?" he asked the beggar.

"Yes sir, same way, but then one goes a little to the east, but the one I'm talking about," he hurriedly rushed on, "is past that, straight north."

"Yes, I know, don't worry we'll get there," he assured him. Robin glanced at the front cart, and then he rode around until he was behind Will's wagon to study the leftover food.

"Wulf, Giles, you will go with me to Dorshire. Azeem, Will, take your cart and branch off to the east village. That village isn't in as bad shape, so I've heard, so there should be enough food in yours."

"Can I drive the team, Will?" Noah asked hopefully.

Scarlett sighed, he hated having to say the same things over and over again. It was the main big thing he disliked about children. "No."

"Ple—"

"Oh, go bug someone else," Will grumbled irritably. Noah frowned and stuck his tongue out at him. But then his eyes brightened.

"Robin?" he asked as the man rode past them to join Wulf's wagon. He stopped when his name was called.

"Yes?"

"Can I ride behind you to the village?"

"Why sure you can. Climb on." Noah grinned with excitement and clambered over Azeem and stood up on the wagon seat. Robin and Azeem helped him onto the horse.

"Hold tight to me now," Robin advised the boy behind him, and then he trotted forward to the other wagon. The wagon and the stallion headed off. Azeem studied his friend beside him, who had tensed up, and an angry set had appeared to his lips.

"You did tell him to go bug someone else, you know."

"Oh be quiet." Will flicked the reins and started after them.

Azeem shook his head and smiled at his young friend, but the rest of the ride passed in silence.

"Hold up there!" Robin called, riding up beside Will. "There's your village," he pointed a little ways to the east, where the first dilapidated house appeared. "We'll go on to Dorshire, and meet right back here when we're done." They nodded, and he then trotted back to the other wagon and they started moving again. Noah waved back at them, a smug smile on his face.

Will and Azeem quickly gave out all the remaining supplies, and swiftly made it back to the meeting place. It would take the others a while. They waited for a little bit, and then a cloud of dust was on the horizon. They watched it come closer.

"That must be them, but why are they going so fast?" Azeem observed.

"Probably Noah is driving." The two shared amused glances, then waited as the team and wagon pulled up, with just Wulf and Giles inside. They looked frightened out of their wits.

"Will!" Giles shouted. "They've taken them! Robin and Noah, they've taken Robin and Noah!"