On the surface, the camp of Sherwood forest appeared to be back to its normal routine. And for most of the outlaws, the days passed the same way it always had. But for Will Scarlett, Robin of Locksley, and their few, close friends, the life inside Sherwood had ceased to be normal ever since the incident in Dorshire. Robin, at first, had tried calmly and rationally, to talk to Scarlett about that day. But Will had spurned every attempt. In fact, he had refused to talk to the man at all. Whenever Robin headed in his direction, Will found an excuse to leave. If he wanted to talk to Azeem or Fanny and found Robin there, the stubborn outlaw turned around and walked away. Robin, in turn, grew angry as his friendly actions were rebuffed again and again. It seemed the two of them had gone right back to where they had started, with their friends caught in the middle.

Little Noah couldn't bear what was happening to his two idols. Before the two had at least talked and Noah hadn't really comprehended that they hated each other. Now however, he couldn't help but notice when his parents and others were all whispering about it, or when he himself saw Will walk away from Robin Hood. He felt guilty because everything had been fine until he had ridden on Robin's horse and then they had been captured. He didn't want his two friends to be mad at each other because of him. One day he told Scarlett just that.

"Will, it wasn't Robin's fault we got captured. He tried to fight them, there were just too many, and he did try to protect me. Please don't hate him because of me."

"Oh, Noah, it's not because of you," the young man quickly leapt to ease the boy's misery. "It's not because of you at all."

"Then why do you hate him?"

Will hesitated as he struggled to find the words to answer the blunt question. "I don't hate him, I just…I'm trying to figure things out," he said at last, feeling more comfortble to say the truth to a child not an adult.

Noah was not the only one who voiced his concerns to Scarlett. Fanny expressed her disapproval but he easily dismissed her words from his mind. She was always lecturing him. No, the words that really stuck out in his mind were those of Azeem's a few days later.

Azeem hated this, but he knew that things couldn't continue on like this between Will and Robin. Sooner or later, somebody or something would tip the scales, the battle lines would be drawn, and…he would have to choose sides. In all honesty, he had known in the back of his mind that he might have to do this, but he had always been hopeful. When Will had pretty much volunteered to go scout out Dorshire, the painted man had hoped that the young outlaw had wanted to help Noah and Robin. And when Will returned with Noah and Robin, he had thought that pretty much confirmed it. He had almost breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the ever-present tension around his shoulders ease slightly. There they were, his two friends walking alongside the wagon, talking and laughing with each other. Everything was fine, the future looked bright and promising. It was finally over.

And then he had seen the anger flare once more in Scarlett's eyes and Azeem had known just as the first punch was thrown that it would never be over. He didn't understand the reasons why this was so, but he knew he couldn't just stand aside and let it happen. Not anymore.

"Will, can I talk to you?" he asked, gesturing for the young man to join him. Will dropped the work he had been doing and joined Azeem as he strode out of the camp and, in the process, out of the earshot of any of the other outlaws.

"Now how may I help you?" Scarlett asked with a smile, but he sobered when he saw the other's serious face.

"I want to talk to you about Robin."

"What about him?" Will asked, instantly tensing and a definite defensive edge to his voice.

"This has to stop between you two."

"What has to stop?" he decided to feign innocence.

"This…feud. It must stop and it must stop now."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Will shook his head and moved a step away, hoping to end the conversation.

"Will, just go talk to him and try to sort this thing out."

"No."

"Will, you're being childish!"

"It's none of your business what I'm being, Azeem! This doesn't concern you."

"You're wrong, it concerns me Will," he responded slowly, getting his emotions back at a distant level. "You told Robin that you were free of your life debt to him. Well, I am not."

"I don't understand you," Scarlett said uneasily, though he thought he understood pretty well.

"You hate him, I don't know why you do but you do, and if you threaten his safety," he took a deep breath, "I will be forced to remember my debt to Robin." The words themselves weren't that exciting or fear-inducing, but they told the facts to Will in no uncertain terms.

The young man closed his eyes and didn't respond. Azeem stood there, uncomfortable and unsure of what to do next. He hesitated for a second, but then he decided it best to leave the other alone for a while, and so he left. Scarlett just stood there as his friend's words started to sink in.

What's happening? Everything is falling apart. For the second time in the space of a a few short weeks, he was losing a good friend. And all because of Locksley. He had lost his friendship with Avery because he had been too friendly with Robin, and now he was losing his friendship with Azeem because of his…hatred for Robin? What is going on? How can I like and hate the exact same person? It's not possible.

So which one was it? Did he like or dislike Locksley? But no, Will didn't really want to analyze his feelings all that much. It was all too confusing. He didn't know much of anything. Except… Will's mind started to wander off and analyze before he even realized it, and an answer popped into his head. Maybe he was just scared. Just plain scared. For so long, he had kept that hatred inside him, an internal, angry flame that had kept him going for all those years. It had become such a part of him, consumed so much that Will was afraid to let it go. Afraid that all that was left behind would be just…emptiness. Better to have hatred than nothing, right. Right?

"Robin! Someone's coming!" the lookout shouted; all heads turned. "All is well, it's Duncan." Everyone that was close ran towards the figure on horseback making its way into the camp. Robin and Azeem gently pulled Duncan from the horse.

"Duncan! Duncan, what happened?"

"I found you Robin. Thank God I did it. Nottingham's men attacked us."

"Marian?" Robin demanded.

"They took her." The old man appeared to faint from exhaustion, Will saw. Suddenly though, the arrows were flying all around them.

"What is it?" John yelled up.

"Over there!" several lookouts screamed down, waving their hands frantically. Will turned, and another outlaw voiced what all of them saw.

"Celts."

Azeem had taken out his seeing contraption, but now he slowly pulled it away from his eye. "Allah be merciful," he whispered.

There was a moment of an almost unreal stillness, as if everyone were waiting to wake up from this, before Bull yelled at them all.

"To the trees!" That was all it took for everyone to scramble up and away from the thousands of Celts lining the hills.

Will shook his head as a thought crossed his mind.

"Poor old fool led them straight to us."

He had been right; Duncan's leaving had endangered them all. He should have been exultant, every word shouting his triumph, this was now proving everything that he had ever said or thought about Locksley. He should have been gloating, but he wasn't. Instead, he said the words quietly and almost with a hint of regret, as if he wished he hadn't been right. He watched for a moment as his words dawned on Locksley himself before he took off for the safety of the trees. He grabbed one of the extra swords piled about, mentally cursing himself for not having his when he needed it.

He quickly climbed the ladder and turned to give the others a hand. As he helped one up, a man he had previously aidedgrabbed Scarlett's sword that he had setaside, not realizing it was already taken. Will didn't have time to go find another one so he quickly unsheathed his dagger.

The Celts were coming; the outlaws' arrows were flying everywhere. With only his dagger, Will would have to wait until they were almost on top of them. He didn't have to wait long; the Celts were racing up the ladders to try to reach the men up top. Will pushed the ladder away, taking a few of the barbarians along with it.

The whole camp fought hard, and for a moment it looked like the enemy had had enough as they fled away. But then the arrows and balls of flame shot towards them, and chaos erupted as now the outlaws fled for safety. Will managed to get to the ground, but he was instantly attacked by a Nottingham soldier. He fought wildly and managed to defeat the other man, but turned to face not one but thee soldiers fully armed with crossbows. He was captured.

As you probably figured out by now, I'm back in the storyline. I really never left it—I was just filling in the gaps—but I thought y'all might need a little encouragement to review. Same with the threat of major/minor character death. Oh wait, I still have to kill off Noah. So anyway, just wanted to let y'all know that Journey through Sherwood is still in the same storyline as Prince of Thieves, and will continue to be. Thanks for all the reviews, please don't stop, next chapter will probably be up in the next two weeks, and have a great day. Don't forget to review! Please don't forget! I love them: )