The years passed, and eventually, all the the Locksleys passed with them. All except Robin.
At his granddaughter's funeral, he meets an old friend.
And centuries later, he meets Zeus. There's been a big change of plan.
Sherwood Cemetery – Ninety-eight years later
The rain fell heavily onto numerous umbrellas, as the coffin was slowly lowered into the ground.
He looked around the large group of mourners who, despite the atrocious weather, had taken the trouble to attend, studying all the various faces to see if there was anybody he recognised. Nobody.
Millicent Grey was eighty-nine when she passed away, thankfully in her sleep, following her brave five-year battle with lung cancer, which, despite all the marvellous scientific breakthroughs of the last century, still regularly claimed a, fortunately small, minority of its unfortunate victims. Smoking tobacco had long been outlawed but, as always, people would find other drugs to take their place. Millicent, or 'Millie' to all who knew and loved her, had been a towering figure in the community over many decades. A former Mayor of Storybrooke, she'd lived an exemplary life, marrying a young veterinary surgeon and going on to have three children, all of whom now lived in the cities. Jonathan, her husband, had passed away over twenty years ago.
After the short remembrance service, a stout, formidable-looking woman, probably in her early sixties, stepped in front of the small crowd, to invite all the mourners to attend a short wake at the Earl of Locksley, the nearly two century old inn in the forest, to celebrate and commemorate the life of her late mother. A few minutes later, as everyone was getting to their cars to leave, the same woman approached him.
"Hello there. I'm Julie, Millie's older daughter? I saw you watching the service from the back, but I didn't recognise you. You knew my mum?"
"Hello, Julie. Yes, my names Morris. Richard Morris. I'm sorry for your loss; I knew her when I was much, much younger. But I was close to her own mother, Margot, and her wife, Alice. We were...good friends."
"Really? My, you must have been very young? Because they've been gone a good thirty years now! Yes, I still miss my grannies. A remarkable pair, weren't they? Did you know Grannie Margie once won an archery gold at at the Rio Olympics?"
He chuckled. "I remember them telling me all about it. I saw the pictures."
"Funny, you know, granny Margie always told me that, although she was one of the best in her time, she wasn't a patch on her dad? She used to say he could hit a target half a mile away! That's dementia for you, I guess? His name was Robin, the same name she was born with, but spelt differently. When the dementia was kicking in in her later years, she used to say he was the real-life Robin Hood! Quite an imagination, huh?" She chuckled. "Still, she was a lovely old lady..."
"Quite the imagination, indeed." he grinned back. "Still, I'd better be off, I'm sure you've got a busy afternoon. Give my best to your family."
"No, please stay Mr. Morris? We don't know you, but I'd love to hear anything else about my grannies? They came from a quite extraordinary family, you know? And there's so many stories – most of them probably just mum's rather vivid imagination! Please stay, and have a little food with us? You know the Earl of Locksley Inn?"
"I do. Well, thank you. I guess…perhaps for a little while? I don't want to intrude on a sad family occasion."
"Great, I'm sure we'll have lots to talk about. Now, I need to say hello to all the others who withstood the rain to come this morning, including that tall man over there at the back in the wax raincoat? I've never seen him before, either. For all I know, he may be a friend of mum's. So, see you a little later?"
With that the woman toddled off towards where the other man stood, alone.
The Earl of Locksley Inn
Half an hour later. 'Richard Morris' found himself in a queue at the post-funeral buffet wake.
The tables seemed to be groaning with a huge selection of food. After selecting a plateful, and a glass of wine, he spotted and walked over to a free table near a corner of the room.
"Mind if I join you?"
He looked up to see the stranger Julie had gone to talk to at the cemetery, now out of his coat and hat, smiling back. "Mr. Cassidy? It's been a while. By all means, join me."
The lean man sat adjacent, so they could both look at the other guests as they ate. "It's been...oh, thirty years, I think. You're looking well, Mr…Morrison?"
"Richard Morris. And you too, Mr. Cassidy. Alex? Isn't that your first name these days? I wasn't expecting to see you here. I heard you had another daughter?"
He grinned. "Emily. About three months old! That makes three kids. My Georgina's putting her foot down, saying enough's enough! We're living in London now, basing the new company there."
"I read about it. Baelfire Publishing? So you merged Henry's old group with a British one, but kept the name, I gather? Glad to see things are going well."
"Thanks. Henry insisted long before he passed! I was going to change the name, but the girls also backed him up, so Baelfire it is. What about you? Still living in Boston?"
"Just outside. I wanted to stay not too far from here, especially while Millie was still alive. Carrie and I don't plan on having any more children at the moment. Two's enough for us."
The pair sat watching the mourners collect their food and dispersing to their tables. Cassidy lowered his voice, making sure they weren't overheard. "You been back to you know where, recently?"
"Just over a year ago. I want to go again soon. Carrie's mother died a little while ago, and she was asking me to make sure she got there safe and sound. I can't wait to see all the family. You?"
"Two months. Henry was in his element! Your Locksley wives and family asked me to give you their love, and they can't wait to see you again. Just how old are you these days, Mr. Morris?"
"One hundred and nine-one, if you had up all the curses and realms. You?"
"Well, you don't look a day over forty!" Alex chuckled. "It's difficult for me to judge, as I've jumped realms quite a bit. I reckon I'm about four hundred and twenty-five years, all told! Still, some things never change. The beer here still seems to taste like piss."
"How dare you!" he frowned, though clearly not insulted, "I'll have you know, the beer in my pub was-" But he was interrupted by the appearance of a stocky, bearded man, who strode quickly to their table, accompanied by Julie Grey just behind, and he had an annoyed, yet slightly nervous look on his face. Julie was clearly been trying to hold him back!
"Hey, you two! Just who are you? And what are you doing here?"
"David...stop it!" she urged. "Please don't make a scene? I'm sure everything's fine…"
"I heard them, Jules! I heard what they just said! This one here said something about the after life! Then just now this other one said he was a hundred and ninety? But he's younger than me! After all the crap with the Suffolk witches last year, we don't need any more shit like that! Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
The two seated men seemed unduly calm amid the blast from the burly man.
"Actually, he said he was a hundred and ninety-one!" said Cassidy. "But you seem to have more than excellent hearing, young man, considering you were at the opposite end of the bar, and I kept my voice down? Would that be the wolf gene I can detect?"
"What?" He stepped back, shocked. What do you know about that?" he growled. "Who the hell are you?"
"There's nothing to be worried about, Mr…?"
"Lucas. David Lucas! What's it to you?"
"Lucas? As in Dorothy and Ruby Lucas? Are you related? That would explain the wolf gene."
"They were my grandparents! Again, what's it to you?"
Morris and Cassidy merely exchanged a knowing look, grinning. "And I bet Killian Jones is, or was, your grandfather? Looking at you, I bet you're Liam's boy?"
"Nathaniel's my father! Now you two better start answering some questions, or-"
"Calm yourself, Mr. Lucas!" Morris spoke a little forcefully than intended. "We'll answer all your questions but, let's not disturb a family wake? Now, why don't we all sit calmly, perhaps in the old wizard chamber…" He pointed left, to the wall.
"Wizard chamber? What are you-" However, his words stopped the moment he heard a loud 'clunk' to his left, as a wood panel swung out from the rest of the wall, revealing a hidden entrance neither of them were aware of. "What the fuck? How-"
However, Richard Morris was already on his feet, taking his wine glass and walking towards the now open panel, Cassidy getting up to follow him in.
Julie's jaw dropped. "I never even knew that door existed? And I've been in this pub hundreds of times! How on earth did you...?"
"Well I should know, I built it!" said Morris, walking inside. "Don't worry, we're in a temporary hidden bubble. No one's going to see you."
Looking hesitant, David and Julie cautiously stepped into the previously unknown room. Her eyes widened, when she saw a large oak-panelled study, with two large leather sofas. It was immaculate. The couple immediately turned at the sound of a loud click as the magical door closed behind them. "You...you built this room?"
"Not just the room. The entire pub. Well, to be fair, Merlin and I did together. Sorry Mr. Lucas. May I call you David? I didn't want to say anything outside, as I wasn't sure how many people out there come from the world of magic, after all? Now, firstly, you're not in any danger from me…or him," He pointed to Alex. "My name really is Richard Morris, but that's just my current alias."
"And the name on my passport's definitely Alex Cassidy!" added the other man, settling into a large leather chair opposite the desk.
"You said you knew Granny Margie?" Asked Julie, now wondering who the hell these people were they'd let into her mother's funeral. "But the ages don't work! So you couldn't have possibly known them!"
"I assume you both have magic? Or are aware of the magic in Storybrooke and Sherwood?"
It wasn't a secret to most in town, but it was rarely discussed. They nodded.
"Good. Well, you probably won't believe what I've about to tell you anyway; but I'm not too worried, because if you spread it around, people will just think you've gone mad! Julie, I didn't just know your grandmother. I loved her, very much indeed. Margot Locksley was my daughter."
Julie burst out laughing, as David shook his head. They were talking to a nutter!
"Ha - good one! That's impossible, Margot Locksley's father was-" As she said the words, the figure of Richard Morris transformed itself completely, into a younger, leaner, taller, lighter-skinned, dark-blonde haired man, with a light, greying beard, leaving her and David Lucas completely aghast.
"Robin Hood? Yes, I know. Robin of Locksley, to be more accurate. Julie, you happen to be my great-granddaughter!"
He saw Lucas step back nervously, when he added, "And you've nothing to fear! I was coming today merely to pay my final respects to my last grandchild. The very last member of my family who would have known me as Robin. Millie was a wonderful girl. I'm sure she'll be in the loving arms of her husband and her mothers very soon."
Julie studied him closer. "Dave - it's him! The guy on the sign outside?" She sat on an armchair, clearly shaken. Her head shook as she tried to remember something from her past. "Hell…my granny said something about you being immortal! That you were sent back here after you were murdered by Hades? That you could jump realms, and the afterlife and stuff? We just thought it was her dementia kicking in! But…you're saying it's true?"
"Very much so. I've seen all my children pass into Paradise, or the afterlife, or whatever you choose to call it. I've already met your grandmothers there, Julie. They are both very proud of you! Margot herself told me you're quite the horsewoman? And your great-grandmother, my wife Regina, was more than pleased to see a third member of the family become Mayor. She was the first, you know?"
Dave gasped in disbelief, looking across at Cassidy. "And you? If he's Robin Hood, who the hell are you?"
Cassidy flicked his fingers slightly, his face and body now transforming into a younger, stockier man, with short, dark hair and a lighter complexion, though once again sporting a slightly scruffy beard.
"My name at the time was Baelfire. Baelfire Gold, or Neal Cassidy. Most here knew me as Neal. I doubt if anyone around here nowadays would have even heard of me. I'm the biological father of Henry Mills, though he later changed it to Henry Cassidy, taking my name. He died quite a while ago."
"Of course we've heard of Henry! Henry Cassidy and his family lived here. They set up the publishing company, and wrote all those fairy tales and stuff? We've got a whole museum here named after him. He made his fortune and left most of it to his kids."
"Lucy and Christopher, yes I know. The company's called Baelfire Group. After me."
"Bloody hell! So what, you're immortal too?" David finally started to believe them.
"Until Zeus releases us from it, yes. Anyway, I was very good friends with your great-grandmothers, David. All three of them! Dorothy, Ruby and Rosie. And your grandad of course. Killian Jones was the one who taught me to sail and navigate. Anyway, before I say anything else, Robin, do you still have that thirty-year-old malt you used to keep hidden around here?"
~oOo~
And so, with the passing on of the final living member of his Locksley family, or at least the family that had known him, Richard Morris, or Robin Locksley, never returned to Sherwood under any aliases. Morris was seen to live to a ripe old age. Eventually, he chose the right time to disappear, after his wife and children had finally passed on, by faking his death by drowning.
As the years turned into decades, and decades slowly turned into centuries, his persona, his identity, changed numerous times. But he always did on rare occasions return to Storybrooke, albeit in disguise. After tending the now numerous family graves at the cemetery, he'd go on to visit the ancient convent, to take his journey to the afterlife as often as he was permitted. On occasion, Zeus sent messengers with tasks for him to complete, usually involving enemies of the gods.
Although he continued to live a worthy life, or lives, his one prayer was that someday, his own immortality would end. A gift Merlin and Maleficent had been granted so long ago.
Three Hundred Years and fifty years into the Future
As Robin's mortal body lay, as so many times before, unconscious, on the little bed in the now ancient convent, his mind transferred him to Paradise.
However, as the celestial mists parted, to reveal the familiar white columns either side of the arrival arena, something was different this time. As he waited to hear the welcoming voices of either his mother or one of his departed loves, instead a white-robed figure stepped slowly forward to greet him.
[ROBIN OF LOCKSLEY! WELCOME BACK!] boomed the voice he hadn't heard for centuries.
"Zeus? An honour, as always! I've never actually seen you here, since…well, since I died?"
[TRUE. MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE THEN, I'M SURE YOU'LL AGREE?]
"For me, definitely! Though I'm sure you have a reason to meet me here? Is there another task?"
[NOT THIS TIME! HOWEVER, I HAVE BEEN SPEAKING WITH MERLIN REGULARLY, SINCE HE RETURNED TO US. HE'S POINTED OUT, TOO REGULARLY, QUITE FRANKLY, THAT A GOD'S IMPRESSION OF TIME IS SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT TO THAT OF HUMANS. HE HAS SUGGESTED A CHANGE…]
"A change in time? Sorry, I'm not sure I understand…"
[NOT IN TIME, BUT IN MY PROXY, MY AGENT] Robin seemed puzzled. [HE SERVED ME FOR A BLINK OF AN EYE IN MY EYES, BUT NEARLY TWO AND A HALF MILLENNIA IN HUMAN TERMS IN YOURS, WHICH HE ASSURES ME IS TOO LONG! HE BELIEVES THAT WAS UNFAIR, TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE SERVED US FAITHFULLY! HE WAS REALLY QUITE ANNOYINGLY PERSISTENT!] He gave the man a warm smile. [I WAS INCLINED TO DISAGREE. HOWEVER, MY OWN WIVES SEEM TO HAVE SIDED WITH HIM. WIVES CAN ALSO BE QUITE PERSISTENT, YOU KNOW?]
Robin chuckled. "Oh, I DO know! As a mere human, I've found when my wives gang up on me, I really have no chance!"
The King of the Gods nodded in sympathy. [YES, WELL COUPLED WITH ONE OF MY DAUGHTERS, PERSEPHONE, ASKING ME TO RECALL A CERTAIN FORMER THIEF SHE…ADMIRES, I HAVE DECIDED THAT THOSE WHO HAVE DIRECTLY HELPED THE GODS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CONTINUE TO SERVE FOR SO LONG]
"So, I'm not going to be immortal forever?"
[I ORIGINALLY SENT YOU BACK TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING, IN GRATITUDE FOR YOUR HELP IN DESTROYING HADES. THE UNDERWORLD HAS NOW BEEN RESTORED TO ITS RIGHTFUL PURPOSE. I NOW REALISE THAT THANKING YOU WITH IMMORTALITY WAS PERHAPS A STEP TOO FAR. SO, I HAVE CHOSEN ANOTHER CHAMPION TO SERVE OLYMPUS. TO RELIEVE YOU]
"Oh. So, I'm going to die then?"
[YES, WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT. YOUR WORK IS DONE, LOCKSLEY, AND I THANK YOU FOR IT! YOU MAY RETURN TO EARTH ONE FINAL TIME. I SUGGEST YOU PUT YOUR AFFAIRS IN ORDER?]
"I…I…words fail me. Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Seventeen years later.
"Lucky bastard!"
Robin thought to himself, as he launched a shovel full of damp soil over the hole, the last of the mourners to do so. He looked one final time at the name on the nameplate, on the lid of the coffin, now settled in the grave.
A name wholly invented for the deceased's latest, and last, persona. The man Robin had known for centuries. The man he knew as Neal Cassidy, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Dunbroch, adored husband of Queen Merida. Son of the Dark One. Grandson of Peter Pan. Father to Henry, his long departed first stepson by his beautiful wife Emma, before Robin even knew her. A man who, like him, had, over the last five centuries, married numerous times and had fathered fifty two children, all but two of them having passed over. Formerly a successful publishing magnate, bookstore chain owner, and in his last century, a man who had become his best friend, the two of them having shared the unique experience of immortality. An immortality finally removed by the Lord of the Gods.
"Rest in peace, old friend!"
"I recognise you!" said a voice next to him. Looking down at the girl, a slim blonde who he guessed to be around twelve, he could see Neal's eyes staring right back at him. "You're that guy grandpa used to play chess with, at the Mason's, aren't you? The one that lives in the States and comes over every couple of years?"
Robin gave her a tired smile back, offering his hand. "One and the same. The name's Robin. You must be Dinah's girl?"
"Emma!" the girl replied, taking the old man's hand. "You gonna come back to the party?"
"Not this time. My heart's really not in it and I need to get back. You be sure to raise a glass to Neal…sorry, to Tom, for me, yes? I'm sure he's looking down on you all as we speak!"
The girl gave him a quizzical look. "I hope so, though I'm not sure I believe in all that stuff!"
He chuckled. "Perhaps you will when you're older? It's nice to have something to believe in."
"I guess. I'm sad I lost grandpa but, he was very old, and I think he just became tired of life, you know? I'm sorry you lost your friend."
"You're very wise for your age, young lady! You know, many years ago, your grandpa and I both knew another Emma. She was blonde and wise, just like you! It's not a name you hear a lot, these days?"
"You can talk!" She countered, cockily. "Mum said mine was Grandpa's suggestion! Well, best be off before dad starts yelling for help. I hope I see you again one day, Robin?"
"Our paths are bound to cross again, young Emma. Farewell now!"
Later...
Public transport in the twenty sixth century was fast. Seriously fast! The hypersonic flight from London to Miami took just under two hours, and Robin finally got home by ten o' clock in the evening.
Feeling his joints aching, he quickly changed and went straight to bed, pausing only to stop and kiss the photograph of his late wife Mya, smiling at the woman who'd died four years earlier. He lived alone since, having married her when she was already in her fifties.
The next morning he settled into his favourite garden chair, which looked out from the balcony over the lawn and onto the forest in the distant. He was always drawn to forests. Raising a glass of his favourite red to his lips, he silently toasted and mourned the passing of his oldest friend, praying Neal was now with his loved ones.
"Here's to you, Neal old son. Let's hope it's not too long, before I'm able to join you."
~oOo~
His words proved to be more prophetic than he could have ever have imagined!
For the very next afternoon, his body was found, slumped in his favourite chair overlooking the forest, having passed away peacefully hours before, in his sleep.
For the second time, and after nearly six centuries, the legendary Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, was dead.
~oOo~