Chapter Six: Back in Business

Keeping track of the comings and goings of Nottingham castle was a lot more difficult without a woman on the inside. Marian had been at her best, if in a very dangerous position, as a spy within the castle, and with her help Guy had been a lot less observant to the outlaws antics and schemes. They had all been shocked when it was the man so desperate to win her love away from Robin, who had killed her but none moreso than Allan and Will. The man was cruel, sadistic and far too drawn into his own dark ways to be redeemed but his feelings for Marian had been true. None saw that more than Allan, aside from Marian herself who to all of their shock occasionally defended the psychopath. Under Guy's instructions and sudden cunning, both he and Allan had risked their own heads to save Marian from hanging as the Nightwatchman.
Will had been there too in Nottingham that day that Prince John's soldiers marched to burn Nottingham to the ground while the rest of the gang searched for the Sheriff. Gisborne could have left. He could have saved his own life and fled but he had returned only because Marian refused to go with him.

Will had heard the man actually say that he would rather die by her side than live a life without her in it. The love had been a warped and twisted one, and one that Marian, for all her pretending on behalf of the outlaws, did not reciprocate, but clearly it was genuine. So when Gisborne in a fit of heartbroken rage had run her through as she stood between him and King Richard, it had shocked them all.

Will had been tasked with tailing Gisborne through Nottingham town, while both John and Much lingered around the castle gates, hoping to catch some semblance of gossip amongst the guards that might reveal who the Sheriff would soon be entertaining.

They had to be especially careful since the Holy Land had failed to kill them, much to the Sheriff's chagrin and now the price on each of their heads, none moreso than Robin himself, was far higher. That was relatively speaking of course, no one believed that the Sheriff would part with a single coin willingly whether Robin was delivered on a silver platter or not. Since Allan had given away all their entrances into the castle, when he was "Sir Guy's man", they had to be far more cunning and clever about their ways. Fortunately, they had no shortage of clever and cunning people.

"Do you understand?"

Will stopped mid step just as his charge turned around and smoothly blended with a group of villagers milling at a vegetable cart. Keeping his hood pulled low over his eyes, Will slowly peered around. He hadn't been seen, but Gisborne was now in a hushed conversation with one of the butchers that Robin happened to know very well. Judging by the warning prod to the man's chest and the dark glower that seemed to be the only expression the lieutenant to the Sheriff possessed, it was not a very comfortable conversation.

Will lingered back until Gisborne had trudged off and moved quickly through the crowd, catching the butcher by the arm before he could vanish into his shop. Quickly he produced a small coin purse from his pocket and pressed it into Connor's hand.
"On behalf of Robin Hood…" He flashed his tag quickly and the unsettled butcher seemed to relax a little "What did Gisborne want?"

}}}-l

"A party? You followed Gisborne all day and all you got was the Sheriff is having a party? We already knew that."

"Well I'm sorry the farrier didn't have more information than Gisborne's horse needs new shoes, Much. I know there's people coming from London."

"Rich people." Djaq added, "The Sheriff does not have poor friends."

"I might know what the party's for." Allan swaggered in, a stolen horse bearing the castle's tack following along behind him. "Borrowed myself a ride too."

"What are you wearing?" Will raised an eyebrow, as they took in the fine black tunic that Allan wore. Their resident thief grinned in response.

"Borrowed this too...took advantage of Gisborne being out of the castle. Turns out, about half the staff don't know that I'm back on the right side."

"Strangely enough your double cross worked out for us in the end then." Robin, chewing the feather from one of his arrows in between his teeth nodded as John took the horse to tie it up. "So what is it?"

"According to a charming chambermaid, it's very simple really. It's his birthday."

"What?" Three different voices said in unison and Robin scoffed loudly. "That's all? He's having a birthday party?"

"I think it's poetic justice." Much indignantly huffed, " He ruined Robin's birthday and nearly got us all killed, let's ruin his."

"...The Londoners must be from Prince John's court." Djaq chimed in, "You don't think Prince John himself would…"

"I hardly think the Sheriff would keep that a secret." Will shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest and drumming his fingers anxiously against the opposite shoulder. "Do you think he's just had a bad year and wants to make himself feel better or something? I"ll bet you anything the presents they bring are worth a king's ransom."

"Appropriate choice of words, Will." Robin, the beginnings of a plan already visible in his eyes, turned back to Allan. "Anything else?"

"Not much, that's about when the half of the castle that did know, chased me off and I had to swipe a horse for a quick getaway. I do know it's on January first, and no...Prince John ain't coming but Djaq's right...at least one member of his court is." His bright blue eyes flickered to Djaq for a second and then met Robin's with a cunning glint. "And it might be our way in…"

"I thought that was just a rumour?"

"Apparently not."

"Does anyone else know what those two are talking about?" John interjected, jerking his thumb at Allan and Robin who had divulged into a conversation that only they seemed to be aware of.

Much, Djaq and Will all shook their heads. "Right. Good."

"Prince John," Robin began, rubbing his hands together the way he always did when they began to plan a heist "Has a mistress,"

"Ha! Just the one? I'm sure he has many."

"Shut up, Much."

"Has a mistress who is…" Robin trailed off, searching for the right words but the way his eyes drifted to Djaq told them all they needed to know. "Well, of...Arabian appearance…Allan seems to think she will be attending."

"Say no more, we all know where this is going." Djaq sounded less than impressed, and Will couldn't shake the instinctive pang of protectiveness that was entirely unwarranted. She was as or more tough than any of them and more than capable of going undercover.

"Djaq, it's our best shot of getting in there."

"Relax, I do not mind. I merely do not look forward to the dress I expect I will be made to wear."

John and Will both chuckled and Will's gaze drifted back over to her. Even now she was hardly looking at him. Allan said he was imagining it, but Djaq had barely looked at him in three days. When she did, and flashed a smile he knew was not quite genuine, she didn't meet his eyes and every moment he'd tried to talk to her she slipped away.
"But really, you think they won't recognise her? We're hardly strangers."

"Oh please. I can change my appearance far more effectively than the rest of you." Djaq scoffed and even Much nodded his head rapidly in agreement. There was definitely truth to that. Unbidden the memory of Djaq in the low cut golden dress she'd worn last year flashed through Will's mind. He'd hardly been able to take his eyes off her that night, and if it were not for the dire situation of needing to be completely alert to tackle the strongroom, probably wouldn't have at all. He'd tried so hard not to give his feelings away that night that instead of just telling her she looked nice, he basically had run away.

"She's right. Women are great at that."

"Besides, when you wear a dress that befits a Prince's mistress?" Djaq scoffed dismissively, "Most men aren't looking at your face."

There was a mock "I resent that!" from Allan and Will stared at her, his jaw gaping slightly as he went to defend himself.

"Yeah, hey, I'm not most men."

His offense was immediately washed away in relief when she stepped up to him and patted his chest affectionately as she passed. "Yes, my love, you are." Even then, though her touch reassured him that she wasn't angry with him for something, she still did not quite meet his eye. There was a playful twinkle in hers though for a moment that made his heart skip a beat and he forced himself not to visibly react to. It vanished as suddenly as it appeared and the colour drained from her face, "Excuse me…" Pushing Will out of her way, Djaq disappeared into the trees in a rush.

"Do you think she's coming down with something? If so, we're all done for."

"Nah, reckon it's just your cooking, Much."

"Jokes on you, Allan, if it was my cooking you'd all be sick."

"Not sure you're making the point you think you are, Much."

"Are you sure you feel okay? Djaq, you don't look like it." Concern laced Will's voice when finally, twenty minutes later, Djaq returned to the camp. She had regained a little of her lost colour but was still noticeably paler against her usually dark complexion.

"And more to the point, is it contagious?"

Will turned and glared at Much, just as John clapped him over the back of the head and the former manservant promptly amended his choice of words as he shook the leaves out of a blanket.

"Obviously my concern is for her wellbeing, she knows that." He huffed defensively. "You know what I meant."

"Do you ever think before you speak?" Will rolled his eyes, the annoyance vanishing when he turned back to Djaq as she took the water skin from his outstretched hand and took a few hearty mouthfuls.
He so desperately wanted her to talk to him, properly talk to him like they used to.
Before, when it was just harmless flirtation, or whatever Will's attempt at flirting looked like because clearly it wasn't very good, they could go for walks for hours and just talk about nothing and everything at once. And then that had grown to something far more real, far more intense and far, far better. He wanted that back and he didn't understand why now, so recently she could hardly look at him. Will dared not entertain the thought that she was starting to regret choosing him, and just as bad, regret the night that they shouldn't have had on the ship but nevertheless, it flickered frequently through his mind.

"I've felt better, if I must be honest." Their fingers brushed briefly as she pressed the flask back into his hand and then again came the forced smile that did not reach her eyes. "But no, I promise you you're not going to catch anything."

"Are you sure? Bec-"

"Yes, I am sure! When you are medically trained, feel free to disagree with me!" She snapped, and Will exchanged a cautionary look with Allan who stood by. Perhaps her sudden distance from him had nothing to do with Will after all, perhaps she was merely irritable. "Now come on, back to planning a heist. What did I miss?"

"We still have two castle guard uniforms here," Robin started, "That will get two of us in. We'll need something to look like Prince John's guards to escort our Lady Rose," He gestured to Djaq, "we'll say you were ambushed on the road and that's why you're carriageless."

"But you can't turn up empty handed to a birthday party so we need something that Prince John would give the Sheriff."

"Yeah, not sure gold and jewels will cut it from the Prince." Allan added, leaning back against the stone wall as they all began to brainstorm thoughts.

"They would, but we'd need something else. Something the Sheriff doesn't have."

"A sword? We could fancy one up with some jewels and give him that." Will suggested which earned a half hearted shrug from Robin.

"Power." Little John's simple one word answer made them all turn and he sighed heavily and began to elaborate. "Well that's what the Sheriff wants isn't it?"

"Actually not a bad idea. A personal promise from Prince John." Djaq added, "We could write something, something he would only entrust to someone close. Even better, a threat. They failed to kill the King, he'll know that by now."

"Yeah but he's not gonna buy it without a royal seal."

"He won't need to, Allan." Robin nodded thoughtfully, "He won't need to believe it, if by the time he reads it, we're in and out."

"That is easy then. I only give it to him when we need to leave."

"And how do we stop the real one? They're not gonna come through the forest to be ambushed." Much asked, raising a point that until that moment they had not bothered to consider. "And I really don't think someone like that would be travelling without an armed escort."

"I dunno about stopping, but I know a sure way to delay 'em a few hours. Leave that to me."

"Good, that's your job then, Allan." Robin clapped Allan on the shoulder. "We'll get our hands on some armor."

}}}-l

"Happy birthday."

"Wha-how did you know?"

Will grinned as Djaq jumped in shock and nearly toppled backwards off the fallen tree she was perched on when he appeared behind her, lightly placing both hands on her shoulders. She seemed a little more herself now, but still her eyes took a few moments longer to reach his. "I never told any of you, how did you know?" He just raised his eyebrows until she realised. "Bassam told you."

"Yeah, well...I asked, because you never said. Asked him a lot of things about you."

Swinging his legs over he dropped down beside her and lifted the golden dress she was busy making adjustments to in preparation for their castle infiltration. The red fabric she had sewn across the bodice fluttered in the wind as a breeze took up. "I have something for you."

She lowered the needle with a sigh and fixed him with a no nonsense look that he not so secretly loved. "Will Scarlett, this is exactly why I did not tell you when my birthday is."

"Just, shush, okay? You're gonna like it." He hoped, at least. He was careful not to assume too much lately when she was so out of sorts. He tucked his hand into the pocket of his trousers and pulled from within a small wooden token he had worked on for the last fortnight, amongst other projects. It was a bird, just the right size to fit snugly in her palm, wings outstretched and if you balanced it right, could stand upright on its carefully carved feet.

Djaq seemed to melt. Her whole tough exterior faded away immediately as she turned the little bird over in her hands. Will kept his eyes trained on her face, smiling softly as she lifted one small brown hand to her mouth.
"It's olive wood. From the Holy Land. I brought some back with me, I know you can't really understand it when you're not a carpenter by trade but it's thrilling to get to work with kinds of wood you've never worked with before-"
He was cut off from his rambling, the only topic he could ever actually outtalk anyone on, by Djaq's lips, soft and slightly chilly against his.

"I love it, Will."

"Turn it over,"
On the underside of its left wing, with immense practice and concentration he had carved a single S into the wood. It was wobbly, and sharp where it should have been curved, but he had worked so hard to even manage that one letter. On the right wing, in honour of her twin brother, who he knew was the reason she really did not care for her birthday, was a J.
Robin and Djaq were the only ones of their number who could read and write, which was unsurprising given that both of them had been raised well educated. He could not speak for Djaq's homeland but in England it was usually only those of upper class, like Robin, and Marian or who worked within those households, who learnt to read and write. Allan however, could read just a little, certainly more than the others and Will knew enough to read his own name but that was all. Writing it was a whole other matter. He understood plans and measurements and that was all he had needed to learn.

Djaq traced the letters with her finger, a smile of affection that might have held a hint of pride too, crossed her face. And then she laughed and leaned over to nudge her shoulder against his.

"What? I know I can't write, but I tried."

"No, no, you did well...it is just...well Djaq does not start with a J."

Will just stared at her blankly. That was the only letter he knew made that sound. It was like James.

Evidently the look on his face was comical, because she kept giggling. "What? Of course it does."

"The English "Jack", yes it does. But not this one, you dear man." She reached over and took his hand, rearranging his fingers until he pointed and traced the shape she guided it in. "D. Djaq."

"But that's just...what?" Heat rushed to the back of his neck in embarrassment that he'd gotten it wrong. He should have asked Robin to double check, he nearly did but changed his mind at the last moment. "You know what? I can fix it." Bending down to tug the short bladed knife from his boot he held out his hand for the bird. "Let me fix it."

"That's not necessary, Will...I love that you did it yourself…oh go on then."

She handed it back and he turned it over, frowning in concentration as he delicately placed the blade at the top of J he had carved and carefully mimicked the shape she had shown him. It left a strange swirling thing at the bottom but at least now it had the right letter.

"It's why you don't like your birthday isn't it?" He asked cautiously, blowing away the flakes of wood and smoothing it over with his thumb.

"Of course. I miss Djaq every day, it is hard to be reminded every year that I get older, and my twin does not." She sniffled so softly Will almost missed it, and would have done had he not turned at that moment to hand the bird back to her. "He was not yet twenty-two."

Will's age then. Djaq so rarely spoke of her brother that they knew only that he had been killed in the Crusades, and that she had run away to fight in his place. That must have meant that both Djaq and Robin were fighting the same war on opposite sides. That was a peculiar thing to think about.
"Will you tell me about him one day? I'd like to know about your brother."

"One day." She agreed, fondly holding her present and smiling at the newly amended initials. "But not today." Her lips quivered slightly and he watched as she drew in a slow breath and blinked away the tears that had filled her brown eyes. She was ever the tough one. It had taken some time but the walls she had put up when she first joined the gang had slowly been let down over time. Until very recently. To Will's disappointment he saw the beginnings of walls going back up and he wasn't even sure she knew she was doing it.

"Will?"

"Huh?" He snapped out of his thoughts, whatever she had said to him completely had gone over his head.

"I said I do have something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

All at once the companionable, comfortable air between them seemed heavier somehow. Like the weight of something that was going unsaid floated over them. Djaq squirmed a little where she sat, the bird in her lap and left hand twisting anxiously in the fabric of the dress.
"I…" Her mouth opened and closed, like she could not find the words to articulate what she wanted to say.

"Djaq?"

"I'm…"

A loud whistle interrupted them followed by footsteps at a run crunching up the slope towards them. John appeared, staff in hand and waving them over. "Travellers on the North Road, let's go!"