Disclaimer: For the eighth time: I do not own Robin Hood or the BBC. The BBC owns Robin Hood, I do not.
And so we left. We traveled until I needed rest. That was until after dark. Eventually, I had to rest and I lay down next to a series of bushes and small trees, on a hill.
I lay there, with my hands folded behind my head. I looked up. The night was clear and the stars seemed to smile down upon me.
"You see that, Luna?" I pointed to the moon. "That's you. Well, not really. But that's what your name means. Luna means 'moon'. I heard that when Father would take me to market in Nottingham. The man who I heard it from is probably an alchemist or physician by now." I smiled and turned my head. She stared at me with boredom. She obviously didn't care. "Ah well, it still is beautiful."
I sighed. I never knew the night sky could be so beautiful. Mother would say that when someone goes to Heaven, their soul becomes a star. I used to laugh at that, but now since all of my family is gone, I do believe. I know it seems childish, but I do think that Mother is watching me from the stars. I started to connect the stars to make different shapes, like how a child stares up at the sky on a clear day to see if the cloud looks like a duck or a squirrel.
I spent that night thinking of what I would do with my life. I was a runaway. I could become an outlaw, but that would simply lead to a hanging. Unless I was careful, I could live. But I would have to wear James's old clothes and cut my hair. No one would believe an outlaw in a dress. Or I could become a servant. Not the Sheriff's servant, I would go mad if I had to serve a loathsome rat like the Sheriff. Maybe even a tavern girl in Nottingham. A meal, a place to stay; that would sound nice. I could be adopted by a family like how my family was. But no one would believe a poor family could afford a horse. I had to accept what I would become – a fourteen-year-old runaway with no family and no future.
But there was one thing I needed – a home for the winter. It was already November, it was getting colder and winter was coming. I could stay out for a few more weeks, but I would need money and food in only days. I could live off bread and apples for a few more days. But soon I would have to go buy food in Nottingham. Today was Sunday, I thought since Wednesday is Market Day in Nottingham I could get some meat, some more bread and hopefully have a shilling left over. But I would have to eat something other than bread, water and apples.
That's how Mother died. All we had was water and bread. She was the first to die.
Eventually, all this thinking made my head hurt and by first light, I was asleep.
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