All right! Here's the next chapter; A Ring, A bath, and A story (Her story, part 2)! I know it took forever and that the last chapter sucked and I'm sorry on both accounts but it's really long so I'm hoping that that will help make it up…
Oh and I'm changing the setting of the talk between Allan and Will to sometime while they're on the ship on the way to the Holy Lands…I just haven't actually changed it in the last chapter yet, but its on my To Do list, right after convincing my mom to let me get a ferret, mainly so I can name it Allan.
Disclaimer: I don't own Robin Hood L, nor do I own Malys, who belongs to Arem and is in the amazing story, The Death of Robin Hood. You should go read it, like right now, cuz it's that good…and some of this chapter might not make any sense or not be as significant as I'm hoping it to be.
Chapter 5-
After lunch, Much and I took the dirty plates down to the river in order to wash them.
He was mumbling about the joke Djac and I had pulled on him.
"I am sorry, Much" I apologized, "But we just couldn't resist."
After that, we cleaned the plates in relative quietness.
When we got back to camp the others were talking quietly... Well, the others excluding Allan.
He was sitting where I had left him, with the same troubled expression he had whenever he didn't think someone was watching him. I had first noticed it when the three of them had returned from their talk this morning.
I walked over to him and held out my hand. He looked up at me questioningly.
"Come on, lets go talk." I told him and saw him glance at Robin, who nodded, before taking my hand and standing up. We walked over to a conveniently placed log that had fallen and was still within sight of Camp but out of hearing range.
"Alright, what's wrong?" I asked looking up at him, still holding onto his hand.
"Nothing." He lied. I raised an eyebrow and he sighed. "Everything."
"What do you mean everything?" I asked, letting go of his hand and sitting on the log. Now I really had to look up in order to see his face.
"How about the fact that we are living in the forest as outlaws, hiding from an insane Sheriff who eats like a king, while us and the poor are barely surviving. Oh! And the people who I'd risk my life for don't trust me enough to let me go anywhere by myself." He finished and sat down beside me, taking my hand and holding it in his own again.
"You have to give them time, Allan," I said and rested my head on his shoulder. "You of all people should know how hard it is to get over a betrayal."
"You knew?!" He asked, sounding shocked.
"Of course." I said, absently fiddling with my necklace. "It was one of Guy's favorite topics."
Allan tensed when I mentioned Guy's name, and was silent for a few minutes before he noticed what I was playing with.
My necklace was a simple silver chain with an apparently plain silver ring hanging off it. But if you looked real close, you could see a complex design etched into it. Now I consider myself observant and it had taken me an hour to realize the design was there.
"You still have that?" He asked and reached out to take it.
"Of course." I watched him trace his thumb over the design. "Why wouldn't I?"
"After everything that's happened... I'm amazed it lasted"
"A great blacksmith made it." I said, smiling.
"He was a fool." He said harshly, and dropped it.
"Nonsense! He was hotheaded but he was a good man, Dag, and I believe he still is. So he's made a few mistakes, it's part of being human."
"A few..." He mumbled under his breath, still looking troubled, but then he smiled, "You still call me Dag."
I smiled, "After those twin daggers you were so fond of."
He fell quiet again and I started to worry about what he might be thinking when he moved, lifted the ring, and traced the design again.
"Does it still mean the same as back then?" He asked, almost to himself, starring at the ring.
That ring had been the symbol of the loyalty and commitment that we were prepared to promise each other. Not to mention a symbol of the love we felt. It was the engagement ring he had made himself, and given to me.
I knew I had loved the carefree boy I had grown up with. The constant ache when we were separated and then, the way my heart had leaped when I realized it was him, had convinced me of that.
But that was eight years ago, and time has a way of changing people.
What if we had changed too much?
"I don't know." I answered truthfully.
His laugh surprised me and I lifted my head to look at him.
"Me either, Rain." He admitted.
"Everything is so different from how we thought it would be..." I trailed off, putting my head back on his shoulder.
"So, what should we do?" He asked, resting his head on mine.
"Let's deal with the crazy Sheriff first"
"Crazy is a good word for the sheriff. What about Guy?"
"I'm not really sure. He's not nearly as hopeless as the Sheriff and has the potential to be a decent person." I paused and thought about what I said, "Do not tell Robin I said that. He would never trust me."
"Speaking of Robin..." He started but then hesitated, unsure of whether or not to continue.
"He doesn't trust me." I stated for him. He lifted his head and looked down at me, surprised. ''Good, he should be suspicious."
"What?!" He practically yelled.
I shushed him and explained, "You all follow him with such faithfulness. He needs to be suspicious for your sakes"
"I'm not being funny but you scared me!'' He cut in.
I laughed "Relax. Like I would ever betray the King or my Grandmother. Do you know if...?" I looked up at him questioningly but he was shaking his head.
"You would have to ask one of the others. I only know that she was here and that the Sheriff didn't capture her."
I sighed. I hadn't really expected him to know since he had been working for Gisborne when my Grandmother had been in Nottingham but I had still hoped.
"Right, well, we had better get back. Much looks impatient." I said. The short man had been pacing back and forth, looking at us every few steps for a while now.
Allan mumbled something to quiet for me to hear as he stood and then helped me up.
I clung to him as another dizzy spell swept me up. After it had passed we headed back.
Hours later
"What are you looking for?" Will asked me, and clearly annoyed.
The others had left to deliver food to the villages, and should be back in an hour or so if nothing had happened.
Will was sitting by the fire pit, carving something out of a block of wood. Alex was lying next to him, chewing on a discarded piece of wood and following me with his eyes as I dug through various boxes.
"Soap" A little while ago it had dawned on me how long it had been since I had bathed and now I really needed to.
"Why? It's in there, by the way." He pointed to another box behind him.
I pounced on the box I and told him what I had realized.
"Ahah!" I grabbed the soap and held it up in the air triumphantly. "Now I am going to the river to bathe because I feel gross."
"And you smell." Will said jokingly, (I think). When I turned to glare at him he held up two fingers a little bit apart, "Just a little."
"Thanks." I said sarcastically and threw the stick I had taken from Alex at him. He caught it easily and laughed at me.
I called to Alex and he trotted along beside me as I headed to the river.
The first thing I did was attempt to wash my dress. It had started out as off-white and it was now a lovely (note: sarcasm) shade of dirt-brown. My dress hadn't even stood a chance since I had either been in a dungeon (definitely not the cleanest place) or on the run through the forest.
After I got it reasonably clean, I took a few steps back and jumped into the river.
With the gang (minus Will)
On the way back to camp, Robin (because he always was) and Allan (because he was anxious to get back) were a head of the others.
As they crested a hill they saw a disturbing sight.
Around 15 or so men were gathered in a small clearing. They were obviously receiving orders from the black-clad man at the front, Guy.
Robin automatically reached for his arrows before he realized what he was doing and actually had to struggle with himself in order to not shoot the black-clad figure. The only thing that stopped him was the knowledge of what would happen to Nottingham.
Quickly he dropped to the ground to avoid being seen and Allan did the same beside him. He looked at the others and motioned for them to be quiet.
"Master!" Much whispered urgently, crawling up on the other side of Robin. Before he could be shushed he pointed out what Robin had missed "They have dogs!"
Everyone's eyes widened. They were only a short distance from the camp and their scents were all over the place, meaning that the hounds could lead the men right to the camp.
Just as Robin began to think of a distraction, the dogs started barking; first one, then others as they caught the first's excitement. The handlers set them loose, and then chased after them.
The gang tensed, but then relaxed as they realized the dogs were running in the wrong direction. Towards the river instead of the camp.
They waited a few minutes to make sure that it wasn't a trap and that Guy's men were truly gone before running to camp.
When they got there they found Will, curving arrow lengths and attaching points to them, but he was alone.
"Where is Rachel?" Robin asked tensely, worried that his fears might be true and that she really was a spy for Prince John and the Sheriff.
"She went to bathe in the river." Will answered.
"You let her go alone?!" Allan's fear made him practically yell without realizing it. He didn't even hear his best friend's answer. All he could think about was how the men and dogs had run towards the river. Towards Rachel.
(A/N. Okay I thought about stopping here but then I realized I was going away in a few days and have no idea when I'll get to update again, so keep reading and sorry for the interruption!)
With Rachel
Half an hour after I had left camp I, was walking back, feeling considerably cleaner but also much colder and extremely more annoyed. I glared at Alex, the reason for me being cold and also the cause of my annoyance, but he just pranced along in front of me completely oblivious.
When I got closer I heard multiple voices, meaning the others had gotten back.
"You let her go alone!?" I heard Allan practically yell and I wondered what could have happened to make him so upset.
"Well it's not like I could have gone with her!" Will defended and then saw me walking up behind Allan. "Besides she's right there."
Allan spun around and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.
"Allan? Are you alright? Cannot breathe." I asked and peeked over his shoulder, looking at the others. "What happened? Is everyone alright?"
"Everyone's fine" Djac reassured me, sounding relieved. But I was still confused, if no one was hurt then why was everyone (especially Allan) so tense?
Robin answered my question before I even had a chance to ask it out loud. "We saw Gisborne on the way back."
"Guy? So?"
"He was close to the camp." Allan said, releasing me. But he left his arm wrapped protectively around my waist.
"Close?! He was practically on top of it!" Much exclaimed, "And he had dogs!"
"Wait a moment." Much continued, quieter than before, "What are you wearing?"
Everyone looked at me and I laughed nervously.
"Umm... my under dress?" I said sheepishly. It was long enough to almost to drag on the ground but it's shoulder straps were really narrow (basically a long cami that widened at the bottom.)
Allan let out a low whistle, looking down at me and I elbowed him in the side.
Everyone else looked like they wanted to ask but Much was the one that actually blurted it out.
"What happened to your dress?"
"Umm... haha, funny story 'bout that…Alex stole it." I said but didn't think anyone believed me, so I explained. "I had laid it on a rock for it to dry. Then I ducked under the water to get my hair wet and when I came up he was running away with it in his teeth."
"Right" Much said, clearly not believing me, as he moved as his kitchen area.
"Fine, don't believe me." I muttered under my breath and pressed closer to Allan. The sun had sunk behind the trees and the dress wasn't warm. Allan noticed my shivers and wrapped his cloak around me. I smiled up at him before turning my attention back to the others. "So what happened?"
While Much prepared dinner and Will added more wood to the fire, the others filled me in on what had happened. Then, with perfect timing, Robin finished telling the story at the same time Much finished dinner.
While we ate, the 5 that had gone filled Will and I in on what had happened in Nettlestone and the other villages since they had been there last.
"What happened to your arm?" Much asked around a mouthful of food. He was staring at the scar that ran from my right shoulder all the way down to my elbow. The cloak had slipped a bit down my arm, showing the scar. It was a bright pink and stood out against the rest of my pale skin.
"It looks new." Djac stated and I shrugged.
"It's a parting present from Prince John." I said and felt Allan tense beside me. He was looking at my arm, shocked.
"How old?" Little John questioned.
"Umm..." I had to think. "About 4 months, probably less." I had gotten cut (well, sliced really) the day I was sent to Nottingham, so figuring a week for how long travel took, plus the time I had been in the dungeons before the sheriff and Guy had returned.
"Did it get infected?'' Djac asked, getting up and examining my arm.
I nodded and said, "On the way to
the Castle."
"Hold on," Will sounded like he had just
realized something and I looked at him, waiting for him to continue,
"Why is it that none of the villagers were talking about
yesterday?"
"Yeah," Allan said, "Usually they're congratulating us and what not."
"Probably because they do not know." I suggested, looking back at Djac as she turned my arm this way and that, in order to see it better in the firelight. "It is not something Vassey would want getting back to prince John."
"Why?" Robin asked.
"I am supposed to be dead." I said calmly and looked up. "When I refused to tell John anything about the Kings plans, he sent me here to be hung "
"Why?" Robin asked again.
"He has a problem with personally killing a family member." I told them, wincing as Djac poked a still sore spot.
"So he sent you-" Much started to say, "Wait a moment! Family member!?"
Oh-oh. Had I said that? I thought back and realized I had. Great. It was not something I had been planning to say but I had been paying more attention to Djac prodding at my arm than my words.
I looked up hesitantly to see everyone's expression. They all had similar looks of surprise on their faces.
Well, everyone except Allan but he had already known. He was grinning widely, fully enjoying the fact that he had known the secret before any of the others.
"Yeah. He's my uncle."
"And you did not think that it might have been important to tell us?" Robin questioned, being the first to recover.
"It is not that important." I answered, shrugging and then winced again as Djac prodded the same sore spot. "Owww."
"Sorry." She apologized.
"You knew about this, didn't you?" Will asked Allan, having noticed his grin.
"I was there when she found out." Allan said.
"And what a fun day that was." I murmured under my breath and then added loud enough for everyone else to hear, and answered their unspoken question.
"I didn't know until I was 17."
"How did…" Robin started but then thought better of it, "I think you should tell us the entire story"
"Alright" I paused to gather my thoughts, then remembered something, "Ooh, one question first?" At Robin's nod, I continued. "My grandmother, did she return to France?"
"We believe so. She left here with two of LeGrand's men." Robin answered.
"LeGrand?" I questioned and he told me what had happened when the Queen Mother, my grandmother had been in Sherwood.
Poor LeGrand, I thought but then my thoughts turned to the King. Wait, who
is captain of the Guard then?
I had been staring into the fire, lost in my thoughts, when Allan than elbowed me in the side, getting my attention. I looked up to see that everyone was staring at me expectantly.
I also saw that Djac had moved to sit in front of Will, who had wrapped his arms around her and was sitting with his chin on her shoulder.
"What?" I asked but then realized. "Oh, right. Story time."
I gathered my thoughts, took a deep breath and then began my tale.
I told them how my birthmother (the King's elder sister) and my brother had been killed a year after I had been born.
"My grandmother, fearing for my life since the murderer had escaped, sent me to a married couple that lived in Rossdale that she trusted and they raised me as their own.
"Allan and I have been best friends ever since I can remember. He practically lived at my house.
"When I was 17, Allan proposed and I said yes." Here, everyone's attention shifted from me to Allan and I felt him shrug and pull me a little closer with his arm, which was still around me. I gave them a moment to get over their surprise before I continued.
"Allan hadn't, however, asked for my fathers blessing and I couldn't get married without it. So we went and asked for it together, never once thinking that he would refuse.
"But refuse he did, and when we demanded a reason, he hesitated and looked behind him, at a woman who was sitting in the house. She nodded and told him that it was time to tell me.
"I had no idea what the woman could be talking about although I had seen her before. She had come and visited my parents four or five times a year ever since I could remember. She would arrive around lunch, stay for supper, and then be gone by the time I got up the next day. We had never talked more than what was required to be polite. 'Hello, how are you?' that sort of thing.
"My mother had told me that they weren't my parents, but I had already known that because I had overheard them talking about it when I was younger. Then my father introduced the woman.
"This," He had said, ''is your Grandmother Eleanor, the Queen mother."
"I had just stared at her and she began to explain. She told me what had happened to my mother and brother, and why she sent me to live with my parents. Then she offered to take me to London so I could meet my uncles, but she said that if I didn't want to go, then she would understand. It had taken me over a week to think about it and I had decided not to go but then, in the end, my father forced me to go." Allan's arm tightened reassuringly around my shoulders and I knew that he was remembering the fight I had with my father before I left. I hadn't spoken to the man since.
"I was in London for two years before Richard went to the Holy Lands and I followed him, disguised as a man. He found out, of course, but I had already proved to be his best messenger so, instead of sending me back to England, he gave me Alex and told me that he had to remain with me at all times. Shortly after, I was stabbed in the side and sent back to London until I healed.
"Prince John treated me warmly enough but I could tell that he was up to something, I just couldn't tell was what it was…Although I never guessed that it would be so extreme as plotting to overthrow King Richard. I stayed there and regained my strength, while attempting to discover what Prince John was up to for a few months.
"Then, when I was healed, I came to Nottingham to deliver a message and act as a representative for Prince John, in order to show his support for the new sheriff. Now I believe that letter was the beginning of Shar Mat and if I had known it then, I would not have delivered it but it was sealed and expected so it had to be delivered. I stayed here for a month or so, during which I met Will, and then I returned to the Holy Lands and King Richard.
"The night of the attack that wounded Robin, I was at a different camp, delivering orders, so I did not experience it first-hand but I had returned the next day and saw the after-effects.
"Richard had told me that he was sending Robin, (and Much, of course,) home as soon as he was well enough to travel, and he wanted me to go with them."
I didn't tell the gang this but, at first, I had refused. There was no way I was willingly leaving. Especially now that, since Robin was returning to England, the Captain of the guard was an absolute idiot and I told Richard that. He had laughed and reminded me that I have said the same thing about Greensleeves (my nickname for Robin). I had argued back, saying that I had been right, he was just a much more capable idiot than I had first figured. Richard had laughed again but then become serious. He had told me that he suspected that it was more than just a group of Saracens that attacked him..
I continued aloud, "He said that he was sending me back to England because he needed someone he could trust protecting the Queen-Mother. It was then I returned with you."
Robin nodded and asked, "And after?"
"Afterwards, I went to France and stayed with my grandmother. Prince John invited us to come 'visit' for Christmas and, although I was wary, Grandmother still believed in her youngest son and we went. In return for her belief in him, he locked us in a tower. I managed to release us and we fled. But a week after our escape, the Prince's soldiers caught us and she fled, but in order to allow enough time for her to get away I stayed and fought them and I was caught again.
"Only, instead of looking me in the dungeons and waiting for me to tell the King's secrets, John sent me to a man who had made a hobby of torturing people and was a professional at breaking a person's mind."
(A/N Sorry to interrupt, but this is where Arem's story comes in and will probably be a bit confusing if you haven't read that, so if you haven't read it and it doesn't male any sense, don't worry about it but you should read it since it's a great story! )
"Malys." Robin whispered and I tore my eyes away from the fire (which I had been staring at) and focused them on him.
"You know of him?" I asked shocked.
"Yes we know him!" Much exclaimed while everyone looked worriedly at Robin and I felt Allan's gaze on my face. I smiled to reassure him that I was fine, while Much ranted. "He is a vile, horrible man!''
Out of the corner of my eye I. saw Robin glance over his shoulder and cringe, like he saw something only visible to him. Then again, I thought, glancing over my own shoulder, it was entirely possible.
"How did you escape?" Djac asked, softly, after making sure Robin was alright. She and Will were in the same position, only now Will had stretched his legs out and she was leaning back against his chest.
"From Malys?" I asked and let the memories washed over me, ''I didn't. For a while I resisted, but then I realized there was no chance of escape. So I found the part of my mind that was me and made it as small as possible. I played his game, answered only to the name he had given me and did as he told because I knew that eventually he would send me back to Prince John. The sooner and more completely he thought he had broke me, the sooner John would collect me and the easier it would be too unbury the part of me that had been hidden away.
"I lost all sense of time so I cannot say how long I was there but I know the snow was off the ground when my uncle did get me. It was here that he found his plan had gone wrong, the person Malys had molded did not know any of the secrets that he wanted.
"After a while he gave up and sent me here, to either be arm candy for Guy or hung, whichever suited the sheriff, and, well, you know what happened after that." I finished with a shrug.
Allan picked me up and cradled me to his chest. It was only when he wiped away a tear that I realized I had begun crying.
Odd, I wasn't sad.
I had told the story once before, to Guy in the castle and I had cried there as well. I had woken up from a dream, screaming and Guy was the one who had shaken me awoke. Still not wholly awake, I had blurted it out.
Strangely, I hadn't regretted it. My telling had started an odd sort of friendship between the two of us. It was like having someone appear so vulnerable in front of him had allowed him to let his shields drop, just the smallest amount. It had been Guy who had given me the medicine to clean out the infection and help heal my arm.
A wet nose jabbed into my side and I came back to reality.
I wrapped an arm around Allan's neck and laughed at Alex, who was trying to climb onto Allan's lap as well. I owed a lot to that dog and loved him dearly. He had protected me in the Holy Lands times to numerous to count and it was because of him that I wasn't a mindless servant of the sheriff.
On my way here I had seen Alex through the trees as he followed the wagon I was in. It was the sight of him that made my mind…I don't know. Reconnect? Realize what had happened? It was if my mind had just shut down and was just then beginning to work again. Before I struggled to remember who I had been before Malys and to find that piece of me that had been buried somewhere deep in the back of my mind, and then when I caught a glimpse of him, it was as if the wall blocking my thoughts was knocked down.
My laugh turned into a yawn as I rubbed Alex's ear with my free hand and I realized (with a bit of annoyance,) how tired I had become from merely talking. The gang was quiet, each of them lost in their own thoughts, and I began to drift off again, for the second time in the same number of nights falling asleep with Allan holding me…not that I was complaining.
A/N. Well, there you go. Oh and if the Gang can tell Much to shut up then I can use the term 'arm candy'…mainly because I couldn't think of any other term that would work but if anyone knows one then I'll be happy to change it.
reviews are wonderful!