Robin Hood: The Assassin's Gift
By: Shadow Chaser
Author's Notes:
Robin Hood and all of its characters do not belong to me. This story is written for fandom and not for profit. This story takes place roughly at the end of July, early August and crosses over with Assassin's Creed. I have two companion stories to this one, Silence, a one-shot, and Solace of Silence, which is in the process of being written and takes place one year prior to Robin's return from the Holy Lands.
Story:
Part 2 – Ambush
NOTTINGHAM TOWN
Will adjusted the helmet he had taken from one of the two unconscious bodies of the guards he and Allan had ambushed a few minutes ago. He hated wearing these things and wondered how in the world the guards of Nottingham castle were able to move around in them. It was a miracle that they could fight in these things. The last time he had to wear one was when he and Allan were escaping the dungeons during the Crusader James of Atherstone's brief stay in Nottingham.
They had hid the two bodies in an abandoned house and covered the two guards with sacks of flour from a near by bakery.
"Ready mate?" Allan asked as he adjusted the waist of his chain mail armor before checking to make sure that his longsword was strapped tightly to his waist.
Will had hidden one of his short axes inside the folds of his armor and wore a short sword by his hip and held a spear in his hands. "You're in better spirits."
If his best friend was bothered by his comments, he didn't show it and instead shrugged. "I finally got it through my thick skull that sulking around wasn't going to do me any good," he gave him a faint smile before adjusting the sword once more around his waist, "besides…it's what she would have wanted…"
Will almost didn't hear the last part, but placed a comforting hand on Allan's shoulder. When his best friend had almost betrayed them to the Sheriff during the tournament he had been shocked and didn't understand why Allan did it. It was only after the death of Anna that he realized how much the woman meant to his best friend and a part of him knew that he would have done the same if Djaq had been in Anna's position.
"Let's go," he said and Allan nodded before they hurried towards their destination, making sure to grab a torch on the way.
The darkness of night made for the perfect time to execute their rescue plan and when Allan spotted their target, he patted Will on their shoulder before handing him the torch. Will glanced around and made sure that no other guards were around the area before hurrying towards a giant pile of hay near the eastern part of the castle wall. There were also a few horses, goats, and cow by the pile of hay which would add to the distraction.
He quickly tossed the torch onto the pile of hay before running back to where Allan was. The hay burst into flames and smoke filled the air. The animals, sensing fire was near started to make a ruckus and the two of them ducked into an alleyway just as the nearby guards rushed to the scene.
From the alleyway, they ran quickly towards the eastern gates and opened them, letting the others in. Both Much and Little John were carrying large baskets and they all ran towards the castle, making sure that they stayed in the shadows and avoided guards whenever possible.
"Stay here," Robin looked at him and Allan and he nodded before watching their leader and Djaq disappear up into the castle along with Much and Little John still carrying the large wicker baskets.
"Do you think it'll work?" a sudden surge of apprehension filled Will as he stared at where Djaq had disappeared.
"Well it's still one of the better plans we've come up with," Allan shrugged before giving him a faint smile, "chickens, Will, chickens. I've always thought I was the more creative one of getting us into the castle, but Robin's idea takes the cake."
Will had also thought it was one of the more outrageous plans their fearless leader had come up with, and suspected it was due to the fact that Robin had gotten the idea from the children of Locksley. They had spent the day asking various farmers around the villages if they could use some of their chickens and each of the wicker baskets held at least four chickens to be let loose within the castle halls.
Much and Little John would then supposedly scare the chickens all over the place before letting the guards on a merry chase throughout the town before escaping through the eastern gates. He and Allan would then slip in while the guards were distracted and help Robin and Djaq with the Saracen prisoner. Then they would make their own escape after the guards had gone chasing after Much and Little John by the now-guard-depleted eastern gate.
The sudden clatter followed by a squawk that sounded distinctly like a chicken being ran over alerted made both of them look up to see Much running down the steps followed quickly by Little John and at least two scared chickens. Will flattened himself against the side stairs along with Allan, hoping that the guards who followed the squawking chickens didn't see them and order them to give chase.
"After them!" one of the guards shouted before at least five of them ran after Much and Little John.
Will had to stifle his laughter as a few of the guards tripped over the squawking chickens on their way after the other two outlaws. This was definitely one of their cleverer plans…
"All clear!" Allan tapped him on the shoulder, a grin on his features before the two of them hurried up the unguarded steps and headed towards the dungeons.
They had to pick their way through the mess of feathers and chicken poop that littered the halls, but managed to arrive in front of the door to the dungeons relatively unscathed and unseen. Just as Will was about to open the door, it swung open, revealing both Djaq and Robin along with the Saracen prisoner…who was a girl!
"Her name's Hadiya," Djaq explained before helping her out of the door.
Will instinctively grabbed the black-clothed assassin's other arm and helped her out before she waved him away.
"I can walk," her accent was clipped and sounded more precise than Djaq's, almost as if she wasn't exactly used to speaking English.
"Much and John?" Robin asked, bringing up the rear, bow in hand.
"Running like chickens with their heads cut off," Allan quipped and Will shook his head in exasperation and noticed that both Djaq and Robin had grins on their faces. All of them were glad that Allan had snapped out of his depressing funk the day before…
"We should go," as always, Djaq was the first to snap out of the good humor and ushered them along.
"We should be all clear from here to the gates," Will said quietly to Robin who nodded and clapped him on the back.
"Good work," their leader said and he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride fill him. He always looked up to Robin and while knew that the man had his faults; he couldn't help but think of their leader as like an older brother of sorts.
They hurried out of the castle and through the town, making a wide circle to the eastern gates to avoid the still burning haystack and braying animals, all the while making sure that their new friend was fairing well. As they joined up with Much and Little John, Will spared himself a glance at Hadiya and he couldn't help but notice that she looked a lot different than Djaq, but couldn't place his finger on it…
Until he realized that it was because she was covered from head to toe in black garbs and only her eyes were showing.
"There are some sects of Muslims that do not allow women to show any skin unless it is in the presence of a male family member," Djaq caught him staring at the assassin and Will blushed slightly.
"Sorry," he mumbled an apology, remembering how he had first stumbled upon Djaq in the forest while she was bathing.
"Don't worry," Djaq squeezed his arm in reassurance.
Behind them, Will heard Allan snicker slightly and glared at him as they headed back to camp. He was already embarrassed enough and didn't need his best friend needling him some more.
SHERIFF'S QUARTERS, NOTTINGHAM CASTLE
Altaїr struggled against the bonds that held him as he watched Robin Hood and the rest of the outlaws run from the castle, glancing this way and that to make sure that they weren't being followed. Hadiya had laid a trap for him when he had infiltrated the castle and he had walked straight into it; and now the outlaws were walking into that same trap.
"Those bonds aren't going to get any looser if you keep squirming around like that," the Sheriff of Nottingham's oily voice made him glare at the man and struggle some more against his bound feet, hands, and mouth.
The man walked forward, standing next to him as he also peeked out of the window and a sigh escaped his lips. "Hood is so easy to bait…it's a wonder he isn't dead yet."
He knew that the Sheriff was baiting him and remembered that once, not long ago, he would have struggled to say something, his arrogance clouding his judgment, but now, he stayed silent, still glaring at the Sheriff. The sounds of a few of the guards giving chase to the outlaws echoed throughout the mostly silent courtyard, save for the clucking of a few errant chickens, with the sounds fading away as Robin Hood and his men escaped into the town.
Just then, the Sheriff reached over and pulled his mouth gag down and gave him an even look. "Now, I'm curious, why are you here?"
"Hadiya is a rogue of my clan," Altaїr said quietly, "and she needs to be stopped."
"Ah, and here I thought you were going to kill me," Sheriff Vaysey shrugged, "so if she is a rogue, why was she sent here?"
Altaїr knew that telling the Sheriff his true purpose of killing Hadiya would only make him all the more aware to an object that should have never existed in the world. And for that such object to fall into the wrong hands…would mean grave consequences. As soon as Malik had found out through his contacts that Hadiya knew of the Piece of Eden existing in England and had set forth to claim it for the Templars, he had taken off to stop her and to kill her.
The assassins at Masyaf had spent the past year tracking down the rest of the Templars and hunting for the other Pieces of Eden, making sure they were either safely ensconced away or hidden from prying eyes. How Hadiya had discovered that there was one here remained a mystery to Altaїr, but he knew that Malik Al-Sayr, the current nominal leader of the Assassin Order, would hunt down the traitor back in the Holy Lands.
His job was to kill Hadiya and make sure the Piece of Eden was still safe.
"She would sooner kill you than help you hunt down Robin of Locksley," Altaїr decided to give half of a truth. Hadiya was a Templar, not a Christian Templar, but part of the group that called themselves Templars – and they wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone standing in way of their goal.
"Actually, there is no more Robin of Locksley, there's only Robin Hood now…outlaw you see," the Sheriff looked indifferent.
During the past few days when he had been gathering information about Nottingham town and his surroundings, he had come across the information that his old ally and friend Robin of Locksley was now an outlaw, a renegade within the current English government. It had completely puzzled him and he had asked the locals of their opinions of what happened and while he had somewhat pieced together the story of why Robin was now an outlaw, he understood one thing: the government in Nottingham was corrupt.
"Now, you may not be inclined to tell me the real reason why you've come, but I certainly know that you assassins are ready to stab anyone in the back. However, since it seems my agreement with the girl is currently in effect, I just couldn't let you go now, could I?" the Sheriff stared at him with a thin lipped smile, "after all, she said she would bring me Hood's head…"
"He is a good man, Sheriff," Altaїr frowned, "and I can see why he would oppose you."
"No," the Sheriff walked away from the window and his eyes followed the shorter man, "he is obstructing justice and preventing the law from being upheld."
"With good reason," Altaїr was no stranger to breaking laws; after all, he was an assassin. But even he knew that Robin would go great lengths not to break the law – bending it perhaps – but definitely not break it.
"Ah!" the Sheriff turned and smiled at him congenially before waving his finger in the air and two guards came forward and surrounded him. Altaїr stiffened, ready to put up a fight when the next words that spilled out of the Sheriff's mouth froze him to the spot. "Well, as far as I'm concerned, Hood has broken the law and thus I want him dead. Of course, you can hang with him or have your head put up on a pike, but before we do that, do you know anything called the Piece of Eden?"
"Where did you hear of that?" the guards clamped their arms around him, but he didn't struggle, still paralyzed with shock. If the Sheriff knew of the Piece of Eden…
The shorter man just smiled slyly and poked him hard in the shoulder. "So you do know what it is…and I think it's safe to assume that you were sent here to keep it safe, weren't you?"
"How do you know of this?" he demanded.
"A little bird flew by and told me," the Sheriff waved to one of his cages in a vague manner.
"Templars," Altaїr hissed out softly. That meant he had more than one to kill regarding the Piece of Eden.
"So that's what they call themselves," the Sheriff looked thoughtful as he paced around him in a circle before waving for the guards to take him back to the dungeons.
"You don't know what you're getting into," Altaїr struggled against his captor's iron grips, "it's dangerous!"
"Ooo, I love danger," the Sheriff looked positively giddy at the statement, making the pit of dread in the assassin's stomach grow deeper.
"It's too much power, even for you!" Altaїr bunched his muscles together and suddenly wrenched it from one of the guards' grasp before elbowing the man in the face. The guard went down with a clatter and he wasted no time in hitting the other guard with his chain-bound hands, making the other man go down.
He wasted no time and grabbed the keys to his chains and unlocked the ones binding his legs before proceeding to undo the ones around his wrists. He was in the midst of unlocking them before he realized that something was wrong and looked up to see the Sheriff staring at him with a mild expression his face…and no other guards around him.
Altaїr stopped what he was doing and stood up slowly, wary of yet another ambush of sorts. Why hadn't the Sheriff summoned more guards…surely they heard the clatter…
It was then that he sensed someone behind him and turned around to see a tall, thin red-headed man dressed in a variation of the Crusader's outfits he had seen in the Holy Lands…his sword drawn and pointed at him. It was also then that he noticed the man's wrists were exposed and one of them held a wolf's head tattoo…the symbol of the Templars.
"Please," the Sheriff's voice made him turn back slightly to see him walking forward, gesturing with his hands, "do continue your lovely escape."
"What trick is this?" Altaїr growled out darkly.
"No, no trick," the Sheriff smiled slightly, "just…a test of sorts I think." He gave the barest of winks to the red-headed man.
"Templar, speak your purpose here," he demanded of the red-head.
"You should know of my goal," the man had a French accent and waved his sword slightly, "I seek the same thing you do, little assassin."
"You will never get the Piece of Eden!" Altaїr finished releasing his wrists from the manacles and they dropped to the ground in a noisy clatter.
"Ah, well, then I guess it's a race," the Sheriff gestured to a pile on his table that had been covered in cloth but was now revealed, "see, if you find Hadiya first, then you get the Piece of Eden and save Robin Hood. But if Gisborne gets there first…well…you know the rest.
"But as you know, I want Hood's head on a pike. I would like yours there, but my friend here tells me that it's a bit too messy," he continued.
"I could kill you and your friend," Altaїr sneered the word, "here right now since you are consorting with a Templar."
"That would be a problem," the shorter man raised his eyebrows, "you see, if you kill me, then you'll have to go and kill Prince John and a few other nobles in the Court for consorting with Templars too. Then I suspect it wouldn't go so well for the home team in the Holy Lands would it? It might…say break a truce going on right now?"
Altaїr knew that the Sheriff was right. His mission was supposed to be low profile. Killing the Frenchman and the Sheriff would make it too risky…but it was his duty to protect the Piece of Eden and to make sure no one else got their hands on it.
"Torn are we?" the Sheriff gestured to the pile and he noticed that it was his weapons, including his hidden blade bracer. "See, I'm giving you a chance to kill Hadiya and save Robin Hood…but I won't make it easy for you."
Altaїr knew that it was a trap and knew that the Sheriff knew he wasn't familiar at all with the landscape surrounding Nottingham town. He would probably have to fight his way out of the town before scouring the countryside for Robin Hood and his men. His body, still aching from the torture Hadiya put him through a day ago, would probably not withstand the combined assault and search throughout the forest. He would be too late to do anything…
"Aw, surrendering are we?" the Sheriff laughed lightly.
"Never," his eyes flashed dangerously before he walked over and grabbed his weapons. Turning, he glared at the Sheriff and the Frenchman, "I will be back and you will never get your hands on the Piece of Eden." With that, he walked over to the open window into the courtyard and leaped out of it, landing in a pile of hay before rolling out of it and ran towards the gates of the castle.
He had two missions now…save his old friend and kill Hadiya.
Vaysey was mildly surprised when the assassin jumped out of the window and landed neatly onto a pile of hay. It was a pretty long drop from where he was standing and the man had gotten away relatively unscathed.
"Are you sure it will work?" La Celle spoke up behind him, sheathing his sword. "If he gets his hands on the Piece of Eden…"
"Gisborne and Hadiya's men are there. He won't make it in time. I made sure of that," the Sheriff smiled slightly to himself as he saw that the first rays of dawn were approaching.
"You play a dangerous game, Vaysey," La Celle warned, "when we do have Robin Hood in our grasp, won't he come and rescue the man?"
"That's what I'm counting on," the Sheriff smiled nastily, "when he does come, then he can deal with Hadiya and we'll get the Piece of Eden."
La Celle smiled, "We think alike, Sheriff. Perhaps I must reconsider my position towards you joining the Templars."
OUTLAWS' CAMP, SHERWOOD FOREST
Robin had to admit, as he and the rest of the gang walked into their camp, the plan worked flawlessly. He had almost thought either Gisborne or the Sheriff would wake up and come after them but it seemed that they got away unseen. He glanced at their new Saracen guest who looked a bit battered, but otherwise healthy. "So, Hadiya," he started conversationally as the others scattered across the camp, but were paying attention to every word he said, "what did you do to make the Sheriff angry enough to imprison you?"
"You mean besides being one of your Crusaders' enemies?" the young woman shot back, her eyes flashing, "I tried to kill him."
"Well that will certainly get you on the Sheriff's bad side," Much muttered none too loudly.
"I'm surprised he let you live this long," Robin watched as Djaq silently offered her some water and food to which she took and sat down before drinking straight out of the cup through the black cloth covering her face.
"I was sent by the Order to negotiate with the Sheriff of Nottingham in any way possible to free my people from slavery," she didn't touch the food and instead took another sip from her cup.
"And that meant killing the Sheriff?" Will asked, sitting across from her, munching on a piece of bread and cheese.
"Any way possible," Hadiya said in a serious tone.
"They wouldn't happen to be two wagons of them traveling towards here would they?" Allan leaned against a tree, scratching the back of his head.
"They will be arriving later this morning," she looked distressed, "and while I appreciate the rescue, I must help my men."
"Your men?" now Robin was intrigued and wondered if the assassin was more than she seemed. Her tone in which she had greeted him and Djaq when they had freed her from her cell was very authoritative and almost leader-like. A tone that he was very familiar with having used it with the gang and with his own troops in the Holy Land.
Hadiya suddenly looked down, "I have said too much…"
"Listen, we just saved your bacon," Allan shook his head, "and now you say you've said too much? I don't mean to be funny, but make up your mind."
"We're only trying to help you," Robin crouched down next to Hadiya, noting the fear and wariness in her eyes.
"Robin, let me talk to her," Djaq suddenly sat down on Hadiya's other side and he gave her a curious look before she just shook her head almost imperceptibly. He shrugged and got up, moving to one of the logs across the fire and sat down, accepting a cup of water from Much as he watched Djaq and Hadiya talk quietly in Arabic.
He caught a few snippets of words and sentences he recognized and learned during his time in the Holy Lands and realized that Hadiya was afraid of them. They were all men who had spirited her from prison and she was afraid that they would hurt her since essentially they were outlaws. While she was an assassin and a fierce fighter in her own right, she was also a woman stuck in an unfamiliar land with unfamiliar men – men like the soldiers in the Crusades that had caused so much brutality amongst her people.
It was only natural for her to think that Robin and his men were the same as the Crusaders and he frowned. There was the occasional rare instance he wondered if he should have disobeyed his King's orders and stayed behind. If they were amassing such a reputation in the Holy Lands…it was a wonder that the Muslims and other religious groups called them infidels and warmongers.
It seemed that Djaq was trying to explain what she was doing; running around with a band of men, and the discussion grew a bit heated. He frowned and decided to try to help Djaq out. He hadn't used Arabic in a while and knew that he would have to choose his words carefully. He never told any of the outlaws, with the exception of Much, that he knew the language and the only hint that they got was that he had read the Qu'ran while he was in the Holy Lands.
"Robin?" Djaq asked curiously as he crouched down next to the two women.
"Peace," he looked at Hadiya "we mean you no harm. We only mean you peace and wish to help you."
"You've learned our language," Hadiya looked surprise as did Djaq and the others.
"Trust him, he can help. We can help you," Djaq said and Hadiya was silent for a minute before sighing and nodding.
"Some of my men are mixed in with the slaves being brought through Nottingham. I had two plans: one was either to negotiate with the Sheriff to free the slaves and my men, or to ambush one of the wagons and free my men so that we would be able to gather together and launch an all-out attack against the Sheriff and the nobles of Nottinghamshire before heading to Birmingham then to London to kill Prince John."
"Why kill Prince John?" Robin was curious.
"If news of his brother's death reached Richard's ears, then we would hope he would retreat since his lands will be unguarded and ripe for the picking of any ambitious noble, making it so that Richard would have to stop his Crusade."
He shook his head and stood up, pacing around, "That wouldn't have worked. The King doesn't like his brother and Prince John has been making bids to take over his throne in the past several months since I've returned. Your plan, while noble as it is, would have accomplished nothing."
"How do you figure that?" Will looked confused, "aren't we trying to stop the Sheriff and Prince John?"
"Yes we are," Robin tried to make the intricacies of Court politics as simple as possible for his men, "but we need to do so in the way that the King is the one to throw his brother out, not randomly kill him and the Sheriff. Besides, from the rumors I've heard, Prince John would definitely have a contingency plan in place if he was suddenly killed. And he may have heirs we don't know about who could suddenly stand up and say that he or she is the new ruler of England."
"Not to mention, the French hate Prince John's guts," Much murmured quietly and Robin nodded.
"What?" now all of the outlaws and Hadiya looked confused.
"Killing him right now would invite the French to invade English soil and then we would have a civil war on our hands. Right now, with Prince John on the throne, the French won't make a move against him. They know he has his people in high places and he has the backing of people like the Sheriff," Robin scratched his beard before staring at Hadiya, stopping his pacing around. "I offer a counter proposal to your plans."
The assassin raised an eyebrow, "A counter proposal? You do not know what the Order has told me to do."
"Wait, just listen," he held up his hands in a placating gesture, knowing how volatile assassins got whenever their orders were changed by someone else. He had worked with an assassin during his time in the Holy Lands and still remembered when he finally convinced his wary ally to go against his orders in favor of a much better and less-suicidal one. "Capture the Sheriff and the corrupt nobles. Then re-install Edward of Knighton as the new Sheriff. Then help me hold the castle when Prince John retaliates."
"Don't you mean if?" Little John looked concerned.
"When," Robin shot a quick grin at the big man before looking back at Hadiya, "what do you say?"
"We were told to kill all of the nobles, including Edward of Knighton."
"He's not corrupt," Robin frowned, "and I guess if you do have to really kill all the nobles, you would have to start by killing me…and Much."
"Master!" Much shot him a wounded look before staring at Hadiya with slight fear in his eyes.
"You?"
"I'm Robin of Locksley, Earl of Huntington," he grinned at her and watched shock play through her eyes.
"And you are an outlaw…"
"The Sheriff had something to do with that part…so did Guy of Gisborne," Robin shrugged, "so what do you say?"
"When Prince John arrives, will you let me complete my mission or will you offer another…counter proposal?" she didn't sound happy and almost scoffed the words.
"When we get to that part, I'll let you know," he replied a bit evasively before holding out his hand, "so…deal?"
Hadiya stared at his hand for a few seconds before reluctantly putting her own in his and shook it. "For now, Robin of Locksley…"
"So, now that's settled, where were your men coming in from?" he helped her up and folded his arms across his chest.
"I was told near Boston and they would be arriving before dawn," she said in a short tone.
"That's…east of here, which would make it…." Much turned slightly, finger pointing, "that way."
"Ah, well, it is getting a bit light out, " Robin grinned at the other men who took it as their cue to check their weapons before hefting his own bow and making sure his sword was secure by his side, "shall we?"
They headed off towards the east hoping to intercept the wagons of slaves before it reached its destination in Nottingham. However, no one caught Hadiya dipping two small throwing knives into the crystal bottle of liquid the Sheriff had given her a couple of nights ago. She smiled behind her veil as she followed them, knowing that the outlaws were running straight into an ambush.
SHERWOOD FOREST
Robin had sent Will ahead to scout out if the wagons were arriving and positioned the rest of the gang accordingly for an ambush of the first wagon when Will reported that they were indeed on their way. He had Allan on one side of a small ridge hidden in the forest with his bow and had him tie a few strings to some of the near by branches and did the same with Much, except on the opposite side of Allan.
He then kept Will further back and a bit away from the others so he could signal to them when the second wagon was approaching. Will had told them that at least six soldiers guarded each wagon, which meant twelve men to take down. It wouldn't be easy, but Robin had confidence in his men.
Little John, Djaq, and Hadiya were with him, standing in the middle of the dirt road, ready to halt the first wagon in its tracks. They would have free the first wagon quickly before the second one arrived so they would have more men to overpower the soldiers guarding the second wagon.
Robin held his bow loosely in his hands with an arrow already half notched into its string a wiry smile on his face as he heard and saw the first wagon approaching. "Stop right there," Robin stepped forward, making the wagon and soldiers stop where they were, "this is an ambush."
"There are only four of you and six of us," the lead guard sneered at him and he smiled in return.
"Oh really?" he looked up into the ridges where Allan and Much were hiding and nodded towards the trees, "my men and I have you surrounded."
That was the spoken signal for both Allan and Much to rattle the near by trees which had strings tied on them, giving the soldiers the impression that there were more men hidden in the ridges than they had thought. He had used the same exact trick long ago when he and Much first came across Allan-a-Dale and bit his lip from laughing out loud as the soldiers looked around warily.
"I-I don't believe you!" the lead soldier stuttered in fear and he had to give him credit for not bowing down to threats.
But that was also the second cue for Allan and Much to start firing arrows towards the soldiers. Not precisely enough to kill them, but enough to scare them. He knew that both of his men were fair shots. They would run up and down the ridges they were on, firing arrows to completely the illusion that there were definitely more men up there, ready to snipe the soldiers down from above.
And so when the first arrow whistled down from Much's side and embedded itself into the wagon, all of the soldiers jumped at least a few feet in the air and the lead horse whinnied, startled. A few seconds later, more arrows from Allan's side hit both the ground and wagon soon joined by Much's arrows and Robin watched with an amused look as the soldiers darted back and forth, trying to duck under the arrows.
He held up his hand and the arrows stopped firing. "Now then," turning to face the now thoroughly scared leader, "please leave your swords on the ground along with any other weapons you may have and you can go on your way. We'll take the wagon off of your hands."
"This is Crown p-property! They are expected in Birmingham!" the lead soldier looked torn between his duty and the fact that he nearly got shot by arrows.
Robin rolled his eyes and sighed before lining up his bow and pulling back the string, pointing it straight at the soldier's chest. "We can do this the hard way or the easy way."
The lead soldier gulped a few times before taking his sword out and dropping it to the ground. "Okay, okay…we'll leave…" He nodded to his men who looked a bit bewildered, but did as their leader ordered.
Robin lowered his bow and watched as the soldiers fled past them, the wiry smile back on his face. As the leader passed him, he caught a flash of colors from underneath the soldier's cloak and his smile faltered slightly. The colors were in a familiar pattern and somehow, it set off alarm bells in his head.
"Robin?" Djaq called out, making him shove the thought into the back of his mind as he turned and focused on the task at hand. "What do we do with him?" she gestured with her head towards the driver whom Little John was holding his staff on to prevent him from escaping.
"Keep him there for a second," he looked up to the ridges and shook his head, signaling to Allan and Much to stay where they were before rounding to the back of the covered wagon where Hadiya had lifted a part of the cloth up and was speaking to a few men in the wagon. Her Arabic was too fast for Robin to follow or even pick out a few snippets of words, but he assumed that with their eager nods of heads that she was explaining what was going on.
"Djaq, you have the swords?" he called out before she came around the corner, her arms full of the six swords the soldiers dropped, the key to the lock on the wagon's latch on top of the pile.
He picked off the key and gave it to Hadiya who immediately unlocked the latch. A few of her men spilled out, staring at Djaq curiously before taking a couple of the swords she had in her hands.
"I told some of them to stay in the wagon to give the illusion that the wagon has stopped to give the guards a break. The rest will hide behind the trees, ready to attack on my command," Hadiya explained and he nodded.
"What about the others?" he gestured to some of the other men looked ill at ease and confused.
"They will be safer in the wagon than out here. After this is done, we will take them home to their families," she replied before one of the men inside the wagon asked for water.
She unhooked a small water flask and reached out to give it to the man. In the process, he caught a flash of her bare wrist…and an all-too familiar wolf's head tattoo on it before her black clothes covered it up once more. He frowned slightly…all of the assassins, with the exception of Gisborne, had been killed during the attempt on the King's life and as far as he knew, Gisborne was the only person who had a wolf's head tattoo.
Something wasn't right…and between that tattoo and the pattern of color he saw on the soldier…
Will's sharp piercing whistle echoed throughout the forest alerting them that the second wagon was coming. Robin was about to order his men back into their positions when he saw the second wagon approaching, surrounded by more than six soldiers. In fact, it looked like it was surrounded by at least two units of guards. It was an ambush.
"Scatter!" he called out to the others, "we'll meet by the secondary hiding spot!"
With that, he grabbed Hadiya's hand and dragged her along as he ran away from the soldiers who had broken into a run, seeing their quarry escape.
"Let me go!" she shouted as they charged down a hill, trees blurring past them, "my men-"
"Will be fine," he cut her off tersely; "we'll set up another plan when the real second wagon arrives in Nottingham." He finally remembered where he had seen the colored pattern…it was Prince John's colors and he had seen them on the soldiers he had sent a month and half ago when James of Atherstone had tried to hang him in an elaborate plan.
He ran past a rather large boulder before pulling her around it and pressed up against it, glancing out to make sure that none of the soldiers were following them, or if they were, they would run past them.
"What are you-"
"Shh," he hissed as a few soldiers ran by, shouting orders to the others to continue pursuit. They wore the colors of the Sheriff's elite guard…which meant the Sheriff knew they were going to ambush the wagons…he had a feeling that their new assassin friend wasn't who she seemed to be.
As soon as the last man was gone, he turned slightly and stared at her, anger in his eyes. "Explain to me how the Sheriff knew we were going to be there?"
"Excuse me?!" she looked surprised, but Robin could see past the act, the way her eyes glittered with hidden darkness and how her posture was one of indifference. Ever since his encounter with James of Atherstone, he was a little more wary, especially in light of Allan's betrayal during the tournament. He could feel himself doubting the good in people a little less as the months dragged on and while he knew he should have given the benefit of doubt to some people, he knew that it was the fact that some deep part of him was tired of living in the forest and letting the Sheriff get away with his plans so often.
He grabbed her wrist, and pulled down a part of her sleeve, exposing the wolf's head tattoo. "This tattoo," he hissed quietly at her, "was seen in the King's camp at Acre as part of an assassination attempt on the King himself. There is only one other person I know of that has this kind of tattoo."
"I have no clue-"
"Don't play me for a fool, Hadiya," he narrowed his eyes, his other hand gripping his bow tightly, "I know you are an assassin and I know how your kind operates. Deception is your biggest ally."
Her expression didn't change, but her eyes narrowed fractionally, "This is the mark of those who throw everything away for their one true goal."
"This is the mark of a traitor," he shot back, "who are you? Really, Hadiya. Because I am sick of playing games with the Sheriff and with you. The Sheriff knew we were coming and some of Prince John's men were guarding the wagons."
He had expected her to move, but wasn't prepared for the speed at which she moved. One minute she was caught in his grip, the next, it was all a blur and Robin's world suddenly tipped upside down before a sharp pain blossomed across his right shoulder and he fell to his knees, wincing.
He glanced up to see her a few feet away from him, her eyes glittering like dark stones. "I am Hadiya of the Templars and you, Robin of Locksley, have something we want."
She suddenly split into two people and Robin blinked a bit before her form joined into one again then jumped out as two people. It was then that he realized his whole body had started to feel a bit numb. He struggled to lift his arm up and reached behind him to where the pain was still radiating from his shoulder and felt a sharp spike of metal there. A small knife had embedded itself into his shoulder…and it was laced with some kind of liquid that was slowly paralyzing him.
He managed to lift his head up and looked sluggishly at her, his whole world spinning before his muscles failed him and he collapsed to the ground, unable to do anything but breathe. He noticed that a lot more booted feet had arrived…
"Did you kill him?" Gisborne's voice seemed so far away, yet he thought he saw the man's face.
"No…he's only paralyzed," he thought he heard Hadiya reply before a spike of pain erupted from his stomach as she kicked him. He instinctively tried to curl up in a defensive ball, but none of his muscles would cooperate with him. A small well of panic began to fill him, panic that he had not felt since...his time in the Holy Lands.
He had only felt this type of paralyzing drug's effect once before, long ago, soon after they had taken Acre. He tried to force the panic out of him, but his mind wouldn't let go of the fear he had experienced under its effects and images of his time throughout the Holy Lands began to flash through his mind.
"Look at the fear in his eyes," Hadiya's voice floated hazily through his ears before her swirling face engulfed his vision, "it seems your little fearless outlaw is actually scared."
"Really?"
"You can't see it in his expression, the paralyzing agent made sure of that, but can you see it?"
Gisborne's voice made a non-committal sound before suddenly a flash of what looked like a boot flew across his blurred vision and Robin felt a brief flash of pain across his head before blissful blackness claimed him and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Hadiya glared at Gisborne as Robin Hood fell unconscious. "Why did you do that?"
"The sooner we get him to Nottingham, the less we will have to worry about his little band of outlaws trying to find him and having a bigger fight on our hands," he gave her an icy look.
She briefly wondered if Gisborne felt sorry for Hood in this type of state, but dismissed the idea from her head and instead shrugged. "Fine, but he has what I want and I will do anything to get it. If you cross me, you know how we deal with our own."
"Understood," he replied a bit dangerously before gesturing for two of his soldiers to haul the young ex-lord's body to a horse to take him back to the castle.
OUTLAWS' SECONDARY CAMP
Much found out that he was the last one to arrive at their secondary camp until he looked around and saw that his master, ex-master a part of his mind amended, more out of habit than of anything else, hadn't arrived yet. "Where's Robin?" he asked the others as he slowed down his run into camp and tried to catch his breath.
The others also looked a bit winded. There were so many soldiers out there, far more than they had expected and when Robin told them to run, Much had found himself running with Little John and Djaq initially before splitting up to distract the soldiers. He thought he had run from Nettlestone to Knighton and back a couple of times in terms of distance, before arriving at the camp, assured that the soldiers weren't going to follow him here.
"He didn't escape with you?" Djaq looked concerned.
"And where's that Saracen girl…Hadiya?" while Allan usually didn't look too worried for the most part, he definitely looked very concerned now and Much understood why. Robin didn't seem to notice, but ever since Allan had nearly betrayed him, he had always made sure to look out for him whenever he went somewhere alone, even if it was to Knighton Hall to visit Marian.
It was like Allan had felt some kind of debt to Robin and needed to repay it by making sure their leader was safe at all times.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Will said in a quiet tone.
Much spun around unsteadily, one of his hands grabbing his hair in frustration as he looked around for any clue or sign of their leader but there was none. "I knew it…" he muttered, "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" He turned around once more, a part of him just hoping that Robin was going to show up, a cocky smile on his face, surprising them and then perhaps saying a witty reply along the lines of 'miss me?' But no one appeared.
Little John gave a gruff sigh before sitting down on one of the logs, his staff against his shoulder. "We were played for fools."
"Hadiya was working for the Sheriff," Allan looked a bit angry.
"Don't be so quick to judge," Djaq interrupted, looking both concerned and angry, "for all we know, she could have been captured along with Robin."
"Djaq…" Will looked like he wanted to agree with her but instead, looked back and forth between her and Allan.
"Your friend is correct, little one," a new voice made all of them stand up and spin around to face the intruder.
Much held his sword and shield up as he stared at yet another black clothed person who stood at the far end of their camp, looking a bit worst for wear. His eyes immediately picked out the assortment of knives, a short sword, and a long Saracen curved blade hanging by the intruder's side and his mind immediately supplied the word assassin…but it wasn't Hadiya.
Instead, as the intruder locked eyes with him, he vaguely recognized the assassin.
…His master and the other man dressed in white robes talked quietly and while Much couldn't sense any hostility, he could sense a healthy respect between the two men.
…"Your master trusts me, so I am asking you to trust me. This will help him recover from his fever…"
…"I can see why he places so much faith in you. Your soul is pure and between you and the woman he calls Marian, the two of you must always protect him."
"You…" Much breathed out quietly as he had thought he would never see the man's face again. After all, they were technically on the opposite sides of the Crusades, or rather the Assassin Order was the neutral force within the Holy Lands, determined to make peace between Saladin and King Richard.
"Salaam, Much, trusted friend of Robin of Locksley. I bring grim warnings from the Holy Land," Altaїr Ibn la-Ahad greeted.
"Salaam, Much, trusted friend of Robin of Locksley. I bring grim warnings from the Holy Land," Altaїr Ibn la-Ahad greeted watching the band of outlaws carefully. So these were the men and woman that were completely loyal to him.
"Who are you?" the lone woman amongst them asked her tone fierce. He was a bit surprised to see her hanging around with a bunch of men, wearing their clothes and her hair cut short. She seemed like a capable fighter and looked like she was able to hold her own.
"He's Altaїr, one of Robin's…friends in the Holy Lands," Much spoke up before turning back to him, lowering his weapons slightly, "but I thought you said you were going to stay there and make sure the Piece doesn't fall into wrong hands."
"Which is what Hadiya is after," Altaїr took a step forward as the outlaws lowered their weapons, but didn't put them away, still wary and hesitant. He knew he looked almost exactly like Hadiya with his black outfit, save for a few modifications and his choice of weaponry, and knew that they had probably just escaped from the ambush she had set up for them.
"But…" Much looked confused before dread fell over his face and he shook his head, "no…no…you said they were all dead! You even told Robin they were all dead!"
"The main leaders, yes, but do not think so lightly that there are just nine of them," Altaїr shook his head, "I came immediately after Malik and the others found out Hadiya had discovered Robin has the Piece."
"Hold on, what are you two talking about?" one of the others, a roguish looking man stepped forward, looking utterly confused.
"The Piece of Eden," Much bit his lip, distressed, before glancing at him, "he can explain it."
"It is an object of great power. If it was in the wrong hands, millions fall under its sway and free will as we know it will be gone. The Assassins Order of Masyaf has been searching the Holy Lands for other remnants of these objects. We discovered that there was more than one created and made it our mission to make sure they were either guarded or hidden away so no one could find them."
"Or horde it for yourself," the young Saracen woman looked at him with suspicious eyes.
"Yeah," the rogue agreed, "I don't mean to be funny, but how do we know you're not in league with Hadiya or that you plan to use this Piece of Eden for your own purposes."
"Or even if your Order means well," the young man in the back, holding a short ax in his hand stepped forward, followed silently by his large brutish-looking companion.
"I was sent to kill Hadiya," he reached into the folds of his robe and pulled out a white eagle's feather, noting how the Saracen woman's eyes widened in shock and fear, "and I see that you recognize this, young lady."
"You…you were the one they were all talking about, who killed Majd Addin in Jerusalem, weren't you?"
Altaїr flinched slightly, remembering how the soldiers had swarmed him after he had killed the so-called Executioner of Jerusalem, and how he had battered them back in a desperate attempt before fleeing to the roofs of the city and hiding out. "Yes, I was," he replied shortly.
"You…saved my brother that day," she whispered before he took a closer look at her. He thought he had vaguely recognize her as a ghost of his past when he had first seen her upon arriving in the camp and realized who she looked like now. Her brother had been the informant whom was set to hang if Majd Addin had his way, the one Malik, when he was still Jerusalem's Bureau leader, had told him he must save the informant.
"Thank you," she looked shaken as she stepped a bit away from him and found comfort in the arms of the carpenter who had long ago put his ax away.
He glanced at the others, and saw that they had taken it as a sign that they could trust him, for the moment, and relaxed their guard. Altaїr thought of it as the first step towards reaching his goal, "Hadiya will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Have any of you notice where Robin kept a small object about the size of a pebble?"
"If it's something that valuable, he would probably either keep it in his pack or with Marian," Much pursed his lips, "he never showed it to me after you gave it to him."
"Here's his pack," the gruff, hulking woodsman suddenly tossed a pack at the rogue who caught it and began to rifle through it.
"Hey! That's-"
"Listen, mate," the rogue sounded offended, but Altaїr caught a note of real concern under his voice, "if Robin's being held in Nottingham because of some little thing, then I say we should find it, give it to the Sheriff and get him back, no matter the cost."
"No," Altaїr stepped forward, shaking his head, "we'll bargain him with it. I need a clear shot at Hadiya."
"What about Robin?" the carpenter asked.
"From the information I had gathered before I attempted to assassinate Hadiya, the peasants of the town mentioned that all of you have had experience getting in and out of the castle under the most dire of circumstances," he nodded at them, "you will be rescuing Robin while I go after the Sheriff and Hadiya." He felt prudent not to mention that he wasn't going to kill the Sheriff, but more or less, kill the Frenchman Templar and let the Sheriff see it as a warning.
"True," the rogue shook his head before tossing the pack back at the woodsman, "nothing. Just some clothes and stuff."
Altaїr turned to Much, "This Marian, is she the same woman he talked about in the Holy Lands?"
"Yes," Much nodded before glancing up in the sky, "but her house is being watched by the Sheriff's men during the day."
"It's a trap when we go to Nottingham," the Saracen woman spoke up, stepping away from the carpenter, "and even the Sheriff knows that."
"Which is why I have a plan," when he had first seen the outlaws, his mind had immediately started to analyze a plan that would utilize the skills these men and woman had in order to sneak back into Nottingham.
"Yep," the rogue looked at him, "he's definitely spent too much time with Robin in the Holy Lands. He even thinks like him."
The laughter, while a bit nervous, was a welcomed sound in the already tense camp and Altaїr allowed himself a quick smile before focusing on the task at hand. Don't worry old friend, we're coming for you…
KNIGHTON HALL
The way Robin described Marian didn't do her justice in real life. She looked even more beautiful in person Altaїr thought as he and the outlaws were allowed into her father's home during the wee hours of the night. During the daylight hours, they had gone over a plan that had to be executed in the span of a whole day and while Altaїr didn't like to leave his friend in the dungeons for that long, especially with Hadiya in charge, he knew that any other hastily put together plan would result in all of their capture or worst, death.
During the day, he had learned all of the outlaws' names and while was initially curious as to why they joined up with Robin and why Robin went from being a lord of the land to an outlaw, he had found out the story from his men and realized that Nottinghamshire was truly a corrupt place. While the lawlessness in Acre was prevalent, there was the presence of soldiers to deter most crimes. Here, fear pervaded the area and the peasants lived without hope and taxed to death. He would have done the same in Robin's boots and fight against the Sheriff.
However, he didn't understand if a government was this corrupted why Marian didn't fight against it until he figured out that she was doing it from the inside after he mentioned Robin being held captive by the Sheriff.
"This Piece of Eden…it's pebble sized?" Marian asked, pursing her lips.
"It is a dull grey, but has many intricate carvings on it. The original Piece of Eden that we found was the size of one of your apples," he explained.
"I don't recall Robin giving me anything like that," she shook her head, "I'm sorry."
"Well then where could it be?" Much looked frustrated.
Altaїr suspected that Robin must have kept the Piece with him at all times, which was admirable, yet very dangerous should Hadiya discover it on him. He knew that they had to act fast and negotiating with Hadiya wasn't an option.
"The plan could still work," Will spoke up from the corner and everyone turned to look at him and he held up a piece of small wood he had been whittling away at all day. Altaїr had forgotten that the resident carpenter had asked him about what the Piece looked like and now stared at an almost-perfect replica of the one he had given to Robin before he left to go back to England.
"Is that it?" Marian and her father, Edward, looked intrigued.
"A replica," Will explained before tossing him the pebble-sized piece of wood. He hefted it in his hand and marveled at its weight. It even felt like the weight of a pebble. The only thing that made it stood out was that it was the light brown color of wood instead of the grey of a rock, but Altaїr knew that it would work in their favor since Hadiya didn't know what color the Piece was.
He nodded his approval at Will who quirked up a small smile. "The others should be at their assigned positions by now. I will meet the two of you in the town," he said and both Much and Will headed out of Knighton Hall.
"Sir Altaїr-"
"Just Altaїr, milady. I am no lord or holder of lands," he turned to face Marian, noting that her father had kept his distance to give them some privacy.
"Altaїr," she nodded, understanding, "let me go with you."
"Marian!" her father stepped forward in concern.
"No," Altaїr shook his head.
"I can help, I can fight-"
"No," he shook his head more firmly, "I cannot allow you to do that milady."
"Do not tell me what-"
"While I appreciate the valor you have for saving Robin of Locksley," he cut her off with a hard stare, "you do not understand the consequences. If we were to be captured by Hadiya, then your efforts to expose the Sheriff for all of his corruption within the government will be for naught. She will use you to make Robin tell her where the Piece of Eden is."
Marian frowned, knowing that he was right yet wanted to protest some more and Altaїr had to admire her stubbornness. It reminded him a lot of Adha in ways…
"When he was in the Holy Lands fighting for the King, he told me that there was only one thing more precious to him than his own life. He told me that he would do anything to protect it and it was you," his looked away from her, "do not throw your own life away so rashly."
"You talk as if it was personal," he turned back to see her staring at him with a mix of pity and of curiosity.
Altaїr hesitated for a second before giving her the barest of nods, "I do."
"Then at least bring him here when you rescue him. I'll tend to his injuries," Marian clasped her hands together.
He gave her a curious look before she shook her head, "Robin wouldn't allow himself to be captured so easily unless there were tongues involved so he will be injured no matter how big or small. I can at least provide some care for him before he runs back into that woodwork he calls the woods."
"As you wish," he gave her a slight bow before nodding a goodbye to Sir Edward and headed out the door, disappearing into the night.
Author's Notes:
Hope you like this story so far. I have to admit, this story is definitely a lot shorter than Well Met Steel and I had meant it to be an episodic two-parter, but I thought it would give readers an easier time reading if I chopped it into three parts. Last part coming soon! Then I'm off to work on Tournament and Solace of Silence. My beta Algae09 told me that Altaїr seems a bit chatty at times and I had to tell her that in the game (she finished the game 2 months before I did), he is quite chatty on certain subjects then shuts up for the most part.