In this chapter, I explore an event in Will's past that I feel could have possibly happened (though perhaps not to the extent that I describe), considering who his parents were. I also show how Will depends on Robin, how he searches for his brother's presence as his body heals from everything it's undergone over the past week or so, both mentally and physically.

Once more, I apologize if Will seems a little out of character. This is merely my interpretation of him, his thoughts and feelings.

Will was drifting, floating in a sea of black. He couldn't move; his limbs felt like lead. Despite being immobile, though, Will could still feel. Currently, his body felt as if it were on fire. He wanted to scream, but his lungs refused to cooperate.

Will could sense movement around him, above him. He could even pick out voices, such as those of Azeem and Marian, conferring with someone whose identity remained a mystery.

Azeem had been right, Will had only fainted. But now, he'd developed a fever. He was conscious, but delirious, driven mad from the strain the past two days had put on his young body.

I want Robin! Will screamed in his head. Yet, his brother's presence remained elusive.

Will faded back into oblivion, grateful to escape the pain.

However, Will's dreams were less than peaceful.

Will found himself back in Nottingham—the drums were pounding, Wulf was gasping for air, and there were screams and cries as explosions erupted around the square.

Will felt the same crippling, icy-cold fear settle in his stomach as he felt the executioner level an axe against his neck.

In his mind, Will cried out for his brother: "Robin!"

And then, right before the axe that would end his life was lowered, Will found himself back in the dungeon where he'd been imprisoned, along with Wulf and the rest of Robin's men.

He could feel the lash's cruel bite tear into his skin, causing Will to cry out. The guards around him laughed, mocking his pain.

Will bit his lip to avoid another outburst; he was determined not to give the Sheriff and his men the satisfaction of seeing him broken.

I have to survive, Will thought. I have to survive, and make it back to camp so that I can tell Robin the truth.

Finally, Will was released, roughly shoved out of the gate so that he landed face-first in the dirt.

"That's where scum like you belong," he was told.

He gasped at the pain of landing on his injured torso, blinking back the tears that had sprung to his eyes, before slowly rising and making his way towards camp.

Will was brought back to reality by the touch of a damp cloth on his forehead.

He still could not sense his brother's presence.

Has Robin abandoned me? Will thought. Was I just a means to help him win and avenge his father's death? I thought we were making progress, I thought we were close. I would have died for him, and he leaves me on my own?

Will let his dreams take over once more, too tired to puzzle over the mystery that was Robin of Locksley.

He was a child again, running and playing with his friends from the village, until one of his supposed "friends" began to taunt him.

"Where's your father, Scarlett?" he teased.

An 8-year-old Will, despite having wondered why his father wasn't around, didn't understand the meanness behind his friend's question.

"I don't know," he replied, honestly.

"That's 'cause you don't have one. You're a bastard child," his friend yelled.

Then, the rest of his "friends" formed a circle around him, chanting, "Bastard, bastard" over and over again.

Will didn't know what it was to be a bastard, but his "friends" seemed to think that being one was bad.

When Will tried to leave the circle, he was pushed back by the boy who'd first started teasing him, a big 12-year-old bully by the name of Ben.

His shove caused Will to lose his balance. He went tumbling to the ground. As though his fall were a signal, the circle of boys descended on him, punching and kicking him wherever they could.

There were too many for Will to defend himself, so he settled for curling up in a ball and waiting for them to decide that he'd had enough.

Finally, the boys retreated. Ben was the last to leave, pausing to spit on Will and whisper, "You are worthless, Will Scarlett."

Will was shaking. Slowly, he got to his feet, wincing when he took a breath, and tried to still his trembling body.

He limped towards the one-room shack he shared with his mother, hoping she could tell him why those boys had beaten him.

That was the day that Will Scarlett learned that he was the son of Lord Locksley.

Will had been embittered towards the Locksley family from that day on, until he had encountered his brother and learned that he wasn't alone.

Unlike now, Will thought, as he was pulled from his memories by a sharp stab of pain in his side. Robin, where are you?

Days passed, though Will remained unaware, lost in the delirium of his fever.

There were times when Will felt that he could just about break through the shroud of darkness that enveloped him. Yet, time after time, he was pushed back, forced to relieve the horrors of his life.

A constant in Will's dreams were always the pounding of the drums. Whether he was reliving his almost-death, or engaged in one of the rare pleasant memories of his childhood, the drums were always there. They threatened his sanity, as he was forced to remember the sound of Wulf gasping for air, or the feel of an axe blade against his neck.

It was following one of Will's frequent nightmares about the almost-hangings that he became aware of a light shining in his eyes.

Am I dead? Will thought. I've always heard that when you die, you see a long tunnel and are supposed to head for the light. But, wait. I'm not in a tunnel. I'm in Robin's room! And that light is sunshine coming through the door. Hallelujah! I never thought I'd live to see the sun again.

Upon his realization that he was not dead, he was, in fact, very much alive, he let out a hoarse laugh of joy.

Will took a moment to examine the room, carefully moving his head to avoid further injury. He came across a man, sitting in a chair by his bed, whose eyes were resting on him, daze, shock, and hope all evident on his face.

"Robin," Will whispered.

Don't forget to leave a review! =)