The impression that I got of Will's position in camp was that he was tolerated but not out-right accepted. Being essentially alone would affect his interactions with others and lead him to fear Robin's marriage. He is unsure of what the future holds. For so long, he fought injustice alongside Robin, going through life-and-death experiences together. Now, Robin's getting married and Will wonders what's going to happen to him. For once, Will wants to be first in someone's eyes. He thinks that Robin is replacing him with Marian. However, a conversation between the brothers changes his mind.
Following the night that Will bared his soul to Robin, everyone watched as a change came over him. He seemed happier, lighter. He was less sarcastic and more genuine in his emotions. Will Scarlett was a changed man!
What no one, not even Robin, realized, though, was that Will's new behavior was still a mask. Will didn't want Robin to know how much he was dreading the wedding.
I've just found my brother, Will thought. I don't want to lose what we have by having to share him, even if it is with Marian.
Will adored Marian, he thought she was wonderful. But he still didn't want his brother's attention divided between them.
Family is forever, Will, he had heard his mother say, on more than one occasion, when he'd been expressing his hatred for Robin of Locksley, who he saw as the cause of his and his mother's unhappiness. One day, you two will meet and a bond will be formed, a bond that no one, not even the love of a woman will be able to break.
Will didn't believe her. After all, this was the same woman who had continued to wait for Robin's father to come for her. Even as she lay dying, she still believed in his love for her.
Will shook the melancholy thoughts from his mind.
I have to be there for Robin, he thought. I don't matter, only he does. I have to support him.
"Will," he heard. He looked up to find Robin standing over him.
"Hi, Rob," he said.
"Are you free? Could you come with me?" he asked.
"Sure," Will smiled. "You don't have to ask. I will always make time for you."
He set down the figurine he'd been carving and followed Robin into his hut. He saw a flash of color and noticed Robin flourishing a set of magnificent red robes.
"These are for you," he said, offering them to Will.
"M-me?" Will stuttered. He'd never even seen such fine clothes before, much less owned any.
"Yes, Will. I was hoping you'd wear them to my wedding. They're scarlet, which I thought was fitting, considering your name."
Will laughed at his brother's reasoning.
"Well-played, brother," he replied.
"You'll take them?" Robin asked.
"Yes. I know better than to refuse you."
Robin smiled at Will as he took the brilliant robes.
"Thank you, Robin. They're beautiful. I've never owned anything like them before." Will saw Robin open his mouth, as though to apologize again for denying Will his birthright, so he kept talking, "And I don't say that to make you feel bad and apologize to me. 'Spoiled little rich boy' or not, I've no idea if I'd ever feel comfortable wearing such finery on a regular basis. So, thank you for giving me one excuse to dress the part of a Locksley."
"My pleasure, Will. I will always do what I can for you."
I couldn't ask for a better brother, Will thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "I'll go put these in a safe place."
And before talk could turn to the wedding, Will left for his home. He'd finally convinced Robin to reclaim his hut, allowing Will to move back to his own tree house. Will had become an expert in telling when he would have a nightmare, but he couldn't catch them all. As a result, Robin had been suffering, constantly watching over Will and calming him down after his nightly terrors. What Will would never tell Robin was that some of his dreams involved Robin marrying Marian, becoming a great lord, and forgetting that Will existed. He didn't want Robin to feel guilty about marrying Marian. Who was he to say what Robin could or could not do with his life? Will wanted Robin to be happy. If he'd found love with Marian, then Will wouldn't stand in his way.
After carefully hanging up the scarlet robes that Robin had been kind enough to get for Will, he returned to where he'd been sitting before Robin approached him.
Picking up his knife and the piece of wood he'd been working with, he returned to carving Robin and Marian's wedding present.
He found his mind wandering as he worked, so much so that he lost track of time. When he looked up, it was dark and time to head back to camp.
When Will walked into camp, it was to find the men scattered around a dying fire.
Too much to drink, thought Will. Chuckling to himself, he climbed the ladder to his home, unprepared for the surprise that was waiting for him.
"Robin!" he gasped at the sight of his brother lying in his hammock. "What are you doing here?"
Robin swung his legs onto the floor at the sound of Will's entrance.
"Did you really think you could fool me, Will?" he asked.
"Wh-what do you mean?" asked Will, slightly confused and slightly worried that his mask wasn't as firmly in place as he'd thought.
"You're not happy about my marriage to Marian," Robin stated.
Will's shock and instantaneous guilt gave Robin his answer.
"How did you know?" asked Will, deciding not to deny Robin's claim.
"You're my brother. And, you may have perfected shutting everyone else out, but I've perfected the ins-and-outs of your mind, Will Scarlett."
"I-I don't know what to say," Will whispered to the floor.
"Start with the basics," advised Robin. "Why are you unhappy?"
"Because…I don't want to share you," Will admitted, finally. "We've had some experiences that are only ours. I don't want that to change. I don't want to lose you."
"Oh, Will," whispered Robin, understanding dawning as he moved to comfort his younger brother.
"I know it's silly and childish…," Will went on, his arms automatically wrapping around Robin.
"No, Will. It's not silly or childish to want things to stay the same," soothed Robin.
"It's just…," Will went on, "We've had some good times, here in Sherwood, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. Sure, it was dangerous, but we still had fun. We made time for jokes, laughter, family… I don't want to have to watch you become a great lord and forget all about me—" Will gasped and tried to pull away. That last part wasn't supposed to come out.
Robin wouldn't let him leave. "Is that what this is about?" he asked, incredulous. "The nightmares, too?"
Will nodded.
"Will, I want you to listen to me, very carefully."
Robin pulled Will's head from its spot on his shoulder and held Will's face between his hands, making sure that Will kept his eyes trained on Robin's face.
"Will," Robin said, slowly. "Neither Marian or I are interested in a life of luxury. I don't want to live on the DuBois family Manor and Marian doesn't want to live on Locksley Manor."
"Where does that leave you?" asked Will, confused. "Nottingham? Marian is the king's cousin, after all."
"It leaves us right here," replied Robin. "In Sherwood."
Will stared at Robin, disbelief written in his eyes. "What are you saying, Robin?" asked Will, hope building at the same time as he tried to force it down.
"I'm not leaving, Will. I'm staying right here, with Marian and all the others… and you. Will, you and Marian are equally the most important people in my life. Seeing the executioner level that axe at your neck struck fear in my heart the same way as hearing Marian scream my name as the Sheriff took her away. Those moments surpass any moments of fear and downright terror I may have experienced during the Crusades because you two are people that I care about deeply, and I want, more than anything, to see you happy."
"I am happy, Robin—with you and Marian and John and Fanny and Wulf and Bull, all of us in Sherwood together. I want nothing more than to keep living our simple, uncomplicated lives right here."
"Then that's what we'll do, Will," said Robin. "At least, Marian and I will. The others, it'll be their choice. They'll have options, and one will be to stay in Sherwood."
"Thank you, Robin," said Will. "Again, you prove to be more than I could ever hope to deserve."
"Nonsense, Will. I told you before the battle that you'd shown me what it meant to truly live. It is I who should be thanking you, and I do. From the bottom of my heart, Will Scarlett, thank you for putting meaning back into my life. Following my escape from prison, during the Crusades, I was lost. I had some direction, as my goal was to get back to England. Past that, I only knew to head for Locksley Manor. When I discovered the Manor burned and Father dead, my one thought was to avenge his death. Beyond that, I didn't know what to do with my life, besides exist as a hopefully sane man. I've seen knights in armor panic at the first hint of battle while the lowliest, unarmed squire pulls a spear from his own body, to defend a dying horse…War and imprisonment change people. And then, I came to Sherwood. Although at Locksley Manor, I could be lording over everyone in my path, here I'm free to live among friends and family, as an equal. I'm not seen as a nobleman, some 'spoiled little rich boy,' playing the part of a leader. Here, I'm who I'm meant to be, who I'd be outside of Sherwood if it weren't for the ridiculous differentiations between the nobility and the peasantry. Will, would you like to hear something our father once told me?"
Wordlessly, Will nodded. It wasn't often that he got a glimpse of who his father had been before the Sheriff murdered him.
"Father once told me that nobility is not a birthright. It is defined by one's actions. In other words, act like a peasant (crude, rough, whatever your idea of how a peasant acts is) and that's what you are. Act like a noble (brave, sophisticated, chivalrous, whatever your idea of how a noble acts is) and even if you're the lowest born peasant, you are of noble heart and deserving of titles and riches."
"I swear to you, Robin, I will do my best to act as Father would have me act, every day, for the rest of my life."
"Father would be proud of you, Will, and honored to call you family. As I am," he said, placing a strong hand on Will's shoulder.
Pushing back the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him, Will jokingly shoved Robin towards the entrance of his tree house.
"You should get some rest, Robin. You can't be falling asleep during the wedding tomorrow. Marian might change her mind about having you," he teased.
And to think, thought Will, that two weeks ago I would have rather seen Robin dead, with him probably feeling the same way about me. Now, we're willing to die for each other, we have the ability to tease one another without losing our tempers, and we can have deep, emotional conversations without any awkwardness. Robin even wants to stay in Sherwood with me! What did I do to deserve him?
"Sleep well, Will," said Robin, with a wave, before swinging down to the ground on the rope that Will had tied outside his entrance.
"Good night, Robin," said Will to the already vacant doorway.
Left alone again with his thoughts, Will wondered why he was so resistant to change. Was it because there would no longer be any danger surrounding their activities?
No, that wasn't it. Will was glad to no longer have a price on his head and relieved to no longer fear capture (and all that that implied).
Was it because he feared that life in Sherwood might become routine, and that there would no longer be any adventure?
No, that wasn't it either. Life in Sherwood could never become routine. The forest was always full of surprises.
Was it, then, because his brother, his leader, would have someone else to take care of and look after? Could it be that Will Scarlett was jealous of the attention that Marian would receive as Robin's wife?
Yes, Will decided, that was it. It was jealousy that drove him to fear change. He'd told the truth—that he and Robin were brothers—and suddenly his position in camp changed. No longer was he an outsider, tolerated but shunned. He became something akin to royalty. Before Robin came, if he'd been captured and killed, his death would have been mourned but not for long. Now, however, he had someone who wouldn't know what to do without him.
As a child, Will had always dreamed of being the long-lost prince of some far away country. Being the brother of Robin had been as close to that dream as he was ever going to get. Not that he sought all the attention, he just wanted to be accepted, like Robin.
Will decided to ponder over his thoughts in the morning.
As he lay down and prepared for the land of dreams, he wondered whether Robin was nervous at all.
Chuckling at the thought of Robin being afraid of marrying the woman he would die for, Will let sleep claim him.
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