All the former outlaws searched, but it was Much who found Robin, lying postrate on his belly in the field where Knighton Hall once proudly stood.

Much slowly drew in his breath. What should he say? No words of his could help his friend! He hated this! Why had this happened?

But Robin needed his help...that much was clear. Robin lay face down in the field, covered in dried blood, arms and legs spread widely apart as if he had thrown himself to the ground trying to embrace it. Or else be swallowed up by it.

"Robin?" Much asked softly, panic hitting him as he wondered whether Robin might be lying with his own knife plunged in his chest.

Much released a sigh of relief when his friend rolled over, his eyelids fluttering open.

Robin's face wore a whizzical look, then hardened when memory returned. He glared icily at Much, as if he was furious at having been awakened.

"Robin," Much warned him, "the sheriff's sent men out looking for you. You're in danger. You're wanted for Gisbourne's murder. You...you've got to hide."

King John had replaced his brother Richard's appointed Sheriff Wilfred with his own man...his former envoy who had visited Nottingham years ago the day Sheriff Vaisey had disappeared in Sherwood for a day. That same weaselly little man who couldn't wait to see Nottingham burn to the ground also couldn't wait to see Robin of Locksley die, having endured Robin's challenges to his authority time and time again.

"Let them come." Robin's voice was cold and deliberate, and Much knew he welcomed death. And punishment.

"No, Robin," Much protested. "You are not to blame for their deaths. I was gone, too. Why not blame me? Why not blame Marian, for not better protecting the girls?"

Much's voice had broken at the mention of Marian's name, but he forced himself to bravely continue. "No! No one's to blame but Gisbourne, and you saw to his punishment. Now, get up and get going!"

Robin made no move to go, other than to sit up. It was a start.

"Go, Robin!" Much continued. "Go hide in Sherwood! We'll find you, but the sheriff's men cannot! Then, once everyone learns about the steps of justice we put into place by making the king agree to our charter, you can come back and be cleared of all wrongdoing."

Robin's next words surprised Much.

"You are to blame," he said icily.

"What?"

"You stopped me from killing the serpent years ago, when I had the chance."

"I...I...I...I..."

"I had him at my swordpoint, tied to a tree, and you wouldn't let me kill him."

"Well, I, uh...I did the right thing, Robin! You had no proof he'd tried to kill King Richard!"

"Hadn't I?"

"Well, there was that tattoo, but we all thought it was just your jealousy over Mari-" Much stopped, not wanting to say her name.

"Look," Much began again, "I know it's easier for you to deal with your anger than your sorrow. So go ahead and be mad at me, Robin! Go ahead and hate me! Just get out of here and hide!"

"You hide."

"You're leaving, if I have to drag you away myself!"

Much made as if to lift Robin to his feet, but was rewarded for his loyalty by Robin springing up, drawing his sword, and pointing it at his friend's chest.

Much looked appealingly into Robin's eyes. He didn't believe his friend would hurt him...there was too much brotherly love between them. But he also knew his friend was using his anger to hide from his grief. Much just needed to get him away somehow! If the sheriff caught him, he'd hang him before Magna Carta was ever known to exist.

It didn't matter that the former sheriff had put a bounty on Gisbourne's head, rewardng anyone who would bring him to justice, dead or alive. The current sheriff looked for any excuse at all to execute Robin of Locksley. Gisbourne's brutal murder was just the excuse he'd been seeking.

Just as Much was trying to think up what next to say, the bushes behind Robin silently parted, revealing Little John. His gaze met Much's as he silently inched his way closer. While Much rambled on, sputtering excuses, Little John raised his staff and brought it down soundly on Robin's head.

Robin dropped senseless to the ground, and Little John wasted no time lifting him over his shoulders and hauling him away, to hide him in the forest.