Missing by Ecri

A Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Story

Chapter Five

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Azeem listened to the Young Christian's words almost as shocked as he'd been upon learning he was the Christian's brother. King Richard imprisoned in the tower room, Robin possibly being held in a subterranean level of the castle below even the lowest dungeons. His mind reeled at the implications.

"Your plan, Young Christian, are you sure it would not be prudent to remain together? We can locate your brother, then search the docks or else try to locate this Captain of the Royal Guard." He stared at the younger man waiting for a reply.

The boy considered the words, that much Azeem could see, but with a small shake of his head, he declined the offer. "I'll find him. I'm smaller…and I'm a kitchen boy. The guards know me and if I pretend I've come to sneak them some ale, they'll forgive the intrusion and even accept it." He glanced with some sorrow at Azeem. "It would be hard to explain why you were with me."

Azeem nodded. It was a sound strategy, but he would not rest easy until he saw the young man return. He wished the man good luck and left for the docks following some small leads he'd unearthed. None of them came to anything, and he eyed the horizon, guessing dawn was still many hours away. He would have time to try to rout out new leads if he were careful. The hours wandering around the docks produced little. He'd identified several ships that seemed likely to be transporting slaves, one to China, one to Spain, and one whose destination he could not ascertain.

The more time he spent wandering the docks, the more certain he became that if the Christian and his King were to be saved, they'd have to do it long before either man was brought to the port. They had not enough men to fight for their cause and too many possibilities here on the docks for flight and escape.

He would talk once more to the Young Christian. They would need to find a way to break these men from their prisons assuming, of course, that they would both remain alive long enough for rescue.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

When Will Scarlett had left Azeem, he made his way through the corridors to the kitchen. He had learned long ago that noblemen will not notice a servant if it appears he is on his way somewhere. As long as it seems he is going about some chore or duty, he remains inconspicuous. It is in trying to look furtive that you are inevitably noticed. He found the kitchen deserted as he'd expected. He wanted only to find some small morsel, a crust of bread, a small sliver of cheese, something he could keep in his pocket. If he found Robin, he wanted to be able to give him something besides a hard-to-keep promise that he would return to release him once he and Azeem had a plan. He knew once he saw his brother in who knew what state, imprisoned, he would find it difficult to take his leave.

As he slipped a crust of bread and a sliver of cheese into his pocket, he heard a small sound behind him. He held his breath for a moment and turned, relief spreading through him when he recognized the head cook. He gave her his most charming smile, and looked up at her from beneath his overlong hair. "May! You're here late!"

"You shouldn't be here at all," she replied, then she smiled at him. "What are you up to, lad?"

"I…" once more, Will couldn't think of a lie fast enough. It was likely exhaustion and anxiety that robbed him of his gift, but he could literally think of not a single thing either to explain his presence in the kitchen so late at night, or to distract her from requiring an answer. "I…" He looked down, wavering slightly and put a hand to the table beside him to keep his balance. He blinked in surprise when she put a hand on his shoulder having not noticed at all that she'd moved closer to him.

"Are you well, lad?" She asked, concern written across her features.

He nodded, but she didn't really believe him. "Don't lie to me, Will. You been 'ere long enough for me to know you."

"I…may have a lead…a place to look for my brother." Will had confessed in generalities what had brought him to the capital a few weeks back. The woman had realized that he spent much of his free time searching the city, and, somehow she'd developed a fondness for him. Reminding him a bit of Fanny, the woman would slip him food, ask after his health and even once or twice run a bit of interference with guards and servants higher up the chain to keep him out of trouble.

"That's wonderful…" her enthusiasm waned for a moment. "It's a danger, ain't it? Where you're lookin'?"

Will sighed. "It's not the safest of places…but…I have to look."

The woman sighed. "'course ye do. I 'ope this brother of yours is worth it."

Will smiled sadly. "He is."

He took his leave quickly and made his way to the lower levels of the castle, going lower and lower. He saw a few guards on the first few levels, but the lower down he went the fewer signs of life he saw. Eventually, he was forced to light a torch or risk walking in darkness. Creeping carefully in the dim light, Will wondered how he would find his brother. The cells he saw were empty. He peered into each moving the small torch from side to side. Once or twice he called out, but no one answered. He was about to give up when he saw it and knew it had to be where Robin was being held. The cell was at the end of a hallway and was several levels down from the main floor of cells.

He found himself going more slowly, though it wasn't a conscious decision. If he'd had no fear of being caught, he'd be racing through the corridors shouting Robin's name, but being here brought a sense of reluctance to his step that was difficult to ignore. He knew it was fear. He'd known fear all of his life. Fear of losing his mother, fear of fire, fear of sleep, fear of being alone, fear that Robin would abandon him in Sherwood before his brother knew the truth of their relationship….it was a familiar, nauseating ball in the pit of his stomach. It was always there…or at least it had been before Robin and Marian were married. Somehow it had dissolved in the months after he'd finally begun to believe that Robin had accepted him. It had returned at ten times its old strength the moment he'd learned Robin was missing. It had grown each day since then, and Will was sometimes astonished he could breathe.

In the dark, dampness of this musty, hole beneath the throne of England, it seemed to thrive, to grow, to revel. If he didn't find Robin soon, he didn't think he could make it back. He leaned against a wall for a moment, trying not to imagine what might be clinging to its surface or scurrying past him on walls and floor. "Robin…" he whispered the word brokenly, and for the first time in a long time, he felt unable to go on.

He inhaled slowly, shaking off his despair. It was no use wallowing in it. He had to find Robin. The alternative was unacceptable. He moved quietly forward to the nearest cell. This was the last one on his side of the corridor. He'd been down here for hours. If he couldn't find Robin now, he'd have to return tomorrow to try again.

He peered into the cell and for a moment thought it as empty as the others had been. Then to his surprise he realized that what he'd taken to be a pile of rags in the corner was actually moving. Robin, he thought, though he fought down the urge to call out. If he were wrong, he didn't think he could recover.

"Hello?" He called straining to see more detail in the near total darkness.

The rags shifted again before turning. Will got the impression someone was staring at him, but he couldn't see it. The rags remained silent, unfriendly.

"Will?" an achingly familiar voice called.

"Robin!" Will was both overjoyed and devastated. Robin lay on his side in the far corner of the cell. His face, what he could see of it, was dirty and bruised. His eyes were wide in surprise, but they didn't seem to be able to focus. It was his brother, but at the same time it wasn't, and seeing him like this broke Will's heart.

"I'm here, brother. You're not seeing things. I've been looking for you for so long." He looked at the lock and gave the bars a shake as though he thought they might crumble to dust just because he willed it to be so.

This brought a small chuckle from Robin, and Will's head snapped up to see the slightest of smiles on his brother's face. "You will not get the door open in that manner, brother mine, but perhaps if the men who put me here knew anything of your determination, they'd have thought better of it."

To Will's surprise, Robin was rising to his feet. "No, save your strength!" Will admonished him and gripped the bars tighter. "I didn't think I'd find you tonight. I don't have any way to break the lock or pick it…I…I have no way to save you." He cursed himself for a fool realizing he should have prepared to break his brother out the moment he found him. Turning away now wasn't something he could do. He had failed in every way possible because he had not thought this through to the end, and he had not correctly identified his own weakness. For weakness it was. A strong man would be able to take the knowledge that Robin was alive, and return with men to break him out with a well thought out plan and weapons for all. He was nothing but a child playing at war once more. He could not walk away, and yet remaining here would do Robin no good. He looked away in shame and self-loathing. His surprise doubled when he felt a gentle touch on his white-knuckled hand.

"You have already saved me, Will Scarlett. Knowing you're here and that you know where I am gives me hope. Do you have any news of Marion?" Robin leaned heavily on the bars.

"Your wife is fine. She sent for me and Azeem when she couldn't find you."

"Azeem is here?" He craned his neck to look over Will's shoulder.

"Well, not here. He's searching the docks."

"The docks?"

"Robin, he overheard talk of turning you and King Richard over to slavers in a few days time. We were trying to determine which ships in port are slavers' ships." He sighed. "I should have let him come with me. I bet he could get you out of here."

"Now that you know where I am, I'm sure you'll find a way to get me out. As for King Richard, we'll need to find him as well…"

"I know where he is. He's in the tower cell."

Robin nodded. "Then we have only to find a way to break both him and myself from our prisons and put an end to Prince John's plans."

Will shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah, that's all," he snorted, sarcasm dripping from the words as the tears threatened to do from his eyes.

"You can do this, Will Scarlett. I believe in you. Now go before you are caught."

Will nodded, but he really didn't want to go.

"Go, Will," Robin said. "You need to make plans. I'll be waiting for your return."

Will nodded again and turned to go, but he'd taken only a step or two when he realized they were not alone.

"Ah," said a voice, posh, polished, and proud. "But, he won't return. He won't have the chance since he's not going to leave."

Will shook his head at his own ineptitude. He heard Robin yelling at the man and the men with him to leave him alone, but he knew it was a futile waste of words. The man to the right of the one who'd spoken came forward then and grabbed a hold of Will's arm. He wrenched it painfully behind Will's back, and spun him to face Robin through the bars. "I'm s-sorry, brother," Will said through the pain, but before Robin could say a word, the man who held him slammed his head hard against the prison bars. His world went black.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Robin stared up at Prince John from where he'd knelt on the floor of the cell just on the other side of Will's prone form. "Why did you come? You never come down here."

"I'd come to tell you we were moving you. It's a good thing I came when I did. You might have escaped otherwise." He looked disdainfully at Will, now crumpled in a heap by the prison bars. "Who is he? Who do you know who would come to your aid here? He looks like a peasant, a servant. Does he work for some friend of yours? Tell me who else knows he's here!"

Robin laughed, but it was humorless and bitter. "He is no servant, though I grant he's probably masquerading as one." Robin stood and took a step nearer to the Prince and watched in satisfaction as the man took a step backwards in fear. Robin placed his hands on the bars and brought his face as close as possible to the gap there. "He is my brother, and a better man than I, which, is now that I think of it, much as your own brother is to you!" He laughed when Prince John's face turned purple in rage.

He turned to the guards. "Take them! Bring them to the hidden chamber now!"

Robin took a step back from the cell door as the guard unlocked it, when it swung open he charged forward hoping to get to Will's side, but he was weak. The time spent in the dungeons with little water and less food had left him helpless. He was easily caught and restrained. He resorted to calling to his brother, until Princ John himself pulled a jewel-hilted dagger from his robes and, taking hold of the still unconscious Will's hair, pulled his head up exposing his throat. He held the dagger dangerously close.

"Continue to shout and I will kill him myself!"

Robin fell silent. The Price smirked and led the way through the catacombs to a secret staircase. It was a long climb up narrow stairs, and Robin felt himself growing dizzier as they went. He hadn't been upright in days, had done nothing so physical in weeks. He glanced occasionally over his shoulder hoping for a glimpse of his brother, but there were too many guards, and looking down made him dizzier.

He thought perhaps he might have blacked out, because it seemed rather sudden that he found himself herded through a door and into a windowless room. There was no fire, no warmth, only a handful of candles and one wall sconce containing a torch that one of the guards now lit. Frantic, he glanced around the room relaxing somewhat when he saw Will, still unconscious, but at least in the same room with him. Separation at this point would have plagued him with worry for his brother. Now at least he could see for himself how and where he was and not have to wonder.

Of course, the sight of him wasn't really reassuring. Still out cold, he hung limply from the arms of the guards holding him. At Prince John's order, he was chained to the wall and left to hang by his wrists. Robin recalled what Will had told him of being strung upside down in the Sheriff of Nottingham's dungeons, and was trying to comfort himself with the notion that at least Will was right side up.

It wasn't very comforting.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked the question of John, belatedly adding a reluctant "Your Majesty," when the Prince glared at him.

"You fight on my brother's side. You would have given away my plotting, and then where would I be?"

Robin smiled at the thought. "I dare say our positions would be reversed, and my brother would be far from here and out of harm's way."

"Yes, well," John glanced at Will who was beginning to stir. "At least now, I have some leverage. I will get cooperation from you, Robin Hood, or I will find new and interesting ways to make your brother scream."

Robin's face went white at the words. "Leave him alone."

Prince John smiled. "That is entirely up to you."

"I don't have any information for you. I never spoke to the King about you. I spoke to no one about you or anything I overheard! Let him go! You have me. You don't need him!" Robin knew his fear for his brother's life was making him frantic, but he couldn't help it. He had been too long alone in the dark dungeons, and the idea that his brother had come to find him and might therefore be harmed terrified him.

"Ah," said Prince John with a smile. "It's a shame I cannot take you at your word, Robin of Locksley. I know I usually do take noblemen at their word, but you are hardly a run of the mill nobleman. You led rebellion in Nottingham, your father was a devil worshipper…"

"That's a lie!" Robin spat with all the venom he could muster.

Prince John went on as though he hadn't heard. "And your so-called brother is a known criminal and a peasant. A commoner so common there should be a word for it…a ranking below commoner to distinguish so disreputable a personage. I will have to think of one for him. I'm sure it will come to me."

Robin let him ramble. His words would have no affect on the prince, and his main concern at the moment was Will anyway. He heard a low groan from Will, and turned his full attention on trying to work out how badly hurt his brother was. He took a half step forward trying to get to his brother's side, but the guards intercepted him. They took him to another set of chains set into the wall and secured Robin there.

They were tantalizingly close to Will, yet just out of reach. He could not make physical contact with his brother, so if he were to offer aid of any kind, it had to be through words. Words had never been their strong suit.

Will blinked owlishly and shook his head with a grimace and Robin shouted. "Will, I'm here! I'm here, brother, you are not alone!"

He suppressed a cry of pain as the nearest guard punched him in an effort to silence his shouts.

Prince John lightly admonished the man. "Oh, come now, let the man speak to his brother. It's of no consequence." He looked Robin in the eye. "I will leave you two alone for now. There's no one to hear you, so don't worry about the noise. Make as much as you like. I will be back shortly to see if you can make me believe that you and your brother are no threat to me." He turned and left, the guards following him out.

Robin glanced at his brother, but he seemed to have slipped into unconsciousness again. He called to him, but could not rouse him. He sighed in frustration and vowed that he would not allow John to hurt Will. He simply had to find a way out of this room and to King Richard. He only hoped that Azeem would protect Marian.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

She forced herself not to hurry. She had to reach the guard without being noticed and people running were always noticeable. Keeping to the shadows with a hood drawn over her head, she soon made her way to Captain Kahlor's post.

"Captain…"

"Do not call me that!" He hissed the words and grabbed her arm pulling her into an alcove at the base of the stairs to King Richard's prison. "Why are you here?"

"Will is missing. He never returned from the catacombs. Azeem thinks he can find him, but I wanted to speak to you first. We need to break the King from his prison. Can your men be here tonight?"

He scowled but nodded. "Yes, they are desperate to take action, but how do we break him out of that room? Breaking down walls is not a quiet thing!"

She nodded, but she'd given that some thought. "I have a friend. He's bringing something he says will soften the wall. Then there will be less resistance. If we wait until late tonight, there will be no one nearby to hear what we're doing."

In that moment, Azeem arrived. Kahler held his sword in a defensive posture, but Azeem raised his hands. "My Lady," he said and held out a large jug."

Kahlor took the jug. "Water?"

Azeem shook his head. "Vinegar."

Kahler didn't believe them, but once his men arrived, two-dozen in all each well-armed and loyal to Richard, he agreed to do as she asked. Together, Marian, Azeem, who refused to leave her side until Robin and Will were found, and Kahlor raced up to the tower prison.

Once inside with the door closed, she sighed in relief.

"Will Scarlett? Is that you?" King Richard's voice called from behind the wall sounding confused.

"No, Cousin, it's me!" Marian explained that Will was missing after leaving to search for Robin in the lower dungeons. "We can't wait any longer. We've found men loyal to you. We're breaking you out."

"And the guard?" The King asked.

Marian laughed. "The guard is your Captain Kahlor!"

The King was silent for a moment. "I never imagined he'd be fool enough to hide so close to me."

"Thank you, Sire," Kahlor said, "But my loyalty to you far outweighs my intelligence."

Marian gave a nervous little laugh. "He gathered more men loyal to you."

"Wait, if you are caught…"

"Forgive me, Cousin, but I am out of time and out of options."

The three of them worked diligently and methodically, dousing the bricks and stones in one corner of the room with vinegar. They didn't need to remove the entire wall. They just needed to make a hole big enough to pull the King trough. They kept at it and finally had a hole large enough that King Richard was able to pull himself out of the prison. He stood, stretching back muscles and shaking mortar dust from his hair.

Marian and Azeem took turns explaining to King Richard about the plot to sell him and Robin as slaves. The King was getting angrier and angrier, and Marian had to keep reminding him that he had to save the anger for later. When they reached her rooms, she led him inside. The two dozen guards loyal to him scattered, some to search the lower dungeons for Will and Robin, and some to secure more men, arms, and horses in case they were forced to run.

She opened the door to her room, and found her mother inside waiting. She'd had to promise her mother that she would explain what she'd discovered, and she'd obviously decided to wait for her here and force the explanation sooner rather than later.

The moment they were inside Marian's mother threw herself at King Richard throwing propriety out the window in her joy at seeing him alive.

"Oh, Richard, what have they done?"

King Richard smiled, "Ah, my dear, it's all right. I'm fine now." He pulled back a moment and looked fondly at her. "I'm fine," he repeated. "Thanks to your daughter and her friend!"

Her mother glared at her. "You took such a risk."

Marian shook her head. "As do you. If he's discovered here, in your presence, you risk the Prince's disfavor."

The King nodded, his mood shifting. "She's right. We can't linger. Tell me, Cousin, do you have a plan, or am I meant to hide in your room?"

"Your Majesty," Captain Kahlor interrupted. He knelt before his king. His relief was so obvious that King Richard reached down and pulled him upright, though it was a struggle for the younger man as his head swam in disbelief. "Forgive my failure, Sire. I tried to stop them!"

"Enough, Captain. You'll never know how much I appreciate your loyalty. We have business, however. Robin of Locksley is still somewhere in the dungeons. As is his friend. When your men have finished searching, if they have been found, we liberate them. If they have not," His face was hard as granite. "We take the questions to my brother. Go and help them. Report back as quickly as you can."

The man shook his head. "With due respect, sire, I am not leaving your side until this treachery has been repaid in kind."

King Richard smiled. "Very well."

Marian looked from the King to his Captain and from her mother to Azeem. Never would she have guessed that this was what a group of freedom fighters would look like.