Chapter 22
Home Again
Robin stared at the shore as it faded in the distance. Goodbye, Holy Lands. Goodbye war. Goodbye Noor. Robin wasn't sure if he was happy or sad to be going. He simply knew that he was going and this would be his last glimpse of the Holy Lands. He couldn't manage to pull himself away from the ships railing until he was sure the last speck of land was gone from his sight. The sun had just set over the sea.
When there was nothing but sea as far as the eye could see Much sighed. They were going home. It had taken six months for Robin's wounds to heal enough to travel and for them to reach the port at Tel Aviv. Once there they were forced to wait another month for a ship traveling back to Greece. But now, finally they were going home. A week for the ship to reach Greece; three months to reach France if the weather held, four if it didn't; they could sell the horses in France and take the packet boat across; then finally the last two weeks would see them back in Locksley. Much didn't care if they had to travel through the fires of Hell itself; they were going home.
Noor's body arched with the pains. Closing her eyes she began to pant as the pain subsided. Miriam wiped her brow with a cool cloth. "Come child, a little more and it will be over. When the next pain comes, push." Miriam was growing concerned. The girl was young and strong but the child was large and the labor had been long already. Noor screamed and arched as another pain wracked through her body. Miriam held her steady as the labor progressed.
As the last rays of the sun faded in the sky, cries could be heard throughout the harem. The doctor appeared before Salahadin to tell him the news. "Sire, praise be to Allah. You have a healthy son. Your wife and the child are resting. Both are perfectly fine, sire." The doctor salaamed deeply in front of Salahadin. Thankfully everything had gone well and his daughter had done well as a midwife. He really had not been necessary and had simply sat in the background in case of complications. It was a pity she was a daughter and not a son, otherwise she would have made a fine doctor.
Later that night as Robin and Much prepared to sleep Robin asked, "Much what's the first thing you're going to do when we get back to Locksley?"
"I, Master, am going to eat a whole chicken. After that I want a bath and then I will eat another chicken. Or even better yet, Master, I want pig; lots and lots of pig. Whole roasted pigs, bacon, ham, pork chops; oh, I want pig! I didn't realize how much I missed pig until this very moment. How long has it been since we've had any type of pork?"
Robin smiled. "I don't know Much. How long have we been in the Holy Lands? Four years if you don't count the six months travel time to get there?" Leave it to Much, he always thought with his stomach. Although now that he thought about it a ham sandwich and cold ale didn't sound half bad.