*ALL SONG CREDIT GOES TO THE HIGH KINGS. I TAKE THEIR SONGS AND ARRANGE THEM SO THEY FIT INTO THE STORY. I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING.* =)

Chapter 3

After the breakfast I made, Robin handed me a bow, quiver of arrows and a sword. "You have knife. Will Scarlett will train you today."

I took the weapons and held them awkwardly, reluctant to put them on for fear of doing it wrong and looking like an utter fool. Will approached me, strapping on his sword belt. "There's a clearing a little way down we can go to. That's where we always practice and where Little John trained Djaq."

The Saracen girl appeared at my side with Allan. "We're going there now in fact. Do you want to train together?"

Will must have seen the panic in my face because he shook his head. "I think it will be easier if we start out alone."

"Thanks." I said as we walked away. "I hate doing things in front of people who are good at them already."

He grinned. "You turned white."

I laughed and glanced at him. His eyes were dark green and cheerful, his face quiet and thoughtful. He looked so strangely familiar. Suddenly, realization hit me harder than Gisbourne had. Will Scarlett! We were friends all those years ago! How on earth could I have not recognized him? Then a wicked thought struck me and I grinned. He doesn't recognize you either. Play along. "Have you missed Locksley?" I asked as though we had been in the middle of such a conversation.

He looked at me like I was crazy, but answered slowly. "Yes and no. I miss my father and brother. I don't miss life's dull days. I like being out here, where I can help the poor and fight the problem in Nottingham."

"Well, I can tell you one thing. Sarah missed you for about two days before she ran after Tom James' son."

Then he knew me. He laughed and shook his head. "Colleen Locks, thank you very much! I'd forgotten about her."

"I don't find that surprising. You never seemed to even notice her, or if you did, you were so uncomfortable with her batting lashes that you couldn't say anything."

He shoved my shoulder. "You haven't changed. Never ending teasing."

"I can't help it. You turn red to the roots of your hair."

"You know," he swiftly changed the subject. "I didn't recognize you when I saw you dancing in the square or when I bumped into you."

"I didn't recognize you either." I pondered. "Either we both have grown up too much or we both had something on our mind."

"I also wasn't quite expecting a childhood playmate to start breathing fire at a crowd either. And when I bumped into you I..." He stopped.

"Will?" We reached the clearing.

"I was having a conversation with Djaq, about…us." He shrugged. "I realize now that it's passed."

"She and Allan seem rather," I coughed. "Together."

"Let's get started. First thing I'm going to teach you is-"

"How to strap on my sword?" I interrupted.

He put his face in his hands. "This is going to be fun."

"I'm sorry! I'll try very hard. I want to learn to fight. If you do this for me, I'll play my fiddle for you, sing, dance, breathe fire, something."

He put his hands on my shoulders. "You need to stop talking."

I opened my mouth to agree, thought better of it, and nodded.

"Now, how to strap on your sword."

I did what he did, buckling the belt on so that the sword hung on my left side. "How on earth am I supposed to pull it out when I need it?" I grasped the hilt with my left hand.

"Why would you try that way? This isn't funny, Colleen. You're here to learn."

"I'm not being funny. I'm left handed."

Training went well. Will had an inordinate amount of patience (something that I had never possessed). I was good at archery, a bit clumsy with the sword. I liked knife throwing though, it was something I already knew something about that I performed for my acts. It was past noon when we finished. We were walking back to camp when I heard a rustle above our heads. I glanced up and saw Robin. He dropped down.

"You saw me."

"Heard, and then saw."

"Good." He smiled. "Never look up though. Remember, it could always be an enemy. Pretend you don't suspect anything, keep walking until you're out of sight and then loop around to find him. Or better yet, get help. What's for lunch?"

Every day, whether it was a new recipe, baking skills from Much, or more training from Will, I learned something new. Will was by far my closest friend in the group, but I had known him for a long time, when we were younger. Little John made me laugh though, and I think he liked me. Much and I fought constantly, but I think he secretly enjoyed it. I wouldn't be surprised, he loved complaining. Robin was a mystery that I didn't care to dig too deep into. He was constantly out of camp, and would come back grinning. Djaq said he had been to see Lady Marian, who I had never seen up close.

Djaq and I were both too strong willed to get very close, but the fact that another girl existed in the camp was enough for us to form a strange sort of bond. I was preparing dinner when she stormed into the hideout one day. "What do you do with a daft man?" She was fuming.

"Slap him?" I said backing away.

She slumped onto the ground. "Maybe. It didn't seem to work."

"Don't worry. You'll feel better in a few days."

She patted my shoulder and left.

Will came in. "Have you seen Allan?"

"You won't see him ever again if Djaq gets anywhere near him."

"It isn't good to be on her bad side."

"Do you know what it was about?"

He leaned over the pot I was stirring and I slapped his hovering hand away. He rubbed it and pulled my braid, yanking the string off so that it began to come out. "She went to exercise the horses and told him to disable the trap. He forgot. She told him how she got caught in it and instead of apologizing, he told her she'd been around long enough to learn how to avoid those things. Don't ever come out of hiding when you accidentally stumble on something like that."

Robin bounded into the camp with the rest of the gang behind him. "I have a plan!" He exclaimed as he settled himself down with a bowl of soup. "We are going to become masters of disguise."

"How so?" I handed Little John and Much their dinner.

Robin didn't answer. "How long have you been with us, Colleen?"

"Two weeks."

"Are you ready for your first raid?"

He shouldn't have said that as I was taking a spoonful of soup because I choked and spilled my bowl all over my lap. Little John, laughing, handed me a towel. I snatched it from him. "Sure." I mumbled as I wiped the mess off.

"Look at her ears. Wait for the steam." I heard Allan whisper to Will.

"Allan." I smiled sweetly at him. "What would you expect from a fire eater?"

He returned my sarcastic smile. "Why don't you give us a show now?"

I shook my head. "Fire breathing, with all these trees? Absolutely not."

"Give us a song then, pretty girl." Robin set his bowl aside and leaned back with his head in his hands.

"Aren't you going to tell us about your plan?" Much asked.

"Well, I was thinking. " Robin replied. "Will has finished the hideout. There are things you can do, with mud, leaves, and such, we could paint ourselves to blend in with the surroundings and make ourselves even more difficult to see before an ambush."

"That's brilliant!" Djaq sat up. "I've seen such things! You cannot see anyone until they move out in front of you."

"Yeah well, you've seen everything." Much snorted. "Maybe I'll try dressing as a slave and go see the world."

Little John handed me my fiddle. "Is Colleen going to sing for us?"

"Are we sure we want her to?" Allan asked. "I mean, we've never heard her before. How do we know she can?"

"She can." Will said quietly. "I heard her before Gisbourne hit her."

I couldn't see anyone's expressions in the gathering darkness. "I'll sing something faster, and happier than that." I found the note on my instrument. "My father made this song up for my mother, whose name was also Colleen."

Near Banbridge town, in the County Down
One evening last July
Down a bóithrín green came the sweet Colleen
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so neat in her two bare feet
To the sheen of her nut-brown hair
Such a coaxing elf, I'd to shake myself
To make sure I was standing there.

As she onward sped I shook my head
And I gazed with a feeling queer
And I said, says I, to a passerby
"Who's your one with the nut-brown hair?"
He smiled at me, and with pride says he,
"She's the gem of old England's crown.
Young Colleen McCann from the banks of the Bann
And the star of the County Down."

I sang through the whole song and ended with a flourish of fast paced notes from my fiddle.

As I rolled up in my blanket that night I was glad I had something to contribute to the merry men as well as my cooking, even if it was only entertainment. They needed something to make them laugh, besides Much's complaining.