Soooo... I actually wrote this ages ago, but it didn't save. And then I went out of the country, so I only just realized it... I'm sorry, guys. Love you 3
Robin sat on the sloping hill that covered their camp. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees, staring out at the sunset on the horizon. Her heart rested in the pit of her stomach and she felt absolutely terrible. She was a failure.
Once they had gotten to camp, it hadn't taken her (or the others) long to figure out what had happened. Their camp had been completely empty, but there were traces of a scuffle, and a knife had been left – threateningly – in their door. Gilan, Alan and Little John had been kidnapped.
Robin had pieced together what had happened quickly enough. Gilan had returned to camp to see the camp filled with soldiers that outnumbered him by sheer, brute force. They took him hostage and then waited for others to appear in the clearing. When Alan and Little John showed up, looking for Gilan, the soldiers took them as well. And then, the soldiers (or whomever) took the trio, while leaving the dagger in the door as a message.
Robin wondered why they had taken Gilan, Alan, and Little John. Was she not who they wanted? Were they not looking for Robin Hood? And if so, then why would they leave with only those three? Maybe they thought Gilan was Robin Hood.
Robin's stomach clinched.
How had the soldiers found the camp in the first place? What had she done wrong that had led to their capture? Were they safe?
"It isn't your fault, you know," a voice whispered from her right. She flinched and spun, and saw that Halt had sat down beside her without her knowing. Halt wasn't looking at her, but was instead looking at the same horizon she had been staring at moments before.
Robin didn't say anything. She just turned back to the horizon and rested her chin on her knees again.
"You haven't been a Ranger's apprentice for long enough," Halt continued. "It is something that we should not have rested on your shoulders."
"It shouldn't matter how long I've been a Ranger," Robin whispered, gritting her teeth. "I should be smart enough to not lose my own men."
"Don't be ridiculous," Halt said, his tone sharp. "This danger is no surprise. We are ambushing a Baron with tons of soldiers, and you think there is no danger? These risks are part of being a Ranger. Gilan knew that. I knew that. Will knew that. Mauch knew that. Alan and Little John knew what they were signing on for. This isn't a safe job."
"I should've been able to keep them out of the reach of the Baron's men," Robin said stubbornly.
"If you think that will ever happen, on any mission, you are sorely mistaken," Halt said irritably. "Part of being a Ranger is danger. If you expect there to be none, then you are in the wrong profession and maybe you should go back to being a farmer."
Robin looked up at him sharply. His face was blank, and he still wasn't looking at her.
"Besides," he continued after a moment, "Did you really think you were entirely in control of this mission?"
She raised an eyebrow, and realization washed over her. She had been so naive to think that they had really put her in charge; of course they weren't going to let a girl who wasn't even through her first year of apprenticeship run an entire mission like this.
"Oh," she murmured, turning back to the horizon.
"You might be interested to know that they had meticulously planned this ambush," Halt said. She glanced back at him again and saw that he was holding out a letter in his fist. She took it from him gently, and saw the king's broken seal. She opened it slowly.
Dearest Ranger,
Thank you kindly for your information. I am on my way now to deal with the situation, because it is of the upmost importance. Please go ahead and detain the Baron for my return and questioning.
Sincerely,
King Duncan.
"So we should go ahead and get moving, shouldn't we? We can kidnap the Baron and get the others back all at once," Robin said, looking at Halt and holding out the letter to return it.
"No, it's fake," Halt said, shaking his head, and pointing to the first part of the letter. "He would have called me Halt, and he would never have signed it 'Sincerely, King Duncan'. He also wouldn't have sent something so brief, and he wouldn't be able to leave immediately. This is a fake letter, and I bet it's been forged by the Baron."
"Oh," Robin said, looking at the letter again.
"They wanted for us to be distracted, waiting for the letter, so they could minimize our numbers," Halt said slowly. "Then, they wanted the remaining half of us to try to kidnap the baron and free our kidnapped friends, when they are ready and waiting for us. Then I guess they would put us on display for treason."
"Oh, Robin said again, her face flushing. She realized she had been so completely ready to do what the Baron wanted; he had nearly tricked her. "But... we have to do the second part of that, don't we? We have to get Gilan and Alan and Little John back."
Halt nodded grimly.
"But he suspects that we would be making the Baron our first priority. We have to make Gilan, Alan, and Little John our priority."
Robin nodded slowly. Halt watched her process the information and leaned backwards.
"We should talk to Will," she said finally. "And see what he thinks."
Halt studied her. He saw a lot in her; she was grim, and determined, and stubborn and passionate. She was a good kid, and she would be a good Ranger. He marveled at the fact that she had been so close to spending her life as a farm hand. He also saw something else in her; complete dedication to Will. Will had been the one who had gotten her out of a fate she deemed worse than hell, and he had trusted her and put faith in her. He had supported her, and in return she was completely loyal to Will. She would do anything for him. He marveled at the thought; had Will ever been that dedicated to him?
"I think that I need to go talk to Alyss," Will said. Halt had known Will was approaching, as he always did, but Robin obviously hadn't. Robin flinched, looking over her shoulder at Will. Will continued, "She should be at the castle now. She should have information about Gilan and the others, and we can figure out what to do from there."
"Good idea," Halt said, nodding briskly.
"I'm going to go after nightfall. I have no idea how to find her, though."
"Just ask a guard for the Maid Marian," Robin said, shrugging. "They were too drunk to really care, you know. Besides, no one ever thinks twice when someone asks to see a lord or lady in a compound like this."
Halt looked at her again. He kept forgetting that she had a complicated background. Yes, she had been an orphan in the Ward, but she had been someone before that.
"That's a valid point," Halt conceded. He glanced over to the horizon, watching the sun begin to dip below the mountains. "Will, if you are going to go, you should go before it is too suspiciously late, but just dark enough to shroud your face. Leave your cloak, you don't want to mark yourself a Ranger. Robin, you and Mauch should go ahead and try to sleep, even if just for a little while. Any sleep is better than none. We can't do anything until Will returns anyway."
Robin looked at the two of them and nodded, quietly.
Halt felt a slight pang. Robin hadn't been quiet before, not really. Not after they had found out she was a girl, anyway. She had had spunk, and character, and a certain fire about her. She wouldn't have just nodded before, she would have said something. Shared her opinion. Now, it was just a quiet nod.
He worried that this experience had broken her. Maybe it was their fault; maybe they should have trained her more first, maybe they should have gotten her through her first few months as an apprentice first, maybe they shouldn't have let her think this all depended on her.
Or maybe this was just the push she needed to grow up and realize just what she was getting into. Maybe it made her more mature.
She slunk over the hill and disappeared from sight.
He turned his attention back to Will. "Be careful, Will. No more funny business with this mission. It's getting more dangerous than it should be, and we have to make sure that Robin and Mauch come out of this alright. Let's just get out of this and get them back to training to become Rangers."
