Chapter 2: Saving the village
The deer paused, tilting its head upon an elegant neck to sniff the air. Apparently sensing no danger it lowered its head to the sweet spring grass. Robin, hidden behind a tree a few yards away, raised his bow with an arrow nocked.
As he let the arrow fly the deer looked up, startled, and skittered to the left before bolting for the safety of the forest, disappearing in a flash of blurred brown fur and galloping hooves. Cursing, Robin slipped out into the clearing to retrieve his arrow.
The sound of a shout was borne upon the air and Robin, realising that the noise was what had spooked the deer, darted back to cover. A pair of young boys stumbled into the clearing, both panting heavily but still shouting.
"Robin Hood!" one of them managed to yell whilst the other mustered a "Fire!"
Robin stepped out from behind the tree and the children started in surprise. "I am Robin Hood," he said. "What business do you have with me?"
The older of the two narrowed his eyes at Robin. "Are you really Robin Hood?" he asked suspiciously. "I always thought he'd be a lot taller."
Robin laughed, dropping to one knee so he was level with the boys. "Here is my proof," he told them, pulling his tag out from underneath his shirt.
"I'm still not sure," the boy said.
"Peter don't be so silly!" the younger boy said, tugging on his friends sleeve. "That girl told us he'd be wearing a tag like that. And she told us to hurry!"
"Girl?" Robin asked. "What girl?"
"She had a tag like yours. There's a fire, see, in Nettlestone, and she told us to fetch you. Sir," the boy added.
Robin stood up quickly. "A fire?"
"Yes, sir. In the forest."
Cursing for the second time that morning Robin ran a worried hand through his hair. "You did well, boys. Now I must run to Nettlestone, do you know your way back?" The two nodded and Robin ruffled their hair before setting off at a sprint.
XX
"Do you think we'll ever be able to fly?" Much pondered out loud as he watched a sparrow take flight from a branch above his head.
"Maybe we should push you off a cliff and find out," Allan muttered. He couldn't believe he'd been lumbered with Much again. Ever since his and Cassie's frank discussion at Farrell's graveside she had avoided going on deliveries or scouting missions with him, and he missed their banter and teasing. These days he was always stuck with John, who took life far too seriously, or Much. At least he hadn't started singing yet.
"I don't mean fly like a bird," Much told him, as if Allan's suggestion had been ludicrous whilst his had been perfectly viable. "Maybe in the future there will be machines that people can fly in."
"Yeah, and maybe in the future we'll be able to send messages far away without a carrier pigeon," Allan scoffed.
"You know what Allan, I think you just need to broaden your mind."
"And I think you need to shut up," Allan warned him.
"Well, I think…" Much's indignant retort was cut off by the surprising appearance of a girl dragging a younger boy behind her.
"Are you Robin Hood?" the girl asked bluntly, blinking up at the two men from behind a tangle of blonde hair.
"Er – no," Allan replied.
"Oh. Sorry to bother you mister." The girl made to walk off.
"Wait!" Much called to her. "We are really. Well, kind of. It's a long story."
"Get to the point," Allan muttered.
"We know Robin Hood," Much finally settled for the easiest explanation. "Look." He pulled his outlaw tag out and showed it to the girl.
"Oh! Look at that, I told you we'd find him!" The girl reached out and grabbed Allan's hand. He looked down at her blankly and she tugged at him impatiently. "You need to come with us! There's a fire and the outlaw lady told us to come and fetch you."
"Outlaw lady? You mean Cassie?" Allan asked.
"I don't know do I! She had one of them tags though. And she said you have to hurry, so come on!" With a final yank at Allan's arm she managed to get him moving.
XX
Back in the village, Cassie and John were trying to organise the villagers.
"You over there," Cassie called, indicating a group of women. "Fill pails with water from the well and douse the roofs of the houses, we need to protect them in case the flames get this far. When you've done that, wet all the grass between the forest and the village. The people over by the pig pen, form a line from the stream to the edge of the forest on the east side of the village and pass the pails of water along until you can throw them on the flames. You lot over there, do the same on the west side of the village. What are you waiting for? Go!" She waited until all the people she had instructed hurried off to carry out their tasks, then turned to the few that remained. "All the small children, go and wait in the meadow over there. Don't move unless I tell you to. Older children, go and get all the empty sacks from the mill and soak them in the stream then bring them to the forest." Once all the children had left only Cassie, John, and three of the stronger village men remained. "You, come with me."
Cassie led them after the children who had run to the mill, where they grabbed armfuls of empty sacks and ran down to the stream. Soaking them with water the adults hastened to the forest, the children following behind. Once they reached the edge of the fire they began beating at the flames with the damp sacks, trying to snuff out the fire and stop it from spreading. As soon as a sack had been dried out they passed it to a child, who replaced it with a damp sack and ran back to the stream to resoak the dried one.
"Cass!"
Hearing the shout over the roar of the fire Cassie turned round to see Robin running towards her. "About bloody time!" she snapped at him, tossing him a damp sack. Without pausing he began slapping at the flames, trying to beat them back.
It wasn't long before Allan and Much arrived, staring in horror at the raging fire that threatened to engulf the village. They quickly spotted their friends and hurried over to join them.
"Oh this is not good," Much moaned, staring at the flames.
"State the bleeding obvious," Allan muttered, cuffing him around the head.
"Listen, Much, I need you to look after the animals," Cassie instructed him without pausing in her task. "Take them to the children in the meadow, try and picket them or tie them down in some way. If we lose the village we need to save the livestock."
"What can I do?" Allan asked as Much ran off.
"Grab a couple of the men who are dousing the village and start digging. Fill some pails with earth, that might stifle the fire better than the water."
Allan nodded and turned to leave before pausing. The prospect of death was certainly a catalyst to make people do things, just in case they did not get a second chance, and the heat of the fire on his back made him very afraid that there would not be a second chance.
Turning around he saw Cassie look up, swiping a hand across her face and smearing dirt over her skin. "What are you doing?" she asked, coughing at the smoke that swirled through the air. "Allan?"
Decision made, Allan walked swiftly back to where Cassie stood. Her brow furrowed in confusion and consternation at him for ignoring her instructions, but without explaining himself he reached out and grabbed hold of her shoulders. Dragging her towards him he leant down, pressing a firm, desperate kiss against her lips. As Cassie blinked up at him in shock he let her go, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smile, and jogged off back towards the village.
Author's Note: Ohh Im so glad that people are enjoying the sequel!
Lavendar26 - Yep, well, the original story was actually planned as part of a trilogy...so hopefully there will be another after this one too.
candyfloss77 - Trust me, I would never split them up! At least the BBC got something right; I can't believe they killed off Marian either!
emelye14283 - I like to think that she would be quick thinking in an emergency! As opposed to me!
felinegirl121 - I'm glad you like it :)
KeepingAmused - Ooh well you will just have to wait and see! There is a reason, and I can promise you its not because she is dead or anything horrible like that!
Biancaneve - LOL I never thought of it like that! Hehe, John the human fire alarm, I like it!
bluecrush101 - You will find out soon!