Chapter 9: Just walking in

Grabbling Will's sleeve Cassie dragged him a few feet away from the group of children, who were still squabbling over which of them got to play their heroes. Whispering furiously she quickly shared with him what Thomas had told her.

"So this Tristan, he's angry with the village?" Will looked down at her, his face marred by concern. "So he was going to set it on fire? Kill every villager, or render them homeless, just for revenge?"

"Looks that way," Cassie replied. "He failed, but I would imagine he'll be willing to try it again. We have to find him, Will."

Will nodded. "Do you think Thomas will show us where he lives?"

Cassie shrugged. "Maybe, I think he trusts me." She worried her lower lip with her teeth, eyebrows drawn in worry. "I just feel guilty, I don't want to betray his trust. He's so scared, he wants to protect his friend."

"Cass, if we don't stop Tristan then a whole village is going to be destroyed. It's about more than just one person."

"You sound like Robin," Cassie told him with a smile. "Come on, we need to –"

Will never found out what they needed to do, for at that moment they heard the familiar, terrifying sound of armour clanking and hoof beats pounding. Cassie looked up at him in horror, then looked wildly towards the forest. They were out in the open and guards were approaching rapidly.

"The village is closer," Will said urgently. The pair of outlaws turned as one and ran through the long grass towards the relative safety of the village. As they passed the first houses a few villagers turned away from them, not wanting to be caught associating with outlaws, but as they passed the mill a strong hand landed on each of their shoulders.

"This way," a low voice hissed, and Will and Cassie felt themselves dragged backwards into the shade of the mill. Twisting round they saw the miller. "Out the back! The privy! Go!" He gave them both a push and the two left the mill by the back door, finding themselves outside the small shack that was the outdoor privy. Ducking inside they slammed the door shut, Will leaning his back against it and Cassie sliding to the floor, both their hearts pounding.

There was a tiny window set in the wall and Will cautiously peered through it. The troop of guards had clattered to a halt, and Will could just see a rope trailing from one of the saddles. "I think they have a prisoner," he whispered to Cassie. She stood up and joined him at the window, watching as the rope slackened and a young man walked into view. His wrists were tied by the rope attached to the horse, his dark hair was long and unkempt, and his clothes worn and hanging from a lean frame.

A small group of villagers clustered around the disturbance. There were a few gasps and hands covering mouths, a few pointing fingers and looks of shock. "Tristan!" one woman gasped.

Cassie and Will looked at each other, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. "Tristan?" Cassie repeated, before Will shushed her.

"You know this man?" one of the guards asked, turning to the woman who had spoken. "He lives in this village?"

"No," the woman replied. "He disappeared, years ago." She wagged an accusing finger at the young man. "Had us in a right worried state so you did Tristan, a teenager running off into the woods! With all the bad sorts that live there!"

"Bad sorts?" Cassie mouthed at Will. "The cheek!" He nudged her with his elbow to shut her up.

Tristan was staring at the ground sullenly, refusing to look at the woman who was speaking. She reached out a hand to him and he shied away, glaring at the ground. The woman folded her arms, affronted.

"Well, we caught him hunting in the forest. Poaching the King's deer, he was." The guard leered at Tristan. "Punishment for poaching isn't pretty, lad."

Tristan still refused to speak, keeping his gaze fixed downwards. His head snapped to the side as the guard delivered a backhanded blow to his cheek, but his stubbornness did not falter.

"Are we going to take the hand now?" another guard asked, seemingly impatient at the delay in inflicting suffering onto another.

The first guard considered Tristan thoughtfully. "No. This one, we take back to the castle." He swung himself back into the saddle of his horse and urged it forwards, forcing Tristan to begin walking. By the time the horse was out of the village it was cantering, forcing Tristan to run behind it.

Cassie looked up at Will. "We have to go to the castle."

XX

"We can't just go to the castle," Will said for perhaps the fifth time as he hurried alongside Cassie through the forest. "We need a plan. It's not going to be easy to get into the dungeons."

"I was told you always came up with the best plans," Cassie half-teased and half-flattered him.

"There used to be ways in and out of the castle with which to make plans," Will countered. "There aren't any more. Allan saw to that. Showed Gisborne all our entrances and escape routes."

"There must be a way," Cassie urged.

"But it could take a week!" Will replied, exasperated. "It has to be a clever plan."

Cassie suddenly stopped dead, turning to Will, her face alight with a grin. "We could just walk in."

Will stared at her, then gave a short laugh. "Just walk in. Right. Say 'hello Sheriff, mind if we interrogate and rescue one of your prisoners? Thanks!'"

Cassie's grin didn't diminish. "Not quite. But almost! It seems to me, a clever plan would be to do something the Sheriff wouldn't expect. He won't be expecting us to just walk brazenly into the castle, will he?"

"I can see why Allan likes you," Will told her. "You're just like him." Cassie frowned slightly and Will laughed. "I meant it as a compliment."

Cassie narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Well, anyway. I have a plan. Come on!"

XX

"Dressing up as a maid? That's your grand plan?" Will asked incredulously, watching Cassie pull her old maids outfit from a pile under her bunk.

"Yes, and stop being so pessimistic," she ordered. "It's perfect! I just walk into the kitchens, offer to take the food down to the prisoners, and –"

"And what? Ask the jailor if he'd be so kind as to open Tristan's cell?" Will asked sarcastically.

"I'll think of something!" She turned on Will, placing her hands on her hips. "Do you have any better ideas?"

"Well, no, but…"

"But what? We have to act now, Will! And this is the best plan we have. No-one at the castle knows me, they don't know me as one of Robin Hood's men. I've managed not to get caught in the past few months. By the Sheriff, anyway."

"But it's so reckless!" Will ran an anxious hand through his hair, tufting the dark locks. "Robin would…"

"Robin would love it." Cassie fixed her gaze on Will who sighed, defeated. She was right; Robin would love it.

"Fine," he gave in. "But how am I supposed to help you if you're in the castle on your own?"

Cassie gave him another grin and opened a chest in the corner of the camp, in which was kept a bundle of various disguises and costumes that the outlaws had amassed over their months as rebels. She pulled out a guard's helmet and tossed it to him. With a sigh he placed it on his head. "I win," Cassie chirped happily.

XX

Cassie stood in the shadow of a building, watching as Will darted out of an alleyway and fell into line behind a group of guards marching towards the castle. He passed through the gate without incident and she sighed in relief. The first stage of the plan had gone perfectly. Now she just needed to get in too.

Smoothing her skirt and adjusting the kerchief over her hair Cassie lifted her chin and walked confidently towards the castle gate. The two guards standing by the gate watched her approach and, though her heart was pounding, she managed not to shake and kept her eyes fixed straight ahead.

"Afternoon, gents," she murmured, nodding to them as she passed through the gate. As she walked into the courtyard she allowed herself a smile, wishing Will was there so she could gloat.

Will had told her where the kitchens were and she swiftly made her way there. There were not many maids in the kitchen; just one slicing bread and another stoking the fire beneath the stone oven. The girl by the bread looked up and furrowed her brow.

"You new?" she asked bluntly.

Cassie nodded. "Ay," she replied, thickening her accent. "Not sure where I'm needed yet, you need any help?"

The girl nodded. "Here," she replied, passing her a knife. "I'm Lottie."

"Eve," Cassie returned, saying the first name that came into her head.

"So where are you from? I haven't seen you around here before. You don't live in Nottingham town do you? I thought I knew all the girls in town. You're pretty, too, think I would have noticed you. Do you have a fella?"

Cassie laughed at the barrage of words that spilled from the girls lips. "So many questions!"

Lottie blushed. "Sorry, me mam always tells me off for talking too much."

"Don't worry. I know someone who could give you a run for your money in the talking stakes." Cassie smiled at the thought of Allan. "And in answer to your questions no, I'm not from Nottingham town, I'm from Clun. And I don't have a man, they're too much bother."

"Me mam always says that too," Lottie replied with a grin.

"Who's this food for?" Cassie asked.

"Dungeons," Lottie replied, wrinkling her nose. "Its horrid down there, it stinks. An' all the poor blighters locked up, breaks my heart it does."

"I'll do it if you like," Cassie offered, forcing her voice to sound casual whilst inside she couldn't believe her luck.

"Really?" Lottie looked at her in surprise.

Cassie nodded and gave a vague shrug. "Always wondered what its like down there."

She collected the bread, which was stale, and a few lumps of cheese on a tray. Lottie gave her directions to the dungeons and she set off down the corridor. As she passed a shadowed alcove behind a pillar she heard someone whisper her name. Looking round she saw Will in the shadows, disguised as a guard with a second uniform in his arms. Slumped behind the pillar was an unconscious guard stripped down to his undergarments. Cassie winked at Will, then continued to the dungeon door and banged on it with the tray.

The door creaked open on its hinges, revealing the jailor who gave her a crooked smile. Cassie nodded politely to him then walked straight past, the tray shaking slightly in her trembling hands.

She saw Tristan straight away, sitting hunched over against the wall of his cell. She walked over and crouched down, setting the tray on the floor. "Grab hold of me," she whispered as quietly as she could. Tristan looked up with glazed eyes. "Just do it!" she hissed. He frowned at her, then launched himself forward, his hand coming through the bars and grasping a handful of her shirt.

Cassie let out a scream, putting as much girlish infliction into the sound as she could manage. "Help me!" she cried. The jailor hurried up behind her and pulled her backwards, out of Tristan's reach. Twisting round in his arms she fell against his chest. "Oh, thank you," she gasped, hands fumbling to grasp his waist as she tried to regain her balance.

"Don't get too close," the jailor warned, giving her a lecherous grin. "Don't want those wastrels getting their hands on a pretty little thing like you."

Resisting the urge to punch him Cassie managed a simpering smile, then watched as he slowly retreated back to the entrance to the dungeons, disappearing from sight. She turned back to Tristan with a triumphant smile, showing him the bunch of keys that she had snatched from the jailor's belt.

As she tried to find the right key she heard a thump and smiled, knowing the Will had just knocked out the jailor. Finally fitting the correct key into the lock she opened the door.

"Why are you helping me?" Tristan asked suspiciously.

"No time to explain," she replied shortly. "Come on."

Cassie stooped and picked up the tray and then the two hurried back through the dungeon, past the prone figure of the jailor, and into the corridor where Will was waiting. He handed Tristan the spare guard uniform. "Put this on," he instructed.

Tristan blinked at the two of them and opened his mouth, before thinking better of it and doing as he was told. As soon as the uniform was on over his clothes Cassie pushed him forwards. "Follow us, and act natural," she said firmly, before setting off a few paces in front of the two disguised guards.

As she reached the end of the corridor she heard voices and stopped, flattening herself against the wall. Will and Tristan did the same, tensing as they heard the unctuous tones of the Sheriff.

"Ah, Gisborne, at last. I have a job for you. I know you're useless but perhaps you could try and prove me wrong?"

"Yes, my Lord," came the tense reply from Guy of Gisborne.

"I know where our precious little Prince William is hiding," the Sheriff said, his voice oozing with sarcasm. "Village of Hayworth. You know what to do."

"Yes, my Lord," Gisborne repeated, and there was a clatter of boots upon stone which retreated into the distance.

Cassie looked at Will, whose worried eyes matched her own expression of terror. "They know where Esther and William are. They're going to kill them!"

Author's Note: I had such fun writing this chapter. I love writing a Will friendship rather than romance, and I love him and Cassie being partners in crime!

I realised a couple of days ago that I could buy RH series 2 on itunes, so I treated myself! It is SO much funnier than the first series, but I think it is unintentional - its just got so much siller, it makes me laugh so much! The episode where they are dressed as minstrels is hilarious. And I haven't laughed as hard in ages as I laughed when I saw them in the Indiana Jones hats and trench coats. I love this show :)

Anyway, thank you for all the exam good luck wishes, I did my second one on Saturday and it went a lot better than expected! Phew. And thanks as ever for the lovely reviews, they're so funny, I love reading them!!