Chapter 19

Allan struggled to break away from the guards who were holding each of his arms, dragging him up to the scaffold. He didn't know where he had left to run even if he did manage to escape. A crowd was gathered to see him hang and he knew that most of the people would be happy to watch him swing. They all knew what he was.

Traitor. He could hear it whispered over and over as they made their way through the crowd. Spy. Traitor. They all remembered him from his days in Robin Hood's gang, the heroic outlaw who had saved their lives and brought them food and money. Now, he was Gisborne's man, a lackey of the sheriff. He'd spent the past few months as their enemy, but they never forgot what he once was.

"That's the one that Robin Hood banished from his gang!" and "That's the one who betrayed Robin Hood!" whispered behind his back for months, fingers pointed at him, "Look! There he goes, the one they call Allan a Dale. Robin Hood saved him from hanging once, now look at how he's repaid him." Allan had always pretended he couldn't hear them, but he knew. He knew how much the people hated him. They despised him more than any other man working at the castle. Some even hated him more than the sheriff himself.

This is the largest crowd I have ever seen, Allan thought as the guards shoved him up onto the scaffold. They all came to watch me die. This is a celebration for them, a happy occasion. They get to finally see justice served.

He watched in horror as the guards he considered to be his friends dragged Djaq out of the castle with her wrists tied together with rope. James, Alfred, Rob, they were all there. The ones he spent his evenings drinking with in the taverns, the ones who helped him practice his tavern tricks, all of them surrounding the woman he loved. Their hands seemed to be everywhere at once, grabbing her here and there, her breasts, her buttocks, sliding up between her thighs.

"Don't worry, Allan. Your little Saracen whore won't die with you today." Guy told him. "We have something much more fun planned for her." He leaned in close to Allan's ear. "When I make a threat, you can consider it a promise. Unlike you, I always keep my word."

He looked up at Djaq and locked eyes with her. She was nearly in tears, looking at him with nothing but pure hatred and betrayal, and though he couldn't hear her over the crowd, he could read her lips. This is all your fault, Allan a Dale. All your fault.

Guy laughed at him as he shoved him toward the noose. "Look at her, Allan. Look at all of those guards. They're all going to have her. They're going to take turns with her, every position imaginable, every part of her body touched and filled, until she's screaming. They're all going to get to be with her...and you're not. You never will. You never could. You couldn't save her, Allan. You failed her. You failed Hood. You failed me. You failed yourself. None of your lies can save you now."

The sheriff walked out of the castle, smiling and admiring the sunshine, just like it was any ordinary day. It made no difference to him that it was someone's last moments on this earth, as long as that someone wasn't him. This is a celebration for him, for all of them. The crowd all quieted down to listen to the sheriff's speech, anxious for the execution to begin.

"Lords, ladies, people of Nottingham," He addressed them. "We are gathered here today to witness the carrying out of justice in the name of God and King Richard." The crowd started cheering, a first for any execution in Nottingham, at the sheriff's announcement.

"It's Robin Hood!" A woman shouted in the crowd. Allan turned his head, with the noose still wrapped around his neck, to search for Robin in the sea of people. Sure enough, there he was, making his way through the crowd. He had no fear of arrest, no weapons drawn, just peacefully made his way through the gathering of peasants to approach the sheriff.

He came. He came to save me...again. But there was no arrow flying through the air to shoot the noose, no fight, no chaos, no threats to the sheriff to let him go. He simply made his way to the castle steps to stand alongside the sheriff. Why isn't he arresting him? He has Robin Hood, right there in his grasp, and he isn't even doing anything.

"Let it be heard and known," Robin shouted over the crowd, "about the lands and realms of Richard, his majesty, king of England, that on this, the 26th day of April in the year of our lord 1192," That isn't right, Allan thought. It isn't 1192. What's he doing? "Allan a Dale, known traitor to the sheriff, to the king, and to myself, having been tried under law and found guilty, is sentenced to hang from a rope until he is dead."

The crowd cheered again and he heard someone yell, "Bless you Robin Hood! Hang the traitor!" from the sea of bloodthirsty peasants before him.

"I have saved you once before, Allan." Robin addressed him directly. "The last time we were here, I saved you. I was outlawed for you. It was a mistake. If I had known who you were going to turn out to be, I would have gladly watched you swing. The sheriff has pardoned me for my poor judgment. Now, we will all watch you die together. Justice will be served!"

Allan looked out into the crowd and saw the rest of the gang gathered there. Will was smiling, John was happily stamping his staff in approval, and Much was openly cheering his imminent demise. Marian was watching in a castle window, a small smile tugging at her lips, as she looked down upon him. He looked back at Djaq once more, surrounded by the guards, and saw her glare at him and say once more that this was all his fault, before the hood covered his face and the sound of beating drums drowned out everything else.

"May the souls of these men find forgiveness in heaven." The sheriff's voice echoed through the courtyard. Allan didn't have time to wonder about the fact that he was the only one on the scaffold before the sudden shock of the drop overtook him and he felt the tight grip of the rope around his neck, pressing into his throat and his windpipe, choking the air out of him, just as painful and horrifying as the first time he'd felt it and he knew this time was truly the end.

This is what Tom felt when he died, he thought. I'm dying. I'm really dying. He struggled for air, struggled against the seething pain of the rope digging into his skin, and shot up with a loud gasp.

Everything was dark. Allan couldn't see a thing. Is this hell? He wondered briefly before realizing that he could hear the sound of himself gasping for air in the night. He looked around wildly for a few moments before his eyes adjusted to the low lighting of the dungeon. I'm still alive, he realized as he reached up to rub his neck. For now.

"It was just a dream, Allan." Djaq's voice cut through the silence of the dungeon and brought Allan back to the present. "You fell asleep a few hours ago. I did not want to wake you." Allan took a few moments to catch his breath and calm the pounding in his chest before he answered her.

"Did you get any rest?" Allan asked.

"If I only have a few hours left in this world, I want to spend them aware of what is happening." Djaq answered.

"We might still be able to get out of this." Allan reassured her. Then he realized that one part of his dream was almost certainly true. If Robin did show up for a rescue, it wouldn't be for him. "Well, you might anyway."

"If I manage to avoid hanging, it will only be because Gisborne has something worse in store for me." Djaq reminded him of Guy's threat from the day before, the same threat that he had just envisioned happening in his nightmare. "I would rather die today, quickly and with some of my dignity left."

"No, I mean...Robin will probably come to rescue you. He always does." Allan tried reassuring her again.

"Not for me." Djaq said. "He did not come last time and this time I have spent the past day telling him how much I hate him."

"He'll still come, Djaq. I know it." Allan told her. "He knows you didn't betray him, that it was just me being an idiot. He'll come for you... It's me that won't make it out of here." And I deserve no less.

For a few minutes, Djaq didn't say a word. She wanted to reassure him that if Robin would come for her, then he would save him too, but she knew it was a false hope. She had no faith in Robin to do the right thing anymore. She couldn't convince him to spare Allan's life before and this time would likely be no different. She couldn't be certain that any of them would attempt a rescue this time and if they did, she couldn't be certain that Robin would be with them or that they would be successful. The one thing she felt sure of was that if a rescue was coming at all, no one would be concerned with saving Allan's life but her. She was the only one who still cared for him. The rest of them would turn on their friends in a heartbeat without giving it a second thought, as she learned the hard way the day before. She could never understand that, how quickly some people could just give up on someone they once cared for, but apparently they could.

"Allan," she finally addressed him and he looked up at her with inquisitive concern. "I forgive you. I understand why you did what you did. All of it. I just wanted to make sure you knew that before...whatever happens today, I just want to make sure that you knew."

"I'm still sorry for all of it." He said. "Especially what you saw, Djaq, I don't want you thinking that I only see you that way. It wasn't just about that or only wanting that from you, it was just…"

"I think I can understand." Djaq interrupted him.

"It wasn't just about wanting to do those things to you, it's just that that's the closest I thought I could get to what I really wanted. What I felt for you," he trailed off uncertainly, "still feel, it was real. It was more than that."

"I know." Djaq said.

"But what I did with her, it was…" How can I put this?

"Disrespectful." Djaq finished for him. "But I can still understand why. I am not upset or angry about it anymore. I only want things between us to be at peace. I don't want to die while holding onto that kind of resentment. Not for you or anyone else."

"Is that the only reason you're forgiving me?" Allan asked. "Because you think we're gonna die?"

"No." She said and offered him a small smile. "It's just hard to stay mad at you, Allan a Dale."