Alfred held his finger to his lips, blue eyes narrowed as he peered down the darkened streets of Nottingham. After a moment, he dashed across the read, Kiku following closely behind him. Another quick look around confirmed that the streets were still empty, but both of them knew that they wouldn't be for long- after their little scuffle with the prince that morning, Ivan was sure to be skulking around somewhere nearby.

As Alfred kept a wary eye on the moonlit road, Kiku reached out to knock once, sharply but quietly, on the wooden door of the building in front of them. There was silence for a second, and then the sound of the door creaking open very, very slightly. "Who is it?" a female voice asked.

"It's us, Elizaveta," Alfred replied, stepping forward and pulling down his hood.

The woman gasped and pulled the door open all the way, ushering both men inside. She leaned out into the street, looking both ways, before shutting the door with a quiet thud. "Alfred Jones," she said imperiously as she turned to face them. "The whole town's been buzzing about your exploits this morning."

"It was pretty great, wasn't it?" Alfred shared a quick smile with Kiku, striding over to the hearth and warming his hands above the low fire.

Elizaveta rolled her eyes, but a little grin still managed to quirk her lips. She bustled over to her cabinets, pulling out a pan and a few utensils. This certainly wasn't the first time Alfred and Kiku had dropped by in the middle of the night. "You're going to get yourself hung one day, Alfred."

He chuckled. "Only if they can catch me first."

"You-"

"Elizaveta?"

All three of them turned to look at the source of the soft voice. A young girl was standing at the foot of the old staircase, a ragged pillow clutched to her chest. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, obviously not completely awake yet. "Who knocked on the door?"

"Angelique!" Alfred laughed, spreading his arms wide. "Don't tell me you forgot what I look like already!"

The girl stared at him in sleepy confusion for a moment, and then she gasped, her lips sliding up into a joyful smile. "Alfred!" The pillow fell to the floor, forgotten, as she bolted across the room and into his arms. Alfred grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into the air, spinning around in a circle before setting her back down again. She immediately ran over to Kiku, throwing her arms around him as he patted her head.

"Quiet, Angelique, or you'll wake up the whole town!" Elizaveta scolded, hands on her hips.

Angelique pouted at her. "But Alfred's back!"

"Yes, and Alfred is going to get in trouble if people find out he's here." Elizaveta gave her a stern look, though there was sparkle in her eyes that betrayed her humor. "Particularly if a little loudmouthed girl shouts his name out to everyone."

"Oh!" Looking horrified, Angelique immediately shut her mouth, pressing her hands over it. She gave Alfred a grim nod, dashing away from Kiku towards the stairs. Right before she disappeared, she pulled her hands away long enough to whisper loudly, "Raivis and Lili are going to want to see you, too!"

"Wait, don't wake them up!" Elizaveta called after her, but Angelique was already gone. The woman shook her head, smiling gently. "I suppose they'll be down in minute. I'll make you two a quick stew before you head back out."

Alfred shook his head, gently grabbing her wrists to stop her from picking up her pan. "We don't need it. Save it for yourself and the children."

"It's not a hassle, really." Elizaveta pushed his hands away. "We're not as bad off as we could be. I can spare a little meat and broth for two old friends-"

"Elizaveta." Alfred's voice was soft but firm, his gaze steely. "Angelique is really thin. You're really thin. I have no doubt that Raivis and Lili are thin, and probably Roderich as well. You don't have meat or broth to spare on a pair of outlaws."

"I…" Elizaveta let her eyes slip shut, sighing. "You're right. Prince Francis and his taxes have taken a lot out of us. We barely make enough to pay them, even with Roderich and my earnings combined. Meals are always small. Even the coins you bring now and again don't do much, as kind as it is."

"You're a remarkable woman, Ms. Elizaveta," Kiku said quietly. "These children are not even yours."

"If I don't take care of them, who will?" She sighed again, before resolutely straightening her back and staring both men down. "But it won't do anyone any good complaining about it like this, now will it? And don't you say a word to the children about this."

"Of course." Alfred smiled at her. "Before they come down, though, I have something for you." He dug into the pouch at his side, and, after a minute of searching, pulled out a glittering golden ring studded with gems. "A lovely gift for a lovely lady."

"Alfred Jones!" Elizaveta propped her hands on her hips, laughter bubbling out of her lips even as she tried to look shocked. "Don't tell me that's the Prince's ring?"

"Well, it's definitely not his ring anymore," Alfred replied with a chuckle. He bowed down with a flourish and grabbed her hand, sliding the ring onto her finger. "My lady," he said regally.

Several voices gasped behind him, and he turned around to see three small children staring from the staircase. "Is Elizaveta a princess now?" Angelique asked eagerly.

"Oh, no, not just a princess!" Alfred jumped up onto the chair by the fireplace, one hand over his heart as the other gestured at Elizaveta. "She's far more important than that. Elizaveta is a queen!"

The blonde girl peeking out from behind Angelique let out a squeak of delight. "A queen?"

"That's right, a queen!" Alfred crouched down on his chair, crooking his finger to beckon the three children closer. Angelique scampered over to him immediately and sat on the ground by the chair. Lili and Raivis followed more slowly. "You know what that means, don't you?" Alfred asked after they were all seated. When they shook their heads, he grinned down at them. "It means you little ones are princesses and princes!"

"A princess!" exclaimed Lili, clapping her hands.

"Yes, a princess!" He paused, turning his gaze to Raivis, who didn't seem as excited as the girls. "What's wrong? You don't want to be a prince?"

The boy blushed and ducked his head. "W-well, isn't Francis a prince? I d-don't want to be a prince l-like him."

"Francis? Francis isn't a prince. Francis is… Francis is a frog!"

"A frog?"

"Exactly. You know, he's…"

Elizaveta smiled from where she was still standing at the kitchen cabinet. "You're good people, the two of you," she murmured to Kiku.

He smiled back. "The wanted posters say otherwise."

"The wanted posters don't matter. That's just what Francis thinks. What really matters is that you two are out there, risking your lives for the rest of us. I don't know what we would do without you." Elizaveta brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "You give us hope, you know. The children especially."

Kiku shook his head. "We are simply doing what needs to be done."

"Maybe." She stared at the man perched dramatically on the chair, arms gesturing wildly as his voice boomed out over the heads of his awestruck audience. "But someday, you'll be called heroes."

A/N- You know, I never noticed quite how disjointed a narrative Disney's Robin Hood is, until I started trying to recreate it. The story jumps from place to place, setting up characters and scenes that continue the plot, but wouldn't make for a well-written novel. So, in other words, I'm going to try to connect everything. Not perfectly, of course, because there is something fun about the wildness of the movie, but just enough to make it a better read.

This chapter is kind of random, and I apologize. I love the children in the movie, but they're really not all that important in the grand scheme of things. I couldn't just leave them out, but since they'll only appear once or twice from here on out, they don't really need as much. I used them to try to get the plot going, I guess. Hope you don't mind the implied RoderichxElizaveta.

Anyway, enough with me rambling. This is the second chapter of the Secret Santa fic for unaccompanied_g, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as the first! I love your comments, favorites, and alerts. Next chapter should be up within the week!