Chapter 3; The Night Watchmen
Night had fallen on Nottinghamshire, cloaking everything in darkness. Everyone was asleep, apart from one man. Guy of Gisborne lurked in the shadows of Nottingham castle, ever grateful of the secret passage the sheriff had built. As he planned, he would sneak into the castle and kill a majority of the guards that were left. He wore his usual leather with an added cloak on back. But with his hood up and a cloth over his face making only his eyes visible, no one would recognise him.
Guy left the safety of the throne room and sneaked through the corridors. Even though he tried his best to keep his footsteps quiet, they found a way to echo through the gloomy corridors. Nottingham seemed so different at night. Without the busyness of the day, it seemed eerie and forbidding. Guy liked it this way. He liked Nottingham castle when the sheriff wasn't around to haunt the place.
Two shadows appeared, followed by the amber glow of a torch. Guards! Guy almost panicked and ran but he kept his nerve and ducked behind a banner, leaving only his feet visible. They marched straight past him. 'How could I forget how stupid they are?' Guy thought to himself. He stepped out of his hiding place and tailed the guards until he got close enough and slit their throats, decorating the floor with their blood. 'Each kill will bring me one step closer to Vaisey.' He told himself, 'then Marian will forgive me and the demons will leave.' It was the lie he convinced his torn mind with.
Guy walked down the corridors with more confidence in every stride. Another pair of guards walked down the corridors near the dungeons. Guy let them spot. "Hey! You!" One of them shouted. They dashed after him, drawing their sword. Guy walked around a corner, as if he didn't have a care in the world. They followed him, but Guy was waiting for them and before the guards could land a blow, they were lying on the floor in a pool of their own blood. He stepped over them and headed deeper into the castle, getting further away from the throne room. Tonight, Guy felt bold. Tonight, he would test how strong the sheriff's defences really were.
Guy walked at a furious pace towards the sheriff's chambers, killing a few guards on the way. Mad thoughts of how he was going to kill Vaisey entered his mind; A dagger in his back, a knife in his stomach, crushing his little throat like a twig or lobbing the ugly head off his shoulders. Whichever way stopped the vile heart that pumped poison into his veins, Guy didn't care, so long as he was dead. He could almost taste the revenge on his lips.
The knight was getting close. He knew the castle by the back of his hand. He turned round a corner. Two guards looked at him, eyes wide in shock. He drew two throwing daggers, expecting them to come running at him but instead they ran away, raising the alarm.
It took him a second to register what had happened. Guy swore to himself. Moments later, bells were ringing and the sound of more guards was coming his way. He sprinted down the corridors and stairs, jumping over dead bodies of those he slain, and, at one point almost slipping of the blood. "There!" Guy heard a voice. Guards started pouring in from everywhere. 'Where did they all come from?' A sole guard came running at him. Guy simply planted his dagger into the guards chest and pushed him out the way, hardly breaking stride. He forced his protesting legs to run even faster. This was not how he had pictured it at all. Guy thought he could kill a few people and be over done with it. He should have known better, there was always someone who messed everything up. The sound of armour clinking and footfalls came nearer, not from the corridor Guy came from, but the one ahead. 'No, it can't end, not like this.' Guy had a purpose, a mission. He had to kill the sheriff, no matter what. 'God knows what the sheriff would do to me.' He couldn't begin to imagine the ways in which he would be tortured. The two footsteps drew nearer, Guy looked around helplessly for an escape. There was a boarded-up window to his left and a small door to his right. Without hesitation, Guy shoved it open and hopped in dark room. He raised a hand to his head, wiping away all cobwebs floating around him.
"You idiot, you let 'im get away!" Guy heard a guard shout. His breathing was so loud he thought the guards outside his door would hear it.
"Oh grow up will you? You're always jumping at shadows."
"I swear to you, it was the Night Watchman. He's back."
It felt as though someone put a knife in his stomach when they mentioned that name.
"Nonsense! The Night Watchman finished ages ago. He almost got hanged, God bless him."
"Honestly, I saw him. He was going to kill me."
"And I saw the ghost of Nottingham castle yesterday too. I thought the Night Watchman never killed, only gave 'em food."
"But-"
"Here now, you've worked too many night shifts, lad. Made you see things that weren't there."
"I'm telling the truth. Who killed the others then? How do you explain that?"
The guard remained silent. "Oi, you two! Stop yappin' and get back to work." Another voice roared. Two pairs of footsteps faded into the background. 'That was close. Too close.' Guy thought. Now the guards were alert and he was the Night Watchman. Guy made sure he looked completely different from the Night Watchman. For one, the Night Watchman didn't wear thick leather or go around killing people at random. Or perhaps anyone the guards saw sneaking around after dark was immediately classed as the mythical Night Watchman? 'What would Marian think of me now? I've been doing what she wanted me to do all long.' Immediately Guy banished those thought to the back of his mind. 'No, no. I mustn't think like that.' But it was too late. His demons were back with vengeance. 'Kill the sheriff we said. What have you done? Killed innocents.' Hissed the demon. 'Guy, you fool. How long did it take you to realise wrong from right?' Fear and stress choked him. It felt as though the walls were closing in. Without checking, Guy burst through the doors, breathing heavily. The guards were still alert and looking for him. He charged through the corridors like a hurricane, killing a guard on his way. He didn't care if anyone saw him and recklessness took over his mind. He was almost there. Fear put wings on his feet as he charged into the throne room and slipped into the secret passage.
It was still dark outside and raining. Like the weather, Guy's mood wasn't improving. He was out of breath with no food or water and he wasn't entirely sure of his way back to Locksley. The darkness distorted the forest into something unrecognizable. He could just about make out the outlines of the gravestones. It was a small graveyard and a small Abbey next to it. Guy hadn't been in an Abbey before, not since he was a boy, and he didn't plan on starting now. And even if he did stay there for the night, he knew the priest there and didn't trust him the slightest. The wind blew harder, carrying rain as if to push Guy out of there. The knowledge that he had filled half the graveyard alone was enough to send him on his way. 'Great, another night wandering around in this blood forest.' He complained to himself. The crescent moon shone down on him weakly through the heavy rain clouds. He wished he had taken his horse. Guy stopped feeling sorry for himself and walked in the direction he thought was home.
It was getting lighter as Guy returned to Locksley. He was cold, wet and hungry and wanted nothing better than a nice, long bath. The small village was still fast asleep but it wouldn't be too long till they woke up. Guy dragged his feet to the front door of Locksley manor and opened the door. "THORNTON!" He yelled. Moments later Thornton appeared from the servants quarters. "Yes, Sir Guy." He yawned. "Run me a bath, will you?"
"Right away, my lord." He mumbled. Guy tossed his soaking cloak on the hook then one of the servants whom he had woken up fetched him a bone-warming bowl of soup and bread. Soon the soup and bread disappeared and his bath was ready. Guy dipped his naked body into the warm arms of the water, letting his muscles relax and unwind. He was so tired, yet every time he closed his eyes, he could see the face of Marian, twisted by his demons. It began to drive him sane until the familiar rumbling of horse hooves came and an even more familiar voice;
"People of Locksley," the sheriff announced. 'Just what I need.' Guy moaned inwardly. "This, is one of Hoods men. Last night he broke into the Abbey." He pronounced each word slowly, letting them to sink in. The sheriff's voice found a way to be heard even from the manor. "Look at him," he continued, "trapped like a wild animal caught in a snare. Is this how you want to end up? I'm your friend-" Guy scoffed at those words, and it seemed the villagers shared his thoughts too. "-Yes, I know, we've had hard times but we will come through. Now, who will help me capture Robin Hood, hmm?"
A deathly silence followed.
"Are you so blind that you cannot see. I am not your enemy- Hood is! I have not forsaken you, forsaken God- Hood has. If you do not aid me in the capture of Robin Hood, then things will only get worse, beginning with our friend here, who will be torn apart on the rack tomorrow. And unless you want the same for you and your loved ones, then you'd better come to your senses." And with those last words, the sheriff and his men rode off taking, poor brother Tuck with them.
Guy had heard same thing too many times before. He felt slightly sorry for Tuck, but couldn't help smile with mad glee at the opportunity that had arisen. While the sheriff was busy playing out his little execution games, Guy could sneak into the castle and kill another person. 'Not a guard this time, someone important. The Abbott!' If Guy wanted to completely seal his way to Hell, then that was the way to go. One the other hand, it was very bad luck to kill a holy man. He knew a man who had killed a priest. The day after, his wife died by being trampled by a cow, then all his cows died of some strange disease. Also, all his chickens stopped laying eggs and his son got thrown in the dungeons for a crime he did not commit. In the end, the man died by falling off his horse that got spooked by a snake. Guy wasn't superstitious as most were, but he didn't want to try his luck either. 'Not the Abbott then.' The sheriff never had any visitors. He always complained that they did nothing but leech off his resources and gold. 'It had to be someone important, that he relied on, someone who mattered to him.' Guy racked his brain to find an answer, but his search was fruitless. The only thing the sheriff really cared about were his birds. Guy never did like the way they stared at him, with those big amber eyes. It was as though they were waiting for the order to peck him to death. 'I will try to rest tonight, then hunt at midday.' Most of the guards would be at the court-yard, watching Tuck die and if Hood showed up... it would be even more great. Guy knew the sheriff would have every man and his dog chasing him.
Guy got out of the bath, dried himself then slipped on a fresh set of clothes and headed to his room. He paced back and forth. Now all he had to do was wait for night to come. But Guy was tired of waiting around for night to come. He couldn't wait to get back into to Nottingham but his instincts told him he had to be more careful this time. Guy didn't want to get caught. Then a plague of doubts swarmed over his mind. What was he thinking? Guy couldn't kill the sheriff. Both Marian and Hood failed to do it, what made him much different? And there was still the threat of Prince John and his army, there was no way he could avoid that.
'Hood will save the people. That's what he's for.'
'They will be left homeless, at the mercy of the elements. Marian wouldn't want that.' The other demon argued.
'They left you homeless when your home was burned to the ground. They left you to the mercy of the Sheriff!' The demon hissed. Guy couldn't argue against that reason. Guy's cunning mind set to work on the easiest way to kill Vaisey. He knew the sheriff well enough and he would be strongest in the castle, so Guy had to ambush him outside of Nottingham, either in the accused forest of Sherwood or the muddy villages.
Guy stopped pacing and gazed out the window. It was just gone past midday, the villagers were swarming around, doing whatever villagers did. Guy longed to go outside and walk through the tall green trees and ride his horse through the fresh grass, throwing knives into the sunset like he did when his was a boy. But he rarely had any days off when he was with the Sheriff and now Guy was trapped in his own house. He couldn't show his face just yet. But perhaps he didn't have to show his face. A smile flickered across his face. If he was clad as what others saw as the 'Night Watchman,' Then Guy could take his horse out into the forest.
So he followed through with that plan. In the spare bedroom, the bars on the window were loose. Guy, with some simple food of honey and oats along with a few apples, slipped out, landing on his feet. He then went to fetch his horse and took it by the reins, leading it out into the fresh air. Only did Guy mount it when they were a reasonable distance from Locksley. He'd forgotten what Sherwood was like when it was lit up by the faint sunlight. It was good to out, roaming the land freely. The cold air refreshed his lungs with a light mist descending on Sherwood Forest, acting as an extra cloak of invisibility and the spiders webs glistening like a thousand diamonds on a string by the roadside. Birds sang happily in the trees and the cold wind sent a dozen of leaves dark green dancing in the air. 'It's good to be free.' Guy thought.
He spurred his horse, sending it galloping throughout with woods with the wind pulling his hair back, out of his face. Guy drew a throwing knife and let it bury itself in the centre of the tree that hid behind a thin curtain of mist. He rode on, then twisted in his saddle and lunched another deadly knife. He drew two more blades and throw them, both hitting a tree side by side. He would retrieve his daggers on the way back.
Guy kicked his horse to go faster still, racing through the forest as though the devil was after him. The trees were nothing but green smudges as he charged past them. He could feel the heavy breathing of his horse underneath him. Guy hadn't ridden it in a while and it probably wasn't used to being pushed so fast. He slowed the horse down to a trot. The trees began to get less dense as he continued forward until he found himself on blackened, charred ground. Guy dismounted to investigate, the blackened ruins crunched beneath his boots. It was obvious it was some ruins of a burnt down house; most of the frame that wasn't in a pile of rubble was nothing but a stump of chalk-white wood. The trees were hardly visible. 'It must have been a big fire.' Guy thought. Then he realised it.
Guy was standing where Knighton Hall was.
Guy's mind screamed at his legs to move but they might have well been rooted into the ground like mountains. He stood there for some time with his mouth slightly open. Everything was still. Not even his horse dared to break the spell of silence. Guy closed his eyes. The very thought that Marian lived here, grew up here, laughed here, and that he'd burnt it all down. The same with his parents. It rocked him to the core. He opened his eyes. Marian stood in front of him, like the way she did in his dreams. Guy didn't flinch, he didn't move a muscle, just dreaded what she would say. 'Go, you are not welcome here.' She hissed. 'You were meant to kill the sheriff. He is not dead.'
'He will be.' Guy answered calmly. 'You will fail. You will get caught and you will die.'
'Do I care?'
'If you truly loved me, you would kill the sheriff.'
'I'm not sure I do. You belong to Hood. All you have done is sent a plague of demons to push me closer to insanity.' Marian then changed into his mother, Ghislaine of Gisborne. 'If you won't do it for her, do it for me and your dear sister. Only then will you be forgiven.'
"But how?" Guy cried out loud. 'Don't ask me, I've never killed anyone before.' His mother answered, fading into the mist. "Wait!" Guy shouted, running into the mist. Marian or Ghislaine, whichever they were, were lost in the dense mist. Frustrated, he cursed at himself. "Now how am I meant to kill the sheriff?" He mumbled to himself, full of sarcasm. 'The same as you've done before, with a knife to his heart.' It wasn't his demons that answered that question, it was himself.
But another problem had arisen. With the mist so dense, how was Guy meant to navigate his way to Locksley in this mist? Guy saw the answer easily before he could get too worked up on it. He mounted his horse. Guy would go and collect his daggers, then hopefully they will lead him back to Locksley.
Guy's plan held true, as he sat at his table enjoying a heart-warming meal of roasted venison along with some simple vegetables. There was no doubt about it, Thornton was truly a great cook. Guy however, couldn't enjoy the food properly. Like most days, his mind was troubled. "Can I get you anything less, Sir Guy?" Thornton asked politely. "No, you have done enough. Leave me, I must think... about many things." That worried Thornton even more. It was unusual to see Guy without his volcanic temper or his normal scowl. Thornton left Guy to his thoughts.
Guy was still shaken by what he saw a Knighton today. There was no doubt that they were phantasm conjured up by his own twisted mind but the point they made still stood firm. Guy couldn't carry on with his reckless plan he went through with last night. It was by mere chance he managed to escape. But how else could he kill the sheriff? Guy was a soldier, a military leader, not a fully fledged assassin. That was probably why he failed in the holy land the first time round. The sheriff was the one who did most of the scheming. Night had collapsed on Locksley once again and it was getting late. Guy finished what he could of the delicious food but he seemed to have dropped his appetite when he went out for a ride. Guy marched upstairs and dived on his bed. He wasn't tired for once, in fact, he was the complete opposite in mind, but his body disagreed. And so, whether Guy liked it or not, restless sleep took over.
Thanks for all the reviews. Sorry it's taken me awhile to update, I will publish a new chapter by the next weekend. This chapter is slightly longer than the other two. I don't know about you, I'm not 100% happy with it. Don't worry, it's just the beginning and Robin and the gang are not forgotten and will be breaking an entry in the next few chapters ;) thanks.