Die Verlorene Vögel

(The Lost Birds)

Chapter Two;; Will You Tolerate This?

Part II

"Dailen... Dailen wake up... Day!"

I had managed to fall asleep and stay asleep who knows how late in the night, but now, as my aching body began to wake up, I tensed, hoping it was not morning already.

The first thing I noticed when I came to my senses, was a load setting in my lap, and as I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes, it moved.

Opening my eyes with my eyebrows knitted between them, I glared down at Allan as he slept in my lap. Well, it was more of my stomach as I had slid down into a more comfortable position during the night, and apparently, he took it as a pillow.

I looked up and around myself to see who else was awake. While Benedict laid curled up in a corner, snoring lightly, Will and Luke were still over against the wall. Will was already awake, staring at me with his stone hard eyes while Luke was leaning against his shoulder, still deep in sleep.

"Why'd you wake me up..?" I mumbled, cracking my neck as I moved it around to removed the tension.

"Because of him." Will mumbled, jerking his chin toward Allan who let out a snort in his sleep.

Nodding my head and motioning for Will to be silent with my hand, I shifted my weight slowly so I could move my right arm from between my body and the cell bars. Once I could move it, I brought my hand to Allan's face and then flicked his nose with my index finger as hard as I could.

Allan sat up quickly with a snort, his eyes half open as he looked around.

"What..?" He mumbled, bringing his hand to his nose as he rubbed vigorously.

"You were sleeping on me." I told him as I sat up, stretching out my cold back.

"Oh I was?" Allan asked, looking at me curiously as he was suddenly awake, "Well that would explain why I slept so good."

I rolled my eyes at him as I stood up, stretching out the rest of my body as I tried to think clearly.

"Will... do you know if it's morning yet?" I asked him, looking around our cell and into the others. None of the cells that I could see had windows, so I was at a lost to what time it was.

"No. I just woke up." He said, leaning Luke against the cell wall before he too stood up.

Before any more words could be exchanged, the jailer walked up to our cell, looking between the bars at the three of us who were already awake.

"Ready for the dangle?" He sneered, looking us over like we were pieces of meat.

He unlocked the door and five guards walked into our cell. Will shook Luke awake while one of the guards pulled Benedict up and out of his slumber before the rest of them grabbed us. We were marched through the dungeon (again; up and down who knows how many flights of stairs) before we stopped at a door. We all waited there silently, everyone's heart beat picking up as a sickening feeling fell into the pits of our stomachs.

"Bring out the prisoners!" I heard a man call, and the door in front of us was opened. As we exited the castle, I noticed how many people were in the court yard. My heart leaped into my throat as I noticed not only Dan, but Robin as well. Walking down the stairs behind Luke, I felt Allan's hot breath on my ear.

"Is your Robin friend going to save us?" He asked as I looked toward Robin.

Of course he avoided all of our eyes.

"No Allan... I don't think he can..." I sighed sadly as I pried my eyes away from Robin, making my way down the stairs and to the gallows.

The man who had called for us, the man I supposed was the sheriff (bald, fat, ugly), was speaking about Robin as we made our trek. Robin was... condemning us?

The jailer pushed us each up the stairs to the gallows before we got our own stools; except for Luke and I. Because there were only four pole in which to hang, Luke and I got our seperate ropes but used the same stool.

"Let it be heard and known," Robin started, reading from the parchment the Sheriff had handed him, "About the lands and realms of Richard, his majesty, King of England, that on this, the twenty sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord eleven hundred ninety two, the following men having been tried under the law and found guilty. Benedict Giddeons of Locksley. Will Scarlet of Locksley. Luke Scarlet of Locksley. Dailen Scarlet of Locksley-" I looked up at Robin during my name. Only Dan, Will and Luke knew who I really was. "-Allan A Dale of Locksley. These same men have been sentenced to hang by a rope until they are dead."

Robin read through the parchment slowly, and as the affect of the words began to sink in, I began to panic. This... was truly happening.

I felt a choking gasp come to my throat as my stomach jumped. Adrenaline coursed through my veins and heart as the executioner's stepped forward and put sacks and rope over our heads and around our necks, one my one. The drums in the background did nothing for my nerves as I felt my death come ever nearer as the drum beats got faster.

"May the souls-"

"Wait!" A voice interrupted the Sheriff. A voice that sounded oddly familiar, but... I couldn't quite place it.

"Now, now. Now please don't kill my brother, my little baby, my inbred cousin!" The Sheriff screamed at whoever spoke, making shivers run down my back in terror. What kind of man was this Sheriff? I knew what he had done; taken homes, let people starve and many more things, the words he had spoken scared me.

"On behalf of Antony Bishop I claim benefit of clergy for these men! They cannot hang."

Whoever said it... I was going to kiss them. I had no idea what he was talking about, not in the slightest clue, but I was grateful that someone was trying to save us.

"These are not holy men. These people cannot plead the cloth." The Sheriff bit back at our savior, "Get on with it."

"I came last night to administer their last rights." The man objected.

He did? While I was asleep perhaps? Why didn't anyone wake me up?

There was a pregnant pause before the Sheriff asked, "So?"

"Each one came to God through me. Repenting their sins and asking to take the cloth. I felt duty bound to console the bishop and he in turn confers status of novice onto each man."

I didn't remember any of this happening last night... but if it got me out of hanging, I'd go along with it.

"Shut up..." I heard the Sheriff growl before the sound of paper unrolling came to my ears.

"I Antony-" I lost the rest to the bag around my head as I strained to listen to the man. I did, on the other hand, heard the Sheriff scream, "Shut up!"

More mumbled voices drifted into my ears, but the words were jumbled.

"-And so are under the protection of the church."

I was beginning to loose hope that this rope was never going to leave my neck.

"-Hang them and arrest him."

I let out a muffled "No!" but I'm sure it was lost when the crowd of people gasped, and a few women screamed. There sounded as though there was a bit of a tussle for a moment before it became silent.

The drums started again, and I felt my heart leap and then fall to my stomach. So much for being saved... I tried to find a bright side to my hanging as the drums went. I got to be with my father, that was good. But I'd never grow up... or fall in love... or have children... or-

The ropes were pulled and for a moment... nothing happened. But then I knocked into Luke's side and couldn't breath. I tried gasping for breath, but nothing would come. Luke's body shook next to mind, but I hardly noticed as the circulation of air to my brain became cut off. I felt like a fish that was just pulled out of the water, gasping dryly for anything to keep me alive.

"I love you boys!" I faintly heard Dan scream, "I love all three of you! I love you Will, I love you Luke, I love you Dailen!"

It had stopped hurting my throat as I just accept the fact that this was the end and I was never going to see the light of another day again.

"People of Notthingham." I heard Robin's voice cut into my ever dying thoughts. I felt a thud, and then cheering. What...

"These men have committed no crime worth more than a spell in the stocks." Robin's voice again thundered around me. Another thump and more cheering.

Spots began to appear in front of my eyes as my body began to shut down, but I kept fighting against the feeling of suffocation. We were going to be saved, and I wasn't going to die before that happened.

"Will you tolerate this injustice? I for one, will not."

Both Luke and I fell from our hangings, and I gasped for air, struggling to undo the rope around my hands which were behind my back as I layed on the wood, struggling like a little worm.

A peasant who had been watching quickly pulled off the sack from my head, allowing me sight that I thought I'd never have again. Before I could contemplate what to do to get the ropes undone so I get caught by a guard, I was rolled on my stomach before rough, callused hands began on my hands. Putting my head to the side with my cheek on the wood below me, I looked up and over my shoulder to see Allan concentrated on the knot.

"Guess you were wrong." Allan pointed out as he finished the knot and pulled me to me feet, "He did come through."

"Amazing..." I rasped as I looked around. Guards were fighting whoever got in their way as Robin stood up by the castle doors, fighting which ever guards came toward him.

Allan pulled me off the gallows and down the stairs toward Dan, Will, Luke and Benedict, where they stood ready to fend for their lives. The six of us made it over to the gate, fighting off the guards who tried to keep us there. Robins friend called him, and we all ran out of the castle and down the roads toward safety, although we weren't there just yet.

While Dan, Luke and Benedict ran off in another direction, the rest of us, Robin, his friend, Will, Allan and I, found three horses. I had considered going with Dan, Luke and Benedict, but the fact that Allan and Will held my arms so tight, they probably would have dragged me along if I tried to stop.

"Master... Archers! What do we do?" Robin's companion cried as Robin climbed onto a horse.

"Let's give them something to shoot at." Robin stated as his horse turned to face our only exit.

Robin's friend climbed on the horse with Robin, Will hopped upon his own, and before I could get over to Will's horse, Allan had already pulled me up and put me behind him. Although the I wore a skirt, I managed to keep it over my legs as I straddled the horse.

The horses bolted forward, and as not to fall off of ours, I grabbed Allan's hood and pulled myself back toward him as my body was thrown backward. I wrapped my arms around his waist and closed my eyes tight as we raced toward the archers. I waited for our horse to be killed, or Allan to be shot, but as I felt the horse jump into the air, I opened my eyes and felt my heart soar. We had made it.

We rode deep into Sherwood forest to escape the Sheriff's men and Gisbourne, and sure enough, none of them found us.

We found a nice spot to camp for the night; it was a small valley surrounded my rocky cliffs that hid us well and blocked out the cold winds. So we gathered up some wood and huddled near a small fire Robin's friend, who's name I found out was Much, made by a fallen long.

Shivering a bit, I kept close to the fire, wondering if Dan and Luke got away unscathed.

"So who are you anyway?"

I looked up at the question Robin asked to see everyone looking at me, apart from Will who had walked off to get more wood.

"You must promise not to tell anyone... if word got out who I was..." I sighed. I'm sure it didn't matter anyway.

"No, go on. None of us will tell a soul." Much urged me on, looking at me from across the fire.

"My dad and I were from Germany, but our family was being... persecuted. So we all went into hiding. My mother hid with other family members, but my father and I came here. We stayed with Will and his family for a few years until Gisbourne killed my father. So I just stayed with them." I told them, not really caring if they believed me or not. It's not like I was going back home any time soon.

"That still doesn't tell us who you are." Allan argued from my side.

"Dailen Zaunknöig Teichert." I told them, using my native tongue.

Of course they all gave me confused looks, wondering what the hell that meant in English.

"Dailen Wren Teichman." I said after a few second, "But I don't mind Day."

Everyone around the fire nodded quietly before Robin looked up, searching around the forest for something he might have heard while he held a hand up to keep us quiet. By then we all started searching our surroundings, looking for any other forms of human life.

"S'cuse me!" Someone yelled from above us as Robin got to his feet. Looking up at the cliffs, I saw some men's silhouettes looking down at us.

"This is our forest." One of the men growled as the rest held weapons and bows pointed straight at us.

Last time I checked, Sherwood Forest didn't belong to anyone... but I was going to listen to anyone who had an arrow pointed at my heart.

Yup, that's the end of part two... lot's shorter than part one... Hope it's okay.

Didn't get any reviews on the first chapter, which is kind of scary... but I'll keep trying. Is it because the title is German? Or does this not appeal to anyone?

~Scree