Disclaimer: I do not own Robin Hood. It is all property of the BBC.
Thank you to Dreamsand for your comments.
Chapter 8
Ava had been moved to Locksley Manor at the Sheriff's request. He did not want the outlaws to try and break her out of the castle cells, so he told Gisbourne to take the girl to his home - Locksley Manor - to throw the outlaws off.
It was daylight by now.
Gisbourne now raised his whip against Ava's back yet again - he had been at it for hours and was getting no where.
She cried out in pain, though he did not care. The back of her dress was now torn and her skin bloody, but she refused to betray the gang.
' Come now,' Gisbourne said after he let the whip fall at his side, ' there is no need for this. If you tell me where I can find Hood, then you shall be free to leave. It is a fair deal.'
' No! ' Ava cried, with as much force as possibe - which was not very much as she was being weakened by the beating.
' Tell me! ' he roared, glaring down at her - she was laid across the cold stone floor as she had not the strength to stand any more.
' I will not betray Robin! ' she declared, causing him to bring his whip to her once more.
' If you do not tell me, then you shall be dead by tomorrow,' he told her coldly.
' If I tell you, I shall be dead anyway,' she replied cooly, ' for I could not live with myself if I sold my friends out to you.'
' I shall find out,' Gisbourne snarled, ' By any means neccesary.'
' Well good luck with that, because I will not betray Robin.' she told him softly.
Gisbourne shook his head, ' My, my, and how will your dear father feel when his only child is dead just because she would not talk. If you are anything like he, you would usually have plenty to say.'
' You leave my father out of this. If I tell you where the camp is, you will kill the whole gang - including my father.'
Gisbourne shrugged, ' Maybe we could come to some kind of understanding. You and your father will be free to go if you tell me where the camp is so we can get the others.'
' No! They are my friends and I refuse! ' she cried.
He kicked her in the side, insted of using his whip, ' Tell me! ' he roared.
' I will not betray Robin,' she insisted.
Gisbourne sighed - we was getting tired of hearing those words.
--
Lady Marian of Knighton, soon to be Lady Gisbourne - though only because she had been suspected of helping outlaws and was marrying Gisbourne to prove her loyalty, not out of choice - had heard from one of the Sheriff's guards, whilst she was at the castle for the council of the nobles that morning, about Ava A Dale's capture and imprisonment.
Marian had met Ava earlier in the week, when she had been on her way to give information to the outlaws. The two women got on fine, although Marian thought that the younger girl was too lively and flighty - though at the tender age of 16, Marian decided that that could be overlooked.
Marian knew that the outlaws would be going spare trying to think of ways to rescue the young woman because she was the youngest and most inexperienced menber of the gang, as well as being the daughter of one of the lads. Marian also knew that their plans to get into the castle would be useless since Ava was not there - she was in Locksley.
That day morning, around about noon, Marian told her father that she was going for a ride on her horse, and then left for Sherwood Forest.
' Robin! ' Marian cried as she reached the place where she knew that the outlaws would be.
' Marian,' Robin grinned as she dismounted her horse, tethered it up and approached the camp, ' you're looking striking, as always.'
Marian rolled her eyes, ' Save it,' she told him sternly, ' I heard about Ava.'
She took the opportunity to glance around at the rest of the gang who all looked rather bleak.
' I assume you have not yet got a plan to rescue her? ' she asked.
Robin shook his head, ' The castle is too heavily guarded.
' Then it is a good job Ava has been moved to Locksley Manor, is it not? '
Robin's eyes lit up, and the others also looked more hopeful.
' Really? ' he asked gleefully.
Marian grinned in spite of herself, ' Yes. One of the guards up at the castle told me when I was there for the council of the nobles. I thought you ought to know.'
' Oh Marian I could kiss you! ' Robin exclaimed, then added after seeing the look on Marian's face, ' But, um, that would be inappropriate right now.. and anyway, thank you.' he finished in rather a rush.
' You are most welcome, I am glad to be of help.'
' Would you like to stay and have somehting to eat with us? ' Much asked her.
' That's not a very good idea,' Allan told Much, ' her father might wonder where she's gotten to.'
Marian and the other outlaws smirked at the way fatherhood seemed of fit Allan so easily and now he was starting to speak on behalf of all fathers.
' Yes, I suppose Allan is right, I would not want my father to worry about me.'
With that Lady Marian left, leaving Robin to formulate a quick plan to save their youngest recruit.
--
Robin told the outlaws his plan and then said that it would only require a few of them - three at the most. Robin, as leader, obviously wanted to go, as did Allan, as Ava's father. Much had also insisted upon going more so than John, Will or Djaq.
That was how the three of them found themselves hiding around the back of the cottage that was closest to the manor house.
Once they saw Sir Guy leave on his horse - no doubt on business - they got to work.
The plan was to go through the servants entrance and ask one of the staff where Ava was, as someone was bound to know. The staff in Locksley Manor mostly hated their master, and many were the same people who had been there when Robin was in charge, so someone was guaranteed to help them. They could then take Ava and get the hell out of there and away.
The three men made sure that no one was watching, crept round the back of the building and sipped into the kitchen.
In there, was a young kitchen girl and the housekeeper, Thornton - who was still loyal to Robin and occasionally brought the gang some food that he had managed to take without it being missed.
' Master Robin! ' Thornton exclaimed in hushed tones, ' what are you doing here? '
' We are on a rescue mission,' Much declared.
Allan nodded, ' My daughter, Ava, was brought 'ere last night, do you know where she is? '
The kitchen girl - whose name Robin was almost certain was Hannah - met Allan's eyes, ' Yes, she's here, isn't she Thornton? The master brought her here last night, took her straight down to the basement, and started trying to get information out of her. She's been shouting at him all night, and all morning. You can hear it right through the house. Always says the same thing, doesn't she Thornton? '
Thornton nodded, ' She keeps saying 'I will not betray Robin' over and over again. The master doesn't like that so he shouts at her and she just says it again.'
' That's my girl,' Allan sighed, relieved to know where she was, but worried that she could be seriously hurt.
' Thank you so much,' Robin nodded, ' The basement, you said? '
With that, the three of them hurried of towards the basement.
It was well known amongst the staff of the manor - and the outlaws too - that Gisbourne used his basement as a torture chamber. The sad thing was, that Robin used to use the very same room for his largest banquets - the ones that the whole village were invited to, and could not fit in the dining room.
On entering the room, they found that it was empty apart from one person.
Ava was sprawled out on the cold stone floor, her face full of dried up blood, her dress torn and her skin bloody. She was unconsious.
Allan threw himself on his knees beside Ava and immediatley checked her breathing. He threw Robin a quick nod in confirmation of this fact, but all three of them knew she must see a physician quickly, if she was to recover - she could have any number of broken bones.
Robin looked from Much, to Allan, and then rested his eyes of Ava's small, vunerable form.
' Ok, so we carry her back to camp,' he decided, ' Allan, do you want to take her? '
Allan agreed and very carefully took his daughter into his arms.
When the three of them made their way back down to the kitchen, Thornton and Hannah piled Much and Robin's arms with food thta would keep them going for weeks.
As they were in the kitchen, Gisbourne returned, announcing to Thornton, who had hurried into hallway, that he had left his cloak behind. The outlaws ran out of the building and around the backs of all the houses as quickly as they could, which was not so quick, as they each had their arms full.
Whilst collecting his cloak, Gisbourne must have decided to check in on Ava, since he ran out of the house and the three men heard a shout of, ' Damn you, Hood! '
' Another job well done, lads.' Robin announced, as they continued to walk on their way, ' Now let's get this one sorted out,' he added, nodding towards Ava.