Disclaimer: I do not own Robin Hood, as it is the property of the BBC
Chapter 30
Three months passed - including Ava's 18th birthday - and Ava had now been with the gang about 18 months.
Allan was still hated by the vast majority of the gang with a passion, and continued to work for Gisbourne.
He and Ava had worked out a way that meant they would be able to see each other regularly, without anyone else finding out. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening, Ava would go down to the stream to bathe alone at about 7pm. Allan would come down to meet her after she had had time to bathe and he had finished his duties at the castle for the day - at about 8 o clock. They would talk for a while and when Ava got back no one was any the wiser and she wasn't really even lying since she did take a bath whilst she was there.
One particular summer morning, Robin and Marian went off for a walk in the forest.
' I'm going to collect some honey, ' Ava said as the rest of them sat back at the camp.
' I'll come with you,' Much replied, quickly standing up.
Ava grinned inwardly - knowing that Much was taking this to mean that the two of them were going to have time alon, and not to collect honey.
' No Much,' she said, ' I mean to actually collect honey. If you come with me we'll get side tracked and end up coming back with none. Uncle Will? ' she offered.
Will looked up from the piece of wood he was whittling away at and shrugged, ' Yeah, if you want. '
Much frowned, ' But what about me?'
John rolled his eyes, ' Why don't all three of you go? ' she suggested.
It was Will's turn to frown, ' I'm not playing gooseberry to those two. Djaq, you'll come with us, won't you? '
Djaq raised her eyebrows,' So now all four of us are going? ' she asked, though secretly glad at the opportunity to spend more time with Will in a closer group. When it was all 7 of them, there was little chance, but if it was just the four of them...
' Hold on,' Ava stopped them all as they got up to go for the entrance, ' we can't just leave John on his own!'
They al looked back at John who shrugged as if he were not bothered,' No,' he said, 'you kids just go. It'll be nice to spend some time without you noisy lot,' he smiled.
So off they went to collect honey.
The four of them got to talking and ended up splitting in to pairs.
Will and Much, and Ava and Djaq.
Will and Much barely ever spoke because Much felt tense and awkward around the younger man. This was because Will was so close to Ava, and so over protective - as he had slipped in to the place of Allan, after the promise he had made to Allan months ago.
Djaq and Ava were hardly the closest either, but they got on well.
They were laughing loudly about a stupid incident earlier that week involving one of the men of the camp and a live chicken, when they realised they were on the out skirts of the forest.
' Men are idiots,' Djaq laughed.
' They certainly are,' Ava replied with a beaming smile, as Will and Much protested this.
Will suddenly stopped complaining to point something out, ' Look over there! The guards! ' he hissed.
They were on the edges of Locksley village and looked over to see that Gisbourne's guards ere dragging people from their homes.
They crept closer to see what was going on.
Gisbourne was dragging a woman by the hand, and various guards were taking rings from the villagers.
' Maybe it's some sort of ring tax? ' Much suggested.
They watched, crouched down out of sight behind a wooden gate, as Gisbourne lifted up a woman's hand sharply and said, 'Lose the finger or lose the ring! '
' Allan's with them! ' Djaq hissed, venom in her voice.
Allan was shouting at one of the other women of the village,' Who's Lardner? '
' Did he say Lardner? ' Djaq asked, suddenly sounding more interested.
' Does that mean anything to you? ' Will questioned.
Djaq, instead of replying, turned her attention back to the villagers.
Gisbourne slammed down a small sand time, hourglass thing, and pulled out a sharp object as he glared at the woman who refused to give up her ring,' When the sand runs out, the finger comes off,' he told her menacingly.
' That's ridiculous,' Ava whispered.
' That's Gisbourne for you,' corrected Much, laying a hand on her shoulder.
There was a tense moment as all the villagers - who had been forced to assemble together by the guards - and the guards watched the hourglass in silence.
Gisbourne looked around at them all again,' Speak now and spare this woman's finger. Say nothing, and your silence proves your guilt,'
Djaq looked around at them all,' Can we risk it? ' she asked, knowing they were all thinking the same - they had to help.
'Yeah, we have to,' Will replied, a plan already formulating in his head,' Much and I will take them the long way around, lead them away from camp.'
' Let's do it,' Much agreed.
There was a pause before all four of them stood up to reveal themselves.
' Stop! ' Djaq cried, causing eveyone to look around to her,' I know who Lardner is,'
This statement causing Ava, Much and Will to look at her sideways, but they masked their suprise to let her go on.
'And I know about his ring,' she continued.
' Let the woman go,' Will said calmly.
' You're in Robin Hood's gang aren't you? ' Gisbourne aksed, although he knew that they werw without asking.
' Let the woman go!' Will repeated, louder and with more authority.
Gisbourne held the woman's hand up in he air and released it so they could see, ' Now, tell me about Lardner,' he commanded of them.
' You'll have to catch us first,' Djaq replied with a grin before the four of them bolted out of there.
Gisbourne's cries of ' Guards! Get them! ' followed as they moved.
The four of them had planned to mount horses that were tied up nearby and give the guards the slip.
This only half worked.
Much and Djaq managed to mount their horses without any trouble, but Will and Ava's were tied to the same post, with a knot that refused to come undone, so by the time they had untied the horses and were ready to leave, the guards had closed in on them.
There were many guards - too many - and both Will and Ava were trapped and surrounded, causing them to have to drop their weapons.
It was too late for Much and Djaq to go after them, since they were being persued by Gisbourne himself, and had to get back to tell the others what had happened.
They were held in the manor by the guards and were to be taken to Nottingham once Gisbourne and Allan came back from their persual of Djaq and Much.
They were stood in an empty room, with four guards, when Gisbourne entered, closely followed by Allan.
Allan inwardly sighed in dismay at seeing his daughter caught. True, he didn't want any of them caught and killed, but with Ava he had to pretend that he didn't care for her, or else Gisbourne and the Sheriff would be very displeased and he would probably lose his own life.
Gisbourne walked up to them and sneered.
He cupped one of Ava's cheeks in his hands and held on to her.
Allan clenched his fists, although unable to do anything
Will, on the other hand, moved forward as if to wrench Gisbourne away from her, but was held back by two of the guards. Allan would have sent him a very grateful look for his attempts, if he had not feared someone seeing.
Gisbourne leered at Ava, as he caressed her face, ' You're a pretty one. I always like it when we catch you. Maybe we can come to some sort of arrangement - you needn't hang for being an outlaw, '
Ava batted his hand away and glared at him, ' I don't want any sort of arrangement from you. '
Gisbourne dropped his hand and thn turned to Allan, ' This one's your daughter, isn't she?' she asked, knowing full well what the answer was.
' Yes, she is,' he replied, keeping his gaze to the ground so he wouldn't give anything away.
' Sure you don't want to switch sides? ' Gisbourne asked her, ' come and work with me and Daddy? '
' Go to hell,' she spat, causing his to switch his attention to Will.
' And you, axe boy? '
Will glared defiantly,' I agree with Ava - go to hell,' he said cooly.
Gisbourne turned to the guards,' Come on, we're taking them to Nottingham.'
The guards then led the two outlaws to the stables and kept a close eye on them so they couldl not escape.
They were forced in to a carriage with Gisbourne, Allan and two guards, whilst two other guards drove.
All throughout the journey, they sat in silence. Allan wanted so much to talk to his daughter, but couldn't. Will and Ava both hoped Robin and the others would come and rescue them. Gisbourne kept asking them who Lardner was, thanks to Djaq's revelation - but he got no answer from either of them, so eventually gave up.
Once inside the castle, they stood outside the Sheriff's board room, whilst Gisbourne went in to speak to the Sherif first.
After a few minutes he called out,' Bring them in! '
The guards shoved Ava and Will forward in to the room where the Sheriff was sat behind his desk, and Gisbourne stood in front of him.
Ava and Will stood in silence, a guard holding each of them, with their hands now shackled.
Also brought in with them was someone they did not know, who looked like a court jester - the two outlaws assumed that he too had something to do with Lardner.
' Ah excellent!' the Sheriff proclaimed, standing up and walking around to stand in front of the three arrested people, who had been forced to kneel, 'not only do we have that fool from your birthday celebrations, Gisbourne, but we have two outlaws. How did you catch them? '
Gisbourne looked very proud of himself, ' They were in Locksley, my Lord. Along with the saracen woman and Hood's manservant. The saracen claimed to know who Lardner is, but she and the manservant got away before we could find anything out. Got these two though. '
The Sheriff rubbed his hands together gleefully before looked down at the three of them.
' Ah! ' he exclaimed, ' we have the lovely little pretty girl - one of my favourites. Isn't this your daughter, Allan? ' he asked, looking over the top of Ava's head to Allan, who was standing not far behind.
Allan inwardly cringed, hoping that the Sheriff would not ask too many questions - though at least Allan was a good liar, ' Yes, my Lord, she is,' he replied, since he knew the Sheriff already knew the answer.
The Sheriff gave a toothy grin and began to mock the young woman,' Aww, how does it feel, my dear, to know that Daddy betrayed you all? '
Ava shrugged as if she really didn't care,' Eh,' she said without feeling,' we weren't that close anyway.'
' Is that right, Allan? ' asked the Sheriff.
' Yes, my Lord,' Allan lied promptly, ' she's an awful girl - too hard to get along with.'
The Sheriff had now lost interest in this and turned to Will, ' Tell me about Lardner,' he demanded.
' I don't know anything,' Will replied truthfully.
The Sheriff hit Will hard across his face,' Tell me what you know about Lardner and his ring! ' he demanded.
' But I don't know anything, honestly,' Will replied.
' You're little saracen friend said she did,' Gisbourne reminded him.
Will shrugged, ' Well maybe she does, but I don't. '
The Sheriff sighed and turned his attention to the other man. It was clear to both Ava and Will that he was some sort of court jester - a fool.
He was quite tall - though compared to Ava, almost everyone was quite tall - and slim, and had spiked up black hair. He wore small fake gems around his eyes and down his cheeks. His clothes were bright green and orange.
They deduced from Vaysey's comment about Gisbourne's birthday, that the man had been hired to provide the entertainment and had made some sort of prediction about Lardner which the Sheriff didn't like, and had had him arrested.
After a while, the fool gave in and began to explain, ' The saracen's use pigeons to carry messages. They put the message on a little ring tied to the bird's foot and then they let it fly off. It doesn't matter how far away the bird is when you let it go, because it will always find its way home, carrying the message with it.'
Allan thought back to the man they had met earlier in the day in the forest, who had started all this off.
It had started when a man came to deliver a message to Locksley Manor for Robin, not realsing that Gisbourne was now lord of the manor. Gisbourne and his men had persued the man, hoping to stop Robin receiving his message, and had caught only two words of it: Lardern's ring.
As Allan thought, he remembered the man had had a box with him, which seemed to have disappeared, ' So that's what he had in his box! ' he declared triumphantly, looking over at Gisbourne, who seemed to be thinking on the same level as Allan was.
Allan continued,' The only place he could have left it, it up that tree.'
This was the last straw for Will, who had decided that whatever he felt before - his uncertainty to Allan's motives - had no changed. He had seen Allan at work, and was disgusted by the way Allan was one of them.
Will had been the only one in the gang who had heard Ava's tale of how she had forgiven him - as she had been to afraid to tell the others, since hey all hated the man with a passion - but still he could not understand.
' You make me sick, you know that? Betraying your own friends ... I hope you're enjoying it Allan ... I couldn't live with myself. ' he said, facing away from the man in question.
The Sheriff chuckled humourlessly, ' Ah, well you won't have to for much longer, you see. The penalty for being in Robin Hood's gang is DEATH!'
He punctuated the word death with a swift kick to Will's stomach, which caused Gisbourne and the guards to sneer at him.
Ava glared at the Sheriff, ' You leave him alone! ' she demanded,' he's a good man! '
The Sheriff looked at her in disapproval, ' You are also one of Hood's lot, in case you've forgotten,missy! 'he snarled, ' which means DEATH to you, too! ' he added with a sharp slap to her cheek.
It was all Allan could do not to move forward and seriously harm the Sheriff for daring to touch his girl.
He only hoped that she'd find a way to escape, or that she would be rescued by Robin and the lads.
The fool hoped that it was all over for him now and he could leave, ' Right, well, I'm glad I could be of service, I think my work here is done - can I go now?'
Vaysey nodded, ' Oh you can go, of course. With him and her to the the gallows. Hang them all! ' he told the guards,' and feed their carcasses to the birds! Now come along Gisbourne, no time to lose.'
Something suddenly came to Ava's mind - the key to their chains, that was all they needed. And father had that key.
She moved forward swiftly and, kneeling up, flung both of her arms around his waist tightly, under the pretence of hugging him.
' No, please,' she begged, ' have mercy father, don't let them do this to me,' she pleaded.
Allan frowned - what was he supposed to do? There was no way he could help her ... he couldn't hug and comfort her like he wanted to, because Gisbourne and the Sheriff were watching and frowning, awaiting his reaction to her.
But then he realised that she was not merely hugging him, because he felt a small tug on the belt around his waist, and when he looked down, the key to their chains was not there.
He looked down at his belt, then at Ava, and knowing she would be alright now, pushed her off him, and pretended to be disgusted, to keep up with expectations.
The fool also realised what she had done because he had been knelt the closest to Allan, and looked up at Allan, joining in.
' Please,' he pleaded, 'I do comedy, I don't do tradgedy,'
Allan grinned - but because he was happy for them, not - as the others thought - because he wanted to see them dead.
' Well, seeing you lot swing'll be comedy, won't it?' he grinned as he followed the Sheriff and Gisbourne away.
Will looked at Ava in confusion, silently demanding why she had thrown herself at Allan, annd watched in glee as she uncurled her fist to reveal to single key in the palm of her hand.
Will looked back at Allan, was in the doorway, just about to leave.
Allan looked back at him and nodded, and in that moment, Will began to wonder if what Ava had been saying all along was right ... that he really was good, and was trying to help them, just in his own little ways.
A guard led them out to the couryard, where another was preparing the gallows.
There was a sort of unspoken agreement that they would free them selves when they were out in the courtyard - it just made more sense.
They stood and watched the guard as he fixed the nooses.
' Won't be long,' the gravelly voices guard told them as he stood on the platform still fiddling with the nooses.
' You take your time, no rush,' the fool told him, ' do you think that's contraption's stong enough to hold the three of us? ' he asked as he slowly and discreetly took the key from Ava, who was on his left, used it and passed it to Will, who was on his right, without the guard noticing.
' Last a lifetime, this will,' the man told them, ' at least, your life time,' he chuckled.
He then commented, ' Bah! Being an outlaw! I could do your job!'
' I couldn't do yours,' Will replied dryly, glancing down at Ava and the fool, who had already untied their chains and shackles, but were keeping their hands close together so it was un noticable.
Soon enough, a guard each led Ava and Will on to the platform, whilst the one who had been arranging the nooses led the fool up.
' You know traditionally,' the fool began as he was led up the stairs,' men in your position offer men -'
Ava, who was being led - well, no, dragged really - behind the fool, cleared her throat with meaning.
The fool corrected himself,' offer men and absolutley stunning young women -'
Ava smiled to herself - she had only wanted the word 'women' adding in there with men, but if he was willing to compliment her like that ...
' in our position a last request,' he finished.
' I'm not one for tradition,' the guard told him firmly.
By now the three of them were stood back to back in a triangle, with the rope around their necks, about to be tightened.
' It's just a little thing,' the fool whined,' wouold you stratch my nose, I've got an itch? '
This caused Ava to bite her lip to stop from laughing and getting her self in to more trouble.
' Let the devil scratch it, you'll see him soon enough,' the guard replied with an evil and very unpleasant smile.
Before there was time to do anything more, a white stallion galloped in to the courtyard and the man astride it - one of Gisbourne's men - began calling things out,
' Sir Guy has got Robin Hood trapped up a tree! He want every available man down there now! Get the horse! Quick!'
The fool turned back to his guard,' One last chance, while no one's looking - let us go and we'l say no more about it, yeah? ' he asked with a cheeky wink.
Little did the guards know it was one last chance for them, not the three with ropes around their necks.
Because when they refused, and continued to tighten the ropes, they were each stabbed in the chest and killed by Will, Ava and the fool.
With barely any guards around, it was a case of running as fast as they could to get out of the castle, because once they were out of the castle and in the town, they were rather unlikely to be caught.
As they walked through the forest, heading for the outlaws camp, and were out of any danger, the fool suddenly picked Ava up at the waist and twirled her around in the air.
Once her feet were planted in the ground again, he kissed her cheek swiftly,' You, my dear,' he said, ' are a genius,'
' Yeah, well played,' Will nodded.
Ava shrugged,' It was nothing really,' she said modestly as they continued to walk.
' Nothing? Ava, you saved the three of us from being killed today,' Will told her firmly, ' and if I didn't know that you had a rather protective father and a fiance, I would kiss the life out of you. '
Ava scoffed, ' and if i wasn't like a niece to you ... and you weren't in love with a certain saracen friend of ours.'
'I am not,' Will flushed.
The fool looked interested, ' You lead rather interesting lives don't you? ' he grinned,' I mean you're both outlaws, and you, my dear, are the daughter of Gisbourne's right hand man, and you, mate, are in love with a saracen - the very race the King is fighting in the Holy Land.'
' I do not love her! ' Will protested.
' Sure,' Ava said in pure disbelief as they approached the camp.
As the got though the entrance and further in, they heard the others - well, John, Djaq and Much - talking.
It sounded as though they were composing their message to the King.
' Plots it a better word,' John was saying.
' Right,' Much agreed,' and John plots to take over the throne,'
' I'll add, "make peace",' Djaq was now saying as they got closer, '"make peace, immediately"
' Ah, I do like immediatley,' Much now said.
The three of them - Ava, Will and the fool,' were now fully in the camp, and were approaching the kitchen area, which had a few cloths surrounding it, to act as walls.
Ava and Will watched as the fool flung back one of the cloths and thrust himself forward,' But it needs more emotion,' he said, causing the pair to exchange amuse looks - there was no denying that this man was a performer.
' Make it bigger, raise the stakes,' the fool was advising as they heard a scramble which was presumably the three unsuspecting outlaws jumping up and arming them selves against the intruder,' and alliterate - alliteration is good, makes it much more memorable. '
' Where have you come from? ' asked Much, baffled that any radom stranger could get in to the camp, could find the camp.
' I appear...I disappear...it's what I do...to tell how would spoil the illusion,' the fool shrugged.
' We ought to reveal ourselves before they kill him for intruding,' Ava whispered in to Will's ear - or rather, in that direction, but not in to his ear because of height differences.
Will nodded and moved forward to the other side of the cloth to reveal himself.
' He's with us,' he announced, as John, Much and Djaq put aside their weapons and Ava flew past him in to Much's eagerly waiting arms.
' We thought you had both been caught,' Djaq said, with relief that they were here.
' Madam, one cannot catch and keep wonders such as myself and...' the fool looked over at Ava, and round at Will and finished, ' my mates.' Ava noticed the sly look he performed between Djaq and Will, as he detected Djaq as the saracen Ava claimed Will to be in love with.
' Do you know about the pigeon? ' Will asked hurridley
'Yes,' Much replied, after he kissed the top of Ava's head and continued to hold her against his chest, where her head rested comfortably, ' Robin and Marian have gone to get him.'
' Yeah, well so have the Sheriff and Gisbourne,' Will told them,' they've got them trapped up a tree, and surrounded.'
' We need to go, now! ' John declared, as they as Much very reluctantly let go of Ava, and they all began to collect their weapons.
' Immediatley,' Much corrected, demonstrating his love for the word, compared to "now".
They then proceeded to run through the forest, looking this way and that for the tree which all the action was taking place at.
' I think it's that way,' John said, pointing one way with his staff.
'You think? You think? ' Much echoed.
' Much! Shhhhh! ' Djaq reprimaded.
' Don't tell me to 'Shhhhh',' Much replied,' we're looking for a tree in a forest.
' Shut up and listen! ' Djaq suggested.
They all fell silent and after a slight pause heard Gisbourne calling out,' I hope you're ready, Hood!'
' Right, I'm sensing it's that way,' the fool said, pointing in the same direction that the voice had come from - the same direction that John had thought they ought to go in the first place.
Drawing their weapons, they crept closer.
Once close enough to see what was going on, they watched through the trees, and saw many, many guards were surrounding the bottom of the tree.
' There's too many of them,' Ava pointed out,' what are we going to do? '
No one seemed to have an answer and they watched as the guards prepared to shoot flaming arrows at the tree- it was obviously covered in pitch, which would burn fast and quick, and kill.
But just as they strung their bows, Marian was lowered from the tree slowly, by a rope. She was gagged, and her legs were tied together, as were her arms and hands.
The outlaws watched un pure suprise, wondering what was going on ... what sort of plan this was, from Robin.
' Gisbourne! ' Robin yelled,' if I die, Marian dies.'
' NO! ' Gisbourne cried out as he pushed past guards to get closer,' Move! Marian! Marian! '
' Ah, so it's true,' Robin called, shooting an arrow down at the other man's feet,' you still love her - I've found your weakness Gisbourne .'
Gisbourne was pointing a bow and arrow up at Robin, in the tree,' If you harm a single hair on her head, I swear I will kill you. You will die more slowly and more painfully than any man who has ever died before. '
' Well, I thougth that was the point? ' Robin asked, referencing the plan to burn him with pitch.
' No,' the leather wearer responded,' it would have been relatively quick and painless.'
' Look - you let me go and I'll leave her behind. Untouched. ' Robin promised.
Gisbourne looked around at his guards and back at the tree,' I'll think about it,' he said before he began commanding his men,' everybody back! Move! '
' Well that bought us some time,' Will muttered to the others,' now any ideas? '
' We need to make Robin and Marian disappear,' the fool said theatrically.
' How do we do that? ' Much asked, his eyes wide with fear for his former master and best friend ... and Marian too.
' A puff of smoke,' the fool replied huskily.
As Gisbourne and Robin had a trade of insults, the fool quickly got dressed up in the guards uniform that he, Will and Ava had snatched from the castle on their exit, planning to store it in case they needed it in the future.
He crept out and collected the things that would be necessary for the plan he had formulated, and then it was time to put it in to action.
They each started a small fire with rocks the Fool had collected, to act as a smoke screen whilst they did the rest of the plan.
Will, having the best aim with a bow and arrow compared to the others, shot an arrow attatched to a long rope up to whee Robin and Marian were.
The other end of the rope was attatched to a tree where the other outlaws were waiting.
After a few minutes wait, they were relieved to see that Robin - using his bow as a way to slide down - did indeed use their plan, and slid down the rope, to join them.
' Where's Marian? ' John aksed in mild concern, as he caught hold of Robin to steady him.
' Let's just get out of here,' Robin shook his head,' is Will ready? '
John nodded and led him over to Will, who was sat astride a horse, ready to ride away and release the pigeon.
Robin handed him the basket in which the pigeon was, and told him,' Get out of here, and don't let that go until you're out of range. '
' Where's Marian? ' asked Ava, voicing what they were all wondering.
' She's fine, don't worry about it - Will, just go,' Robin replied hastily.
Robin and the fool also mounted horses, to see of the remaining guards, whilst Much, Ava, John an Djaq went to stand on a nearby raised up rock, where they had a decent view of the pigeon's flight.
They watched as the bird flew in to the air - having being released from it's basket.
Arrows follow, but missed, thankfully.
But then came the Sheriff.
He had with him an eagle, which he sent after the pigeon.
The eagle easily caught the pigeon, whilst Ava and the others watched in shock - their plan! Foiled!
Much sighed and drew Ava in for a hug to try and be rid of his feeling of dismayal - a hug from his beloved fiance seemed to be the answer from everything.
They went back to camp - the four of them - where they met up with Will, who had some news , and Robin soon returned.
' Cheer up,' Much said when his former master approched with a sadenned face.
' What have I got to be cheery about? ' Robin asked dully.
' Well, we've got a visitor,' Much pointed out,turning his gaze sideways.
' Who are you? ' Robin asked, thinking he meant the fool.
' Not him,' Will sighed shaking his head, as he pulled out a pigeon,' Him. It's Lardner! Say hello,'
Robin grinned and laughed in disbelief and relief,' You're joking? ' he chuckled.
' When you want something to disappear, the trick is to divert the audience's attention,' the fool declared, waving a hand to the air.
The rest of the gang were alsogrinning like idiots - as if nothing could dampen their spirits. On their retun, Will had been waiting for them and had informed them of what he had done.
' We switched the birds,' Will announced, really rather proud of it all.
' I just happened to have a spare stuck up my sleeve,' added the fool.
' The perfect decoy bird,' John nodded.
Will cleared his throat, ' And speaking of decoy birds, is Marian alright with Gisbourne? 'he aksed, ignoring the glares he was getting from Djaq and Ava for calling women "birds"
' Yeah,' Robin replied, appearing to think it over,' she'll be fine. She can look after herself,'
There was a pause, broken by Will, who held Lardner out to Robin,' Right, well then - do you want to do the honours? '
Robin gladly took hold of Lardner.
' At least we have some hope now,' Ava smiled, looking on as Robin attatched the note to the bird.
Much laid his hand on her shoulder gently,' Yeah,' he agreed.
' Thanks to Lardner,' Robin nodded raising Lardner up,' good look my friend, safe journey home,'
With that he flung his hand up in the air and let Lardner go.
And they watched with pride, knowing that some day - hopefully soon - there would be peace in England.