Does He Understand Flight, the Pale One?

Chapter Five

Inside the castle in Nottingham…

Upon receiving word from one of the soldiers under him that the Sheriff wanted to see him, Guy of Gisborne left the village he was buy overseeing the tax collection in and headed to the main hall where Vaisey was sitting upon King Richard's throne when his second in command entered, then immediately called out to the man shouting, "Gisborne, what took you so long? I've waited for you for nearly thirty minutes!"

Guy lowered his head in frustration as he responded, "I am sorry, Sir, but I had some business to attend to after last night's humiliation caused by Robin Hood and his men. I had to make sure that your men were given no more trouble by the villagers."

"Yes, about that… exactly what trouble did Hood cause you last night?" the Sheriff asked contemptuously. "You sent one of the men back to explain to me that those thieves had kept you from collecting my money, but I want to hear it from you."

"It's just that," the dark man replied coldly. "Those blasted outlaws charged into the village and fought me and my men until they robbed us of every penny we had already collected from other villages, then left those of us they didn't kill tied up to post in the middle of the square so that we could watch as they divvied out the tax money back to them. We were lucky to have kept our clothes."

Vaisey glared at him as he sneered and answered, "You were lucky to have kept your heads. There are only five men. Why is it that an entire army cannot defeat five men!"

Gisborne scoffed and then responded, "You would be interested to know that that Saracen woman from Hood's gang has rejoined their troupe since she and another of them remained behind in the Holy Land. Three of my men returned from another mission I sent them on proclaiming that they had been attacked by Hood in the forest when they had stopped a traveler on the road; that Saracen, whom Robin and his men protected."

"Great, so now there are six men, or five men and one woman," Nottingham replied mockingly. "Why the bloody hell should I care that the woman returned? What does one more matter to me? We still can't defeat them, no matter how many fighters they have!"

"It matters, because I believe we may have an opportunity to catch Hood and his men with their guards down," Guy answered coldly. "My men mentioned that the woman claimed her husband was dead. The way I remember it, she was in love with the other who remained in Jerusalem with her, the carpenter who fights with an ax. If they are in mourning…"

The Sheriff understood what his second in command was thinking, then responded, "You want to strike now while the iron is hot. I like it, but we cannot attack them wherever they may be hiding, seeing as we have no clue where the outlaws' camp is and even if we can draw them out by threatening any of the villagers, Robin Hood will then have the advantage over us."

Gisborne replied, "Actually, I know of someone who might know where their camp is hidden, or at least I have a good feeling that he will be able to find out. I have already sent him out in search of the outlaws."

"Who is this man and why do I not know about him?" Vaisey asked coldly. "I thought that I made it clear to you that you are to inform me of everything in regards to Robin Hood, as well as any plans you might get to bring him down?"

"You did, which is why I am informing you now," the dark man answered smugly. "The man is a bounty hunter. I knew him years ago when I fought in the crusades. I saved his life once, so he owes me a favor. The man arrived in Nottingham yesterday morning. He will do what I ask of him and you won't have to pay him a single penny."

The Sheriff smiled and stated, "I like him already. But I want to meet him, before he kills Robin Hood. In fact, I want to be there when he does."

Guy nodded as he said, "I told him just as much. It's as good as done. He will kill the others and leave our enemy until we can meet up with him."

Meanwhile…

"Excuse me, I was wondering if you could direct me to where I might meet up with Robin Hood and his friends?" a man asked as he walked up to a boy who was lying down in front of a large tree deep inside the forest while carving a design with a knife into a small piece of wood in his hands. "Do you know of him?"

"Of course I know of Robin Hood, but I don't know where he is," the young man responded coldly without turning his head. "The outlaw is very secretive about where he and his friends are hiding and rightly so. They have many enemies. It's why my brother's dying."

The man spoke again saying, "So that's what's troubling you, your brother is suffering because someone failed to protect him. Would you like to talk about it?"

The boy, who was no more than fourteen, finally looked up as he replied, "Not to a total stranger I don't. And what do you know about any of this? I suggest you get the hell out of here and leave me alone. There are more enemies out in these woods than just Robin Hood and his band of thieves."

"People whom I care about are hurting too and the only ones who can help them are Hood and his gang," the stranger lied. "Please, can't you find it in your heart to help me?"

"Not today I can't," Luke Scarlett answered sadly, then walked off deeper into the woods, leaving the man behind.