Note: Hellooo again! Thank you, AnnEve, for leaving a review after the last chapter! It made my day! You're right to assume Will will have a role to play in Mollie's plan for Robin but no spoilers! It will be a while before there's any progress with the search for his mom, so you'd need to be patient with that storyline :') And when it comes to the prisoner, he comes into the forefront in chapter 13, so soon you will have answers :) For now, here is the newest update in which Will follows after Mollie when he catches her leaving the camp…

Chapter 11: Shadow Magic

Robin walked the way back with a calm stride in contrast to the tension that still clung to Will. Darkness enveloped Sherwood Forest already. Only the moon's silvery glow broke through the cloudless sky, casting fragile beams on the forest floor as they moved.

While Robin, tall and steady, led the way, Will was trailing behind. His youthful face, covered by unruly hair, was flushed from the heated exchange earlier with the scumbag. But there was a newfound determination in his eyes.

Robin's words had pierced through his anger.

The rich boy looked sincere enough in his desire to help him find his mother and, despite Will's scepticism that Robin could do more than he already tried, he was tempted to take his help. As hard as this would be. The thought of taking the help of anyone was making him feel so vulnerable. Let alone Robin's.

Whenever he felt vulnerable, he had to get as far away as possible from the source.

But now the source was walking right ahead of him. Where was he supposed to run to this time around when he had nowhere left to go?

Robin, out of all people, just had to come and claim the forest as his home, hadn't he?

As they neared the camp, the faint glow of the dying campfire came into view, distracting Will from his troubled thoughts.

The crackling embers cast fleeting shadows on the forest floor where some of the outlaws slept in scattered bundles. A few of the newcomers were unfortunate to have no shelter over their heads. For now.

"Goodnight, Will," Robin muttered once they reached the clearing of his tent. He clapped Will on the shoulder before disappearing inside.

"Night," Will replied, though Robin was already gone, and his voice got lost in the gentle rustling of the leaves above.

Will sighed and ran a hand through his unruly hair.

Sleep eluded him.

There was no way he could fall asleep as his heart pumped with adrenaline.

But what else was there to do as the people around him rested?

He should perhaps ease one of the watchers from his shift. It made no sense to waste his time doing nothing. Besides, he needed a distraction from the growing restlessness taking over his mind like wildfire.

Keeping watch was what he would do, he decided.

What started this unease consuming him so rapidly? Robin being kind to him? That was ridiculous!

No, it had to be the memories of the past which resurfaced in his mind uninvited tonight, memories he preferred to keep buried...

Twings snapped close by.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a figure slipping away from the camp.

Heading towards the woods.

This was Mollie, wasn't it?

He couldn't say what gave it away. The hair of the figure was tugged under a cloak and its face was hidden under a veil.

But his gut told him it was her. Must be because of the way they crossed paths in the morning.

It was obvious to him that she was hiding something.

That man he saw with her—who was he? Where was she going so late at night? To him? To someone else? He was going to find out.

He caught up to her before she could disappear into the heart of the forest where complete darkness reigned. Turning on her heels, her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was a whisper and he could detect a hint of annoyance. She didn't seem surprised to see him stand behind her.

"I could ask you the same thing."

This was exactly why he always trusted his gut feeling. He assumed the figure was Mollie and there she was.

"It's dangerous for you to be close to me in the night…" she said, knotting her eyebrows with a slightly bewildered shimmer in her eyes.

"Why?"

"Because—" She struggled to come up with a believable lie before lifting her shoulders in defeat. "I need to feed... my magic."

Will's eyes flicked to the bundle she was holding.

Feed her magic?

"What do you have there?"

He reached for it, but she pulled back sharply, causing the bundle to come undone.

Products scattered on the ground.

The scarce light was enough for him to make out what this was.

A loaf of bread. Cheese. Almonds?

She was bringing food to someone?

To that man!

"Really?" Will asked, not hiding his scepticism as he nodded at the items while looking into her eyes. "Is this the food for your magic?"

She nodded hesitantly and tightened her hold on the bundle as she bent down to gather the items.

"If it's for your magic," he challenged, watching her. "Why aren't you feeding it instead of carrying these products away? Where to, might I ask?"

Caught off guard, Mollie stammered, "I...I need to prepare it first. Special ritual, you see. So I was looking for privacy!"

Will narrowed his eyes. Was she telling the truth or lying? His head was beginning to pulse!

"Can I watch the special ritual?" he asked with a sigh, not willing to blindly trust her word.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because my magic is dangerous."

"Are you a danger to this camp?"

"No," Mollie stammered. Her hands trembled as she tied a knot on the bundle before rising to face him again. Realizing she couldn't shake him off, she sighed. "If you want to look, you can. But you do this on your own accord. Are you sure you want to?"

He nodded. She stared him down, unsuccessfully trying to make him change his mind, then sat by a fallen log, her fingers curling in anxious fists.

And then it started.

She closed her eyes, spread her hands over the bundle and began to whisper words he couldn't understand.

"Hallee ghuaso pleejas voev boie apon peano skkksaevg..."

A minute or two of hearing her chant gibberish, Will grew tired. She was pulling his leg, wasn't she? "That's not a real language," he said over her voice.

She cracked an eye open. "Yes, it is."

"Why is nothing happening?"

"Because you interrupted me! Now I have to start all over again."

"Riiight."

"You think I'm lying?"

"Are you really a witch?"

She let go of the bundle to rise with wide eyes. "Excuse me?"

"I can do this too. Yada rada lulu mada. There. The food is ready for the ritual."

Her mouth corners began to twitch. She shook her head repeatedly as she lowered the hood from her head and began to undo the buttons of the cloak. "I'm getting frustrated."

"Me too," he admitted earnestly, widening his eyes with a smile forming on his face.

Taking the cloak down, she swatted it at him. He chuckled lowly and glanced at the way they came. "Are you ready to join me back to camp?"

"I'd rather take some time to be alone with my thoughts before I do the ritual I told you about."

"Aren't you scared to be alone in the forest?"

"Why should I be afraid when the shadows are in my grip?"

"Oh, stop with that witch talk already!"

If looks could kill, Will would have been struck dead right then and there.

Mollie raised her hands.

At first, Will gasped, stepping back in shock as the shadows took on forms and shapes that seemed to defy the natural order. They twisted into grotesque figures, dark tendrils reaching out as if to grasp him. Fear gripped his heart, his instincts screaming to run. But as they didn't do anything to him, the terror ebbed and was instead replaced by a growing sense of wonder. The shadows Mollie had in her grip began to dance above the ground, twisting and turning with ethereal grace. His eyes widened, and his breath caught in his throat, the initial fear giving way to fascination.

"How does it work?" Will stammered. "Do you control the shadows? Are they...alive?"

Mollie glanced at him, her loose blond hair shimmering in the moonlight. "It's a bit of both. I don't control them like a puppeteer with strings. It's more of a partnership. The shadows have a will of their own, but they respond to my emotions, my intentions."

Will frowned, trying to grasp the concept. "So, they're not just shadows. They're something… alive?"

Mollie deliberated with her head. "Yes and no. They're like… an extension of myself. They can feel, react, even think to some extent. But they need guidance, a purpose. Without it, they're just darkness."

Will's eyes widened. "Wow. That's…" Remarkable? Amazing? Scary? Terrifying? "Isn't it dangerous?"

Mollie smiled wryly. "It can be. If I lose control or let my emotions get the better of me, the shadows can become...unpredictable. But with practice, I've learned to harness their power."

She conjured shapes from the shadows, making them dance and twirl by his feet.

Will found himself stealing glances at Mollie when her mismatched eyes—one blue, one green—were focused on the shadow's movements.

He tried not to be too obvious, keeping his gaze casual whenever she looked his way. Yet, every time their eyes met, he felt a tug at his heart.

Mollie seemed to sense his gaze. A faint smile tugged at her lips the next time their eyes met. It seemed they were both aware of the unspoken tension between them.

"How did you learn to do this?" Will asked, trying to appear nonchalant.

Mollie hesitated. "I learned from my grandmother," she began carefully, the shimmer in her eyes growing distant. "She taught me to understand the shadows' language."

"Can everyone in your family do this?" Will pressed gently.

A faint smile tugged at her mouth corners before she shook her head. "No…" her voice became a whisper and Will had to strain his ears to hear her. "My mother... she cares about a different kind of magic. And my brother... he only cares about himself." Mollie sighed, a bittersweet smile touching her lips. "I love them. They're my family. But sometimes they can be very difficult."

"Tell me about it…" He tilted his head towards the river. "Can you show me more?"

The topic of her family was obviously making her uncomfortable and Will did not want to ruin the magical feeling of the night.

Mollie hesitated but nodded. With a movement of her wrist, the shadows flowed like patterns in the direction of the river. "Alright. But stay close. I don't want you getting splashed."

Her warning made him chuckle and he came to sit on the ground in preparation for what she was about to show.

Under the moonlight, the shadows bent and weaved to her will on the water's surface. Will watched with parted lips as the darkness took on beautiful and terrifying forms. There was a raw, primal energy to her magic. He felt a connection he had never felt before. A connection to the very essence of the night. It gave him goosebumps.

"How come you are not afraid or appalled by me?" Her voice drew his gaze.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "I've heard of people practising magic but I've never seen it before. And if the Sheriff has a witch as people tend to say, I think it would be to our benefit if we would have one as well."

Mollie lowered her gaze.

"Do you know the Sheriff's Witch?" he asked.

"I'll do you one better," Mollie said, facing him with raised eyebrows. "I know the Sheriff and the Witch."

The smile on Will's face froze.

"He's my big brother and the Witch is my mother," Mollie continued with a humoured expression.

After a moment of staring at each other, they both laughed.

"For a moment you got me," Will said.

She pointed at his face.

"I saw."

Despite the chuckles they shared, she was quicker to fall into silence.

Note: Next up, Robin shapes the growing band of outlaws into a formidable force against the Sheriff, Will is cornered by the scumbag he got in a fight with and a few of his pals, so to escape a certain beating, he hides away in the forest cave that saved him from the storm and stumbles upon…