Note: Lolol my updates are becoming irregular but I will return until the story gets to its end (bare with me please). The initial idea was to divide the fanfic into parts and for each part to follow one character and how he or she affects the story. Which worked out until now, but later I might break this structure. Sorry about that. The more characters come into play, the more storylines are bound to intertwine and if I isolate them from each other, the ff will lose some of its spark. So in the future, I will start adding scenes that are not from the POV of the character we are following, for example to briefly show what's happening back in Nottingham Castle while we're in Sherwood Forest and vice versa.
On a different note, we now have a new cover picture. For those wondering, the boy and girl are supposed to be Will and Mollie. Soon they become the reason for Robin's morning migraine. One pain-in-the-ass is too easy for such a renowned hero, his life ought to be more challenging ;) In this chapter we continue with Mollie who finally sets on her journey through Sherwood Forest, so read along and see for yourself what I am talking about…
Chapter 7: The Shadow of the Little Beauty
As the first toll of the church bell reverberated through the morning air, Mollie wasted no time. She went to the sewers for her prisoner and led him through a passage that allowed them to escape Nottingham Castle underground. Once outside in the outskirts, she had to orient herself to Sherwood Forest, so she used her shadows to point the way for her. With the sun yet to break through the tick clouds above their heads, Mollie and the lord faced the forest together.
She had a bag slung over her shoulder as she watched the early dawn cast a muted glow over the ancient trees, shrouding the forest in a tranquil ambiance.
Despite the promised calmness before her eyes, her pulse quickened. Dread mixed with excitement coursed through her veins.
The looming forest seemed to beckon her, and for the first time in her life, she felt the thrill of freedom.
This was it.
Taking her first steps into Sherwood, Mollie's eyes scanned the surroundings, her boots crunching over fallen twigs and leaves.
She was really doing it.
The chained figure of her prisoner trailed behind her, bound by the inky tendrils of shadows.
Mollie held command over them. A power she had learned to harness and control with time.
As her prisoner stumbled over gnarled roots, Mollie steadied him with a flick of her wrist, using the shadows.
"Where are you taking me?" The lord asked.
"Look around."
"Child. I've been looking around. We're about to enter Sherwood Forest." Casting a sidelong glance at Mollie, he regarded her with knotted eyebrows. "Why?"
Mollie's gaze flickered toward the green horizon.
"It's a necessary journey for me," she said. "As for why I've taken you along... if I'd left you behind, alone in sewers, you'd have withered away. If I would take longer with my journey, starvation and thirst would have been your fate." She focused on the path ahead. "We won't be long. In one week we will return."
As they came forward, a sudden glint of sunlight danced on the lord's pallid face and he stopped. He tilted his face toward the sky, his features dappled with light, embracing the long-forgotten sensation of the sun's touch. As the lord relished the moment, the weight of his age became evident on his weathered face. His youth was long behind him. Round, steady brown eyes observed the world with quiet appreciation.
The distant sound of hooves forced Mollie to turn around in a haste. The sound drew nearer to where they were standing and Mollie's heart leapt into her throat, fearing her brother's arrival. She didn't know what he would do if he discovered her prisoner. Immediately she covered the lord with her shadows.
Relief washed over her as Guy emerged on horseback by the onset of the forest.
He was oblivious to where she stood.
"Guy," Mollie greeted, straining her voice in order for him to hear her.
"I'm sorry for yesterday. I didn't mean to snap at you like that, it was wrong of me to do it." Before he finished speaking, he was down on the ground, holding the reins of the horse in his hands.
Mollie's gaze fixed on the forest floor, the apology falling flat. Guy's words irritated her, and the apology did little to soothe the brewing tension building in the air.
"Are you really going there?" he asked, regarding her.
Mollie's eyebrows furrowed, her irritation simmering beneath the surface.
"It is obvious, is it not."
"And our prisoner?"
Mollie allowed the shadows to recede, revealing the lord.
She could read the distress in Guy's eyes and heard his question without him having to voice it.
What are you thinking, bringing the lord out in broad daylight?!
"No one saw him," she said. "No one will see him. Now we will be on our way. If you'll excuse us…"
"Stop. It's too dangerous, Mollie. We're going back."
"No, you are going back."
Without further words, she bound him with her shadows and stepped into the forest, the prisoner in tow.
"You're a woman, Mollie!" Guy said with a hint of exasperation, unable to follow after her. "A lady! The forest is no place for you!"
Dense branches hovering above her head cast dappled shadows across Mollie's path. Shafts of golden sunlight pierced through the thick foliage, creating a mesmerizing play of light and darkness on the forest floor. Mollie tried to focus on the wonders surrounding her instead of the brief encounter with Guy.
He was the man she had looked upon for as long as she could remember. But something changed. Now even the concern she used to yearn for irked her. How could her feelings for someone change so quickly?
She had much time to ponder as she led the way.
Mollie and the lord had never spent so much time in each other's company until now. As they ventured deeper into Sherwood in silence, the lord's inquisitive gaze fell upon the shadows dancing at Mollie's command. It wasn't long before he asked Mollie about the shadows following them.
Taken aback, Mollie glanced at him, surprised he wasn't weirded out by the shapes. His query held a tone of genuine interest rather than alarm. A stark contrast to the reaction she had anticipated. People screamed in terror when she allowed the tentacles to come out in broad daylight. Yet this lord even squatted down, trying to touch them.
Stunned by his openness, before she could utter a word, a melancholic smile crossed the lord's features.
"I knew someone who held conversations with shadows, someone dear to me, once..." His voice was laced with a bittersweet nostalgia.
"Who did you know?" Mollie wanted to know.
The lord shook his head. "I have promised myself never to talk of her again."
"A 'her'?" Mollie asked, a smile growing on her face.
The lord sighed as he rose to his feet, giving her an amused glance. "Yes."
Mollie raised her eyebrows, silently asking him for more.
The lord snorted under his breath and continued on his way. A few moments later he changed the subject with the question "Where exactly are we going?"
"I'll tell you if you tell me more of your story with that woman."
The lord said nothing more. So after walking in silence for some time, Mollie relented and told him she was searching for someone, he was hiding in the forest, she had sworn to capture him and this was what she intended to do.
Mollie prodded gently with a playful smile. "Now it's your turn. Who was 'she'?"
The lord gave her a bemused glance.
With a good-natured chuckle, Mollie nudged him slightly. Yet the lord, with a shake of his head, fell into silence, smiling somewhat sadly. Neither said anything for some time.
The deeper they got, the closer the towering trees seemed to lean.
As if they whispering secrets to each other.
Ahead, a faint glimmer of sunlight filtered through the dense foliage. Mollie paused at the edge, surveying the space with a critical eye. Water was running not far from here, she could hear, but they couldn't yet see a river. They had walked long enough, Mollie thought. "I need to find a place for you to stay," she muttered.
The silence of the forest was only broken by the occasional rustle of leaves or call of a distant bird. This apparent tranquillity didn't match the sudden unease that settled within Mollie. Her senses heightened and a tingling sensation crept up her spine, urging her to scan the surroundings.
With a sharp intake of breath, she closed her eyes, focusing her awareness outward.
The forest seemed to respond to her silent inquiry. The air was humming with an energy that whispered secrets only she could understand. Shadows took on a life of their own, dancing around her, searching for answers in their silent movements.
The sensation of another presence nearby jolted her back to reality. Someone was watching them. The realization sent a shiver down her spine.
From where? How much had they seen? Her heart raced as she calculated the possibilities.
Had they witnessed the shadows?
Seen the lord?
Quickly, keeping her movements calm, she guided the prisoner toward the closest hideout she could see.
A nearby cave entrance.
With practiced movement of her hand, Mollie secured her captive within the cave, binding him with the inky tendrils of shadows. The shadows coiled and knotted around the lord, securing him tightly yet leaving him in a position where he could rest.
She turned her attention to the surrounding forest. Her eyes swept the area, searching for the observer.
The rustling of leaves drew her attention to a shadowy figure standing at the edge of the clearing, partially concealed by dense leaves.
Mollie's eyes narrowed.
She met the stranger's gaze head-on. With a subtle flick of her wrist, she conjured a veil of shadows, shielding her movements from those prying eyes.
With her heart pounding in her ears, she enacted a spell, veiling the captive. The spell took hold, and her prisoner vanished from view, hidden from any who might stumble upon the cave.
With a final glance toward the cave where the lord was now bound, Mollie's hand instinctively reached for the hilt of her concealed dagger, her fingers trembling. She took measured steps, treading lightly towards the hiding spot of the witness.
She was not going to fail, goddammit.
Not in the first hours of her arrival!
There, by the riverbank, a figure came into clearer view.
A young man crouched at the river's edge, drinking from his cupped hands.
Every fibre of Mollie's being was urging her to eliminate this probable witness.
Her fingers clenched the dagger's hilt tighter, her body tensed and poised for action. She couldn't allow anyone to reveal her true nature. These people would ostracize her before she even gets the chance to join them. This wasn't even the worse that could happen. What if they hung her for the witchcraft this person had witnessed?
But something about the young man's appearance momentarily eased her panic. How could someone so unassuming pose a threat to her?
Despite the calmness of the scene, her instincts remained on high alert. His presence, it was the only one she could sense in the area. Was he the one who had seen her?
His attire, rustic and practical, suggested a life spent amidst the untamed wilderness. He was from here, one of the traitors.
Her hand hovered near the concealed dagger at her side, ready to act if needed.
But even in her fear, a lingering doubt remained. Could she murder an innocent passerby in cold blood to protect her secret?
She stood at the precipice, torn between the impulse to strike and the lingering shred of humanity that steadied her hand.
The tension in her muscles eased slightly the more time passed in silence. He couldn't have witnessed anything. He was far too calm. Mollie observed the way the light played upon his features as he washed his face in the cold water.
Who was he? Was he from here? His features, illuminated by the soft sunlight, held a rugged charm.
And yet, beneath the surface of her intrigue, the weight of paranoia pulsed in her mind, reminding her someone saw her next to the cave and it had to be him.
She ventured closer, her footsteps cautious and soundless. The dappled sunlight fell upon his tousled blond hair. Even though she was nearing him with every step she took, he remained blissfully unaware of the watchful gaze upon him.
Or so she thought. The moment a bush hid him from her view, he disappeared from her sight altogether.
Mollie's heart skipped a beat as she scanned the area, trying to keep the young man in her sight. But he was gone. Her breaths came in short gasps as she scanned the surroundings, her senses heightened to every rustle of leaves and snap of twigs.
Before she could pinpoint his location, a rustle of leaves behind her startled her. She turned swiftly, shadows dancing around her in a protective stance. As she readied herself to draw out her dagger, a voice broke through the silence.
"Who are you?"
The voice was calm, laced with a hint of amusement that sent a shiver down her spine. Whirling towards the voice she faced the blond man who was much closer to her than she'd expected.
He stood mere steps away, a half-smile playing at the corners of his lips.
Caught off guard, the shadows around Mollie quivered, ready to leap to her defence at a moment's notice. How had he managed to approach her without her noticing?
"I mean no harm," he assured her, reading the fear in her eyes.
Mollie's guard remained up.
"Do you speak English?" he asked, his forehead wrinkled in consideration.
"Yes."
His eyebrows shot up and he looked at her in a funny way, "Okay, great... So mind telling me what brings you here?"
Despite her vigilance, there was something about his serene presence that coaxed her shadows to recede slightly.
Right.
Her cover story.
She offered a soft smile, the best she could muster with the adrenaline coursing through her veins. "I was enjoying the peace this forest offers and got lost." She barely held herself from cringing. Her cover story sounded better in her head than out loud!
"What about the man who was walking with you? Where is he?" His eyes scanned their surroundings, as if expecting him to appear any moment.
Mollie's mind raced. He had seen her! No! Her jaw tightened. What purpose should she reveal to him?
"What man?" she asked.
"The man. The man who was walking behind you a few minutes ago."
Mollie turned to look behind herself, then sent the stranger a pointed look. Her first impulse was to play oblivious.
The young man furrowed his eyebrows. "There was a man walking behind you like five minutes ago," he said, his voice laced with irritation.
"Clearly you must have seen wrong," she said calmly and lifted her shoulders. The young man kept looking around at a loss. Then he started to stride in the direction she came from.
Mollie cursed under her breath. She knew where he was going.
He was at the cave's opening in no time. But he stood before it, watching the empty cave in confusion.
"Oh," he said at last and turned to Mollie with an embarrassed smile. He tapped his forehead. "Forgive me, mylady. I was very sick until recently. It seems I…" but doubt still lingered in his mind.
Mollie glanced at the cave from the corner of her eye, seeing what he couldn't see. Her prisoner, the man Mollie mused about on how he never once tried to force her to show him the way out of the sewers, was now relentlessly trying to battle the shadows into uncovering his mouth so he could yell for help.
The young man could not see what she was seeing, not with the spell she cast that provided a wall between them and the inside of the cave. From their side, the inside looked empty. But if the stranger would enter the cave, the illusion would dissolve and he'd see the captured lord.
Mollie's fingers fidgeted by her sides, sending nervous glances at the stranger.
Damn it!
She should have tied the lord somewhere else, somewhere way back!
The young man scratched his forehead and stole a glance her way.
"So you're telling me you wandered into Sherwood Forest by mistake?"
She nodded her head. "Well, I wandered the forest for pleasure, seeking solitude."
"For pleasure?" he asked, his voice thick with scepticism. "You came here seeking solitude?"
She nodded again. What else was she supposed to do? She created this story so she had to stick with it now!
"You sought solitude and pleasure in the haunted forest?" his voice was growing more incredulous with each question and Mollie cursed in her mind.
The cook had mentioned something too, that the forest was haunted. She thought he was just a superstitious guy. She knew nothing of Sherwood Forest. She could count the times she had left Nottingham castle on her palm. She should have asked around about the superstition of Mr Singleton! If Sherwood Forest being hunted was common knowledge among the rest of the people in Nottingamshire, then she should have known! But even the lord said nothing! If he had, she would have changed her story, dammit!
The young man was still looking at her at a loss.
"I don't know whether there's a right way to ask this but…" Mollie held her breath, bracing herself for his question. It was clear to her. He would ask whether she was a witch. It was damn obvious, wasn't it? He had seen her with her prisoner. He had seen her tie him with her shadows to the cave, now the man was no longer in the cave. That was the work of magic!
"Did that man…" The young man scratched the back of his head, shifting his weight. "Did he bring you here when you asked for solitude and leave you behind?"
Mollie blinked, taken aback. What?
She gasped, finally catching up on the opportunity.
"Yes," she said in a rush, tearing up immediately. "I promised him I wouldn't say anything, he asked me to say I came here to wander the forest. I was - I am so afraid! This is a haunted forest! And he brought me here…" A sob escaped her lips and she covered her mouth.
It was so satisfying to see just how quickly the young man panicked.
Just like with Guy.
Worked every time.
However, just as quickly, his distress calmed into a blank stare.
"Nice try but you can cut with the act now," he said coolly. "I know you're a witch. I saw you control those… things." Fuck! "And your eyes—" Just like that, they both brought out their daggers to each other. "You are the Sheriff's witch, are you not!"
"Excuse me?"
"Your eyes are mismatched!"
"Your nose is bleeding!"
His eyebrows drew in confusion and then just then he got a blow in the nose by her fist wrapped by a shadow. True to her words, a thin line of blood spilled down his nostril.
"Damn it! What did you do that for?!"
"You drew a dagger on me!"
"Well, so did you!" he cried out.
"Are we going to kill each other?" she asked in an uncertain whisper.
His eyes grew wide in bewilderment. "No! What for! I didn't do anything to you! If anything, I should kill you for helping the Sheriff!"
"I'm not helping the Sheriff!" she screeched loudly. "I'm not the Sheriff's Witch!"
"You are a witch and your eyes are mismatched!"
"You are covered in filth and smell as badly as you look!"
He opened and closed his mouth, his eyes clouded by confusion.
"See?" she said. "Not very nice to hear of your own shortcomings, is it?"
The young man's shoulders began to tremble. Mollie too broke into a smile despite herself.
Soon they both crouched, holding their faces from laughter. "You're insane," he said, shaking his head in bewilderment.
She bowed a little, lifting the end of her skirt. "You certainly know how to flatter."
Her actions only made him smile wider. Mollie couldn't help but do the same.
"Truly, who are you?"
"I'm Mollie." His curious eyes were silently asking her to tell more of herself. She swallowed. "I wish to find refuge, for I do not know where else to go. But…" Her eyes sparkled with uncertainty as she considered how to continue. "People begin to fear me as soon as they find out I am a witch, so now that you know, I will best look for refuge somewhere else."
She wanted to kill him. Now. While his guard was down.
Yet she couldn't.
"You don't have to. Your secret will be safe with me."
She furrowed her eyebrows. He shrugged. "I know what it is like to keep secrets. Yours is not mine to tell. If you do not wish anyone to know you're a witch, they will not find it from me."
Was he being serious? Mollie felt he was. But it sounded too good to be true. It sounded like a trap.
"But before that could happen, you need to answer my question. Who was the man who walked beside you?" he asked.
Mollie opened and closed her mouth. Narrowing her eyes, she shook her finger. "You're trying to trick me into admitting there was a man with me when there was no such person."
He blinked with a dumbfounded expression, brushing through his hair. Good. He better begin to doubt his memories. She didn't want to kill him.
"Where is everyone?" she asked, looking around herself in an attempt to divert his attention.
"Why should I reveal such information to the Sheriff's witch?"
"I am not her! She's old and wrinkly! Do I look old and wrinkly?"
He squinted his eyes in scepticism. "Could be just a spell, you know."
Huffing, Mollie looked away and placed a hand on her hip. "And why would I come here if I were the Sheriff's witch?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out."
"I am not her," she said earnestly.
She must have looked believable because after some time of studying her, the young man decided to trust her and pointed over the riverbank. "We live across from here. Who are you looking for?"
"Robin of Locksley. I am here to join his cause."
"I know Robin. I can bring you to him. But not before you tell me: Where is the man?"
"What man?"
He glanced at her through narrowed eyes, growing irritated.
"Again with that?" he asked. "Why aren't you telling me?"
"Because I don't know what man you're talking about but you're being so damn stubborn about it."
He closed his mouth, a frown troubling his face.
Mollie's heartbeats pounded in her ears. Please drop the topic already, she pleaded to herself. She did her best to portray a façade of confidence and annoyance, to make him feel like he was in the wrong. He could read the confusion on his face. Okay. Good. He was growing doubtful. If she continued to deny there being a man with her, she might convince him there wasn't one. In a week she would be gone anyway.
She still didn't know whether she could trust him with her secret.
Would he tell anyone that she was a witch?
That he saw someone else with her?
How was she supposed to kill a person who had not wronged her?
She was no such monster.
"I didn't catch your name," she said.
"It's Will. Will Scarlett."
Note: This young man, always winding up in curious situations! Since the chapter became longer than I expected, Mollie's introduction to Robin and the Merry Men will be up next. See you then!