Once again, Sir Guy had not made it easy for the outlaws, but in the end he had no chance to resist them successfully. Once again, they had overpowered him - but only by outnumbering him, he told himself - and he did not even have any soldiers with him who could have supported him in the fight and turned the tide.

However, the men of the Nottingham garrison had proved largely useless in previous incidents, so it was questionable whether their presence would have helped him this time. The outlaws would certainly disagree, and the knight himself... probably too.

But at that moment he was not thinking about his soldiers, he was simply angry. As angry as he had rarely been when he had fallen into the hands of Hood and his gang. And that anger also prevented him from thinking about who was to blame for his situation. If he were honest with himself - something he had stopped doing many years ago - he would have to admit that his anger was mostly directed at himself for allowing himself to be taken by surprise once again.

He had not expected to find himself in the same situation again as when he had been tricked by the other Hood during that so-called blessing. Being accompanied by Bertrand de Nivelle and his mercenaries had not helped him in the least, and the whole thing had gone horribly wrong. De Nivelle had died - no great loss in the knight's eyes, though he had once considered the man a friend - and he himself had had to learn that Herne the Hunter was more than just a local superstition. For he had once believed it to be so.

But then he had come to Wickham with the intention of disrupting their pagan festival and showing the serfs who was really in charge. Now, once again, he had interrupted one of their celebrations, but this time because he had not paid attention to what day it was. And once again he had to realize that this so-called woodland deity had more power than he would have liked. More than was good for him.

Being captured by the outlaws made him quite angry, even though he always got out of those situations alive - though not necessarily unharmed. But it was so humiliating to be overpowered and robbed by them.

But having to deal with Herne was something else entirely. When that ... man first turned his attention to him, he had already given up on life. He no longer believed that he would ever get out of that cursed forest. And what had happened to him there haunted his sleep for many months. Even today, he shuddered when he remembered it, even though it had been many years ago.

Now he had obviously attracted Herne's attention - and his anger - again, and the knight realized that his own anger had been blown away. The only question was what it would get him this time. And he realized that he would rather fight Hood and his men every day, even if it meant risking his life. That was not something to be desired, but it was still better than being the focus of Herne's attention again.

So he could not hide his astonishment when the other only forced him to look into a bowl of water.

He could never have imagined what that would mean for him.

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When Gisburne suddenly - and unexpectedly - appeared at the Wickham feast, with nothing better to do than cause trouble - although that should not have been so unexpected, as he always did - Robin Hood could not believe his eyes.

He was even more surprised to see that the knight was alone. It had not taken him long to decide whether he and his friends should teach the Norman a lesson, but they had overpowered him on the spot. Though... it had taken them some time, for even alone Gisburne was not easy to defeat. Especially as Hood had no intention of simply shooting him. Much to Will's annoyance.

Hood had assumed they would take their captive back to their camp, as they had done so many times before. There they could have decided what to do with him, but then he had to find out that his spiritual father also had an interest in the knight, and so they took him to a clearing where the remains of an ancient circle of stones lay. To the uninitiated, they were just a few overturned stones, but the Son of Herne immediately sensed that this was a place of power. And so he wondered what would happen now.

But at first glance, there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. Herne had let the knight look into a bowl, presumably containing water. Hood had done this a few times himself and seen what Herne wanted him to see, but would it work on Gisburne?

But then the outlaw realized that the Norman must have seen something, for his face suddenly lost all color and he began to tremble. Without really being aware of it, Hood had moved closer to the two men and could therefore hear what the knight was saying.

"That's a lie," he uttered in a low, cracked voice. But he did not give the impression of being convinced by his own words.

Herne did not seem to care what was going on in the man's mind. "I have no need to lie to you," he told him.

"But that can't be," the knight replied, his voice filled with despair.

"Right or left," was the mysterious reply. "A different choice has been made, and these are the consequences." Herne's tone was unrelenting.

Gisburne looked on the verge of collapse. Hood had never seen him like this. "Can I forget?" he asked suddenly, and Robin was astonished, for he was sure he had heard tears in his voice. What had he been shown in the water? He knew that Herne's visions could be unpleasant, but he had never felt so... overwhelmed to the point of tears.

Herne shook his head, but the question - or rather the tone in which it had been asked - had obviously touched him, for something like compassion suddenly appeared on his face. He let his gaze linger on the knight for a moment longer - who was unaware of it as he hung his head - and then turned to his son.

"Let him go," he commanded.

Robin heard Will draw in a sharp breath behind his back, as if preparing to challenge Herne. But, surprisingly, he remained silent, leaving the decision to the leader of the outlaws without arguing. Hood was relieved, but he could not let that distract him from the task at hand. With a nod, he indicated that he would comply with Herne's request and then turned to his own people.

"Give him back his weapons and his horse and let him go," he passed on the order, to which none of the others responded.

Gisburne must have heard him too, but it took him a long moment to turn away from Herne. Then he stood there for a while, seeming to stare at the outlaws, but Robin had realized immediately that he was looking right through them. His gaze was blank, and Herne's Son had no idea what he was looking at. It was certainly not Sherwood.

No one moved as they waited to see what the knight would do, and some even flinched when he finally bent down to pick up his weapons, which Nasir had left on the forest floor some time ago. Then he grabbed the reins of his horse and set off through the trees, away from this place.

On foot, which in itself was astonishing.

It was only when no sound of him could be heard for a long time that Will gave vent to his anger. "What the fuck? 'E'll be after us again first thing in the morning. Or 'arass Wickham."

But Robin remembered the despair on the knight's face and disagreed with Will. He was sure his brother would not come after them again so soon.

Still, he did not speak his thoughts aloud, confining himself to shaking his head.

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The Captain of the Guard had just taken a few steps into the Great Hall when the Sheriff barked at him from across the hall.

"Any sign of him?"

The man hurried to cover the distance to the dais where the Sheriff's chair stood as quickly as possible - without actually running - for he was well aware that de Rainault wanted an immediate answer, but did not like it when anyone but himself raised his voice. Which the Captain would have to do while he was still so far away from the Master of the Shire of Nottingham.

So he just shook his head and started to speak when he was close enough.

"There is no trace of him after he was seen on the North Road a few weeks ago," he had to tell him.

But the Sheriff did not react with one of his usual outbursts of anger. "The outlaws must have caught him," he simply stated. Had he already come to terms with the disappearance of his steward? It certainly seemed that way to the Captain.

But he refrained from commenting. He had been in the Sheriff's service long enough to know that such a thing was not advisable. Besides, he was not convinced that de Rainault was right. On the contrary, he was quite sure that the other man did not believe it either. But it was even less advisable to show his doubts as long as the Sheriff pretended to have a different opinion. Even after that, he should think carefully about what he said.

After all, he had no intention of sharing Sir Guy's fate, and he was not referring to his disappearance.

The Sheriff would insist that Hood and his gang were responsible for whatever had happened to the knight. That suited de Rainault just fine. Moreover, he did not seem to care in the least that his steward was missing and perhaps no longer among the living.

The Captain of the Guard was convinced that there had been only one reason for his anger. It was certainly due to the fact that the knight had simply disappeared without the Sheriff's permission. But actually, he was glad to be rid of him.

Without having to get his hands dirty, even if only in the form of a secretly issued order.

And the Captain was glad not to have received that order.