- Chapter 46 -

It is bright and early in Locksley as the sergeant was commanding his troops around the village square into their positions as the Sheriff ’s archers spread out into strategic points around the village. A gallows has been set up in front of the pond and the Sheriff and four nobles are sitting on a dais, their backs to the pond. Each end is flanked by soldiers. Esme stands in front to the side closest to the gallows, the Smith at the other. Daniel, his hands shackled and a rope tied round his torso, is standing in front of the Sheriff, who is holding the other end of the rope.

"Here, boy. See that?" The Sheriff  chuckles as he pulls on the rope and Daniel steps backwards and turns to look at the gallows.

"If Robin Hood doesn't show up, these people here are going to watch you swing. Sit." The Sheriff tugs on the rope and Daniel falls backward and sits on his heels with a glum but defiant look about him.

"Well, I can see the sun... no sign of your saviour." He smirked hoping to see the boy hand as the Sheriff loved to have a hanging in the morning.

"He'll come." Daniel informed the Sheriff assuredly. His loyalty and hope in Robin didn't go unnoticed as Esme smiles sadly but proudly at Daniel.

"Hm? Oh, well, let’s hope so, hm? For your sake. Hood!" The Sheriff chuckles, then stands and begins to steps off the dais.

"Oh, Robin Hood!" He shouted out in a sing-song tune as the Sheriff pulls Daniel with him as he walks towards the middle of the village where the peasants have loosely gathered. Robin appears, hood up, walking through the villagers, the box under his arm. The soldiers draw their bows at him.

"Stay where you are, Hood!" He commanded as Robin stops behind a line of villagers and puts both hands round the box. He and the Sheriff are several yards apart in the centre of the village.

"My smith will meet you in the middle, check the merchandise. If it’s all right... you get the key to the boy." He informed as the Smith glares at the Sheriff, obviously not expecting this. The Sheriff took no notice of his discomfort whilst he waved around the key to Daniel whose face had brightened at the sight of Robin.

"No, Sheriff. You can make the exchange. Otherwise your archers there will kill me. And if they do fire upon me, my men will kill you." Robin bargained as Robin slowly turns aside as his gang rush forward, shouting at the peasants.

"Out of the way! Clear!" Little John shouts causing the villagers scatter as Little John, Will, Much, Allan and Djaq line up, each with a bow drawn. Little John also holds his staff alongside his bow whilst Esme watches tensely.

"Oh, la-di-da-di-da. Right! Let’s get on with it." The Sheriff smiles slightly bored and steps forward with Daniel in tow. Robin steps forward with the box.

Allan and Djaq focused on the archers on the left whilst Much and Little John took those on the right. The Sheriff chuckles as he approaches Robin. The Sheriff ’s archers keep their arrows pointed at Robin as he walks past the well. Suddenly Esme intervenes.

"Stop!" She shouted out making her way towards them as the Sheriff puffs out his cheeks in exasperation.

"You cannot release the child to an outlaw." She spoke placing her hands on Daniel’s shoulders.

"Somebody find me a box and put this woman inside it!" The Sheriff grumbled as Robin smirked trying not to laugh as Esme just rolled her eyes.

"Release him to me. I'll see that he gets home safely. Locksley, this makes no difference to you. You have my word." Esme spoke blankly to Robin as he nods and shrugs whilst pretending to think for a moment.

"I accept these terms." He quietly agreed.

"Good for you." The Sheriff sucks in his breath slowly, then tosses the “leash” to Esme. Esme starts to unwind the rope from Daniel.

"Now...... the black diamonds." He demanded as he holds up the key to Daniel’s shackles. He slowly began to walk forward as Esme reaches for the key, but the Sheriff pulls it back.

"Not yet." His tone slow and dangerous, making her pause and gulp whilst he turned to the Smith standing beside him.

"Allow me to check the merchandise first." He slowly spoke as Robin looks up at him from under his brows. Much waits nervously, having to watch his man instead of his master. Robin hands the Smith the box and folds his arms. The Smith opens it and he and the Sheriff look inside, then the Smith nods at the Sheriff. The Sheriff chuckles and leans the key towards Esme, who immediately snatches it and kneels down to unlock Daniel’s shackles. Pulling a small sack from inside his coat and opening it the Smith pours the rocks into the sack making Robin wince.

"Oh, so sorry. You are, after all, as Lady Esme pointed out..... a murderous outlaw, hm?" He chuckled as the Sheriff tosses the sack to the Smith.

"The Sheriff ’s guessed our plan!" Much hissed as Allan felt guilty slightly but didn’t show it.

"Unbelievable." He muttered.

"Something wrong, Hood?" He teased as Robin says nothing, merely glaring at the Sheriff with narrowed eyes. The Sheriff winks and steps back to the dais, chuckling. Robin slides off his hood and turns his back on the Sheriff as Esme finishes untying Daniel and follows the Sheriff, back towards where they would be considered 'safe'.

"Gisborne, all yours." He called out in a singsong tone making Esme frown only now did she realize she hadn't seen him all day. The doors to the church open and Gisborne steps out in a full suit of gleaming silver armour. The gang is shocked and drops their guard. Esme watched shocked at the sight as she felt her breath catch in her throat.

"That’s the armour!" Djaq gasps as Gisborne strides to the dais and stops as the Sheriff steps back to his chair, grinning.

"Enjoy!" He chuckled holding out his arms wide as Guy seemed to glance at Esme for a moment before runs towards Robin’s back.

"Robin!" Will shouted as Much turns around and grabs Robin’s scimitar from where it’s leaning against the fence behind him. Robin looks over his shoulder, sees Gisborne hurrying towards him, and hastens his walk towards the gang, who draw their bows taut at the archers again.

"Stay back! My sword!" He ordered.

"Master!" Much steps forward and tosses the scimitar to Robin, who catches the hilt and turns to face Gisborne.

"Yaah!" Gisborne charges, swings at Robin and misses. He comes back round again and Robin ducks, then stands up swinging and hits the back of Gisborne’s protected arm. The armour sparks from the blow. Robin swings backhanded, but Gisborne catches his arm and knocks the scimitar from his hand. Robin twists his arm away, slams himself into Gisborne’s waist and tries to wrestle him to the ground, but Gisborne knees him in the stomach causing the Sheriff to cheer.

Gisborne punches Robin’s back and Robin falls to his hands and knees, then Gisborne kicks him in the ribs, throwing him onto his back. Gisborne raises his sword over his head to stab at Robin, but Robin rolls over, and Gisborne stabs the ground instead. Esme and the gang are watching anxiously. Gisborne abandons his sword, picks up Robin and throws him into a fence. The Sheriff cranes his neck, trying to see as Robin rolls away as Gisborne lumbers through. Robin crawls a bit, then runs to a cottage as Esme watches, holding Daniel’s shoulders maybe a little too tight.

Robin picks up a bench and swings it with all his might over Gisborne’s back. Gisborne turns right back, having felt nothing. Robin drops the bench at Gisborne’s feet and runs into the cottage, kicking open the door. Gisborne clumsily follows him in. The gang sneak glances at the battle, keeping their bows drawn on the archers, who also have their arrows ready to fire. Daniel watches fearfully, not knowing what’s happening inside.

Suddenly Robin bursts headfirst through the window, rolling as he hits the ground. The Sheriff bounces in his chair, giddy with excitement. Esme was biting her bottom lip worried for both of them. Could it be worse the man she loves and the man who she thinks of as her brother happen to be sworn enemies are always want to kill each other.

"Oh, fantastic! Look at that!" The Sheriff cheers as Gisborne kicks down the wall after Robin. He steps slowly through mess and bends over his foe.

"What now, Locksley?" Guy tormented.

"Run!" Much cried out as Gisborne picks up Robin and slams him into the wall next to the hole he just made. Gisborne swings a punch, but Robin ducks, picks up a board and swings it into Gisborne’s side. Gisborne reaches back and punches Robin with a gauntleted fist. Allan scowls with worry and guilt, knowing he helped set up this lopsided fight. Gisborne pushes Robin through another section of fence. Robin rolls away as Gisborne steps aside to pull his sword from the ground before following his prey.

"Master! Robin!" Much shouted out once more as Gisborne swipes at Little John, who steps back.

"Don’t touch him! Stay on the archers!" Robin ordered as Much draws his bow with renewed vigour as Robin crawls past the gang and the Sheriff ’s archers take new aim. Little John drops his bow and starts to charge.

"No, John! Wait!" Much shouts as Little John stops and glares at Much. Robin stands up at a rail fence and ducks aside as Gisborne brings down his sword on the rail. Gisborne pushes Robin over the collapsed fence. Robin scrambles to his feet and runs along the wall of the Scarletts’ former cottage as Gisborne swings and hits the door. Robin ducks and falls, then, seeing a new stratagem before him, picks himself up and hops over the fence behind Allan and Djaq.

Gisborne goes out the way he came in and pushes up his visor as Robin stops by a haystack, a bucket and an open fire with a kettle over it. Gisborne shadows him from the middle of the village and confronts him.

"Locksley will always be mine!" Guy shouted at Robin as Robin dives down to pick up a bucket and tosses its black liquid on Gisborne.

"What’s he doing?" The Sheriff questioned to no one in particular as Daniel smirked.

"Is that the best you can do? What now?" He taunted as Robin tosses aside the bucket and pulls a small bow out of the haystack. Robin slides the pieces together, pulls an arrow out of the hay and nocks it.

"Playing outlaws with the children?!" Guy shouted again as Robin bends down and puts the tip of the arrow into the fire as Gisborne slams down his visor with his sword.

"Goodbye, Hood." He smirked thinking he'd won victory whilst Robin aims and draws.

"Oh, no." The Sheriff winced peeking through his fingers as Robin smiled.

"Oh, yes!" He cheered as Robin fires the arrow at Gisborne. The pitch ignites and Gisborne’s armour is aflame. The gang cheer and laugh whilst Esme and Daniel silently cheers. Robin watches Gisborne turn and flail. The Sheriff rolls his eyes and watches as Gisborne drops his sword, makes a beeline for a large washtub and ungracefully falls backwards into it. The gang laugh as Robin picks up Gisborne’s sword, jumps in after him, pulls off the helmet and breastplate, and holds the sword to Gisborne’s throat.

"Tell your men to withdraw, Sheriff! Another exchange: the black diamonds for Gisborne and you have him back!" Robin shouted as the Sheriff stands and steps down off the dais. The Sheriff clicks his fingers to the Smith to follow him.

"Well, how long can you hold your breath?" Robin questioned Guy.

"My lord! Please!" Guy shouted out desperate as Robin pushes Gisborne’s head under the water. Seeing the dunking motion and Robin holding Guy under the water made Esme's heart stop. Robin will kill him and she knew if he did she would never forgive him.

"You, er, you seem to have overestimated Gisborne’s importance to me." The Sheriff stated as Esme gulped worried before she motions to a guard and pushes Daniel to him.

"Make sure he’s safe." She informs before she runs up behind the Smith, pulls his long dagger from his belt and holds it to his ribs.

"Sheriff?" She pleaded and the Sheriff not realizing Esme is threatening the Smith, but thinking she’s just interfering again.

"Oh, no, not again." He groaned as Robin pushes Gisborne’s head under again.

"Let him live." She pleaded as Robin raised an eyebrow at her desperate voice.

"Who?"

"Guy." She desperately spoke again as he turns and notices the dagger making him frown.

"Esme, what are you doing?"

"I am asking you to reconsider." She pleaded as he narrowed his eyes.

"You are helping Hood." He questioned as Esme jabs the point into the Smith’s ribs and the Smith reacts.

"Quite the opposite. I’m reminding you that Sir Guy is your most loyal servant." She informed as Robin lets Gisborne up for air.

"Oh! My lord! Please!" Guy cries out gasping for as air as Robin looks at the Sheriff.

"Let him die!" The Sheriff shouts.

"NO!" Esme cries out as Robin pushes Gisborne’s head under again. However it went silent slightly as they all turned to her seeing her distraught face and the panic in her voice. It didn't go unnoticed by anybody.

"He’s a noble and a good man. He must be worth more to you than a sack of rocks!" She begged trying to get him to reason as the Sheriff roughly grabs the bag from the Smith.

"Then I will kill this man. Without him...are the rocks really any use?" Esme informed him twisting the dagger slightly.

"Er, no. No they are not. I am the only man west of Jerusalem who can make them work their magic." The Smith winced in pain at my grip as the Sheriff thinks as Esme stares him down. Robin lets Gisborne up for air again.

"Ah! My lord!"

"Shut up!" The Sheriff shouted once more as Robin pushes Gisborne’s head under once more. Esme presses the dagger harder and the Smith whimpers and indicates with his eyes to give back the rocks.

"My lord, I will get you more rocks!" He informed as the Sheriff thinks a moment longer, then tosses the sack at the tub. Robin pulls Gisborne’s head up.

"You will be punished for this, Esme. Be no doubt; you'll be punished." He quietly threatened to Esme as she shuddered slightly in fear meanwhile Gisborne is sputtering and moaning. Esme lets the Smith go and looks relieved to see Guy ok as Robin gives her a short glare.

"Get out!" Robin spat as Robin pulls Gisborne’s shoulder up and Gisborne climbs out and falls to the ground, coughing. Robin gets out as Gisborne stands up and runs as best he can to the manor. Robin picks up the sack and tosses it towards the gang.

"Burn these." He told them as Much scampers forward to retrieve the sack as Robin turns to Esme. Much dumps the rocks onto the fire. Robin walks towards Esme and they silently acknowledge one another as the rocks explode.

*************

I took this time to follows Guy, who is being helped out of the armour by two servants. Guy pulls off an armpiece, throws it into the arms of one of the servants and indicates to them to take it into the house. He sees me and sighs as I ran up to him and gently held his forearms looking at his face to see any wounds.

"Are you alright?" I asked him eager.

"You saved my life. I’m grateful." He acknowledged as I gave a small smile.

"I could not watch you die and do nothing." I whispered truthfully as I frowned to see his grumpy mood.

"You saved Robin, too." His tone was insinuating making me frown harder and shake my head.

"I don't care about Robin...that was incidental." I lied.

"Was it? Esme, I've been assuming that since Hood became an outlaw, that you have had nothing further to do with him. Was I wrong to assume that?" he sternly, malevolently spoke whilst crossing his arms and to be frank. The look and tone he spoke scared me slightly.

"No."

"Because if you were associating with an outlaw, the punishment would be more severe than house arrest. The punishment... would be death." He warned as I scoffed.

"Well, would you prefer me to have let you die? Is it such a crime that I might actually care enough to risk my neck to save you? I would never have been able to forgive myself I had --" I began to ramble before cutting myself off blushing slightly as Guy raised an eyebrow watching me. I was about to leave when the Sheriff came from the opposite direction.

"Gisborne— " He began to shout before he saw me and pointed angrily in my direction making me gulp.

"Stay there!" He barked at me before he turned around to run after the Smith whose bags were packed over his shoulder. I couldn’t hear their conversation but I knew he was trying to convince him to stay and by the look that the Smith gave before turning away and walking informed me the Sheriff didn't succeed. Yet the angry frightful look he gave me as he stormed back over here was enough to have anyone on their knees cowering as the Sheriff roughly grabs my arm.

"What were you thinking?" He spat.

"Guy is your faithful servant. I was preventing you from making a mistake!" I informed honestly and slightly annoyed. I struggled against his hold slightly as I tried to pull away.

"You do not prevent me from making a mistake! You must be punished." He shouted and in the mist of his anger he backhand slapped me right across the cheek as I was flung to the ground. I let my fingers trail to the slight cut his ring had made on my cheek as I looked up to see him looming over me bitterly.

"Your father can be left to rot, alone, in a dungeon until you learn to behave yourself." He growled and turned to leave as I felt my blood run cold.

"No." I whispered fearful for my father's life as I glanced up at Guy whose eyes were filled with pain and guilt before he turned and left as my face stung……