Thief

Chapter Nine

Hey guys!  Here is chapter nine!  Let me know what you think in the comments or give me a vote if you like it!  Thanks!

"No! She wouldn't dare! If I ever get my hands on her again, I'll give her the horsewhipping of her life! Barely one week! She only stayed for one week!" Prince John hissed to the dim ceiling of his study while crushing the letter in his hand.

The sheriff cowered against the door. The prince scowled at him as he paced.

"And now she's gone again to who knows where!"

"I could have some men look for her so you wouldn't have to worry about it," the sheriff sniveled.

"No, let her stay out there. If she starves, it only makes my life easier. I won't bother with her right now. We have much more important things to deal with. This stays between you and me though. If Marian finds out she's run away she'd go looking for the little minx herself and you know Marian's scared of everything. We'll let her keep thinking Roberta is in the convent. If I need to, I can forge a letter from the mother superior saying something like Roberta got sick, broke her neck, or was murdered," he said after a while, regaining his usual composure. The sheriff nodded.

>>*<<

Robin stood comfortably against a tree while his men began to gather. They'd been laying low ever since the princess had been shipped to the convent about three weeks ago. Just a few petty thefts here and there. They were bored, but today would be a change. Even though the men were quiet, they were eager and tense. Robin had announced a bigger expedition into Nottingham than usual. This would just be something fun as well as useful. Robin watched as his men replaced their green cloaks and hoods for travelers' or peasants' jerkins and caught up burlaps full of grass and leaves.

"Are we all here yet?" Robin asked impatiently as the men milled around.

"Whoever's not here will just miss out. Let's go," Little John cried. Robin looked around at the dense woods. There was no sign of anyone past their circle. Even Allan was there, though he was still a bit stiff. At Robin's word, they all set off.

The men had a delightful walk through the forest, though they were silent and careful not to leave a trail. Their spirits were high and they looked forward eagerly to returning with new stories to tell Friar Tuck, who preferred to stay safely in the camp and out of harm's way. Robin walked in the lead though he continually shifted his gaze to his men as they passed in and out of sight between the trees.

The plan was for everyone to spread out and enter from all directions and converge on the soldiers' barracks stealthily. No one would notice a few travel worn newcomers here and there among the common people. The men were almost completely ignored as they wove through the dirty streets and alleys towards the barracks of Prince John's soldiers. Once they were all surrounding it, Robin and Allan slipped forward since they were the smallest and scouted to see what things looked like. There were only a few soldiers laying around on their bunks or polishing their armor. Most of them were out guarding the castle walls or patrolling to keep Robin's band out. Robin could barely remember what it was like before there was some sort of posse always looking for him and his men. It was a blessing now though, and with a few other men, they quickly gagged, bound and blindfolded the few soldiers unlucky enough to have been there. When this was done, about twenty more men hurried into the barracks. The rest of the men had gone to perform the other half of the job.

Robin and the men who were with him quickly began to bundle up the soldier's armor and weapons into their fake bags and parcels, discarding the grass and weeds. It was only a little later that the other men showed up with their own bundles which they quickly dumped to the floor.