Rose of a Quiver

XII

Once it was decided that they all, with the exception of Tucker, would venture out of the gate no matter what, the tension in the house relaxed some. Rye was still bitter for having to do a job in such a short period of time, but the prospect of hitting a mansion seemed to draw her more on board than before. Robin was well aware that the fact had more to do with what she could find for herself, rather than to help Babbs. However, he wasn't planning on calling her out on it until at least after they'd succeeded in bringing something back. It was bad enough they would be one person short, he couldn't afford to lose another.

That night, Rye, Millie and Will went out to the gate to take a night shift; carrying weapons as Robin had advised. They'd all agreed it was best to have an idea of the gates accessibility at different times of the day and decipher the differences they could use to their advantage. Unsure how the others would handle two girls wanting to watch the gate alone, they sent Will to assure they got the shift. They knew the girls were capable of handling themselves around danger, but the rest of Loxley didn't; and keeping their identities as the Merry Men secret meant that they couldn't. Most residents already thought Robin might be involved somehow, they didn't need it confirmed for them all.

Jon disappeared not long after the others, heading out to tell Babbs their progress. Robin warned him not to, sure that her hopes would raise as high as Jon's, but the boy went anyway. He didn't have the heart to force him not to.

Left alone in their home with Tucker, Robin focused on making himself something to eat. He'd caught a rabbit in the woods a couple of days earlier, already skinned and cleaned, and worked on put the meat on a stick to cook. Tucker emerged, a lot less stealthy than earlier, from his hallway and sat at the counter, watching Robin in silence. He could feel the icy stare of his mentor, sending chills up his spine as if a signal that he wanted to talk. With all the talking Robin had to do for the day, he couldn't imagine anything he wanted less in that moment.

"You've always done what you thought was right, and I admire that about you," Tucker began without waiting for Robin to acknowledge him. He folded his hands in front of him on the counter as if to control the tension fighting to get out of him. Robin continued working the rabbit meat onto its stick, keeping his back turned for as long as possible. It wasn't that he intended to be rude, but he wasn't ready to face Tucker just yet. He was sure he'd see disappointment on his face and he didn't think he could handle that on top of all his other stress. He suddenly felt the way he imagined Jon had the night before. "It's why I made you leader of our little crew. Never once have I truly doubted you and your decisions, Robin. You have to understand that that's what is making this so difficult for me to understand."

"There's nothing to understand," Robin said flatly. "I'm doing what I've always done, what you say you admire about me. That's all there is to it."

"Aside from the stupidity and foolishness, you mean," Tucker responded, a pulse of anger clear in his tone. "Because that's what all of this is. Babbs is not one of us and even if she were, this would be a fool's errand. In all the years that you've been with me, when have you ever seen me do a job in less than two weeks' time?" Robin didn't respond, knowing that Tucker didn't really need him to; the answer was never. "When have I ever put us all at risk of discovery for a job that is only going to benefit one person? I admit I've been selfish in my life, but never to this end. Never to the point where others have to question my sanity."

Emotion slammed into Robin then; hurt for the disappointment he heard in Tucker's voice but also anger for himself. All he ever wanted to do was help others and if that meant he had to do something that could risk everything for someone else's life, then he would do it. And he'd be damned if someone was going to tell him otherwise.