Chapter Seven
The Best Laid Plans.....~
Guy
Robin always had a plan, but this one was a bit far-fetched, even for Robin.
After returning the queen to Aquitaine, Robin and I would return to Nottingham as Isabella’s prisoners, assuming that might assuage the prince's disappointment over his mother being rescued. Isabella would tell him that Ian and Elliot and Ian’s soldiers ambushed her and returned the queen to her home. Isabella’s forces were able to capture Robin and me before we could join up with Ian and Elliot and without the rest of our group knowing what had happened. That meant that once again we would have to come up with a plan to be rescued from Prince John and the sheriff.
This time, it wasn’t a matter of not trusting Robin. More like I wasn’t sure if the others could pull it off.
John, holding his ever present quarterstaff said, impatiently, “Gisborne, we know what we’re doing. How many times have we rescued someone from your clutches?” His face was open and honest. There was no malicious intent, but I was annoyed.
Rolling my eyes I turned to Robin and asked, “Do you think Prince John will accept Isabella back into the castle? How do we know he won’t just have her hanged along with the rest of us?”
Before Robin could answer, Aylaina entered the conversation.
“I will be a prisoner, too. The prince wants me,” she blushed, “so If I am among the captured he will be mollified, maybe even give Isabella back her job as sheriff.”
‘No!” I exclaimed, grasping Aylaina’s arms, “It’s too dangerous. I won’t let you do it!”
Kate stepped up to us, saying, “I will go, too. The sheriff wants me and that will sweeten the pot.”
Turning to Robin, I said, “We can’t let them do this. We aren’t even sure we can escape!”
“Guy,” Aylaina entreated. “It will ensure Isabella’s status at the castle. We need her there and delivering you two without the queen may not have the desired result.”
Robin appeared to be thinking this idea through. “Our company are strong.” he said. “We have two more able-bodied men to help in the escape. I think we might be able to pull this one off.
Aylaina turned to me. “My father won’t let anything happen to me and neither will our son, Guy. We have to try it.”
I could no longer argue the point because even Ian agreed that we should do this thing. Aylaina was precious to him and if he could go along with this plan, then so could I.
The plan was set in motion. John took all of Isabella's guards, blindfolded and with no armor or weapons, deep into the forest. The cart that was used to transport Eliot and Archer now was used to take the guards away. That mission would take several hours so we made ready for the trip to Aquitaine. When John returned, we would take the queen home and Aylaina and Kate would wait here with Eliot, Archer and Ian until we returned.
John returned at sunset. He said the guards would have a devil of a time figuring out how to get untied and would not even know which direction to travel until the sun came up the next morning.
So, Robin, John and I set out for Aquitaine. The queen rode with John. Seems she had a fondness for him as she continually referred to him as ‘Big Bear’! We all found that very amusing though John was rather put out of sorts.
It took several days to reach the fortress, but we made it there without further incident. Robin dismounted and helped the queen down from John’s horse. Once again she kissed both Robin's cheeks and held his face in her hands.
“Robin, dear friend. She said, fondly. “How can I ever repay you for all you’ve done for me?”
‘There’s no need for repayment, your Majesty. Getting you safely home is payment enough for me.” Robin replied, in that damnable humble way of his.
The queen then turned to John and gave him a kiss, full on the mouth. “Thank you, Big Bear as well. It was a pleasure to see you again!”
John lowered his head and cleared his throat. “Your Majesty,” he mumbled and turned to mount his horse.
Her gaze, then rested on me. I lowered my head in abject humility, but she took my chin in her hand and raised my head. Looking me square in the face the queen said, “Guy, you are everything Aylaina said about you and perhaps more. I know of your prior, shall we say, indiscretions, but it seems that God truly is forgiving for you are a changed man. You take good care of Aylaina. She’s a lovely girl. I have grown to love her as a daughter.”
“I will.” I replied, my voice, a deep whisper.
“Now,” said she, “I know you are all anxious to get home so come in for a quick meal and then you may be on your way.”
It was quite obvious that this last statement was an order so we all entered the fortress. John had to climb down from his horse, rather reluctantly it seemed, and followed us in.
After a meal of roast beef, bread and cheese and the finest ale, we said our farewells and were on our way back to Isabella’s house.
John, Robin and I rode abreast of each other. Robin turning in his saddle, said to John, “Tell me, John. What was that the queen whispered in your ear at supper just now?”
John said, in a voice that definitely sounded irritated, “Robin, leave it be!” With that, he gave his horse’s flanks a kick and rode on ahead of us.
Robin laughed outright and I just smiled. We talked for awhile about the mission we had to prepare for once we reached Nottingham and then silence overtook us as we dwelt on our own thoughts.
My mind was on Aylaina and how I could keep her safe during this whole “being captured by Isabella’ scheme. Then out of nowhere a picture of Marian came into my mind. Possibly because of when she lived in the castle and the many times I sheltered her from Vasy’s wrath, until the last time. I hadn’t thought about it, or rather pushed out the thoughts about Marian and what I’d done to her, for quite some time, but now I could not stop the awful memories. Robin was riding next to me and I knew he must think about her everyday. How could I even begin to tell him of my remorse, or apologise for such a heinous act? The words would fall flat and seem shallow compared to the depth of his pain.
Gazing at him now, I could tell he was thinking of her. His face set in hard lines, trying to keep the pain from showing through. How ironic was it that we were thinking of Marian, but in different ways, at the same time.
“Robin.” I began to say. He turned to look at me and he must have seen something in myface for he said, “I know, Gisborne. We need not speak of it.”
I followed the road ahead with my eyes and once again we rode in silence
It did not take us long to reach the house for we rode long into the night before stopping for sleep.
It was mid day when we arrived. The sun was high in the sky and the air was thick and warm. The rest of our company heard us approaching . They came out of the house to greet us.
Robin and Kate embraced as I took Aylaina into my arms and softly kissed her warm lips. She flung her arms around my neck and did not let go, even after our kiss ended. I held her close, then lifted her in my arms and carried her into the house. I loved to carry her this way. She was so small and seemed so vulnerable, though I knew she wasn’t, at the very least, not often. It pleased me to have her in my arms.
The others had come into the house after us and Robin, John and I told them of our journey to and from the fortress.
We gathered up our belongings and made ready to go back to the ship. Mounting the horses that Isabella’s guards no longer had need for, we headed to the port. Once there, we gave the horses to some weary travelers disembarking from a docked vessel. Archer had gone ahead of us with a message from Ian to the captain of his ship to prepare it for our departure. As soon as we boarded the captain set sail. We were on our way back to England where, we knew not what awaited us.
The sea air was refreshing and Aylaina and I stood at the bow. Aylaina was enjoying the spray of the ocean every time the bow dipped and rose over the waves. We were sitting on a barrel, Aylaina with her back against my chest.
Have you been on a ship before?” I asked her, for there were many things I did not know about her.
“Oh yes!” She replied. “Many times.” Then for some reason she stiffened, but only for a moment.
“Have you?” She asked, turning her head to look up at me.
“Yes, “ I returned, “When Isabella and I left England and then when I came back.”
“O-Oh yes, of course.” Aylaina’s reply had sympathy in it, so I told her it was alright. The past was the past and I was reconciled to those early days. But the events of the past few years still weighed heavy on me. I didn’t tell her this for she would be upset that she may have caused me sorrow.
Later on, I spent some time with Elliot and also with Ian. Elliot and I were forming some kind of acquaintance if not a father-son relationship. It was better than the bitterness that he had when we first met. Ian and I got along quite well, but then he was a good man and everybody liked him. Even Isabella warmed up to him. She said Aylaina was lucky to have a father like him. Isabella didn’t remember Ian as she was so young when Aylaina and he went back to Scotland.
After some days had passed, we made land on the shore of Portsmouth. Aylaina told Elliot not to go chasing after any girls this time and he and Archer both agreed that that would not happen again. Ian went to the livery where he bought horses from the same man he sold ours to before we sailed to France.
It was early morning so we set off for Locksley as soon as we were stocked up with provisions.
Everything was quiet when we entered the camp. The sun was setting and the sky was ablaze with splashes of purple, orange and red hues. Much was at the cooking pit and he jumped up immediately upon our arrival.
“You’re back! he cried, as he raced to Robin to give him a brotherly hug and then hugged Kate. “I wasn’t sure if you had gotten killed or something. The sheriff has been in a foul mood. Terrorising the villagers on Prince John’s orders!”
“Yes, well, we left him in a bind,” Robin grinned as he said this. “after he tried to ambush us. It’s no wonder he was angry.” His mood changed. “I’m just sorry he took it out on innocent people.”
“Well,” said Much, ‘we made sure everyone was provided for. We hijacked the tax collector as he was leaving. Sent him off down the road tied to his horse and blindfolded.”
”Good for you!” Robin exclaimed patting Much on the shoulder.
“You’re in luck.” Much was saying as he strode toward the larder. “We actually saw some deer grazing over that hill,” He pointed west, “and Tuck took one down. So it’s roast deer meat tonight!” He grinned broadly.
Tuck, Wat and David were entering the camp as I helped Aylaina down from her horse. I knew I didn’t have to, but she liked it when I did things like that. She would say, “Chivalry is not dead!” and hug my neck.
Ian, Elliot and Isabella were the last to enter the camp and dismount.
Much, with a look of disdain on his face exclaimed, “What’s she doing here?” referring to Isabella.
He was walking toward Isabella as he spoke but Robin stopped him. “Isabella is with us now, Much.” He put his arm across Much’s shoulders and steered him back to the cooking pit.
Aylaina took her father and Elliot by the arm and said. “This is my father. Ian and my son, Elliot.” The newcomers were greeted warmly, except for Isabella. I took her hand and led her to the group. Much was very displeased.
We all sat down around the fire as Robin explained the plan to the rest of the group. Much was not satisfied. He looked to Kate, as he knew full well that she certainly would not go along with this idea, but Kate was willing to risk it.
“I”, she paused for a moment. “think we can trust her, Much. If we can get her back into the princes’ good favor, we’ll have a spy in the castle.”
“Oh,” Much began , “like M...” His voice trailed off for he was heading into a touchy subject.
“Yea.” said Robin, “Aylaina, Guy, Kate and I will be ‘held prisoners’ by Isabella’s guards, Ian, Elliot, and.....”
Much broke in. “I will go too, Robin!” The ever faithful friend exclaimed. “I will not let you go without me!”
“Alright, Much. You can go, but I want John there as well.”
“Aye, Robin.” John asserted. I will be there.”
Robin continued. “We have the princes’ guards uniforms so you will not have any trouble taking us in. We go at sun-up.”
It was agreed that we would all rise early and head for the castle so everyone turned in after an exceptionally good supper. Aylaina took my hand and guided me out of the camp toward our tree.
“We should have one last night alone,” she said, “before we are to be made prisoners.” I did not resist and chased her all the way there. Catching her sleeve on a bush, she tumbled to the ground and I put out my hand to help her up but she kicked my foot and I lost my balance. I landed on the ground beside her. Aylaina rose up on her elbow and flung her other arm around me and kissed me. I took hold of her waist and rolled her over me to have the, uh, upper hand.
"Ma Cherie." I spoke softly to her in French as I caressed her cheek. “Thou art not to be resisted. Thou art my love and more beautiful than ever, with that lovely moonlight shining on thy hair.”
“Pray, save thy words for we hast not the time, though thee knowest I am captivated by the very sound of thy voice.”
The love in her eyes was more than any man deserved, especially me, but I accepted it gratefully. We made our way into the hollow of the tree. And in our tree--our refuge and dwelling place--Aylaina and I shared our love for each other as husband and wife.
~
Robin was the only one up when we returned the following morning. He gave us a look of feigned disdain.
“At least brush the leaves off each other!” He exclaimed, then grinned as he turned to wake the others up.
I was pulling leaves out of Aylaina’s hair as I had done so many times when we were young, while all the others were waking and preparing for this next mission.
Ian and Elliot donned guards uniforms, as did Much and John. Isabella was dressed in one of her finest gowns. Tuck and the men who were not going, tied us up. We had to walk to Nottingham in this way so as to make it look authentic in case anyone happened to be on the road.
Arriving at the castle gates, Isabella ordered the guards to let her in. The gates were lifted and our ‘guards’ pushed us through. The sheriff was coming down the steps of the castle keep as we made our way in.
“I don’t see the prince’s mother, Lady Gisborne.” he said, chiding her for her failure. Prince John was descending the steps as the sheriff finished his sentence.
“Isabella.” He whinged. “You did not bring me my mother.” He clutched her arm tightly. Isabella kept her head and replied, “But my prince, look at what I have brought you!”
He cast his eyes upon, first Robin, then me. When he saw Aylaina, he quickly pulled her away from my side.
Sneering at Prince John, I demanded, "You leave my wife alone or I'll break your neck!"
"You are in no position to threaten me, Gisborne!" The prince retorted. To Isabella, he said,
“Oh, Lady Isabella. Maybe you have redeemed yourself with the gifts you brought me! Guards!” He called to Much and John. “Take these two vermin to the dungeon!” He motioned to Ian and Elliot to follow him. I was relieved! “You’re coming with me, my lovely.” Prince John leered at Aylaina.
Sheriff George ran to the prince's side. “You said I could have the blond.” he complained.
“And so you shall. But not just yet. She’s coming with me, too.” He grasped Kate by the arm. “Come along, Isabella.” he called over his shoulder. Prince John took both Aylaina and Kate to the Great Hall with Isabella close behind.
Our ‘guards’ and one of the castle guards took us away. Once in the corridor to the dungeon, John and Much apprehended the guard. John knocked him out with a single punch and Much took his keys.
Robin said, quietly, referring to the guard, “Tie him up and gag him. Put him in the other cell way at the back. Then come back late tonight. That’s when we’ll escape.”
“Robin,” I said,. “What about Aylaina?”
“Right.” He said. “I’m getting to that.” Turning back to John and Much he said, “Go find out what the prince is going to do with Kate and Aylaina. Then let us know. As guards, you two will have to get them out. Maybe Ian and Elliot will be sent to guard them and the four of you can free them.”
While we waited for John and Much to come back, Robin paced the floor in deep thought. I was content to lie on the stone bench, with my own thoughts. With my fingers laced together under my head, I realised I had no idea how this would all turn out, but if we could get Isabella back into the castle, and provided that we could trust her, our gang would be able to obtain all the information on the prince’s and the sheriff’s actions.
Robin began to think out loud. “We’ve got to time this just right. We don’t want Prince John to suspect Isabella, or all is lost.”
“If Aylaina or Kate were to get into a skirmish with Isabella,” I stated, “then there will be no suspicion as to Isabella’s loyalty and we could get away when Isabella is bested.”
“Provided the rest of us can stop the castle guards attack.” Robin sounded unsure.
Furrowing my brows, I questioned, “Do you have doubts about our success?”
“I don’t know.” he said, shaking his head. “I just have this feeling.”
“Robin,” I encouraged. “We have four capable men, as you pointed out before, in guards’ uniforms. We should pull this off quite easily.”
Robin’s gaze fell on me, now sitting up on the bench. “Look who’s being optimistic.” He said with a grin.
“What.” I said, more as a statement. “Can’t I see the bright side once in a while?”
He sat on the bench and leaned against the wall. “Well, Guy. You’re not known for it, you know.”
“Hmf.” I was a bit irritated, but Robin was right. I usually fell to the negative side of things.
“I have confidence in our team.” I said, defending my position. ‘John and Much have been at this a long time, as John pointed out earlier and Ian is a great warrior. Now that I’ve seen Elliot in action, I believe he’s got what it takes to make a good soldier.”
“Hm, Elliot.” Robin returned. “He is quite skilled and now that we have him and Archer, too, we could be unstoppable!”
“That’s right!” I exclaimed. We were pumping each other up, getting ready for what lie ahead for we did not know what the outcome would be, but we were determined to be victorious!
Eventually, John and Much returned with information about the ladies. Apparently Prince John was making them cater to his every whim by having them do inane things, such as fetch his robe or pour his wine. When they weren’t doing silly little tasks for him, he had them sit, one on each side of him. John said, he told them to ‘look pretty’. Ian and Elliot stood guard at the doors to the Great Hall. Good! They would be able to help the ladies escape when the time came. We would replace our men with two unconscious guards so as not to give Isabella away since Ian and Elliot were supposed to be her guards.
Much~ That Man and History
These are the words of Much, devoted servant and friend to Robin of Locksley or Robin Hood, as told to Robert of Nettlestone, written down for posterity..............
…........Late that night, John and I stole back to the castle. We were able to get past the guards because we wore the uniforms of Prince John’s private guard. We went down to the dungeon and unlocked the door to Robin’s and Gisborne’s cell. Robin ordered us to get rid of the uniforms we were wearing and I had to find a place to stash them. I searched around and found a privvy at the end of the corridor so I threw them down it.
Heading back up toward the Great Hall, we spotted two guards snoring away at the bottom of the stairs. John and Gisborne nudged them and when they woke, gave each a sock on the jaw which knocked them out. They dragged the guards to the doors of the Great Hall. Aylaina’s father was there with Elliot, Aylaina’s son. Here is what Ian MacLeod said to us:
“The prince has made Aylaina and Kate sleep in the Great Hall and we are to guard them so they cannot escape. There is no one else inside.”
We opened the doors to find Kate and Aylaina waiting for us. Robin then ordered us to leave through the secret passage that lead to the tunnel. As we opened the passage two guards ambushed us, but we were many so we had the advantage.
This encounter created a lot of noise and the alarm went out! We ran as fast as we could down the tunnel and outside, but there were guards coming toward us. We were forced to run back but not to the tunnel. Guards were coming out of it. So we ended up near the castle gates.
Robin cried out, “On my count. One! Two! Three!” and we began to battle the sheriff’'s guards and Prince John’s soldiers. All of us were heavily engaged when Prince John himself appeared and joined the battle. He went directly for Robin’s back and I called out, “Robin, behind you!” Robin quickly dispelled his opponent and dodged the prince's advance. As I was busily warding off an attacker, I saw Isabella come out of the gates and Aylaina ran toward her, screaming, with her sword unsheathed. The plan to ‘defeat Isabella’ was begun.
We seemed to be gaining the upper hand, when I saw a guard coming after Aylaina. Robin saw it, too and he yelled, “Aylaina!” She quickly turned and ran as Robin felled the guard. Isabella ran to Kate as Aylaina began to shower the soldiers with stones from her sling shot a safe distance away. I could hear Isabella shouting something, but was too put upon to hear what she said. Kate was striking at Isabella with her sword, Isabella, warding off each blow.
John was knocking down soldiers left and right. Thumping them with his great quarterstaff, as Archer, who had just arrived, killed them with his sword. David and Watt joined the battle and now we were gaining on the guards and the soldiers. David and Watt brought our horses and I could see them at the edge of the forest.
Another soldier went down as I ran him through. Then I saw Prince John battling with Gisborne. I continued to ward off attackers, all the time keeping my eye on Robin to make sure he was not killed. Something caught my eye. Gisborne was striking hard at the prince, but Prince John was at him with a vengeance. That’s when I saw Gisborne trip over a body and Prince John stood over him with his sword and stabbed it into Guy’s belly. Prince John was laughing almost hysterically as John ran to the scene. The prince had run off before John could get to him. John lifted Gisborne and grabbing a horse, threw him over the horse’s back.
Earlier, I heard Robin and Guy order Kate and Aylaina back to the camp. Robin did not want them to get caught again so he sent them back and I was glad Aylaina did not see what Prince John had done to Guy.
Kate had ‘defeated’ Isabella and I saw Isabella run back to the castle courtyard. The soldiers were retreating and so were the guards. We had won the day!