Disclaimer for all three chapters of Chapter 13: Mentions of domestic abuse, alcoholism, rape, and death. I do not own any of these characters, except for the characters of 'Rae Locksley' and 'Eden Locksley.'
Rae Locksley had been conceived through an affair, a one-night stand with one of the soldiers fighting in the Ogre Wars after a visit to the town's tavern; too drunk to let the thought of a contraceptive cross their minds. Ultimately, Rae's conception was the reason Robin's father began to drink. The fire-like feeling of alcohol acted as the only way to cope with the situation. He wasn't so keen with the idea of fathering another child, and another man's child at that; had always been reluctant of the fact.
So much so, that growing up, Robin's father had always been barbaric and harsh towards Rae. As a newborn, if she began to cry, he would ignore her, leaving her in her cot to cry for hours, leaving a preteen Robin to feed her with the small amount of milk they could afford with the paltry sum of money their family obtained; their family-owned tavern acting as their only source of income.
Since the day Rae had been born, Robin, at the young age of thirteen, had felt this weight of responsibility on his shoulders. He felt the sudden need to protect and nurture the moment those tiny blue eyes had opened to meet his-- bright and filled with love.
It wasn't until hours after his sister's birth that Eden Locksley, Robin's mother, had told Robin of his sister's namesake. It was her eyes, his mother told him. The way they followed an object around the room with a certain grace and elegance. The way their bright blue coloration never ceased to illuminate someone with a small spark of hope.
This led to her middle name.
Grace; for Robin, it was a nickname of sorts.
The fact that that was exactly what Rae's name had meant, had made it all the better fitting.
Since the day she had been born, Robin mentally vowed that he would protect his sister as long as he drew breath. He vowed that he would make certain that she would never turn dark, would never veer astray of the path of truthfulness, righteousness, honesty, and benevolence, and never stray into darkness. Because that is what his mother taught him as a young boy.
To believe in family.
To be truthful, righteous, and good. The three traits that made a benevolent leader, a man of goodness, and Robin believed in these traits with all his heart.
However his father did not possess any of these traits. His father was but a drunken man addicted to the fire-filled burning sensation that bottle after bottle of whiskey left in his throat. He was but a man who had no sense of love, no sense of family. A man who went against all of Robin's beliefs in the goodness of others. He was a man who performed acts that were hate-filled beyond words; spewing profanities towards his children and domestically abusing his wife.
Arlan Locksley was the epitome of malevolence, and Robin was disgusted, he was fed up with his father's unjust acts of hatred, always had been, always would be.
Which is where they were now.
Robin, now at the matured age of nineteen, laid in his bed, staring up at the dark ceiling of his bedroom, listening to the bickered yelling of his parents from across the hall. They had been in the kitchen all night arguing; Robin could tell his father had had a few drinks, as he heard the slur of his father's speech, and the constant slosh of the bottle of whiskey in his father's hand as he threw back gulp after gulp.
"The tavern is long gone, Arlan. We're behind on rent, there are no more customers save the soldiers that come from battle, lonely and deprived of drink, you know that."
"Oh," Robin can hear the disgust in his father's voice as he chuckles dryly, setting the whiskey bottle on wood with a clank, "like the bloody soldier who knocked you up with the bastard child?"
Robin could feel the muscles of his forearms and hands flex beneath his tunic in anger. Robin wanted to grab that bloody bottle and hit his father upside the head with it. If he heard one more negative word about Rae, he would surely charge out of his room at tackle his father to the floor where he stood.
"You shut your bloody mouth you drunken bastard. That is my daughter you are speaking about," his mother bit back, words like fire.
"Who are you callin' a bastard!" Robin's father screamed, his voice raspy, slamming his hands atop the wooden table between him and his wife.
Robin heard his father's voice lower, as he whispered harshly to his mother.
"The only bastard in this family is that wench you call your blood! Your family! Well Edie, do I have news for you. That "girl" is nothin' but a six-year old, money-suckin', brat. Whose only purpose in this family is to serve as the laughing stock of Nottingham, living with the shame of being your "daughter" if that's the so-called name for the thing!"
A crash of a whiskey bottle smashing sounded throughout the house, and Robin couldn't take it anymore.
Storming out of his room, Robin, as quick as lightning, ran down the hall and into the kitchen, slamming his father into the wall behind him, hands buried in the collar of his shirt, his eyes bulging out of his skull in anger.
The sound of Robin's mother's cries could be heard somewhere far off in Robin's subconscious, however the only thing that his eyes were seeing were red.
He was seething mad.
"Get. Out. Now," Robin ground out between his clenched teeth in anger, as he held his father to the wall tighter, his fists twisting around his father's collar even harder than before, his face inches away from his father's.
Arlan cleared his throat, swallowing thickly before he looked to Robin and began to speak, "Look, son, I'm sorry. Perhaps you can give me a second chance at this thing? I'll do better, I promise."
Robin pulled back from his father, loosening his fingers from his collar, before he pulled back his clenched fist, and slammed it into his father's cheek full force.
"You." Another punch.
"Never," Another punch.
"Keep," Another punch.
"Your," Another punch.
"Promises."
Robin could hear his mother's exclaiming cries from behind him at each punch he threw at his father. Arlan was now on the ground, blood flowing from his nose down onto his shirt, accompanied with labored breathing.
"You get out of this house now, of so help me God I will throw you out myself," Robin growled, fire coating his words as his tone dripped with enmity.
Robin's father's eyes widened.
Not from surprise or shock-- this was the alcohol doing it's work in Robin's father's brain. His father's judgement had been effected first, soon it was going to be his motor skills.
But Robin didn't care.
Robin pulled his father to his feet by his collar, a look of disgust evident on his face, as he shoved his father out of their home and into the yard.
Robin didn't give a thought towards what his father would endure or run into after he threw him out of their house.
"No man similar to the likes of you deserve to hold the love of another, let alone obtain a family," Robin bit out in disgust as he slammed the front door in anger, turning around to face his mother.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, Mother. I couldn't... I couldn't take it anymore," Robin walked to the water basin that sat on the kitchen table that sat against the far wall, and washed the blood off of his hands, staring out the window in front of him, into the dark night that surrounded him.
"What he was saying about Grace -- he had to leave. I couldn't stand there listening to what he was saying about her. What he has been saying about her. Six years, mother. How could a man be that insolent to a child for six years?" Robin whispered aloud, low but harsh, more to himself than anything.
"He was a kind man before your sister was born, you know this, Robin. He just... he's a very closed-off man. Doesn't like being betrayed --who would? I mean I had an affair for god sakes."
Robin turned to face his mother, "How can you be defending him! He would have hit you if I hadn't gotten out here when I did! Mother you were lonely then, when Rae was conceived, and that has only resulted in Grace!" Robin voice grew louder by each word.
"Robin?" a small voice sounded from behind a bedroom door.
Robin's mother's blue eyes widened slightly. Robin quickly dried his hands on the dish rag that sat on the wooden table the water basin was sitting on, and approached his sister's room, catching the blue of his sister's eyes, and smiling; as her eyes always made him do.
"Grace"
Robin grabbed his sister's small hand, leading her back into her bedroom with the small pull ofit. He slowly put his hands under her arms and lifted her, her legs to straddling his torso, and her head now laying on his right shoulder.
"Robin?" Rae stated, question dripping from her tone.
Robin hmmed in question back as he laid her in her bed, covering her frail six-year old body with her bed sheet.
"Tell me a story. It'll help me fall asleep."
Robin looked to his sister in hesitance.
"Please?" Rae asked, her blue eyes shining with hope.
Robin smoothed down Rae's waves of light brown hair whispering, "Okay. One story but then you go to sleep," Robin smiled warmly, looking at his sister, his young blue eyes filling with love.
Rae's lips pulled up to reveal a tired grin as Robin began his story.
"Once there was a great knight who saved his entire forest... He fought his enemies with only a bow and a quiver of arrows... But this knight was different from other knights. This knight stole from the wealthy to give to the the poor... He was noble, righteous, and good... He was a hero. Just as everyone should be..."
Robin noticed Rae's closed eyes-- eyelids covering the bright blue of her eyes-- and neutral breathing.
She was asleep.
Robin's lips pulled up into a small smile, as he leant down to kiss her crown of light brown hair, whispering, "Goodnight, Gracie."
Robin stood then, walking towards Rae's bedroom door with whispered footfalls. Robin noticed her cloak their mother had made her, hanging over her bedpost. Robin smiled as his eyes caught onto the flower pattern of the brown fabric, feeling it over with a palm.
Robin cringed slightly at the squeak of his sister's bedroom door as he closed it to leave. As soon as Robin was outside her room, he looked to the kitchen; his mother wasn't there sitting at the kitchen table.
Probably bathing, Robin guessed.
Robin walked to his own room, laying back in bed, pulling the sheet back over his body, as he stared at the darkened ceiling once more. Robin supposed it was a good thing that he had sent his father away. His father was cruel, barbarous, and it was better if he was not involved in their lives any longer.
Robin vowed that he would find a way to pay their needed rent to keep their tavern, and he didn't care what price he had to pay to get it that way. If he had to take over the family business, so be it. His father was gone, and Robin supposed that that was the best for everyone.
Robin's father never came home, and Robin was glad.
***
The crash of porcelain on tile sounded throughout Granny's diner, as pieces of shattered teacup littered themselves across the tiled floor. Everyone looked to Robin, eyes wide in surprise, silent.
Even his sister.
She was now fully facing him, eyes wide in surprise, the loud noise shaking her up a bit. She had flinched; almost jumped out of the booth upon hearing the noise.
Robin was frozen; wide eyed, and in a state of shock.
Some unknown force of emotion gathered in Robin's core as he willed his feet forward, towards his sister, step by step.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Rae looked to the man standing before her. His eyes were wide, face drained of color, as if he had just seen a ghost. He looked somewhat similar, save the lines that seemed to illustrate his features, brought on by age, but she couldn't quite place where she'd seen him prior to this moment.
Until she heard his voice.
"Grace?"
Rae's eyes widened, tears unthinkingly pricking the corners of her eyes.
No. It couldn't be. It had been too long, it couldn't be him, after all this time...
But her mind fought against its own thoughts of denial.
This was in fact the very voice that spoke to her as a young girl almost every night of heroes, villains, princesses, and princes as she drifted off into a mindless slumber.
This was the voice of someone she once had come to know as an infant, but this voice was older; deeper. This was the same man that she could hear screaming in their kitchen, throwing punches at his father, and throwing him out of the house for her own sake.
This was her big brother.
"Robin?"
A watery smile graced her lips, as a mix of shock and adoration overcame her subconscious. It felt as if a weight was being pressed against her chest. Her throat was constricting tightly, tears thickly coating its rough inside. Her hand came up to her mouth, as unshed tears fell down her cheeks, her lips wobbling with the onset of tears.
Her mind registered the cold metal of the booth's table as her hand quickly swept across its smooth surface. The minute she climbed out of the booth to her feet, it felt as if the floor had shifted.
Surrealism clouded in her head, which in turn caused the steps of her booted feet across the diners floor, whispered footfalls against tile, until she was running towards him; choking back tears, and doing her best not break down in sobs.
She jumped into his protective and strong arms, her arms snaking behind his neck, her face buried in the crook of his neck, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I heard you fled King Arthur's army. I'm glad you left," Rae said over her brother's shoulder. Her speech became muffled by the velvet of her brother's cloak, though Robin could hear the sad smile in her voice.
Robin went weak at the knees at this quick embrace, as he held his younger sister in his arms-- granted she wasn't so little anymore-- causing them both to slowly descend towards the tiled floor together.
Now on his knees, Robin's hands met at Rae's lower back, pulling her to him, hoping that this contact would help him realize what he sought to be true.
That this was his sister.
This was his sister, and he couldn't be more relieved.
***
It was just a day later that Robin came upon a solution that he knew would ease all of his problems. It had again been another hot day in summer. The scent of pine and earth filled Robin, his eyes taking in the different shades of brown of the firewood he chopped in his front lawn since the early morning. His ears picked up the crack of the wood as it split apart with each swing of Robin's arms downwards with his ax. The sun gathered in its pool of fire and gold, as it beat down on Robin; sweat was now dripping down both sides of his face, down his arms and onto the dark earth below.
Robin's eyes flitted quickly to two villagers, both women, walking past Robin's cottage with their children, baskets in hand. "Did you hear of the King of Camelot's call for men to aid him? It's been spreading around Sherwood like wildfire!"
Robin's sense of hearing shifted in on this conversation in particular, curious as to what the two villagers were speaking of. Camelot was a half a day's journey if taken by steed, at the most only sixty miles away from Sherwood Forest. It didn't surprise Robin that news from Camelot traveled this fast; and at the King's orders at that.
The other villager shook her head, causing the other woman to continue. "If what I've heard is correct, King Arthur is looking for men to enlist in his royal guard. Supposedly, if they do enlist, he'll grant the man and his loved ones with riches beyond comprehension. But there is a catch...once you enlist, you can never see your family again."
Robin's gaze shifted to the ground below as he half turned away from the two women, eyes half wide, the ax slowly descending towards the earth below.
That's exactly how he was going to pay for his mother's rent.
He was going to join King Arthur's royal guard, even if it meant never seeing his family again. Because that was the price he would pay in order to keep his family fed and content.
With one final swing of the ax into the wooden log in front him, Robin - wiping his hands on his pants - willed his feet to carry him to the porch of his house. With a dull thump of the ax against the wooden platform, Robin's feet carried him through the doorway of his home, and into the kitchen.
His mother had been cooking broth, the heaven-scented aroma of roasted meat and vegetables wafting its way towards Robin; his mouth watered.
"Have you chopped all of the firewood?" his mother voiced from her spot near the fireplace, using the fire to heat the contents of the broth.
"Yes, mother," Robin voiced from the house's entrance, taking his boots off.
Robin's mother turned, her grey-blue eyes brightening as her eyes scanned over her one and only son with pride and love.
"Thank you, Robin," his mother smiled before jutting her chin towards the washroom towards the end of the hall. "Now go wash up, and go get your sister - she's out back in the flower garden; supper's about ready."
Robin nodded, starting for the washroom as his mother turned back to her broth, mixing the steaming contents.
Within minutes Robin's hands were washed and he was outside, the hues of the assortment of flowers placed in rows within the soil, gathering in his eyes.
Robin walked off of the back porch to find his sister playing in the tall grasses, a Chrysanthemum in one hand and a Hydrangea in the other, dancing, her light brown hair whipping in the afternoon wind.
It seemed she was humming to herself. As Robin stepped closer to his sister, he recognized the melody his sister was humming; it was lullabye their mother had sung to him as a child.
Robin smiled as he approached his sister, crouching next to a flower patch as he watch his sister dance.
It was when Rae noticed her brother that her eyes lit up even brighter than they seemed to be.
"Robin!" The young six-year old ran for her brother, tackling him in a warm embrace, so they both fell to the ground, the tall shin-high grasses tickling behind Robin's neck and ears. Robin let out a deep throaty laugh as he sat up placing his sister on the ground next to him.
"Grace, do you know what each of these flowers mean?" Robin nodded to the flowers fisted in his sister's small hands.
Rae turned, her blue eyes bright, a broad smile stretching her lips upward, deep dimples instantaneously appearing on both sides of her cheeks.
"What do you mean, Robin? How can a flower mean something?"
"Well," Robin picked a daisy from his right side, "certain flowers, when you look at them, have a certain..look. You just know what they seem to mean. For example," Robin raised the white flower in front of his face, "the daisy. What do you think the daisy means, Rae?"
Rae looked down to the ground her brows knitting in concentration, her lip bit in consideration as she thought.
Rae's blue eyes flit to her brother's in hesitance. "Happiness?"
Robin smiled, replying. "Precisely."
A certain excitement shined in his sister's young eyes as she smiled, "What do my flowers mean?"
Rae raised the bright yellow chrysanthemum in one hand, and the deep-colored purple hydrangea in the other.
"Well... the yellow chrysanthemum means love, joy, and long life, and the purple hydrangea means gratefulness, or grace, like your name; that's what your name means."
"Grace? Is that why you call me Grace instead of Rae?" Her eyes shined at her brother in question.
"Indeed," Robin smiled.
"Now come on inside and wash up; it's almost time for dinner."
Rae nodded before setting both flowers onto the grass next to her, her feet carrying her to the back porch in seconds, Robin's protective eyes watched her every step and movement, a certain sense of sadness washing over him. If he were to leave to enlist in Arthur's army, he would never see his little sister again.
Robin shook his head forcefully, willing the thought out of his mind as he continued to walk towards his house. He was doing this for his family, and he wouldn't let anything stop him.
Within minutes the three were sitting at the dinner table, spooning bits of steaming broth into their mouths one by one, talking of their day - what they had done, what they had planned to do the next day - when Robin decided to speak up.
"I am going to enlist in King Arthur's army."
A clatter of a spoon against a bowl, and a slight cough from his mother sounded before Robin continued.
"If I enlist, Arthur will grant us with riches beyond comprehension. Mother with this money, you can continue paying rent, maybe close the tavern and open another shop if you'd like. This will save us, Mother." Robin gazed optimistically at his mother.
"But if I do enlist... I can never see you or Rae again."
"Then don't. Don't enlist. We're better together than apart."
"Mother? What do you mean?" His sister voiced at his side, softly.
Robin's gaze fell upon his sister, sadness clouding in his eyes.
"I'm going to join Arthur's army, and protect Camelot from bad people, Grace. And Arthur said that if I join him, he will give our family lots and lots of money. That way mother can tend to the garden I know you love so much, and can cook your favorite meals. But I have to leave home if I join Arthur's army, and can never see you or Mother ever again," Robin's lips pulled down, as unshed tears welled in his eyes.
To Robin's surprise, Rae smiled, a certain light shining in her eyes.
"Well that's good, right Mother? Robin's going to protect people. He's going to save people. He'll be a hero, " Rae turned to look at her mother, then.
"Mother?" Rae questioned once more.
"I will not let you do such a thing, Robin Locksley," Eden scoot back in her chair, wood scraping against wood, as she head for her room. Robin could see the tears well in her ice blue eyes.
"But Mother, it's my life! It will better this family! Why can't you see that!?" Robin shouted from his spot at the kitchen table.
Eden Locksley went to bed without a single word to her son, and her children followed. Robin put Rae to bed with a kiss to her forehead, as he always did, and after doing so, walked into his own room, layed on his bed, and stared at his ceiling for hours rubbing certain thoughts over in his mind, coming up with ways to persuade his mother to let him do this.
In a matter of hours, the sun was bathing Robin's room with bright yellow rays. Robin blinked, forcing the bright light out of his vision, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. After getting dressed into a thin charcoal gray quarter-sleeved shirt, brown pants, and lacing up his brown leather boots, he made his way towards the kitchen to find his mother drinking out of a teacup that she was now placing on the saucer in front of her, the steam from the liquid wafting itself into the air.
"I will admit, I was a bit harsh last night, and I'm sorry."
You think? Robin thought to himself, but shoved the questioning phrase to the back of his mind. He wasn't going to argue with his mother. Not now. Not today.
"So when do you leave?"
Robin could hear the underlying monotone tone in his mother's voice. A rhetorical question.
"Mother--"
"Robin don't make this harder than it has to be," unshed tears welled in his mother's eyes then. "I cannot bear the thought of losing you. I've now come to realize the effects of what you are doing, on us - our family, and I think it's good that you're doing this. So... when do you leave? As soon as possible, I would presume?"
Robin nodded solemnly.
HIs mother stood, then, "I have Raven saddled for your journey, you just have to pack a bag. Your sister is out in the garden, I'm sure she wants to see you - to say goodbye."
HIs mother then turned towards her tea once more, taking a sip out of the cup. Robin let his head hang low as he willed his booted feet to walk towards the back of the house - towards the gardens.
There he found his horse - Raven; Black body, black mane. She had been a birthday present - he was turning fifteen. As Robin thought about it, it seemed she rightly suited him. His name was the epitome of light, and her's the epitome of darkness. But opposites attract, Robin supposed with a smile.
He was broken out of his reverie as he heard the small voice of his sister. "So you're leaving, now? I saw mother saddle up Raven early this morning."
"Yes - I am leaving," Robin walked closer to his sister, who was lying in the tall grasses looking up at the drifting clouds above them.
As soon as his booted feet made there way next to his sister small body in the grass, he crouched onto the grass, lying on his back next to his younger sister.
"I'll miss you," Robin voiced in the silence between the winds low howls, grabbing his sister's tiny hand in his as he looked to the clouds above him.
"I'm going to miss you too," Rae's voice wobbled, as tears coated her throat.
Robin noticed a hue of yellow in his periphery, and his brow knit in confusion - he sat up on his elbows, Rae did this same, holding yellow chrysanthemum out to him.
"What's this?"
"You told me that this flower means long life. As long as you have it, nothing can hurt you," the tears welling in Rae's eyes overflowed at the brim, cascading down her fair cheeks in two aligned streaks.
Robin gathered his sister in a hug crushing her against him as she cried.
"I love you, Robin."
"I love you too, Gracie"
It was minutes later, once Rae had ceased her crying, that Robin and Rae had both gone inside, that Robin had packed his bag - a paltry amount of clothes and the flower his sister had given him- and with a hug and a promise that he would be truthful, righteous, and good, said goodbye to his mother.
He mounted his horse easily, hanging his bag on a hook on the saddle. Taking the reigns, he steered Raven down the path that led to the kingdom of Camelot, staying to a slow trot as Robin looked back to the faces of his family. The same sets of blue eyes on both his mother and his sister - clouded with sadness, tears in their eyes.
The only thing that made Robin maintain this trotting was the fact that by doing this, Robin was helping his family. They would be healthy, well-fed, and content.
With a dull kick to Raven's side, she broke into a fast canter down the dirt trail.
A/N: Hi guys! I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update! I was gone all last month, and was now able to catch up on writing this story. I will definitely be continuing this story. I would never leave you guys on a cliffhanger without finishing writing this story. I have everything planned out, I just have to write it all out. And me being me, I want it to be perfect for all of the lovely people reading and reviewing this story. So, thank you all for reviewing this story, and reading it for that matter! You are all amazing, and your reviews have brought me to tears. I would have never thought this story would even get one review. So thank you :)