I was the first out the first morning that Robin Hood joined our gang. I untangled myself from WIll gently and pulled my other set of clothes on. My gloves went on second and then I headed out to start a fire. Wll and I were the only ones to have a hut. I suppose the menfolk decided it wasn't decent for me to sleep under the stars with nothing. I would have told them to bugger off, but I liked the hut. They did a great job with it, with no rain getting in. It wasn't much, just some sturdy wood and straw, but it meant a lot to me.
The boys might think that Will and I have been together in the most intimate way, but they would be wrong. We've been Will and Scarlett for a long time, but I was a nobleman's daughter, and it was understood that I would be a maiden until I said the words "I do," and I hadn't yet.
I blew on my fingertips as I piled wood on the pit. The sun was barely over the horizon, and I really did need a fire. I reached for the flint when a hand came out of nowhere to give it to me. I jumped and turned to glare at whoever startled me.
"You're up early." Robin drawled as I took the flint and set to starting the fire. I could still feel his eyes on me, but decided to stay quiet. It was too early for conversation. I might have been up early, but that didn't mean I was a morning person, or that I wanted to talk to someone who could bring my whole world crashing down around my ears. I knew he would never even remember that he had met me, but a small piece of me would fear that forever, or until he left.
"How did you know?" he asked softly. I could hear the emotion in his voice.
"You made it sound like it was all fun and games. It wasn't, was it? It was horrible," I responded, leaning back on my heels as smoke started to rise. I heard him let out a breath but didn't turn to look. I didn't know if it was a sigh, or if he was taking his time to answer. It didn't really matter to me, I knew the answer. How could war ever be fun and games?
"It was horrible... but then it wasn't." When he spoke this time, I finally looked at him. He was telling the truth, but I didn't understand.
"How?" I asked, sitting next to him.
"I was ready when I went. I wanted to defend England, for king and glory. I was a man, but I was an idiot. I thought I would go, kill some Turks, and then come home a hero." I watched him silently. "But it wasn't like that. They weren't Turks. They were just people, doing the same thing we were. Defending their home. We were the invaders. The Holy Land wasn't just ours. It was theirs. Theirs, and ours, and the Jews."
"So what was good about it?" I asked, confused.
"I saved the kings life. The leader of the Turks sent assassins to kill him. And I saved him. That's why I'm home. I saved him, but I got injured, and he sent me back to heal."
I had to think about that for a minute. He saved the king. My uncle. I'd only met the man once. I remember only that he seemed huge to me. A lion. I knew then, at four years old, that that was why they called him Lionheart. He had a laugh that boomed in our house, and made everyone else laugh. Not because he was king, but because he made people love him. That was why Robin would have willingly given his life to save him. Now I understood.
I heard laughter from several young boys. I was nine now, and held my bow tight. It was smaller than all of theirs, but I knew I could beat them all. Maybe not Will, but he wasn't competing. It was the summer solstice, and for once, the whole village was celebrating. The men had just had their competition, with John as their winner. It was no big surprise, but the losers were good natured. They had mead for the first time in a long time, and weren't too upset. Now it was time for the lads to shoot.
The targets were set up in the open area of the village. No one but Will had known I was competing. He had encouraged me, actually. I would be the youngest, and the only girl. I would also be the one who practiced most, and I was hoping it would show. I could feel everyones eyes on me as I stepped up to the line.
I knew John would be grinning, perhaps betting money on me. I could hear some snickers even from the adults watching, but didn't hear the loud laugh of my adoptive father. For some reason, even though I would say I was just a burden for him, he seemed to enjoy taking care of me.
I didn't look at anyone. I just remembered what Will had told me, over and over again.'Take a deep breath, Scar. Keep your arm steady. Don't aim. Your eye knows where the target is, trust it. If you ever have to shoot something, it won't wait for you to aim.' But he hadn't said that for the competition. 'This time, take your time. Aim, then bring it down, and then aim again. If they laugh, ignore them. There's only you and that tiny circle.'
I took that breath, staring at the black circle. There were arrows all around it. Some were close to the circle, and some were closer to the edge. The boy who laughed the loudest had the closest arrow. I was last. I had one chance. I took another breath and closed my eyes. I pulled the string back. My fingers were right next to my chin, my muscles taut. I let them relax, and heard a chuckle throughout the crowd.
I opened my eyes and lifted the bow one more time. I pulled back, resting my thumb against my cheek. I took a breath to stop my hand from shaking and stared the target down. "Three. Two. One." I whispered and released. The arrow whistled through the air as I shut my eyes. I heard a thud as it hit the target. Well at least I hit it, unlike the last time I had shot with the boys. There was silence throughout the crowd.
"So I can never know your story? Why you cover your arms, why you hate me?" Robin turned the rabbits that rested on the spit over the fire. He had caught them shot it through the eye with one of my arrows.
"I won the bet, didn't I?" I asked. The sky was turning more blue and less pink. The others would be up soon and we could get moving. This time when he let out a breath, I knew it was a sigh.
"At least tell me if it was bad."
"No," I answered. I went to the cart the boys had taken from some rich man the day before. We had placed it under the biggest tree on the edge of the clearing, and put the plates and things in it. Those came from the village, donated by our own people. I brought plates back, placing them on an empty log in the circle around the fire.
"Is that a no, it wasn't bad, or no, I won't tell you? Oh, this ones done." He pulled a rabbit off and placed it on one of the plates.
"Where did you learn to skin a rabbit?" I asked, peeling some of the meat off to eat.
"Do you ever stop asking questions? And my father." Robin did the same, then went back to watch the other rabbit.
"No," I answered. "Will you be okay stealing from people?"
"To give to people who need it? Yes. I want to be able to provide for the people that I was supposed to watch over." I nodded, watching him again. When he said things like that, I was surprised. Even though I was one myself, I always so nobles as selfish, and ignorant of the needs of those around them.
I heard branches cracking and looked up quickly. When I saw it was Will, I smiled and looked back down to pull some more meat off of the rabbit.
"Hey love," Will said, walking over to me. "Hi Robin. D'you catch these?"
Robin nodded at him. "Yeah, thought I'd say thank you for letting me in." Will chuckled and took a plate and some meat. I let my eyes wander off as I leaned on Will.
"I'll head out to Locksley as soon as we've all eaten." I said to them.
"Can I come with you? I'd like to walk around. It's been a long time." I couldn't think of a good reason to say no to Robin. It was his home. So I just nodded at him.
I ran to Will, giving him my tightest hug when I had finally opened my eyes to see my arrow buried in the middle circle of the target. People started clapping for me, and John was whooping. Will hugged me back, grinning.
"Someday, you'll even beat me," he said with a grin and a wink. I grinned back.
"You'll see, Will Ferrer. One day I'll be the best there is." I thought to myself 'And one day this bow will shoot the arrow that kills the sheriff.'
Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think about the back and forth? Or would you rather have the two times in separate chapters? Let me know!