Title: NOTHING IS EVER FORGOTTEN

Author: josh emmett

Email for feedback: gabriels_girl@hotmail.com

Fandom: Robin of Sherwood

Pairing: Not really needed for this story

Rating: PG

Warnings: if you have a strong imagination, the last two installments might bother you if you picture the sick man.

Note: The songs melody is based on the music used in 'Alan-A-Dale', as are the meters of the lyrics. Many of the references are quotes from various eps to give the opening of the 3rd season some basis in fact, but it is not necessary to have seen the show to follow the story.

Archive: Yes

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan fiction and is not intended to infringe on the copyrights held by Patrick Dromgoole, Paul Knight, Richard Carpenter, Goldcrest Films and Television Production, HTV, Showtime or any other holder of Robin of Sherwood copyrights. No profit is being made from this story.

As always: Feedback craved

Prologue: Between seasons, when it was announced that Michael Praed had left the show to do a play, I was broken-hearted. I heard things from England and New York. The play had closed in one day and Praed had offered to come back to the series, but was turned down. I still thought that perhaps it would happen (he was so popular), and I wrote an opening two hour movie to bring him back. Of course, no one is supposed to know it is Praed until the hood is pulled back...than the usual opening could run. Several things happened: My title turned out to be the same as theirs (Herne's Son), I added a character I thought should have been in the show to begin with, and I could further my thoughts of the mysticism. (Ironically, part of *my* concept for the new season, was also mirrored in their new season. I had just taken it in a different direction.)
Of course, I had to eliminate the final minute in "The Greatest Enemy", but that's not unheard of in TV. So, this is what I saw in my mind, between Jan '85 and Jan '86, before the new season with Jason Connery began and edited in 2004. And I changed the title.



NOTHING IS EVER FORGOTTEN
by josh emmett

OPENING: GROUP WALKING THROUGH WOODS

It was awhile now, since they had all met up and stared at Marion holding Albion. They were walking together through the woods. No one had said anything about going anywhere, they had just done it, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Finally, Friar Tuck said: "We must put a finish on this, or we will never get on with our lives." They all nodded vaguely, and kept walking.

Suddenly, they all stopped as one, and realized they were at the lake were it began for all of them, Still saying nothing, they went about making a campfire and sat or squatted around it.

Finally, Marion said: "This is the place of the beginning. The place where we all became one. We had our laughter and our arguments. We had fun and fear..."

"We even ate with King Richard, himself." Much interrupted her, and then stopped as the lump in his throat blocked any more words.

"Aye, he sure beat Robin *that* day! Showed him what a young upstart he was!" Scarlet was laughing at the memory of the defeated Robin groveling at King Richard's feet. It was one of the things Will loved to throw in his Robin's, when he started to get 'too big for his britches'. And then the laughter died out and he hung his head to hide the sudden tears.

"Well, Tuck is right. We need to put an end to this." Marion continued. "I think that is why we are all here. To come full circle. We began here, and we must all begin again. This is the place to do it. *Our* place..."

They stood and went to the edge of the lake, each firing a flaming arrow one at a time toward the center and thinking of their special memory of Robin. After Marion had shot the final arrow, she dropped the bow on the ground. Her sorrow turned to anger and then uncontrollable rage. She reached down and picked up Albion, and before anyone could say or do anything, she had put both hands on the hilt and twisting backward, with the sword waist-high, she swung forward and flung it horizontally across the lake. It took on the force of her throw, and began to spin in a circle, turning ever faster and faster, until it reached the center of the lake.

Suddenly, it stopped. In mid-air, Albion righted itself, so the hilt was hovering over the lake and the tip was pointing skyward. It paused only a moment, and then it started to spin back toward them. Hilt over tip, tip over hilt, it continued its journey. It was coming slowly. Like it had a purpose. Like it knew where it was going and what it was doing. Like it was alive with a mind of its own. It didn't slow down as it reached the band on the side of the lake, but spun over their heads. (No one was in danger, but Much involuntarily ducked.) Their eyes on the sword, they all turned in place to follow its path.

Only then did they see a man standing in the tall grass at the edge of the forest. His brown hood covered his face. He stood up straight, feet firmly planted on the ground slightly apart. His left arm was straight at his side and his right arm was straight in the air, the fingers of his hand curled slightly, as if already holding something.

Albion continued its spinning journey, but began going ever slower, as the man spoke with a hard-edged, determined voice: "Nothing is forgotten. Nothing is *ever* forgotten." Finally, just before reaching him, Albion straightened itself, hilt down, and slapped into the hooded man's upheld hand.
It hit hard enough to be heard, but gently enough not to knock the waiting man over. The fingers automatically curled around the hilt, as if the two of them (sword and hand) belong together.

No one moved for what seemed like hours, but was only a minute, until Much cried out : "ROBIN!", and before anyone could stop him, was running towards the man, still standing holding Albion upright over his head. Much stopped just short of the still hooded man; and the others (who had taken
off after Much) stopped as well. They stood in front of him and stared.

The hooded man, keeping his arm straight, slowly began to lower the sword and each of them moved slightly to one side or the other of the descending blade. As Albion became perfectly horizontal to the ground, the man bent his elbow and pulled his upper arm flat again his side with the hilt of the sword touching the middle of his chest. They all stood still, until Marion stepped forward and placed her hand on the blade of the sword just touching the hilt. With the vivid memory of the oft repeated phrase echoing in their heads, each one stepped forward and placed their hand (touching one to the other) on the blade alongside Marion, who stood on the man's right, Friar Tuck on the left, Will on the right, Little John on the left, Nazir on the right and, finally, Much on the left.

When the last hand was in place, the voice from under the hood said softly: Together we..." But he was cut off as Albion started to vibrate ever so slightly, and suddenly, the hooded man let out an ear-piercing cry, as if searing pain wracked his entire body. Then he dropped to his knees, and double forward, Albion smacking into the ground.

Each had let go of the sword as a slight shock went up their arms followed by the startling sound and they dropped to the ground as well. Some on their knees, some squatting.

Marion put forth her hand and slowly brushed back the hood. The familiar long brown hair tumbled out, and Robin of Loxley straightened up, still on his knees. His eyes were tightly squeezed together with the dark lashes pressed against his cheeks and his face was contorted in pain. He was breathing heavily as if someone had punched him in the stomach and knocked all the breath out of him. A sweat covered his face.

Suddenly, his eyes and mouth flew open with a slight start. Blinking furiously, his breathing began to slow down. He looked around him at the familiar faces. They looked back at him, in total disblief. As the eyes started to blink more slowly, Robin spoke in an out-of-breath voice, haltingly: "H (gasp)...H(gasp)...Herne(heavy swallow and gasp) said(large gasp) itwasnotmytime." (He finished it all in one breath, running the words together.)

CUE THEME MUSIC.
ROLL OPENING CREDITS
COMMERCIAL BREAK

No one dared to speak, but leaned a little closer, to catch each whispered word, and study Robin's face.

As suddenly as it had begun, the blinking stopped and Robin looked around him as if seeing everyone for the first time. His eyes were wide and he brought up the corner of his mouth as if he were chewing it inside.

Then, he relaxed and pulled in his bottom lip. These were facial expressions they had all seen a hundred times at least. Marion let out a small cry, and laughing, threw her arms around his neck.

"Robin! You are here, you are here." Her voice was filled with laughter and tears.

"He *promised* he would come back." Much looked around at the others.

"Did you not, Robin? You *promised* me you would come back."

"If it *is* you..."

Robin looked at Scarlet and smiled that little smile he seemed to reserve for Will alone, when he needed to draw on an inner source to cope with the man's moods and impatience.

"I *think* it is *me*." He pulled Marion off of him and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "My May morning. I seem to have returned to you, again."

"What happened, Robin?" asked Friar Tuck. And the rest chimed in with questions overlapping each other, leaning eagerly toward him.

"I am a bit vague on that. I remember shooting my last arrow into the sky, breaking the bow over my knee, and bowing my head resigned to my fate. The next thing I remember was standing in front of Herne the Hunter. He said: "No, Robin, it is not your time. Come with me." And we walked away. I could hear shouts of "he is dead! The Wolf's Head is dead!" and such, but they were from afar and behind us. Then, I remember being on Herne's isle, and he was telling me what happened..." Robin stopped mid-sentence and turned to Marion. "I am sorry. I am *so* sorry. I do not know what to say. I am so sorry..." His voice trailed away...

Little John stood up and stepped forward, and pulling Robin to his feet, started walking him towards the still glowing campfire: "Hush, lad, hush. You did more than you know. You saved all our lives. You *did*. Now, come over here and rest. You feel cold."

Following Little John's example, they all stood up and stretched their stiff limbs. Marion picked up Albion and they all moved toward the campfire.

"Are you hungry?"

"TUCK!" They all yelled in unison and looked at him. He got a bewildered look on his face for a second, and then everyone, including Robin, burst into laughter. A long laughter, full of joy and relief.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Robin was still weak from his 'journey between life and death', but as the days passed, the story of his return, and why, came out: "I was with Herne and, after drinking something (mayhaps the same as I had the first time, nectar from the first flower made), I slipped in and out of a waking haze, while Herne droned on. At first, it was all the things he had told me before, but then he kept saying that it was not my time (and I really did not understand *that* at all: my time for what...?) Herne only answered that I must make my own bow this time. He had given me the last one and told me to string it. But I remember breaking the first bow over my knee after I shot the last arrow. I did not want the Sheriff to have it, any more than Albion. So, I set about making a longbow just like the first one. This time, Herne dipped it in the spring inside his cave, and then had me string it. "To give it purpose," he said, just as he had told me the first time.

"He said he was sending me back. When I asked to where, he just said 'home'. He told me I am as human as the next person and that everything that happened was his fault for not totally fulfilling his part. He had had his doubts about me and my belief in the 'cause'. but that he was wrong. So, he was giving me a second chance to live. This time, I would be Herne's Son for real. I would receive impressions and have foretelling dreams. I would hear the voices of those who needed me the most. I was quite bewildered, I can tell you that! "And the last thing I remember is seeing all of you around me..."

+++++

"Can you die, Robin?" Much asked at one point, when he and Robin were sparring with staffs, building up Robin's strength.

"Yeeessss... *Yes*! I remember now! Herne said this was my last chance. If anything happened this time, I would die like any other human. I have to make the most of my life from now on." Much backed off a bit, and Robin laughed and said his time was not near. Much was relieved, and dropping his staff, they hugged. "I promised, Much..."

+++++

Robin asked Friar Tuck, while they were sitting on the bank fishing, if he felt that things had been done badly before. "Not badly, Robin. But you did have a mind of your own. Sometimes, *too* trusting. Like the incident with King Richard. Aaaand, sometimes, I felt you were not learning your lessons, but turning your back on them. Like you were trying to impress us and the people of Sherwood. 'Too big for your britches?' You said you would get bigger britches! Not the words of a man, but of a lad still believing all the world is his to do with as he pleases.

"I think Herne meant that he should have spoken with you more often. Asked you what you learned and how you could use it in the future. Like a father and son. But he saw you seldom and it does explain why he felt your untimely death could very much be his fault. Father's get busy and forget their sons are not quite grown and still need a guiding hand."

+++++

And there were the long walks and longer nights with Marion. Their love seemed stronger and, yet, gentler, too. Perhaps, because they had learned their time together was more precious than they had realized before.

Rushing through their feelings had been wrong. They learned to take their time and appreciate every moment they could steal together. "I told you there were so many things I wanted to say to you, but time had caught us up. We have been given a second chance and must always share everything. Even our innermost thoughts."

"I know that now. I was 17 and to be wedded to the Church and live in a convent. I have learned so much in this past year, Robin. Things no nun could ever have taught me at Kirkless Abbey."

"Hmmm..." (Nasty smile...)

"Not *that*, silly!" batting him in the chest. "The *real* things. Yes, we must share. We must share *everything*." Then her face lit up and looked into his: "But as a woman, now, I still reserve the right to go off and pout when I feel like it!"

They laughed and then shared a warm kiss.

+++++

Robin talked with Will about his loss: "I believe I understand now, the feelings you wear on your sleeve. Perhaps, it is time for you to let your love grow in another direction. I think your wife would like that. Would approve of you helping, instead of just thieving. I heard many voices while I was with Herne, and mayhaps hers was one of them. I believe she is around you all the time. Deep inside. Listen, Will. I think you can hear her, too."

+++++

Little John asked Robin if he believed that they would ever have freedom in their own land. If, someday, he could settle on a farm, marry and have children. Robin laughed and told John that he was good with children. He really *should* have his own. "I think I see a future for you, John. At least, I *hope* I do. I am still learning to sort things from inside and outside my head!" And Little John felt that he would follow Robin to the end this time, whatever that end might be...

+++++

Nazir was harder for Robin to talk with. A man known for not talking, for watching, for learning. "I have not paid enough attention to you, Nazir. Taken you for granted, yet with trust, since that time with the Baron de Belleme... (long pause) Palestine. The Holy Land."

"The descendants of Ham, son of Noah."

"Ah, another 'beginning'..."

"To every thing there is a season...a time to be born, and a time to die...a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted...a time to keep silence, and a time to speak...a time of war and a time of piece..."

"So, you and Friar Tuck and Herne have been planting, and now *I* am expected to reap. Mmm...does this, also, mean that your time of silence is over and your time to speak has come as well?"

"I will guide when it is prudent for me to do so, but my silence will also be a guide. I saw you as you were: 20 and still a lad. But now you are a man and I believe you will understand many more things in life."

"But you will never be afraid to speak up when I am wrong? If so, I will listen. I have seen my time of death and rebirth, now it is time for me to war and to bring peace."

"In your own way of warring, Robin, in your *own* way. And we will *all* help. I have lived in two lands of oppression, but here is my home now and I am for you."

+++++

Finally, Robin called them all around him, and pulling Albion up out of the ground (wiping it clean on his shirt between his arm and side as he usually did), he said: "I think we are all strong enough to try again and see what Herne has to say about all I have learned since returning 'home'." He held Albion straight out and the hands came together eagerly...Lady Marion, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, John Little, Nazir the Saracen and Much. They all closed their eyes and waited. A tingling started in their hands and ran up their arms and straight (they all would swear later in their lives) into their hearts. A peace came over each of them and they had just begun to smile, as Robin intoned: "Together we..." but he was cut off by his own voice crying out: "NO! STOP IT! NO! NO! LET ME ALONE!" He dropped Albion and put his hands over his ears. "WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DO WANT OF ME?"

Breathing heavily, he dropped to his knees and bent forward lacing his fingers around the back of his head, covering his ears with his forearms and started rocking up and down. Just as suddenly, he stopped. He blinked as he had the first time. And looking up at them he said: "We are missing someone and he is calling my name. He is in terrible agony. We will have to find him and bring him to us. I just wish I could figure out why the voice sounds so familiar, even through all the pain."

COMMERCIAL BREAK

It was few days later. As Will and Little John were walking through the woods discussing the same topic (as always, lately: 'The Voice'), when they heard singing coming towards them. Scarlet rolled his eyes, and said: "

*Not* again!" But this voice was different. A rich tenor voice, echoing through the trees.

As they drew nearer, they saw a man of Robin's height and Scarlet's age, with dark brown (almost black) hair just past his collar in back and slightly following his jawbone in front. It was parted just off center, allowing the forelock to fall across his brow and sweep to the side just in the top of his eyebrows. His face was chiseled and handsome, and his eyes a bright blue. He had thick dark eyebrows and high cheekbones. His coloring was weathered like theirs. His clothes were fairly shabby and his boots worn. He had a lute hanging on his back. He had spotted a fallen limb and sat down to rest, just as Will and John reached the trees surrounding the clearing. He took a deep breath and started his song over as if trying to burn it into his memory:

"He led a band of merry men
And wed a lady fair.
Nottingham did hunt him down
And now a shroud does wear, does wear
And now a shroud does wear.

He robbed the rich to help the poor
And Sherwood was his home.
But now that he is gone away,
All England does a-moan, a-moan,
All England does a-moan.

Alas all Britain sheds a tear
A price was on his head.
And now because of King John's curse
Brave Robin Hood is dead, is dead,
Our...Ro-bin...Hood...is...dead..."

He managed a sad smile, to convey that the lyrics to his ballad were with him, but its meaning was not pleasant to him.

As Will and John entered the clearing from one side, Friar Tuck, Nazir and Much entered from another direction.

"Oy! *What* are you?" Scarlet demanded.

He stood up and with a wide, sweeping bow announced: "The finest troubadour in all of Britain, my lord!" When he righted himself, his face was covered with a big grin and eyes that danced in the sunlight.

"Troubadour?" asked Much.

"Minstrel, really, but the French word, troubadour, sounds far more magnificent! Do you not agree?" And he cocked his head to one side.

"Bet this one is more skint than the last one..." Scarlet muttered to John.

"Your name?" asked Tuck.

"Why, the great Alan-A-Dale, of course!"

"Never! We met him! Didn't look a think like you and had a horrid voice to boot!"

"Ahhh... Let me see..." Alan tilted his head back and rolled his eyes to the sky. He stood for quite a while in that position, until Will finally said:
"Right barmy, this one is!"

Alan brought his head down and glared at him. "I am running through stanzas, my good man, it is the only way to remember them all, when you have as many as *I* do!" And he looked skyward again. "Hmmm... All right, then! I clearly remember. Here goes:

"A stable boy did fall in love
With maiden like a rose.
Her name was Mildred, his was Tom
And so the story goes, it goes,
And so the story goes.

He played the part of troubadour
How easily he lied,
To reach her heart past castle walls
For she did dwell inside, inside,
For she did dwell inside.

Her father found out their deceit
And to the Church did plead.
The Abbot Hugo had a plan
That sated his own greed, his greed,
That sated his own greed.

'Twas then that Robin Hood stepped in
His Marion to please,
And helped the youngsters get away
Employing stinging bees, mad bees,
A hornet's nest of bees.

Now you might ask how I do know
The details of this tale.
Well, you must see that I am he,
The original Alan-A-Dale, A-Dale,
The talented Alan-A-Dale!"

"For Marion?!?" Robin and Marion stepped out of the trees and Marion promptly hit him in the arm.

"It was, indeed, for me! And Friar Tuck, as well!" Marion countered and stepped forward. "That *does* explain the voice of the *other* Alan, though. *And* you forgot to put in 'love conquers all'? Very important to the story, that is." She extended her hand and Alan took and kissed it with a flourish.

He then turned to Robin and with a large grin exclaimed: "The rumours are true! You are *not* dead. Well! Nice to know that Nottingham and Gisburne did not die in vain!"

"The Sheriff and Sir Guy are dead?!?" They all exclaimed at once.

"Of course! King John said that it was Robin or Robert. And since so many said that the Hooded Man lived, the King became positively livid and instead of sending Nottingham to the Crusades (as he had first threatened), he just had hum hung straight out for disobeying a Royal Edict (which made the sheriff a traitor, a hanging offense). And Gisburne was done in later under some shroud of mystery. Sir Richard Fitzgilbert is sheriff now and meaner than Robert de Rainault *ever* was if you ask me!"

They all just stood, open-mouthed and looked at one another in disbelief.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Marion was standing with Robin: "I was thinking. There was room at the end of Albion when we all touched it."

"I noticed." Robin answered

"Well, what I man is, there seemed more than enough room for one more hand. 'The Voice' you heard, mayhaps?"

Robin took her hands in his and lifted them up. "You have very small hands, my Lady of May, you would leave a little extra room." And they both looked into each other's eyes. He had that little half smile that drove her crazy at times and his eyes *almost* had the old twinkle in them. But she shook her head, as if to clear it.

Pulling her hand out of his, she turned and walked a few steps away and then turned back, as if to pull herself clear of the spell he always cast on her. She loved him *so* much.

"No." she said firmly. "Albion would *not* do that. I in no way mean to say that Albion can change lengths, but it does seem to know what it is doing. Especially now. And I swear there was room for *two* hands. Could there be someone you did not hear because of the pain of the other?"

Robin was looking down again, pressing his lips together; his eyes closed so that the long lashes touch his cheeks.

Before he could speak, however, Scarlet stood up. "I must tell you something and you *know* I hate to admit this...but I think we should listen Marion.

"Look. Something happened to all of us when we touched Albion and each other. I felt something, deep inside me. It is like we all have been given something. Like a 'second sight' or some such thing. Not like Robin, but still..." His eyes searched the others' faces for agreement, ignoring Alan sitting against a tree a bit apart from the main group.

Friar Tuck stepped forward and looked at each of them, as well. "I am a man of God. In a way, I abandoned my vows but I *never* forgot. I felt it too, Will, and something else. I *can* be a 'fighting friar', if you will, and still serve The Lord. I need to be with all of you and see to your spiritual needs as well as helping in our 'quest', if a 'quest' it be. We all know that Herne is a god but that is just an honourary title: 'god of the forest'. God with a small 'g'. I now know for sure that I was sent, not just to protect Marion as I first thought, but to protect *all* of you. "Ever since we touched Albion, I have found it easy to pray again. I feel like my old self! And I agree with Will: something happened to *all* of us."

"Me, too?"

"Yes, you too, Much."

Once again, Scarlet spoke up: "Well, what I *meant* was that we need to trust each other and ourselves. When we have 'feelings', we need to listen to them and act on them. Not like before, like when I would vent my anger on everyone and everything, not *those* feelings. But, new ones. I think we are still all the same but we need to sort things out more. We will still make mistakes. We are not perfect. Not by a long chaw. Not even Robin, but..."

Little John had walked over to Scarlet and putting his arm around Will's shoulders, pulled him close, giving a half-bear hug, shaking him a little as he did it. "It is all right, Will, we understand."

He was smiling down at him: "We *all* know *you* will never be perfect, but you *are* becoming a changed man!"

They all laughed. Scarlet stayed where he was and didn't try to pull away, as he would have in the past, and go stalking off for a good pout and to hit something. "I have put my wife to rest," he said, looking at Robin. "I will keep her near, as she gives me my edge. But I will learn to turn my anger to the oppressors...like Gisburne..." The last said almost under his breath and letting it trail off.

"But Gisburne is dead!" said Much, looking at him, in that confused way of his.

"Aye. What made me say *that*?"

"The food is ready!" Tuck called. And everyone gathered around the fire to eat, each lost in their own thoughts, chewing more slowly than they were used to eating, as 'wolfheads on the run'. And eyeing Alan as well. At the end of the meal, Robin said: "I know what everyone is thinking."

"The venison was great, Tuck!" Much grinned.

"Fine! *Prove* that I am not perfect!" Robin continued, looking back at the circle of people. "We were thinking of Alan."

Alan-A-Dale slowly looked at the people around the edge of the fire, at their eyes now on him. "So, was I." He had a wane smile on his face and a questioning look in his eyes. But somehow did not feel afraid. "I believe it is worth a try..." Marion said, barely above a whisper and looked up to see everyone, but Much and Alan, nodding their heads slowly.

Having told Alan what he was expected to do, Robin held Albion straight out and each placed their hands on the blade: Lady Marion, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, John Little, Nazir the Saracen, Much and (with a very deep breath and holding it) Alan-A-Dale. The tingling started in their hands and ran straight up their arms into their hearts. Alan let his breath out slowly, feeling a peace he had never know before. The peace covered all of them, save for Robin. Just as he spoke: "Together we...", he was cut off again.

But this time he was expecting it. His grip tightened on the hilt and it caused Albion to vibrate. Robin closed his eyes against the painful wail in his head. He gritted his teeth for a second and then, not being able to stop himself, yelled aloud: "WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE? I AM TRYING TO FIND YOU! WHERE? HELP ME! WHERE?" Just as suddenly, the wailing voice stopped and Robin heard different one: "He is in the Nottingham Castle dungeon."

"I *still* say I know the first voice," Robin said after telling the others what he had just heard. "But the second was most definitely Herne. Tomorrow, we are off to Nottingham." No one else said anything.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

They crouched at the edge of the Forest looking at Nottingham Castle.

"Is this a good time to mention that I have *never* been in a dungeon before?" asked Alan with a look on his face as if he had just sucked a lemon.

"NO!" They all yelled in unison in a loud whisper.

"I see your plan of everyone working together is beginning already."

(Deep sigh.)

"We know the palace inside and out but there seems to be less guards," Scarlet pointed out.

"Sheriff Fitzgilbert is *quite* sure of himself. And, besides, he was one of the few who believed de Rainault, when he said he had killed Robin

(although he failed to mention it to King John)."

"Still tricky, though..."

"Just ignore me...I am not fazed in the least. As a matter of fact, I have already begun to compose stanzas about this rescue..."

"QUIET!" Everyone intoned again.

"This 'together we' seems to work pretty well. Is there something else or does it just end with 'we'?"

Robin closed his eyes, bit the corner of his mouth and then turned an annoyed face to Alan. "You will have to learn to get along. Basically, you have been left no choice. Herne and Albion picked you, we did not. And we *will* remember that..." (Deep sigh of his own.)

"Oh..." And Alan leaned back and thought better of trying to sing what he had already written.

"Will Herne help us?" Much asked.

Everyone turned to look at him as if he had said something *most* profound! The knots in their stomachs seem to go away and their limbs relaxed.

Robin stood up and walked a bit into the Forest. The others followed.

"When we first met, Herne said that the 'powers of light and darkness' possess me...they always have. I think now, that he means *all* of us. He said we are not bewitched but awakened. It is time we stopped running. It is time to reclaim England.

"And the last thing he told me was to 'act without thinking'.

"I know what you are going to say, Marion, and *you* know what *I* am going answer; but this is not a job for all of us. Little John is too big, Much would get confused in the dark passages (aside: "do not worry, Much, there will be plenty for you to do soon enough, you are learning faster than me"), Friar Tuck... (the Friar cut him off with a wave of his hand; he understood) and Alan is too inexperienced yet. This is for Will, Nazir and myself.

"However, the rest of you are just as important in this 'quest', as Tuck calls it. While the three of us are gone, you must watch for extra activity on the wall. Plus you must make a litter of some sort. I believe 'The Voice' (as they had come to refer to him) will not be able to walk.

You will, also, have to keep a sharp eye out for us, as we may need you to run out and help us."

Then, he turned to Scarlet and Nazir: "We will leave as the setting sun hits the guards stationed on the wall in the eyes. People, who have been trading, will just be starting to leave. And the stall and shopkeepers will be haggling with the stragglers. If we can get in while the trading is ending and the packing is getting done, we should be able to get out with the daysellers as they leave."

"Herne is truly with us." Nazir said softly. "I am sure that this will not happen every time. But I am *just* as sure, that it will happen *this* time. It is his will."

"And a little blessing from Tuck, would not hurt, either!" Scarlet said, surprising even himself at the suggestion.

They all bowed their heads and Tuck mumbled for a moment then raised his hand in the 'Sign of the Cross', and they all found themselves saying "Amen". Even Alan.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Getting inside the walls was the easy part. They thought getting into the castle would be another matter. Scarlet pointed to a cart filled with logs by a wall. They moved in that direction and climbed up on it. Robin stood on tiptoe and looked in the window. It was one of the wider ones filled in with glass and wrought iron and sat ajar. It was dark inside and Robin pushed it the rest of the way open. He pulled himself up and slid through, head first, almost landing on it. Will came next with similiar results, but more grunting; so that Robin had to quiet him. Nazir managed to enter with more style and cat-like stealth. Will made a face at him.

They moved across the room and opened the door slightly. The hallway was empty and a loud noise could be heard in the distance.

"They are eating. The Sheriff must have guests!"

Not believing their luck, they all almost laughed out loud. They stopped themselves and slipped into the hall. From there it was easy to reach the door and stairs to the dungeons below. The door was unlocked but a guard sat in a chair at the bottom of the stairs. He was *asleep*! Nazir placed his back against the wall and walked sideways down the stairs. As he reached the guard, the man awoke with a snort and opened his eyes just long enough to see Nazir's fist connect with his nose. The man fell flat, taking the chair with him. The noise brought two other guards into the room but Robin and Will were down the stairs and across the room in a second. A slight struggle and those guards were out cold as well.

Taking the first guard's keys, Nazir joined the others across the room.

Silently, they entered the dark, damp environs of the cells. The hole Robin and Scarlet knew all too well was at the far end of the hallway. But they seemed to *know* their man was not there. Robin held his hand up. He knew they hadn't much time. He mouthed "Act without thinking" to them and plunged into the darkness. They skulked down the center of the hall past four cells (two on either side) and suddenly stopped in front of the fifth.

A moan came from behind the door on the right and Nazir tried two keys before successfully opening it.

Inside there was a faint light coming from the window high above at ground level. They could just make out a figure lying on the floor. The stench was terrible as Robin and Will neared him. The man, if man he were, was naked and shivering in the cold. He was so covered with dirt, mud, dried blood and his own filth; that he was barely recognizable as a human being. He opened his eyes and looked straight into Robin's.

"Robin..." was all he could croak, in a barely audible whisper, but Robin knew the voice well from his head and from the dreams he had managed to keep from all but Marion. Will picked up a filthy, insect infested blanket and wrapped it around the skeleton of a man and he and Robin lifted him up. Nazir waved to them to come forward and they moved back out into the hall. Placing the figure on the floor, they both stood up. Taking another deep breath, they squatted back down to do a better job of rolling the man completely into the blanket and then stood back up. After Will had taken another deep breath, Robin bent over, picked the man up and slid him over Will's shoulder, head hanging behind.

They moved back down the hallway and stepped over the guards. They made their way upstairs, with Robin leading and Nazir bringing up the rear.
The talking and laughter seemed nearer as they moved to the room where they had first entered. (Later, they would say, they didn't know which was louder...the noisy people or their own pounding hearts.) Several voices were moving closer and they hurried across the room.

Robin climbed out, feet first this time and lowered himself down onto the cart. Will passed the man to him. Then he and Nazir joined them on the logs, just as the men from the party walked into the room. Will dropped to the ground and, reaching up to Robin and Nazir, put the man back over his shoulder. The man looked, for all the world, like a rolled up old filthy carpet; so no heads turned as they joined the last of the exiting tradesmen.

One of the guards had come to and hand moved up the stairs as quickly as he could, holding the back of his head, to sound the alarm. Sir Robert Fitzgilbert and his companions crossed to the open window and looked out.

If this had been the exit, the prisoner was lost from their sight, and no one seemed to be unduly upset. The shouting reached the ears of Robin and company and they looked at each other and started moving as quickly as they could without raising suspicion.

Fortunately for Will, the man weighed about as much as a medium sack of grain. So, once they were out of the gates, they could run toward the woods. It was now dusk and getting very hard to see, so the shouting from behind didn't worry them. They would have the advantage very soon. (As Little John liked to tell his favourite lady, Meg of Wickham, the outlaws were invisible in the trees!)

"Here! This way!" shouted Much. And the three soon had unloaded their 'prize' onto the makeshift litter and were making their way through the Forest.

Back at the castle, Sheriff Fitzgilbert still stood at the window watching his men running around outside. He slammed his fist against the ledge. Now he knew for sure that Robin Hood was still alive and facing King John was not a happy prospect.

"Every 'quest' has a 'prize'." Scarlet looked at Tuck with a sharp nod of the head and a haughty look as they trudged back to their camp. The Friar shook his head with a slight smile. "You can change a thief into stealing for good, after all. It is all in the matter of your perspective." he thought.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Sheriff Fitzgilbert had organized his men on horseback and was leading them himself. To Robin and the others there was the sound of hoofbeats for awhile, but they had faded away long ago. The one voice, that seemed to be in charge, was filled with rage. Whoever the man on the litter was, he
appeared to be someone very important to that man.

Everyone's first thought, upon reaching their campsite by lake, was to throw the stinking mess straight in...blanket and all! However, Marion's cooler head prevailed and they laid him by the water's edge. Alan started a fire, while the men collapsed in exhaustion on the ground.

"It was probably the Sheriff," Alan said poking at the kindling with a long stick to get larger logs to ignite.

"Time will tell..." Robin mumbled, lying on his back with his eyes closed.

No one was hungry, even though they had not eaten all day, and soon the only sounds were the crackling fire, lapping water and snores.

Morning came and they awoke to discover Marion had been up all night trying to wash the man off without removing any more of his skin than was already gone. Alan was sitting next to him as he lay on his stomach.

Marion, who had waited impatiently for daylight before venturing into the Forest, came back with the herbs she needed. During the night, she had done all she could with warm water, heated on the fire. She made a paste in a cooking pot and carefully dabbed it on the man's back, arms and legs.

Robin blinked and jumped up. "Marion! I am *so* sorry! Is there anything I can do?"

"No. Alan helped me. You said we would all have our parts to play in this quest and I finally felt I was doing something useful around here."

"Don't believe her, Alan. She could most likely best all of us in a sword fight." Friar Tuck yawned as he spoke. Scarlet snorted and walked into the forest to get more wood.

Marion and Alan turned the man over and laid him under a tree on a clean blanket. She then worked on the sores on his chest and the front of his arms and legs. Finally, she worked with more warm water and a bit of cloth on the man's face. He was in a coma and hadn't made a sound since they arrived. "Good thing, too." Marion had thought. "This would be very painful."

Food was cooking over the fire, when Marion shouted: "ROBIN!"

Everyone ran over to stand around the 'missing link' of their circle. They stood in stunned silence until Will Scarlet finally said it out loud:

"Gisburne!"

They looked at Robin, who was chewing the side of his mouth. Sucking in his lower lip, he silently looked up into the trees. Their eyes followed his.

Marion had joined them and they all stood in silence as the wind rustled the leaves.

"Herne?" Robin whispered. "What does this *mean*?"

Finally, the silence was broken again, not by Herne's voice but by Alan-A-Dale's. (The camera pans up so that only the leaves in the trees, as seen through the eyes of Robin's band, are showing)"

"The Hooded Man returns to life
To fight for right and good.
And, thus, begins the tale anew:
'The Ballad of Robin Hood', Robin Hood,
'The...Bal-lad...of...Ro-bin...Hood..."

FREEZE FRAME ON LEAVES.
CUE MUSIC.
ROLL CLOSING CREDITS.



josh emmett
gabriels_girl@hotmail.com