Robin Hood [Spin Off] {S2} ~ Chapter Eight - Ultimatum *Part One*

There came a loud knock making Thayet jump. She thought it’d just be the guards delivering her meal. But when three bodies came storming in she was taken by surprise. The first two she recognised as Gisbourne and the Sheriff, but the last she only vaguely recognised.
 
She felt she’d seen him before or a relative or something, but she didn’t know who he was. He had dark brown hair that had a slight natural curl, and the length was just shorter than Gisbourne’s. She could feel Sir Guy’s eyes on her, but hers remained looking at this Lord. He had a handsome face, the sort girls would giggle over, but the worry lines were starting to show.
 
“Merton! Meet my new favourite person. Thayet Miller. She’s a witch.” The Sheriff held up his hand to silence the protests he knew were coming. “My dear, if I had wanted to burn you, I’d have done it already.”
 
Thayet gulped and caught Lord Merton’s eyes. They were filled with concern, unlike the hostility in the Sheriff’s and she didn’t even want to think what was in Gisbourne’s eyes. After the third night she’d been in the castle Sir Guy had come into her room and, what she believed he was doing, tried to woo her. She had cringed through every moment of it.
 
Now if it had been Lord Merton, I might not have had such a problem… She thought before realising what she was thinking. She felt her cheeks burn up as a blush crept across her face. Looking away she muttered apologies to the Sheriff.
 
“La de da de dah. Did I ask for you to mumble? A clue, no.”
 
“My Lord, why have you brought me here? I have more important things to do than watch you bully village girls.” The arrogant manner that escaped Lord Merton surprised Thayet, it seemed so out of place.
 
“Well, Merton, since we’ve proved you’re collaborating with outlaws I’ve been wondering what to do with you.” Lord Merton eyes grew in horror, as did Thayet’s as they both assumed what the Sheriff had in mind.
 
“No! I will not use my ‘witchy’ powers to relieve you of this Lord.” Thayet cried, backing away from the three nobles present in her room.
The Sheriff let out a low chuckle and wore a grin that made Thayet shudder. “No, no my dear. I don’t want you to do that. Thing is, I realised I need this weasely man, unfortunately. No, I have plans for him, don’t you worry.” Vaysey started to pace, eying the witch like a vulture. It amused him that she looked like a startled chicken.
 
Merton asked Vaysey about his plans, but the Sheriff shrugged it off. “Right now, I want you to convince this girl to cooperate. Gisbourne clearly can’t do it, so it’s your turn.” That balding man twisted on his feet and left the room, Gisbourne in tow, and just before leaving he turned and said, “Have fun.” The only thing left of him after was the echoes of the slammed door resounding through the room.
 
***
 
Daine sat with Much, chopping vegetables. Allan could see her from where he was sat by the fire. Since he’d been re-accepted in the group, he and Daine had been distant, except when it was just the two of them. She was back to square one with her ability to trust, but at least she was progressing quicker than before.
 
Allan was back to watching her, Much had kicked him out of the kitchen. At least it wasn’t Daine, was all Allan thought about it. He watched the way her brow knitted as Much spoke to her, gesticulating so much Allan wouldn’t be surprised if the girl received an unwanted hair cut. But what they were talking about, Allan couldn’t tell.
 
“He just makes me so mad!” Much exclaimed in his exasperated manner. “He just… he just…”
 
“Much!” Daine cut in. “Breathe. Before you sound completely like a woman.” The manservant held his breath, with a pout, a moment longer before letting off an exaggerated sigh. But the pout still remained. “Robin’s an annoying twit, I get it. He’s quick to question your faith in him, he leaves you hanging and he makes you worried sick. I know. He’s always been like it Much. He is getting better though.” When Much looked away after his berating, Daine knew that wasn’t what he didn’t want to hear. “Look Much, if it upsets you then tell him. Next time he does it, yell back at him.”
 
She returned her attention to the vegetables Maggie’d delivered to them. Much nodded, “Yeah. I will. Thank you Daine.” She mumbled something incoherently, which told Much she’d switched off. He didn’t care though. He went about his work, wearing a smug little smile. “So what if he’s my Master.” He mumbled to himself.
 
Over by the fire, Adrian joined Allan. Adrian was the first really to forgive Allan after the upset he’d caused. Small greetings were exchanged before they fell into a comfortable silence. Though Allan quickly broke it.
 
“You ever done anything to misplace Daine’s trust?” He asked thoughtfully, staring intently at the flames.
 
Adrian sighed in thought. “Urm, well probably. She didn’t like me much when I told her I was leaving. But as I didn’t see her for seven years, I guess she had time to get over it.”
 
“So your telling me, for Daine to trust me again, I have to jigger off for seven years?” Allan laughed, thinking about how Much had told him to ‘jigger off’ many a time, mostly from out of his kitchen.
 
Adrian shared the slight chuckle. “No, if you left for seven years, you might not have a Daine to return to.”
 
Allan furrowed his brow. “What do you mean? Were you and Daine..?” He raised his eyebrows as he trailed off his sentence. He couldn’t bring himself to think of Adrian and Daine in that, let alone voice it.
 
“Again, no. Daine is the closest thing I have to a little sister and she feels the same way about me. Well, not that I’m her little sister, because that’s just weird.”
 
Allan smirked. He was about to continue talking to Adrian when Will and Djaq came bursting into the camp, after they’d been collecting information from Nettlestone.
 
“Robin, we’ve got a problem.” Djaq said, straight out. No beating around the bush with her. “That girl we saved in Nettlestone, she’s been missing. Captured by the Sheriff.”
 
“Which girl?” Robin asked, confused, as he walked up to Djaq still carrying his bow from his hunting trip.
 
“Thayet.” Will supplied. The name still made Adrian feel guilty, but now was no time for guilt. Not for him anyway. Allan stood, catching Daine’s attention and she read the guilt ridden face as easily as a child’s picture book.
 
“What is it Allan?” She asked, deadpan with a hint of authority in her voice. Allan eyed the knife in her hand, which she held a little too tightly for his liking.
 
“That girl. The first thing the Sheriff wanted me to do was deliver a letter to her. I didn’t know what was on the letter, couldn’t have read it even if I’d have tried.”
 
Robin sighed cutting Allan’s speech short, triggering a giggle from Daine. Allan cast her a glance, which only made her grin at him. He rolled his eyes, but smiled despite himself. He would never understand that girl for as long as he lived.
 
“How come you didn’t mention this before Allan?” Robin’s voice was riddled with exasperation, he didn’t have time for Allan and Daine’s little games.
 
“I’m not being funny, but it wasn’t exactly the top of my priority list when I returned to camp and after that it just sort of slipped my mind.” Much started puffing, telling Robin that Allan was probably lying and trying to trick the group.
 
“Much! Shut up!” Daine said, power behind her voice. A surprising amount of power for such a small frame. The camp was stunned to a silence, Much wearing a small half pout. He looked to Robin whose face said that agreed with Daine. Much dramatically folded him arms, like a spoilt child not getting his way. All the while Daine’s mouth was pursed into a smirk. “You quite done Much? We need to think of a plan.”
 
As Daine turned her attention to Robin, all eyes followed expecting him to quickly form a plan like he always did.
 
***
 
Maggie and her husband walked through the Nottingham market. It was one of the few days they had together, Brian was a busy man always working in the village of Merton. She also preferred going to Nottingham with her husband, the excessive amounts of guards made her nervous.
 
It was bad enough having the guards in Nottingham, but since more were put into the villages her nerves may as well have been fried. She tried to keep calm for Peter, because if he knew she wasn’t comfortable then he would worry more than he already did.
 
The guards seemed to be taking more of an interest in them today, so it seemed. Brian tried to reassure Maggie that they were leering at everyone, but it did little to console her.
 
They were just buying extra vegetables for the outlaws when a group of guards made a bee line for the pair. They had just paid when a hand slammed down on Maggie’s, pinching her hand against the table, the change digging into her hand.
 
“Now what’s an old couple like you doing buying more vegetables than you need? And where’d you get t’money from?” The guard relished the pain he caused Maggie with a smirk.
 
“Lord Merton gave us the money, he wants a feast tonight to celebrate. Don’t ask us what for, we don’t know. He sent us to get the food with the money, because he trusts that we’ll come back with the food and change. Now please let go of my wife’s hand.”
 
The guard let go of Maggie’s hand, but not the ugly smirk plaster to his face. “Merton’s lackies? We’ve been looking for you. Sheriff wants you.” The guard turned his head to the rest of the group. “Grab them, something tells me that they won’t come easy.”
 
The guards moved in at the nod of their leader’s head, and grabbed the Taylor’s by the wrists. All the while, Maggie cried questions out to their captors, but they wouldn’t say a word. Other than orders to ‘be quiet’, the guards were silent. They only relinquished their grip when they hurled Maggie and her husband to the Sheriff.
 
He sat at the head of his table wearing a menacing grin that Maggie did not like one bit. Gisbourne stood behind to the left of the Sheriff, arms folded and thin lips tugged taut into a smirk. Brian gave them a wary, suspicious look; though Maggie just felt rage. She’d known Daine for too long…
 
“I demand to see Lord Merton, this is an outrage!” The Sheriff chuckled sinisterly, flashing the gap in his mouth where a tooth used to be.
 
“Oh you’ll be seeing him due time my dear.” He got up from his seat, and signalled that Brian and Maggie should sit in the two chairs in the centre of the room. He was expecting them after all. Neither moved until the guards forced them into their seats. “Did I ever thank you, Maggie, for saving my life?”
 
Maggie glared at him in her silence, refusing to speak. The guards may have forced her to sit, but they couldn’t physically push the words out of her mouth.
 
“Normally I repay the favour, but it’s not up to me this time.”
 
Despite her chosen silence, Maggie had to ask, “What do you mean?”
 
All she got for an answer was a grin that made her regret ever opening her mouth.
 
***
 
It’d been at least an hour since the Sheriff had left, and Lord Merton had not said one word. Thayet had tried to make some sort of small talk, but he was too deep set into his mind. The small, insignificant worry lines seem to increase dramatically when he thought, lost in a whirlpool of ideas. He didn’t even notice when Thayet had stopped busying herself with menial tasks and stopped to watch him, an intrigued look upon her face.
 
Peter was trying to think of a way to get the girl out of there. It was obvious what the Sheriff wanted her to do. She was a ‘witch’, Robin was still alive; so it didn’t take a genius to know that he wanted her to remove Nottingham of everybody’s favourite outlaw. He also try to think, whilst pushing back all these random feelings he couldn’t quite explain.
 
“Lord Merton?” Thayet asked, voice full of question and why she thought it would bring him out of his trance-like state, she didn’t know. But it did. He snapped his head up and looked at her, as if it was the first time he’d ever seen her. “Hello.” She said, smiling despite herself. He was going to try and get her to do the Sheriff’s biddings, but something compelled her to smile at this weary looking Lord.
 
“Hello.” Peter said, completely taken aback. Before him, Thayet’s brow knitted with worry.
 
“You’re not going to try and make me do what the Sheriff wants are you? I don’t want to harm Robin, or Will, or Djaq or even Daine. She may have sided with the guy who tried to burn me, but still. They saved my life! I don’t want to take theirs!”
 
Peter took one of her hands, and manipulated it so one of her fingers rested on her mouth. She stopped her talking and looked to Peter with wide eyes. Why did he look so amused? “No.” He said softly. “I’m not going to convince you to hurt Robin, or Will, or Djaq or even Daine. I’m on their side, but the Sheriff isn’t supposed to know.” Thayet tried to butt in, only to be silenced by her own finger being pressed onto her mouth again. “He does know, which is my problem. He’s going to make me do something I really don’t want to do. This is all the more reason to not force you to actions you don’t want to commit. But, the Sheriff needs to think that you will.”
 
Thayet furrowed her brow as Lord Merton finally let go of her wrist, letting her hand fall to her side. “How?” She asked, liking this idea more by the second. If the Sheriff thought that she’d helped, she might be able to go home. But then again… He might keep her. “But, won’t the Sheriff make me do more if I co-operate?”
 
Merton shook his head. “Not if we’re clever about this. I’ll send word to my nurse, and she can contact Robin. We tell the Sheriff you’re going to co-operate and then we’ll break you out of the castle. Or something. It seems I can only think of plans that destroy.” He looked away, focusing on a slab of stone which had speckles of herbs littered amongst the concrete that’d come loose.
 
“Lord Merton? Do you really mean this? You want to help me?”
 
He tore his eyes away from the mesmerising patterns the herbs had made, and caught Thayet’s eyes. They were held there for a split second, and Peter suddenly understood how Allan felt for Daine. How Robin felt for Marian. Or something along those lines anyway. Without even realising he reached for her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.
 
“I do, I really mean this. I want the Sheriff stopped as much as the next man. I just have a funny way of showing it.” A grateful smile curved at the corner of her mouth which faded as quickly as it appeared as she fought the turmoil in her stomach she felt all of a sudden, though Peter didn’t know that. “And please, just call me Peter. I can’t be doing with all this ‘Lord Merton’ malarkey.” He grinned at her, showing her a friendly side she so wanted to get to know. “I’m going to tell the Sheriff you’ll co-operate.”
 
He let go of her hands, making them feel oddly cold, and walked to the door. “Uh, Peter!” It felt so weird addressing a Noble by his first name, and Peter obviously saw the discomfort on her face as he chuckled slightly. “Thank you.”
 
The chuckle turned to a warm smile after hearing her soft tone. He nodded an acceptance and walked out of the door. When he closed it, only then did he realise how much his heart was pounding in his rib cage. It felt like it was going to jump through and do a little dance. “I must talk to Maggie.” He muttered, thinking of the many things he had to tell her.
 
***
 
A smirk played across Robin’s face, and the outlaws knew that this would make Much’s face fall. And, like always, the manservant started to voice his dislike for the look Robin wore with pride. And as per usual, Robin ignored him, and turned to his ex-noble friend. Daine furrowed her brow in confusion.
 
“What?” She asked, deadpan. Slight smiles rippled across the outlaws as a result of Daine’s reaction to Robin’s smirk.
 
“I think we might need your brother.” Daine went to protest, they couldn’t endanger her brother’s life when it was already on the line! Who knows what the Sheriff plans to do to him, she certainly didn’t want to make it any worse. “Nothing major, just to keep the Sheriff busy whilst we break into the castle.”
 
“You can’t expect him to do it.”
 
“All I ask is that you go to Merton, and ask if he will. I still need some time to think of how we’ll get into the castle. So while I think, you go to Merton-”
 
“Can I go with her?” Adrian cut in. Robin was about to ask why, when he remembered just who Adrian was. Maggie’s son. Understanding fully that Adrian wanted to visit his mother, Robin nodded solemnly and Adrian found a bony hand grip his shoulder. He followed the arm and found Daine looking at him with a warm smile, she knew what this meant to him. He hadn’t seen his mother for seven years, and it should have been the first thing he did when he came back, but he just hadn’t had the chance.
 
Daine and Adrian turned to the horses, readying them before they set off. Allan knew better than to try and join them. This was a time when he wasn’t welcome. He felt cast out slightly, but it didn’t hurt as bad as when they exiled him. At least he was still welcome to be an outlaw.
 
Allan half listened to Robin’s musings as he watched Daine and Adrian speed away to Merton. Djaq also watched the pair leave. She wasn’t watching longingly like Allan, she watched with a thoughtful look on her face. More and more she’d been catching Adrian looking at her, and it made her nervous. And it wasn't as if Adrian was the most rational person, she feared that he might try to do something big.
 
“Robin.” Came Marian’s quiet voice from behind him. “You have a plan already don’t you.” The remaining outlaws all cast their attention back to their leader, rather than the dust clouds left by the horses. He wore a sober look, that answered Marian’s question without a single sound.
 
“What? You tricked Daine into going to Merton? Why?”
 
“Not Daine. Adrian. I think we should rescue Thayet without him. I don’t need Peter at all, but Adrian reuniting with his mother should keep them distracted long enough for us to get Thayet from the apothecary in the castle.”
 
“What makes you think she’ll be there?” Much inquired, that quizzical pout protruding once more. Sometimes Robin’s plans made his head spin with all the twists.
 
“She’s a witch Much! Of course the Sheriff will have put her in the apothecary!” The exasperation crept back into Robin’s voice again. A warning hand found his elbow, the thin fingers pinching him telling to go easy. Marian, now seven months along, was too big to go on raids or to Nottingham, still had her wits about her and tried to keep Robin from getting too big for his boots. Sometimes he needed reminding that not everyone was as clever as he was.
 
“But if she’s a witch, who’s to say the Sheriff hasn’t burnt her.” Much commented, clearly not having twigged onto the fact that the rest of the outlaws had.
 
“One, we’d have heard about it from a villager or someone; and two, the fact he sent for her obviously means he has a use for her!” Much recoiled to Robin’s harsh tones and read between the lines. To Much it seemed that Robin was trying to say he was stupid. He considered taking Daine’s advice, but thought that now was not the time. Instead he pouted and folded his arms. Robin rolled his eyes, ignoring his manservant and started to tell the rest of the group his plan.
 
***
 
The plan ticked over in Peter’s mind. He had to find a way of letting Thayet out, the rest was easy. Leave the door unlocked, stall the change of guards after the first set had left, give chance for her to slip away and she can escape through a gate where the guard had been paid. But when? When would be the perfect time to do it? The Sheriff needed to be distracted, that was for sure, but what about Gisbourne? Would he have to be in Locksley?
 
Peter’s head spun, never before had he thought of something this elaborate. He’d only ever suggested elements to plans, whilst the Sheriff looked at the bigger picture. Peter stopped thinking, he had the first part of his idea to worry about right now. He was too lost in his thoughts to realise he was outside the Great Hall, and wondered how he hadn’t noticed, he could hear the Sheriff barking from outside the thick oak doors.
 
Pulling his façade quickly on, Peter pushed open the heavy doors silencing the Sheriff mid-sentence. “Well?” He snapped.
 
“She’ll co-operate.” Peter merely stated, with a smug glance towards Gisbourne. A scowl was cast in return and Merton smirked as Gisbourne shoved past him. Sir Guy didn’t want to hear the Sheriff sing Merton’s praises, wasn’t he guilty of outlaw collaboration? Sir Guy wondered if the Sheriff had forgotten that, and he wanted to prove it. He was going to check on Thayet, well that’s what he told himself. Really he felt this urge to just go and see her. She started looking more and more like Marian every time he saw her, though everyone else failed to see the similarities in their mannerisms.
 
Upon entering Thayet’s room, she jumped but turned with a hopeful smile on her face which evaporated when she saw Gisbourne. She bobbed her head in a courtesy, hiding her disappointment and annoyance. What did he want now?
 
“Thayet, have any outlaws been in this room?” Gisbourne’s voice was gruff and thick with irritation, which Thayet guessed was caused by her sudden co-operation with Lord Merton.
 
“Outlaws?” She asked, clearly confused. “No, sir, just Lord Merton until a few moments ago.”
 
“What, did he say to you to make you agree?” Gisbourne advanced on Thayet, leaving only a slight gap between their faces. She quivered with fear, scared of what he might do to her, but more so to Peter. It was crazy, she’d known him for at most two hours, but it felt like so much more.
 
“I, I, I was just sick of being asked… And he, he…”
 
“He what?” Gisbourne spat, trying to spur on Thayet’s stammering.
 
“He was straight with me and told me what I had to do, and why.” It was sort of the truth, maybe that was enough to fool Gisbourne. Though it struck Thayet that Gisbourne was easy to lie to, Lady Marian surely had proved that. And it had, Gisbourne stepped back face calm, and his grip on her arm lessened. Then he got that look in his eyes which he had every other time he’d been in her room. She gave an inner sigh, thinking Here we go… She just hoped it didn’t go on too long.
 
Back in the Great Hall, Lord Merton suddenly noticed that the Sheriff had guests. “I’m sorry for interrupting My Lord, I’ll be leaving now.” Just as he turned to go, the Sheriff called him back.
 
“Wait, Merton. I think you know my guests. Please come in, I need to talk to you anyway.” Peter was suddenly very wary of the Sheriff’s friendliness. Was this part of the plan the Sheriff had for him? When Peter saw who it was, he prayed to God it wasn’t, but knew that praying would do little help.
 
“Maggie, Brian. Well, this is a surprise.” He said, voice too dry to hide his discomfort. The Sheriff grinned.
 
“Do you know what my guards caught these two doing? They were buying far too much food for your household. Would you like to tell what that extra food is for, or should I say, who?” The Sheriff let out a little chuckle.
 
“We are holding a feast for the villagers, honouring my Father’s birthday.” Peter never took his eyes away from his nurse and carpenter, voice becoming a monotonous drone. The tease in the Sheriff’s voce suggested that something most unpleasant was going to happen, involving the three of them.
 
“Yes well, we got as much from those two. Now you see, given your current position Lord Merton, we thought that maybe this food was for those Merry band of people that live in the forest. You can see why we thought that, can’t you?” Peter nodded, unable to form words. “Well, doesn’t matter what the vegetables were for. It’s time you learnt your punishment Petie.”
 
As the Sheriff spoke of his ungodly plans, Gisbourne slipped back in to see three sets of eyes filled with dread, horror and worry. It was his turn to smirk.
 
***
 
When Daine and Adrian arrived at the Merton household, everything was oddly quiet. The only movement was the occasional shuffling from the guards. Their soft clatter drifted to the hedge Daine often took to hiding in when she visited Merton. They watched the house for a good twenty minutes before nodding silently to one another.
 
Daine, being the smaller of the pair, slipped out of the hedge – ignoring the twig that had worked its way into the many layers that she wore. Keeping out of sight, she ambled over to the house. Peering into the window, the girl saw no one home. With a quick glance back and a nod, she hauled herself through the open window.
 
Falling to the floor, she made the loudest noise she’d heard since arriving. Rubbing her sore elbows, which she’d managed to catch on the windowsill on the way in, Daine cursed under her breath, using a mixture of curses she’d learnt from the outlaws. As she kept to the shadows she quickly discovered nobody was home.
 
Adrian waited only a few minutes before a rustle of leaves made him tear his eyes away from the home he practically grew up in. Just looking at that house brought a pang of nostalgia and made him realise how much he missed his home.
 
Daine came to his side, steadying herself with a hand on his shoulder. “They aren’t in.” Adrian couldn’t suppress the disappointment and knew full well that Daine read his look down correctly. “Let’s ask round the village.” As an after thought she added, “Make sure no one recognises you. Maybe you should hang back.”
 
“No.” Adrian held the same hushed tone as Daine, but there was no denying the determination in his voice. “She might be in the village.” Daine knew the likelihood of this, but decided to humour her friend – he’d only find a way to come.
 
They pulled their hoods up and Daine covered her face with her scarf – going for the ‘dodgy dealer’ look, which Adrian donned too. Approaching the villagers they quickly learnt that Lord Merton, Maggie and Brian had all gone to Nottingham and not returned yet. After the third person had told them this, they exchanged a look deciding to return to camp.

***

Rest in next part