Everliving Kings (the Heroes of Darkness Saga) (20 page)

Friar Tuck looked over to Shawn Little who was once again shaking his head.

“François Tesouid of Normandy will shoot first.”

The Frenchman looked over his shoulder at his odd little opponent and said, “Well, this is a fi
tting distance for men to shoot at, eh? Good luck to you monsieur.”

Once more the crowd held its breath as Tesouid pulled back his bow string with a slow steady draw.

Robin looked around and now noticed, the entire front row of the crowd was now only armed guards. He looked back to the Royal box and saw the Sheriff leaning over whispering something to Gisbon, who turned and looked right at him. Robin looked back in time to see his opponent let his arrow fly high downrange, falling in a perfect arc, and strike the target.

“In the black! Dead center!”

Again the crowd let go of its collective breath with a roar.

“Well played my friend, but it looks like I have beaten you.” Tesouid said with a smile of relief.

“Perhaps master Tesouid, but I am yet to shoot.”

Again the crowd died down to silence as he took up his shooting position, at least until one lone voice hidden in the crowd shouted “Come on Robin!”

Robin ignored the voice he knew had to be Much, Scarlet’s younger brother, who was both an innocent saint and a dangerous fool, and focused instead on the target. With his new powers of sight and smell he had no trouble in both seeing the target and sniffing the wind. Time for him seemed to slow to a standstill as he took a deep breath, and let the arrow fly.

Once more the spectators held their breaths as the arrow arced down range.
There was a cracking sound from the target that nobody expected, and instead of shouting the call of the shot, the field officer had two of his men pick up the target and run towards the Royal box. As it moved by the crowd, the spectators began to shout for joy as they got a good look at the target. Robin had made the exact same shot, and split the Frenchman’s arrow in half.

Tesouid nodded his head and smiled at the Tinker, “An amazing shot monsieur, I yield the field to you this day!”
and then he bowed low from the waist.

Robin smiled and returned the bow just as the crowd surged forward and surrounded the pair. In front of them the guards parted leaving a path for them to walk up to the Royal box, where the Lady Marion waited with a small
lead box.

Anya frowned at the box that she had not n
oticed before, and could tell there was something odd about it, that’s when she remembered the Sheriff mentioning a silver arrow of the Druids to Prince John.

The Sheriff stepped up beside the Lady Marion to address the crowd with a smile on his face, “My
Lords and Ladies, I must say that was the finest display of marksmanship I have ever seen, what say you?” at that the crowd roared to live once more. The Sheriff put his arms up to quiet the crowd before continuing. “My word, I could not agree more! Now tell us the truth master Tinker….what do you really do for a living?”

At that the crowd went silent and Robin cleared his throat, “I beg yer pardon me Laird?” he asked as his mind began to race and he
scanned for a hole in the crowd of armored men.

The Sheriff laughed and said, “Well with your talent with the bow, I would imagine you were a yeoman or a fletcher
…. I have never met a Tinker who had so much time for archery practice! None the less, you have earned our respect and our admiration, and now it is time to give you what you so rightly deserve!....Lady Marion.” He said as he waved a hand in her direction and stepped back.

Marion stepped forward as the Tinker stood
on the first step up to the dais and winked at her. She was not sure if she wanted to slap him for his stupidity or throw her arms around him and cry. “My Lord Garwlwyd the Tinker, it is my honor; to name you champion of this grand tournament…” with that she opened the box, reveling the silver arrow. “Here is your prize.”

The tinker stepped up and placed his hand on the shaft of the arrow, looked up into her eyes and said, “Thank you my lady!” He then lifted the arrow high over his head and turned back for the cheering crowd to see.

Another surge of the crowd closed the gap between Robin and the guards, and before he could do anything he heard Sir Guy shouting, “Seize him!”

Robin struggled as best he could but was ou
tnumbered ten to one. Once he was captured and shackled, the Sheriff shouted towards the crowd, “My Lords and Ladies… behold the outlaw Robin Hood!” he screamed as he pulled away Robin’s false beard.

“This man is the one who stole away the tax money meant for the King! He is the reason your ta
xes were doubled this year!” at that shouts of outrage and a chorus of boos rained down on the man they loved just minutes before.

If
there was anything that Sheriff Brewer was ever good at it was manipulation, “My friends…what shall we do with him?” he asked as the whistles and the shouts of ‘hang him’ grew louder.

“Should we let him go?” he asked, as if he would if the crowd demanded it.
At this point the crowd was in near hysteria and screaming for blood.

The Lady Marion could not watch what she was sure to be an immediate public execution, so Anya, playing the part of a noble Lady
, held the girl as she sobbed.

“Very well my friends! We will do as you ask
!” the Sheriff shouted as he held his arms out wide, “Just before the end of this festival and before the wedding…. We will have a hanging!” the crowd, now hot for blood, screamed in joy.

28

              “You sent for me my Lord?” Sheriff Brewer asked as he paused at the doorway of the main dining hall.

             
“Yes! Do come in William; please sit down we have much to discuss.” Prince John said as he waved towards an empty chair.

             
“Thank you My Lord.” The Sheriff replied as he made his way to the offered seat.

             
Prince John dropped down into the seat next to the sheriff and began to hum a tune to himself, as he poured two glasses of wine, and handed one to the Sheriff. “I have been thinking about this whole week and I must say I have not had so much fun in a long time. Why so far everything has been perfect and it all comes down to you William. Cheers.” He said with a smile as he lifted up his glass in salute. “I was thinking that you may be just the man for something I have been thinking about for some time. As you well know, my most noble and dear brother Richard, prefers to be any place but England. For god’s sake he hardly speaks the language. Now I have mentioned this to him on more than one occasion, but this country is worth far too much for him to just give up on it…at least voluntarily. But since we just happen to have an army standing by…”

             
Sheriff Brewer smiled and finished the Regent’s thoughts for him, “We could help him make the right choice. Is that what you were thinking my Lord?”

“Yes, quite. Now my cousin in Germany truly hates Richard, why is a long story I will not burden you with, however, some time ago I sent him word Richard was going on Crusade to get himself killed by the moors, but if he lives…well let’s just say there will be a trap waiting for him in central Europe.”

Brewer sipped from his glass before frowning and asking, “And what if he travels by boat you’re Grace?”

Prince John smiled and nodded his head, “I have spies with Richard’s camp, if they go by boat he will be sunk as he tries to pass Gibraltar. I doubt he will though since he will want to kiss the Pope’s ass on the way back to France. Either way, he won’t be coming back to England, and that brings me to you.”

Brewer raised his eyebrows in surprise, “In what regard my
Lord?”

“I am planning on naming myself King. Once I do I will need a man who is the…king’s hand in all things. I will name you
Lord Protector of the Realm; you will in effect run the country…and I can go back to being drunk. What say you my Lord High Sheriff, does that sound like something you may be interested in?”

Brewer could hardly believe his plot to make himself the Regent, had now been joined by the man he would have had to eliminate in order for it to su
cceed. “Oh yes my Lord! I am indeed quite interested.”

“Good, good William, I knew I could count on you, now the question is…what about your soon to be wife? Do you think she will go along with this or
, should we wait to tell her after she is your property? She seems to me to be quite strong willed, it would be a… problem if she decided to stay loyal to Richard.” Prince John said with a sigh as he slumped back into the velvet covered cushion of his chair.

The Sheriff scratched his beard as he wo
ndered just what was safe to tell the Prince. “Well she is not from here and so owes no allegiance to King Richard.” He said, stopping far short of saying she led moors into battle
against
King Richard.

Prince John smiled and leaned forward to pour them fresh glasses of wine. “Good, so tell me William, how much do you know about her…condition?”

The Sheriff frowned in confusion, afraid he may know exactly where his line of questioning was headed. “My Lord?”

“I mean can it be controlled? Can we use it to create an army of
Risen mercenaries? Can you just imagine it Brewer? We could rule England for all of time!” he said with a smile and a lift of his glass.

Brewer was surprised to see a devious and dangerous side of a man he had, until now, consi
dered nothing more than a sloppy drunk fool. This was a reminder to him that Prince John, was the youngest son of the Royal House of Aquitaine and a direct decedent of Alfred the Great, as such he was very capable of playing ‘the game’.

“Ah, yes…well it is a bit more complex than just being an immortal King, but I….”

“Yes, yes, I know danger and the selling of one’s soul and all.” He said as he waved a hand in front of his face. “I care more about if she will be willing to do it or not. If not, we will speak with Lord Rathbone and see if he would be willing to strike a bargain.”

The Sheriff’s eyes went wide in surprise, “My
Lord you can’t be serious!”

“Well the only other option would be to find a way to control that
Risen. Once she is yours by marriage she will not be able to refuse a request, a wife’s obedience is the law. But you must find to way to control her or it won’t matter. So do we have an accord?”

Brewer smiled and nodded his head, “Yes my
Lord, I understand what I must do. I believe I already have something that will control the Lady Anya, tomorrow we will hang the wolfshead Robin Hood, and then we will make our army and ourselves immortal. If Anya refuses to collaborate…she can meet the headsman’s axe.” He said as he raised his glass in a toast.

Behind them
, the pair heard a whimpering noise and then a loud bump. The Sheriff and Prince John exchanged concerned looks before the Sheriff jumped up and looked down the wide stone hallway. He caught a glimpse of a pale blue dress disappearing around a corner, and knew in an instant, they had a new problem.

Prince John came up behind him and peered down the now empty hallway, “Who was it?”

“The Lady Marion my Lord.”

The Regent nodded his head and scratched his beard in thought before saying,
“Find out how much she overheard, Royal ward or not…she must not stand in our way.”

29

Marion raced down the tapestry lined hallway as fast as she could manage. Her mind jumped from one wild idea to the next as panic tried to force her to decide. Rounding a corner, Marion pushed her back to a wall and tried to catch her breath.

“What do I do? They are going to hang Robin, and usurp the throne? What were they saying about the Lady Anya?”

Marion pushed herself off of the wall and ran down another carpeted hallway before almost knocking down Anya’s ‘handmaiden’ Julnar.

“Oh! I’m sorry! Quick we need to keep going!” Marion spit out as she started to drag Julnar down the hall with her.

“My Lady?” Julnar managed to ask as Marion reached her own room and dragged her inside before, slamming the door behind them. “Is everything alright?”

Marion raced to the desk on one side of the room and grabbed a piece of parchment paper. As Julnar looked on Marion began to write a note as fast as she could.

“It’s my uncle John and the Sheriff! They are going to hang Robin and then they want to take over the country! They are going to use those Frenchmen to…” at that she stopped writing and looked up at Julnar in a panic. “Wait, what is wrong with the Lady Anya? I heard them saying she has a condition and they need to control her! What is going on?” she demanded to know.

Julnar stopped in her tracks with her eyes open in surprise, “Oh, ah…well, that is kind of a long story my Lady.”

“They said something about Risen and being immortal! What was all of that about? Your mistress may be in danger as well! Please you have to tell me, we can help each other!” she pleaded.

Julnar was torn between helping this woman and telling her she was imagining things, but Anya was sure the Sheriff could not be trusted and this seemed as if he was plotting something against them. “
My lady…my mistress and I are… the Risen dead, Vampires, there are many names….it is possible they wish to use her powers for their own greed and gain.”

Marion frowned at the beautiful young girl b
efore her and shook her head in disbelief. “What? But… it’s day time? I have seen you both outside in the sunlight? The Bishop blessed our meal…how?”

“I know you have heard many bad things about us, but most are not true. We will not harm you, and if you say Robin Hood should be saved…we will help you!” Julnar decided.

Marion’s face lit up with hope, “You will? You will need to get to his men and tell them they have to act now! Do you know how to find them?”

Julnar nodded and smiled, “Yes my Lady, I am sure I can find them…”

Before Julnar could finish her statement, they heard a loud pounding on the door.

“My Lady Marion, it’s Sheriff Brewer, I need a moment of your time!” he shouted through the thick oak door.

Marion turned around to tell Julnar to hide but she was already gone, leaving Marion looking around confused. “Oh, Yes, Just a second my Lord!” she replied and then remembered her note. Marion picked up the parchment and looked around in a panic for a place to hide it. Before she could move, the door to her apartment flew open and the Sheriff marched inside.

“My lady Marion, are you alright? I thought I heard voices.” He said as he scanned the room.

“Voices? No, I am the only one here, why?” she asked as she hid the parchment behind her back.

“We have a spy in the castle my Lady, a figure was just seen in the main hall
and moving this way. That is why I wanted to check on you.” He said as he moved around her still looking around the room. “You are sure you saw no one?”

“No…I mean yes, I’m sure, I…”

“What do you have behind you back my Lady?” he asked with a sly smile.

“Oh I was just writing a…letter home….to my father. It’s nothing really.”

The Sheriff nodded his head and smiled before snatching the letter from her hand. “This is a letter to your father? Is he also a merry cutthroat? ‘Please come at once, I will lead you to the dungeon…’ this is a letter to Robin Hood’s men! Gisbon told me the truth about what happened and how taken with him you seemed. Guards arrest the Lady Marion!” he shouted as four armed men marched into the room.

“You can’t arrest me! I’m a Royal Ward!” she shouted.

“Yes, a Royal Ward who is now accused of high treason and conspiring against the crown! You wish to be with your outlaw Robin Hood so bad? Well now you will hang from the same gallows with him!”

“
What!? You can’t do that, only the King has the power to execute a Royal Ward!”

“Yes, and it shall be a King who orders your execution
, I am tired of hearing that from you my Lady. In two days’ time Prince John will be the new King of England and you will no longer be able to hide behind your Uncle Richard! If you have anything further to add, you can say it before Prince John and the court of execution! Take her away!” he shouted, just before they marched off to the prison level of the keep.

Once the room was clear, a lone
Risen dropped from the arched ceiling beams and shook her head in frustration. “My Lady can you hear me?” she whispered in a tone most humans can’t hear. Julnar cursed her luck when Anya did not respond, but in truth she did not expect to reach her as the sub-frequency has only a short range, still it was safer than shouting out loud.

Now she was left with a difficult choice, wait until Anya returned to the castle, or decide for he
rself to help the outlaws. With the Sheriff now plotting with the Prince, she had no choice but to at least slow them down until she could inform Anya of their scheme.

With that in mind Julnar rushed back to her room to change out of her dress and head out to Sherwood to find the outlaws.