A Fine day for betrayal [Allan]

[Imogen Frewer]

Imogen stopped and examined at her self in the dusty window of the Inn. She had picked out her best dress a faded red number with white, now cream, lace around the neck and arms and conveniently low cut. Imogen’s expression was controlled and slightly pained as we studied her reflection. Slowly she fixed her hair as the cold morning breeze blew blowing a few stray strands out of place she had to look good even if she was doing dirty work.

“Ok” she mumbled to her self as she brushed down the dress and tore her self away from her reflection to proceed down the quiet morning street. It was a dry but cold morning and she could quite clearly see the warm breath of passers buy as they walked to work and opened the market stalls. It had been a long time since Imogen had last been up this early. In her line of work it was a lot of late knights and waking up at 11 to begin the cleaning but today she needed to fit as much as she could in to just 24 hours.

Her task was to find an outlaw preferable Much or Allan and get them to tell her exactly what she needed to tell Gisborne. She had agreed to Gisborne’s “request” because it was either complete or die and she really quite liked being alive also the promise of pay at the end of it took some of the heaviness off her heart as she walked towards the forest.

Jenny hadn’t yet come up with a plan to get what she needed or even find them but the best place to start was Sherwood. Imogen decided to walking through the forest and hoped they came to her because with out an outlaw there was very little else she could do.

[Allan A'Dale]

Allan was tracking a deer. It had led him a long way from the trails through Sherwood that he knew, and he wasn't entirely familiar with this part of the forest. He still hadn't laid eyes on it yet, but he'd stayed downwind and its footprints were definitely getting fresher. A good sign; he was catching up to it fast. He could hear rustling up ahead, and he stole silently towards it. Surely he was almost upon it by now. The thought of venison for dinner was making his mouth water. He was fed up to the back teeth with Much's "chicken".

[Imogen Frewer]

Jenny had been walking for nearly 3 hours before she gave up and rested on a large moss covered rock. She was going to have to review her tactics because walking through the forest hopping some one would find her just wasn't going to work. Imogen ran her fingers through her hair slowly trying to calm her frustration down she needed to be able to think clearly. Just as she was about to stand up and head back to the Inn a faint rustling of leave grabbed Imogens attention. Jenny swiveled round on the large bolder scanning the forest, if there was some one out there she couldn't see them.

[Allan A'Dale]

He stuck his head over the thick bramble hedge in front of him. The young buck was grazing at a clump of vegetation in the clearing beyond, and he thanked his luck that it had his back to him. He drew an arrow from the quiver on his back and silently aimed at the creature.

His aim was square; the arrow found its mark and the deer collapsed with a squeal. He nodded approvingly to himself and stood up to claim his prize.

[Imogen Frewer]

There was the sound of a dull thud some where off in the forest causing the hairs on the back of Jenny’s neck to stand on end. That noise had to be made by someone or something and Imogen wasn’t going to wait around. She got to her feet and jogged towards a fern covered slop that she began to carefully climb. Her dress was definitely not suitable for forest walks. The hem of the crimson dress had had become darkly stained by mud and small leaves from the ferns had attached them selves to its fabric. Imogen cursed under her breath as she picked her way through the ferns and undergrowth and eventually reached a clearing at the top.

She sighed deeply and grasped hold of a tree for support. This was the last time she would venture deep in to the forest again. Her best dress was no positively ruined and she had little money to buy a new one unless she for filled Gisbornes task.

Jenny opened her eyes which took a second or two to get used to the light that was now shining down though the tree. There not 4 feet in front of her was the freshly shot corps of a large deer. That had to have been what the thud was, Imogen thought as she stepped forwarded her head cocked to the side as she examined the deer.

“Hello you” she said quietly staring down at the corps. ”Now who shot you hmm?”

[Allan A'Dale]

As he was making his way towards the buck's carcass, a girl in a stained dress stepped out of the undergrowth. He jumped, and realised that it was the girl from the Trip again.

"Christ love, you wanna watch it! I don't fancy eating you, to be honest. You're a long way from home, what brings you out to this neck of the woods?"

[Imogen Frewer]

Imogen snapped her head up so fast her vision was blinded by bright shining stars. Allan was standing only feet away from her on the other side of the fallen buck. Imogen’s jaw nearly dropped at the sight of him and she was momentarily rendered speechless. Out of all the outlaws and thieves in the forest she had actually ran in to the very person she was looking for. What where the chances. She had hopped that morning that she would run in to either Allan or Much but Jenny had never actual imagined it actually happening. What was she to do now? She had been so preoccupied worrying about finding him that she had not thought about what to say when she did.

After a second to of silence jenny remembered herself and smirked.

“Skulking in bushes again? I thought you where supposed to be proving yourself as a gentleman. I was…having my belongings searched by a couple of guards and they got a little to friendly if you get me. Where was you eh thought you where meant to be protecting me.”

That would have to do but it was a pathetic story. Jenny scolded her self silently for her lack of imagination.

[Allan A'Dale]

He cocked his head on one side. That sounded a little weird.

"So some guards dragged you all the way out here and then they let you get away? Don't get me wrong, I don't want nothing to happen to you but it seems a bit amateurish."

[Imogen Frewer]

“No one dragged me anywhere” Imogen said tetchily.” I was passing through on my way to Clun and I crossed there path. They here no doubt looking for you and the rest of your group renegades.”

This was not going well and she only had 6 days. Perhaps she could just ask sweetly bat here eye lashes a few times and he would happily give up the information. Imogen doubted it. There was always the option of not completing the task and hopping Guy would show mercy but it seemed unlikely considering there last meeting.

[Allan A'Dale]

"Yeah, and we're a long way from Clun right now," he snapped back defensively, "you get lost?"

Why was she so prickly about it? Maybe just the shock of nearly getting shot, he supposed, but first of all she'd had a go at him for not being there to defend her honour - what was he supposed to do, follow behind like a lamb? And then to add insult to injury, she'd changed her tune and decided that him and the gang were all troublemakers. Well, she obviously wasn't in the mood for company right now.

He hefted the carcass onto his shoulders. "Well I s'pose that you wouldn't want escorting by a renegade like me, so I'll take my leave if it's all the same to you. I've got roast venison to look forward to tonight and this bugger here's gonna take a lot of cleaning and skinning."

He snatched up his bow and started back the way he'd came.