Revenge

[Allan A'Dale]

Allan jerked around as he heard Roe's voice booming out. He crossed the scant distance between him and Carter, and tugged on the other man's sleeve.

"S'gotta be that way, right?" he asked, inclining his head in the direction of the noise. It wasn't far, he could tell that much. Without waiting for him to answer, he headed in the direction of the commotion. There was only one other person who shouldn't be in the castle, and she was exactly who they were after.

[Carter]

Carter had heard Roe's voice too. But before he could say anything in reply, Allan was already running away in the direction of the noise. Carter shook his head and closed the door he was looking into silently. "Right." he whispered to himself, and sped after Allan.

He quickly caught up with Allan, and they ran side by side. But then another voice boomed out. But a not a voice of anger, but of worry. Carter raised his eyebrows as he recognised the voice. He gave Allan a quick confused glance. What was Will Scarlett doing in the castle?

The more important thing, was what the voice was saying. Djaq. This either meant good or bad news. Either Djaq had been found, or was dead. Carter sped up his running.

[Roe]

The one thing that Roe did not like to be was confused, or to feel out of the loop. He had just killed three men in under five seconds, trying to prevent Djaq and this other woman from falling to harm, not to mention blowing his cover in the castle. Still, he tried to sound as calm and reasonable as he could, despite the probable precariousness of their situation. Roe re-inserted his two long-swords in their sheaths and bent down, pulled his knife from the guards chest, wiping it off on the guards uniform, before re-inseting it in its previous place in his belt.

"You're welcome," he said somewhat sarcastically. "Glad to see you too, Will. Now, I love family reunions as much as the next man, and I would love to be formally introduced, but I'm afraid we haven't got the time or the luxury. Here I've probably killed more men in less time than I have since the Siege of Jerusalem in '87, but I really have no idea what's going on here. Djaq, what are you doing here? Are you the reason why Carter and Allan are here? And what about you Will? Please, would someone tell me what's going on here that's worth blowing my cover? I think Robin and Much are the only ones not here, so far!"

Suddenly he heard the scuffling of feet and some muffled shouts from down the corridor and around the bend. He immediately pulled his swords out and took up a defensive position between the others and the source of the noise. "I was afraid of this. Where there are three guards there are likely to be more to come. I'll to my best to hold them off while you folks find another way out. I wonder where Allan and Carter are? This would certainly be easier to figure out with some help!"

[Isabella]

Suddenly, everything seemed much clearer to Isabella, even though everyone else was far more confused. Allan and Carter. Of course! They must be the men who had come to help her find Djaq – the outlaws. But she had no idea who this Roe was – maybe another outlaw? He seemed to know Will at any rate, even if he was in the castle. She had stayed silent for a while, staring at the three people she was with, and lowered her dagger, still gripping it tightly in case she needed it again. She hoped that Djaq’s husband had made her change her mind. Isabella felt that she ought to explain what was happening.
“I think I can explain,” she began, “Allan and Carter came with me – they are looking for Djaq.”
But before she could continue, all four of them heard some shouts from down the corridor, and Roe was starting to prepare to defend them. She turned to him.
“Er… Roe, or whatever your name is, sorry to be rude and use your first name,” she babbled urgently, “Maybe later we’ll introduce ourselves formally – but Allan and Carter are probably nearby and heading for this room. Though I think they were in a fight earlier – I don’t know how they fared.”
She got ready for a fight if necessary, but hoped desperately that Carter and Allan were coming now to find them and get everyone out of the castle.
Nothing is ever simple, she thought yet again, looking at Will and the pro-active soldier, Roe, trying to work out just how they got here.

[Djaq]

Djaq unsheithed her sword. "What? So just because I'm a woman, you think I can't fight?" she snapped at Roe. "I'm not going anywhere." It was the least she could do for getting everyone in such a mess. It was true that both her and Will were slightly out of practice with the blades. After being married and having a child, there really was no further need for fighting.

"I have no doubt that Carter and Allan are doing fine." she said, addressing Isabella. They were both tough, and extremely talented fighters. She was certain they would be able to prevail. She narrowed her eyes at the oncoming soldiers and nodded at Will.

[Isabella]

"Good," Isabella replied, glad that Djaq was confident in the outlaws.
If this Roe - or whoever he was - was on their side, she was sure that they had done well. Although she only had her small dagger for protection, she decided to help the small band of outlaws with any necessary fighting. Considering that it was her fault that Djaq had taken off in the first place, she had to do all that she could to help out. She wondered where the Sheriff was - she was meant to be talking to him and Guy right now. She just hoped that they were on the other side of the castle.

[Roe]

Roe had forgotten that he was dealing with a woman, looking at down at Djaq, and a rather opinionated one who wasn't very shy he noted. "No Djaq, I can tell by the way you hold that blade that you know how to use it and which is the business end. There was no need for you to display your abilities, and I was in a much better position to deal with these three guards, which I think that I have shown. Now, as for you and Will, I am afraid that I am honor-bound to defend and protect the Scarletts, as well as the Huntingdons. As for not going anywhere .... you'll go where we take you ... whether you agree or not."

Turning to Isabella he thanked her for the information with a nod of his head, and said, "Yes, thank you, I pretty much knew all of that, except that I didn't know that Djaq and you were up here and were the objects of the conflict. In fact, I just came from that fight. When I knew they were well on their way to finishing those guards off i came up here to find out what was worth spilling so much blood. Still though, one question remains unanswered .... Why was Djaq up here and in the castle in the first place?"

[Isabella]

Isabella smiled at Roe, glad for the explanation. Now everything made sense to her - well, most things - though she still had no idea what Roe's connection was with the outlaws, or why he was in the castle. At his question about why Djaq was there, she felt herself colour a little. It was her own fault, after all.
"Djaq's uncle, a man by the name of Bassaam, was killed by the Sheriff," she began, "I found her and told her and she... well - came here."
She did not want to embarass Djaq, though her actions had been irrational. Roe would be able to work out the rest of that for himself, unless Djaq wanted to pipe up and tell him.
"But - sorry to be rude - how do you know the outlaws?" she asked him, eager for answers.

[Roe]

When Roe heard about Djaq's uncle he completely understood about why Djaq had reacted as she did, and why she was so defensive towards him. He thought perhaps Will and this girl might have a calming influence on her. This girl ..... well ..... woman actually struck him as somehow familiar. There was something about the way she talked and the way she flipped her hair .... and the way she held her body. She reminded him of someone from long ago.

"How do I know the outlaws," he responded as she momentarily broke his train of thought. "Well, I had just returned from the Holy Land as a crusader, and had moved back into the old Scarlett place in Locksley, when I ran into Carter in Nottingham. After we had some drinks and talked ablout our respective pasts, and my old connections to Locksley and Sherwood, he asked me to accompany him in search of Robin Hood and his gang, and that's how I came to know the outlaws. By the way, you wouldn't have ever lived in the area around Locksley would ya, or have an older brother named Guy?" Knowing what Guy had become he wan't sure he wanted the answer to be yes.

[Isabella]

Isabella frowned.
"Yes - I lived in the village of Locksley until I was ten years old," she replied, "My father was Sir Roger of Gisborne. My elder brother is Guy... We left Locksley when our parents died in the fire - we went to France."
Something was familiar about him now - he'd been in Locksley, too. Roe. Presumably, short for Robert. Had she known any Roberts back in Locksley? She tried to remember, but it seemed so long ago now. Then a name came to her.
"Bobbie? Bobbie Williams? Are you Bobbie Williams?" she asked.

[Roe]

Suddenly he saw that she was straining to things together. He could always tell when the gears were working extra hard in her mind. And then he could see the flash of recognition go off, and the name .... the name that he hadn't heard in decades .... "Bobbie" ..... and that he hadn't missed a bit.

"Then you must be Isabella .... as I remember it I called you Izzy and it made you so mad." Turning more serious for a moment he commented that, "it does seem strange, knowing Guy's allegiances that you are here with Djaq and us. I have a feeling that you have a very interesting story to tell. I know we all have changed. I was a bare-faced youth with still some blond in my hair. And the Crusades are enough to change any man, especially after fifteen years of them," he said grimly.

[Isabella]

Isabella was amazed to see Bobbie Williams again. As she looked at him, more and more of the past came flooding back. Yes, that was it - they had been friends back when they lived in Locksley. She remembered him as a fair-haired young rascal, who was forever annoying her with his way of calling her 'Izzy' and his taunting. She had got back on him by naming him 'Bobbie', and rose to his frustrating but good-natured mocking every single time. He had changed so much from that mischievious boy - and she had changed, too. He had been a rather scrawny young lad, and now he was so serious and, well - quite handsome. But there was something in his eyes that was the same.
Isabella had tried to forget about Locksley when she and her brother had been forced to leave it in shame. The fire had destroyed her life, her parents, her money and land. There was very little she could remember before it - she could scarcely recall the faces of her parents - but she could remember Bobbie - or Roe, as he called himself now. It suited him better than 'Bobbie', she decided.
"You've changed a lot," she admitted, "But so have I. We'll have to swap stories later. I expect you have many to tell, too."
She smiled - though there was a sadness inside her still. She had been so happy in Locksley. Sometimes she wondered, what with Thornton, Prince John, Guy and the Sheriff all pinning her down if she would ever be truly happy again. Roe must have fallen on hard times, too - there was a harshness in his face that hadn't been there before. And there was the way that he had killed those guards, too. There was more to him than she yet knew. She wanted very much to exchange tales with him when she next got the chance. No doubt she would find out a lot from him.

[Carter]

Carter continued to run, until he saw 4 figures in the distance. "Allan!" he said, slowing his running slightly so that he could talk with more ease. "That must be them. Look I can see Isabella...and...is that Roe?" he sped up his running once more, and before long he was behind them.

He slowed to a walk, and silently tip toed over to them. None of them had noticed his and Allan's presence, as they all had their backs to them. Carter grinned. He was so tempted to shout 'BOO' but of couse his imaturity level did not yet lie that low. He simply shouted "HELLO!" making half the people in front of him jump. He smirked at his success.

But his seriousness came back in an instant, when he saw Djaq was amongst them. "Oh thank god." he whispered to Allan, and took a step in her direction. "Djaq, we were looking for you" he said in a low voice.

But Carter couldn't help but notice, there was something going on here. It was clear in both Roe's and Isabella's eyes. He narrowed his eyes and looked at both of them in turn. He then shook his head and tutted. "Jeez." he said elbowing Allan playfully, "Even at a time like this?" He grinned at Roe, and winked at Isabella. A way of perhaps saying thanks for the help?

[Roe]

It was good that slowly people who had been in his life those many years ago were coming back into it. They had definitely been friends and enjoyed each others teasing those many years ago. As an older teenager he had found her quite pretty, but she had been more of a friend than anything else. He had been a bit too old for her at the time, and she was definitely a noble, and he no longer was, so he had felt it to be a hopeless cause anyway.

She had been pretty then, but she was even moreso now. He assumed that she was married or at least, had been married. He knew that they both had changed considerably. Roe believed that he had changed enough not be considered very marriageable material anyway. In many ways the person that he had been before .... the one that she remembered .... no longer existed .... and a new one had been created in France, Iberia, and the Holy Land. And the one that had been created was not a necessarily a very pleasant one either.

The entire reason that he had sent false word from Iberia that he had died was to forever break the ties that he had had with home, either for them to expect him to return, or for him to think he had something or someone to go back to, which he did not have. "Sure .... I'm sure that yours will be more interesting than mine .... Izzy," he said with added emphasis and a rare smile. He sensed that she had had some great unpleasantness in her life, which added in with the influence of her bother he assumed, couldn't have been easy to bear. It was strange how much could pass through you mind in so short a period of time. And Roe turned once more when he heard the familiar greeting coming from behind him .... "Carter?"

Turning around Roe could indeed see it was not only Carter, but Allan as well. It was obvious that Carter was glad to see Djaq and that she was hale and well. "I think you will find that she was quite able to take care of herself, Carter. Why the stare and tone of voice she used on her 'rescuers' were nearly enough to rob them of 10 years life without any other effort. As you can see, we did run into some unfortunate folks who would have wanted to stop us, but we dealt with them as you did your little group."

"I think it best that you folks withdraw the same way you came in. I hope that no guards have been left alive to tell tales. First, that will mean that there will be nobody to bar your path. Second, hopefully there will be no witnesses to blow my cover as Robin's spy within the castle. If I were to remain, I could raise an alarm on the other side of the castle, drawing the guards there, making your escape even easier. However, if you think that I'm taking too big a risk by staying, I'm always open to suggestion. I guess I wouldn't be much use to Robin dead, eh? What do you think, Carter, and you Allan?"

Before Carter could answer, Roe saw him nudging Allan, and them exchanging glances, as they looked at Roe, and Roe assumed Izzy. Roe immediately understood what the look on Carter's face meant and responded by rolling his eyes, shaking his head and smiling, "Oh Carter, stop it .... besides .... we still have some important things to do and decide .... and quickly. Oh ... and you're welcome too Carter," he smiled ever so slightly.

[Allan A'Dale]

Allan grinned. Roe looked at Isabella like she was.......God only knew what. That man was definitely carrying a torch for her. He rolled his eyes at Carter.

Then, becoming serious, he looked at Djaq. "Yeah, Djaq's hard as nails, that's the problem. She decides that someone's gonna die, then they better watch out." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Isabella told us what she told you. I'm sure we don't need to thrash it all out now because it looks like you've calmed down, but we came here to stop you, Djaq. If Vaisey bites it, the whole of Nottingham gets burned and we can't let that happen." He sighed. "Despite the fact that most of our enemies are in here, we can't really touch any of them right now. Bloody politics, eh?"