**"Here Comes The Bride!"** (Open//Invite)

[Robin Hood]

The roads were so rough that, by the time, the carriage containing the outlaws reached the gates of Nottingham, Robin was sure that all his teeth had been shaken loose! Luckily, as they reached the gates, the horse slowed to a trot. "Pull in over there, Much" Robin pointed to a bend in the road by a small copse of trees, which would allow Robin, Kate, and Tuck to alight unseen by the guardsmen at the gates. Robin had thought the best thing would be for those on foot to follow closely behind the carriage, mingling with the townsfolk, then making their way to the rear of the Church where Isabella had told them she would unbar the door.

Jumping down from the seat, Robin looked back up at Much. "When you reach the church and the bride goes in," he bit his lip so as not to laugh, "I want you to slip in the back, Much. Because Allan doesn't have any weapons in his dress, you'll have to carry his sword and then throw it to him." Walking to the carriage door, Robin pulled it open for Kate and Tuck to alight. "Keep your head, Allan. Try not to say anything until the Bishop reaches the part when he says 'Does anyone object'. Thats when we'll make our move. Everyone OK with that?" He looked around at his fellow outlaws, checking that everyone was in agreement and knew what was expected of them.

[Tuck]

Tuck settled himself back as far in his hood as he could go. He looked at himself, and he was sure the other outlaws did the same, as definitely a junior member. He was simply concentrating on doing his part, and not causing anyone else problems that he was not supposed to. "No objections here Robin."

Tuck understood that he was first to get out of the carriage without a hitch, blend in with crowd of commoners outside and move through the entrance with carriage, staying close behind, so that he could provide the proper support at the proper time. He thought that some of the outlaws though that his fighting ability was suspect. He hoped that he would be able to demonstrate that all of his abilities, mental and physical, were up to the task. All he waited for now was Robin's signal to disembark.

[Allan A'Dale]

"Yeah, I reckon I can keep my gob shut," answered Allan, chewing over the plan in his head. "My bit's pretty simple from hereon out."

As long as he could manage to keep his head in the commotion, things should be fairly simple. He just hoped that no-one spotted it wasn't Rosetta in the dress. All eyes were going to be on him as he walked up that aisle.

[Much]

Much also stiffled a laugh as he thought of Allan walking down an Aisle. He nodded at Robin's arangement, and clambered down from the drivers seat, his cloak flapping as he fell to the ground with a thud. He climbed into the carriage, and snatched Allan's weapons, and concealed them under his cloak. Hidden in his person would be two sets of swords, and it was going to be extremely difficult to slip into the church unnoticed, especially if you didn't have a formal invite. But Isabella was apparently there to cover them, so hopefully things would be alright.

Without further ado, Much scampered towards the church entrance, and pressed his body against the side of the church wall, just beside the great looming door. He could already hear music from inside, and it occured to him that they were probably late. Hopefully Isabella would appear very soon.

[Isabella]

And she did. Isabella poked her head out of the small door that stood at one side of the church. As she had told Robin, she would be able to get the outlaws in via the entrance the priest used. She was far more uncomfortable than she normally was - firstly because of how precarious her situation was, though mostly because of the dagger concealed in her dress. She had arrived at the church earlier that morning by carriage, but, unlike the other guests, did not sit down at her place straightaway. Instead, she had taken the opportunity to blend in with the well-dressed crowd of nobility until she reached the side of the church where the entrance was, taking great care to avoid Prince John, her brother and the Sheriff of Nottingham as she did so. Fortunately for her, she had reached the entrance without much difficulty, though it did take a while. It was concealed with a screen that had been put up as a decoration for the occasion. She had had to dress up for the wedding, and the fussy dark blue velvet she was wearing was definitely not the most practical of garments, with its tight-fitting bodice, trailing sleeves and long, sweeping skirt.
As she pushed the door open quietly and looked around outside, she spotted Robin at once.
"Robin!" she hissed, trying not to make too much noise, "Over here!"

[Robin Hood]

Satisfied that everyone knew the gist of what they were doing, Robin led the outlaws, except for Much and Allan, through the crowded streets of Nottingham. As a group of guards marched towards them, Robin veered out of their path, making sure his hood was pulled close around his face. When they had passed, he beckoned to Kate and Tuck, leading them on.

Around the side of the Church, the crowds started to thin out and Robin inched along the stonework until he came to the Priest's door. Drawing his sword, Robin went to gently push the door open, when someone on the other side opened it. Robin rushed forwards, sword at the ready, but when he saw it was Isabella, Robin lowered it and held his finger up to his mouth, making a shushing noise. Sheathing his sword, Robin turned and looked out of the door to beckon the outlaws to hurry. When they all stood inside, Robin sheathed his sword and took his favourite weapon of choice, his bow, and strung an arrow to it. "You'd better head back to your seat, my Lady." He grinned at Isabella. "I've told Much to sneak in the main doors after the bride makes her...his....entrance." Nodding to her, Robin raised his bow, then led the way into the vestry.

As suspected, the room was empty. Robin walked cat-like to the thick embroidered curtain which had been pulled across door. There was a small gap where the curtains didn't meet and he put his eye to the chink. The Church was filling rapidly. Robin easily distinguished the Prince, the Sheriff and Gisborne. The Bishop of York was officiating and he looked as though that was only under duress. The rotund man was sweating profusely and kept looking to the back of the church for the bridal party.

"Right," Robin whispered as he turned to his outlaws. "Tuck, I need you to keep out of sight of the Bishop. I hope he won't recognise you. Head to the left. Kate, I need you to take the right. I'm going to head towards the altar. I should have a clear view of the Prince and the Sheriff. All right?"

[Allan A'Dale]

Allan gave it a couple of minutes before climbing out of the carriage, just to give the others a chance to get in position. After a while, he took a deep breath, steeled his nerves and stepped out.

He made his way on unsteady legs to the door of the church, and prepared to make his entrance.

[Tuck]

Tuck, now that he had joined the outlaws, wanted to make sure that he Satisfied that everyone knew the gist of what they were doing, so he was listening closely to Robin and his instructions. After Robin had given each of the others their specific instructions and orders he had turned to Friar Tuck to give him his.

"Tuck, I need you to keep out of sight of the Bishop. I hope he won't recognise you."

"As long as I stay in the crowd to some degree, Robin, I think it will hide me enough so that he won't be able to find or identify me. However, Robin, I'll never be too far away, so that I'll be able to back you up easily when the time comes."

[Much]

Much jolted as he heard an abrupt hiss emerge from just next to him. He spun around, only to find Isabella, with her head poked around a small door. Much creased his forehead, and he clutched his heart, still overcoming the shock. Robin, Tuck and Kate advanced towards her. He gave her a nod of greating, and slid his way around to the back of the church, where he needed to be.

As soon as Much had reached the back of the church, he gulped as he noticed there was a small door. He wrapped his dark cloak tighter around his body. How can I stand at the back of the church without getting noticed? he thought. His frown deepened as panic started to build up inside of him. It was always like this when they went on important missions. Much swore he should have had a heart attack by now.

Before he knew what he was thinking, one of Prince John's guards suddenly walked out of the small door. Much gaped, and for a moment they both stood in silence. Suddenly, the guard lunged forewards with his sword. Much ducked and let out a small screaching sound, as he span around so that he was behind the guard. He gave him a firm knock to the head, and the guard lay on the floor in a crumpled heap. Much stared at the guard for a little while longer, and then a thought occured to him.

Much entered the back of the church, wearing the uniform that the guard had been wearing. He felt like a complete idiot, but things could have been a lot worse. He could have been wearing a dress. He stepped forewards awkwardly, and joined the line of soldiers who were standing at the back of the church. He cleared his throat, and prepared himself to stand completely still.

[Isabella]

Isabella stepped aside to let Robin pass, along with Tuck and Kate. Seeing Robin put a finger to his lips, she did not speak. He was right to keep as quiet as possible – they were a matter of feet away from the nearest guests, and if anyone noticed their presence, the whole plan would be in tatters, and Allan might actually have to marry Prince John. Isabella listened to Robin explaining where Much was, and nodded as he told her to get back to her seat. She’d done what she needed to do – now she just had to get back to the wedding and hope that nobody had noticed she had been gone for the past minute or so.
She carefully returned to the crowd of guests in the church, trying her best to mingle in amongst them and look like she was enjoying herself. The ‘bride’ would be arriving at any moment – and now there was nothing for it but to sit back and enjoy the show, knowing that in approximately half an hour, everyone in the church was in for a surprise.

[Allan A'Dale]

Right, this was it now, he decided. No more mucking about, no more hesitating, it was now or never. He grabbed the tiny flask he'd hidden under the dress, and drained it in one swig. It tasted foul, but he could really do with a little something to steady his nerves. He wasn't sure exactly how this was supposed to work, but he'd been to weddings before and they weren't that complicated. No-one had come to fetch him, so they were probably all ready and waiting.

He pushed open the doors and heard the musicians start up. He stood there, frozen, for a couple of seconds and realised he ought to be walking up the aisle. Slowly, carefully he concentrated on putting on foot in front of the other. He couldn't see any of the others, but to be honest he was trying his best to keep his head down. After what felt like an age, he reached the altar and took a deep breath. That was the first part over with. He just hoped John didn't look at him too closely.

[Robin Hood]

Robin crept along in the shadows towards the Chancel. Pausing by a pillar, he stepped backwards to avoid a nobleman and his woman as they hurried to take their seats. Then, with catlike grace, the outlaw continued forwards until he reached the carved stone pulpit. Ducking behind it, Robin pulled a couple of arrows from his quiver and readied his bow.

A hush fell over the congregation and, as he moved slightly, Robin could see a veiled figure by the church doors. He grinned. Damn him, Allan looked very convincing! A movement in the corner of Robin's eye made the outlaw concentrate on the job in hand.

Prince John stood on the altar steps, looking back down the aisle towards Allan. He had flung his arms open wide. "My dear child," The Prince smiled, although the warmth of the smile failed to reach his eyes. "Oh, my dear child. What an honour you do me, in agreeing to become my wife." Then the Prince turned to the Bishop. "Let us begin with the ceremony," John ordered, beckoning for his bride to approach.

[Tuck]

Tuck followed Robin as best as he could, so that he would know where to move to to support him when the time came. He had new-found respect for Robin's ability. "I wonder where he learned this or who taught him these skills," Tuck whispered to himself.

He saw that steadily Robin was getting himself into a position where he would have a fine field of fire with his bow across the entire area of the chamber. As a result Tuck move to a central spot in the gathering so he would have the same field of fire just in the opposite direction.

Although he knew he would not have the speed of fire that Robin would, it had the potential for establishing a deadly crossfire between them if the need arose, and Tuck would be able to cover an escape by both Robin and Allan if the need arose. Tuck understood that, in that event he might not be able to escape as easily.

Almost simultaneously Tuck became aware of the commotion near the doors and saw, over his shoulder, the prospective bride, and then heard Prince John encouraging the beginning of the ceremony. As far as Tuck knew, all of the players were in their proper places. It was just that they didn't know an extra security force of Robin's outlaws were present. Fortunately, Tuck knew, he was protected enough from view that nobody could identify him. "Well, let the festivities commence," he whispered with a small smile

[Allan A'Dale]

Bloody hell. When John started up, Allan started to wonder if this was why Rosetta was so...eccentric. Spending any amount of time with the prince was probably enough to send anyone up the wall.

The Bishop was droning on now, invoking God and who knew else what. He'd long past the point where he felt guilty for not paying attention in church.

[Much]

Much stood as still as his bones could allow at the back of the church. Already his muscles were starting to ache, and he glanced to the right slightly to spy on the guard next to him. He was staring straight ahead, a zombie like expression plastered across his face. Much imitated the guard, focusing on a man seated in the audience who was wearing an extravigant looking hat.

The music started up and Much's eyes focused on the white veiled figure across the room. It took him quite a long time to register it was actually Allan, and he wheezed, trying desperately to hide his laughter. He spluttered, and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think of something else.

The ceremony moved sluggishly along, and Much was itching all over. He fiddled uncomfortably in his Guard's outfit, and wished with every fibre of his being for the wedding to be over. He'd never been to a wedding before, and they wern't as interesting as people made them out to be.