Sherwood (10 page)

She expected the pain when
it happened, her body losing it's will to hang on, she was flung
into a nearby tree, crashing to the ground.

Harlow scrambled to her
feet, trying to remind herself that she wasn't in any real danger.
This was just a game, after all, but that couldn't stop the
pounding of her heart, and the fear in her eyes.

The moment the man lifted
his bow felt like the world slowed it's motion, a joyous smile
invading his lips as he did so. Harlow watched as he pulled the
string on his bow back.

Then, time
sped up. An arrow
did
fly, but the man standing before her
still held his in his hand. A loud thump sounded off of the man's
shoulder as his eyes immediately looked to his right.

The man shouted a loud
expletive, as he lowered his bow. A smile splayed on his lips as he
looked to his right, addressing the person there. “I've got to say,
that was a damn good shot.” The man shook his head and turned away
from Harlow, walking toward Sherwood City.

Harlow felt frozen in time.
Her heart hadn't slowed down, and she felt like she was going to
faint from exhaustion.

Her eyes widened and a sigh
of relief left her lips as she saw Enders come out from behind the
oak tree she'd been thrown against.

He said nothing, simply
extending his hand to her.

Harlow muttered a low
“thank you,” before taking his hand and getting on her feet. She
looked around as adrenaline started to pump through her veins.
“What happened to Candor?”

Enders sighed, frustration
clear in his voice. “He's out.”

Harlow was slightly taken
aback. “The flag?”

“
The others
took it back.” Enders took a few steps forward, waiting slightly
for her to walk with him.

Harlow raised an eyebrow,
sighing. “Are Rawley and Elwin still at the clearing?”

Enders shook his head.
“They were found out.”

Harlow let her mouth hang
open. “You and I are the only two left.”

Enders smiled
sarcastically, tilting his head somewhat. “Not exactly. They're
being held captive. The other team says they'll only give us our
archers if we give them two flags, leaving us with only our own.”
He sighed again, his exhaustion clear at this point. “We could try
and fight them now that they're down one person, but somehow I
don't imagine that ending well.”

Harlow nodded at the
situation. Silence filled the air for a few minutes as the two
slowed down and leaned against trees.

“
We don't
have much of a choice.” Harlow said, looking at a groggy Enders.
“We have to fight without Rawley and Elwin.”

Enders sighed, not wanting
to move. “I know.”

*~*~*

Harlow managed to climb one
of the largest trees on the outskirts of the other teams' meeting
area. She watched down below as the men held Rawley and Elwin at
arrow-point, Enders slowly making his way up a tree.

The two had come to the
conclusion that it wasn't likely that they'd save either of the
archers in time. When the team was aware of their presence, they'd
make sure to knock Rawley and Elwin out of the game.

Enders had finally made his
way to a comfortable, high, sturdy branch above the opposing teams'
eyesight. He turned to Harlow, pointing down to a man on the right
of the area.

Harlow, having no bow, held
a bag of rocks and sticks. She looked to Enders and nodded, her
sign that she was ready to ambush.

Enders nodded back,
training his eye on the man.

Harlow held up a rock,
throwing it down at the man she'd been aiming for. She missed
terribly, but it served to startle and shock him
temporarily.

The man jumped, causing a
commotion, running toward the other team members and telling them
to take out the captives.

Rawley was shot in the
shoulder first, Elwin being shot in the chest, after much protest
from both men. They stood up, sadly, and made their way west toward
the Sherwood encampment.

Harlow noticed that Enders
didn't miss a shot. He was a fast shooter, and he was accurate. She
compared him in her mind to the likes of Robin Hood
himself.

Harlow, on the other hand,
wasn't offering much in the way of battle.

That's when the men spotted
her in the tree. She looked around, trying to find an escape route.
Finding none, she tried to climb down.

Her feet lost balance, her
body shook from being malnourished, and without warning, her body
toppled over the high branch.

When she fell, it didn't
feel like anything. It was only when she hit the ground that she
realized that she wasn't that high at all.

She stared up at Enders in
the tree above her, trying hard to aim accurately at the men coming
toward her. He sent an arrow flying but it was too late.

Harlow felt the pain of the
headless arrow before she realized she'd been hit. She raised a
hand immediately to her chest where the arrow had made contact with
her body, just under her collarbone. That would be a bad bruise,
she knew.

Less than twenty seconds
passed before Enders fell out of his tree, landing beside her with
a loud thud, and earning his own arrow to the shoulder.

Chapter
Eight

The sun sat low on the
horizon as Harlow stared up at the trees in the distance. The sun
felt warm on her skin, and she didn't want to miss any of the
sunlight that she could get. She loved watching the sun as it went
down, signifying the end of a day and the transition to night. It
felt calming and quiet. She felt peaceful and at ease as she
watched the summer trees sway in the wind.

She chewed on her bottom
lip as she watched the water wave gently around itself. Anxiety
closed in on her as she furrowed her eyebrows at the water. Did she
even really belong?

She chuckled to herself, a
small, sad smile on her lips. No, of course she didn't belong, and
she knew it. Other than the totally obvious fact that she was a
woman, she had no desire for blood-lust like the other outlaws had.
She had no want to kill people or be the best outlaw there ever
was. Hell, she didn't even care for raiding other people's things.
In fact, if they weren't raiding rich and corrupt folk, Harlow
would have refused to participate.

Many times she thought she
might be greedy, wanting her father's safety above the safety of an
entire village. But the truth of the matter was that Harlow had
never really been selfish. Not with material things, not with her
family, not with anything.

For that reason, she felt
alienated from all those around her.

Outlaws were supposed to be
greedy, angry, compulsive, and brutal.

And, she was none of those
things.

Her ears perked up slightly
as she heard the pier creak under her, footsteps echoing along the
length of the wooden planks.

She didn't bother to look
up, assuming that whoever it was would walk past her and dive into
the lake. Instead the creaking came closer and got louder, and
stopped altogether next to her.

Harlow looked up, surprised
by the sight of Robin Hood, standing, nonchalantly looking over the
lake, and into the horizon. “Oh!” She blurted out, shocked at his
presence. “Hood!” She reached one hand up and made sure her hair
was safely tucked into her hat. “I was, uh...”

Robin smiled and looked
around. “May I?” He asked motioning to the pier beside
her.

Harlow relaxed, nodding as
he took a seat beside her, shaking the pier ever so slightly with
his movement. She tilted her attention back to the sunset when
Robin started to sit.

The two sat in a
comfortable silence for a few seconds.

“
It's
beautiful, Isn't it?” Robin asked, breaking the silence, a
comfortable smile on his lips.

Harlow turned to glance at
him quickly, trying to figure out what exactly he was thinking.
“Yes, It absolutely is.”

Harlow mentally kicked
herself for the high-pitched words that came out of her mouth,
although by the look of it, Robin hadn't noticed.

“
Everyone who
comes here,” He said, taking In a deep breath and sighing, “doesn't
truly see it. They come because they have to fight or they have no
other place to go.” He paused, leaning over the pier, dipping his
hand in the cool, clear water. “No one ever comes here to see the
beauty of it all.”

Harlow nodded and let her
feet dangle off the pier lazily. “I notice.” She said, looking down
at her hands. “The beauty, I mean.”

Robin smiled at the water
in his hands. “At least someone does.”

Another silence although
comforting befell on the two.

Robin fiddled with
something in his hands as Harlow slouched, watching the water
glisten as the sun descended over the horizon.

“
Do you
always watch the sun fall out here?” Robin asked, giving her a
quick look before looking back to the item in his hands.

Harlow shrugged, glancing
back at him. She took in a deep breath before letting out a breathy
“No.” She turned her attention to the glistening waters again. “Not
all the time. I try to whenever I'm not to tired.”

Robin laughed. “At least
you make the effort to notice the nature around you.” He paused.
“You chose the best spot to watch the sunset.” A small smile
splayed on his lips, his fingertips still grazing over the item in
his hands. “This forest makes you forget about the things you left
behind. It's nice to have a quiet place to remember all of the
things you're here for.” He reached into the water again. “Warm
baths, comfortable beds...” He trailed off.

“
Your wife
and your son.” Harlow blurted out before she realized what she
said.

To her amazement, Robin
chuckled. “Aye, and your father.”

Harlow nodded, a small
smile still lingering on her lips. She felt Robin start to move,
his feet shuffling under him as he stood up, the pier shaking with
the movement. “It matters not why we do something, but who we're
doing that thing for.” He said, sighing as he stared out at the
lake again.

Harlow felt the footsteps
as he turned his back and started back down the pier.

“
Oh, Henry!”
Robin called out, turning around and cupping his hands around his
mouth and capturing her attention. She turned her head to him, her
eyebrow raised expectantly. His feet moved him backward as he
spoke. “Good work today. You've been promoted! Your first raiding
party is next week!”

Harlow sat shocked, her
mouth hanging open, a huge grin on the edge of her lips. She wanted
to shout back and ask if he was insane, but before she could
respond, he'd raced down the pier and was on his way to the town
plaza.

Harlow shook her head
incredulously. She stared in a daze out at the water. All her
doubts seemed to have dissolved, all her fears vanished, and she
felt true happiness for the first time since she'd
arrived.

She grinned, her heart
fluttering with joy.

She finally
belonged.

Chapter
Nine

Harlow took her first step
out of the cabin that morning and walked over to a clearing next to
the pier. She leaned her left shoulder against a tree and looked
out over the lake that sat quietly in Sherwood. She smiled at the
water and closed her eyes, feeling the breeze caress her face. The
wind pushed gently at her hat, but the fabric on her head didn't
budge at all.

It had been two weeks since
she'd been promoted to a commander. Harlow ran over her teammates
in her head. She knew their strengths and their weaknesses. She
knew where to put them and what they were good for. She felt
confident, but for some reason she was putting off her first
raid.

Robin had come to her two
days ago and told her that she would be doing the raid this morning
and that was final. He said there would be an important caravan
coming through and it might contain powerful information on the
royal castle.

Harlow tried to tell him
she wasn't well, that she couldn't do it today, but he told her he
would have none of that. She was a McBride. She could do
anything.

Harlow stared over the
lake. She was a littler nervous about having three other lives
resting in her hands. She wondered if her father would be proud of
her and her accomplishments. Of course he would be angry, but maybe
he would be proud that she'd followed in his footsteps.

“
Henry,” a
voice called from behind her.

Harlow opened her eyes, her
thoughts stopping and her heart pausing at the voice. She felt
herself get self-conscious in front of him.

“
Enders,” She
greeted him back. She heard him step closer, and when he came into
her vision, she refused to look at him and get herself distracted.
She hadn't forgotten that Enders was under her command now, but it
didn't help to think about it. She felt a blush of red creep to her
cheeks, but she suppressed it.