Sherwood (5 page)

Enders smiled a bit. “Yeah.
You really did.”

Harlow smiled at her hands
in her lap, before looking at him. “Well, I'm fine, man. Thanks for
the concern.”

Enders sighed and moved
slightly, to stand up. “Alright, I'll let you get to sleep
then.”

Harlow nodded, offering a
slight smile, moving to lay back down.

“
But, um,” He
said, before she laid back down. “I'm sorry about Robin Hood. He
was being melodramatic. You're really good with those throwing
knives.”

Harlow furrowed her
eyebrows at him. “Thank you.” Harlow said, smiling at
him.

Enders nodded at her,
feeling discontent with the situation. To Harlow, it seemed he felt
responsible, although she couldn't figure out why. “Well,
goodnight.” He said as he stood up and walked across the room to
his cot.

Harlow gave him one last
nod as he walked away. She furrowed her eyebrows as she laid down,
but exhaustion took over her and she was asleep before Enders made
it to his own cot.

*~*~*

“
Hold your sword steady, Henry. You'll take the
offensive stance.” Robin exclaimed as he walked in between groups
of recruits. Circles were made with wooden blocks to create several
small rings for training. Robin weaved behind Harlow, on the other
side of the circle as he examined her fighting.

It had been four days since
Enders sent an arrow through Robin's shirt.

Naturally, Robin had been
keeping a close eye at him, making sure he was stable and
trustworthy. Robin had told the recruits a day or so ago that in
the forest that you must trust the people around you, that if you
couldn't trust them, you may as well be fighting a war on your
own.

Harlow noticed his eyes on
Enders every time the two were training, but by extension, Robin
would keep a close eye on her as well, often times congratulating
her on her stances and technique.

“
Enders, you
try to block and maneuver. This is your defensive stance.” Robin
continued his exclamations.

Enders paused for a moment
after Robin passed and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He tilted
his head and looked at Harlow.

Harlow smiled a little bit
and shrugged.

Robin turned to all the
other groups. “Follow this pattern, all of you! One person takes
the offensive, the other takes the defensive!” He shouted so
everyone could hear.

Robin placed everyone in
partners of two, setting each group up based on their level of
expertise in swordplay, placing inexperienced people with similarly
inexperienced people and so on.

He stepped back after a few
more explanatory words, making sure he could see everyone.
“Everybody ready?!” He shouted. A few Aye's rang out in the forest.
“Start!”

Harlow looked at Enders,
holding her sword at her side, the tip digging into the ground.
“You ready to lose, Hode?”

Enders smiled at her
sarcastically. “Not gonna happen, McBride.”

Harlow chuckled a bit,
keeping him off guard before swinging her stick at him.

Enders was quick, throwing
up his own stick to deflect the strike. The two pieces of carved
wood collided, causing an intense vibration to crawl down her arms.
“That's cheap, McBride.”

Harlow grinned, trying to
cover up the slight thumping of her heart at the sight of his hair
swinging attractively just above his eyes, and the way he smiled
mischievously at her.

*~*~*

Harlow let out a loud
'Oof,' as her shoulder collided with the dirt. It didn't hurt at
first, but it frustrated her. She rolled her eyes and lifted
herself up to see Enders standing victoriously on the other end of
the circle. A smug grin plagued his lips, as he leaned against his
wooden sword which protruded from the ground. “Had enough?” He
asked, lifting the stick and directing his attention to the wooden
material in his hand.

Harlow gritted her teeth,
rubbing her shoulder. “Not quite.” She hissed, lifting her stick
and preparing for battle.

Enders lifted an eyebrow,
tapping the side of his lip twice, motioning for her to touch her
own.

Harlow paused for a moment
to check herself. Enders was right, she was bleeding from the
inside of her cheek. It had been seeping out of her mouth as she
narrowed her eyes at Enders.

He didn't look worried at
her blood. Instead, he looked even more confident. “You should
probably stop for now.”

Harlow raised an eyebrow,
although angrily. “I'm fine, Hode. Are you getting too tired to
keep it up?”

Enders let out a small
chuckle. “No, no. Simply tired of winning, that's all.” He grinned
at her, confidently checking his nails.

Harlow gritted her teeth
again, adrenaline rushing through her veins. She started to feel
more awake. Her blood boiled with anger, with frustration, with
hatred, and with the power of a thousand horses. She couldn't take
his arrogance any longer.

Harlow quickly raised her
wooden weapon and charged at him, faking him out on his left and
rushing to his right. She jabbed him quickly, making him grip his
left side. Then she rushed over and slammed the whole side of her
weapon into his stomach. He let out a loud, painful noise before he
doubled over quickly.

While he was vulnerable,
Harlow took the blunt end of the wooden stick and let it come down
hard on his upper back, causing him to fall over onto the
dirt.

She angrily sauntered over
to where he lay and placed the wood on his side, pushing him onto
his back. He breathed heavily, blood dripping down the side of his
mouth as well. He looked up at her with angry eyes.

She placed her foot just
below his throat, and when he moved to stand up, she pressed down
harder to keep him from getting up. She looked down at him angrily,
keeping her foot pressed down on his chest while she moved the tip
of her carved stick to his neck. Harlow paused for a moment, his
intense eyes glaring at her, and hers returning the glare. “Is that
really all you've got, Hode?” She asked him, an eyebrow raised, and
frustration still in her eyes.

The adrenaline she'd had a
few moments ago left her behind, returning her to her tired and
sore state. The pain in her shoulder came back with so much
ferocity that it nearly immobilized her.

She stumbled back a bit,
releasing him from her foot's grip on his neck. She extended her
hand, which he'd contemplated refusing, but gripped it
regardless.

Enders knew that he'd
over-stepped the arrogance boundary and had royally frustrated his
opponent. The least he could do would be to mend the friendship
while it still existed.

Harlow lifted her head to
her surrounding, realizing the eerie quietness that existed at the
moment. The circles of men had stopped fighting and had turned
their attentions to Harlow and Enders.

Harlow raised an eyebrow at
the men in annoyance. “Shows over, Men!” She yelled out in her best
masculine tone, which had improved in the last few days.

The men all turned back to
their fights, some smiled at her before they turned back, signaling
that she had their approval as far as the battlefield
went.

Everyone had stayed in
their circle, except for a few men who wandered just a bit closer
from the back of the field, so the sound of progressive swordplay
picked up rather fast.

Harlow stumbled a bit
closer to Enders. “Are you okay?” She asked, leaning on her sword,
which she'd stabbed into the sand-like dirt.

Enders looked up from his
hands and connected his eyes with hers, his eyebrow raised as
always. “Aye, I'm fine.”

Harlow raised her eyebrow
at him, mocking him, bringing one hand to the side of her mouth and
tapping it twice for him to check the blood that dripped out of the
edge.

Enders chuckled, and rubbed
his mouth on his sleeve. “I may have underestimated you, McBride.
Maybe we should stop for a break.” He turned his back to walk
away.

Harlow shrugged regardless
of her intense amount of pain. “You scared, Hode?”

She didn't know why she
pushed so hard; why she cared so much to prove herself.

Enders paused and turned to
face her again, a grin on his lips. He walked back into the circle
and raised his sword in a defensive nature. “Never.”

Chapter
Six

The sun started to go over
the horizon four days later.

Harlow stood offensively in
the circle. The last couple of days, she'd been out in the training
circles with Enders, practicing different strategic
moves.

At the moment, Enders was
knocked down on his back, heaving in and letting out ragged
breaths.

Harlow stood victoriously
in front of him, looking down. “Oh, Come on, Hode.” Harlow
chuckled, realizing a second to late how feminine the words sounded
from her mouth.

The sudden, sharp,
high-pitched version of his name made him perk up and grin. “Oh
yeah? Looks like manhood hit you a little late, wouldn't ya say,
McBride?”

Harlow raised an eyebrow
and rolled her eyes. “Say what you will. You're the one on the
ground.”

Enders stood up, his
breathing still a tad ragged, although he could stand just fine. “I
doubt it will stay that way for long.” He said, looking down at his
hands, examining them.

Harlow noticed his attitude
take a slightly more arrogant turn of events.

She rolled her eyes when he
wasn't paying attention. “Ready?” She asked, positioning herself
better.

He took a step or two
forward. “Aye.”

Harlow gave him several
more seconds to prepare while she raised her hand to her hair and
made sure her hat was securely on her head.

She was unprepared when
Enders came flying toward her, his wooden sword raised in hand, and
his eyes focused on her.

Quickly Harlow dodged out
of the way, rolling on the ground and landing back on her feet in
one fluid motion. She looked at the ground, smiling to herself
because of her agility.

Still, Enders came toward
her, and he didn't look like he had any intent on
stopping.

She understood that he was
practicing, but she felt afraid. She knew she could yell and ask
him to stop, and he would, but she was scared to do so.

Instead she looked around
her. Her wooden sword was on the ground away from her. She'd felt
it fall away from her when she dodged, but had no intent of getting
struck by the wooden stick.

She ran to the side, then
spun backward when Enders came toward her.

Without thinking, she flung
her elbow up making the sharpest noise she'd ever heard come from
the human body.

She turned around as Enders
stumbled backward a bit, his eyes wide.

Enders had dropped his
sword, both hands up to his face holding his nose, blood pouring
through the cracks in his fingers.

Harlow rushed over quickly,
grabbing his sword on the way. “Whoa! Enders, are you okay?!” She
exclaimed.

Enders looked down at his
hands, then up to her. “I don't know, do I look okay?” He asked
sarcastically, scanning her over with his eyes. “What do you have
in those bones, McBride? Stone?”

Harlow looked at him
annoyed, an eyebrow raised. “My Father taught me how to use my
limbs as weapons when I have nothing else.”

Enders rolled his eyes in
annoyance. “Yeah, you're father was a great man, we all know
that.”

Harlow looked around,
relieved that no one else was on the field, most everyone gathering
around fires to eat their dinner.

The sun was still shining,
although going down over the horizon.

“
Enders,
what's wrong with you?” Harlow asked suspiciously. “You're acting
like an animal.” She said.

That was the wrong thing to
say.

Or maybe it was just the
wrong time to say it.

“
I'm
acting like
an animal?!” Enders shouted. “
I'm acting like an animal?
No, No, Henry.
I'm
acting like a
normal, fighting soldier.
I'm
doing what I have
to do.
You're
always bragging, always acting
better than everyone else. You're always talking about how great
you're father was and how much he taught you. You're trying to live
out some legend without actually having the capability to be the
legacy.
I'm
no animal.
You're
the
animal.” Enders accused, keeping his voice level and looking down
at his blood covered hands. Most of the bleeding had stopped, but
that didn't stop him from being angry.

Harlow was taken aback for
a moment. “So what exactly do you hold against me? You hold it
against me that I'm proud of my father? That I'm not as good a
fighter as I should be?” Harlow started to get angry, raising her
voice. “You're not making any sense, Enders. If you're going to
fight with someone at least have the decency to have manners!” She
exclaimed the last word, filling the forest with echoes.