Aftermath

Chapter Six: Assault in Sherwood Forest

Will and Much didn’t think it was a good idea to seek revenge on the Sheriff without Robin. Shamir decided that if Robin wasn’t taking revenge on the Sheriff, he wasn’t, either. John was still all for the revenge taking idea.

Robin continued to not take revenge on the Sheriff for what he did. He wanted to forget about the whole incident, and for the most part, succeeded. He still had the occasional nightmare, or flashback, but they were fewer in occurrence than before. Marian was pleased with Robin’s progress and prayed for the day when he’d cease being plagued with those horrible memories.

****

Robin was taking a walk in Sherwood Forest one night, when he was suddenly knocked to the ground from behind. Robin kicked his attacker, with little effect. He took out a dagger and stabbed the man holding him down. The man howled in pain and released his hold on Robin. Robin quickly got to his feet. The man now stood, brandishing a shiny bit of metal.

He ran towards Robin, slashing at him with his knife. Robin jumped away, the knife grazing the back of his arm. Robin cried out in pain, and held his dagger defensively. The man hit Robin in the head. Robin stumbled back a little and hit back; dropping his knife in the process. The man shoved Robin to the ground; clawing at his face and tunic. Robin ineffectively tried to get the stranger off of him, as the man threw a length of rope around Robin’s neck and flipped him over onto his stomach. Robin pulled at the rope that was choking him. There was the sound of ripping material. The man was trying to cut Robin’s leggings with his knife.

“NO!” cried out Robin, struggling to get away from his attacker.

Robin finally grasped his dagger and carefully cut the rope and threw the man off of him once more. Once he was back on his feet, Robin ran back towards camp. He hadn’t gotten very far, when he ran into something solid. Robin realized that he had run into a woman hanging from a tree branch, dead. She had several knife wounds and was stripped bare. Robin backed away from the corpse and ran into another body. Robin turned and saw that this one was a boy. He was exactly the same as the woman. There were others nearby. They were all women and children. He could hear the man coming, so he started running again.

****

The man soon caught up with Robin. They fought a bit, before the stranger gained the upper hand. Fortunately for Robin, Will Scarlet and Much appeared. Before Will and Much got a good look at Robin’s attacker, the man fled the scene. Much knelt next to their fallen leader, while Will tried to chase after the stranger.

“Will!” Much called, seeing Robin’s various stab wounds.

Will heard Much and ran back.

“What is it, Much?” asked Will.

Then, he noticed Robin, who was getting up.

“Will,” said Robin, “Much. I certainly am pleased to see you two.”

Robin’s voice was a bit hoarse. Will helped Robin to stand.

“Robin, who was that? What happened?” inquired Much.

“I don’t know who it was, Much,” answered Robin, “and as for what happened, well, you can see the results for yourself.”

****
Back at camp, much fuss was made over Robin’s newest injuries. Once the knife wounds had all been tended to, Robin was seated by the fire, Marian at his side. The others were gathered nearby, discussing the attack, of course.

“Who do you think it was?” wondered Much.

“Probably someone sent by the Sheriff,” commented Will.

There were murmurs of agreement (mostly from Little John), but Robin disagreed.

“No,” he said, “this isn’t the Sheriff’s work, I’m afraid.”

Robin shivered, remembering things he wished to forget.

The ever watchful Marian noticed and said, “I think it would be wise to hold this discussion another time.”

“Agreed,” chimed Shamir, solemnly.

****

Robin didn’t tell them right away about the bodies in the trees. He didn’t even want to think about it himself. He wanted to forget about the whole encounter, but knew his assailant had to be stopped, whoever he was.