Leaderless Resistance
Title: Leaderless Resistance
Rating: g
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with BBC's Robin Hood - except for three DVD-boxes and six audio-books.
Summary: Whether Robin was himself or not did not matter at the moment. The truth was the archer was neglecting his duties as a leader, friend and former member of the King's Private Guard.
A/N: Written for the missing scenes/postscript ficathon on the Robin Hood Fan Community.
This scene is "missing" from episode 1x13 (A Clue: No). It takes place between Robin and Much's scene on the hillside and the scene in which Edward and the gang discuss their plan to save the King. It's written from Will's POV.
Leaderless Resistance
There's a price that's given and which only love can pay
And the time is here and now, don't let it fade away
~*~
- SHERWOOD FOREST, THE OUTLAWS' CAMP -
"Robin is not himself."
Will turned his head in the direction Much's voice had come from. "What?"
Robin's former servant stalked into the camp with an agitated expression on his face. He looked tense and he was giving off even stronger don't-laugh-at-me vibes than usual.
Djaq tentatively took a step towards him. "Much?"
The gang was gathered around the remains of a small fire. Much, standing stiffly in the middle of the camp, stared into the extinguishing flames for a while without saying anything. Just when Allan opened his mouth - probably to comment on his odd behavior - Much folded his arms in front of him and cradled his chest as if to compose himself. "Robin is . . . He is . . ."
"What happened?" Little John wanted to know.
Allan popped a piece of bread into his mouth. "D'you get a chance to talk to Robin?"
Much looked at Will and the others, took a deep breath and visibly tried to calm himself. "He is . . . angry," he managed eventually.
"Of course he is," Allan said, grinning widely. Noticing the staring faces of his fellow gang members, he continued, "What? Marian's gonna marry Gisborne tomorrow. I'm not being funny, guys, but we'd be angry, too."
"We are angry," Little John informed Allan, fixing him with a glare.
"Yeah, yeah, 'f course we are. It's just - you know . . . We're not actually losing her, are we? Oi, Much, where is Robin anyway? Weren't you gonna fetch him?"
Much's shoulders trembled slightly. He didn't respond to Allan's question.
Will studied Much's expression closely. "What did he say?" he asked softly. Robin had been angry many times before, but Much had never appeared as upset as he did right now. There was something more.
"He is . . ." Much dropped his head. He seemed to have a hard time telling them this. Will knew Robin's former servant hated thinking, let alone speaking badly of Robin with every fiber of his being. "He is not going to help Edward and the other nobles save the King."
The silence that followed hung thick in the air.
"Say what?" Allan was the first one to recover his voice.
"Robin will not protect the King?" Djaq asked incredulously.
Much slowly shook his head. "He told me to . . . leave him alone. He will not listen to reason and he will not return to us." He shook his head again, more forcefully this time as if to clear it. "He is not himself."
Will bit his lip. Whether Robin was himself or not did not matter at the moment. The truth was the archer was neglecting his duties as a leader, friend and former member of the King's Private Guard.
The question was, "What do we do?"
The others stared at Will, not having an answer to his question. Ironically, the person who usually made the life-and-death decisions around the camp was the reason why the question was raised in the first place.
Little John's knuckles whitened around his staff. "We get Robin," he said gruffly.
Much looked up at him. "We can't. You can't. He's . . . I don't think . . . Maybe in time -"
"Time, we do not have."
Much's lower lip trembled. "He is . . . upset."
"Hang on a moment," Allan interjected. "I feel sorry for Robin and all, but he can't just run off every time something doesn't go his way. It's getting a bit trying really."
"You -" Much seemed ready to lunge at him.
"Stop it," Djaq said. "John's right. We do not have time to fight. We need to get Robin."
"He won't come," Much cried exasperatedly.
Will stared at Much's agitated face and tried to come to terms with his statement. Robin had abandoned them once before. Back then, he had been blinded by his hate for Gisborne and his loyalty to the King. Now, it seemed his desire to protect his King was not as strong as Will had believed.
"It's Marian," Allan muttered darkly and Will raised his head to look at his friend as realization dawned on him. "It's always Marian."
Much made a convulsive movement and his shoulders sagged dejectedly. "Nothing we can do about that," he said wearily, sounding like a man who'd accepted this fact a long time ago.
Little John nodded. "Then we leave him be."
Djaq gave him a doubtful look. "You think we should -"
"I'm not doing anything without Robin," Allan stated bluntly. "What? He's the one who never stops lecturing us about how Richard is England's only hope. I'm not being funny, guys; it's always Richard this, Richard that . . . And now the King needs saving and Robin wants us to do the dirty work? Look, I don't care if he's himself or not. Fact is, he's off sulking somewhere and I'm sorry, guys, but I'm not gonna -"
"This isn't about Robin," Will interrupted him quietly. "It's bigger than him." He gave his friends a meaningful look. "It's about England."
Little John nodded. "We save the King."
Djaq seemed torn. Will knew she hadn't joined the gang to fight for King Richard. She was willing to raise her sword for justice, but would rather raise it against the man who'd slaughtered so many of her people.
He also knew she would never turn her back on her friends.
After a moment of indecision, Djaq gave a small nod. "Grab your weapons," she told Allan, already reaching for her own knife.
Will's fingers curled around his axe. "We do this?" he asked, just to be sure.
Little John nodded. "We go to Knighton."
"Knighton? What's the King gonna do in -"
"Edward," Will said simply. "We join up with Edward. He'll know what to do."
The others nodded in silence. They were committed and they were capable but without Robin, Will knew they needed someone else to guide them. And the old Sheriff had said to have a plan.
He might even have a completed one.
Just before they left the camp, the carpenter saw Much cast one last look over his shoulder in the direction of Locksley. "You keep scratching, Robin," the blond man said quietly. "We have a King to save. Yours."
With those words, he spun around and joined up with Will and the others.
- end of scene -