Fic: Better Days Will Come 26
Title: Better Days Will Come
By: Kegel
Fandom: Robin Hood BBC
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Anything that you recognize I do not own.
Summary: A twist of history and an unexpected offer give Robin new opportunities in his fight for both his people and country. It also brings new dilemmas, as he and the gang have to make hard choices to find their way when conflicts come to a head.
Spoilers: Till mid-season 2.
Chapter 26: Changes
Gisborne had been at the castle yard, mixed in with all of the guards and onlookers as the prince arrived. He had wanted to see for himself what was going on. He had also seen Robin, reinstated noble on the steps of the castle and it had stung. It should have been him standing there as the Master-at-arms, greeting the prince.
When the sheriff, the prince and the nobles had finally moved into the castle, Gisborne had followed. He had planned to go to the Great Hall with them, but then he had seen that Hood had not gone that way. Instead he had slipped away, had taken a corridor that led the opposite direction. Guy was intrigued, knowing that Hood was up to something that the sheriff would not like. So much for upholding the law, now that he had been pardoned.
Gisborne followed the man and it was only because he had to take care not to be recognized in the castle, for the sheriff probably still wanted him dead - all thanks to Hood - that he lost sight of the man. It took little thinking though that made him realise the former outlaw was headed for the sheriff's quarters, taking opportunity of the fact that the sheriff was busy elsewhere. Once he reached Vaysey's chambers, Guy had to knock out a guard. If Hood was to be blamed for that later, only the better.
To his surprise he could then hear voices coming from the sheriff's bedroom. He had seen Hood coming up here alone, so who was he with now? A few more moments and Guy recognized Marian's voice and the realisation was bitter, that she was here again working with Robin, both of them breaking into the sheriff's rooms. Slowly moving forward he tried to hear what they were saying and he could hear his name being mentioned.
Taking a few quick strides into the bedroom, he saw them there, Marian in her Nightwatchman disguise, standing over plenty of documents. "And, are you talking about me?" He knew they were, though he had not heard what about it had been, but the surprise in their faces was worth his entry.
Nevertheless, it took just a moment for them to realise that he was not more of a danger to them than they were to him, as he did not hold the power anymore to call the guards upon them.
"Guy," Marian said then.
"So, this is what our newly reinstated lord is doing?" Guy scoffed.
"None of your business, Gisborne," Robin returned. "Or do you suddenly want to work with us, so that you would need to know the details of what we are doing?"
"Robin," Marian urged him.
"Maybe I just go down there and call the guards after all, what do you think?" Gisborne said. "It might prove to move me into a more favourable light for the sheriff."
Robin grimaced. "The sheriff wants you dead."
"Thanks to you, Hood."
"No," Marian said.
Ignoring her, Gisborne continued, "And even if does not help me, it will harm you and that's good enough for me." Maybe Hood would be caught again, would lose all of which he had regained, would finally hang, maybe more for the prince's pleasure...
"Guy, listen to me. It's not about Robin," Marian insisted and Robin looked at her sharply.
"Marian, don't-"
"The sheriff wants you dead because the prince offers you his position, if you kill him."
Guy was dumbstruck, not having expected anything like that. "Do you have proof for that?" he asked after a few moments. Although Robin looked at her darkly, Marian handed Guy a letter and to his surprise he could see his name on the address. Why had he never read that? And then he remembered the letter he had received when he had still been Master-at-arms, the letter he had thrown aside for a later time because he had been distracted by the trouble with Marian and her father.
Guy unfolded the parchment properly and read, seeing that what Marian had said was true. The prince offered the position of sheriff to him, if he were to kill the old one, who had failed to get the outlaw problem under control, special consideration to Hood. If this letter was here in Vaysey's quarters, it meant the man knew about that offer and it explained why he wanted him dead, why he had even turned to Hood to protect himself, this way managing to get a hold on Hood with promises of better times for the outlaws and a hope of protecting himself from Gisborne.
Guy smiled. What if the offer was still valid, and he went down there now and did the deed? If he had felt even a little pang of conscience at the thought of killing his former mentor, then it was long gone, ever since the man tried to have him killed.
"What do you make of it?" Marian asked him then. "You're not really going to kill him, are you?"
Gisborne looked at her, but did not reply. He had to keep his plans to himself, no matter that these two knew of the offer, too.
"Well," Robin said, "I'm not going to stick around here any longer till Gisborne has figured out what to do. Let's go," he told Marian, and she frowned at that.
"We can work together; have the sheriff replaced..." she said.
"And then?" Robin scoffed. "You think all will be well when Gisborne is sheriff?"
"I-" Marian started, but didn't finish her sentence, when sounds of alerted guards could be heard in the corridor where Gisborne had come from.
"We're leaving," Robin decided. Marian nodded and moved ahead to leave through the chamber's window, followed by Hood. Gisborne had turned at the sounds of the approaching guards, wondering what he himself would do.
"You're not going to get away forever, Hood," he called after the man, knowing it was in vain.
Grabbing his sword, he turned towards the sound of the guards, hiding behind the door of the chamber. He needed to fight his way out, not willing to climb our after Hood. He probably should try to kill as little as possible, as it wouldn't win him favour with the guards later once he was sheriff, if he had killed too many of their comrades.
Minutes later he stepped into the Great Hall where the festivities in honour of Prince John were still ongoing.
>>>---> >>>---> >>>--->
John had not minded staying at camp. He had been living in the woods for so long that even the camp Will had built for the gang had come as a vast improvement. And as John did not believe that the deal between the sheriff and Robin would hold for very long, he had preferred to stay at their camp. Robin might believe different, though he was not certain what Robin exactly believed, but John thought that the deal could not hold up, simply because Robin would not just keep doing what the sheriff wanted.
It had been different at camp, only three outlaws left there. Allan was gone, living somewhere in Nottingham now, as Will had told them. Robin and Much were staying in Locksley. So it had been just John, Will and Djaq. It had been quiet and peaceful, what with them not having to fight any fights at the moment, not having to rescue anyone.
Now they were in Nottingham again and John was certain the time of quiet was over. He had seen the spectacle of the prince, of the sheriff, of the nobles, all of them now having left for the Great Hall inside the castle, while most of the town's people, the guards and other visitors were standing outside still. Robin had left, leaving Much behind to find John, Will and Djaq, and now the four of them were watching what was going on, though they had little opportunity to know what was happening inside, unless they were to sneak in. So far they were just standing there, waiting.
"Look, there is Allan," Djaq said suddenly and John turned to see where she was pointing at. Allan was strolling over the castle yard, not taking a straight line, but clearly heading into the direction of the castle nevertheless.
"What is he doing?" Will wondered.
John didn't know an answer. For all he had been told, Allan was working, in a way, at the local inn, mostly by collecting coins for stories, maybe yet through other means, too.
Allan then took a few quick steps and moved into the castle.
"Let's move," John decided. If the happenings were going to be inside, then that was where they would have to go. This decision proved only more true, when they were about to enter the castle through a lower entrance, intending to make their way through the kitchens instead of the main corridors. From an upper corridor the Nightwatchman was coming down, closely followed by Robin, and about the same moment, the noise of guards approaching could be heard in the hallway.
"Robin," Will called.
Robin turned to see them coming into the hallway. "Gisborne's here. He's after the sheriff."
"Why? What is going on?" Will wondered, but Robin turned to Marian.
"I have to go back to the Great Hall."
"I'll join you there, once I've changed out of this," she said, indicating her disguise, before she moved on into the shadows, a wise decision with the guards coming up to them, turning the corner now.
"You lot, what are you doing here?" the first of them said.
"These are my men and they are here because I am here for the prince's visit," Robin pointed out and the guards seemed briefly confused as to why this should be an explanation, until they seemed to come to the realisation that Robin was actually rightfully there, this time.
"The festivities are this direction," another guard told them helpfully.
"We're going there now," Robin said and waved John, Much, Will and Djaq to follow him to the Great Hall.
When John came into the hall, he saw that Prince John had been seated in the centre of the room, the sheriff sitting beside him, the nobles in a circle around them.
"Ah, Locksley," the prince said, as Robin appeared, "We've already missed you. Did you misbehave while you were gone?" he added.
Little John didn't actually know what Robin had been up to, but the fact that he had been in company of Marian in her Nightwatchman disguise told him that it had probably been nothing that would be to the sheriff's or the prince's liking.
"What did I miss?" Robin asked unruffled, as he seated himself on the one empty place in the nobles' round.
Prince John smiled. "You missed a great many things, sadly," he said, "We want to raise a new tax, and that all in celebration of me being a guest in this town. Isn't that amazing?"
Little John saw Robin frown and it was no surprise. There had been several new taxes lately, supposedly to support the collection of the king's ransom. Another one wasn't going to do any good to the people.
"I don't think the people have anything left to pay," Robin said.
"Ah, I know, but we need to support the collection for the king, don't we?" John questioned.
Robin wanted to say something, but John lifted his hand, looking at the other side of the hall, where a door led in from the outer hallway.
"I see today's entertainment has arrived," he said.
Little John had no trouble looking over the heads of all the other assembled men to see the man standing there, Gisborne.
Gisborne strode up towards the nobles' seats, eyeing the sheriff, who jumped up.
"Guards!" he yelled, and several guards from around the hall sprung into action. "Stop that man!"
"No, no, no, no," Prince John intervened. "Leave the good man be." The guards stopped in their tracks, looking confused from sheriff to prince and back.
"You, you want me killed, my Lord!?" the sheriff asked incredulously.
"No, I just want a new sheriff. It's nothing against you personally," John promised him.
"Stop that man," Vaysey yelled again, as Gisborne calmly stopped by the nobles' chairs, taking out his sword. Vaysey took his own sword then, but he looked worried. "Hood, we have an agreement here, stop him!"
Robin looked surprised as to his request, having already risen from his seat earlier. Little John didn't know what Robin thought about the situation, but he couldn't imagine Robin would fight for the sheriff against Gisborne.
"Let's not make any rash decisions, Vaysey," Robin said.
"Gisborne," Prince John said, "Please remove the sheriff from my sight. And if you also get rid of those outlaws, I'd be very much in debt to you. Guards, help him."
"Lads, time for us to go," Robin called. At hearing the word, John remembered that they had been following Allan inside the castle, but the man was nowhere to be seen now.
All hell broke loose, as the guards moved. There was confusion if they were to apprehend the sheriff first, or take out Robin and the outlaws or were yet to stop Gisborne as Vaysey cried out orders. Robin sprung into action, too, brandishing his sword, the outlaws following his example.
"Just get out of here," Robin called over his shoulder as he was fighting a guard. As people crashed into each other, Robin fell backwards against John, and added, "Wouldn't mind checking out the prince's carriage on our way out."
Little John didn't have time to reply, as he was busy fighting off two guards, but he would try and do what Robin had planned. Overwhelming the guards, he ran towards the exit, seeing that Will and Djaq were already ahead of him.
As he reached the castle yard, the other two were busy fighting guards there, and John swung his stick in a wide angle to help them. Once her way was free of guards, Djaq jumped onto the prince's carriage, Will following her example moments later. John was still warding off guards, as the two unloaded several items from the carriage, carrying off what they could while still maintaining their ability to defend themselves.
As the three outlaws were ready to leave, they turned to the castle, but Robin and Much still had not come out of it.
>>>---> >>>---> >>>--->
Allan had been curious to see what was going on in the castle, what with the prince and all those nobles around. He had wondered if maybe anything of use would come up for him. The influx of income at the inn had diminished these last couple of days; it was still enough to pay for a few cups of ale here and there, but it wasn't much to Allan's liking. So maybe that meeting of those nobles at the castle would prove to be useful. And then he had to admit to himself that he also went there because of the considerable chance that he might get to see the gang. But naturally, that was only a small part of his reasons, he told himself.
He had sneaked around the hallways first, just looking around, before making his way into the Great Hall, trying to pass unnoticed for now.
The fight that broke out had caught him somewhat unprepared. He didn't really intent to join it and was planning to follow the example of the fleeing nobles. But seeing Much in a somewhat uncomfortable position with several guards charging at him, Allan couldn't quite stop himself from coming to his help.
The action took only a few moments, but Allan kept turning and fighting, tumbling into other another man, just as that one had been raising his sword to hack away at Gisborne. Allan swung his sword, hitting the man at the leg and saw then that it was the sheriff he had hit. The man turned, swearing at him, while Gisborne picked up the fight again, trying to regain the upper hand.
Allan wasn't sure if it were to turn out a wise decision to have cut the sheriff, and decided to leave now. On his way out he saw that Marian had entered the hall, too, apparently looking around for Robin, who was now fighting the prince's guards.
One of them managed to push Robin's sword out of his hand, the weapon sliding away on the wooden floor. Robin was in a precarious position now, but took off the bow from his back, nocking several arrows.
"Stop," he called out to the guards, "or you'll be very sorry."
Marian ran up towards him, picking up his sword, while Allan could see the sheriff scrambling out of the hall. The fighting stopped for the most part, everyone looking at the middle of the room.
Prince John clapped slowly. "Well done," he said. "Sir Guy of Gisborne, you are the new Sheriff of Nottingham!"
"Thank you, my Lord," Gisborne called, putting the point of his sword to the ground. "I accept this position and swear to apprehend all criminals and outlaws that threaten this town! This includes Robin Hood, whose pardon by the former sheriff I do not consider valid. He is still in league with the Nightwatchman, working against the laws of this shire." Smirking at Robin, he told the guards, "Get him!"
Robin let his arrows loose and Allan saw with confusion that none of them really hit anything that he would have aimed at, but still the guards ducked and Robin ran, Much on his heels.
Marian fought off a guard that blocked their way, and when all three of them exited the room, Allan turned, knowing that now was really the time to leave as well.
By: Kegel
Fandom: Robin Hood BBC
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Anything that you recognize I do not own.
Summary: A twist of history and an unexpected offer give Robin new opportunities in his fight for both his people and country. It also brings new dilemmas, as he and the gang have to make hard choices to find their way when conflicts come to a head.
Spoilers: Till mid-season 2.
Chapter 26: Changes
Gisborne had been at the castle yard, mixed in with all of the guards and onlookers as the prince arrived. He had wanted to see for himself what was going on. He had also seen Robin, reinstated noble on the steps of the castle and it had stung. It should have been him standing there as the Master-at-arms, greeting the prince.
When the sheriff, the prince and the nobles had finally moved into the castle, Gisborne had followed. He had planned to go to the Great Hall with them, but then he had seen that Hood had not gone that way. Instead he had slipped away, had taken a corridor that led the opposite direction. Guy was intrigued, knowing that Hood was up to something that the sheriff would not like. So much for upholding the law, now that he had been pardoned.
Gisborne followed the man and it was only because he had to take care not to be recognized in the castle, for the sheriff probably still wanted him dead - all thanks to Hood - that he lost sight of the man. It took little thinking though that made him realise the former outlaw was headed for the sheriff's quarters, taking opportunity of the fact that the sheriff was busy elsewhere. Once he reached Vaysey's chambers, Guy had to knock out a guard. If Hood was to be blamed for that later, only the better.
To his surprise he could then hear voices coming from the sheriff's bedroom. He had seen Hood coming up here alone, so who was he with now? A few more moments and Guy recognized Marian's voice and the realisation was bitter, that she was here again working with Robin, both of them breaking into the sheriff's rooms. Slowly moving forward he tried to hear what they were saying and he could hear his name being mentioned.
Taking a few quick strides into the bedroom, he saw them there, Marian in her Nightwatchman disguise, standing over plenty of documents. "And, are you talking about me?" He knew they were, though he had not heard what about it had been, but the surprise in their faces was worth his entry.
Nevertheless, it took just a moment for them to realise that he was not more of a danger to them than they were to him, as he did not hold the power anymore to call the guards upon them.
"Guy," Marian said then.
"So, this is what our newly reinstated lord is doing?" Guy scoffed.
"None of your business, Gisborne," Robin returned. "Or do you suddenly want to work with us, so that you would need to know the details of what we are doing?"
"Robin," Marian urged him.
"Maybe I just go down there and call the guards after all, what do you think?" Gisborne said. "It might prove to move me into a more favourable light for the sheriff."
Robin grimaced. "The sheriff wants you dead."
"Thanks to you, Hood."
"No," Marian said.
Ignoring her, Gisborne continued, "And even if does not help me, it will harm you and that's good enough for me." Maybe Hood would be caught again, would lose all of which he had regained, would finally hang, maybe more for the prince's pleasure...
"Guy, listen to me. It's not about Robin," Marian insisted and Robin looked at her sharply.
"Marian, don't-"
"The sheriff wants you dead because the prince offers you his position, if you kill him."
Guy was dumbstruck, not having expected anything like that. "Do you have proof for that?" he asked after a few moments. Although Robin looked at her darkly, Marian handed Guy a letter and to his surprise he could see his name on the address. Why had he never read that? And then he remembered the letter he had received when he had still been Master-at-arms, the letter he had thrown aside for a later time because he had been distracted by the trouble with Marian and her father.
Guy unfolded the parchment properly and read, seeing that what Marian had said was true. The prince offered the position of sheriff to him, if he were to kill the old one, who had failed to get the outlaw problem under control, special consideration to Hood. If this letter was here in Vaysey's quarters, it meant the man knew about that offer and it explained why he wanted him dead, why he had even turned to Hood to protect himself, this way managing to get a hold on Hood with promises of better times for the outlaws and a hope of protecting himself from Gisborne.
Guy smiled. What if the offer was still valid, and he went down there now and did the deed? If he had felt even a little pang of conscience at the thought of killing his former mentor, then it was long gone, ever since the man tried to have him killed.
"What do you make of it?" Marian asked him then. "You're not really going to kill him, are you?"
Gisborne looked at her, but did not reply. He had to keep his plans to himself, no matter that these two knew of the offer, too.
"Well," Robin said, "I'm not going to stick around here any longer till Gisborne has figured out what to do. Let's go," he told Marian, and she frowned at that.
"We can work together; have the sheriff replaced..." she said.
"And then?" Robin scoffed. "You think all will be well when Gisborne is sheriff?"
"I-" Marian started, but didn't finish her sentence, when sounds of alerted guards could be heard in the corridor where Gisborne had come from.
"We're leaving," Robin decided. Marian nodded and moved ahead to leave through the chamber's window, followed by Hood. Gisborne had turned at the sounds of the approaching guards, wondering what he himself would do.
"You're not going to get away forever, Hood," he called after the man, knowing it was in vain.
Grabbing his sword, he turned towards the sound of the guards, hiding behind the door of the chamber. He needed to fight his way out, not willing to climb our after Hood. He probably should try to kill as little as possible, as it wouldn't win him favour with the guards later once he was sheriff, if he had killed too many of their comrades.
Minutes later he stepped into the Great Hall where the festivities in honour of Prince John were still ongoing.
>>>---> >>>---> >>>--->
John had not minded staying at camp. He had been living in the woods for so long that even the camp Will had built for the gang had come as a vast improvement. And as John did not believe that the deal between the sheriff and Robin would hold for very long, he had preferred to stay at their camp. Robin might believe different, though he was not certain what Robin exactly believed, but John thought that the deal could not hold up, simply because Robin would not just keep doing what the sheriff wanted.
It had been different at camp, only three outlaws left there. Allan was gone, living somewhere in Nottingham now, as Will had told them. Robin and Much were staying in Locksley. So it had been just John, Will and Djaq. It had been quiet and peaceful, what with them not having to fight any fights at the moment, not having to rescue anyone.
Now they were in Nottingham again and John was certain the time of quiet was over. He had seen the spectacle of the prince, of the sheriff, of the nobles, all of them now having left for the Great Hall inside the castle, while most of the town's people, the guards and other visitors were standing outside still. Robin had left, leaving Much behind to find John, Will and Djaq, and now the four of them were watching what was going on, though they had little opportunity to know what was happening inside, unless they were to sneak in. So far they were just standing there, waiting.
"Look, there is Allan," Djaq said suddenly and John turned to see where she was pointing at. Allan was strolling over the castle yard, not taking a straight line, but clearly heading into the direction of the castle nevertheless.
"What is he doing?" Will wondered.
John didn't know an answer. For all he had been told, Allan was working, in a way, at the local inn, mostly by collecting coins for stories, maybe yet through other means, too.
Allan then took a few quick steps and moved into the castle.
"Let's move," John decided. If the happenings were going to be inside, then that was where they would have to go. This decision proved only more true, when they were about to enter the castle through a lower entrance, intending to make their way through the kitchens instead of the main corridors. From an upper corridor the Nightwatchman was coming down, closely followed by Robin, and about the same moment, the noise of guards approaching could be heard in the hallway.
"Robin," Will called.
Robin turned to see them coming into the hallway. "Gisborne's here. He's after the sheriff."
"Why? What is going on?" Will wondered, but Robin turned to Marian.
"I have to go back to the Great Hall."
"I'll join you there, once I've changed out of this," she said, indicating her disguise, before she moved on into the shadows, a wise decision with the guards coming up to them, turning the corner now.
"You lot, what are you doing here?" the first of them said.
"These are my men and they are here because I am here for the prince's visit," Robin pointed out and the guards seemed briefly confused as to why this should be an explanation, until they seemed to come to the realisation that Robin was actually rightfully there, this time.
"The festivities are this direction," another guard told them helpfully.
"We're going there now," Robin said and waved John, Much, Will and Djaq to follow him to the Great Hall.
When John came into the hall, he saw that Prince John had been seated in the centre of the room, the sheriff sitting beside him, the nobles in a circle around them.
"Ah, Locksley," the prince said, as Robin appeared, "We've already missed you. Did you misbehave while you were gone?" he added.
Little John didn't actually know what Robin had been up to, but the fact that he had been in company of Marian in her Nightwatchman disguise told him that it had probably been nothing that would be to the sheriff's or the prince's liking.
"What did I miss?" Robin asked unruffled, as he seated himself on the one empty place in the nobles' round.
Prince John smiled. "You missed a great many things, sadly," he said, "We want to raise a new tax, and that all in celebration of me being a guest in this town. Isn't that amazing?"
Little John saw Robin frown and it was no surprise. There had been several new taxes lately, supposedly to support the collection of the king's ransom. Another one wasn't going to do any good to the people.
"I don't think the people have anything left to pay," Robin said.
"Ah, I know, but we need to support the collection for the king, don't we?" John questioned.
Robin wanted to say something, but John lifted his hand, looking at the other side of the hall, where a door led in from the outer hallway.
"I see today's entertainment has arrived," he said.
Little John had no trouble looking over the heads of all the other assembled men to see the man standing there, Gisborne.
Gisborne strode up towards the nobles' seats, eyeing the sheriff, who jumped up.
"Guards!" he yelled, and several guards from around the hall sprung into action. "Stop that man!"
"No, no, no, no," Prince John intervened. "Leave the good man be." The guards stopped in their tracks, looking confused from sheriff to prince and back.
"You, you want me killed, my Lord!?" the sheriff asked incredulously.
"No, I just want a new sheriff. It's nothing against you personally," John promised him.
"Stop that man," Vaysey yelled again, as Gisborne calmly stopped by the nobles' chairs, taking out his sword. Vaysey took his own sword then, but he looked worried. "Hood, we have an agreement here, stop him!"
Robin looked surprised as to his request, having already risen from his seat earlier. Little John didn't know what Robin thought about the situation, but he couldn't imagine Robin would fight for the sheriff against Gisborne.
"Let's not make any rash decisions, Vaysey," Robin said.
"Gisborne," Prince John said, "Please remove the sheriff from my sight. And if you also get rid of those outlaws, I'd be very much in debt to you. Guards, help him."
"Lads, time for us to go," Robin called. At hearing the word, John remembered that they had been following Allan inside the castle, but the man was nowhere to be seen now.
All hell broke loose, as the guards moved. There was confusion if they were to apprehend the sheriff first, or take out Robin and the outlaws or were yet to stop Gisborne as Vaysey cried out orders. Robin sprung into action, too, brandishing his sword, the outlaws following his example.
"Just get out of here," Robin called over his shoulder as he was fighting a guard. As people crashed into each other, Robin fell backwards against John, and added, "Wouldn't mind checking out the prince's carriage on our way out."
Little John didn't have time to reply, as he was busy fighting off two guards, but he would try and do what Robin had planned. Overwhelming the guards, he ran towards the exit, seeing that Will and Djaq were already ahead of him.
As he reached the castle yard, the other two were busy fighting guards there, and John swung his stick in a wide angle to help them. Once her way was free of guards, Djaq jumped onto the prince's carriage, Will following her example moments later. John was still warding off guards, as the two unloaded several items from the carriage, carrying off what they could while still maintaining their ability to defend themselves.
As the three outlaws were ready to leave, they turned to the castle, but Robin and Much still had not come out of it.
>>>---> >>>---> >>>--->
Allan had been curious to see what was going on in the castle, what with the prince and all those nobles around. He had wondered if maybe anything of use would come up for him. The influx of income at the inn had diminished these last couple of days; it was still enough to pay for a few cups of ale here and there, but it wasn't much to Allan's liking. So maybe that meeting of those nobles at the castle would prove to be useful. And then he had to admit to himself that he also went there because of the considerable chance that he might get to see the gang. But naturally, that was only a small part of his reasons, he told himself.
He had sneaked around the hallways first, just looking around, before making his way into the Great Hall, trying to pass unnoticed for now.
The fight that broke out had caught him somewhat unprepared. He didn't really intent to join it and was planning to follow the example of the fleeing nobles. But seeing Much in a somewhat uncomfortable position with several guards charging at him, Allan couldn't quite stop himself from coming to his help.
The action took only a few moments, but Allan kept turning and fighting, tumbling into other another man, just as that one had been raising his sword to hack away at Gisborne. Allan swung his sword, hitting the man at the leg and saw then that it was the sheriff he had hit. The man turned, swearing at him, while Gisborne picked up the fight again, trying to regain the upper hand.
Allan wasn't sure if it were to turn out a wise decision to have cut the sheriff, and decided to leave now. On his way out he saw that Marian had entered the hall, too, apparently looking around for Robin, who was now fighting the prince's guards.
One of them managed to push Robin's sword out of his hand, the weapon sliding away on the wooden floor. Robin was in a precarious position now, but took off the bow from his back, nocking several arrows.
"Stop," he called out to the guards, "or you'll be very sorry."
Marian ran up towards him, picking up his sword, while Allan could see the sheriff scrambling out of the hall. The fighting stopped for the most part, everyone looking at the middle of the room.
Prince John clapped slowly. "Well done," he said. "Sir Guy of Gisborne, you are the new Sheriff of Nottingham!"
"Thank you, my Lord," Gisborne called, putting the point of his sword to the ground. "I accept this position and swear to apprehend all criminals and outlaws that threaten this town! This includes Robin Hood, whose pardon by the former sheriff I do not consider valid. He is still in league with the Nightwatchman, working against the laws of this shire." Smirking at Robin, he told the guards, "Get him!"
Robin let his arrows loose and Allan saw with confusion that none of them really hit anything that he would have aimed at, but still the guards ducked and Robin ran, Much on his heels.
Marian fought off a guard that blocked their way, and when all three of them exited the room, Allan turned, knowing that now was really the time to leave as well.