Crossfire - Chapter Eight
Title, Chapter: Crossfire- Chapter Eight
Author: emmithar,kegel84
Summary: Robin has his hands full when two members of the gang find themselves in trouble.Robin must rely on the help of a traitor in order to save them, and possibly himself as well.
Characters/Pairings: Features the gang and Marian, Sheriff and Gisborne, Thornton and some OC's
Parings: R/M, W/D
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers/Warnings: AU from mid Season 2
Disclaimer: Unfortunately we don't own anything. We're just borrowing and will return everyone in reasonable condition once we are finished.
Notes: Many thanks to neaptidea for the beta, and theonlyspl for the artwork :)
Artwork, by theonlyspl
Previous Chapter
There was no sense in debating it. The sheriff would have them both flogged, and hanged, had he not gone through with it. Will didn’t blame Allan. He knew the choice placed before him, and didn’t want him to suffer as well. More importantly, if Allan could somehow regain their trust, then there was still a chance, for both him and Allan.
The man had made mistakes; unforgiveable mistakes, but that did not mean he could not change. Djaq had spoken about it with him before, shortly after they had learned of Allan’s betrayal. She still believed in the man, believed he could change given time. Will was not so certain, but the fact Allan had come for them when Marian was in trouble, gave him hope. But first, he needed to pass this test.
Will had tensed at the crack of the whip, but the cry that sounded in the air was not his own. He looked up quickly, startled, for suddenly the entire room had turned into chaos. Allan still held the whip, wielding it like animal trainer, striking at the guards who came to close. Behind him, Will could see Gisborne draw a sword, moving in to put an end to it all.
There was not a lot of room in which he could move, but he could still move some. Will turned quickly, stretching out a leg, and striking Gisborne from behind. He caught the man in the calf, a hard solid strike that tumbled the other without warning. More guards were joining the fight, orders being screamed by the sheriff to catch him. Will grabbed the hilt of the sword, trying to force it free. The blade held fast, forcing him to try a second time.
It took a third before he got it, dropping the blade in order to pull it free from the chains. Will was quick in seizing it, ducking a blow that came his way. He couldn’t see Allan from here, could only guess, by the way the guards around him fought. The shackles made things difficult, hindered him from fighting properly. He had to make to do with dodging more than striking, but he could feel the effort taking a toll on him.
Then he saw Allan, the man now with a sword rather than the earlier whip. He was near halfway up the stairs, fighting with ease, having the upper hand. Will met his gaze, shaking his head when the other motioned for him to follow. There would be no way he could get through that, bound as he was. And if Allan came back for them, they would both die. Allan understood, or at least Will hoped he did. The man hesitated no more, barreling up the rest of the stairs, engaging the two guards who stood at the front of the way out.
Will turned his attention back to the battle at hand. So far he had disarmed three of the guards. Several more had been taken out by Allan, but that left still a good five, or maybe six. It was hard to count with all that was going on.
Something hit him from behind. Hard, sharp, just below the shoulder blade. Will let out a cry, stumbling to his knees. His vision wavered as he was hit again, this time in the back of the head. The sword fell from his hand, swooped up by Gisborne no sooner had it hit the ground. The cold tip of blades could be felt, two at the back of his neck, one at the front. He wondered if they meant to kill him, or wait for later when he could hang.
“What are you doing?” the sheriff screeched, waving his hands as he stomped over the room. Will hadn’t noticed until now that the man had somehow disappeared during the height of the battle. But now that things were under control, Vaysey had no reason to hide anymore.
“He’s getting away. Find him!”
“I’ll send a party out after him, milord,” Gisborne told him quickly, breaths coming in short bursts.
“You’ll do better than that, Gisborne,” Vaysey sneered. “I want him. I want him to hang, and you’ll bring him back for me. Now get going!”
Guy nodded quickly, sheathing his sword, and turning, motioning to several guards to follow as he made his way up the stairwell. Will was still pinned where he was, trying to catch his breath, and praying the ground would stop moving something soon.
“And take him back to the dungeons. He’ll hang in the morning.”
~~~~~
The ground was cold beneath his knees, hard and pressing against the cloth, small inconstancies cutting into his skin. That he hardly paid attention to, focusing instead on the task at hand. The space between the bars were hardly large enough for his arms to pass through, but he had managed. The pick which he had found, a piece of old metal brittle enough to pry free from the rest of the cell, was now embedded into the lock which held him prisoner.
The odd stance left him sore, straining to hold his balance, and yet he attempted to work the lock free. For a fleeting moment, Robin wished that Will was here. Picking locks was Will’s expertise, not his. Still he tried, grimacing at how the metal tore at his hands when they slipped. He couldn’t see what he was doing, only trying to judge by the feel, by the sound. If he could work it in a little further, somehow jam the lock, maybe get it to move…
Robin pulled back quickly, light flooding the dungeons as the door was opened above. He swore shortly after, realizing only then he had broken the metal with his hasty retreat. Part of him doubted it would have done any good. But it was better to try than it was to sit and do nothing. He could only imagine what was being done to Will while he was locked up down here.
Robin didn’t have to wonder for long. He could see the guards fighting with someone, having a time just trying to get the man to cooperate. The door of the cell near him was swung open, creaking on old hinges, and in the next moment, Will was shoved inside. The man landed hard on his knees, and Robin could hear his heavy breathing, watching as Will braced himself with his hands as the door was closed, and securely locked.
“Enjoy your time while you can,” one of the guards taunted him. “In the morning, we’ll see you both dangle.”
There was laughter at the crude joke, the guards leaving them behind in the darkness as they went about their merry ways. Robin wasted little time, sliding up near the edge of his own cell, studying the man who was not too far away. From here, Will seemed to be unharmed, aside from minor blemishes, and winded from the recent activity. But he wanted to be certain.
“What happened? Are you alright?”
The two questions came out together, almost at the same time. Will took a moment to compose himself, leaning against the prison wall before he answered.
“I’m fine. Allan escaped.”
“Of course he did,” Robin answered dryly. The man had taken off at the first chance of freedom before; why would he wait this time?
“He could find help.”
“Unlikely.”
“He came for us when it was Marian,” Will reminded him. Robin didn’t need the reminder, he could remember well enough on his own. Still, it was the man’s fault they were even here.
“But now we’re down here, and he’s up there. It’s different. He won’t risk coming if he feels there isn’t a chance. And as far as we know, this entire thing could have been a setup.”
“I don’t think-“
“Trust me, Will,” Robin cut him in mid-sentence. “This isn’t the first time he’s betrayed us. Or have you forgotten?”
The man was silent, and Robin was certain he had made his point. It was up to them to find a way out, rather than wait here for someone who wasn’t going to come. He closed his eyes, trying to think. Will was better with locks then he was. Surely the man could find a way out. Robin was about to suggest so, but failed to get the question out before Will answered his previous question.
“Allan wasn’t the only one to betray us. I did too.”
“How?” Robin’s mind was no longer fixated on finding a way out. Rather now it was intrigued on how Will had come to this conclusion. The man might have disobeyed him, but that hardly counted as a betrayal. It made things more difficult…but Will had only been doing what he had felt was right, and Robin could blame no one for feeling that way.
“I tried to kill the sheriff. Or did you forget?”
“That was different,” Robin was quick in correcting him. Where Will was going with this, he couldn’t be certain of. To compare this to all that Allan had done, and was still continuing to do, was outrageous.
“How?”
“You had your reasons.”
“Allan had his reasons too,” Will offered quietly. “Who’s to say that mine were any better than his?”
“You weren’t trying to get us killed,” Robin argued, “Allan sold us out to Gisborne, he could have killed us all, could have been responsible for the death of the king. That’s treason.”
“I could have killed everyone in Nottingham.”
Robin knew that to be true. That was why it had been so urgent to get the remedy to the sheriff. He hadn’t wanted to think of what might have happened had Will been successful. Lives could have been spared by evacuating the town, but the market would be lost, people would be without homes, and the villages would have suffered greatly. Even so, Robin still held his belief. It was not the same. Will had been under pressure, struggling with grief from losing his father, and acting on rage. Allan had been driven by selfish impulses. There was nothing similar about them, not in the least.
“Allan won’t have anywhere to go.”
“Suits him,” Robin answered, pushing the thought from his mind. “And we will get out here. If you can reach the lock, you might be able to open it.”
“I can’t pick the locks down here; they’re too strong.”
“You’ve done it before, with the chests, remember?”
Will nodded, but he still seemed unsure. “I had my tools then, useable material. I don’t have that here, not now.”
“We have to find something, then. We need to be gone before morning comes.”
Will nodded again. “Any plans?”
Robin sighed. “Not even half of one. Maybe it's our best bet to be ready in the morning. Once they take us out, we overwhelm them...” Robin knew chances for that were slim, without any support or any weapon, and with all of the sheriff's men around.
“We need help.”
Will didn't say but Robin knew. “Allan.” Another possibility might have been Marian, but she was thankfully away now, too. Robin shook his head. They were on their own; Allan wouldn't come back.
“Let's look around for anything we might use to pick that lock. I had a scrape of metal before, but I broke it, when they brought you down,” he said.
Will crouched down, looking around and Robin followed his example, reaching and feeling for anything that might be of use. After a while he stopped, but saw that Will was still searching. It was then the door above was opened again, and they still didn't have a way out. As he could make out the silhouette of the jailer moving slowly down the stairs, Robin had an idea.
“Will,” he hissed quietly. “Stop moving,” he said, as Will looked up to him.
“What?”
“Just lie down and don't move, but not like you're sleeping.”
Will looked at him hesitatingly for another moment but then he nodded and did as Robin had told him.
Robin himself leaned against the bars, doing his best to let himself slack. His arms hung loosely, and he tried to be as still as possible, hoping that Will would do the same - and that the jailer would fall for it.
With his eyes closed Robin could only try to gauge by the sounds whether the jailer was approaching them or not. It took a few moments and then he could actually hear the steps of the man coming closer. Robin almost stopped breathing in an effort to be convincing. He didn't know what the jailer would be thinking when he saw them like this, but he hoped the man was stupid enough to check...
It was the hardest thing to remain still when he felt the man stop closely next to him. Robin now held his breath completely, and his eyelids fluttered as he fought against the urge to move. Then he could feel the touch of the jailer against the pulse on his throat. In a split-second Robin reached out and grabbed the man around his throat, strangling him and pulling him against the bars that held Robin and Will on the other side.
The man sputtered, fighting.
“Where's the key?” Robin asked, fighting to keep a hold of the man, as Will came up next to him.
“It's at his belt,” Will told him quickly, and already reached out for it, as Robin kept struggling with the jailer. After some moments, Will managed to retrieve the key, and pushed it into the lock, just as Robin finally let go of the jailer. The man stumbled backwards, slumping down against the wall at the other side, while Will pushed the door open, heading for the stairs. Robin rushed out of his own cell, leaving the jailer behind in the course of moments..
~~~~~
Allan had gotten halfway through Nottingham before he had come to a stop. His heart was pounding, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He was somewhere in an alleyway, towards the entrance of the town. Given a little time to rest, and to think, he would be able to come up with a way of slipping out without much problem.
Try as he might, he couldn’t convince himself to leave. Both Robin and Will were being held captive. Allan felt himself swallow, trying to still the shake in his hands. He could hear Will’s voice, the words burning in his head. How could he have done that? To anyone let alone someone he considered a friend. Or once a friend.
Allan knew he had made mistakes in his life. Going to the castle was just one among the many. But leaving his friends behind was perhaps the worst. Not that he had much choice in that matter. Robin had banished him from the group. That he supposed was his own fault, for feeding Gisborne information. But what Robin didn’t understand was what had led up to it all. Robin never understood, never bothered to even try and understand.
Allan balled his hands into fists, righting himself in the passageway. If Robin had listened to him in the first place, they wouldn’t have been caught. Truly, it was no one else’s fault but Robin’s own for being where he was. And Will…it was unfortunate, but what could Allan do about it?
It was time to leave, to go on his way. Marian was safe, and Allan had held his part of the bargain. No harm had come to her from his doing. Allan began to walk, feeling more relieved as time went on. His duty here was done. Robin was sure to find his own way out. The man usually did. Of course…Allan had told the sheriff of quite a few ways the outlaws had used to go in and out of the castle. He bit his lip, coming to a stop again. What if they weren’t able to get out…
Around the corner he could see the gallows. He knew to whom they were meant for. His hand drifted up, rubbed the side of his neck. He also knew to whom they could have been meant for. Allan swallowed, and pulled back quickly. He shouldn’t feel guilty. Robin wouldn’t come for him. Hadn’t come for him. So why should he be concerned about the man himself.
Sheepishly, he found himself admitting the reason. Robin was his best chance now. Sure, he could go elsewhere, try and start a new life. But his life was here, the people he knew…there was nothing for him outside of the shire. He could try and stay, could hope by some chance that Robin would let him come back. He had more of a chance with the man than he did with the sheriff or Gisborne. Especially considering what he had done earlier.
So it was decided. He would go back for Robin, and Will. If he helped the two escape, then surely Robin would forgive him. Had to forgive him. And then he could be back with the lads, like nothing had ever happened. But now he needed a plan. How exactly would he get the two out?
Bells around him sounded suddenly, and Allan froze, hardly able to breathe. They had found him, were sending up alarm. He took a moment to gather his bearings, to realize that wasn’t the case. No one was around him, the alleyway silent and still. The commotion was coming from the courtyard, stampedes of boots hitting the ground heavily. Allan moved quickly to the end, peering around, watching as several groups of guards raced through the town. And Robin and Will were at the forefront.
So they had escaped. At least the dungeons. If they would make it from the town…
Allan moved quickly from the alleyway, darting behind a large stall that had been used for business just the day prior. All the merchandise was still there, stacked in large crates and barrels, but the owner was nowhere to be seen. Worked fine for him. Allan heaved his shoulder against the closest stack until it began to tip, and ran quickly to do the same to another a few feet down. He could hear the shouts of alarm, the cries of surprise as the heap went tumbling over, end over end into the oncoming guards.
Allan paused long enough to watch the destruction unfold, to see Robin and Will slip past, and through the gate as the guards stumbled, trying to regain their footing. Then he grinned, glad to see them escape unharmed, and was quickly moving on his own again. After all, he too, had to find a way out. And had to come up with a plan to convince Robin to let him come back, and be a part of the gang once more.
Next Chapter
Author: emmithar,kegel84
Summary: Robin has his hands full when two members of the gang find themselves in trouble.Robin must rely on the help of a traitor in order to save them, and possibly himself as well.
Characters/Pairings: Features the gang and Marian, Sheriff and Gisborne, Thornton and some OC's
Parings: R/M, W/D
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers/Warnings: AU from mid Season 2
Disclaimer: Unfortunately we don't own anything. We're just borrowing and will return everyone in reasonable condition once we are finished.
Notes: Many thanks to neaptidea for the beta, and theonlyspl for the artwork :)
Artwork, by theonlyspl
Previous Chapter
There was no sense in debating it. The sheriff would have them both flogged, and hanged, had he not gone through with it. Will didn’t blame Allan. He knew the choice placed before him, and didn’t want him to suffer as well. More importantly, if Allan could somehow regain their trust, then there was still a chance, for both him and Allan.
The man had made mistakes; unforgiveable mistakes, but that did not mean he could not change. Djaq had spoken about it with him before, shortly after they had learned of Allan’s betrayal. She still believed in the man, believed he could change given time. Will was not so certain, but the fact Allan had come for them when Marian was in trouble, gave him hope. But first, he needed to pass this test.
Will had tensed at the crack of the whip, but the cry that sounded in the air was not his own. He looked up quickly, startled, for suddenly the entire room had turned into chaos. Allan still held the whip, wielding it like animal trainer, striking at the guards who came to close. Behind him, Will could see Gisborne draw a sword, moving in to put an end to it all.
There was not a lot of room in which he could move, but he could still move some. Will turned quickly, stretching out a leg, and striking Gisborne from behind. He caught the man in the calf, a hard solid strike that tumbled the other without warning. More guards were joining the fight, orders being screamed by the sheriff to catch him. Will grabbed the hilt of the sword, trying to force it free. The blade held fast, forcing him to try a second time.
It took a third before he got it, dropping the blade in order to pull it free from the chains. Will was quick in seizing it, ducking a blow that came his way. He couldn’t see Allan from here, could only guess, by the way the guards around him fought. The shackles made things difficult, hindered him from fighting properly. He had to make to do with dodging more than striking, but he could feel the effort taking a toll on him.
Then he saw Allan, the man now with a sword rather than the earlier whip. He was near halfway up the stairs, fighting with ease, having the upper hand. Will met his gaze, shaking his head when the other motioned for him to follow. There would be no way he could get through that, bound as he was. And if Allan came back for them, they would both die. Allan understood, or at least Will hoped he did. The man hesitated no more, barreling up the rest of the stairs, engaging the two guards who stood at the front of the way out.
Will turned his attention back to the battle at hand. So far he had disarmed three of the guards. Several more had been taken out by Allan, but that left still a good five, or maybe six. It was hard to count with all that was going on.
Something hit him from behind. Hard, sharp, just below the shoulder blade. Will let out a cry, stumbling to his knees. His vision wavered as he was hit again, this time in the back of the head. The sword fell from his hand, swooped up by Gisborne no sooner had it hit the ground. The cold tip of blades could be felt, two at the back of his neck, one at the front. He wondered if they meant to kill him, or wait for later when he could hang.
“What are you doing?” the sheriff screeched, waving his hands as he stomped over the room. Will hadn’t noticed until now that the man had somehow disappeared during the height of the battle. But now that things were under control, Vaysey had no reason to hide anymore.
“He’s getting away. Find him!”
“I’ll send a party out after him, milord,” Gisborne told him quickly, breaths coming in short bursts.
“You’ll do better than that, Gisborne,” Vaysey sneered. “I want him. I want him to hang, and you’ll bring him back for me. Now get going!”
Guy nodded quickly, sheathing his sword, and turning, motioning to several guards to follow as he made his way up the stairwell. Will was still pinned where he was, trying to catch his breath, and praying the ground would stop moving something soon.
“And take him back to the dungeons. He’ll hang in the morning.”
~~~~~
The ground was cold beneath his knees, hard and pressing against the cloth, small inconstancies cutting into his skin. That he hardly paid attention to, focusing instead on the task at hand. The space between the bars were hardly large enough for his arms to pass through, but he had managed. The pick which he had found, a piece of old metal brittle enough to pry free from the rest of the cell, was now embedded into the lock which held him prisoner.
The odd stance left him sore, straining to hold his balance, and yet he attempted to work the lock free. For a fleeting moment, Robin wished that Will was here. Picking locks was Will’s expertise, not his. Still he tried, grimacing at how the metal tore at his hands when they slipped. He couldn’t see what he was doing, only trying to judge by the feel, by the sound. If he could work it in a little further, somehow jam the lock, maybe get it to move…
Robin pulled back quickly, light flooding the dungeons as the door was opened above. He swore shortly after, realizing only then he had broken the metal with his hasty retreat. Part of him doubted it would have done any good. But it was better to try than it was to sit and do nothing. He could only imagine what was being done to Will while he was locked up down here.
Robin didn’t have to wonder for long. He could see the guards fighting with someone, having a time just trying to get the man to cooperate. The door of the cell near him was swung open, creaking on old hinges, and in the next moment, Will was shoved inside. The man landed hard on his knees, and Robin could hear his heavy breathing, watching as Will braced himself with his hands as the door was closed, and securely locked.
“Enjoy your time while you can,” one of the guards taunted him. “In the morning, we’ll see you both dangle.”
There was laughter at the crude joke, the guards leaving them behind in the darkness as they went about their merry ways. Robin wasted little time, sliding up near the edge of his own cell, studying the man who was not too far away. From here, Will seemed to be unharmed, aside from minor blemishes, and winded from the recent activity. But he wanted to be certain.
“What happened? Are you alright?”
The two questions came out together, almost at the same time. Will took a moment to compose himself, leaning against the prison wall before he answered.
“I’m fine. Allan escaped.”
“Of course he did,” Robin answered dryly. The man had taken off at the first chance of freedom before; why would he wait this time?
“He could find help.”
“Unlikely.”
“He came for us when it was Marian,” Will reminded him. Robin didn’t need the reminder, he could remember well enough on his own. Still, it was the man’s fault they were even here.
“But now we’re down here, and he’s up there. It’s different. He won’t risk coming if he feels there isn’t a chance. And as far as we know, this entire thing could have been a setup.”
“I don’t think-“
“Trust me, Will,” Robin cut him in mid-sentence. “This isn’t the first time he’s betrayed us. Or have you forgotten?”
The man was silent, and Robin was certain he had made his point. It was up to them to find a way out, rather than wait here for someone who wasn’t going to come. He closed his eyes, trying to think. Will was better with locks then he was. Surely the man could find a way out. Robin was about to suggest so, but failed to get the question out before Will answered his previous question.
“Allan wasn’t the only one to betray us. I did too.”
“How?” Robin’s mind was no longer fixated on finding a way out. Rather now it was intrigued on how Will had come to this conclusion. The man might have disobeyed him, but that hardly counted as a betrayal. It made things more difficult…but Will had only been doing what he had felt was right, and Robin could blame no one for feeling that way.
“I tried to kill the sheriff. Or did you forget?”
“That was different,” Robin was quick in correcting him. Where Will was going with this, he couldn’t be certain of. To compare this to all that Allan had done, and was still continuing to do, was outrageous.
“How?”
“You had your reasons.”
“Allan had his reasons too,” Will offered quietly. “Who’s to say that mine were any better than his?”
“You weren’t trying to get us killed,” Robin argued, “Allan sold us out to Gisborne, he could have killed us all, could have been responsible for the death of the king. That’s treason.”
“I could have killed everyone in Nottingham.”
Robin knew that to be true. That was why it had been so urgent to get the remedy to the sheriff. He hadn’t wanted to think of what might have happened had Will been successful. Lives could have been spared by evacuating the town, but the market would be lost, people would be without homes, and the villages would have suffered greatly. Even so, Robin still held his belief. It was not the same. Will had been under pressure, struggling with grief from losing his father, and acting on rage. Allan had been driven by selfish impulses. There was nothing similar about them, not in the least.
“Allan won’t have anywhere to go.”
“Suits him,” Robin answered, pushing the thought from his mind. “And we will get out here. If you can reach the lock, you might be able to open it.”
“I can’t pick the locks down here; they’re too strong.”
“You’ve done it before, with the chests, remember?”
Will nodded, but he still seemed unsure. “I had my tools then, useable material. I don’t have that here, not now.”
“We have to find something, then. We need to be gone before morning comes.”
Will nodded again. “Any plans?”
Robin sighed. “Not even half of one. Maybe it's our best bet to be ready in the morning. Once they take us out, we overwhelm them...” Robin knew chances for that were slim, without any support or any weapon, and with all of the sheriff's men around.
“We need help.”
Will didn't say but Robin knew. “Allan.” Another possibility might have been Marian, but she was thankfully away now, too. Robin shook his head. They were on their own; Allan wouldn't come back.
“Let's look around for anything we might use to pick that lock. I had a scrape of metal before, but I broke it, when they brought you down,” he said.
Will crouched down, looking around and Robin followed his example, reaching and feeling for anything that might be of use. After a while he stopped, but saw that Will was still searching. It was then the door above was opened again, and they still didn't have a way out. As he could make out the silhouette of the jailer moving slowly down the stairs, Robin had an idea.
“Will,” he hissed quietly. “Stop moving,” he said, as Will looked up to him.
“What?”
“Just lie down and don't move, but not like you're sleeping.”
Will looked at him hesitatingly for another moment but then he nodded and did as Robin had told him.
Robin himself leaned against the bars, doing his best to let himself slack. His arms hung loosely, and he tried to be as still as possible, hoping that Will would do the same - and that the jailer would fall for it.
With his eyes closed Robin could only try to gauge by the sounds whether the jailer was approaching them or not. It took a few moments and then he could actually hear the steps of the man coming closer. Robin almost stopped breathing in an effort to be convincing. He didn't know what the jailer would be thinking when he saw them like this, but he hoped the man was stupid enough to check...
It was the hardest thing to remain still when he felt the man stop closely next to him. Robin now held his breath completely, and his eyelids fluttered as he fought against the urge to move. Then he could feel the touch of the jailer against the pulse on his throat. In a split-second Robin reached out and grabbed the man around his throat, strangling him and pulling him against the bars that held Robin and Will on the other side.
The man sputtered, fighting.
“Where's the key?” Robin asked, fighting to keep a hold of the man, as Will came up next to him.
“It's at his belt,” Will told him quickly, and already reached out for it, as Robin kept struggling with the jailer. After some moments, Will managed to retrieve the key, and pushed it into the lock, just as Robin finally let go of the jailer. The man stumbled backwards, slumping down against the wall at the other side, while Will pushed the door open, heading for the stairs. Robin rushed out of his own cell, leaving the jailer behind in the course of moments..
~~~~~
Allan had gotten halfway through Nottingham before he had come to a stop. His heart was pounding, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He was somewhere in an alleyway, towards the entrance of the town. Given a little time to rest, and to think, he would be able to come up with a way of slipping out without much problem.
Try as he might, he couldn’t convince himself to leave. Both Robin and Will were being held captive. Allan felt himself swallow, trying to still the shake in his hands. He could hear Will’s voice, the words burning in his head. How could he have done that? To anyone let alone someone he considered a friend. Or once a friend.
Allan knew he had made mistakes in his life. Going to the castle was just one among the many. But leaving his friends behind was perhaps the worst. Not that he had much choice in that matter. Robin had banished him from the group. That he supposed was his own fault, for feeding Gisborne information. But what Robin didn’t understand was what had led up to it all. Robin never understood, never bothered to even try and understand.
Allan balled his hands into fists, righting himself in the passageway. If Robin had listened to him in the first place, they wouldn’t have been caught. Truly, it was no one else’s fault but Robin’s own for being where he was. And Will…it was unfortunate, but what could Allan do about it?
It was time to leave, to go on his way. Marian was safe, and Allan had held his part of the bargain. No harm had come to her from his doing. Allan began to walk, feeling more relieved as time went on. His duty here was done. Robin was sure to find his own way out. The man usually did. Of course…Allan had told the sheriff of quite a few ways the outlaws had used to go in and out of the castle. He bit his lip, coming to a stop again. What if they weren’t able to get out…
Around the corner he could see the gallows. He knew to whom they were meant for. His hand drifted up, rubbed the side of his neck. He also knew to whom they could have been meant for. Allan swallowed, and pulled back quickly. He shouldn’t feel guilty. Robin wouldn’t come for him. Hadn’t come for him. So why should he be concerned about the man himself.
Sheepishly, he found himself admitting the reason. Robin was his best chance now. Sure, he could go elsewhere, try and start a new life. But his life was here, the people he knew…there was nothing for him outside of the shire. He could try and stay, could hope by some chance that Robin would let him come back. He had more of a chance with the man than he did with the sheriff or Gisborne. Especially considering what he had done earlier.
So it was decided. He would go back for Robin, and Will. If he helped the two escape, then surely Robin would forgive him. Had to forgive him. And then he could be back with the lads, like nothing had ever happened. But now he needed a plan. How exactly would he get the two out?
Bells around him sounded suddenly, and Allan froze, hardly able to breathe. They had found him, were sending up alarm. He took a moment to gather his bearings, to realize that wasn’t the case. No one was around him, the alleyway silent and still. The commotion was coming from the courtyard, stampedes of boots hitting the ground heavily. Allan moved quickly to the end, peering around, watching as several groups of guards raced through the town. And Robin and Will were at the forefront.
So they had escaped. At least the dungeons. If they would make it from the town…
Allan moved quickly from the alleyway, darting behind a large stall that had been used for business just the day prior. All the merchandise was still there, stacked in large crates and barrels, but the owner was nowhere to be seen. Worked fine for him. Allan heaved his shoulder against the closest stack until it began to tip, and ran quickly to do the same to another a few feet down. He could hear the shouts of alarm, the cries of surprise as the heap went tumbling over, end over end into the oncoming guards.
Allan paused long enough to watch the destruction unfold, to see Robin and Will slip past, and through the gate as the guards stumbled, trying to regain their footing. Then he grinned, glad to see them escape unharmed, and was quickly moving on his own again. After all, he too, had to find a way out. And had to come up with a plan to convince Robin to let him come back, and be a part of the gang once more.
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