A bath
Authour: Edith_The_Hutt
Title: A Bath
Rating: PG or thereabouts.
Challenge: Write a fic about Much set during (or somehow based on the events of) 1x01 ‘Will You Tolerate This?’
Notes: I've interpreted this a little loosely, this is set before 1x01 and is roughly the story of how Robin got the idea of giving Much his freedom. It's also about 84 words too long, sorry :(
The castle stood tall against the burning sun, surrounded by a small collection of half ruined buildings and tents. The servant squinted in the light, trying to make out the flags flying from the tallest tower.
"Much! It doesn't matter, they've seen you by now, just get us in there one way or another" shouted Robin from behind a dune, his leg bandaged
"Ah ha. Well, yes, you might think that," replied Much, "but I'm much too far away for that, after all I can't even make out who those two riders are who are heading... this..." Much ran to his master and put him on their solitary horse, "I'll... I'll talk to them and if they're on our side I'll call for you and we can go in, and if they're not, well..-"
"Much"
"Well you can-"
"Much!"
"You can just keep on riding ok; and I'll deal with..-"
"MUCH!"
"Oh no, don't worry about me," Much shook his head, "there's another fort another day south, you just keep on riding and-"
"MUCH! They're on our side!"
"After all it's my... what?"
"I can see them, they're the Hospitaliers we've been looking for"
"Oh, well... they are? Well that's a bit of luck, old Much will set you right master, you can depend on me, you know that." Robin sighed.
A few hours later and their message delivered Much helped Robin off with his clothes.
"All I'm saying is that they could have given us a better dormitory that's all"
"The, ah!" Robin winced as Much took off his right polyen, "the stables are all they've got for the servants"
"Well, yes but they have rooms like this one for guests and for that, well pardon my saying, I know he's a knight and all but that fat man who runs the place"
"The knight abbot?"
"Yes, well he's got room enough, why can't we have some of that?"
"Because he's ah!" Robin winced as much undressed the wound, "he's a knight and that's how the rules work here"
"Yes, well"
"Much! I don't make the rules, I'm sorry but that's just the way it works. I think I can do the rest of these, can you run the bath?" Robin proceeded to take his remaining clothes off and leave them in a dirty, blood-stained heap on the ground. Meanwhile Much prepared a small bath in the next room with the little water allowed for such matters. He opened one of the small pots of scented oil in the room, took a sniff and quickly replaced the lid.
Much folded the clothes and shook his head at the state of his master's garments.
“Once you're done in there master I'll give these a wash with the water, that last fight took it's toll on them, there's more holes in this than a... a... well, you know.” Robin grinned
“See to yourself first Much, I'm sure we can get something here”
“Thank you master, I'll have to spend some time patching them, if it wasn't for that armour then that saracen would have had your leg off” Robin smiled
“It wasn't the armour Much, it was you, if it hadn't been for you jumping between us I'd have been killed”
“Well... yes, but you saved me more than I can remember, you remember that one with the turban and the axe?”
“Which one?”
“Well... all of them. I thought we were on our way to Saint Peter that day” Robin smiled
“Do you remember when we found their baggage train?”
“The one with the?” Robin nodded
“Yes.” Much grinned.
“We thought it was Saladin's treasure”
“And Micheal of Norwich bet us it was Saladin's personal harem, the number of guards around it.”
“But when we got to it it was full of....” Much began to smirk, then giggle. Finally he and Robin burst into laughter.
“Now that is a story for when we get back home!”
“Oh I can't wait master, when I think of coming back to all the... all the...” Much's mood sobered, “Master?”
“Yes?” Robin was beginning to relax for the first time in months, the bath was having a good effect on his mood.
“What's going to happen? I mean when we go back home?
“Well, I suppose they'll be farming to be done, Locksley to manage, the King will probably give me some sort of reward for services here”
“Not that, I mean what's the first thing you're going to do?”
“Well... I... I don't know Much. Have a bath I suppose”
“Neither do I. I mean I suppose I could find a trade or something, there aren't many things I could do but I can find something, but the first thing? I don't know.”
“There's a lot you can do Much, don't talk like that”
“Really? You know how I got my name? It's short, short for Nothing Much, it's what my parent's called me”
“Much! That's not true and you know it,” Robin was irritated, Much's self-doubt could do that to him sometimes, “I mean you've grown, you've grown so much since we came here, you were hardly a man when you came with me, now you're... you're... a lot more than you used to be, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise”
“Yes master.” Much sighed and looked at the mess of cloth in his hands, the weave on one section was completely ruined, he hoped he could get something to eat from the hospitaliers, he would never have time to cook and fix this thing tonight. “It's just, well, it's just... I might be something here, but here's different, here I'm a member of the King's personal guard when we go back I go back to what I was before: Nothing Much. No nice hot baths for me, oh no not for old Nothing Much”
“Much!”
“I mean I'll probably wind up poor and lonely and...”
“MUCH! Stop it! When we get back things will be better, I promise, I'm not going to abandon you like that. I love you too much for that”
“R..really?”
“Yes, now could I just have a few minutes alone?”
“Of course master. I'll... I'll just go and see if there's some food shall I?”
“Yes Much” Robin sank into the bath slightly irritated at himself, he took Much too much for granted sometimes, but at least he knew the first thing he was going to do when he got back: He was going to give Much a bath...
Title: A Bath
Rating: PG or thereabouts.
Challenge: Write a fic about Much set during (or somehow based on the events of) 1x01 ‘Will You Tolerate This?’
Notes: I've interpreted this a little loosely, this is set before 1x01 and is roughly the story of how Robin got the idea of giving Much his freedom. It's also about 84 words too long, sorry :(
The castle stood tall against the burning sun, surrounded by a small collection of half ruined buildings and tents. The servant squinted in the light, trying to make out the flags flying from the tallest tower.
"Much! It doesn't matter, they've seen you by now, just get us in there one way or another" shouted Robin from behind a dune, his leg bandaged
"Ah ha. Well, yes, you might think that," replied Much, "but I'm much too far away for that, after all I can't even make out who those two riders are who are heading... this..." Much ran to his master and put him on their solitary horse, "I'll... I'll talk to them and if they're on our side I'll call for you and we can go in, and if they're not, well..-"
"Much"
"Well you can-"
"Much!"
"You can just keep on riding ok; and I'll deal with..-"
"MUCH!"
"Oh no, don't worry about me," Much shook his head, "there's another fort another day south, you just keep on riding and-"
"MUCH! They're on our side!"
"After all it's my... what?"
"I can see them, they're the Hospitaliers we've been looking for"
"Oh, well... they are? Well that's a bit of luck, old Much will set you right master, you can depend on me, you know that." Robin sighed.
A few hours later and their message delivered Much helped Robin off with his clothes.
"All I'm saying is that they could have given us a better dormitory that's all"
"The, ah!" Robin winced as Much took off his right polyen, "the stables are all they've got for the servants"
"Well, yes but they have rooms like this one for guests and for that, well pardon my saying, I know he's a knight and all but that fat man who runs the place"
"The knight abbot?"
"Yes, well he's got room enough, why can't we have some of that?"
"Because he's ah!" Robin winced as much undressed the wound, "he's a knight and that's how the rules work here"
"Yes, well"
"Much! I don't make the rules, I'm sorry but that's just the way it works. I think I can do the rest of these, can you run the bath?" Robin proceeded to take his remaining clothes off and leave them in a dirty, blood-stained heap on the ground. Meanwhile Much prepared a small bath in the next room with the little water allowed for such matters. He opened one of the small pots of scented oil in the room, took a sniff and quickly replaced the lid.
Much folded the clothes and shook his head at the state of his master's garments.
“Once you're done in there master I'll give these a wash with the water, that last fight took it's toll on them, there's more holes in this than a... a... well, you know.” Robin grinned
“See to yourself first Much, I'm sure we can get something here”
“Thank you master, I'll have to spend some time patching them, if it wasn't for that armour then that saracen would have had your leg off” Robin smiled
“It wasn't the armour Much, it was you, if it hadn't been for you jumping between us I'd have been killed”
“Well... yes, but you saved me more than I can remember, you remember that one with the turban and the axe?”
“Which one?”
“Well... all of them. I thought we were on our way to Saint Peter that day” Robin smiled
“Do you remember when we found their baggage train?”
“The one with the?” Robin nodded
“Yes.” Much grinned.
“We thought it was Saladin's treasure”
“And Micheal of Norwich bet us it was Saladin's personal harem, the number of guards around it.”
“But when we got to it it was full of....” Much began to smirk, then giggle. Finally he and Robin burst into laughter.
“Now that is a story for when we get back home!”
“Oh I can't wait master, when I think of coming back to all the... all the...” Much's mood sobered, “Master?”
“Yes?” Robin was beginning to relax for the first time in months, the bath was having a good effect on his mood.
“What's going to happen? I mean when we go back home?
“Well, I suppose they'll be farming to be done, Locksley to manage, the King will probably give me some sort of reward for services here”
“Not that, I mean what's the first thing you're going to do?”
“Well... I... I don't know Much. Have a bath I suppose”
“Neither do I. I mean I suppose I could find a trade or something, there aren't many things I could do but I can find something, but the first thing? I don't know.”
“There's a lot you can do Much, don't talk like that”
“Really? You know how I got my name? It's short, short for Nothing Much, it's what my parent's called me”
“Much! That's not true and you know it,” Robin was irritated, Much's self-doubt could do that to him sometimes, “I mean you've grown, you've grown so much since we came here, you were hardly a man when you came with me, now you're... you're... a lot more than you used to be, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise”
“Yes master.” Much sighed and looked at the mess of cloth in his hands, the weave on one section was completely ruined, he hoped he could get something to eat from the hospitaliers, he would never have time to cook and fix this thing tonight. “It's just, well, it's just... I might be something here, but here's different, here I'm a member of the King's personal guard when we go back I go back to what I was before: Nothing Much. No nice hot baths for me, oh no not for old Nothing Much”
“Much!”
“I mean I'll probably wind up poor and lonely and...”
“MUCH! Stop it! When we get back things will be better, I promise, I'm not going to abandon you like that. I love you too much for that”
“R..really?”
“Yes, now could I just have a few minutes alone?”
“Of course master. I'll... I'll just go and see if there's some food shall I?”
“Yes Much” Robin sank into the bath slightly irritated at himself, he took Much too much for granted sometimes, but at least he knew the first thing he was going to do when he got back: He was going to give Much a bath...