Survival
Title: Survival
Author: whytewytch4
Word Count: 567
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: A bit of violence
Characters: Allan, OFC, mentions of the gang and the others.
Disclaimer: Tiger Aspect and the BBC own the rights to Robin Hood 2006. No copyright infringement is intended. No money is being made.
Summary: Alternate ending to S3/13, as told by Allan.
I felt the first bit o’ fear as I gazed out from behind the tree into the face of the Sheriff of Nottingham. I ran, knowin’ I ‘ad to warn Robin, no matter what ‘e thought o’ me. The first arrow hit my leg and burned like fire; I stumbled but I ran on. Another arrow hit and another. The pain was worse than the time Giz ‘ad me tortured. I knew if I stopped, I’d be dead and so I ran. Another arrow struck, pushing me forward, and I fell, tumbling down and down and down until I splashed into some water-a large stream at the bottom of a ravine; the rocks scraped my body, cuttin’ into it in places. The last thing I ‘eard before I blacked out from the pain was the sound of Vasey’s voice, tellin’ his men to move on, that I was dead anyway and they ‘ad more important things to worry about, “bigger fish to fry” as the sheriff put it.
The next thing I knew, I woke up in a small croft, starin’ at a thatch ceiling, where sunlight played along the beams. I could smell a fire goin’ and food cookin’; it smelled good and my stomach rumbled in protest, wantin’ some o’ whatever was cookin’. I tried to move and hissed at the pain, closin’ my eyes.
A soft voice called, shushin’ me and tellin’ to lie still. I opened my eyes again to see the face of an angel looking down at me. ‘er hair fell forward and she moved ‘er ‘and to push a lock behind ‘er ear before she sat on the bed beside me; the ‘air was deep black and ‘er eyes were green like leave in spring. She reached into a bowl and wrung out a cloth, then put it on my ‘ead.
I knew I’d been pretty close to dead when the sheriff’s men ‘ad me in their sights, but I ‘ad no idea ‘ow close. I tried to get up again and the woman ‘eld me down; I was so weak, she didn’t ‘ave to use but one finger. For the next few days, I was in and out, mumblin’ in my sleep, hot an’ cold with fever. Once it broke, the gorgeous woman who’d been takin’ care o’ me told me as ‘ow Robin ‘ood was dead, and Guy of Gisbourne and the sheriff as well-both Sheriff Vasey and Sheriff Isabella. I was too numb at first to cry, then later, it seemed too late.
A few months later, I married the woman what nursed me back from death. We got three kids now-little scamps what couldn’t tell the truth if it was ‘anded to ‘em. My wife says they’re just like their father, which makes us all smile, especially as now I make my livin’ tellin’ tales. I tell about Robin ‘ood an’ ‘is gang-started callin’ us “Merry Men” when I met the Fool I ‘ad known while workin’ for Giz-the Fool said “alliteration makes it memorable.” ‘e ‘ad to explain to me that that just meant you kin remember it better when it all starts with the same letter-either way, “Merry Men” seems to ‘ave caught on. It ain’t the life of a lord, but I’m alive, an’ I got the girl an’ the house; all Robin ‘ood got was death.