Knights of Our Lives (retrofictive)
Title: Knights of our Lives
Author: robinfanatic
Rating: PG
Characters: Much, Thornton, Robin
Words: 884
Disclaimer: BBC & TIger aspect own; I just want to play in their universe
Summary: in which we learn of Much’s parentage; takes place during 1x01. Originally an entry in the Crazy Fic challenge for hoodland round 6 in July 2011 (remember...this is a crazy fic!)
Knights of Our Lives
by robinfanatic
Much bit into the roasted pig and chewed slowly, his eyes closed. He startled when the door to the bathing room opened.
Thornton looked at the younger man then closed the door. “It is time you knew the truth.”
Much gaped at him, mouth half-open.
“I’ve held this secret for more years than I’d wanted. And now that Master Robin has made you a free man, it’s time you knew.”
Much set the meat down on the plate by the bath. “Knew what? What are you talking about?”
“I took you from Locksley when you were just a babe. The nuns at Pontefract kept you safe, raised you until I heard of your mother’s passing and other events here. I knew you would learn much at Robin’s side so I brought you home.”
“My mother? You knew my mother?”
“She’d been ill that year before she married. Or so everyone thought. Secluded in her room, she hid the pregnancy so as to avoid shame and not bring scrutiny upon your father or Master Malcolm.”
“What does Robin’s father have to do with this? You are making no sense, Thornton.”
“Master Malcolm kept her secret at your father’s bidding. He came once under cover to see her, told her he would acknowledge you as an illegitimate son. But she would have none of it, wanted no one to know that she’d been his lover. Malcolm agreed so long as she would send you away because - as much as he loved her - he feared that Henry would return and take her from him.”
“Henry?”
“Your father.”
“Robin’s mother... My mother?”
“Yes.”
“And Henry?”
“The late king.”
“K-k-k-king? But that makes me--”
Thornton nodded.
“Half-brother of Robin? and King Richard?”
Thornton bowed. “Your highness.”
The door opened abruptly and Robin stormed into the room. He grabbed Thornton’s tunic and shoved him against the wall. “How can you speak of my mother like that? She was not the king’s whore!”
“Master, please. She was a young girl, deeply in love--”
“Yes, with my father,” Robin growled.
Much stood so fast that water splashed the floor. “Robin, stop!” Sunlight accentuated the water beading on his skin. Even naked, he suddenly looked every part a royal. His tone was authoritative and bold. “Let go of Thornton.”
“Master Robin--” Thornton pleaded.
Robin stared at his hands clenched tightly in the fabric of Thornton’s clothes. He turned, glaring at Much.
“Robin, I...command you,” Much said slowly. “Release Thornton.”
Robin’s fingers slid from Thornton. He paced the floor. “You are saying that before my parents married, King Henry slept with my mother? She carried his child and gave him up?”
“Yes, gave him up so that she might marry Malcolm, your father. She loved them both,” Thornton replied as he handed a bath towel to Much.
Much stepped from the bath and wrapped himself in the towel. “You knew her and never told me?”
“To have done so would have betrayed her trust.”
“So why now?” Much asked.
Thornton looked from Much to Robin. “Because your brother deserves to know the truth.”
“My brother...” Robin’s voice trailed off.
“Your father - Malcolm - looked for Much after your mother died. I believe he would have brought him to Locksley then and raised him.”
“He never found me,” Much said.
“No. The king paid the nuns well to keep you hidden. It was your mother’s wish.”
“Why? To let me think I was orphaned all those years. I could have been here with a man who would raise me as his son...as Robin’s brother. I don’t understand.”
“She knew it would bring shame to Malcolm, and it might be suspected that he was your father. All he wanted after her death was another sign of her. He had one in Robin. To have had her other child nearby would have made his burden more bearable.”
“This may all be true but it is only your word, Thornton,” Robin said. “No one else knows?”
“You doubt Thornton’s words, Robin?” Much asked. “You don’t want me as a brother?”
“Much, I have loved you as a brother without knowing that we were tied by blood. But more important, you are the half-brother of the king. To proclaim that, with or without proof, might be foolish. Illegitimate or not, you might be seen as a threat to Richard’s crown and to Prince John.”
“That is ridiculous. The king knows me. I served with you in his private guard. He would never--”
“There is proof,” Thornton said quietly.
“What?!” Robin and Much exclaimed.
“A letter entrusted to me by your mother in King Henry’s own hand.”
“But who might authenticate his handwriting?” Robin asked.
“Three whom I know.”
Robin nodded. “King Richard, Prince John...and the Queen Mother.”
“But then they would know...about King Henry and Robin’s mother,” Much said.
Thornton turned and walked to the window. He placed his hands behind his back. “Queen Eleanor already knows.”
Much and Robin stared wide-eyed and speechless as Thornton turned round to face them. “There is more,” he said.
Robin took a step backwards as if bracing himself.
Thornton met his eyes. “Malcolm is not your father.”
Much dropped his towel.
Announcer: tune in for the next episode when Robin learns about his true parentage.