Chapter 7 - A Perfect Storm

John was a full head and a half taller than the other men in the tavern. Up until this point, they had all looked up to him and he had led them on several night raids on the occupied farm that lay south of them. What they were talking about tonight, though, made him weary.

It would seem that they too had been eager for a full on battle, much like the soldiers that were stationed on the Redgrave farm. They'd been cautious before but the night raids and addition of equipment had bolstered their bravery. How had John not seen this coming, he kept asking himself.

Cornelius had been one of the first to suggest burning down the farm. "We have to show them that we will do whatever it takes to be heard and treated fairly," his call to arms sounded rehearsed.

John and two other men knew that an outright conflict would result in the death of many of their own men and innocent people that have no choice but to be caught in the middle of it all.

"What your suggesting is murder," John decreed, "plain and simple."

Cornelius leaned against the bar and looked down at John where he sat. "For a man who's seen battle in the crusades," Cornelius taunted, "you seem awfully like a coward."

John hated that word. Coward. He hated a man like Cornelius calling someone a coward even more. He'd second guess the attack if he'd seen the blood and carnage John had. John fought the urge to take back the leadership by force but it wasn't his intention to lead a mob, only demand some basic rights.

He looked over at Smith, who'd gripped his cup tighter in an attempt to hold back a full on attack. John put his hand on his forearm to calm him. Layne sat patiently. On a word, he'd gut Cornelius and anyone else that stood in his way, if John so requested. He knew John had learned the quality of peace and words. They had all three seen combat but John had lost men and when you lose men, you sometimes lose the taste for blood.

John stood up. He smiled at Cornelius, "It's been my experience, that cowards are the first to call someone else a coward." John motioned to his men. "You want to die so damned bad, I won't stop you. Those raids were supposed to destabilize the soldiers but the sheriff will just keep sending them supplies until he's decided it's too expensive and then send the king's army down our throats. He won't stop with just killing us, he'll make an example out of our families." He turned to the rest of the group and raised his voice, "Go ahead and sign those death warrants for your wives and children because that's what'll come in your homes, should you open this door."

John and his men left the tavern. They each went back to their respected homes and gathered their belongings. They planned on leaving their lives behind and finding another place to carve out a living.

It wouldn't go as planned.

Cornelius had whipped the mob into a frenzy. "John's lost his drive to see this through," Cornelius had said. "We all knew that it would lead to this but he lied to himself. He thought that a few night raids and the kings men would turn tail and run. The king's men? They would blindly follow that fool to hell. Which is where we should send them. If we burn down that camp and every farm between here and there, we'll show them that we mean to be taken seriously. We'll damage their food supplies and morale. We can do this. I know it!"

It was Cornelius that was lying to himself. He believed that some untrained farmers could stand up to the might of a king who was already coming under fire from outside his kingdom. King John would demand respect from his subjects if it meant making an example of these few farmers that had gotten a taste for rebellious endeavor.

It mattered little to the angry mob of men. Now they wanted blood. On top of this, they feared that John might turn sides and they broke off into three groups to capture John and his two cohorts.

Several hours later and an overpowered John and his friends found themselves tied to wooden chairs and locked inside a stable. They had subdued him, like many cowards would, by coming to him, pretending that they needed him to come back and talk sense into Cornelius and then hitting him from behind. Waking up tied to a chair seemed preferable to being their first victim.

Layne had tried to wake him but they had knocked him out good. "They're going tonight. They are going to burn the Redgrave farm to the ground." John had just traded goods with Thomas. He knew that Thomas was an honest man trying to not be the squeaky wheel. He had even said that he didn't mind the high taxation so long as they let him work his land. John felt guilty. He strained against the heavy hemp ropes but he was too tired to make any headway.

"I've condemned a family," John said. "I've condemned a good man."

Smith had tried, without success, to reach his boot knife. The three of them had fought in foreign wars and seen a lot of chaos and now, they sat here, helpless.

They were beginning to smell smoke.



Meanwhile, while John had listened to Cornelius' rant, plans were changing at Castle Nottingham. The king was making his rounds and Sheriff de Lacy wanted to make sure things were perfect. He had sent word to have Sir Guy brought to his ready room.

When Guy appeared, he seemed to be in good spirits. The sheriff had heard the rumor about Guy consorting with the help. He wasn't the first to do so but he was the first to do it without trying to hide it.

"I see that you've been keeping yourself busy while you're here," de Lacy said teasingly. "Make sure she understands that she'll never be nobility and that you're only using her for her skills with sheets so she doesn't get the hopes of hand maidens everywhere up. They may all believe that some knight will come and magically make them better stock."

Guy hated the sheriff for saying things like that. Marian wasn't like anyone else.

"Now it's down to business," de Lacy continued. The king will be arriving in a week. I've sent word to bring in all but twenty of the men from the Redgrave farm. We will need them here. I want you to coordinate a rotation and a presentation of the men's ability."

Guy realized this would leave the Redgrave farm susceptible. "What about the uprising?" he asked.

De Lacy looked at Guy incredulously, "what harm can some farmers do? Besides, that's not your concern. Your concern is what I tell you."

Guy realized that he had to be careful. He'd questioned the sheriff's authority once too often and had overstepped his station. He'd been warned on more than one occasion.

"I'll begin exercises immediately," Guy said. "Is there anything else, Sir?"

De Lacy paused, "the wench, Marian, is it? How is she?"

Guy furrowed his eyebrows. "How do you mean?" he asked.

"With the sheets? I mean, within the sheets?"

"I wouldn't know, Sir," Guy answered.

De Lacy smiled, "You're dismissed."

Guy left the ready room. As he passed a window he saw Marian hurrying across the lawn of the courtyard. He knew she was on her way to visit her family. He thought for a moment of going down and introducing himself but he had too much to prepare for and also didn't want to bring anymore attention to his relationship with the Maid Marian.

As she ran across the lawn he thought she seemed so eager to see her family.

Chapter 6 - Amongst Devils

Every morning, Thomas woke to the sound of Captain Teague passing through the cramped room of their side of the cottage to help himself to any leftovers by the hearth. He cared little that the Redgraves' were meager people that made it day to day on the sweat and blood that Thomas proudly payed along with Mary's brothers in the fields.

Beltain had come and gone and the soldiers hadn't seemed to have budged from their position on Thomas' fields. They had had several clashes with the farmers from the north. It mainly happened at night with small bands of angry serfs raiding the camp, causing there to be even more guards posted at night.

Thomas had been able to re-dig a small area where he grew a garden that was large enough to support his family. Captain Teague had liked the aroma of the cooking so much though, that they eventually had to include him in the plan for meals. This made it easy for Thomas to bring back enough rabbit to feed everyone. Mary noticed that he seemed to bring in enough rabbit easily.

"Your father never hunted with you when you would bring us what you caught, did he?" she asked.

"My father worked hard in the fields all day during the spring and summer. I felt terrible taking the small respite that winter offered to him," Thomas admitted. "I often hunted alone and was lucky enough to have killed enough to feed us all."

Mary hugged him. "You still do it today," she said, "that means it's not luck. I've seen you examine a moment and do it instantly. You've looked at all the possibilities and found the best course faster than most people can react to a question. Sometimes it scares me."

She didn't fear Thomas but she did fear his ability to dismantle a situation into its key components and figure out the weakest point and the strongest. Cold contemplation of situations like they were puzzles to be figured out. He sized up many situations instantly and she often wondered if he sized her up.

"Why are you scared?" he asked.

She waited a moment, wanting to put it into the right words so that he didn't take offense. "Do you ever do that with me?"

"All the time," he admitted. "I wouldn't have married you if I hadn't. None of the other possibilities of my life made me happy."

She smiled and Will came running in from outside. "There's a fight among the soldiers!" he shouted to his family.

Thomas and the captain went out to see what was going on. Thomas knew what it was. The men were soldiers and they were itching for a fight. He didn't blame them, he knew what it felt like to want something so bad but not be able to act on it. Like working his farm was to him.

Two of the men slugged it out over between the camp and Thomas' garden. He feared that it would be kicked asunder if they weren't careful.

Captain Teague called out, "I demand you both to stop." They either didn't hear him or chose not to.

Thomas didn't care either way. He simply didn't want them to destroy the tiny bit of land he'd been able to work and they were getting dangerously close. He grabbed a hoe from his small shed and ran over to the garden just as one man threw the other towards it. Thomas braced himself with the hoe and blocked the man before he trampled his hard work.

The captain just looked on. He wondered how his men would react to a farmer getting in their way.

The soldier that Thomas caught spun and swung wildly at him. Thomas backed up and said calmly, "Just stay off of my garden."

Without notice, the other threw a punch but Thomas had expected as much. Just like he had made his need to work the land come into fruition by making a little garden, these men intended to make their need for battle into a fight. Thomas blocked the first punch but the other soldier lunged at him, knocking him off of his feet. Thomas rolled and, still holding the hoe in his hands, pinned it under the chin of his assaulter.

Thomas could hear the heavy footfalls of the man running up on him so he rolled off of the first man and brought the hoe's flat end square with the chest of the man that ran at him. He pressed the handle end of the farm implement into the earth and the resulting thrust forced the man into a kind of vault over the other. The sound of ribs snapped as his full weight hit the iron end of the hoe could be heard just barely over the noise of air suddenly leaving his lungs. Thomas took the spectacle's sudden surprise and distraction as an opening to sucker punch the man that was already on the ground. His nose crunched under Thomas' heavy fist but before a second blow could be landed, men pulled the two apart.

"How dare you strike one of the king's men!" Captain Teague barked.

"I was only protecting the garden. My family eats from that garden. As do you," Thomas' argument was simple and to the point and played on the Captain's own gluttonous desires.

The captain redirected his anger. He realized that if he punished Thomas, there would be no fresh rabbit or vegetables so he instead scolded his men for acting unbecoming of a proper soldier.

Thomas knew this was the start of a time that would be thick with animosity but he figured that if the captain knew that he wasn't afraid of his men, it gave him very little else to threaten him with.



It had been a couple of weeks and Thomas was off on one of his hunts. He had bagged two rabbits and a bird. He had taken a moment to enjoy the cool air that seemed to permeate the wood, resting at the base of a large tree. His eyes closed for a moment and a nap overcame him.

He and the wolf and were coming to the opening of the wolf's den and noticed that something had torn it open. A bear came tearing out, it's maul wet and matted with fresh blood. The wolf started to chase it off but turned and ran into the den. Thomas followed. The inside was awash in blood. The den was once so full of life, now it was hard to distinguish between cub and mate. The wolf looked for a sign of life. Any sign of life. It looked up at Thomas and whined, "Why?"

Thomas shook himself awake. He stood and got his bearings then broke into a full run through the heavy growth back toward his farm. The flight back seemed long to him. Longer than usual. When he exited the wood and came into the clearing of his farm, he turned the run into a brisk walk. He didn't want to draw attention from the soldiers.

When he opened the door of his cottage he saw Mary sewing a cowl for Will. She was startled to see Thomas home so early. Thomas looked into the other room, the captain's room, and saw that it was empty.

"He's out with his men," she said. "What's wrong?"

Thomas sat and calmly said, "they've been massacred."

"Who?" Mary said, worry and anxiety thick in her voice.

"The cubs... his mate," a tear ran down his cheek. "In the end, we couldn't stop the bear."

Mary understood. She and Thomas had talked at great length about the wolf in his dreams. She knew about the song he and Will sung about the wolf and the fox. Her family had long believed that such dreams were omens. The animals were a type of totem and Mary understood that both Thomas and Will had dreams that often revolved heavily around these two animals. One, the wolf, known for it's ability to hunt and fearlessness and the other, the fox, known for it's sly and calculating nature.

Thomas wiped the tear from his cheek.

"You couldn't stop the bear from killing the wolf's cubs," Mary started, "doesn't mean you still won't slay it."

Thomas mother, Muriel, came in from outside. She had been playing with Will. She sensed that the room was tense. "Am I interrupting anything," she said.

"No, mother," Mary said. "Thomas was just relaying his hunting adventures to me."

Muriel took the rabbits and bird from Thomas and began cleaning them.



When Captain Teague came in, he noticed that the women were cooking and Thomas was sitting at the table. Captain Teague sat at the table with Thomas. "We have reason to believe that there may be a conclusion to all this shortly, "the captain said. "we've learned that some of the farmers are gathering in number like they are preparing for a big raid. We'll be ready. We plan on stationing a few groups of men a little further north so that there is a buffer zone. More than likely, the show of force will scare them into turning over their leader."

Thomas looked up at him. "Isn't that what this was supposed to be?" he said. "wasn't being here supposed to scare them?"

Teague looked perturbed. Thomas was right but he wouldn't say that out loud. Instead he started with, "if we were dealing with intelligent people, they would have seen what kind of threat we posed. As it is, you farmers aren't smart enough to know when to back down."

Thomas knew the comment was directed at his statement just as much as it was meant to be about the serfs angry over the taxation of their hard work to the north. Thomas relented. To cause a ruckus with the captain would only put his family in peril.



That night, as Thomas tucked in Will, his son grabbed his arm tightly. He seemed troubled. "Papa," he said, it was painfully obvious to Thomas that Will was holding back tears, "the fox is lonely. His family is gone."

Chapter 5 - A Harsh Winter

The winter season of 1200 saw a very heavy fall of snow in Loxley and all of Nottingham. Though many of the roads were hard to travel upon, Thomas noticed that the sheriff's men seemed to be out in high number. They had dug in at the northernmost end of the forest and were ever present when Thomas would go on his hunts. This made it difficult to hunt as easily as Thomas used to for two reasons. First, he didn't want them knowing his skills with the bow which meant he had to go somewhat deeper into the forest to avoid their prying eyes. Second, they either scared away or hunted what small game was nearby forcing Thomas even further into the wooded refuge.

Many of the men took liberties with the land, too. Digging latrines that cut into the farm's largest field. It was rude and crass, the way Thomas saw it. He especially didn't like their leader, whom the men called Captain Philip Teague. He often imposed on the local farms and used his official status to get away with behavior that Thomas thought was inappropriate.


Once, while Thomas was returning from a hunt, the captain had his men stop him.

"The captain wishes to speak with you in his tent," the grunt ordered. Thomas sized him and his partner up quickly. Both were a bit slow and one had an obvious blind spot to his left, apparent by the cauliflower ear he refused to cover and the other was slightly pigeon toed making his hips susceptible to damage. Thomas thought a single attack through in his head before accepting his situation. He followed the men to the largest tent. Inside, the captain stood pacing, wearing a bearskin cape with the paws of the bear draped over his shoulders.

Thomas stood patiently. The two rabbits dangled at his side.

"I see you brought payment," Philip said.

Thomas looked puzzled.

"The rabbits, you dolt," Philip continued his insults, "you have brought me fresh rabbits as payment for me having to stay out here, so far from the comforts of home in the middle of nowhere. All so that you're neighbors don't stir up trouble."

Thomas moved the rabbits slightly behind him. "These are for my family," he said.

Philip stopped pacing and leaned in to Thomas as if he was hard of hearing. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," he said. "Did you say thank you for your ever present protection, here are some delicious rabbits?"

Thomas hated being bullied. Especially by a man whose left side looked so vulnerable. Just a shoulder thrust, grab of his weapon and clockwise spin and slash would finish this shakedown but Thomas knew that that would only make matters worse.

Thomas swallowed his pride. He brought the rabbits out from behind him and offered them to the captain. Philip took them and glared past Thomas to the field.

"Is that your farm?" he asked Thomas. "The one with the ample living space?"

"Yes," Thomas answered.

"Come again, I'm afraid you didn't address me," Philip said.

"Yes, Sir."

"Good," Philip started. "What's your name?"

"Thomas, Sir."

"Thomas what? Don't you people have family names?"

"Thomas Redgrave," Thomas said. As he said it, he stood up straight like he was proud.

"Well, Thomas Redgrave, I suspect we'll be seeing each other again," Philip made a shooing motion with his hand, "you're dismissed."

Thomas stepped out of the tent and walked past all the men not avoiding their looks.

When Thomas arrived at the house empty handed, everyone stared at him.

Mary approached him. "No rabbits?" she asked.

"I had two," Thomas thought about telling them about the captain but he didn't want to get anything started, "I had them lined up but the soldiers made too much noise and both times the rabbits got away."

"Looks like it's oats for dinner," Will said and cracked a smile, "you'll have better luck tomorrow, papa."

Thomas pulled Mary close to him. Very softly he said, "I'll bring home four tomorrow." Thomas meant it. If he had to kill six rabbits to smuggle home four, he would do it. He was already thinking of depositing the extra four further down the edge of the tree line and retrieving them after giving the captain the two that he knew he was going to ask for.



A few days after Thomas had his rabbits taken that first time, Sir Guy's personal squire, Tybalt, arrived with news. The captain had found a farm which had a cottage larger than the others.

Guy delivered the news to de Lacy, himself.

"It's a large farm with a two room cottage," Guy continued, "and it's on the edge of our borders in Loxley."

The sheriff was happy to have such good news. "We can't displace a family, King John doesn't want to upset the yeomen. A cottage that size though, could accommodate the good captain and the farm could hold the men in heavy tents."

"Won't that cut into the use of their fields to raise grain?" Guy asked.

"We'll excuse some of their taxes this year," the sheriff concluded.

"When would you like me to go make the official accommodations?"

"By week's end," de Lacy said, "I don't want to give the rebels a single foot hold."



By the end of the week, Guy had prepared all of his supplies. He'd packed up heavier tents and a full garrison more of men. The caravan was ready when Guy sought out Matilda. She was going to see to her lady as Guy was coming from the lady's anteroom.

"Hello, Marian," Guy said charmingly.

"Hello, Sir Guy," Marian said with a proper curtsy, "to what do I owe the honor of speaking with you?"

Guy squared himself, "I've just come from the lady's quarters and I've asked her if she would mind letting me borrow you for a trip to the border."

Matilda blushed, "Why would you need the assistance of a lady's maiden?"

"It's really only an excuse to spend time with you," Guy said bluntly.

"Who am I to turn away the affections of a Knight of the Kings court?"

Matilda hurriedly gathered up a change of clothes and a few items and met Guy in the courtyard. He took her things and carried them for her to the carriage.

Once on the road, the two began conversing about everything from the weather to the crusades. Guy was aware that she was intelligent but she was very knowledgeable about things that no other maiden may know of. For instance she knew the dates and places of specific battles with the Normans and seemed to have an uncanny knack for reciting names and dates from memory.

Guy stopped her during one of her rambling moments. Laughing, he asked her, "How is it you know so much about everything?"

Without hesitation or thinking she blurted out, "books," then slapped her hand over her mouth.

Guy looked at her. "How are you getting books?"

"I shouldn't have said anything," she pleaded.

Guy thought for a moment. She really was brilliant. He opened up his satchel and pulled out a tome and offered it to her. It was a book of poems.

"Would you read me a few?" he asked her.

The rest of the trip was spent taking turns reading excerpts from the book. The two delighted themselves with the knowledge that it was their secret. Something only they could share with each other. Matilda found herself so engrossed in the reading that she didn't realize the surroundings outside of the carriage had become distantly familiar.

It didn't dawn on her until she stepped out onto the soil of her childhood home. She looked around, with a smile on her face. At first she thought it was some sort of romantic gesture until she saw the number of men setting up tents in the fields and the other soldiers unloading supplies.

"What are the men doing here?" she asked Guy.

He handed his satchel to his squire and turned to her to respond, "We're using this farm as a temporary outpost to repel some rebellious farmers. It's just a show of force, there shouldn't be any real danger. Besides, you're safe with me."

Matilda's stomach sank. Her father's farm used to be so bright and now it's become the stomping grounds for the sheriff's men.

"Does the family know?" she mentally crossed her fingers that this was all planned by her brother.

"Unfortunately, these simple farmers don't understand politics. We've commandeered the farm and cottage. The is all the king's land."

Guy proceeded across the yard to the cottage.

"Wait!" Matilda protested. "I grew up on a farm, maybe I could talk to them. It might help lessen the blow."

Sir Guy looked across the field at where the captain and his men were. "Make it quick," he said, Captain Teague is to move in with the Redgraves by sundown.

Matilda hurried to the door of the cottage. When she opened it, Mathias reared back with an ax. At that moment, Mary intervened, "Mathias James, you drop that ax now!"

Mathias dropped the ax and Mary ran up and hugged Matilda as she shut the door. "What's going on out there, Matilda? Why are there men on our farm?"

"Until I know for sure what's going on, I need you all to," Matilda looked around as her sentence trailed off, "Where's Thomas? Where's my brother?"

Muriel came to her daughters side, "He and Will have gone over and traded with another farm. They should be back shortly. What's the matter, dear?"

"Thomas told me that some of the farmers have been clashing with the sheriff's men. The sheriff plans on using this farm as a staging area to confront the rebels. It's a show of force."

The news floored Muriel. Their farm was all they had. Why would this happen to them?

Matilda continued, "They don't know that you all are my family. Until I know what's going on, it's best to keep it that way. Sir Guy was sent here to tell you that half the cottage is to be used as Captain Teague's private quarters while the men are here. I know this is going to be difficult but if you don't let them, they'll take it by force. It should only be temporary, just until they've found whoever is leading the uprising."

Mary's brother Joshua moaned, "Thomas isn't going to like this. He'll see them as another bear."

Matilda knew this to be true. Thomas never backed down. Out of the corner of her eye she could see his beat up wagon pull in through this room's single window. "Mary," she said, "get them in here."

As Mary went out the door, everyone inside was surprised to see that Thomas was calm. His demeanor was relaxed and tranquil as he came in.

"Hello Matty," he said as young Will ran up to hug her.

"This isn't a friendly visit, Thomas," she said hugging Will tight.

"That Captain Philip Teague is behind this," Thomas said. "I've had a few run-ins with him."

Mary looked out the window. "They don't know that you all are family. I was brought here as companionship for Sir Guy of Gisbourne. He's Sheriff de Lacy's second in command. He has come to move you into one side of the cottage and have Captain Teague take the other. I don't have time to give anymore details, he's coming up the yard." She turns to little Will, "let's pretend that I'm not your aunt Matilda, okay?" When she said it she looked up at Thomas. He could see it pained her to even pretend it.

The knock at their door was loud and demanding. Thomas opened the door and in front of him was Sir Guy and Captain Teague. "Do come in," Thomas said to the men.

Guy wanted this to go smoothly. He didn't like what he was doing, he was following orders. He began, "his Lordship, King John of England has politely demanded the use of your home. In return, there will be a cut in the amount of taxes for this year."

"What about my fields?" Thomas asked. He had already planned on not making a fuss but didn't want to make it look like he didn't worry about his farm.

"What about your fields?" Captain Teague spat. "Those are the king's fields."

Guy gently pushed the captain back. "Unfortunately," he said, "they are to be used by the men for lodging. This means that if we don't find the head of this little band of miscreants, we won't be out of the way come Beltain. We are hoping that it doesn't come to that."

"Some more so than others," Captain Teague said.

Guy motioned his hand and two soldiers came in and began moving furnishing out of the other side. While the men were busy moving the captain in, Guy noticed a book on the table.

"Who's book is that?" he asked.

"Mine," young Will said politely.

Guy picked up the book and opened it. Inside was printed that it was property of the Abbey of Nottingham.

"This is property of the abbey and therefore, it's the sheriff's property," Guy scowled. "Where did you get this?" he asked Will as he squatted to his level.

Will looked around. "It was a fox and a wolf. They brought it for me to read," he said.

Guy smiled and tucked the book under his arm. "Somethings amiss here. I suspect that Tuck has been giving the sheriff's property away in his crusade to rid the world of ignorance." He looked around the room. "Poor lot to waste it on."

It was everything that he could do to not strangle Guy where he stood but Thomas let the moment pass.

"Marian, we should be headed back to the castle," Guy ordered.

As the two rode off in the carriage, Thomas and Will watched.

"He's not a good man, papa," Will said gripping his father's hand.

"No son, he's not," Thomas said, "I fear the world is full of people like him."



That night, Will dreamt of a red fox. It ran in and out of it's den, hiding books and coins and sharing them with people as they went by.

The fox always made Will smile.

Chapter 4 - Revelations

Deep in the castle of Nottingham, on the other side of the forest, the sheriff was being briefed on a civilian uprising. Roger de Lacy was a stern and wily sheriff . He loathed civilians and the lower class but knew that without them, there would be no upper class. There's no elite without the non-elite masses to define them.

His first lieutenant, the newly appointed knight, Sir Guy, was explaining the matters of a small band of brigands that had damaged military items and stolen weapons and gear from a supply caravan the previous week. Something of an embarrassment if it should come to light.

"It would seem that they hope to push your area of control further south from their community, which is just north of Loxley," Guy had surmised.

"They'll find that I have the might of King John backing me," Sheriff de Lacy declared. "We need to curtail any uprising from forming deep within Nottinghamshire county. I will not have my men be made fools of by brigands, bandits or any other such filth. The only way I can see stymieing this rebellion is a show of absolute force."

The sheriff unrolled a map of northern Nottinghamshire. "Where was the attack, exactly?" he asked Sir Guy.

Guy studied the map before pressing his finger to a spot just north of the village of Loxley. The sheriff looked the area over.

"Farmers?" de Lacy said, surprised at the notion. "My men were made to look like buffoons by a group of farmers?! Sir Guy, this is not good. This is not good at all. If word gets back to the king that I can't keep a couple of uppity farmers from terrorizing my men, I'll be laughed out of my position." He paused to punctuate his next statement. "They'll make me wear a fools hat and force me to entertain!"

Guy was unamused. He didn't like the sheriff's pompous attitude but to speak out loud about it would incur the wrath of the monarchy. "What do you suggest, Sir?"

De Lacy looked at the map again. He wanted to make an example of these brigands.

"Take a garrison of men and scout the village of Loxley. I'll get permission from the king to commandeer one of the farms as an outpost. Farmers don't attack farmers. They think like thieves, don't they? We'll set up the outpost and keep a regular unit there for support while we find whoever is in charge of this pathetic rebellion."

Guy had a feeling he knew the answer to his next question but he asked it anyway, "What then, Sir?"

De Lacy smiled. "A public hanging is a good way to send a message, isn't it?"

"I suppose, Sir," the knight said.

"You suppose? Do they teach leniency in Gisbourne?" the sheriff didn't want one who wavered amongst his men.

"My apologies, Sir," Guy began, "I meant no foul. My supposition was in agreement, not opposition."

"You are dismissed," de Lacy announced.

As Guy left the sheriff's presence he passed Matilda in the hall. "Maid Marian, the lady is lucky to have you at her beckon call."

"The lady is not as sweet as you, Sir Guy," Matilda said as she politely excused herself. She thought he was handsome and sweet but reminded herself that the help wasn't allowed to even think such notions. He was a noble and as such, would take a noble for a wife.

Matilda made her way down to the courtyard. Her brother was due any moment and she missed him so. She looked forward to seeing young Will, too. As she entered the courtyard she could see her brother's wagon on the far side. He wasn't allowed to bring it up into the actual courtyard so she made her way over to see him.

"How's my brother, the wolf, been?" she asked.

"I'm doing well," Thomas said. Will ran up to hug her and Thomas waited his turn. He hugged her tightly. "There's been trouble up near the farm. Farmers from the next village clashing with officials. It's a big headache, really."

"Sounds like it," she said.

"I'm gonna be a big brother!" Will let out. He looked up at his father. He wasn't supposed to tell yet.

"What?" Matilda said.

"Yeah, that's why neither Mary nor mum made the trip," Thomas said happily, "she's got a little bump."

Matilda looked down at Will. "How old are you now?" she asked.

"I'm eight," he said holding up and wiggling all eight of his fingers. "Papa says he's gonna show me how to hunt with a bow."

"Is that right?" she said, smiling, "You're getting so big. You're papa was ten before he was even shown the bow."

"Well, he's a bit more advanced than I was at his age," Thomas said. "Takes after his grampa."

"So, another baby," Matilda started, "if it's a girl, name it after me."

"If it's a boy, I'll name it Mathias, name it after his aunt and uncle both."

The three of them had dinner together. It was the first time Thomas and Will had a type of meat other than small game. It was venison and Thomas had a hard time believing he was actually eating it.

Their visit came to an end and Thomas and Will climbed back into the wagon. Matilda passed her brother some coins in a purse. "Get this wagon fixed up or get a new one," she said, I don't want you to not visit me because the wheel breaks."

He looked into the bag, inside were two gold, five silver and ten copper.

"I can't accept this," Thomas said. "You worked hard for this."

"They pay for everything for me here. I eat free and they supply the bed and clothes. The money is incidental. You can take it and you will. I owe you my life and a wedding present."

"Thanks, Matty."

"You're welcome."

Thomas and Will rode back home. They sung folk songs about fighting and farming. They sung the song that they made up about a fox and a wolf.