Chapter 21

"We are going to Nottingham, Sirena. We'll see you in a bit." Allan told me, grabbing some stuff.

"I can with this time?" I asked, hoping he'd say yes. 

Allan and Robin looked at each other.

"Please!!!" I begged.

Allan didn't want me to come and get hurt. But Robin could see something in me.

"You can come with, but you have to listen to me. Don't zone out." Robin ordered.

"Aye, sir."

This was exciting! It's been a such a long time since I got to go with the boys.

We were in the Nottingham town, watching the gates. Since we feed the poor, we're going to steal the Sheriff's winter food store. The problem was that the wagon transporting the food is guarded by a bunch of soldiers. Robin's plan is to make the wagon disappear.

Robin made me go with Allan and John. Tuck was disguised as a bee keeper. Allan, John, and I were on top of a roof. We had bags of honey that we were going to throw at the guards. Tuck opened the box of bees and we threw the honey at the guards. It was funny, watching them freak out and run away. That was all a distraction for Much to pop up and take the wagon. We took disguised the wagon as a hay wagon. Robin hid under a cloak and prepared to be a simple farmer while the rest of us hid under the hay with the food. We to the food to our hidden storage area. Allan was standing around eating an apple.

"Aye, you got to help." I said, grabbing the apple out of his hand and taking a bite.

Suddenly, Much came running to us. He was yelling something about Locksley and smoke. So we dropped what we were doing and ran to Locksley.

There was indeed a fire. All of quickly ran, grabbed of water,and threw it on. Kate was taken by the knew tax collector. Robin and Much went to save her. When they came, Kate had to leave home. Robin being nice, she came with.

"You're so angry we saved you, Kate. Seriously, what were you going to do? Stab the guy?" I laughed, walking behind her.

"Well, yeah. If I had to. He'd be no great loss to the world." Kate replied.

Then Allan stepped in. "We helped you. We're giving you a bed for the night. Are you not just slightly grateful?"

"Oh, I'm just so grateful. Thank you for ruining everything. I can really see why you guys are so legendary." She snapped at Allan.

"If you don't like us, you can leave." I told, hoping she will.

"Aren't you just full of yourself?" Kate shouted.

"Oh. Know you gone too far. Really, I'm wounded." I replied, trying to sound hurt.

Talking to her is fun. She snaps at every little thing.

"I'm sure some drunken guy can make it all better." She quickly said.

I looked at Allan and chuckled. "Funny you should say that. I'm actually with this man, here. Allan A Dale." Allan put his arm around my neck as Kate looked back at us. "Keep your filthy hands off him."

"You both are dirty and ruin lives. I'm happy to keep my hands to myself."

Allan and I started to laugh. We were having fun making Kate mad.

Then Robin stepped in. "Are you alright, Kate?" He asked.

"Having the time of my life." She replied, passing Robin and walking away.

Robin looked at us with a look on his.

"What?" Allan asked with a sassy tone.

I leaned over to Allan. "Is she one of us?" I asked.

"I don't know." Allan answered.

●●●

Robin can up with plan that we had to kidnap the new tax collector. Allan and I were on look out. When the collector and his boy went to the stables, that when we attacked. Allan and Much put a bag of the collectors head. His boy tried running away, but I tripped him. Allan and Kate had the prisoners while the rest of us fought the guards.

I looked over to make sure Allan was okay. My eyes widened at what I saw. The collector and his boy got free. Kate was being taken away by a guard. Then the collector knocked out Allan.

"Allan!" I screamed, trying to run at him, but Little John and Tuck held me back. "Allan!" I screamed again. John had to pick up and run through the town. I kicked and hit John for throwing me over his shoulder.

When we stopped we were covered in flour from running into a man that held a bowl of flour. John had set me down. The collectors boy was holding two horses at bay.

"Get him on a horse." Robin ordered.

John did as he was told. I rode with Much. My arms wrapped around him. I laid my on his back as we rode out of Nottingham. The collector saw us with his son and ordered guards to go after us. All of us got off the horses and ran to the camp.

"We have to back!" I shouted as we ran up a hill. "We have to go and save Allan."

Robin stopped and turned to me. "We can't go back now. If we leave, they a chance."

Robin lead us to a place to hid while the collector and the guards passed. Everything was quiet.

"What now?" Much whispered, putting his arm on my shoulder.

"You can have your son back on one condition. You let our two go." Robin shouted, his voice echoing off the rocks around us.

"You think you can play me that easy?" The collector shouted back.

"I know you have some emotion, however small. He's your son. I know you want him back alive." The echoing was weird. It made it sound like Robin was everywhere.

"And you're Robin Hood. You don't kill unless you have to. Me, I'm not so sweet. I've hidden your friends somewhere you are never going to find. So you make sure my son is back by midday, and if you're lucky, your friends might still be breathing."

The collector wasn't joking. If he hurts Allan, I'm going to rip his nasty little heart out!

The guards and the men left. Tuck tied the boy to a tree.

I sat down on a rock and began to cry. Robin came over and patted my back.

"We'll get Allan out of there." Robin said, trying to cheer me up. "You can't keep him chained forever."

"But what if the collector kills him? I don't know if I can live without him." I sobbed, falling into his arms.

"We'll find a way. We always do."

John was convinced that he knew the collector. So he questioned the boy his family name. The boy wouldn't spill. Then Tuck started to talk to him. I couldn't hear what going on, but I could see. I stayed back on my rock while the boys did what they do.

"Sirena, you and Tuck stay here see if you can get something useful out of him. Oh, don't him. Unless you have to." Robin called out before leaving with Much and John.

Tuck got close to the boy and growled. I giggled at Tuck.

"I'll go some wood." I told Tuck.

When I came back, Tuck started right away.

"So what exactly does want then? Your father." Tuck asked the boy.

"He's just a tax collector." The boy answered.

Tuck threw his knife in the dirt, got up, and went over to the boy with serious face on. He grabbed the boy hands. "Say it again." Tuck roughly said to the boy. "Just for fun."

I was leaning against the tree next to Tuck and the boy.

The boy looked up and around. "He's just a tax collector."

"You know, when people lie, their plus beats a little bit faster, and, Edmund, you just lied." Tuck pushed the boys hands and went back to the fire.

Edmund?

"I thought you were meant to be one of the good guys." Edmund softly called out.

Tuck looked back at him. "If I'm one of the good guys, what does that make your father?"

"The person who's always been there for me."

"And in being there, he's always tried to bully you, right? Tried to turn you into something that you're not." Tuck really knows what he's talking about.

"He wants me to be tough and brave." Edmund said, trying not to belive the truth.

"Violent and manipulative." Tuck said. His words must have cut deep because the boy looked suddenly sad.

They went on. Talking about kindness isn't a flaw. I went off and caught a rabbit. When I came back I gave it to Tuck to cook. Then I off again to find more. I took my time. I was taking time to clear my head. Soon I gave up and went back. Edmund was untied and sitting by Tuck, eating rabbit.

"What's going on?" I asked, walking down the hill.

"He doesn't want to kill me. Ready to go find our friends? See if we can be of some use." Tuck said to me.

"Can I come?" Edmund asked.

"And where would we be going?" I asked Edmund with sass.

He picked up Tucks knife and handed it to him. "To the butcher shop."

"Let's get move on." Tuck said, standing up.

So we travel to Nottingham to go to the butcher shop.

I ran up next to the boy and put my arm on his shoulder. "If your father hurt my Allan. I have you, I may hurt him." I told Edmund.

"Sirena, relax." Tuck warned me.

I retract my arm and fell back by Tuck.

Edmund saw Robin and ran. Robin had the collector on the ground with a sword to his throat.

"This man is a thief and a bully! Now, you tell me why I should wait." Robin angrily spat.

"He only became a thief because my grandfather was killed." Edmund informed Hood.

"No. No, he stole before that. He robbed a couple on their wedding day." Robin said.

I saw my father coming over, so I put my hood up and hid behind Tuck.

"How wonderful." Father greeted, pointing his sword at Robin. "I came to kill you and Robin Hood is doing my dirty work for me. Tremendous."

Robin got up, but kept the collector from moving with his foot.

"This town took my father from me. You took my father from me. Remember Daniel Chauncey, the old butcher?" The collector questioned with a hard sounding voice.

Father thought for a bit. "Of course! Yes! My very first execution."

With the words father was saying only made the man angrier.

"Now, then. Oh, yes, I thought we'd met somewhere before. You see, Rufus. Your father had to die because he stole, and then he admitted it, huh?" Father said, getting closer to Rufus.

"Sounds like he was trying to protect his family." Tuck cut in.

Father looked up and went over to Edmund. "You see, that's why your father has got so many issues. He allowed his father to die for a crime he committed."

Then Allan and Kate ran over, shouting that they found the money. Everyone ran. Robin punched father in the face and knocked him down. Robin had to kill Rufus before he killed his son.

Walking back to the camp, Kate asked if she could stay.

"If you want me to stay. Otherwise I'll be out of your hair tomorrow."

"Well, it'd be rude to say no." Much answered, happily.

"We want you to stay." John implied.

"Do we? It's not like me need another girl around. We got Much and Sirena." Allan sarcastically joked.

Then Robin told Kate that he wanted her to stay.

"Ugh!" I whined as we finished walking back to the camp. "Can I kill now?" I asked myself.