The Greenwood Shadow (35 page)

There was something dangerous in his stance, and the two men recognized it. Evey had only seen that side of him twice. He was normally so collected that it was hard to cross lines with him, but those two bullies just had.

They were smart enough to realize it and backed away, trying to pretend that it was just business as usual. No one who saw the exchange would have been fooled.

"What ruffians!" the king declared, once they were out of sight. "Can you believe that they had the audacity to use my name like that? As if I could sanction such boorish activity."

"But you HAVE!" Evey snapped at him. "Don't you get it! Are you so thick!?"

"Calm yourself, child."

"I will not. Not while you let Sir Guy do as he likes. And he lets them do as they like. You've effectively handed every one of those knights a free license to bully. It's not audacity to state the truth!"

The king cowered. She rode a few yards away so that she wasn't able to punch him off his horse. Isaiah still sat silent and glowering. His hood had fallen, and the full force of his fury was obvious to his companions. Every time Evey had something to say, she forced herself to hold it back, because it invariably involved a lot of yelling and many choice words.

All three companions were so flustered that they didn't dare enter the next village. It seemed almost wrong to give to the poor in such a mood. They just set up camp and stayed there, fuming and thinking, until the moon rose high in the sky.

"I'd like to go home now," the king said, after hours of silence.

"What?"

"Home. I think it's just about time."

"Not on my watch," Evey stood and folded her arms threateningly.

"Oh, you can stop playing the tough girl. The two of you aren't giving me much credit here."

Isaiah looked up from a sharpening stone. "Credit for what?"

"You're treating me as though I were the village fool." The king frowned. "That isn't fair, you know. I understand everything you've been trying to explain to me."

Evey opened her mouth, but he held up a hand. "Please, just let me speak for a moment. I do understand. I know what you think about Sir Guy and the taxes. I see how the brutes we've met can be blamed on me. And I even see about the poor, and the hard times they've had lately.

"But times are hard everywhere. And you know as well as I that in any country there will be poorer towns and richer. I can't say from these three small villages that life is the same everywhere."

The king paused and took a deep breath.

"Recall your own words, Robin, about being wise. I feel as though I would need to visit every settlement in the land to get a truly accurate picture. There's no way that can happen in just a few days, so I need to be wise. I need to trust those who do know. Sir Guy is my advisor. I trust him."

"So you're saying we're liars?" Evey balled her fists, but before she could swing, Isaiah had her firmly by the wrist.

The king actually looked sad. "Of course not. I'm not such a fool. I can see through your bluster that you care about what happens to these people. But I wonder if you have the whole picture. Are you acting on your own advice, and trusting those who know more than you do?"

"But he is-" Evey started shouting, but Isaiah tightened his grip on her wrist.

"We're sorry, your majesty," he said solemnly. "You are right, in that regard. We've been watching this happen for months - years for Marion -and we just tried to cram those seven years of experience into mere days."

"Accepted." The king nodded his head. Then to Evey he asked, "You've been at this for seven years?"

"Almost eight," she muttered.

"Incredible."

"She is incredible." Isaiah let go of her wrist and took her hand. "That is what I'm hoping you'll see. We aren't liars. We just want what is best for our people. Will you trust us?"

The king nodded again. "Yes, I think I can. But you'll have to prove it."

"We aren't traitors!" Evey blurted.

"If you are truly loyal, then you'll do one thing for me. Take me home."

"We aren't traitors," Evey said again, this time low and fierce.

"Yes, your majesty." Isaiah's voice was a little too steady.

Evey kicked a small branch into the fire. Another plan had failed, and this time Isaiah had promised no more Robin Hood.

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

Evey, Isaiah, John, and Will all sat with the king in their camp near the crossroads. They had already explained what had happened in their week apart, and only waited for David. Then together they would decide what to do next.

"I don't know about confronting Sir Guy," Evey mentioned. "I mean, he's not the sort to just admit when he's wrong, you know."

"I know. But we'll think of something," Isaiah said. She was about to reply when she was interrupted by a shout.

"Oh, good! You're here!"

David appeared, riding through the trees on a very tired looking horse.

"David! Excellent. We were just –" Will began, but he got immediately cut off.

"Sir Guy made his move last night. When he learned the king was gone, he took advantage of it. He's pronounced the throne officially vacant, and appointed himself the chief steward."

The king leapt to his feet. "Your brothers?"

"Missing. Maybe in the dungeons."

The king tried to reply, but David interrupted him.

"No time. There's a battle for the throne raging right now. All the loyal knights who wouldn't accept Sir Guy's plot were thrown out of the castle. They've formed up and attacked. And we need you NOW."

The others were at a loss for words. Without wasting any time, the five of them mounted their horses, weapons drawn, and rode for the castle as fast as they dared.

Things weren't going well for the loyal knights. They were badly outnumbered, and barely able to hold the one gate that they had managed to seize. The walls teemed with knights and soldiers that had taken up Sir Guy's offer. Even with their poor aim, the many crossbows wreaked havoc.

Without waiting for orders, John charged in, swinging his heavy hammer to great effect. Will followed with his deadly staff, and Evey soon lost them in the fray. The king, utterly bewildered, would have collapsed if he hadn't already been sitting on horseback.

Evey herself had never expected a full battle, but now that it was upon them she threw herself into it with a gleeful whoop. Standing in her stirrups, she charged forward at a full gallop, sending arrow after arrow over the crenelations. David and Isaiah followed, both drawing swords.

The best advantage that the king's knights had was their full armor. Nearly all of the knight's in Sir Guy's employ had appeared in various stages of half-armor. They'd probably been too busy drinking and bullying peasants as the battle started to have come fully protected. Many had hardly more than a mail shirt and a sword. Even with this advantage, however, the king's men fell at an alarming rate.

Evey suddenly realized that as long as she was on horseback, she could hardly help the odds. Her strongest skill was in the longbow, and she intended to use it to the fullest extent. She veered away from her friends and arrived at the outer wall, just beyond the gate.

Leaping from her horse, she clambered up the wall like a spider. This wall was much easier to climb than the inner tower she had attempted several weeks earlier. There were patches of ivy just starting to spread, and wider gaps between the stones. It wasn't until she was a few feet from the top that she realized how reckless her plan really was.

If she could have shrugged, she would have. She did what she did best and ignored the dangerous consequences as she vaulted herself over the edge and on to the walkway. Three men with empty crossbows stood staring at her in amazement. It was obvious that they had never seen anyone climb the wall like that.

They raced to load their bolts, but Evey was faster every time. The three were down in a matter of seconds. She whirled around to face the stairs on the inner part of the wall. She cleared them in another few seconds and shouted to the men on the ground.

Both sides looked bewildered to see her standing there, holding the stairs all on her own. The king's men understood, though, and charged for the temporarily open passage. Two minutes later, half a dozen rushed past Evey, clearing the rest of the crossbowmen with ease.

She turned her attention back to the battle for the gate, and began picking off Sir Guy's knights. She was in her element. Every dream she ever had about being brilliant in a real battle was now upon her. She was just about to fire another shot when something very solid slammed into her.

She fell forward, losing the grip on her bow. It skidded away, completely out of reach. Thinking fast, she pulled the dagger from her belt and rolled to her back. A giant of a man bore down on her with a battle axe.

He chopped at her before she had time to sit up. The dagger would do little to block his blows, so she rolled again, just clearing the area before the axe slammed into the stone. The man was much faster than he looked and had already swung again before she could stand. She rolled again, missing death by mere inches.

She had rolled into a corner. There was no way she could dodge another swing of the axe. She scrambled to get her feet under her, but the downward chop had already started. Expecting to feel the crushing pain at any moment, she focused on standing. If she was going to die, she wouldn't take it crouched pitifully in a corner.

But the blow never came. Before the giant knight could finish her off, he staggered and fell. Behind him stood one of the king's knights. She was about to thank him for saving her, when she realized who it was. Sir Robert nodded and ran off to rejoin the men who cleared the wall.

She stumbled to her bow and gasped for breath as she scanned the area. All thoughts of Sir Robert left her mind as she focused on the task at hand. She would have to find a way to thank him later, without letting him know who she was.

Once the walls around the gate had been freed from crossbow men, the battle went much more smoothly. Despite their small numbers, the king's men forced their way into the castle, and eventually secured the courtyard.

She had no way of knowing how long the fighting had lasted. It could have been ten minutes, or several hours. All she knew for sure was that she was more tired than she had ever been in her life. Sprinting around, and having to defend herself with the sword as well as her bow was very taxing.

Finally, amidst the post battle confusion, she managed to locate Isaiah and Will. Isaiah's right shoulder was in bad condition, but he insisted that it was fine. It wasn't his sword arm anyway. Will also looked battered. Using a staff to fight armored and sword-wielding knights was not an easy task. But he was whole, anyway.

"Where's David? And John?" she asked them.

"I don't know," Isaiah answered. "The last I saw David, he was over–"

His face fell as he pointed to the right.

Evey turned, and her stomach turned to lead. The king knelt dejectedly over a prone figure. She sprinted over and skidded to her knees as well. David sputtered and took ragged, rattling breaths. His hands clutched at a wound in his side, just where the seam of his armor had been.

"David!" she cried. "Hang on. We'll get you fixed up."

David gave a wheezing cough, and attempted a feeble smile. She looked up at the king, who's face was stricken with grief. Immediately she pried David's hands away and inspected the injury. She had never been squeamish, but the sight that greeted her made her suck in a sharp breath.

"Don't worry 'bout me," he wheezed. "I'm heading out."

"Don't talk like that!"

"It's okay. I'm not afraid to go."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't –"

David stopped her. "Take ca–" His words were interrupted by another fit of coughing, "Take care of business, alright. Finish what we started."

Evey nodded, and David turned to his father.

"I- I'm sorry. I should have been more up front with you. Maybe we wouldn't have had to fight."

The king shook his head and replied, "No. Neither of you are to blame. Sir Guy caused it. And me. I am more at fault than anyone, for allowing it to come to this."

"Go get him, for me. I'm p-proud you're my... my father..." David gasped. He coughed violently, then lay very still.

The most bizarre feeling swept over Evey. She called into question everything she had ever thought about the glory of battle. At the same time she was seized with a furious desire for revenge. It was difficult to reconcile the two. Revenge would inevitably involve more fighting, but she knew there was little choice. She would never be satisfied until things were put right in the country, and Sir Guy was made to answer for his crimes.

She looked up again, and gasped. She had expected to see the king in tears. What met her instead was a vicious glare that caused her to sit back.

"This is my fault," he fumed. "I've always been a coward, and now it's cost me my son. I've let Sir Guy destroy what I love, and he WILL pay. I'll help you finish this."