A shortcut to... (Robert)

[hazel]

Hazel had been charged to travel to Nottingham and pick up some supplies for the family that had taken her in. Although she was growing restless and felt she was squandering her life, she still remained with them. One day she'd leave, when presented with the right circumstances. While traveling along the main road, the brunette had grown tired of the tedious scenery. And in all her wisdom she decided to cut through part of the forest, taking a shortcut to make her journey slightly shorter.

The runaway had very little money on her, only enough to pay for the supplies in Nottingham. But she was also equipped with a small stiletto dagger, not much use to her, she knew next to nothing about fighting or how to kill someone, but the family saw it best to arm her if Hazel was to make the journey unaccompanied. All the woman knew was that if she kept going in a straight line through this part of the forest, it'd take her back onto the main road, without having to follow the bends of the road going around the forest.

Only that was quite a while ago and Hazel was beginning to think that at some point she'd gotten turned around and was now lost in the forest. But she couldn't be that far from the road, she hadn't turned left or right at any stage. Or maybe the peasant's mind was playing tricks on her and that carrying on would be best. The traveler carried on for a short while longer until she came to a halt in a small clearing. All around Hazel could see trees, and it was rather imposing. The sky was blue and it was sunny, but there were no land marks that were visible to help get any bearings. The brunette knew she left in the morning, but it was hard to tell if it was still morning or afternoon, so unable to tell the time she was really stuck with what to do or where to go.

"This was a very bad idea." Muttered words with a small edge of fear to them escaped into the clearing. "Where am I?" It was said with an air of total frustration and fear, because the road had to be there somewhere, it had to be. There was no way a road was going to change it's course over night. Underfoot, twigs cracked and leaves rustled and the fear that had grown inside was starting to make her hear things, snapping her head to the left and right, to see nothing but the trees skirting the clearing Hazel was in.

[Robert Williams]

Roe had just finished most of the work on Dan Scarlett’s old home and the shop, at least for the time being. However, the thatch roofs on both structures needed some work. It had been many yeas since he had been directly familiar with the different sections of Sherwood Forest, but he needed some good supple beech fronds to interweave into the thatch roofs to shore them up. And he did remember where there had been a good stand of young ones 15 years before. He figured that that would be a great place to look.

As he finished walking through Locksley, he began to remember his youth exploring through Sherwood by himself, teaching himself to shoot the bow accurately, more than not by himself. He had changed a lot since he was a youth. He now had dark curly hair and was bearded. He stood about 6’2” in height, and was about 17 stones in weight, with dark deep-set eyes. He had been raised in the Earl’s household, but was not really considered to be part of the family, so he always felt separate to a large degree. It was only a few steps across the roadway and into the edges of the forest. He had only spent a small of a day in the forest since he had returned, and he quickly recognized how little the forest had really changed in the years he had been away.

Of course he had spent more of a decade away from the shire fighting in Iberia and then the Holy Land. It had been a much drier climate, generally with little forest, and almost seemed like another planet to the young soldier. He had been born into the world as a baron’s son, but his father had died in a foreign war, and had lost his title and lands to pay off debts. He had been taken on as a ward of the local Earl, and as a land-less noble had been apprenticed as a carpenter, before heading off to Europe and the Crusades. Fighting as a Frankish Crusader he had earned a knighthood on the continent. He had fought in several bloody battles, culminating in the defense of Jerusalem. He had grown tired of the bloodshed and had returned home to see how it had fared in his absence, including people that he had grown up with, lie Robin of Locksley. He found Locksley without a carpenter, and few people that would remember him after more than a decade away, and he thought he had found the perfect place for him to return to a ‘normal’ life.

He had just found the stand of beech that he was looking for and had cut maybe half of the fronds that he needed, and he heard the breaking of twigs and the rustling of leaves as a short but nice-looking young lady wander past. He thought she looked a little bit confused, but didn’t think much of it ad went back to work. A few minutes later he had basically finished and had stuffed the last of the beech into the bag that he carried, and he saw the young lady wander past again, definitely lost. It didn’t appear that she was being pursued, but he was well-armed and able to deal with anyone that might be following her. But she definitely needed assistance. Leaning against a tree, trying to be a nonchalant as possible, he said, “Excuse me …. Do you travel through this part of Sherwood often …. If you need some assistance I would be more than happy to provide it. If not, I will be happy to let you go your way,” and he paused, waiting for her answer.

[hazel]

Hazel had all but given up hope of getting out of the forest. She was lost, didn't know which way she had come from or which way she was meant to be going and all the aimless walking was frustrating her. That and her mind playing games with her as well, making her see things that weren't there. Sighing deeply it was all she could do to keep from tears.

When she heard the voice, she let out a startled yelp, before putting her hand over her mouth and turning to see who the voice belonged to. It was awful when her mind had built up her fear of someone watching her, that when someone appeared she just panicked. Still, Hazel tried to calm down, regain some composure, all her dignity was lost when she screamed out. Taking a deep breath Hazel answered the man before her.
"I don't travel this way often, it's my first trip through the forest. And I'm hopelessly lost." There was a part of her that was wary, he could still be a thief or murderer, she had no idea. But Hazel saw no point in lying, anyone could see she was lost.

Looking over the man, he was taller than her, nearly by a foot. He seemed well kept and had clean, but curly hair. Although he looked formidable, she sensed that he was gentle than she initially thought. However, Hazel's hand dropped, going to her side where the small stiletto was concealed. "Could I know your name?" Her voice was slightly stronger as she tried to get her confidence back, but still had that slight posh tone she'd acquired in her former 'life' as a member of nobility.

[Robert Williams]

Roe found her reaction to be somewhat amusing, although he was sure that the humor would quite escape her. She let out a yelp of surprise like a small dog with its foot caught in a trap he thought. And thought thought almost started him chuckling again. “Well …. By the way you were acting as you wandered in circles through the margin of the forest, I thought it likely that you were not too familiar with the woods. Fortunately, though, you are only a stone’s throw away from both the road and the village of Locksley. Where were you looking to end up once you finished your shortcut through Sherwood?”

My name is Robert Williams, but those who know me well simply call me Roe. I was originally born in the shire, was trained to be a carpenter, but left England to fight in Spain and in the Holy Land in the Crusades. I have returned from those adventures and have set up shop in Locksley as a carpenter, builder, and general doer of odd jobs. Rest assured that I am not an outlaw … at least not yet …. And you really have nothing to fear from me. However, for your information, just because I am a simple carpenter, does not mean I am unarmed, or without the knowledge or ability to defend my self. Also, as of yet, I am not an outlaw, so your purse and valuables are safe as well. So, will you trust me enough to guide you out of here, or would you rather figure it out yourself?”

[hazel]

Although his chuckling at her did confuse Hazel, she wasn't going to enquire further into it, she may not like the answer. "I was hoping to get to Nottingham." She said sheepishly, realising she might very well be totally lost after all. After all, she'd never travelled to Nottingham before and was only told directions, which involved following the road. It was just a one off on her part that she decided to take the shortcut told to her by one of the villagers of Nettlestone. Next time she'd take the long way around.

It was now Hazels' turn to chuckle. Robert may have been armed and now how to fight, but did Hazel really pose that much of a threat? "I'm sorry Robert," she was not yet confident to call him by his nickname. "But I don't think I'd be able to fight you, I can barely keep my sense of direction." Another small smile on her lips, as she relaxed, for some reason finding that she trusted the tall, dark carpenter. It wasn't very often you'd meet a person you could trust straight away, so the feeling was always prominent when you did.

"And I trust you, I'd be very grateful if you could help me." The alternative was to wander around the forest until her dotage and never see any human again. Or she could be mugged and killed. On the whole, trusting and following Roe was the best option. "My name is Hazel Connor." She added realising she hadn't introduced herself yet and that was poor form on her part. At the present moment she didn't fancy telling the ex-crusader about her past, she hated remembering it herself and would he really be all that interested in her, even if she had told him?

[Robert Williams]

The young lady both introduced herself and told Roe what her desired destination was. He ascertained that she was being truthful with him, since she had readily agreed that she was lost. “Well, for most folks, taking a shortcut through a forest that they are not familiar with is not generally a wise thing to do. It’s best to keep to the main road, and safer too. In the forest there’s always a chance that you’ll run across one of the unfriendly bands of outlaws. You might be lucky, and run across Robin Hood’s gang, I’ve heard, and they are likely to be quite helpful, as long as you’re not what they would consider to be rich. On the other hand, with the denseness of Sherwood Forest it doesn’t take much effort to become quite disoriented and fairly lost. Here, as long as you’re not too afraid of me, take my hand, and I‘ll led you out of the forest. Fortunately, you are not too far at present from the edge of the forest, so it won’t take us long to get you back on track. Although I was born into a noble house at some distance from Sherwood, I was raised in a manor house as a commoner fairly close by, which gave me the opportunity to explore the forest as a youngster. So I have a general familiarity wit the forest, even after being away for more than 10 years,” and they commenced their walk.

At her response, Roe provided a good laugh. She was probably right about both her ability to fight him as well as her sense of direction. “Actually, these days, you never know what little daggers the random person might be carrying, waiting for the opportunity to gut you when your back is turned. Even though you might be so armed I don’t think I’ll be too worried about you doing such a thing.” Roe took her the long way around, and not the most direct way, since he thought it would be easier to traverse. “We will come out on the road at Locksley village. I have to drop this bag of beech fronds off at my place …. here we are …. You can decide whether you want to rest your feet you for a few minutes before you head on down the road to Nottingham. If you have a good idea of exactly where you want to go you can then start your journey anew. However if you find that you need me to escort you … at least part of the distance …. I would be happy to ….. excuse me,” and he took the bag he had been carrying inside.

[hazel]

Hazel took his hand and let him lead the way out of the forest. "I quickly learnt it was a bad idea coming in here, once I was lost. I don't even know why I make such silly mistakes. It just seems to be a need of mine to have an adventure every now and again. However, being a perenial coward, it always somehow ends in a miniture disaster." Smiling again she was careful where she placed her feet, not wanting to trip over anything and hurt herself to add to her problems. "I appear to be at a disadvantage as I'm not from around these parts." But she wasn't going to over up where she was from, that would lead to more questions of how past as a noble woman, but it made her feel somewhat better to know that Robert was once from a noble household.

"I'll be honest with you, Robert, the family I am currently with, did give me some small dagger or other to protect myself, but I have not the slightest inclination to use it or how to use it." And that was the truth. And more importantly, Hazel very much doubted she could eve kill anyone, it wasn't in her nature. "I don't want to be a burden on you, but resting would be nice. I've been on the road since the early morning." Which reminded her, she still didn't know how much time had passed. "Do you happen to know the time of day?". The brunette runaway waited patiently while he went off to do whatever it was he had to do.

[Robert Williams]

Roe smiled as the young lady kept talking. It did make the time pass quickly by. “Well as long as they stay disasters in miniature, then it won’t be so bad. You should relax a bit though. I chose this path specifically so you would be less likely to stumble or trip unnecessarily. You should not look down on yourself from getting lost here, even people who are familiar with this region of the shire have problems with directions in Sherwood. At least you were prepared to accept help. That’s always an important first step.” They continued to carefully move toward the edge of the forest toward the village of Locksley.

Roe nodded his head with understanding. “I would have expected that. It would have been more surprising if they would have sent you out with some means of protecting yourself. It would have been better though to have given you some instruction on how they are to be used.” By this time tey had reached his new home. “I’ve done what I could to repair the place. How does it look? Take as much time as you need …. the time? …… why its late morning now. He returned relatively quickly and proceeded to take off his heavy cloak and replace it with a lighter one. It was easy to see that he was well-armed. He carried an assortment of knives in his belt, 2 swords that were mounted on his back and a small hatchet at his side. In addition he carried a re-curved bow over the shoulder of his cloak. He came outside and said, “Hazel, have you decided whether you want an escort to Nottingham, or is this something you want to handle alone?”

[hazel]

So it was late morning, Hazel had been walking what seemed like forever. That being said, she did enjoy walking, but this had to be the longest she'd ever come and it was taking a toll on her feet which pounded and ached relentlessly. Taking a seat, she removed her shoes and rubbed her feet, trying to get some blood to them and to stop some of the aching.

"If it's no trouble on you, I think I'd rather an escort. I don't fancy getting lost again. And I don't really know the way all that well." There was another reason behind it. "I could also use the company. I don't particularly like being on my own, never have." She wasn't really sure behind the reasoning behind it, but sometimes it just upset her when she found herself one person with no one to talk to. Well that and anyone trying to mug her with him around would think twice, considering how heavily armed he was.

[Robert Williams]

Roe had thought that she would take up the offer to both rest and have him escort her, at least part of the way. “Why don’t you come on inside then. Unless you brought some food with you, we will need to eat something before we start off.” He still had a bit of food from the day before, and given her size, he didn’t think that it would take much for her to get her fill. Besides it would not do for her to run out of energy half-way to Nottingham. He directed her to sit at the table by where his old Crusader uniform hung on the wall.

“If you don’t mind me asking, where exactly are we going, and what is the purpose of this journey? Are you carrying any valuables? It would be good to know if I’m going to have to be responsible for defending more than your person. I wouldn’t want you to get lost again either,” he smiled. “I feel a bit responsible for you now. And I could use the company today as well and it will give me a good reason to delay finishing up my roof work as well. Do you feel well and rested enough to begin our walk now?” as she finished eating. “Although I was often on horseback, as a knight, I grew used to walking many miles on foot with no trouble. The biggest trouble you might have is keeping up with my pace,” he laughed. He stood up and pulled out his 2 swords from there scabbard on his back from under his light cloak, inspected them, appeared satisfied with their condition, and then re-inserted them. “Perhaps you could tell me a bit more about yourself as we begin our walk,” he suggested.

[hazel]

Hazel hadn't though tto bring any food with her, but was glad for the offer to eat, she was feeling rather hungry. Entering his home, she sat at the table, it was a comfortable place and she noticed the old uniform on the wall. Slowly she picked and ate the food, she wasn't overly hungry so didn't eat a lot. Though Hazel didn't eat a lot anyway, never had and nothing changed through the years.

"The family I stay with, they have supplies that need picking up. There's a small apothacary in Nottingham. That's where I am heading." The infant, not evern a year old had fallen ill and the closest place that stocked the medicine they needed was in Nottingham. "The ny valuables is the purse with the money to buy their supplies." And although she had enough to cover the cost, the medicine was by no means cheap.

"Yes, I'd like to head out now." The sooner they left the sooner she could return and help the baby. It was one of the reasons she took the short cut but she didn't want to reveal that straight away, not for a stranger. But the tall ex soldier next to her was asking about her past. Maybe there was a way to divert around that topic. "I currently live in Nettlestone, with a family. They let me have board as long as I help them out with errads. It's temporary until I find a place of my own. But I am so flighty and can never seem to get at home. I'm not sure why, but I am just unsettled." That was the truth, without going into her past and her family.

[Robert Williams]

As Roe had surmised, he had no expectations that she would eat very much, so he was well able to provide enough for her to eat. He had guessed from both her smaller physical size and her flighty nature that she would not be wanting to sit and eat for very long. He also had a sixth sense that she wanted to be on her way, or why else would she have asked about the time of day. There was obviously something going on here that was time-sensitive he thought.

When Hazel mentioned the apothecary in Nottingham he realized that much of his assumptions were quite accurate. He was pleased with himself that he still had the ability to deduce well. “Well, that settles it then … you must get moving. It will take some time to get there and even longer to get back to where you need to go. I wish I still had my horse … but no thanks to Allan …. I don’t. it could have saved us some valuable time. I’m assuming that the medicine won’t come cheap so I imagine that you are carrying quite a tidy some. We had better be both quick and careful. Come along then ….”

She began to talk about where she currently lived. “Sounds like a strange boarding relationship to me,” he mused. “However, if you are satisfied with it, who am I to argue about the finer points of it. My father’s barony was fairly close to Nettlestone I believe. However, he died in the wars and lost his title and land to debt, and I was fortunate to become a ward of the Earl. So, I became a commoner who was raised in a noble’s house. So, I was knowledgeable of both worlds without really belonging to either one. Most of my time was spent at the manor, in Locksley, or in Sherwood Forest. How long have you lived in Nettlestone with those folks and how long do you expect to stay with them? The more important question right now, though, is how familiar are you with where we need to get you to in Nottingham?”

[hazel]

"What happened with Allan and your horses?" She was unaware of who Allan was and what happened to the horses because of him. Maybe this would distract him from her past and make the time go quicker. "There is a fair amount of money. I'm not sure how much they'll need, so I'll have to get more than required to be sure." She felt guilty for putting him in this situation, but then he could walk away at any moment if he didn't want to accompany her.

"I have no place to stya on my own, and I don't own enough money to buy m own house. And even if I did, I'd be alone." One thing she above all couldn't stand. When he spoke of his past, she could sympathise, she went the same way but of her own volition. Who would want to be married off to someone they didn't love? "I don't know. I may get restless and choose to leave. Or I might find something better. It's temporary, but as long as I eanr my board they don't mind having me around, they're welcoming like that." But in truth, she felt like she was imposing and wanted to leave as soon as possible. "I don't know Nottingham that well, and I was only given vague directions to the place. I'm sure when I arrive I can ask someone who'll know where it is." There was usually only one apothecary in each town so she should find it relatively easy.

[Robert Williams]

Roe took in a deep breath and laughed. “Well …. I believe that Allan is one of the more unsavory members of Robin Hood’s band of outlaws. He didn’t tell me who he was, but I figured it out, from a description that I was given earlier. I’m sure his plan was to take me by surprise, way-lay me and steal my possessions from me. I wasn’t fooled, and we did a little battle. Unfortunately for me I stepped in a hole, lost my balance, and got hit in the head by a sword. He took the opportunity to rob me while I was unconscious and to steal my horse.

It was a good horse. We had been through several battles together. Don’t worry though … I will catch up with Allan someday and take it out of his hide …. And on that day only Robin will be able to save him." Roe saw a look of concern on Hazel’s face when she talked about the money she was carrying. “Don’t your worry about your money either. I will see that it gets through to the proper parties. I have defended people and valuables before. I will do what has to be done, as I always have,” he stated knowingly.

“Well that makes a lot of sense then, and is a very practical way to look at your situation. It is never good to be alone if you can possibly avoid the circumstance. Well …. it does sound like you are keeping your option s open, which is generally a good attitude to take. I expect you are quite right about the apothecary … I don’t expect that they’ll be too hard to find. Look …. You can just make out the edge of the wall around Nottingham on the horizon. We should have secured your supplies shortly I think."

[hazel]

"Surely you should be able to recognise your horse if you saw it again. He wouldn't have sold it on would he?" Hazel was pretty sure she didn't want to meet this Allan A Dale if she could help it, he didn't sound the kind of company a person should keep. But maybe he was just hitting bad times and was doing what he had to, to live and survive. Times were hard and people had to resort to drastic measures, or perhaps it was her trying to see the good in everybody again.

"Thank you. Just can't afford to have anything go on." Not when an infant's life was in the balance. And an infant she was quite attached to. Still if Robert said he could get them there quick and without bother that was good enough for her. She didn't need anymore dramas today, getting lost in the forest was enough for her at any rate.

Nottingam wasn't as far as she first suspected at least. Or maybe it was the conversation that had passed time quicker. "Pardon me if I'm intruding, but do you live alone? Or is there someone you have that keeps you company?" It was just curiosity, she told him about her living arrangeents, maybe he'd be as open about his as she was.