“I’m pretty small, too.” She sprang to her feet, dragging him with her. She was barely a head taller than him. “I’d rather be small than strong any day. We can move faster, and we can squeeze places they can’t, and we can walk a lot quieter, too. Didn’t you hear about how I snuck up on the Captain of the Sheriff’s Guard himself?”

Much nodded.

“That’s what you’ll be good at. You’ll be a little sneak. Nobody will ever see you coming.”

At last his face brightened, and she reached out to mess at his hair again, but he ducked away and ran into the woods.

“Your feet can’t touch the ground!” he commanded, and jumped onto a log and ran its length, then jumped to an exposed root, then a rock. Elena ran after him, following his steps exactly. She turned to see Will watching after her, blew him a quick kiss, then gave chase.

They played for half an hour, and Elena was embarrassingly outmatched in energy. She eventually changed the game to a hide-and-seek just to catch her breath. The bed of the woods was covered in crisp, freshly fallen leaves eager to be trampled, and the sun streamed through in wide bands that were almost enough to make her forget how rotten life had become. There was something to be said for the fresh air here, and the wide open spaces, so very different from the cramped alleyways of Nottingham.

If nothing else, Much was lucky to grow up playing chase and make-believe. Elena’s youth was full of cutting purses and slipping marks, mingling and sparring with the gangs of Nottingham’s slums. The Ten Bell Boys of Nottingham had to teach themselves everything. Back then, brawling and thieving didn’t have any consequences beyond going a day without food. Or gaining a new scar to show off. Every now and then it was big news when someone got thrown into Sinner Mary’s, but they were always let loose soon enough, no worse for wear. A life without repercussions had weaned them bolder than most, and more hot-headed and reckless as they grew older. Pickpocketing turned to horse thieving, simple lies developed into repeatable cons. They organized as their numbers grew. Then came leaders, reputations, and jealousy, infighting and ferrers. Rivalry. Brawls with guards turned into planned attacks, then ambushes, and boys that got arrested didn’t come back again. The Ten Bell Boys eventually took over the fishmarket in Red Lion Square from another gang, and renamed themselves to suit. Each took a red name—Bloody Rudder, Rob o’the Fire, Crimson Tommy, and Ten Bell Will became Will Scarlet.

Elena was the only one who hadn’t taken on a red name.