Chapters (76)
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- PROLOGUE
- PART I
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- PART II
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- PART III
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- INTERLUDE
- PART IV
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- INTERLUDE
- PART V
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- PART VI
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- INTERLUDE
- PART VII
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- PART VIII
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- EPILOGUE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Newsletter Sign-up
The poor man’s face twisted into something painful. “We have to go, Robin. You’re right, we don’t know what will happen if we go. But we know exactly what will happen if we don’t. If we don’t go, they’ll die.”
“I can’t promise we’ll get them back.”
“I know.”
“I can’t even promise we’ll get close.”
“I know.” Alan’s mouth tried very hard to leave his face. “But at least we’ll die trying.”
It was the sort of thing Robin had heard before, from young soldiers in the war, convinced that a glorious death in the face of overwhelming odds was somehow enviable. Robin leaned back into the tree to give Alan his full attention. “Do you mean that?”
“No,” he admitted, sheepishly. “Maybe if I were Will, I could say yes. Or Sir Amon, or even Arthur, I bet they’d fight to the death. But I … as I am reminded far too often … am just Alan.” There was something terrible and honest about it, and it took Robin by surprise. “I don’t want to die. I don’t know what the hell Will was thinking. First of all, he shouldn’t have taken Elena with him. He should have taken me. And second of all, I would have told him not to do it in the first of all. I don’t know how he let himself get so carried away. We all loved Much, but you didn’t see the rest of us running off to kill the Sheriff.”
Robin nodded.
“It was never like this before,” Alan continued. “We never got into any real trouble, is what I mean. There was a scare or two, more than that maybe. But even then, it wasn’t like this. Nobody ever got killed, that’s for certain.” Robin didn’t react, but Alan quickly corrected himself. “Sorry. Excepting your father.”
There was no offense given.
“I ever tell you I knew him? I’m sure you figured. Terrible thing, what happened. I’d been pulling grain for him for about a year beforehand, worked the stables some, too. How I met Will. Your father was nice, you know, he never treated anyone like they were workers. Often times he’d even lend a hand. No, he was nice, but he had a strong head about the king-this, and the government-that, said it took his boy away. I guess he meant you. He had a fire in him when it came to that sort of thing. If I were him, I would have just paid the taxes.”
Robin had made the same complaint to Marion.