“It is! Thank you! You see, whenever we come across a couple of kings like yourself, which seems to happen all the time these days…”

“All the time,” Alan agreed.

“… we find more and more gold! Sometime on the ground, sometime in their pockets. Sometime in their hands.” The manboy’s voice turned grim. “Which we have to pry open.”

Alan cocked his head smugly. “Which is why we prefer it to be on the ground.”

“And we’d prefer this to happen quickly.”

“If you don’t mind.”

“If you don’t mind.”

The two were overlapping each other, which might have kept their regular victims disoriented. William and Robin had no trouble tracking the target in front of them.

“Gentlemen,” William bluffed, “we are expected at Nottingham Castle by Baron Roger de Lacy.” But this name also failed to impress the strangers, who simply cooed and laughed. “This is not a fight you should be picking.”

“Woah, now!” Alan stopped moving, a hand to his chest as though deeply offended. “Who said anything about a fight? Will, did you suggest a fight?”

“I never said that word.”

William briefly startled to think they knew his name, then realized the manboy was also a Will.

“We were, in fact, downright civil!”

“Until the good king with his boot in his hand…” the new Will was on the edge of William’s vision again, so once again he and Robin changed targets, “… started issuing threats.”

“I don’t want to get in a fight, maybe they’re right,” whined Alan.

“Frankly, I’d prefer not to fight as well.” Will’s circle widened and he bowed deeply. “We sincerely apologize for getting in your way, your royal highnesses.”

“Highness … es…” Alan tried the word.

“Oh wait!”

“Highnessies?”

“I just remembered!” Will danced in a little spin. As he turned, William got a glimpse of his backside—two wide guardless short knives sheathed on his belt, handles protruding in opposite directions. “I actually have a friend who would downright love to get in a fight! He’s always talking about how much he loves them, isn’t he, Alan?”

“There’s no need to bother him.”

“Now, normally I would agree with you, but these two good gentlemen—”

“Kings,” Alan corrected.

“—pardon me, these two good kings seem to be begging for a fight! I can’t stand them myself, you know. I’ve always thought simple people should put aside their differences with words, but these kings come from a different lot than we, Alan.”

“He has a point.”

“He does,” Robin agreed with a bemused smirk.

“Then we are all in agreement!”

Will stepped a few paces into the forest and whistled sharply between his fingers, then cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hullo, John!”

Alan winked. “He’ll just be a moment.”