Sherwood

by S. E. Roberts

  Enders immediately sat more upright, staring at her. “Your mother is the Princess?”

  Harlow nodded. “Aye, she was the Princess.” She sighed, taking a few berries and throwing them into her mouth.

  “And your father fell in love with the Princess?” Enders asked again, his jaw hung slightly.

  Harlow raised an eyebrow. “Were you listening at all?”

  Enders wanted to laugh at the comment, but found that the chuckle caught in his throat and wheezed out of his mouth. He felt almost sickened. “You're a...” He trailed off, watching her intently.

  “A member of the royal bloodline? Aye.” Harlow finished, popping a few more berries into her mouth. Harlow took one more look at him before laying back down on the grass. “It's been a long time since I've said that.”

  “Why didn't you tell anybody?” Enders asked, his shock wearing off and slight irritation taking it's place.

  “Am I supposed to run around broadcasting my lineage to the world? That would have me killed in no time.” Harlow chuckled at the comment, trying to make things less serious.

  “You could have been our secret weapon. We could have formulated some kind of plan to use you in aiding against King Wesley.” Enders said, anger rising from the pit of his stomach. “Instead, you decide that exacting revenge on your grandfather would be your best option?”

  Harlow recoiled slightly, sitting right back up and looking at him, squarely. “You think I came here because I want revenge?” Harlow raised an eyebrow, feeling herself become angry and frustrated. “The king has wronged many people, and that's a horrid thing, but I did not come here on the basis of revenge. My mother is long gone by his hand and I would have been as well if it hadn't been for my father. My father is why I am here, not the king, and not revenge.” Harlow said, sternly, anger raising in her veins as she stood up, wiping her hands on her pants. “I never wanted this, but I did what needed to be done.”

  Harlow turned her back and walked to the other, far side of the lake. The lake area was calming and relaxing. She wished could take a step in, but that would compromise her disguise. Instead, she curled up into a ball and laid her forehead on her knees, wondering why this burden had fallen to her: to take care of her father at all costs, because an entire village depended on him.

  “Do not cry,” She told herself, as selfish thoughts ran through her mind. She sobbed silently, disobeying her own command and wishing things had been different.

  Enders sat quietly on a low branch, watching her as she temporarily let herself fall apart.

  *~*~*

  Harlow and Enders had awoken early, although she could tell Enders was exhausted. Harlow slept well, only because her tired, heavy eyelids closed over her irises and let her drift to sleep. Oddly enough, Enders' presence made her feel easier sleeping in the dangerous forest.

  “Ready?” Enders asked from the other side of a dying fire as he fixed his belt loop, his muscular arms showing through his tight sleeves.

  Harlow felt her lungs freeze. She couldn't take in any more air and the stale oxygen that sat in her lungs refused to leave. Her eyes lingered on his arms and scrolled down to his torso. As soon as she realized what she was doing, she snapped her eyes back up to his face and saw the faintest smirk on his lips.

  Harlow cleared her throat, feeling the blush creep onto her cheeks, and started adjusting things on her own belt.

  “Aye. Are you ready?” She asked him, trying to sound as masculine as she could.

  He simply nodded, offering one, “Aye.”

  Harlow felt that maybe she was hallucinating, but she thought she heard a smile on his lips, although she couldn't see it because his head was tilted downward.

  The two set out on their journey back to Sherwood City. They walked in silence for twenty minutes before they started casual conversation. The casual conversation was how they spent the rest of their afternoon.

  Harlow guessed they kept themselves busy for six hours before she heard strange noises in the distance.

  “The villagers were exactly happy about that prank.” He said, finishing off one of his stories.

  Snap. Crunch.

  "Wait," Harlow said, slowing her step as she heard abnormal rustling several yards ahead of her. She held out one hand in front him, slightly scared of his unpredictability.

  "That's probably an animal," Enders said, eying her oddly and continuing forward.

  Harlow grabbed his arm and stopped him from moving. She didn't have the heart to tell him that she'd seen the kings men twenty minutes back and had turned in the opposite direction. "Stop," Harlow commanded, capturing his attention, "Listen."

  The abnormal sound immediately quieted.

  "An animal," Enders whispered, mocking her. He took two steps forward.

  That's when the muffled voices sounded out throughout the forest.

  Harlow narrowed her eyes gently at Enders, who widened his eyes at her, as if he hadn't had any idea.

  Harlow gently tugged on his arm and turned around, jogging in the opposite direction.

  She glanced behind her after a few minutes to ensure that Enders was following. As she did, she noticed in the trees, a figure pointing as he looked downward toward his left.

  Sure enough, at the archers' left was a man, almost silently chasing behind the two. Enders glanced backward, catching a glimpse at the man, speeding up his pace and sending himself forward.

  Harlow turned her attention back toward her front, and like a puppy left in a rainstorm, she whimpered in fear.

  Standing before her was the general of the kings army; the man who'd driven her and Enders off the cliff the previous day.

  Harlow abruptly stopped running and stared at the man before her.

  "Ahh," The man said, looking down at a blade in his hands. "I see we meet again."

  Harlow let her mouth hang agape as she stared. How had she let this happen?

  "Where is the rest of your army?" Enders asked, clear anger rushing in his voice, malice dripping with each word.

  The man shrugged, trying to act casual as he did so. "I let them have a day off." He said, watching the sword glint in the sunlight as he turned the blade back and forth. "I wanted to deal with you myself."

  Harlow felt the anger and fear flow through her veins. "To bad you'll never get the chance."

  The man made a tsk-tsk noise. "That's why I brought two reinforcements." He nodded to two men behind Harlow and Enders.

  Harlow turned back to see the man who'd chased them and the man from the tree. She contemplated telling them she was a woman and begging for their lives, but she was ultimately afraid of what they'd do to her. She'd also thought to tell them that she was the Princess, and while they might believe her, she'd have a warrant over her head and the others' of Sherwood.

  "I'll give you one last chance to surrender," The man said, almost giggling with his blade in hand. He'd been excited to use it and wanted nothing more than to draw blood.

  "Oh yeah?" Harlow asked, pulling a renegade knife she'd used to cut branches, out of her waistband.

  The ma was just about to start speaking again when Harlow spun backward hard and stabbed the man behind her in the chest. Quickly, she removed the knife and watched as Enders ran forward into the man, his sword out and ready to attack at this point.

  Harlow quickly turned her attention to the loud shouting of the man next to her, who looked upon his comrades' dead body at her feet. Wasting no time, she threw herself into him, preventing him from taking out his sword, and stabbed him hard in the jugular. The violence made her quake and hurt. The red color made her want to vomit, but she held it in as she heard the scuffling and troublesome efforts that Enders was having.

  She watched as if in slow motion, moving slowly and trembling with every vibration as she stumbled forward.

  The General, a deep cut running along the side of his face, forced Enders against a large oak tree, Enders' sword out of reach of either outlaw. The General held his sword in his hands, a twi
nkle in his eyes, as he recoiled the sword and propelled it forward toward Enders.

  Harlow got up, a new kind of energy filling her and sending her in between the two men. She found her face just inches from Enders nose before the pain came.

  She couldn't move. She felt like she couldn't breath.

  As she looked downward, she saw the sword protruding from her body and poking gently into Enders skin before her. Tears welled up in her eyes immediately.

  Enders' face twisted into shock, then immediately to rage. Harlow read no pain in his expression and knew he hadn't been hurt. She looked down the sword that had made it's way through her body.

  Her thoughts trailed slowly to her father and how much she'd disappointed him in her life. She regretted everything she'd done to upset him, but on the same token, she wasn't regretful at all.

  She looked back up as the sword was ripped from her body and saw the panicked, angry eyes of Enders, staring sadly into her own.

  She could have sworn she saw tears as she dropped to the floor at his feet.

  She heard angry yelling and the sound of metal meeting flesh.

  The rest was a blur.

  She felt herself being lifted.

  She heard desperate cries of her name.

  Her limbs went cold and numb.

  Then everything went black.

  *~*~*

  "Henry!"

  It was Enders' voice that resonated in the back of her mind. It seemed to pull her closer to some sort of door. She was being dragged out of sleep as this voice persisted.

  "I'll go get Robin!"

  Harlow furrowed her eyebrows as her eyes remained shut tightly, intense pain pulsating in her body.

  'Elwin? If I'm dead, he must be dead too. How had he died?' Harlow thought, painful throbbing making its way through her midsection.

  "No!" Enders snapped, his voice ringing out. Harlow felt the sudden hardness of wood.

  '...and is that the sound of the creaking pier? Pier must be dead too,' Harlow thought as the darkness engulfed her.

  "What?" Elwin asked, confused and concerned.

  "Don't get Robin!" Enders shouted at him. "Go get some cloths and anything else you can get your hands on!" His voice was shaking, Harlow noticed, feeling herself smile at the action.

  "Go, now!" Enders shouted again, his voice still trembling.

  Harlow felt pressure on her body along with the intense pain. "Oh my God, Harlow..." Enders' voice came again, sounding shaken.

  Harlow wanted to laugh but found that the pain was to much. She coughed and made a loud groaning noise. She finally threw open her eyes and looked around, dazedly.

  She panicked, looking down at her wound, finding Enders' hands pressed firmly on her body.

  "Henry!" He exclaimed, releasing the pressure and scooting up to her face.

  Her eyes rolled back gently, wanting to close again. Her head lolled to the side, giving her a perfect view of the lake.

  "Keep your eyes open, Henry!" Enders said, placing his hands on her cheeks, making her look at him as the smell of blood came to her.

  Her eyes went back as she closed her eyelids.

  "Keep your eyes open!" Enders shouted louder this time.

  Harlow fought hard to keep her eyelids up, but the sheer amount of pain made her want to close them tightly.

  She didn't realize the proximity between her and Enders, but when he spoke, she could feel his breath on her skin and the panic in his voice. He held her head upright with his right hand and moved his left to the wound, applying painful pressure.

  “Henry!” His voice rang out again. “Open your eyes!”

  Harlow opened her eyes for a moment, finding the energy deep within her to look at him.

  She saw the pain in his eyes and the panic in his face. It was overwhelming and numbing for just a moment. She wanted to keep her eyes open, and stay awake for him, but just as she resolved to keep on fighting, she lost the willpower to keep her eyes open and her eyelids fluttered shut.

  "If you don't open your eyes right now, I'll rip that hat right off your head," Enders threatened, his voice wavering and unsteady. She fought to lift her eyelids half way before failing to keep them open.

  Enders sat still just above her. "Henry, please, keep your eyes open," Enders begged, his voice still shaking sadly.

  The pressure on Harlow's midsection returned with a brand new kind of force and a commotion of sounds resonated in her mind, jumbling themselves together awkwardly.

  The sound of thumping footsteps rang out around her.

  “What's going on?!” Robin's voice called out as he ran onto the pier.

  “Henry!” Enders begged, his voice losing the hope he once had.

  "I've got rags and herbs!" Elwin's voice rang out, along with a creaking pier. Reggie voiced concern somewhere in the mix.

  “Get out of the way!” Robin's voice rang out as he came closer to her.

  She felt herself being lifted and carried, feeling warm liquid drip off her body from behind her and fall to the ground. She knew it was blood but she didn't want to think about it.

  “Reggie, run ahead and tell Aldridge and Evie to prepare for a serious wound.” Robin yelled, running with Harlow in his arms limply.

  “Aye, sir!” Reggie shouted before Harlow heard his running footsteps take off in front of her.

  Harlow gave one last attempt to open her eyes, her head dangling off the side of Robin's arm as he ran with her. She looked back, her eyes catching Enders as he knelt on the pier with blood covered arms.

  That's when she let her eyes drop, feeling herself get swept away by the darkness that awaited her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Five weeks of feverish dreams and force feeding passed with unease.

  Harlow hadn't woken up, not for good anyway. She'd woken up delusional often and started rambling about nonsense. Whenever that would happen, they'd try to shove food down her throat before she lost consciousness.

  Once or twice she thought she felt a hand on her own, clutching it with a force that felt so genuine she thought it might be her father.

  It was a cloudy, rainy afternoon when she'd shot up in her cot and started heaving, feeling the much calmer pain in her midsection fire up.

  "Henry?" Enders' voice echoed throughout the cabin. "Oh my god, Henry," Enders said again, his body moving from the chair he'd been sitting in to her side.

  Harlow kept panting, her nightmares becoming more and more nonsensical as she sat there. She took one look at Enders, noticing small bruises that had indicated healing and calmness.

  She ripped the blankets off her body and found a clumsily wrapped wound, blood seeping out slowly, although not life-threateningly.

  "What the hell is going on?" Harlow asked through sweat and gritted teeth, an exasperated groan escaping her lips.

  "You don't remember?" Enders asked, pulling her blanket back up over her legs, which bore the same pants she'd worn the day of the attack.

  Harlow shook her head, trying to sit up, but failed to do so as the pain in her stomach shot through her body. She fell back, propping up her elbow behind her and leaning herself on it as her other hand shot to the pulsating pain in her abdomen. "I remember being run off a cliff." Harlow groaned, raising her free hand to make sure her hat was secured tightly on her head.

  Enders scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "You've been out for five weeks. The soldiers found us after we jumped down the waterfall. You threw yourself on the General's sword before he could get to me. You saved my life."

  Harlow widened her eyes and looked around the room. She sighed and tried to get up again. Pain swept through her body, forcing her to lower herself.

  Enders pushed her back down and held her there. "What do you think you're doing?"

  Harlow gritted her teeth. "I need to talk with Robin Hood."

  Enders shook his head. "No, you're not doing that now. You need to keep resting."

  Harlow gave up and let herself stay laying down, the pain be
coming just too much to bare.

  Enders got up and moved toward the door of the cabin. "Stay here. I'll go get you some food to eat. You'll probably enjoy it now that you're awake."

  Harlow wanted to chuckle, but instead a small cough came out. "Fine."

  Harlow sighed, laying back down and feeling her eyes become tired and strained.

  She wondered how long Enders had been waiting for her to wake up.

  The pain was intense, but she found herself smiling anyway.

  Enders had been waiting for her.

  *~*~*

  Six weeks seemed to float by as Harlow tried to let herself rest. She was stubborn, yes, but she knew that if she kept pushing herself then she'd never heal.

  Harlow sat quietly on the pier, thinking over the last couple of weeks. She'd spoken to Robin Hood for the first time last week. He'd been apologetic and nervous, taking the attack to heart and knowing it had been his decision to send the unit out there.

  Regardless, Harlow had forgiven him and requested that he pay more attention to her opposition of his decisions.

  He'd simply chuckled, nodding in agreement.

  Now, Harlow looked over the horizon at a rising sun, her thoughts lingering on the attack.

  Enders had been especially more attentive and interested in her well-being. He had called out her real name during her injury, but Harlow pushed the fact away assuming that she'd been dreaming that part.

  Harlow looked down at her hands in her lap, closing her eyes and letting the sunlight rest on her skin. Her feet lightly poked at the water down below.

  Minutes passed in silence before the pier started to creak under her. She sighed in contentment before looking up and seeing Enders approaching her on the bridge, a fancy-looking bowl in his hands.

  "Hey, Henry," Enders greeted, sitting down next to Harlow, the bowl balanced securely in his palm.

  "Hode," Harlow greeted, a somewhat weak smile displaying on her lips.

  After he'd found a comfortable seat on the pier next to her, he looked over the horizon and set the bowl in his lap. "How are you feeling today?"