The Journey To Acre

Chapter 23

The urgency of activity on board the Mary Peel reaches fever pitch as the shores of Acre appear upon the horizon. The buzz of tension is palpable.

Naturally, it affects some more than others.

"Well, put me in a dress and call me Loretta!" Cleggy declares, craning his neck and squinting to get a better view.

Ingram, who's been dozing at his side, wakes with a jolt and blinks sleepily at his friend, "Hmmm?"

"No! It can't be..."

"What ya lookin' at?" Ingram asks, curiosity piqued, but not so much that he makes a move.

"That's somethin' I never thought I'd see in my lifetime, I tell ye that!" Cleggy replies and grins broadly at his friend before turning back to stare at the shoreline.

Ingram groans and reluctantly drags himself to his feet. "This better be good my friend or so help me I'll..."

He doesn't bring this sentence to its conclusion because he can't. Is simply not able to. The reason for this is that there is a large squadron of men at the Port waiting for their boat to dock. A large squadron of King Richard's men, to be precise.

"Holy... mother of god... what are all those men doing here?" Davis asks wide-eyed.

"Ingram!? What did you do!?" Collins jests and Ingram would declare his innocence if he could only get his vocal cords to work. As it is, he stands at the railing with his mouth wide open, shaking his head in disbelief. He's never seen so many men in his life.

"Has the Captain seen this?" Somebody asks from amidst the now sizeable group of men on deck.

"Course he has! Who d'yer think's steerin' us in?" another voice replies.

At the tail end of the group, three figures emerge on deck and freeze where they stand. For each, the sight of those men holds a different meaning. For all three however, it is clear that their lives are about to change irrevocably.

**********

He sees Allan-a-Dale first.

Of course...

And for a moment his whole world closes in on him because he knows all too well what that means, but then he shakes his head and smirks because who else would it be?

He's been betrayed many times in his life. Not a few times by people he's fond of, but who'd have thought that the one to spell the end for him would be Allan-a-Dale? Because it might be Robin Hood who called the cavalry, but it is Allan who brought him here.

Fitting really...

He almost feels a begrudging respect because let's face it, the outlaw's done well for himself, hasn't he? In the normal run of things Allan would've been stood next to him now, facing a similar fate, but no, with what could only be described as canny instincts and perfect timing, he'd managed to position himself on the winning side and strangely, Guy feels no animosity towards him for it.

He'd known the second he clapped eyes on the men it was over. Indeed, the shock had brought his heart to a stop for a few moments there and bathed him in a sheen of cold sweat he doubts he'll be rid of any time soon, but then an eerie resignation had settled upon him. A weird calm that comes with knowing that as of this moment, all decisions concerning the future are out of your hands.

Perhaps it was because of her. Because at some point his worries for her had come to eclipse his worries for himself. And though his eyes scan the coastline knowing that this is the end of the last journey he will ever take, (trip to the gallows not included), for her it means safety and refuge.