Archer's Revenge- part 1

ch.1- A Brother's Grief

The sun had silently set upon the rubble that once was Nottingham castle. The people of the town had returned to sift through the remains of the city for whatever salvageable belongings and however much of the Sheriff's treasure they could find.  Archer sat on the only unfaltering wall left in the city looking down at the chaos and rubble.  The only semblance of order to be found was the line of torches near the gate beneath him where mourners, paying their respects, despairingly pasted the body of Robin as they left the city.  He never heard the soft footsteps of Kate as she approached him in the darkness.

"There are so many who loved him." She said, quietly placing her hand on his shoulder and sat beside him.

Archer remained as still as a statue. His eyes never left the ruins below.  "It's all up to me now," he murmured, "Prince John is not going to let this go. I have to finish what my brother's started."

"We all do, but not tonight," she fought back the tears, "Tonight is for Robin." She paused and took a breath. "And Guy."

"This whole deal was for King Richard," he pointed down towards the people, "and for them. That was all Robin cared about- he didn't do this for himself or any of us. I see that now." He rose to his feet, "Two months ago I would have had no problem just walking away from here with whatever treasure I could get my hands on and not think twice about it."

"But you've changed."  She smiled up at him.      

"Not soon enough," Archer clenched his lips together. "Part of this is my fault."

Down below a ruckus was beginning. Much came running and shouting. "Archer! Archer! Some men uncovered Sir Guy's body and they are trying to, quite literally, tear him apart."

"Let them." Kate half shouted.

"No., Kaye. I can't do that." Archer growled at her then called down, "I'm coming."

Archer, followed by Much and Kate, pushed his way into the middle of the barking town folk where John and Friar Tuck were holding off a group of six men who were trying to get to the knight's corpse. "What is this?" He yelled at the crowd. "The man is dead, leave his body to rest!"

"He deserves to be given the same treatment he gave to our people."  Someone called out of the crowd.

"Every man deserves a decent burial," Tuck bellowed, "including this man. The Good Lord will sort out his deeds now."

"No! He was evil." Another voice sounded.

"Evil? Was he?" Archer roared at them. "He did wicked things under the influence of the Sheriff but he wasn't that way at heart. He was no more evil than I am." Pulling his swords from their sheaths he started to rage. "Do you know where the Sheriff got the weapons he used to do all this? Do you?" The villagers backed away. "From me!".  A collective gasp reverberated through the air. "Yes. me! I sold it to him. I was stupid and greedy and selfish. I made a mistake and so did Sir Guy. In the end he sided with Robin, with all of you, and gave his life to save yours. He's my brother and you are not getting your hands on him." He hung his head a moment to hide the pain on his face.  "All of you, collect what you can salvage and get from here. The Prince will be coming soon and you don't want to be here. Go find somewhere safe to stay." Archer turned to Tuck who gave him a sympathetic nod. "Let's get out of here. Leave them to their fate. If they find Isabella they can have her."

"You don't mean that." Tuck said to him.

"Don't I?" Archer glared back at the friar.  Tuck, John, Much and Kate collect the bodies of Robin and Guy and followed Archer through the crowd which parted before him like the Red Sea dispersing into the night. 

Under the guidance of the full moon, with his two dead brothers in tow, Archer and the others set out for Locksley Manor. Dawn was just breaking as they reached the hill that overlooked the house.

"What now?" Much asked as they approached the door.

"Put them inside and go back to the woods." Archer said coldly.

"What are you going to do?" John asked as he lifted Robin's body over his shoulder.

"I'm not sure yet." Archer said as he helped Much lift Guy. "Let's just get them inside."

The two bodies were placed side by side on the floor beside the hearth.

"Where are we going to bury them?" Much asked.

"All of you just go back to the lair where it's safe." Archer said calmly as he lit a fire in the fireplace.

"You're going to burn the house aren't you?" Kate grabbed his arm forcing him to look up at her, "And Robin and Guy with it."

"Neither of them would have let Prince John take this house, this land and I'm not either, there won't be a house for him to take," he answered. "If there's anything you want from here you best get it now."  Archer took a burning torch up the stairs.  The upper rooms were empty except for the bed Guy had slept in and a few trinkets lying around which he presumed were originally meant to be gifts for Marian. It was clear that no one had been in the room for months. He sighed then set the bed alight and returned to the ground floor. The others had all gathered outside so he set fire to the rest of the house. He stood for a moment and looked down at his dead brothers. "I'm glad you found me, I wish I could have known you both longer," he said softly, dropping the torch on the floor between them and walked out.

Kate leaned her head on Much's shoulder as they all stood on the hill watching as Locksley Manor burst into flames and bellowed black smoke into the blue sky. "Good-bye Robin," she whispered sadly.

"Rest in God's hands, my friends," Tuck prayed.