A World That Will Not Turn to Ash (English)(From Ashes Vol.1)

Chapter 34 - Cedric

Guy looked back: he had managed to outdistance Barret a few meters more, but it still wasn't enough: he wouldn't have time to find out how to enter the castle before being reached and killed.
He had to gain ground at all costs. Guy looked at the road: in that point, it was parallel to the river.
To get to Nottingham, he had to cross the bridge, several hundred meters ahead and then come back for a long stretch up to reach the crossroad and take the road leading into town.
If only he could cross the river before the bridge, Guy could save a long way and get to Nottingham with a good advance on Barret. It occurred to him that a little farther there was a point where the river was narrower and perhaps a good horse could leap it. Maybe.
Guy knew that his idea was absolutely crazy and he had a good chance of ending up on the bottom of the river after killing himself and his horse falling on the rocks, but he also knew that he would die the same if he failed to distance Barret .
He urged his horse, still increasing the speed and he headed for the side of the road, hoping that the animal did not hesitate to obey his commands: if the horse halted, they would be killed.
The horse jumped and Guy closed his eyes. If they were to fall into the river, he didn't want to see it.
The jump lasted a long moment, then the horse's hooves hit the ground and the animal kept running. Only then Guy dared to look, in disbelief that he was still alive: he had really managed to cross the river, while Barret was left on the other side and continued to gallop toward the bridge.
Guy laughed thinking about the anger that his enemy was surely feeling, but he didn't allow the horse to slow down: every moment could be valuable.

The boy put down the heavy basket full of dirty clothes and the woman who he had accompanied to the washhouse thanked him with a smile and she handed him a bundle.
"Thanks, Cedric. Alone I wouldn't have been able to bring here all the clothes in a single trip. I'm sorry that I can not reward you with something better, but what I earn is barely enough to feed my children..."
The young man opened the package and he smiled seeing a large piece of bread just a little stale and a slice of cheese.
"This is fine, in fact I am the one who should thank you. Tonight I will help you bring the laundry at home."
He said goodbye to the laundress with a wave of his hand and he went to find a quiet corner to eat in peace.
He walked between the rows of hanging clothes and he sat on the ground, partially hidden by sheets hung out to dry.
He preferred to be alone, away from others, and when he was forced to stand in the company of other men he was always terrified that any of them could be the masked bandit who forced him to witness a horrible massacre and who had severed one of his fingers for no other reason than pure evil.
Since then, he hadn't been able to fight anymore and he lived day by day. The hand had not healed completely yet, thus he had to earn something to eat as he could, helping the women working at the market or carrying baskets of clothes for the laundresses.
At night he often lay awake with open eyes in the dark for fear of seeing again in a dream what the bandits had done to his comrades and to Sir Guy. When he had those nightmares, he woke up screaming and then he could not go back to sleep until the sun rose.
Cedric finished eating his meal and he sighed, satisfied: the bread was not fresh, but it was plentiful and at least that day he wouldn't go to bed hungry.
He leaned against one of the poles used to hold the strings of clothes and he yawned: maybe he might be able to enjoy a quiet nap in that safe and isolated place.
He closed his eyes and opened them again shortly after hearing the sound of the hooves of a galloping horse. Cedric got up from the ground, carefully, to see who was coming and what he saw awoke him completely.
The black horse had stopped not far from him, then a knight dressed in black unmounted in a hurry.
The man sent away his horse giving him a pat on the side, then he pulled a ragged blanket by one of the wires and he used it as a cloak to cover himself before advancing in the streets of Nottingham.
Cedric had been staring at him, shocked, convinced that he had dreamed: he thought he recognized Sir Guy of Gisborne, but it wasn't possible, he had seen him die before his eyes!

Guy looked out the door of a stable to look at the castle gate and he sighed: even that entrance was guarded by Barret's soldiers, to enter the castle from there would have been impossible.
He began to worry: if he failed to reach the sheriff to warn him, everything he had done would have been useless and he no longer had much time.
He felt a hand that touched his arm and he spun around, drawing his sword. He found himself staring into the eyes of a young man, just a little older than an adolescent, who was looking terrified.
Guy lowered his sword and he spoke to the young man in a harsh tone. He had not heard the boy who approached him from behind and the sudden contact scared him to death.
"Do not ever do something like that if you want to live long, kid. I could have killed you. Now go away." He scolded him, expecting to see the boy run away, but he didn't move and he kept staring at Guy, pale as a ghost.
"Sir Guy, it's you!" The young man cried and Guy saw that his eyes were filled with horror. "But how it is that possible? I have seen you die!"
"You saw me... You were in the clearing?!" Guy looked better at him and he recognized the young soldier who had been forced to watch as the bandits tortured him.
Cedric nodded.
"That man planted a knife in your heart, I saw it with my own eyes, how is it possible that you are alive?"
Guy noticed that the boy was missing one of his little fingers and that the wound to his hand was still on the mend. He realized that this must have been the work of Barret. He recalled that Allan had told him that the bandits let the soldier to go away alive, but not unscathed, and now Guy understood what he had meant.
"Barret missed my heart: his blade was deflected and it didn't kill me."
The young man's eyes widened.
"Barret? Roger of Barrett?"
"Yep, he's the murderer and now he wants to kill the sheriff. I have to find a way to get into the castle to warn him, but there are soldiers who are loyal to Barret guarding each entry."
Cedric looked at him and then he smiled shyly.
"Sir Guy, I know a way to get in without being seen."
"Really?!"
"There is a passage near the kitchens. It should be locked, but for dishwashers it is convenient to use it to go to empty the buckets and the pots in the alley without walking the longer way and then they always leave it open. Sometimes I use that passage when I know that a relative of mine is on duty in the kitchen, sometimes she lets me to take away a piece of bread or some leftovers."
"And then I was amazed that Hood was able to come and go as he wanted..." Guy said to himself, then he turned to the boy. "Come on, show me where it is."
Cedric nodded.
"Come with me, I'll show you."
He guided him along the narrow streets of Nottingham and he pointed to a small door left ajar.
"From there we will arrive directly in the kitchens." He said, then he looked at Gisborne, seriously. "Sir Guy? What will you do once you are inside the castle?"
"I must inform the sheriff of the danger and I'll protect him if I have to. If I fail, be sure to be away from Nottingham when the army of Prince John will come, boy."
"Sir Guy, my name is Cedric. Let me help you, I don't want Roger of Barrett to destroy my city, he has already done too much."
Guy looked at him, struck by the vibrant tone of the young man's voice. That boy was a little more than a child, but Barret had hurt him deeply too and Guy knew all too well the horror that he could read in Cedric's eyes.
"I have a task for you, Cedric." Guy gave him one of the daggers that he had brought with him and he looked at the boy. "Once we enter, I will search the sheriff, you, instead, will have to make sure that you open the gates when you'll see Robin Hood and his gang. Let them come in, it's important."
"Robin Hood, sir?" The boy asked, puzzled. When they were ambushed they were hunting the outlaws and now he had to let them in?
Gisborne nodded.
"Many things have changed, Cedric." He said, in an almost melancholic tone. "They will help us. Open the gates, but be careful, don't take unnecessary risks."
"Yes, sir." Cedric said, excited.
From the day of the ambush he had not really lived, blocked by fear and memories and now, for the first time, he had the opportunity to be able to act, to do something to retaliate against those who had hurt him.
Sir Guy was alive and ready to fight despite the terrible tortures that were inflicted to him... If he had survived, even Cedric could succeed in recovering his life.
He wouldn't disappoint him, he decided. Guy of Gisborne had decided to trust him and Cedric would open the gates of the castle for him.