Two for Treason

Chapter 6 - Sherwood

Hi all! Sorry for the delay in updating...sigh...damned real life!

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The women took the man back to the Major Oak. They tied him to a smaller oak nearby. They built a fire and Maddie went off to hunt some food. Not long after she came back with 2 good sized rabbits. She skinned them and prepared them for cooking. Once she completed her task she wandered over to the man.

"Have a name?" she asked him.

"Wot you want wit' it?"

"I am a lady. I am trying to have a civilized conversation." She asked again, "Do you have a name?"

He scowled, "Lambert."

"Well, Lambert. I am Maddie. You are lucky you are in my charge." She grinned. "I wouldn't want to be you if it were either Anne or Genie. They wouldn't hesitate to run you through. They don't take too kindly to men." With that she returned to her fire.

After the women ate, Catherine was then charged with feeding the captive.

"Have a name?" she too asked him.

He sighed and said, "Lambert."

"I am Catherine." She knelt in front of him and spooned some stew for him. At first he resisted being fed, but after Catherine said, "You should be glad it is me here. If it were Anne or Genie they would kill you" he allowed her to feed him.

The next morning Moira came to the man. "I'm Moira and I am here to escort you to the privy."

He looked at her and shook his head dejectedly. "Name is Lambert," was all he said.

Moira untied his rope, pointed her bow and arrow at him and marched him toward their "privy". Luckily for Lambert, it was located behind some bushes. However, Moira had a clear line of fire if she needed it. When he was finished he trudged back to the oak tree and was tied up again.

An hour later Anne paid him a visit with his breakfast, leftover stew. As soon as she got near he said, "I'm Lambert."

"I don't care what your name is, you stinking dog." She crouched down beside him and fed him in silence. He was surprised by her attitude toward him.

This routine continued into the next day, with the 4 women taking turns tending to him. Genie didn't come near him.

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On the 3rd day Anne and Genie were out scouting for a more secure camp. As they ranged farther afield from the Major Oak they heard the sounds of feet tramping through the leaves. The 2 women looked at each other and halted.

In the distance they could see 2 men creeping through the undergrowth. Quietly, the women trailed along behind them. For 20 minutes Anne and Genie stood in the trees, observing the men who were now on the road. They stood right in the middle of the road located at the far end of a curve, as if they were waiting for something.

Sure enough, a tinkers cart came into view. The men removed their weapons, brandishing them menacingly. The women looked at each other and sighed. They waited to see what was happening. The tinker continued moving forward, trying to push his way past the men. Anne gasped when she saw the man on the left plunge his sword into the horses' chest. She groaned, "No..."

The tinker jumped down from his wagon brandishing his own sword. He engaged with the man who had killed his horse. However, he was a tinker not a fighter and soon the man had him up against the side of his cart. He dropped his sword and put his hands in the air.