The Eternal Shadow

Chapter 29

XXIX

Sheriff Vaisey was alarmed to find that he'd begun squishing birds again.

Alarmed for he hadn't done that in ages. In fact, it took him a while to recall the last time he'd been so stressed as to mangle one of his feathered friends before the unhappy recollection of Gisborne's failure to kill the king nearly caused him to crush another poor whimpering bundle.

Damn Gisborne and his blundering...

As per usual when thinking of his lieutenant, he conveniently forgot the innumerable ways in which Gisborne had loyally served him over the years, instead choosing to focus upon his failures and in particular, the one crucial failure that stung the most.

Where would they be now if he'd managed to do the job?

Well, we wouldn't be having to deal with Locksley's peasants... come to think of it, we wouldn't be having to deal with Locksley either...

With Richard out of the picture and John on the throne, the sky would've been the limit for both of them – England would've been their playground and Richard's followers; Locksley and his ilk would've come home to the noose instead of being free to cause trouble in his backyard.

But thanks to Gisborne's misstep it hadn't happened - in the blink of an eye it had all gone wrong and instead of being where they wanted to be, they were dealing with the great unwashed and their accursed loyalty to that outlaw.

Still, all things considered, they were lucky to have even that privilege. Prince John had made Vaisey sheriff on the understanding that he would 'take care of his brother for him' - when Gisborne had screwed that up, the sheriff had naturally been worried that he could be out of a job. That he'd not been fired had only been down to assurances made that after a period of regrouping, another attempt on the king's life would be undertaken.

It was ironic that it was a failed assassination attempt that had gotten him so far only to have it all nearly taken away from him because of a failed assassination attempt.

Catching the man who'd tried to kill Prince John had made him - had gotten him Sussex and all the other counties he had wanted for so long. The fact that the assassin had not wanted to murder the prince but had actually wanted him dead was irrelevant: a detail – something he conveniently 'forgot' upon envisaging the rewards to be had from their benevolent regent.

Willy had not forgotten of course; he'd known exactly whom he'd wanted to kill and had fervently protested against the charge of treason but this detail had interested everyone else as little as it had Vaisey – I mean let's face it, if you put the words poisoning and Prince John's court together in a sentence that is pretty much all you need isn't it?

The mood had been one of hysteria and Vaisey had given the people what they wanted: someone to hang.

The only catch with this version of events that all were so eager to believe, was that Winchester got off the hook.

It had been satisfying for Vaisey to watch Willy swing; the man had tried to kill him after all, but in punishing the servant, he had spared the master. Winchester, like Vaisey himself, had put his support entirely behind Prince John so the notion that he'd put Willy up to it was summarily rejected by all. Vaisey hadn't forgotten his enemy though, he may have chosen reward over revenge but he knew that if he played the long game he could probably have both.

Then there was Willy, who during his spell in the dungeons, had naturally spilled all about Vaisey, Winchester and their respective roles in the whole sorry mess but his words were dismissed as the ravings of a mad man. His case was not helped by the fact that both lords were quick to throw him to the lions – Vaisey because he benefitted handsomely from the results and Winchester because he was hardly going to admit having plotted to murder a rival:

"I fired the man months ago; he'd been behaving strangely and I caught him rifling through my private documents... still, I never would've dreamed that he'd do something like this..."

The stitch up was complete. The people believed what they wanted to believe and the truth was buried with the hung man.

Vaisey triumphed.

Winchester kept his mouth shut.

Both waited.

It was not over.

**********

"Loosen your tongues or lose your tongues!"

Vaisey had to admit that Gisborne had developed promisingly since they'd come to Nottingham.

He'd been worried about him for a while there, especially after the girl had left court (the younger man might've claimed that his depressed mood had been due to the aftereffects of the poison in his system but he knew otherwise). Fortunately, the gift of Locksley (and thus the Gisborne lands) had been enough to keep the man on side and bring out the nastier side of him that Vaisey most appreciated.

Indeed, finally possessing the lands he'd prized so long had done wonders for his recovery as well. The hunt for Willy had not been an easy one; having botched the job, the poisoner had sensibly decided not to return to Winchester instead bunking down with his son in some hovel in London and the search for him had very nearly killed Gisborne. Granted, Vaisey had dragged the knight from his sick bed scarcely giving a thought to how ill the man had been nor his mental condition, which can't have been all that great considering what happened with the girl on top of how close he had been to death because of his schemes. Not even the news that Vaisey had been rewarded by Prince John nor Willy's hanging had seemed to cheer him and the poison in his system had gained the upper hand once more as his body and mind succumbed to exhaustion.

Vaisey had pretended not to care but it had secretly troubled him to see his lieutenant so ill again, mostly because of the time and effort it would cost him to find another servant should Gisborne die but also because he was privately somewhat fond of the man (so long as he faithfully carried out his orders and didn't screw up that is). So, after all that, he'd needed something special to raise the younger man's spirits and motivate him anew. Luckily, just at that time, the offer to take power in Nottingham had presented itself and the rest was history.

There was always a fly in the ointment though wasn't there?

This time it was a particularly troublesome one...

Robin Hood.

He cursed the man but was not yet despairing. One just had to find the right tool to do the job... and Gisborne's old hatred for the outlaw was proving useful indeed on this one.

Even so, one had to consider all options and a bit of competition never hurt anyone did it?

As Sheriff I need a Master of Arms don't I?

May the best man win.