Lady Outlaw

Chapter 23

Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire

Little John, Will, and Djaq

The wind blew in from the sea in gusts, bringing with it the cry of gulls and the scent of salt water on the brisk air.
Pausing at the crossroads, the outlaws bowed their heads against the gale. The sky was clearing, with the glint of sunshine emerging from behind the grey clouds, but it was still cool, and the insistent breeze grabbed at their wet cloaks, sending them flapping in all directions. Their horses moved restlessly, perturbed by the weather and the loose material.
"So, you will stay in Scarborough tonight and meet us at Filey tomorrow?" Robin said to Will, raising his voice before the wind whipped it away. 
Will nodded. "Auntie Annie will put us up for the night and we will be back with you mid-morning tomorrow, at the latest."
Will's aunt had settled in Scarborough many years before, and his father and brother Luke had joined her a year ago, after Will and Luke were outlawed by the Sheriff and the family was uprooted from their home in Locksley village. Will was keen to meet with them again while they were in Yorkshire. Djaq and Little John would accompany him; Robin, Roana, and Much would continue on to Filey Manor to wait for Allan's return.
For Will, it was more than just a visit to family members he hadn't seen in a long time. It was the chance to reconnect with his father and brother, and also the perfect opportunity to introduce them to Djaq, who was becoming an important part of Will's life.
Will and Djaq had grown inexorably closer over the past months, ever since Djaq had joined the gang, disguised as a boy. Will had discovered her secret before she had even joined the gang, and she had intrigued him from the off. Her gentle and compassionate nature had attracted him in ways a young man of his age could not fathom, yet he couldn't deny the strength of that attraction, and neither could she.
They began to spend more and more time together in and out of camp, and, before long, the other outlaws started to notice and comment in a jocular manner. Will and Djaq laughed along with them, but there was no denying their growing feelings for each other, and the way they sought each other out above all others.
Things had come to a head the night of the celebrations at Filey Manor. Drunk on cider and happiness, Will had finally plucked up the courage to speak his truths, and Djaq had immediately responded with a kiss, sealing the union between them. From then on, they had been inseparable, content with each other in a way Will had never thought possible. Of course, he was only young, and had little experience with the opposite sex, but it felt like he had known her forever. She was beautiful, intelligent, and worldly, and he was fascinated by her. It was meant to be, and he knew that Djaq felt the same way. He wanted to demonstrate the seriousness of his feelings by introducing her to his father.
As they left Robin, Much, and Roana at the crossroads and continued along the path that lead to Scarborough town, the wind abated and the sun came out, sitting high in a blue sky, all remnants of the rainstorm gone. Immediately, the mood lifted, and the three outlaws chatted amongst themselves, revelling in their time alone. Although the outlaw gang was tight-knit, it could often be exhausting, catering to the needs of Much and Allan and even Robin, to an extent, all of who were louder and given to dramatics. It was nice to spend time as a threesome, and be able to bask in a milder, more relaxed atmosphere.
The small town of Scarborough sat in the shadow of the castle, and curved around the tiny harbour. Auntie Annie was Will's father's sister, and she had left Nottingham for Scarborough many years before with her new husband. Since then, her husband had passed, yet she had remained in the small town where she had made her home in a small cottage that overlooked the North Sea. Will had visited once as a child with his parents and Luke, and the proximity to the wild sea had stayed with him for years afterwards, so much so that he was able to lead the way to the cottage with no hesitation.
It had changed. Where once the cottage had been humble and plain, there was now a large, wooden barn to the rear of the building, and a smaller storage unit, fashioned from wattle and daub, stood adjacent to the cottage. The garden to the front of the residence was flourishing, with herbs in abundance, and the scent of wildflowers permeated the air.
A silver-haired figure came out of the barn as Will, Djaq, and John approached, leading their horses, and Will felt a surge of excitement as he recognised his father.
"Dad!" he called out, and the man turned in surprise. Seeing Will, he came to a startled halt before a grin spread across his face.
"Will? Will, is it really you? Luke, Luke!" Dan Scarlett dropped the tools he was carrying and ran towards the small group, shouting over his shoulder at the cottage as he passed. Reaching Will, he pulled his eldest son into an embrace as a younger man emerged from the cottage.
"Will!"
Djaq and Little John stood to the side with the horses as Will was enfolded by his family, and the three Scarlett men chattered non-stop, words of joyful reunion spilling out and tripping over each other, thrilled to be back together.
Will turned to Djaq and John, his voice a burble of happiness as he introduced them to Dan and Luke.
"Dad and Luke, you know Little John from Locksley."
"Of course, of course," Dan replied, clapping John on the back. "How are you, John? I haven't seen you in years. In fact, we all thought you were dead."
Little John gave an embarrassed smile and a shrug, and Will gestured to Djaq, taking her hand in his.
"And this is Djaq. My girlfriend."
Dan and Luke faltered and glanced at each other in astonishment, before turning to greet Djaq.
"What a lovely surprise!" Dan exclaimed in delight, looking at her closely. "And so unexpected. Jack, though." He rolled her name around on his mouth. "An unusual name for such a pretty woman."
"It is Djaq," Djaq explained, shyly. "It is Arabic, a nickname. My real name is Saffia."
"Saffia," Dan repeated, and smiled at her. "I like it."
"Thank you," she replied, humbly, taking an instant liking to him. The family resemblance was strong in all three Scarlett men, and she could see Will in the sincerity that emanated from Dan. He wasn't as tall as Will but held himself proudly, a sweep of silver hair framing his narrow face. Luke was a younger version of Will, but a head shorter, his hair a shade lighter, his smile a little readier, and his eyes lacking the intensity that his elder brother's held.
Once the horses had been unsaddled and left in the barn, Djaq allowed Dan to usher her into the cottage with John while Will and Luke trailed behind, talking excitedly. Inside, it was clean and cozy, and filled with the scent of baking bread. Annie, Dan's younger sister, was coming in from the back, struggling to carry a heavy pail of water, and she started when she saw them, spilling a little water on the woven rug that covered the stone floor. Little John steadied her and took the pail. She smiled up at him and brushed a lock of blonde hair from her face with the back of her hand.
"Thank you! It can go by the stove." She directed him with a hand on his back before turning to the group, a wide smile on her face. "We have visitors. Aren't you going to introduce me, Dan?"
"It's me, Auntie Annie. Will," Will said, cheerfully.
She gasped. "Will! You're here! We thought we would never see you." She hurried over to enfold him in a hug, tiny against his rangy frame. "Are you here to stay?"
"Well," Will looked at Djaq and Little John. "Just for the night, if that's alright? Auntie Annie, this is John, my close friend. And Djaq, my girlfriend."
"Oh." She halted briefly to scrutinise Djaq, her eyes curious yet kind. "Well, of course, of course. I can make room for you all." She smiled at Djaq and John before gesturing to the chairs clustered around a scrubbed wooden table. "Please, take a seat. You must be thirsty."
Dan, Djaq, and John took a seat while Will and Luke leant against the stove, talking and laughing and getting under Annie's feet as she bustled around the kitchen area. Djaq watched closely, unused to such close-knit family interactions, and in awe of their ease with each other. Dan caught her eye.
"So, Saffia— Djaq. Where are you from?"
"I'm from Acre, in the Holy Land," Djaq told him.
Dan nodded, sympathetically. "Slap bang in the middle of the Crusades. It must have been difficult, living in the midst of that. What brought you to England?"
"It wasn't by choice," Djaq confessed. "I was captured, forced into slavery. They brought me over here with other Saracens to work the Sheriff's mine in Treeton. Robin rescued us, and so I joined his gang."
"He accepted you into his gang knowing you were a woman?" Dan looked mildly shocked, and Djaq laughed.
"He didn't know. And when he found out, I didn't give him much choice." She looked towards Will, affectionately. "Will knew from the beginning. He was worried for me, at first. But," she turned back to Dan with a faint smile. "I can look after myself."
Dan returned her smile. "I have no doubt that you can." He placed a hand on her arm, lightly. "And look after my son, too."
"I intend to," Djaq replied.
The afternoon sped by in a tumult of laughter and conversation. Luke had been making his own cider using apples from the trees grown in the orchard behind Annie's cottage, and they grew merry after sampling the sweet, fermented fruit. Conversation moved from Will and Luke's mother, Jane, who had died some years before, to the boy's childhood and the scrapes they had gotten into together. Annie spoke of her husband, Benjamin, a fisherman who had died at sea after a particularly strong storm had hit the shores, capsizing his boat and drowning him. An attractive blonde woman with a beautiful smile and a sweet, caring nature, she had nevertheless remained alone since then, and had thrown herself into family life when Dan and Luke had joined her the previous year. She hit it off with Little John straight away, and they lapsed into shared smiles and anecdotes. She had the ability to bring the habitually taciturn man out of his shell, and eventually, he told the story of the events that had lead to him being outlawed eleven years before.
"I never meant any harm," John told them, candidly. "I was just trying to lead an honest, simple life with my wife, Alice. We were doing alright. I had a decent job as a forester, working for the Sheriff - Sir Edward, at the time. There was a small team of us, and we took pride in our work, patrolling Sherwood for the king.
"One of the team, Matthew of Nettlestone, was a devious man with a nasty temperament, and we didn't get on right from the start. He took great pleasure in ridiculing those he saw as less intelligent, and I did not like him. He was the brother of a guard at the castle, and used it to his advantage, acting like he was a cut above everybody else. It was difficult being around such an innately nasty person, and I tried to stay away from him as much as possible.
"In the nearby village of Clun, there lived a young mute girl, a simple soul, who liked to wander the forest around the village, collecting herbs for her grandmother, who was a wise-woman. One day, I was patrolling the forest when I came across Matthew with the girl. He had her pinned against a tree. Her lip was bloody and her bodice was ripped, and his intentions were very clear to me. I intervened and the girl managed to get away, disappearing into the greenwood. Matthew was furious. He attacked me as a couple of the other foresters came into the clearing. He had an axe, and I pushed him away from me with all of my might, to save myself. But I misjudged my own strength and he flew backwards, hitting his head on a low-hanging branch. He was dead before we even got to him.
"The other foresters looked at me with such horror and accusation that I just ran, knowing that I was in serious trouble. I holed up in the forest for the night before venturing home to Locksley the next morning. The guards were already at my home, interrogating Alice, my wife, who looked terrified.
"I took off again. I couldn't return home. I was scared and knew the outcome if I decided to hand myself in. The young girl couldn't speak up, obviously, so nobody knew of what had happened in the forest but me, and it would have been my word against the other foresters, who had witnessed me kill Matthew. They didn't know why we had been fighting - they arrived just in time to see me push Matthew and kill him.
"Days later, posters went up around Nottingham, calling for my capture, dead or alive. There were guards everywhere, looking for me, and I knew then that I could never return home to Alice. She would have been outlawed too, and I couldn't do that to her. I thought it was best to disappear, become a dead man, and let her get on with her life without me.
"Of course, I didn't know that she was pregnant. I'll never forgive myself for walking away from her and my unborn son, but I made my choice. Little Little John is my pride and joy, but he will have a better life without me, an outlaw, dragging him down. He can make something of himself."
John concluded his story with a resigned shrug, and Annie sniffed loudly, dabbing her eyes with her sleeve.
"That's such a sad story," she said with compassion. "You lost your family and all because of a mistake."
"It's in the past now, Annie," John told her, gently. "I've learnt to live with it."
Djaq, who, along with Will, had heard the story before, reached out to rub the back of John's hand. "Your son will never forget you, John. And you have a new family now. You're not alone."
"John," Dan spoke up, a seriousness in his tone. "I never knew the full story. But we all knew what Matthew was like. He was a bully, pure and simple. I just wish somebody had been on your side back then."
John shrugged and gave a brief smile. "It is what it is. I can't change anything now. I don't think I could have back then, either."
"It doesn't seem fair," Luke said, darkly. "Outlawed for something you didn't do." He gestured at Will. "At least we were outlawed for a reason. Stealing the grain in Locksley."
"Oh, I've done plenty since then to earn my place as an outlaw," John confessed with a wry grin.
Everybody laughed, and the mood lightened.
The outlaws had an early start the following morning if they were to meet Robin and the others in Filey for Allan's return. With this in mind, Djaq was flagging, and kept hiding her yawns behind her hand. Will was also finding it difficult to keep his eyes open, as much as he wanted to stay awake and savour the extra time with his family. Annie provided them with blankets to make their beds in the barn, and Djaq thanked her profusely.
"Why don't I come and join you in the barn?" Luke asked Will, enthusiastically. "It'll be like the old days, sleeping rough. Do you remember when we used to do that? Pretending we were outlaws in the forest, instead of actually being them."
Will grinned at him but then caught Djaq's eye as she shot him a shy glance. "Oh, uhhh.."
Dan clapped Luke on the back and smiled at Will and Djaq. "I think these two would like to be alone, son."
"Oh," Luke said in dawning realisation as he looked at the couple. "Of course. I didn't think."
He winked at Will and punched him on the arm as Djaq turned to John.
"What about you, John?"
Little John looked at her and then at Annie, who smiled.
"Well, I'm going to, ummm," John faltered.
"We're going to talk for a little while longer," Annie said, firmly, resting her hand on his shoulder. Little John managed to look pleased and amazed in equal measures, and Will could barely hide his astonishment. But a light touch to the hand from Djaq focused his attention and made the smile light up his green eyes.
"Let's go to bed," she said, softly.
And, for the first night ever, they were able to spend time together alone, away from the gang, and they made the most of it.