Lady Locksley

Chapter 14

Escape from Nottingham

The Sheriff and his entourage had returned, and his outraged roars could be heard from the courtyard as he flung himself from his horse and marched into the castle, followed closely by his guards.
Flattening himself against the wall to look out of the window unnoticed, Robin cursed, quietly.
"We need to get out. Now," he said, urgently. "The waste chute."
There was a mad rush as the outlaws ushered the rescued men through to the laundry room and began to direct them down the chute. Approaching footsteps could already be heard, echoing throughout the lower levels of the castle.
"Come with us," Robin said to Roana and Marian, quickly.
"You know I can't," Marian replied. "I can't leave my father. You know that."
Robin looked exasperated. "Then leave now, my love, and quickly, before you are seen."
Roana stepped away, allowing them a moment alone, and approached the chute, cautiously. She was tempted to go with them. The castle was suffocating her; William's ominous presence and the knowledge that she would soon belong to him was suffocating her. She wanted to escape, to leave it all behind. She wanted to lead her own life instead of catering to everybody else's expectations of her. The question was, could she do it?
As she fidgeted at the entrance to the chute, there was movement beside her and she turned, realising the gang were waiting for her.
"After you, m'lady," Allan said with a grin, gesturing with a sweep of his hand to the hole in the wall. Djaq smiled at her, encouragingly.
"My lady," Alice said, in a nervous tone. Roana turned to her, having never heard such emotion in her maid's voice. Alice's expression was frozen, her mouth set in a vaguely stubborn line.
Roana extended a hand to her, hurriedly. "Come with me."
Alice paused for the briefest of moments, then shook her head, an imperceptible movement, her gaze stricken.
Roana nodded in acceptance; there was nothing else she could do. Alice has her reasons for staying, and there was no time to discuss it. "Stay safe. I'll see you soon."
Nodding, Alice moved back to stand beside Marian. Dashing aside her doubts, Roana climbed into the chute and pushed off. A feeling of euphoria washed through her as she slid downwards, to who knew where. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She had done it. She had taken control of her own life. She was free!
Luckily, Much was on hand to catch her as she catapulted out of the chute; otherwise, she may well have earned herself a face-full of rubbish.
"Oh my—" she instantly placed both hands over her nose. The stench was horrendous. She realised they were stood on a heap of castle waste, a mishmash of different, and not at all pleasant, odours permeating the air.
"Delightful, isn't it?" Much agreed, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "I do so enjoy our jaunts to the castle."
They exchanged wryly amused glances, before Djaq plummeted into view, followed by the rest of the gang, who barely seemed to notice that they were wading through waste. Robin stood up and dusted himself off, unconcerned. He walked over to stand in front of Roana, placing his hands on her upper arms and looking into her eyes.
"Sister, are you sure that you want to come with us? You will give up all of the comforts of the castle to live in the forest?"
Roana felt a wave of exhilaration. It was akin to the feeling she had experienced when stood at the top of the chute, looking into its depths - a sense of excitement for the unknown, and the knowledge that taking this direction would change things irrevocably. She could not go back now if she wanted to, and she didn't. She could start a new life; begin afresh without the weight of William's attention and expectations heavy around her neck.
She nodded, decisively. "I'm with you, brother."
The reaction of the gang was more than she could have hoped for. Little John and Will both nodded in easy acceptance, while Djaq seemed genuinely delighted.
"Welcome to the gang, my lady," Much said, grinning from ear to ear. "Now, let's go."
As they galvanised into action, Allan hung back ever so slightly and awarded Roana a wide, yet slightly shy, smile and touched her arm to show his pleasure. Although she didn't know him well, this seemed out of character for the Allan she had seen so far, and she felt that she had been afforded a glimpse of the person beneath the sharp wit and sarcasm. It was a lovely thought, and she returned his smile.
Much had commandeered a horse and cart piled high with hay and the rescued men were soon hidden amidst the load. Little John and Will, drawing their hoods around their faces, climbed into the drivers seat and set off at a fast clip towards Locksley.
Horses were also tethered nearby, and the remaining outlaws leapt into the saddles.
"Roana," Robin shouted. "With me."
But Allan was already there, astride a dapple grey mare, his hand outstretched. Roana took it and allowed him to pull her up to sit behind him.
"Hold tight, m'lady," he said with a grin, and the mare surged into a gallop as they followed Robin, Much, and Djaq along the dirt track that hugged the back of the castle. Roana wound her arms around Allan's waist and held on for dear life.
Coming onto the main road out of Nottingham, Robin, who was in the lead, took a hard right onto scrubland, and headed for the forest at a flat-out gallop. Roana heard angry shouting, and, risking a glance over her shoulder, saw William and Gisborne on their horses by the castle gates, staring after the escaping outlaws in outrage.
"Roana!" William roared, and, even from a distance, she could see the apoplectic expression on his face as his horse wheeled, spooked by his rage. "I will find you. You do not leave me!"

*****

The track through the forest was narrow, and the horses were swift, traversing the dirt track with the ease of familiarity. The sounds of pursuit had long since died away, yet they continued to gallop through the thickening woodland until the track gradually petered out, and a wall of impenetrable bushes stood before them. Robin steered them left into deeper, darker forest, where the trees grew tall around them, blocking out the light and muffling the sound of the hooves on the leaf-littered ground.
Roana loosened her tight grip around Allan's waist and exhaled with relief. She hadn't realised she'd been holding her breath until then. Her head buzzed with the exhilaration of the fast ride, and the excitement of her escape.
"You okay back there?" Allan's words vibrated through her chest and she realised with some embarrassment that she was pressed up close to his back, closer than she had ever been to a man.
Well, not entirely true, she mused. She had hugged her father in the past, and her uncle, Robert, as well as both Robin and Much more recently. But she had never been this close to a male who she felt a degree of attraction to.
Roana rested a forehead lightly against his back and closed her eyes tight, glad that Allan could not see her burning face. The thrill of her escape has clearly affected her faculties.
"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, primly, and felt the rumble of his laughter.
Eventually, what little trail remaining disappeared completely and Robin signalled for them to dismount. They tethered the horses to a beech tree and proceeded on foot, squeezing through thickets of buckthorn and spindle with barely any room to navigate. They moved in silence, the thick blanket of dead leaves and mulch underfoot cushioning their steps. Roana wanted to ask where they were going, but didn't dare break the hush. This certainly wasn't an area of the forest that she was familiar with, from what she could recall anyway.
The forest ahead opened out into a small clearing, and what Roana, at first sight, assumed to be large, moss-coloured boulders became small dwellings fashioned from wood, stone, and flora. They were set out in a rough semicircle around a fire pit; past them, beside a small grassy area, sat four larger buildings constructed mainly of wood and draped in moss.
The area appeared to be deserted and had an air of abandonment about it.
Robin, who was in front, stopped and glanced back at Allan, who put the two forefingers of both hands to his lips and emitted three sharp whistles. Immediately, there was movement from the larger wooden structures, and Little John and Will emerged from one of the deerpelt-covered doorways. They were followed by the men they had rescued from the castle.
"You took your time," Little John pretended to grouch, and then the outlaws were all laughing, slapping each other on the backs.
"We did it!" Djaq whooped.
Robin laughed. "I didn't for one minute doubt that we would," he said, proudly. "I bet the Sheriff is fuming."
"And William, too," Allan grinned, indicating Roana. He imitated William's upper class accent. "I will find you."
Roana couldn't help but join in the laughter, but she experienced a niggling feeling of unease as she remembered how furious William had sounded as he yelled after them.
Reading her expression, Robin caught her eye. "He won't, by the way. And if he does, we will deal with it." He turned to take in the huddled group of rescued men. "Okay, lads. We have work to do."