Months passed and Will spent much time with Gwen. She liked him even though he was much younger. He didn't act at all like any person she'd ever met. Gwen thought Will saw everyone equally, even if it was at a lower capacity or position than himself. Will saw it as natural order.
He'd spent several months developing relationships with the farmers of Loxley and had even become acquainted with the Brewsters, which had taken over the farm he'd once called home. They didn't know him as Will though. No one ever really met him as Will unless he was teaching. Most knew him as the Hooded Fox or even Robin Hood. They believed that he worked in conjunction with the Hooded Demon, helping to mend that which the Demon had damaged.
Gwen found this to be a very effective way of showing just how brilliant Will was because he was exploiting something negative and turning it into an opportunity for himself and the farmers. He'd returned hundreds of gold that he'd liberated from the coffers of many nobles to the pockets of the underclass in an attempt to destabilize the status quo. Suddenly, the direction of gold trickled up instead of down and it made the nobles and de Lacy uneasy.
Will and Gwen had been on their way to Loxley to meet with a struggling farmer. Will was planning on giving the farmer enough gold to buy supplies for the season and hire an extra hand. The trek from sanctuary, however, was interrupted. Gwen and Will could see up the trail that some of de Lacy's men had stopped a family on their way to sell their goods to shop keepers in Nottingham proper. Will watched patiently from cover and he motioned for Gwen to take their horses and go back up the trail.
As Gwen did as she was ordered, Will moved in closer. He could hear the soldiers questioning the family about the break-ins in town. The soldiers moved and Will could see clearly that Guy was amongst them. A quick head count established that Will was outnumbered twenty to one.
Guy sat atop his horse ordering his men to take the goods as payment to the king. As Will got closer he could see that Guy looked like he'd aged much in the interim since he last saw him. Sleepless nights and worry had drawn lines on his face and grayed his hair. Will thought long and hard about putting an arrow through Guy's throat but in the end he didn't want to take that small victory from his father. It then occurred to him, Guy had left the safety of the castle which meant Thomas wasn't far behind. Will looked up the road from where the soldiers had come but he couldn't see anything.
Will readied an arrow and targeted one of the men hauling a sack of grains from the family's cart. Immediately after he released the first arrow he drew and released a volley of four. The first arrow pierced it's target through the neck, causing him to drop the sack as quickly as his blood spilled to the ground. The four additional arrows met the chests of the four men immediately around Guy. The force of the arrows penetrating their armor thrust the men from their saddles and expelled their last breaths from their bodies.
Guy spun and looked in the direction of Will but couldn't see him. Will pulled his hood up and covered the lower half of his face with the red sash he'd added to his cowl. Guy's men pulled their bows to the ready and aimed in Will's direction but immediately broke ranks when arrows rained down from above.
Will looked up to the trees and glimpsed moss that moved. Guy ordered his men to stand and fight but Will launched two arrows that grazed his cheek and dropped two more of his precious soldiers.
"Stop this, now!" Guy demanded. His men ran off up the road screaming about the demon.
Will slipped from his hiding place and appeared on the trail for Guy to see. It was apparent that Will was too small to be Thomas. Will could see Thomas clearly in the tree above Guy. Thomas' body was covered in a suit made of moss and sticks. His thick beard was muddied and had twigs stuck in it.
Will approached Guy slowly.
"Who are you?" Guy demanded.
"What's more important is I'm not alone," Will teased.
"You aren't Thomas," Guy declared. "You're too small to be Thomas."
"You're too stupid to be a real threat to my father and I," Will said, purposely letting his identity go.
"The Redgrave boy?" Guy asked.
"It would seem that the nobles of Britain have declared war on the Redgraves. Today, you live only to get word back to the rest of your ilk. We don't fear you. You pose only a minor threat to us. You're in no position to hunt us or bully those we've aided. If you come into Sherwood, you'll die. If you meddle in Loxley, you'll die. We're closing in on you, restricting your movements like you so much want to restrict ours. We'll suffocate you where you feel safest. If you and your kind doesn't want me and mine infiltrating your homes anymore, then perhaps they'll pay to feel safe. A new tax is in order. A benefit to the backs your kind walks on. Charity from their coffers to the pockets lined with lint and dust and I'll stop my nightly raids on your homes and I won't rob every carriage that passes on the main road. You do us that and you'll have bought yourself some time," Will's demands were clear.
"You opportunistic swine," Guy started. "You sure are long winded for a boy."
"We'll be watching. Our numbers are greater than you can imagine. Give us reason to show it."
Will's threat was two-sided. First, he felt guilty for having put the farmers in a position that made them easy targets for de Lacy's hunts. Second, letting Guy know there was a rebel army waiting to dismantle the broken system may make Guy want to fix the situation. Giving the machine a chance to fix itself wouldn't just show leniency but also establish a foothold inside that would make an eventual confrontation easier to win.
Lightning flickered in the sky above and Guy tugged at his cloak as rain droplets began to fall. He looked up but could only see rain and trees. He knew Thomas was there. It pained him how they could hide in plain sight like that. When he looked back at the trail at Will, Will was gone. Thunder rolled. Guy looked at the family. He took his purse from his saddlebag and tossed it to the father. The noise that the coins made in the bag made the family smile.
"Sorry for the inconvenience," Guy muttered and then turned his horse to the road. He didn't doubt that they'd be watching. He knew they had spies inside the castle. He knew that their allies would give life and limb to protect them so hunting them was useless. He figured the only way to assure that they didn't kill him by the week's end was to implore de Lacy to consider the offer.
Thomas met Will further up the trail toward sanctuary.
"You took a gamble attacking his men like that," Thomas said.
"Not really," Will said, "Guy was out of his safe little hole so I figured you weren't far behind. Why haven't you killed him yet?"
Thomas smiled. "I'm enjoying the mental warfare."
"He's looking rough," Will said.
"I know," Thomas said proudly. "Your threat will add another twenty years."
"It wasn't an empty threat," Will said, "I've been stealing from the rich to fund the school and help regain the farmers trust."
Thomas smiled at Will. "I know, I've seen you."
"When?" Will asked.
"I've been staying in Nottingham right under their arses. They can't move without me knowing it. Nothing moves there, without me knowing. You're quite skilled at tumbling."
"Thanks," Will said as he looked up to his father.
Thomas stopped, "I have to head back."
"I understand," Will said.
Thomas hugged his son and kissed him on the forehead then turned and disappeared down the trail. Will hurried back to sanctuary and came upon John and a group of students headed in his direction.
"Gwen said there was trouble on the road," John said.
"Guy and his men were questioning a family of farmers," Will said.
"Guy is away from the castle?" John said. It was widely known that Guy and de Lacy didn't venture from the castle because of the death threats.
"Was away from the castle but won't be again for a long time," Will said, "he lost nearly half his guard before the rest broke ranks and fled. The mental trauma won't leave him soon either. He now knows that there was a second survivor of the Redgrave massacre. He couldn't deal with one, two will prove to be too much."
Will gathered his horse and Gwen accompanied him back down to Loxley. It was proving to be a long day.
He met with his intended appointment and gave ample gold to help. While he was in Loxley he found the family that was on the road. They had taken some of the gold for themselves but shared the rest. Will thought about how he had hoped that it was his example they were following.
"Thank you for helping us in the road," The father said. "We thought they were going to take our stocks and leave us in dire straits."
"It's important to look out for those around us. I trust my neighbors look out for me as I look out for them. It keeps us all safe," Will said. "I'm glad to see that you have shared the windfall with those around you."
"It's too much money for us to spend and would be unfair to horde it when it's so obviously needed elsewhere."
Will gave the family directions to the sanctuary. "If ever you need a safe haven or aid, you'll know where to find me."
Will and Gwen headed back to sanctuary late in the night. Their path was lit by the moon. Gwen fell asleep while pulling Will tight. It was moments like this that made all the work worthwhile to Will.
The quiet moments.
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