Matty looked back once while riding through Sherwood. She didn't see Thomas. Figuring that he'd stopped to hold them off and then catch up later, she pressed on to sanctuary. At around dawn, she arrived. She was tired and sore but she made sure to wake up everyone. Will came down. He'd grown so much she hardly recognized him.
"Your father's killed Guy and the sheriff," she said excitedly. "He was supposed to be right behind me." She looked hard out into the woods but still saw no sign of Thomas.
"I knew he was going to do it but I didn't suspect so soon," Will said. He left her only for a moment to go and wake the others.
He returned with John in tow. Layne and Smith came down shortly followed by Tuck. They all surrounded Matty as she described what had happened. The battle in Guy's quarters. The dead that littered the grounds. Thomas had had a busy night.
"Do you think they captured him?" she asked Will.
Will looked to John, knowing the answer but not able to say it aloud. "We'll find out," Will declared. He turned to the others, "Gear up, full armor," he ordered. "We ride in an hour."
Will hugged his aunt tightly as Gwen came down. "Love?" she said to Will.
"My father's killed the sheriff. I have to go see if..." Will caught himself, emotions were running high, "I have to see if I can help him."
Gwen wasn't going to stay behind, "You're not going without me."
Will respected her decision, "Full armor. Ready for battle. We leave in two hours."
She dismissed herself to get ready.
Will looked down at his aunt, "You have to stay here," he said. When she looked like she was about to refuse he added, "To watch Solomon and keep Gwen from chasing after us."
"Solomon?" Matty asked.
Will smiled slightly, "Father always talked about grandfather like he was some sort of legend, I wanted to honor him by naming my first born after him." He smiled even deeper, "Luckily 'twas a boy."
Matty smiled. Will hurried off to get ready. He knew they'd have to leave sooner than an hour, so that Gwen wouldn't be ready to follow. He put on his uniform with red cowl and gathered his weapons then went and got John, Layne, Smith and Bruce.
The five of them left within a half hour of Matty's arrival and they rode hard through Sherwood toward Nottingham proper.
Gwen came down, fully suited in her uniform and saw that they had left. She looked disappointed. Matty put her arm around her. "I'm told I'm a great aunt," she said.
A smile grew on Gwen's face. "Yeah, he's but two months old." She looked back to the woods.
"He needs you here with Solomon," said Matty. "He needs that peace of mind."
Gwen looked at Matty, "He'll come back, right?"
"I sure hope so," Matty said. "Now where's this baby?"
On cue, Solomon's lungs forced a wail out of his mouth for his mother. When Matty leaned over his crib, she saw his eyes were a bright green and his faint hair was a brilliant red. He looked up at her and Gwen and quieted his cry. Matty thought he looked so aware of the world around him. She wondered if that was a blessing or a curse.
Across the forest, Thomas' body ached. He couldn't move without hearing and feeling his collar bone as it crunched in his chest. He couldn't sleep, the pain was unbearable. He looked up at the guard. One of Thomas' eyes had swollen shut.
"You look pathetic," the guard said.
"So do you," Thomas said audaciously. He knew there was no saving him, now. He'd played the game and his time was up. There was no point in pleading with this filth.
The guard opened the door to his cell and stepped in. "You killed my brother last night," the guard said. He kicked Thomas hard across the face and then stepped back out and locked the door.
"You sure it wasn't your sister?" Thomas edged him on. "They all fought like little girls. You kick like one!" Thomas spit blood from his mouth.
There was a commotion in the dungeon. Looking up, Thomas could barely make out the shapes that came down the hall to him. A man in armor peered into the cell.
He studied Thomas for a few moments before introducing himself. "Hello, Thomas. I'm Sir Francis Tork. I'm to be your executioner this afternoon."
Thomas shrugged.
The men with Tork entered the cell and unlocked Thomas. They roughly picked him up, showing little concern for his wounds. As they pushed him out of the cell they taunted him.
"Now, now men," Tork said. "There's no need to treat our prisoner so rudely."
The guards stopped their teasing. They hauled Thomas up the steps and out through the dank halls until he was in the sunlight. Thomas looked up. The sun was high and he could hear a crowd in the streets.
A platform was built up on the inside of the castle's yard. It was the same height as the wall. The men forced Thomas up it's crude wooden steps. Tork took center stage.
"What is this man to you?" the knight said. "Is he a hero? A saint? Does he do for you what you can't do yourselves?"
Thomas looked out into the crowd. The crowd seemed mixed. Of course he had sympathizers but he also knew that some people were too weak willed to back the actions of such a notorious man, even if his violent actions were justified. Thomas didn't struggle against the manacles that bound his wrists behind him. That action would have been fruitless. He was ready.
Tork continued his speech, "Thomas Redgrave, you are the last of your line. With you, this whole debacle will end and England can go back to the tedious daily activities that keeps it a country of order."
In the crowd, Thomas could see a group making their way to the front. It was Will and his men. Thomas knew that if they acted on his behalf, there would be much more death than just his own. He subtly shook his head to his son.
John leaned in to Will, "Did he just tell us no?"
"Yeah," Will answered. Will looked around, more guards had shown up at the edge of the crowd. The castle tower windows had archers in them as did the tops. Turning around, Will saw that guards were stationed in the buildings down in the square. It was a trap of sorts. They were counting on Thomas having allies and those allies aiding his escape. Will looked at his father and his father shook his head again.
Tork had the men position Thomas' neck on the chopping block. Will gripped his daggers but John's hand gripped his shoulder tight.
"They would kill more people in the crowd looking for us than not," John said.
Tork gripped the ax and checked it's edge. "Do you have any last words?" he asked Thomas.
Thomas took a deep breath so he could yell his words as loud as he could. The intake burned his chest. "I did what had to be done! I did what I had to do! I shall soon be with my family! But know this: You've cursed your kingdom!" Thomas thought for a moment that he could see Mary standing next to Will.
The men gripped Thomas tight and Tork brought the ax down in a wide arc. There was a loud thud as it wedged into the wood block. The crowd roared in a mix of excitement and disillusion. Their cries drowning out the cries of a boy who had watched his father die like the rest of his family, at the hands of a corrupt system that had seemed to have it out for him and his kin.
Thomas' head was placed on a pike and set into a hole in the makeshift stage. Its features seemed oddly serene.
John pulled Will away and the men dispersed with the crowd. Will looked back to watch his father's body be hoisted up and displayed as a warning to any who would oppose the status-quo.
The ride back to sanctuary was quiet and solemn. They all knew that Thomas' life would end abruptly and bloodily but it still seemed like a shock.
Upon their arrival at sanctuary, Matty was waiting. The absence of Thomas and the general malaise of the group told her that what she had feared most had come to pass. She fell to her knees and let the anger overcome her. Tears streamed down her face.
Will helped her to her feet and hugged her tightly.
"Where's his body, Will?," she asked between sobs.
Will quietly responded, "They've displayed it like a trophy."
She sobbed harder. The thought of her brother's body being used in such a way disgusted her.
"We're going to get it back," Will said.
John looked at him in disbelief, "Are you sure that's wise?"
Will's eyes shot at John, "No wiser than stirring a mob and then letting them run free armed only with the desire to destroy!"
"We'll follow into hell, Will," John said apologetically.
"This'll be a practice run for our official declaration," Will said.
Will left Matty's side and looked at the book shelf.
"What are you looking for, Will?" Tuck asked.
"Something my father said," Will started, "something he said and how he said it. It was a message."
Will found the copy of 'Beowulf' he and his father had read so many years ago. He opened it and a slip of paper fell out. It was addressed to Will. The letter was from his father.
It read:
Will,
If you're reading this, then I'm dead. I am suspecting it is a public execution. I also suspect that I've killed all but one on the list. The serpent's head. The king. I've left the final arrow buried in the floor of your school under where you teach from. Lead your men true to greatness and let them spread the responsibility of being a man far and wide. I'm more proud of you than words can describe. You've taught me much.
You're Father,
Thomas Redgrave
Will turned to his men. "Get the elder students ready," Will said, "Tonight we go into Nottingham and leave with my father's body and Tork's head."
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