Sherwood (22 page)

It was always darkest before the dawn,
and dawn certainly hadn't come yet.

*~*~*

Harlow tried hard to fight the
drowsiness that fell over her. She found herself aching from the
cuts and bruises of running through the forest all night. Before
she realized it, she'd been asleep in the caravan next to the
merchant, who'd reluctantly approved of her presence.

It had to have been hours since she'd
fallen asleep. She barely felt the caravan stop moving. She heard
the animal noises of the horses as they'd trotted carefully to the
stables. She drifted in and out of consciousness as the horsemen
returned the horses to their stables and spoke softly to the
caravan driver.

It took her a minute or so to realize
that her body had been lifted from it's resting place and was being
carried somewhere.

She suddenly became extremely aware of
everything around her. She fought the urge to open her eyes and
harm the person who carried her.

Instead, she listened intently to the
sound of the soldier's boots on a stone floor. She heard the sound
of people speaking and snoring.

"Marlene," The person carrying Harlow
called a name.

Harlow thought puzzled for a moment
before recognizing the voice: the horseman. The young man who'd
rushed to her side had picked her up and carried her
inside.

"Oh, Parker!" An older woman
exclaimed, her voice coming closer with every phoneme. "What's
happened?"

"Outlaws," Parker said, total distaste
in his voice. "They must have raided her cart and chased after her.
It looks like she's been running all night."

"Oh, dear," The woman, Marlene said,
her voice going further away.

Harlow felt her body in motion,
signifying that the horseman had started moving. She felt the
hardness of wood underneath her as the man, Parker, placed her
gently on a table.

"Is she conscious?" Marlene asked,
rummaging around in the room.

"I believe she's simply asleep."
Parker told her, sighing. "I thought you should have a look at
her."

Marlene found whatever she'd been
looking for and took a sigh of relief. "Yes, I will have a look,"
she said. "but she looks absolutely fine. She looks a little
bruised and cut up is all."

"Okay," Parker sighed. "I'll come back
when I've met with the King to inquire what we're to do with
her."

"Okay, Parker. Come back as soon as
you can." Marlene said with what sounded like a smile on her
face.

Harlow heard the door open and close,
meaning Parker had left. She kept still, trying to keep her
breathing even. Eventually, she'd decided it was enough. She
fidgeted slightly, taking in a drowsy breath of air.

Slowly, she propped herself up on her
aching arms. She immediately noticed the cuts on her arms and body.
She was still in the dress she'd put on that morning.

She wasn't too shocked by the amount
of pain she felt, but decided that it was best to over-exaggerate.
She gasped at the sight of her arms and started to tremble in a
feminine manner.

"Well, hello there." Marlene said, a
ball of yarn sitting in her lap and a hook hanging between her
fingers gently.

"Hello," Harlow said, making her voice
nervous and drowsy. She made her eyes wide as she looked around the
room. "Where am I?"

Marlene laughed. "Oh dear. How much do
you remember?"

Harlow shook her head a little bit.
"I've spent all night running from the Outlaws. They raided my
fathers caravan."

Marlene nodded, "Do you know where
your father is now?" She moved to the front of the table that
Harlow sat on.

Harlow's eyes looked away, feigning
discomfort. "He was killed trying to protect me." It was a lie, and
she felt wrong about lying to the woman, but she saw no other
option.

"Oh," Marlene said, her eyes turning
excruciatingly sympathetic toward her. "I'm sorry for your loss."
Marlene let silence fall between the two as Harlow tried to act
nervous and scared. She found it easy to be nervous, but fear
wasn't exactly in her nature. "Do you have anyone else to go
to?"

Harlow silently shook her
head.

Marlene nodded and turned her
attention to the yarn in her lap. "Well, I'm sure you'll like it
here."

Harlow looked up, letting her eyes
fall on Marlene. Marlene was older but not elderly yet. Her black
hair had been covered in gray strands with some age. Marlene seemed
happy although she lived in this dark, cold castle everyday all
day. Her smile and laugh wrinkles were somewhat of a testament to
her life.

Harlow started to let her eyes wander
over the room, examining every object in the room. There wasn't
much in there, so she laid back down on the table and let herself
simply feel the pulsating of her limbs as they were
exhausted.

She closed her eyes as she laid there,
waiting for any sign of what was supposed to be happening next.
Instead of talking and breaking the silence in the room, Harlow
remained silent. She wondered what she was going to be doing and
where she would be going. She let her mind wander, almost falling
asleep in the process, before a small knock-knock was heard at the
door.

“
Come in!” Marlene shouted,
looking up from the yarn in her lap.

Harlow sat up gently, looking at the
door and waiting for it to open.

The door opened with a creak,
revealing a young man, maybe only a year or two older than Harlow,
his hair a dirty blond color, hanging just above his brown eyes. He
was muscular and wore soldier's chain-mail, which looked anything
but unattractive. He was handsome, but his expression was strained
and looked unhappy.

“
Hello, Marlene.” He said,
looking to Marlene as he closed the door behind him. He looked to
Harlow as she sat propping herself up on her elbows.
“Hello.”

Harlow nodded in response.
“Hello.”

“
How are you?” He asked
her, standing still and tense by the door.

"Fine," Harlow answered, nodding her
head and offering a small smile. "I cannot thank you enough for
your bravery in saving me," Harlow feigned happiness and forced
herself to sit up straight.

"No need to thank me," Parker smiled
back to her, bowing his head slightly. He attempted to look modest,
but his pride was shadowed behind his eyes.

'He's not completely
boorish.'
Harlow thought.

"It is my duty to make sure civilians
are safe in Sherwood." Parker smiling a small smile and finishing
off the conversation.

Harlow gave a last smile before
turning her eyes away. It was weird for her, to hear everyones
thoughts on the place she'd come to love, along with the people
she'd come to love.

'Was Sherwood really that
bad?'

"Well, I think it's time we show you
to your room, right, Parker?" Marlene spoke up, a smile displaying
on her lips.

Parker nodded. "Yes, The King is
otherwise disposed and has instructed me to allow her residence in
the Castle-Hands quarters." His smile didn't go unnoticed by
Harlow, although she refused to acknowledge it.

"I'm staying here?" Harlow asked,
playing ignorance.

Parker turned his eyes, suppressing a
scrutinizing gaze. "Aye," He tried not to smile. "King Wesley has
decreed you a necessary help."

Harlow nodded, wondering how many
people had been trapped living as a castle-hand.

Harlow slid off the edge of the table
and planted her feet on the floor. She wobbled back and forth for a
moment before she felt stable enough to walk. She brushed off her
bottom and the front of her dress and looked up at Parker, who kept
his eyes oddly on her.

“
Ready?” He asked, as if
he'd been lost in thought. His short, dirty blond hair swung
attractively just above his eyes, and Harlow couldn't really ignore
it. She kept her eyes tied to the door.

Harlow nodded, glancing back at
Parker, offering a small smile when he'd offered one
himself.

Parker opened the door and waited for
her to exit before closing it behind her. His armor clinked
together gently as the two walked slowly down the corridors, Parker
leading Harlow by a few inches.

Large, maroon curtains sat from the
high ceiling and cascaded down to the floor in a water-fall type
position. Harlow raised an eyebrow at the darkness. The light that
kept the hallways bright came only from torches that had been lit
aflame on every wall. They hung one every four or five feet. It
wasn't to bright but it was enough to see what you were
doing.

The further they moved into the
castle, the darker it became, the less torches lined the walls, the
more despairing it seemed. Harlow felt almost mortified by the idea
of being stuck behind these curtains.

“
Parker,” Harlow said,
grabbing his attention and making him tilt his head to look at her.
“Why are there these curtains? Is no one allowed
outside?”

Parker was silent for a moment. He
took in a deep breath and used the authoritative voice he had to
speak. “These curtains are for our protection against outlaws and
thieves. As you may know, the outlaws of Sherwood are our biggest
threat and these curtains are designed to make them unaware if what
we are doing. You understand how cruel Robin and his men are. It's
something we have to do to survive.”

Harlow let her jaw drop silently. This
was all wrong. This wasn't how things really were, right? Harlow
found herself doubting everything she knew for only a moment. She
knew this was what the king had done, what he had built. King
Wesley ruled with an iron fist and reigned through fear. It
sickened Harlow to the depths of her stomach.

Parker led her around a corner and
toward a room at the end of the hall. “These are the sleeping
quarters. You'll be staying here.”

Harlow noted that there was no more to
add. She nodded and looked to the set of double-doors. It was large
and almost worn out. One hinge was broken toward the middle. She
turned to the set of doors and laid her hand on the handle for a
second before pushing them open. She took a look around seeing it
almost abandoned.

Parker raised an eyebrow. “Everybody
must be working around the castle. The ball is almost upon
us.”

Harlow simply nodded again.

“
You should rest now. Your
bed will be marked at the very far of the room. You will start in
the kitchen tomorrow morning,” Parker said, eying her. He offered a
smile after a moment. “Good night, Ms. Harlow.” Parker bowed his
head and turned away from her, heading back the way she'd come. She
had no idea where the Kitchen was, so she'd have to ask someone in
the morning.

She walked into the boring room that
held only dingy beds and shabby nightstands. The gray walls smiled
despicably down on her with every step she took. Flaming torches
hung from the walls, letting the light penetrate, but not enough.
The room shook her from the inside out and depressed her. She felt
like maybe she'd lost her fight as the door shut behind her and she
stood in the dimly lit room.

It was in a daze that Harlow walked to
her assigned bed and collapsed on it. She was exhausted and her
eyes dragged. Her mind ran with thoughts of Sherwood and
Enders.

She was asleep again before her head
hit the pillow.

*~*~*

There was a window. It was
a large arched frame of stone that sat at the end of a hall and cut
to the right in a strange dead end. At the dead end was a wooden
bench that sat positioned toward the arched window.

It would have been
perfect.

Harlow sat cross-legged on
the bench on her third day as a kitchen servant. She had tried to
fall asleep two hours ago, but found herself totally awake and
unable to sleep. She'd found the small nook by accident, when she'd
been trying to bring food to Marlene. Since that time yesterday,
she'd determined that it was the perfect place for alone
time.

She stared ahead, the only
light coming from the torches that the walls at her right. It was
darker than normal, she noted, looking at the maroon curtain that
hung over the stone archway. She took in all the detail, noticing
that this would have been the perfect spot to see the
moon.

She heard someone walking
down the hallway, but made no attempt to move. She was tired, and
of course, no one really knew this dead end was here.

The footsteps got louder,
but she assumed that they would fade into the sleeping quarters.
Instead, they headed straight toward her, in a tired, dazed
way.

It was too late to move
since they'd see her anyway. So, instead of trying to head away,
she sat still in the darkness.

She turned her head when a
body turned the corner and stopped in surprise for a moment, upon
seeing her sitting form.

Harlow raised an eyebrow.
She wasn't in much a mood to talk, but when she saw the dirty blond
hair and the under armor of a soldier, she immediately felt the
need to guess who it was. “Commander Parker?”