Any feedback would be greatly appreciated (tgrnyc@hotmail.com). DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE UNDERAGE OR OFFENDED BY MALE-MALE SEX. "Look into my eyes, and you will see what you mean to me. Search your heart, search your soul. And when you find me there, you'll search no more." -- Bryan Adams, "Everything I Do (I Do It for You)" Will Scarlet hid in the underbrush of the path which led from the village of Kendar into the forest. He watched silently as the Sheriff's men rode past. When the way was clear once more, he ran into the village and knocked as hard as he could on the door of Bret Dawson, the village blacksmith. It was no surprise to him that Colin, one of Will's comrades, answered his knocking. "Morrow, Will," Colin said, then yawned. He wore a long sleeping tunic which was too large for his small frame. "Colin, tell Bret it's worse than we thought. We're going to need those horseshoes sooner than we had previously believed." "I will relay the message, Will. Now, before Cedric decides to come back today, I would advise that you head back to Sherwood and make haste!" "I will, and many thanks, Colin!" Before the blacksmith's lover could form a reply, Will ran out of the village, directing his footsteps toward the "haunted forest" called Sherwood. Will knelt by the stream and took a drink. When he stood, he was taken by the arm. He looked up and saw James, one of Cedric's men, glaring at him. Will wriggled free and grabbed a stone from the water. He slammed James' face with it, knocking the man down. Before Will could move, two more of Cedric's men took hold of him, and he was unable to break free this time. The Sheriff stepped up to him and gave him an evil grin. "We meet again, Miss Scarlet." "A cruel twist of fate, I assure you," Will spat. "Why must you resist me so? Your efforts will prove to be in vain." "Release me, Cedric." It was a demand, not a request. "Will, all you must do for that to occur is ... well, YOU know what I want." The very thought sickened the outlaw. "I would rather sop the inside of a privy with my bread!" "You wouldn't, I can assure you, woman." Another feminine analogy. Will had never hated anyone so much as he had the Sheriff. "Take him to my bedchamber and shackle him to the posts! I will deal with him later." As the two men began to drag him away, Will spotted Laurel a short distance away. She quickly hid behind a large bush. Will thought quickly and with his hands behind his back, where Laurel could see them, he made several coded gestures which his friend would be able to interpret. She watched his gestures carefully, and once the men and Cedric, she fled swiftly to Sherwood. "The Sheriff's men dragged him away," Laurel said, nearly out of breath. "Will used his hands to sign a message to you. He's being held in the Sheriff's bedroom!" Robert regarded her with concern, and was angry at Cedric, more so than he had ever been before. "We must go immediately," he said to the other men standing around him. "Before Cedric does ... I do not wish to even contemplate what that animal wants to do." He was about to go to his horse when Jonathon Azure placed a hand to his shoulder. "Robert, we must be even more careful of how we approach the Sheriff's castle this time. We must go in disguises that will not be as suspect as those we have used before." Robert let out a sigh. "All right, Jon. What would you suggest?" The six hooded monks arrived at the castle just after sunset. The guard at the gate held up his palm. "Halt! From what monastic order do you come?" The tallest one spoke, but didn't reveal his face. "The monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos. We are here to pray for the souls of the damned. Prithee allow us passage?" The guard looked them over for a moment and gave a slow nod. The monks nodded to him once, in unison, and passed through the gate. As they entered the dungeons, they began to chant softly in Latin. After a few moments, two of the monks split off and headed towards the stairs that led to the bedchambers of the castle. When they were safely out of view, the two monks removed their hoods. Robert and Jonathon glanced around. Robert's stomach knotted. "I just hope we get there before Cedric has a chance to do anything to him. The bedchamber was almost over-decorated. Gaudy, Will thought as he struggled against the shackles which held each of his limbs to a single bedpost. The sound of footsteps on the stairs made him stiffen. Cedric entered the room and immediately walked over to the bed. He got onto it, and straddled Will's groin. He ran his fingers across Will's cheek. Will winced. "Just you and me, little girl," he said in a low voice. "Just you and me." He leaned down to kiss Will but was interrupted by a guard at the door. "What IS it??!!!" "Sir, Prince Ian has requested your presence at his court. He says it is mandatory that you attend." The Sheriff grunted and gave the guard a nod. He turned back to Will. "This is not over yet. I will return, and I WILL have you, my dearie." Cedric leaned down and licked Will's cheek. It was all that the prisoner could do not to retch. Cedric got up and went to the guard. "Be sure that he does not escape this time!!" "He will not move from this room," the guard assured him. The Sheriff nodded and made his exit. The guard walked over to the bed and leaned over the prisoner. He removed his helmet and smiled. "Surprise," he whispered. "Robert!" Will whispered. "You got my message!" Robin Hood nodded. "Loud and clear." Jonathon joined them a moment later. "Cedric has left the castle grounds. We must move quickly!" He took a lock pick out of his pocket and began to work at the shackle holding Will's right foot. "Robert, that bastard licked my face! Have you a rag?" Robert dug into his pocket and pulled out a rag, wiping away the Sheriff's spittle, then cast the rag to the ground. "Will, I have an idea. Let's give old Cedric something to be really angry about. Let's make love on his bed!" Jonathon looked up at Robert. "What?!!" Will hissed. Robert glanced at Azure, who went right back to his work. He looked back to Will. 'Think about it. If he know that you and I had made love on HIS bed, wouldn't that just burn him up inside?!" Will thought about it. "But will we have the time to do it? And once he realizes that Prince Ian's summons was merely a ruse, he WILL return here. Swiftly, I must add." "Afterward, we'll make it look like you're still shackled up in the bed. Jon and I will hide in the room so that when he comes back we can taunt him AND break you out of here." Jonathon had freed Will's right foot and began to work on doing the same for the left one. "All right," Will said, having thought about it, and realizing that what they would do would not only infuriate the Sheriff, but also render him insanely jealous. Jonathon waited out in the hall for the other men to secure the castle to insure their escape when Cedric returned. Robert took Will in his arms and kissed him. A few moments later, they had both shed their clothing and were caressing each other's bodies. Will moved down to Robert's penis and took it into his mouth. Robert did the same for Will. They began to sweat lightly as they moved in equal rhythm. They changed their positions again and Robert moved to insert his hardened extension into the hot, eager orifice of his lover. Will loved the feeling of Robert being inside him. Each movement of his lover's penis was like that of a musician playing his instrument. The strokes sent waves of calm and pleasure through Will, almost like a music all its own. The younger man ran his hands through the soft, dark forest of hair that covered Robert's chest and abdomen. Robert closed his eyes and grinned, loving the feeling that such caressing created. Will felt himself edging closer to the point of release, and let his lover know of it. Robert increased his rhythm slightly and pushed farther into Will. Both men felt themselves reaching orgasm at the same time, and their lips met to kiss while they let the shivers of pure pleasure run through them. Will's liquid covered his abdomen, and some of it spilled over his left side. After a few moments of embracing and kissing, Robert gently pulled out his penis. Will could feel some of his lover's fluid issuing out from his orifice. It was still warm, and gave him a strange, but pleasant feeling. Will was nearly asleep when the door to the bedchamber flew open, crashing against the stone wall. The erstwhile prisoner had to resist sitting bolt upright and revealing that he was no longer shackled. He looked up and saw the Sheriff, seething with anger. "What is it?" Cedric glowered at him and then looked away. "The Prince had not called me into his court! Somebody gave me a false message." He lit several candles and two torches, placing the latter into sconces and the former he scattered about the room to increase the light. He grinned at Will. "So, are you ready to give up your blossom to me?" "What if I told you that I had already engaged in 'blossom-giving,' as you so put it, just less than an hour ago?" The Sheriff laughed out loud. "My dear girl, there is NO way in Nottingham that you could have even engaged in SELF blossom giving with your hands and feet rendered immobile, let alone with another person." "Ah, but I have, Cedric. If you don't believe me, just look at your sheets." The Sheriff laughed once more and walked over to the bed, if only to humor his prisoner. But what he saw made him gasp. There were two wet spots on the sheets. He touched his fingers to both places, and felt the sticky fluid as he withdrew his hand. He shook his head as he stared at his fingers. "Impossible." Cedric felt the sharp point of an arrow at the nape of his neck. "Not impossible if you have a key to the locks and a willing lover," came Robin Hood's voice. "A WILLING lover, Cedric. Have you ever HAD a willing lover?" The Sheriff was about to turn and grab the arrow, but Will was quicker and grabbed one of the loose shackles and used it to smack Cedric's face. But this move backfired on Will, as the Sheriff grabbed the shackle pulled it and he had Will by the throat so quickly that they other two men almost missed the swiftness of the move. "Back up!!!!" Cedric screamed. "Or I'll break the little missy's neck!" Jonathon and Robert backed up. But Will didn't give up so easily. He elbowed Cedric in the stomach and knocked some of the breath out of him. Will broke free and ran over to the other two men and then joined them as they grabbed Cedric and forced him onto the bed. Robert unsheathed his dagger while the other two men held the Sheriff down. The leader of outlaws held the point of the dagger right against Cedric's throat. "What will you do, Robin Hood? Kill me? Then do it and get it over with!" Robert hesitated for a moment and then withdrew. Then he quickly stuck the knife into the Sheriff's left groin muscle and twisted. Cedric cried out in pain. The three men fled the room and joined the others in the band as they mounted their horses and dashed away at full gallop. The gang of outlaws and those who lived in Sherwood Forest gathered for a feast celebrating the safe return of Will. Laurel ran to her friend and embraced him tightly. "I'm so glad that you made it back!!" ill took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. "I might not have made it at all if you hadn't told the others exactly where the Sheriff was keeping me. I owe you my life, Laurel." He kissed her forehead. When everyone had sat down to eat, there was much talk about what to do the next time they encountered the Sheriff and his men. "I think that we should strengthen the perimeter defenses around Sherwood," Jonathon said. "Our wind chime ghosts' won't keep intruders out forever." "Agreed," Robert said. "A good idea," Colin spoke up. He looked over to Bret, who sat beside him, and clasped his hand. "And it's about time that you joined us here in Sherwood. The smithing shop should be just about complete in a month, and it will be better equipped than the one you work in now." "Are you certain that you want me to move here to Sherwood ONLY because the smithing shop is nearly completed?" Bret asked, then gave Colin a wry smile. "What do YOU think?" Jandis replied, then kissed the blacksmith. Robert and Will both smiled at the other couple, and then they kissed. Will started in on his cucumber soup and dipped a piece of bread into it. "Robert?" "Hmmm?" Robin Hood said, mouth full. "There's one thing that I don't understand. Why did you stab Cedric in the groin? Why didn't you just separate his phallus from his body?" "I wanted to punish Cedric in such a way that would cause him the most anguish, to get back at him for all that which he has caused us, as well as countless others who are not present at this table. I stabbed him where I did in order to sever the blood vessels that are connected directly to his ... his member, as it were. If no blood could fill it up, then he could not use it to harm anyone. Which do you think would be more frustrating, Will: not having a tool, or having one and not being able to use it at all?" "The latter, I would assume," Will answered, thinking of the potential victims, himself included, that his lover had probably spared. "I just hope that it worked." At the end of the feast, everyone sat around talking. Will looked up and noticed a handsome, dark-haired man approaching them. His hair was worn in a ponytail, his eyes were the color of emeralds, and he carried a lute, slung over his shoulder. He was dressed all in black. Will rose, and a few others gathered at the arrival of the stranger. "Greetings," he said, with a hint of a French accent. "I do hope that I am not disturbing your celebration." "Not at all," Robert said. "You are welcome to join us, should you so choose." "Thank you. Allow me to introduce myself. I am called Alain de la Vallee." (this story continues in Part 4, "Sed Diabolus")