#and with the antlers directly behind her head. wearing the crown.

[velvetjune]

the Logan and Casey portraits on either side of Saga when she does her profiling :’)

[enkelimagnus]

Power In Her Hands (Melizzy)

Izzy/Meliorn, Rated M, 1.8k words, Post Canon

Things have changed since the death of the Seelie Queen. Isabelle visits the Seelie Court, her Seelie King.

Written for @shadowhunterschallenges, Day 2 of the RarePair Challenge: Melizzy

Read On AO3

Things have changed since the death of the Seelie Queen.

Isabelle doesn’t walk into the Seelie realm through the back door anymore; she walks into it through the main entrance, the one that leads directly next to the palace. The one she never used to take before.

Leaves, the colors of sunset, gather at the foot of the great arched bridge over which a street has been built. The entrance is underneath the old, cream-colored stone, darkened by age and the constant pollution of the mundane world.

More leaves stick wetly to the lambskin of her thigh-high boots as she walks into the darkness under the bridge. She takes step after step, and every time the cluster of leaves stick further up her body. Soon, her legs are covered by leaves from the tip of her toe to her thigh. She can feel her body half into the Seelie Realm already.

Wind blows more leaves onto her. They stick now to her torso, to the dress she’s wearing and the jacket on top of that. Soon, the first leaf gets onto her cleavage, cold and wet and disgusting. It hasn’t rained in New York in weeks.

Isabelle struggles not to blink away the hand-sized red maple leaf that covers one of her eyes. Her mouth is covered by more of them, keeping her from breathing properly, a barrier from the air. She keeps walking. Once the last inch of her body is covered in leaves, she feels herself pulled into the Seelie Court.

Fingers pry the leaves from her eyes. She blinks open. A Seelie girl, hair braided with flowers, is standing above her. Isabelle doesn’t know how to describe the look in the girl’s eyes. Animosity? Curiosity? A mix of both?

Seelie-Clave relations haven’t gotten much better since Clary’s departure. Though the rest of the Shadow World has settled into a sort of peace, with some distinct improvements when it comes to Downworlder rights all over the world, Seelies have kept their gates closed, even more so than before.

Jonathan was a Shadowhunter, despite the demon blood. And many Seelies are still upset that he killed their Queen. Even if the new Monarch is much more to Isabelle’s liking.

She sits up from where she’s appeared, right before the Seelie Palace’s gate, in the piles of leaves. The Seelie girl stares at her, awaiting something. Maybe a reason why she’s here.

“I’m here to see the Seelie King,” Isabelle says, not without snap in her tone.

The Seelie girl’s lips curl back on themselves to show long, sharp, villiform teeth. Isabelle sighs softly. She’s used to this now. She’s used to what it’s like to visit the King.

“I’m Isabelle Lightwood,” she continues.

The girl freezes and hides away her teeth. Good. Isabelle peels leaves from her long, flowing hair. She’s let it grow a little more now and it reaches down to her lower back. She likes the look it gives her. And the King likes it as well.

“The Queen of the New York Nephili Court,” the girl hisses.

She must be very young, Isabelle realizes. Only the young Seelies call her the Queen of the New York Nephili Court. They haven’t yet been explained that the hierarchy of the Clave is not the hierarchy of the Seelie Realm.

Isabelle hums in reply.

The doors to the Seelie Palace open as Isabelle steps up to them. She smiles. Outside, she forgets what it feels like to be powerful like she is in the Seelie Realm. Now, handmaidens buzz around her to take her jacket and take the leaves off of her clothing. They were wet and that water has seeped into the fabric of her dress, leaving it stained in places, almost see-through in others.

She shoos them away and they disperse like flies. Isabelle can’t help the smile that tugs at the corner of her lips.

“Is he holding court?” Isabelle asks the girl that met her at the gate.

The girl nods.

Isabelle starts walking down the corridor of the palace. It’s overgrown by vines and plants, flowers as large as her head blossoming around the pillars that keep the high, vaulted ceilings up. Isabelle doesn’t stop to look at the flowers anymore. She knows this place better than all other Shadowhunters.

She walks into the Seelie Courtroom. There’s a small warlock man, his antlers too heavy for his head, talking to the man that sits on the throne of the Seelie Monarch.

His eyes snap from the warlock to her immediately as she steps through the room. They’re dark, sharp, and they roam over her body, over the whip on her wrist and the seraph blade in her thigh holster. She’s the only Shadowhunter allowed her weapons in the court. Perk of being the King’s Consort, she guesses.

She’s earned that title, been through all of the trials of the Seelie Court, proved her value as his Consort. She’s been chosen by him and she’s been trialed by his people. They don’t really get to complain and demand anything of her, anymore.

The King smiles at her, a secretive smile only for her. Isabelle smiles back at him. The Seelie Crown rests on his head, hair strands wrapped and braided around his face and around the wood of the crown. The blue highlights he’s always worn peek through the darkness of the headdress. He looks beautiful.

The Court falls silent, everyone staring at her. She walks to the throne and stands in front of him. The warlock is entirely forgotten by everyone. He doesn’t dare speak up against her. No one does when they learn who she is.

The King stands from his throne. The robe he wears over his clothing unfolds around him like the leaves that covered her as she walked into the realm. He holds out a hand for her and she takes it. He pulls her to him, her body hitting his hard, his hands already leaving hers to grab at her waist and keep her close.

She tilts her head back. He kisses her. His lips are demanding against her and she lets herself be conquered just for this very public moment. They both know the dynamics aren’t the same once they’re in private. In front of the realm, she’s his Consort and he’s the King. Power is in his hands.

The last time she tried to take power in public, he took her on the throne, in front of every Seelie of the palace. He told her to watch their faces as he showed them, and her, that she was his Consort, not the Queen. She still remembers the stinging humiliation.

When he pulls away from her, she chases after him for more, pliant against him. Only for him. He smiles at her, a promise of later in his eyes.

The faces of the Seelies in his court are all scarred now. Now that he’s King, they have all cut out their plants and vines, sacrificing them and punishing themselves to emulate the way the previous Queen punished him. Isabelle presses a kiss to his cheek.

She sits by his side the rest of the audience, until he decides he’s had enough and he wants private time. She follows him back towards his bedchambers. The door slams shut behind them, and they’re alone.

“Isabelle,” he breathes, and she grins at him.

“Meliorn,” she replies. “That sure was a display of power, out there.”

“Hm,” is all he says, and his hands are already pulling at the zipper of her dress.

She swats his hand away harshly. “The girl at the gate was rude to me,” she continues, unzipping her dress and stepping out of it. She’s in her underwear now and the thigh-high boots that she’s still wearing.

Meliorn presses a kiss against her collarbone and she lets him. “You taste like humus,” he whispers. “As if you’ve slept naked onto the ground of the Wander Woods again.”

Isabelle chuckles. Her fingers untangle his braids and strands from the crown. She makes quick work of the hairstyle that keeps the crown on his head seamlessly.

“I’ll have to renew your connection to the Woods soon,” she hums, finishing to take the crown from him. “It’s fading.”

“Whenever you wish, Isabelle,” he speaks against her skin, kissing and licking patterns onto her cleavage, the swell of her breasts. Her nipples are still covered by her bra. He knows better than to try to take it off when she’s taking power from him.

She tosses away the crown, accentuating her carelessness for the symbol of his power. She knows he loves it.

“Not today,” she shrugs. “I have to go back to the Institute,” she hums. “They do need me to lead them.”

Meliorn smirks at her. “And you lead them so beautifully, my dear.”

Isabelle shrugs off the compliment. She pushes him back towards the bed.

“I’ll make sure no one is ever rude to you again,” he promises. “Unless you want to punish some of them, sometimes.”

Isabelle shakes her head. “I don’t get off on punishing. You do,” she reminds him.

Meliorn grins as he undoes his robe and takes off his clothes. He makes quick work of it, even if there are a bit more layers to his outfits than to hers. Her dress is discarded on the floor and so is his crown, laying sideways onto a bench.

She slides onto the bed, sighing softly. “Do you remember when I came to your home, that small tent at the edge of the wood, and we would fuck for information?” She asks, her fingers tracing patterns onto the sheets of the bed.

“I do,” Meliorn smiles. “It was a lifetime ago.”

She nods. He gets into bed as well, settles close to her. She moves, straddling him now. She can see the scars of his torso and the regrowing vines in his flesh. Sometimes she wonders if they hurt. She’s asked him before and he offered to grow some in her body, to see what it would be like. She refused. She’s not ready to be more of a Seelie.

With every time she renews her connection to the Woods, she becomes a little less of a Shadowhunter, a little more of a Seelie. She’s been told that, one day, she might not be able to use her weapons and stele anymore. One day, she will be too much of a Seelie for the Clave.

She dreads that day. She spaces out her renewals as much as possible and she always makes sure that she’s not fertile when she visits him. A Seelie King doesn’t need an heir and she doesn’t need to be even more of a fey from it.

She looks down at his face again and gently caresses it. Her King.

“I need information again,” she says quietly.

His grin is brighter than the New York sun in August.

[robinhoodrevisited]

Dungeons, Deceit & Dead Dan

Sherwood Forest. (Two men are walking along a forest path. Robin, hidden behind a tree in a cloak of leaves, watches their progress, slowly spinning round behind the trunk to its other side to get a better view. The older man stops a moment as a startled bird suddenly flutters. Will stands by a tree, cloaked in a thick, woven fabric resembling bark, his mud-caked arms raised parallel to the trunk. He pulls the cloth from his dirt-streaked face to take a peek at the travellers. Much lies on the ground under a leaf-riddled net. He opens his eyes at the sound of crunching leaves. The two strangers start to climb a rise towards what resembles a dead tree stump as Allan raises his head from behind his bark-like muddy arms, picks up a rock, smiles, and throws it behind the pair before ducking quickly behind his arms again. The two men glance behind them as the stump rises: Little John with Djaq sitting on his shoulders wearing a long, brown cloak. Together they look like a tall, furry, antlered monster and they roar and yell. The frightened travellers turn and run for their lives. Little John and Djaq laugh, then they and Allan start pursuit. Robin, having shed his disguise, stands on a boulder with his drawn bow and follows the men with his arrow. They continue running and Much yells and charges behind them, wearing a crown of protruding branches, diverting his victims onto the proper path. Robin waits for the right moment, then lets his arrow fly into a distant tree trunk, cutting a rope. A weighted basket falls, lifting a net directly in front of their prey, who run right into it. Much, yelling all the way, stops behind them.) Much: “This is an ambush!” Robin: “Oi! A little of what you have could be a lot for the poor of Nottingham!” Luke: “We are the poor!” Dan: “Let them take what they need, Lukey! (Will catches up the gang and stops, recognising the voice.) Will: “Dad? (Will goes to hug the men through the net.) Dad!” Dan: “Will!” Will: “It’s me!” (Will, Dan and Luke laugh at the strange but happy reunion. Much comes over to greet Dan. The gang all smile except for Djaq, who is confused, the only one not to have met Will’s family, however briefly in Allan’s case.) Djaq: “Will, you know these people?” Will: (Still laughing:) “I’d like you to meet my father, Dan Scarlett, and my little brother, Lukey.” (Luke steps forward and puts his hands on Will’s shoulders.) Luke: “I’m not little.” (They put their foreheads together.) Will: “My big little brother, Lukey.” (Robin, smiling, comes down to join them.)

(The gang walk back to camp with Dan and Luke. Robin talks to Dan as Will and Luke have a light shoving match behind them.) Robin: “So what brings you back to Nottingham?” Dan: “We’ve come to take Will back to Scarborough with us.” (At the sound of the news, Will catches up his father.) Will: “What? (Dan stops.) Hey? What about asking me if I want to come?” (Robin pauses, looking back, then walks on, leaving them to sort it.) Dan: “We’re your family! (Luke turns around in exasperation, drawing his hands down his face.) Your auntie Annie and us.” Will: “Well, I’ve got a family here, too, Dad.” Luke: “We were sure you’d come and find us. Didn’t you miss us?” Will: “Yeah, but… (a pause)… I’m with Robin now.” (Follows Robin.) Dan: (Mimics:) “I’m with Robin now.” Son, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you!” (Follows Will. Luke gives a disheartened sigh and follows, too.) Sherwood Forest. Outlaws’ camp. (Clarke looks up from rummaging through the food store to see the gang arrive back at camp. Robin sits on the floor with a small piece of parchment on a stone slab. He dips his quill repeatedly into the ink bottle, thinking, halfway through a message. He adds something as the gang clean up from their disguises and their day’s work. Allan and Will are standing near the entryway, picking dirt out from beneath their fingernails, Allan debating whether or not to question Robin, as behind them Luke and Dan hang up their cloaks and look around at the construction marvel that is the camp. Noticing the Scarletts, Clarke smiles and heads over to them. Allan makes up his mind and steps over to Robin.) Allan: “What’s that?” Robin: (Looks up. Facetiously:) “It’s a letter.” Allan: “Yeah, but to who?” Robin: (Seriously, without looking up:) “It’s to the King.” (Drops the quill into the ink bottle.) Allan: “What about?” Robin: “The Sheriff and the Black Knights.” Allan: “Who’s delivering it?” Robin: “An old friend. (Looks up, smiling, knowing Allan will make fun of the name.) Roger of Stoke.” Allan: (Poshly:) “Roger.” (Robin laughs as Little John passes between them to put away the rolled-up net.) Allan: “Where are you meeting him?” Robin: (Impatiently:) “How many questions have you got, Allan?” Allan: “Yeah, all right, I’m just curious.” Robin: (Bends back over his note.) “I’m meeting him in Nottingham after the money drop.” Allan: (Noticing a second letter on the table:) “What about that one?” Robin: “That’s for Marian. I’ll deliver that one personally.” (Winks.) (Djaq passes Allan, going about her business, and Much hands Allan a purse. Dan stands looking at the structure as Allan goes to the entryway behind Will.) Dan: “This craftsmanship is good.” Will: “See, I’ve got a life here.” Clarke: “It’s true, Dan. Will’s been invaluable to all of us.” Dan: “All that says to me is that you could earn a decent living in Scarborough.” Will: (Slams down his rag.) “Dad, I’m an outlaw! (Robin looks up at Will.) I stand up for what I believe in.” Dan: “What? And I don’t?” Will: (Shakes his head.) “It doesn’t matter.” Dan: “Yes, it does. Tell me.” Will: “You let the Sheriff cut off your hand!” Luke: “That was to save me and you!” Will: (Puts his hand on Luke’s shoulder.) “I know. I didn’t mean that.” Dan: (Remorsefully:) “Yes, you did.” (Sits down, wrapping his cloak round himself. Clarke moves to stand beside Dan, squeezing his shoulder sympathetically. Robin is watching the exchange, arms folded. Luke walks out past Dan.) Will: “Robin, can you tell my dad I’m a grown man now. I make my own decisions.” Robin: (Gently:) “Well, a real man listens to advice, Will.” (Will nods and smiles in frustration, thinking he has no allies, and walks off. Robin watches him.) Dan: “Thanks, Robin.” Robin: “But Will does have a life here. (Will stops and looks back at Robin.) And you should see it before you take him away from it. Come to Nottingham tomorrow. Let us show you what we do.” 

Nottingham Town. Night. (In the upstairs window of a house, Sarah looks out at the horseman walking through the street.) Sarah: “Look! It’s him! Jess, it is the Nightwatchman. (Sarah runs downstairs as below, Jess opens the door. The Nightwatchman leans down from his horse and hands her a bag before moving on to the next house. Sarah helps her daughter open the bag.) Let’s see. What did he bring? (Looks up at the rider at the next door.) God bless you, Nightwatchman.” (At the end of the street, the mysterious masked stranger stops, pushes back his hood and pulls off his face-scarf.) Joseph: “And that night… (pulls off the mask)… the angel of the Lord went back and forth.” (Nods in satisfaction and walks his horse forward.) Nottingham Castle. Sheriff’s quarters. Sheriff: “Hmm. (The Sheriff is looking in the mirror. He pulls out his fake tooth. He turns aside and puts the tooth in its place in the third skull of a row of three, and the door opens.) Ah. (Glances at Joseph entering, then looks along the row of skulls, deciding which tooth to wear next.) The Nightwatchman. (Joseph stands uncivilly close to the Sheriff, pulling the mask off his head.) So, how was your evening’s generosity?” Joseph: (In the Sheriff’s face:) “Satisfying. They all took the bait, like rats.” Sheriff: (Chuckling quietly:) “Good. (The Sheriff steps aside, but Joseph keeps close to him.) Shouldn’t you be, er… measuring [turns into Joseph’s face again] or whatever it is that you do?” Joseph: (Staying in the Sheriff’s face:) “Scientific analysis.” Sheriff: “Quite, hm.” Joseph: “Well, I’m waiting to be accidentally caught in the quarantine.” Sheriff: “Ah… yes. The erm…pestilent poor of Pitt Street. (Chuckles.) Off you go.” (Joseph leaves as the Sheriff scowls and Gisborne raises his eyebrows.) Gisborne: "Are you sure we can trust that man?" Sheriff: "Trust? Do grow up, Gisborne. (Glances at Gisborne:) I trust no one. (Returning to his skulls:) However, he will provide an adequate distraction for Robin Hood. And, once the trap has been sprung, your men will be free to enter the forest and continue their hunt for the Celt's base of operation." Gisborne: "Further reconnaissance won't be necessary, my Lord. (The Sheriff turns his attention back to Gisborne.) I've narrowed it down to an area of the forest as yet explored by my men. To go any further would be suicide." Sheriff: "I don't understand, you mean you're still yet to find their camp?" Gisborne: "We've gone as close to it as we can without being detected. The trebuchets shall make up the distance." Sheriff: "Ah yes, the weapons you insisted we buy. (Snidely:) Tell me, Gisborne, will three of these machines be enough? Because you know how I just love spending money!" Gisborne: "Trust me, my Lord. Once they are in position the Celts will have no escape. Surely their deaths will more than cover the expense?" Sheriff: (Turns away from Gisborne:) "Just make sure they all die." Gisborne: "Yes, my Lord." Sheriff's Quarters. Exterior. (Listening by the door with a sombre look on her face is Isabella. Concerned by what she's just overheard, she heads off to find Clarke and warn her.) 

Nottingham Castle. Dungeons. (Marian reaches the foot of the stairs and is stopped by a guard with a halberd. A man screaming in torture can be heard echoing in the distance.) Marian: “Please. (Marian sees Edward in a cell with parchment and an old, stripped quill.) Please, Jailer, let me see my father.” Jailer: (Walking in from down the tunnel:) “Can’t be done. I’ve told you.” Edward: “Marian, I am well.��� (The Sheriff, walking past the open upstairs door, stops and listens.) Marian: “I will speak to the Sheriff.” Edward: “Do not worry.” Sheriff: “Speak away, my dear.” Marian: (Turns, startled.) “Sheriff. (Climbs the stairs to him.) This punishment hurts my father, not me.” Sheriff: “Oh, I don’t know. I think it hurts you both." East exterior corridor. (Marian follows the Sheriff down the corridor.) Sheriff: "It is efficient, make you think before you undermine my authority again. Which… (stops…) trust me, is in your best interests.” (Walks on.) Marian: “Please. (Hurries after him.) Please, Sheriff. There must be something I can do… (They all stop at the courtyard steps. Looks plaintively at Gisborne.) Guy?” Sheriff: “It’s no good making those big eyes at him. He doesn’t want you any more. (Tempering her frustration, Marian bounces on her feet and glances at the courtyard.) Tell you what, you read this announcement for me, and we’ll see if we can get Daddy some dinner.” (Goes down the steps.) Marian: (Calling after the Sheriff:) “You mean you haven’t fed him? (Gisborne steps to her with a disapproving look at the Sheriff’s remark. Marian turns to him and Gisborne follows the Sheriff down the steps.) Sheriff!” (Follows them both.)

Nottingham Town. Marketplace. (The gang, each with a purse in hand, gather with Dan and Luke south of the market, ready to make their handouts.) Will: (to Dan:) “You see? These people need us.” Dan: (Grumpily:) “Ha! We need you, too. Your family.” (Sarah comes running down the marketplace carrying Jess.) Sarah: “Help me! Somebody please help me! (Robin runs to her. Sarah sees him.) Robin! Robin, help! It’s Jess. (Robin scoops Jess into his arms.) She’s got something. I think it’s the pestilence.“ Robin: “Let me see. (Will, Dan and Luke come over.) Will, get Djaq.” (Dan looks at Jess as Will runs off.) Dan: “There’s no swellings. How long has she been like this?” Sarah: “Just since this morning.” (At the castle gate, the Sheriff, Gisborne, Marian and two young trumpeters assemble.) Sheriff: (Leans to the trumpeters.) “Toot, toot-toot, toot.” (As fanfare plays, Isabella quickly steps out of the gates and walks into the marketplace. The townsfolk gather round and the gang turn their attention to Marian as she steps up on a small platform, parchment in hand. Robin glances up at her with concern and curiosity.) Marian: (Quietly:) “People of Nottingham.” Sheriff: “Louder.” Marian: “People of Nottingham!” Sheriff: “Gooood.” Marian: “On behalf of the Sheriff, I make the following announcement. The pestilence has come to Nottingham.” (The crowd murmur.) Sarah: “Oh, my god, Jess. That’s what it is!” Dan: (Quietly:) “No, it’s not.” (Clarke stands looking on in concern as Marian continues reading. Suddenly, Isabella grabs Clarke by the arm and leads her down an alleyway.) Alleyway. Clarke: "What in the-" Isabella: "I've got news from the castle, you don't have much time." Clarke: "What's happening, tell me." (Isabella begins to recall what she overheard earlier to Clarke as we cut back to Marian.) Castle Gate. Marian: “Do not be afraid. It is confined to the houses in Pitt Street. There will be a quarantine placed around the street. No-one is to pass through without permission. No-one is to pass food or medicine—” Dan: “What? There are young ones suffering. (Steps away from the gang and out into the street.) They can’t be cut off with nothing!”

Marian: “To do so risks spreading the infection and will be punished by death.” (Marian realises what she just said and scowls back at the Sheriff, who looks back, tilting his head unperturbed.) Sarah: “What are we going to do? She’s gonna die!” Dan: “No, she isn’t. That’s not what she’s got.” Robin: “Sarah, take Jess home. (Robin hands Jess back to Sarah.) Djaq and I will come soon. Be careful.“ Marian: “We will not be cowed by this infection. Business will continue as normal. All workers -” Much: (Over Marian’s line:) "What’s Marian’s game?” Marian: “are to report to the castle for duty…” Robin: “She’s just doing what she’s told.” Marian: … “at their usual hour.“ (Finished, Marian steps down and the Sheriff takes her place. Robin and Much quietly step to the side of the street and join Djaq amongst the crowd.) Sheriff: “Now, you may hear cries for help, pleas for mercy... medicine. “Help me, help me, help me!” A word of advice...” (The Sheriff looks around to make sure the people are watching, then puts his fingers in his ears, frowns as if he can’t hear anything, then chuckles. Dan menacingly shakes his head. Will looks for Robin, then goes over to him.) Will: (Infuriated, while the Sheriff is speaking:) “Robin, we’ve got to do something. He’s condemning the whole street to death.” Sheriff: “Go forth, in peace, to love and to serve your sheriff.” (Finished, the Sheriff turns to step down. Dan yells out to him and Luke starts to stop him, but quickly changes his mind.) Dan: “Sheriff, this is not right!” Robin: (Taking a step forward:) “Dan! Dan!” (Much pulls Robin back, not wanting him to be noticed.) Sheriff: (Turns back to the crowd. Quietly:) “What?” Dan: “I’ve just had a look at a young lass and it’s not t’ pestilence.” (Luke goes over to Robin, who ushers him off the street with Much and Will following.) Sheriff: (Quietly to a soldier:) “Get that man to shut up.” Dan: “I’ve seen the pestilence before in Scarborough. (Will shadows his father through the marketplace behind the crowd and stalls as Dan starts walking towards the Sheriff.) These people must have food and water (Robin and Much hop over tables in the marketplace, following Will.) and medicine!”

Sheriff: “I said shut up!” (Dan stops and Will slows, his eyes on his father.) Dan: “I’ve shut up for you once before, Sheriff. It cost me my wife, my hand, and the (Will reaches Little John, who is watching from the marketplace, too, and clenches his fists round a standing shelf.) respect of my son, so I’m not shutting up any more. Now why are you saying this is the pestilence—“ (Dan is stabbed from behind by a soldier. A woman screams. Little John immediately grabs Will as he tries to run to his father.) Will: “Dad!” (Marian turns around at the commotion, unable to see what’s occurred. Much grabs Luke as he tries to run to Dan. Robin turns around and puts a hand on Luke’s shoulder as well. The Sheriff looks on smugly. The soldier pulls his knife out of Dan, who shudders as Will watches, wide-eyed and horrified. The crowd murmur. Dan falls to his knees, then onto his face, dead. Will is shocked into stillness and Little John loosens his grip.) Sheriff: (Pointing at the soldier:) "Well done! (The soldier holds his knife out at the crowd.) Hysteria… panic… in times of crisis, not very helpful. It will not be tolerated!” (Will’s eyes widen at the Sheriff’s misleading statement, then his temper flares and he claws at Little John to get free. Robin and Much run over to help, as do Allan and Djaq.) Robin: “Will! Will, you can’t go up there!” Will: “I’m going to kill him now!” Gisborne: (Pointing to the soldiers in the courtyard:) “You heard the Sheriff! Set up those barricades!” (The Foreman starts shouting a constant chain of orders.) Much: “There’s too many of them, Will!” Robin: “It’s suicide.” Will: “I don’t care!” Djaq: “Will!” (Djaq puts her hand on Will’s chest and he immediately calms down and looks at her as she gently shakes her head at him.) Foreman: “Pick up those barricades! Move ’em! Come on, move yourselves!” (Robin releases Will and turns to watch the soldiers taking the barricades into town. Two other soldiers drag off Dan’s body as Luke watches, despondent and alone. Will sees him and rushes over to him as the townsfolk scatter.) Robin: “They’re setting the barricades up right now! There are people in there, our people, and they need us. (Will hugs Luke fiercely. Turns to Djaq.) Djaq?” Djaq: “Of course.” (Djaq passes in front of Robin, then circles behind the gang to wait as behind her, Will pulls Luke onto a bench and holds him close.) Little John: (Unsure:) “Robin, pestilence.” Allan: “I’m not sure either, to be honest. (Robin starts to push past Allan and Much, but Allan stops him.) Listen, I’ll tell you what. I’ll do the letter for what’s-his-name, Roger of Stoke.” Robin: (Reaching for his belt:) “Good thinking. (Pulling out the note and handing it to Allan:) Here. Go. (Looking from Little John to Will:) The rest of you, I can’t ask you to risk your lives, but if you do come with me, then do it for Dan. Now come on.” Pitt Street. (More barricades are put up as the gang run up another way to Pitt Street. Little John bursts past a soldier setting up the last barrier.) Joseph: “Let me through! I don’t live here! I was just walking this way! I’m from Leicester!” Soldier: “Sheriff’s orders!” (The soldier reaches through and pushes Joseph back into Robin behind him.) Joseph: (Turning around:) “This has got nothing to do with me!” (Joseph runs off and Robin watches him go. The gang are now barricaded inside Pitt street along with all the other sufferers of the ‘pestilence’.)

[ladyknightbodil-blog]

A Raven in the Jungle

        Lusine opened her mossy eyes and slowly sat up. She was not in Frostfire, as she had been the previous morning. No, she had woken up in quite the opposite sort of climate: a dense jungle. The soldier gradually got to her feet, and was suddenly aware of the fact that she was not wearing her armor. Lusi looked down at her attire with furrowed brows. She was wearing a black ball gown with long sleeves that were detached from the dress itself. Along the edges of the sleeves, bodice, and skirts was an odd assortment of fridge that reminded her of withering leaves. The color, although primarily black, had a red sheen to it that looked as if the garment had been soaked in blood. Something about the gown made her uncomfortable, like it represented some unknown evil.

         Lusi grabbed at her skirts and ruffled them in the pale light before looking up at the sliver of sky that was visible through the thick canopy. Was it dark already? She could have sworn she had woken at dawn.. Or perhaps it was dusk? It wasn't like her to sleep in, much less sleep the entire day away. The warrior placed the heels of her hands on her temples and began shaking her head in confusion. A faint tinkling noise and the feeling of something gently hitting her neck caused her to pause and feel around her head. Atop her wheaten locks lay a beaded crown, so light that she had not noticed it until now. Her fingers traced along the front, feeling the design of butterfly wings and a large, smooth stone of some kind in the middle. In the back she felt the same design of wings, then felt the bottom of the wings connect to thin, beaded cords that ran down to her shoulders, then looped back up to connect near the front. By how delicate and intricate the crown had felt, she guessed that it was of elven design, and the way the moonlight sparkled off the near-translucent bead-work suggested that it had been crafted by kaldorei hands. They always had a way of capturing the moon in everything they designed. The crown, unlike the ball gown, felt safe to her, and she left it on her head as she made her way through the jungle.

         After hours of walking aimlessly, Lusine came upon a small, circular clearing at what appeared to be the heart of the jungle. The stench of sulfur and rotting wood assaulted her immediately, and her intense curiosity was the only thing keeping her from turning away. The ground in the circle was dry and blackened, like it had been charred by an inhuman flame. In the center of the clearing stood a single, twisted tree, as withered and burnt as the ground it desperately clung to. Perched on a thin branch was a raven, staring at her with a frighteningly perceptible anger. Ignoring her inner screams to flee, the paladin approached the bird. There was something familiar about it, and her curiosity only grew. When she was only a short distance away did she realize what was so familiar: its eyes. The dark-blue eyes that pierced her were the same beautiful blue... And her heart felt like it had been twisted in her chest. "My darling.." she called out as she extended her hand to stroke the large bird. The raven bowed his head and let her pet his soft feathers for a moment before screeching and scratching her with metallic, jeweled talons. Lusine screamed and jerked her hand away, looking at deep cuts along her palm as they began filling with blood. She then turned her attention back to the bird, who was still glaring at her furiously. The once beautiful, midnight-blue eyes swirled with a foul blackness that finally took them over. The ground beneath her feet began to quake as skeletal hands began tearing out of the singed earth. Lusi let out a cry as a rotting hand clasped around her ankle and threatened to bring her down. She kicked at it desperately, knocking herself free then fleeing into the jungle.

            The paladin ran and ran until she finally collapsed from exhaustion. Lusine huddled against a tree and wept uncontrollably. She cried for the man whose eyes those had belonged to, for her own stupidity at trusting such a dangerous creature, and for being lost in this endless forest. She felt overwhelmingly helpless, and so she wept for that too.

            Hours passed and Lusine still had not moved. She didn't want to see any more of this jungle. All she wanted was to go home, or at least get out of here. A rustling came from her right and she froze. Had the raven tracked her down? Had it come to kill her? "Show yourself," Lusi whimpered. Out of the brush came a large stag, larger than even the tallest stallions back home. As it emerged from the shadows, the moonlight shone bright against its snowy fur. The stag raised its head, displaying his massive antlers proudly, as he rested his pale-glowing eyes on her. Instead of displaying anger, like the raven, the stag appeared kind, bowing his head politely as he came up beside her. The paladin let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and slowly placed her hand on the deer. His outer coat was rough and wirey, but his undercoat was soft and silky. The stag brushed his soft nose against her neck, and she giggled at the feel of his warm breath caressing her. She felt safe with this oddly familiar beast, and she clung to him like a child.

             A terrifying screech came from the canopy and Lusine looked up in horror. The raven had come to claim its prize. The stag reared up angrily, shaking its impressive antlers at the bird to try and ward it off, but to no avail. Lusi hid behind a small bundle of bushes and looked on as the raven swooped down and scratched at the deer, leaving long, bleeding tracks across its left shoulder. The raven flapped its wings and climbed higher and higher in the sky until it was a mere inkblot against the vast expanse of deep blue. With a screech it began to dive downward, aiming directly at Lusine. All she could do was stare as the bird dove closer and closer, metal talons outstretched and ready to rip into her throat...

             Lusi awoke with a startled gasp as she looked around. The fire had gone out, and she noticed the steam from her breath as she took in gulps of air. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness, but she was able to tell that she was inside the cave they had taken shelter in a few nights ago. The paladin looked to the mouth of the cave and sighed: the snowstorm was still raging outside and it hadn't appeared to let up in the slightest. Not far from her mat lay the scout, Patra, sound asleep despite the howling wind. Lusine's heart still raced as she remembered her nightmare. What did it mean, if anything? All she knew was that she was going home the moment this storm ceased.