Page 66 of Far From Sherwood Forest

It’s the man in the middle who speaks, his loose-fitting trousers and tunic dirty, his disheveled hair windswept. His wide eyes are locked on me, and he takes a shaky step forward.

“Will?”

I stand, my legs trembling just as badly if not worse. John stands beside me, and we both stare out at the men we haven’t seen in five long years. Will Scarlet, Alan A’Dayle, and Friar Tuck all stare back.

John and I rush down the steps while the other three break out in a sprint toward us. Will and I get to each other first, embracing in a hug so tight I swear my ribs might crack. But I don’t care. I hug him even harder as a stinging pressure behind my eyes starts to build.

“It’s been a long time, cousin,” he says as we pull apart, his eyes wet.

“Too long,” I agree.

John and I switch places as he takes Will from me to hug him next while Alan and Tuck practically tackle me. We all laugh and hug as tears start to fall.

It goes on for a while as cracks in my heart that I thought had started to heal break open and bleed with somethingachingly familiar—love, grief, relief, all tangled together. I cling to my long lost friends, breathing in the scent of old memories and safety, the kind that only exists in people who’ve seen you at your worst and stayed anyway. People who’ve always had your back no matter what. All those things that make themfamily.

When the chaos of the reunion settles, I wipe stray tears off my chin. “How are you all here?”

They all share quick glances with each other before Alan’s and Tuck’s gazes linger on Will.

“The Spirit of Sherwood Forest came to me,” Will says.

I catch John’s eyes snap to me in my periphery, but I ignore it for now. “She’s the one who sent John and I here, isn’t she?”

Will nods.

“Why did she send you all here now?”

“When you both disappeared a few months ago, I spent a long time looking for—”

“Wait,” I interrupt. “Months?”

“Yeah. It was about five months ago.”

Now it’s John and I who share a look.

“We’ve been here over five years,” John says.

All three of their eyes grow big.

“By God’s bones,” Will mutters on a breath as his eyes fill with a sad astonishment. “Well, then it reallyhasbeen a long time, hasn’t it, Robin?”

“For us more than you, apparently. I take it the Spirit left that part out?”

If Henry’s old friendiswho we’re talking about, and she came to Will and sent them all here, then she should have known how differently time has passed for us.

“She did. Maybe that’s because it’s not as important as why you have to come back.”

“Go back?!”

I look between Will and Alan and Tuck before my eyes findJohn, who looks as confused and concerned as I am. I don’t think either one of us wants to go back. Iknowhe doesn’t, not now that he’s found his happily ever after.

Since I haven’t found mine, maybe I should?

My chest aches at the thought.

Will takes a step forward, the lines of his face set a little deeper than I remember, like maybe he aged five years instead of five months too. “King Richard is returning soon, and Prince John is planning on staging an ambush outside of town to make it look like he was attacked by…well, us. Once he has the king out of the way, he’ll be able to secure the crown for good.”

“You know we can’t let that happen, Robin,” Alan adds.