EdwarD

Robin weaved through the forest, the arrows of the Sherriff’s men whistling past his ears. He lurched to the right as one thumped into the trunk of the nearest tree. Robin kept running. He knew the woods better than his pursuers, he only needed to get across the brook and he’d be home and dry...

Ned turned the page without looking up, adjusting his weight ever so slightly to stop his leg from going to sleep, but not enough to send him tumbling from his perch. Uhtred stood vigil nearby, feigning sleep, hidden from the view of the buildings beyond by oak leaves.

“Edward!” A woman’s voice called from far away. “Edward!”

Uhtred opened his eyes, peering down through the branches, but Ned was too engrossed in his story to notice. He turned the page again, cradling the book against his knees, his brow slightly furrowed. The Sheriff had Robin cornered.

“Edward!”

There was irritation in it now. Uhtred ruffled his feathers indignantly but otherwise held still. Large as he was he couldn’t change branches without attracting someone’s attention. Trees were unforgiving things.

“I’m going to count to three!” the voice warned, louder and noticeable nearer.

Ned sighed and snapped the book shut. He pushed it into his rucksack and snatched his model knight up from the branch in front of him. He enclosed it lovingly in the front pocket, shrugged on the bag and began to clamber down the tree. When he arrived at the bottom, he dusted off his hands and clothes, straightened up and waited patiently for her to find him.

“Edward!” Mrs. Price said, half-stern, half-exasperated, “the bell rang fifteen minutes ago.”

“Yes,” he agreed, nodding.

“And what made you think it didn’t apply to you?”

“I was reading, Miss.” Ned explained, simply, regarding her with steady grey eyes.

“And this was more important than French class, was it?”

“I’ve already done the French,” he told her, shrugging off his bag. The word list they’d been given had been thoroughly unoriginal. Ned had added a few more interesting ones for his own benefit, writing out the pronunciation of each in the margins. He rummaged for his exercise book and held it out to her. She didn’t take it. Ned sighed, letting his hand drop to his side. “I’ll go now?”

“An excellent notion,” Mrs. Price agreed, glaring at him until he started walking back across the lawn towards the school. “I’ll be calling home.”

“Oui, Madame,” Ned half-smiled as they reached the doors. He shrugged his bag a little higher onto his shoulder “puis-je être excusé?”

He was dismissed by a curt nod. Ned walked the familiar corridors until he reached a door with a metal number nine nailed to the wood. Knocking twice, he turned the handle and slipped inside. A hush came over the class inside. Unabashed, Ned looked to the man standing at the front of the room.

“Désolé monsieur,” he said, sitting down at his desk, putting down his bag, and pulling out his books, Robin Hood and all.

Ned waited until the teacher was speaking again, and then slipped his story book out from the middle of the page. It’d be another five minutes before they started anything new, it was plenty of time to get Robin out of danger.

“I want to see the pictures,” Uhtred reminded him from the oak tree.