Throughout the entire attack, Micah's eyes were only on Haley as he bandaged her arm. It wasn't the best bandage ever, his skills were more based on combat, but it would hold her until they could get to the fairies. He dreaded to think of how Lucinda would react, being just as protective of Haley as he was. Finally he looked out towards the corpses, astounded by the body count and the deforestation, Micah had never seen so much death at once before. He gulped and averted his eyes.

"You should have woken me!" Micah interjected, meeting her eyes. His rage had subsided, instead he wore his worry on his face. "We could have all avoided this."


The King sat alone, at the end of a long dinning table. In front of him he nibbled on an assortment of fruit and cheese, accompanied by a fine wine. He turned his head slowly, uncaring towards his guards who were making a scene in his home. He glared at them and waved his hand to signal them to silence.
"What is it, you miserable dogs."

"Not the deforestation....that would've continued....", Haley whines before passing out from being dizzy.

Psy nods, "She is right, Micah. We have to tell the fairies what's going on."


The guards were in a panic trying to tell the king what happened. They were a tired and bloody mess as well coming from the forest scene. Once they silenced and caught their breath, one guard began with, "Th-There are archers, sir. Archers in the forest of Sherwood."

When king looked at him in disbelief, the other knight continued, "It's true, your highness. We were chopping trees and getting the trapped animals when a few of our guys went down by some arrows so we started taking defensive precautions.....however, it stopped then more arrows came down upon us."

The third whimpered, "With such speed and accuracy, only us five survived, sir. We were attacked by archers in the forest."

The fourth exclaimed before the king could truly react, "I can tell ya the archers! IT WAS GHOST OF ROBIN HOOD AND HIS MERRY MEN!! They have came back to protect the forest! And get his revenge on you, King William Brewer (one of the guys the Sheriff was based off of) for killing him and the forest!"

_________________
Beauty can't exist without ugly. Love can't exist without hate. Happiness can't exist without sadness. Good can't exist without evil. I can't exist without you.

As Haley fell unconscious, Micah was immediately at hand to catch her, securing her in his arms. He remained silent; hiding his guilt, it wasn't the forest he was most concerned about. Micah would be willing to burn down all of Sherwood if it was to keep Haley and the others safe. If he had been awake sooner he could have prevented his sister's injury.
Finally he nodded at Psy and sighed. "Everyone back to camp." He ordered, trundling ahead.

Listening to the insane ramblings of his guards, the King sipped his wine and sighed. "You fools; you inadequate, worthless fools! There are no such thing as ghosts; and even if what you're saying is true, no ghost is strong enough to kill me." He replied, scowling. "Gather my best assassins, they'll put your little 'ghostly' archers to rest." The King grinned maliciously, he was not going to allow another band of hoodlums get in his way. It had been peaceful since the death of Robin Hood, he would have liked to have kept the peace a little longer.

The guards do so gathering the best assassins there are to combat the archers in the forest.
The guard who had said it was Robin Hood states to the others, "These won't matter......GOD help them...."


The group treks back to the fairies and they were up. They flew to their kid like worried parents. Lucinda was buzzing around Micah and Haley.

"You two alright?! Are you hurt?", she asks before looking at Haley, "Ahh! Haley! Oh no! Set her down immediately! Dawn and Crille! I need healing herbs now!."

Those two fairies nod and leave their kid once they made sure they are ok.

Lucinda looks at Micah and asks, "What happened? Why is she hurt? Where did you all go? We were worried sick!"

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Beauty can't exist without ugly. Love can't exist without hate. Happiness can't exist without sadness. Good can't exist without evil. I can't exist without you.

Micah gulped as his eyes met with Lucinda's, he does as he is asked and steps back as she examines her. "Haley ran into some trouble out in the forest. Some guys were cutting down trees; she got hurt but we handled it." he explained calmly, having rehearsed his explanation before he arrived.
Lucinda continued to fuss over Haley, unwrapping the make-shift bandage on her arm and wincing.
"You're meant to keep her safe," she said, applying the herbs that Dawn and Crille had brought her.
Unable to argue, Micah bowed. "I'm sorry," he muttered. Stepping back, his hand reached for Selina -who was standing nearby- and burrowed his face into her shoulder. He didn't care what others thought at that moment, he needed her support.

"Lucinda, it was Haley's fault as well.", Psy stepped up, "She went off on her own without telling anybody."

A girl, Much's daughter named Milly, states, "Yea. She has a bit of a rebel attitude and doesn't like to take orders. A troublemaking, wild card that one."

Selina then says, "But you can't blame her. She's the youngest and wants to prove herself. All she was trying to do was protect our home without worrying everyone."

Milly says, "Understandable but she could've gotten killed. All those archers and she's the least experienced of us all. She needs a leash, Micah...literally."

Selina looks toward Milly and she shuts her mouth.

_________________
Beauty can't exist without ugly. Love can't exist without hate. Happiness can't exist without sadness. Good can't exist without evil. I can't exist without you.

Raising his head from Selina's shoulder, Micah also glared at Milly. "No one is getting a leash."

Lucinda raised a hand as she processed the back and forth accusations among the bandits. "Regardless of whose fault it is, I need you all to keep each other safe." she said calmly. She continued to sooth Haley, although still unconscious, by running her fingers through her hair. Finally she gazed up at the children, with only care in her eyes. "All of you should get some sleep, it's still very late."

Micah nodded. However he couldn't even think to sleep yet.

All went to sleep again except him and Selina. She stays up with him and asks, "Micah?"


The sixteen Assassins in the kingdom was taken to the king's throne room. It was a big spooky room with four fireplaces and dark curtains. They approach the king and kneel before him.

A woman assassin speaks, "What is that you need, my liege....."

The advisor to the king speaks, "We have archers in the forest of Sherwood. They have ambushed many soldiers and the king wants them taken out. Leave no survivors."

A man assassin says, "How will this be done?"

"I assume two at a time, your highness?", the advisor asks.

_________________
Beauty can't exist without ugly. Love can't exist without hate. Happiness can't exist without sadness. Good can't exist without evil. I can't exist without you.

"What is it Selina?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her as they leaned back against the nearest tree.


"I don't care how it is done!" the King interjected. He sat back in his chair, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. "Burn down the entire forest if you have to, just bring me the head of whoever is responsible."

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. You aren't asleep.", she leans her head back on his shoulder. She sighs thinking and shivers. When Micah asks what's wrong, she says, "I got a bad feeling....what we just did is causing something to happen....I don't if I'm ready for something big to happen."

She entangles her fingers with his trying to steady her nerves.

"I don't know if any of us are ready...."


The assassins nod and head out to the forest. They set up near the clearing to rest. They hate decided to go two at a time. When the two assassins don't come back after three days, the two go in.

_________________
Beauty can't exist without ugly. Love can't exist without hate. Happiness can't exist without sadness. Good can't exist without evil. I can't exist without you.

"It's nothing... I'm just not tired," he lied as he held her closer. Micah knew there was no point in trying to hide his real feelings with Selina, she could see right through him but he wasn't in the right state to talk about it. Guilt weighed on his conscience. He returned the question and listened closely. Selina had a point, the lost lives of the men were going to come back and haunt them. Trouble was brewing and his little band of bandits wore a flashing target.
"We're not," he said bluntly. He kept his eyes on the woods in front of him, avoiding Selina's gaze. "We're all young and reckless... But we're also relentless and strong. Whatever comes, if anything comes, we won't be ready but we'll fight it and we'll survive somehow."

Selina nodded in agreement with her boyfriend. They stayed up until morning together and the group was taken to the fairy princess.

To get to her castle, they must go under the magic oak and dive into a pond that, if you are with a fairy, will send you straight through on a cliff. You must then slide on a cloud down to the bottom where you will land on a giant leaf boat. Crystal blue water surrounds the lush green island holding the castle of the fairy princess. A tall, Cinderella like, marble castle with vines creeping up the towers. The pond is surrounded by an abundant and gorgeous forest. Truly a sight to behold and make a being never want to leave.

The group was taken to the throne room where the princess sat in human size form.

_________________
Beauty can't exist without ugly. Love can't exist without hate. Happiness can't exist without sadness. Good can't exist without evil. I can't exist without you.

Lucinda, along with the other fairies, led the way to the Princess. Every now and then she would turn to check on the Hood siblings; Micah had quite obviously slept very little and Haley seemed to be in bad shape. Her heart ached to see them in such conditions, it reminded her of the day she was assigned to them. They were still children in her eyes; her children, she felt just as guilty that she wasn't there to protect them during the night. From now on she would have to keep a closer eye on Haley.
The little fairy bowed as they approached the Princess. She was truly magnificent.

Micah stepped forward, keeping his head down as he spoke: "The forest was attacked last night. By the time we got there almost half the forest had been destroyed. We fought them off as best we could, I think we're safe for now."

Gazelle Sherwood, the Fairy Princess, listens to the short story. She nods sighing, "I was afraid this would happen.....something like this...."

She got up and walks toward the children and lifts his head.

"Before I reveal what is happening, I have to tell you none of this I anyone's fault. What Haley did was apart of fate....Haley heard the forest in trouble..whether she claims it on the sound of the guards or not...she heard it in trouble. Something her mother and father had living here in the forest."

Haley looks a little shocked, "Mum and dad? You know them?"

"Yes....I knew all of your parents."
The group looks in surprised....they had no memory of their parents. Selina had little memory but to hear Gazelle Sherwood knew them was unbelievable.

The fairies, however, shifted in uneasiness. Though it was a right to know and such, they all felt like they didn't. They still wanted to shield them from what's happening and the ugly past it came from.

_________________
Beauty can't exist without ugly. Love can't exist without hate. Happiness can't exist without sadness. Good can't exist without evil. I can't exist without you.

Micah's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his parents. He had only ever been told vague comments about them, even after days of nagging Lucinda for more. He knew that they were brave and good people, his father was a leader like himself, but that was all. Micah was unable to picture his parents in his head even though he was four when they died.
He stiffened up, swallowing hard as he raised his eyes to meet the Princess'. "Perhaps you can tell us about them in the future, but first, what is happening?" he said forwardly. While he and the others were eager to find out more about their parents, Micah could not allow himself or the others to get distracted right now. There was an evil approaching, he could feel it in his bones. Whatever it was he needed the Princess' guidance.

"To tell you what is happening, you must know the Legacy....", she gestures to the window of a hero archer and a group behind him.
"The Legacy of Robin Hood....your father. I'm sure you have heard of it. Bed time stories from the fairies. Stories of brave men and, later women, who fought a wannabe king in the time of the Crusades."

She gestures them to follow her. Princess Gazelle Sherwood walks them to her study and the kids notice that everything, mostly windows, are related to archery and the forest. Dedicated to Robin Hood....

They get to her study and she gestures to the carpet they sat on when they were young. She would tell them stories herself here on special occasions but, today, they will here the most important story ever....the story of their parents. Haley, already feeling a little weak because the arrow in her arm made her lose blood, was shaking nervous. Selina sits her between her and Micah so Micah can see and care for her.

_________________
Beauty can't exist without ugly. Love can't exist without hate. Happiness can't exist without sadness. Good can't exist without evil. I can't exist without you.

Sighing as his request was ignored, Micah remained silent as the Princess proceeded with her explanation. He admired for the window briefly, but could not stand to meet the gaze of the glass figure, unable to bear the expectations that loomed over him.

As they reach their study, Micah is surprised he had never noticed before how much everything was dedicated to his father. Afterall, he had sat in this very room many times before, yet never truly saw the great archer presented in the glass. He kept his head low, reluctantly sitting down on the carpet as instructed. He felt like a child. What did the Princess have planned for them, why couldn't she be more direct? Micah hated the waiting. He didn't want to hear anymore, he couldn't. All that was on his mind was to fight whoever was coming and protect his group, nothing else mattered. His eyes wandered to Haley, she was shaking, which made his fist clench and teeth grit. She was not ready to hear about them, she was not ready for that burden and neither was he.
No matter how hard he tried, he would never be his father.

"The Legacy of Robin Hood is great. It's known around the world and retold many times. He was a wealthy man whose land and belongings was taken from him while he was in the Crusades fighting. Once he returned after most thought he was dead, he and a group of men he helped came together and vowed to protect the poor and innocent from the abusive want to be king, Prince John, King Richard's brother. Prince John and his minions, mainly the Sheriff of Nottingham, hated Robin and his band. They have tried to stop them several times but failed. Then....Robin fell in love with Maid Marian, King Richard's niece. He had a best friend he considered a brother more than John. She and Robin were totally in love but Prince John saw it as an opportunity to finally stop him. A tournament was held when Prince John held Maid Marian captive. She was offered as a prize for the winner of the dual."

Haley begins to cough and black smoke comes out. She was heating up and cooling down rapidly but she tries hiding it. She saw she succeeded when the princess went on.

"Robin was wounded but was able to vanquish the evil doers and give King Richard his throne back. No one rejoiced, however, due to Robin dying. I came out of slumber and granted him life again if he promised to never leave it otherwise, he would die. He promised and he and Marian lived happily especially since they found out you were on the way, Micah. Many of the Merry Men had wives and children.", she gestures to them.

It goes silent then Psy asks, "What happened to them?"

_________________
Beauty can't exist without ugly. Love can't exist without hate. Happiness can't exist without sadness. Good can't exist without evil. I can't exist without you.

Rubbing her back as Haley coughs up black smoke, he becomes more concerned with her than the actual story. He was failing to see where it was all leading to. How does knowing his father's past going to help him with his current threat? Micah bit his lips, avoiding speaking out. He continued to listen, his cheeks became hot at the mention of his name and his gaze falls to the floor again. He wanted to remember this, deep down he did, but something within him was afraid to. If he knew more of the hero that was his father, then he would constantly be stuck in the shadow of his memory. Robin Hood had a reputation to uphold, even after death and it was Micah who was to keep it.

As Psy spoke, Micah stood and spoke forwardly: "They died." Straightening up, his eyes met with the Princess'. "Excuse me for interrupting but I can't see how this is helping. Why can't you just tell us how to protect Sherwood. I am not my father and never will be, and they will never be the Merry Men."

"Honey, you already are. You have nothing to uphold. What they did, it runs in your veins. People may confuse you all for ghosts of them. No one really knew about you but you can make a name for yourselves. I saw you rescue that man. You've helped everyone who has needed it. You've carried it on before knowing it. The story is relevant because the Sheriff of Nottingham is the reason why they are dead and why most of you have burn marks...why Haley has fire powers. The Sheriff took Richard's throne and killed him. Prince John thought he would get it but the Sheriff killed him too. Richard's son was sent into hiding. When the Sheriff became King, his first order was to kill your parents especially Robin Hood. He and his men went to go fight them before they set fire to the forest. Marian went in later but, when they heard the fire, they ran back in to save you all.........they got lost and confused and died in the fire. They didn't know you all were alive and died thinking you did too. What's happening is fate. To avenge your parents and free the kingdom from the evil hands of King William Brewer."

_________________
Beauty can't exist without ugly. Love can't exist without hate. Happiness can't exist without sadness. Good can't exist without evil. I can't exist without you.