The Rebels of Cordovia (4 page)

“If you win, we won’t bother you again and will
support your group anytime you need our help. You just give the
word and we’ll help you out.”

“And if I don’t win?” she asked cautiously.

“Then you have to join our group and we’ll be
one, fighting for the same cause. Of course, you will be part of
the planning and strategy. You’ll also be in charge of your own
men. We wouldn’t take that away from you.” He smiled and added,
“But if you’re afraid you can’t win, we understand.”

“Afraid?” Merek yelled. “We’re not afraid of
nobody. You bring it on and we’ll win with our hands tied behind
our backs.”

Miles laughed. “Is that so?”

Robin turned to her men and saw their interest.
“What do you think? Is this something you’d like to do?”

Merek puffed out his chest and smiled at Robin
as he said, “My strength hasn’t been questioned by any man. I
volunteer for wrestling. I’ve never been beaten yet.”

She turned to Miles and asked, “Do we choose
only one person for each event?”

Miles nodded. “That’s right. Your best against
our best! My boss has heard of your expertise in archery. So he
wants to also challenge you, one on one, if you think you’re good
enough.”

“If I think I’m good enough?” she exclaimed.

The group burst into laughter. They knew how
good she was.

Miles raised his brow as he asked, “Then it’s a
deal?”

After a moment of thought, Robin asked, “Do we
have to beat every competition to win?”

“No. Only two out of three…one for wrestling,
one for sword fighting, and one for archery, which will be you and
our leader. What do you say?”

All the men and women yelled their approval.
With Robin in archery and Merek in wrestling, they had it made.

Robin looked around and saw the excited faces of
her group. Then she nodded and shook Miles’ hand and set up a date
for the competition.

After Miles left, she pulled off her mask and
said, “Who thinks he’s better at sword fighting than anyone
here?”

There were a few shrugs.

“Then,” said Robin. “We’ll have our own
competition. Whoever beats one of our own will challenge the
Freemen.”

Everyone agreed. As Robin headed home, she felt
quite good about the deal she had made. If she won, they would help
her out anytime she wanted. There couldn’t have been a better
deal.

She opened the door to her home with a grin and
greeted her parents. When her father saw her elation, he asked how
the meeting turned out and she told him everything.

He nodded. “I think you made the right choice,
dear. No one can beat you. You’re the best.”

She smiled. “You’re just prejudice. Besides, I
had a great teacher.”

Andrew chuckled. “So can anyone compete in this
sword competition of yours?”

“Of course.”

“That’s nice to know,” Andrew said as he threw
his cane aside. “I just might think about competing.”

***

Daniel laughed as Miles told him how the meeting
went. He was elated. It couldn’t have worked out better. “I think
two out of three is a good number to win. I’m quite excited about
this. I love a challenge.” He rubbed his hands together with
excitement. “So when’s the competition?”

Miles stared at his leader and watched his
joviality. He seemed happier than normal. In fact, he acted as if
he could take on the whole king’s army.

With puzzlement, he asked, “What happened in
Charlottesville today?”

“It was great. We delivered a lot of breads and
pastries to many, many families. You should have seen the people,
Miles. They were so appreciative.”

“We? Who helped you?”

Daniel grinned. “The most beautiful young lady
I’ve ever met in my life. I’m not joking, Miles. She was lovely.
And she believes in our cause and isn’t afraid to speak out. She
said her mind and didn’t waver one bit.”

Miles grinned. “I should have figured it was a
woman.”

“What?”

“Your happiness!” Miles chuckled. “I thought it
might be something more than just delivering food to the poor. Only
a woman would bring that sort of joy to a man. What’s her
name?”

Daniel beamed. “Marie. She’s really something,
Miles. She put those children on her lap and asked them questions
about themselves as if she were truly interested in their lives.
Then she asked the parents if the children needed clothes. She’s
not wealthy by any means, but nonetheless, she acted as if she
could get them clothes with the snap of her fingers.”

Miles burst into laughter. “You’ve got it bad,
Danny Boy.”

“What?”

“You’re enamored!” Miles laughed. “By the way,
the competition is in a couple days so you’d better practice
up.”

Daniel shook his head. “It’ll be easy. Don’t
worry about me. Let’s talk to the men and see who wants to
volunteer for the sword fight and wrestling. We really need Robin’s
men. They’ve made a name for themselves. We need good fighters with
strength and wit to win this battle with King Rupert.”

Andrew burst into Robin’s bedroom and woke her
up. “It’s happened, Robin Marie. It finally happened. All that hard
work your group and all the other rebel groups have done really
paid off.”

Robin sleepily stretched her arms above her head
and smiled at her father’s enthusiasm. “What are you saying?”

“King Rupert is angry. He’s real mad. He just
sent out a decree that our kingdom is now at war with all the
rebels. He has sent out his men to hunt down every rebel. I guess
we hit him where it hurts. Money does it every time. I knew it
would. Taking the tax money and buying food for the poor was
perfect.”

“War?” asked Robin with widened eyes.
“Really?”

“You bet!”

“Now what, Papa? Do you have any advice about
our next move?”

Andrew nodded. “I sure do. Get your group
together ‘cause we need to have a meeting. We also need to practice
our sword fighting for the competition. We need to unite ourselves.
We can’t be separate any longer.”

When Andrew left the room, Robin climbed out of
bed. She was stunned. It had worked. From what she had learned,
Charlottesville had more taxes to collect than any other town.
Losing all that money really angered Rupert.

Robin hadn’t realized that she had made a
difference until the last escapade. The news spread like wildfire
and she knew something was going to happen. Now what? They needed a
plan.

***

Daniel woke his men with enthusiasm. The day had
finally arrived. They had pushed the king as far as he would go.
Now he was pushing back. It was war.

After announcing the news to his men, he
commanded, “Miles, send a group of men out to the villages and
recruit as many men as you can. In the meantime, we need to come up
with a plan.” He hesitated. “We need Robin’s Rebels. From all the
gossip I’ve heard, they’re the best. Pick our best men for the
sword fight and wrestling. We need to win this contest.”

With that announcement, he sat down and began
putting some strategies together. They needed to be ready when
Rupert’s men began moving in. They needed to set traps, have a few
sneak attacks, and get into the Palace to remove the king from his
throne.

***

Robin tucked the children’s clothing into her
cart so she could deliver them to the families. She had stopped off
at the Baker’s Shop to borrow her father’s cart and mule. He had
built it especially for deliveries. She spread a canvas on top,
securing it with a rope to protect the clothes from the wind.

As she worked, Robin tried not to notice
Rupert’s soldiers as they gathered into town. They acted as if they
were taking up camp. That was definitely a bad idea.

Nearby, she noticed a soldier who had been
watching her for some time. He had a manner about him as if he was
the leader of the group, and he made her very uncomfortable. She
needed to leave as soon as possible.

“Do ya need some help with that,” came a
commanding voice behind her.

Startled, she turned around and found the
soldier grinning at her.

“No, I’m just fine.”

“No, you’re not,” said the soldier. “I’ve been
watchin’ from afar. You need a little help.”

“No, I’m fine, sir.”

The soldier looked her up and down, which sent a
chill up her spine. “A purty lady like yourself can’t drive this
cart. Let me help ya. You tell me where you’re goin’ and I’ll take
ya.” Then he stepped closer and took her arm. “I’ll help ya up in
the cart, Miss.”

Quickly, she pulled out of his grasp. He was
being too forceful. This worried her and made her question his
motives for helping.

“I’m fine, sir. Please go about your business.
I’m sure the king has some very important errands for you to
do.”

As the soldier put his arm around her and
escorted her to the front of the cart, he said, “I have orders to
help those in need. And Miss, I can see you’re in need. Besides,
I’ll show you some of the scenery on the way.” Then he gave a
lustful grin and leaned toward her as he said, “It’ll be fun, just
you and me.”

“No!” Robin yelled as she pushed him away.

The man grinned. “I love a feisty woman.” Then
he commanded, “Get in the cart or I’ll have to put you in.”

Andrew heard the man as he tried to force
himself upon his daughter. He had to pretend he was a cripple and
needed his cane, but he couldn’t allow this man to bother Robin.
Andrew instantly strode outside and raised his cane in the air,
ready to smack the man on the head. Before he could swing, he felt
a hand grab hold of the cane.

“No! Let me take care of this,” said a deep
voice.

Daniel winked at him and then grabbed hold
of the soldier, yanked him away from Robin, and threw him to the
ground.

“Be on your way, soldier!”

The soldier blinked a couple of times, as if
he couldn’t believe someone would handle one of the king’s men in
such a way. When the man looked up at Daniel, his eyes flamed with
anger.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Uhm… A lecherous old man?” asked Daniel
with a grin.

The soldier’s eyes widened as he blurted
out, “You’re under arrest.”

“For what? Defending a woman’s honor?”

The man immediately got to
his feet. Seeing that the soldier was ready to fight,
Daniel
clenched his fist and gave a powerful punch into
the man’s stomach. As he bent over and grunted,
Daniel
quickly gave a strong uppercut right into the
man’s chin with all his might. A dazed look came over the soldier’s
face as he crumpled to the ground.

When Andrew looked at him with amazement,
Daniel shrugged. “I didn’t do much. If you hit your opponent in the
chin, he’s out. I was worried your cane would just infuriate him
and he might have hurt you.”

Andrew nodded as he looked around. “Quickly!
Put him in the cart before someone comes back and sees us.”

Daniel hefted the man into the cart and then
winked at Robin. “Is it all right if we take him for a ride?”

She nodded. “Of course. What are we going to
do with him?”

Daniel shrugged as he covered the man with
part of the canvas. “We’ll come up with something.”

He helped her into the seat and then climbed
into the cart and sat beside her. With a whip of the reins, the
mule took off down the street and out of town.

As they headed toward the forest, he turned
to her and grinned as he said, “Don’t worry. I won’t let Robin’s
Rebels hurt you.”

“Thank you so much,” she said with a
snicker. “I really appreciate it.”

Daniel looked at her and asked, “So you’re
not afraid?”

“Of course not. It’s the king’s soldiers
that should be afraid.”

He chuckled. “It won’t be too long until
those rebels are joined with the Freemen, though.”

“What?” Robin asked in astonishment.

“I’ve heard the rumors. There’s some sort of
competition going on. If the Freemen win, they have to join.
There’s one thing I don’t understand, though.”

“What’s that?” she asked curiously.

“Well, you seem to know a few of Robin’s
followers. Why do you suppose they’re holding back?”

Robin bit her lip and
looked off in the distance at the woods and
rolling hills
in the background. She
sighed as she softly said, “There are leaders of different rebel
groups who don’t have any scruples whatsoever.”

“Scruples?” asked Daniel with confusion.
“What do you mean?”

She looked into his eyes as she nervously
rubbed her hand against her thigh and said, “Some don’t have a
sense for right and wrong or even a conscience. When Robin heard of
different atrocities this one group was doing, it made everyone
angry. They had taken a bunch of aristocrats from this one town
simply because they were rich and supported the king.” She bit her
lip with sorrow as she anxiously rubbed her thigh and said, “The
rebels did away with them.”

“What?” said Daniel with stunned
surprise.

She nodded. “To Robin, that was uncalled
for. We’re here to fight for our rights as individuals, to fight
for our freedom, but not to harm innocent people because of their
beliefs.”

“That’s terrible,” exploded Daniel.

She nodded. “That’s the very reason Robin’s
Rebels don’t want to join other groups without knowing who they
really are and what their cause is. What are the Freemen’s beliefs
in this war? Is it for fame? Is it to protect the people? And how
about their faith? We must do this with faith in God and hope He
will help us.”

Daniel pursed his lips in thought and then
nodded. “Now I finally understand why they’ve been holding back. I
don’t blame them.” In a more humble tone, he said, “I misjudged
them.”