The wicked witch ain't dead! [Aurelia!]

[Robb Cooper]

Robb was growing more confident in venturing out to the woods on his own, armed with only his slingshot for protection. He was small enough to hide when the Sheriff's patrols went by, and if the outlaws cared that he was in their woods, they didn't show it, and why should they? He was just a little boy playing games in the woods, he had nothing of value for them to take, so he was left alone. He came out to the woods with increasing frequency, venturing just a little bit further each time, testing out his boldness in the hope of finding Robin again!

Well, not really again. Robin had found him the first time, but since then he'd been certain that they'd meet again. The outlaw hero had taken an interest in him, and Robb was sure that had to mean something! He wasn't sure what, exactly, but he was working on that. He heard someone approaching from nearby, and he dove behind a bush, peering through the leaves in the direction of the noise and keeping quiet so he wouldn't be spotted first. It could be Robin and his men, but then again, it could also be the Sheriff's men. It shouldn't be a problem either way, since there was no law against wandering in the woods in broad daylight, but Robb knew better than to think the Sheriff would enforce the law justly. He was a tyrant, which was exactly why Robin was such a hero!

[/size][/color]

[Aurelia]

So this is what it had come down to. Her being in the woods. Living like a peasant. She was better off marrying someone of actual status. And not a man who had held so much status and position in the Holy Land, only now to be completely void of it. Yet, she was stuck here. She was in a new land, one that she was still learning the customs of. It was a huge culture shock and the only thing she knew for certain was the language. Even with that secret knowledge, she was pretending not to know it well. However, if Aurelia was anything it was determined. She fully intended to profit out of this, somehow, someway. How? She was still working on the details. Until then... she would be the perfect little wifey to Robert. She would cook for him, tend to him... and still try to seduce him. For it was far easier to manipulate men when you were able to whisper into their ear whilst laying with them.

Right now, she was parted from her husband's company though did not stray far from them. So if he wanted to run away from her, he was out of luck. For she would find him. She had a small cloth and was gathering various herbs, when she heard some noise in the very near distance. Her head immediately raised, distracting her from her menial task. Her eyes searched the area, though she did not see anything, nor anyone. Hunting was not her strong suit. While she was used to being on the run, it was very different this way. She often ran from bitter men; she did not run from knights forming armies. Damn Robin and all that he had lost! Her eyes darted to a bush where she could have sworn she saw the rustling of leaves. Was it someone? A person? A creature? Or just the win? Aurelia would take no chances. Slowly she set her herbs on the ground, reaching for a small rock while she was leaning toward the ground. Her eyes never left the bush.

If she could avoid revealing her foreign accent, then she would take that chance. Especially since Robin could approach at any given moment, and her entire scam would be exposed. So she had to stay 'in character'. Gathering her courage, she stood straight once more, clutching the small rock in her hand. In one quick motion, she chucked it at the bush... not sure if she was even actually hitting anything. But if it was not the wind that had made the leaves rustle, then she planned to drive out whatever was behind it. Whatever was spying on her! And if it was an animal, she could have one of the men kill it and then she could cook it. So really, in her mind, it was a good flawless plan! That was what she had to convince herself of as she watched the fruit of her actions.

[Robb Cooper]

Robb was still trying to peer through the shadowy leaves at whatever was nearby, when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. "Ow! He yelped involuntarily, then silently cursed himself. So much for stealth! He rubbed his shoulder, his eyes finally falling on the person in question; it was just some woman! He didn't see any reason to hide from her, so he stood up, shooting her a dirty look.

"What'd you do that for?" He asked, momentarily and conveniently forgetting that he had been the one hiding in the bushes to spy. Throwing rocks at people wasn't very nice! Also forgetting that he regularly launched rocks at people with his slingshot, although that was probably a good thing for her right now, or else he might've contemplated getting revenge. What was she even doing out in the woods all on her own? Didn't she know it was dangerous out here?

[/size][/color]

[Aurelia]

When she heard a little yelp, Aurelia slowly calmed herself as the voice clearly belonged to a young child. Soon enough, a little boy revealed himself, rubbing his shoulder, the place where she assumed the rock had hit him, and then demanding to know why she had thrown it at him. She wanted to roll her eyes and walk away from the boy who had given her more trouble than he was worth. A mere distraction from her task was trouble enough, and that's exactly what he had done! Inconvenienced her. But no. Mira was warm and kind and she loved children. So with that said, she would have to give him both an explanation as well as an apology. "I taught you bad man," she said, trying to explain that she thought he was some sort of guard, or spy or pervert! "Or beest." Meaning creature of the woods, a little critter of sorts. A fox, a rabbit, anything that they could have eaten.

But she was no cannibal so that eliminated that possibility. "You... ouchey?" She asked, touching her own shoulder with one hand and pointing to him with her other hand. She took a slow and almost hesitant step toward him. He was just a child after all. Children could be little menaces but they hardly compared to other dangers that Aurelia had faced. "I feex you," she offered in a kind and concerned voice. Concerned for his well being (not) because she had been the one to injure him (which she didn't care about). But... she had to pretend like she cared, unfortunately.

[Robb Cooper]

Robb listened to her reasoning, and even though his shoulder stung, he couldn't argue with that. "Oh." It made sense, and he might have done the same. So he could forgive her, since she didn't seem that bad. He walked closer to her, since she seemed nice enough. "How come you're out here alone?" He asked curiously, it wasn't a good idea for a woman to be out here on her own! It was okay for Robb, he was a boy, he could look after himself.

He walked a little closer to her, then shook his head when she asked him if he was hurt. "Nah, it's all right. I'm tougher than I look!" He told her, smiling a bit and dropping his hand from his shoulder, even though it still hurt. Men didn't whine about little things! "You're not English, are you? Where are you from?" He couldn't help but asked, observing her funny way of speaking and the dark tint of her skin, he was curious. It had to be somewhere far away and exciting! He was very easily distracted from his cause of finding Robin when something more interesting happened by.

[/size][/color]

[Aurelia]

While Aurelia was competent enough to keep up with his conversation, Mira could not. A woman who was pretending to have weak English did not do well when asked a series of questions. Why was she in the woods alone? She wasn't alone. But of course, he did not know that. Where was she from? Egypt. And this was not something she could bother hiding for at least that part of her story to Robert had been true. "I," she began to say, putting her hands on her collarbone to refer to herself. "Noot.....alone." She knew that the boy was no threat, so there was no need to intimidate him by saying that she was with armed men, who were not far from here. But to play up her naivety and obliviousness, she decided to add to her answer to this very simple question. Or, not so simply under her circumstances. "I wit you." So therefore, she was not technically alone.

Because she was in his company. Granted, highly undesirable company but still... company. She had to admit that she was rather relieved when he said he didn't need her help. That would save her the bother of tending to his injury which was probably nothing more than a bruise. She had not thrown the rock with enough pressure to dislocate his shoulder, since that was where it had hit, so really... no harm done! She looked at him, confusion strong in her gaze as she opened his mouth to speak and then stopped the words from coming out. Incompetent; she had to pretend to be incompetent. "Toofer?" She said, trying to repeat the word, clearly not understanding the meaning of it. Sometimes it was hard to pretend to be stupid. "I no... understeend." Very, very hard. "You, say ageen?" She asked, requesting politely that he repeat his question because Mira could not keep up. Besides, maybe the boy would get bored and go away.

[Robb Cooper]

Robb wasn't used to talking to anyone who wasn't from England, so he didn't know that she might have trouble understanding him. When she said she wasn't alone, he looked around for anyone who might be nearby, but he didn't see anyone...then she said she was with him. He smiled a bit, well, that was true. "But you were alone before I came." He pointed out, it was a statement, but also sort of a question...she was alone, wasn't she?

When she repeated after him, he realized that she didn't know the word. "Oh, you know...like strong!" He substituted after fumbling for words for a moment, flexing both his arms like a muscle man to show what he meant...not that he exactly had much muscle to show off. He laughed, dropping his arms and wondering if that would be helpful at all, or just confuse her more. "How come you're in the woods?" He asked, forgetting his earlier questions as a new one occurred to him. He still didn't seem to realize that asking lots of questions probably wouldn't get him very far.

[/size][/color]

[Aurelia]

She looked a little puzzled at his statement, or inquiry, acting as if she was debating what to take it as. "Yees," she answered, with a drawn out nod of her head. "I....geet..." She turned her head, motioning to the plants she had been collecting. But 'herbs' was clearly not part of her vocabulary. "Coolors." Colors. Because explaining them by colors was easiest, as everyone knew that colors was usually one of the first things a person learning English knew, "Green, reed, um... deefferent coolors." She didn't care if that explained it or not. She owed this boy no explanation, and as she hoped for before... maybe he would get bored and leaved. It certainly was a better alternative than saying 'shoo' as if he was some fly or mosquito. She watched in his attempt to explain the word. At least he had enough sense to mix in gestures with his explanation.

Not that Aurelia needed it; Mira did. "Oh! I know!" She exclaimed with excitement, her expression brightening once she understood his meaning. "You meen like, big man." Which, was not. He was only a child. But she obviously understood where he had been going with that. She joined in his slight laughter, a small chuckle escaping her as her bright smile remained. His next question, she hoped, was given answer to in her earlier words. So she took the opportunity to return the favor and answer her own silent and yet unspoken question. "Why you....with no one?" Why was he here, alone, by himself. It was equally dangerous for a young boy to be out here by himself, as it was for a woman. Though, for extremely different reasons.

[Robb Cooper]

"Colors?" He repeated, somewhat puzzled, as she gestured around and he spotted what she meant. "Oh! The plants!" He nodded, herbs wasn't a word he was particularly familiar with either, but he knew that people used them to make poultices and things for healing. Once, when he'd been sick, his mother had gotten someone to make him something with plants...it had tasted awful, but she'd made him drink all of it anyways.

He nodded emphatically when she caught on to his meaning, and smiled. "Right! Big men are tough!" He nodded, and so was he! Even though he was still small. One day he would be big and strong, and then no one would doubt how tough he was! He wished that day would come a little bit quicker, though. When she asked why he was alone, he grinned. "Cause I'm tough!" He put his arms up again, in the same way he'd gestured it before. "I can look after myself." He nodded, as if it was pretty obvious. "Hey, don't tell anyone...but I'm actually looking for Robin Hood." He dropped his voice down to just above a whisper, looking around conspiratorially. Good at keeping a secret, he was not.

[/size]

[Aurelia]

Aurelia looked at the plants and then back at him, when he understood what she had been trying to say. "Yees!" She exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm... completely feigned. "Pleents." Such a simple word and yet one that she had to pretend she just learned now. It was rather tedious to be so oblivious. One never quite understood the patience it took to remain in this role, constantly. She smiled when he called himself tough again. Another word she had apparently learned from him. It was after all the best way to learn a language; to speak to others. "You...toof man," she both questioned and stated. He didn't look tough, but he seemed to think he was. Then again, didn't most little boys? No matter.

She wasn't interested in remaining in his company. What a waste of time it was! But... his last words, his own answer to her question, raised her interest. She looked at him curiously, slightly cocking her head to the side as the question replayed in her mind. Robin Hood. Her husband. "Why you...look for heem?" She asked, her eyes widening a bit from curiosity. While the boy seemed innocent enough, then again no one was truly innocent, she still wanted to know his reasons before revealing her position. Was the Sheriff above sending little boys as a trap to lure out his enemy? All Aurelia had to remind herself of was that if there were more men around... all she need do was scream.

[Robb Cooper]

Robb wasn't yet bored of her, in fact, he was kind of having fun! He liked exploring the woods, sure, but sometimes it did get kind of lonely, and trying to figure out ways to communicate with her was kind of challenging. He liked challenges. He nodded when she repeated that he was a tough man, grinning proudly. He believed it well enough, but hardly anyone ever agreed with him, so it was kind of nice that she seemed to believe it too.

Why was he looking for Robin? "To join him!" He answered happily, Robb was quite convinced that he would make a great addition to his merry band, and he could not be dissuaded. But apparently, he was still too young...so every time he managed to find Robin, he had to ask if he was old enough yet! It had been a couple weeks since the last time, so he was sure that he had to be old enough by now. "I almost forgot! My name is Robb! What's your name?"

[/size][/color]

[Aurelia]

Join him? That was a bit... bizarre. Then again, it shouldn't come as a huge surprise. Aurelia had not been here long and just from the short time, she had come to understand that some, many, idealized Robin. That was not why she married him. She had married him for more... material reasons. But that was why she had to pretend she was staying with him. That, and no other reason. "You...know heem?" She asked, meaning, personally. While Aurelia didn't really care whether she brought the boy to Robin or not, or even told him of her relation... Mira had to be a bit more cautious. Because she had to act like she cared about him. That she was devoted to him. Protective of him. And so many other useless traits that was non existent in their marriage but ones that went right along with her being the perfect little wife.

"Robby....you.... name like....Robert." Strangely similar. Was he just telling her a random name because he liked the man and therefore, wanted his name to be just like Robert's? Or was it really a strange coincidence that he just happened to share the name of a man he had clear admiration for. "I..." She began to say, pointing to herself. "Mira." She gave her name slowly, at least able to understand so much as someone asking her name. Though she really understood quite a more deal than that. "Why you... how you say..." Pausing in pensive silence, she made signs of struggling with what she was trying to ask. "Want... be wit him?" Join him. What was this boy's reason to want to be an outlaw? Because really, it was no glamorous life. Far from it.

[Robb Cooper]

Robb nodded when she asked if he knew Robin, grinning proudly. "Yep! I've met him, all right." He boasted proudly, his archery skills had drawn Robin's attention...or it might have been the lack thereof. Either way, he had met the bandit and considered himself to be a friend of his...even if a very tiny one. He looked at her with a slightly puzzled look when she mentioned that his name was similar to Robert.

"Well, yeah...my name is Robert." He told her, technically it was, but no one except Lady Vivian and Lady Evelyn still called him that. Mum always called him Robb. "Robb's just a nickname." He wasn't sure if she would understand that, so he added, ""you know, short." He gestured with his hands, holding them far apart, then moving them closer together to show that he was shortening his name.

"Nice to meet you, Mira!" And mum said he had no manners! He thought about it for a moment when she asked why he wanted to join Robin. For the adventure! The glory! And...well, the main reason. "Well...mostly for my mum. She works real hard to take care of me, and I want to help her out." If he joined Robin, he could pull his own weight, earn his keep, and steal money from the filthy rich to give to his mother.

[/size][/color]

[Aurelia]

Hmm, it was getting clearer and clearer that this boy held quite the admiration for her beloved husband. Interesting. That Robert was befriending little children. A woman may find that trait of a man rather endearing... Aurelia found it a hindrance. But Mira... was like any other typical woman who swooned over the thought of a man being the source of a child's admiration; a role model. Her eyebrows raised in curiosity with Robb said that his actual name was Robert. Interesting. Coincidental. Then again, was it not a typical white man name? Probably. It was not as if her husband had invented it. She was just too unfamiliar with English culture to realize how many of them there could be. "Ohh! I know!" Aurelia exclaimed once she understood, purposely taking a few additional moments to do so, when Robb explained the meaning of a nickname.

"I... call you Robb....no Robert?" She asked, her uncertain way of asking him what he would prefer. "My name... Mira. Too..... short. So... I Mira." And once again, her fragmented way of saying that her name was too short for a nickname. Even though it technically wasn't actually her name to begin with. She nodded her head along with his words, though made sure her expression displayed signs of bewilderment, not understanding his words. Or well, the words in their entirety. Mira could pick up on a few key words. Like mom. "Weer yoor...mom?" She asked, showing concern for him being out here by himself. When again, she could care less. Though it was the natural reaction of a woman to worry for a young boy all alone out in the woods.

[Robb Cooper]

Robb grinned again when Mira understood what he was saying, hey, he was getting pretty good at getting her to understand him! He made no secret of his admiration towards Robin Hood, and he tended to exaggerate his connection to the bandit whenever he could. "That's right!" He said gleefully, excited that they seemed to be communicating all right. He shrugged when she explained that her name was too short for a nickname...well, that wasn't so bad.

"She's at the castle now." He answered her question about his mother, noting the concern that seemed apparent on her face. "She works there, for the Lady Vivian. She's her handmaiden." He explained, ever saying more than was necessary to get his point across. "Don't worry about me, though! I can take care of myself!"

[/size][/color]