Age of Kings

by A bag of plums

37 - Forever Free

Daffodil, one of the villagers of Trottingham, had only left her home that morning when a group of horses stomped past her front door, almost trampling her underfoot. Taking a step back against her front door, Daffodil noticed each horse had a rider and each rider was clad in dark leather armor and a hooded cloak, weapons strapped at their sides.

These men didn’t look like guards from Canterlot, and fearing they could be bandits, Daffodil threw her door back open and tried to go back inside, but before she could step even a second foot into her home, a hand had grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her back outside, yanking so hard that she fell to the dirt ground with a thud. She heard her door slam shut and when she looked up again, there was a sword tip pointed for her face, dangerously close.

“Get up,” the hooded man before her ordered.

“Please, if it is coin you wish, my bits are all yours, please don’t hurt me…” Daffodil tried to crawl back.

“No, it is not bits we want. Not today.” The hooded man put his sword to the side and pulled her roughly to her feet. “Move. Town square. Now.”

By now, tears were pooling at the side of her eyes. She wasn’t sure what these men had come here to do, but she feared the worst. Thankfully, they hadn’t gone into her home and pulled her family out as well. For now, they were safe.

“What are you doing?” she tried to ask her captor, but he said nothing.

Over by the town’s well, she spotted another four hooded men, each one standing in a circle around more villagers, each of their arms bound behind their backs.

When she was closer, the man behind her forced her to her knees and tied her arms behind her back as well.

“Stay,” he barked, then walked off towards another house.

“What is going on…?” Another villager, Garden Pants, trembled.

“Silence!” One of the hooded men clubbed him on the face with the pommel of his sword.

Daffodil let out a small squeak as Garden Pants fell to his face, unable to push himself up.

As she sat with the other captured townsfolk, Daffodil noticed one of the hooded men, slightly wider in size, walked to the middle of Trottingham and pulled his hood down. What she saw shocked her.

It was the Sheriff of Trottingham, at least, he used to be the sheriff, before he was sent off to prison.

“Listen, Trottingham!” he bellowed, his bright red hair a sharp contrast against his dark attire. “Today, Trottingham has returned under my rule! My law! Rest assured, I will not kill any of you unless I have reason to! I only want one person dead, and that person is Posey Hood, the outlaw! As long as I have these hostages behind me, Canterlot will not interfere! I have already sent word ahead! If Posey Hood does not appear by sundown, then you will all perish!”

Daffodil swallowed hard. A villager beside her tried to run, but he only made it about seven steps before one of the men shot him down with an arrow.

The others began screaming again, but one of the men around them struck his sword against the well and yelled for them to be silent, which they all fearfully complied with.

Daffodil watched the hooded men anxiously, afraid of all the things they could do to them if Posey Hood didn’t show up.

She shook her head. No. All this time, the archer had been helping them, put into a bad light by the Sheriff of Trottingham, because of the bits he had lost. Daffodil knew even now, the archer would come to their aid.

Even now, she was probably already assessing the situation, ready to strike.

---

Posey had only just dropped her chopped tomatoes into her pot when Gabriel flew down from the sky, squawking to her.

The pink haired archer widened her eyes, then put down the ladle she was holding, swiftly going for her bow and arrows by her tent. “Go, I shall follow.”

As Gabriel took back to the skies, Posey ran on under him, running along the grass. When her path ended at a slope leading up, Posey climbed atop one tree, then using one of its branches, she hopped over to the next tree, followed by the next as she made her way through the Shetland Forest.

It wasn’t every day that she had visitors here, but when she did, it mostly likely meant trouble.

Gabriel screeched overhead, then tucking in his wings, did a dive down, vanishing into a brush. Slowing her speed, Posey leapt across to one more free before swinging herself down using a branch.

She could hear a voice now, just past the brush where Gabriel had flown through to. Walking in, Posey soon emerged on the other side, arriving at the main path people used to traverse the Shetlands, and there standing beside Gabriel, was Sir Ganeighn and his horse, if Posey remembered her name, Ragnel.

“Ah, there you are, archer.” The knight smiled and walked closer to Posey. “I thought you would not be far from your bird.”

“Sir Ganeighn.” Posey blushed, fiddling with her bandana. “I heard from Gabriel you were here. What brings you to the forest today?”

“Why, I came to find you,” Sir Ganeighn replied.

“Y-You did?”

The knight nodded his head. “Trottingham is in trouble. You remember the Sheriff of Trottingham? The Ex-Sheriff of Trottingham. He has taken the town and he wants you in exchange for the safety of the townsfolk.”

“Oh-Oh, he has?” Posey shook her embarrassment out of her face and put on a more serious expression.

Posey figured this must be for revenge for having him arrested back when she freed Trottingham with Emerald, Morn and Spectrum Song, and also most likely for all the trouble she had caused him and the bits she had stolen while he was still in a position of power. The Sheriff must have escaped from prison somehow and is now here using Trottingham to try to draw her out. Posey wasn’t going to allow this.

“We cannot let the townsfolk get hurt, Sir Ganeighn.” Posey pointed at the forest path. “Are you all Canterlot has sent?”

“I came willingly, Posey.” Ganeighn put a hand on his sword, Galatine. “He is after you, so I figured I would provide you assistance.”

“A knight providing me with assistance?” Posey shyly kicked a pebble on the ground. “Oh, it should be the other way around, Sir Ganeighn. I would be honored to assist you.”

“Believe me, archer, I would lend you aid any chance I get.”

Posey let her eyes linger on the knight’s for a few seconds, before her fear took over and she averted her eyes from his, pinching at her sleeve unconsciously. “R-Right, shall we ride to Trottingham, sir knight?”

“At once.” Ganeighn got back atop Ragnel and held out a hand to Posey. “Take my hand.”

Posey took Ganeighn’s hand and he simply lifted her off her feet as she clambered atop his horse. At first, she hesitated putting her arms around the knight because she was embarrassed to do so, but after almost tipping off Ragnel, Posey decided to do so, though a bit shakily.

The ride over to the small town was a quick one, with Posey’s campsite already quite close just in case there was trouble she had to solve. She never would have thought the town’s trouble would be anything like this. She had already freed the townsfolk from the Sheriff once before, but it looks like she would have to do it again, though this time, she wasn’t going to make the same mistake by sending him to prison.

“Sir Ganeighn, if you will.” Posey tapped him on the shoulder gently. “I will send Gabriel to scout out the town first. He will tell us exactly what we will be dealing with.”

“Tis a good sounding plan, Posey.” The knight nodded his head. “As you can see from my equipment, I am not prepared for… your sneaky tactics. I shall approach the front of town as we have done before. And then you do what you do best, archer.”

“Yes. And Sir Ganeighn?” Posey smiled, lowering her eyes to the ground. “Thank you, for coming here to help me…”

“Like I said, tis my pleasure to always do so.”

Posey blushed again, keeping those words in her mind. Then remembering her plan, she looked up and whistled. In one swift glide, Gabriel was down, perched on her arm. She whispered her plan into her friend’s ear and as fast as he had flown down, Gabriel was soon back up in the sky, flying ahead of them to Trottingham.

“And now we wait…” Posey mumbled, already planning what to do in her mind.

---

Twelve men. Four women. One Sheriff of Trottingham.

Those were the odds Gabriel had brought back to her.

Posey now sat in a nearby tree bordering Trottingham, watching from the shade. She easily caught sight of the Sheriff, with his bright red hair visible all the way from her perch.

By the town’s well, he had gathered and bound a few of the townsfolk, likely going to use them as leverage to get her out; Posey already deduced she would have to free them first before she could take the man down.

And that is what she had told Sir Ganeighn before they parted ways. The Knight of the Round Table decided he was going to cause a distraction, like always, by walking through the town’s main entrance and calling for the Sheriff and his people’s attention, giving Posey the chance to sneak around and rescue the hostages.

It sounded easy enough. But plans rarely followed through with such ease.

She owed it to the knight to succeed. He had come all his way just to help her out. Looking to her left hand, Posey smiled to herself. That was where Sir Ganeighn had kissed her before going his own way. It was a nice thought, but just thinking about it already began to make her face glow red.

Right. Concentrate, Posey. It will soon be time.

Reaching back, the pink haired archer retrieved her bow and an arrow, readying them in her hands as she waited, eyes alert and attentive.

When Sir Ganeighn made his presence known over at the entrance to the town, the Sheriff and most of his followers ran over to investigate, leaving only a few to guard the town’s surroundings and the hostages by the well.

Thank you, Sir Ganeighn.

Aiming, Posey directed her eyes to one guard standing alone between two houses, her attention directed to the forest surroundings. Holding her breath, Posey let go of her arrow and sent it sailing right into the center of the guard’s chest. She looked down, shocked, before falling to the floor.

Posey left her perch, running along the grassy floor until she arrived on Trottingham’s cobbled ground. She kept her footfalls quiet and kept her body low as she crept towards the well. She knew Gabriel would be above, keeping an eye on her, which provided the archer a sense of comfort and calmness as she moved.

And just as she was about to peek around a house, her eagle squawked from above, alerting her to an approaching guard. Finding nothing but a low cut shrub, Posey didn’t think twice to leap into it, concealing herself just in time as the guard rounded the corner, sword in hand.

Peering out through the shrub’s leaves, Posey let out a shrill whistle, like she was trying to call over an animal. The guard took the bait and walked over, investigating the sound. Just before she could look inside the bush, Posey struck first, standing straight up and pulling her in. She smashed the guard’s face against the many branches and soil before sticking an arrow through the guard’s neck; she barely had any time to cry out before Posey finished the job.

So far so good…

And then she was moving again, heading for the well. Past the houses, she could see Sir Ganeighn speaking with the Sheriff and a few of his men. The knight still didn’t have his weapon drawn, which was a good thing for Posey. That meant she still had more time to get the hostages to safety before a fight could start.

On the way, Posey managed to shoot another lone guard before spotting the few at the well, watching the hostages. There were five of them in total and they were actually keeping a rather good watch of the townsfolk and the surrounding area.

This wasn’t going to be easy.

Looking up and nodding to Gabriel, Posey reached back and pulled her brown hood low over her eyes, masking her pink hair. It was a bright color and concealing it meant she had a higher chance of getting closer unnoticed.

The archer kept to the side, following along the buildings, moving as slowly as she could. She knew Sir Ganeighn wouldn’t be able to keep them distracted for long, but she couldn’t risk being seen. Not yet.

Ducking behind another bush, Posey was close now, close enough to see that one of the female guards had freckles under her eyes. Thankfully, they still had yet to spot her, too busy looking around at the town’s border and the hostages. Sometimes, it was the most obvious places that one could hide more effectively.

It was now or never.

Looking up to the sky, Posey spotted Gabriel and gave him a shrill whistle. The whistle also caught the attention of the nearest guard, the one with the freckles, who looked around in confusion before deciding to walk over to the bush.

This was it. It was time to act.

Leaping out of the bush, Posey grabbed the freckled woman and speared an arrow through her neck as Gabriel swooped down from the sky, harassing one of the remaining three guards. Already nocking an arrow, Posey fired, at the same time reaching back and already nocking a second arrow.

Thwack, thwack.

Two guards fell to their feet before the third one retrieved a dagger from his belt. Before he could cut Gabriel, Posey was beside him, sweeping his legs from under him. He tried to stab up at her with his dagger, but Posey put her weight into her arms as she fought against it. Then she kicked him in between his legs, earning a startled high pitched squeal from the guard as one hand let go of his dagger.

That was all Posey needed. Twisting the dagger from his grasp, she let herself fall atop him, puncturing the small blade through his chest.

The archer wasted no time in going over to free the captured townsfolk, ripping the knife back out from the guard as he lay there dying.

“Go now. You are free.” She quickly sawed off the rope bound around their arms. “Find shelter. I will see this to its end.”

“Thank you…” a woman with blonde hair gasped as she rubbed her wrists. “I knew you would come to help us.”

Posey nodded her head, turning away when she blushed. She couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. She normally worked from the shadows, kind of like Emerald. Receiving praise and thanks still wasn’t very much of something she could handle.

“An-anytime.” Then she looked over to the town’s entrance. The Sheriff and his men had seen her already and they were already on their way over. At least, most of them were.

“Go, get to safety.” Posey shooed the townsfolk away with one hand, then stood up.

Sir Ganeighn was currently facing off against three of the Sheriff’s men, while four already lay dead around his feet. Trust such a skilled knight to quickly dispatch his enemies.

The Sheriff had out a broadsword and behind him, both of his men carried swords and shields. Posey creased her eyebrows. Shields were a problem for her arrows.

Moving to one of the bodies, the archer retrieved a shortsword for herself, also keeping the dagger she had used earlier in her other hand.

“There you are!” the Sheriff barked at her once he was close enough, his red moustache wiggling under his large nose. “I knew that knight was a ruse! I will not fall for the same trick twice!”

Not like you did anything about it, in the end. Posey readied her stance. “You were looking for me, so here I am.”

“And so you are. And now you will die.” The Sheriff of Trottingham growled at her. “You have caused me enough misery in Trottingham. It is time I get rid of you once and for all.”

“I can say the same about you.” Posey narrowed her eyes as the two guards began to circle around her. “Trottingham deserves to be forever free from your tyranny.”

“Oh, it will be ‘forever free’, as you say, scoundrel,” the Sheriff scoffed. “Once I have dealt with you, I will burn all of Trottingham to the ground. I have had enough with this place. I can always get rich somewhere else. The forests, or what will be left of them will be ‘forever free’ of this stain of a town and its disease of a people.”

“Ha, good one, boss,” one of the guards guffawed, holding his shield close to his face. “You might as well rename the Shetland Forest the Forever Free Forest.”

“You said it, Jacks! The Forever Free of Trottingham and All its People Forest!” The other guard sneered at Posey. “You’re going down, Posey Hood.”

And then they charged forward, shields raised. Posey rolled away from the first and slashed at the second’s feet with her acquired blades. The man brought his shield down and covered his legs. That gave Posey the chance to leap up and connect her knee with his face. The guard stumbled back, clutching his nose while Posey focused on the next guard, slashing away at his shield with her sword and dagger, trying to find an opening.

“Kill her, you fool!” the Sheriff barked angrily at his men. He, however, just stood there watching.

Posey tried to go for this guard’s legs too, but whether by sheer luck or an actual tactic, he thrust his shield forward, clipping Posey in the side of her head, knocking her to the floor, her shortsword spinning away.

“Ha! They have you now!” the Sheriff cheered.

The archer rubbed at her head as she tried to steady her vision, at the same readying her knife to fight. Her right hand came back with blood, but at least it was only a small cut.

Before she could react, she suddenly heard the Sheriff of Trottingham squeak and this saw his body bounce away on the stone floor. The guard before her raised his sword to finish her off, but then Sir Ganeighn thrust his sword through the guard’s chest, Galatine’s tip going all the way through and knocking his shield to the ground.

The second guard, the one with the hurt nose, swooped in to attack. Retrieving his sword, Sir Ganeighn spun it up and then slashed to the side, cutting right through the shield. The guard looked down at a line of red spreading across his chest, then collapsed to the ground.

“Harming a lady, how absurd.” Sir Ganeighn sheathed Galatine and then helped Posey up, holding an arm around her waist. “Are you faring well, archer? You have a cut, just above your bandana here.”

“I shall manage, Sir Ganeighn, but um, th-thank you for your assistance…” Posey smiled at him the best she could.

And then at the corner of her eye, she watched the Sheriff get up, dusting his belly before shaking a fist at them. “This is far from over! I shall return with an army the next time, and you will all perish!” Then he turned and began running down the cobbled path.

“He is getting away!” Ganeighn reached for his sword again, but Posey was faster.

Even with her disorientation, the pink haired archer still managed to nock an arrow in her bow and aim. Aiming high, she let go of the string, sending the projectile sailing high in the air. It seemed to linger there for a while before falling back towards the earth. The Sheriff was just past the Trottingham entrance when the arrow pierced through his neck, spraying blood into the air.

Posey could imagine the man gurgling in his own blood as she watched him reach for his neck. He took three more steps forward and then fell flat on his fat face.

“Excellent shot, archer.” Sir Ganeighn clapped her on the shoulder. “You were taught well.”

“I was…” Posey touched her bandana and thought of her mother. She felt like she owed it to her mother to make that shot. She had taught her everything she needed to know before being taken by the bandits that fateful day. “It is finally over. The Sheriff is dead.”

“Very much so.” Ganeighn looked at the various bodies of the Sheriff’s men, then to the townsfolk emerging from their houses. “Tis safe now, people of Trottingham. The menace has been vanquished!”

One by one, each of the cottage doors opened as the Trottingham townsfolk began leaving their homes to have a look around. When they noticed the dead body of the Sheriff, they raised their voices in cheer and swarmed Posey and Ganeighn, lifting them into the air. The knight was let down first, seeing as he was heavier than Posey and his armor didn’t help with lowering his weight.

Posey, however, was thrown into the air many more times before the crowd parted, allowing her to once again stand on both her feet. Gabriel flew in from above, landing on her shoulder and nuzzled his head against hers. Posey gave him a pat and then looked to the crowd, who was now looking at her.

“You are all free now. Now and forever. The Sheriff will never bother you again,” she smiled, doing her best not to turn away and hide her face from the people.

“Yes, and we shall post more guards from Canterlot in your town. We shall not permit hostile takeovers in Trottingham again,” Ganeighn told them.

“We must commemorate this event!” an elderly man said, pulling Posey’s sleeve to get her attention. “Won’t you join us for a celebratory feast?”

“Oh, you people already do not have much for yourselves,” Posey stroked Gabriel on the head as she spoke. “I cannot possibly add more mouths to feed.”

“What shall we do then?” another villager asked. “We must celebrate our freedom.”

Posey put a finger to her chin as she thought about it. If not food, then what? She didn’t want to use up what little the people had here and besides, her pot was likely still boiling back at her campsite. Maybe boiling for a little too long, but at least her tomato soup would still be edible.

And then she remembered something the Sheriff’s men had said. He had jokingly suggested renaming the Shetland Forest. Perhaps that wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Well, to celebrate your freedom from the Sheriff once and for all, I think we should do something more lasting than a lavish feast,” Posey suggested and pointed at the surrounding forest. “This forest, it is your home as much as mine, and today, it too has been liberated from the Sheriff’s dirty hands. It too is free. No more, will this place simply be the Shetland Forest. Now, it will be your forever free forest, the Everfree Forest.”

The people were silent for a while and Posey was afraid they wouldn’t like it.

“Hey, I like that. It is a nice name!” a man spoke up.

There were mutters among the townsfolk and soon they were all agreeing.

Phew. I’m glad it worked out. Posey grinned. It would have been awkward if they didn’t like her idea. But now, she was done here. Trottingham was no longer in danger, at least from the Sheriff of Trottingham. It was now time to head back and have some soup. Posey licked her lips just thinking about her meal.

“Aye, tis a well chosen name. The Everfree Forest.” Sir Ganeighn put a hand on the archer’s shoulder as they began to leave town. “I shall return to Canterlot and tell everyone the great news.”

The pink haired archer nodded and let Gabriel fly back up into the air to hover after them. “Ironic, how the name had come from the Sheriff’s crew. But it is fitting.”

Posey wished her mother could see her now. She would be proud, wherever she was.

As they arrived back at the point of the dirt road where Posey’s camp was, Sir Ganeighn gave her another kiss on the hand. “It has been my pleasure to assist you today, archer. I hope we may one day again fight together like this.”

“Yes, I hope so.” Posey smiled sheepishly and pulled at her bandana.

“And so I bid you farewell.” Ganeighn hopped atop his horse, Ragnel, ready for the ride home. “Till we meet again, esteemed Posey Hood.”

Posey nodded and watched him go, looking back to the shrubs she would have to walk through. She didn’t want their time to end already. They hadn’t had much time to catch up besides the fighting. The archer stood there, hesitating to open her mouth and resisting the urge to run back to her camp without saying anything.

Finally, with a huff, Posey closed her eyes and yelled, “Sir Ganeighn!”

The knight heard her and stopped his horse, looking back. “Yes, my lady? Do you require something?”

“Umm- uh, um…” She fiddled with her fingers. “W-Would you st- um, like to stay for di-dinner?”

She kept her eyes shut, but opened them again when she noticed the knight had returned, his horse’s head right next to her face.

“I would love to,” he said with a smile. “Lead on, Posey Hood.”

---

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

Posey and Ganeighn are going to be a thing, aren't they? I'm wondering where the former Sheriff got the funds to hire mercenaries if he was kicked out of office.

[Sonata Eternal]

Cool, so this is when the name changes. Posey really is the coolest of the cool. I wonder what will happen to that Sheriff now if he’ll escape again.

[Marcthelightspark2004]

It sounded easy enough. But plans rarely followed through with such ease.

True words, that's why I Jack Sparrow it.

[MoonlightRift]

The name change was clever, I'll give you props