"Can somebody tell me what's going on?" "Don't be foolish, Walter." "Get him back to bed." " Bar the door." " I'm still the master of this house." "Richard, up." "Who is there?" "Wake up, Thomas." "Open the gates!" "Bastards." "Arrow." "The lantern." "I see you, you little bastards." "I see you!" "Thieving maggots." "They've taken all our seed grain." "What are we going to do for planting?" "Pray." "Hello, there!" " Here you go, lad." " Thank you, Robin." "Robin." "The archers been called to ranks." "Bloody typical." "I'm starving." "Hide these well." "We'll have them for supper instead." "Sire." "Your bath, Sire." "For the love of Christ, Loxley, would you stop them doing that!" "They love you, Sire." "My head." "It's going like the bells of hell." "Is that it?" "One more castle to sack, then we're home to England." "Hail King Richard!" "Release!" "Push!" "Push!" "Hey, archer!" "Stay alive!" "I'll see you tonight." "Don't forget your money this time, little man." "It will be my pleasure to take it off you." "Push!" "Move up!" "Cover the King!" "Cover the King!" "Barricades prepare!" "Let us put these French to bed!" "Raise the barricades!" "Jimmy." "Calm and careful." "Make it count." "Go!" "Help!" "Cover!" "Now." "Go!" "Move back!" "Blood for France!" "Go!" "Lt'll make a fine pin cushion!" "King Philip's arse!" "Look what they do for the Lion Heart!" "Push!" "Push!" "That'll burn all night, lads." "Don't let them put it out." "These pricks will smash through in the morning, take all the credit." "Well done, Jimmy boy." "John..." "Your Majesty." "An English princess shut out of her husband's bedchamber by a piece of French pastry!" "Aren't you ashamed?" "The shame is surely his." "Then go in and tell him." "Mewling at his keyhole is neither one thing nor the other." "John." "Oh, God!" "What in heaven..." "Mademoiselle, you will excuse me." "My son has need of my advice." "No, I don't." "Ask her." "Mother, please, have you no decency?" "I happen to be in a condition that no mother should see her son in." " Yes, I know, but it's my mother." " That's enough." "On second thoughts, I think it better that you do hear what I have to say." "Though I will not have you in my presence." "Mother." "The purpose of my being in this room is to save the realm from the consequences of this unsuitable amusement." "Her uncle is the bloody King of France." " My uncle is..." " Get down." "Her uncle wants her back." "Philip wants an excuse to cross the Channel with an army." "And you have given him that excuse." "Take up your lawful wife and save England." "My lawful wife is as barren as a brick." "Is that truly the wife you want for me?" "Hmm?" "You, who honoured your husband with eight children so that even now when death has taken the rest you have a king and the runt of the litter to call you "Mother.' '" "Better the bastard of a servant girl than bed the niece of England's jealous enemy." "Or bed her and wed her, Mother." "I've asked the Pope's men to arrange an annulment." "And do you think the Pope will favour England's royal runt over the King of France?" "He might see his way for the son of Eleanor of Aquitaine." "And for the future King of England." "Richard the Lion Heart is 40-years-old, if not more." "And no babies." "I am a queen in the making." "Yes." "Yes." "You see?" "She is my Eleanor." "Now, you do understand, this game is not about luck." "It's about the science of memory and a quick hand." "Who'd like to take a bit of fresh meat home?" "Caught this morning." "We have a pheasant." "Three choices." "Right, left or middle?" "Middle." ""The middle," he says." "The middle." "I'm sorry about those onions, young man." "You lose." "Robin!" "Over here, they're needed for the pot." "Feisty one!" "Aye, what else we got, what else we got?" "The fire will do its work." "We break through at first light." "With a fair wind, we can be home in three days." "You return to Nottingham?" "I have a wife who waits for me." "I have a mother that won't die and a brother who wishes me dead." "First thing I'm going to do is lock them up." "Your people will rejoice to see you return home." "And that is a condition I would like to keep them in." "To be remembered as I was." "My army knows better." "Lion Heart is mangy." "Every man in that army idolises you, Your Majesty." "Don't mollycoddle me." "I understand how difficult it must be to befriend a king." "Come on, Loxley." "Let us find some ruffians, drink and laugh." "Let us see if we can find an honest man." "Yes." "Let's do that." "Well, that's the thing, little man." "This is not a game of luck." "It's about the science of memory and a quick hand." "I've got a quick eye." "I'll be watching you." "Three choices." "Right, left, or middle." "I think I'll take a fourth choice." " A fourth?" " Hmm." "I've been watching you for a while now, Longstride." "There is no pea." "This game is a trick!" "You take out the pea when you're doing your slidings and your turnings." "I got you." "Don't touch it again." "I'll do it!" "You lose." "You're doing better than you think." "Get in there, Robin." "Kneel, you ignorant bastards!" "Kneel before the King!" "All of you, move back, now." "No, no, Loxley." "These men are soldiers at play." "Sinners after mine own heart." "Which one of you started the fight?" "I did, Sire." "I threw the first punch." "Ah, honest man." "And who're you fighting?" "He was fighting me, Your Majesty." "I thought him to be a lesser man." "He was showing me different." "An enemy that shows his respect." "Stand up, the pair of you." "Not you." "Brave and honest." "Are you honest enough to tell a king something that he does not want to hear?" "What is your opinion on my crusade?" "Will God be pleased with my sacrifice?" "No, he won't." "Why do you say that?" "The massacre at Acre, Sire." "Speak up!" "When you had us herd 2,500 Muslim men, women, and children together, the young woman at my feet, with her hands bound, she looked up at me." "There wasn't fear in her eyes." "There wasn't anger." "There was only pity." "For she knew that when you gave the order and our blades would descend upon their heads, that, in that moment, we would be godless." "All of us." "Godless." "Honest, brave" "and naïve." "There is your Englishman." "Right there." " Well done, Robin." " You showed him." "The whipping will be the worst of it." "The branding iron, that will be the worst." "Unless they hang us." "No." "No, this will be the worst of it." "And this will be the end of it." "As soon as I get out of here, I'm gone." "I don't owe God or any other man here one more minute of service." "We go all the way back to the same breast." "Wet nurse." "Indeed." "We've been close ever since." "Good." "Because England, under your friend John, is a country with no fighting spirit." "I can take London with an army of cooks." "But Richard is on his way home." "And under Richard, England is a different animal altogether." "Richard will return home through the Forest of Broceliande." "We know the exact place." "He always travels ahead of his army with only a few trusted knights around him." "With Richard dead, it will be easy for you to turn the country against John." "There'll never be a better moment to invade." "Even dying animals can be obstinate." "Kill the Lion Heart and you will be richly rewarded." "Heave!" "Heave!" "Heave!" "For England!" "For England!" "I need a physician here!" "A physician!" "Quickly!" "Give us cover!" "Give us cover, now!" "Cover him!" "Cover the King." "Physician!" "Why, Loxley?" "Are you not feeling well?" "Physician!" "Wine." "What's this?" " The King is dead!" " Dead?" "Dead." "All right, then, Jimmy." "Knock the pegs out." "We make our own fate from now on!" "I'll come with you." "No, you're not." "We don't take strays." "The more the merrier." "The road will be dangerous." "He might be useful." "Where we going?" "To the coast and to a boat before 3,000 desperate soldiers get there and the price for a Channel crossing goes up a hundredfold." "What about our wages?" "If you thought it was hard getting wages while he was alive, try getting paid by a dead king." "All right, boys, collect your gear as quick as you can." "I like the new church." "Lady Marion." "I would have been sorry to leave without your farewell." "Thank you." "I'm glad to speed you on your way, Father Tancred, but it was to seek out our new shepherd." "You have lately been missed at Sunday worship and my sermons." "I like a quiet church, Father, when I pray for a miracle." "Your new flock is women, children and old folk." "Our men have gone to war or returned broken." "Their orphans run wild in the greenwood." "Our fields are ready for planting but we've no seed corn." "And the church barn is full of grain." "Surely, you do not expect the church to let its corn be used to plant your fields?" "That grain is bound for York." "I am Friar Tuck." "Father Tancred is elevated to York where I know he will remind the Bishop that the people of Nottingham..." "The Bishop does not need reminding that the people of Nottingham should reap what they sow and repent of their sins." "The miracle I pray for is that the Bishop show some Christian charity." "As I said, Father, I like a quiet church when I pray." "You will have trouble from the Loxleys of Peper Harow." "You keep bees, Tuck?" "I keep them and they keep me." "Stop!" "Ambush!" "You're a knight?" "Where is King Richard?" "Oh, God." "Where is the King?" " Dead." " Dead?" "Really?" "If the King's dead, where are you going?" "Deliver the crown." "Richard's crown." "Richard's crown." "How do we assassinate a king who's already dead?" "Bring back the crown!" "Kill the horse!" "You are English." "When it suits me." "Who are you?" "Robert Loxley." "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "That's the King's horse." "Jimmy!" "Move!" "Jimmy!" "Robin, they're French." "Ambush." "Go." "John." "Don't know." "He's dead." "Help." "My sword." "Its value to me is great." "It belonged to my father," "Sir Walter Loxley of Nottingham." "Do you know it?" "Aye, I've heard of Nottingham." "Then the fate..." "The fates have smiled on me." "You must take the sword to my father." "It will bring me peace." "I took it in anger and without his consent." "You must understand the bond of love between a father and his son." "My father abandoned me to the world of men when I was six years old." "I know little of the love between father and son." "I beg you." "Longstride, say you will." "I will." "It's a pact sworn in blood, Robin." "It's a scratch, Allan, and that's all it is." "Robin!" "Loxley was making for the coast to meet the ship." "That crown could be our passage home." "We're common archers, Robin." "If we arrive at the King's ship with his crown, we'll be accused of murder." "How do you know that the knights you see walking about are actually knights at all?" "There is no difference between a knight and any other man aside from what he wears." "All we need is about us." "Armour, helmets, swords, and we make England wealthy men" "with horses and gold." "Fate has smiled upon us at last." "And I, for one, shall not turn my back on her." "Take that crown off your head, Will, and fill it to the brim." "We commit the soul of this boy to your keeping, Lord." "We would ask, when he arrives at the gates of eternity, if you could let him in." "Goliath's got the soil turning nicely." "But for what?" " Nettles?" " Nettle soup and dandelion salad, that'll keep us alive." "Come, Goliath." "This way." "Until we get a miracle." "This way." "Marion, Sheriff." "Marion, I've been at Peper Harow, waiting in vain for Sir Walter to receive me." "Kindly tell him I have better things to do than haunt his threshold." "That you have, while robbers are roaming free in Sherwood." "That's sheriff's business." "Why don't you look to it?" "Tell the old fool that next time, I'll break his door down." " And if he's too proud to pay..." " No, no, no, no." "He's not too proud." "He's too poor." "In the name of King Richard, you have stripped our wealth to pay for foreign adventures." "Whilst at home, the Church, in the name of the merciful God, has reaped, without mercy, the largest share of what we had set aside to feed ourselves." "Between a sheriff and a bishop, I wouldn't care to judge who's the greater curse on honest English folk." "Marion, why, oh, why do you make an enemy of me when you have the means to make me your protector?" "What means?" "If you leave now," "I will lengthen your life by not telling my husband of your visit when he returns home." "Your husband?" "After 10 years?" "If he's not dead, he's rutting his way through the brothels of the Barbary Coast." "So speaks a man of experience." "Well, think on it, Marion." "Sir Walter is dying without an heir." "Peper Harow will fall to the crown, and you will be living in the hedgerow." "You'll be glad to come to me then." "Captain, there." "Sir, we were told to expect 12 riders and the King." "Our beloved King is dead." "Long live the King." "And you are, sir?" "Sir Robert Loxley of Nottingham." "And you?" "I'm the King's equerry, Sir." "Come aboard, gentlemen, before the tide floats her." "It's coming in fast." "And it's row, me bully boys We're in a hurry, boys" "We got a long way to go" "Where we'll sing and we'll dance And bid farewell to France" "And row, me bully boys, row" "And it's row, me bully boys We're in a hurry boys" "We got a long way to go" "We'll sing and we'll dance And bid farewell to France" "And row, me bully boys, row" "So what's the plan in the morning?" "The boat stops at Gravesend on the way to London." "We'll leave the honour of returning the crown to them, and we'll be gone." "Where?" "North." "Well, that suits me." "Row, me bully boys, row" "But now we're returning So lock up your daughters" "We'll sing and we'll dance And bid farewell to France" "And it's row, me bully boys, row" "Make ready, Sir Robert." "We dock in 20 minutes." "Gravesend?" "No, My Lord." "The palace docks, Tower of London." "Will." "John." "Allan." " Where are we?" " London." "Holy Christ!" "We dock in 10 minutes." "When this is done, be ready to ride." "What if..." "What if Loxley is known to the King's mother or brother or any of them?" "Then we'll be riding for our lives." "Jesus, Mary and Joseph." "Peter and Paul and Mary!" "I knew it!" "I knew it!" "Good morning, My Lord." "Some words of advice on this tragic occasion." "You appreciate everything must be done correctly, so you will present the crown to Lady Eleanor." "You will go down on the right knee." "Do not look in her eyes when you tell her the King is no more." "And do not rise until all others rise." "Do you understand?" "Yes." "Agnes." "My blue and gold brocade." "Yes, My Lady." "Part for the Queen." "Cease." "What's this?" "What's happening?" "King Richard returns from France, My Lord." "Did Loxley deceive us?" "Kneel." "Long life, my son." "Rise now." "A king is dead." "Long live the King." "Long live the King!" " Long live the King!" " Long live the King!" " Long live the King!" " Long live the King!" "Rise." "You..." "I don't know you." "Robert Loxley, Sire, of Nottingham." "Welcome then." "And how did my brother die?" "In battle, Your Majesty, as was his way." "As was his way." "You deserve a reward..." "Let's get the horses." "For bringing home the news." "Kneel." "Did you say you were from Nottingham?" "Yes." "Your father, Sir Walter, owes tax to the crown." "My crown." "Tell him it's bloody expensive running a country and everyone's got to pay their way." "We'll start with this." "Make way for the King!" "Make way!" "Your Majesty." "Make way for the King!" " Make way!" " Godfrey." "Godfrey, my friend." "It's so good to see you." " How were your travels?" " Good, Sire." "What happened to your face?" "A hunting accident." "It's nothing." " Frightening." " Your Majesty." "Call it a duelling scar." "The ladies will love you all the more." "I bow to your knowledge of the ladies, Sire." "You can get up now." "Sir Robert." "You will know of me, perhaps." "I'm William Marshal." "Your father and I were young men together." "Tell him I'm coming to visit him soon, on spring's first black night." "I may have need of him." "I will." "I'll tell him." "Whoever he is and whatever he is, he knows too much." "Get rid of him." "Come on, let's follow." "Forfeit what you got." "Victuals, coin, clothing or your life." "Thomas Cooper." "Is that you?" "Are you sick, Thomas?" "We're all sick." " Where are the rest of you?" " Don't..." "Don't tell her." "Loop will be angry." "No, it's your mother who's going to be angry." "Now, either you come with me, or I come with you." "You choose." "Well, come on then." "Where are they?" "Answer me." "Four men, five horses, one grey." " Have you seen them?" " That way." "The living king of sermons" "Was delivered from his evil" "But he couldn't talk his last" "Because God took out his throat" "God's crossbow took out his throat" "By Christ!" "Can you not sing a happy tune?" "Sing a foot-stomper about adventure and daring and courage." "No." "Sing something about a woman." "A large woman." "Fancy army, darling I loves you all to bits" "I'll climb up to your chamber And under your mountainous..." "Right." "I'm done." "The money's divided." "And so should we be." "Where will you go?" "I think something is owed for this good fortune, and I mean to pay it back." "How so?" "The inscription on the sword, it taunts my memory." "Maybe it's just my imagination, I don't know." "But I intend to take that sword back to its owner and fulfil the request of his dying son." "Are you mad?" "You just said we were in danger, Robin." "Now you choose to step back in to harm's way?" "They're bound to go there and find you." "We can't repay our good luck with bad grace." "It invites darkness." " I'm going with you." " And I, Robin." " Yes." " No." "Tonight is our last in company." "Tomorrow, we go our separate ways." "Pack up your share." "We eat and sleep." "Will, you're on first watch." "Will." "Watch your step!" "One of them got away." "Bastards!" "They've stolen my fortune." "Richard's army is coming home." "It costs money to keep it together." "Marshal, you speak for the money." "I do, Sire." "But to disband the army could cost more than to keep it." "King Richard's campaigns were costly." "And the expected returns..." "What is that to me, Marshal?" "My brother's troubles are over!" "They're over!" "Clear the room." "So..." "Taxation." "Taxation?" "Milking a dry udder gets you nothing but kicked off the milking stool." "Mother, spare me your farmyard memories." "You have none, and I don't understand them." "These are difficult times." "We can buy time." "I can send envoys to secure loans." "There are money chests from Sicily to Normandy if you know where to look." "Cap-in-hand to moneylenders?" "Your master's a king." "The crown is owed money at home." "The northern barons plead poverty, but that's always been the song of rich men." "So, what's to be done?" "Give me leave, Sire, to go north with a company of mounted men." "I'll have the merchants and landowners fill your coffers or their coffins." "Englishmen killing Englishmen." "No man loyal to the crown has anything to fear." "And loyalty means paying your share in the defence of the realm." "That's well said." "Hmm?" "Don't you think, Marshal?" "Mother?" "Richard commanded loyalty not by threats but by example." "Mother, your sainted son was an imbecile." "And you supported his every folly from here to Jerusalem and back." "Yes, you worshipped him when the warrior lost territories hard won by his father." "You kissed his picture while England had to pay four years' revenue to ransom him when he was captured." "You are just as much to blame as anyone for the wreckage which is my inheritance." "I broke her skin more than she did mine." "Chancellor." "Marshal, you served my brother faithfully and my father before him." "I think you've spent enough time with my family and, no doubt, would like to spend more with your own." "Therefore, and with regret," "I accept your resignation of all your offices and matters of state." "The ring." "Your Majesty." "Choose carefully, Godfrey, the spot where you would place your dagger." "For I will choose carefully, as well." "Open the gates!" "Nottingham." " Is this your people, Robin?" " I don't know." "Might be." "They don't look much, these Middle Englanders." "Well, they've been keeping your lot in place easy enough, haven't they?" "I hear that you Welsh boys, you live on leeks." "You co-habit with sheep." "Bloody Scottish mule." "You wouldn't want to annoy a bee hive with your noise, would you?" "Your swords would be no good then, gentlemen." "You're the town beekeeper?" "Bless you, no." "I'm the friar." "Tuck's the name." "Well, Friar Tuck, can you tell me where I might find Sir Walter Loxley?" "If he's not up at Peper Harow..." "How long will your business take?" "Stay safe." "God be with you all." "That's it?" "After 10 years?" "Good Friar, where can a man get, well, moderately insensible on a drink around here?" "Allan, he's a man of the cloth." "I'm sorry, Friar." " Have you coin?" " I have coin." "Two pieces." "Each." "Have you tried the honey liquor we call mead?" "Come with me." "Gives a man a halo, does mead." "Girl." "Girl?" "Either you're going blind or you're looking for charity." "Are you the keeper of this house?" "In a manner of speaking, yes." "I wish to see Sir Walter Loxley." "And you are?" "Robin Longstride." "Plain Robin Longstride?" "No Sir?" "No, ma'am." "No Sir." "Are you here about the tax?" "No, I'm here to bring him his sword." "His son's dead." "This way." "He'll take your horse." "Marion!" "Marion!" "Maggie, where is she?" "Ma'am, Sir Walter calls for you." "I know, Margaret." "I can hear him." "Tell him we have a guest." "I'm Marion Loxley." "Robert's wife." "My Lady, I owe you an apology." "If I'd have known..." "Bad news is bad news no matter how it comes." "Indeed, I owe you thanks for taking the time to deliver it here yourself." "Did you fight alongside my husband?" "Yes." "Did he die well?" "In an ambush, ma'am." "He was the man chosen to bring home Richard's crown." "Marion, who is here?" "A traveller, Walter." "This news will go very hard on him." "Bring him in." "Yes, yes." "Tell him Robert is in the Holy Land, sends his love and will return soon." "Marion, our traveller will be thirsty." "Travellers are always thirsty." "Is that not so?" "Your name, sir?" "Longstride." "Robin Longstride." "Do you mock me?" "Sir?" "Your son, he asked me to bring you this." "And how does Robert defend himself if he has no sword?" "The prodigal son will not return after all." "So, no tears, no forgiveness from his father." "No amends to be made." "Did you see him die?" "I was with him when he passed." "His final words were for the love and bond between a father and son." "Forgive my rudeness." "My grief has been waiting for this day." "So come, so that I may see you." "Robin Longstride." "A common enough but noble Saxon name." "So, you will dine with us." "But first, you must bathe, sir." "You stink." "I've laid out some of my husband's clothes." "I hope you don't find that too discomforting." "My Lady," "I'll need some help with the chain mail." "Winifred." "Winifred." "The coif has a clasp at the nape of the neck." "If you take off the coif, you'll find lacings in the back of the tabard." "Thank you." "I'll have it washed." "Marion, more wine." "You've taken a long road to bring this to me." "I cannot decide whether that makes you trustworthy..." "Or manipulative." "Marion, I'm merely trying to gauge the quality of the man we have as our guest." "Is he handsome?" "Yes." "In the way that yeomen sometimes are when they are sober." "Entertain us with a tale of your life, sir." "We don't get many visitors any more." "Except tax collectors and other beggars." "I don't know where I'm from." "Only know where I've been." "So, Marion, what colour are his eyes?" "I don't yet know." "I have a proposal for you, young man." "You brought me this sword, which has great meaning." "If you give me your time, it is yours." "I could stay for a day, or more." " I have a question to ask you." "And what is your question?" "The words on the hilt of the sword, what do they mean?" "Well, I think I have much to tell you about history." "About your history." "That's very kind." "Well, you haven't heard the other half of my proposal yet." "I want you to stay in Nottingham and, for the time being, become my returned son, and therefore Marion's spouse." "Oh, that's enough!" " You've had too much to drink." " Listen." "Listen." "Listen." "We both know that without a husband you will lose this land when I die." "Do you dispute that?" "Hmm?" " No." " No, so if I say this is my son, he will be seen as that." "And, so, as your husband." "Huh?" "It is a fair contract." "It is not as if I expect you to have children or..." "No, the sword for your time, Longstride." "Are you in agreement?" " Yes." "Marion, go tell the staff that my son has arrived and our home is now whole again." "Tell them to ring the church bells in celebration." "And more wine, please." "Hey!" "Hey!" "I rose up in the morning" "And I felt a dire need" "To dream away the dreary day and down a cup of mead" "I felt the sting of honeybees" "Home brew." "If I wasn't the village priest, I'd try for the village drunkard." "Oh, great." "A man could get very affectionate here." "I haven't seen so many women for so few men outside a nunnery." "The secret to success is never go for the prettiest one." "Start with the homely one on the left." "Right there." "She's about my size." "I'm going to make her smile." "I'm going to make you smile!" "Come over here!" "So, why do they call you Little John?" "What are you trying to get at?" "I'm proportionate." "So roll another barrel to the bar" "And pour another cup or two so I can soak my heart" "Stop it." "What did I tell you?" "It seems we are to share my chamber." "A ruse to convince the servants." "Well, if the aim is deception, should you not be addressing me as "My husband," or, "My dear"?" "Don't be ridiculous." "Well, are you coming or not?" "Ask me nicely." "Please, dear husband, will you share my chamber?" "Here." "I sleep with a dagger." "If you so much as move to touch me, I will sever your manhood." "You understand?" "Thanks for the warning." "Hello, dogs." "Godfrey." "Where are your men?" "They're dead, My Lord." "And Loxley?" "Alive." "Then fate has left him to me." "I hear a man's steps." "Good morning, my son." "Morning, Walter." "Father." "Father." "So what is it that you know of my history?" "Patience." "You must show yourself today." "Wear your sword." "Marion." "I'm here, Walter." "Reacquaint your husband with his village and his people." "I'll see to the horses." "I feel invigorated." "I woke this morning with a tumescent glow." "Eighty-four." "A miracle." "I've always wondered at the private conversations of men." "Husband." "This is rich country." "Where's your cattle and your sheep?" "Sold, eaten, stolen, traded." "We've had seven lean years." "Our meat now is rabbit or wild pig on a lucky day." "And deer?" "If you're willing to risk your neck to the King's executioner." "Every deer in the land belongs to His Majesty." "These things are God's gifts first before the King's possessions." "If it's illegal for a man to fend for himself how then can he be a man in his own right?" "Welcome home, sir." "Sir Robert." "Good morning, Joseph." "Emma." "Sir Walter is our Lord, and you are Robert returned and you should act so." "Sir Robert." "You remember me?" "Tom Chamberlain." "Pig farmer." "You don't look a day older, Tom." "Sir Robert." "When will our young lads come back to us?" "Will you find my Jamie, tell him to come home?" "With no work and little food, the village boys have gone." " To be soldiers?" " Poachers." "Look at that, mate." "Still here then?" "For the time being, refer to me as Sir Robert." "I'll explain later." "My men-at-arms." "This is about as courtly as they get." "Allan A'Dayle, Will Scarlet and Little John." "Lady Marion." "I trust you had an historic evening." "For sure." "Lady Marion Loxley." "My wife." "Well played." "A bit rash but well played nonetheless." "Right you are, Robin." "Sir Robert." " Sir Robert." " Sir..." " Sir." " Sir." " Sir Bob." " Sir Robert." "Friar." "Ah, Marion." "Good news travels from Peper Harow this morning." "Sir Robert, nice to see you again." "You should've made yourself known when we met in the field." "Welcome home." "Yes, I should've." "Forgive me, Friar." "What happens here?" "We're moving the Church's grain to York." "Politics out of London, I hear." "This is our grain." "It belongs in this soil." "Lady Marion, I but follow the orders of my superiors and abide by their saying and rule." "Does His Holiness know about your wealth of honey?" "There are wolves in York, Sir Robert." "Voracious wolves." "The bees are my family." "I'm a procreator by design." "I'm not a churchy friar." "Never was." "My bees give life." "They are my life, Sir Robert." "Should not the Bishop be told so the clergy can spread Nottingham honey on Nottingham bread?" "What if the grain were not to reach York?" "Then the bees need not be spoken of." "I was an old maid when Robert courted me." "I was a daughter of a respectable widow with a thimbleful of noble blood." "We were wed, and then a week later he left to join ship for France and the Holy Lands." "And that was my married life to a man" "I hardly knew." " A good knight." " Short, but sweet." "I mean, he was a good knight." "A good knight-at-arms, a soldier." "Oh, yes, my knight-in-arms, even so." "And I in his." "Stop!" "You'll break its neck." "Marion." "Easy." "I'm all right." "I can't move me legs." "I can't move me legs." "Thank you." "My Lord?" "Oh, is it my turn now?" "Thank you." "Nicely done, sir." "And to see Lady Marion Loxley's legs, beyond my wildest hopes this morning." "I don't believe you know my husband," "Sir Robert." "Allow me to introduce the Sheriff of Nottingham." "Welcome home, Sir Robert." "You make your mark quickly by rescuing the King's ram from drowning." "What's this?" "What's mine in coin I have the right to take in goods or livestock." "If it's God's will." "Here's a ram's worth of tax for the Exchequer." "Your insolence to Lady Marion, I'll consider a debt between us." "Mead and grain alcohol?" "I thought as much." "There's something that we need to do." "At your service." "All right, lads." "Should've left while you had the chance." "Something's afoot." "Off we go." "Stop." "Stop the horses." "You there!" "Move aside!" "We're on Church business!" "None shall pass unless they can answer the riddle." "Moon-mad!" "And what is the riddle, you insolent wretch?" "What has 18 legs and isn't going anywhere?" "Your next move will be your last." "Evening, friend." "I demand to know who you are." "We are men of the hood." "Merry now, at your expense." ""The Lord taketh... ' '" "And we shall giveth back." "My advice is to plant it now, by moonlight." "Why is that, good friar?" "When it sprouts, I can claim it as a miracle from God." "The Church in York would never deny a miracle." "How much further?" "About 11 miles." "I thought you had left." "The fields have been planted." "I didn't want to wake you." "How did you find the seed?" "If you have to ask, it's not a gift." "Thank you." "Pikemen, at the ready!" "Arms to ready!" "Prepare!" "This King John is no king of mine!" "You!" "Are you Baldwin?" "Open these gates!" "In whose name do you come against us?" "In the name of King John." "Pay or burn." "We have paid in money and men for King Richard's wars!" "And we have no more to give!" " Burn it." " Archers!" "Come on." "My Lord, this way!" "In the name of John, by the Grace of God, King of England, let it be known to all who abide here that a tax is warranted!" "Those persons refusing to abide by the law will hereby be subject to severe punishment." "By order of His Majesty, King John." "Father Tancred!" "Your Majesty." "Your Majesty." "I have lost the confidence of King John, but he may still listen to you." "Allow me to know better, William." "You are much wiser than your owl." "I dare say." "I've lived longer." "Edward, take him." "Your Majesty." "John is no Richard, alas, Your Majesty." "But I serve the throne, and the throne will endure." "Speak plainly, Marshal." "What's troubling you?" "The crown is in peril." "Godfrey has been plotting with Philip of France." "French troops have already landed on our shores, and they are murdering Englishmen in the name of King John." "The northern barons will make civil war against the throne." "Leaving our coast defenceless against the invasion which is certainly coming." "So it's left to John's mother to scold him like a child and point him to his duty." "My son has an enemy in his court closer to him than any friend." "An English traitor." "A paid agent of France." "Why are you telling me when you must tell the King?" "Isabella!" "It is you who must do that." "Tell King John that you've had word from France, from Philip himself, if you like." "Why not tell him the truth?" "That William Marshal..." "Oh!" "A mother he mistrusts bearing the word of a man in dishonour?" "No." "If you wish to be queen, you must save John." "And England." "No!" "No!" "No!" "Godfrey!" "The bloody Judas!" "By the bowels of Christ, it's a lie." "You lie!" "I'm sorry, my love." " Sheriff." " Up there." "Man won't give his name." "Demands audience with the sheriff." "Demands?" " Go away." " My Lord." "Tax collections proceed apace." "Nottingham's turn is coming." "Good." "Good." "Tell Sir Godfrey that the Sheriff of Nottingham is his man." "May he put his stamp on my authority." "I see trouble coming from Loxley of Peper Harow." "A blind old man gives you trouble?" "Aye, and his son will give more." "The crusader, Robert Loxley, has returned this past week." "Marion." "Go on!" "Go on." "Has he spoken yet?" "He was spying, Loop." "Spying?" "Robert, I'm ashamed of you." "Hello, Marion." "I've come to save you." "Know him?" "Boys, this is Sir Robert Loxley, my husband." "Sir Robert, the runaways of Sherwood." "Untie him." "No, I don't think spies should be let off so easily." "That was unkind." "You were a crusader?" "Yes." "Did you hear that, boys?" "You bested a crusader." " My men are good fighters." " I don't know about that." "I think the weight of numbers might have been in their favour." "But they do move silently like the creatures of the forest." "But that's only a skill if you stay as a man." "You don't become the creatures you hunt." " We're soldiers." "No, you're not." "Soldiers fight for a cause." "What's yours?" "You don't have one." "That makes you poachers." "Common thieves with a lot to learn." "Like what?" "I could teach you how to tie knots." "I could teach you which wood to get to make your bows stronger." "I could teach you how to make arrows that fly more than 20 feet." "And I can help Marion to teach you how to stay clean so you won't get sick." "I don't know who you're fighting, son, but it's not me." "I'm not your enemy." "If you want to chat, you know where to find me." "Wife?" "Marshal." "Stand aside!" "Make way for the King!" "Your Majesty." "What the devil are you doing here?" "Hmm?" "Sire?" "Will you keep that animal still?" "What's it got, palsy?" "Do you think I haven't noticed how you've deserted me?" "If Your Majesty recalls, our last conversation..." "At our last conversation," "Philip of France wasn't coming our way with an invasion fleet." "Was he, Marshal?" "My friend Godfrey is not the friend I thought he was." "He's stirred up the northern barons against me." "They come south with an army." "Marshal, how dare they?" "How dare they?" "Sire, forgotten men are dangerous men." "The barons need to be told that when the French come, we are all Englishmen." " Fitzrobert." " Baldwin." "We'll make an army of the north and march on London." "The barons need leadership." "Wiser kings know they must let men look them in the eye, hear their voice." "Together, let us ride north to meet them." "They march against their king, Marshal." "Their king." "We will meet them with the pikes of our militia in their gizzards." "You have lost your touch, Marshal." "Perhaps we'll look to the barons without you." "Saddle up with a spare horse." "I leave immediately." "I want to know where to find Godfrey." "My Lord." " I found him, My Lord." "Where?" "Nottingham." "In plain sight, living as Walter Loxley's son." "Then we go to Nottingham." "Take no prisoners." "Leave no stone un-scorched." "Take two men, four horses." "Ride hard for the coast, then on to Paris and give a message to the King." "I'll make the place famous." "Come, Allan!" "I'll get them drinking." "You get them dancing!" "All right." "Music, laughter, the crackle of a bonfire and a roasting pig." "Life has returned." "You have returned it, Robin." "How did you know it was me?" "Who else would sit by me uninvited like a friend from the old days?" "How are you, William?" "I'm well and troubled." "Ah." "And what brings you?" "I'm riding on to Barnsdale tonight." "I've heard something of the barons' anger against the crown's tax collector..." "The anger has turned into action." "They assemble to march against the King." "You think you can persuade the barons to turn back?" "Turn back, no." "To join King John against a French invasion." " A what?" " Help me, Walter." "I cannot go with you." "I cannot speak for this king." "He is the only king we have." "But not the only hope." "Explain." " Marion." " I'm here, Walter." "This is my old friend, William Marshal." "Lady Marion Loxley, my son's wife." "Lady, I was glad to see Sir Robert when he disembarked in London." "I think you know better, Marshal." "Sir William, I know, would like to meet Robin Longstride again." "We've met before." "Yes, Sir, I know." "In London." "No, when you were a child." "Hobby-horse age." "Sir Walter and I returned from the Holy Land to fetch you home." "But you'd gone." "We had lost Thomas Longstride's son." "It was a wound that never healed." "You need to know what I know." "Your father was a stonemason." "Is that pleasing to you?" "Yes." "It is." "But he was more than that." "He was a visionary." "What did he see?" "That kings have a need of their subjects no less than their subjects have need of kings." "A dangerous idea." "Your father was a philosopher." "He had a way of speaking that took you by the ears and by the heart." "None of these things can be written down, Robin." "You must commit them to your very soul." "This is the science of memory." ""Rise and rise again until lambs become lions.' '" "Finally, hundreds listened, thousands, who took up his call for the rights of all ranks from baron to serf." ""Rise and rise again" ""until lambs become lions.' '" "What happened to him?" "Close your eyes." "... foundation is set on the rights of liberty for all people!" "Longstride, give up the charter and their names!" "You were there." "You saw it." "I will not." "Not dead." "Not now." "Not now." "Here is my copy of the main contract." "This charter of rights was written by your father." "And here are..." "There are the names of all the barons that signed the charter." "Fitzrobert, Baldwin, Marshal and myself." "What he wanted was a charter for every man..." " Wait there." "To have the same rights." "Sir Walter?" "A messenger for you." "Bring him in." "Step forward, sir." " My Lord." "I'm listening." "Peterborough's been burned by the King's men." "Fitzrobert gathers an army to slay King John in London." "Marshal requests your presence at counsel in Barnsdale." "Wait outside, will you?" "Cometh the hour, cometh the man." "The time for pretence is over." "Now, hold me like a son." "Go." "Maggie." "Where's my lady?" "I could not find her, sir." "Whether we fight for our lives, our family and our honour, we must fight till the death." "You've spent too long in the palace, William." "Spending time in the palace gives me perspective." "As we speak," "King Philip sails for our coast." "Godfrey and his marauders are French!" "Every minute that we waste in disunity brings closer the destruction of our country!" "We have been bled by the King long before Godfrey." "Go back to London and tell the King that we will meet him on a field of his choice." "Make way!" "We will not fight to save John's crown." "Rather let him bend the knee to us." "I'll give you more, Sir Baldwin." "My breast for your sword point." "Use mine." "Go on." "No?" "Oh, this is what you want, isn't it?" "This is what he wants." "Fine, I'd rather give it to you than have it taken by the French." "You mistake me, Sire." "I have no right and no ambition to wear the crown." "But let the rightful wearer beware." "From now we will be subject only to laws that we have a hand in making." "We are not sheep to be made mutton of by your butchers." "Godfrey set himself to turn you against me." "Then he did more than was needed to accomplish that." "A very important decision." "Don't you think that we've paid too much taxes for far too long..." "This is where I was born." " What does it mean?" " It means never give up." "We will not be loyal to a crown that robs and starves us!" "The King must listen to what we have to say!" "A king does not bargain for the loyalty that every subject owes him." "Without loyalty there is no kingdom." "There is nothing." "I'm here to speak for Sir Walter Loxley." "Let the man speak." "Let him speak!" "Speak!" "Speak!" "Speak, if you must." "If you're trying to build for the future, you must set your foundation strong." "The laws of this land enslave people to its king, a king who demands loyalty but offers nothing in return." "I have marched from France to Palestine and back." "And I know in tyranny lies only failure." "You build a country like you build a cathedral, from the ground up." "Empower every man and you will gain strength." "Hmm." "Well, who could object to such reasonable words?" "If Your Majesty were to offer justice, justice in the form of a charter of liberties, allowing every man to forage for his hearth, to be safe from conviction without cause or prison without charge, to work, eat and live on the sweat of his own brow" " and be as merry as he can..." " Sir, Godfrey's men are on to Nottingham." "...then that king would be great." "Not only would he receive the loyalty of his people but their love, as well." "So what would you have?" "Hmm?" "Castle for every man?" "Every Englishman's home is his castle." "What we would ask, Your Majesty, is liberty." "Liberty by law!" "Your Majesty, My Lords, the French fleet is in the Channel." "Sire, you have a chance to unify your subjects high and low." "It falls on your nod." "I only have to nod?" "I can do better than that." "I give my word that such a charter will be written." "On my mother's life, I swear it." "Godfrey makes for Nottingham." "I must stay with the King." "I will send Baldwin and Fitzrobert with you." "We will meet again at the White Horse when you are finished." "Robin, your father was a great man." "And you are your father's son." "Maggie, who's at the house?" "Long live the King!" "Gentlemen." "I'm the Sheriff of Nottingham." "I'm French on my mother's side." "Sir Walter!" "Sir Walter!" "Loxley!" "Show yourself!" "Loxley!" "Who calls here?" "I call for Robert Loxley." "My son is not here to answer you." "That is the truth." "Because he's dead in a French ditch." "And who are you, sir, to say so?" "Who am I?" "I'm the one who killed him." "Fight me if you dare." "Lord have mercy." "Leave it on the table." "Leave it!" "Next!" "Next!" "Come on!" " Name?" " Loxley." "Christian name?" "Marion." "Land?" "5,000 acres." "Lady Marion Loxley?" "I am." "Gentlemen, enjoy!" "No one should have 4,000 acres." "5,000 acres." "Baldwin!" "Fitzrobert!" "Take the southern flank and circle in from the west." "Will and Allan, get on the rooftops and pick your targets." "Lady Marion." "Quickly." "Follow me." "Somebody, please take the baby!" "Save the baby, please!" "John, down!" "It's all right." "Go around." "Stand back!" "Make way!" "Hurry." "It's all right." "It's all right." "Please, hurry!" "Hurry!" "Sword!" "Get down, you bastard French dogs!" "Where will King Philip land and when?" "This is my last arrow." "Dungeness!" "Dungeness." "Two days." "There we have it." "We have two days." "Once before I said goodbye to a man going to war." "He never came back." "Ask me nicely." "I love you, Marion." "Longstride!" "What news of Walter and Nottingham?" "Sir Walter is dead." "Godfrey's hand." "Gentlemen, we go to war." "It is my first time." "I shall lead." "Forward!" "That's a lot of French." "What's to be done?" "Archers to the cliff top." "Cavalry to the beach." "We'll await you there." " With me!" " Archers!" "Excellent plan." "Cavalry!" "Ready!" "Raise arrows!" "Raise arrows!" "Ready!" "Raise arrows!" "Release!" "Release!" "Release!" "For the love of God, Marion!" "Loxley, circle your troops and then join the charge." "With me!" "Release!" "Release!" "Forward!" "Archers, forward!" "Let's go, Marshal." "We're close enough, Sire." "This was not close enough for Richard." "And look what happened to him." "Forward!" "Protect the King!" "This is for you, Walter." "No!" "Marion!" "Marion!" "Surrender!" "Sire!" "Sire!" "They've surrendered, Sire!" "Yes!" "To whom?" "To him." "Longstride!" "Longstride!" "Longstride!" "Longstride!" "I did not make myself king." "God did." "King by divine right." "Now you come to me with this document seeking to limit the authority given to me by God!" "Sire, you gave your word!" "No." " Sire, you give us our word, Sire!" " Did I command you to speak, sir?" " John..." " Or you, madam?" "Sire, we looked to you!" "Look to your estates, instead." "Archers!" "You are fortunate that I am in a merciful mood." "But as for Robin Longstride, that mason's son, for the crimes of theft and incitement to cause unrest, who pretended to be a knight of the realm, a crime punishable by death," "I declare him, from this day forth, to be an outlaw!" "To be hunted all the days of his life..." " We will not stand for this!" "...until his corpse, unburied, is carrion for foxes and crows!" "Hear me!" "Hear me!" "By royal decree," "Robin Longstride, also known as Robin of the Hood, and all who shelter him or aid him are declared outlaws of the realm," "Their properties forfeit, and their lives shall be taken by any Englishman on sight." "A nail please?" "And a hammer." "A nail!" "Off you go." "Come on." "Hey, boys." " You've been practising tying your knots?" " Yes." "Have you been shooting your bow and arrows?" "Who hit something?" "Anyone?" "The greenwood is the outlaw's friend." "Now, the orphan boys make us welcome." "No tax, no tithe." "Nobody rich, nobody poor." "Fair shares for all at nature's table." "Many wrongs to be righted in the country of King John." "Watch over us, Walter."