Author's Note: As requested by my awesome reviewers, a bit of a background to Catrine's childhood. But don't worry, you'll find some familiar (and attractive) faces as well. Based entirely on "A Hero's Prologue" and serves as a sort of prequel.
Another note for my readers, I'm starting work on another inserted episode in season 2, so be on the lookout for that first chapter soon :)
Thanks again to my readers and reviewers!
"Father! I don't want to go to Nottingham," a young girl whined as she tugged her father's arm, his hair bright blonde and long, towering over his daughter as he pulled her towards the carriage waiting for them on the road.
He roughly yanked his daughter beside him slapped her smartly across the cheek. "You will do as I say, Catrine. Your brother is already sitting inside the coach, and you mean to embarrass me in front of all my men. You stupid, stupid girl. I don't know why God saw fit for me to lose your mother and give me you instead."
The girl trembled in fear, her large eyes dripping tears as she stared down at the ground before her. A fat face poked out of the curtains inside the large wooden carriage, "Father?" he called, his mouth half stuffed with an apple, tossing the finished core out on the ground.
"Your sister is coming, Antoine. Now sit down," the man called back, turning to face his son in the carriage. His fiery brown eyes stared down at his daughter, "And you. You will behave as befitting the daughter of the Earl of Avon, or else you will never return home. I might just leave you on the road to your uncle's in Nottinghamshire. And then you would beg my forgiveness, child." He began dragging his daughter after him as he walked briskly to the carriage, fairly throwing the child into its wooden interior and then stepping in himself. She staggered to her feet and looked around a bit dazed as she sat herself on the seat beside her brother who began munching on another apple. The Earl of Avon sat across from the children, a sour glare on his face, "I'm afraid, dear Antoine, that your sister has put me in a terrible mood," he spoke staring at his son, his voice edged in suppressed rage, "So if either of you two make so much as a peep, I will make you ride all the way to Locksley with Tanner behind the coach. Is that understood?"
The two children froze at the threat, even Antoine stopped his incessant chewing to nod silently. Catrine shuddered as she moved herself away from Antoine, snuggling into the corner. Tanner was terrifying, and the thought of his face frightened Catrine the most: his face riddled with scars and warts, and his right eye deformed and all white, not one speck of coloring like everyone else's. She hated Tanner. She hated having to travel to Nottingham to play with her cousin. But not nearly as much as she hated her father and her brother. Her twelve-year-old brain began thinking of all the ways she'd love to bother Antoine the whole way there: crush his stash of apples, kick him in the side, make fun of his strangely fluctuating voice that seemed to change and crack in pitch with every word. She fell asleep in the corner of the rattling coach, aching from each bump and each sway that threw her against the hard wood.
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"Are you really gonna let me win so easily?" a young, tow-haired boy called over his shoulder as he sprinted up a hill, a bow and quiver slung on his back.
"You cheated, Robin," Catrine called after him as she ran as fast as she could to catch up. "That's no fair pointing over there and then racing me in the opposite direction," she panted as she slowed back to a walk, realizing there was just no way to beat her cousin.
Robin laughed as she joined him on top of the hill, "Sorry," he said. And then he sat down in the grass, leaning back on his hands to look into the sky. "You know, I like it when you come to visit, Catrine. It's almost like having a sister, or a best friend."
"Almost," she answered with a laugh. "Yeah, it's fun now that you don't pick on me anymore. But you can't keep always beating me at things."
"Oh, yeah?" Robin smiled at her, his green eyes twinkling with twelve-year-old mischief. He stood quickly and pulled his singly curved bow from his back and drew an arrow from his quiver. Walking away down the other side of the hill, he gestured for Catrine to follow, which she obeyed with a laugh. Down the steep slope of the hill, Catrine could see another whole town, a large manor house just at the base of the hill surrounded by a fenced in yard and lined with flowerbeds and flowering bushes.
"What is this place? We… we're not back at Locksley, are we?" she asked Robin as they walked down the slope; he was testing just how stretchy his bowstring was with his finger.
Robin laughed, "No, silly. Locksley's the other way. This is Gisborne Manor. Father won't let me shoot for fun at Locksley without him. So sometimes, I come here to practice." He tickled the fleches of the arrow against his wrist, "Lord Gisborne hasn't been here for years, and Lady Gisborne lives with her two kids, a son and a daughter. They remind me a lot of you and Antoine sometimes."
"No, Robin. You promised you'd call him by my own name for him," Catrine giggled and shoved the boy on the shoulder.
"You and the fat idiot," Robin laughed and covered his mouth afterwards, as though he had said the worst and dirtiest words he knew. "Anyway, they don't matter. Watch this, Catrine. See that fencepost? Bet I nail it right in the center." Robin drew the arrow on his bow and took aim. With a deep breath, he let the arrow fly down the hill, shooting the fencepost right in the dead center.
Catrine gasped, "Now let me," she ordered, trying to grab the bow from his hands.
The proud smile on his face fell as she grappled for his bow, "No way I'm letting a girl use this."
"I'm your cousin," she said gritting her teeth in effort as she tried to bat his hands from the bow. The two children struggled with each other for a bit, but then paused at the same time. Another, much younger girl rounded the corner of the large manor and started sprinting up the hill a ways off from them. Seconds later, a tall, almost gangly teenage boy chased after her, his long legs allowing him to catch up to the young girl in almost no time at all.
"Isabella," he yelled at her, grabbing her by her upper arm and dragging her back down the slope, "Maman has been searching for you for almost an hour now. You stupid, stupid girl." The young girl whined, her long dark hair whipping around as he spun her roughly, striding back towards the manor.
"But Guy," she whined, "I hate helping her with the wash." The boy only started dragging her after him faster.
"Excuse me, Robin," Catrine said through gritted teeth as she began walking down the hill towards the other children. Nearly running after them, Catrine had to do something, though she wasn't sure what. "Hey!" she called out after the boy and girl.
The boy froze in place, turning around at the strange voice. "Who are you?" he asked in anger, his voice cracking. Just like Antoine's, Catrine thought.
"My name is Catrine. And you shouldn't call her stupid just because she doesn't want to do something. And you shouldn't call her stupid just because she's a girl," she lectured, jutting her chin out as she looked into the boy's towering face.
He let go of the dark-haired girl's arm, "Sorry," he mumbled and then turned to his sister, ordering her to go to their mother in French. Or, at least that's what Catrine thought he said from the little French she knew. The boy turned back to face her, "Who are you?" he asked again, this time a bit gentler.
"I told you, my name is Catrine. I'm staying at Locksley Manor with my cousin," Catrine replied, allowing herself a slight and nervous smile.
"And, who is your cousin?" the boy continued to ask, folding his long arms in front of him.
His eyes darted over the top of her head just as she opened her mouth to answer. "I am," she heard Robin call. "And now if you'll excuse us, Guy, we were just about to have our own archery competition. And I was about to win. So, see you later," Robin teased as he grabbed Catrine's hand, putting the bow in it and pulling for her to follow.
"Can…" Guy asked softly, and Catrine stopped, tugging at Robin's arm to pull him to a stop too. "Can I join you? I can grab my bow and arrow quick," he added, pointing to the objects just on the other side of the fence.
"Aren't you a bit old to be playing with us children?" Robin teased. Guy ignored him and reached over the fence, grabbing his bow and arrows off the top of a barrel. Robin huffed and rolled his eyes, "I suppose you can. But only if you say 'please.'" Catrine laughed out loud, slinging the bow over her shoulder as Guy's face grew sourer.
"Please," he mumbled, casting an annoyed glance at Robin.
"Well then, come along, Guy," Catrine continued to giggle as she raced up the hill in front of the two boys. Now, this was fun, she thought, or what fun must be like, at least.
Robin raced ahead of Catrine and started running back towards Locksley. Just outside of the village, the group came to a stop. "See that bell hanging from the oak tree?" Robin asked, pointing to a small brass bell suspended by a leather strap. "Whoever hits that bell first wins," he shoved an arrow into Catrine hand. "Ladies first."
Guy stepped in front of them, "I'm oldest. I should shoot first."
"Alright, I suppose I did say 'ladies first,'" Robin laughed. Catrine shrank back from the two boys, seeing Guy's fist clench at his side, his grey eyes narrowing at Robin's obvious insult. She knew what suppressed rage looked like only too well, and a small, fearful whine escaped her mouth.
Guy shook his head and casted her a sidelong glance, then he placed his arrow on his bowstring and took aim. Just as he was about to release it, Robin began coughing obscenely loud. Guy startled and his shot went wide of the tree.
"Robin, you cheater," Catrine giggled as she shoved him from behind. "Let him take another shot," she teased.
"Alright, alright," Robin relented, pulling his bow out of her grip.
"That was my only arrow, Robin," he growled with a huff.
Something wooden pressed against his arm, and Guy looked down. "Here, you can take mine," Catrine offered, proffering the arrow in her hand.
His eyes widened in surprise, "Thank you… Catrine," he answered as he looked down at the girl.
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Robin laughed loudly as he and Catrine walked closer to Locksley Manor, the sunset casting long shadows through the town, "I told you I'd win."
"You are a good shot, Robin," Catrine replied with a smile.
Robin cocked his head and gently shoved her on the shoulder, "You're not so bad yourself. You actually hit the bell after a while, unlike Guy who hit the tree branch."
"But at least he hit the branch… right in the center," she giggled. And Robin joined in her laugh as they walked up to the manor door.
The children paused just outside of the thick wooden door. "And why not, Locksley?" a man yelled from just within the manor. "They are the same age, the same noble birth, even the same bloodline. Catrine will give you little trouble now. And she and Robin can move into Bonnchurch Lodge once they're married."
Their heads turned slowly to look at each other, both of their faces turned into grimaces of disgust. Married?
"No, Avon. I won't allow it. They're only twelve. Robin has so much left to learn in life, and I won't have him troubled with the thought of marriage just yet. Look Avon, I just lost Helen not five years ago. Robin and I need time. I don't want to sign him away from me to a marriage."
Robin sniffled next to Catrine at his mother's name, and she put her hand gently on his shoulder. He smiled at her and then began to walk away, trying not to let her see him wiping his eyes.
More loud shouts turned Catrine's attention back to her father, "Do you object to my daughter, then?" he growled as something heavy skidded across to wood floor.
"No, Avon. Your daughter is spirited and smart. I just don't want to arrange any marriage for Robin yet. Helen wouldn't want that."
Heavy footsteps came closer and closer to the door, but Catrine froze in place unable to bring herself to move at all, "Don't talk to me about Helen!" her father shouted. "You are only beginning to know what it's like to lose your wife, Locksley!" The door swung open away from Catrine. Her father's dark eyes drilled down at her, his face bright red from shouting. He took a long and deep breath, grabbing his daughter's arm and dragging her into the manor and over to a chair.
Sitting down, he tightened his grip on her arm, "How much did you hear?" No answer, she only stared down at her feet. He shook her roughly, "How much did you hear?" he shouted right at her face.
Catrine looked up and glanced around the room. Her uncle, looked worriedly down at her from the corner, shaking his head at the scene. "Nothing," Catrine mumbled as she looked at her father's reddened face.
"I don't believe you," Avon stated flatly, his voice edged with anger.
"I… heard… nothing," Catrine repeated, staring back at her father's angered gaze, her voice growing stronger.
"Fine!" her father shouted, and he picked her up, bending her face down over his knee. Bringing his hand hard down on her butt, he spanked her repeatedly until Locksley ran over, catching Avon's hand in the air.
"This isn't right. If she did hear nothing..." he began, his voice filled with compassion and concern.
Panicked, Catrine rolled off her father's leg and quickly started back towards the open door, tripping on herself to escape.
"Catrine, get back here!" Avon shouted after her. But she ran out of the manor, and away from everything inside. "Tanner!" he shouted, and Catrine ran even faster, her fearing driving her away from Locksley village itself.
Locksley laughed a bit, "I told you she was spirited, Avon."
"Shut up, and if you see Tanner, tell him I need him. She will not go unpunished for this."