Title: Not All Walls Are Visible
Fandom: Robin Hood (BBC)
Rating: G
Length: 565
Summary: Robin finds his leadership challenged

His plan to enter the castle had been foiled.  In his frustration Robin punched the castle wall harder than he had intended.  He held up his fist showing his bloody knuckles to the rest of the gang, looking for some sympathy.

He didn’t receive any.  Alan merely raised his eyebrows.  “Ah, that’s your latest plan, is it?  We knock the wall down stone by stone.  Could take us a while.”

Will Scarlet nodded.  “That’s your bow hand you’ve injured.  You’re fortunate you didn’t break anything.”

Much, who would normally rush to his master’s assistance whenever he was hurt, didn’t even deign to comment.  He could think of ways into the castle which they hadn’t attempted, but when he’d tried to suggest something Robin had dismissed him out of hand.

Angrily Robin turned away from the gang.  “We’ll try again tonight.  Meet back here at dusk.”  He strode off, leaving the others to their own devices.

***

Later, Robin slipped into Knighton Hall.  He found Marion by herself and walked over to her, cradling his right arm with his left.

She looked at him.  “What have you done?”

He showed her his fist and said, “I brought it to you to kiss better.”

She looked critically at the injury.  “You hit a wall?” she queried.  “Why?  Wouldn’t it do what you told it to do?  How dare it disobey the great Robin Hood?  I suggest you wash the stone dust out of the cuts to avoid your hand getting infected.  And while you’re about it, perhaps you should wash the superiority out of your head, before it completely affects the rest of you.”

Faced with her lack of understanding, Robin once again stormed off.

***

Robin made his way back to the clearing in the forest which was the current home of the outlaws.  Little John was there alone.

Robin approached him.  “I don’t understand what’s happening,” he began.  “Every time I go to speak to people it’s as though they’ve thrown a wall up between us.”

Little John looked at him.  “It’s not their wall, it’s yours.”

“That’s ridiculous!”  Robin started to leave.

“No Robin, you need to listen to me.”

“Why should I?  I’m the leader; I decide what happens.”

“You are only the leader because we choose to follow you.  You have no power over us.  You’re not a king, or a ruler, you are an outcast, just the same as everyone else.  We followed you because you had experience and knew what you were doing and because you cared for your men.  Now, some days you are little better than Gisborne, ordering us around, refusing to listen.  It’s not us who’ve erected the wall, but you.”

“I have a job to do, surely you can see that?”

“Have you?  It’s a job you have chosen; you decide who we should help and who we don’t.  You never ask us.  In fact you are worse than Gisborne, he, at least, is acting under the Sheriff’s orders.  Which I suppose means you are the equivalent of Vaisey.”

“How dare you?” Robin exploded.  But then he looked at his knuckles and reflected how pointless that particular action had been.  He wasn’t going to accept Little John’s assessment, but it was possible his behaviour had been slightly unreasonable.  “Let the rest of them know there’s been a change of plan.  We’ll meet here at dusk instead.”