Stave 5: The End of It ~ By Flora and Kathye together
When de Rainault opened his eyes he was back in his own bed again. Early sunlight fell through his high window. The Sheriff sat up straight. He did not die! He had another chance! He hurried out of bed and ran into the castle hall where he found Gisburne sleeping in his chair, covered in ivy (not the
chair).
"Gisburne!" he shouted while he ran towards his sleeping steward.
Gisburne was immediately wide awake. He quickly pulled the ivy from his shoulders and stuffed it away. "My Lord, I..."
The Sheriff cut him off. "Gisburne, what day is it today?"
"It...it is Christmas Day today...my lord."
"It's Christmas Day," the Sheriff muttered to himself. "I still have time." He turned and shouted to Sir Guy. "Gisburne! You will organize a Christmas party this instant!" Gisburne's face suddenly lit up.
"And you'll send food to Wickham! Tell the cooks to prepare everything we have - everyone in the town is invited!"
His steward's mouth fell wide open. "My lord, are you..."
"It's Christmas, Gisburne! Do as I say!"
"Of course, my lord, I..." The tall, blond-haired man bowed and hurried out of the hall.
Just as Sir Guy reached the door, the Sheriff shouted to him, "And Gisburne! We need to take better care of the horses. Spend whatever you need to on them!"
"Yes, my lord!" the steward stammered, then turned and ran from the hall.
"Now, what else do I need to fix?" he mumbled. His eyes hit on his breakfast table, heaped with food. He grabbed a nearby basket and emptied the contents of the table into it. He ran out of the castle, startling the guardsmen in the courtyard (of course, the fact that he neglected to get dressed first probably caused most of the astonishment).
As de Rainault ran down the street, shouting holiday greetings at the townspeople (and scaring them to death in the process), the Merries stepped out of their hiding places.
"Well, that went well," their leader said happily.
"Don't know why you're so happy. This won't last no longer than two weeks," Scarlet grumbled.
Robin replied with a smile, "Yes, but what a happy two weeks it's going to be." He put his arms companionably around Scarlet and Marion. "Let's go join Edward and help them to celebrate their good fortune, for however long it lasts."
THE END
"Wait! Wait! Flora, we haven't had the line yet!"
"What line?"
"You know, the famous last line for 'A Christmas Carol'."
"Oh." Suddenly, Edward's youngest child (who, coincidentally, was named Timothy) appeared on the street in front of them. He looked confused until Flora whispered into his ear. With a little prompting, he stepped forward and said in a loud voice:
