Robin Hood and the Dragon’s Mate

Stories

### Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Pulled through time by a dragon shaped bracelet, Ashlyn must rely on the help of a man who claims to be Robin Hood and his not quite human band of outlaws to find her missing little brother.

Complete Chapters 13

Rating 4.7 ( 32 reviews ) Age Rating 16+

{"language":"en","storyId":21475,"genres":[{"name":"Fantasy","path":"/genres/fantasy"},{"name":"Adventure","path":"/genres/adventure"}],"authorName":"DySai","authorPath":"/DySai","status":"complete","lastUpdatedAt":1441141176,"chaptersCount":13,"rating":4.71875,"reviewsCount":32,"ageRating":"16+"}

Prologue

A hulking

bear of a man stood at the center of a barrel thick log crossing the

river. It was the only crossing point

that Robin had seen for over a mile. He

stepped onto the log, beckoning for Will to stay where he was. The huge, dark haired man lifted a

quarterstaff threateningly, calling, “This be my bridge. To pass will cost you.”

Robin cocked

his head and sighed wearily, “My friend and I are tired and hungry. We must cross this river before we can rest.”

The big man

stood straighter, puffing his thick chest out and repeated, “To pass my bridge

will cost you.”

Robin

shrugged tugging the insides of his pockets out to show nothing but lint, “As

you can see, I haven’t any money. I’m

just a common outlaw without a penny to my name.”

The man

scratched at his thick black beard and declared, “I am John. John Little, and if you cannot pay then you

cannot pass.”

Robin

beckoned to Will who tossed him a long wooden staff. It was not as thick as the staff held by

John. Robin lifted the staff. He pointed it at the burly man on the log,

“My friend and I are intent on passing.

Step aside or we will go through you.”

His back had straightened, and his voice had taken on an edge of steel.

John’s thick

dark eyebrow lifted, “You think you can defeat me, little man? I’ll have you taking a cold bath in no

time.” He chuckled, glancing

suggestively at the river, and then settled back into his ready stance. The sounds of the forest seemed to quiet down

as if even the animals were anticipating Robin’s reaction.

Robin

smirked, “I think that on this slippery log, my slight size and nimble feet

will be to an advantage.” He raised his

staff, twirling it in the air like an extra-large baton, and advanced. John was quick for such a giant of a man. Robin soon found that he had more difficulty

dodging his powerful blows than he had expected. Robin darted forward jabbing John in the gut

with the rounded end of the staff. He

was rewarded by harsh blow to the back.

He fell forward and rolled along the log, bounding to his feet at the

end of his impromptu somersault. He spun

around just in time to ward off another blow.

They

continued to exchange blows, dodging and ducking and blocking blows with their

own staves to avoid serious injury.

After what seemed like an hour with relatively no progress, the

intensive clashing of weapons began to slow as both men finally began to

tire. They started aiming for the legs

to try knocking each other off of the log.

Robin’s staff slipped behind John’s leg and tripped him just as a solid

blow to the shoulder knocked Robin backwards at just the right angle to throw

him off balance. With two mighty

splashes both men hit the water simultaneously.

John’s face

instantly flared red with anger as he wiped the water from his face and beard. He sputtered to spit out what had gotten into

his mouth, but Robin only laughed. “It

looks like we’ve both gotten our baths for the day.” He wiped the icy water from his eyes and then

with a grin he shook his head like a wet dog.

Will, who had

stood leaning against a tree on the bank watching the duel, started laughing at

his friend’s antics. The two men’s humor

was contagious. John finally swallowed

his pride, and with a harrumph he began laughing along with them. Soon he climbed up onto the grassy bank,

holding out his hand to help Robin from the water on the far side of the river.

Will made his

way tentatively along the slippery, wet log to join the others on the far

side. He stared at John incredulously

then turned to Robin, “He bested you!”

He cried.

Robin

laughed, “It happens, but look at him.

He is a bear of a man. He is a

worthy opponent to be sure.” He rubbed

one of the many bruises that he knew he would be feeling tomorrow. He held out his hand to his burly

opponent. “I am called Robin and this is

Will. Would you join us for a meal and a

chance to dry off by the fire?”

John

hesitated only a moment before the string of fish that Will held along with the

growling of his own stomach swayed him to agree. Once they sat around a fire, with the fish

sizzling merrily over the flames, they began talking and soon John found that

he was comfortable with these men. After

they had dished up the food, John began to tell Robin and Will his story

between bites of fish.

“I was out

hunting, sneaking up on a huge buck, when I heard a growl behind me. I whirled and came face to face with a mighty

silver wolf. He stood as tall as my shoulder

and his eyes were yellow, intense. He

must have been hunting the same buck, but he apparently did not like me being

near his prey. He lunged before I could

react and bit me on the shoulder.”

Pulling back the collar of his shirt he showed them the massive bite

scars. To have a jaw large enough to

leave those marks, Will imagined the wolf must have been every bit as huge as John

described it.

“The buck bolted right then, and for some

reason, the beast released me to give chase.

If he hadn’t, wouldn’t be alive today.

I was injured and bleeding, but eventually I stumbled through the woods

to my home and my lovely wife. Alice

patched me up good.”

A terribly

sad and lonely look overcame him at the mention of his wife, “Over the next few

weeks I grew to be awfully bad tempered, getting angry about anything and

everything. One day, I lost my temper

over a fruitless fishing trip. Alice

said something about me having better luck the next day and…” he seemed to wilt

at his memories. His next words came as

a bare whisper, “I snapped. I gave in to

my anger and started to see red. When I

woke I was…different. I was standing

over my wife’s torn and bloody dress.

Somehow, I had changed into a wolf.

I ran into the forest. Eventually

I shifted back. I had to steal clothing

because I had none, and I…I couldn’t go back home. I am not certain what happened that day, but

I know that I hurt my lovely Alice, maybe even killed her, and I can never