Aiming Straight, Aiming True.

Chapter 47 - The battle

A/N: Play the song to the top or side, it works really well for this chapter.

Silence. The calm before the storm as the two armies stared at each other, waiting. Waiting for one of them to make a move. Stephen sat on his horse, trying to look calm but inside he was panicking.

He glanced at Hunter but Hunter was staring straight ahead. There at the front of the opposing army was John and next to him, Damon. John's mine, Hunter thought as he hurriedly put his helmet on.

John smirked at the Prince's army, his eyes shifting towards where he could see the city folk evacuating. They won't make it far, John thought. He raised his sword into the air and his men shifted, the archers at the back raised their bows. Stephen saw what was to happened and yelled out loudly, Hunter yelling the same thing.

" Men, shields up, archers counter attack", both boys yelled. As one, they raised their shields while out of the corner of Stephen's eye, he saw his archers raise their bows. Please be safe Arena, Stephen thought.

Arena's heart hammered in her chest as she obeyed the order. She could make out John and next to him, Damon. Both wore armour, including helmets. Damn I'll have to pick a different spot instead of his eye, Arena thought.

" Fire!", yelled both Stephen and John. Arrows on both sides flew through the air, whizzing, the arrowheads glinting in the sunlight as they headed towards the opposing armies. She watched her own arrow, quickly knocking another arrow and firing again. Her first arrow collided against one of the enemy's arrows but her second landed dead on target. The arrow pierced one of the opposing archers and he went down.

Both Stephen and John pointed their swords at each other. " Attack!", they yelled and chaos exploded. Men rushed forward to intercept while archers continued to fire. Arrows rained down on everyone but Stephen's army kept their shields up as they fought John's men.

Arena swiftly glanced sideways at her uncle. He looked calm as he fired arrow after arrow insanely fast. Arena kept firing her arrows, aiming for the opposing archers and those who dared get too close to her. She was also targeting men who went for her friends, especially Hunter and Stephen.

It was her repayment for the boys saving her life but it was more than that. She cared for them, she didn't know what she would do without those two idiots.

Robin kept firing arrow after arrow. He wanted this over and over now! He could make out John calmly coming forward on his chestnut coloured horse. He slashed, hacked and stabbed soliders without batting an eye. They made eye contact and even from under his helmet, Robin knew he was smiling.

The boy Damon was next to him, also fighting fiercely but his style was different from John, Robin thought. John fought for victory and amusement, Damon fought for his life and passion? Who was that boy, Robin thought as he continued to shoot arrows.

He knew he would run out of arrows soon and then he would join the prince, Hunter and the rest of his men with his sword. For once Robin was allies with royalty. Never thought that would happen, he thought.

...

Women were crying, men who couldn't fight were cursing and children ran panicky. Tom was hustled along as a few soldiers, hurried everyone along. They could hear the fighting clearly. The sounds of metal on metal and cries from the soliders.

He saw a little girl, a little bit younger then himself stumble and fall, crying. Tom hurriedly helped her up and without a word picked her up, swinging her onto his back. Even though he was small, he was strong. It was from all the running, the training his father made him do as they travelled with Robin and the Merry Men, his family.