Robin Hood. Fanfic chapter 1.

A lone figure pounded through the forest. His heart was racing and sweat covered his brow as he sprinted though the dark, tangled paths of Sherwood Forest. He ran as if the servants of the devil were after him, though with a second thought, that may be considered to be truth. He could still hear the clanging of the soldiers armour, though it was at a greater length from him than it was before. He risked a gance behind him and relief filled him as he realsied that he was fast becomng close to losing his trail. His breakneck pace and the fact that he was more used to the uneven floors of the woodland had gradually turned the tide in his favour. It helped that the soldiers were garbed in heavy armour and were much larger in proportion than he was. That, coupled with the terrible fear of the "bandits of sherwood forest" meant that the soldiers were unlikely to pursue the youth too far into the forest, a fact that he had been counting upon if he were to escape their clutches. Nevetheless, their resolve was stronger than the youth had expected, and he had been hard-pressed to  escape the eager hands of his pursuers. Now, at last, the soldiers seemed to be slowing, as the weight of both their armour and their fearful minds seemed to starting to weigh them down. Still, it was another two to three gut wrenchng minutes before the captain of the group sounded a halt, and the soldiers began to make a slow, if not completely unwelcome, retreat. He did not stop running, however, untl they were lost from sight, and even then, he only paused for a moment to catch his breath. Just as he was about to start off again, he heard a voice that was so loud, it appeared that the speaker was stood directly behind him. He spun around, dropping int a crouch, preparing to grapple with whomever it was.
He need not have worried however, as the voice was only an echo. One of the soldiers was shouting loud enough to ensure that he would hear them. "Oi there, do not think yourself as having outsmarted us. You may have escaped us this day, but you are hereby an outlaw. When we catch you, and be assured, we shall, you will have a place amongst those condmned to the gallows. That is, if you survive whatever the Sherwood Bandits fit to throw at you."                             The Youth heard the echoes of laughter as the soldiers retreated towards the edge of the forest, and he eventually knew himself to be alone. He did not test the luck that some higher power had seen fit to grant him, however, and took of again. Heading deeper into the depths of the forest.
Night had fallen, though the youth noticed that there was very little difference between night and day in the silence amidst the dark, dusky shadows of the forest. He was resting at the foot of an enormous oak, in a dense pile of leaves that had fallen to the ground due to the swift hand of the yearly Fall. It seemed to him that he had but closed his eyes for a moment before something awoke him. He sat up, wondering what had awoken him. As far as he was able, he could not notice any discernable difference between how the hollow had looked as he settled to rest and what it looked like now. Then again, his hunting senses twitched and he noticed a flicker of movement at the edge of his vision. He rose swiftly to his feet and grabbed the nearest weapon that came to his hand, a fallen bough from the oak tree. He spun to where he had noticed the movement between the trees, but saw only still shadows and darkness. He turned back and reflexively brought the stick up to parry a blow. The outh exchanged several more blows with the fgure, before disarming him and shoving him to the ground. He looked at his attacker and was suprised to see him laughing. His voice, for it was a man, was joined by a ring of others. The youth looked around to find himself surrounded by hooded figures, and he grabbed his only weapon more tightly in his fists.
As one, the group lowered ther hoods, revealing themselves to be a group of men, aged between, from what the youth could tell, those on the cusp of manhood and those who were of the older generation, aged about thirty. The one who had attacked him stopped laughing and got to his feet. The youth flinched and took a step back, into a more defensive stance. The young man, for h was one of the younger one in the group, held his hand out. "Here now, brother" h spoke, with warm tones. "Ye will nay be needing that. We have been following you for the greate part of the day, ever since you entered this fair forest followed by those devils minions." He glancd around at the others in the group. "We saw that you are indeed a gifted woodsman, to be able to traverse ths frest without harm befalling you and without making ne'e so much as a whisper. No many here could claim so much. My name is John, but this lot call me little john. And we here are the Sherwood Bandits."
Another stepped forward from the ring of men. "Ere, little John, this here lad is dead on his feet. Lets leave the ponp and ceremony till the morn, eh?" He looked over at the youth, "My name is william Scarlet, but this lot know me more as Will, as you will if you wish to join our merry little band of rogues. What say you?" The youth froze in place, "What" he managed to ask. The men laughd again. The one who had ntroduced himself as little john spoke up again. "Join us, we could use someone like you. And it's not like you're going home anytime soon." The youth thought it through. He raised his head, and looked at Will, for it was he who had first made the offer.  "If this not be a jest, then yes, I would be glad to join the terrors of Sherwood Forest." The men laughd again at the description of them. "We not be jesting. We would lie you to join us lad." This came from an older man. The youth turned to him, "And, if I may" he asked, "What be your name."  "I've been here long that I nearly forget," came the reply, accompanied by a throaty chuckle, "but I am known by this lt of brigands as Much." The youth smiled. "Well there is not much I can say to that," he joked, "and I would be honoured to be counted amongst your number."    
This was greeted with cheers all around. Little John stepped forward, "Then there is but one thing left to do." The youth raised his eyebrows. "And what may that be?" he asked. Little John grinned, "Well, we can hardly get by by calling you 'Oi' or 'Here you' now can we?" he asked with a grin.
The youth smiled at him. "I wish not to be known as I was, but by who I am." He paused, did he create a new name or did he rephrase that by which he was known. He grinned, and decided to simply be known without his title. He turned to the group at large. "My name is Robin."