Reynard grinned, knowing she was being sly and enjoying that knowledge. “Is it any wonder that the words ‘brother’ and ‘bother’ sound so much alike then? Sibling can be… quite trying.”” he chortled in sympathy. The, as though a thought struck him, the laughter died away. “Think on this, Greensleeves. Just as you dared to dream when you came to our meeting tonight, so too might your Theo have his fancies. Be sure to show him some kindness, some tenderness now and then despite his mischief. Perhaps your life of work may not allow for much, but grant what you might to him in sisterly love and motherly love. You may find his behavior much improved. My own brother…”

He stopped himself, not wanting to ruin the night with such memories of his own family affairs. Chuckling darkly, he shook his head. “Another time for that, perhaps. After all, this night is for you, my Greensleeves, not for maudlin reminiscing! “

“Will you, nil you, you did save me that night,” he admittedly candidly. “Even after my pursuers were well away, you might still have screamed and called them back. You might have struck at me with a rock. You might even have lighted back to your home and raises a hue and cry, saying you were lured in the woods and come upon by a seducer. But you didn’t.” His words softened to a whisper again, and Reynard bent his head to whisper sweetly and gratefully into her ear. “You didn’t. You heard me out, accepted my apologies, and allowed me my flight. In doing so, it seems to me that you not only saved my life but something that makes life all the worth living, that without it life would be naught more than a drudgery of existence. Hope, Greensleeves. You saved my life with hope.”

And the words were true. Reynard had come to the point in his life where he had decided to face the callous world dressed in the armor of his hurts and heartaches, to take on the combined force of humanity’s injustice and fate’s cruelty. Left to his own devices, the highwayman would not doubt have become more villainous over time. Only now, a village maiden had believed in him enough to come to him in the night, trusting in his promise to vouchsafe her innocence and maidenhead with only trinkets of gold for reassurance. Whimsically, Reynard had to wonder if there wasn’t some magic in this might after all. What had begun as a lark and a show of gratitude was becoming a bewitching enchantment upon him.

“And I would never take from you anything that you did not freely offer, Greensleeves.” He dared enough to place the lightest of kisses behind her ear. “Even then, I would bid you to well consider the granting of any such gifts first. As promised, I will be fair with you.”

Her last question remained unanswered, and his heart felt heavy for the mentioning of it. Still, he had promised her whatever he had in his power would be hers, and he was determined to remain an honorable rogue.

Reynard looked up towards the moon high above, focusing his sight upon it as it helped clear the morose feeling that accompanied the telling of his tale, however brief. A dark bitterness remained in his voice, a hint of cold steel and hard lead as he stiffened in the saddle. “As for those who hunted me… These lands were mine once. Or at least my family’s. Ancient oaths, rites of custom, and the solemn word of law were broken in favor of man’s glittering gold and clinking coins. Our lands and our responsibilities were purchased away. I would seek revenge and collect a toll from those who trespass against the rightful lord of these fields and forests. For daring to do by stealth what I can not do by mortal law, they hunt me.” A grim smirk tugged at one corner of his lips. “Fate and fortune that night were strangers to me that night as I sought treasure to replace what was taken from me.”

 The horse had carried them surely back to the grotto as he had told his tale, the food basket now clearly revealed beneath the moonlight to sit besides a stream. Before, shadows had hidden their midnight feast. It was as though it had appeared by magic now that lunar light shone down upon it. 

Suddenly, in a mercurial change of mood, Reynard laughed again heartily. “Yet I should thank them, should I not?! For in their clamoring over my breach of promise towards the hangman’s daughter, the pursuit led me to a greater treasure. To you. My Greensleeves.”