Locksley Manor stood silent and still in the cold frost of the night. The house seemed to be sleeping, resting up from all of the activity during the day. Now the cook and servants had vacated the kitchen and the main hall. Guards wearing Gisborne colors stood snoozing, lax in their attention due to the recent absence of outlaws' nightly raids. Robin of Locksley was truly gone.
Inside the Manor's master bedroom the fire had long burned out in the grate. Only glowing embers transmitted heat to the still figure in the canopied bed. The connecting doors to a bathing chamber and dressing room were firmly shut against a draft. The burning coals threw a dull orange light over an armoire and chair clustered on that side of the room. The grand bed stood in shadow in the center of the bedroom. The figure lay motionless on his back, apparently asleep, but his ears were straining for the soft tread of a woman coming up the stairs.
Shivering from the cold and the early hour, Marian grasped the latch of the thick wooden door and slowly pushed open the door into their room, trying to prevent the creaking, which would disturb the figure. Marian silently crept into the dark room and over to the dying fire, her practiced feet noiseless on the floor boards. Divesting herself of the heavy woolen cloak, she grabbed an iron poker to stroke the fire. Placing more logs on the now cheery blaze, her slender body was illuminated by the glow for the dark figure in the bed. She quickly stripped herself of her gown and chemise, throwing them on top of a leather coat on the chair. She changed into a white linen nightgown and loosened her dark hair. Pulling pins out of the serviceable bun, she ran a couple of fast brush strokes through her tangled hair. After doffing her stockings, she tiptoed over to the canopied bed and drew back the covers.
The large figure on the bed shifted towards her, feeling the mattress dip with her weight and spoke.
"Marian, where were you?" Guy asked his deep voice low and rumbling in the quiet chamber. His tone betrayed his worry and anxiety for her welfare. He propped himself up on one muscled arm before peering at her through the darkness.
She slipped into the bed next to her husband, burrowing underneath the covers near to her his warm body. It was cold outside, and there was a light frost on the ground and the windows. Marian smiled at him and allowed her body to roll into his as the mattress sagged in the middle from their combined weight. Guy made her feel safe. And he always has, Marian thought, he never betrayed me as the Nightwatchman to the Sheriff. Guy had also protected her from countless manipulations and schemes of the Black Knights since then.
"Have you been able to sleep at all?" She smiled privately at the sight of Guy's tousled black hair, which softened his harsh features. Marian brought her cold white hand up to rest against Guy's cheek and stroked the day's worth of dark stubble she found there, hoping to erase his worry, by feeling her near him.
Guy sighed deeply and gathered her into his arms. Their marriage six-months earlier had not started with mutual feelings of love and trust as Guy had once hoped. It had been a marriage of convenience and under unhappy circumstances, Guy once again offered Marian his home and his sword for her protection and to his astonished surprise she accepted his proposal. Later when he heard word that Robin had left for the Holy Land before their engagement, his feelings of rejection and anger returned. Guy had confronted Marian with this knowledge, exposing the depth of his own feelings for her.
Flashback:
The large wooden door to Marian's chamber swung open violently with a large crash and Sir Guy, her betrothed, barged into her room. "Marian" he yelled.
"Sir Guy, at least do me the courtesy of knocking before you enter my chambers." Marian's eyes flashed with anger as she entered from her adjoining chamber. She wore a dark green silk dress with gathered fabric over the neckline and both shoulders, the dress she had worn the night she had visited Sir Guy at his home.
Guy ignored her, shutting the door, before striding over to her. "I have just heard some interesting news, Lady Marian," he began, his voice soft and dangerous. "Can you not guess?" he snapped, his body radiating tension and heat.
Marian now equally roused snapped back. "No, has Nottingham been burnt to the ground without my knowledge?" she asked sarcastically, folding her arms in a defensive posture.
Guy grabbed hers arms roughly "Don't test my patience woman!" his eyes burned black with deep anger. "Do you know where Hood is?" he asked tensely, waiting for her answer.
In response, Marian turned out of his grasp and sat down in an armchair near the fireplace. She folded her arms and looked at Guy calmly. "Yes, in fact I do. Hood is in the Holy Land. He has been gone from Sherwood for about a month." She focused her green gaze on Guy's stern face. "Why do you ask?"
Guy paced in front of her chair, gesturing forcefully with his arm. "Then there is no coincidence between him leaving and your agreement to our marriage?" Guy turned and knelt before her chair. "Why do you only now agree to be my wife? When I have courted you and followed you with my heart in my hands for so many months." His long, slender fingers encased in black gloves gripped the side of her chair.
Marian was silent for a moment, her hear averted lost in thought, as she considered Guy's questions. She slowly turned her body towards him. She picked up her rights hand with both of her much smaller whiter hands. "I believed that it was time to put away childish loves and dreams." She began softly, clasping his hand. "I am a different person than the one Robin left six years ago, with different needs and different hopes and now he has left again." She smiled sadly.
His anger fading, Guy swallowed and asked his most important question. "And if he comes back? Will you then leave me?"
"I may be many things, but I would not break my vows to both you and God." She smiled tenderly and stroked his hand. "I was a girl then. I loved a fantasy. I could never be first with Robin Hood. He will always leave, so that he may find his glory." Guy drew his left hand down to their combined finger and clasped her hand within his larger ones.
His face softened and shone with hope. "Marian…"
"I know now that you will be content to have just me without glory." Marian brought her hand to his face. Guy closed his dark eyes and leaned into her touch. "I can not say that I love you now Guy now, for we both would know it to be a lie, but I want to believe that I can in time. You are a good man. That is enough for me." Marian finished, dropping her hand to her lap.
Guy let go of her other hand and stood up from his position at her feet. "That is enough for me as well." Guy put his fingers under her chin and tilted her face up towards his. He then leaned his dark heard and kissed her swiftly. "Good day, Lady Marian." Then he walked out of the room, leaving Marian quite breathless.
End Flashback
Guy had been floored by her honesty, her honor and her belief. Every day he thanked God for those qualities in Marian and tried in return to give her the same trust and compassion. Resting his chin on top of her head, he repeated the question.
"Where were you?" His voice vibrated inside his bare chest under her cheek. Guy waited anxiously, knowing he was breaking a promise; a trust he made to her, all the same praying that she would answer his question.
Marian went still, her body freezing against his. "Guy, please," She began plaintively, "Don't. Don't ask." She tried to draw away from his heavily muscled body and his comforting arms.
Guy refused to let her withdraw. Refused to let her erect those barriers, barriers of fear, mistrust and anger, which Guy had only broken through after many months. "Don't do this Marian, Don't leave. Not yet," he whispered, his arms tightening.
"Don't leave? Why would I want to leave?" Marian asked confused and raised herself up onto one elbow, searching his dark gaze with her own blue one. "Guy what is wrong? What do you know?" When he did not answer, Marian said urgently "We discussed this. We decided that it is better for you not to know about my nocturnal wanderings. Not while you still work for the sheriff. Vasey would do anything to get his hands on us, use me to hurt you. You can't know now, it is too compromising for you."
Guy was silent his body tensed, all of his muscles bunching with the strain of what he needed to know. When he turned his head to look directly at Marian his dark eyes were troubled.
"But tonight I need to know." He stated.
Marian spoke slowly, "Guy you cannot know of my nighttime activities, whom I see. You remember that I promised you that I would stop being the nightwatchman, which I have honored, but I need to help people who are suffering under the sheriff's cruelty. When I married you, I promised to support you in your desires and wishes. Will you not do that same for me? I am lucky, I have a roof over my head, plenty of food, and a strong, wonderful husband willing and able to protect me. I have to help those who are denied such things in this life."
Guy spoke hesitantly but with conviction. "Marian I do support you in all of these things, but tonight…" he stopped and then abruptly went on "Hood is back." He laid back onto the bed and turned his head to stare unseeing at the canopy above.
"Hood is back." Marian said flatly her eyes going to her hands resting on top of the blankets. She repeated his words, but her tone confirmed the statement. "Yes" she sighed, "he has returned from the Holy Land." She waited a moment and then ventured, "How did you know?"
"The Sheriff" Guy said shortly. Marian could feel his walls closing her out, screening his emotions from her. Afraid of rejection and of loneliness, Guy would rather shut her out than make himself vulnerable before her. As if he could not help himself he asked "Did you go meet him tonight. Did he ask you to come with him." Guy's jaw worked as he fought to contain questions and wild accusations. The words came out harsh and filled with suppressed emotion.
"Yes and no," Marian said searching his turned away face for any sign. "I went to see him tonight because he asked me to. But he did not ask me to come to the Holy Land with him. He knew not to ask."
Guy's head whipped towards her at that last statement, his gaze hungry and curious. She knew tonight that she had to explain to Guy her true feelings about their marriage and about him, unsaid words that had been bubbling inside her for weeks.
"Robin came to visit his father's grave, to say goodbye to him and to me before he returns to the Holy Land. Though, he did not know at the time that for us it was a final goodbye. We talked of past times, of his future plans and about King Richard's fight in the Holy Land. He asked me if I was happy here. I told him I was, Guy, because I am, terribly happy with you." Marian felt Guy's body tense again, this time with expectation and hope. "Do you remember that day at the castle when you found out that Robin had left for the Holy Land?" Marian began. "And you became angry and asked did I intend to leave you when Hood came back from the Holy Land?" Guy nodded, his throat constricting at the sudden tightening in his chest. "I told you many true things that day Guy about how I felt about you and what I hoped our marriage would be and could be someday." Marian pressed on quickly words tumbling forth. "I didn't tell you that day that I knew I could trust you completely. I could trust you to protect me, not to betray my secrets and maybe one day with my heart. I knew that you would not treat the gift of my heart so lightly as another had done."
Guy felt a beginning sense of lightness on his soul, as if heavy worries had been eased, he began to take deep breaths, waiting for what Marian would say.
"By seeing Robin tonight I wanted to successfully close one chapter of my life. In order to start a new chapter with fresh, new beginning, one stage needs to end. I desperately want this new part of my life to begin, with you." Marian stopped fearing she had said too much, blinking back tears at the difficultly of what she was trying to tell this proud, stubborn, desperately hopeful man. "For I love you and I will never leave you; nor ever want to." Marian lifted her eyes to Guy's burning black gaze.
Guy felt each word touch the very marrow of his bones, filling him inside with such a well of hope and longing. He reached for Marian with trembling hands and kissed her softly, then forcefully with love and passion. Marian felt she was drowning as Guy's lips molded and firmed against hers, delving deeper and deeper, and his heavy body pressed her into the soft mattress. She wished it would never end as she twined her arms around his neck, kissing him back with all that was in her heart.
Lingering slightly over Marian's lips, kissing her softly Guy said, "You better not leave me for I will always follow you." He said gruffly. Guy lifted Marian's left hand to his lips and in a voice filled with emotion he vowed. "Your heart is too precious to me; nothing would ever induce me to part with it." Resting his weight over her on his elbows, Guy brushed his mouth over her hand, kissing her wedding ring and both recalled the vows they spoke that day. Marian's eyes glistened.
In a sudden change of mood, Guy smiled rakishly and said, "…But now Marian, I would like to recall you to the other pledges made that day." He continued kissing her, scratching her neck with his stubble as he traveled down her neck, the collar of nightgown and beyond. Marian's laugh floated through the room and down the no longer so silent halls of Locksley.
The End
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