Disclaimer: The BBC owns anything familiar. The title and the chapter names come from the song Love Story – by Taylor Swift

Saafiyah cried bitterly and refused to look her father in the face as he said good-bye to her.

He had sold her.

Like a servant.

To be married to the enemy.

She was being sent to a country she had never seen before, to live for the rest of her life, as a stranger's wife.

And not just any stranger.

Prince John, whose brother was leading the Crusade against her country and her people.

"Saafiyah, you must understand that this is for the best."

"The best for who? Certainly not for me!" Saafiyah shouted before stepping onto the ship and making her way to the other side to stare out over the water.

Her father did not follow her to try and rectify the fight before he saw her for what could be the last time.

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The caravan had been traveling for at least 3 or 4 days and Saafiyah knew that they had at least one stop before their final destination.

Right now they were in a densely wooded area and it was beginning to grow dark. A guard banged on the door and she moved the curtain aside to look out.

"Yes?"

"About another hour's walk milady."

Saafiyah thanked him and put the curtain back, then leaned back in the carriage and sighed.

If she weren't surrounded by quite so many guards she was sure she could make a run for it. But even if she ran and was not caught it would be hard to remain inconspicuous. She was fairly certain there weren't too many Saracens around here.

She could hear birds singing outside and thought it was odd as birds usually chirped like this in the morning. A few moments later an owl hooted and then all hell broke loose.

She heard the whistles of arrows through the air and heard the thuds as bodies hit the ground. Everything stopped moving and then she heard the shouts.

Fear stricken she sat as if paralyzed as the sounds of a battle raged around her. Besides the arrows, she could hear the clank of metal on metal, and the sounds of something heavy hitting flesh. She could try running now but that could be like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

An arrow whistled through the window piercing the wood by her head. Her mind was made up. She threw open the door and bolted, dodging arrows and swords as she made for the darkness of the trees.

She had just passed into the ring of trees when someone gripped her arm and tossed her to the ground.

"And where do you think you're going?" the guard standing over her sneered. Saafiyah crab walked backwards as quickly as she could, knowing that it was futile. The guard grabbed a leg and yanked her back.

"Oh, no, you don't. You're coming with me."

"I'm not trying to be funny, but the lady's already got plans this evening." Saafiyah gasped as the guard whipped around.

A hooded figure stood in the distance, an arrow aimed at the guard.

"We'll see about that. This lady is property of Prince John." the guard said as he drew his sword.

"Still not trying to be funny, but I don't really like that whole women as property thing."

"You're not gonna like being dead either." The guard sprang forward.

Saafiyah breathed a sigh of relief as the hooded figure loosed the arrow, striking the guard in the heart.

Then, he was beside her, reaching down to help her up. She hesitated, and then gripped his hand, not sure what made her trust him.

"All right, then, sweetheart?"

She nodded.

"Good, let's be off then."

"But, where are we going."

"Don't worry, far from Prince John. Once we heard about his precious cargo, we decided to intervene."

"So, you already knew of me?"

"Of course, love. Everyone knows about the Saracen Princess."

"I would rather they did not."

He laughed and turned to start walking.

"At least tell me who you are."

The figure laughed and turned to face her, sweeping a bow as he removed his hood.

"Allan A'Dale, at your service, milady."

Under that hood was the most handsome face Saafiyah had ever seen in her life. Her breath hitched, but either Allan didn't notice, or he pretended not to, and turned into the forest.

Saafiyah hitched up her skirts and followed Allan through the trees. It was growing very dark very quickly and she stumbled often.

However it appeared that Allan knew every twig and branch by heart. Finally he stopped and waited for her to catch up, holding out an arm.

"Come on, love, we'll never get there at this pace."

"Well it must be easy for you. You know your way around and you are not in a dress."

"Marian gets around all right in her dresses."

"Who is Marian? And we do not wear this style of dress where I come from. This is quite impossible."

"Marian is Robin's lady love. What kind of dress do you wear then?"

"And who is Robin? They are looser and lighter because it is so hot."

"Ah I see so they're like see through, right? You'll meet Robin soon enough."

Saafiyah let go of his arm and gasped, "NO, they are not see through, what kind of people do you think we are."

"All right, I was just making a joke!" He held out his arm again. "My apologies."

Saafiyah glared at him, then tucked her hand through his arm. With her hand she held up her skirts as they continued walking. If only you could see me now, father she thought.

Some time later they came to a small clearing. There was a fire and a group of men sitting about. When they appeared the men all have a whoop.

One stepped forward bowing to Saafiyah. "Welcome, Princess."

"That's Robin." Allan said.

Read and Review? Don't hate me for not doing Djaq/Will…I already feel like Will's being cheated on, lol.