She walked through the meadow like a nymph, stroking the long grass as she passed it. The hot sun kissed her skin, and summer's heat encased the land in a warm haze. Her shoes lay behind her forgotten, as did all sense of duty. For one blissful moment she was free to be herself, to let all guards down and not worry about others viewing her private feelings.
Little did she realise that someone was watching her one moment of freedom. As children they called the meadow "their island", for it was at the top of a steep hill and surrounded on all sides by the dense forest through which none but the bravest ventured. It was their favourite playground as children, and a secret meeting place as lovers but it had lain abandoned these past five years. She had not dared to enter that sacred place whilst he was at war, the memories of hurt and disappointment still too raw to bear. But he had returned, and with him her desire to see the meadow had grown, until she could no longer fight the temptation to visit that forgotten place.
Upon reaching the middle, she sat down and began to entwine the grass around her fingers as she studied the view. The forest spread out before her like a vast blanket, and in the far distance she spotted the small church marking the village of Locksley. It astonished her that she had never realised the beauty of these views before, but then, she smirked, her attention was always focused upon another.
Watching from the trees, Robin was entranced with this beautiful woman. He was torn between the wish to leave her to her own private moment and the need to see her after spending so long apart. The choice had seemed so simple back then. His King had needed him as did his God, to defend the Holy Land from those that desecrated it. In his naivety he had assumed that his betrothal to Marian would continue until his return, whereupon their marriage would be an ecstatic event celebrating their love and his glory won on the battlefield. This notion had been shattered in this very meadow, with her throwing his mother's ring at him and running into the forest to prevent him from seeing her tears. As Robin sat in the tree he couldn't help but think bitterly, if only someone had showed him this beautiful scene before then nothing would ever have tempted him to leave.
Unaware of her audience, Marian lay down amongst the grass and closed her eyes, allowing her hair to billow out creating a fan around her head. She listened to the buzzing of the insects around her, glad that for once they were the only thing to be heard. Her mind drifted to him and she started to wonder where he was now. She opened her eyes to look at the clouds above her and the heavens beyond that. She felt so weary from fighting everyone, especially herself, as she was aware that her anger towards him had thawed and in the depth of her heart she longed for nothing else now but to reunite with him. Sometimes it felt as though every bone in her body was pulling towards him, her will power the only thing that kept them apart.
Suddenly she sat up and stared at the village in the distance. She began to question her will power and the merits of her stubbornness. What if she did relent to her feelings? She knew it would make her happy, and it would cost her a lot less than constantly having to fight herself whenever he was near. She wasn't sure of his feelings, but then she reasoned that she had never been entirely sure of them as he had never admitted to loving her.
But then what if he didn't love her, or the years apart had worn away any great attachment that he did feel. She knew her strength, and she knew she could never recover from another rejection by him. Ultimately she didn't trust him to stay, believing that he could leave Nottingham whenever he wanted too and she knew that to let him back in her heart only for him to abandon her again would destroy her.
As this conflict raged inside her, Marian felt the hot tears run down her cheek and watched as they disappeared into the grass. Her feelings of misery and despair, so carefully kept out of sight from others, could no longer be contained. The forest blurred into a green mass before her, as she fought for control over her own body. These past five years had worn away her naivety, gentleness and happiness. The great burden of supporting all those around her weighed constantly about her neck and the fear of letting those most dependant on her down kept her up at night. Yet in this one moment of freedom the only person she had to worry about was herself and the feelings that she had ignored for the sake of others welled up uncontrollably, free at last.
Robin silently climbed down to the forest floor, like a fragment of metal drawn towards a magnet. Yet something stopped him from revealing himself to her. Their many years of separation had created a gulf between them. Once he had known her better than she knew herself, but now he was unsure of how to approach her. As he stared his face began to lose its carefree youthfulness, replaced by a mature weariness that questioned his every move.
The one thing he wanted in this world was her, but he had little idea how to reach it. The charming remarks she had once found amusing now merely irritated her and his carefree attitude that had once been so loved was now dismissed with disapproval. Yet to be serious with her would be to show his deepest and most vulnerable feelings, something which he had never had the courage to do. He had tried to tell her so many times, but had always stumbled at the last hurdle. When he returned he had been so afraid that she would not like the man before her who had been changed so much by the horrors of war, he had endeavoured to be the carefree youth of her past.
Little did he realise that Marian too had been much changed by the war at home and she could no longer be the carefree girl who had loved that youth. Instead Marian yearned for the deepest and sincerest of relationships, built on the wisdom of maturity rather than the fancy of carefree and capricious youth. Sometimes she thought she saw flashes of deeper sincerity from him, which was slowly igniting a hope that she refused to recognise.
The humid rays continued to bathe Marian in summer's heat and her heart began to sink as she realised that she would soon have to return to devil's nest. Slowly she began to collect herself, wishing with every fibre in her body that she could just run away into the forest and forget the living hell that she had to survive in. The forest felt like a temptress, trying to entice her away from a life she hated. She knew how easy it would be to disappear into that vastness, to forget the pain and fear that dwelt in her at all times and live as the carefree girl who had once roamed the green sea. He would also be there, her own Ceyx calling her to jump into the sea, to be cast out and never to return to their previous lives.
But the image of a weakened man refused to leave her, and Marian knew she would never be able to run away without always looking back for her father. He was the one person who had never abandoned or hurt her, and she felt that he was the only one on which she could rely. His deteriorating health was a constant concern, and she knew her duty was to him first. Thus pushing all thought of freedom from her mind she stood up to collect her things.
Her shoes were a little far off and she wandered idly over to them in order to prolong the soft feeling of grass around her feet. As she bent over to gather them she felt a piercing sense of eyes on her. Knowing the fiends that prowl the forest she straightened up and moved her hand over the handle of the concealed knife in her belt. Her eyes scanned the trees around her, but she saw nothing to suggest that someone lurked there. Feigning to pick up a flower on the ground, Marian continued to search the area for signs of life, straining to hear a single noise that would give away a hiding spot.
Robin saw the change in her stance and knew that she suspected someone was watching her. For a moment he was scared that she would find him there and dismiss him away from her presence.
He was rooted to the spot with indecision, she rooted by apprehension. His feet moved an inch and snapped a small branch on the floor. In the silence of the forest, this slight noise felt like crack of thunder and gave Marian the knowledge of where her audience hid.
He cursed himself inwardly for giving away his position. Her eyes burned with indignation and defiance in his direction, and he knew that she would not leave before confronting her watcher. His footsteps echoed as he walked towards the edge of the meadow, whilst her eyes narrowed at the sound of his approach. He took a breath before he stepped out into the sun, nervous at the approaching encounter.
She saw the outline of a man before her, half concealed by shadow and yet so familiar. She continued to stare at him as he took a step into the meadow, the sun rays bouncing of his dark hair and revealing the handsome face of the man she had loved for so many years.
For the first time in five years their eyes met across their secret island.