I am—once again—at a stall-point writing HF, so I took a break and decided to write a one-shot. During 2x10, "Walkabout", I noticed how adamant Will was that Marian left Nottingham and survived for Robin's sake. This is my take on it. It's told in the first-person from Will's point of view.

Disclaimer: I don't own Will Scarlett—but it's on my "To Do" list.

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o…o

He told me to look after Marian. I went, because he asked me to do it, but I would rather have stayed behind.

With Djaq.

Because I want to know she's safe.

But, thinking on it, that is why Robin asked me to keep an eye on his Marian—because he wants somebody to make certain that she is safe from the terrors that surely await Nottingham if they fail to find the Sherriff. It isn't that he doesn't care about the people of Nottingham, but he knows that Prince John's army descending on the place is inevitable, should something happen to the Sherriff—but, if he could save only one person from the massacre, and this is a distinct possibility, he would pick Marian, his love, over any of them.

He knows he can live without his lands and without the wealth and privilege that comes with being the Earl of Huntington and the Lord of Locksley, but that without the woman he loves, his life would have no meaning. And since he can't do this himself, he's sent one of us to make sure that she's safe.

I suppose I should feel honoured that he trusts me enough to ask this of me, but to be quite honest I would prefer to be looking after my own love. Not that she knows that she is.

I want to be with her to protect her, because I'm terrified that if something happens to this place, something will happen to her. If Prince John's armies are willing to raze Nottingham to the ground and kill hundreds of innocent people just because something might have happened to the Sherriff, they will spare nothing for Djaq—a Saracen, a woman, and a scientist who would be branded a witch, or worse.

In many ways, Marian and Djaq are very much alike. They're strong and tough, resourceful, clever, and resilient. They're both incredibly brave. In aiding a bunch of outlaws in the forest, by taking part in the raids on the wealthy and doing exactly what we do, they are both breaking all conventions of their genders; Marian is going against her birthright as a wealthy woman in associating with Robin, and Djaq is fighting against everything she has ever been taught about Christians and the English and is staying in a strange country with equally strange men.

They are both beautiful.

And neither has any idea of how much they are loved.

Marian knows that Robin loves her, but maybe she doesn't realize exactly how much he loves her. Robin would go to the ends of the earth and back to find her. He would do anything to keep her safe. I don't know if she realizes what she means to him.

I think that's why I found it so easy to tell her those things. Robin, I think, would rather know that she's safe, even if it isn't with him, because he knows that there'll always be a way for him to find her. Even if it's with Guy, one of the few people in the world that he actually hated, there would always be a way for him to find her and he knows that she'd be safe. As much as he hates Guy, he knows that he would never hurt her, and he could still find her. He will never, ever stop, not rest until they were together again. It was easy to say these things to Marian.

Because I would do exactly the same things for Djaq.

I would want her to be alive, even if it was with another man and somewhere far away from me, because at least that way I know she is alive and safe. If something happened to her, if she was to die…

I might as well be dead myself.

As long as there was hope that Djaq still lived, I wouldn't rest until I found her.

But I can't say these things to her—because she doesn't know.

In that way, Djaq and Marian differ. Marian, at least, is aware of Robin's feelings for her, if not the intensity of them. Djaq has no idea how I feel. I like to think that perhaps she's figured it out—after all, Djaq is a smart woman, smarter than anybody I've ever met. Or maybe that she feels the same for me.

But for now, I don't know. There's no way I can. Right now, I'm charged with looking out for Marian while Robin searches for the Sherriff, and Djaq is off with John making deliveries for the poor. All I can do is think of her and hope that everything works out, to trust in Robin and trust in her and myself.

For now, all I can do is let all of these feelings out under the guise of telling Marian that Robin loves her more than she knows.

o…o

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A very short piece—short, and (bitter)sweet. A second one-shot is in the tentative stages, told from Djaq's point of view and taking place during 2x11. In the meantime, feedback is much appreciated!