LOST SOULS
Chapter 1 – Apparent truth
"So … you know what you have to do. It won't be hard. You can handle the situation easily"
"Yes .. don't worry …"
Isabelle de Bracy looked at them …. The girl seemed nervous and annoyed … not at all the woman in control that she had met only three days ago …
"And what about her?…" the woman asked hesitantly.
"I'll see to it" … the answer was short and did not invite to more discussions on the subject …but Isabelle could see the look of pity that the woman gave her before directing her steps towards the cart …
That scared her. Her small eyes got even smaller and her pale skin became wax as she sat on the ground in her dark brown dress, hands and feet tight with rope. She did not know what they wanted to do with her and that scared her terribly. The only maid she had had with her had died on the journey and her coachman (a man she trusted more then anyone) had gone missing just a few hours earlier … inexplicably so … She looked at the cart … her cart … someone else had replaced her trusted man and the girl seemed on the point to get in and leave …. That would mean she would be left alone with the man … No! … not with him … she could feel that somehow she was protected by the girl's presence … but once she would be gone …. No! … she wanted to scream: Don't leave me! I trusted you! … but her mouth remained shut …and for the life of her she could not open it …
"You will take her to the nunnery as you promised, won't you?" … there was distrust in her voice but she hoped … just hoped …
"I will take good care of her" he said smiling, but his voice created a different sensation where smiling was not at all appropriate …
She felt her skin crawl … "But there is no need to …" , she tried to control herself since he had lifted Isabelle into the wagon filled with hay … she didn't want to alarm her more then it was necessary …
He gave her a cold look that seemed to burn through her skin … that put an end to her complaints instantly.
"Don't forget your bird", he said pointing to the cage on the ground and directed the wagon straight forward.
"Remember you don't have much time", he yelled back, turning to get a last look as she picked up the cage and got into the wagon.
The door was shut and the cart began its journey towards Sherwood Forest.
She did know what she had to do. She wondered how it will feel. She had forgotten. It had been years since she had done it … Until he had found her and became hungry again …
The hunger would be appeased for a while but it always came back and that was when he would come for her … "After this it will go away and he will be gone too. And when that happens I will run so far that he won't be able to find me again … and I'll be free", she thought.
It must have been two hours since they had started their journey and they were well through the first half of the forest when the cart, all of a sudden, stopped.
"Why has he stopped? He knows we were supposed to go straight to Nottingham. No stops along the way …". She looked out the window briefly and she understood. Near them was an other cart, filled with what seemed to be three quite rich and fat people. And in front of the two carts … a handful of peasants.
"Ah! So this must be the famous Robin Hood and his gang of outlaws". She had to admit to herself she was curious to find out who this extremely generous and handsome (she had heard) Robin Hood was. She could easily make out which one he was … standing there so straight, with a boyish grin on his face. "The boy has spirits … I'll give him that much".
She was surprised to see that there were also women with them …One was trying very hard to pretend she was a boy, but to a woman like her, whose entire existence depended on how well she read people, it was obvious. The other was clearly of noble blood, hence the proud and superior look in her eyes. She was quite pretty but still a girl …"So … this is Lady Marion" … She was even more interested in knowing her.
One of Robin's man started moving closer to the cart …She had to think quickly about how to approach this … Who would she be: the arrogant, noble woman? … she thought against it. She had neither the clothes nor the motivation for that role … the smart, do-gooder that was happy to meet them … that could work, she reasoned, and the "sheep" would like that very much indeed … but then again such behavior was sure to lead to gossip so better not … the innocent, quiet girl caught in the wrong place at the wrong time? … it was clearly the best choice and it was always an acceptable role to play in any situation you would find yourself in … it was the behavior that was expected from a woman …. No matter how boring she found it.
"Yes. Let's make it nice and simple this time. Start to finish."
"My lady .. your escort is here. Would you do me the honor of coming out of your cart?" said Little John in a mocking voice …
He was not a completely unappealing man …although there was that accent and ... she shutter when she remembered one of these peasants touching her and feeling the roughness of their hands ... it was horrible but she knew that if it came down to it she could do it again …
Little John had started to lose his patience … not that he had much to spare to begin with anyway … but more so when it came to these rich people …Finally, the cart door started opening. It became an affair in itself … slowly, painfully so, the door became wide open and a woman stepped down from the cart.
She joined her coachman and started walking towards where the people from the other cart had already been brought.
Robin Hood looked at her … simple black dress, no jewelry, no luxurious garments … she clearly was of noble blood and means judging from her cart but that didn't show in her clothes or behavior … head down, eyes in the ground, her hands tightly held together in front of her, her hair held in a simple and shabby knot … Yes, indeed everything about this woman was simple with the exception of her face … from the rare glimpses he had caught of her, she had striked him as a very beautiful woman … large brown eyes that seemed to look into your soul, dark hair that shined in the sunlight giving the appearance of red, full lips … he couldn't understand why such a woman would be wearing these kind of clothes that were more fitted for nuns …not women that would make your heart stop just by looking at you.
"All right … ladies and lords … for the time being I'm afraid we will become very well acquainted. But not to worry, we will behave ourselves. Right lads?" he yelled back at the rest of his men.
"Right, right", they answered amused.
"He's really enjoying himself" she thought looking at him. He seemed so happy and proud of himself. Like a little boy doing something very naughty. "You are such a child", she said to herself.
The woman next to her was sobbing, her companions were not far from that. This amused her terribly.
As Robin Hood approached them, the woman started crying louder and louder … He was shocked. He didn't believe he had this effect on people.
"Don't worry, my lady. I doubt our hosts", she put a mocking emphasis on the word, "are interested in your chastity. It more likely that rather stunning ruby you have around your neck that has caught their particular interest". All this was delivered in a shy, girlish voice. She shouldn't have said it at all but she couldn't help herself.
All of Robin Hood's men started laughing. This commentary caught Robin's attention, and after removing the necklace from the sobbing woman's neck, he approached the "pretended nun". "As I see you have no jewelry to contribute to our 'charity fund', I will start with a question: What is your name?"
She looked him straight in the face and answered back: "What is yours?"
"You can call me Robin Hood, my lady", he answered with a cunning smile taking a reverent bow.
"Then you can call me Daisy Sea", she replied with the smallest of smiles, "I've always loved the sea …and daisies". As she finished the sentence, she bowed her head down once more.
"This is, without a doubt, not a nun. Pretended or not". For some reason, he liked her .. "She had spirits … even if they're hidden under all that black". "So how about that bag of gold, I see you holding. That would make a splendid contribution".
"Like I have any choice. If I did, you can be sure I wouldn't give my money to a gang of miserable parasites like you", she thought. She hated giving money away. She smiled with a pretended shiness and handed him the bag. It physically hurt but still she did it.
All of a sudden there was movement… the outlaws became restless …"How easily you can be unbalanced", she thought satisfied … They soon realized there was no danger. It was just Much who had gone to see if there was any movement at the entrance of the forest … there was … a rather large number of soldiers were maneuvering …
"Well then", Robin turned to face his hostages, "I'm afraid you shall have to enjoy our company for a little while longer".
That was the final stroe for the sobbing woman. She collapsed to the ground. Her companions did the smallest of movements to help her and then they just gave up and sat down next to her.
"Well, Daisy Sea …perhaps you would like to join us", Robin said pointing to the place where the rest of the gang had settled after almost having to drag the "piglets" (as she had started calling them in her head). She came closer and her coachman took his coat off for her to have where to sit. "Archie is going all out on his strong, silent, protective type role", she thought amused. She sat dawn.
Robin was sitting quite close to her. This unsettled Marion somewhat, and she moved closer to them.
As she had expected, they started asking her what she was doing there. She knew she could neither tell the truth nor the truest lie, so she went for a simple scenario … She and her uncle, who was mute, were passing through Nottingham, making their way home.
"What about you?", she asked looking at Marion, "what situations of life have brought you to the forest and on the wrong side of the law?". All the others looked surprised that she would ask something like that, considering that she had never spoke to Marion before. "Excuse me", she said with pretended shines, "for being so direct. I did not expect to see a woman in these kind of circumstances"…
This irritated Marion, just as she had suspected.
"I don't see why these circumstances would better suit a man then a woman", she started boldly …"in life we all make choices … and I decided to live in the forest instead of marring a monster. Perhaps now the circumstances do not seem so unlikely to you", she concluded.
"The same proud look on your face", she thought. "Of course. I am sorry for upsetting you", she began with the sweetest, most innocent voices she could manage, "marriage is quite a frightening event."
"It wasn't marriage in itself that scared her", Robin jumped, "it was Gisborne."
"So there is something between you two. Just as I thought" … "I apologize. I am not familiar with that particular name …"
"Better pray you never do become familiar with it", Little John interrupted, "there is a monster, if there ever was one" and spitted as if to cast away the idea …
Much returned once again and announced that the soldiers had moved on. It was time for their guests to move on as well. They left them in possession of their carts and the clothes on their back, but not much more. They helped the two ladies inside and started to move into the forest.
As she looked back, she saw Robin reaching for Marion's hand and she avoiding it at any cost. "So you're living in the forest as brother and sister? Silly, silly girl", she said out loud. Perhaps when this would all be over, she would come back and steel Robin Hood from that little girl that didn't know the first thing about men.
"Well, Gisborne. It's about that time, isn't it? She's about to arrive any minute now. Aren't you excited?", the Sheriff teased Gisborne while they were sitting on the steps of the castle waiting for his future bride to arrive…
"I had meant to give her to Lord Montfitchet, but seeing that you were left without a wife at the last minute", he smiled wickedly seeing Guy become increasingly uncomfortable, "I thought I would place all that wealth that she brings into your hands …aren't' you proud of the great faith I have in you?" … before Guy could respond, he continued "ten chests of gold, Gisborne. That must be a sufficient amount for you to greet her as the most in love of men", he laughed, "did you have by any chance time to inspect the chests?"
"Yes … at least five of them", Guy replied making eye contact for the first time during the conversation …
"Now, now, Gisborne … Don't pout like a little mama's boy … I had to have my comission, didn't I? Do you think it was easy procurring a wife of such means … Clue: NO! You should be grateful"
"I should be grateful if you were dead and joined there by my soon to be wife …and I would be left enjoying my TEN chests of gold!", he thought. After what Marion had done, he hated her and all women with her. The kitchen staff, all consisting of young women, had suffered several rough nights because of this new found aversion. He had decided love was not for him. Instead he choose money. But still he did need a wife, he did need sons so why not marry five chests of gold?
It made better sense than taking an ex-Sheriff's daughter that he bleeded dry anyway. But there was a little voice in his head that could not be silenced and that told him that all the money in the world could not make up for the lost love of a woman like Marion.
"Ah, there she comes!", the Sheriff announced …
The cart approached and stopped in front of the stairs. One of the guards opened the door and helped her out. The Sheriff waited until she came closer.
"Welcome, welcome!", he said in his usual emphatic voice and kissed her on both cheeks …"I am the Sheriff of Nottingham, of course", he said smugginly, "but let me introduce you to someone who might be of more interest to you, though I doubt it". He was the Sheriff after all. "This is Sir Guy of Gisborne, my master-at-arms and your future husband… Gisborne … this is Lady Isabelle de Bracy".
She looked up at him … sitting with both arms crossed. He was a very handsome man. But then again, most monsters are …