Disclaimer: This version of Robin Hood belongs to the BBC. The song ("Valentine's Day") belongs to Linkin Park.

Author's Note: I was going to save this for Valentine's Day, for obvious reasons, but I couldn't wait. It's essentially my comparison of Marian's "deaths" in the series one and two finales, from Robin's POV.

My insides all turned to ash
So slow
And blew away as I collapsed
So cold
A black wind took them away
From sight
And held the darkness over day
That night

"Your friend is dead."

The first time he heard those words, he thought he would die as well. His stomach turned sickly as he pushed past the physician to collapse at her side, praying that it was a lie. For surely it couldn't be true. It just couldn't.

When he reached her, he searched frantically for a sign—any sign—of life, but couldn't find one. Overcome by grief, he grasped her hand in both of his, and wept.

And the clouds above moved closer
Looking so dissatisfied
But the heartless wind kept blowing
Blowing

He was called to his senses by a voice, taunting him—a voice that belonged to the Sheriff. This was his fault, wasn't it? Yes. If it wasn't for the source of that voice, his love would still be alive.

In that second, he made a decision. He rose and ran from the cave without looking back, determined to silence that voice; to take his revenge on the men who had killed his love. Principles didn't matter anymore, because in taking her life, they had taken his. What did principles matter to a dead man?

I used to be my own protection
But not now
'Cause my path has lost direction
Somehow
A black wind took you away
From sight
And held the darkness over day
That night

That day, she had come back from the dead. But there would be no miraculous intervention this time. This time he had seen it, had watched the life fade from her eyes as her blood soaked his clothes. And now there was no one on whom to focus his anger. No one he could force to share his suffering as, once again, his heart was ripped from his chest.

And the clouds above moved closer
Looking so dissatisfied
And the ground below grew colder
As they put you down inside
But the heartless wind kept blowing
Blowing

Even when they were apart, he had still felt a warmth inside him, a fire that burned so deep within his heart that not even the chill of a cold English rain could not douse it. But now, in the middle of the desert on a hot, sunny day, he shivered. It was like a plunge into an icy lake on a cold day, only a thousand times worse.

As they lowered her into the ground, into the sandy pit that would be her grave, he longed to climb down beside her. For he couldn't help feeling that maybe, just maybe, there was still some warmth there—a tiny spark that he just wasn't close enough to feel.

So now you're gone
And I was wrong
I never knew what it was like
To be alone

She had always teased him for his desire to be loved, the craving for attention that she believed to be the source of his determination to stand up to the Sheriff. Strictly speaking, she was right.

But though even he did not realize it, it wasn't the love of the people he sought. Every time a face lit up in gratitude, every time an affectionate glance was sent his way, he saw her. He fought with the hope that someday she would be the one to look at him like that. That just once she would approve of his actions, or better yet, be proud of him. Because—however unconsciously—everything he did was done for her.

And now she was gone. On the one day she should have been there with him, celebrating their love, she was gone. A million good deeds couldn't change that.

But he would keep trying.

On a Valentine's Day...

Please let me know what you thought of this (this goes doubly if you hated it!). I want to know which parts were good, and which parts sucked, and I can only know that if you tell me!

Just a note: I like the fact that the song says "On a Valentine's Day," because there are no records of Valentine's Day being celebrated romantically until the late 1300s. The way I see it, "a Valentine's Day" is any day that was important to them as a couple, as opposed to applying only to February 14th.