Cheeky Robin alert ;)
It was that time of year again. Autumn had taken over Summer with such a ferocity that the sun had immediately cooled down by a few hundred degrees and the leaves had been blown from the trees so violently, that they formed their own tiny tornadoes on the way to the ground. The auburn leaves formed a carpet of colours on the ground; carefully concealing the bog and other nasty surprises that lurked beneath.
Marian was perfectly fine with leaving those surprises hidden under their leafy camouflage and, at the tender age of 14, when dirty dresses meant a less-than-sought-after punishment; she certainly hoped they were going to stay there. One thing she wasn't counting on, however, was her life-long friend; Robin.
The predicament she was in now had started the previous day whilst she was walking through the forest. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Robin and his servant Much were hiding in the trees. Thinking back on it now, she wondered how on earth she hadn't seen them; considering there were no leaves for them to hide behind.
Her first recollection had been of hearing it whistle through the air; it was a puzzling sound, something similar to an arrow so steady on its flight path that it was certain it was collide with a target. She didn't dare turn around; she found it easier to cope with something if she was unable to see what it was. And if it was an arrow (which she doubted very much) she knew she would rather die not knowing what—or who had shot her. But, having expected and prepared for something; the one thing she wasn't ready for was nothing; and when thirty seconds had gone by without any impact she was very perplexed indeed. Pausing for a moment, she collected herself, trying and failing to figure out what she had heard. Deciding it wasn't her ears playing tricks on her, she slowly turned around; trying to locate the source of the sound. Nothing. Frustrated now, she sighed; unable to believe there was no logical explanation for the unidentifiable noise.
Stepping backwards, she felt the undeniable squelch of mud as her shoe sunk under the leaves that coated the forest floor. Rolling her eyes in an unladylike fashion, she stooped low and removed her foot from her shoe, before pulling the offending item from the bog with a little difficulty. As she stood up, her eyes widened in surprise as she saw something flying towards her. She had no chance of stopping it and braced herself for impact. Splat! Finding that she had closed her eyes, she tentatively opened them. Glancing down, she noticed that a ball of mud was spread across her stomach and chest; creating a messy and very obvious stain on her pale dress. Fuming at the though of getting yet another lecture from her father she yelled out into the vast expanse of nowhere.
"That better not have been you Robin!" Yet, sure enough, two figures came out from behind a tree. One, looking extremely sheepish and very scared and the other… well, looking just as cocky as usual. Grasped firmly in his right hand was a catapult that had been crafted from a tree branch and something that Marian wasn't quite sure about. But, at that moment, she didn't care.
"You called My Lady?" The figure said with a witty air. His lop-sided grin shining through all the while.
"Do not give me that look. You know exactly what you have done. What am I going to tell my father?" She was fuming by this point.
"I'm sure you'll think of something. As I remember you have the art of manipulating the truth down to a tee…" His cheeky grin only got wider as Marian's face darkened.
"Right that's it!" Bending down quickly, she grabbed a handful of leaves and mud and walked briskly towards him, shoving it into his chest forcefully. He gasped at the sensation and stared dumbfounded; paralyzed by dismay. Mouth agape he could only chuckle as he took his cue from her, also bending down to pick up leaves. A friendly game of chase ensued, leaves flew and the merry sound of laughter rose high over the treetops. Much could only watch in amusement as his master and his friend played together. In a tangle of limbs, the two found themselves falling to the ground and landing awkwardly, Robin landing quite gently on top of his friend. There they stayed for a while, staring into each others eyes; their heavy breaths clouding in the cold air, hitting the others face and tickling their chins. A contented smile came over the both of them before reality crashed down on them; shaking them from their stupor.
They got up like a shot, dusting themselves off. Giving her appearance a last look, Marian sighed and placed one of her brown curls behind her ear. She began to walk away, only glancing back over her shoulder once to shout back at him.
"You will pay, Robin of Locksley." He could only smile, knowing full well that she meant it.
So, after a terrible lecture on ladylike behaviour from her father, she had been sent to her room where she was to remain for the week. Not permitted to leave unless she was ill or otherwise in need of assistance. She sighed to herself again, hoping that Robin thought what he'd done was worth it; and, even more importantly she thought of what on earth she was going to do to get him back…
He had heard those words before, that is, before he had mocked her for being caught in Will's trap. It transported him back to a time when they used to run as children; carefree and fearless; not scarred by mortality. But he knew one thing, when it came to Marian and revenge, the older version of herself would have something a little different in mind to what her younger counterpart would have. Oh yes, when it came to his Marian, he would sure her revenge would be something a little bit more enjoyable. And that's why he loved her.