Robin Hood Fanfic
Lady Francesca
The road was bumpy and the ride long. Lady Francesca sat upright on her horse which was as black as night, her dark hair flew out behind her, her blue eyes shone in the morning light. She was nineteen just the right age for marriage but she was determined no to. Her polite mask hid her stubbornness and rebellious nature. Her father Lord Sebastian was very rich and greedy he wanted to marry off his daughter. He believed she could go for quite a price, she was clever and pretty what more could a man want. Whenever they met possible contestants for husbands she scared them off, she was to clever and free willed for them. They didn't want some one cleverer than them and definitely not some one so strong willed they wanted some one who would obey them. Lord Sebastian had given up and was seeking business with the Sheriff of Nottingham.
They neared the village of Nottingham Francesca's younger brother rode up beside her. Lord Nicholas was fourteen and was quite like Francesca in both appearance and personality. Francesca smiled at her brother fondly; they spent almost all of their time in each others company. Their parents tried to discourage them as they thought it proper for Nicholas to spend time with more boys of his standing and with future brides. Nicholas as the only son of Lord Sebastian would inherit all the land and plantations of his father's. Nicholas was a good looking boy and had what most girls called an irresistible charm but he preferred his sisters witty and energetic company to those of boring, air head girls. "So dear sister are you ready to stay in his bad excuse for a castle?" he asked her as he looked at the castle on the horizon. Francesca thought about the question, her eyes darted around taking in her surroundings then they settled on the castle. Only one thing could make the visit worth while… Robin Hood.
"No, I wish we could have stayed at the mansion but we might be able to find out if this mysterious Robin Hood is real," she replied trying to hide the excitement in her voice. As children they'd heard rumours of Robin Hood but they were not sure if the rumours were true. Their nanny had told tales of how he saved the poor, the wind carried the tales to every part of England, everyone knew who he was and it filled some people's hearts with hope. Nicholas nodded with the same amount of excitement on his face.
As they went through the village people stopped what they were doing. Children waved and cheered, they would not be cheering when they heard what Lord Sebastian had planned for them. Woman and men just starred curiosity and dread plain on their faces. Many nobles visited the sheriff some brought good tidings some brought with them bad tidings.
The castle was small and gloomy. The brick work was messy and the towers looked slightly wonky. Francesca looked up at the towers with dread; it wasn't looking like their visit to this castle would be pleasurable.
They arrived at the castle. Francesca dismounted with ease ignoring the helping hands. She was flanked by her brother and her maid who was holding up her dress so it did not trail in the mud. Francesca wore a beautiful blue silk dress; it flowed elegantly down to the ground. Everyone was dressed well whether to show off or to set a good impression or both.
The Sherriff stood at the wide, wooden door his arms open wide. Guards littered the courtyard, the young guards had eyes only for Francesca but she did not pay any attention to them. Sir Guy stood behind the Sherriff his hawk like blue eyes watched Francesca and his mouth stretched up in a crooked smile. His jet black hair was greasy as it had probably not been washed in a long while. Francesca shared a disgusted look with her brother. "Aaaah welcome Lord Sebastian, what a pleasure it is to see you. I see you have brought your delightful family as well," the Sherriff said. His politeness sounded put on and his eyes were narrowed. He wore green puffy robes, most likely trying to hide his pudginess, his face was unshaved, his hair grey. Brown greedy eyes scrutinised Lord Sebastian with all his riches. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you sheriff I'm sure my business here will excite you, let us go inside and I shall tell you," Lord Sebastian said as he was led inside.