Marion of Sherwood
By Avalon Estel
Disclaimer: I don't own Robin Hood. He belongs to the wonderful English bards that sang about him, Howard Pyle, 'cuz he wrote about him, and whoever made the Prince of Thieves movie.
THUMP!
The arrow stuck in the tree trunk, an inch away from the target. Maid Marion nocked another arrow to her bow and pulled back the bowstring. Tighter, tighter†The arrow flew from the bow with a whistling noise and –
THUMP!
"Yes!" she cried, jumping up in the air, heedless of her numerous skirts. The arrow had hit the target dead center.
Her lady-in-waiting, Lady Bridget, clapped vigorously and hopped up and down. "Wonderful, Lady, just wonderful!"
"Time for tea, Lady Marion!" came a call from one of the servants. Marion unstrung the arrow from her bow and returned it to the quiver that lay on the ground beside her. She and Bridget went into the castle.
"You get better and better with each practice," Bridget praised as they walked down the drafty stone corridor to Marion's room.
"Well, I could teach you, Bridget, if you wanted," Marion offered.
Bridget shook her head vigorously. "That's a man's sport. But if you want to learn it, more power to you. I have no wish to, Lady, with all due respect."
Marion shrugged. "That's fine."
While they drank and ate, a knock came at Marion's door.
"Yes?" she asked, standing.
"It's your father," replied the person on the other side of the door.
"I'm sorry, Papa!" she exclaimed. She hurried to the door and opened it. "Did you need something?"
"Actually, yes I do," the old lord replied. He looked worried.
"What's the matter?" Marion asked, concerned. "Come, sit with us and tell me what's ailing you."
Lord Edward entered the room behind his daughter, leaning heavily on his cane. He seated himself at her table. "Daughter, I have troubling news."
Marion didn't interrupt, but her eyebrows etched themselves into deep furrows.
"We are kin to King Henry, are we not?" Edward began. Marion nodded. "Well," the old man continued, "the Sheriff of Nottingham has threatened to take our lands if we don't give him what he asks."
"What does that have to do with our being related to the King?" Marion asked, confused. "And what does he ask?"
"There's the problem," said Edward. "He asks for your hand in marriage, and I wish not to give him that. You are my only child. Also, I know that you would never want to marry such a loathsome man. Not to mention, that would give him kinship to the King, though only through marriage. But I have no choice. If you do not marry him, we shall lose all we have strived to keep for centuries. I said you would."
Marion was horrified. Her hands flew together, and she clenched them so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "Papa, wh – How did this happen? When did you tell him that?"
"Yesterday," Edward replied.
Suddenly, a servant stopped outside Marion's open door. "My lord, the Sheriff's here to see you."
"I'm coming," Edward said. He rose from the table and walked from the room. Then, he stopped outside the door, his gray hair and clothes making him look very dismal. "I'm sorry, my dear. I had no choice."
Marion and Bridget were quiet for a long while. Then, the lady-in-waiting broke the silence. "What a terrible predicament!" she exclaimed. "What will you do?"
"I don't know," Marion said. "But whatever it is, it will not be marrying the Sheriff. In fact, I will go see for myself what he says." She rose from the table and put on her gold circlet, a symbol of nobility. "How do I look?"
"Wonderful, M'lady," Bridget said solemnly.
Marion hurried out of her room and down the long stone corridor, her long, billowing cape trailing after her. As she reached the staircase that led to the entrance hall of the castle, she stumbled, losing one of her shoes. Sighing, she caught her balance and gathered up her skirts, rushing after the shoe. It bounced down the stairs, making a thump every time it struck the cold stone.
When the shoe landed at the bottom of the stairs, it collided with a boot. A much larger boot. The Sheriff of Nottingham's boot, to be exact. He reached down and picked it up. "Is this yours, Lady Marion?" he asked. Marion didn't like his voice. It sounded oily and sarcastic.
"Yes, it is, Sheriff!" she replied, snatching it from him. She grabbed the banister of the stairs and hopped up and down on one foot, trying to put it back on. The Sheriff and Lord Edward stared in astonishment at the young woman, who was usually so proper, acting like a common peasant. While it didn't bother her, they were shocked at her behavior. When she'd succeeded in replacing it, she brushed down her skirt and the strands of hair that had escaped their elaborate twists.
"Marion, introduce yourself to the Sheriff," Lord Edward said.
Marion looked the Sheriff over. He was tall and very pale. His ebony hair hung in curls to his shoulders, and he was clad in black clothes embroidered with gold thread. His eyes were sharp and dark, and his nose was long and straight. Marion shivered inwardly at the thought of marrying him. Even if she hadn't known the treacherous things he'd done to the people of Nottingham, she would know that he was evil just by looking at him. "I should think he already knows who I am if he plans to marry me," she answered coldly.
The Sheriff's face suddenly took on a malicious look that lasted a split second, but she saw it. Then, he smirked. "Yes, you will make a very spirited wife. Your father and I were just about to begin discussing your dowry. I think that our marriage will bring forth many heirs."
"We shall see," Marion replied, narrowing her eyes at him. With that, she spun on her heel and walked regally up the stairs. When she got to the top, she ran off down the hall and back into her room.
"What happened, My Lady?" asked Bridget as soon as she entered the room.
"I simply refuse to marry that - that - creature!" Marion cried. "I don't know what I'll do yet, but I'm going to do something!"
