Summary:"It was a gift from her mother. Take it." (Marian, 01x07) I always felt there was a story behind these words.
Timeline: Season 1; takes place sometime during 1x07 (after the conversation with Robin about the necklace but before Guy discovered it missing.)
Title: The Gift
Knighton Hall was silent and still as Marian, dressed as the Nightwatchman, climbed in her window and quickly undressed. Her heart was still pounding from the exhilaration that always accompanied her escapades, and as she slid the piece of leather that served as the top half of her mask underneath her mattress she couldn't keep the smile off of her face. She hid the rest of her costume in pieces scattered around her room and nearly laughed out loud as she remembered the look of fury on Sir Guy's face as she had evaded him once again. Sometimes, it was just too easy. Once her costume was securely hidden and she had changed into her nightdress, she pulled on a robe and went downstairs to find her father sitting at the table waiting for her.
"Father!" she cried out, pressing a hand against her chest to try to calm her pounding heart. "You startled me," she said simply, smiling at him. "Why are you still awake?" Edward was frowning at her, and Marian slowly felt her smile turn into a frown. "What is it?" "Marian, where have you been?" he asked abruptly, his eyes boring into hers and compelling her to tell him the truth.
"I was delivering food to the village of Clun," she answered slowly and reluctantly. She hated telling her father anything about her actions, knowing that if she was ever discovered his knowledge would see him hang just as swiftly as she would, but when he looked at her like that she could do no less than be truthful with him.
"Marian, you know that the Sheriff has decreed that no one can help them. Many villagers have been accused of witchcraft and if you were caught associating with witches..."
"If I was caught associating with witches, then I would die? You forget that I face death all the time as the Nightwatchman. It is the price of the choice I made, the choice to help people and to do something for England." Edward's face was weary as he stood up. Marian felt her anger fade away as he pulled her into an embrace.
"My beautiful, willful daughter," he whispered, feeling all of the fight go out of her. "I did not mean to discourage you. I just worry."
Marian pulled back and gave him a brave smile. "I know you do," she replied, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "But you shouldn't. The guards are still no match for me, even after all these years."
"What about Sir Guy?" he couldn't help but ask, and she grinned.
"He was there tonight, and you should have seen his face when he realized that I had bested him again."
"The sin of pride..." Edward chided her gently, unable to keep the smile from his face as she laughed.
"I will go and confess it tomorrow, but tonight I am going to enjoy the feeling."
He chuckled at her response and released her. "I am going to bed now that I know you are safe. Good night, daughter."
"Good night, Father," she replied with a smile, watching as he climbed the stairs. She was touched by his concern and couldn't help but regret the way that she had snapped at him. "Another thing to make confession for tomorrow," she murmured as she made her way into the kitchen where she nibbled on their leftover supper until her stomach was content and then quenched her thirst with cider. Fully content and now more than a little sleepy, she climbed the stairs and went into her room, closing the door behind her and taking off her robe. She stretched, an action that made her yawn, and then sat down on her bed, frowning as she remembered the heated conversation between her and Robin that had occurred that afternoon.
"What's this?" he asked, reaching out for her necklace.
She smacked his hand away quickly. "Don't touch."
"It's very pretty. Have I seen it before?" he asked in that voice that she hated, the one that dripped with his smarmy charm and made her want to hit him.
"No, it was a gift," she told him in her haughtiest voice.
"From whom?"
"Does it matter? I should be-" Marian tried to get away, but Robin simply raised his voice so that it overpowered hers and she sighed. She really didn't want to have this conversation with him.
"I don't know. Does it?"
"No."
"Gisborne." Marian groaned internally when she heard the jealousy in his voice.
"What?"
"Just a guess. Am I right?"
"As it happens," she replied defensively.
"Interesting."
"Why interesting?"
"I have seen it before. Around the neck of a young girl from Locksley. It was given to her by her mother."
"Yes, and?" "And here it is around your neck," he finished, dodging her attempts to swat his hand away and lifting the necklace in his hand.
"What, Gisborne stole it from the girl?" Marian wasn't sure why this news should surprise or disappoint her, but there was no denying that it did both.
"Well I can't imagine she gave it to him willingly. But it's not like you stole it from the poor girl yourself and you obviously like it." Marian sighed and began taking the necklace off. A pity really, that Gisborne had stolen the first gift she had actually liked.
"And it is certainly a special and thoughtful gift from a man that clearly means a lot to you." She practically shoved the necklace at Robin in an attempt to shut him up. She hated when he acted this way.
"Take it back to the girl." "
Gladly! What will you say to Gisborne?" he asked, some reason finally making it back into his head.
"Ask her not to wear it in public. He will never know," she replied.
Robin hung his head and Marian knew that he was thinking about the threat to her safety. "Keep the necklace. I can find her another."
"It was a gift from her mother. Take it, I can handle Gisborne," she told him, confident in her abilities to charm Guy.
Marian sighed as she shook herself from the memory and found her hand on her chest where the necklace had been, but she knew that she wasn't reaching for the necklace that Gisborne had given her. She stood and walked over to her dresser and opened one of the drawers. She reached behind the pile of neglected embroidery projects to pull out a small wooden box that was hidden there. The box was unadorned and seemed plain, but the way that Marian cradled it to her chest made it clear that the contents were a treasure of some kind.
Sitting back down on the bed, Marian gently set the box down before her and let her fingers gently trace over the smooth wood for a moment. Finally, after she had gathered up her courage, she lifted the lid to reveal a simple yet elegant gold wedding band that was set with an emerald stone. The ring was accompanied by a silver chain and a note that was creased and worn from constant readings. Marian felt the tears fill her eyes as she gently lifted the note from the box and opened it, reading the memorized lines silently.
My daughter,
I am so sorry that I will not get to know you. By the time you read this you will know that your birth was difficult, and I am slowly slipping away as I write this. You are my life's greatest accomplishment, my beloved daughter, my Marian. I fought to remain here with you and your father, but it is not God's will. So instead I leave you my wedding ring and if you wish it, the silver chain I wear around my neck so that you might carry my ring close to your heart until you can pass it on to your own daughter. Be brave, be strong and most of all know that you are loved.
Your Mother, Kate
The tears streamed down her face as Marian lifted the necklace from the box and placed it around her neck, gently kissing the ring that had once adorned her mother's finger with reverence. She still remembered the day that her father had given her this box and explained why her mother was in Heaven. She had been eight years old, and once she had read the letter and shed her tears she had put the necklace on and found it far too big for her small frame. And so she had put it away until her sixteenth birthday...
xxxXXXxxx
A low whistle sounded from outside and then she heard, "Happy birthday, Marian." His voice was like music to her ears and she giggled as she ran to her window to unlatch the shutters and let him come inside.
As he climbed into her room, she planted her hands on her hips and forced herself to look stern. "I thought that you were going to miss my birthday!" she scolded as soon as he stood before her.
"I'm sorry," he replied with a cheeky grin. "There were some problems in Locksley and I just couldn't get away."
Marian's stern expression dropped as she moved closer to him. "Is everything all right in Locksley, Robin?" she asked with genuine concern in her voice.
Robin's cheeky smile turned into a real one as he thought again about how much he loved her. She cared about his people as though they were her own already, and she was always interested in knowing their problems. "It's fine," he told her, pushing his thoughts aside and drawing her into his arms. "Some of the villagers have been sick and some of them are fighting with each other, just the normal things a lord has to deal with."
Marian wrapped her arms around him with a content sigh and lifted her face so that she could look at him. "You are a good lord, Robin," she said sincerely, giggling again when he smiled and leaned down to capture her lips with his own. The kiss started out sweet but quickly turned heated as they held each other close. When it became too much for Marian to bear she pulled back, grinning at him as she tried to catch her breath.
"Happy birthday," Robin told her, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Now, I believe there is something that I wanted to give to you today," he said with a wink. Marian's heart began to pound with excitement at the prospect of a gift. He had never been one to give gifts, preferring to show his feelings other ways than by cluttering her home with material objects as he put it.
"What is it?" she asked impatiently after a few moments had gone by without another word about the gift.
Robin grinned. "Just wait a minute, eh? Oh, now I remember! But first, I need to do something." He pulled a scarf out of his back pocket and Marian raised an eyebrow, wondering where he had gotten that from but not really wanting to know. "I need to blindfold you."
"I don't think so!" Marian replied indignantly. "I don't know where that scarf has been and I do not trust you, Locksley. You might try to take advantage of me while I cannot see to stop you." She smiled, taking the sting out of her words that she meant as a joke... except for the part about the scarf.
"Come on Marian," he wheedled as he approached. "It's a surprise and I don't want to spoil it." He had spoken just the right words and how well he knew it, judging by the satisfied smile on his face.
"Fine," she replied with a put-upon sigh. "You may blindfold me, but only for a moment. Is that clear?"
"Of course, my lady," he answered, his blue eyes twinkling with joy and his warm smile melting her heart. "Now turn around."
She obeyed and closed her eyes as she felt the cool silk of the scarf being pulled taut behind her head and tied into a knot. She strained to try to hear what Robin was doing but as usual he was too quiet for her to pick up on anything. As the moments passed she grew more and more impatient. She had just resolved to rip the scarf from her head when she felt him lowering something over her neck. The necklace was cold against her skin and whatever was on the necklace settled perfectly into the V of her cleavage. "May I take this ridiculous blindfold off now?" she asked, fairly bursting from excitement.
Robin hurriedly untied the scarf and let it fall to the ground, waiting with bated breath as Marian lifted her mother's emerald wedding ring to get a better look at it. She recognized it instantly and her eyes were moist when she turned to face Robin, joy and love written across her face. "Robin..." She shook her head and ran into his arms, kissing him with all of the love and passion in her soul.
"Do you like it?" he asked with a laugh when they separated.
"Robin, I love it! This is one of the sweetest things that you have ever done for me. But how did you know?"
"You showed it to me when we were children, Marian. It was right after your father had given it to you and you were upset because you couldn't wear it. Don't you remember?"
Suddenly the memory of her eight-year-old self sitting in this room with the ten-year-old Robin came flooding back to her. "You told me that it would be fine, and that one day when I could wear it you would put it around my neck yourself," she whispered. "Oh Robin, I can't believe I'd forgotten about that!"
"It looks beautiful on you, Marian. Your mother would be very proud," he told her, drawing her into his embrace again. Marian closed her eyes and smiled, feeling safe and loved.
xxxXXXxxx
She hadn't taken the necklace off again for years. It stayed around her neck even when Robin broke their betrothal and she threw his ring at him. Oh, there had been times when she had toyed with the idea of putting it away because of how strongly it reminded her of Robin, but she couldn't bear to lose the only connection that she had with her mother. Indeed, it had stayed around her neck until her father had lost his position and Vaisey and Guy had arrived in Nottingham. Once she had met the new Sheriff, it had seemed like a good idea to hide anything she owned of value.
But now that it was around her neck again, she was filled with feelings of peace and she couldn't bear to take it off. And now that Robin was back from the Crusades, she found that it no longer hurt to think about the night of her sixteenth birthday when everything had been beautiful and so simple. She loved Robin and he loved her, and they were going to marry in two years. Now, everything was so different and it was hard. She knew deep down that she still loved Robin, but she also knew that she could never admit it. She couldn't handle the pain of losing him again if they were together and the king recalled him to his side, or if Guy or the Sheriff... She couldn't finish that thought.
She sighed and tried to stop thinking about Robin as she played with the ring around her neck, thinking about her mother who had died so that she could live. Her father didn't know that she knew that, of course, but she had talked to Matilda and the wise woman had told her the truth. She'd told her how she had told Sir Edward and his lady wife that only one of them would live and that they must choose. Her father had insisted that she save Kate, but as soon as he had gone Kate had made Matilda promise to save her baby. Matilda had gently told her about how Kate had struggled to write that letter to her and that she had spoken to Edward just before slipping away.
"What did she tell Father?" Marian asked quietly. She was only eight years old and was sitting in Matilda's humble cottage helping her mix medicines. Her father would be furious to find her here, but Marian was desperate for information about her mother and Edward refused to talk about her.
"Well, lassie, she told him that she would be watching him and that he better take good care of her daughter, she did," Matilda told her. "I always did like her spirit. From the day she was born to the day she died she never took nothing from no one."
"I wish I could have known her," Marian whispered, a tear slowly slipping into the bowl of medicine she was mixing.
"She loved you, lassie, and she wanted nothing more than to stay here with you," Matilda said gently, taking the bowl away and hugging her gently. "And she'd be right proud of you, she would."
"Do you think so?" Marian sniffled, blinking back her tears.
"I know it or my name isn't Matilda!"
Marian smiled as she got onto the floor by her bed to say her prayers, thinking of her mother the whole time. When she climbed back into bed, she began to play with the ring around her neck once again as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
~~FIN