A HIDDEN HERO

Guy is sent to bring Lord Howard's heir to Nottingham.

The dialgoue in italics is not English but I won't tell you which language yet.

He found the manor easily. Strange; he'd seen it many a time but had never really looked at it. His black stallion stopped as he admired the building. The reins pulled against his hand as he dismounted and handed the reins to a servant no doubt ordered to wait for his arrival. Staring up he started to understand the Sherrif's excitement when he heard the news that Lord Howard had died. Well. He should of been pleased. It was rare for a plan to go so well for him.

He started up the earth worn path, moving through the peasants and the servants, looking up all the time at what he was sure would be his soon. Young men are easily persuaded, especially when told of an oppurtunity to double their inheritance. This heir would be gone within the month, Guy was sure. If not the most would be three if any. If not then some trumped up charge could be made easily and then it would be his. He had never thought of himself as ruthless, just someone who knew what he wanted, and all he wanted was some extra land.

The manor could easily have been mistaken for being deserted if not for the servants milling around, carrying their bundles about. It was almost quaint how they backed away from him as he stood in the threshold, admiring how they all bustled about with their business.

"Where is Lord Howard?" he barked. Hopefully dead. That would make life easier for him. He could alreadly see in his mind the changes he could make. It was certainly larger than Locksley Manor, that pleased him, but things can always be bigger.

The servants looked passed by. They knew, oh they knew who this stranger was. They had all heard the rumours, the stories, but no one wants to be the first to see if it's true.

Guy breathed slowly, his lip curling a little at the ends before grabbing one of the pitiful fools by the arm and pulling him across so that it stumbled over it's feet before placing it's feet down and looking up, terror shaking in it's eyeballs. "Lord Howard."

"She's in the chapel."

"She?"

"Lady Howard milord," the man quaking in his boots as he saw the expression in Guy's face change from calm to violet horror.

"SHE!"

He stormed out of the manor, chickens darting across the path as he drove through the crowd to his horse. A woman! What kind of respectable man left his estate to a woman? The servant ran back to him. "She's in the Chapel milord."

{-}

The chapel was odd. It was silent, peaceful. It almost felt good. Guy had never much been one for faith. He had given up on faith. It had no place and no value. Faith left you with bitterness in the mouth. It left you broken dreams and broken futures. In truth, he had hardly stepped foot inside a place of God for some months. It was only when Vaisey had reminded him of what alternatives were left for him if religion was not part of his life that he had returned to the flock.

He heard someone parying. Muttering really. It wasn't even muttering, it was ... gibberish. His eyes followed the sound to see a figure kneeling at the altar, a hood covering any clues as to what this, this ... this Lady Anne (he struggled to admit a woman had been left anything) looked like.

"Do not leave me alone again when I am to be sold for some man's gain and never to feel again. Do not let any man ..."

He couldn't be bothered to wait.

"Ahem"

It turned towards him. It pulled it's hood down, auburn hair being revealed, a gold band lining the top of it before it rose up and turned towards him.

"Can I help you?" It's eyes enquiring into his.

"I've been requested to take you to Nottingham."

"Of course" She smiled, not out of kindness, but more of formaility.

She walked down to him, her skirts brushing the ground as she made her way to him. She wasn't sad or alone. She wasn't even afraird of him. She was confident.

"I thank you for your pains," as she met him, "but I can make the journey on my own." Walking past him into the paddock outside.

Now Guy could tolerate women. He admired them and their forms. But he did not admire ones that wasted his morning.

"My Lady, your guardian ..."

"My who?" she snapped, turning on him. Anger certainly suited her.

"As your age prevents you from making any decisions on your own in regards to marriage or running your fathers lands, the Sheriff has kindly agreed to care for you until you are old enough to make such a decision ..."

She snorted. "That's very sweet, but I can manage."

She started to walk away again, the pace faster this time.

"My Lady I must insist ..." his hand now resting gently on his sword.

"You insist nothing." simply turning round, her face vivid with colour and rage. "I thank you for your concern but I wish to be left alone." Before making a final attempt to leave.

She had asked for it. He drew his sword before her, her shoulders tensing as she faced him her face a picture. Now she'd do what he'd want.

"Are you going to behave?" his mouth in a full blown smile, enjoying how quick the cocky young girl could change.

{-}

How dare he! Did he not know how to behave with a woman, forgetting her mouth was slightly open in that unlady like way?

Just smile she told herself. Don't ask for touble. Behave. She straightened up to her full height, which wasn't more than she was alreadly, a strained smile spreading across her lips.

"Forgive me Sir. Of course I will be with you in one moment."

"Of course," the man not moving his sword away from her neck.

I am not going to let him get to me she thought. He may attractive but an attractive bully all the same. And bullies don't make good husbands.

She followed him out to the stables, the crowd no silent.

Her stables. Her estate. Her inheritance. Her home.

It was a strange concept having her own home. She'd been so used to moving around she'd never been able to settle down. She hadn't even seen the estate until she heard of her fathers death.

Thank God.

The man now saddling up his horse was certainly interesting. Most men didn't threaten women in the first five minutes of meeting them. They also didn't hand ornate daggers over to women after having just threantening them. "For protection," her muttered.

It was prettier than her own. This one was silver, the handle had rubies in it and it was small and light. Easy to hide but sharp enough to cut through flesh.

Even so he wasn't eager to leave. He wasn't eager to do anything. Just stood there ,staring at her as she organised what to be sent in the carts to Nottingham and what to be left behind. Even though she hadn't seen the estate until yesterday afternoon, it still hurt inside to say goodbye to the furnishings and various belongings. It was as if a piece of her, though it had been numbed a long time, was being cut off from her as she said goodbye to the chests and rugs and screens and vases and curtains and little carvings of people holding onto each other, giving either to servants or just leaving them in the house, no doubt of which would be raided in some capacity at some stage.

She returned to her stables, still to find the strange man leaning against the wooden walls of the stables, unmoving. She had spent time with men before, she wasn't a complete unknown to the phenomenon of men, but normally they offered some kind of assistance when, say, saddling a horse or mounting a horse, but this man just ignored her wihlst mounting his own horse and leading it out to the yard outside. This is not to say she didn't know how to saddle a horse, she did. But surely the noble thing to do would be to at least offer to assist her?

She took one final look at the manor as she now waited for the cart to be horsed. She sighed, not knowing whether it was for saddness or happiness. Sh couldn't say she cared much for her father but it was still him here she felt.

Clouds of dust started to appear from the forest behind the manor as a rider hurtled his way towards her and the man she had been now told by the servants as Guy of Gisborne, the man who had taken Robin of Locksley's manor.

"Message for the Lady Anne!" the rider shouted, turned his horse round to a halt as it whinnied.

"Here," she called to him.

He dismounted before running over to her, handing her a letter before jumping back on his horse and racing out to high hell.

She tore off the seal, she now ignoring Guy as he turned his horse round to see the letter closely.

Be careful. I will find you.

Her face drained of blood, her heart pushing against her ribcage as she felt her hand shaking before screwing up the letter, desperately looking up to see only the back end of a horse running off. Don't find me please she prayed.

"Problem miLady?" That stupid smile now permanently stuck to his face.

Did he have to look at her like that?

"I think we need to go Sir?"

"I think we do, Lady?"

"Anne."

Disclaimer I do not own the characters or the cover image tagged/guy-of-gisborne own the image