Always
A Robin Hood fic! Knowing me, it was only a matter of time! BIG SPOILER for season 2, so if you haven't watched that yet, DO NOT READ!
Dedicated to Jonas and Lucy and all those involved with Robin Hood that brought these timeless characters to life for a new generation, and into my heart.
Chapter 1: Trust Me
What would he do without her? What would he do without seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, kissing her lips every day? What he would give to have one more day, one more hour, one more minute just speaking to her.
But she was gone. The lifeless body he held in his arms was proof of that. His beautiful Marian, his beautiful wife was nothing more than a shell now. Her wondrous spirit had gone to wait for him in heaven. He laid her down on the blanket beside the open grave, placed her hands on her stomach, bent down and kissed her one last time. His thoughts drifted back to their first kiss since he had returned. It was when she had chosen not marry Gisbourne, when he arrived just in time with a prayer and a horse and rescued her. And then she was off to find another entrance, and he called her back to him. And she came, smiling. It had taken time, but she had warmed up to him again. He knew she never had stopped loving him, but she had made him pay, and he deserved it. He knew she would come back to him, and she did, smiling. But she wouldn't smile anymore… Her ruby lips were still warm, but her body was becoming cool, another reminder that she was no longer his. He rested his forehead on her cupped hands and wept. How could he have let her die? If he had gotten to that courtyard just a split second earlier, he would have cut Guy down before he had a chance to lay a hand on her. He had let Guy hurt her too many times, and this one last time, when he and Marian were about to get everything they waited for, everything they deserved, Guy came in for the kill.
What kind of a man would hurt an unarmed woman? A parasite. Guy was a parasite, and Robin would make sure he would take Guy's last breath. He would do it for Marian. For taking her away from him. For sending her to a place he could not yet follow.
Little John bent down to the grieving husband and said, "We should begin."
Robin gave a small nod, and got to his feet. He kept his eyes on her chest, hoping he'd see her breathing again. It had happened once before. Why not twice? But her chest remained still.
Much came over and placed his on Robin's back. "I'm sorry, Master."
"Robin."
It was another voice, one he couldn't make out, and it seemed far away…
"Robin!"
He opened his eyes, and found tied to the posts, the sweltering sun overhead, burning into his soul, confirming that this was the end..
"Robin?"
He turned in the direction of the voice. But, it couldn't be, he had just laid her to rest… and yet here she was, alive and beautiful, he could still feel her warm body against his back. She had not been killed, it had been a nightmare, a hallucination, it had not been real! Trying to stop himself from shaking, he asked, "What?"
"Oh, thank God." She whispered. "For a moment I thought the sun had done you in."
And he heard real fear in her voice that time. Something he never wanted to hear again. Marian was brave and loyal, and risked her life for him daily since he had returned from the Holy Lands. Nevermind that fact that they all would slowly succumb to death, herself included, it was the thought that she had lost him that caused her voice to brake and her defenses shatter. There never would be a love like theirs again, though poets and writers would try, the tale of Robin Hood and his Lady Marian would adorn the hearts of lovers for generations to come.
He would not die here, not today, not when they had just married. He would think of something. All she had to do was trust him.