Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and the words used to write this. I'm making no profit from this, all characters and trademarks belong to Tiger Aspect and BBC.
Author's Note: This was originally supposed to be what turned into The Gift, but as I wrote it turned into something else entirely. I'm rather pleased with how it turned out and I hope that you will enjoy it. Please let me know what you think by reviewing!
Also, I must say that I partially owe this idea to "This Isn't My Idea" from The Swan Princess and whoever made the Robin/Marian video to the song. It definitely inspired me!
Summary: Robin of Locksley and Maid Marian of Knighton Hall will one day live out one of the greatest love stories ever told. But now, at the tender ages of eight and four, they can't stand each other and neither are very good at hiding the fact.
Title: Common Ground
Maid Marian of Knighton Hall was three years old the first time she met Robin of Locksley. Both of them were cautious of each other in the beginning, urged on by their parent's admonitions to be on their best behavior. They knew that they were betrothed to one another, although Marian wasn't quite sure what that meant. All that she knew was that when Robin and his parents were around, she had to dress in her finest and most constricting gowns, remain silent unless she was spoken to first and, perhaps worst of all, she had to be nice to the menace that was the seven-year old future lord of Locksley and Earl of Huntington.
"He's so mean!" four-year-old Marian cried to her mother one night after Robin had played a particularly cruel prank on her. A year had passed since she had met Robin for the first time and neither of them could stomach to be around the other for any longer than necessary. They each played their respective roles of blushing maiden and charming gentleman grudgingly when the adults were around but as soon as they left the children alone they dropped the act. When they were out from under the watchful eyes of their parents, the young pair couldn't seem to agree on anything. When Robin wanted to play in the forest, Marian would insist on staying in the village. If Marian wanted to play chess, Robin wanted to go outside and practice his archery. Marian secretly longed to watch him shoot, having heard much about his abilities from her father but she would never admit it. He already had an overly large head on his shoulders and she refused to do anything that would cause it to grow any more.
Robin would often play cruel pranks on her that would have made a lesser maiden cry, but Marian was stronger than most girls her age. The few times that tears did threaten to fall, she fought them back and instead concentrated on making the arrogant older boy pay for what he had done with words that would have horrified her father if he had heard her speaking in such an unladylike manner. His smirk would usually just grow until Marian wanted to hit him and he had no idea how many times he was saved from her fists only by their parents returning.
Returning to the present, Marian fumed in her bath as she thought about all the pranks Robin had ever played on her, from switching her glass of cider for a small glass of watered wine to offering her a ride on one of his parent's horses, only to bring her a plow horse instead of the promised pony. This latest prank had been worse than all of the rest combined!
She and her parents had been on a visit to Locksley when the adults sent her, Robin and Robin's manservant and best friend Much off to play by themselves. As soon as they were out of sight of their parents, the three children followed their usual routine with Marian going one way and Robin and Much going the other.
Marian wandered around the manor for a few minutes before deciding to go to the library. She had always loved books, and she couldn't wait until her father and mother deemed her old enough to learn how to read. Until then, she just flipped through pages and made up the story for herself. She dearly loved the Locksley library because it was full of books and Robin's parents had told her that she could look at them whenever she liked. Entering the room, she walked over to a shelf, looking at and discarding several books until she found one that had a few illustrations. Satisfied, she took the book over to a chair and sat down, moving about until she was very comfortable and settled in to 'read'.
"Master, I don't think this is a good idea," Much said uncertainly as he handed Robin the pan holding the combination of vinegar and honey that he had been sent to get from the kitchen. "Maid Marian is a nice girl-" His words died in his throat when Robin shot him a scornful look.
"A nice girl? There's no such thing, Much!" He held the pan with one hand and swirled the contents around with a finger, testing its' consistency. "Perfect!" he announced with a mischevious grin. "Thank you, my friend." Much looked worried as Robin hid the pan behind his back and sauntered into the library.
Marian looked up from her book suspiciously as Robin entered the room. He smiled brilliantly at her and she couldn't help but to return the smile as she watched him walk over to a bookcase and pick up a book. Put at ease, she returned to flipping through pages and didn't notice when Robin discarded the book and snuck up behind her chair. Gently, so that she wouldn't be alerted by the movement, he picked up her braid and dipped it into the mixture Much had concoted. He had just released the braid when Marian whirled around, alerted by the strange smell. Her braid sent droplets of the foul smelling mixture flying but she didn't notice. "What are you doing?" Marian demanded suspiciously.
"Nothing," Robin answered, trying to appear innocent but failing because of the devilish smirk on his face.
Marian knew that something was going on because of that smirk, but try as she might she couldn't figure out what he had done. "Come out from behind me, please," she finally ordered, turning back around and looking down at her book to see wet spots on the pages. Frowning, she suddenly felt a cool wetness where the braid had hit her neck when she had whirled around. With a sinking feeling in her chest, she slowly raised her hand to feel her hair as Robin's smirk gave way to barely contained laughter behind her.
Marian's scream brought both her and Robin's parents racing into the library, passing by Much who shrunk into the wall so much that they didn't notice him. "What's wrong?" Lady Kate asked, rushing to her daughter's side.
Marian was shaking with fury, but the sight of Robin's parents brought her back to her senses and she took a deep breath before replying in a tightly controlled voice that still shook just a tiny bit, "Robin dipped my hair into a vile mixture and now it smells and it's all sticky." Kate gently turned Marian around, her eyes watering from the smell emanating from her daughter's hair. She gasped quietly as she gently touched the bottom of Marian's braid and felt the stickiness for herself.
Robin's parents apologized profusely and promised that Robin would be punished as Kate and Edward said their goodbyes as quickly as etiquette allowed so that they could get Marian home. Kate needed to try to wash Marian's hair as quickly as possible and was hoping that she could do it before the honey had a chance to set.
xxxXXXxxx
Once they were gone, Lord Malcolm and Lady Elizabeth returned to the manor to discuss what they should do to punish Robin, who had been sent to his room when he had refused to stop laughing at his prank. "We have to punish him, Malcolm. We have allowed his pranks to go far enough. They are becoming harmful now."
Malcolm scoffed. "Harmful? He only dipped her hair into vinegar and honey," he protested.
"You don't know what hair means to a woman," she retorted, remembering the sting of having to have her own hair cut off at the age of five due to a similiar prank.
"She's a girl, not a woman."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at him. "Even so, it will take Lady Kate hours to get that out of her hair, if they don't have to cut it off. Do you still call that harmless?"
Malcolm sighed, knowing when he was defeated. "No. You are right, we should punish him. Much!" he called, and the boy hurried into the room.
Much bowed, his heart pounding in his chest as he cautiously answered, "Yes, my lord?"
"Go fetch Master Robin from his room immediately." Much nearly ran from the room in his hurry to meet Malcolm's demand.
When Much returned with Robin in tow, Malcolm gestured for him to stay. "Robin, we have allowed your childish pranks to continue far longer than we should have. You are nine years old and it is time you began acting like a gentleman."
"But being a gentleman isn't any fun!" Robin protested strongly.
"Life is not just about having fun, Robin. It's also about doing what is right," Elizabeth admonished. "I should think that we have raised you better than to believe that what you did to young Marian today was right."
"I know it wasn't right, and I'm sorry," Robin replied slowly, frowning. Much stared at him in disbelief, knowing that Robin was acting. He didn't feel the least bit sorry for he had done to poor Maid Marian today or any other day. Unbelieveable! "She's just such an easy target," he admitted, and Much rolled his eyes. There was the truth of the matter all right!
Malcolm let out a half chuckle but quickly turned it into a false cough when his wife shot him a glare. Clearing his throat, he spoke sternly. "And what about when you shoot your bow? Are the easy targets the ones that give you the most satisfaction to hit?" Robin cocked his head to one side, considering his father's words.
Seeing the wheels turning in her son's head, Elizabeth hurried to add, "What you father means is you will receive the most satisfaction out of things that are hard to do, such as apologizing to Marian and trying to make her like you."
"I don't want her to like me," Robin said honestly. "She's a baby and she can't do anything fun."
"Robin, mind your manners!" his mother said sternly. "One day, the two of you will be married. You will have to, at the very least, find common ground between yourselves."
"I don't want to marry her!"
At this, Malcolm finally decided to fully join the conversation. "What do you mean you don't want to marry her?" he demanded. "Your mother and I worked hard to make this match for you. It is a good one."
"I don't like her!" Robin said. "I don't like anything about her. When you make us to play together she always wants to do something dumb like read or play chess. She never wants to do anything fun like play in the forest or go swimming. And she never wants to do anything that I want to do!"
Elizabeth laughed despite herself, seeing the truth of what bothered Robin. He was far too used to everyone succumbing to his charm and he didn't like that Marian seemed immune to it. "That is what I meant about common ground," she told him gently. "Have you ever asked her what she likes to do?" Robin shook his head. "Talk to her and find out. You just might find that you have some similiar interests."
"I never thought about asking," Robin said thoughtfully before he caught himself. "I mean, I don't care what she likes to do because I am never going to marry her." Beside him, Much was giving him a strange look but Robin ignored him.
"Give her a chance," Elizabeth said. "You might change your mind one day."
Robin nodded. He had his doubts about that, but he was tired of arguing with his mother who always seemed to win no matter how sure he was that he was right. Much was looking at him funny again and Robin gave him a questioning look.
"Son, the Sheriff of Nottingham is a good ally and one day he will be a good father-in-law to you," Malcolm suddenly announced, pulling Robin's attention from Much.
Elizabeth and Robin both rolled their eyes at his belated answer and Elizabeth changed the subject. "Robin, we need to discuss your punishment. However, before we do that we need to find out who helped you with this prank ." She looked at Malcolm, urging him to continue.
Both of them noted the terrified expression on Much's face as Malcolm said, "We spoke to the servants and no one saw you in the kitchen today, but they did see Much." Much's shaking grew worse as Malcolm turned his stern gaze on the young manservant. "Much, did you assist Robin in this endeavor?"
Much shuffled his feet uncomfortably as he nodded, keeping his eyes on the ground and trying to stop shaking. "Then you will have to be punished as well," Malcolm announced. "I think that-"
"Malcolm, I doubt that Much acted of his own free will," Elizabeth interjected before her husband could get too carried away to listen to her.
Malcolm looked at the boy and then at his son. "Robin?"
"Much didn't want to do it," Robin admitted. "I ordered him to get the things from the kitchen and he tried to talk me out of it the whole time."
Malcolm sighed and Much shot Robin a grateful look as his heart rate returned to normal. "Very well then. Robin, we appreciate your honesty. Return to your bedchamber while your mother and I will discuss your punishment." Robin bowed and left with a very relieved Much in tow.
xxxXXXxxx
"You didn't have to do that," Much told Robin as he followed him into his room. "I mean, you could have let your father punish me-"
"What kind of a friend would I be if I let you accept the blame for that, eh?" Robin asked impatiently. "Now tell me why you were giving me those strange looks downtairs."
"I'm not saying anything!" Much said, sitting down on the bed and folding his arms in defiance. "I'm not saying anything." Robin sat down next to his friend and waited. "Do you want to know what my mother says, Robin? Do you? She says that the reason you tease Maid Marian so much is because you like her! She says that is how boys our age tell girls that! That we like them, I mean! And do you know something, Robin? I think she's right! You don't play pranks on any other girls, do you? No! It's only Maid Marian and have you ever asked yourself why? I have! I think it's because-"
"Much, shut up!" Robin cried out, desperate to stop the flow of words that were making him take a serious look at his behavior towards the girl he would one day wed. "I'm sorry," he apologized absentmindedly. "I just need to think." He thought about how he always protested visits to Knighton Hall and Marian's family visiting Locksley despite being secretly glad for them. He thought about Marian's face and how fetching she looked when she was yelling at him, her cheeks flushed bright red and her eyes sparkling with indignation and anger. He loved that she stood up to him. It sometimes angered him that she seemed immune to his charms but he secretly liked having someone who would yell at him without there being any chance of Robin smooth talking his way out of it, a skill that he had mastered already at only nine years of age.
Suddenly Robin realized that he had just thought of Marian as 'fetching', and only slightly more surprisingly, he found himself thinking that the compliment suited. The younger girl was already very pretty and he could only imagine what she would look like when she grew up...
Robin was smiling widely and nothing that Much said could get his attention. "I don't like this! My mother's right, isn't she?" Much asked, a mixture of emotions flowing through his body. He was half angry at being told to shut up by his best friend and half proud that his mother's advice was helping said friend. "You like Maid Marian!"
"Much," Robin sighed. "You, my friend, are a genius and so is your mother."
xxxXXXxxx
"I remember being that age," Malcolm sighed. "Teasing girls was my favorite pastime, but Heaven forbid anyone mention marriage to me." Elizabeth laughed and took his hand into hers. "If our marriage had been arranged, I probably would have disliked you at the beginning as well," he told her with a smile.
Elizabeth knew he was thinking of his first betrothal. He and Lady Margaret had been betrothed when they weren't much older than Robin and Marian, and while they tried to form a relationship they were just too different. Every conversation ended in an argument and both had pleaded with their families to be released from the betrothal but to no avail. When the time had come for them to marry, Margaret had scandalized her family by running away. She was disinherited and no one had ever heard from her again, leaving Malcolm free to find another bride.
He had his eyes set on Elizabeth, the only daughter of Lord Nettlestone. She was her father's greatest treasure and was allowed to do as she pleased, which led to her learning how to read at a very young age. She loved to learn and her knowledge of the world could match Malcolm's at times, something that had helped him in his courtship. Where other men talked about the boring nonsense of the beauty of the night sky, Malcolm challenged her to name the constellations and tell him their stories. They were married within the year.
Once again, Elizabeth was reminded that her husband knew more about Robin's feelings than she ever could. "Perhaps we shouldn't punish him," she suggested, allowing him to have the final decision.
"No, you are right. He should be punished in the worst way for a child his age. We shall take him to Knighton and have him make his apologies to Marian," he decided, and Elizabeth smiled at his wise decision.
xxxXXXxxx
When they arrived at Knighton Hall, Kate had her servant begin to heat water for a bath and ordered Sarah to mix a variety of shampoos to try on Marian's hair. As they waited, she took Marian's braid down and tried to smooth her hair out, but the honey had dried and left her hair stiff and nearly immoveable.
Marian had stared out of the carriage window and sulked for the entire ride home but she hadn't uttered a word of complaint after Edward told her to mind her tongue because she was speaking ill of her future husband. Kate had glared at her husband but said nothing. The skills of being a lady had been drilled into her since birth and even now she was unable to defy her husband in in front of anyone, even their daughter. Instead, she had looked out of the same window as Marian and had occupied her mind by thinking about ways that she could undo the damage to Marian's hair.
As soon as the bath was ready, Kate led Marian upstairs and had her undress and climb into the tub. She began to work one of the shampoos into her daughter's hair and asked, "Are you all right?"
"Yes," Marian replied sullenly.
Kate continued massaging the shampoo into Marian's scalp gently and firmly as she leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Darling, I won't be angry with you if you wish to talk about it."
"He's so mean!" Marian cried out, splashing her fists into the water in anger and sending a little splashing out of the tub. "I've always been nice to him and he is nothing but horrible to me! He does such mean things to me and I don't know why. How can I make him be nice to me?" she asked, tears beginning to roll down her face.
Kate's heart ached at her daughter's tears. She cleansed one hand of shampoo and gently wiped the tears away. "Do you really want to know how to stop his mean tricks?" she asked in a conspiratoral whisper. Marian nodded eagerly. "If you want him to stop teasing you, then you have to stop reacting to his teasing."
"Really?" Marian asked skeptically.
"Really. Now tilt your head back." Kate poured warm water over her head, rinsing the soap from Marian's hair. Gently running a hand over the back of her hair, she sighed when she found it just as stiff as before.
"My lady, the honey has set and dried on her hair. You may have to cut it off," Sarah warned quietly, but not quietly enough.
"No!" Marian exclaimed, clapping her hands protectively over her wet hair. "I like my hair, I don't want to cut it off!"
"We will exhaust every other option first," Kate promised. It took four different combinations before Kate finally found a shampoo that worked slightly. Cheered, she had the servants make more of it and she hummed to herself as she worked into Marian's hair and let it set for a while before rinsing it out and repeating the process a few times.
"Is it out yet?" Marian asked impatiently.
"Almost," her mother replied, lathering her hair up with the last of the shampoo. She let it set for the longest time yet before rinsing it out. As she ran her hand through Marian's hair again she sighed in relief as she found it free of honey. "There," she said in satisfaction. "Your hair doesn't have to be cut off after all," she told her, winking at Sarah.
"Yay!" Marian clapped and scrambled out of the bathtub and into the towel that Sarah was holding out for her. As she dried off, Kate went downstairs to talk to Edward while the other servants emptied the water and tidied up the room. Sarah helped Marian put on her nightgown despite the child's protests that she was old enough to do it herself. "I'm cold!" Marian complained as Sarah brushed her hair.
"I'm going as fast as I can," Sarah told her as she worked out the knots in the girl's wet hair. "All done," she told her after a moment, setting the brush down in the cupboard. "Now into your warm bed you get." Marian giggled as she ran to the bed and got under the covers.
Sarah tucked her in securely and Marian yawned, suddenly exhausted. "Will you tell me a story?" she asked, rolling over and getting comfortable. Smiling down at her, Sarah gently stroked Marian's hair and began to weave a tale about a beautiful princess and her handsome prince. Marian was asleep within minutes.
xxxXXXxxx
The next morning, Marian was eating breakfast when Sarah rushed into the dining room and grabbed her hand, almost pulling her from the table and up the stairs to her bedroom. "I wasn't finished!" Marian protested as she was dragged along, her short legs scrambling to keep up.
"Lord and Lady Locksley were seen at the treeline!" her maid explained breathlessly as she tugged Marian's nightdress over her head and replaced it with the first gown that she could find.
"I don't want to see Robin!" Marian almost growled in frustration as Sarah quickly finished dressing her and moved on to combing her hair.
"I know you don't want to see him. But your mother is right, you know," she told her.
Her interest piqued, Marian twisted her head around to look at her maid, pulling the strand of almost completely braided hair from Sarah's grasp and causing the maid to sigh in exasperation and gently turn her head back around so that she could start over. "My mother was right about what?" she asked.
"Well, Maid Marian, if you don't let young lord Robin know that his teasing bothers you, he will lose interest and stop." Suddenly, her mother's advice made a lot more sense! Marian smiled and let Sarah finish combing and braiding her hair without another word of complaint. After all, she was a young lady and young ladies never complained.
By the time Lord Malcolm, Lady Elizabeth and the young lord Robin had dismounted, Sir Edward and his family were waiting outside to greet them. Marian smiled and curtsied when the adults addressed her, glad that Sarah had dressed her in her favorite gold and silver gown that brought out her eyes and felt deliciously soft on her skin. "Maid Marian, Robin has something to say to you," Lady Elizabeth said with a smile, nudging her son forward.
Marian stepped forward as well so that they met in between their parents. "Robin," she said sweetly, sweeping into another curtsy.
Robin almost rolled his eyes but managed to stop at the last minute, remembering that his parents were right there and that he did like this girl. Instead he bowed and replied, "Marian, I wanted to apologize for yesterday. It was wrong of me to play such a cruel prank on you, and I hope that you can forgive me."
Marian smiled at him and her tone was just the right mix of ladylike restraint and grace as she replied, "As you can see, my hair is perfectly fine. Of course I forgive you." Edward swelled with pride at his daughter's ladylike manner, and Kate smiled at Robin's parents. They all were relieved and even a little surprised that things had gone so smoothly.
"Shall we go inside?" Edward asked, and Malcolm and Elizabeth agreed, leaving young Marian and Robin alone outside.
"What would you like to do?" Marian asked politely, rather enjoying the superiority she felt at Robin being at her home for once. It was a rare ocassion and she intended to be the best hostess that she could.
"What do you like to do?" Robin asked with uncharacteristic kindness, his mother's words fresh on his mind.
Marian was a little surprised at his question but she answered thoughtfully, "Well, I like to play chess and when I am here, I like to go into Knighton and help the villagers as much as I can."
Robin's eyes brightened and his mind quickly came up with a tease about how much help a four year old could possibly be, but he stopped himself just in time. "I like to help my villagers in Locksley," he replied, smiling at her cautiously.
"Maybe we could both help out your villagers sometime," she told him with an answering smile. She wasn't sure what was going on with Robin today, but she liked it.
"I'd like that," he replied honestly. "What would you like to do today?"
"Would you like to play chess?"
He grimaced for a second but quickly forced a smile on his face. "Yes."
Marian laughed out loud. "Are you feeling all right?"
"What do you mean?"
"You hate chess. You have always turned me down when I ask you to play, and I saw the look on your face when I asked this time. Why did you say yes?"
The young lord chuckled at being so easily caught. "I truly am sorry for the way that I have behaved towards you in the past, all right? I am trying to make it up to you. So for today, I will do anything that you want to do."
Marian blinked in surprised and then smiled at him, touched by his words and the sincerity behind them. He didn't seem nearly as full of himself as usual so she allowed her curiousity to win the battle against her fear of feeding into his ego. "Could I watch you shoot?"
"I don't have my bow," he replied almost sheepishly. "I didn't think I would have any use for it. You've never seemed to be interested in my shooting before."
"That's all right!" Marian cried out in delight as she remembered something. "Father was having a bow made so that I can learn to shoot. We can go see if it is ready if you'd like."
Robin's eyes lit up and he grinned cheekily at her. "Race you to the bowmaker's!" he called out as he took off running.
"That's cheating!" she cried as she raced after him.
"You still have the advantage of knowing where the bowmaker is, Maid Marian!" he reminded her with a carefree laugh.
Marian laughed with him as she darted in between buildings and took shortcuts that he didn't know about. The race ended with Robin racing around a corner to find Marian leaning triumphantly against a wooden building. "I win. And don't call me Maid Marian! My first name isn't Maid!"
Robin couldn't help but think that maybe there was some common ground to be found between him and Maid Marian after all.
~~FIN