This is the S3 Finale AU. Robin Hood was wounded by Isabella's poison-tipped dagger. Guy of Gisborne survived the bloodbath in Nottingham, and now he has to face the fact that Robin was destroyed by his poison and his sister. But is everything as tragic as it seems?

This is a story for those readers who cannot accept the end of season 3 and would want to have an alternative happier ending for their beloved characters.

I'm a Robin/Marian shipper because I don't believe that Guy and Marian could build a healthy and happy relationship on so many lies and because I don't think Marian really loved Guy in canon. I'm not a Marian fan, and I think that Robin could found a woman who is more compatible with him. But as Robin loves Marian and I want him to be happy, I ship Robin with Marian.

Reviews are very welcome. Thank you in advance!

Of course, I don't own the show and the characters.


Chapter 1

Death of Robin Hood

Robin Hood was utterly, truly, and completely dead. Robin lay on the green grass on the clearing in the depths of Sherwood Forest. There were several white lilies clasped in Robin's arms; it was Much's idea to bury his best friend with lilies, Robin's favorite flowers. The outlaws planned to bury Robin in Sherwood, which he called his home in the past three years since his return from the Crusade and where he had spent a great many carefree days in his childhood and youth.

The outlaws stood near the lifeless and motionless body of their leader, their faces grim. They were shocked by the events of the day, not wishing to believe that Robin had died in the siege of Nottingham. It had been supposed to be the happiest day in their lives because Sheriff Vaisey and Isabella of Gisborne had finally been defeated and Vaisey's huge army of hired mercenaries had been buried under the ruins of the destroyed castle. However, everything had gone terribly wrong.

The outcome of the siege was disastrous for Robin Hood's gang. Allan had been tied up in the camp as he had been again suspected of having betrayed the gang; he hadn't helped bring their enemies down. Allan's death had been ridiculous and meaningless, but Robin's death somehow had overshadowed Allan's. During the battle in the secret tunnel, Robin had been wounded by Isabella's poison-tipped dagger and then had died a heroic death.

Playing a fatherly figure, Little John wrapped his arms around Kate who was sobbing almost violently and uncontrollably, grieving the loss of her first love – Robin Hood. Kate couldn't believe that Robin had left her without saying her at least once, at least before his death, that he loved her. Robin told her that she was brave and beautiful, and then he walked away to die alone in the forest. It was beyond comprehension why Robin didn't want to die with her by his side.

Tuck tried to encourage the outlaws not to give up and be strong. He said that Robin Hood was a legend and a spirit of England and that Robin's spirit would live forever, long after they all would die. Tuck preached that Robin Hood was immortal because a legend could never die. The churchman reminded the outlaws that Robin himself had asked them to continue helping the poor and fighting against tyranny and oppression in Robin Hood's name and in the memory of Robin.

Much was absolutely heartbroken. Robin was everything to Much: Much loved and worshiped Robin with all his heart. Robin was not only Much's former master but also his brother and his best friend. It didn't matter that Robin hadn't always treated Much as his equal, though he made Much a free man in gratitude for the services in the Holy Land and had granted him Bonchurch. It didn't matter that Robin's superior, callous attitude often hurt Much's tender heart. Much wanted Robin to see the day of King Richard's return to England and live a long and happy life, which the hero surely deserved. He didn't know how he would be able to live without Robin.

Archer looked at Robin's corpse with vacant eyes, his gaze dull and sad. He wholeheartedly regretted that he had indirectly contributed to Robin's death by selling the Byzantine fire to the Sheriff of York and Vaisey and then by arranging the capture of Robin Hood and his friends in the tunnel and having them nearly buried in limestone. During the siege, Archer had even dared accuse Robin of causing deaths of many innocents – the deaths of untrained peasants whom Robin had been feeding with empty promises for a better future after King Richard's return and whom he had lured to fight for an abstract cause and unrealistic ideals.

With all his heart, Archer wished Robin Hood to be alive. He wanted to spend more time with Robin, his newly discovered half-brother. Robin's heroic behavior during the siege had impressed Archer to the core, serving as a great example for the young man and teaching him to think more about others than himself even in the most critical situations. Robin had also shown Archer that it was entirely possible to deeply care about the people whom he didn't know.

Archer was alone in the world: he had grown up alone and had never had a family who cared about him. A knave, an adventurer, and a renegade, he was interested only in earning money and providing himself with luxury. He had always been extremely selfish and self-absorbed, and he had cared only for himself, but many things changed when he met Robin Hood. During the few days they spent together, Robin demonstrated how much selflessly a good man can help even the most humble people. Archer was proud that Robin had been his half-brother, and he was ashamed of his behavior towards Robin. Archer swore that he would become a better man.

Unlike Robin Hood, Guy of Gisborne survived the battle in the tunnel and the bloodbath in Nottingham with minor injuries. He was the most shocked man among the outlaws. He had tried to save Robin from Isabella's blade when she had attempted to stab Robin from the back at the moment when Robin had lunged at Vaisey. But Guy had failed to save Robin: he had pushed Robin away from Isabella, but the blade had still scratched Robin's neck. Now Guy had to face the fact that his poison and his own sister had destroyed the legend of England. He couldn't believe how he could have been so stupid that he had given Isabella the poison as an act of mercy to her lost soul.

Guy swallowed hard. It was only his fault that Robin had been poisoned and had died. Guy had murdered Marian in a jealous rage in the Holy Land as she had confessed in her true feelings for Robin. Marian's words about her love for Robin Hood were still ringing in his ears. He had deprived Marian and Robin of happiness on Earth and had ruined Robin's world. It didn't matter that Guy had also destroyed himself by killing Marian, because the truth was that he had never possessed Marian's heart. Eventually, Guy's sister, also Gisborne by blood and birth, had killed Robin. Guy shuddered at the thought that the Gisbornes had destroyed the two most unique people in England – Robin Hood and Maid Marian.

Gisborne looked at Robin's body, tears of pain and grief splashing his cheeks. He was really emotionally broken, and he couldn't help himself, letting tears freely stream down his face. He felt guilty, immensely guilty of Robin Hood's death. He had wanted to kill Robin so many times in the past, but now he was ready to do everything to bring Robin back – he would have gladly given up his own life to save Robin. He wished to go back in time and change the events, saving both Allan and Robin, but it was impossible. He blamed himself that he hadn't murdered Isabella in the dungeons when he had come to her and had given her the deadly poison.

In the final moments of his life, Robin had been as heroic and courageous as he had always been. Suffering from pain tearing his body apart as the poison had been slowly killing him, Robin had shot a flaming arrow into the castle through the open window and onto the barrel, and then the explosion had followed. Then Archer, Guy, and Robin had run away from the castle, heading to the forest and leaving behind the loud, powerful boom that had followed the explosion.

Guy was biting his lips. Deep in his heart, he was ashamed of himself that he had tried to take Robin's life in the past and that he had hated him. Definitely, once they'd had much bad blood between them, which had caused burning hatred to blossom in their hearts. That hatred had nearly destroyed them until they had learned the truth about their tragic past from Robin's long-lost father – Sir Malcolm of Locksley. The great revelation that Guy and Robin shared a half-brother had made their combine their strengths and save Archer. Later, Guy had allied himself with Robin to take Nottingham back from Isabella and take his revenge against his own sister.

Now Guy thought that it was ridiculous to hate Robin. Many things prevented Robin and Guy from reconciliation – "bad blood" in their veins, the secret love affair between Robin's father and Guy's mother, Guy and Isabella's unfair banishment from Locksley, Ghislaine's death at the hands of Malcolm, Guy's regicide attempts on King Richard's life and, most importantly, Marian's death.

Nevertheless, Robin's good deeds and sacrifices for the sake of England, King Richard, and the people considerably overweighed all his flaws and weaknesses, making Guy genuinely admire and like Robin Hood. Robin could be called a show-off and a swaggerer, who needed people's love and wanted to be admired by others, but he also was a prominent, brave, and competent leader, and a kind, compassionate, and self-sacrificing man who had always put the interests of England, King Richard, and the common people above his own needs and interests.

Guy had never seen such a courageous and strong man who could be so self-sacrificing and so caring about others in the last minutes of his life. Even when he had hated Robin Hood with every part of his heart, he had still admired Robin and had envied Robin. Guy had envied the hero that Robin had managed to win what he had craved to have – the people's love and adoration. He had also been impressed by Robin's inner strength that he had seen in his former enemy for the first time during the Saracen attack in the Holy Land: although Robin had been almost mortally wounded by Guy and had been heavily bleeding, he had fought with him in the King's tent, trying to save King Richard's life. Guy had heard about Robin's legendary reputation and his great victories on the battlefields of Outremer, and the night of the Saracen raid had proved that.

On many occasions, Guy had witnessed Robin's foolhardiness in Nottingham when the former nobleman had fiercely fought against the Sheriff and had easily outwitted him, robbing the rich and giving everything to the poor. In the very end, Robin had again demonstrated his great courage and bravery, and his altruistic nature: knowing that he had been dying, Robin had been thinking about the people's salvation instead of his own death and pain. Robin's death was a painful and slow one, but it was a heroic death because only Robin was capable of finding the strength and courage to shoot his last arrow and destroy their enemies.

Robin's death was a great loss for England, King Richard, for the common people, and the outlaws. Yet, Robin's death had more profound impact on Much, Guy, and Archer: Much lost a part of himself after Robin's passing, Archer lost a chance to build a relationship with his blood brother, and Guy lost his newly acquired friend, loading himself with more guilt for Robin's death.

Kate gave a hateful glance at Guy. "Gisborne, you are standing here, while Robin is dead. You should have died instead of Robin," she snapped angrily.

"Kate, you are not yourself. Gisborne is not our enemy. He helped us bring down Isabella and Vaisey. He tried to save Robin, but Isabella was too sly or perhaps just lucky," Little John objected.

Archer shook his head in agreement. "When we were fighting with Isabella and the Sheriff in the tunnel, Guy nearly died for Robin. He risked his own life when he placed himself between Isabella and Robin. If he hadn't pushed away Isabella from Robin on time, Isabella would have stabbed Robin to death and we would have been unable to help the people escape."

"Gisborne said that he had killed Vaisey! He deceived us! He played with us!" Kate yelled.

Guy glanced away, feeling both irritated and guilty. "I was sure that I had killed the Sheriff. My mistake was that I hadn't checked whether the man had been truly dead."

Kate shot Guy a scornful look. "I loathe you, Gisborne! You killed so many innocent people in cold blood. You are a murderer and a criminal. You oppressed and terrorized people in Locksley for years while Robin was fighting for England and our King in the Holy Land."

"I don't deny that I treated the peasants cruelly," Guy said without hesitation.

Kate was quiet for a while, and then responded, "You are the Sheriff's man, Gisborne! You are not Robin Hood's man!" She narrowed her eyes at Guy. "Robin always was on the right side, while you always were a black-hearted villain and the lowest scum in the world. Robin was a hero and deserved to live, and you deserve only to die." She swallowed a lump in her throat. "You failed to save Robin because you didn't want him to live. You pretended that you wanted to save him."

Guy flinched at Kate's words. He didn't say that Robin's fight in the Holy Land was pointless; he had never understood the men who went to fight with Richard in the distant, godforsaken lands.

"Kate, you are overreacting. We all are aggrieved with Robin's death," Much said, his voice shaking with tears and shock from his friend's death, making it difficult to understand his words.

"I'm not overreacting," Kate countered.

"Kate, I know that you are distressed, but believe me that Robin's death is something worse for me," Much said in a trembling voice. "I have known Robin for so many years. I grew up with him… and Marian. We were always together, spending so much time in the forest and playing our wild games with the children from Locksley and Knighton. We did so many things together."

"We all know how important Robin was to you, Much. Now you have to be strong. We all have to be strong. Robin would have never wanted us to give up," Tuck commented, his voice respectful.

Much was annoyed with Tuck's constant preachment. "Tuck, nobody understands how special Robin was for me. It is not only about our childhood friendship," he began, his voice edged with notes of displeasure. "When Robin decided to do his duty and join King Richard's Private Guard, I followed him, although he allowed me to stay in Locksley. I fought with Robin in Messina, Cyprus, and then in Palestine for so many years. Robin and I worked as a team on the battlefield, saving each other's lives. We saw so many war horrors and shared Saracen blood on our hands; we survived the war together."

"Much, the more you speak about the past, the more difficult it is for you to accept the fact that Robin is gone," Tuck said insistently. "You are only hurting yourself again and again."

Little John pursed his lips, irritated. "Tuck, let Much talk. He needs to talk. This is the way he feels better. And he tells us about Robin and we should be grateful for that."

The outlaws appreciated that Much talked about Robin, even touching the forbidden topic about the years Robin had spent in the Holy Land; the hero had never talked to the outlaws about the war, choosing to bury memories and darkness in his heart. Memories about Robin were like the tribute to the memory of the deceased hero.

"Remembering Robin makes me feel better because I feel his presence close to me," Much said; he drew a deep, hissing breath. "Looking at Robin now, I remember how Robin lay dying in Acre from the wound caused by Guy in the Saracen raid on the King's camp. Guy stabbed Robin from the back, and Robin was very sick afterwards." He paused, swallowing his sobs.

"Poor Robin," Archer said quietly.

Much's eyes darted between Robin's body and Guy. "I nursed Robin back to heath when he succumbed to a fever that almost took his life. The King's physician and Robin's comrades didn't expect Robin to live. Everyone, even King Richard, gave up on Robin, but I always knew that he would survive. Against all odds, Robin's fever broke in three weeks after the attack." Much went still, his blue eyes shimmering with tears. He brushed his blonde curls back from his forehead, his eyes focusing on Robin's body.

Archer contemplated what he had just heard. He didn't know many things and was confused. The unexpected news that Guy had tried to kill the King and had attacked Robin in the process took his breath away. It appeared that he didn't know many things about Guy's conflict with Robin.

Guy felt disgusted with himself. "I'm sorry." He remembered the day of the Saracen attack when he had almost killed Robin and how angry he had been that Robin had interfered with his plans. His cheeks turned crimson, burning with shame. "Robin was so brave on that night."

"Robin had always been brave. He taught me everything I can do in a fight – how to use a sword and a bow, how to survive and how to win battles," Much said.

"Robin was an excellent swordsman. I bet he was also the best marksman in the King's army," Guy acknowledged, his eyes at Archer. "Only Archer shoots like Robin."

Archer's lips lengthened in a tiny smile. "It is Locksley legacy."

They smiled. They knew that Archer was Robin's half-brother, and they accepted him into the gang because he represented Robin's legacy and because Robin would have wanted that.

"It was impossible not to love Robin," Much stated, his heart beating wildly in his chest. His heartbeat always accelerated when he thought of how much the people and he loved Robin. "Everyone loved Robin's charming and outspoken personality. Everyone admired him for his honesty, courage, and loyalty. Everyone knew how noble Robin was."

Guy didn't say aloud that there were some people who were annoyed with Robin and didn't like him, Definitely, not everyone loved Robin Hood, but Robin meant the whole world to Much. Guy was tactful enough to keep his thoughts to himself because he respected Robin's memory and Much's feelings, and he didn't wish to cause Much more pain. "I understand, Much," he said flatly.

"Robin was the best warrior in the King's Private Guard. He was the youngest Captain and the greatest one," Much said proudly. "Everyone adored Robin's fighting skills. On the battlefield, he fought like a beautiful wild animal, and everyone praised him." A dark shadow crossed his face. "Only Robin didn't praise himself, and he often wasn't himself after a bloody battle. He could have been silent for hours, lashing out at his men if he was disturbed. He could seat on the sand, looking with vacant eyes into the emptiness and repenting that he had killed so many people on that day."

John smiled. "This is all about Robin."

"Did he regret going to the war?" Kate questioned.

"Yes, he did," Much confirmed. "Robin missed everything and everyone in England."

"Was he disappointed in the holy war?" Guy asked out of mere curiosity.

"Yes," Much said. "Robin read Quran and considered the Turks the people equal to Christians. They were not just the infidels to kill in Robin's world." He sighed. "He was deeply disappointed with the Crusade that turned out to be so unholy, thinking that the war was pointless. I know that he wanted to go home and live in his estates in peace, but the King needed him and there was no way he could have been allowed to leave the Holy Land until he was injured in the Saracen attack."

Guy couldn't hold Much's gaze and looked away. Inside he was burning with shame. It was Guy who had unjustly taken Robin's lands and titles from him, destroying the hero's hopes for a peaceful and quiet life. And now Robin's dreams would never realize. Guy blamed himself for ruining Robin's life and dreams. Guilt, like the heaviest, unbearable burden, pressed over him, suffocating him. His shoulders slumped down, and he could barely stand straight.

"But he started his own personal Crusade in Nottingham," Guy pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Robin couldn't seat and watch that people starved to death and were oppressed by the Sheriff," Much parried, glaring at Gisborne.

"Of course." Guy knew that Robin could have never made different choices.

"He never tolerated when innocents suffered. He always saved innocents even if he had to risk his own life," Much continued; his expression was pained. "He always was a generous and kind-hearted lord. In the Holy Land, he always saved the Saracen children and women from the slaughter. He managed to keep his humanity even in the bloodthirsty war."

Archer smiled admirably. "It is so rare when a favored war general keeps so much humanity."

"Robin remained human because he was unique!" Much exclaimed. A sigh tumbled from his lips, his eyes filled with tears. "Now I feel as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest. I loved Robin the most in my life. I have never been a leader – I only followed Robin. I'm terrified beyond measure because I don't know how to live without him; I fear I cannot carry on without him."

Tuck offered Much a languid smile. "Much, you were like a brother for Robin."

"You and Robin survived through many horrors and shared many burdens together. It means more than being a brother by blood," Archer told Much, holding back a small, nostalgic smile. He regretted that he hadn't grown up with Robin.

"Robin was like my brother, even more than my brother." Much ran a hand across his tear-stained face, wincing at the almost physical pain of his own touch to his cheek.

"Like your second half," Little John assumed.

"Yes." Much nodded. Then he turned his gaze at Kate, remembering about Kate's outburst of anger; he glared at Kate. "Kate, Guy helped us today. We cannot blame him for Robin's death."

Guy smiled vaguely at Much. "Thank you, Much." He stared at Kate, his eyes watery. "Kate, I did many bad things in the past. I committed heinous crimes, and I will probably never atone for them. You don't need to remind me of my faults and crimes."

Kate measured the former Black knights with a skeptical look. "Really, Gisborne?"

"I swear it is true," Guy said sincerely, his voice deep and low. "I would do everything to bring Robin back, but I'm not a magician – I cannot make Robin come back from the dead."

"Lies! Wretched lies! You cannot change! You are irredeemable!" Kate cried out.

"Kate, you are talking nonsense," Tuck reproached.

"Kate, it is not time and place to humiliate and insult each other," Archer said strictly, annoyed that the fuming blonde girl was unable to stop on time. "Please calm down and take a hold of your emotions. Don't insult Guy. Robin's body is here and is not cold yet."

"Robin said that Guy is one of us. Guy is not our enemy," Little John added, looking down at the pale and tear-stained face of the young woman.

Kate disentangled from John's embrace and rushed to Gisborne. She stopped near him, raised her hand, and slapped Guy hard, very hard across his right cheek, then spat into his face.

"Gisborne, you killed my brother! You killed Matthew! I will never forget the day when you killed him," Kate screamed at him in a shrilling voice that was thick with sheer hatred. "You should be dead! It is unfair that Robin died and that you are alive! Robin didn't deserve to die!"

John shook his head disapprovingly. "Kate, you are not yourself."

"Kate, calm down. You mustn't be violent towards Guy. Robin wouldn't have approved of your behavior." Tuck walked to her, but Guy extended his hand, signaling that it wasn't necessary.

"I agree that I should be dead and Robin must live." Guy gave a nod and made a step towards Kate. "It is unfair. It is absolutely unfair that I'm alive after everything I did."

Much brushed tears away from his cheeks. He looked at Robin's lifeless form and cursed Kate's hysteria in his mind, knowing that Robin wouldn't have disapproved of her actions. "Kate… Kate…"

"She is simply shocked," Archer made an attempt to defend Kate.

Kate broke into heart-wrenching sobs, her knees shaking. She closed her eyes and cried at the top of her lunges. She didn't care what others thought about her. She was hurting beneath her skin that Robin, her beloved Robin, was no longer the part of the world.

Unexpectedly to everyone, Guy approached Kate and elegantly hugged her, wishing to take away her pain; she didn't resist and pressed her face onto his muscular, broad chest.

The outlaws watched Gisborne and Kate in silence and awe.

Guy looked down at Kate's face, his heart in tatters. "Kate, I wanted to save Robin. I didn't want him dead," he said, black sorrow was creeping into his tone. "I swear that I wanted to save him. But I failed and Isabella managed to leave a scratch on his neck."

Kate's eyes widened. "Is it really true?"

"Yes," Guy said. "I would have never let Isabella have Robin poisoned if I could have stopped her on time."

"Oh God," Kate said breathlessly.

Guy tenderly stroked the girl's hair. He repented that he had taken her brother's life, wishing to comfort her and appease her pain. "Kate, I never meant to kill your brother. If I could have traded my own life for his life, I would have done gladly that." His jaw clenched in anger at himself. "I wanted to have only power and riches, and it was already too late when I realized that I didn't need these things at all. I cannot take back what I did, but I can change and become a better man. I want to do good things and help the poor because I truly want that and in the memory of Robin as well."

Kate glared up at Guy. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

The gang smiled at Kate and Guy who stood wrapped in a tight, soothing embrace; it wasn't an embrace of passion and an affectionate embrace of friends, but rather a comforting embrace of two people who lost someone very dear. They were astounded with Guy's confessions and a display of his tenderness and compassion towards a woman who humiliated him.

"Shhh," Guy whispered. "I understand."

"I loved Robin so much," Kate murmured. "And he died. Now I'm alone." It was a statement, a kind of comprehension offered, and she saw the pain in Guy's eyes.

In the days Guy had spent with the gang, he had noticed that Kate had been smitten with Robin, which wasn't strange because many girls dreamed of becoming Robin Hood's sweetheart. Yet, he doubted that Robin had genuinely loved Kate, for he knew that Marian was the only true love of Robin's life. "I think you were charmed by Robin and tempted to be the hero's lady."

Kate was chewing her bottom lip, thinking that there was some truth in what Guy had just said. She was charmed by Robin, but she also craved to take a privileged position of Robin's girl in the gang. In Locksley, in Nottingham, and in the whole shire, probably even in the whole England, almost every village girl and young maid dreamt of being Robin Hood's beloved, the sweetheart of the handsome rightful Lord of Locksley, who was the people's hero and was rumored to be King Richard's favorite. Kate was only one of those many girls.

A tiny smile tugged at the corners of Guy's mouth. "You are not alone. You have us."

"Still, I'm alone," Kate said automatically.

"You have all of us. You have me," Guy assured her, his voice very low and tight with emotion. "If you need something, tell me and I will help you. I swear that I won't offend you."

"Thank you," Kate replied softly; then she moved out of Guy's embrace.

Kate glared at Guy. She would never forgive him for the death of his brother, even though she felt that she no longer hated him as much as she had hated him before. Guy gave her a small smile of sympathy, and Kate involuntary smiled back at him, somehow disarmed by Guy's friendly look.

Kate turned her head and looked at Archer, Robin Hood's newly found half-brother. She didn't know Archer very well and she blamed him for almost killing Robin in a limestone trap, but she cannot help but admire his handsome face. In Archer's face and his eyes, there was a gleam of the inner fire which Kate could see when he stared at her with an attentive, curious glance. Archer smiled at her with sadness mingled with fascination, and she glanced away.

But then Kate turned her gaze back at Archer as though some supernatural force had drawn her eyes to his face. She smiled at Archer, and her smile was reflected by him. Then she fixed her gaze at Robin's body, growing thoughtful, and Archer became serious too. Kate didn't know about that, but Archer watched her from the corner of his eye, thinking that she looked lovely in her simple peasant dress, with the straying curls of her blonde loose hair. Archer liked that there was something spirited and uncommon in the young girl, and he had always liked spirited girls.

Kate noticed that Archer was staring her. She looked at him in silence and tried to smile, but then her expression contorted in anger. "Why are you looking at me, Archer?"

"Kate, you don't look well today," Archer lied to her. He would have given her a compliment, but today it wasn't a day for merriment; it wasn't a good time to woo a girl that he liked.

Kate shot him a distempered look. "You are an ill-mannered idiot," she told Archer.

Archer smirked. "I'm a little older than you. You should respect me," he jested.

Kate looked as if she were going to slap him across his face. "Don't make me angry, Archer."

"That's enough," Tuck voiced his displeasure. "It is not a good time for bickering."

"Robin and Allan are dead," Much whimpered.

"Poor Allan," Little John said sadly.

Much lowered his gaze. "We should have listened when he said that he didn't betray us."

Guy was bitterly ashamed that he didn't defend Allan. Allan had betrayed the gang after Guy had tortured Allan, and now Guy felt personally responsible for the outlaws' distrust to his former right-hand man. "It is my fault that you didn't believe Allan," he admitted.

John nodded gravely. "Yes, it is partly your fault, Gisborne."

"Stop quarrelling! Stop it right now!" Tuck's commanding voice resonated. "Robin and Allan would have wanted us to carry on instead of quarreling!"

"Tuck is right," John agreed.

"We are Robin Hood!" Tuck cried out, trying to sound cheerful. "Just say that."

"We are Robin Hood!" everyone else echoed, but Guy was silent.

"We are Robin Hood," Guy said after a short pause. He didn't want to be an outsider anymore, and he felt that he had to say those words, which sounded so strange.

A mournful silence ensued, and everyone stared at Robin Hood with grave eyes. Even forest creatures paused to stare at the body of England's greatest hero with tearful eyes full of sorrow and pain. Overhead, the setting sun painted the sky in orange and yellow hues which reminded blood – Robin's blood, and that intensified the grief of all the mourners over Robin's death. Yet, the woods seemed filled with an intangible presence of someone, as if Robin weren't dead, and maybe it was so because even though Robin was really dead, his spirit was alive and lived in Sherwood and in every of Robin's men. Robin Hood was bigger than just one man, Robin of Locksley, who had given his life for England and King Richard and his people. They all were Robin Hood.


This chapter was a tribute to Robin Hood after his death.

I'm trying to portray Guy as a man who changed and is not the same man who served the Sheriff and killed innocents at Vaisey's command. Guy is genuinely shocked that Robin Hood is dead and feels guilty that he failed to save Robin. He also apologizes to Kate and finally has a truce with her.

There are surprises in the second chapter. Maybe not everything is as tragic as it seems.

Please leave a short review if you don't mind. I want to know your opinion. Thanks!