Yes, a new fic. I'm aware that as RH is undoubtedly over for good I'm not sure if anyone is going to still want RH fic, but for what it's worth I still have a few good stories left in me so if you have the mind and the interest do enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Robin Hood. I can only say I wish that I did. XD

A/N (IMPORTANT PLEASE READ): This story is told through flashbacks that don't always go in chronological order. Chapters will always begin in S3 starting from pre ep1 up to the very last episode. The flashbacks that interrupt the S3 flow are not in order. They will jump from pre-series, to S1, and to S2 depending on the theme of the chapter or a specific memory of a character. If you are confused at the jumpiness that's fine, you're supposed to be. As you read, more things get filled in and relationships become clearer.

A note on the dates: Anything that dates from 1170-1173 marks pre-series flashbacks other time markings are less clear. Anything that says 1192 is taking place in S1 anything that says 1193 is S2.

Now enough of the boring technical stuff. Enjoy.



I

From that Moment

She had been lighting candles that evening. She did it every evening, in every window ledge there stood a candle. She was vigilant in this ritual, even though the servants found it to be a rather annoying and bothersome little display. After all she was ever out to please the lord of the manor. She was his trained, little pet, always padding off after him. She was sustained at just a glance from him. She was a fool. So they said.

She stood in the upstairs window, the last of the candles lit. Even from the second floor she could see the honeyed lights dancing in the window below her. She smiled with satisfaction, but she turned her eyes to the road and sighed with deep anxiety. The servants had grown tired of such sighs. She had one for every occasion concerning him. She sighed when he left a room. She sighed when he grew cross with her. She sighed when he would apologize for such behavior later. Sometimes she sighed at the mere thought of him. She was a starry-eyed fool.

She made her way back downstairs and the gossip abruptly quieted. It wasn't like she didn't know they talked about her behind her back. They would not be servants if they did not indulge in that one vice. It was a matter of hierarchy which silenced them. She was considered the head of the household maids in the manor. Such a promotion had never been official, but she was the pet of the master, and therefor was considered not to be trifled with. It was rather annoying, as she was such a stupid woman.

"D'you really think the master's gonna know you've been keeping a light in the window for him?" A particularly bold maid spoke up, a sneer in her voice.

"'Course I don't." Came the reply, "When 'as he noticed anythin'?"

"Then why do you do it?" The maid asked dropping the malice from her voice, seeing that it would get no further reaction from her.

"'Cause I hope he will notice."

"You're daft. That's what." The maid snorted.

"Aye. Go on off t'bed, Mary, been a long day."

"Get off t'bed yourself, you look exhausted. Night, then." The maid retorted, but not without a hint of kindness. She turned on her heels and trudged towards the servant's quarters at the end of the hallway.

Of course, Mary knew she would never sleep. She never slept when he was away. She sat in a little chair she kept by the hearth, which was closest to the entry hall. She waited with eyes half closed every night, as if expecting to catch the master sneaking back in in the dead of night. She had been waiting in her little chair for six months. She was going to drive herself into the grave over him, not that he would ever know. Seemed a shame.

Then one night it happened. The long awaited sound of hooves came pounding up the pathway outside. She was the first to rouse herself from her twilight state of slumber. Before she could even reach the hallway the door was shoved open violently.

"Get that great wasted mess of a man upstairs!" A harsh and grating voice commanded.

She hid against a shadowy corner of a wall as two men carried another up the stairs. "Throw him into his room if you have to, I'm not standing here all night!"

She finally found her courage and approached the man standing at the foot of the stairs. "Sir?" She piped up. "What is going on?"

The man seemed startled by the presence of the woman, "Who are you?"

"A servant in this manor." She said rather proudly.

"Well then," he cleared his throat, "Your master's been taken upstairs, found him drunk in a tavern."

"Drunk?" She wasn't certain if she should be shocked at the sudden return of her master, or that he had been found in such a loathsome condition.

"I don't envy him the headache he'll have in the morning." The guard laughed.

"Then, I thank you, Sir, for returning him safely." She said softly.

By this time the two men were already on their way back down the staircase. The guard nodded to her, "A good night to you." He turned to go when he stopped and turned back around to face the servant, "You mourning the lady too?"

"What?"

"Just all the candles." He pointed to the window ledge, "Thought you was holding some vigil or something for the Lady Marian."

"What about the Lady Marian?" The servant's voice sharpened like a sword being unsheathed from its scabbard.

"She's gone. Been gone these past six months. Most say she died." The guard confided.

"Died? Are you sure?"

"Almost. People have been starting to talk. Anyway, I'll bid you a good night. You'll see to that drunkard of yours won't you?" The guard grinned.

"He'll be well cared for here." She said stonily as the guards left the manor.

She stood alone in the dark hallway. The Lady Marian was missing and presumed dead? She could already hear the wails of the other servants fill her head. They would say it was a shame, she was always such a sweet and kind young lady. They had such hopes that she would prove a good influence upon the master of the manor. Such a lovely girl, oh yes, she could hear it now. But alone in the dark room, she laughed so hard that the heart that had been broken for so long was roused to life.

1170

Rebecca Tanner found that carrying the freshly dried laundry back indoors was by far a more difficult task then she had been expecting. She thought she had gotten off easy when her mother had offered to do the sweeping in place of her gathering the laundry. She hadn't wagered on the many trips and large bundles she would be carrying herself. Fine thing for a waifish girl of fourteen years to be doing.

She couldn't even see over the top of the clothes as she carefully navigated her way back into the manor. Every step was a highly calculated effort. She had never been so aware of the grass beneath her feet, nor of the slippery mud, still quite wet from the rain two nights ago. Gisborne Manor couldn't be too far off now. She should not have praised herself so early, for the moment she did she crashed into something unseen before her. She fell the ground with a bump, as the clothes fell like feathers back to the muddy earth. "Oh damn it all!" She cursed, even as she rubbed at her head while getting to her feet, "Damn, damn, damn..master!" She squeaked as she caught sight of the obstruction to her path.

"Are you all right?" Guy of Gisborne asked in a low tone, he was peeping at her from underneath his unruly black hair. He stood slightly hunched over, as if embarrassed to stand upright and stern. He was always such a shy, awkward lad and now that he had sprouted up a few inches in the past few months he seemed even more lanky and out of sorts with himself.

"My apologies!" Rebecca found herself unable to stop her voice from squeaking. She busied herself with gathering up the clothes--clothes that would need a decent washing yet again. Her mother was not going to be pleased. "Didn't see ya. My fault..."

"Let me help you..." He mumbled as he began to gather up the fallen clothes alongside her.

"Oh no!" Rebecca exclaimed, dropping a few of the clothes yet again in her haste, "Damn...ah, sorry!"

Guy chuckled a little as he stood up with half of the laundry in his hands. Rebecca quickly regathered her fallen pile and righted herself, shifting the load about in her hands, constantly checking to make sure not a tunic nor a shift fell back onto the muddy ground. "Where should I put these?" Guy asked her.

"Give 'em t' me, master, I'll take 'em back t' get washed. No need to bother yourself further. Thanks very much an' such." Rebecca babbled quickly. She had never had a run in with the young master of Gisborne before. Usually she kept herself to herself and went unnoticed in the household.

"I'm not bothered." Guy shrugged.

"Really?" Rebecca asked, blowing a strand of her dark brown hair out of her face.

"No." Guy answered honestly, "Just bored."

"Ya sure?"

"I think I'm the better judge at when I'm bored." Guy responded.

"All right, then, master, follow me...jus' 'round the manor....my mum's gonna kill me..." Rebecca muttered to herself.

She felt rather uncomfortable walking alongside Guy so casually. She felt as if she should at least allow him to overtake her pace by at least a stride. So she awkwardly tried to reposition her footing. Guy stared at her in bemusement, wondering what she was trying to do. "Are you a cripple?" He asked rather bluntly.

"Wha--no!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"Then why are you walking like one?" Guy asked.

"I wasn'...I was trying t'...that is...oh, nevermind. Sorry, master." This apologizing was getting rather tedious for her.

"You know I've seen you about before." Guy pointed out in an attempt to make some sort of conversation.

Rebecca snorted, "That's 'cause I work here. Oh, bloody hell...." She swore as she realized her quipped tongue was going to get her into a lot of trouble one day. She was going to have to remember telling her mother she had been right all of these years about her behavior, she was never going to live this down.

She was rather relieved to hear the young master give a small laugh in return. "You're strange."

"Thank you, master." She mumbled.

"Uh...you're...welcome?" Guy didn't realize what he had said amounted to a compliment. He was most confused now.

Finding it best to walk the rest of the way in silence the pair remained staring at the path at their feet, occasionally glancing upwards at one another only to look away again in embarrassment.

"'S'right around here." Rebecca mumbled as she led Guy over to the water trough. Two women were standing around it, washing clothes. Upon seeing Guy approaching them they stopped what they were doing and acknowledged him with a curt bow of their heads.

Rebecca shuffled about on her feet, her face turning a bright shade of red as she tried to explain herself to the other servants, "Erm...erm...I dropped the laundry on my way back in...ah, the master was kind enough t'...help."

One of the servants took the bundles of clothes from both of the young adolescent's hands. The other pinched Rebecca's ear rather harshly, "Did ye apologize?" She asked.

"Ow! Yes, Jenny, leggo o' my ear before ya pull it off!" Rebecca winced.

"Forgive the girl, master, she's got nothing but clouds and air atwixt those ears o' hers." The maid chided, shaking her head at Rebecca.

"It's not her fault." Guy shrugged, trying to placate the older servant, "She couldn't have seen me when she ran into me."

"Ye did what, lass?" The servant gave Rebecca a light cuff about the head, "By Heaven, if your eyes weren't such a waste siting in that face o' yours."

"You don't need to hit her." Guy intervened in his quiet way.

The servant stopped her tirade, "As you wish, master, I'll send the girl back to her mother, then."

"That would be wise."

"I'd rather ye hit me." Rebecca groaned with a roll of her eyes.

"Another outburst like that, my young fool, an'll cuff yer head clear 'round yer neck." The servant warned. "Get going."

"I'm going, I'm going..." Rebecca snapped making her way back to the house.

"Wait!" Guy called suddenly, racing to catch up with her, "What's your name?"

"Why d'you want t' know, master?" She seemed stunned he had taken an interest.

"Uh...I don't...just thought that..."

Saving him from his shy stuttering, she put him out of his misery, "It's Rebecca."

"Rebecca." Guy repeated.

"Aye, simple, eh?" She smiled a little.

"My name's Guy." He suddenly blurted out.

She laughed, "I know, master."

"Oh...right..."

"Gotta go, if my mum don't see me soon, those two witches back there are going t' find her themselves." Rebecca smiled, "Thank you for your help, master."

"You're welcome, Rebecca."


I have a few chapters already written so expect those to be up soon. Other fics will be updated with all due haste. Do drop a review and let me know if this story intrigues you at all.