Thanks so much for your encouragement with this story! I loved receiving your comments and feedback. This is going to be a tougher story to get out there because it's an unusual crossover. But I'm still having fun writing it. The Doctor isn't in this chapter (next one, promise!), but he's spoken about a lot. Also, towards the end I'm curious if you'll see any of the parallels between Amy and Marian. Well, at least the "waiting" part. My mind kept flying back to Season 5 of Doctor Who when Amy, as a little girl, was waiting for the Doctor to come back for her. There are some similarities, but hopefully it's still different! Enjoy. :)
Marian couldn't remember a time she had been more excited…or had run faster. As her legs kicked up behind her, she felt a surge of adrenaline pushing her forward.
"Oi, Marian, slow down, will you?" A red-faced boy with scruffy brown hair was panting behind her. He was followed by a boy with fair hair who seemed equally out of breath…if not more.
"Hurry up!" she called back. "We're not that far away now."
"Master, this…is…pointless!" the sandy-haired boy huffed as he struggled to formulate words. He seemed unaccustomed to running far distances.
"Yeah Marian, this better not be some sort of trick! You took me away from my target practice."
"Oh, hush up! You can get back to your silly old target practice anytime. It's not every day you find a funny blue box in the woods…and a funny man!" she replied, a gleam in her eyes.
"You sure you're not going daft?"
"I am not daft, Robin of Locksley!" she snapped. "And you'll be sorry you ever teased me so." Coming to an abrupt halt, Marian swiveled around to face them both. "Now, the blue box is only a few paces away. And that man should be somewhere around here. Doctor!" she yelled.
"Doctor?" Robin repeated mockingly. "That's his name?"
"That's what he told me, but of course it's not really his name. Just a title, silly! He must be a very important man. He's been to France, you know. And he wears funny round things on his face. Doctor, are you there?" she repeated, desperation slowly creeping into her voice. "I have friends with me who'd like to meet you! He was here just this morning, I swear," Marian said as she ran from tree to tree, a hopeful expression on her face.
The other boy crossed his arms, a scowl creasing his forehead. "If this is one of your pranks to get Master to spend time with you, it's not funny."
"It is NOT a prank! I couldn't care less about spending time with either one of you. And you should learn some respect when speaking to a lady, Much," Marian emphasized his name with obvious distaste.
Robin let out a rather unflattering guffaw. "You, a lady?"
Marian haughtily turned up her nose, choosing to ignore his comment. "Well, maybe he wandered off. I'll show you the blue box I found. I'm sure he won't mind. He said it's his carriage!"
"Now this is just getting ridiculous," Much complained as they followed her. "A blue box…that's a carriage?"
"I'm telling you, it's true. And it's right…here!" Marian's smile disappeared when she was met not with blue, but with green instead.
Robin and Much both began to laugh uncontrollably. "Trees...you brought us here to look at trees?" Robin said mockingly as he held onto his stomach to prevent himself from doubling over.
"It was here, I tell you!" Marian replied, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "I'm not making it up, so stop laughing. Stop it!"
"Come on, Much. Maybe if we make it back in time, we can target practice with the man in the blue box." This led to another round of boisterous laughter.
"I hate you. Both of you!" she sputtered as she blinked away the tell-tale tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. She always felt uncomfortable when she cried in front of anyone. It made her feel weak, and she couldn't look so vulnerable in front of this arrogant boy who she was so desperately trying to impress.
"No, you don't, or you wouldn't always be trying to spend time with me. I know you like me, Marian." Robin suddenly was inches away from her face, making her feel a bit uneasy. Much's laughter came to a grinding halt and he seemed just as uncomfortable as she was.
The nerve of him! Marian backed away, not liking him so close to her…and also not liking the way her heart fluttered in that strange way. "Don't flatter yourself. I loathe you!"
"Such big words. Since when did you become so high and-OW!"
She wasn't quite sure how it happened…or what came over her, but she felt her fist connecting with Robin's jaw, and saw him staggering backwards in response. Her hand ached, but she felt a gleeful sort of satisfaction creeping over her as Robin stared back at her in shock. Yes, the pain had been worth it.
"Master, are you alright?" Much fretted as he ran to his side. "Did she hurt you?"
"I'm fine…get off me, Much!" Robin angrily replied as he rubbed his jaw. "Let's go."
Marian nearly found herself apologizing, but she couldn't formulate the words. She didn't want to. But she assumed that Robin wouldn't be so forgiving. In fact, she just might be in more trouble than she realized. But what came out of Robin's mouth as he turned to look at her was certainly not what she was expecting.
"You hit well…for a girl," he mumbled as his eyes briefly met with hers.
Taken aback, she tried to speak, but nothing would come out. And was it her imagination, or did she detect a brief glimpse of admiration in his eyes?
The Doctor's advice to her came flooding back. "Girls are just as special as boys," she said quietly, finally finding her voice. "And strong," she added a bit more forcefully.
Robin merely shrugged in response. He must have agreed somewhat, at least about the strong part, because he couldn't stop pressing on his jaw, which was beginning to look splotchy. Marian was stunned that he didn't have a witty comeback. As she watched them both trudge out of the woods, her heart felt heavy. Had she really imagined the strange man with the box? Or maybe she had gotten the spot mixed up. A lump settled in her throat as another thought crossed her mind that she hadn't really thought of. He could have left. Maybe he was on his way to meet the King. He seemed like an important sort of man, or at least Marian thought he was. But now she felt foolish, even though she had proven a point to Robin. Maybe he would at least be a little nicer to her now.
She couldn't explain why, but she really wanted to see the funny man again. In those short five or ten minutes he had made her feel…different. Special. As she circled around the spot where she was certain the blue box had been, her eyes fixed on something that was glittering in the tall grass. Curious, she bent down and parted the grass with her fingers. Her pulse quickened.
There, lying before her, was a tiny replica of the strange blue box. So tiny, she could fit it in the palm of her hand. She stared at it in wonder. Had the man left it for her? Her eyes lit up. Maybe he would come back and search for it! It was then she determined that she would come to this spot every single day, in hopes that the man who called himself the Doctor would come back.
And she kept that promise faithfully for the next five years. Every day, she waited for him, clutching the tiny box trinket in her hand. But every day, she would come back disappointed. Even when she began courting Robin of Locksley she would occasionally trek out to those woods, hoping she had not merely imagined that meeting so long ago. But when Robin left for the Holy Lands, her visits had grown less frequent, until she eventually stopped believing in the man's existence altogether. All she chose to remember of that day was that she had punched a very smug Robin in the face, causing him to finally take notice of her.
Because just as Robin had let her down, so had the man in the blue box.
