DISCLAIMER: Of course, I don't own anything. :(

The next chapter is here, and it is long, even though not much happens here. More action will be in the following parts...I can't jump to the best right away! Duhhh!! ) Anyways, you guys better like this, because I wrote it with a nearly broken finger! :D Also, you know the drill: REVIEW! :) I thank to anyone who reviewed Chapter One.

Chapter Two

The ball went on until the wee hours of the night. After she had entered the Grand Hall with Sir Guy, Elizabeth had shared the first three dances with him. Of course, before that, she'd gone to greet Sheriff Vaysey, who had done nothing else but sat in his chair at the banquet table for the entire evening.

Elizabeth's father had told her a lot about him and his traits, for which she had sought as she'd curtsied to him lightly. She had quickly seen one did not need her father's excellent observational skills for a quick and correct estimation of the man's character.

As Vaysey's eyes landed upon her, it was clear he saw her as nothing but an object, which may have proven worthy, but could've also been easily destroyed or discarded if needed. For a couple of moments, she was truly stricken her father had placed her fate in the Sheriff's hands, in spite of the money that was supposed to have ensured her safety. Fortunately, after exchanging a few words with Vaysey, in which he welcomed her to Nottingham and expressed his 'hope of a continuing cooperation between him and Lord Horvat', she got the opportunity to excuse herself and return to the jollier benefits of the Hall.

Guy had accompanied her even as she'd gone to talk to Vaysey and during their conversation he'd stood quietly behind, waiting for her. Elizabeth had never been capable of noticing subtle little details, but it was unmistakable that his entire demeanor had changed the moment they had entered the room. Outside, when they'd been alone, he had taunted her, teased her, and even though he had never genuinely smiled or laughed, there'd been at least a smirk present. Inside, among the crowd, his features took on a nearly solemn, emotionless mask. The cold aura around him grew stronger, and during their entire three dances he had not bothered to jest with her once or even initiate any casual conversation. All the burdens of that job had fallen onto her back.

Not that Elizabeth had a hard time talking. She was, after all, an extremely talkative creature, that could've babbled and babbled endlessly without being stopped. But she liked when people talked back. Especially men. Especially handsome, dark-haired men. Especially handsome, dark-haired, blue-eyed men that had caught her on the stairway.

His complete lack of interest began to worry her, at first a tad, and then it began chewing painfully on her mind and heart. Had she done something wrong? She racked her brains. Had he realized there were better looking women around when they entered the ballroom? That added a fatal wound to her pride and she felt her mood dropping suddenly. One part of her even wondered was it possible that she had done wrong by not listening to the advices all had given her and granting him as many dances as he wanted? Had he thought her a trollop of some kind? Maybe he had been waiting for her to refuse his following offers for dances, and had grown more displeased as she accepted? In spite of speculating about that, she could not have brought herself to say 'no'.

When the three dances sped by, and when he parted from her with a cold, formal greeting, Elizabeth was nearly crushed by disappointment. She was certain that she was speaking to Sir Guy with any hopes of their further involvement of some kind for the last time. Responding with a swift smile and a polite 'Good Evening', she turned towards the refreshments table and took a glass of red wine. Surprisingly, as she drank, she caught her eyes following him over the Grand Hall. His black leather outfit was easily seen among the whirlwind of colors. She felt disappointment coming again-what had she done wrong? And just when she'd been so close--

"May I have this dance, my Lady?"

A red-haired Lord she had never seen before (well, she was in a whole new country) had approached her, and she smiled at him, accepting. During the evening, she had danced with five or six men, with each more than only once. They all talked to her, laughed with her, chatted with her, yet as midnight approached, Elizabeth found that she had not enjoyed with any single one of the half as much as she had with Sir Guy. In spite of his icy silence.

Such thoughts did not worry her much-she'd always been quick to fall for someone and quick to get over them. Her imagination would have been her most powerful tool-she would have played out all the scenarios in her head and that would've sufficed instead of real events. So, sitting down on one of the sofas designed for rest from dancing, she set her mind on how he had saved her life in the hallway, how he'd teased her and asked her for a dance, trying her hardest to erase all that happened afterwards. Well, with the exception of the fact she had loved to dance with him. Despite everything.

The clock struck midnight, and as if on cue, the Sheriff slowly got up from his chair. He had not done so ever since he'd first sat down and somehow everyone in the room noticed the silent action. The laughing stopped, the banter lowered to murmur, while the music ceased playing. Vaysey watched all of it with a satisfied grin, cocking his head and waiting until the quietness was complete and there was not a sound to be heard. Evidently, Elizabeth deduced, he was also truly a feared man.

Guy was standing next to him, seemingly indifferent. His eyes were also on the crowd, but empty-watching, but not seeing. She shuddered as they momentarily passed over her. There was no doubt in her mind it was one of pleasure.

Don't give yourself false hopes, She chided, but couldn't have helped it. Lying to herself was something she did with far more talent than lying to others. Briefly, she let herself relish within the notion that he had looked at her. Fooling herself that he had done it with premonition and that he hadn't looked at everyone else in the room. And that he'd actually seen her.

Clearing his throat, the Sheriff sounded, his voice cheerful and jolly, but with a hidden menace behind it. With other people, it was difficult to see such things, but Vaysey seemed to have wanted that malice evident.

"Good nobles of Nottingham! I'm certain all of you have been having fun tonight. I'm sure you know who, except for me, your good Sheriff, "The emphasis carefully placed on that adjective made Elizabeth's lips twist into an ironic curve, "…you have to thank for this occasion. Our lovely Croatian guests, Lady Elizabeth and Lady Ines." He did not bother to gesture at them, for finding them in the crowd would not have been as easy. Elizabeth recalled she had not seen Ines or thought about her during the entire evening. She surely hadn't missed her, she thought as her eyes flew over the Hall. Ines was there, standing next to a blond Lord(undoubtedly annoying him), smiling widely at Vaysey. Elizabeth averted her eyes back there, too. That way, she could've stolen glances of Sir Guy more often. She wondered if, after the Sheriff said his part, he would maybe ask her for a dance again. Perhaps it was possible. It certainly aided her good disposition, thinking of it like that.

"Well, soon you shall have to thank them, and me, for a lot more!" Vaysey's voice cut through, "For I am proud to announce the upcoming engagements of Sir Guy of Gisborne…"

The Sheriff's dark eyes were searching the crowd. It took them moments, seconds, but Elizabeth's mind registered it as much longer. Marriage. Marriage. Marriage of Sir Guy of Gisborne. To one of us.

It is me. Surely, it must be me. Yes, me, of course.

No, maybe it is Ines, it is surely Ines. Ines…

Her palms began to sweat and her heart hammered painfully within her chest. If Vaysey said 'Lady Horvat', if his eyes stopped on her, she swore she would faint. Either that, or jump around with joy. No, no, no, she wouldn't do anything of the sort! Why should it make her happy, anyway? Marriage…to a man she hardly knew!

Because of her father's ambitions, she reminded herself. Nothing more, nothing less. It had not a thing to do with emotional attachment. All right, she found him handsome, but nothing else. Nothing, she repeated, holding her breath still, wanting to look at him, but not daring to. The world slowly began twirling around her.

"…to Lady Ines Novak!"

No!

Cheers erupted through the room, accompanied by clapping of hands. Elizabeth looked down, not wishing to hear Ines screaming happily. What tortures me most is how important she must feel right now! How proud, how proud…he had chosen her! HER! Over me! Not wishing to meet the eyes of the other lady and see a triumphant look within them. She will say she had always known it…that she had had such an opinion. That she had been sure of it. Not wishing to see her walking over to Guy, beaming at him. Damn it, I was sure he liked me! Now, I will have to put up with her bragging…even though he was supposed to have been mine! And what I've missed!

Not wishing, but seeing it all.

Little comfort was brought to her letdown by knowing what had been the cause to his change of behavior (it must have been!), and that it hadn't been her. Wouldn't it have been better if she had done something amendable today to anger him, than him being engaged to another, that another being Ines?

At least he had danced with her. And he had been charming with her for at least a few minutes, if nothing else. That must have meant something. Even though he'd already known he was to marry Ines.

But why...why…why had he chosen Ines?

She wished to think he'd done it all before ever meeting the two of them, and was now regretting. But when she finally plucked up the courage to look into his face, it was completely smooth. If there was any regret, he wasn't showing it.

As she allowed to be swept up by another Lord into a vigorous dance, Elizabeth did not even see his face or hear his voice. Her hearing was completely blocked by Ines' victorious giggle and her vision by the cold eyes of a certain Sir Guy watching her emotionlessly.

Guy had debated whether to go to Locksley for the night or spend it in Nottingham Castle, as he had intended before since the Sheriff needed him early in the morning in order to take care of the delayed taxes. The reason to that dilemma was his new bride-to-be.

Lady Ines Novak. Just as he had gotten somewhat accustomed to the idea of taking Lady Elizabeth as his wife, that idea had vanished. It had been as Vaysey had wanted it to be, and it was going to be as Vaysey wanted it to be. He never should have dared think of something as preposterous as his own preference. Guy did not know why he had done so at all. It had only brought in the risk of the other thing happening together with disappointment, instead of whatever happened just happening, without any feeling.

Not that he had experienced much feeling.

Still, he had, in spite of the knowledge of this all, permitted himself to hope for the Sheriff choosing Lady Elizabeth. Now he knew it had been stupid. The moment they had entered the Grand Hall together, he'd realized that. And, of course, his usual demeanor had returned-the cold, cool, arrogant one.

The reason to the question 'why' lied exactly there-it had returned. For a brief period of time, during his encounter with Elizabeth in the hallway, it had gone away. As if the lady had had some kind of melting effect on him, melting away the coldness and the emotionless behavior. He truly did not recall when had he experienced anything similar before (save for his times with Marian, but he did not want to think of those). Furthermore, he couldn't have recalled any other person that had been cause to such a turn of events. He highly doubted Lady Ines was going to be anything even close.

He could have seen the disappointment and the doubts that had crossed through her mind turbulently, those things she was always trying to hide so hard. And she actually believed she was any good at it. So stubbornly. Emotional people, emotional women even more, were hardly ever good at concealment of emotions. That was why Guy had so perfected his ability of lying and pretending-he was a man without many emotions. Any emotions, he would have dared say.

By the time he had danced three dances with Elizabeth, he'd recalled that he'd had no reason to do so any longer. Why keep dancing, when it was not as if he had drawn any pleasure from it? Yes, it had been enjoyable, a tiny bit enjoyable, but nothing more. And no more; besides, it could've had stirred unwanted rumors.

Elizabeth's spirits had so evidently decreased-when he'd greeted her, she had looked almost crestfallen. But by the time he got to the table, where he had sat down next to the Sheriff, he'd already spied her dancing with another man. After wondering for a split second if she had merely been putting up an act or truly forgetting him and indulging in leisure, he'd finally reached the conclusion that he had no reason to care, and had looked away flatly.

Guy was certain he would not have been the right husband for Elizabeth, one way or another. She would have certainly expected the kind of man he had, most likely due to the lack of sleep that day, been in the hallway. Charming and flirtatious. Hmph. He could've hardly recalled ever being overly like that (once again his thoughts snuck around Marian). It was crystal clear she had been negatively stricken by the real him. Had they married, she would have been unhappy. Not that he would have cared. Which was precisely what she would've minded. And for some idiotic reasons, Guy had not thought like that at all when alone in her presence.

As for Lady Ines…she was an extremely boring woman. The moment the Sheriff had announced their engagement, she had run to him and had hardly let go of him ever since. She'd spent the entire night smiling at him sheepishly, addressing him with phrases in heavily accented, half-spoken English, and pretty successfully countering his attempts at getting as far away from her as it was possible. Not to even mention her despicable insistence at beginning a conversation with him.

Elizabeth had been very talkative. But for God's sake, at least she could have discussed something else than the detailed analysis of every female dress in the room or music and each and every mistake that the orchestra might have made. And at least she had known how to speak properly. After enduring the tortures she had brought along for hours, he had finally withdrawn to his room, a part of him surprised she had not followed him even there.

So, it was four in the morning at the time being, and he was truly debating whether to leave for Locksley and return in but a couple of hours.

In the end, he saw how pointless, Ines or no Ines, that action would have been. After all, who was she to dictate what he did? If she dared to come and talk his ears off tomorrow, he would have her confined to her quarters. The thought of being married to that woman made him think he was going to spend many a night here, while keeping her locked away at Locksley. If she did not murder the servants with her moronic babbling. Then he would, perhaps, have the excuse to have her hanged on the base of committing murder? Shaking his head inwardly at the glee that caused within him, he lied onto his bed, deciding to get some sleep.

It would have been much better with Lady Elizabeth, indeed.

Elizabeth had wished for death to come as salvation to her for more than once during the past hour. Naturally, it hadn't come, for death was one of the things that never came upon being called, and that happened to come in the most inconvenient of times.

And right now would be too convenient.

"I'm marrying him! Odabrao je mene! " Ines squealed, for the thousandth time, shifting on her bed. They had come to their quarters around half past four and they had not even changed into their sleeping gowns yet. Elizabeth because she was too tired and feeling too down, while Ines because she was 'very excited to sleep'. At Elizabeth correcting her, she merely sniffed and said, "Sir Guy does not mind!" That rubbed salt into an open wound, but it did not make Elizabeth draw back-it only made her point out every mistake Ines made further. The more she was wounded, the more fervent in striking she became.

"And I had that feeling! He was looking at me for the entire time!"

"Of course. He has chosen you. We've said that for at least a million times in the last hour." Elizabeth said with a forced smile, leaning against the window above her bed. Instead of sitting on the mattress, she had chosen a place with a more spectacular view. She could've clearly seen the lake behind the castle, a spectacular sight underneath the upcoming Sun. It was still without a trace of the shining rays, but it was beginning to lighten outside. With a sigh, she closed her eyes, wishing she was out there rather than in here.

Ines was displeased by the lack of enthusiasm coming from her companion.

"But Elizabeta--Elizabeth! You see what this mean? I become his wife! I will have a husband!" She sprawled on the bed, giving up her sitting position, "Confess that he kept looking at me! And that he thinks me interesting!"

"You see what this means, I will become his wife. Admit would also be a term more adequate than confess. How should I know?" Elizabeth leaned away from the cold glass, shrugging, "It is not as if I'd spent my evening watching the…" The two of you, she had been about to say, but the context of Ines and Guy mentioned as one whole made her sick. So, she chose her words more wisely, "…behavior of Sir Guy towards you."

"Ah, but you danced with him! Three dances!" That was something worth pointing out. Nearly grinning, enticed by the partial bitterness in Ines' voice, Elizabeth spun around with an innocent look in her eyes. Ines wanted enthusiasm? Well, she was going to get it. In a completely different manner, certainly.

"Yes, now that I think of it, I have danced with Sir Guy." Oh, she did not need any thinking to remind herself of it, "But I do not recall him mentioning you at all. As a matter of fact, he had seemed a tad gloomy from the moment we'd entered the ballroom." She made sure she articulated the 'we' part for someone as illiterate, to put it plainly, as Ines to get the point.

All that came from the latter was silence.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, wondering if she had managed to touch a sore spot. But after a few seconds, a rather long pause, she was surprised by a soft-snore from Ines. A sigh of relief instinctively left her lungs. Usually, Ines was one of those people who fell asleep easily, but this…it had been in the best of times, and it had been extremely quick! Simpering, this time genuinely, Elizabeth gave the room a quick observation. She was tired, but it was already too early in the morning-if she went to bed now, she would not have woken until late afternoon. But if she did not find something to occupy herself with, she knew she would fall asleep in a matter of milliseconds.

Her books were yet to be unpacked, in the rooms assigned to her chaperone, Matilda. Matilda did not play any larger role at the moment-she was solely there for the sake of formalities. Ines' chaperone Ivana, on the other hand, kept the other Lady under a watchful eye. Elizabeth could've only imagined the heart attack the elderly woman would've suffered had Ines been caught by Guy during her fall…

Blinking her eyes, she pushed away from the window. Reading was to passive of an activity to keep her awake, anyway. She had to do something more active.

The clear, morning air sounded like exactly the thing she might have needed. Not bothering to take anything to cover her bare shoulders, she cast another glance at the alluring lake and headed out of the castle.

As she passed through the hallways, she could have heard the sounds of servants cleaning up the mess the ball had left. This time expressly cautious on the stairs, both not to fall and not to pay them too much attention, she descended without anyone's help, continuing onwards to the main exit.

The crisp air was just the refreshment for her-it was almost too cold as she hurriedly made her way to the lake she'd seen. Her intentions were to take a gentle stroll around it, just enough to clear her mind. Thinking about her problems was not what she needed. She was looking more for distraction from them.

The point of why Guy had picked Ines was far behind her. Whatever his reasons had been, she ascertained it was useless for her to bother with them. There was not a thing she could have changed, and she was positive it had not had anything to do with her behavior. He had seemed satisfied with at least that. What had remained as a burden on Elizabeth's chest, though, was the concept she was verily hurting because of it still.

It should have passed by now. By all the signs, the facts and the laws of this world, he had expired for her. He was no longer hers to want. Envy, a small amount of envy was the sole feeling her heart should have hosted when referring to him in her thoughts. Instead came all this disgusting hollowness combined with heavenly butterflies and scorching ache.

The reality of the woman who did belong to Guy had just been left lying in the quarters she shared with her made her frustration grow. To think she could have so easily disposed of her by murdering her and running away, calling her out for riding and having her fall off the horse, all those wonderful possibilities…that were never to be used, it made her want to scream right here and right now. But what use would that have been? It would've only served the purpose of her embarrassing herself and hearing whispers behind her back for the rest of her life…or a shorter, but equivalently unsettling period of time. Something she and her repletion wouldn't have survived.

Gritting her teeth and balling her hands into fists, she stopped, after having made a full circle around the lake. Swallowing deeply, she looked up at the castle, where the window to her room was. It was strange to think how only a few moments ago, she'd been up there, sitting and watching this scenery she was now part of. Just as strange as it was to imagine that, ten hours ago, she had still been hopeful about the matter of a certain man in black evolving a deeper relationship with her.

She did not exactly recognize the exact window, but she was pretty sure Ines was not watching her. For the sake of paranoia, she hid in the shadow of a tree, a willow whose branches reached to the damp grass. Only upon being secure of all curious stares that might have wandered nearby, after looking about her for ten to twenty times, only then did Lady Elizabeth allow a tear to run from her eye. It traveled along her full cheek around the corners of her lips, and then fell onto her collarbone.

There. That's it. Now I can go back--

'That' was scarcely over with just one tear.

When the second droplet fell onto the same spot, Elizabeth still hadn't given up her straight standing and her attempts at keeping a straight face.

All right, one more. Now—

Three more tears came, followed by five, then six, then ten, and so on until they reached infinite numbers. It did not take long for Elizabeth to be shaking with sobs, sobs that would've been loud had she not muffled them with her palms. Her knuckles turned white from the endeavor.

In the name of God, you did not even…you do not even know the man! It did not aid her.

She had been foolish. So terribly foolish. She should've known it never stood at 'just one', no matter what it was about, tears, gossip, dresses, food…men. There could have been none, yes. But the moment a single unit, a single representative of a kind came out to the open, another one was bound to follow. And after that, nothing could've stopped them. Just like one had never seen only one droplet of rain fall, one had rarely seen only one tear leave one's eye.

She should not have begun hoping…she should not have created one dream about herself and Guy. For the moment that had been created, it had left its roots deep within her, roots that could not have been so easily pulled out and that kept pulling out visions of what could have been.

Elizabeth had had dreams before; about plenty of other Lords she'd had the honor of knowing.

But deep within, she knew that Guy was one of a kind. To her.

Which was why she never should've met him. For now, she could've easily never made him leave her system.

The worst thing was-she did not even want that.

Sheriff Vaysey had had Guy woken early, barely two hours after he had gone to sleep. Apparently, as the nervous guard who the fearful duty of dealing with him had been bestowed upon had informed him, there had been a sighting of Robin Hood reported by a certain noble. Vaysey required the matter looked into posthaste. The moment Guy dismissed him with a growl, the guard almost ran away, as if glad he had gotten out without any injuries. Inbound, he recollected the impression he had surely left on Lady Elizabeth and held back a snort. That had truly been the rarest of events.

He washed quickly and left his chambers, knowing that the Sheriff was to be obeyed, no matter how gullible his orders might've seemed, when it came to Robin Hood. The two of them had been leading a prolonged personal war that intimated being endless. Guy believed the world would never be big enough for both of them to coexist peacefully. Just as he could never have forgiven Hood for taking Marian away from him.

The vast share in his immediate reaction to the command was held by his undying desire for revenge. The ball had only ended, most that had been drunk were still in such a state and 'Robin Hood' was probably just a figment of some old, intoxicated man's ramblings and risen imagination. Yet Guy could not and would not have borne had Hood been here for that exact time when he had refused to explore the matter further. So he took no chances.

The air was cool, with an awakening effect. Not that he needed any of that. Guy had never been of those who needed a lot of sleep in order to function properly. Mostly he only required a few hours, and the longest he had gone without sleep had been for a week. One week, just after Marian had left him for Hood.

He planned on circling around the castle for a couple of times, if only in order to satisfy his own spirit, before reporting back to Vaysey and informing him it had been a false alarm. Unless, of course, he actually happened to catch Hood. In which case the outlaw most probably would not have lived to see the Sun rise.

The first round proved already that the latter was not to occur, at least not at this point in time. So, by the time he got to the spot he'd set as his starting point for the first time, he saw very little sense, if none, in doing the same all over again. Especially when considering the given circumstances. Robin Hood would have to be caught some other day. Besides, there were taxes to collect for the Sheriff.

Just as he began turning around, he heard a sound that made him stop dead in his tracks.

A sob.

It wasn't that Guy was shocked by someone crying. Hell, he made people cry. What made him spin back at the speed of light was not shock at all-it was the strange familiarity of the voice producing it. Guy did not remember each and every sob he'd heard or induced. But he was undoubting that there was nothing special in this very sound. Yet he also could've sworn he had not heard it before…but knew the one producing it.

The sound was coming from the lake. Guy slowly began approaching it, cautious not to produce noise in order not to alert whoever was there and-as he conceived now-hiding in the shadows of the willow there. The closer he came, the clearer it became the crying person was a woman. Who had chosen her hideout well-it was only when he was steps away from her that he could've seen the flowing skirts of her red dress.

The red dress he had already encountered today. Or yesterday. And the dress whose silky fabric he had felt on his hands. The tresses of dark brown hair resting upon the colorful dress had flown around his face as he had caught Lady Elizabeth Horvat into his arms.

It was then that he stepped on a fallen branch, crushing it with his boot.

Elizabeth froze when she heard the sound. Initially, her optimistic part reached out, claiming…no, praying that it had been but an animal. Her entire being soon began to cling to that idea tightly, having her craving to unfalteringly believe that whatever was behind her possessed no consciousness and, more importantly, no tongue or communicative abilities. Soon, it dawned upon her she was never going to find out without turning back and looking.

Hesitantly, she began to do so. She would have most gladly remained glaring in front of herself, so even if it was a person behind her, she never got to be aware of it. But when she re-thought that, and it hit her what a cowardly act it would have been, she snorted inwardly, straightening and twirling decisively.

Wishing almost immediately she had gone with her first impulse.

Sir Guy of Gisborne had already witnessed her falling down the stairway. Correction, flying off the stairway. What was he going to think of her character when he now saw she had been crying like an infant? Or, worse, a weakling?

It was unfair. First, he got engaged to Ines. Of all people. And then, he had to come when she was crying because of him (as much as she wished to attach it to anything else). Of all people.

More tears threatened to come out, but this time she was motivated enough to stop them, blinking rapidly and placing her hand over her eyes. She could still get out of this with her vanity unharmed.

"Sir Guy…!" She exclaimed, placing every little bit of energy she had left into thinking of a solid lie to tell, "I…I must be allergic to willow…it bothers my eyes. " Then, wiping away the last of the tears on her cheeks, she dared look straight into his face, which was unreadable, "Good morning to you."

She had not been a good liar when she had been far less upset and with more time to think. Guy would have seen she was not telling the truth even if he had been dead drunk. This woman had been crying over something. He needed to find out what.

Not that he cared about it. It was, he recited to himself, all in the line of duty. What if she had seen Robin Hood? She could have had useful information. Or if the outlaws had, for example, ravished her or hurt her—

All of his excuses were erased. Ravished her. He could've imagined the dirty outlaw and his gang enjoying all that Elizabeth's body had to offer. No matter how hard he fought to return to what he believed to be his true reasons for ever nearing her, his mind outright refused to wrap around them. The sole part of it that remained was the last one. That his example had been a valid possibility-even if he knew that Hood would not have done it, there were other petty bandits.

Anger rose within him, threatening to burst out. This woman, he thought as he tried to control it, was no one he cared about. No one he knew. Why did the mere thought of any accident coming upon her made him want to kill someone? Each word echoed separately and bit by bit, as if cutting into his skull.

Naturally, he could not have allowed a guest, a daughter of an ally related to the King of Croatia be touched by filth! If word of any such thing reached the ears of her father, the Sheriff would've lost valuable advantages. Which meant Guy would have, too. When it finally dawned upon him, the explanation, he did not feel entirely contented by it. On the surface, he accepted it, that being enough for that problem to go away, if only temporarily.

Now, he had his fury left to deal with.

Slowly, but steadily, he took in a deep breath, just quietly enough for Elizabeth not to notice anything. It brought help in just the amount for him to be able to focus on forming a decent, uninterrupted sentence.

"You have been crying, Lady Elizabeth." It was the best he could have managed. Only as air finally got to his brain did he realize the situation he was in-a weeping woman was standing opposite to him. Guy had, obviously, never been good at consoling. As a matter of fact, he had never consoled anyone. There need for that had never arisen. Just as no need has arisen now. He added to himself rather urgently. He did not need to provide any comfort to this woman.

Elizabeth saw the unusual darkness pass through his eyes, something more than their normal crudeness. Bone-chilling was the finest description of the effect it had left, but Elizabeth would have added fascinating. Her breathing stopped for a few moments, during which she waited for him to say something, utter a word, hoping for…ah, hoping for many, many things that could never have come true.

The blunt statement should not have surprised her. It both had and had not, in a way. While among her hopes had firmly lied that of him returning to the charming ways he had displayed upon their first meeting, she'd also had a strong feeling it was not going to be. Beginning to breathe in and out again, she nearly forgot about how she had explained her swollen eyes to him. I must look terrible! She thought with ire as her voice, with a quivering edge, came out.

"I haven't, Sir Guy. I've exp-plained the eyes…"

She began with a litany of curses within her mind because of the damned mutter, and because of her stupid, irrational, crazy behavior. What was she letting him do to her? First taking away her ability to hide emotions, than making it impossible for her to lie to him convincingly…making her cry and blocking her mind? None of it was his fault. So she focused her irritation on herself.

"You have explained nonsense." Guy's voice was taking on a dangerous tone, as he made another step forward, "I must and shall know what really happened…my Lady." The pause was only as brief as it took him to bethink his own clarification, "The Sheriff requires knowing if any outlaws have been sighted--"

"Outlaws!?" Elizabeth shouted out before she could have given it any thought, "Outlaws? You believe that I am…that I have been crying? And because of outlaws?"

"I know that you have been crying." Guy persisted, "Whether it is because of outlaws or not is what you must tell me."

The situation that had seemed grievous to her seconds ago now seemed so comical she almost began laughing. And there she'd been, daring to begin to prospect he had come to her because of something called concern. Typically, he was sent by the Sheriff! The only reason he'd given her a second glance was because she might have just been a whimpering belle that had seen the outlaws and was beside herself with grief. While, in reality, it had been him she'd been sorrowful about.

Oh, she would've laughed, all right, had this not injured her in many ways. First-he considered her the sort of woman to cry over stupid things. Evidently. Second-he would not have given a damn about her weeping had he not been under orders. Third-he simply would not have gotten off the idea of her crying!

"Sir Guy," She began to sound impatient, "I told you, I have not been crying. Have you just called me a liar?"

Guy rolled his right hand into a fist. Did this woman even know how close to strangling her on the spot had she gotten him? The amount of energy it was taking him to rule over his temper? Scowling lividly, he snapped;

"I haven't called you a liar, but I still don't take back that I know you have been crying. Women are usually keen on hiding the truth when their--honor--is in question."

Elizabeth's eyes went wide and her eyebrows flew up. Honor? Honor? So he thought, what, that Robin Hood had raped her? How she wished to giggle right now! This, indeed, was a fine comedy. The irony and the laughability of the entire scheme completely dried her tears, clearing her thoughts and feelings.

However, the clearing had been too sudden, which led to an uncontrolled burst of boldness whirling back towards the surface of the lake, she quickly vented;

"Honor? So, if I told you I had been robbed of that honor by Robin Hood, you would do…what?" The surprise on how serious and stoic her voice had sounded splashed over her. Sir Guy was going to see her joke, though. He surely could not have thought she would have said anything like that as plainly and as straightforwardly.

Unfortunately, Guy's sense of humor had only existed during their first encounter. As her words reached his ears, he found his own shock and hostility grow as quickly as Elizabeth's audacity. His jaw tightened, his eyes turning murky. Hood..? So he had--? He had dared? His reactions were instinctive-in a long stride, he crossed the remaining distance between the two of them, his hands landing upon her shoulders. He turned her around; unsure of what exactly he was planning on doing-all he knew of was a sudden urge to hold her close.

Elizabeth felt she was being swirled, and when her eyes locked with those of Guy, she gulped in…she was not sure which sentiment was playing its role here. Her arms flew against his chest immediately, remaining there…and liking it. She liked being in his hold, she liked staring endlessly into his blue pools, and she could not have cared less for 'why' he was doing this. The only thing that mattered was that he was. Nothing else, nothing at all could've been in her mind at that moment-all had been exiled into plains of oblivion by his proximity.

His breath on her face made her tremble, but this time she did not condemn her weakness. She just stood there, orbs wide open, wishing for the moment to never end.

"I will kill him."

Guy spat, forcing her to leave the state of ecstasy she had entered. The solemn sound of his voice, the madness on his face…he had not understood her jest? She was going to explain, then. She had to. Even though she would've readily gone along with quite close to anything for the benefit of staying in his arms forever, this had to be said. For what little of her pride she had left now…

"That…" She heaved, " Was a joke."

At first, his features seemed to have petrified. As if time had stopped, Elizabeth gazed at him with tension, begging for his reaction not to be negative. Begging in vain, she believed. The realization settling in his mind, his look gradually grew even bleaker, his eyes narrowing. For a moment, one, brief moment she was sure he was not going to move, which filled her inside with warmth. But then, abruptly, he began to push her away.

The logical thing to do would have been to apologize and let him leave. The reasonable thing to do would have been to return to her room and sleep for a while in order to calm down. The smart thing to do would have been not to oppose him.

Then, Elizabeth had never been a cool-headed person.

So, completely illogically, unreasonably and utterly stupidly, she tightened her hold of his cloak. Illogically, unreasonably and stupidly she pulled him back closer (or, rather, moved closer to him).

Illogically, unreasonably, stupidly, she kissed him with all the passion her heart could've spawned.

There, they kissed! And hence the name of this chapter. I had to hurry up the Guy/Elizabeth relationship a little bit...the point of the story is kind of that they almost instantly liked each other, but were set apart by cruel destiny...a.k.a. Ines&Vaysey hehehe. :) REVIEW; please! I want to hear anything at all you might desire to say.

Will update within the week!