Allan was relieved to see the dark figure of Guy of Gisborne walking down the corridor and he hurried to reach him.
"Hey, Giz!" He called. "Are you alright?"
Gisborne winced and turned to look at him, and Allan realized that he wasn't. The knight was deadly pale and he had dark shadows under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept for a week, and he looked jumpy and upset.
"Oy, mate, that wine was too strong, I guess. But don't worry, I know a great remedy for hangovers, it's a little disgusting, but it works miracles."
Gisborne grabbed the front of his tunic with a growl, and he slammed Allan against the wall.
"You're a liar! A snake ready to betray me!" He snarled.
"Are you still drunk, Giz? I wouldn't betray you!"
"As you wouldn't betray Hood? You lied to me!"
Allan frantically tried to understand which lie Guy could have found out, but just a moment later Guy answered that unexpressed question.
"You knew how I feel for Marian, but you never told me that she's in love with Hood! And that she's the Nightwatchman!"
"Who told you?!" Allan blurted, realizing immediately that he had just revealed to Guy that he knew about her secrets. He braced himself for a beating, but Gisborne didn't hit him.
Instead he let him go, looking at the empty corridor, and lowering his eyes, as if he was ashamed of something.
"You wouldn't believe me," he said, with a sigh. "Why you didn't tell me?"
Allan looked at him, and he saw how dejected Gisborne was. He felt some pity for the man, even if he was afraid that Guy could still beat him.
"I didn't know how you would react. I might be a traitor, but Marian had always been kind to us, I didn't want you to hang her when you found out the truth."
Guy kept glancing at a point at the left of Allan.
"I would never hurt her."
"Maybe, but you could hurt me. And I wanted to make sure that it wouldn't happen."
Gisborne didn't answer to him, but he mumbled something, still looking at the empty space at Allan's left. The former outlaw gave a worried glance at him.
"Giz? What's up? You are worrying me."
"Nothing."
"That's because of Marian? Did you really love her so much?"
Guy eventually looked at him.
"She means everything to me."
"Even now?"
The knight nodded, and Allan felt sorry for him.
"I didn't mean to hurt you, Giz..." He began, but Guy interrupted him waving a hand.
"You can spare your words, I'm not going to retaliate on you."
"But I'm really sorry for hiding the truth from you," Allan said, and for once he was sincere.
Guy looked at him, a little surprised. The ghost of Sir Edward, visible only at Guy's eyes, was standing at Allan's side, nodding at the former outlaw.
"He's not lying," the ghost said, "this young man is loyal to you, Sir Guy, at least for now."
Guy glanced at Allan, uncertain.
"It doesn't matter now. We have something to do, come."
Gisborne led him through the corridors of the castle, and the ghost followed them. When they arrived in front of a door, Guy stopped, hesitating, and Sir Edward felt a sudden dread.
"What's inside this room, Sir Guy?" He asked, but he already knew the answer.
"Hey, Giz? Why are we here? It's some mission for the sheriff?" Allan asked.
"No, quite the contrary, indeed." Guy pushed the door open, and they stepped into the room.
On a bed, covered by a shroud, lied the body of Sir Edward.
Allan stared at the corpse, shocked, then he looked at Guy: the knight was standing at the side of the bed with his head bowed and perfectly still, as if he was praying.
"Poor Edward." Allan said, sadly, and Guy lifted his gaze to look at him.
"We must provide for a burial. Please, call a priest, and organize everything."
"The sheriff won't approve," Allan objected.
"The sheriff won't care, as long as he doesn't have to spend money for it. I will pay."
"Thank you, Sir Guy," Edward said, unable to avert his gaze from the body.
Allan didn't know if he found more strange to be in the same room with the corpse of a man he had known, or to see Gisborne so respectful towards the father of the woman who had deceived him so much.
"Go, now," Guy said quietly, "make sure that he is buried in a nice place."
"Here in Nottingham?"
Guy thought for a moment.
"No, at Knighton. I don't know if Marian will come back at the castle, but she must be able to visit her father's tomb. It will be easier for her if he's at Knighton."
Allan nodded thoughtfully.
"Aren't you coming, Giz?"
"Later. I just need a moment."
The young man wondered why Gisborne seemed to be so touched by the old man's death, but he didn't ask.
"As you wish," he just said, then he was gone.
"That was kind of you." Sir Edward had talked without looking at Gisborne, his gaze still fixed on his own body.
"I wish that my parents had a tomb I could visit. It would have been a comfort, I think."
Guy's voice was low, sad, and Sir Edward forced himself to avert his eyes from the corpse and look at the knight.
"They died in a fire, if I remember well. Marian and I arrived in Nottingham just after that tragedy, I remember people talking about it. They said that you killed them and Robin's father too, but I never trusted gossips too much."
"It's true," Guy said in a whisper, "I started the fire, but I never wanted them to die."
"It was an accident, then."
"But they are dead and it was my fault. I will have this burden on my conscience forever. Every day of my life."
Guy sighed. He didn't know why he was telling those things to the ghost. He rarely talked about his parents' death, he didn't even confess that sin to a priest, sure that he didn't deserve to be forgiven for that. But somehow Sir Edward seemed to be able to look into his soul, and Guy found easy to speak with him freely, maybe because he was the only one who could see the ghost and Sir Edward wasn't going to repeat his words to anyone.
"Poor child, it's an heavy weight to carry."
"A weight I deserve. Maybe that's why I can see you, but I never could see the ghosts of my parents, no matter how much I prayed to meet them again, even just for a moment. Just to tell them that I was sorry."
"I think it's more complicated than that, Sir Guy. I wish I could speak to Marian, to tell her that she mustn't feel guilty for the last words she said to me, but you are the only one who can see me. I am sure that your parents have already forgiven you, but probably they just can't tell it to you."
"How can you be so sure?" Guy asked, reluctant to allow himself to hope that the ghost could be right.
"I know, Sir Guy, because I am a father. There is nothing that Marian could do that could make me stop loving her with all my heart. She could have stabbed my heart with a knife and I'd still forgive her."
Guy glanced at him, almost shyly.
"Sir Edward? Have you met other dead people? Is there any chance that you could talk to my parents?"
The ghost shook his head, sadly.
"I am alone. I always thought that my wife would be here to wait for me when I died, but there is no one. I think that I am stuck. To reach her, I must leave this mortal world, but I can't until I'm sure that Marian will be safe."
"I will help you," Guy said, impulsively. Not out of fear, but just because he felt sorry for the old man and he wished that he could do something for him.
The ghost smiled warmly at him.
"I'm grateful, Sir Guy. If I can go to Heaven, I'll be sure to search for your parents and tell them how much you love them and that you miss them. Probably you won't be able to get an answer, but I am sure that they love you too and they will be there for you when your time comes."
Guy nodded to thank him, and they were quiet for a while, watching the corpse.
"Is it strange to see your own dead body?" Guy asked suddenly, and Sir Edward frowned.
"It is. Unpleasant too, but not as shocking as I thought. I can't stop looking at it, but it's hard to believe that it once was me. Now it's just… a thing."
"But you kept the same appearance as a ghost."
"Because you are used to see me with this aspect. You were already frightened enough, I couldn't show you anything more unsettling. But please, let's go away, now. I don't like looking at it."
Guy was more than happy to comply.
"What should I do, now?" Guy asked, as they went out of the room.
"Reach the sheriff, he will expect you to do your work, it wouldn't be wise to anger him."
"You're late, Gisborne." The sheriff kept painting his toe nail with black paint without looking at Guy. Only when he finished, he stared at his henchman, frowning. "And you look horrible. More than usual, in fact."
Guy's head was still throbbing, and he felt poorly, still feeling the effects of the hangover and of the shock of seeing Sir Edward's ghost.
"I think I am unwell, my lord."
The sheriff put away the nail paint, and pointed a finger at him.
"Actually I think that you spent the night crying like a girl and getting drunk because of your leper friend. 'Boo-hoo, Marian left me as soon as the crusty geezer was cold!' This should teach you something, Gizzy. She never cared for you, she was only staying here because of her father."
Guy was feeling sick. Only the day before he would have replied that it wasn't true, that there was something between him and Marian, but now he knew the truth and it sounded too similar to the words of the sheriff.
He didn't know what to answer, so he just hung his head while the sheriff kept talking.
Vaisey stood up, and went closer to him.
"So, do you have nothing to say, Gizzy? You know that I am right, don't you? I always told you to keep away from women, they are only a nuisance, a disease. Now get over with it and move on."
Guy didn't answer, and he winced when the sheriff put an arm around his neck and got even closer.
"I'll tell you what. I'll give you a kiss, hm? That makes you feel better, huh? Come along, Gizzy, give us a kissy."
Gisborne fliched, and he pushed the sheriff away.
"Get off me!" He snarled, and Vaisey stopped mocking him, to look at Guy with a menacing stare.
He pointed a finger to the knight's chest, prodding him with rage.
"Grow up, Gisborne. Now stop pining like a pathetic fool and take the guards to Clun, we have a trap to set."
The sheriff went away, and Guy let out a sigh, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Does he always treat you like this?"
Gisborne looked around, startled: Sir Edward's ghost had appeared again, and he was standing in front of the fireplace with his arms crossed in front of him. Guy could see the flames dancing through his body, and he just wished that he could go back to his lodgings, go to sleep and wake up in a world where he could just have some peace, a world with no sheriff, no ghosts, no Marian…
No. It wasn't true.
For him, a world without Marian may as well turn to ash.
Guy didn't answer, he just sighed again and turned to the door to get out of the room. The ghost followed him, floating at his side.
"Really, Sir Guy, you shouldn't let him treat like that!"
"I don't have much choice, do I?" He said under his breath, enraged.
"Marian often said to me that everything is a choice."
"Well, I can't choose to stop loving her. The sheriff wouldn't be so harsh if I did."
"You might stop working for the sheriff."
"I have no one, nobody who cares for me, nobody who would ever support me. The sheriff can give me power, he can give me a position, wealth. I will have that, at least, if I can't have anything else."
"So you sell your soul to a devil?"
"That's easy for you to talk, now! When he came to Nottingham why did you let him take your job? You were the sheriff, but you let him take your position because he was ruthless, he had power, and you were afraid. If you had the courage to stand up against him, I could be working for you, now. But you were a coward… I am a coward, so we must content ourselves with disappointment!"
Guy kept walking down the corridors of the castle, headed to the courtyard. The ghost followed him, in silence.
"Do you know, Sir Guy?" Edward said after a while, "You reminded me of Marian, a moment ago."
Guy glanced at him, surprised by his words.
"What do you mean?"
"Your words… She told me the same things the last time she saw me alive. She said that she was ashamed of me, that I was a coward..."
Gisborne stopped.
"Those were the last words she said to you?"
Sir Edward nodded.
"I wish I could tell her that I don't mind. I asked Robin to give her a message, but I am afraid that she will still feel guilty for what she said..."
Guy leant his back on a wall, and he closed his eyes.
"She will. I know that she will."
Sir Edward looked at him, worried.
"Sir Guy?"
"I did the same with my father before he died. I called him a leper, I told him that he abandoned us…"
"I'm sure he has forgiven you. I am a father, I know that he did. For sure. If he could he would surely tell it to you. That's why I asked your help: you can tell Marian what I wish I could tell her myself."
"I already agreed to help you," Guy said gruffly, unwilling to show that the words of the ghost had touched him, "but I don't know where to find her."
"Giz?"
Guy opened his eyes, startled by Allan's voice. The young man was staring at him, a troubled look on his face.
"Were you talking to yourself? Are you sure you are alright, Giz?"
Gisborne glared at him.
"I'd be better if you would keep silent!"
Allan grinned.
"Drinking too much makes you grumpy, uh? You sure you don't want that remedy for hangovers?"
"We don't have time for this. Come on, we have to go to Clun."
"What for?"
"The sheriff is going to set a trap for Hood." Guy said, lowering his voice. "It's a plan of that man who came to the castle, that Carter."
"What do we have to do?"
"The guards will menace the villagers and that Carter will save the peasants from them, so he'll get the trust of Hood."
Allan frowned.
"Do you think that Robin will fall for it?"
Guy shrugged.
"I don't know. I don't care. It's their plan, I'll just do what the sheriff ordered me to do."
Allan didn't find anything to reply, and the two men headed for the courtyard to reach the guards.
Sir Edward's ghost floated behind them, unnoticed by everyone but Guy.