AN: Thank you for your reviews.
Part 1
"The Sheriff had arranged for a man to impersonate Saladin and meet the King, in order to kill him." She began to explain. "The Sheriff was going to tie me up with you in the desert but in the end there was not the time and so I had to accompany him, Gisborne, Karim's sidekick, and James, a corrupt crusader who has joined the black knights to a place where they had a good vantage point of the meeting."
"Just as well he didn't have time, otherwise the King would be dead." Mused Much. "What?" he added looking at Djaq.
"Let Marian continue." She shot back at him.
"Sorry, Marian go on." He replied with a circular wave of his hand.
"I knew that I could not just lie there, even if my hands were tied, literally. I could not be part of the Sheriff's plan to kill the King. If I did nothing then I would have been part of the scheme as much as Guy or the Sheriff." She continued, pausing to look at Robin, but there was no change in him and so she added. "I did the only thing I could; I alerted the King that it was a trap and ran out of the Sheriff's and Gisborne's reach, they were more interested in the battle than me at that moment. The Sheriff's man who was posing as Saladin had started to fight by then. He fights well, the King, and when he had slain the Sheriff's man he cut through my ropes and I was able to take the impostor's sword. Gisborne, and the others, fought us there in the desert with Carter, who we later discovered was on his way to rescue you, but paused when he heard the battle taking place. After the Karim's friend and the crusader were killed. Gisborne and the Sheriff got away. Back to England I suppose, or they could still be here waiting for another opportunity to kill the King. A King, who is now very aware of the situation and was very sorry he did not rely on his usual instincts, and trust Robin. What happened to you?"
"Apart being left in the desert to die? Not a lot." Much said. "Except well Robin…"
"Carter turned up, said the King had pardoned us." John said filling her in.
"I guess that was after your little adventure with ole Richy boy." Allan added. "How come you get all the fun?"
"I have spent weeks being chained, either to the wall, a ship, Gisborne or the Sheriff. Vasey told me Robin was dead and I had no reason to assume otherwise, especially when I went to the camp in Sherwood on Robin's birthday and it was empty. Believe me none of that was fun." She told them in a way that no one doubted she spoke the truth.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Allan muttered. "But we didn't just come to the Holy Land to save the King; we came to rescue you too. So what now?"
"Now we wait for sleeping beauty to wake up." John said with a wry smile.
"You look like you need bath." Djaq told Marian who nodded with delight in the prospect to relax and cleanse herself, her once white dress was decidedly grey and ripped.
"You haven't offered us a bath." Much exclaimed feeling put out.
"That is because I didn't think you would take one, even if it was offered."
"Ha ha! Very funny. Well for the record I would love to take a bath. I am hot, sweaty and have sand in places I forgot sand could get into." He told her, to the amusement of the gang. "If there is no bath then perhaps may I ask for something to eat."
"Food we can do, of course." Bassam said with a smile and Much breathed out a sigh of relief.
"I will wait here then, in case he wakes up." Much added as the rest of the group began to disperse.
Will was about to suggest that might be some time, but thought better of it leaving Much in the company of his Master, willing him to regain consciousness, until Marian perhaps took his place.