The other's story

Traitor! The word seemed to pierce his entire being. He'd betrayed his friends knowing it was the only way to make sure Kate was safe! Gisborne had told him that they'd caught here before she got far on her travelling with Tuck and if he, Allan, told the Gang she'd be killed. So he'd spied on the others for a while, everyday hoping it would be enough, that he'd paid the price to get Kate free. But even now when he'd been kicked out of the Gang he never saw her. Weeks went by and sometimes he saw the others, never her.

"I'm not being funny but I did this to get Kate free! Where is she?"

"Why should I know that? Didn't you say the girl left with that monk? Either she's still travelling with him or back in the area! Hating you!"

"What? You never had her captured? You tricked me!"

"Yes! And now it's time to tell about the location of the camp of yours! And I won't spill time trying to talk you nicely into doing it! You've served your purpose!"

So they dragged him towards the dungeons on the way he caught a glimpse of Marian pleading with his eyes to her.

Tell Kate! Tell her I'm sorry!

The torture was terrible but he didn't give in! Couldn't give in! Kate had suffered down here too and she hadn't said a word. No way would he! The pain filled him as he slowly passed into unconsciousness.

When he opened his eyes he realized he weren't in the dungeons anymore but in a small cavern. As he lay trying to figure out how he'd ended there the light which came from the entrance was blocked and a figure stepped in. Will!

"You! What're you doing here?"

He slowly rose looking at his friend.

"I… I don't know! I'm not being funny… one moment I was down the dungeons getting tortured! Then I was here!"

"HOW DARE YOU? YOU GETTING TORTURED! AS IF WE'D BELIEVE THAT!" he didn't hear half the words. And let the beating hit him without trying to defence himself. He'd deserved it after all.

"WILL! STOP! STOP IT!" someone ran in and yanked Will brutally away. Kate! He fell down to his knees still weak after the torture. The next second she kneeled in front of him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah… I'll be!" carefully he reached out to touch her cheek.

"Kate! What is he doing here?"

"He's here because I brought him here!"

"HE'S A TRAITOR!"

"WILL! I FOUND HIM IN THE DUNGEONS! HE'D BEEN TORTURED! I DON'T THINK HE'S REALLY WITH THEM!"

"WHAT ABOUT THE WAY HE THREATED YOU? YOU WHERE HARDLY GONE BEFORE HE JUMPED SIDES!"

"I didn't mean to Will! I'd never knowingly hurt Kate anyway! You know that! I love her!"

"THAT'S ANOTHER THING! HE ACTS LIKE HE'S THE ONLY PERSON WHO CARES ABOUT YOU!"

"BUT I KNOW THAT ISN'T TRUE! SO WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM? GO AWAY!"

"What?"

"I said: LEAVE US ALONE!"

Allan could only watch as Kate pushed her cousin violently out of the cave and after a while fell sobbing to the ground. Quickly he went over and kneeled behind her,

"Hush… it's okay…" it was pathetic, he knew, but he couldn't think of anyway else to comfort her. After a moment she turned and looked at him, tears still flooding from her eyes.

"Let's get some sleep. And tomorrow we leave. Go to Scarborough, or Rochdale, or anywhere, and get married!"

"Yeah…"

Her head resting on his chest was a greater source of comfort than he'd ever believed. Carefully he wrapped his arms around her.

"I know I'm not the only one who cares about you! But… you're the only one I care about!"

"That's not true… you know that… what about your brother? You cared about him, didn't you?"

"I'd never die for him! I'd die for you Kate!"

"Oh… please don't! I don't think I could live without you! Goodnight!" with those words she drifted of to sleep.

"Goodnight my love." Carefully he placed a light kiss on her forehead before drifting of to sleep himself.

She shouldn't do this shouldn't leave this place, her cousin, for him, a traitor who'd broken her heart.

"You know you don't have to do this! It's me they hate, not you!"

"It's you I love, not them!"

She still loved him. Despise everything he'd done. He reached for her hand and the continued through the forest. However, they hadn't come far away when someone jumped out and yanked her away from him. Turning to get her back he found himself looking straight into an arrow, Kate struggling with her cousin a little away.

"Robin…" he muttered under his breath but Robin didn't answer, just continued pointing the arrow at him.

Kate managed to get free and ran over so she stood in front of him, shielding him for the arrow.

"No Robin! Kill him, and you'll have to kill me too!"

"KATE! NO!" he'd really no idea who there had yelled. Had it been him or Will?

"This night he told me he'd die for me! And now I'm telling you I'd die for him! Because that's how love works; you're willing to die for each other. Isn't that true Robin? You'd die for Marian if you had to!"

"Yes… I would… but… what does that have to do with this?"

"Everything Robin! Everything! You and Marian! Allan and I! My parents, Dan and Jane! Even, I know, in some ways, Will and Djaq! It's all the same… sometimes you meet someone you just know are the right person. And… if that person does something bad you might hate them first but then you remember all the good things they did. All your happy times together!"

They stood silent for a moment, letting her words sink in. then Robin turned to Allan.

"Why did you do it?"

"They… told me they had Kate… told me the only way to get her free was betraying you… and… they said I couldn't tell you either! That they'd kill her if I did!" then he'd said it. Before it had been the gang which meant most to him, more even than his brother, now Kate had the biggest place in his heart, he'd move heaven and earth to secure her safety.

"So… all this… you did that… for me? To save… me! But… you knew I'd left with Tuck!"

"They told me they'd captured you on the way…" he took a small step forward and encircled her in his arms.

"We should get back to the camp!" Much was there too, and John. Actually the only people who weren't there, who hadn't come to take her away from him were Djaq and Tuck. Because they would've objected to it?

"You're right Much! We should! And Allan, you know perfectly well that Kate can hold her own!"

He knew she could. He just loved her and that meant he wanted to protect her. Surely Robin and Will felt the same way about Marian and Djaq.

After a while she turned to her cousin, his nose still bleeding from earlier.

"I'm sorry Will! But you have to accept it! we've grown up! Well… I have! I'm not so sure about you! Acting like I'm a little child needing protection when the true is I'm only four days younger than you!"

"I know Kate! I also know that when we were children YOU were the only always getting into trouble while I was the one having to get you out!"

So she'd been a troublemaker too. Of course he'd mostly played Will's role, trying to get Tom out of trouble. But still.

"We're a great couple then, Kate and I! both trouble makers!"

"Yes… if you… ever breaks her heart again!"

"I won't!"