Finally Robin and Guy are away to the Holy Land!
I was looking forward to writing this Chapter =)
Anyway, enough of me, on with the story...
***
Guy hadn't seen Alice the whole of that week. His and Robin's departure to the Holy Land was imminent and though he had promised himself he would go and see Marian before the end of the seven days, he found himself thinking more of Alice than of Marian.
What had he said that had made her so angry? And why in God's name had he shouted at her like that? He winced at the memory.
Yet Marian was still first in his mind; his unreachable prize. He had sworn to himself, that against all the odds he would win her.
He clenched and unclenched his hands, had she been right? Unthinkable, Marian was his friend, and would later be, or so Guy hoped, something even closer.
He scowled and pinched the bridge of his nose.
'Guy!' Jacob shouted up the stairs.
Guy ground his fist into the desk, scraping his skin against the rough wood, and drawing blood.
After all that waiting, now that the time had come to go to the Holy Land he wasn't ready.
'Guy!' Jacob called again and Guy strode quickly from his room.
Robin was outside, talking animatedly with his father, the sight of him made Guy fume silently. He grabbed up his saddle bag and walked out into the courtyard.
The air outside was clean and crisp, there had been a frost on the ground earlier and the sky was now clear and bright.
Guy took a deep breath in, and threw the saddlebag over Alvanor's back. His courser would be left behind, there would be no need for such a horse when they reached the Holy Land.
His armour had been fitted two days past. Lightweight and strong, as was the new fashion. The large, cumbersome, but nonetheless effective suits of armour were no longer favoured. Instead, weight was the key, and the length of your battles depended more on the skill of your sword hand, than the permeability of your armour.
But Guy still felt uncomfortable in the chain mail and plates of rolled iron. The leather protection, he had been used to all his life. But even the lightweight armour, had felt heavy and clumsy.
He fingered the hilt of his sword absently, as travelling chests were loaded onto some spare horses that would be needed for the journey and watched blankly as Sir Jacob's servants hurried to and fro.
The past two days had been a flurry of activity in the Locksley Household. All the preparations going towards his and Robin's departure. Robin had lapped up the attention and relished the adoration of the local children, especially the boys not yet old enough to be thinking of going away to the holy land. Guy, on the other hand, had just wanted the waiting to be over, and thought, one or twice, of what it would have been like, had his father and mother still been alive.
Jacob had looked on in silence as his two 'boys' had been drawn closer to the day, and saw with an eye well accustomed to his son's and his ward's behaviour, the growing tension between the two.
This worried him. He was not a naïve man, nor was he an idealist. He knew full well that ever since Guy and Robin had been little, there had always been a certain tension in their relationship. Things left unsaid. By the clench of a hand whilst the other talked. The tightening of a jaw at the praise of the other. He watched and worried, but knew, if the two did not pull together, he would be lucky to see both his boys again.
Alvanor was restless.
In the week he had been Guy's, he had learnt how quickly Guy's temper could be stretched. Although Guy was relatively gentle with Alvanor, Robin's occasional taunts tensed his rider's body, and made the horse twitchy.
Jacob called his son over, as the last of the trunks were strapped onto the third horse.
'Robin-' He placed a guiding hand on Robin's shoulder and led him slightly aside.
Robin was restless, shifting, never quite meeting his father's gaze. Jacob could see the anticipation burning behind his eyes.
'Robin!' he snapped, his annoyance, for the first time in a while getting the better of him.
Robin's head turned sharply, his eyes widening slightly, and regarded his father attentively, a slight gleam of shame in his eyes.
'I am trying, to talk to you.' Jacob sighed and then began again in a quieter voice. 'I won't be there out in the Holy Land, Robin. When you're caught up in the blood and confusion of battle, I won't be there to guide you in what's right and what's wrong.'
'I know father-' Robin was looking down at his feet.
Jacob cut across him. 'You need to be able to make certain decisions yourself. I'm not saying, don't trust your own judgement, only be careful. Its a different world out there, to the one back here in Locksley. I've taught you well Robin, now its up to you, to put all that into practice.'
Robin nodded without comment, and then looked up to meet his father's gaze.
Jacob stared intently at his son for a second, before tugging him into a tight bear hug and then stepping away.
***
In the end it was Marian who had persuaded Alice to go with her, in order to say goodbye to Robin and Guy. Not knowing anything of Alice and Guy's argument, Marian had presumed her friend was just unwilling to say her farewells.
Alice knew how she would feel, if the last words she had ever said to Guy, were ones spoken in anger, and the thought that he might die out there, even if his last thoughts were of Marian, remembering her unkindness to him, hurt her.
So she had laced her boots and walked the half a mile to Marian's slowly, watching the clouds fly high overhead, and crunching through the last of the ground frost that had covered the banks and footpaths.
Marian was waiting impatiently when Alice arrived, her face bright from the cold morning air, and her long hair pulled back and braided slightly.
'Ready?' Marian asked, and looped an arm through her friend's.
They half ran, half walked the rest of the way to Locksley Manor, and arrived, breathless and laughing at the fence that marked the perimeter of Jacob's land.
Marian stopped for a moment on the bottom rung, leaning her elbows on the top of the fence and looking out across the stretch of meadow down towards the Manor House.
'Will all this go to Robin?' she asked, and followed the curve of the land round towards the grazing meadow and the river beyond.
Alice stepped up beside her, pondering. 'I suppose so. I think Sir Jacob is planning on leaving Guy a sum of money when he dies, and Robin will receive the Estate.' She stopped, lost in thought. It must be hard for Guy, knowing that his own family were unable to provide. It must feel to him like he was taking what was not wanted from Robin.
Then, in a childish fancy, Alice climbed quickly over the fence and said. 'I'll race you there!'
In the most unladylike fashion, she and Marian pelted across the field and slowed only when they reached the outer wall of the courtyard, Alice stretching out a hand to touch it first and smiling in triumph as Marian caught up a few seconds later.
They made their way quietly into the courtyard, in order to make up for their unbecoming arrival and Marian, a slight smile curving the side of her mouth at the sight of Robin, excused herself from Alice's company and made her way over.
'So-' said Robin, his thoughts still partially on his father's talk, but a smile returning to his face nonetheless at the sight of Marian. 'You've forgiven me?'
'I'm not sure.' Marian gauged his reaction, but he could tell she was joking and smiled.
'I may not be gone for so very long.'
But Marian snorted. 'Not so very long? Your father said 8 months at least, and the reality will probably be a year.' She it her lip and glowered at him.
'Can you wait that long?' Robin reached out a hand to touch her arm, but she met his hand halfway with one of her own.
'Of course.' She squeezed his hand tightly.
***
Guy was busy glowering at Robin and Marian, when he felt a hand gently touch his arm.
It was Alice. He hadn't thought to see her again. He thought she would have still been furious.
She was looking at him strangely. Guy frowned slightly.
Then her small hand was pressing something into his.
'They say its easy to forget who you are out there. This'll help.'
She stretched up on her toes and kissed him softly on the cheek. 'Sorry,' she whispered in his ear, before backing away.
Guy's eyes had lost the ability to view reality as it was. The walls of the courtyard swayed strangely in and out of focus.
'Guy!' He shook himself, and subconsciously put a hand up to the spot where her lips had brushed his cheek.
He looked down at his hand and unclasped it. A small silver cross lay in in his palm, with a long chain.
He felt a smile tug the corner of his mouth and quickly slipped the chain over his head, tucking the cross under his shirt before Robin could see it.
Then the stab of jealously returned to his heart, as he saw Marian clasp Robin's hand.
Alice and Marian watched from the side as Robin and Guy mounted their horses and turned one last time to raise a hand in a last farewell.
Fae stood, her face a blank mask, watching as her son rode away from her. She didn't feel Jacob's hand slip round her waist, or really hear Robin's last shout of goodbye. Her thoughts were on the time when she would see her son next. She prayed it would not be long.
***
The inn smelt of sweat, dirt and the whiff of barley and hops. Floor, doors walls and windows were encrusted with the filth of ages. A few rowdy locals sat up by the bar, laughing noisily and clunking heavy tankards onto the wooden counter, splashing ale onto the floor and leaning heavily against one another.
A man sat in the corner watching them with disinterest, a mug of ale untouched on the table before him. He was alone, but for a huge dog that lounged lazily at his feet, it's head on it's paws, watching each and every person with yellowed eyes.
Suddenly there was a commotion at the bar, one of the men had toppled backwards off his chair. The man in the corner stood quickly. His hand reaching down as if towards the dog, calling it away. The dog rose easily to its feet and loped after its master, out of the inn, the ale on the table left untouched.
The men at the bar, cheered loudly as their friend on the floor made a valiant attempt to get up. But their cheers died and the room became deathly still, as a tickle of blood dribbled from the man's parted lips.
He coughed once, then a long breath escaped his lips and his breathing was stilled.
***
Oooh!
Ok, so a sort of bitty chapter here, with some drama at the end – and a bit of mystery if I say so myself. Will begin work on Chapter 5 (yay =) soon!!
Any reviews are welcome as motivation, crits, or otherwise. But they do make me HAPPY =D
V xxx
