Chapter Four
Obsession
The sun was blazing in the sky as Robin and the gang left the ship from England.
"I hope this isn't going to become a very regular trip," muttered Allan, still looking a little queasy from the journey.
Bassam was waiting for them on the dockside.
"We should hurry," he said. "There is unrest here. Tension. We anticipate a turning point in the war; it would not be prudent to make a show of yourselves."
They walked quickly back towards what Much had affectionately named 'the pigeon house', observing the looks and whispers of the native townsfolk.
It felt strange, being back so comparatively soon after he'd left, thought Robin. He breathed in the almost-familiar smells of spices from the market and hot metal from the armoury. Sure enough, with the familiarity came memory of their last dreadful visit to this town. It had been so deserted that day, but now there were so many more signs of life. Life, the word in itself brought back so much pain. Robin blinked back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. It wouldn't do to break down now; he was on a serious mission for King and country, albeit self-instigated. He wasn't going to let his heart get in the way…
A flash of something pale caught his eye and he naturally followed it until he could focus. It was a young woman, dressed all in white. That was to be expected the heat, but Robin found himself intrigued by her as she spoke inaudibly with the market traders. Perhaps it was déja-vu, the familiarity of the situation getting to him, but there was something, in her stance maybe, that he recognised. Presently she turned slightly, and he caught a glimpse of wavy dark hair beneath the white scarf, a fleeting flash of a face. He knew that face…
"Marian!" he yelled, and moved towards her. She started at his advance and ran. Robin pursued.
"Master!" called Much after him.
"It's Marian!" Robin shouted over his shoulder. "I swear it's Marian!"
"Master, don't do this! Don't torture yourself!" cried Much. He made to follow but soon gave up, Robin and the woman in white lost to the port and the market. He turned back to the gang. "Now what do we do?"
"Leave him," said Djaq. "He knows where the house is." She gave a dry laugh. "So much for not drawing attention to ourselves. We'd better move on, fast."
As they continued on their way, Djaq risked a glance at Will. His expression reciprocated her feelings. She prayed that the woman wasn't Marian, or, if it was, that she was fleeter of foot than Robin.
XXX
Marian didn't dare look back over her shoulder. Robin had only seen her face for a second but it was enough for him to recognise her. She just kept running.
"Marian?" came a different voice to her left, making her stop abruptly. It was Saira, the wife of one of the men who sold spices at the market. Marian had helped to learn English over the last few months.
"Saira, I'm not here. If someone asks, you haven't seen me."
She took off again, melting into the traders and dockworkers. Saira tried to call her back, but before she could she was accosted by another Englishman.
"Where did she go?" he asked. "The woman in white?"
Saira shook her head, pretending not to understand. The man cursed under his breath and carried on again with renewed vigour at a flash of white to the end of the main street. He didn't notice Saira breathe a sigh of relief as he left her.
XXX
Marian slowed down and eventually stopped, slipping into the cool, empty back street to catch her breath. She couldn't run any further, not in the heat. She could feel the sweat running down her back, and she took off the damp headscarf to dry her face.
"Oh no…" she murmured to the fabric. "Why did this have to happen?"
"Marian?"
She started on hearing a male voice and feeling a hand on her shoulder. She turned, ready to defend herself if needs be but then relaxed with a thankful sigh at the sight of Guy's puzzled face.
"What's the matter? You went running past the armoury as if all the beasts of Hell were after you."
"Robin," she said simply. "Quick!"
She pulled him further into the alley after seeing Robin run past the entrance.
"Well," said Guy, watching his old adversary retreating into the distance. "He's definitely back."
Marian collapsed against his chest with a moan.
"What are we going to do?" she asked as he held her close. "He only saw my face for a split second and he was after me like a charger." She laughed bitterly. "It's so ironic. I was asking someone when the ship from England arrived and they pointed to the one that had just come in. I turned and there he was."
"We'll just have to stay incognito for a while. Keep a low profile and pray he puts it down to desert madness."
"I hope so. I don't like keeping a low profile. I like to be out there, with the people."
"That was your downfall in Nottingham." Guy smiled almost wistfully at the memories of their time in England. It seemed so far away.
"Come on," he said, finally dragging himself out of the reverie. He took Marian's scarf from her unresisting hands and wrapped it round her face so only her brilliant blue eyes could be seen. "Go home and keep your head down."
He kissed the white silk that covered her mouth and gave her an encouraging push towards the alley entrance. After watching her disappear, Guy gave a long sigh. Marian was not the only one who was going to have to avoid being seen by Robin. He imagined that the result of a chance meeting between the two of them would be a lot more serious than a sprint around Acre market…
XXX
Robin had given up the chase and resigned himself to the fact that he had lost her. Much answered the door of Bassam's house.
"I take it that it wasn't her?" he said.
"I don't know. I couldn't catch her. I'll find her tomorrow."
"Master…" Much paused, unable to articulate the next part of the statement. "Marian's dead. We saw her die. I think it's the familiarity. Or maybe the heat."
"Much, the heat has not fried my brains! I know what I saw, and I saw Marian!"
"Robin." Djaq came around the corner. "Don't you think this is perhaps a little obsessive? You probably scared the poor woman half to death."
"No," said Robin stubbornly. "I know what I saw."
"Robin, I'm not being funny or anything," called Allan, "but shouldn't you focus on what we're actually here for? Finding Gisborne, remember?"
"Yes." Robin sighed. "You're right." He entered the living area, giving a courteous nod to Lardner as he passed the pigeons…
Much later, the room eventually fell silent, the ghosts of half-plots and theories set aside for the evening. Djaq thought about something Bassam had said during their conversations.
"Don't give up now. There is still hope."
He was, of course, referring to the protection of the King, yet Djaq couldn't help but worry that Robin would take the words too much to heart. She didn't want him doggedly searching for either Marian or Gisborne just in case he was successful.
"If we've finished for the evening then there are some friends here that Will and I should like to visit," she said aloud, hoping that she didn't sound too conspicuous.
"Who?" mouthed Will.
"Who do you think?" she replied, silently yet indignantly.
"That's fine," said Robin. "I want to start making inquires at dawn tomorrow."
Djaq nodded her acknowledgement before she and Will took their leave of the group.
XXX
Guy opened the door.
"I wondered when we'd be seeing you. Come in."
"We've come to warn you," said Djaq darkly, stepping over the threshold. "Robin's obsessed. He saw Marian in the market earlier."
"I know," said Guy.
"He's determined to find her," added Will. "It's actually quite scary."
"And we can't forget who else he's determined to find," said Marian dryly, appearing in her usual inimitable way behind Guy's shoulder.
"No. He wants to start the hunt, as it were, at dawn." Djaq sighed. "You and the Sheriff aren't plotting to kill the King, are you?" she added sharply as a weighted afterthought.
Guy gave a half-moan of exasperation.
"Of course I'm not! I don't know what the Sheriff's planning but I swear to God I'm not involved."
"Well, the Sheriff is certainly planning something, and I highly doubt that it is a welcome home party for the King." Djaq suddenly cursed aloud. "Why did we come back here? Why didn't we stay in England? I daresay we could have been of more use there!"
"We didn't want Robin to get himself killed," said Will by way of melancholy explanation. "And we wanted to protect you."
This remark was addressed firmly to Marian.
"Thank you," she replied. "But please don't put yourselves in danger to do so. I can take care of myself. We can take care of ourselves. Thank you for the warning though."
Although he would never admit it, Will was quite glad Marian had said what she had. He didn't really want to get on the wrong side of Robin, especially when he was in a determined mood. On the very rare occasions when he'd had the misfortune to witness Robin's vicious side, he'd always hoped it was something he wouldn't have to see again.
"So now what do we do?" he asked Djaq as they walked quietly back to Bassam's house with the fading daylight.
"We pretend we know nothing," she replied. "And we pray that Marian and Guy can keep themselves sufficiently hidden."
Will thought about Marian, or at least the Marian he had known in Sherwood. The wild and impulsive fighter of injustice, always charging head first into things and sometimes causing trouble as a result. He highly doubted that she would be able to disappear so completely.
Disclaimer: Saira is just someone I made up because I needed a character.
