Chapter 4

She'd only repeated what Robin Hood had told him before. Him, betraying the king! This could not be true. At that moment, he had thought it a meaningless insult, but Marian had been very specific. But Robin Hood must have been wrong. Guy knew he would kill an enemy without hesitation, but he would not betray his king.

Guy sat down again. There was nothing to do for him; he had to regain his strength and his memory. Probably it wouldn't last this long. This flash of memory... yes, it would return.

Marian woke up in the middle of the night. Sitting up, she heard Allan whispering to Robin. "Seems, his wound got infected after all; he's writhing in fever. He won't trouble us much longer. It's better this way. His blood is not at our hands, but he's too dangerous to be let alive."

Robin, sensing Marian looking at him, turned around. "Allan is right. It's better this way. You know this."

"No!" Marian threw away the blanket and got up. "I will not let him die without trying to save him; I was raised never to ask whether a person's life is worthy to be saved and I will not begin to ask now."

Marian hurried over to the place where Sir Guy had slept. Allan had told the truth. The way he looked, he probably wouldn't make it much longer. She had seen wounded knights numerous times before and therefore knew when death was near. Guy thrashed about, shivering, his head jerking around. His eyes were open, but he didn't seem awake. Even in the light of the moon, she saw the feverish glance. He groaned, muttering something, and suddenly cried out loudly, so that the others awoke. Allan went over and explained, and their mates went to sleep again. No need to worry about the likes of Gisborne; everybody would be better off if he was dead.

Marian fetched water from the lake and a clean cloth that she washed up again. Turning to Guy again, she removed the blanket to examine his shoulder. The wound was swollen, red and purple, pus oozing out of it. She would have to cauterise it. "Make a fire, Robin, I need your dagger." Robin nodded.

Pain again!...Burning...Agony…And then something cool.

Marian crouched down and wiped Guy's forehead with the wet cloth time and again. She didn't know whether he would survive the night; his fever was too high, but she would try though. She'd never thought that she would see this man so vulnerable. His hair was sticky with sweat and his face distorted with pain. He groaned and muttered something again.

Flashes again…a little boy, standing in the snow, barefoot…'Discipline is everything, don't cry, you coward, a Gisborne doesn't cry…children mocking him…'Guy of Gisborne, Guy of Gisborne, where is your Gisborne?'...a woman…You sure are handsome, but why waste my time on a knight without land and money…An old man again…'You are a failure, a complete and utter failure, not even able to marry a rich maiden. Leave and don't come back unless you will return with a fortune to provide for me. Until then, I don't have a son.' …Flashes…Hurt. He slept.

Guy's eyelids fluttered and he managed to open his eyes a slit, seeing a face hovering above him – Marian. When his gaze focused on her, (comma) she smiled. "You made it." Then she got to her feet and walked away. The night had been difficult for her, in more than only one respect. She didn't understand herself. Not long ago, she had sworn to herself rather to become a nun than to marry him. Only the threat about her and her father's safety had caused her to give in, hadn't it?

Guy slept again for hours and eventually woke. His shoulder hurt like hell. He moved to touch it and felt a patch. He was about to remove it, when he heard a voice. "I wouldn't do that. I had to cauterise your wound. It was inflamed and you had a severe fever." When he looked up, he saw Marian standing before him, a bowl with steaming broth in her hands. "How are you?"

Guy didn't answer, not that she had expected him to. She knelt down and helped him into a sitting position. Wincing, he leaned at a trunk and let her bring the bowl to his lips. He drank greedily and then looked up. Hell, she was close, very close. Guy nearly laughed. Half dead but still thinking of women, yes, that was him. Then he almost hit the bowl out of Marian's hands; his thoughts raced. He remembered, he remembered everything! He groaned and closed his eyes for a moment. Think! Think!. Boy, just don't let her know.

He opened his eyes again and looked in her face. "Why did you do it?" he asked and she knew better than to ask what.

"I just couldn't let you die," she replied, blushing deeply.

"Why?" he asked and raised a hand to brush a strand of hair out of her face. He smiled then, and Marian blinked. It was a genuine smile, not one of those dangerous smiles she had seen during the past years. It lit his face completely. She swallowed.

"Don't!" she said, her voice nearly shaking. "If you don't want to eat, I'll have other things to do." Hastily, she got to her feet and hurried away.

Guy lay down again, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep. .For the others it seemed as if he still were too weak even to eat. All the better for him! This left time for him to plan his escape. He still couldn't move his arm and would not be able to fight someone; he would have to get away by night; but would have to wait a few days though until he'd regained some strength.

From afar, he heard Robin Hood's angry voice. "What were you doing, Marian, feeding him?"

"Oh shut up, Robin. I would have done the same for any other wounded man. I have to leave though and get back. Since the incident with the necklace, the Sheriff has become suspicious and requires my presence in the castle. It was difficult to talk him into giving me two days of leave for praying in the abbey. We'll stay in touch."

Guy heard her walk away and then the sounds of a horse retreating. Marian! She'd saved his life; this he was sure of. Why? The other things she had talked of were rubbish. He had learned the hard way. Those who didn't take what they wanted got trampled. But a gnawing doubt remained. Why had Robin of Locksley bothered to let Much and Marian tend to his wounds? Why hadn't he killed him right away?

Then another thought intruded. Yes, he had indeed tried to kill the king at the Sheriff's order and only yesterday, he had been disgusted at the thought of it. What was this? It had been a long time since he'd asked himself if anything was wrong or right; he'd only asked whether it was useful or not. The Sheriff had ordered him to do it and he had been right. King Richard had betrayed his own country, looking for adventures in the Holy Land, leaving his people alone. Why think about this now? Conscience? He had none! He had been on the verge of death, and probably, this had made him maudlin.

Two nights later, Guy escaped and finally found his way back to Nottingham Castle. Much swore a blue streak when he found the dummy under Guy's blanket in the morning. Gisborne had even been able to take a horse with him. Robin knew what this meant. Marian would be hanged, if he could not warn her in time. Gisborne would never forgive her for betraying him.