Hey guys! I'm so sorry that took so long! I actually had written this in the beginning of August but then my computer died and had to go to get fixed and that took quite some time! But luckily my data could be saved, uff! I hope there are still people reading here and I hope you still enjoy it. :-)

Chapter 4

Marian. A sister who looked like just her. If they had grown up together Nancy's childhood would have been better, so much better, and less lonely. They would have been two just like they always were supposed to!

And now she was dead.

Nancy felt the need to mourn but at the same time she didn't know how, she had never met Marian. She should have.

Nancy reminded herself that she had gone into the forest to look for herbs and scanned the ground. Sun spots were dancing on the brown foliage, it was a lovely autumn day. And there, something yellow reached out through the leaves!

"Iluna", Nancy whispered as she carefully removed one flower from the plant. Oh, she hadn't seen this one in forever. The last time she had, she had thrown it away like she had thrown away her hope of never getting the love she yearned for.

The yellow flower in her hand looked like peace; though Nancy didn't feel it. She knew now what she had searched for all her life but she had lost it once again. Nancy closed the fingers around the flower. Her sister was dead.

"Oi! Found ya!"

Nancy jerked around, her free hand automatically grasping her chest, instantly thinking Douglas had come for her. But it was Allan who made his way through the trees.

"Did I frighten you?"

"Yes!" Nancy exclaimed. "Obviously."

"Sorry, girl, but next time don't rush into the forest all on your own. It's dangerous."

"Not as dangerous as from where I've come from."

"Yeah, and where's that?" Allan leaned against a tree and crossed his arms.

"It's..." Nancy sighed. "It's complicated."

Allan shrugged. "I got time."

Inconspicuously Nancy let the flower fall to the ground. What did it matter, anyway, when she was dead?

"I'm here now", she said as if that would explain everything. She knew it didn't but why should she talk about the past? She wouldn't even know where to begin.

Wind was rustling through the tree tops and brought down some golden leaves. Once again Nancy remembered why she had come here and got down to push some foliage away from a trunk. No herbs here.

"'S weird how you come here right after Marian has died."

"Much says it's because God wants me to heal Robin."

"And?"

Nancy looked over her shoulder and Allan shrugged.

"Do you believe it, too?"

"Maybe. I don't know." Nancy pursed her lips and went to another tree, doing the same procedure.

"It'd be unfair, though", she heard herself saying. "I like to think God has plans for me for my own sake."

"I mean… you know about your sister now, right? That's good, ey?"

"She's dead."

"Yeah… apart from that."

Nancy sighed and got up. How was she supposed to find herbs if he kept talking about Marian?

"Look, 'bout yesterday…" Allan rubbed his nose and glanced aside. "I didn't mean it, alright? If I had a brother I didn't know of, maybe I'd still miss him, you know? I don't think… just please don't cry or an'thing."

Nancy wiped over her itching left eye. She felt like crying, that was right. Not just about Marian, about everything. She had left her home of almost thirty years. She had wanted to work peacefully and then had been kidnapped to the forest. How could she not be affected by all that?

"Oh great, now you're crying."

"Leave me alone then", Nancy said, coarser than she had intended to. She turned away from Allan, laid her forehead against rough bark and let her tears flow. She was alone. What she had always felt was true now, her sister was dead. Oh, why couldn't she have met her? Why, why? That was unfair, so unfair!

A hand or rather some fingertips touched her shoulder and Nancy startled, the image of Douglas coming up in her mind again. He hadn't liked it when she had cried, not that she had done it often in front of him.

"Sorry, I…"

Allan took his hand back but hearing the word 'sorry' was enough to make Nancy feel secure and she threw herself into his arms.

"We need a plan!" Robin exclaimed, pacing the camp. "A very good plan."

"He took my knife, just like that. Took it", Much said to Little John although all of them knew the story of 'How Allan stole Much's good knife' very well now.

"Listen to Robin!" Kate ordered Much, who crossed his arms and mumbled "can't cook without it".

"You and Nancy go and we follow", Djaq said.

"And then what?" Robin asked. "He will think it's her and keep her in the castle."

"We explain", Djaq said. "He has to listen to reason."

"It's Gisborne we're talking about", Robin reminded her.

"We just won't let him take her", Will suggested.

"Oh, so it's that easy?" Robin asked.

Will shrugged.

With a heavy sigh Robin hit his bow against the camp ground and shook his head. When he looked up he asked: "Where is she, anyway?"

"Remember when I told you about Allan taking my knife?" Much said.

"Very well", Robin said.

"That's where she is." Much nodded self-contently. "She went into the forest. Allan thought he had to show off what a hero he is by running after her with my knife."

Robin squinted his eyes. "You let her go into the forest alone?"

Much seemed taken back only a bit. "Yeah, I mean, she's always been good with taking care of herself…"

He stopped and bit his lip.

"Of course with that I mean Marian and Nancy isn't Marian, is she?"

"Maybe next time, think of people before you think about your equipment", Little John said.

"It's not my fault, is it? She looks like… I mean it's easy to forget the circumstances and act like always!"

"Not for me." Robin took his bow and went to his niche. Kate jumped up and followed him, while Will, Djaq and Little John stayed where they are, sitting around and looking grumpily at each other. No knitting today.

Do we want to know what Kate needs to tell Robin so urgently? Yes, let's listen in, shall we?

"This town is too dangerous for Nancy", she said. "We should usher her back to wherever she came from."

"And let Gisborne burn Nettlestone?"

"Of course not, I mean after we get through tonight."

"Let's first do that, then we can think about where she should live."

Robin turned away and went to the armoury, or at least the place they called like that, to put away his bow and arrows. They had to think of a solution fast, very fast. Like, now.

"I just fear she will throw you back and block your grieving." Kate had followed him.

"That's not important right now."

"Yes, it is! What if you can't help but think it's Marian? What if she…"

"What if she what?" Robin couldn't think if Kate kept on talking like that. Really, they had other problems right now!

"What if she comes between us?"

"Us?" Robin turned around to her. "Nettlestone is about to be burnt down to the ground and you worry about us right now? It's not the time!"

"It's important, too!" Kate called after him as Robin went to the others to urge them to think faster. The sun was standing at the very Eastern point, and until midnight only five hours were left.

At the same time Allan was busy sweeping the foliage off the ground of, well, the forest. With his bare hands. He hadn't realised what he had done when he had said "Sure I can help you with finding herbs. Just tell me what to do."

One mile behind him big piles of red and yellow leaves piled up, and Nancy still hadn't found what she was looking for.

"Look, maybe you take Much with you next time", Allan said. "I mean, he's good with herbs."

"So am I."

"He's also good with everything whatever you want him to do."

Nancy turned around from inspecting a bush and looked earnestly at him so that Allan immediately started to wonder what he had done wrong. Funny enough, all women had that kind of look. Nancy as well as Marian, as well as Kate as well as Djaq as well as any of those women he knew from various taverns. (And some of them, he knew, did like him.)

"I think you should appreciate Much's work more."

"Huh?" Allan lifted his eyebrows. "I do, I swear I do."

"He told me you are making fun of him."

"But that's just that, fun! He knows it, he really does! It's a joke between us, alright?"

"Maybe he doesn't find it that drolly."

Allan got up and rubbed his hands free from earth. "What do you want me to do, oi? Tell him how much I love him?"

"For starters, yeah." Nancy shrugged and went to the next bush.

Allan frowned at her. Was she serious? Nah, probably just being funny with him. So he grinned.

"Alright, I'll do. Should I give him a kiss as well?"

"Oh dear Lord!"

"What? I'm joking!"

"Come on, look at this!"

Allan threw a look back at his neat piles. The sun was standing very low already, they should make their way back soon.

He went to Nancy who was covering in front of a bush, holding back a branch. On the ground lay a shiny bracelet, simple and golden.

"It looks brand-new", Allan said, reaching out for it. And not to mention expensive. What a lucky day!

"Someone must have lost it. But who would come here?" Nancy looked around.

"We could get a whole pig flock for that", Allan said, mostly to himself. Should he give it to Robin or sell it in Nottingham? Legally it was his now, right?

Before he could decide Nancy took it from his hands and slipped it on her wrists. It sparkled like a star, reflecting the last sun beams.

"Looks lovely", Allan said without thinking. He wanted to apologize immediately but Nancy hadn't paid attention, her eyes were frozen on the bracelet and Allan saw a hint of upcoming tears.

Oh no, not again!

"I never had anything like that", she whispered.

"Sure your husband…"

She shook her head, and there, a tear was rolling down. Allan sighed and laid his head in his neck to look at the pale blue sky. He had been outlawed for three years now and not been married before, due to his tendencies to spend a bit too much time in the taverns than actually talking to women. The ones he had met during his time in the forest had been strong and hadn't needed protection; even if he had wanted to he hadn't had the chance to develop somewhat of a caring side.

And now this one cried every five minutes.

Allan wasn't really sure what to do. She seemed so spacey he didn't want to frighten her again by touching her so he just looked at the bracelet.

"You should keep it", he heard himself saying. "Robin doesn't need to know we found it."

"But…"

"No, it's alright, we've got plenty to give to the poor. Look."

He carefully lifted his hand and pulled the sleeve of her simple dress over her wrist. It felt weird, too intimate, but when he lifted his eyes he was glad to see the tears were gone.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Thank you."

She squeezed his hand with her tiny ones.

"'S… alright."

She was the one who had found it but somehow he didn't feel like reminding her.

"Something must have happened", Much said.

Robin couldn't sit still, he walked up and down the camp. The sun was setting, and they needed to march-off now if they wanted to be in Nottingham in time. Yet there was no trace of Nancy and Allan. This would end bad, very bad, Robin felt it in his bones and his bones never betrayed him.

"We go and search the forest, now", John said and got up.

"The sun will be gone in ten minutes", Robin said.

Will and Djaq had been to the nearest village, Knighton, and returned with as much horses as they could lead. They have been back for quite some time already, and Robin knew he would go. With or without Nancy.

"Alright, we can't wait any longer. Will and Much, get the horses ready, everybody else, get your weapons!" Robin clapped his hands, relieved they finally got into action.

"Oi, what's the rush?" Allan's voice asked.

All of them stopped in their tracks and turned to their friend, stepping out of the twilight into the camp with Nancy following.

"Finally! Where have you been?" Much asked.

"No time for that now!" Robin said. He quickly stepped to Nancy and took her hands. This wasn't Marian, it was Nancy. Nancy.

"I will ask you of something dangerous now; dangerous for you and me and my men. But if we don't succeed a whole village will be burnt down to the ground. There is no time to explain because we need to act immediately. Are you ready to face danger to save hundreds of people?"

He knew she wasn't battle experienced, probably had never hurt a creature bigger than a chicken. He had expected that she would hesitate and look quite unsure but he hadn't expected her to glance at Allan. Robin followed the look and saw Allan slightly nodding, a movement that burnt Robin's stomach and made him draw back his hands immediately.

Allan wasn't a man women trusted or looked at for protection. He, Robin, was. Marian would never…

"Yes, I want to try", Nancy said.

"Alright, everybody get going!" Robin shouted. He kept going, that was what he did.

"Can you ride a horse?" he asked Nancy. She shook her head.

"She can ride with…"

"No, I take her. We have to hurry!" Robin interrupted Allan without looking at him and guided Nancy towards the horses.

-tbc-