Chapter 4
Marian had long since started to wonder why she hadn't taken any more provisions with her. Of course, usually she wasn't away for very long, but if she had reason to take equipment to make a fire, she had just as good reason to take food. She only had a small flask of water that was already empty by now.
She didn't know how long she had been walking. She was weary on her feet, but she hadn't been overcome by tiredness yet, so she guessed it couldn't be more than a few hours. She knew what it meant though. She would have to keep going until she reached an exit as she wouldn't be able to make her way back through the darkness. She couldn't imagine that the tunnel would go on for very much longer, as its appearance had clearly told her that it was made by men and although men had also built the castle in its whole magnitude, she just didn't believe that they would be able to build a tunnel that went on forever.
She thought at first that her eyes were deceiving her, but then she realized that it was indeed getting lighter in the tunnel. She was now able to see the surface of the wall she was walking along. The further she went, the more light came in. She could now clearly make out the ground and see where she was going. She also noticed that the walls seemed to become rougher. Their appearance changed drastically and Marian realized that this part of the tunnel wasn't man-made, but had been created by nature.
The ground became uneven as well. Large stones made the way more difficult. Marian walked around them or climbed over the smaller ones. Then the tunnel ended and she realized to what kind of location it had led her to.
It was a cave, reminding her of the one the outlaws had camped at the previous year. Back then Robin had carried her to it after Guy had stabbed the Nightwatchman, not knowing it was her. It wasn't the same location though. The passageway had led her from the depths of the castle into this natural tunnel that the cave was part of. Looking around, she wondered who had built it. She could imagine that there had been attempts to mine here, to find metals, but was curious as to who might have dug a tunnel leading all the way out here.
Marian moved along and soon reached the exit of the cave. The sun stood high over the horizon, so it had to be midday. The forest outside clearly wasn't the same place the cave had reminded her of. It felt oddly familiar though.
By now she was tired and her stomach was complaining. It had long been time to break the fast. Marian frowned at the thought. It wasn't the first time she had gone without a morning meal. Stupid it certainly was that she had not taken any food with her although she had plenty available at the castle.
Her view fell on her clothes, the masquerade she was still wearing. The Nightwatchman helped the poor. The hungry. How could she feel bad about missing one meal? The outlaws in the forest were not always very well fed either. Marian remembered well how Robin had thinned during the last winter. The outlaws had stocks, but even those would be empty at some point, so they had taken care with their rations. Marian got everything she needed at the castle. This wasn't the reason why she had chosen to go back there, and had not stayed in the forest, but she could not deny that it was what enabled her to do what she did – just as the comfort of her childhood home had done until its destruction. And the information she gained at the castle, the influence she had on Guy, still hoping to change him for the better, none of this would be if she had stayed in the forest with Robin, as much as she might have wanted it.
Marian stopped when she reached a small brook and filled up her empty flask. She drank and filled it once again, before moving on. It slowly dawned on her where she was. She knew this part of the forest. It was close to Knighton. She used to come there and play as a girl, and this was probably the same brook into which she had placed small ships made out of sticks and leaves, following them downstream. She could not remember having ever seen the cave, but when she was small, she had never gone far from her home. Still, she guessed that she would reach Knighton soon.
Gisborne knew he could kill him. Hood would have only one shot before he would be able to plunge his sword between the archer's ribs, and his friend would die with him, cut down by the guards. But Guy also knew that any knowledge about where they had hidden Marian would die with the outlaws. As little as he liked it, he would have to keep at least Robin alive for now.
The man might be aiming an arrow at him, but Guy wasn't afraid of it. The outlaw wasn't perfect. He was certainly a good shot, but even he sometimes missed his aim, Guy was sure about that. But if he hit Guy, then it was to be so. There was no way Guy would step back and allow the outlaw to do whatever he wanted. He would take Marian back to Nottingham, no matter the cost.
He didn't believe for a moment that the outlaws didn't know anything about Marian's disappearance. The fact that they knew about it at all was proof enough for his suspicion. He had to get the information out of them. There were methods, certainly, once he would have them back at the castle, but then these methods didn't always bring reliable results. And when it came to finding Marian, he didn't have any time to waste. No, he needed to find another way. He had to fathom what Hood wanted; there had to be something.
"Back off," he ordered the guards and he could hear the clinging of their armor as they retreated slightly. It wouldn't take them more than a second to move onto the man again, but it was a signal to the outlaw in front of Guy. He looked at Robin, lifting his eyebrows.
"What do you want?"
"I want to know where Marian is," Robin answered in a low voice. Guy cursed on the inside that the outlaw still kept up the pretense of knowing nothing.
"Where do you think she could be?" he tested the waters, hoping the man would betray information that he otherwise wouldn't be ready to give.
"I don't know," Robin frowned deeply. "As I told you: she seems to have vanished under your nose, so you've got to have a better idea than I."
Guy clenched his fists, fastening his hold on his sword's handle. It was like a punch in the stomach to be reminded of the fact that Hood had managed to take Marian from inside the castle, where his guards and he were keeping an observant watch on her. He still didn't know how it had happened, but it wasn't the first time Robin had gotten in and out of the castle unseen.
"Where did you take her?" he asked, his anger rising once again at the idea.
"I told you, it wasn't me," Robin said in an irritating voice. "And I guess we can go on and have this discussion until the sun comes down, but it sure won't make Marian reappear."
"I can take you and your little friend to the dungeons and you can have a long, painful discussion with the dungeon's master."
Robin looked at him coldly, but undisturbed. "You could do that. At least it would get all of us out of this forest and maybe closer to actually finding out where Marian is."
"What were you planning on doing?" Guy asked with a smirk, almost ready to implement the idea to have the guards seize the other outlaw, while he took down Robin himself.
"I thought about asking around in the villages," Robin declared openly. "But it's not really an option for you, is it? It's not like the villagers would voluntarily talk to you," he added with a smirk that matched Guy's.
"I can make them talk!"
Robin's smirk became even wider. "Sure. Go and torture every single villager around here. It will surely make anybody who actually knows anything useful come out and tell you about it gladly."
Guy didn't like it, but he had to admit that this wasn't the right method. The people didn't trust him. He didn't need their trust, he was their master, of Locksley at the least, but it didn't make it easy to get the information he needed in a timely manner. If the villagers knew anything at all that was. He still suspected that Robin was bluffing and that he had actually hidden Marian somewhere, maybe at the outlaw's camp. He still had to smoke them out of their hiding place.
"Then you go and ask them." It had been a suggestion that had been hard to voice, but maybe the outlaw would go for it.
Robin seemed to consider him for a moment. "Let Much go."
Guy signaled his guards to draw back even further.
Robin turned his head to look at the other outlaw, but didn't take his aim away from Guy. "Much, go back to the camp."
"But-" the other man started.
"Now," Robin insisted, and Guy chuckled lowly as the other man scrambled away, looking back at Robin every few steps.
Robin turned to look back at Guy, still keeping the arrow pointed at him. "Now you go and get on your horses. I'm going to go to the villages and ask around. I'll send you a message if I find out anything."
Guy didn't trust this promise for a second. The outlaw had no motivation to keep it at all. There was no reason for him to help Guy find Marian. It could only mean that he was trying to throw Guy off his trace. It was then the Master-at-Arms realized that he should have kept the other outlaw captive to force Robin to cooperate.
"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked, feeling the pointlessness of the question, as another plan formed in his mind.
"You can't," Robin said simply. "But Marian can." He walked backwards slowly, still keeping his aim. "But if you've done anything to her, you can trust that I'll make you pay for it." He turned away quickly, jumping into the thickness of the bushes and ran off.
As soon as the man had turned around, Guy was certain that he had tricked them. The fact that Hood insolently dared to pretend to care for Marian at all only increased Guy's anger.
"Get him!" he bellowed.
The guards charged forward, while Guy quickly remounted his horse. His men followed Robin through the bush, an area that could not be treaded on horseback. Guy had no choice but to be wait, and hope for the best, while he was riding back to the main road. He could hear the noise of battle and guessed that one or two of the guards would die at the hands of Hood, but that didn't matter in the large picture. He would get his answers from the man.
It didn't take long until his men dragged the outlaw onto the main trail where Guy was waiting. One of them was carrying the man's bow and quiver, and walked ahead to meet Guy.
"Jones is dead," he explained, showing Hood's weapons to the Master-at-Arms.
Guy nodded. Only one then; better odds than he had thought. He looked at Robin coldly, getting off his horse again. He wouldn't let that man take Marian away from him again. He would make him talk, would make him pay, even if it was the last thing he would do.
He approached the outlaw who was being held by two of the guards.
"Where is she?" Guy's tone would leave nobody in a doubt about how serious he was.
"You're a fool," Robin replied.
Guy took a swing and his leather-clad fist hit the man's face. "Where are you hiding her?" Another punch landed in the outlaw's stomach and the man groaned. "Is she even still alive?" Guy hissed as he hit again, rage running through him.
"You're as dumb as a rock," Robin spat. "I told you! I don't know where she is. You're wasting the time of both of us that we could use to find her-" He was interrupted as Guy punched him again.
It felt good. It felt very good to let the frustration out. He needed Marian. He wanted her and here was the man who was trying to keep him from her, again and again. Letting off steam wasn't the point of this exercise, but still, it was just too liberating. If he only could get the outlaw to talk. Guy took another swing. Marian was waiting for him. She was waiting for him to get her away from men like the one in front of him. As he was about to hit again, he noticed that Robin had lost consciousness. Guy gritted his teeth, the walls of frustration coming back as he realized that he wouldn't get any answers out of the man for now.
"Take him to Locksley," he told the guards who were still holding Hood tight, as if he might wake and run any moment.
He needed the time to question the outlaw without the sheriff's interference. Vaysey would only want to play his games, not caring whether Marian was found or not. So Guy would interrogate the outlaw in Locksley, make him tell of his latest crime. The sheriff could have the man later, could hang him or whatever he desired to do with Hood then. And if Guy had to search every square inch of this forest to discover the outlaw's camp and find Marian, he would do so, too.
As he remounted his horse and saw his guards dragging Robin away, he wondered for a moment if the outlaw had really taken Marian captive. He had done so before. But then his whole demeanor seemed unusual. Guy would expect Robin in his arrogance to brag about having captured her. Guy flinched in anger at the thought. Robin hadn't done this though, was actually denying knowing anything at all. Still, Guy knew he needed to have a plan for all possibilities. He had the outlaw in his hands now, a feat the sheriff would appreciate, too, and he would make him talk.
Still, he would also ensure that Nottingham was searched thoroughly, more thoroughly even than the men he had sent out in the morning would have done. Maybe Marian was still somewhere around the castle. All kinds of things could have happened. It was always dangerous for a young woman like her to live in an area like that, with criminals and outlaws alike around, although Guy usually thought that anybody would have to know of the wrath that was coming for them, if they dared to harm her, while under his protection.
He hurried his horse, knowing he would be in Locksley before nightfall.
Much had heard what Robin said. But Robin often said things that he surely didn't mean because if he really meant them, they would only lead him into trouble. Much had learned that he needed to decide for himself what had to be done. So this time, after using the opportunity to get away from Gisborne's men, he had easily made the decision that going back to camp without checking that Robin would get away, too, was wrong, no matter what Robin had said.
He'd hurried away from the guards, taking to the bushes and hiding there. While he could not be seen anymore, he could still make out the forms of Robin and Gisborne as well as the guards', could hear them arguing and then saw Robin jumping away into the bushes. Much realized only now that he had been holding his breath.
Then he heard Gisborne's bellowed order to catch Robin. Much leapt forward, not knowing where to go, having lost sight of Robin himself. He could hear people fighting and headed into the direction the noise came from. He wasn't quick enough. Moments later he could see the guards dragging Robin off to the main road.
Much watched in horror as Gisborne stepped in front of Robin, the man being held by the guards. Much wasn't able to understand what the Master-at-Arms said, but the man's body language spoke very clearly of the danger of the situation.
Then Gisborne hit Robin and Much flinched. More punches followed and Much was hurting with every one of them. If he had returned to camp as Robin had said, he wouldn't have witnessed this scene, but then he wouldn't even know about it, wouldn't know that Robin was in deep trouble. As Gisborne hit Robin again, Much got ready to take desperate measures.
Then he saw Robin slacken in the guards' arms and thought his heart was coming to a stop. Gisborne ceased beating the outlaw. Much stood nailed to the spot, even his desperate plan dashed. He wouldn't be able to take down the men and get Robin to safety at the same time. If his friend wasn't conscious, he wasn't able to run... Much swallowed, hoping that it was really only unconsciousness that had befallen the man.
Moments later the guards dragged Robin away, lifting and securing him on a horse then, before riding off. Much watched helplessly, realizing he wouldn't be able to do this alone, as much as he wanted to. He knew they would take Robin to Nottingham. They always did. Every single time he got himself in trouble. Much had to get help.