So now I have found the time, from who knows where to write this chapter, I realise it should have been written a LONG time ago but I have been so busy with various other projects, this has taken the far back seat. But now its back in the front and so here is the next chapter. I believe the saying goes 'short but sweet' well it's short, but hardly sweet.
As always reviews are greatly appreciated although I kind of realise that as this has gone cold so may your interest in it, if many of you read it in the first place.
Chapter 6
Robin ran forward. Marian's grip had been so loose it wasn't even hard to break away. Thoughts raced through his head. Lillian was his only child and he refused to lose her at Guy's hand; the man who nearly took Marian away all those years ago. He dropped to the floor and grabbed Lillian's shoulders, she looked into his eyes and two tears fell down both her cheeks, he nearly laughed at the irony that she could cry perfectly.
"Its fine" she whispered "it's just a scratch" she clamped her hand over the wound in an attempt to stop the flow of blood.
She'd seen worse, she had witnessed her father's wounds after an 'adventure' with the gang. She remembered ,almost laughing, the time she'd shot him in the foot; it had been the day after her 7th birthday and she had pulled him out of bed as soon as she had woken up, desperate to try and be as good as him with a bow. She's never felt so bad in her life, he had laughed and smiled at her with this arrow sticking out of his boot, but she saw beneath the smile; the mask, she knew inside that she had hurt him and it made her feel terrible.
Then she remembered the whispered hush of conversations when she was a little girl, the snippets of hushed words between grown-ups and she remembered with a sense of dread the horrific story that her mother had told her, about how she gained the scar across her stomach. She looked down at her own stomach, slightly ironic she thought that the same man had stabbed her with the same knife in the same place.
"No Lillian, its not. I'm sorry" Robin brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up at the sound of footsteps, and saw her mother's face stained with tears.
"I'll go and get Djaq" she said and Robin nodded, Marian ran off in the direction of her horse and mounted it and rode faster than she had ever ridden before.
Guy had seized the distraction as an opportunity to complete the task he had started, with Robin occupied he ordered various men and together the ruthlessly bundled the remaining villagers into the awaiting carts. Lillian looked up and saw what he was doing.
"Father, I'm fine" she said with as much sincerity as she could muster.
"No you are not, let me take you inside"
"No leave me and help your people"
Robin looked at them, at their longing faces and sighed, he could not leave his villagers; they depended on him and he had vowed never to let them down and here he was letting Guy take them but he could not leave her; his daughter, and he had seen wounds at battle and knew what danger she could be in.
And in that split second he had to choose; his people or his daughter.