Authors notes: Thanks to xxCCxx and KatGirlMeow again! I luffs reviewers!

All standard disclaimers apply. Enjoy!

Part Seven: Baby, Let's Get Married!

Gisborne laughed in relief and caught her up in his arms, twirling her around.

'You don't know just how happy you've made me,' he said happily. Eloise laughed and dropped to the ground. She looked at him seriously.

'That's good to hear, Guy, but you haven't answered my question. Do you also love me?'

WIth that, Gisborne dropped to one knee and grabbed her hand.

'If I cannot love a woman who would defend me; a traitor of the crown with her own body and breath, sacrificing her own body and soul to redeem my own, then I am unfit and unworthy to know such a love.'

'I'll take that as a yes, then,' Eloise laughed, hauling him to his feet. Gisborne gave her a slightly embarrassed grin.

'My apologies for speaking so passionately.'

'You need not.'

Guy's joyous smile faded and his face grew serious. Eloise noticed the quick change and stared at him.

'What? What's wrong?'

Gisborne stooped onto one knee and took her hand gently. He looked up, determined to look her in the eye despite the feeling that the next words out of his mouth were almost guaranteed to come out backwards. Eloise clapped her free hand over her mouth.

'Guy... wait...'

'This cannot wait. I must speak this now.'

'I know what you're thinking. We can't.'

'Would you allow me to ask the question before you turn me down?' Guy asked sharply. Eloise fell silent, listening to the blood rushing in her ears and her heartbeat pounding in her head. Gisborne cleared his throat.

'Eloise... these last few days, I've had more emotions run through my head and my heart than prisoners in the Nottingham Castle dungeon. At the centre of that hurricane has been one solidarity... the simple truth that from the moment I saw you, I loved you with such a passion that I have never felt before. I don't want to lose you to Hood as I did Marian. Please. I ask you with a humble heart on bended knee. If you can find it in your heart to love a traitor like me and to save my soul from damnation, could you also find there the courage to... to marry me?'

All Eloise wanted to do, to desperately do, was say yes. To take him back to Chicester, start over fresh and teach him that there were people in the world who did not wish him dead. But she looked at him carefully and reminded herself of who he was. Sir Guy of Gisborne, Lord of Locksley. Well-known as a power-hungry and sadistic dictator. She proceded gently.

'I need to know. Are you certain that this isn't about my estate? Or my wealth? I need to know you're not just asking to gain what I have to give.'

Gisborne got swiftly to his feet. When Eloise looked at him, all trace of gentleness had gone. It was not unakin staring at a stone wall.

'I bare my soul to you and all you can think about is your precious estate? I'm offering to marry you, an outlaw! For love! Not for money, not for wealth and certainly not for position or power! I already have that! Here!' Guy shouted at her. Eloise winced, her blue-grey eyes brimming with tears.

'I had to know, to be certain! I never meant to question your honour,' she squeaked, turning away. Guy allowed her three steps before he strode after her, caught her about the waist and dragged her back to him. He stood in silence; lips and nose resting gently in her hair. After a while, he spoke.

'Never question why I love you. Never ask why you love me. You will never find an answer. If I can believe in anything, it is that love, in it's purest form, is a gift of God and therefore never to be questioned. I can give this all up right now. We can leave for Chicester immediately if you wish. All you have to do is ask it of me. I will never deny you any love.'

'I never gave you an answer.'

Guy tightened his grip around Eloise's waist. At his hip, Eloise felt his sword dig painfully into her calf.

'Then I will wait, but not for long. Marian made a fool of me and I will not allow it to happen again,' he growled sternly. His captive struggled against his iron grip.

'Gisborne, if you do not let me go, I will make a fool of you. I will not be made a hostage of your obsession!' Eloise snapped coldly, bracing both elbows for a backwards swing. Guy released her immediately. Eloise tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear and put her hand on her hips, a very unimpressed look gracing her face. Gisborne gave her a remorseful look.

'I'm sorry.'

'You should be.'

'You are not a possession.'

'You just realised this?'

'I was upset that you appeared to think that I see you as merely a stepping stone to an acquistion of more wealth. That hurt deeply. I offered you my heart. I left myself open and vulnerable and you attacked and exploited my weaknesses.'

'Forgive me my insecurities, my love. I am plagued and harragued by the stories of your evil commissions.'

'Then close your ears to doubt and listen to my voice. I love you and I swear I always will. If circumstances part us, I swear I will keep myself only for you.'

'No more wenching? No more taking up with the maids at Nottingham Castle? Sir Guy, you swear much for a man,' Eloise giggled in spite of herself. Guy afforded her an embarrased half-grin.

'If it means that I spend the rest of my days on God's earth with you by my side as Lady Gisborne, I will do it. But I need your answer.'

Behind them, there came the quiet snap of a twig. Eloise whirled around, alert, as Guy's hand strayed to the hilt of his sword. Darkness had well and truly fallen on Locksley by now. Eloise turned back to her lover.

'Let me sleep on it. I swear to you I will return tomorrow with my answer.'

'Why can I not have it now?'

'There are bigger plans afoot now than we two eloping. I must consult with Marian.'

As Eloise turned to leave, Gisborne reached out and caught her wrist. She turned back and saw the blatant sadness in his eyes. She smiled, reaching up to touch his face gently. He smiled and leant down, kissing her gently and enveloping her in his arms. It was not passionate, but a soft reminder of the love they shared. He pulled back after a moment, still smiling.

'Return here tomorrow and know I will be heartsick until I have you once again,' Gisborne whispered. A soft breeze in the darkness and she was gone, running for the woods. Guy stared out into the darkness until he was totally sure she was gone.

Now... he had to wait.

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'Robin.'

Robin looked up from the bowl of stew Much had provided him to see Eloise standing at the edge of the clearing. Her face was troubled in the firelight.

'You're late, aren't you? We were expecting you back a while ago...'

'I need your counsel. Will you walk with me?'

Robin put his dinner down and strode over to her, following her into the darkness. It was a while before he was brave enough to break the silence.

'What's the matter.'

Eloise sighed heavily.

'It's Gisborne.'

'Has he hurt you?' Robin asked abruptly, turning to her and grabbing her shoulders. His eyes searched her face for some sign of this, but all he found was sadness. Eloise gently lifted his hands away. She shook her head.

'No, nothing of the kind. He... he's asked me to marry him.'

Robin stepped back in shock.

'I hope you said no!'

'I said I'd consider it.'

'Then tell him no.'

'Robin,' Eloise murmured softly, taking his hand. Robin was shocked to find his own heart jump. He swallowed and thought desperately of Marian.

'There is some good that can come of my marriage to Gisborne.'

'I don't see what. You'll be locked in the manor from dawn to dusk and forced to be a slave in the bed chamber...'

'I do not plan to remain in Locksley.'

Robin spluttered.

'W-what? You plan on leaving Nottinghamshire? But you've only just been inducted into the gang!'

'I plan on taking Gisborne with me.'

Robin fell silent. He was not stupid. Taking Gisborne away from Locksley would leave the estate open. He'd have better access to his home and people. But taking Gisborne also meant that he would lose a fine swordswoman. He looked at Eloise. She'd only been with them days, but he'd grown fond of her. He patted her hand.

'Is this what you really want?'

'I want to help. But just being a hired sword is not helping the people. I'm offering to take away one of the main reasons for their suffering. Gisborne will have my estate and want for nothing. I will have a husband who loves me dearly.'

'If I thought Gisborne had a heart, I'd agree.'

'Robin, don't be sarcastic.'

'Sorry. So... what do you plan on doing? I... we will help you insofar as we can.'

Eloise smiled and hugged him. Robin prayed that she couldn't hear the thumping in his chest.

'I will give Gisborne a proposition. I will remain with you for two more weeks, in case we arouse suspicion. After tomorrow night, I must not see Gisborne outside our business together for a while.'

'He's not going to like that.'

'But he must accept it. If he truly loves me as he says he does, he will see the importance of this.'

'What about Marian? Does she know?'

'I must see her in the morning. Is she still at Knighton?'

'No, she is at the castle for the Council of Nobles tomorrow.'

'Then we must get in and speak to her.'

'We have a scheduled drop tomorrow anyway. We'll organise a way to get you in. Once in, though, you're on your own. We can't risk being seen.'

Robin pulled away sharply. Eloise looked at him gratefully. He bowed shallowly.

'However long you decide to stay, I must say it has been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to serve with you. Had you fought in the Crusades, I would have been proud to fight alongside you.'

'What makes you think you did not?' Eloise whispered sadly. Robin's eyes widened.

'No... it's not possible! You're a woman!'

'Djaq is not the only one to dress as a man.'

As Robin looked on in shock, Eloise sat down on the dry leaves and began her story.

'It wasn't long after my husband died that King Richard announced that he was going to reclaim the Holy Land for all Christians. In Chicester, one man from every household was called upon to take up arms and join the King's army in the Crusade. At that point, no-one knew that Lord Elroy, my husband, was sick except for a few physicians who were sworn to secrecy. When he passed away and the House of Chicester was called upon, I made a decision. It was announced that I was gravely ill and would have to be quarantined. Once the word had been passed around, my maid Elizabeth suited me in the chain main of my late husband and disguised me as Lord Elroy. I was exceptional with a sword, so I was accepted without so much as a physical check. I was in the King's private guard at Acre.'

Robin's eyes brimmed with unshed tears as he thought back. Lord Elroy had most definitely been at Acre. He was mortally wounded by a knight disguised as a Saracen and sent home along with Robin. Robin, feverish from his own injuries, hadn't thought to ask the... woman where they were from. Lady Eloise raised her shirt slightly. A terrible gash marred the skin of her stomach.

'I was gutted. Praise God that it was only a short dagger that ripped me open, so in truth it was only very shallow. Thankfully, I knew of an exceptional Saracen physician. He was killed by Crusaders in the end, though. From what I've heard, I believe him to be the father of Djaq.'

'Eloise... you know it was Gisborne and the Black Knights who did this, don't you?'

'I do. Marian told me and I cannot honestly say that I wasn't horrified to begin with. But at the time, he did not know me and I did not know him. I should not have been there anyway.'

'You protected the King with your life!'

'That maybe so, but you also saw the Holy Land, Robin. Can you honestly swear to God that we had any right to take away the rights of all other religions?'

Robin fell silent. This was all too much to take in. Eloise had been at Acre. She'd seen the atrocities committed by her soon-to-be husband and yet she was prepared to forgive him. As if reading his mind, Eloise got up and touched his arm.

'If I do not forgive him, how can I ask for forgiveness?'

'He's a traitor, Eloise.'

'Then forgiving him will be the greatest test of my right to redemption. If you cannot find it in your own heart, how can you expect to find it in others? Take yourself for example. You cannot tell me that should you find yourself in the position of the people of Locksley, you would not pray that there would be someone like yourself who would take pity and care for you as you have cared for them?'

Robin did not answer this. He would never forgive Gisborne for his actions, but he admired Eloise even more than ever now.

'I take it, then, that it really is love that makes you so blind?'

'I hope so. My judgement has always been so good.'

Robin laughed and was ashamed as a tear escaped over his cheek. He was glad it was dark and Eloise hadn't seen it. She started back towards camp.

'Come on. Let's see if Much has any of that stew left. I'm starving.'