Chapter 7 "I Didn't Betray You"
I drag Archer to the wardrobe upstairs in the spare bedroom. That isn't easy, but I need to keep him there until Guy and Robin return. I am frozen for a moment watching Kate stir in her sleep on the floor mattress. Despite all my exhaustion, my heart is pounding. I stay up keeping a silent vigil by the fire. More than anything I hope Guy and Robin have received my message. What if Archer wakes up before they arrive? Eventually watching the fire crackling becomes hypnotizing, luring me to sleep.
The smell of smoke awakens me abruptly. How long have I been asleep? It's still very early in the morning. Suddenly I feel Kate grab my arm leading me out of the room in a rush.
"What's going on?" I implore her. "Where is the smoke coming from?"
Kate ignores my questions, hurrying me out of the house. As we are leaving, I catch a glimpse of Djaq coaxing the pigeons out of their cages and Will struggling to grab as many personal belongings as possible. To my horror, outside Locksley is ablaze. No, this is all Prince John's doing!
"Marian!" cries Little John, his hand grabbing my arm protectively, leading me out of the village. "Stay here. Guy and Robin are on their way."
"But…" Suddenly I remember leaving Archer still hidden unconscious and unbeknownst to anyone. I pull Little John aside, full of worry. "What about Allan?"
"Kate and Will are getting him out safely," he assures me, turning away to help fetch more buckets of water. Do they really expect me to do nothing but wait, watching Locksley burn to the ground? I need to somehow get Archer out. Discreetly I enter back into Djaq's burning house. Everyone in it has left; soon the flames will spread to the staircase. I race back upstairs, dragging Archer out of the wardrobe. There's no way I can get us both out safely with me trying to carry him.
"Archer, wake up!" I slap him and shake him as well. The smoke is overpowering. I begin to choke on it, but I can't abandon him to die. Slowly his eyelids flutter open, but my vision begins to dim before I can think no more.
I hear the sound of familiar voices and feel someone placing a wet cloth on my head. What's happened?
"Brother, thank God you saved her in time. I am indebted to you." It's Guy's voice full of incalculable relief.
"I had no idea she was your wife," Archer replies, trying to probably wrap his mind around that fact. "You're one lucky man, my friend; she's a good kisser."
"What?" I hear the shock in Guy's voice, the disbelief. How am I going to deal with that later?
"Both of you, give me room," says Djaq in full command. "Guy, Kate got Marian out, but then we lost sight of her."
"She did try to save me," adds Archer. "I didn't expect that."
"Marian…" I hear Djaq address me. "Marian, can you hear me?"
My vision slowly returns to see Djaq, Guy, and Archer gathered around me. Djaq smiles in relief. "Ah, you're alright! You gave us all such a fright."
My eyes close for a moment again, weary from the recent stress and little sleep. "I'm sorry…" My eyes open again, meeting Guy's. "I'm sorry, Guy."
"Marian," he sighs, his hand trembling as he strokes my head. There is still uncertainty and confusion in his eyes after what Archer implied. Djaq makes Archer leave us to be alone.
"How is Allan?" I'm thankful Kate and Will had both carried him out safely.
"Oh, he's fine," Guy replies, trying to find the words. "Djaq has gone to check on him…"
"Did Robin get my message?" I ask, trying to avoid the subject of Archer.
Guy sighs, exasperated. "Yes. We were on our way back when we saw Prince John's men leaving from the direction of Locksley. We arrived to find it in flames. Robin went to alert the villagers and I searched for you; Djaq had no idea where you were. I was about to go in the house to look for you, but Archer came out carrying you unconscious. For a moment I thought…you were lost to me."
Wearily I lift my hand up to his cheek. He takes my hand in his own kissing my palm. His presence soothes me, although I fear for what's to come. He stops for a moment, his eyes meeting mine, unwavering in their gaze. "What happened between you and Archer?"
I sigh, trying to think of a proper way to explain myself. "I went out last night looking for you and Robin."
"You were supposed to stay at the camp where you'd be safe, but Djaq said you sought refuge in her home" Guy says, the dangerous tension in his voice that I've heard before. "Do you ever listen to anyone's orders?"
"I had to get Allan out! They tortured him Guy, and you chose to help Archer instead. I wasn't going to leave him with Prince John to die, so I chose to help get him out."
Guy brushes my excuse aside, trying to get to the point. "Then how did you find Archer?"
"I found him in the woods alone and I offered him shelter for the night…"
"What did you do with him?" Guy interrupts me, hovering over me, both of his hands on my shoulders. How can I make this clear to him?
"It's not what you think," I say, unable to stand Guy's intense gaze. "I knew you both needed him badly, so I inquired about his plans. He told me he was heading to Nottingham to sell his weapons to Prince John."
Guy's patience with me is waning. "And then what?"
My words tumble out in a hurry. "I had to stop him from leaving somehow, so I drugged his wine. He wouldn't take more, so I kissed him to persuade him."
Guy smirks, "Is that all? You were stirred by him, weren't you?"
"It wasn't like that, I swear. I didn't break any vows; I'm not lying to you." I argue. It's too late to stop Guy's anger.
"You," he murmurs, his gloved fingers resting against my lips, "played with my feelings once and now you did it again with Archer!"
"I was trying to help you!" I remind him. "I trust you would help me too, even it meant flirting with another woman. I didn't betray you, Guy."
Guy leaves me without another word. I sink back onto the ground where I lay. All around me the people of Locksley are setting up camp in the forest with what few belongings they have left. It's as if we're all forming a refugee camp. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Robin walking over to me. He smiles in relief that I'm alright.
"I'm glad you're safe, Marian, and your child." Robin seems to sense my distress. "Are you alright?"
I explain to him the conversation that passed between Guy and me. Robin places his hand on my shoulder comforting me. "I'll go talk to him. You were clever to stop Archer like that. He ended up leaving us after we went out of our way to rescue him. It is understandable Guy is barely tolerating him right now. I'll go talk to him, Marian. I know you had good intentions; you always have."
"Thank you, Robin. And did everyone make it out safely?"
"Yes, but…"
Robin hangs his head trying to hide his sorrow. "Locksley has been burnt to the ground. I've led all the villagers here to make camp. We're trying to make sure everyone's needs are met. It won't be easy."
Tears begin to blur my eyes. Robin has lost his home to Prince John, the life he had tried to build again. All these people have lost everything except the hope of the king returning.
A while later Guy returns to my side, his temper from earlier cooled. Robin must have put some sense into his head about me.
"Djaq assured me the baby is safe."
"Guy, I'm sorry about earlier. Please know I would never hide anything from you."
Guy sighs, "I'm sorry for losing my temper. I do trust you, Marian. You did what you had to for the right reasons. If it weren't for you, Prince John would have Archer on his side. Robin has persuaded him to join us."
"That's good news," I smile gently, my hand caressing Guy's face. "I've missed you."
"We should be spending more time together," Guy agrees, his hand moving to my belly protectively. Suddenly he feels our child kick. A smile a lights his face, full of incomprehensible joy. My hand meets his, feeling the baby's movement as well. Guy leans down, kissing me. "It will be alright," he murmurs softly in my ear.
Exhausted, my eyelids droop pulling me back into the sleep I've craved, leaving with the savor of Guy's touch upon my hand.
