Hello, all! I'm back for the first update of the year for this...and hopefully a more regular posting schedule if I can manage it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these...don't forget to review!

31. Iron

Behind the bars, he did not care. Sir Guy of Gisborne had nothing left to live for. He did not care what happened to him – and he longed to see it end.

It was his fault. He had killed her, murdered her in a fit of rage. Or perhaps it was passion rather than rage. He was no longer entirely sure. He knew that it had been his sword that had run her through and his hand on the blade.

Marian's death had been unnecessary. She should have loved him, not Robin Hood. It would have been better that way.

32. Challenge

Marian was a constant challenge for Robin. Her tempestuous beauty had drawn her many suitors when she had been newly of age for courting. But she had chosen him instead, the one who lost his temper with her half the time because of her stubbornness.

When he came back, she had been just as stubborn, unwilling to respond to his flirtations.

It was not until after the near-wedding that she truly challenged him – she agreed to be his wife, but only when they completed their task. He would do anything for her, no matter the task, no matter the challenge.

33. Stadium

Every time she saw him, it seemed like Robin put himself in danger. Without fail, he seemed to be doing brash and bold, daring and heroic…

This time, it was her doing. He stood right under the Sheriff's nose, his face hidden by a hood. If Guy or the Sheriff found out it was him, he would be captured and hanged.

She held her breath as he loosed his arrow and it struck the target exactly in the center. Fear washed through her when the Sheriff shouted for his arrest. If he was caught, it would be her fault…

34. Chairman

If there was one thing that Allan had learned from all of this, it was that the Sheriff ruled the Council of Nobles with the same iron fist as he ruled Nottinghamshire.

The whole meeting of the nobles today had been a complete fiasco. Marian and her father had been the only bright point in the whole day. They were the only ones – Marian tended to be more vocal than her father – who had bothered to speak up against the Sheriff's cruel treatment of the people of Nottingham.

This was yet another of the moments where Allan regretted betraying Robin…

35. Chef

"Is this squirrel, Much?" Djaq asked suddenly, peering at the bits of meat on her plate.

"No, it is not," Much replied tersely. "Stop saying that!"

The rest of the gang laughed. Even after it kept coming up, the squirrel joke was still funny.

"Are you sure?" Allan inquired, grinning to himself. "I haven't seen any squirrels around here for a while…"

"It's not squirrel! It's chicken!" Much shouted at the thief.

"It doesn't taste like chicken," Will piped up. Much glared at him.

"If you're going to be like that, why don't you start cooking dinner instead of me?"

Posted 1/17/11