This fanfic idea comes from the prompt I choose to do for the Bingo Ficathlon at the Robin Hood Fan Community forum.
The prompt was: "Marian accepts Guy's proposal at the end of 'Walkabout', both thinking that Nottingham is about to be destroyed. It doesn't happen. Now they're both left wondering what's next. Will Marian actually go through with the marriage this time? And if not, how in the world does Guy deal with the loss a second time?"
To explain the beginning of this fanfiction, I did a video "It's Our Fight". (You can see it at dolphen3's channel on Youtube.)
English is not my first language. Brokenheirloom, I love so much working with you! You help me and encourage me so much! Thanks to be always here for me!
To my 3 so adorable followers who send me so sweet messages: Girls, you are amazing! I love your reviews, I love the way you explain what you like, what made you smile, what you felt while reading my chapters, and that's GREAT because I know what I can improve and you give me the desire to work more and more! Thank you so much!
This chapter is a lot shorter than the others but like I'm not better and I wanted to give you something tonight, I thought at least, it will be something... and if I had the chance you liked this chapter, it will not only be something for me, it would be really incredible ^^
Enjoy and please, let me a review :)
As friday is "Guyday", I will try to publish a new chapter each week, so, if you like this story, stay tune :)
Chapt 8:
"Marian…where is your engagement ring?"
I shivered as soon as this question leaves Robin's lips. He clenched tighter his fingers on mine while his eyes burned mine by their intensity.
"I... I have it with me..." I answered, trying to find the better way to reveled my secret.
"Why don't you wear it on your finger?" His voice was tense now and the grip on my fingers made me whimper as it grasped more.
"I was on the castle, remember?" That wasn't what I wanted to say but Robin behavior raised my anger and not my will to tell him about Guy and me.
"You have leave the castle now, haven't you?" his smile was bittersweet, his eyebrows frowned. "You can put it on your finger now."
He was examinating me closely and for the first time, I felt really awkward in front of him. I didn't liked his behavior. I asked myself if it was a new way for him to be or if he already had acted this way and I didn't noticed before, infatuated like I was. It seemed so strange how this simple night with Guy and the realisation it gave me about some of my feelings had awekened me, as if it had removed a veil before my eyes. Robin seemed so different now, like the spoiled child everyone had described me - particularly my dear late father -, the one I couldn't even imagine so I saw only his beautiful sides.
"So... Marian?" He asked in a domineering voice.
It only spiced my irritation up. I retrieved my hand off his suddenly, raising my chin and braced myself for the inevitable fight to come.
"I will not put it on my finger." I said, stealing my voice.
"What did you just say?" Robin seemed really surprised at my challenging tone.
"I said: "I will not put this ring on my finger."
"And why that?"
"First, I don't like the way you talk to me!"
"Marian, I am your betrothed, I can totally..."
"You can't bully me, no! You told me to not tolerate to be threaded or ill-treated by Guy... I will certainly not let you do the same!"
"What?" He was livid with fury and grasped my forearm so strongly that he made me flinch.
"Robin!" Much interceded, trying to calm down his master.
"Step away Much! I'm not in the mood to deal with you!" Robin scowled at his friend and leaned into me, threatening between his teeth: "Do NOT dare comparing me to this runt!"
"Runt?" I couldn't help but bursted into laugh so loudly and heartedly that all my body was shacked. "Oh Robin! Don't ever use again this word to talk about Guy because if he is a runt, I can't find an appropriate word to define yourself!"
I was as surprised as him and every one else at the venom behind my words! I coudn't bear hearing my childhood friend talking in so bad terms about my husband. Runt? Really? I never had seen a more handsome and well builded man, not even Robin and by far...
I was so angry at Robin that for once, I wasn't afraid to hurt him and decided to say the truth, what I really thought, what I didn't dare to say before.
"Second, I don't like the ring you gave me! I never had!"
"But you..." Robin stammed, letting go of my arm when I squimmed it off his grasp.
"I didn't say I liked it. You not even asked me. We were in that tree and I wanted nothing more than you to leave so I would have agreed with everything you said."
"Really? You didn't wanted to marry me?"
Oh God! Again, he had started to turn into the child from whom his favorite toy had been stolen. I hated it when he did that because normally I just wanted to take him in my arms and soothe him... Well, this time, I needed to talk before... I will soothe him later... if I will...
"Of course I wanted it, Robin! You know I always wanted it! I was talking about the ring, Robin! Don't change the subject and don't try to manipulate me!"
As soon as I said those words, Robin stiffened and raised his chin to me, his eyes calculating, trying to understand what was really happening here, why I was so full of fight. I took the ring from the pocket where I had it and held it out to him.
"What made you think I could love this kind of ring? Robin, we know each others since I'm a little girl or at least, I thought you knew me... but you apparently don't! This ring his too heavy, too big, too sparkling... it could be perfect for a den mother, but certainly not for me! How do you think I could handle my bow with this on my hand?" When I saw the little smirk he couldn't hide quick enough, I understood everything: "That's it, if you let me handle a bow once we were married! You wanted me to be your wife to cook and be heavy with child and nothing else? Are you mad? Did you really think I will agree with that way of thoughts?"
"Marian..." he tried to calm me down but I was beyond angryness, fury took me so much that I wanted to scream:
"How could you think I will be in adoration in front of you, being here to wait my hero and being nothing more than your servant? I am a FIGHTER! Don't you understand? For five years, I took care of everyone in this country, defided the Sheriff and his men and never had been arrested by anyone!"
"I recall you had been severly hurt last time you were the Nightwatchman..." he said flippantly, his eyes mocking me.
"Yes, I had been... but only because I was stupid enough to follow your suggestion! I had been only because I wanted to prove you that marrying Guy would not change me! That I would be the same Marian as ever!"
"Well, excuse-me my dear," he said in a honey tone that give me nausea. "If you need to follow my instructions to prove you're right and failed by being hurt, it seems you're not so an extraordinary fighter and that you really need to be check and put in the right way..."
He couldn't say more because I screamed and stepped to him ready to slap hard his face. But Djaq and Will grasped me and Djaq whispered soothing words on my hear, while Will stroked slowly my back with his hand.
Finally, when my body stopped shivering with rage, Djaq and Will released me and I sighed deeply. I opened my eyes and looked in Robin's eyes: he was concerned but he couldn't hide his cheecky façade and my heart felt a pang of pain. I never saw him being really "him" with me. I already talked to him about it the night he hide in my bedroom at the castle to escape the guards. I told him I needed to see who the really Robin was, I needed him to show me what he really thought and felt... but he never had and probably will never be.
On the other side, Guy had too a façade: a hard, unchangeable one, because he needed to protect himself against the Sheriff, against the Dark Knights, against the nobles, against Robin... and even sometimes against me... but when he had asked me to marry him and since then, he never had shown it to me again; he had been Guy, the real man, even if I knew how many secrets he was hidding from me, I knew that I already saw deeper of him than anyone has ever seen.
And I missed this intimacy, the way his eyes looked at me, showing me everything he was feeling - at least, as much as it concerned me. I knew now that I could never had the same with Robin not even if I waited for a century.
I looked at the ring I still had in my hand and try again to give it to Robin. He folded his arms to his chest and I couldn't help but smile.
"What is so funny?" he said in a grumpy tone.
"You... you hate Guy so much while you're so alike him sometimes..." I shacked my head, my smile warming when I thought at all their similarities: the two of them had been orphans, the two of them had bad temper and could be really cheeky and annoying in a daily basis, they folded their arms everytime something wasn't right with them, they loved as passionatly as they hated... I couldn't go farther because Robin exploded again, stilling me with surprise:
"Stop talking about Gisborne! Gisborne, Gisborne, Gisborne... do you have only his name on your mouth? Careful, Marian! If I didn't knew better, I thought you are totally in love with that man!"
Robin sneered at me and my ire and shame that he was joking about my husband and I raised like a geyser. I was ready to tell him how much I cared for Guy, how happy I was to be his wife and how whole and complete I had felt in his arms when Djaq put again her hand on my shoulder and shushed me by a quiet "please, Marian, not now."
I turned my eyes to hers, surprised but she nodded with a sweet smile and pleaded me with her eyes to keep my secret, whatever it was...
I sighed deeply and turned to leave.
"Well... What that suppose to mean, Marian?" Robin told me again, in a teasing way, but I didn't wanted to play his game, so, without facing him, I asked:
"Robin, at least tell me, where did you find the ring?"
"What?" he was unsettled by my question.
"The question is simple: where did you find it?" I turned to him, my eyebrows a little raised: "Did you buy it?" He didn't answer. "Did you... "borrow" it?" He moved a little, crimson with shame. "That what I thought." I said, looking a last time at the ring before adding: "I remember the day when you reclaimed me the silver necklace Guy gave me..."
"That was different!" Robin shouted.
"In what way?"
"He had stolen it to a girl..."
"Ohhh... it was different because you stoled it... sorry, "borrowed" it to a woman."
"It was her mother's wedding present..." His voice was unsure now.
"Well, that was right... but please, tell me. This woman to whom you "borrowed" this ring; did she said you give it to her? It was maybe her wedding ring or her bethrothal ring... Who knows?" I locked my eyes to Robin's and, in the calmer tone I never had used I added: "Perhaps it was her mother's wedding present too... So, I can't keep it, you do understand, don't you?" Without releasing his eyes, I showed him the ring and let it fell to the ground. "Perhaps you should find this lady and take it back to her like you did with the necklace..."
I finally turned back let him stood still in surprise and just said before leaving followed by Djaq and Will: "But perhaps this only works when it's Guy's present to me."
