Chapter 9: Nightmares
The Sundays were her resting day. Marian had never been more thankful to God than those mornings when she woke up and realised that there would be no time in the pillory, simply because at the dawn of time the Lord had decided that the seventh day would be one of rest, and even the Godless sheriff obeyed Him in that. She learned over the weeks that luxuries are a relative thing, and a day spent lying down in damp mouldy hay now felt like her small piece of heaven. Thus it was most unsettling to her when she found herself being collected by the guards, even though it was Sunday, and lead through the corridors of Nottingham castle. They didn't take her up to the normal living quarters, but neither out towards the town square. Instead she walked through narrow corridors, occupied by servants and soldiers, witch she hardly knew at all.
"Where do you take me?" she inquired "I demand an answer!"
"You're not in the position to make any demands My Lady" Guard Peter said and smiled gently at her "We are told not to tell you, I'm sorry. You will find out soon enough"
She nodded at him. This was a guard that she had come to like over the weeks, and she could hear that the regretful tone of his voice was one of compassion. They pushed her ahead, careful not to hurt her, and crossed a hall that she realised must be part of the city guard's quarters, where they ate and slept while on duty, and further into a smaller room on the other side. It was rather light and a big round table occupied most of it- perhaps used for strategy planning or meetings- and she went up to a cushioned bench by the window.
"God be with you" Guard Peter said, and smiled sadly at her before he left and locked the door behind him.
Marian felt perplexed where she sat- unable to make out if this was indeed good news or bad. She was tired and dirty, felt weak as if this stubborn willpower was all that really kept her alive, and it would be so wonderful to just let go of it all. Death didn't scare her anymore- rather it felt like a salvation- but the thought of leaving Robin to his demons, her father alone with his troubles, the peasants still hungry and in need of help, made her force herself not to give in. She smiled sadly when she realised that she was in fact living because people needed her to, and it was so typically Marian-esque; to be needed was her greatest weakness. She helped the people because they needed her, she stayed by her fathers side and almost married Gisbourne because her father (and perhaps even Sir Guy) needed her, and she had ultimately walked out of her marriage because of those last words that Much shouted at her: He needs you. Marian needed to be needed.
It was almost half an hour before the door finally creaked open and Marian felt her body tense as Sir Guy entered the room. She watched his features in awe trying to make out his mood- the stone cold face was occupied by a smirk that seemed entirely joyless- and realised that this was likely to be bad news. She must have been taken to these remote areas of the castle because the sheriff wasn't a part of this- it was Sir Guy's business and he wanted to keep them a secret. That meant it was personal, and the complete lack of softness and compassion in him made her heart pound hard in her chest from a paralyzing fear.
"Marian" Sir Guy said, raising his eyebrows in a rather sarcastic way "Lovely as ever"
"Guy, why have you taken me here? It is my day off"
Guy's vicious smirk grew wider in his face "Your day off" he laughed "You make it sound like a work, yet you do no good and you don't get paid. Why you are here you as me? Well, I was rather hoping that you could answer that. What is it with this martyrdom Marian? Is it so difficult to simply tell the truth?"
"What truth?" she called out. "Sir Guy you have no right to keep me here, I'm sure the sheriff doesn't know and I am not your personal little crusade you know"
"You should be glad to be here" Sir Guy went over to a small table and pored himself a glass of wine "If the sheriff knew what I do, then you would be hanged before nightfall"
Marian suddenly felt the air grow heavy between them, breathing became difficult and she gasped for air. What did he know?!
"No answer?" Guy said and smiled as he walked over to her "You know what this wine remind me of?"
"No"
He laughed dryly "I once stabbed a thug with my dagger, a masked villain who worked side by side with Robin Hood and robbed me of my fortune. I worked so hard to acquire that fortune- I acquired it for you, to be able to provide for you when you became my wife. I thought I killed that villain, but I was mistaken, she was merely wounded. Her blood had the same colour as this wine" he smirked as he saw the terrified expression in Marian's face as she slowly realised what was written between his words, then he grabbed her hair and threw her down onto the floor. She heard herself giving out a loud little yell of surprise and pain, and then bit her lip- she would not give him the satisfaction. "Do you remember when I told you that betrayal was the worst crime a man could commit? The same applies for women" he spat at her. She turned to him from her position at the floor- saw that his smile had faded and given way to pure rage- and tried to collect her thoughts. They were so shattered, so unprepared for this, and she was so tired…
"I'm…" she said "I don't know what you are talking about" Oh that is bright Marian! Was that the best you could come up with? She cursed herself when he saw the reaction her words had on him.
Sir Guy crouched down beside her, grabbed on to her hair again and pulled her head back so that their faces were only inches from each other. He was shaking- she could feel the tension in his body building up more and more, and his features looked almost completely deprived of sanity. Her scalp hurt from his grip and her breathing came in sharp gasps.
"You still lie!" he hissed "All this and you still can't tell the truth! You betrayed my loyalties in the worst of ways, I gave my heart to you and you stabbed me in the back! Am I still the bad guy Marian? What does that make you then; a heroine or the very worst of villains?"
"What will you do to me?" she said, too tired to resist any more "Will you kill me?"
"Kill you?" Guy smirked at her "I will take everything from you" He pushed her head down and she could feel his weight over her back, forcing her down with her front side pressed tightly to the floor. It was cold and hard, every bone in her thin body hurt and he was so incredibly heavy. Her breathing became laboured and strained, struggling to get air into the lungs that were squeezed together by the pressure.
"Everything?" she said and gave out a joyless, husky laughter "You really think you can take everything form a person? You can take my dignity, my life, my body, but you will never have my heart. That has always belonged to Robin and love can only be given. Is that not my worst crime Sir Guy? That I never loved you?" She was provoking him now, half-hoping that it would make him lash out on her and bring her frail body down to a quick death. Time would only make her dying worse- more painful and degrading. But to her surprise he hardly reacted to her words at all.
"You heart" he scoffed "I will wait until you are dead and cut it out with the same dagger that should have killed you already. Do you really think love is that precious? Killing you will give me something better still- it will give me Robin's heart. This will break him"
"He will kill you for hurting me"
"Well" Sir Guy laughed "We will see about that"
She felt his hand on her neck, gripping the neckline of her dress, and then the sensation of cold metal to her skin.
"This is the dagger that will strip you bare" he said and leaned forward to gingerly kiss her cheek. Then she could hear a ripping noise as he carefully tore the dress apart. He did it slowly- inch by inch he moved the dagger, pulled it towards him with a hard tug and caressed the naked skin as it was revealed to the world. She hated his touch, hated how it made her feel dirty and vulnerable. His breathing was heavy and fast and she could feel him restraining his growing excitement- feel him wanting her and craving her and finding pleasure in this moment of cruelty. This was her worst nightmare, and the only possible solace was the fact that her life would end within days. She shut her eyes and longed for Robin- longed for better days- longed for the loneliness in her cell- longed for death. A faint smile grazed her lips as she imagined that she was in Robin's warm embrace- he smiled at her and caressed her hair, hushed her tears and soothed her pain with his tender love. Her body was not her body any longer, for her mind had left it lying on the cold stone floor while she escaped into dreams.
Sir Guy must have noticed her drifting off, because all of a sudden she felt a sharp pain as he grabbed her arm and twisted it back. She gave out a short little yell.
"Why do you always leave me when we are having so much fun?" he said and started to turn her body over to lie on her back. Her eyes were filled with tears that couldn't be stopped, and she bit her lip while she avoided looking at him. I am not here, she told her self, I am…
Her thoughts were interrupted as the door to the room suddenly swung open and Sir Guy turned around with an infuriated look in his grim features. Then she saw the rage in his face getting mixed up with surprise and disgust as he got a clear view of the disturber.
"What…" Sir Guy hissed "… are youdoing here?!"
---
How much was it all about her?
In the weeks after Marian's conviction Robin found himself trapped in a level of hell that would make Dante blush, his thoughts too dark to be shared and yet the nightmares were worse still. He would dream about never-ending battlefields where he was lost under the merciless sun, where every corpse was the same as the next, Saracen and English alike in decay. He would know those bodies, know that he knew them once but unable to recognise them or remember the men they used to be, so he walked on under the crystal clear sky, trying to run but his legs felt heavy as if running through waist-deep water. There were no one alive but him and the battlefield never ended, it was deserted by life, deserted by God and Allah, deserted by men and birds. He would pass a body and know it so well, yet pass by it and recognise it too late as being Much or Allan or some other outlaw, when it was lost far, far away and he couldn't go back, couldn't apologise and cry by his fallen brother. During this dream Robin always knew with perfect clarity that all of this was ultimately his fault, he lost the battle, they all died because of him and there was no way to turn back time.
And then there was Marian. How much was about her? Nothing. Something. Everything. She wasn't there, yet the sky was he eyes and the sand was her skin and every drop of blood from the fallen soldiers was shed because of her. He knew he had to find her, and he turned to bodies dreading to see her face, but even though he knew them all so well he couldn't remember them and he didn't know if it was her. Her face was lost to him, her features forgotten. Everything forgotten, out of reach, everything lost to the sand and the sun of this never ending battlefield.
He would wake sweaty fro those dreams, silently screaming and pulling his arms tight to his shaking body, curling up as a child. These nightmares were unparalleled by anything he'd ever experienced before, be it in wake or sleep, and it made him dread the night so much he forced himself to stay conscious. Thus the weeks passed in a drowsy half-sleep, his vain attempts to solve the situation caused him fall into the kind of brooding that had once made him read the Qur'an in the holy land. He didn't notice the seasons changing until the first real autumn storm tore the camp apart, and he became cold with fear when he saw the golden beauty and remembered what it meant; that time did pass even though he felt like he was trapped in the horrible eternal moment when Marian decided to take the fall.
The same day that Marian spent with Sir Guy, facing all her greatest nightmares, Robin spent by a dark lake in the heart of Sherwood Forest. Much was washing the outlaw's dirty laundry in the icing cold water and hanging it to dry on the increasingly naked branches, and the rest of the men sat scattered in the leaves small talking with hushed voices. The picture was almost painfully picturesque. All the trees were clothed in golden autumn gowns and reflected themselves in the water surface as if they were admiring their own splendour. Now and then they shed a leaf that danced down much like a lady's silken glove offered to her chosen knight. Nature cared little for the troubles of mankind- it was serene and glorious even when it fell apart.
"My weapons trainer once gave me a question to think about" Robin suddenly said, addressing his manservant "If I was in a position where I had to choose between saving a beloved brother or 20 strangers, what would my choice be?"
"I remember that" Much answered and smiled gently "You said that you would find a way to save them all. The trainer- it was that awful man Garlot Snipple as I recall… come to think of it he used to taunt me for being chubby… Ha, he should see me now! That old sourpuss, he's probably dead as a rat by now. Dead as a dead rat- anyway he refused to let us off unless you made a real choice and you sulked for an hour to prove your point- whatever that was. Eventually you claimed that you would save the 20 strangers because it was the noble thing to do"
"I just wanted the dreary lesson to be over. I never expected to have to answer that question for real…" Robin sighed and threw a stone to the lake- saw it jump over the surface one, two, three times before it disappeared. It seemed strangely symbolic, and the two men stood silent and watched the ripples fade away leaving the dark lake calm again "What is a life worth Much?" Robin finally said "What is Marian's life worth to me? What is it worth to the world…?" He shook his head and bent down to pick up another flat stone from the ground, but remained crouched as if he had been frozen and looked up at his manservant. "Everything…" he stated sadly "…and nothing"
"A life is worth very little in the long run" The outlaws all turned towards Djaq who sat with her legs crossed a bit on the outside- as if she was just barely a part of this gang. Robin paced over to his men who remained silent while they waited for his response. Much noticed that Robin still had a habit of kicking the autumn leaves up in front of him like a playing child, leaving traces of naked soil to lay bare behind him.
"You are right Djaq" Robin said "Yet a single life can mean so much to us…" He spoke about this as if it was general thoughts, applying to the world as a whole and not just Marian. But it was all about her, and he felt tired, so tired, and scared and he had this feeling about being in a hurry but not knowing what he was late to, somehow suspecting that it was all far to late anyway. He felt a shudder run down his spine as the thoughts and feelings from his dreams echoed into reality. "We are running out of time" he mumbled, more to himself than to his men, but they all heard.
"Yes" Much said "Finally! We need to talk about this master. Have a meeting"
"We have meetings now?" Allan whined "What are we, 'the council of outlaws'?"
Robin smiled absently at him, and then a frown appeared on his forehead "The point of councils is to give the members influence, thus avoiding supreme power and power misuse. The council of outlaws is not such a bad idea actually" He dipped down his head into his palms and held it for a while, gently rubbing the temples, before he continued. "We need to talk to Sir Edward"
"You have a plan master?" Much said.
"No"
"Oh… Well, half a plan then? At the very least?" Much looked a bit puzzled "Why would we worry Eddie otherwise?"
"I don't have a plan. Not half a plan. Not… Not even a quarter of a plan" Robin sighed and shut his eyes. They needed to talk to Edward because in his weary tired mind that was the only hope he could master- that somehow Marian's father had found a way to save her where he himself had failed. "He might have pulled some strings. We go there tonight…" He appeared to drift of for a while before continuing on a seemingly new line of thoughts. He often did that these days, got distracted. "The autumn is coming..." he mumbled as he saw an oak leaf dance down beside him. He picked it up, spinning it in his hand to watch the colourful pattern twirl. "… The autumn is preparing its departure even" he continued "and then there will be winter…"
---
Sir Edward had half expected the outlaws to show up at his door step and wasn't surprised when the finally did. He watched Robin's face under the cloak, and saw the same fatigue in the young man's eyes that he felt himself but had attributed to old age. He dreaded this meeting, knew what had to be said and done and feared Robin's reaction- knowing that youngsters were not as easily resigned to fate as the elderly. He arranged a rather motley group of chairs and stools in front of the fireplace and the men sat down in a ragged half-circle.
"Well" Much was the first to speak "We are rather curious about how the string-pulling is proceeding, Sir Edward"
Edward sighed "There is nothing much I can do, I have few friends in the ranks now that Prince John is making England his" he said and Robin felt his heart skipping a beat in his chest. He had known this already- that his hope was vain- but it seemed impossible to prepare for. Hope stayed in Pandora's Box when all malice escaped and spread across the world, and when there is nothing left but hope then a human clings to it as if her life depended on it, no matter how faint and vain it seems to her. It is the last thing to leave us, and Robin was not prepared to let it go.
"There will be a way" he said "There must be!"
"Robin…." Edward looked at the young man, feeling a tender sadness overwhelm him as he did so. This boy loved his daughter so much, a good boy. In truth he could not wish for a better stepson, but fate would have it otherwise. "I can not save her, and if you do, then please consider the consequences. The friars in Knittle will suffer…"
"But not if we reveal her as the Nightwatchman first! Then the friars will be off the hook"
"…Even so, Marian will be outlawed and so will I. All the people depending on Knighton will suffer, much in the same way as the ones in Locksley"
"And we will help them in the same way that we help the people in Locksley" Robin said "Edward, trust me..."
"Robin I do trust you but you need to face the facts. If you save Marian then what are you going to do with her? Do not pretend you are unaware of her condition, I'm sure you have found ways to see her and must know how weakened she is. Would you take her to Sherwood?"
"A group is only as strong as its weakest member" Djaq interposed, making everyone turn to her. Her eyes were sad and compassionate as she looked at Robin- yet serious in a way that made Edward think that she was the only one who realised the full extent of the hopelessness of the situation. "The sheriff would hunt us down, knowing our weakness" she continued "and we will all die"
"She is right" Edward sighed "Marian would be the death of you if you took her and you know it"
Robin twisted in his chair- he seemed uncomfortable as if his skin was itching and he wanted nothing more than escape it. His eyes flickered between Edward's steady look and the physical room's unawareness of the tragedy it hosted.
"Well" he insisted "She would have to come with you, leave this place"
"Where, Robin? No one in this country would be foolish enough to take us in. Where would we go? Where?! Tell me?"
"I do not know?!" Robin exclaimed "Scotland perhaps? Normandy?" he felt his body shake and hated Sir Edward, hated him every inch of his soul, for making him to face up to the truth. Then he forced himself to calm down, realising that he was letting his feelings take over. "…Or Tír na n-Oc" he said with a resigned sigh and leaned his head in his palms.
"Tír na n-Oc?" Allan asked "Where is that, Wales?"
"It's a Celtic fairy world of eternal youth" Much explained "My master is trying to be funny"
"Ah, well I'm not being funny but I think Normandy might be better then"
Edward frowned as he watched the outlaws. "We can't go to Normandy" he said "The weather is already trying for my old body, and then the winter will come. Marian is weak and so am I. England is a hostile country to travel through in times like these, we wouldn't make it"
"Then we would have to come with you!" Robin called out. He was desperate now, clinging to whatever little hope he could find and refusing to let go. "We would escort you!"
"And leave Nottingham to the sheriff?! Robin, I am only asking you to see what Marian has already seen: That her life, no matter how much we treasure it, is just one life. She chose to sacrifice it and asks of us to do the same. For her Robin- for Marian and for England"
"Robin" Djaq said and looked over at the outlaws' leader who now sat with his desperate eyes staring into the fireplace- as if he was trying to force the world to succumb to his willpower alone. "We are going to lose this one" she said in her simple way. "This battle, we can not win. My brother, he was wounded from battle. We left him in the sand. We left him alive- left him to die. But we all lived" she shook her head sadly- then stated with confidence in her soft voice "We have to lose this battle Robin. Save the 20 strangers"
Robin shook his head. "There must be a way…" he said, but his voice sounded distant, neutral and indifferent. It was speaking the words it was expected to speak, had gained a life on its own away from the buzzing thoughts that held him captive and paralyzed him. He couldn't face this, how could he have been so stupid as to think that he was ready for this conversation?! Djaq's words were a dagger to his throat, a rope to his neck. They made everything real. Robin was no fool, he might be world-weary and trapped in a romantic fantasy gone sour, but he knew the consequences of this meeting with perfect clarity. Either he lead his men into a crazy war to save the love of his life, sacrificing strangers and friends in the way all wars claimed its casualties. Or the waiting stopped today- no more hope, no more planning a rescue, no more Marian. Robin Hood, the outlaw hero, the king's man, lord and lawless, warrior and lover- the man who never gave up on anyone would have to give up on the only one that really mattered in the end. Somehow he always knew what the result would have to be, but Djaq's words made it painfully real, and right now he hated her for it, as he hated Sir Edward and every one of the outlaws who simply sat there in silence.
"I would give my life for her" he whispered, his voice trembled a little as if it was about to break.
"I'm not being funny mate" Allan said "but you give your life for a whole range of things" It was a rather tactless statement, but the Robin simply watched Allan with a dejected expression in his face- his vision was getting blurred from tears that wanted to fight their way out.
"I would give up the cause for her" he continued in a hushed, husky voice "I would gladly give up England to save her"
"I know you would, son" Edward said, addressing Robin in a way he hadn't done for five years. The way he saw it Robin became part of his responsibility by loving Marian - her blood connected them even though there were no laws to bind them together. He would care for this boy and cherish his life, but first he had to break his heart to make him see sense in this senseless world. "I know you want to save her, but it wouldn't be right. Would Marian even love you if you sacrificed all those people for her? I think not"
"I don't care if she loves me or not! I just want her to live!"
"You think it is that simple? You can't change something just because you want to Robin!" Edward exclaimed and was taken aback by the look in Robin's face; his eyes stared wildly at him in shock at the words he'd just spoken.
"Marian said that to me once…" the young man whispered. He couldn't do this anymore, his body trembled and he couldn't sit still. With a sudden movement he rose from the chair and started to walk away from it all- leaving his friends to follow him best they could. When they arrived at the camp Robin went right trough it, and the outlaws hesitated a while before sitting down around the fireplace instead of following him. They remained seated in an uneasy silence as their leader strolled off- the rustling of the leaves became fainter and fainter and then they couldn't hear him at all until an eerie scream echoed through the forest. Much shifted a little as if preparing to rise but felt Djaq's hand on his arm gently holding him back.
"No Much" she said, her eyes pleading "Trust me, let him be"
Reluctantly Much sat down again. The wind blew through the foliage and the leaves made their little dance around the camp, twisting and turning and every now and then they twirled into the fire only to instantly get devoured by the flames. Robin's scream went on in the distance, first it seemed filled with rage against the world, then panic and desperation took over before it landed in an overwhelmed, heartbreaking cry of pure pain. It got jagged and broke off into periods of silence that must be sobs and then it disappeared completely.
"Well" Alan said and looked at the group of outlaws that sat sad and troubled around the fire. "That's it then"
"Yes" Djaq said "That's it"
"What was that you said about your brother being left behind Djaq?" Will suddenly inquired. Djaq shut her eyes; she had hoped they had all forgotten about that, but apparently they needed some sort of distraction. She might as well tell them.
"Our camp was attacked" she started, telling the tale in short sentences "He was injured. We couldn't bring him. My father had died instantly in the attack. I took my mother into town and posed as Djaq to protect and care for us. It was either that or prostitution. We all have to make choices. The price I paid for mine was the extermination of Safiia" she smiled sadly "The price Marian pays for her choice is herself. She must have known that all along- she is expecting Robin to make the same sacrifice. He is wise to obey her"
"I'm not being funny…" Allan said and got an irritated glance from Much "… but I would have chosen to save a loved one rather than 20 strangers. 20 aren't all that many anyway, mind you. And it's not like they are all doomed- just slightly jeopardised that's all"
"Really" Djaq said- her voice sour by sarcasm "How many lives is a loved one worth then Allan?"
He shrugged his shoulders, then he smirked and stated in a very bad attempt to be funny; "I think the number might be 42, love"
---
He was still waiting for a miracle. The realisation made Robin smile at how pitiful he was - clinging to this hope though it should have been shattered- and he could see his men exchanging worried looks over the strange smirk in his face. They had made their way into Nottingham; the weeks of watching Marian had forced them to find a certain routine in getting into town and they now did it with an ease that would have the sheriff horrified. It was Monday morning and they had come to say goodbye. It was a silly time to hold on to hope, one would think.
"We stay here today" Robin said "Then I must get into the castle by nightfall"
"Master that is insane, you will get caught for sure!" Much looked upset.
"Why is that? We have been in the castle a million times by now, the butchers can help us. I know I said we shouldn't speak to them any more, but… well" Robin sighed "I need to see her… I will ask her if she wants to be rescued and obey whatever answer she gives me"
"She will tell you to let her go" Will said.
"Yes. She will" Robin pushed back the emotions and took a deep breath- to say that this was difficult would be the king of understatements.
They remained silent for a while as they zigzagged towards the town square.
"You will let her go then?" Djaq finally said "You can do that?"
Robin shut his eyes, trying not to resent his friends- they had done nothing wrong after all- but found it difficult is spite of his better judgement. They didn't love her enough, that was the only crime they committed, yet it seemed so grave to him. "Yes" he said "Then I will ask her if she wants me to kill her rather than being slowly broken by the sheriff"
"Master!" Much exclaimed and looked at him horrified "That… You will upset God!"
"God!" Robin snorted "If he wants to send me to hell for the one time I kill out of love, then so be it" Marian would die anyway, he knew that for sure despite of all futile hope. If he told her he had given up then so would she, he was the one that guarded whatever little hope she had, he harboured it for her, and without hope she would choose to fade away. Slowly. Painfully. A horrible degrading death. He had to give her a choice at lest, a chance to die in his loving embrace, yet he knew she wouldn't take it.
Marian. He swallowed his tears as the thought of her overwhelmed him. Soon he would see her, he would watch her in that horrible pillory and know that she still hoped for a way out, and he would have to be strong and brave. How vain it felt, to try and be a hero and a man when he felt so weak. There was something about him where he walked through Nottingham that would have proved a better disguise than any cloak; no one would ever expect the real Robin Hood to look this utterly vulnerable.
"Master…" Much words pushed through veil the grief and Robin turned his attention to his men, only to find them looking completely taken aback.
"What Much?"
"Well… It's just that well, Marian… master… Where is she?!"
Robin frowned and turned to the place where the pillory stood and the sight made him gasp with surprise. It was indeed empty, deprived of Marian's thin white neck and wrists, and looking almost absurd where it stood abandoned in the faint morning-sun.
"No!" he exclaimed "Where is she! No! Not yet… she… I'm not ready!" His mind was slipping, trying to find solid ground but found none. She couldn't be gone already! He hadn't had the time to say goodbye… With rising panic he tried to remember what her last words to him had been and felt a pang when he remembered her drowsy voice mumbling 'Your Latin still sounds terrible'…
"Master look, the sheriff" Much exclaimed and shook Robin to force him out of his trance. "The sheriff is up there and he doesn't look happy. Witch is good for us I think"
Robin frowned. Yes that was good for them, if Marian was dead (yet she would die anyway, he reminded himself, so the hope he now felt was in vain) then the sheriff would be dancing and shouting out the good news. Now he simply paced around looking infuriated, and Robin made his way closer to hear was he was saying.
"… that insolent useless love struck fool of a man, when I get my hands on him… I'll… I'll rip his leather into tiny shreds and feed them to the pigs! And then I'll make him wear a dress… red I think... or blue, complementing his eyes… yes one of Matron Vix's dresses I think, I will like that, Gisbourne looking like a common harlot…. GISBOURNE!" The outlaws turned around to see Sir Guy riding into the scene accompanied by his guards, and the sheriff's yelling continued to echo over the square "Where have you been? Where is Lady Marian?! I demand an answer!" Yes where was Lady Marian? Robin could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the world seemed to have spun completely out of control and it really didn't make any sense at all.
Then they all saw her. Beside Gisbourne went a person dressed exactly as the Nightwatchman, the same cloak and mask, and she had her hands tied tightly behind her back. Only every one of the outlaws knew that it wasn't the Nightwatchman, because Marian didn't have that posture and composition, and the locks of hair that had made their way out from under the hood was definitely in the wrong colour. They watched in awe as Gisbourne brought the watchman up to the stage and threw her down in front of the sheriff.
"Here it is" Gisbourne said "This is the Nightwatchman. Marian's punishment is off according to your sentence"
"Off? Yes of course, where is she then? Surely not Knighton, I have made inquiries there already"
"I have taken care of her" Guy spit out "Do you not want to see who hides behind the mask?"
"Hm? Yes, yes let us unwrap the present" Vaysey clapped his hands together and smirked as Gisbourne forced the Nightwatchman to her feet and removed the mask and hood.
A gasp went through the outlaws as they watched the scene before them, feeling puzzled and completely taken aback by the sight.
"Wha…" Much said "What… why?! And is it really? It doesn't even look like her… really… It's… Oh Lord!"
"But it is her!" Djaq said.
"Allan..." Will looked over at his friend who stood perfectly still as he watched the woman by Gisbournes side; bright red curls blowing in the wind, the pale skin that looked like marble and the eyes- the eyes!- they were shining blue as the sky and sparkled with an inner fire that seemed to light her up from the inside. He thought in that moment that Much was wrong, he was so utterly mistaken, because she looked exactly like her, exactly like he saw her in his dreams and memories, and she was absolutely breathtakingly glorious!
"Allan!" Will said again giving him a light shuffle "Why in God's name is Katie Butcher dressed as the Nightwatchman?!"
