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A/N: Hi...I'm not really happy with this chapter but as a friend told me before we can't spend forever editing our stories, so I hope the chapter is worth the wait. Mindless babble at the end of the chapter.

Today's life Lesson: According to Army regulations if you die while on leave the day you die does not count as a leave day

Please enjoy the show


Promises to Keep and Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Djaq moved as quickly and quietly as she could through the large house careful not to wake any of its sleeping residents; she headed down towards the kitchen where she had agreed to meet Carter to allow them to enter the building unseen and unchallenged. There weren't very many guards around and those that were on duty seemed rather complacent in their self assurance that one would have to be insane to break into the house of an assassin, unfortunately for the guards insane where she and the lads excelled most.

She moved soundlessly into the kitchen cautious to avoid pots and pans strewn hazardously around the room from the day's activities, Djaq moved to the small servants' entrance cracking the door open a little before letting out a low steady whistle, she only had to wait but a few beats before she was answered back with deeper low whistle. A grim smile set on her face she opened the door further to allow the small group admittance into the house, then quietly closed the door as the last man entered.

Not wasting any time, Carter immediately started giving out orders, instructing Allan and Much to stay in the kitchen to make sure their escape was secured. Much shot Carter a disgruntled look but refrained from comment having already argued his part in the plan earlier that night and having lost to reason. Leaving the two outlaws to guard the kitchen Carter gestured to Djaq to take the lead with Will, Little John and himself following closely behind.

Djaq lead them down a few long hallways pausing every so often in order to keep out of sight of the few guards about, at long last they reached a set of stairs that would lead them down into the storage room where Robin was being held. At the bottom of the stairs Djaq gestured to them to hold their position for a moment, she was about to step around the corner when Will grabbed her upper arm stopping her.

"What are you doing," he inquired as quietly as he could, Carter and John's expressions echoing the same question.

"There is a single guard at the end of the hallway guarding the door," she whispered hastily, "If we all go together he will see us and raise an alarm before we will be able to reach him."

"He will see you coming also, how will you going alone help," Will countered back

"He will recognize me from earlier today; I should be able to get close to him without him suspecting anything," she answered before smiling lightly, "plus I'm just a meek little serving girl what threat could I possibly pose." She quickly moved around the corner before Will could say anything more and started walking down towards the guard.

"He'll never know what hit him," Carter whispered to Will as they carefully watched Djaq walking down the hall water pitcher in hand, "Don't worry so much Will she will be fine," Carter told him when he noticed Will's face scrunched up with concentration.

"What," Will started looking at Carter, "I'm not worried, I was just wondering," he paused chewing on his lower lip, "did she have that pitcher with her the whole time, and if she did where was she keeping it?"


Guy of Gisborne lay in his bed watching the dying light of his candle dancing across the ceiling of his room; he had been unable to sleep as ghosts of the recent past invaded his dreams, leaving him unable to find any real rest. He regretted the actions he had made in a fit of anger and jealously that Marian had ignited in him and wished profusely he could take the day back and do it over again. There were so many things that day he could have, should have done better, so many things that had gone horribly wrong.

As those feelings ran through his mind, the words Robin had spoken to him a few days before plagued his restless thoughts. Guy didn't hate himself more than he hated Hood; everything was Hood's fault, wasn't it. He blamed the archer for what happened surely everything would have been fine if the man had never come back from the Holy Lands, if he had died here the first time when Gisborne had stabbed him, one more thing that Guy had failed at doing.

But did he really blame Hood for Marian's death or was he just trying to cover up his own feelings of self loathing by convincing himself that it was Robin he hated more. He thought he had known the answers, had thought he knew what to do with those answers, but now he wasn't so sure anymore. Robin's words had cast doubts on what he had been so confident of and now he no longer knew what to do or who it was he was truly angry with.

Guy heaved a deep sigh as he got up out of bed; perhaps a short walk in the courtyard would help clear his mind so that maybe he could get some rest.


A quite crash had Carter, Will, and John hurrying around the corner of the hallway, only to find the lone guard unconscious on the ground with Djaq standing over him a pitcher in one hand and a look of smug triumph on her face.

"Well that will teach him to trust meek little serving girls," Carter snorted as he rummaged through the guards pockets for the keys, coming up victorious in his search only seconds later.

"We have been lucky so far let's hurry get Robin and get out before our luck runs out," Will insisted, eager to be as far from this place as soon as possible.

Carter nodded his head in agreement moving over to the door and unlocking it, grabbing the torch mounted on the wall outside the small room he entered, Will and Djaq following closely behind and John dragging the unconscious guard into the room behind them.

Already prepared for the sight that would greet them upon entering the room, Djaq wasted no time crossing the distance of the small room to Robin while the others stood shocked for a moment at the bruised unconscious form of their friend and leader. She made quick work of the blindfold covering his eyes, making note of the increase in heat coming off his skin, unable to rouse him for the moment she moved behind the archer as the others moved quickly to help and started cutting the rope binding him to the beam.

Robin was pulled violently from his restless sleep as the movement of long immobile muscles and his recent injuries warred for his attention, hands wrapped around his upper arms as he felt the ropes around his wrists being cut followed shortly by the ones around his legs causing his knees to buckle under the sudden weight they had become unaccustomed to supporting. The hands around his arms saved him from an abrupt meeting between the floor and his face, and gently lowered him into a sitting position on the ground with his back resting against the beam.

Robin bit his lower lip in an effort to suppress a groan forming in his throat and tried to bring his short and uneven breaths back under control, his body loudly protesting the recent movement. Slowly he opened his eyes realizing the blindfold had been removed, he blinked a few times as figures before him swam in and out of focus; recognizing them as his friends he felt his head spin with relief. He heard one of them speak but the words reached his ears in a distorted mess he was unable to translate. Any reply he was going to make however was cut short by a thud not far from him, looking around the small group he saw Little John standing next to a unconscious guard who was sporting what looked like a boot print on the side of his head that was suspiciously close to the giants own boot size.

Robin shook his head slightly in an effort to clear the cobwebs and turned his attention back to the group before him as Carter leaned forward and asked if he would be able to walk. Robin snorted to himself, walk, he thought, he wasn't even sure if he had the energy to stand at the moment, he longed so much to do nothing but sleep, but knew the lads had risked enough just breaking in here to free him he could not burden them further by forcing them to carry him out, so he nodded to Carter indicating he could walk out under his own power, then took a steadying breath as he prepared to move to his feet.


Guy stalked the darkened hallways of the house, his mind swirling with anger and regret, unsure of his current path in life and where it was leading him. He could remember when he first started working with the Sheriff, how the man had promised him wealth, showed him the whispers of untold power that echoed in the screams of the people he murder in the name of the Black Knights. Everything he had wanted had been within his grasp all he had to do was reach out and take it from those who couldn't hold on to it, who didn't deserve it. But now after all this time he still had nothing, the money and power he held was an illusion, everything was under Vesey's control. He was only a puppet under his master's control and Marian had tried to show him that, but the seductive whisper of power rendered him deaf to her words.

With Marian's death though the illusion was shattered and he could finally see the lies that had been feed to him for so long, but the Sheriff wasn't the only person guilty of whispering lies in his ears, no Marian had also been guilty of the act. While he still cared deeply for her he could no longer deny that she never loved him, perhaps never even cared for him at all on any level, she just used him to feed information to his enemy, her heart always belonged to Robin Hood.

Guy sneered into the darkness as he thought of the man that had been his enemy for so long, Hood had everything he had ever wanted, it's what had made him so easy to hate, the irony in the whole thing was Robin Hood is probably one of the few people in his life that had never lied to him, he had always made his feelings and intentions perfectly clear and never tried to hide them. While his "allies" stabbed him in the back at least his enemy had the courtesy to look him in the eye, maybe Marian was right perhaps he and Robin weren't so different after all.

Gisborne's dark musings were interrupted by a sound he knew as well as his own voice, knowing there would be only one reason to be hearing it he ran down the hall coming to a quick halt as he turned the corner and smiling grimly at the sight which greeted him.


Years working together to set off successful ambushes and escaping trouble, that they usually instigated in the first place, had taught the outlaw gang how to move and understand each other without having to use words, and so it was with the utmost silence that the gang moved through the hallways of the large house. Cater and Will had taken the lead while John and Djaq placed themselves behind them and Robin so to watch for anyone coming up from behind while also keeping an eye on the stubborn archer.

Djaq had been skeptical at best at Robin's claim to be able to walk, knowing the man had a habit of pushing himself when he shouldn't, so far he appeared to be holding his own though it hadn't escaped her notice that he was heavily favoring his right foot and kept a hand on the wall to steady himself. It wouldn't be much longer till see could treat whatever injury that was inflicted to his foot and any other injury he had sustained from his incarceration here. Now all they had to do was get out of here without running into any guards so far they had been lucky, they each had their weapons with them, they had even brought Robin his sword just in case, though Djaq doubted that he had the strength to use it right now, so defending themselves would not be a problem but she worried none the less and hoped there luck would hold out awhile longer.

Djaq's hopes were shattered when the group turned the corner of the hallway they were moving down the same time a four man patrol turned the corner at the other end of the hallway, Djaq and Little John quickly moved in front of Robin before he could draw his sword and engaged two of the four guards Carter and Will taking on the other two, hoping to finish the fight quickly, but finding the guards were more skillful then the Nottingham guards they were used to fighting.


By the time Robin had drawn his sword the lads had already engaged the guards standing between them and their escape, he stood with his sword ready to jump in if any of his friends seem to be in trouble when he heard the familiar sound of a sword being drawn from behind him. He spun around just in time to bock an overhead blow from Gisborne, his body screaming in protest at the sudden movement.

Gisborne disengaged taking a step back sneering, before rushing at him again, self preservation and adrenaline was the only thing keeping him standing as his mind slipped back into the familiar dance of sword fighting. Parry, block, block, thrust, block, his mind echoed from lessons long past as he and Gisborne fought trying to bring the other down.

"What's the matter Gisborne, taking on an injured man the only way you can fight," Robin mocked as he blocked another blow aimed at his neck. He knew Guy had the advantage as he had not the strength nor his normal agility to fight for very long, he was hoping though to anger his opponent into making a mistake so to end the fight as quickly as possible.

Seeing the man refusing to take the bait Robin could only concentrate on defending himself from Gisborne's onslaught, ducking under another blow aimed at his head, his broken ribs making themselves known with every movement. He blocked a angled thrust from the side their swords clashing in a stalemate for a moment before Guy spun on his foot causing Robin to stumble forward. Trying to regain his feet he felt his side explode in a fiery pain as Gisborne took the opportunity to slam the pummel of his sword into Robin's already broken ribs, his knees buckled underneath him falling heavily onto his side and rolling onto his back. His breath came out in quick, shallow pants, fighting to draw air into his abused lungs as he watched with morbid fascination as Gisborne lifted his sword readying for the finishing blow.


As Gisborne lifted his sword to deliver the finishing blow that would finally put an end to Robin Hood he couldn't help but hear Marian's voice echoing in his head, reminding him of the words she had spoken in what seemed like another lifetime, causing him to hesitate unsure if he was doing the right thing.


Robin's brow furrowed in deep confusion as Guy hesitate, a haunted look crossing his face, then just as suddenly Guy's eyes rolled into the back of his head forcing Robin to scramble out of the way as Guy slumped forward onto the ground, Carter standing behind him having knocked the man unconscious. Little John hurried over to Robin hauling him quickly to his feet, the world spinning violently with the abrupt change in positions almost sending him back to the ground if not for John's firm hold.

"Let's get out of here before we have any other company," Carter said quickly, "can you make it," He asked directing his question at Robin.

"Yea I'm good," Robin replied wanting nothing more than to leave this place and it's memories far behind him. The gang moved forward John keeping a firm hand on Robin's upper arm as the archer seemed to be stumbling more often than not. The group made it back to the kitchen without anymore incident but dared not press their luck and quickly quieted Much and Allan's questions and comments in favor of making a quick escape. Much moved next to Robin taking John's place at his side as Allan stuck his head out the door of the servant's entrance then motioned to the rest of the group that they were clear to go, they kept low to the ground as they moved through the dark terrain their forms hidden by the new moon and making it to the hills that separated the Assassin's house from the rest of Acre.

Robin followed the group silently as they made their way back into Acre, he had no idea where they were or how far it was to their destination but he could feel his remaining strength falling him fast, he pressed on though fixated on the prospect of real rest in what seemed like much too long, his legs shook unsteadily under him as they moved through the city. His breathing was still coming in shallow breaths making him feel like he wasn't getting enough air, though trying to breath any deeper hurt too much to even attempt.

Robin walked close to the buildings using the walls to help steady himself, as the adrenaline from the escape was wearing off. They had been walking for about five minutes when a unexpected sharp pain across the left side of his chest drove Robin abruptly to his knees. Panic filled him as he started fighting for air he couldn't seem to draw in. He could hear the other outlaws speaking but a loud roaring sound in his ears were drowning out their words, his vision was rapidly darkening around the edges as Djaq rushed over to him, He could see her lips moving as the world faded from his view and he felt himself falling.


A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, Red, Bubzchoc, MacGateFan, Arrora, robinhood447, hawkflyer667 and manxcatmom, also thanks for the kind in relation my short hiatus. The next chapter might take me a bit to get out though cause I had almost everything in this story planned up until the chapter before this one. Well I had some of this chapter planned but when I wrote it, I thought I had been done with Guy until the sequel but some how he not only made his way into the chapter but made himself a main focus point of the chapter, Sneaking Gizzy.

And of course please rember your lovely yummy reviews feed my hungry muses and Flames are feed to my Army of Hamsters with flaming bow and arrows of death, feel free to feed them as it will only cause my plot for world domination to come swifter. :D

O yea just to let you all know I try to keep the status of my stories updated on my profile pages and will be keeping them updated on my blog which you can access on my profile page.