I had a bit of writer's block at the beginning; I rewrote twice. But I think it turned out all right.

Hope you guys like it :)

Chapter Ten

Late Night Visits

After the whole situation with the mare, things begun to return to normal. The only thing that was different was that Gisborne was paying more attention to Charlotte. When he was able to, he watched her. It was more out of curiosity than precaution. She fascinated him and quite rightly. She carried herself as being a meek girl who cannot speak without stuttering or even look him the eye. But when that horse was about to trample that boy she risked her life to save him. Gisborne also knew that she had been visiting the mare every night this week. The stable man reported to Gisborne that she was sneaking in to see her every night after the house had gone to bed. He decided to find out for himself just what she was doing.

He stood at an upstairs window that had a view of the stables. He was intrigued to see just what she was up to. Needless to say the stable man was right. As the lights around Locksley were going out, he could see someone walking out to the stables with a lantern. He waited until she was all the way inside the stables and joined her. He quietly walked in and stopped when he heard her voice. He ducked into an empty stall and listened to her.

"You're lonely aren't you? Yeah, me too. It's not easy being somewhere new and have no one to talk to. Don't be afraid though, I'm here and I won't leave you alone. I'll watch out for you. You and you're baby," the sound of crunching followed. She must have been feeding the animal treats. The sound of her voice made Gisborne's stomach knot up. She sounded so sad and hopeless. He left that way most of the time as well and could appreciate her reaching out for some time of connection. Even if it was with a horse. He quietly stepped out and wandered over to where she was. She didn't see him at first; he was able to observe her without any pretense. He could see her as she is naturally.

"It's rather late, isn't it?" She jumped at the sound of his voice. How long had he been standing there? She looked away; hiding slightly behind the horse. "What are you doing out here?" He was making her extremely nervous; she was fidgeting with the horse's mane. She looked as if she wanted to run away; far away.

"I'm just seeing to the horse, my lord," she answered in a quiet voice. She still was not looking up. Gisborne caught himself wanting her to look at him.

"I do have stable hands to do that. I didn't think you were hired to work out here as well," he said as he stepped even closer to him. She could smell his leather coat as he stood ever close to her, closer than he had before. He begun petting the horse at the same pace she was. She seemed to be dumbfounded. She didn't know what to say.

"I have only been coming out here at night. I finish all of my other chores before I come out here," her voice was almost pleading to let her keep up her visits. Gisborne loved that he had power over her. He could tell her no and he knew that she would listen. She was not the type that would say anything back. He looked at her and she looked back. This was the first time she had actually locked eyes with him.



"As long as you do not get in way of the stable men and your other duties are finished," he realized that couldn't tell her "No". He heard himself making a compromise; to make her happy. He wondered where this was coming from.

"Thank you my lord," she said as she smiled at him. This was also the first time he had ever seen her smile. Her blue eyes sparkled.

"Don't stay out here too late. You have duties that need to be done in the morning. I do not want you sleeping too late. Goodnight,"

"Goodnight and thank you," he quickly turned around and went back inside. He had relented and he knew it. He hoped that this was not the first of many times where she was able to twist him to her will. Marian was able to do that and he was not going to go through that again. He watched the stables until she left the mare for the night. She disappeared into the house and he was able to lie down. Her eyes. Her eyes were the same as Marian's. That same shade of blue that previously made him weak in the knees. "I am in trouble," he thought to himself as he tried to fall asleep.

Julia closed the door to her tiny room and immediately begun to fume. "How dare he talk to me like that?" she mumbled to herself. She paced the room; balling her fists. She could feel the heat boiling inside of her. She knew that this was her plan, but he was treating her like she did not matter. Her mother was the one who told her that she would only be as important as her husband was. Her mother had always thought that she married beneath her station when she married Julia's father. It was her father who gave her the confidence to conquer anything. Julia had held on to her father's encouragements and memory to get past the expectations that had been put on her life, but it took only a fortnight with Gisborne to feel the way her mother made her feel. She had this distressing feeling of inferiority. She wanted to talk to Marian so much. She needed her best friend; her soul mate. An unbelievable feeling of sorrow and loss begun to sweep over her; in waves like the breaking of the ocean, unending. Julia sat on the floor in the middle of the room and begun to cry. She tried to fight and hold it back, but she couldn't. She brought her knees to her chest and slowly rocked back and forth, letting the tears come. Julia cried into her knees; trying to be as quiet as she could. She did not want to wake the entire house. She didn't know how long she sat like that; alone.

Gisborne listened quietly to her bedroom door; listening to her cry into the night. He lightly brushed the doorknob with his bare fingers, but he could not bring himself to interrupt her. He just stood by the door listening until she stopped. He very softly opened the door and peered inside. She was asleep on the floor; curled into a ball. He wanted to put her in the bed, but he was afraid to move her. Instead he pulled her blanket of the bed and carefully covered her. She did not stir. He crept out of the room and closed the door behind him. "I am in so much trouble," he said to himself as he went back to his room and attempted to return to sleep.

The next morning Julia awoke on the floor of her room. Her back and neck screamed in pain. She could not believe that she spent the entire night on the floor of her room. She struggled to sit up; groaning as she went. She craned her neck from left to right; cracking it each way. When she finally was able to sit up all the way, only one thought came to her. Where did this blanket come from?

A bit angsty I know. There will be light hearted bits later on. I promise!

Review me, let me know what you guys think. :)