A/N: Last chapter here. Thanks to all who read and reviewed! Happy Holidays!

Chapter 10

Robin was woken up by the sounds of the door opening. Disoriented he lifted his head and saw the shine of torches lighting up the cell. Sitting up, he noticed several guards outside the cell and one of them opened the door to it. He stood there, looking at Robin.

"Now what's keeping him?" Robin could hear the jailer asking from the dungeon's door.

The guard who had opened Robin's cell motioned him to walk forward and Robin reluctantly moved, knowing that his time had come. The guard grabbed his arms while another bound them. Three more guards were watching. The jailer beamed.

One guard shoved Robin forward. Another grabbed his arm, pulling him through the next door, leaving Robin little time to even think about what was going to happen now. They moved the known way, but didn't take him outside as he had expected, were instead pulling him along another turn, yet deeper into the castle again.

The men behind him grumbled something Robin wasn't able to understand. He wondered where they were taking him. He was fairly certain that the sheriff would want a public execution with much fanfare.

Robin had no idea where they were going. What he knew was that the corridors were devoid of any other people. There was only him and the five guards. He wouldn't be able to fight them, even less so with his hands bound. But he would be able to run if he got the chance. He knew this would be his last opportunity to try to escape.

The next time they were crossing a corridor, he let himself sag heavily against the man walking behind him. The man lost his balance and the hold on the outlaw's arm, and Robin turned and got up quickly to hasten down the dark hallway.

He didn't come so far. The second man who had been behind him swung his fist, hitting Robin over the head. He went down and next felt a painful kick against his ribs, while his head was still swimming.

He knew his last chance was gone. They would beat him now till they could only drag him to the gallows.

Robin heard punches and kicking and the ringing of swords, but no more pain followed the existing one. Then he was pulled to his feet and saw two guards lying on the ground. As far as he could tell, it was the two men who had been walking behind him, had been hitting him. The other three were shoving him forward now, away from the others.

One of them took his arm then, stopping him, and lifted his sword.

"Robin, it's me," he whispered and Robin recognized Will, as the man cut the bound the knocked-out guards had made around his hands. The other two men, standing some paces away from Will and Robin, were keeping watch. "That's John and Much."

His hands free again, Robin rubbed them and asked, "And who were the other two?"

Will shrugged. "Guards."

Robin didn't have time to ask for more explanations, as Will made him go on, Much and John falling into step beside him. Robin wondered how they had gotten into the castle, or how they had even known that he was in trouble. The most urgent question was though how they were planning to get out again, having the man the sheriff compulsively wanted to see swinging at the gallows in their midst.

"Where's Djaq?" he asked.

Will glanced around, his mind apparently more on the task at hand. "With Marian," he replied simply.

"Where are they?" Robin urged, as he felt relief flooding through him. Will didn't reply, but instead shoved Robin to the side, stationing himself before the man, Much and John still at his sides. Robin got an unwelcome sight over Will's shoulders.

Gisborne had walked right into their path. And the man had clearly seen them. Will, Much and John were still dressed like guards, but the situation made it obvious that they weren't actually in employment of the sheriff. Gisborne stared at them for a second and Robin saw Will straightening in front of him, as if to charge ahead any moment, but then Guy turned away. He walked off into the adjoining corridor and while Robin still looked at the spot where he had been moments earlier, Will pulled the archer forward again.

They were moving into corridors now that were not lit by torches, but Will seemed to know where to go despite the darkness. They turned around a corner and Will slowed down then; Robin could hear Much and John coming to a stop behind them.

"Careful now," Will whispered to Robin.

Robin seemed to pick up a small shine of light then. It looked as if it was coming out of the ground. They were getting closer to it and then Robin recognized that there was a hole in the floor and light was shining through it. Will went down on his knees and looked into the hole.

"We're here," he said.

"Get Robin down first," Djaq responded from below.

Robin moved closer to the hole and looked at the ground below. It wasn't very deep, but deep enough that a person wouldn't simply be able to climb out of it. He hoped the gang knew what they were doing.

He nodded. "I'm coming."

He sat down with his legs hanging over the edge and then let himself drop. He was glad it wasn't very deep for the ground was made of stone. Standing up, he saw that Djaq wasn't the only person down there. Marian was waiting next to her in what Robin now noticed to be a long, low corridor that he could only hope would lead them out of the castle.

Will, Much and at last John followed him from the hallway above.

"You have to hurry before they notice Robin's gone," Marian urged them.

"You're coming, too, aren't you?" Much asked, removing the helmet of the guard's uniform.

Marian shook her head. "They'd know I helped you. And Guy would go looking for me again."

Robin intervened. "He can't find you if you're at the camp. And what about the sheriff? He tried to have you killed."

She frowned. "I'll be careful." Robin knew she wouldn't and that there was no way for her to ensure her safety. She looked at him earnestly. Then she came closer and hugged him. "Now hurry. I've spent more time down here than I ever wanted."

Robin smiled. "One day you're going to have to tell me what you've been up to."

She nodded. "John," she turned to the large man then. He stepped closer and lifted her up. She pulled herself up and was soon in the upper corridor. With a last smile she vanished into the darkness.

"Hurry," Djaq urged then and Robin moved forward.

"Where's this tunnel leading to?"

"Forest near Knighton," Will explained briefly.

"It has to be hours till there!" Robin was surprised. As they moved along, he saw several men lying bound on the ground of the tunnel and guessed that these were the guards the gang had stolen the uniforms from.

Will nodded. "Marian left yesterday to get us."

Robin frowned. "I don't understand."

Djaq stepped up to him. "She told us she was ready to try and do something stupid to save you from the gallows. When she realized that the hanging had been postponed till today, she knew she would have enough time to get us through the tunnel. She arrived at the camp last night and brought us here."

"What about the guards?"

Will grimaced. "Well, we took the uniforms and wanted to get you out of the dungeons, but we met these other two guards who really wanted to come and take you to the hanging."

"Disgusting," Much commented. "They believed it when we told them the sheriff wanted to see you before the hanging for his own enjoyment! They were very eager to take you."

Robin smiled at him. "Well, I'm glad, my friends, you were there, too." Sobering up, he added, "I'm worrying about Marian though."

Djaq nodded. "She was willing to take a great risk to help you."

Robin sighed, looking ahead, knowing they had still many hours to go before they would finally be back in the safety of the camp.

Marian once again moved through the darkness. She knew the way by now, but she still had to be careful. When she had tried to find the entrance to the tunnel the day before, she had gone the wrong way several times. It wasn't easy to find, which was probably a good thing.

It had been a long day. She hadn't been able to sleep the first night she had been back at the castle. She had come up with plans and had dismissed them. When she had finally thrown out every single idea she had been able to come up with, she had realized that there wasn't a realistic way for her to save Robin before the morning's hanging. So she had gone with the desperate plan.

She had waited close to the dungeons, hiding, planning to fight her way through guards once they were bringing Robin. It hadn't come so far. Nobody brought Robin out and for a terrible half an hour she had feared it was already too late. Then she had heard a passing guard mention that the hanging had been postponed till the next day.

Then she had known she had enough time to get help. The way had been long. She had been better prepared for the path through the tunnel that led her to Knighton this time. She had made sure that she had a light with her for the full way, which had enabled her to run instead of treading carefully. It still took her many hours to reach the outlaw's camp. The gang had naturally been surprised to see her there and she had lost no time in explaining the situation.

It had made her plan to save Robin less desperate. Now he was on his way to safety and she could finally breathe a sigh of relief. She was tired beyond measure, but she would soon be back in her room. Very soon people would notice that Robin was gone, if they hadn't already with all the commotion that had certainly been caused by the fact that the supposed guards had taken him from the dungeons. Marian could only hope nobody had noticed her absence.

Before she had left the previous day, she had learned that the sheriff and Guy were riding out for the day, so Guy might not have been looking for her. Today was a whole different matter though. Considering he had even chosen to cooperate with Robin in order to find her, he would certainly not rest before he knew where she was. So she had to make sure that he would find her at her room, pretending to have just woken.

All of these matters were on her mind, when she turned a corner and there the man stood in front of her.

"Guy."

He wore a grave expression. "You helped him get away, didn't you?"

Marian was so surprised at seeing him and his sudden accusation that she had a hard time coming up with an explanation.

"He saved my life," she finally admitted, knowing there was no point anymore in trying to pretend Guy's claim wasn't true.

"So did I." He moved closer to her.

She swallowed. "Yes, and I am grateful."

He looked down at her with a blank face and she knew he was hiding his feelings. "You need to leave."

"I can't leave," she argued automatically.

"You have to! The sheriff will know you helped Hood escape."

"He won't know, if you don't tell him," she insisted, knowing that she would take a great risk even in that case. She would never be certain how long Guy would be loyal to her, how long till the promise of power would turn him against her.

"He will know, Marian, even if he won't be able to prove it. And he does not need proof to hang someone. He will hang you in Hood's stead if he wants to."

Marian knew this to be true. She stared at him, her thoughts racing.

"These men that attacked you the other night," Guy went on. "The sheriff sent them. I cannot prove this either, but I know it to be this way." He took her by the shoulders. "When we rode out yesterday... there was a man at the castle..." Guy shook his head and Marian realized that there had been another benefit in her leaving the castle to get Robin's lads. "You are not safe here anymore. I can't protect you."

"But where shall I go?" she asked quietly, although the answer was already clear in her mind.

"Leave Nottingham and find safety somewhere," Guy told her. "I'm going to come and find you one day."

While he spoke, her mind was on the fact that she would go to Robin. She didn't dare to consider what Guy would feel if he ever found out.

She nodded. "I will go."

"Do you have a safe way to leave? Can you go the way Hood left? I can find another way for you to leave if I have to."

"I can go the same way as Hood. There's a secret way out." She didn't want to reveal more, although she knew that the passageway would be found. Some people certainly already knew about it, just nobody who had cared about safeguarding it.

He pulled her in his arms. "Just be careful."

"I will be."

He let her go then and she walked away, returning the way she had come along mere minutes earlier. There was no going back now. She easily found the entrance to the tunnel this time. She checked the small bag she had taken with her the day before to see if there was still enough material for her to light another torch. Then she climbed into the tunnel once more. She knew that she couldn't be very far behind Robin and his men, and hurried to catch up with them.

For a sudden moment she gasped as the possibility of a trap came to her mind. Had Guy sent her after Robin in order to catch him? Was he following her and everything he had said earlier had only been an act? Was she leading him right to Robin? Marian stopped in her tracks at the thought. Her heart beating fast, she listened. She tried to stay calm. There were no steps to be heard. She shook her head. She had to trust that Guy had been sincere. His fear for her had been real, she felt it.

When she hadn't heard anything behind her several minutes later, she finally moved on. She hastened her pace once more, not as keen as earlier to catch up with the outlaws, but willing to get away from the castle as fast as possible. Guy was right. The sheriff would know she had helped Robin and nothing would save her from his wrath then. He'd have her openly killed, not conveniently disposed of as he had tried before.

It took a long time, but finally she could hear sounds ahead of her.

"Robin," she called. She didn't want to startle the men, but then she had to announce herself somehow, as they would be wary of who was following them. She kept running and then she saw them. "I have to leave the castle," she said, "Guy... he knows what I've done; he told me I had to leave."

Much nodded. "Good. Good idea. It's time we all get out of here."

Marian couldn't agree more.

It came as a relief when they stepped outside into the sun later. The forest around them offered some degree of safety and they continued their journey on a slower pace now. Marian went on, almost falling asleep walking by now.

She had been walking around so much during these last couple of days. Though she was drowsy she remembered the fact that it started when she had wanted to go as the Nightwatchman again. Maybe this would also be a solution to the situation she found herself in now. Nobody would know she had joined with the outlaws, if it was the Nightwatchman who worked with them.

The only thing she wanted to do when they finally reached the outlaw's camp was sleep. She was only kept from it briefly when Robin took her aside.

"Welcome back."

She smiled at him, leaning into his embrace.

END