For the 2010 Robin Hood drabblefest

Prompt: Guy/Marian; disguises

Summary: They both disguise themselves, one way or another


Marian dresses as a noblewoman, the expensive fabrics setting her apart from the peasants. Underneath she's the same as others, fearing and suffering the machinations of Prince John, the Sheriff's schemes, and the restrictions thrust upon her by her sex.

Guy worries about his ancestry, his claim to nobility, his lack of lands to call his own. He dresses to show his power, the black leather a clear symbol of his authority. He tolerates no disrespect, shows no weakness.

Marian dresses as the Nighwatchman, male peasant garb concealing both her sex and her status. It's a double act of rebellion and it is exhilarating in its own right, regardless of the good she can do while wearing this costume.

Guy tries to let his guard down with Marian, to win her over. She sees through deceit so easily, yet somehow she still rejects him even in his moments of deepest sincerity when he tries to show her his true face.

The Nightwatchman affronts Guy's sensibilities. The man must be stopped at any cost. It never occurs to Guy that it might be the woman he loves wearing the outlaw's mask.

Tragedy is almost inevitable under these circumstances; yet when it finally comes Marian faces Guy unmasked and it is his all too real hurt and sense of betrayal that has him react in one moment of madness that he can never undo.