Happy Holidays everybody! And boy am I relieved to say that! Also, drumroll please...I GOT INTO MY FIRST CHOICE COLLEGE! WOOHOO! *starts doing a happy dance* Oh, um, sorry about that. I'm just really excited :D. I won't tell you what college out of respect for their privacy, but I will tell you that their acceptance rate is like 13% for regular decision and they said this year's early decision selection (for which I applied) was the hardest ever because this year's pool of candidates had the most talented and highly qualified students in the history of the university. At 11:59 on the night before the news was released, I took a deep breath and stared at my iPad. Then, at exactly midnight, I opened up my application account and it said "CONGRATULATIONS _! YOU ARE THE NEWEST MEMBER OF _ UNIVERSITY'S CLASS OF 2019!" I just screamed at the top of my lungs "I GOT IN!" My entire family was with me and we were hugging and jumping and squealing and crying tears of joy. In fact, I was hugging my mom so tightly that my nose started bleeding *chuckles awkwardly*. Well anyway, thank you to my reviewer Watership's Nightwish Rat for being so loyal to the job of reader.

Disclaimer: give me some music...ahem... all I want for Christmas is to own this story, to own this story, to own this story. All I want for Christmas is to own this story, but we all know that ain't gonna happen (sorry I started this chapter in December)

Kiara groaned as she opened her eyes to find herself in a dank dungeon. She started to stretch her stiff joints, but then she realized that her movements were restricted by metal. Her ankles were shackled together with chains and her arms were held off to either side by the cuffs on her wrists.

While the fact that she was locked in a dungeon was terrifying, what really disturbed Kiara was her change in attire. Instead of her archer disguise, Kiara was wearing an extremely low-cut red dress with gold accents underneath a black leather corset around her torso that matched her black leather heeled boots. Kiara had never worn corsets before since she was far too young for them back in the days of appearance outweighing practicality, but she was definitely not enjoying the corset she had on. It only succeeded in complicating the breathing process and pushing up her cleavage. Around her neck was a black lace choker with a red stone in the middle. She even had a chain around her waist with the sole purpose of being a heavy belt. Kiara scowled in disgust. She looked like a wench from a questionable pub.

Suddenly, Kiara's eyes lit up in terror. Who had dressed her?! If the sheriff or any of his men laid a finger on her while she was vulnerable, she would kill them and then she would die of humiliation and shame. She may have spent ten years on the run, but she still had maintained her dignity...at least until now.

"Oh look! You finally woke up!" a man announced as he entered the dungeon.

"Sheriff!" Kiara snarled. "What do you want with me?"

"And here I thought you were a brilliant criminal," Sheriff Andrew replied in a condescending voice, but the darkening of his eyes from lust betrayed his tone of self-control.

"I am no criminal!" Kiara snapped.

"Then why are you in a dungeon?" the blonde man questioned sarcastically as he brushed a stray hair out of her face, letting his finger linger on her cheek before he moved it down her face, her neck, and...

Kiara spit on the sheriff's face before his dirty finger could go any farther.

The sheriff chuckled darkly. "You never did appreciate my affection," he said as he wiped off his face.

Kiara struggled against her restraints. "I will only ask this one more time. What do you want with me?!"

"Aww. Did you forget about our past...Liliane?"

Kiara gasped as the memories flooded back.

*Sherwood forest*

"Marian! Marian!" Autumn called out as she moved as quickly as she could toward Robin's wife.

Marian whipped her head around to see the pregnant Little girl rushing towards her with a scroll in her outstretched hand. Everybody in the village was hurrying around after yesterday's failed ambush at the archery contest. The sense of urgency was contagious and it looks like Autumn had caught it, too.

"Slow down, Autumn!" Marian insisted. "You should not be running about in your condition. Whatever it is can wait a few extra seconds."

"A royal messenger just dropped this off at the gate," Autumn panted. "It is a letter from King Richard."

Marian's eyes immediately widened and she snatched the scroll from Autumn. She tore open the seal, which she recognized without hesitation as her cousin's, and scanned over the writing.

My Dearest cousin Marian,

I hope you and the rest of your kin are well. You really should visit the palace sometime soon. I hear young Archer is growing into a fine warrior, which I find hard to believe since the last time I saw him, his head barely graced the top of my knee.

As for the subject of your previous letter, I believe I remember the girl of whom you speak. About nine or ten years ago, my Crusaders discovered her wrapped in a threadbare blanket on the streets of Paris. Seeing she was not Turkish, they brought her back to camp. She was eventually passed down my way. She never told us her name. We simply called her Adelise, which means "noble" in French, because her intelligence far surpassed that of any ordinary street urchin and because I felt like I had encountered her before at an event in France.

I grew to care for Adelise so much that I planned to adopt the girl. Unfortunately, she disappeared before I could do so. The strangest part was that the day before she vanished, I had just received a letter from my brother expressing his approval of my taking in Adelise. He even said that some day we could join Adelise and his son in marriage.

I will seek out information about Adelise's identity from members of the French nobility. I advise you to keep a close eye on her, though, as she had a tendency to get herself into trouble as a child.

Sincerely,

King Richard I of England

Marion folded up the parchment and let out a deep breath. "Autumn, do you know where Robin is?"

"I believe he is checking on the armory."

"Thank you Autumn. Now you go get some rest. I will go speak to Robin."

"Is everything alright, milady?" Autumn asked. "What of the King?"

"Everything is fine, Autumn. In fact, everything just became a lot clearer." Marian rushed off to find her husband before the redheaded woman could ask her anymore questions.

And now by the time I finish this chapter, it's January 28th...and my 18th birthday! Yay me! Sorry again for another short chapter, but I still need to clarify a few more details about Kiara's background before I can write more about that. And now I've left you with two cliffhangers. Now you HAVE to continue reading to satisfy your curiosity. *insert evil laugh*. Ahem, uh, sorry about that. Honestly I just needed more time to come up with a more believable backstory and I acknowledged how long overdue this chapter was. Review please as a college-acceptance/Christmas/birthday present. Bye! Love you all!