Disclaimer: own nothing....
Yeah, another chapter.... Just thought I should bring this baby home!
Marian gripped Robin's body tight as the crowds of people ran desperately past her, pushing their way to try and get to the higher levels of the boat.
"Robin," she tried, shaking him fiercely, her fear overwhelming her. "Robin!" Her plea nearly deafened by the masses.
"What?" Robin groaned so abruptly that Marian's heart skip a beat.
"Robin, get up!" A sudden urgency arose within her. She quickly pulled herself up and Robin as well.
Realising what had happened; he looked around at he mass of people, and understood what they needed to do.
"Marian," he spoke quickly, knowing that time was of the essence. "We must get to the top of the ship, come on!"
Robin broke through into the crowd, his fist welded to Marian's; he would never let go. They ran with the crowd, bombarded with bodies and deafened with the sounds of terrified cries.
"What ever you do," Robin told Marian as they weaved their way through the seemingly faceless people, "do not let go of my hand", he looked back at her, and gave her an assertive nod, to make sure she understood. There was no verbal reply, but Marian squeezed his hand a little tighter to make sure he knew she'd heard him.
The crowd were ushered up the top of the ship, where many more were gathering in hope of abandoning the ship. Though by looking into the eyes of the crew, you could see that their hope was delusional.
"Robin, we will not get a boat now, it is chaos," Marian yelled to Robin as he led her through the people.
"I know," he replied honestly, "now we try and stay on for as long as possible." The finality of his words hit Marian hard. They both knew that they would probably not make it through to the morning.
Flares shot out into the sky like fireworks, illuminating the night. But the attempt to seek help was futile; the boat was sinking too fast.
The unsinkable Titanic was now sinking at an alarming speed, the second level was now fully submerged and the tip of the top deck was starting to fill with the feared icy water.
XOXO
Silence filled the boat as they rowed away from the screams of the unfortunate people still about the RMS Titanic. Tears rolled down the checks of those remembering those they had left behind.
"Why'd you have to push me, I could've got Robin and Marian as well as you!" John growled at the small, frightened family who were huddled at the end of the boat.
"There wasn't time," the man replied, "A decision needed to be made, and so I made one." He held his baby son to his chest to keep him warm.
"Yeah, well it was the wrong choice!" Much spat, angrily, salty tears running down his face.
"Let's not argue," Will said quietly, causing everyone to look at him. "It's going to be a while before we are rescued, killing each other isn't going to help." His voice was sullen, though he didn't want to attack the obviously terrified family, he was also consumed with grief over loosing one of the best friends he's ever had.
Djaq snuggled up next to Will, her pain over whelmed her, though she hadn't really know Robin, Marian was the only person, before Will, who'd treated her as a person, and not as just common maid or foreigner. And had it not been for Marian, she would have never even met Will.
Guy remained silent, he knew that was the best thing to do, though he was silently rejoicing that Locksley would soon we lost at the bottom of the Atlantic, he was still hurt that Marian would be there too.
"What do we do know?" Allan spoke up, his breath frosted in the cool artic air.
"The only thing we can do; we wait...." John muttered, tucking his hands around his chest for warmth. It was all they could do now; wait and stay warm.
XOXO
Breaking through into the first floor dining halls, Robin and Marian pushed past the elaborately decorated tables and chairs, in attempt to get to the front of the ship. Robin ran in front, pulling Marian up the tilted room to get to the other side.
A man stood by the fireplace, starring into the crackling, illuminating fire.
Marian recognized him at once. "Mr Andrews!" She ran up to him, pulling Robin with her.
Guilt and sorrow filled his eyes as he spoke, "I'm sorry I didn't build you a stronger ship, young Marian."
"Are you even going to make a try for it?" Marian wondered aloud, how could be just stand there and accept death?
"Marian, the ship is sinking fast, we have to move!" Robin urged her, tugging her arm toward the door.
"Wait!" Mr Andrews' called, stopping Marian with his words. He placed a single white life jacket into her arms and looked deep into her eyes.
"Good luck to you both," he nodded.
Marian starred back at Mr Andrews, she wanted to say more but all that came out was, "And to you." She started to leave, but then hugged him for the last time.
And with a small not so reassuring smile, Marian followed Robin through the doors, leaving Mr Andrews by the fire.
Then ran through the halls of first class, trying not to replace their fond memories of their past times here with the horrifying ones of the present.
A string quartet could be heard in the distance, their melodies hardly drowned out by the sounds of the gushing water that began to fill the ship.
Robin pushed open the door to the deck, taken aback by the chaos that now filled the ship. The backend ship had begun to be engulfed by water and elevating the top end. Pushing through the people became a struggle as the boat began to rise.
"Keep holding my hand!" Robin called back at Marian, as he felt her grip loosen.
A sudden burst of people, ran past, and Robin felt Marian's hand slip out of his own.
"MARIAN!!!!" He called as the crowd pushed him one way and her another.
"ROBIN!" Marian frighten voice could be heard over the horrific desperate screams.
Robin fought against the crowd, forcing his way to Marian. "Get out of my way!" He cried, rushing forward until he reached her.
Grabbing her face in his hands he kissed her graciously, "Don't let go," he told her, grabbing her hand and running back into the crowds.
The sounds that could be heard were that of which nightmares were made of; fearful cries of motherless children, pitiful pleas to God, the desperate last words of a man before he takes the plunge off the side.
Robin tried to block the sounds out of his head; he needed to concentrate on his goal to get Marian to the top of the ship. The crowd was now directed to a thin metal staircase that led to the very edge of the boat. Robin pushed his way through to get to the front of the que, pulling Marian with him.
The man ahead of him was climbing the stairs with no amount of urgency, mumbling his prayers to God, "and through I walk to the shadow of Death –"
"You wanna walk a little faster to get to that valley there!" Robin yelled impatiently, physically pushing the man up the stairs.
As the boat began to rise higher and higher, it became increasingly harder to walk up to the guardrail at the end of the ship. Robin gripped Marian tight and pulled her up to the top.
"Come on, come on!" He encouraged, as he held onto the rail and heaved her up to grab it.
The end of the boat was now physically out of the water, with many poor souls dropping like flies around it into the freezing cold waters.
Robin looked around at where they were, and smiled weakly as he held onto Marian.
"I like this place," Robin managed to say as he held Marian close, struggling to keep them both from falling.
"Are you insane?" Marian grunted, clutching the cold metal bar frantically.
"It's w-where I rescued you," he struggled to say as he put all of his effort into holding them there.
"I d-didn't need rescuing!" Marian shot back, her voice straining.
"Do you two really think t-this is the bloody time to be arguing?" A blonde young man next to them growled as he held his auburn wife to his chest.
Robin gave a small painful laugh and kissed her on the top of her head.
"Marian, hold tight," Robin whispered in her ear, as they felt the ship raise up higher and higher.
"Just keep holding on!" He repeated again and again, like a chant. Pleading with all his might that he had the strength to keep his grip.
Passengers slid down the decks of the ship, screaming as they went. Frightful cries were heard all over the ship, and then suddenly the ship was covered in complete darkness. Whether the water had finally gotten to the electricity plant on the city or some other malfunction had occurred, they were not aware of the exact reason. But the darkness increased the hysteria; it seemed to magnify their fear tenfold.
But it was only when the ship gave an almighty groan, that Robin's heart skipped a beat. The sound was that of a monster, an angry beast that would be the death of them all.
Fear drained the remainder of colour that was left in his face as he heard the crunching sound of the wood and metal of the boat bend and break. The ship was indeed breaking in two! He knew that this could happen, but had prayed that it would not. Though today was not a day for his prayers being answered.
Bone shuttering vibrations of the breaking ship were sent through the vessel, as each section snapped the end of the boat felt it. With one final crunch, the boat fell from the sky and into the water, crushing the helpless innocent victims that swam below.
Marian almost lost her grip on the rail, had Robin not been holding her tightly, she would've fallen. Not a world was spoken between them, but a common goal shared, to make it out alive.
Robin then realised what must happen, "Marian, keep holding on, we need to get the other side of the rail, now!" He yelled over to her, his voice barely audible over the screams and hysteria.
Marian gave his a nod of understanding and gripped the rail tight. Robin then hoisted himself up over the rail and stood on the other side.
"Now you!" He called to Marian, holding out his hand. Marian thrust her hand into the air for Robin to grab.
"I've got you, I won't let go, come on, I've got you!" He reassured her, grabbing her hand with an iron fist and pulling her over the metal frame.
The half of the ship that they clasped to was not completely vertical, holding itself up in the sea, almost unnaturally.
"Robin, what happening?" Marian looked around frantically, gripping to the bar as tightly as she possibly could.
"I don't know, I don't know..." Robin replied honestly, but still scanned the boat for answers.
One by one they dropped. Men. Women. Children. Marian could barely stand to just sit there and watch all of those people just fall down to their deaths. But she knew she had to, she had not the strength to pull another person over the rail, and if she tried she would most defiantly be pulled over with them.
A jolt was sent through the ship, leaving no peace in the terror filled hearts of the occupants still aboard.
"It' going down," Robin looked over at Marian, his arm around her, holding her on.
The ship was sinking at a sickening speed, Marian closed her eye, as she whispered with fear, "Oh god, oh god..."
Robin grabbed her hand in his, finding courage in his terror filled heart.
"Marian, the ship is going to suck us down," he told her, "take a deep breath, when I say, okay?" He looked deep into her eyes.
"Okay," She looked back at him. What this to be the last time that they ever saw one another? She looked down at the foreboding darkness of the water as Robin kept talking.
"Head for the surface and keep kicking!" His authoritative words offering her the smallest of comforts. "Whatever you do, Marian, do not let go of my hand! Do you understand, Never let go!" he told her, his fear of loosing her clear in his tone of voice. His panic and fear were clear now.
The water continued to rise up at them, Marian new that the time to take the plunge would be all too soon.
"We're going to make it Marian," Robin yelled over the crushing of the water.
"D'you know how I know? It's cause Romeo and Juliet didn't die on a bloody sinking ship!"
Marian looked up confused, "Romeo and Juliet did die though,"
"Yeah, but that ended the feud between their families, our deaths won't achieve anything!" Robin smiled boyishly.
"Robin that's the worst logic I've ever – "
"Take a breath.... NOW!" Robin yelled and then took a deep breath, as did Marian.
The painful icy water that was so cold it stung their skin immediately engulfed them. Marian tried to hold onto Robin's hand as they swam for the surface but the suction of the water was weighing her down. It began to pull her deeper into the black sea.
Robin grit his teeth as he felt Marian's hand slip away once more, he strained his eyes to look through the darkness, but he couldn't see a thing. Panic gripped his entire body as he was loosing air. He swam for the surface, and was flooded with the cold and the cries of the floating people.
"Marian!" he cried in a panic, as he swam around looking for his lost love.
"Marian!" Warm tears seared his cold cheeks as he screamed helplessly into the night, wishing with desperation that his cries could be heard over the screams of the other people. "Please, Marian!" How could this all be for nothing?! How could he lose his only light in this dark world? He was not whole without her. He was but a ghost of a man, walking life with no ambition.
"MARIAN!"
"Robin!" His heart almost left out of his chest. He screamed out her name once more, gushing about in the water to find the source of the sound.
"Robin, I'm here, I'm here." Marian's angelic voice shone through the darkness of the night. Robin swam over to her, holding her against his chest, not knowing if he'd ever let her go again.
"Come on Robin, we need to swim," Marian told him, leading him out of the masses of frozen souls, the cold blinding their wits.
They swam through the icy cold water, pain brought with every movement. It became hard to breathe, hard to think.
"Marian, look, over t-t-there," Robin smiled through his pain as he spied a door floating in the water.
"Come on, get on it," Robin encouraged, pushing her on top of the large wooden door. Though as soon as he tried to get on it, the door began to topple over.
Marian looked over at Robin, who was floating in the water.
"G-get on," she breathed, laying her head down on the door. She was so tired, the cold was just too painful.
"I'm good, I'm just g-gonna float here for a s-sec," he grinned, swimming over to hold her hand.
"Okay..." Marian replied sleepily, hardly hearing what he'd said.
A whistle pierced the sound of the silent night. Robin looked over to see a crewman clinging to a piece of floating wood, blowing the whistle and shouting, "Return the boats!"
"Look my fair maiden, we shall be rescued," Robin smiled, looking up to Marian, whose eyes were closed.
"Marian, no, look, just hold on a little longer, come on. Marian."
Begrudgingly she opened her eyes, a small smile on her clod blue lips. " Romeo and Juliet are not good role models for us."
"A-agreed, I s-s-swear I won't t-think you're dead and off myself," Robin tried to smile a boyish grin, but could only manage a half smile. It was getting harder and harder to breathe.
"You won't off yourself at all, Locksley," Marian whispered, leaning in to place her head next to Robin's.
"O-okay, I swear." Robin agreed, resting his head on the door, all that was left to do was to wait.
XOXO
"We're going back!" John growled, his frosty breathe eminent in the moonlight.
"But if we go back, we'll be swamped by all of the those people!" Peter, the other man, tried to reason with him, but his argument fell on deaf ears.
"Robin and Marian could be with them, and if not, there are so many people that we could save. I know this the smallest life boat out here, but we can still fit more people in here." Will spoke up, holding Djaq close to his chest for warmth.
"Yes well you don't get to make the decisions, Scarlett, I do," Gisbourne growled, showing his revolver as a reminder.
"Please, Guy, you are not a bad man, we need to go back, or at least to the other life boats, to see if we can help." Djaq pleaded, her voice weak from the cold.
"We shall take a vote." Gisbourne spat, putting his revolver into his coat pocket, knowing full well that the gun had never had any bullets in the first place.
"All in favour of going back?" John asked, raising his hand, along with Will, Allan, Much, and Djaq.
"Those against?" John smiled as Gisbourne groaned.
"Alright, turn bloody boat around, but we're going to the other boats, not the people."
Guy frowned, muttering under his breath about 'bloody Locksley and his bloody friends and their bloody, bloody-ness'.
They soon came towards the other lifeboats and pulled up next to them.
"Alright, everyone out and into these life boats, we'll use this one for survivors!" A crewmember said, ushering them out of the boats and into the one along side it.
Gisbourne jumped up and headed towards the intended boat, moving past the elderly women until found a place.
"Ah Gizzy, finally some entertainment around here, I was utterly board." Captain Vasey's cankerous voice made Gisbourne physically cringe.
"Alright, take this boat out!" The crewman yelled, pushing a few men into it.
"Check everyone!"
XOXO
"It's getting quiet," Marian whispered, the coldness gripped her painfully.
Robin looked up at her, "It's j-just going to take a little w-w-while to get the b-b-boats o-o-rgann-nised." It was getting hard to talk, with his teeth chattering and his body convulsing.
"I d-don't know about you, b-but I intend to w-write a strongly w-worded letter to the Light Star Line, a-about all this." Robin tired to attempt humour but Marian was to cold for it to even compute in her mind.
"Robin..." She looked up at him, "I love you."
"Don't you dare d-do that to me, don't you s-say you're goodbyes, n-not yet. You're n-not going to die here, you're g-going to get out of here, and y-you're gonna travel the w-world, t-though I wouldn't r-recommend b-by s-sea, a-and y-you're gonna h-have a b-big f-family with a d-dog. And y-you're gonna d-die years from now, when you're r-r-really old, a-and wrinkly," to this Marian laughed weakly.
"But not tonight, Marian, y-you're not g-going to die this night." Robin kept speaking even though it got harder with passing moment.
"Robin, I can't feel my body," she breathed, looking down at him.
"Getting my ticket on the Titanic was the best thing that ever happened to me," Robin told her strongly, reaching up to hold her. "I brought me back to you."
"You gotta be strong n-now Marian, d-don't g-give up, don't l-let go" He told her.
"I w-won't if you won't" She smiled, kissing his frozen hands, drawing a smile on his face. He suddenly felt some warmth in the midst of the ice capped Atlantic, and even if he did die on this night, at least he'd had the time to be reunited with his only love, and would die in the her arms.
Let me know what you think! :) Should I stick to the original and kill Robin?? :) hehe actually it's already written.... so .... guess you'll have to wait and see!