Chapter 14 – Blood and Tears

With the beginning of spring came the April showers and the floods. The camp was set on a slope, and the nearby river had overflowed, leaving us virtually stranded. It was almost like the camp was a fort and a new moat had just washed its way in. It was driving me to distraction being stuck out here in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, so I took the first opportunity I could get when the rain subsided to visit Marian. She seemed to be the only person who I could talk freely and openly with.

Sitting on the lawn, with Marion's house gracing the back-drop in the distance, I was struggling to keep it all inside. All that Marian talked of was Robin, and instead of listening, I had now begun to think of Philip. As I dragged myself out if my thoughts I turned towards Marian and caught her staring at me. She smiled knowingly and I looked away again.

"Who is he?" she queried.

"What?" I tried to act as inconspicuous as possible, but I knew that she would probably see through my attempts. I sighed and considered giving in. What harm was there in telling Marian. I loved her as a sister. Surely that gave her the right to know? But then, surely that gave Robin the same right to know? No. Robin was different. Marian was my friend.

"Alright," I sighed again, "If I tell you, then you must promise never to speak of it to anyone else again!" I watched Marian closely as she nodded her promise without hesitation. "When I was living in France, I met the King's son, Philip o-"

"Cognac!" Marion Finished for me. She now sat up straight, with her hand covering her mouth to hide her shock, but there was that glint in her eye, that sparkle of intrigue which can only be associated with the occasion of a young woman receiving exciting news.

When I left Marian's house it felt like I had lost half of my body weight. My shoulders felt so light, and I was relieved to finally have someone to talk to who understood somewhat. As I walked back I felt the knot in my stomach tighten as I thought about Philip. I couldn't understand how I had lived all of these months without him in my life. Then I became conscious of the fact that I had not really been living. Although I had found some sort of happiness with the gang, it had lost that exhilaration. I never actually felt empowered or strong any more. Nothing felt real to me.

I was so deeply rooted in my thoughts that I had not noticed that the rain had stopped completely and the sun had made an appearance. I also had not noticed that I was being followed. I stopped to fix my shoe, lifting my foot onto a boulder to examine the blister on the back of my ankle when gruff hands grabbed my hands from behind and I was shoved roughly against a tree.

Gisbourne's hands held my shoulders tightly, preventing me from moving away from the tree. He smiled at me as if he knew something that I did not and I shock with fear. All that I could think of was his hands on my shoulders. I could almost feel the evil surging through his finger tips and even though I knew I had to get away from him I found that I couldn't move.

"Your time is up. Yes or no?" He whispered.

"What?" I whimpered.

At that he laughed maliciously. I knew exactly what he meant after a few seconds, but I didn't know what to say or do now. He had me cornered. He sighed and looked at me with pleading eyes, as if implying that it was my fault. Then I screamed. I screamed louder than I ever had in my life. I knew that the camp was miles away, but there was a road nearby. Someone had to hear me, they just had to. My scream had taken him by surprise so I took advantage of his distracted state and kneed him in the groin and ran. In seconds he grabbed my waist and turned me around to face him. For almost a minute we stood there in silence, barely inches from each other, breathing deeply. I forced myself to look into the cold grey eyes even though they were tearing apart my emotions.

'Help'. The thought flew through my mind as the sound of horses travelling along the road met our ears. I opened my mouth to scream again but the sound never came out. His fist collided with my nose and I was sent reeling backwards. I landed on my back and after a few seconds I rolled over and raised myself onto my hands and knees, waiting for the next attack but it never came. I raised my head a little and lifted my hands from the ground. As straightened myself up, the sight that met my eyes made me fall back down onto my knees.

I knew it was him. I had never seen him before in my life, but somehow I knew it was him. I saw the coat of arms on his tunic, and the gold crown that sat atop his helmet. From my level I saw his feet land on the ground as he dismounted his horse and slowly made his way towards where I was. It was only then that I realised Gisbourne was beside me in exactly the same position. He stopped a foot from us and my heart raced. My little scrap in the forest with Gisbourne could potentially be the death of me.

Then he spoke, and it was exactly as I had imagined his voice to sound. It was rich, full of rich French wine and warm cosy fires. It took me a few seconds to register that he was talking to Gisbourne. "Your name, My Lord?" Upon reflection, his words were cold and unfeeling but at the time I wasn't paying much attention.

I smiled to myself as I heard Gisbourne's strong bark, "Guy of Gisbourne, your Highness." Even though Gisbourne sounded confident and every bit the baron, I sensed a little fear. I suspected that this was the first time he had ever seen the King of England as well.

"And yours, child?" He spoke again but this time, he was talking to me. At first I was confused. What answer should I give? Then I realised he was waiting for my answer.

"Ruby," I stuttered.

"Just Ruby?" He questioned and I marvelled at it. It sounded as though he was implying that he knew me, but I had never met the king before.

"F-formerly Lady Ruby of Locksley, My Lord." I had said the words before I even knew that my lips had parted. I don't know what made me say it, but at the time I thought that perhaps that was the answer that he was looking for.

"Ah," he said lightly as his gloved and rested under my chin and he gently pulled me to my feet. I met his brown eyes as the sun disappeared behind a cloud. "I would know those features anywhere!" he cried. "Tell me, where might I find your dear brother?" I needed to stop and think all of this through but I didn't get the chance.

At that moment, Gisbourne blurted out "They are outlaws My Lord, all of them!"

The king's eyes switched to Gisbourne who was still kneeling on the ground. "Stand!" He barked, and I could hear the authority in his tone. Gisbourne aimlessly got to his feet and stood before the king. Despite being slightly taller than the king, he still cowered under his gaze. They stared at each other for a few seconds and then Gisbourne shot me a glance of pure hatred. The king shifted so that I was in his line of vision and watched as I backed away slightly. The look that Gisbourne had sent my way had replaced my wonder and splendour that had come from seeing the king with fear.

The king glanced at me quickly before looking back to Gisbourne. "You would dare raise your hand to a Lady?" How much of our fight had he witnessed? I raised my hand to my nose, finally letting the pain of the punch register in my mind. I was startled when I pulled my hand away and found blood on my finger-tips. Blood was gushing from my nose. Then I was drawn back to the argument that ensued between the king and Gisbourne.

"Do your responsibilities mean nothing to you? Have you been taught nothing? As you are in a position of authority, you have the responsibility to earn the respect of the people that you govern, but instead I find you mistreating my subjects, and flouting your responsibilities!" The king looked as if he were a caged lion, about to break through the iron bars holding him captive.

"My lord-" Gisbourne began, but he was interrupted by the loud bellowing of my name through the trees.

"RUBY!"

"RUBY WHERE ARE YOU?"

The gang were ambling through the trees in search of me. They had heard my screams for help after all. Robin was the first to dart into the clearing, and he stopped dead as he laid eyes upon his king. The others soon caught up with him and mimicked his actions as they realised what was happening. The king shook his head, and chuckling to himself said, "Get up boy. You no longer bow to me. You deserve to have me bow to you."

Robin looked up at his old friend and smiled. "No, My Lord; I would never have it that way."

Robin stood and motioned for the others to do so. The king then moved forward and embraced Robin and the two men laughed heartily, but I turned my attention to Gisbourne, who took the opportunity of the distracted attentions to growl at me. The noise averted Robin and he immediately caught sight of me, cowering at the edge of the clearing.

He was cupping my face gingerly in his hands within seconds, staring at my bloody nose. Gisbourne snarled again, and only then did Robin notice him. He glanced at him, and then turned back to me, as his blood boiled.

"Did he do this to you?" Robin had tried to sound calm and reassuring, but I knew he was seconds away from tearing Gisbourne apart. There was nothing else I could do, so I nodded my head slowly. Before I could bring my head back up a second time, Robin had launched himself at Gisbourne, but Will had thrown himself between the two men. Gisbourne was off, running through the trees and was soon out of sight. Robin struggled against Will's hold, but Allan moved and took his other arm, rendering him helpless.

"Robin, he's not worth it!" Cried Will.

Robin seemed to contemplate Will's remark for a few seconds, and I relaxed a little. Then suddenly Robin was shaking Will and Allan off, and he roared at the top of his voice, "I WILL KILL YOU GISBOURNE!" I moved slowly around the edge of the clearing, so that I could see his face, and swiftly I was cowering behind a tree, tears cascading down my cheeks. The look on his face, the glare in his eyes. . . I felt myself shaking as I listened to Will and Allan trying to calm him down.

"Your friend is right. Men like Gisbourne are not worth the trouble of a man as noble hearted as you!" It was the king who had spoken. I turned around, keeping to my hiding place, so that I was able to see the clearing. The king was now stood in front of Robin, a hand placed gently on his shoulder.

All of a sudden Robin was shouting again. "Then what is? What trouble is this noble heart worth?" His sarcastic tone ricocheted through the trees.

I watched as Richard nodded towards me. Robin turned abruptly, and his features immediately softened. He walked briskly towards me, and went to grab my hand, but I pulled away. He sighed lightly and took a step back.

"Ruby? Give me your hand? Oh, Ruby just look at me please?" he pleaded.

Slowly, I trained my gaze on his face, and he smiled gently. "I would NEVER hurt you, do you understand me?" He looked like he was about to cry as he uttered his solemn promise. I crashed into him, staining his shirt with blood and tears.