"No, oh no, Guy" Marian whispered. "No!" she screamed and collapsed, Philip nearly failing to catch her. When she awoke, she lay in her bed, a maidservant sitting on a chair nearby. As soon as she saw that Marian had woken up, she hurried to fetch Philip. Marian got up, her legs still unsteady. "I knew what he was going to do," Philip said sadly, moist in his eyes. "He is like a son to me, but I could not convince him to stay here." "I have to follow him," Marian said. "Perhaps, if I…" "No, you can't," Philip replied firmly. "You have to think of your daughter. What if something happens to you? What if the king decides that you are as guilty as Guy and sentences you to death, too? Do you want your daughter to be an orphan? No, you have to stay here, as hard as it is, until everything is over, just as Guy wrote." Then he took Marian in his arms and she laid her head on his shoulder and wept until there were no more tears left.

Much hadn't seen Robin this depressed since the day Marian and Gisborne had married. After that day, everything had changed. A few days after the marriage, the couple and Edward, the former Sheriff, had disappeared, and many people believed them to be dead. Robin, however, did not; he had spoken to Thornton and knew that Gisborne had been attacked and that Edward, Marian and Gisborne had fled the very night.

Nearly two years had passed, years in which they had relieved the Sheriff of much money, but hadn't managed to change much. They had given the money to the poor, but gradually the Sheriff had changed routes and Robin had realised that everything was much more difficult without a spy within the system. Every time a transport was attacked and money was stolen, the Sheriff raised the taxes and many people had even turned against Robin. It was as if it was all a game to the Sheriff.

Then rumours of the king's return had spread all over the country, rumours at first, but then verified by the court. Robin had been glad for the first time in months, but then everything had turned out to become worse than he had imagined. Somehow, Prince John had convinced his brother that the Sheriff of Nottingham was amongst his most faithful followers, having tried everything to raise as many taxes for the king as possible. Somehow, he had also succeeded in convincing him that Robin of Locksley had gone mad after his return from the Holy Land and had turned against his own people. Robin would not get any opportunity to tell the king about Vaysey's treason. And it was even worse. The king's journey through his country had been a marvellous success; peasants, nobles and knights had cheered for him. Everywhere he had rewarded his vassals, and now one of King Richards's daughters would be married to the Sheriff of Nottingham. The mere thought of an innocent girl in the claws of such a monster made Robin sick. Robin didn't doubt that the Sheriff would use the festivities to assault the king and that the girl would probably die, too. The Sheriff did not care for women.

Nottingham castle was guarded and everyone who wanted to enter was searched. There was no possibility for Robin and his men to get into the castle and to warn or to protect the king: The Sheriff had won.

When Guy had left early in the morning, he knew that this was the last time he had seen his wife and daughter and it had nearly torn him apart. After the latest rumours about King Richard's journey to England, he had made up his mind. Not, that he favoured the king now, he still detested him, but he knew that he had to pay for his sins. Marian's love had given him nearly two years he had never thought he'd experience. Guy hoped that she wouldn't hate him for what he was forced to do; in the long run she would understand. Guy stopped his horse at the road leading to Nottingham and waited. When he saw the dust from he horses' hooves and the carriages' wheels in the distance, he rose and walked to the middle of the road and drew his sword and laid it in front of him. The equestrians came nearer and nearer, the hooves thundering. Guy knelt down.

The king rode ahead as always. He'd never been one to hide in the middle of his knights. What was this? A single knight was kneeling in the middle of the road. The king raised his hand and halted as did his men. He frowned and looked down at the black-haired man in front of him. "Who are you and what do you want?" he asked, neither his facial expression nor his tone very friendly. "Rise!"

Guy rose and looked at the king. The king's gaze scrutinised him. The knight was pale but certainly not intimidated.

"I'm Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff of Nottingham's former lieutenant, and I've come to warn you, Your Majesty. An assassination will take place at Nottingham Castle. The Sheriff is planning to kill you," Guy answered

"An assassination?" the king laughed and his knights joined in. "The Sheriff? What nonsense is this?" Then he narrowed his eyes. "Why should I believe you?"

"Do you remember the attack in Acre in the Holy Land by the Saracens?"

The king nodded. "Go on!" he said, his voice deceivingly calm.

"These were no Saracens. It was an attack, planned by the Sheriff."

"How would i you /i know?" the king snarled.

"I was the man who attacked you in the tent," Guy said. The king's men gasped and the king froze. After several moments, he regained his composure. "I still do not believe you, but I would be a fool not to consider the possibility. – Bind him! We will take him with us."