21. Dual
September 2, 2013
S2E01 - Sister Hood.
It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm... sorry, really.
Huge thanks to LadyKate for catching all my continuity mistakes and not giving up on me. And for turning me into one of those people who can't help but try to reconcile Guy's horrible behaviour with the image I have of him in my head.
Disclaimer: All characters and settings are still the property of Tiger Aspect and BBC. This fiction is written solely for entertainment purposes, and no copyright infringement is intended.
At times, Guy is certain that there are two of him.
They share the same head. Same eyes. Same nostrils. They see the same things, touch the same things, but it is not the same in the end, because there are two of him.
One is the rage. Black-red like blood that oozes from the broken corpse of trampled pride. It's the screams and snarls that grind their way past his lips when he slams the curved Saracen bow into Hood's gut. It's the black malice that curves his mouth when true terror touches the eyes of Hood's man for the first time.
And the other watches from the back. Mute. Motionless.
But it is master of his dreams, and at night, he smells the smoke, acrid and choking on his tongue, as Marian's house burns. At night, he sees her face, bright and upraised as she turns her back to him. One step. Two steps. And she is gone. Like the smoke that stings his eyes.
Smoke. Marian. At night, again and again, until he cannot see one without smelling the other. Marian and smoke. The other him stretches out the night until it lasts days, weeks—years.
And so Guy bares his teeth, and he swings the bow into Hood's body again.