We are so nearing the end of this tale...i thank you to anyone who sticks this out to the end...you will not be disappointed....i hope please read review and enjoy this

Chapter Twenty-One: Till the Day I Die

Once the trio had reached Nottingham they found that everything was as it should be. They found all the residents of Nottingham looking anxiously up at Will's smiling face. He was giving his first speech as a sheriff while Djaq watched happily by his side. The Will stopped when he caught sight of Robin, John, and Marian.

"Let it be known," said Will in a loud resonating voice, "that you have one man to thank for all the good he has done in the past two years. Robin of Locksley!" He extended his hand to Robin and bent his head to the man who had been his leader for two long years. Then all the people in the streets turned to Robin and he smiled at him, still holding Marian tightly in his arms. "Robin!" Will called down in a voice of joy. "I have something to tell you, it is very important, and I can think of no better time to do it than this moment."

"What is it?" Robin anxiously waited for Will's reply.

"Your titles are to be reinstated. You are no longer an outlaw Robin; you will become a recognized member of society, a lord once more." Will then left his position at the window and grabbed Djaq's hand. He appeared some time later walking down the steps of the entrance to the castle. He held a sword in one hand, and Djaq's hand in his other hand. The crowd parted as he made his way to Robin's side.

Will let go of Djaq's hand and held out his sword to Robin. "Kneel, Robin."

Robin hesitantly looked around at the throng of people smiling at him. John shrugged at him. He was absolutely sure of one thing at that moment; he did not want the title back. After living in nature for two years, seeing the way the rich abused their power, he could not rejoin that community.

He knew that Will, God bless him, would try to do all he could for the people of Nottingham and the other villages around Nottingham. But there would always be poor people who would have less than the wealthy. There would always be crooks and thieves in the world in which he lived. Someone should make sure that everything was in line. Will could do it, Robin knew, but Will would no longer be around the poor to understand what they suffered. Of course Will knew what they suffered, but…Robin did not want to go back to being lord of the manor.

Then he felt Marian in his arms. Her head was lightly resting on his shoulder. She was the most important thing that mattered anymore. So the hero swallowed and took a deep breath. He knelt down, still holding Marian, and bent his head.

He did not fully listen to Will's voice or the words he spoke. The first word Robin listened to was, "Arise, Sir Robin of Locksley and Earl of Huntington." Robin carefully rose to his feet and smiled briefly.

Through this entire ordeal Marian did not say a word. She was secretly hoping that Robin would deny the title. She did not want to go back to living as a lady in a castle. Castles filled with servants and tapestries were not home to her any longer. Marian had hoped that they would live in the forest once they were married. But she supposed that Robin would want her safely in a castle where he could keep an eye on her.

A smile crept to Marian's face at the thought of Robin wanted to protect her. The same smile that in Robin's mind, was mistaken for happiness at the thought of living in a castle. Robin then turned to Will. "Thank you my friend, now I have favor to ask of you."

"Name it."

"Will you marry us today, preferably right now?"

Will smiled. "Anything for the earl." Then he motioned for Robin, and John to follow him into the castle.

Djaq seemed to snap into action. "If you two are going to be married today then we will have to prepare quickly. I'll take Marian from you, you should not see the bride before the wedding."

Robin grudgingly gave Marian to Djaq and Djaq slowly set Marian down on her feet. The gang found that Marian could manage to walk pretty well enough on her own, but she slipped a few times. Robin caught her before she fell to the floor but Djaq's face made Robin back away until the wedding.

Will led Robin and John off to the right while Djaq and Marian went to the left. Will clasped his hand on Robin's shoulder. "There's a special guest I'd like to introduce to you." Will led the two former outlaws into the Great Hall. There they found Much dressed in regal clothes sitting in the former sheriff's seat. Much, upon seeing his friends, leapt to his feet. "It is about time the two of you showed up."

Will held his hand out to Much. "Meet the Earl of Bonchurch."

Robin hugged Much. He whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry I never did this for you when I had the chance."

Much released him with a shrug. "At least we are both nobles now. That is good enough for me. I heard you were getting married today."

Robin raised his eyebrow and turned to Will.

"Thin walls," Will explained.

Through this conversation John remained silently in contemplation. It wasn't really contemplation; it was more of a newly awakened longing for his wife and son. If only…

Robin saw the distress in his friend's eyes. He turned to Will and motioned that the two of them needed to speak privately. They excused themselves and walked out of the room. Once out of the room Robin began his question.

"Do you think it would be at all possible to do another favor?"

"Robin, come of it, just tell me."

"Would it be possible, now that you have this new position, to start an investigation?" Robin asked.

"Who are we trying to find Robin?" Will crossed his arms.

"Alice Little and John Little."

Will stepped back. "Robin, it might not be so easy to find her. I could send a troop to seek out the neighboring counties for her."

"Then do so." Robin started walking back to the great hall but Will stopped him.

"But what if she does not want him Robin? How would do you think he would feel if she rejected him again?"

Robin smiled giddily. "That's why we won't tell him until we are positive that she returns."

Once this secret plan was set Robin went back into the great hall and Will went into his war room to consult with his soldiers about finding two missing persons.

"Where is Will?" asked Much.

Robin shrugged. "Stately matters to attend to."

John and Much believed Robin's answer and dismissed it as unimportant. They busied themselves with readying the great hall for the moment Marian and Djaq would arrive. Robin could not stop smiling as he pictured Marian, beautifully dressed in traditional white, gliding down the isle, gliding down to him.

John noticed his friend's dreamy gaze and sighed. It was not that John did not wish Robin to be happy now that everything was over. But he envied Robin; as he envied Will, and even Much in understand their place in life. John was not a dreamer like Robin, nor was he cut out to be a statesman like Will, neither was he to be a happy lord like Much.

Meanwhile as Djaq helped Marian prepare for the wedding, Marian pondered her future life with Robin. She smiled through the entire daydream until they reached Robin's castle. A groan escaped Marian's mouth, which Djaq distinctly heard.

"What's wrong?" She paused while brushing Marian's hair and turned to face her friend.

"Nothing."

"Come on Marian, you can tell me."

"Are you happy here with Will, living in this castle?" Marian asked nervously.

Djaq smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I love living with Will, and I do not mind our new accommodations. That is not what you really wanted to ask me was it?"

"No. It is just, I want to live in the forest with Robin once we are married but I fear to tell him this because of my recent, misadventures in the forest. I do not want him to constantly worry about my well being while we live in the forest, but to tell you the truth, I am through with living with stonewalls. There is so much freedom in the forest. But it would worry Robin I am sure of it."

"That's love for you," pointed out Djaq. "But it is not right to keep secrets from your future spouse, especially when it concerns your living arrangements. So I'm calling off the tradition of not seeing the bride before the wedding, and I give you leave to find him and tell him the truth."

Marian took a deep breath and slowly stood up. She did not shake so much anymore and Djaq had wrapped up all the remaining cuts and bruises Marian had sustained. She slowly made her way out of the room to find Robin.

Meanwhile, Robin stole off from his friends to find Marian. He did not like the idea of not seeing Marian before the wedding.

I love her too much to part from her for this long.

As it happened Robin and Marian soon bumped into each other. They both laughed nervously at the other at their shared foolishness. "I have to tell you something," Marian said calmly looking into Robin's loving eyes.

"What?" He could not stop smiling at her.

"I do not want to live at Locksley once we are married." Her words came out quickly but Robin caught their meaning clearly as if she had spoken the words slowly. He began to laugh.

"Why are you laughing at me?" she asked.

"Because I feel the same way," he said. "I do not want to leave the forest. There is so much I still, well, we, still need to do in the forest. England still needs us to protect her from any future sheriff Vasieys.

She took his face in her hands and kissed him on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," he replied.

They realized that music was coming from the great hall. The wedding was about to begin. Robin quickly kissed Marian one last time and ran into the great hall to stand next beside Much as his best man. When Robin entered he found Will at the front smiling broadly. Much was standing on the side giving Robin the thumbs up. John surprisingly was playing the lute, which Robin had heard earlier. Another day Robin would have commented on John's surprising musical talent. But today, this moment, Robin had no words as he stared with awe and love at the girl he loved who walked down the isle. Djaq walked beside her, ready to help if Marian had all seemed to fall, but Marian carried herself with pride as she concentrated on getting closer to the man she loved.

When she reached Robin's side Will began to speak. "We are gathered here, on this day, to witness the union of Robin of Locksley, and Lady Marian. You might question why I find myself up at this post instead of a preacher or a priest. But it is us, the gang, who know Robin and Marian well enough to truly marry them. No other man, nor group, could do them justice. I have known Robin for many years, I have fought by his side and I am truly a better man to know him. And he is a better man because Marian is by his side. She is everything to him, as he is to her. Now the two of you may exchange vows."

Robin clasped Marian's hand. "Marian, there are so many words for how I feel towards you. Yet none of them can explain clearly the love I feel for you. You complete my soul and you are my essence. I will love you with my entire heart for all the days of my life."

Marian looked up into Robin's beautiful eyes. "Robin, you are my strength when I need someone to lean on. Yet you are also my greatest weakness, and I am thankful each time that I fall into your loving arms. I want to spend my entire lifetime by your side only. We have been through so much together and I could not imagine another man who I would ever want to be with as much as I want to be with as much as I want to be with you."

Once they had exchanged vows Will let them exchange rings. Then once Robin slipped his ring onto Marian's finger, and she slipped her ring onto his finger, Will spoke again, "I cannot see any reason why these two should not be together but if there is any reason why these two should not be together speak now or forever hold your peace."

Suddenly a loud cry echoed from the back of the great hall. "Stop the wedding!"

OMG who was that??? will John ever be reunited with Alice??? will Robin and Marian ever tie the knot?? will Allan ever come back from his assignment?? and where did john learn how to play the lute?? find out and keep reading i love you all so much