Guy woke up when the sun was already high in the sky. When the memories of the siege came back to him, he thought that he would never be able to sleep again, but, instead, exhaustion graced him with a deep, dreamless slumber that gave him some reprieve from his painful memories.
He sat up, looking around, and was relieved to see the horse grazing the grass, a few paces from him. He didn't want to see people, but he feared being completely alone, so he was grateful that the horse didn't run away.
It was a worthless old nag, probably used to work in the fields or to drag a wagon to the market, his sides marked by lashes and his tail and mane tangled and dirty, but he had been there when Guy had needed to run away, and Guy felt grateful for that.
The knight got to his feet with some effort. He was sore, his whole body aching and stiff, and he was feeling cold and weak, but he made an effort to pick up his clothes and get dressed. They were still a little damp, but at least he had succeeded in washing away all the blood and the dirt.
He knew that he should eat something to keep his strength, but he was still feeling queasy, and he knew that he couldn't keep anything down, not if his mind kept remembering all that blood, and the stench of death…
The nose of the horse touched him, and Guy turned with a start, but the animal just wanted his attention, curious, and Guy scratched his muzzle for a while, then he began combing his mane with his fingers and he kept working until it was completely untangled.
Taking care of the horse was good, it took Guy's mind away from memories, and relaxed him a little and, when he finished, the knight was feeling a little calmer.
He realized that probably Marian and Matilda were worried for him, and he knew that he should go back, but he felt that he couldn't yet. He needed to be alone, to think about his recovered memories, and try to accept them somehow, to find a way to live with them.
"I'd have preferred to never remember..." He whispered to the horse, and the sound of his own voice made him feel uneasy.
He mounted, but this time he didn't incite the horse to gallop, putting him to a slow pace. He didn't want to stay in the same place where he had spent the night, but he wasn't going to run away like he had done the day before. He just wanted to wander in the forest and think.
At least, and this was a big consolation, he couldn't blame himself for the siege. For once, he had no faults at all and he could have done nothing to avoid it. And during the attack he had acted bravely, trying to defend the town, its inhabitants and, first of all, Marian.
He could be proud of himself, but it didn't really matter, he just would have preferred to be a spineless coward and never have to witness that slaughter.
He let the horse choose the path, and he let his mind go back to the day of the siege...
It was the dawn of a Thursday, and Guy was sleeping in his room at Locksley's Manor when he was awakened by somebody who was madly knocking at the main door of the manor.
He got up, annoyed and confused, swearing that if it wasn't a serious matter, he would personally flog the man who dared being a nuisance at such an early hour.
Guy was about to get dressed, when Allan burst into his room, followed by a disapproving Thornton.
"I told you that the master isn't up yet!"
"He will, as soon as I talk to him."
Guy frowned, and he nodded at the servant to say that he could go, then he turned to Allan.
"So, what's up?"
"You must come at the castle immediately! The Sheriff just arrested Marian! It's bad, Giz, he wants to hang her, I galloped here as fast as I could to warn you, you're the only one who can help her!"
Gisborne stared at him, appalled.
"What?! Why?!"
Allan hesitated, and Guy shook him.
"Talk!"
"He found out that she's the Nightwatchman..."
"What?! Are you out of your mind?!"
Allan glanced at him, in fear that Gisborne could hit him.
"It's true, Giz… She tried to steal that document, the one signed by the black knights… What was its name? The pact of Nottingham?"
Guy was shocked, but he looked askance at Allan.
"You don't seem surprised... You knew! You knew she was the Nightwatchman and you never told me!"
"If I did, you would hang her! I may be a traitor, but I don't want to murder my friends!"
Gisborne let Allan go, and he hurried to get dressed. He couldn't believe that Marian was the enemy who for years had baffled all his attempts to catch him… her, he corrected himself.
He realized suddenly that a year ago he had wounded the Nightwatchman, and that had to be the reason why Marian had been unwell before their failed wedding… It made sense, but Guy wasn't sure if he felt more angry, betrayed or heartbroken.
"Well, it doesn't matter now, because the sheriff will hang her!" Guy yelled, and Allan looked at him.
"Will you let him do it?! Giz, you claimed you love her, you can't let her die!"
"She doesn't love me." He said in a flat tone.
Guy thought that he should forget his feelings for her, but he found out that he couldn't.
Whatever she did, no matter how many times she would betray him or break his heart, he couldn't stop loving her and he couldn't allow the sheriff to kill her.
He grabbed his sword and ran out of the room, but he stopped on the threshold to look at Allan, who was staring at him in surprise.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry, let's go!"
When Guy and Allan arrived at the castle, they were shocked to see a body dangling from the gallows, and Guy thought with dread that he had arrived too late, that he couldn't save Marian. But then he gave a better look at the body, and he realized with relief that it was the body of a man.
He wondered who the poor man was, but he couldn't see his face because the corpse had a hood on his head.
He was trying to put some order in his thoughts and decide what he could do to protect Marian, when the sheriff appeared on the stairs, announced by the usual fanfare.
Guy's had the impression that his heart skipped a beat, because two guards were dragging out Marian, and the girl was desperately sobbing. Guy had never seen her weeping like that, and, when the sheriff began to talk, he understood the reason.
"People of Nottingham! As you know I'm always working to protect you from dangerous criminals, bloodthirsty murderers who could kill innocent people in their beds. Today I found out a conspiracy aiming to undermine the safety of the whole County, going against the will of the King himself. Those traitors plotted to steal important documents from my safe room to sell them to the enemies of England, endangering all of us! And the worst of it is that they were wolfs disguised as lambs, hiding between the good people of Nottingham! They took advantage of our good faith, and for this they deserve death! One of them already found his just punishment..."
Vaisey made a long dramatic pause, and he pulled away the hood from the dead body. The crowd gasped in horror, and Guy grabbed Allan's arm, in shock.
"It's Sir Edward! Marian's father!"
Guy now could understand why Marian was crying like that. The sheriff wouldn't have been content in just hanging her, he wanted to make her suffer as much as he could executing her father in front of her. The sobs of the girl wrenched Guy's heart, and he found himself hating the sheriff for that.
"What do we do, Giz?" Allan whispered, really worried, now.
"I can't let her die," he said, touching the hilt of his sword. "I'll claim my rights on her, I'll tell the sheriff that she's my wife to be and that I will keep her under control."
"It won't work, Giz. Not now that he knows about the Nightwatchman."
"I have to try. If he refuses, I'll fight the guards and I'll take her away. Take the horses and go to the portcullis, make sure that it stays open for us. Wait for me there and be ready to run."
Allan nodded and obeyed, leading the two horses out of the gate.
The sheriff grabbed Marian, dragging her to another noose and placing it around her neck, and Guy moved forward through the crowd, ready to stop him, but before he could talk, an arrow pierced the sheriff's heart, and Vaisey fell from the platform, crashing on the cobbled pavement at Guy's feet.
Guy stared at him, in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing: the sheriff was still, his eyes open, while a pool of blood under his body was getting larger and larger, almost touching Guy's boots.
The crowd began panicking, and soon the courtyard was full of people screaming and trying to run away in every direction, while the guards where searching for the killer, aimlessly.
Guy averted his eyes from the body, unable to force himself to touch it, and he ran on the platform of the gallows to reach Marian. The girl was standing there, in shock, unable to move.
Gisborne removed the rope from around her neck, and he held her in his arms. A guard tried to grab her, but Gisborne sent him away, with a menacing snarl.
"I'll take care of her now! Nobody dare to touch lady Marian!" He yelled at the soldiers, then he turned to the girl, softly. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
Marian let him hold her, too upset and shocked to refuse his hug. She hid her face against his chest, sobbing, and Gisborne caressed her back, but his hands were trembling and his heart was beating too fast.
Allan made is way through the crowd and he reached them, worried.
"Giz, we should get inside the castle, I don't know what happened, but people seem to have become crazy, they are trampling each other while trying to run..."
Guy helped him to climb on the platform. For now they were safe up there, but he agreed with Allan: a panicked crowd could be very dangerous and unpredictable.
He took Marian in his arms, and he ran to the door of the castle, closing it behind his back.
Only then, in the relative quiet of the hall, Guy fully realized what had just happened.
"The sheriff is dead..." He whispered, tightening his hold on Marian, as if her presence was the only thing that prevented him from swooning or being sick.
Allan stared at him, shocked. He had seed the commotion of the crowd, but he hadn't noticed the body of the sheriff, his eyes fixed on Guy and Marian and all his concentration needed to avoid the panicked people.
"What? How?!"
Guy leaned his back on the door, and he took a trembling breath, but before he could explain, someone knocked imperiously.
"Open the door, in name of Prince John!"