XXI
"There's been a change of plan."
Sarah's stomach lurched upon hearing this. Those were never the words one wanted to hear before one's lover embarked upon a risky mission. In fact, she had felt uneasy since the very moment Guy had mentioned the tunnel as a way into the castle, for although it was a good plan, there was no way to know if the tunnel had at some point been discovered by the current Sheriff and the men were going to end up walking into a trap.
"It's Allan, we can't take him with us – Isabella has pardoned him for services rendered." Guy sighed, no matter how often he thought it or said it, it still sounded wrong.
"What? That's ridiculous! What service could he have possibly done her? He's been here with us the whole time!" Sarah frowned at Guy; he couldn't believe it surely?
"I don't know Sarah; this isn't the first time… If I managed to get to him back then, then it's possible that she has managed to now." He was making a fair point but he didn't sound convinced.
"Where is he now?"
"Tied up in camp."
Sarah sighed. There it was again: the inability to forgive, in all its ugly glory. It seemed that Allan could never do enough to make up for what he'd done either: his time in Guy's service would always follow him.
"Guy no! You can't possibly allow this!"
He didn't answer, he only looked to the floor, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with the situation.
He and Allan had become good friends since Guy had moved to camp. It had been a shaky start and they had avoided each other for a while – Allan had run out on Guy and the Sheriff to return to the outlaws just before the disastrous final trip to the holy land – hardly a good foundation for a friendship but there was something about Allan that had brought the Master of Arms round…
He was just… incredibly… likeable…
Guy had quickly found that despite all that had passed between them he was glad that he was there with him in the forest…
…and then there were the smartarse comments that never failed to amuse him…
…or that cheeky grin that he often felt like slapping off his face…
…or the way he seemed to say either exactly the wrong thing at the wrong moment or exactly the right thing at the right moment…
…or that he was often too clever or too charming for his own good…
They were nothing alike, a strange duo to be sure, but circumstances had thrown them together and in the face of mistrust by the other outlaws, it seemed that they could only find solace in a friendship with each other.
This is what made it so difficult for Guy to stomach what had just occurred and why as Sarah continued to voice her surprise and displeasure at this turn of events he made a decision…
He pulled his lady close and silenced her with a kiss. As his lips then left hers, she looked up at him somewhat flustered but then as he gave her a meaningful look and slipped his dagger into her fingers she understood.
"Emma and I will look after him for you, I promise." she teased laughing softly.
Guy smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Just keep him out of trouble." He whispered. He sighed and then kissed her again and again until he finally heard the sound of footsteps behind him and Much coughed loudly to signal that it was time to go.
"Look I haven't done anythin' I swear!" Those were the first words from Allan as the sisters approached him. He looked at them wildly, a panicky expression on his face and was straining helplessly against the ropes that held him.
"We know." Sarah replied, striding directly to where he was tied up. He could see the dagger in her hand and for a split second began to hyperventilate, his mind not working properly, overcome with paranoia but then as she bent down to get a look at the ropes and began to slice through them he exhaled audibly. He couldn't begin to describe how relieved he felt.
"I can't believe they've done this to you!" Emma was shocked and angry to see him like this, that the others could doubt him was unfathomable to her. He suppressed a smile. That she believed him meant a lot to him.
He looked down to watch Sarah at work and it did not escape his notice whose dagger Sarah was using to free him and he couldn't help but feel touched to know that his friend had also believed him.
As soon as Sarah removed the last of the ropes, he began dusting himself down, only to be caught in a full-on bear hug from Emma. He staggered back a step, surprised and overwhelmed to be surrounded by her warmth before settling his arms around her. It didn't take long for his surprise to turn to happiness as he felt Emma nuzzle into him. It took him every ounce of willpower he had not to place his lips upon her hair before she came back down to earth and awkwardly broke the embrace. They both looked up to see that Sarah had turned slightly away from them with an amused smile on her lips.
"Thank you Sarah." Allan took a step towards her and was dragged into yet another hug, this time from the older sister. He chuckled. "They should tie me up more often, I could get used to this!"
"It would take a lot of men to build a tunnel…"
Sarah was sitting with her sister and Allan in camp, thinking aloud.
"Yeah, a lot of men would've known about it but Giz reckoned they were 'silenced' - whatever that means…" Allan grimaced. Sarah shuddered. It didn't bear thinking about.
"But surely whilst working on the tunnel they would've spoken about it to others… this is why I find it so hard to believe that nobody knows about it…" Sarah mused.
"There would've been guards involved an' all, to make sure nobody stumbles upon the project." Allan offered.
"And we all know how rubbish the guards are!" Emma added. All three began chuckling.
"And we all know what they do in their spare time…" Allan grinned broadly.
Sarah grinned back at him as it dawned on her. "Of course! Oh Allan, you're a genius!"