Here's Chapter 35! ^_^ Sorry about the late update... :/ I'm going to have to upload once a week now... school's getting CRAZY with finals and tests and studying... :P

Chapter 35

We rode to York as fast as possible. We wanted to get there and back in as short a timespan as we could. We were unaware whether Isabella would follow us. We knew she'd want all of us gone from the planet, but we could not be sure whether she'd follow us all the way to York if she did hunt us.

Robin and I spoke quite a bit during the ride. We strategized… as well as we could. All we knew about our current situation was that we were headed to York to free Archer, a man none of us would recognize. Our plan basically consisted of getting him out of York and onto our side. He had traveled the world and evidently knew much of weapons and fighting styles.

Guy would grumble and sigh loudly in annoyance as we talked. I didn't care; he was rude to me earlier… or was I rude? I could barely remember being mad at him, but I did remember that he reserved himself at the thought of the girl he was with. He was with her for whopping two days… congrats Guy; you really know how to win over a girl. I decided he would be the one to talk first. Not me, I was not in the wrong here. And I would stick by that.

During our quiet moments I was able to think about a lot. Nothing important, just remembering all the times I was with Guy and without him. I was with him more than I was without him, but every time I was without him, I was hurt or lost. I now had forearm guards covering the scar on my inner right arm. I had forgotten about it… Remembering it now made me frustrated; I felt no pain when it happened and was, more importantly, unconscious. Would someone have awakened at pain like that? Should someone have?

The roads became more busy and full of life. People walked along the side of the road carrying provisions and selling trinkets for money. We slowed the horses to a walk just as the huge walls of York got into sight. Nottingham looked like a peaceful village compared to this place. There were guards everywhere; in the pub, in the shops etc. I was dumbfounded and hadn't realized my mouth was slightly ajar.

"Close your mouth; we don't look familiar to anyone, no need to add that we aren't from around here either."

Guy rode up close to my right and whispered lowly. I shut my mouth and harrumphed. There's no way that we could be recognized as enemies of the state so far from home. Stories of Robin Hood have reached every corner of England. But the story of Sir Guy Of Gisbourne and his faithful lady friend had not. That I was sure.

"Would it not be more convenient for us to search for him on foot. We can't exactly ride our horses inside the buildings."

I knew I sounded snooty, but I didn't care. Guy gave me a look that read 'You're right… sadly.' We dismounted and tied our horses up behind a pub.

"Alright. Let's split up for a little bit and meet back here in the pub. Find out whatever you can about Archer. Good luck."

Robin took off towards the castle. Guy looked around and headed down towards the market without acknowledging me. I stuck my tongue out at him while his back was turned. Glancing around I concluded that the housing area would be a good place to start. He had a birthmark on his stomach… so if I saw any shirtless men, I'd be able to know.

None of them were shirtless, but a lot of them were down there. Many old and fat with a bit of rum stuck on their breath. Some were middle-aged. No older than Guy or Robin. And they scared me the most. They watched me walk by and some would holler at me. My daggers were clearly visible, so no one touched me, but that didn't stop the stares and calls.

I had given up on finding a friendly face to speak with and began to trek up the hill back towards the bar. Many of the men I had seen earlier were gathered up at the entrance against a wall.

They called to me again, closing the passageway. I stopped and placed my hands on my daggers when hands grabbed my wrists. The wrenched my arms behind me and drunkenly whispered into my ear.

"You're pretty. Those daggers are dangerous too. Wouldn't want you hurting yourself with them."

I struggled, but in vain. I was stuck with my arms behind me… I brought me legs into a stable stance and kicked a couple men in the most tender areas, much to my own pleasure. A huge fist to my abdomen was an attempt to stop that, and it worked for the most part. I could feel myself being dragged back into the residence district. I dug my heels into the ground and tried to wriggle myself free from the man's grip. The sound of a sword being unsheathed caught everyone's attention; everything stopped moving.

Guy stood at the top of the hill with his sword resting on his shoulder. He looked madder than I'd ever seen him. I was relieved to see him and wriggled again, trying to see if the man's grip loosened. Sadly it didn't, but I was able to bring my head back with enough momentum to break his nose.

He screamed and held his face. I smiled and attempted to sprint up to Guy when more hands grabbed me.

"Eh! What's your problem? Go on! Get a move on before we make you!"

I wanted to look at the person speaking, but he was behind me. Was he an idiot? Guy had a sword and they were unarmed from what I could tell.

"Let her go and everything will be fine."

"What's she to you?! She was walking around here by herself a lost and dangerous; we had to take care of her before she hurt someone."

He obviously didn't know that we were together. I immediately rephrased my thought. We weren't together, together. He was my friend…

"Let her go. Now."

Whoever was holding me let his grip go a little. Not much, but enough for me to wrench out of his grip and turn to punch him in the face. It felt great. I'd never been in much of a fistfight before, so the adrenaline rush was amazing. I'd successfully knocked two guys onto the ground in pain. Of course this wasn't much of a fistfight anyway. After that huge men surrounded me. Guy was by my side in less than a second, somehow slipping past the few men directly in front of him. My daggers were in my hands in a flash. We stood back to back, armed and ready to fight.

The group of men stood with their hands in the air, slowly backing up. A few had to slip by us to get to the others. I watched them with a level gaze. The turned and picked up the two hurt men and ran into the alley. I stood up straight sheathing my daggers. I would, of course, have to thank Guy for his help… but I wasn't sure I wanted to.

I turned to him only to see his retreating figure. He walked slowly up the hill, not looking at me. I sprinted up to him and kept pace.

"Thanks, Guy… for, umm, saving me…"

Did he really save me? I guess he did in his own way. He distracted them long enough for me to head-butt the fat man in the face.

"What were you doing down there? I could have told you that there was no one with information down there."

"How the heck was I supposed to know that?! No one tells me anything or warns me!"

"Well, you'll know better from now on. Come on, we were supposed to meet Robin in the Pub by now."

I grumbled and crossed my arms, looking around me. The buildings were tall too. Like the walls they kind of loomed over the street. The pub was the only single-story building I'd seen in this whole place. It smelt bad and was nearly empty.

Robin stood against a far wall looking irked and impatient. The men in the pub minded their own business, even when the guards walked in.

"Where on this good Earth have you been?"

"I got lost and was… delayed. Guy found me and showed me the way back."

I really didn't feel like having anyone overanalyze the previous situation; they'd assume way too much. Robin nodded and told us about what he had heard. Archer was in the dungeons for being… 'flamboyant'. The only way for us to get him out of there would be to get in there ourselves. I immediately shot down the idea for myself, even though they hadn't said anything.

Neither of them trusted each other, but they each trusted me, I hoped. Robin finally agreed to go when he threw a cup at the back of a guard's head. Guy had this stupid cocky grin on his face. To get back at him and give him a reason to trust Robin, I pointed at him as he walked away. Shock covered my face and my hand came to my mouth. I had to convince the guards too. It obviously didn't take much because they arrested him right there.

Guy struggled and shouted but to no avail; they weren't going to let him go. Robin playfully waved at him, smiling. I slapped his hand lightly and we snuck out the back door, planning our attempt at breaking two men out of the dungeons. Whoo-hoo.

Yup. There it is. XD Leave a review or comment! ^_^