Sir Guy of Gisburne was furious. Not only had one of his most trusted men ignored a direct order, but in doing so, Lady Alyss had broken the agreement and risked both herself and Guy's horse in Sherwood Forest. Never had he felt so angry towards one of his own men, and yet even now he could not bring himself to punish Osric further. The man had already suffered a month of night patrols, and Gisburne did not want to risk losing such a skilled soldier for even this transgression. After all, it was likely that Osric had felt sorry for Alyss, and Guy could not blame him entirely for admitting the truth.

He was most angry with Lady Alyss though. The woman had not only broken the agreement which kept her ancestral home safe, but had also stolen his horse and consorted with those cursed wolfs heads. These were all crimes on their own, but to have committed three in such short succession… She would need to be punished for her actions, but he knew he could not see her killed. Even the dungeons were too harsh for her, in his opinion, though he was seriously considering it. As the snow returned, he cursed under his breath, and urged Fury back towards Nottingham. His clothes were already damp, and the cold was seeping through to his bones, so that all he could think of was a warm fire and dry clothing. Making sure that the two riders were behind him, he held his tongue and hoped that it would not be much longer before they reached Nottingham.

He did not speak to Osric or Alyss as they reached the courtyard of Nottingham Castle. Instead the servants suffered the brunt of his temper as he yelled orders to them. The knight would deal with Osric in the morning, and Alyss… Well, he needed time to consider her punishment. He knew he should inform De Rainault and have Nettleworth Manor seized, but even Gisburne was not sure that this was the right thing to do when a man was dying. He was a little glad that the Sheriff was still at St Mary's Abbey, for he did not need to know exactly what had happened just yet, and that gave the knight time to think. Alyss did need punishing though, for she needed to understand that she could not simply break the agreement at will. He could certainly understand why she had tried to run, but not why she had been so foolish as to run into the depths of Sherwood Forest alone.

"Alyss!" The anguished cry of Osric made Gisburne halt in his tracks, and he turned to find the soldier cradling Alyss' limp form. Guy's anger quickly turned to concern as he hurried back to the pair, wondering just what had happened.

"She's… She's wounded…" Osric stuttered as he held up a bloody hand in the torchlight. Guy took a closer look at the woman's dress, and cursed as he spotted the large stain on the fabric.

"Run ahead and fetch the physician." Guy instructed as he took the injured woman in his arms. "Did she not say anything earlier?"

"Only about her ankle my lord, nothing else."

"Curse those wolfs heads." The knight spat, before hurrying inside.

He wasted no time in reaching Alyss' chamber, and he set her on the bed before undoing her cloak. A dark red stain surrounded a tear in the bodice of her dress, and Gisburne quickly recognised the signs of a knife wound. Praying that the blade had missed her organs, he pressed a piece of cloth to it and tried to stem the flow of blood. A servant built the fire back up and lit more candles, before being sent away when Osric appeared. The soldier looked worried, and then shook his head as he came in with a jug of water and a basket containing bandages, herbs and other medical supplies.

"Where is he?" Gisburne barked, looking past the soldier to find no one else waiting.

"Unavailable." Osric uttered as he caught his breath. "Ill, apparently."

"Damn it!" Gisburne swore. He had hoped that the physician would tend to Alyss and then be paid to keep silent, but with him unavailable, there was only one option left. As unhappy as he was about it, he could not simply let Alyss die on his watch. His heart would not allow it.

"My lord?" Osric prompted as he set everything out on the chest at the end of the bed.

"I'll need you to hold her down. Shut the door."

"You're going to do it?" The soldier was surprised.

"We have no choice." The knight said grimly as he drew his knife and cut away the fabric surrounding the wound. Osric closed the door and then hurried to the head of the bed, before taking hold of Alyss' hand. The noblewoman groaned softly, though she was still unconscious, and for that both men were grateful.

"You know what you are doing?" Under normal circumstances, Guy would have yelled at a man who dared to question his actions, but he knew that Osric was just as concerned for Alyss' wellbeing as he was.

"I've seen it done many times." Gisburne explained as he held his knife over a candle. He steeled himself as he knew that this was not going to be a pleasant experience for any of them, and tried to steady his cold hands. The blade was soon hot, and he took a deep breath before placing the flat of it against the wound. Alyss cried out in pain and struggled against Osric, while the smell of burning flesh filled the air. With the wound cauterised and the bleeding stopped, Guy placed the knife on the chest before turning to leave, unable to stay there a moment longer.

"Stay with her. If anything changes, I am to know immediately." He instructed, while Alyss fell back into the covers, a thin sheen of sweat clinging to her forehead. Osric nodded, and Gisburne hurried to his own chamber, desperately trying to ignore the memories of his own flesh burning after failing to kill Hood under King Richard's orders.

Here he poured himself a large goblet of wine and downed it, before changing into clean clothes and focusing on the next day's events. Thankfully the snow would prevent many visitor to the castle, and the Sheriff was not sue to return for at least another week. With any luck, the snow would continue to fall, and De Rainault would be stranded at the Abbey for Christmas too. He sighed then as he sank into the chair by the fire. He did need to figure out what to do about Alyss, and that was if she survived. He knew how dangerous stab wounds could be, for he had seen many a man die from them, and he wondered what he would do if she did die while in his care. He had promised himself after last week that he would not let her suffer unnecessarily, and yet now she had been grievously wounded because he had failed to stop her from running. She had gone into Sherwood in search of her father, and it may have been the last thing she had ever done… He shook his head. He could not allow himself to think her lost completely while she still breathed.

If she did survive, which he hoped she would, then he needed to work out what to do. Could he tell the Sheriff of her actions and have the Manor taken? No. He knew that De Rainault was callous enough to turf out the nobles in the depths of winter, and that would mean neither of the Nettleworths would survive. He could not imagine Lady Alyss begging on the street, and he half wondered if she would turn outlaw, before deciding that she did not have the countenance for it. Perhaps she would marry a peasant and find happiness as a wife, perhaps to a farmer or a merchant, but Guy knew that she deserved so much better. He had learned so much about Alyss and women in general just by her being present at the castle, and he knew that he himself had improved by being around her. After all, accompanying a noblewoman required far different skills than those required of a steward and a soldier. He could be chivalrous when the occasion called for it, but the unfortunate truth was that he spent most of his days surrounded by soldiers or being berated by the Sheriff. Any noblewomen who had visited Nottingham Castle were usually accompanied by their husbands or fathers, and Gisburne had not spent much time with them at all. Yet Alyss had brought out a different side of him. He had sensed it before she had been kept locked away for a month, and he had felt it slip during that time. He rarely smiled unless he was with her, and he had found himself wanting to make her smile more often. He had enjoyed their walks, and he was comfortable talking to her about things he could not mention to anyone else. It seemed she hated the Sheriff as much as he did, and he had wondered if they held more in common than that and a love for horses. He loved seeing the way her eyes lit up whenever they visited the aviary, and she was always kind towards anyone she met. Truly she was an unusual lady, but he had no doubt that she would make a fine wife.

He was still musing over what to do for the best a few hours later when Edmund appeared in the door, and he too looked worried.

"My lord, I…" Edmund began, before sighing. "I am afraid it is not good news."

"Alyss?"

"She has a fever." Knowing just how deadly those could be on their own, Gisburne offered a silent prayed before getting to his feet and following Edmund to Alyss' room.

The young lady lay in the sheets, her skin as pale as the snow outside, and her breathing was ragged. Sweat clung to her forehead while Osric looked incredibly concerned. Guy sighed deeply as he felt her forehead and gently brushed a curl away, letting his hand linger just a little too long. The wound was dangerous enough for her, as she had already been weakened, but to have a fever as well… Knowing that he would not be able to rest until the morning, he dismissed Osric and Edmund before sitting beside the bed.

"You will survive this my lady. Nettleworth needs you alive." He told her, though he knew he was trying to persuade himself more than anything. "I need you alive."