Hi and here it is THE FINAL CHAPTER! Thank you so much to all of you for your kind words and comments throughout this story it has truly meant a lot over the difficult year it has been to write it.

I am going to write a sequel and a part three based after Seasons 2 and 3 and the second story is already in the works, I am going to take a small break to tie up any loose ends and then i will be back with the sequel which i hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer-Nothing but Erin is mine.

Please Read and Review.

TRIGGER WARNINGS may apply.

And again, a massive thank you to all of you for your support of this story and any others going forwards.

Faith Based Initiative

Chapter 22-Here's To Future Days

The Final Chapter-Erin and Marian take stock of the direction their lives have now taken in. Robin and Allan come to common ground. Will and Djaq share a moment and there are several dangers on the horizon. The End of the First Part of a Three Part Trilogy.

The ride to the castle was short lived. The villagers were amazed clearly to see Lady Marian arrive as was the man in black who was watching. He introduced himself as the Sherriff of Nottingham and Erin took stock of him in his black outfit with his tooth gleaming with a gem. She had never even heard of such things and here he was with an emerald in his tooth. He had no hair and eyes that were wide with concern. Marian was cordial and civil but Erin thought she could see a slight shudder contained when the Sherriff kissed her hand and exclaimed loudly that he had been in deep prayer for her father's soul and that yes of course, she was more than welcome to stay at the castle…please consider it her home for the considerable future…until she married…

It was all supposed to be civil but there was such an undercurrent of menace in it that Erin had no trouble believing even for a second that this was the man who had tried to kill the king, kidnapped two women and had probably known about her.

The eyes had swept onto her even as Marian had made her explanation. Erin had met the gaze with her stomach twisting. She tried to make it so that there was no recognition that she knew who he was or what he was capable off and when the Sherriff touched her hand to welcome another 'poor serving girl' to Nottingham she didn't flinch.

After all…she had endured far, far worse.

They took them up to a set of rooms that were overlooking the forest. It was large, the rooms Erin supposed that a Lady would have. The bed was large and clean and there was another bed in another room, not as large as Marian's but enough for two people and with a decent amount of covers…well…certainly Marian seemed to find it decent as she nodded when she looked at it. There was a third room that was clearly some sort of Presence Chamber and it was gifted with a fireplace that had a fire…a weak fire it had to be said but a fire nonetheless and a couple of chairs. There was a small desk in which to write and a bookshelf although there seemed to be no books but a Latin primer which contained what Erin believed to be the Bible. She looked away and instead looked towards the trunk which kept clothes.

"We can get you some dresses ordered in the morning Marian" came a soft voice and Erin jumped a little her knee twisting and sending shards of agony up her leg. Marian was already turning her smile perfectly steady her face one of beaten down contrition.

"Thank you Sir Guy…and thank you for the accommodations. I am sure Erin and I will be most comfortable"

Erin gave some sort of bob that might have been a curtsey if her knee had not been screaming in agony.

"I will arrange for you to have a guard Marian for your own protection. I am sure your maid can go into town for any errands you need to run"

Marian said nothing to that but her lips thinned considerably and she nodded once more.

"I will send for some food and some more wood. Tomorrow I will send for the bath and the dressmaker. Goodnight"

"Guy—" it was half out of Marian before it seemed she could stop herself and the man…Guy of Gisbourne paused on the threshold of the door as if he was debating weather or not he should turn around. When he did his eyes were soft but his entire body was cold as if despite the fact that Marian looked and had been through hell he still wanted her to stay there.

"Not now—not—never—goodnight Lady Marian"

The tone was icy, almost mocking and the warmth was gone before the sentence was even finished. Erin thought that between the two of them she was quiet invisible and she known enough pain and hot breath and rough hands to know that she wanted to stay that way.

It seemed a long time since Allan A'Dale had, had his warm hands wrapped around her waist and he had been looking at her with that soft gaze that promised something new and unforgettable and utterly unfamiliar.

The door was shut and Marian sat down on the chair as if she was one of those dancing dolls that went around in little travelling circuses that had strings attached to them so every movement was controlled. Erin took a small step and then another and sat down on the other chair. Her knee felt like she was on fire and the room felt unbearably cold.

"You shouldn't have done that" Marian said suddenly into the empty room staring at the week flames. Her hand was still in it's bandages. It would be a long time before she could use it again. Erin was not sure she could even lift a quill never mind a sword.

"Done what?" she asked shivering.

"Done—come after me. Erin you…you've put yourself in even more danger. And for what?"

"For the same reason you did it I suppose. To do something good. This might be the only good thing I've ever done in my life. I wanted to make it count.

"It's not…you rescued me and Djaq. That's got to be good"

Erin shrugged. She liked Marian, she really did but it was impossible for her to understand. They were too different women from too different walks of life for Marian to ever understand what it was for Erin to be here right now. And there was no point in even trying to explain it to her. Or to anyone.

"At least the room is good"

"Yes. We have one of the best rooms at the castle it would see. And unless we plan to jump from the window there is only one way out and that is through the main courtyard. Though to be fair I did expect worse."

"What happened between you and Guy" she said and Marian flashed her a look that seemed to speak volumes even when she appeared to be carefully thinking about her answer.

"We…he was courting me when Robin returned from the Holy Lands. I was furious with him for going, for choosing the glory of battle and the admiration of the King over the lives of his people. I truly believe the Sherriff would not have managed to get his hold on Nottingham so tight if Robin had been there to at least counteract he commands. I was furious with him. Did I love Guy the same way I had loved Robin—since childhood? No but….but despite it all there was some good in him. There was an incident with a necklace the day Allan lost his brother, an serious of misunderstandings and suddenly the only way to keep my father safe was to marry Guy. And I would have done it too had it not just…I was standing at the alter thinking about what my life would be like. I am…Erin you know this I am not a woman to be confined to a house, to a kitchen and to put on parties. I want children but I don't want my whole life to be defined by children or how many boys I have or selling my girls off to good marriages. I wanted Robin. And I realised that there was nothing was powerful enough for me to stop wanting him. So I threw my ring away, punched Guy in the face in front of half of the nobility and ran away on the back of Robin's horse."

There was a long pause.

"Wow"

That was really all Erin could say. I mean? What do you say to that?

"So what do you think? I mean do you think he knew—"

"No" she said slowly shaking her head and finishing Erin's sentence for her. "No but…well Robin's not going to think the same way. But…I still don't think he is the kind of man too…but then again, I don't know much anymore do I?"

She shook her head and the curls fell forwards a little into her face and Erin thought that whatever it was with Guy of Gisbourne it was Marian's business. Clearly she did not want to see the bad in him. Right now as far as Erin was concerned he was as guilty as sin.

"At least the room is nice" she said again. "And there is a window."

"Yes and if Robin's not climbing through it by the end of the week then I'm a cat" Marian said dryly. "Neither one of them will be happy with this. But at least now we can do something". She looked now more animated than Erin had ever seen her and she knew that was because there was a plan that she could follow.

"Erin if we can find out what's going on and give the Outlaws some time to stop it then we can do some good. We can save the King. The Sherriff…he distrust me but he didn't recognise you and that's an advantage that we can use right now."

Erin was now beginning to feel rather alarmed at how much Marian had thought into this plan.

"Ok" she said finally. "And in the meantime?"

"We get strong, we get smart, and we wait"

Erin nodded. She had a very bad feeling about this but with Marian's expression so painfully hopefully she didn't have the heart to tell her that she thought it was a plan with serious side effects that would probably see them swing from the gallows within a month. There was a longer pause and then she stood up wincing again and asked the question that deep down she had always wanted to know and yet never had the stomach to ask.

"Marian. Can I ask you something?"

"I can teach you how to fight if that's what you want but I reckon you'd be better off asking someone else right now" Marian replied. Erin bit her lip feeling the skin nip at her lip and wondered for a second if she was always going to scar there because she was always rubbing it to the point it was bloody.

"No" she said suddenly feeling quite shy and hating herself for it. "No that wasn't it. I was just wondering if you could teach me how to read and write?"

It was strange asking the question. She did not know why. God knows that over the years Erin had seen more to be nervous about, had suffered more to be terrified about and had asked requests that were worse than this but there was something about Marian's confidence, about her way of life and the confidence she showed to the world even when she was in pieces inside that Erin found she wanted to be like.

Marian blinked at her and then after what felt like an age but what Erin knew from deep and bitter personal experience was really five seconds her face softened from it's look of complete and utter surprise into something that Erin might have once described as sisterly. She wanted it to be sisterly. So help her she wanted it to be sisterly, there was something that she, Djaq and Marian had been through and now she was here with Marian and she found she wanted them to trust each other, to be each other's friend, to be on their side. She wanted the family and the friends and the simple trust of the Outlaw's life.

She would not think of what else she wanted.

Those dreams were pointless anyway.

"Of course I'll teach you" Marian said looking thrilled. "We can start as soon as you want. Well…we'll have to get some books ordered. I think the only ones in Nottingham are the bible and getting a hold of something printed in English is…well…we can practice with letters. Soon you'll be completely fluent"

There was such gentle simplicity and joy in that comment that Erin found she was grinning back.

For once it didn't feel hard.

They trudged back the camp in silence. Well a silence filled with other burning emotions. Robin was furious that was clear and he stalked off grabbing his bow and muttering about the need to shoot someone. Within five seconds Allan his face dark and yet somehow strangely, nakedly vulnerable took his sword and muttered something about a tree. Much looking very world weary had gone after his old master and after a pointed stare from Will, Little John had gone after Allan muttering something about saving a tree.

That left the two of them alone.

Wonderful.

Djaq had been studiously avoiding such occurrences such as these for reasons that she both knew and she didn't know all at once. Will poured them two mugs of ale that Allan had stolen from the tavern (kept in a cool dry place during summer) and then passed her one. She took a gulp and nipped her teeth against her lip for a second at the taste. Even after months in England she was still not used to the harshness.

"What did you drink in the Holy Lands?" Will asked curiously.

"Water mostly or goats milk, sometimes there were honeyed drinks that we could sip on during the hotter months."

"We drink water here too" Will said pouring himself a mug of the tavern ale Allan had once stolen. Unlike Djaq he drank with gusto but then again Will very rarely drank it. Actually Will very rarely drank at all other than the water here.

"I know" she said smiling "But the water in the Acre…we have it cold piped down from the mountains and we have it clean. Cleaner than the water here. It's sunny all year round and yet we have cool water. It was one of the strange miracles of…" she cut herself off. No point in making herself feel worse about the situation. She was in England now, she was as far as the Outlaws were concerned English.

"I would like to see the Holy Lands one day" Will said finally. He was looking into the distance with a faint smile on his face and Djaq wondered if he was thinking about his mother again.

"My Mum wanted to go, she said she wanted to pray in Jerusalem and receive communion there. She said it was the closest she could ever be to God. She was the most spiritualist of us all. My Dad didn't hold much throw towards it. He used to think you could feel God wherever you wanted to."

"I would have liked to have met your mother" she didn't mean it as some sort of platitude. She realised she actually did wish she could have done that.

Will said nothing but then said so quietly that she had to strain to here him.

"I would have liked that too"

He came and sat next to her and she leaned her head against his shoulder. It was a gesture done without thinking but before she could move he took her hand and linked their fingers together. It was the first time he'd ever done that and despite the exhaustion pulling at her, despite the fact that Erin and Marian were in the castle of their enemies while the men that loved them were breaking their hearts for them, despite the fact that there was still a plot to kill the King, still a nightmare ahead and still a Woman in Red running around somewhere, Djaq felt a sense of peace for the first time since she had been taken.

It was so nice here, her and Will and she leaned back against the sturdy wood of the camp he had built as he wrapped his arm around her almost without thinking.

She didn't know what this meant (not really) but she knew that she never wanted to move again. She didn't want to deal with the Sherriff right now, or Robin, or the trauma of the last few weeks. For right now Djaq wanted to stay in this little, happy bubble.

After all. There was always the future days ahead to worry about things like that.

And there you go. I hope you enjoyed this story and this chapter and I will bring you the first part of the second story as soon as it has been written.

Again a huge thank you to all of you for your continued support.