As that infuriating smoke dissipated, she was gone.
Damn her
When the messenger had come to inform Robin that the Queen wanted to see him in her chambers, he had to admit he had felt rather excited. He had woken up with his member painfully stiff, even though he had taken care of it the solo way, the idea of having another round with the Queen after such little time had him half hard by the time he got to her door. He had only been inside her sleeping chambers once - the night before, as a matter of fact - and on that occasion, he did remember having a very good time.
But there was no such luck for Robin this time around. Apart from getting the ice treatment, he also had to bear witness to a scene he did not quite understand. He was met with the image of the girl from yesterday; Robin flinched at the thought that the Queen had encouraged her to kiss that, thing. Rumpelstiltskin, one of the foulest creates he had ever had the displeasure of meeting. Robin had to admit that the girl did have some balls.
Robin had thought it odd that, after chatting with that peasant girl the day before, the Queen had ordered him to ride inside the carriage with her. Especially after she had set some sort of spell on his balls that made them sting just moments before.
Damn that crazy woman
Crazy indeed, for inside the carriage she revealed quite the tale to him. A tale of how that demonic head that pestered her mirrors had in fact been a real life person once. Not a person but a genie, Robin had been quite surprised to discover. A genie who her late husband had apparently set free – what an idiotic thing to do – and after that, also wished to give his last wish to the sordid genie himself. Robin had made up his mind then that the King had been a complete idiot.
But as the Queen retailed to him of how the genie had an inexplicable devotion to her, a lovesick obsession that she encouraged in order to get the genie to do her bidding, Robin felt his blood pump faster and hotter. He knew that thing had feelings for the Queen, he was able to sense his clear jealousy when he had first interrupted their 'negotiations'.
He did not want to admit it, but he was pretty sure he was jealous of her. The very idea of the Queen with any other man brought a red-hot feeling to his hollow chest. He could not hold back, would not hold back, until he knew the extent of her 'encouragement' towards said genie.
"So your majesty had a little 'talk' with him like you did with me?" trying his very best to sound casual and uninterested.
Her face twisted in a disgusted expression "Not that it is any of your business but no, I have no such talks with individuals that abhor me."
"Ah your majesty-" Robin had said leaning back into his seat, relief invaded his chest "-I think I heard a compliment in there somewhere."
She gave a hearty laugh and kicked his knee hard with her high heeled boot, one he had had hooked on his back only hours ago, "Then I am pretty sure your ears are in need of cleaning thief."
She kicked him again when he did not show any reaction to neither her words nor her kicks "-and sit up straight you animal, this is not some dingy tent in the middle of the forest."
He did not move which made the Queen huff, there was a silence and Robin could see the Queen slump only an unnoticeable inch on her seat in front of him.
She sighed, looked tired and said in a different tone of voice, very small almost as if she was saying it to herself "After being married to the benevolent King and having to lay with him, I have made it a rule that I will only let those who I want to touch me do so." She was looking down at her lap, staring at her opened palms that rested on the fabric of her skirts.
Robin had been stunned by her revelation;
Who was she?
This woman was a mystery to unravel. One minute a storm of violence and lust and another a creature that managed to steal…
What was it?
No, it could not be… Compassion from him?
She was only 18 years of age when she first came here, already engaged to the King, the distant voice of the old bear whispered in his ear.
She cleaned her throat and brought his attention back to her, Robin had not noticed but he had been staring at her palms, he brought his gaze back to hers.
"After he managed to do make himself useful-," she continued in her business like tone, all signs of vulnerability gone.
She then told him about the genie's desperate actions in wanting to be with her no matter what she felt towards him. Robin flinched inwardly when he heard the words of the wish, that man was truly crazy. But he ended up on the losing side of the wish and got himself trapped inside the mirror world, so he look upon her alright, but never truly have her. That had been the cruel twist of his own words.
"I had managed to keep him at bay from my bedroom mirror, but he found a way to converse with me yesterday and offered me a deal." Robin listened attentively, "He offered to assist looking for Snow White in exchange for a moment." her face was unreadable.
"A moment?" Robin inquired, "What kind of moment?"
Her face did not shift, only her right eyebrow raised whilst she spoke "He wants to watch me touch myself."
Red
The windows, the seats, the landscape outside, even the Queen's features took a shade of crimson as the words left her mouth. Robin's skin tingled and the empty space in his chest cringed. Robin felt his eyes widen and his teeth clench, his hands turning into fists with so much force he was sure his nails would leave angry red bites on his palms. He could not hold back his reaction and stood up abruptly in the carriage causing it to rock dangerously from side to side due to his sudden movement.
"Are you completely out of your mind?" the Queen roared, "Are you trying to get us both killed, you imbecile?"
Her loud words snapped him from his rage fit and he sat back down brusquely. His ears still buzzing from the overwhelming amount of feeling he had just experienced.
"Would it be so hard for you not to act like an animal all the time?" she asked annoyed at his behavior.
Robin could feel his whole body heated, from the tip of his toe to the last strand of his hair, he was furious.
She could not possibly be considering actually going through with this deal, could she?
Would her loathing for Snow White make her slump so low?
Why did he care so much what she did or did not do anyway? He lacked a heart he was not supposed to feel anything at all and yet with a mere set of words the Queen managed to make his head spin round.
"I have sealed a magical deal with him," she continued and Robin clenched his fists even harder if it was humanly possible, his mouth a thin line as he tried his very best not to show how infuriated this whole situation was making him feel.
"But-" she lifted a finger, a smirk adorned her lush red lips "- I have managed to make his words work in my favor once more." Robin took a deep breath and leaned forward to listen to her words, a headache had already worked its way on him as he tried very hard to understand why the Queen was smirking.
Hadn't she just told him she despised the mirror, person, genie thing?
"And I pray you tell me your majesty-" Robin started, rubbing his eyes with one hand "-why are you telling me all this?"
"Because the deal was for him to watch me-" she leaned closer to him "-but there were no restrictions whatsoever in regards to having another party involved."
For the first time in the whole carriage ride Robin managed to take a calmed breath, he finally understood what she was getting at.
She leaned back on her seat, crossed her legs, and finished with a raised eyebrow and an expression that spoke of pure malice "Care to help?"
That night he had gone to her room, he had knocked once as she had instructed him and from inside came her unparalleled voice that uttered 'You may come in'. He had entered her chamber and quickly secured the door closed. His gaze found her to the left where she was standing in front of a full-length mirror, inspecting her body, which was deprived of any kind of cloth.
The vision astounded him, hypnotized him, and made him utterly speechless. He stood by the door with his mouth hanging slightly opened and his eyes ravaging the sight of her. She acknowledged his presence but seemed very little disrupted by it as she continued to run her hands about her body, looking at herself in the reflective surface.
For a moment, Robin had thought she had already began the whole thing without him. But then reminded himself that she had protected that mirror in her bedroom against the intrusions of the genie.
She was pale, but unlike her stepdaughter, had a spice to her coloring. Her skin looked utterly smooth and absolutely untouched, as if she were some heavenly sight or a marble statue of a Goddess, too good to be true. She was still wearing her heavy make-up but her hair was completely down, he had noticed this before, it was rather long the heavy dark curls almost reached her hips.
She had taunted him obviously, asking him if he was just going to ogle her the entire course of the evening, a playful smile settled on her lips. She really seemed to be looking forward to making that man in the mirror suffer. Robin could see reason behind it since that very man had tried to forcibly tie himself to her regardless of how she felt about him.
She had told him to stand behind the dresser and wait for her signal – that being when she tossed her head back - to make his presence known. He watched her with hungry eyes as she sat down at the stool in front of the piece of furniture and only after sending a teasing grin at him started to play with herself.
That night when he had touched her, he had tasted her and he had taken her like no other time they had been together. Robin felt strangely at ease to actually caress her instead of grope, to kiss instead of bite, to give her slow passion filled thrusts instead of quick desperate pounds. She was incredibly responsive to his new approach - and although he tried to tell himself he was only doing it that way because of the whole farce and she, on her part, was only being so agreeable with this so the mirror would be truly driven over the edge - he had truly wanted to touch her differently.
Her sendoff felt like she had thrown a bucket of ice water down his pants – had he been wearing any that was. It infuriated Robin that she would treat him as if he was a disposable sex toy she could send off when she was done. He had promised himself he would never be such a thing and although the woman held his heart hostage, he would rather die than be treated as a mere object.
And so he taunted her, which he knew made her nerves red hot and that to some extent also aroused her. He kissed her, he had to, those lips continued to possess a magnetic energy that drew him in. They called to him. When her moist soft red lips met his the world exploded in a billion sensations.
But now, here he was, standing on the same spot where he had ravaged her mouth and tasted her cum mixed with his seed before she had tried to roast him for his insolence.
Robin felt divided, for one he did appreciate his time in this castle, the comfortable quarters, the easy food and obviously the gorgeous Queen he got to bang regularly. However, at the same time he felt trapped, being bossed around was not something he was used to and also definitely not something he liked. The idea of being at someone's disposal - even if that somebody drove him over the edge with ecstasy and was the best sex he had ever had - was not something Robin was willing to do.
But how was he going to exteriorize this without having the Queen either roast him alive or crush his heart?
At some level, Robin did have some desire to assist this Queen; she was, different from the other women he had encountered before. She was like no woman in the world, actually. The feelings she inspired in him, the way she looked, the way she acted and talked. She could be explosive and deranged at one moment and then playful and sassy in the very next second. Her feistiness might even sometimes remind him of…
No
Robin pushed away the beautiful memories of Marian smiling back at him; she had also been feisty and a bit temperamental always keeping him on his toes, just like the Queen. However, his Marian had also been loving, kind and so very generous, he had loved her so much his heart had felt like it was going to burst. And yet now, without it, he felt nothing whilst remembering their time together, not a single drop of regret for being responsible for her death but also not a single trace of the love he used to possess.
The same could not be said for the person who now claimed ownership on his damaged and darkened heart. Even when she was far, Robin could still feel the unique sensation only she had the power to ignite in him, a maddening mix of lust, frustration and anger. It was not one of the best feelings in the world, it did, however, diminish when she was away, but was never truly gone.
Robin refused to stay put in this cold stone prison. He did not want to be on call whenever the Queen decided she wanted to lash at him or have him fuck her - although he did not mind in the very least performing the latest.
He had been inside for the last week or so and had a need for the freshness of the wood, the thrill of a hunt that made him feel alive and free, if not only for a brief period of time.
He looked out of the huge balcony the Queen's bedchamber possessed. The Sun was shining bright outside, this the first day ever since he had gotten there that the yellow Star decided to make an appearance. The strong early afternoon rays hit the mirror of the Queen's dresser and the light reflected back on Robin's eyes that made him flinch and close them instantly.
Rubbing them and cursing in the process Robin took a few steps back into the shadows of the bedchamber before reopening his eyes and staring at the mirror.
A memory hit him.
He knew just the thing to do.
...
Robin was back in the forest, breathing the earthy air of the woods, listening to the musical sounds of the wild. His sight had been changed ever since he had last been so deep inside the woods of the Enchanted Forest. Ever since Marian had died, color had been drained from his reality, leaving him only with grey, black and white, unfeeling colors that only inspired pain and despair. Now Robin was granted to look upon the vibrant red tones of wild flowers, berries and birds. The canvas of his life had been changed by the Queen, he was pretty sure she had been the cause for the return of red to his sight, and more than that, he felt more alive now than he had felt in that entire year living alone, and that was something to say since he did not have his heart on him at the moment.
Stride after stride, pathetic uniform gone, royal crest abandoned in his vast cold chambers, with his old bow and quiver as his only companions Robin tracked the woods he knew like the back of his hand.
This was the road they had taken the day before, the road Robin knew led to the Dark One's castle. The road in which he knew that sooner or later he would happen upon an exasperated young lady running away from said Dark One. A young lady Robin remembered distinctly that the Queen wanted to 'take care of'. A young lady Robin had set his mind upon hunting down and capturing for the Queen.
The reason?
Robin was not quite sure of it himself.
A strong part of his mind told him that he needed the physical outlet of the hunt, he had done this his entire life, his body ached for the forest, ached for the thrill of the pursuit.
Another section thought of this as leverage. The Queen wanted this girl, if he captured her, she'd owe him a favor. Robin had quite a large number of creative ideas for the Queen to pay him back the favor.
Robin could also not ignore the fact that he owed it to the Queen for giving him the chance to have his revenge on the Sherriff of Nottingham. He had never hated somebody more than he did that man - perhaps in his early moments of despair he had hated himself more than he did the damned man - and come to think of it, his demise had been rather swift and merciful, the man deserved to suffer so much more than he had.
Regardless of the reason - Robin did not wish to ponder upon it too much, for there was the tiniest percentage of him that was doing this so he might see the Queen smile and laugh, like she did when he had crushed the Sheriff - Robin was out and breathing the free air of the forest.
He kept himself off the road, deciding to track amongst the trees nearest to the cleared space in order to catch the young woman by surprise.
It was in the second hour of his tracking that he heard an alien movement. Robin kept going as if he was not aware that there was something trailing behind him. When the distinct sound of a bow's rope being pulled back hit his ears Robin acted quickly throwing his body to the ground, just as the arrow flew in the air zapping past the space his head had occupied only a second ago.
The paces were not careful now and Robin could make out the sound of boots coming in contact with the dried leaves. He swiftly rolled to the right to hide behind a tree, bow on his grip, arrow in his fingers and ready to be shot as he aimed to the spot where the other arrow had originated from.
There stood a man, he was holding his bow but it was not readied, Robin had the obvious upper hand in the situation. He was a wee bit taller than Robin, his features might have been handsome if he was not so grim looking, his light brown hair was messed up and Robin could register a few leaves here and there inside the curly mess. He was wearing some manner of animal skin and rough leather as clothing.
"Give me one good reason not to shoot you in between the eyes" Robin grunted, thrilling electricity spread through his body. He was going to kill this man.
"Because if you do my friend will mangle you to death" the man said simply, he did not look scared or surprised at Robin's clear advantage and threat.
"I detect no friend whatsoever." Robin retorted, his eyes quickly scanned his surroundings and he saw no other man but the one he was pointing his arrow at, he pulled the string of his bow even more, ready to shoot, aim in place.
"You might want to lower your gaze, then you will understand I speak the truth." the man said calmly and as if on cue an animal growl sounded from his left.
Robin turned his face down to look upon the grey wolf that bared his sharp teeth to him. It was a sneaky creature, it stood only 10 paces from where he was and Robin's ears had not even registered the beast's movements.
"You think your pet scares me?" Robin said uncaring, because even though he was feeling rather intimidated by the beast there was no chance on earth that he would ever let it show.
"It should." the man responded, "You are either foolish or abnormally talented with that bow to think you can best the pair of us."
"I think we both know which option suits me best," Robin said, his lack of heart assisting him tremendously in keeping a straight face
"I have already harmed the one whom I intended to, so you can lower you bow for I serve as no threat to you." The man continued in his calm tone of voice, Robin was confused, had he not just shot an arrow that was meant for Robin's head?
"You can say that to the arrow you tried to put through my head." Robin was not letting go of his bow.
"That arrow was not meant for you. That arrow has already served its purpose." The man reasoned.
The man approached Robin with very slow but certain strides, his bow still in his hand. Robin was not one to easily trust strangers so he allowed the man to move but his arrow never left its target in between his eyes. He walked past Robin who turned around and was met was the image of a dead deer with one arrow sticking out of its neck, a perfect kill shot, not 20 paces from where he stood.
He must have dropped to the floor in the exact same moment as the deer and not heard the sound of the falling animal.
Robin lowered his bow.
"That arrow was meant for dinner, not you."
Robin was rather impressed at the man's skill, his aim was quite spot on, although he was pretty sure his own was still superior.
The man headed towards the deer, his pet wolf on his trail, and kneeled in front of the dead beast, bowed his head and started muttering something Robin could not really make out.
When he finished speaking, the wolf nuzzled his nose on the man's cheek and he spotted that he was crying. Robin could not resist but taunt this strange man.
"Just found out you killed a friend of your pet's for dinner?" Robin huffed.
"I uphold respect for the creatures that I kill." The man said in a serious tone, "They have sacrificed their lives so that me and my brother-" he gestured towards the wolf "-may live."
"Right-" Robin started, this man clearly did not uphold much sanity in his head, "So the wolf is your brother?"
"Blood of my blood." The man said resting the palm of his hand on the back of the animal.
"I'm guessing your parents have not broken up the news that one of you is clearly adopted."
What a deranged situation Robin found himself in, was it his fate to only come across crazy people? First, a murderous Queen, then a young maiden crazy enough to kiss the Dark One and now this, wolf boy?
"The wolves are my family." The man stood looking dead inside Robin's eyes, his own were a set of dark grey.
"I'm sure they are, I would not dare and contradict you, but-" Robin said as he stored his arrow back in his quiver "-as interesting as this conversation is, I must be on my way. Enjoy your-" Robin gestured to the dead animal laying on the ground with several circular movements of his hand, trying to come up with a better word but unable "-dinner."
...
After his encounter with wolf boy, Robin tracked the forest just beside the road for a few more hours and still there was no sign of the young woman. According to Robin's calculations, she should have passed this part of the woods by now even if she were on foot. Unless...
Unless she had stopped at the first town she could find in order to shelter herself for the night. It did make sense, and Robin cursed himself for not thinking of the possibility before. He turned his route towards the east, where he knew there was a small village, the nearest to the Dark one's castle.
The village was rather famous for being the only one that had been built by the unison of men and dwarfs. The town was the nearest civilized place close enough to the mines those little man worked in, one that provided them with ale after a long day's work dinging those precious stones Robin had once ached to have for himself.
He had never, however, neared that particular village before, his code of honor had prevented him from stealing from the fairies and dwarfs for he knew that the precious stones they turned into fairy dust were aimed to do good and help others, just like he had once done. But that man was long gone, buried six feet under along with Marian's lovely eyes and the helpless small body of his son, so he strode with purpose towards the village.
When the rooftops of the modest houses started to come into Robin's line of sight, he brought his hood to his head, hiding his face from any curious eyes - the very last thing he needed was to be recognized. The Sun was already starting to set when Robin reached the little town, the place was the spitting image of a peaceful trouble free haven. There were no black knights here, or any kind of knight or soldier for that matter, for this place was protected by fairy magic that secured its inhabitants and provided them with safety. That was common knowledge about the kingdoms, but what was not, was the extent of this magic and how it worked. Robin was actually quite surprised that no alarm had sounded upon him crossing the border that divided the village from the forest, thinking the thick fairy magic would be able to track the darkness in his heart.
Ah
Then again
That wasn't on him now, was it?
Robin strode about the village keeping his figure to the shadows, wanting to pass unnoticed as he searched for the familiar face of the doey-eyed young woman he was after. He counted himself lucky she had such a striking appearance, very difficult to miss her sparkly blue eyes or her odd accent, and if Robin was being completely sincere, she was quite a pretty little piece of arse.
The Sun had become a thin sheen line on the horizon when Robin was finally able to spot that damned girl, she still wore the same blue dress she had on in the mirror vision and the heavy light green cape she had worn the day before hung about her back. He was only able to catch a glimpse of the woman before she entered a tavern.
Damn
Robin followed her inside rather reluctantly. Taverns reminded him too much of the life he used to live, of the merry times he had with his oath brothers, of endless romantic escapades and of nights of ale and laughter. None of those things belonged in Robin's reality anymore, the sound of laughter irritated him to no end, when the knights back in the castle would roar with laughter over some idiotic thing Robin felt like snapping their necks. The only laughter he seemed to tolerate and even like belonged to the-
He shook his head and swung the door open. Slipping inside and choosing to sit in a solitary table in a dark corner of the tavern so he could watch the girl and make up a plan to abduct her.
He knew that the strong light magic of the fairies was able to detect troublemakers and thieves easily, and as soon as they put their plans into action that magic would alert the dwarfs who defended the town.
Robin gathered that abducting somebody against their will would qualify as trouble making indeed, and even thievery as well.
So how was he to take her if the second he laid his hands on her he would sure have seven dwarfs breathing down his neck?
A middle-aged woman approached his table and asked what it was that he would like to drink. She had tired eyes but a sincere smile, Robin dismissed her quickly without a second glance in her direction.
The young woman he was observing had ended her conversation with whom it seemed to be the innkeeper and sat alone on a table. Robin pondered upon simply approaching her, maybe befriending her and luring her away from the town line. But he couldn't. She would recognize him for certain, for when the Queen was kind enough to squeeze his balls tight with her magic the girl had turned back because of his wincing. She looked him right in the eye for a sufficient amount of time back then, and Robin was certain she would recognize him.
As if things could not get any more complicated, she was now conversing with a dwarf nonetheless.
Damn
It was really sounding like a hopeless plan when the doors to the inn swung open and a new patron appeared accompanied by.. ah - his little pet friend brother or whatever it was. The patrons immediately recoiled and reacted to the presence of the wild animal inside the tavern.
The owner, the one who had been talking to the girl, came forward and rather reluctantly addressed wolf boy in what seemed was his best shot of a valiant tone.
"I don't know where you come from boy-" the man was past his prime, maybe 50 or 60 years old, he could not tell, he was bald on the top of his head but some wisps of hair remained in the base, he had a large stomach which showcased his obvious love for ale. "-But we don't have wild beasts inside this tavern." his face had gone a soft tone of red.
Wolf boy replied in the same serious tone as before "We mean no harm to anybody, we simply seek shelter and-"
The round man interrupted him "You can stay boy, but the animal has to go. I can't even have him stay in the barn; he might slaughter every living thing there."
"I'm afraid we cannot be parted, I-" the weird man started again but by then Robin had a rather solid plan in mind and interrupted him once more.
"My friend!" Robin said coming from behind the man he had met earlier that day and putting his hand on his shoulder. "It's been long since I last saw you!" the man looked surprised but not at all startled by Robin's actions. Robin turned his attentions to the inn owner, "Do not worry, his pet is harmless, it was raised by humans, would not hurt a fly." he squeezed the man's shoulder.
The innkeeper still looked uncertain and asked "Are you certain?"
Robin was clearly learning the art of acting from the Queen and assured the man "On my honor my friend, no harm will come to anybody tonight in this inn."
The man looked a lot more relieved and gave Robin a tight smile "Alright then, but keep him near you at all times please, I do not want him scaring off my costumers."
"Never fret my friend, my old friend-" crap, Robin had no idea of how that man was called he had to think quickly, "-Graham will sit with me tonight at that corner."
The man gave Robin another thankful toothless smile, turned on his heel and returned to his original place near the bar. Robin's hand still gripped wolf boy's shoulder and he said in a hushed tone "Well then, come sit with me friend."
Robin led the man to his table and there they shared no ale nor warm words, as soon as the other man was sitting, he asked, "What do you want from me?"
"How very perceptive you are wolf boy-" Robin replied "-although now you have a proper name now, Graham, wasn't it?"
The man huffed and spit on the floor next to his feet.
"I did not ask for a name, nor for your help." he retorted.
"And yet, I just laid down my very treasured honor for the sake of your pet brother." Robin reasoned.
"What do you want?" the man growled.
"I want you to cause a diversion, a little trouble so these thick skulled dwarves will be occupied." Robin explained in a conversational tone.
"I'm guessing you want me to cause trouble so you can steal from them." the wolf boy inquired, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Not that it is any of your business but no, nothing of that kind actually" Robin put out "I'm stealing a young lady."
The man's eyes widened and Robin could really see how his grey pupils grew a shade darker.
"To what purpose would you do that?" the man asked, "Certainly you do not mean to-?"
But he never got to finish his question for Robin interrupted him with his reply.
"I would never force myself on a woman." Robin felt his blood boil, he might be a cold-blooded murderer who cared for no one but himself but having a woman against her will was something he would never do.
"You might say that now but I know your kind. When a man's urges come forth, he can do the unspeakable to satiate them" the wolfy huntsman replied in a grave tone.
"Rest assured that my urges are well taken care of-" he completed between clenched teeth, "-wolf boy."
"You also manage to take care of your urges yourself then?" the man inquired, seeming truly curious.
"What kind of question is that?" Robin was a bit taken aback, "Do you mean to tell me you've never-?"
The man did not let Robin complete, "No, I have never." he said in a serious tone.
"You cannot be serious" Robin chuckled, this is not the direction he wanted this conversation to tread.
"But I am, I do not find humans appealing." he said in all truth, not a bit ashamed of his confession.
Robin's jaw dropped for a second and then he grinned and replied, "That's because you have not seen my-" Robin could not find the words to describe his relationship with the Queen, he could not say she was his master or boss, no way on earth for that, she was not 'his' anything. Lover perhaps, but not really if you truly pondered upon it, "-the woman I've been fucking." that was so poorly put Robin almost winced, "One look upon her and you would change your mind about 'humans' I assure you that."
"I sincerely doubt that." the man replied.
"Right." Robin breathed, this man was the weirdest thing he had ever come across so far, "Will you help me or not?"
...
Robin made sure that the young woman did not see whilst he followed her to her room. She was on the first floor of the inn, door nearest to the cranky and noisy wooden staircase, but Robin could work with that. She retired rather early, before 10 in the evening, and the tavern downstairs was still boasting with laughter, cheers and shouts. Man and dwarves alike were getting drunker by the minute and Robin smirked inwardly at his luck.
Wolf boy was still waiting downstairs by the same table in the company of his deadly pet, just waiting for Robin's signal. What a pathetic man. He had agreed to help Robin since - according to him - it was the honorable thing to do. After all Robin had indeed helped him with the innkeeper and he was now in his debt.
Honor
What a pathetic waste of time
But Robin rejoiced on the fact that the man kept his honor close to his heart since he got the assistance he needed, no golden coins or pointy daggers involved.
He went back to the table - which was still empty, devoid of ale cups or bottles - and met his new accomplice. They did not bother to keep appearances and pretend to be friends but instead fell into an uncomfortable silence until Robin spoke a good hour after having tracked the girl to her room.
"Go now," he did not turn to face him, choosing to stare ahead at the staircase, "Do it outside, there are plenty of filthy drunks for you to choose from."
"Aye." the man replied also not meeting Robin's eye, he stood and left the tavern discreetly, trying not to attract any attention to himself which was very hard to do since he did have a wolf on his trail.
Not a minute had passed and a sharp scream filled Robin's ears and he knew that that was his cue to act. With long strides that went about unnoticed by the crowd inside the tavern - their attention now focused on the on goings outside - Robin climbed the stairs and quickly found himself standing in front of the door to the girl's room.
Ever so carefully, Robin tried the knob to see if the girl had been stupid enough to leave the door unlocked. No such luck, not so stupid after all. But that was no matter for Robin, picking locks was on the long list of the many things he had learned to do as an outlaw. Getting down to his knees he extracted a hair pin - one that belonged to that hot mess of a Queen - from his pocket and went to work.
Soon the door swung open and Robin entered. The room was small and dingy, the girl was apparently sleeping on the bed, her back turned to him, covers concealing her body.
But Robin was no fool to be deceived by appearances.
He could see the rise and fall created by her breathing was not even nor slow, which showcased she was not asleep at all. She had probably been awakened by the ruckus downstairs and seen his attempt at opening the door. Robin imagined she thought she had the upper hand in this.
Foolish girl
He took two steps in her direction and grabbed a pebble he had stored in his pocket. The girl did not stir and Robin stepped on the floor three more times manufacturing the noise his steps sounded like, as if he was moving but he was doing no such thing. He then threw the pebble to the foot of the bed and watched unimpressed as the girl leaped from her lying position to try and through a big heavy book she had apparently been clutching underneath her covers all along.
Robin took this moment to grab her from behind; with one hand, he secured both her hands on her back as the other grabbed her throat. He yanked her from the bed so she stood with him; her back pressed to his torso, his voice was dangerous at her ear;
"Scream and you'll regret it girl."
"What do you want from me?" she asked in a small yet defiant voice
"Nothing really. The real question is, what I can get for you."
"You seek gold then?" she asked trying to free her hands, foolish attempts for his grip was mighty on her wrists.
"Gold," Robin repeated with disdain, "I have no desire for gold-" his hold on her throat got stronger and the girl whimpered.
"Please, don't hurt me." she begged.
Robin was growing impatient with the girl's attitude and with one rash move; he pushed her onto the bed. She fell ungracefully on her stomach, her feet still touching the floor, his own had liberated her hands whilst he pushed her, she tried to straighten up so she could face him.
"Please don't do this-" she had actual tears in her eyes, "-kidnap me to sell me back to my father, but please don't touch-"
She was not able to finish her sentence for then Robin had already banged that heavy book she tried to defend herself with to the back of her head. Her presumption had made him quite angry. Why on the earth was everybody under the impression he was to rape this sodding girl?
True, she had her charms, was quite pretty. But nothing, could ever excuse forcing himself on a woman, if something of the old Robin had remained, it was the abhorrence towards that act. Plus, even if he had the urge, this young woman could never compare to the stormy, gorgeous and mouthwatering Queen Robin had back home.
Wait-
Home?
No, not home. In the castle. His mind was playing tricks in his head. Robin did not have a home. Home had been Sherwood Forest, but that was no more, Robin Hood was dead, what only remained were the shreds of his despair. Home had been Marian's belly growing and growing as Robin felt his heart clench in his chest with happiness.
Now he had no heart at all and no Marian.
Home was where the heart lies and his heart-
No, that was just a damned castle and nothing else.
Robin shook his head trying to clear off his mind from all those confusing contemplations. He looked down at the helpless girl who now laid knocked out on the bed and sighed. Turning her to face him, he hoisted her up and threw her limp body about his shoulder. She was not too heavy, which Robin was thankful for, a whole day of tracking around the forest had worn him off a bit.
Down the stairs he went and the pub was nearly empty by now - safe for one drunken man who had passed out and was sleeping soundly with his cheek resting upon the wooden surface of a table. Robin could hear the shouts coming from outside as the diversion he had ordered the wolf person to perform was coming to pass. He chose to exit through the back door though, just in case, for however impressive the mangling that wolf had managed to do; having a young woman passed out hanging around your shoulder was bound to draw a few eyes.
The back door thankfully led towards a path straight into the woods and Robin was soon out of the reach of the enchanted town and its unnerving small defenders. He pondered upon his options. It was late, he could either track the path back to the castle now and arrive there by sunrise, or he could rest for some hours and start making his way once the sun was up.
His legs protested and his vision was starting to get blurry and Robin knew which option he was going for. But before settling down, he searched for a handful of poppies - which were not very hard to find. He chose a spot by a large tree and set the girl down on the grass, he could not take his chances in falling asleep with the possibility of her waking up.
So with that thought in mind he tore a small piece of cloth from her dress and proceeded to rub the pollen from the poppy flower on in. He laid the fabric about the girl's nose and mouth and let her breathe in the drowsing substance. That would guarantee she did not wake before him, for the poppies had only had about an hour's effect on him, they would last for much longer on her fragile body.
Robin fell asleep soon after his back came in contact with the grass, his last thoughts being of the Queen.