Guy Gisbourne retrieved the letter from his breast pocket of his deep purple cloak and read it again, tipping it toward the pale blue light that streamed from the window of the carriage.

"Attention Guy Gisbourne of Gisbourne Manor and Estate,

I have your niece, Mary Gisbourne in my custody. Tha may come and reclaim her before the year is out, or she will suffer dire consequences. I hope this does not interfere with our relationship, old friend, but, as our deal from years past had failed, thee should very well consider reimbursing me for my troubles. I very much wish to see you before the New Year, for it would be a pity if Mary were to disgrace thy family even more than she has.

Thy friend and confidant,

Henry Loxley, Nottingham Sheriff"

His grey eyes skimmed across the note again, then crumpled it up in anger, throwing it to the floor of the moving carriage. He looked out the window out into the snowy landscape, his thoughts wandered to his sister and her bastard child. It had been a blessing and a curse when they ran off.

But now he knew that one of them was alive.

He had thought them dead many years. They were free from his mind, but when that messenger came to his door and gave him the correspondence, he noticed the crest that sealed the parchment shut. It was the Royal Crest. After opening it, he ordered his servants to bring around the coach, and make ready for a trip to Nottingham.

He wondered what the Sheriff was playing at, and if he was telling the truth. True, they were old friends, but, one could never know for sure. Was Mary definitely under his charge? That scrawny, wild brat? Why would he have her in the first place? So many questions befuddled his mind and tormented him while in the confinements of his seat.

Guy leaned forward in the carriage and grabbed the paper, smoothing it out on his lap for a second reading.

Mary was alive.

Scarlet ducked under a punch thrown his way before kicking the guard in the groin. Watching with satisfaction as the man keeled over with a groan, he rubbed his knee with a bruised hand. More castle guards were coming his way, so Will had to think fast. In the dim hallway, he saw a small opening that let a stream of light through.

Grinning roguishly, he unsheathed the fallen guard's sword, turned, and ran full speed at the small window, hacking at it with all his might. Making a sufficient hole, he dropped the sword and tried yanking at the broken boards with his hands. He smelled fresh air, and that drove him crazy, for wolves do not like to live in cages. They want to be free.

Will turned just in time to see a guard round the corner of the dim dungeon hall before giving the rotting boards one more shove. The hole in the wall was big enough for him to fit through, so he kicked the guard backwards into the opposite wall and lifted himself up enough to be able to squeeze through. He struggled, and with a wince and a yelp, he freed himself from the nightmare.

It was a short fall, but when his feet hit the ground, he ran from the castle walls and never looked back.

Sitting moodily out of the wind, Robert rubbed his hands together for warmth. His cold, blue eyes gazed across the forest from where he sat, under a Cabinwood tree. It's low branches made a blessed shelter from the drifts of snow that came down from the heavens. His bow lay in his lap, and he sat waiting for a lone rabbit, or deer to cross his path.

Robert had secluded himself from the gang of thieves after Scarlet had left in the early fall. John usually talked to him for a bit, but not for long, he didn't very much like to talk. The giant of a man knew that Robert was very temperamental, and understood his need to be alone, but never ceased to check up on him often.

It was peaceful in the forest, and Robert loved times like these the most. Sitting in the woods, letting his thoughts ebb and flow through the wintry pines, his dreams sent dancing across the ice covered rivers, and then burrowing down into a hole with some hibernating animal. He liked the cold temperatures also, it kept others away. It was now that he thought of her.

He could no longer deny the fact that he missed her. He missed her smile, her strong will, and her insufferable wit. He missed the smell of her, and her cool hands about his waist. But, he silently laughed, she probably did not miss him as he does her. Robert remembered back to when they were by the river, standing across from each other across the moving water. It was then that he realized that he loved her.

But, love...what is love? A fool's emotion. With a terrible change of mood, he parted the branches and stepped out into the snow, strapping his bow to his back. Turning, he saw John from a distance bumbling clumsily towards him through the snow.

"Rober'...come quick... 'tis Will Scarlet!" John panted when he reached him.

"Scarlet? He's back?" Robert muttered, following his friend.

"An' e's go' news, Rober'...I don' t'ink 'oo'll like it," John said, and Robert had to hurry to keep up with his long-legged strides.

"What?" Robert asked, showing a hint of worry on his face, "What's wrong?" John looked at him, and shook his head, "'Oo can ask Scarlet."

"Oh, John, it can't be that bad," Robert smiled, then stopped, as Scarlett was standing in front of him, with a forlorn look on his face. Gaping at him with an open mouth, Robert's eyes took in the sorry disheveled sight of his friend, he was dirty, and blood stained his shirt. Scarlet shook his head, "I have news."

It was an evil, corrupt dream that brought her from her sleep. Sarah sat up quickly, shivering in a cold sweat. Grabbing her mask that had been discarded in the night, she tightened the laces and pondered the risk of her dangerous undertaking. In the foggy night, it all came clear right then.

Sarah knew in her heart that she must venture out of the Wastes to save Marian.

She whipped the warm rug from her legs and began to gather her things into a burlap bag, shaking with worry and fear. Would she get there on time? Could she alone stop these treacherous things from happening? Was she ready for the journey ahead of her?

One thing was for sure, she was determined to not let anything happen to Marian. For the dream she had just dreamt had given her a warning. A warning to stay away from Nottingham, the city of blood, rot, and death. Although trusting her vision, she could not stay away from the young woman that made her life worth living. Sarah must go to Nottingham.

The metallic stench in the air was sent her way in the form of a cold, creeping foreboding. A silent clue to the goings on in Nottingham. With the Sheriff. She had seen in her impressions, a dream where she saw Marian tortured by a man in black, throwing his head back in evil cackles. Sarah had received a clear message of purpose. She must be on her way to the city, no delay.

The masked woman bundled up and prepared herself to step out into the snow. Strength welled up in her body and pushed her out of the cave and down the icy path of the rocks. With gaining vigor, she marched towards on of the secret forest paths, knowing in her heart that she had a mission, and at any cost was she going to execute it.

She was daring, this is true, but her motive proved truer...Marian. The young woman was her everything, she gave her purpose, ambition, and a will to strive for an unrestrained passion. It was Marian who brought light into her world, and she was one of the few turbulent moving bodies in the world, who knew no place in the world, but with herself.

Sarah knew she had brought Marian up well, caring for her and watching her grow into a beautiful fiery maiden, then setting her free out into the world. Marian had never discovered Sarah's true past...or that she knew her before she was even born.

She had never revealed that her real name was Christine, and the mask hid her identity for a reason.

Marian had never found out that she had never been without her mother. Christine had a reason for this also...she had not meant to come across her long lost daughter so many years ago, starving in the woods. And for the sake of her child, she never confessed to her the knowledge that she had kept while in hiding in the Barnesdale Wastes. It was for Marian's own good that she was kept in the dark.

Now, her mother was valiant in her quest to regain her daughter from the man to whom she was once betrothed.