Oh, yay! Two reviews IMMEDIATELY!!! I feel so loved! I want to thank Black Pixie and Mary Sue Police for reviewing it, because until today, NO ONE reviewed any of my stuff! No, B.P., your review didn't sound like a flame, and I really appreciate the mild criticism. I agreed with you, and I believe me, this story will not be like the others. This chapter is dedicated to you both. BTW, I took out the line about the skilled warrior in the last chapter, B.P. I reread it after I saw your review and I agree with you. So the line has been omitted. Please keep reading this, 'cuz I promise that it will NOT. BE. A. COMMON. MARY. SUE. I truly think you'll like this.

-Avie

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, but VERY fortunate for everyone else, I don't own Robin Hood or any related characters. Except for Lord Edward and Bridget. But not ol' Rob. He's not mine. So BACK OFF, YOU STUPID LAWYERS!! (pushes her door shut as many lawyers and court officials try to get in, holding court orders and lawsuit papers)

A/N: I don't hate lawyers.

Chapter Two: Marion's Plan

It was night. Marion quickly scrambled out of bed and made her way over to Bridget's.

"Bridget!" she called, her voice a harsh whisper. She shook Bridget gently, but the lady-in-waiting did nothing but mumble and turn over. Marion sighed and rolled her eyes. Why did her only lady-in-waiting have to be such a heavy sleeper?

Marion, on the other hand, was wide-awake, having not slept a wink all night. Leaving Bridget to her rest, she quickly reached under her pillow and pulled out a bundle of badly folded clothes. She shook out the pair of riding breeches and wrinkled her nose slightly at the dirt stains on the fabric, but she removed her silk nightgown and pulled them on. Turning to see her reflection in her tall looking glass, she was dismayed to find that her legs, already thin and lanky, looked even spindlier than before. Oh, well, she thought, shrugging. It was better that way.

Her chest hurt a bit, on account of her binding it so tightly. But it was an essential part of her plan. She pulled the tunic over her head. It was so long that it fell almost to her knees, but she left it unbelted. It was dirty, as well, but Marion would have to live with that. She'd paid the stable hand a purse heavy with gold coins before he gave up the outfit, though it was secondhand anyway. For the first time in her life, she was happy that she had inherited her mother's bony figure. She reached down under her bed and pulled out her riding boots. No, they were too fancy. They would never do. She'd have to take a pair of her father's.

Next, she pulled out the bag that she'd packed with some meager provisions, and took from it a short dagger. Taking a handful of her long brown hair, she hacked off the tight waves. She chopped off bunch after bunch, knowing that they were uneven and wincing as they fell to the floor at her feet. She had always worn her hair long, and when she was finished, she noticed that her head felt strangely light. She gathered up the hair and threw it out the window, having thought of no better place to hide it.

Scribbling a hasty note to Bridget, she grabbed her pack, bow, and quiver of arrows and left the room barefooted. After stealing into Lord Edward's room, she took a pair of his myriad boots and put them on, being as quiet as she could. It had taken her three days to conceive this plan, and though she didn't know when her father intended to marry her off, she was desperate. She couldn't risk ruining it now.

Silently, she made her way to the first floor of the castle and headed into the kitchens. She left through the back door and positively sprinted into the forest.

It was Sherwood. Everyone always said it was haunted. And Marion believed in ghosts. She held her bag tightly against her, shivering in the night's wind. She had no idea where she was going, but she was sure she would find somewhere to stay.

Hearing the bushes rustle, she shivered again out of fear. There was something other than ghosts that she was scared of, and that was the notorious Robin Hood and his band of theives. What if they found her roaming their turf? Would they hurt her? Or simply kill her on the spot? If only her father hadn't agreed with the Sheriff.

After she had found out Edward's plans for her future, she had been furious with him, and still was. If he loved her so much, wouldn't he be willing to give up his lands, even if it meant that the only thing he would have gained was his daughter's happiness? She couldn't understand how her own father would agree to marry her to one of the wickedest men in England, perhaps the world. The Sheriff taxed the citizens of Nottingham mercilessly until they could not even afford food, then arrested, tortured, and killed those who resisted, or simply couldn't pay. His greed was monstrous, and Marian loathed him to her very core. She had urged her father many times to do something about the Sheriff, but he feared him as much as the peasants, and so did nothing.

That night was the longest of any in Marian's life. She jumped at every sound, afraid that it was either one of Hood's minions or an unrequited wraith. She walked as far as her feet would carry her, desperate to get as far as possible from the castle. The forest was the first place Lord Edward would look, and she didn't want to be found. Finally, she could walk no longer, and she fell into a deep sleep.

She woke late the next morning with a gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. She roused herself and reached into her travel bag. And couldn't find her food. She reached farther. Nothing. Looking around the bag, she saw the dusty ground tattooed with little pawprints. With a small cry, she threw the bag on the ground. Then, an idea came to her. She knew there was deer in the forest. They belonged to King Henry, and her father's cousin would hardly mind if she took one. The King was very fond of her. So she gathered up her bow and an arrow, slung her pack and quiver onto her shoulder, and headed out to hunt. She spent almost half the day searching, growing almost faint with hunger, tripping over tree roots, and scuffing her father's boots, but thenâ€eureka! There was a small clearing, and right in the middle stood a small buck.

Marion almost shouted with joy, but caught herself barely in time. Her fingers were clumsy as she nocked the arrow to the bow. She pulled the bowstring, the arrow shot through the air and hit the buck near its heart. It fell to the ground, dead, but not before Marion heard a loud curse and saw another arrow sticking out of the deer's side.