Disclaimer: I don't own Robin Hood. So don't bother me about. I'd get angry. You won't like me when I'm angry.
By the way, I want to thank Miss Piratess once again, sugerplumfairy, and sherwoodkitten. I appreciate your support! By the way, Neggia's twin, I thank you for the review, and am planning already to read that very book. I love Robin McKinley's work, and I do think that you will find the upcoming chapters much better. It has a very cliched start, but later it changes. Just hang in there.
A young man ran into the clearing. His tawny hair reached his shoulders, and Marion reached up and fingered her own wavy hair, now the same length. The man was standing by the deer, staring at her arrow.
"Who shot this bolt?" he demanded, pulling out the arrow and holding it up in a gauntleted hand. He stood there, waiting.
Finally Marion stepped out from the foliage. She held up her bow. "Me, sir!" she called.
The young man grinned. "Nice shot, boy."
Marion beamed. Her disguise was working. Then, he bent over and picked up the deer. "And now I'll be off," he said, slinging it over his shoulder. He began to retreat into the forest once more, but Marion gave a shout and ran toward him. She grabbed the deer's antlers.
"Sir, this is as much my deer as it is yours," she said politely. He turned to look at her.
"Now, lad, you wouldn't have killed the creature on your own," he said, still grinning as if she were a simple fool. Outraged, Marion pulled back her right hand, curled it into a fist, and before she knew what she was doing, she slammed it as hard as she could into his chest.
The blow knocked the air out of him and he gave a strangled cry. He dropped the deer to the grass and grabbed her hand, which she had been staring at in shock. She'd never hit anyone before.
She tried to move away, tried to stammer an apology, but she couldn't. The man was still holding her wrist tightly, so tightly that it defied his appearance. He was slight and only a few inches taller than her, but he was very strong. He glared at her terrified face a moment longer, but then he released her and began to laugh.
Marion's mouth dropped open. She had punched him, and he was laughing? She couldn't understand. And suddenly, he grabbed her hand again, but this time, he was shaking it. "You're quite right, young man."
Marion rolled her eyes. She had noticed the transition from "boy" to "young man". Funny how it was because she'd hit him. Why was it that men found physical strength a sign of maturity?
The man clapped her on the shoulder. "My name is Will Scarlet," he said. "And you?"
"I – I – I –" Marion stuttered. Oh, why hadn't she thought of an alias before? Groping through her memory, she remembered her father's page. "Thomas," she replied hastily. "Thomas of Nottingham."
"Well, Thomas," Will said, putting the deer back on his slender shoulder, "What say you to coming back with me to my camp? We'll split the deer."
"Of course!" Marion cried, too hungry to think of anything else. She only remembered just in time to get her bag and weapons. Then, she hurried after Will, trying to keep pace with him.