Author's Note: I have failed to mention much of the conflict in England. I
have mostly gone into detail about Marianna and Robin Hood. So here is a
short summary of what was happening in England during this time: King
Richard Plantagenet (I know, really weird name) had gone to fight in the
Crusades. He had left Prince John, his brother, to take care of England.
Richard was captured in Vienna and taken prisoner and Prince John became
regent. Prince John, of course, abused his power greatly. He and most of
the nobles were Normans, while the serfs and peasants were Saxons. So,
began a conflict between the Normans and Saxons. The Saxons had to pay
large amounts of taxes to the nobles and the prince, some were tortured for
not paying the taxes. Oh, one more thing, whenever I said in my story the
"people of England" I meant the Saxons. From now on I will be using the
names Saxons and Normans, instead of "King John's people" and "the people
of England." Well, here is the next chapter. Enjoy and REVIEW!!!!!
Chapter 7
Robin Hood
Images swam before Marianna. The poor boy's hand was before her. His dirty hands begging for money. Janine looking up at her crying and saying,
"Why did you have to go?"
King John's angry voice of dismissal yelled at her.
"Take her away!" The prison...Eyes as blue as a river and the sky above stared at her. Golden, brown hair fell upon his forehead. Is this the Duke of Torms, Marianna thought? She had to get away. She had to get away from him. The man started stroking her hair and he said softly,
"Shhh, you're all right. You're all right." Marianna looked into his eyes again and she knew that she was fine.
Robin watched worriedly as Marianna struggled through her feverish nightmares. He tried to help her, but he didn't know how. Friar Tuck was there, performing the medical tasks that he learned as a monk. Robin Hood turned towards him and asked tightly,
"How is she?" Friar Tuck smiled grimly and said, "There might be a chance. Just stop worrying Robin about your pretty lady, go do some business with them men of yours." Robin glared at Friar Tuck and strode out of the tent and onto the dusty campground. Every man in the camp thought that he was in love with the girl Marianna. Of course he wasn't in love with her, he thought. He had to work on his strategies for overthrowing the king. It wasn't time for him to fall in love with a- -a soppy, regal lady. Besides, he didn't even know the stupid girl. She was probably just another beautiful lady who sat around all day sewing and waiting for suitors. Robin Hood ran his fingers through his hair and sighed heavily. For heaven's sake, he thought, I'm the one and only Robin Hood, why should I be thinking about a girl? This town and even this country needs me.
A moan escaped from Marianna's chapped and dried lips. A soft wind played gently against her cheek and shadows caressed her slender fingertips. Marianna opened her eyes with an effort and looked around, clearly befuddled. Where was she? She was on a soft white bed and in a tent that she had never seen before. The sun from the outside bounced along the coarse cloth of the tent and the ground was cluttered with charts, maps, and large wooden boxes. Memories of the past few days rushed into Marianna's head. She was in a prison cell and the Duke of Torms was...Suddenly, a slightly bald man with frayed gray hair peered down at her. He then spoke cheerfully,
"Ah, it seems that the beautiful lady has awoken. How do you feel?" She tried to reply, but only managed a feeble croak, again she opened her mouth and words fell from her clumsy tongue.
"Um...I'm fine." She was amazed at how weak her voice sounded.
"You may call me Friar Tuck and you are Marianna, are you not?" The fat man chuckled and said mischievously,
"Robin will be very pleased that you have awaken. Can I get you anything to eat m'lady?"
"Oh, no thank you, but can you tell me where I am?" The friar got her some tea and placed the smoking cup in her hand. Marianna took a sip of the scalding tea and swallowed sourly. She sank back into her pillow and asked where she was again. Friar Tuck smiled gently and replied,
"Robin will tell you if he wants to. I do not know his plans."
"Who's Robin?" Marianna asked woozily, the tea was making her tired.
"You'll learn when the time comes." Marianna sighed again and grasped her soft blanket as she escaped to the world of sleep. The minute Marianna fell asleep, Robin came bursting in and his chest heaved as he slowly caught his breath.
"Has the girl awaken?" he asked sharply. Friar Tuck answered quietly,
"Yes she did and no, I didn't tell her where she was though she asked consistently." Robin Hood sighed with relief and the Friar Tuck raised his eyebrows suspiciously and asked,
"Why do you not want me to tell her?"
"I just don't know how she will react and maybe she is a filthy Norman." The friar nodded his head and said,
"You'll have to tell her sometime Robin, she is a woman of spirit." Robin Hood raked his fingers through his hair and grimaced. He quickly ran out of the room mumbling something about having a meeting with his men.
Robin Hood paced along the dusty campsite as gray ashes tumbled on his boots from the small fire in the center. He was waiting impatiently for his men to assemble before him to discuss what to do with the girl. A group of men lined up before Robin and joked playfully with each other about their conquests.
"Did ya see the look and that noble's face when I tol' him ta take of all of his rich, silk clothing?" A chorus of guffaws followed this remark, but their jokes finally ceased as they looked at their leader's face.
"Say, what's the matter Robin? Your mind still on that beautiful girl of yours?" Snickers broke out from a couple of men and Robin looked up sharply and said,
"Yes, that is what we are here to talk about." Looks of bewilderment crossed the men's faces.
"I have assembled you here today to ask you what we should do to the girl. Should we simply abandon her by some noble's house or should we keep her?"
"Why o' course, just blindfold her an' take her to some house, that way she won't know who we are an' everyone will be satisfied," said Will Scarlet. Murmurs of consent rang among some men.
"For heavens sake, I don't even know why we're talking about her. We should obviously just leave her at some place."
Little John's smooth voice broke out through the loud mutterings of the men,
"Dimwits, think about the consequences." Silence followed his words, as a soft wind created tremors from the tall oak trees.
"What do you mean John?" Robin inquired thoughtfully.
"Don't you think the girl would wonder who we are? Don't you think she would try and find her "saviors?" I mean for heavens sake, any sane person would wonder."
"Why would a rich lady like her wonder? Them nobles don't give a fig about who actually saved them. They're jist in their own li'le world, thinkin' only about themsilves," Will Scarlet replied with venom.
"For the Lord's sake Will, think. Remember, we found her in a prison cell. That stupid oaf of a king wouldn't put her in prison if she was a Norman, besides she herself was in a riot against the king. Maybe she can help us." The last words created a roar of laughter from the men.
"A woman helping us, now that is what I call crazy. The moment she sees us she'll probably faint from fright and moan "go away" in a simpering voice," Carl gasped. Little John's eyes flashed dangerously and said quietly, so no one could hear him, "They can be more help than you know." Robin Hood, while patiently waiting for his men to calm down, quickly thought up a plan.
"I think that Little John here may have a point. Of course, this girl will not help us with any actions whatsoever and will not know of any of our plans, she can help us in other ways. First of all, none of you men are decent cooks and we could use some help cleaning up. Every woman knows how to do that, so let's just say she can be our personal maid," Robin said with a smirk.
"I will tell this girl as little as possible about our camp and of course, I will make sure she knows exactly what to do in this place. Some of us can spy on her to make sure that she doesn't let anything slip. I will have Little John, who seems very keen on this girl, and Will to do that." The men all agreed without complaining and some even said they could use some help with the cooking. Besides, they thought, we are men and are not meant to cook. We are suppose to be heroes and saviors to the Saxon people, not little cooks serving the morning gruel.
Robin Hood smiled brightly, congratulating himself for his wonderful plan. They could use the girl to protect them from nobles, surely a noble wouldn't shoot a lady with an arrow if they ever came across his clan. She could even be used as bait, Robin thought. And that was all Robert of Locksley thought of Marianna, she was simply bait.
Marianna awoke again and saw two pools of blue staring at her. She stifled a scream, as she thought of the Duke of Torms, and stared back. What right did this person have of staring at her? Finally, the person broke his gaze and Marianna saw a handsome, no very handsome man. A piece of slightly curly, brown hair covered a bit of his eyes and he was wearing a brown tunic with breeches.
"W-who are you and what are you doing here?" Marianna practically yelled. The man smirked playfully and stared down at her.
"You do not know who I am, little girl?"
"No of course not, and don't call me 'little girl' a-and tell me where I am."
"Nobles are all alike," Robin muttered incoherently.
"I am Robin Hood and this is my camp."
Marianna's jaw dropped, this was Robin Hood. This was the man who stole from every noble and Lord knows what he did with the money he stole. This was the man who killed without mercy and took gold from every noble household. Of course, she had heard about Robin Hood. His name came from every noble's mouth, how rude and ugly he was and how his motley band of men would burn a noble Norman alive. Yes, everyone was supposed to fear this evil man Robin Hood, for he was a man who wrought terror over her people, the Norman people.
"Y- -you," stuttered Marianna. She scrambled quickly out of bed and stood on her shaky legs grasping for her dagger and immediately collapsed onto the bed. Marianna thought she saw a look of concern slip into Robin's haunted eyes, but she must've just imagined it.
"You will stay here." Marianna's eyes widened in shock and anger.
"Stay here! What do you mean 'stay here'?" You- -you can't make me, I will, um...I will..." Marianna racked through her brain furiously, almost hysterically for something she could do to him. The king hated her and her family will probably never help her. She could run away, except every time she ran away Marianna made her situation even worse. Yet, a plan began to form in Marianna's mind. She could gain the trust of these men and simply go away, far away, maybe even to a different country. She sighed wistfully. This Robin Hood would keep her prisoner, just like the king or he might even do something worse.
Robin Hood did not expect such an outburst from this lady of nobility, for she was obviously a noble from the way she talked. He had expected her to simply faint in his arms or something, but this girl's eyes flickered with rebellion and anger. She might do something he would regret. Robin Hood decided quickly to keep a good watch on this girl. He cleared his throat unconsciously and said,
"You will be our cook and clean this camp. You will cook three times a day and make sure that this place is cleaned properly."
Marianna stuttered in anger and bewilderment,
"Y-you want me to...to cook? That's ridiculous, I-I can't cook for you, you insolent creature!" Again Robin was shocked, instead a flicker of amusement played in his eyes and he said smoothly and sarcastically,
"And why not, m'lady?" Marianna knew the answer of course, except maybe, she thought, maybe this was a trick. If she said that she did not know how to cook, what would he do to her? Would he kill her on the spot? She looked into his cold eyes and didn't doubt her thoughts. She could lie her way through this camp, she would keep her pride, but she would not say anything about who she was. Marianna would lie about her past, future, anything. For all of her life, she was taught that honesty and honor were the most important aspects in life, yet this was a different situation, she thought. This was a matter of life and death. As if reading her thoughts, Robin Hood said coolly,
"So, Marianna shall you begin your chores?" How does he know my name Marianna thought frantically, instead she stuck out her chin and said,
"Yes."
Chapter 7
Robin Hood
Images swam before Marianna. The poor boy's hand was before her. His dirty hands begging for money. Janine looking up at her crying and saying,
"Why did you have to go?"
King John's angry voice of dismissal yelled at her.
"Take her away!" The prison...Eyes as blue as a river and the sky above stared at her. Golden, brown hair fell upon his forehead. Is this the Duke of Torms, Marianna thought? She had to get away. She had to get away from him. The man started stroking her hair and he said softly,
"Shhh, you're all right. You're all right." Marianna looked into his eyes again and she knew that she was fine.
Robin watched worriedly as Marianna struggled through her feverish nightmares. He tried to help her, but he didn't know how. Friar Tuck was there, performing the medical tasks that he learned as a monk. Robin Hood turned towards him and asked tightly,
"How is she?" Friar Tuck smiled grimly and said, "There might be a chance. Just stop worrying Robin about your pretty lady, go do some business with them men of yours." Robin glared at Friar Tuck and strode out of the tent and onto the dusty campground. Every man in the camp thought that he was in love with the girl Marianna. Of course he wasn't in love with her, he thought. He had to work on his strategies for overthrowing the king. It wasn't time for him to fall in love with a- -a soppy, regal lady. Besides, he didn't even know the stupid girl. She was probably just another beautiful lady who sat around all day sewing and waiting for suitors. Robin Hood ran his fingers through his hair and sighed heavily. For heaven's sake, he thought, I'm the one and only Robin Hood, why should I be thinking about a girl? This town and even this country needs me.
A moan escaped from Marianna's chapped and dried lips. A soft wind played gently against her cheek and shadows caressed her slender fingertips. Marianna opened her eyes with an effort and looked around, clearly befuddled. Where was she? She was on a soft white bed and in a tent that she had never seen before. The sun from the outside bounced along the coarse cloth of the tent and the ground was cluttered with charts, maps, and large wooden boxes. Memories of the past few days rushed into Marianna's head. She was in a prison cell and the Duke of Torms was...Suddenly, a slightly bald man with frayed gray hair peered down at her. He then spoke cheerfully,
"Ah, it seems that the beautiful lady has awoken. How do you feel?" She tried to reply, but only managed a feeble croak, again she opened her mouth and words fell from her clumsy tongue.
"Um...I'm fine." She was amazed at how weak her voice sounded.
"You may call me Friar Tuck and you are Marianna, are you not?" The fat man chuckled and said mischievously,
"Robin will be very pleased that you have awaken. Can I get you anything to eat m'lady?"
"Oh, no thank you, but can you tell me where I am?" The friar got her some tea and placed the smoking cup in her hand. Marianna took a sip of the scalding tea and swallowed sourly. She sank back into her pillow and asked where she was again. Friar Tuck smiled gently and replied,
"Robin will tell you if he wants to. I do not know his plans."
"Who's Robin?" Marianna asked woozily, the tea was making her tired.
"You'll learn when the time comes." Marianna sighed again and grasped her soft blanket as she escaped to the world of sleep. The minute Marianna fell asleep, Robin came bursting in and his chest heaved as he slowly caught his breath.
"Has the girl awaken?" he asked sharply. Friar Tuck answered quietly,
"Yes she did and no, I didn't tell her where she was though she asked consistently." Robin Hood sighed with relief and the Friar Tuck raised his eyebrows suspiciously and asked,
"Why do you not want me to tell her?"
"I just don't know how she will react and maybe she is a filthy Norman." The friar nodded his head and said,
"You'll have to tell her sometime Robin, she is a woman of spirit." Robin Hood raked his fingers through his hair and grimaced. He quickly ran out of the room mumbling something about having a meeting with his men.
Robin Hood paced along the dusty campsite as gray ashes tumbled on his boots from the small fire in the center. He was waiting impatiently for his men to assemble before him to discuss what to do with the girl. A group of men lined up before Robin and joked playfully with each other about their conquests.
"Did ya see the look and that noble's face when I tol' him ta take of all of his rich, silk clothing?" A chorus of guffaws followed this remark, but their jokes finally ceased as they looked at their leader's face.
"Say, what's the matter Robin? Your mind still on that beautiful girl of yours?" Snickers broke out from a couple of men and Robin looked up sharply and said,
"Yes, that is what we are here to talk about." Looks of bewilderment crossed the men's faces.
"I have assembled you here today to ask you what we should do to the girl. Should we simply abandon her by some noble's house or should we keep her?"
"Why o' course, just blindfold her an' take her to some house, that way she won't know who we are an' everyone will be satisfied," said Will Scarlet. Murmurs of consent rang among some men.
"For heavens sake, I don't even know why we're talking about her. We should obviously just leave her at some place."
Little John's smooth voice broke out through the loud mutterings of the men,
"Dimwits, think about the consequences." Silence followed his words, as a soft wind created tremors from the tall oak trees.
"What do you mean John?" Robin inquired thoughtfully.
"Don't you think the girl would wonder who we are? Don't you think she would try and find her "saviors?" I mean for heavens sake, any sane person would wonder."
"Why would a rich lady like her wonder? Them nobles don't give a fig about who actually saved them. They're jist in their own li'le world, thinkin' only about themsilves," Will Scarlet replied with venom.
"For the Lord's sake Will, think. Remember, we found her in a prison cell. That stupid oaf of a king wouldn't put her in prison if she was a Norman, besides she herself was in a riot against the king. Maybe she can help us." The last words created a roar of laughter from the men.
"A woman helping us, now that is what I call crazy. The moment she sees us she'll probably faint from fright and moan "go away" in a simpering voice," Carl gasped. Little John's eyes flashed dangerously and said quietly, so no one could hear him, "They can be more help than you know." Robin Hood, while patiently waiting for his men to calm down, quickly thought up a plan.
"I think that Little John here may have a point. Of course, this girl will not help us with any actions whatsoever and will not know of any of our plans, she can help us in other ways. First of all, none of you men are decent cooks and we could use some help cleaning up. Every woman knows how to do that, so let's just say she can be our personal maid," Robin said with a smirk.
"I will tell this girl as little as possible about our camp and of course, I will make sure she knows exactly what to do in this place. Some of us can spy on her to make sure that she doesn't let anything slip. I will have Little John, who seems very keen on this girl, and Will to do that." The men all agreed without complaining and some even said they could use some help with the cooking. Besides, they thought, we are men and are not meant to cook. We are suppose to be heroes and saviors to the Saxon people, not little cooks serving the morning gruel.
Robin Hood smiled brightly, congratulating himself for his wonderful plan. They could use the girl to protect them from nobles, surely a noble wouldn't shoot a lady with an arrow if they ever came across his clan. She could even be used as bait, Robin thought. And that was all Robert of Locksley thought of Marianna, she was simply bait.
Marianna awoke again and saw two pools of blue staring at her. She stifled a scream, as she thought of the Duke of Torms, and stared back. What right did this person have of staring at her? Finally, the person broke his gaze and Marianna saw a handsome, no very handsome man. A piece of slightly curly, brown hair covered a bit of his eyes and he was wearing a brown tunic with breeches.
"W-who are you and what are you doing here?" Marianna practically yelled. The man smirked playfully and stared down at her.
"You do not know who I am, little girl?"
"No of course not, and don't call me 'little girl' a-and tell me where I am."
"Nobles are all alike," Robin muttered incoherently.
"I am Robin Hood and this is my camp."
Marianna's jaw dropped, this was Robin Hood. This was the man who stole from every noble and Lord knows what he did with the money he stole. This was the man who killed without mercy and took gold from every noble household. Of course, she had heard about Robin Hood. His name came from every noble's mouth, how rude and ugly he was and how his motley band of men would burn a noble Norman alive. Yes, everyone was supposed to fear this evil man Robin Hood, for he was a man who wrought terror over her people, the Norman people.
"Y- -you," stuttered Marianna. She scrambled quickly out of bed and stood on her shaky legs grasping for her dagger and immediately collapsed onto the bed. Marianna thought she saw a look of concern slip into Robin's haunted eyes, but she must've just imagined it.
"You will stay here." Marianna's eyes widened in shock and anger.
"Stay here! What do you mean 'stay here'?" You- -you can't make me, I will, um...I will..." Marianna racked through her brain furiously, almost hysterically for something she could do to him. The king hated her and her family will probably never help her. She could run away, except every time she ran away Marianna made her situation even worse. Yet, a plan began to form in Marianna's mind. She could gain the trust of these men and simply go away, far away, maybe even to a different country. She sighed wistfully. This Robin Hood would keep her prisoner, just like the king or he might even do something worse.
Robin Hood did not expect such an outburst from this lady of nobility, for she was obviously a noble from the way she talked. He had expected her to simply faint in his arms or something, but this girl's eyes flickered with rebellion and anger. She might do something he would regret. Robin Hood decided quickly to keep a good watch on this girl. He cleared his throat unconsciously and said,
"You will be our cook and clean this camp. You will cook three times a day and make sure that this place is cleaned properly."
Marianna stuttered in anger and bewilderment,
"Y-you want me to...to cook? That's ridiculous, I-I can't cook for you, you insolent creature!" Again Robin was shocked, instead a flicker of amusement played in his eyes and he said smoothly and sarcastically,
"And why not, m'lady?" Marianna knew the answer of course, except maybe, she thought, maybe this was a trick. If she said that she did not know how to cook, what would he do to her? Would he kill her on the spot? She looked into his cold eyes and didn't doubt her thoughts. She could lie her way through this camp, she would keep her pride, but she would not say anything about who she was. Marianna would lie about her past, future, anything. For all of her life, she was taught that honesty and honor were the most important aspects in life, yet this was a different situation, she thought. This was a matter of life and death. As if reading her thoughts, Robin Hood said coolly,
"So, Marianna shall you begin your chores?" How does he know my name Marianna thought frantically, instead she stuck out her chin and said,
"Yes."