Chapter Eleven

Waking up the next morning, I saw that the sun had already risen. Back home, I had often woken at least once before going back to sleep but here, I had slept the entire night away. Pushing aside the covers, I went over to the closet. Inside the wooden area were several skirts, shirts and dresses- there was not one pair of pants in sight.

"Oh great and after two days in these things, I cannot stay in them for another day. I wonder if Will has any."

I murmured softly to myself.

"After last night, are you sure you want to deal with him? At least right now?"

My conscience piped up and I knew that was right. Finally, staring at the clothes, I decided that I would go and see if I could find Marian. Moving for the washstand, I quickly changed out of my shirts and grabbed one from the wardrobe. Washing up, I soon changed into the newer shirt and moved all of my things in with the trench coat. Once I was sure everything was set I made my way out into the hallway. Standing there, I tried to remember the way back to the dining hall. I would hopefully meet up with someone who knew where to find Marian. Visualizing last night, I remembered the picture of Robin and Marian on their anniversary.

"So left it is."

I made sure that my room's door was closed and soon started down the hallway. The different pictures and statues were becoming familiar so when I passed a statue I didn't remember, I figured that I had gone too far. Stopping where I was, I focused on the pictures around and realized that I must have walked right past the crossing hallway.

"Why must I get lost in this place?"

As I stood and tried to decide whether or not I should turn around and retrace my steps, I remembered what I used to do when I got lost- spin and point. Placing one hand over my eyes, I spun around on my left foot until I got dizzy and stopped. Facing the direction I had stopped in, I waited till the sick feeling in my stomach left before I opened my eyes. Knowing my luck, as soon as I removed my hand the queasiness set in again. Taking a step, I tripped over my own feet and landed on my butt. Sitting there, I couldn't help but start to laugh.

"Whoa……that was fun."

"You are a strange girl, I'll give you that."

Opening my eyes, I saw Leighanne standing in front of me. Putting a small smile on my lips, I waved a little bit.

"Hello… would you by any chance know which hall I'm down? I got lost."

Taking Leighanne's outstretched hand, she helped me to stand and I leaned against a wall to steady myself and wait until my stomach stopped flopping around.

"You're in the East Hall. I was coming back down here to get some things from my old room when I saw you spin around and fall. Exactly why did you do that?"

"Went too far and was trying to decide which way to go. I used to decide things like that when I was younger."

Leighanne laughed and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"You make sense now. Jade and I used to do similar things when we were younger and wanted to have adventures around our home."

I looked at Leighanne and saw how much she reminded me of Pebbles. Whenever Pebbles and Elf had been together, they had often been hyper like, making quick comments and sometimes not fully paying attention to what they said. When they were apart though, both were actually relatively calm and understandable.

"Do you want me to give you a hand? Jade went off with Marian and Sarah to get goods from town and I couldn't find Will anywhere."

"Okay, if you can help me find some pants. The only ones I have are the ones I'm wearing. Plus I'm not into wearing dresses or skirts anytime soon."

Leighanne smiled and nodded her head.

"I can definitely help you out there. Before it became disrespectable for us to wear pants, we'd use to wear them for fighting practice around the castle."

I smiled and said that my bearings were better now. The two of us moved on down the hallway and as we did, I saw several pictures of Marian with other people.

"When were these done?"

"When Marian was much younger. The picture over there of the young boy is of Robin. He made her life a living hell, always teasing her. I was surprised when they got married. But she's happy and I'm glad. Robin has brought into her life a lot of joy."

We continued to walk down the hallway and soon came to a door very similar to mine. There was a fine brass handle that looked slightly old.

"Here's my old room. Marian wanted Jade and I closer since there are too many rooms and one could get lost, like you did. We'll only be a few minutes."

Opening the door, I was led into a room filled with the color of rose. Draperies were the same color as her dress the day before except that a deeper red was used to embroider the flowers on them. Pine end tables took place of the chesterfield. From where I stood, the desk and bed frames both looked to be made of solid oak. Leighanne moved over to her closet area and pulled out several pairs of pants and tossed them over to where I stood.

"These should fit you alright. Now to find my sewing I left here before going to the camp 3 months ago. I can't seem to remember where I put it though. Do you think you could give me a hand in finding it?"

Since she was lending me some of her pants, I figured that I might as well. Nodding, I placed the pants on the bed and started to search around.

"You know, I am glad that I wasn't able to find him. The sweing is actually fore his birthday coming up."

"Ah, 20 right?"

"Yes, how did you get that out of him? It took Jade and I several months before we could extract that piece of information."

As we looked around the room, I explained to her the question/answer game that Will and I had done the day I arrived. Looking under the cushion of her window seat, I found the sewing but also caught a weird look over her face. One that made her look like she was concentrating way too hard on something so easy. I walked over to where she stood and handed the sewing over before gathering the pants up.

"Speaking of birthdays, when is yours?"

Caught unaware to the words of the question, I focused to make sure the pants were in good condition. I mindlessly answered the question like I was answering Gus or Spike.

"May 10th, in two days."

"That's amazing!"

I snapped back into reality and realized what I had said. Biting back a groan, I looked to her face.

"Why is it amazing?"

'Please don't say what I think you're going to say.' I prayed silently to myself.

"Well in two days it just happens to be Will's birthday as well. Robin, Little John, Azeem, Bull, Much, Friar Tuck, Fanny, Wulf and a few others will be heading up here to the castle to celebrate. I know! We could celebrate yours as well."

This time I let the groan out. I figured this was going to happen and this was not what I wanted.

"No thanks. No celebrating for me. While you guys party, I'll just stay up in my room. Parties aren't my sort of thing."

Unfortunately, Leighanne must have had selective hearing because she grinned from ear to ear. She must have focused on 'Parties…my sort of thing.'

"Come on, we must go and see if Maria is back yet. There is some more planning to be done and you're going to need a dress for the occasion."

Leighanne left the room mumbling one thing or another about dresses. I followed behind and when we made it to the hallway leading to the dining hall, I just continued on my way back to my room. All the talk about dresses for this celebration made me think of when I turned sixteen. My mother had this whole idea of a sweet sixteen party- me in a puffy pale pink dress, all my parent's friend's kids being asked to come. Though it was my party or rather my mom's party, no one really talked to me. They said hello when they first arrived but after that, they would stick with their real friends.

I rolled my eyes at the rememberance of how I got into the pink dress. I hadn't any idea that my mother had planned the 'event' so when I went for a shower, my mom switched clothes that I had chosen to hang out with my friends in with the dress. It wasn't like I could go out into the hall with nothing but a towel on.

Halfway through the party, I ended up getting a call on the cell phone that had appeared in my trench. Gus and Spike had hidden it there as an early birthday present. Somehow they had overheard about the party from some of the kids at school and knew that I would need saving. I snuck out through the garage where my friends were waiting in an alley that was just off the backyard. Once I got to the car, there were two presents waiting for me in the back seat. Gus's was that of a writing book with my picture etched into it and Spike ended up getting me the Queen's Greatest Hits albums. Another thing that they combined together to by me was some new clothing. They suited me perfectly. They were black baggy jeans and a white top. Across the chest had all my favorite bands in felt tip marker.

Spike drove us to the closes gas station to where I snuck into the change room. Coming out, I dumped the dress into the trunk and then off to the Firehouse till 3am. When I got back my parents had been in bed long before and hadn't even noticed I was gone. They just assumed that I had gone out with a 'friend from the party.' We had cut the cake an hour before I snuck out and I knew I wouldn't be opening any of the presents till the next day.

Focusing back to the party plans that were now being formed around me……and yeah that of Will, I tired to figure out how I could get out of the mess. In the room, I took the pants and tried them on. Four out of five fit and were loose enough for my liking. Going through the shirts that were in the closet area, I found several colors that went nicely with the pants. Those that matched I folded and placed together so that I wouldn't misplace them. The brown pair that had fit but weren't as loose were the ones that I decided I'd change into. There was a green shirt and went well with the pants and I also noticed that there was a brown vest in the closet.

"At least they have some decent clothing now adays……or is it back then? Anyways, now all I have to do is get out of wearing a dress."

Changing the clothes, I ran my fingers through my hair quickly and looking in the mirror I found that I was reasonably presentable.

"Now to get this dress idea out of Leighanne's head."

I made sure everything was set in the closet and decided to hang the trench in the far corner just in case a servant came to gather the other worn clothing. I didn't want to worry about them finding my writing book and reading over the words, if they could read at all. The clothing that I had originally arrived in was put with the ones needed to be cleaned, figuring it was a good idea that they needed to be washed.

Leaving the room with determination, I made my way back to the dining hall. It was sort of strange though, that the only person I had seen so far this morning was Leighanne, and there was supposed to be several tens of servants. Unlike the last time when I went straight through, I remembered the hall Leighanne had turned down. Doing likewise, I made my way to the soon familiar doorway and could soon hear the lively chatter.

"Marian, there you are. We need to talk."

The voice sounded like Leighanne and I needed to get to her first to tell her I did not plan on partaking in any of the festivities. Especially if it was to mean me in a dress. Opening the door, I soon saw the tens of servants I thought to be in the castle busy putting up decorations. Blue and red flowers and banners were either being carried or hung up. At the far wall, I could see Leighanne talking with Marian. She caught sight of me entering and pointed my way with excitement.

"Oh brother."

The next thing I knew, Leighanne was dragging both Jade and her cousun towards me. All of them had mischievous looks on their faces.

"Oh no. There is no way. None at all."

"Oh yes you are. Women never wear trousers to balls or grand festivities. They always wear dresses." Marian said with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"I haven't worn a dress since I was sixteen. I find then unnerving and annoying to walk in. There is no way that I will wear one." Leighanne started to give me the puppy eyes.

"But it is your birthday. Don't you want to feel special on this grand day?"

This was no time to cave in. I needed to stand tall, stay firm and I wouldn't give in.

"No. I'm not joining the festivities or wearing a dress. I'm staying in my room until everything is finished and staying in my trousers."

Silently I congratulated myself for staying firm. All three of their faces seemed to fall and from the looks of it were going to leave my decision alone until Jade caught sight of someone behind me. Her eyes seemed to perk up and I knew from the look that this was far from being over.

"Richard… could you come and settle an argument for us?"

Great, just great. This was all that I needed. Jade started waving and turning, I saw King Richard coming to wards us. Turning back to look at the other three, all of their faces were lighting us. I had won the battle but was soon to lose the war. Richard came up to us and stopped beside me, nodding to his cousins.

"What can I do for you ladies?"

Jade gave me a smirk.

"As you know, Will's birthday is coming up in two days time. Well Leighanne found out that Dodger's is the same day."

I heard an intake of breath and warily looked towards him. There was a surprise look on his face as though he was shocked that I had kept my birthday a secret from him. Well, technically I hadn't; no one had asked me when it was. Jade continued.

"Well we want her to join in the party but she doesn't want to. She won't ever wear a dress so that we can all celebrate the date of her birth."

Oh brother, that was getting just to be too much.

"This won't do. I know you had not wanted to join in the party Lady Dodger, but when a ball or event is held, all the guests are insisted to come. Men in their best pants and vests while women in their best dresses. They are not considered a guest if they show up in trousers. Also seeing as it will be your birth date, it is also important that you come."

'Damn it! I had told the three of them that I didn't want to go, didn't want to wear a dress and nearly succeeded. Why must I be forced into this? I hate being forced, especially into dresses.' I angrily said to myself.

I looked to Richard and was about to argue with him when he started to speak again.

"I'm sure that my cousins will give you a hand in finding a dress. They've got a ton in those closets of theirs. Now if you'llexcuse me, I'll be tending to some things in the study."

Giving each of us a nod, Richard turned about and left me with three grinning idiots and them one pissed off Dodger. Marian and Jade both took hold of one of my arms.

"Come now, we must find you a dress. Leighanne can continue with the decorating. She'll meet us in your chamber later."

With those final words said they started to tug me to the door. I dug my heels in and outside the door was able to pull them to a halt.

"Do not think that I'll be all happy by the time this is all over. I stated how I hated to wear dresses and you two are no better than some idiots in thinking that just because a man said I had to I'll enjoy it... I've gone through this crap before so just watch your backs."

The two of them stood there in front of me, shocked that I said stuff like that. With a bit of a growl, I pushed past them moving to my room and hoping to have some piece of mind for a few minutes I closed the door as hard as I could and plopped myself down in a chair. Ten minutes or so later, the three idiots as I had named them in my head came in. Leighanne seemed to have a disapproving look to her face but I didn't much care. I was too ticked off. I crossed my arms and stayed firm in the seat.

"Well, now lets us see what dresses we can find in here."

Marian said, her voice sounding a little hurt with what I had said before to her. I just kept my eyes unfocused on anything around me and ignored the bustling sounds of dress materials. Cautiously, I did notice Jade coming towards me.

"Listen, we are sorry, but it is your birthday and you should really celebrate it. Just and hour or so, that is all you would have to be there for. After that, you can go on back to your room. I can make sure you get there without any fuss."

I looked to Jade's eyes and saw that she was very sincere about it.

"Alright, but only an hour and a half."

A smile returned to Jade's lips as she moved behind me to start fussing with my hair. Over and over she swept it up away from my face, trying to do different hairstyles. I could tell she was slowly becoming aggravated since small wisps kept falling down from her hold. The pieces were just too short for her to keep them up. As she dealt with my hair, I felt a little bad for what I had said to her, forgetting that she had been the one to put Richard on my case.

"Ah ha! Found one."

Jade dropped my hair and I took that opportunity to get up from the seat. We both looked to where Leighanne and Marian stood. In Marian's hands was a deep red dress, almost the color of blood. 'Think of an excuse!' My brain screamed.

"Isn't that uh, the color you usually wear?"

My eyes looking to Leighanne then back to the dress.

"Usually yes, but I'll be wearing a gold dress this time and Marian will be wearing her usual blue."

"And I'll be wearing a silver one."

Jade's voice commented from beside me. I wasn't going to get out of this. Marian walked over to me with a smile on her face and held the dress up against me.

"Perfect. How about you go change into this so that we can see if this actually fits and we won't need to do any alterations."

Before I could say anything, she handed me the dress and pushed me towards the change area that I hadn't really noticed before. I just thought it was another closet. If Richard hadn't ordered this, I would have tried to get rid of the dress as fast as I possibly could. Maybe burn it, tear it, throw it out the window. Anything that was possible.

"You need any help Dodger?"

A voice came from the other side of the door.

"I'm doing fine."

I called back as I slipped my pants and top off. Gathering the dress together, I pulled it on over my head. I found the sleeve holes and soon it hung on my body. My only problem though, was that my undershirt showed up around the neckline. Grumbling, I quickly pulled the dress off, slipped the undershirt off and pulled the dress back on. Luckily enough I didn't need any pieces of string to be tied up and so taking a deep breath, I opened the door and stepped out in front of the girls. All their faces looked like lights on a Christmas tree.

"You look great!"

"I feel like a china doll put out for everyone's display."

Leighanne took hold of my arm and pulled me away from the doorway to the centre of the room. Placing her hands on her hips she looked me dead in the eye.

"Twirl."

Her demanding voice rang through the room. I bit back my comment and did so, growling softly under my breath.

"Well, we'll have to do something about your hair, but that dress does look good on you. Better than it ever did on me."

I rolled my eyes.

"Well I'm getting changed."

Before any of them could say a word about wanting to see something, I moved right back into the room, closing the door. Behind the wood, I pulled the dress off and tossed it onto a nearby chair. With the dreadful thing finally off, I pulled my undershirt back on and then my other clothes. Grabbing the dress, I came out and handed it over to Marian and walked out of the room hearing a few steams of argument from the others. I wasn't interested in hearing any more plans of the combined birthdays. I was debating on either staying in my room or going out and exploring the castle without a tour guide.

Seeing that those three were in my room, exploring was the next best choice. Rather than turning towards the dining hall and going from there, I went right outside my door and down the hallway to some spiral stairs. Dark and foreboding, this was going to be interesting.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that have to do with the Robin Hood tale. I do own partial rights to Jade and Leighanne and Ice owns the characterization of Marian/Ice. All others that you do not recognize from the Newsies or Robin Hood belong to me. Thank you to all those who have been patient in waiting for the next chapter. Been a little busy with several plays and with my hectic life through work. Keep reviewing. I'll try to make the next chapter come a little faster.