Chapter twenty:
Marian's POV:
This thief knew me?! There had to be an explanation for this.
The blindfold was itchy on my face, but the hands which held mine were warm and gentle. Although they were thieves, they didn't seem as if they would kill me, I still didn't feel completely safe though.
Thoughts were racing through my mind, like bees in a hive. I could barely focus on one before another flew into my head. Who was this man? How did he know me? Where was I? Why did he look as if he recognised my ring, is that why he kept it?
We kept walking for roughly five more minutes, the pair of warm hands were still holding mine. From the point where we left the horses, we had made eight left hand turns and five right. Tracking our movements, I hoped that I could escape and find my own way back. I would have loved to say that I knew exactly where we were, but the truth was, I had absolutely no clue.
Wind whistled through the leaves, it sounded like a faint voice, calling me to somewhere. The twigs snapped satisfyingly underneath my feet, and the slightly frost air gave me goosebumps.
After walking for another of couple minutes, voices began to grow louder in the direction we were heading in. Were there more thieves?! A bright light, shone through the thin material, perhaps a fire. There must be a gathering of some sort, not very many people though, maybe 20 at most.
I felt some people walk past me, but the two hands, which were holding mine, didn't loosed their grip, or make to move away. Their breath sounded shacky and full of emotion, it was as if he was breathless, but didn't quite know why. Listening carefully, I could hear him opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, stuck for words. Finally making a decision, he led me further away from the large group of voices and into a quieter part of wherever we were.
"I am going to take off your blindfold now, but please, close your eyes and don't turn around until I say so." He whispered, taking a deep breath afterwards.
If this idiot thought I wouldn't try my luck, with just the two of us in what seemed like an isolated area, then he had another thing coming.
The breeze cooled my face, where the stuffy cloth had just been. Opening one eye slightly, I could see that there was no one in front of me, he must be standing behind. My surroundings were dark, and ominous. I couldn't quite make out where I was, or what was around me, but I could see I was in a forest of some sort.
This was the perfect chance!
Discreetly, I brought my hands together and began to nudge down the dagger which I had hidden up one of my sleeves. From his view, it would look like I was merely rubbing my wrist where they had been tied. The dagger hilt of the dagger dropped gently into my hand, and I pulled the sleeve down, hiding it, if he looked my way.
"Now, I know this may come as a shock to you. It has been a long time since we last saw each other, but I just want to say that-" Swinging almost blindly, I managed to knock his back against a tree, and held the dagger against his throat.
His breath caught in his throat, shocked that I had moved at all, let alone so fast. His hands, which were calloused and covered in scars, came up beside his head in surrender. This may be easier than I thought! I could convince him to stay quite long enough for me to make my escape, and I would be back to safety in no time! Then, I noticed that he was holding my ring in one of his hands.
A giant puzzle piece clicked into place.
Looking around, without taking my eyes off of him, my dagger of his hands, I recognised this place. The way the trees formed around us, like we were hidden from the outside world, the moonlight hit the leaves like they were little mirrors, reflecting the shine everywhere.
It was the way the wind blew through my hair, like it really had been calling me home. The smell of the trees and plants around me were unmistakable; my home was, and always will be Sherwood Forest.
The fire with the group of people was in the same place that I had spent many evenings, talking and telling stories with my best friends. I knew exactly where I was.
Looking above the thief's head, I saw a familiar etching into the tree behind him. "Robin + Marian" was carved into the bark, the words were surrounded by a heart. Was this the same reason that I saw my old arrow that night I lost my mother? This must mean something!
Looking down at the thief again, my eyes caught on something unmistakable on his throat. Moving my dagger slightly downwards, I saw the mark for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. It was left from a dagger very similar to the one against his throat now, this could only mean one thing. There was only one boy who had this scar on his throat. Seeing it brought back memories of a twelve year-old-girl, angry about her interrupted target practice, and a boy of the same age, pinned against a tree, with a dagger held to his throat.
Out of nowhere, he pulled of his hood, acting while I was clearly in deep thought.
Tears welled up in my eyes, as I fulling realised the reality that had been staring me in the face for longer than I cared to admit.
Strong floods of nostalgia hit me, when his gorgeous, green eyes mine. Thoughts rushed through my head; the first time I locked eyes with him, the ring he gave me that night, the first time he told me he loved me, the walks we used to have at night, when it felt like we were the only two people in the entire world. All of the warm memories that we shared together; and then the not-so-happy memory.
Our goodbye.
It all made sense now! All of the pieces fit into one big puzzle; my ring (and the fact that he recognised it), the forest we were in, the scar on his throat, and of course he recognised me before I recognised him because he was disguised!
Robin was back.
Robin, the love of my life was back and I never felt more overwhelmed in my whole life. The person who pulled of the hood was no longer the boy who left me four years ago, Robin of Locksley was a man now.
I couldn't speak. Breathing was just impossible. My throat was closed up, and my head was hurting. Too many things were going on at once, and I couldn't handle it any longer.
"Marian…" Robin's too familiar voice only made my head spin more.
One thing I knew, I was attempting to run away from my past. The next, my vision was black. I felt two strong, muscular arms pick me up, and I was carried towards a warm fire. Voices sounded all around me, but all I could focus on was the wind, rustling through the trees.
Home. I was home.