Chapter twenty-one:
Robin's POV:
The dying firelight illuminated Marian's sleeping face, she had changed a lot, but somehow stayed the same. Her auburn hair glistened in the moonlight; the orange hue of the leftover fire accentuated the red in it. She always looked so peaceful sleeping. Sometimes when we were younger, she would fall asleep beside the campfire and I would carry her back to her house. She was taller than when I last saw her, obviously I wasn't expecting her to stay the same height, but it was still a bit of shock to see her so different.
It was late last night when we had taken her here, and it was early the next morning now. I had refused to leave her side all throughout the night, just in case she woke up, or needed anything.
My mind felt so conflicted, all of the emotions in my head made me want to pass out. I imagine I was feeling much like Marian was before she fainted herself.
What was that all about, anyway? Why did she have a knife and why was she so violent?
There had been pure rage in her eyes when she was holding the knife to my throat. It very much mirrored our first meeting. In this wood, her holding a very similar dagger to my throat, but there hadn't been the same violence in her eyes. She must have changed on the inside, as well as on the outside, it wasn't fair of me to judge her like that though. God knows I changed throughout my time in the war, I had seen atrocities which would forever haunt my nightmares.
I still couldn't help but sigh looking at her, she was extraordinarily beautiful without even trying!
My worries from earlier were still plaguing my mind; Did she even remember me? Did she hate me for leaving? Did she still love me?
I don't even know if she realised it was me! Taking a deep breath, I needed to calm down. This was all too much; I would just talk to her when she was awake.
The camp was near-silent, only the crackle of the dying fire, and the song of birds filled the air. Some of the villagers had moved here to help us out with stuff, like washing and cooking. Will's mother had put a soaked piece of cloth on Marian's forehead, to keep her cool while she slept.
Slumping down onto a log, I buried my face in my hands. They smelt like Marian's perfume, which didn't help me to clear my head. This was certainly not how I imagined our big reunion going! Something in my pocket dug into my leg. Shoving my hand inside, I pulled out her ring. Turning it in my hand, I was thrown back to the night I gave it to her. The way her eyes twinkled in the moonlight, her smile brighter than the stars and how her laughter followed me home.
The cloth on her forehead was beginning to fall, so I walked over and adjusted it. When I was putting it back, I pulled away only to find two crystal eyes staring back at me. She shuffled back a bit, in fear.
"Have you just been watching me sleep?!" Her eyebrows creased her forehead in worry and question. I always found it endearing when we were younger, and it appears I hadn't grown out of the feeling.
"No, no! It's… you… bandage your head… off fell…" Stumbling so desperately for words, I got them all mixed up and made myself look like an idiot.
Her mouth opened as if she was going to say something. I was hoping it would be along the lines of; "Oh, hello Robin! So sorry I haven't written or made any contact with you in four years, but I really missed you! I didn't mean to try and slit your throat earlier, just a defence reflex, you know!"
What came out of her mouth was nothing of the sort.
"Why are you here, Robin?"
Marian's POV:
My head throbbed, and my feet were sore. The last thing I remembered, was fainting and being picked up by someone. For a blissful moment, I couldn't remember who the person who picked me up was, but then the cold, harsh reality set in.
Initials on a tree, the smell of the trees around me, a hood being taken off, and a pair of evergreen eyes staring back at me.
Opening my eyes, I saw Robin, standing over my head holding a piece of cloth. What on earth was he doing?!
Opening my mouth, something came out, though what I said didn't really register with me. He fumbled something about the cloth, but I put him out of his misery with a question.
"Why are you here?" It meant a lot of things; why is here all of a sudden after four years of nothing? Why is he in Sherwood forest, of all places? Why was he so anxious?
To say Robin had changed was a grand understatement. His arms were ripped, he was far taller than me now, his face was chiselled and tanned. But his evergreen eyes remained very much the same.
"I- um…I'm sorry what exactly do you mean?" He replied, his face turning bright red.
"I mean what are you doing here, when you were in the Holy Land for so long?" I chose the easiest option, the one that didn't let on the amount of pain his absence had caused me.
"I- I mean we got discharged, for a sort of break after fighting for so long."
"What do you mean "we"?"
"I wasn't the only one who came back from the Holy Land. I also broug-"
"Marian?!" a very loud shout rang out from behind me.
It couldn't be!
"Much!" Jumping up, I sprinted towards him, difficult conversation with Robin completely forgotten.
I didn't feel about Much the same way I did about Robin. Much only followed Robin to the Holy Land, he went out or loyalty to his friend. Robin's reasons for going were not extremely different from Much's own but I had to find a way to store all of my emotions somehow. Being angry at Robin was just my twisted way of coping.
Much dropped the large pile of fire wood he had been carrying and tackled me in a massive bear-hug. We were both weeping within the first two minutes of hugging each other.
"I m-missed you, Marian!" He sobbed into my hair.
"I missed you too, Much!" I replied, burying myself into his shoulder.
Eventually pulling away, he held me at arm's length, tears still glistening in his eyes.
"Crikey, Marian! You've changed a lot!" He wiped the few tears which fell onto his check away with his hand.
He was much more muscular than his skinny little limbs had once been, he was only slightly smaller than Robin, as always, but his blonde hair hadn't lost its shine.
"Ah, I could say the same about you, Much!" Laughing, I voiced my thoughts.
Much and I were very close when we were younger. I told him everything, perhaps even more than I'd told Robin. Much was like an older brother to me, and I couldn't believe that I finally had him back!
His mouth opened and closed like a fish, searching for the words. Reaching out gently, I pushed his chin up, closing his mouth for good, which only made us both laugh more!
"What is it, Much?" I asked, still laughing at his gaping mouth.
"It's just, you were pretty when you were younger," his cheeks turned a peachy shade. "But now, you're beautiful!"
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I couldn't help hugging him again. "It's really good to see you, Much."
After a few more minutes of hugging, laughing and smiling, he asked the question which was obviously weighing on his hind.
"What were you doing in the castle?"
"It's a very long story, which I promise to tell you another time, but I really should be getting back. He will have sent various troops of guards out searching for me." It wasn't that I didn't trust Much, but I really didn't want to get into all that happened after they both left.
"He?" Much gave me a curious look. It wasn't a judgey one, but more of a "Are you okay?" look.
"It's nothing, really. I'll explain next time, I promise."
"Next time?" He asked, excitedly.
"Well you're not just expecting me to stay away know that I know you're back, are you?" Laughing, I winked at him.
"Would that be "you", plural, or singular?" He tried to catch my eye, but I was looking at the floor. "Don't you think I haven't noticed you not mentioning Robin. You two have a lot to work out, I get that but, you should have seen him over there."
"Why don't we talk about it while you walk me back to the edge of the woods, that way the guards won't see you and we can talk about it." Offering up the idea, I was forced to think about my return to the castle. This would require a fake explanation about where I had been taken to, to tell Guy. Katherine was another problem altogether! She was still not forgiven for the stunt she pulled at the party last night.
"Good idea, there's no point in blindfolding you now, you know your way around this forest better than anyone!" He tried to lighten the subject.
Allowing myself one last look over my shoulder before I went, I saw something that made me heart break just a little more.
Robin was still sat there, next to the spot where I was laying down. He looked forlorn and melancholy, sitting there all alone. The morning light caught on something shiny, which was laid in his hand. It was my ring. He fiddled with it, and held it up to the light. Perhaps he was reminiscing about the little girl he had given it to, and the little boy who had run off into the forest afterwards. Despite my current feelings towards him, I could see I wasn't the only one feeling torn.
"Ready?" Much asked, pulling on his hood just in case we were spotted by an outsider.
"Let's go," turning away from Robin, I focused on my immediate future. I needed a plausible excuse without giving the camp location away.
Much broke me out of my thoughts by saying, "The wasn't a day that went by that he wasn't thinking about you, you know."
"What do you mean?" Asking, I didn't look at my friend, because I knew exactly what he meant.
"I could see it in his eyes, you were the first thing he thought of in the morning and the last before he went to bed at night. He's never stopped loving you, Marian. This was exactly what he was afraid of."
"He's afraid I don't love him anymore?" The pit in my stomach only grew bigger.
"Terrified." was all Much said.
"It's not that I don't love him anymore, it is just a lot of new information to take in at once! Come on Much, did he really think I would just leap into his arms right away, and boom! Happily ever after?"
"Not exactly, but he just wants things to be the same as they once were, before…"
"Before he disappeared off to the Holy Land and took you with him?" The bitterness in my voice couldn't help but escape on the last few words.
"Neither of us wanted to go, Marian, and you know that." The softness in Much's voice always came through, despite what he was saying. "Just please, talk with him! You need to be saying all of this stuff to him, so he knows how you feel."
The edge of the forest came into view, "It looks like this is where we say goodbye, for now."
"Trust me, you will be seeing a lot more of us, very soon! I've really missed you, Marian." Much gave me a mischievous look, right before giving me one last hug.
"I'll see you soon, Much." I whispered into him, before turning around and making my journey towards the castle.
It had been years since I had been outside of the castle, but I remembered people being happier than this. The Sheriff and Guy must have really done a number on these poor villagers. Some of them looked as if they hadn't eaten in days! Next time it was market day, I would give Sarah some food to hand out.
Knowing I wouldn't get to be outside of the castle's stuffy walls again for a long time, I seized the moment and explored a little. There was a group of people hanging around a notice board, reading four big posters.
What was all of this about?
From what I could read between people's heads, the posters said:
"WANTED: THESE MEN ARE DANGEROUS OUTLAWS!
REWARD FOR CAPTURE, DEAD OR ALIVE = £500 FOR EACH, £1,000 FOR THE LEADER!"
Oh no, this must mean the guards were already looking for Robin and his gang! This only proves that they were the reason why there were so many guards in the courtyard that day!
I wanted to stay longer and ask around about them, but I was stopped in my tracks by loud horse hooves galloping towards me, and someone shouting my name.
"Marian! Marian! There you are, are you okay?" Turning around, I was faced with the person I wanted to see the least.
Guy.
"Sir Guy!" Back to the formal names now that I'd gotten what I needed to know from him, I didn't want to lead him on to anything. "There you are, thank goodness you found me!" I really hated every single word coming out of my mouth, but I had to play the act to get the gang of outlaws out of trouble. As much as I was conflicted about the way I felt towards Robin, I wouldn't want to see any of them hanged.
"I have been searching endlessly from the time someone noticed you were missing!" My so called "knight in shining armour" probably only woke up half an hour ago, I seriously doubt he would interrupt his beaty sleep to look for me.
"Oh, thank you, Sir Guy!"
"Come on, Marian, lets get you home." Nottingham castle was not, and never would be my home. He reached down and picked me up by the waist, sitting me in front of him, on top of his horse.
As soon as we got in to the palace courtyard, I was practically jumping to get off of the horse. The ride here was very uncomfortable and extremely slow, Guy decided it would be a grand idea to take the long way back. He got off the horse, and reached up to help me down too. His touch on my waist lingered a little too long for my liking, but I was saved from another awkward conversation with him by Katherine calling my voice.
"Marian! Oh, thank goodness you're safe!" She tackled me in a tight hug, but didn't take me straight to my room. Instead, she added, "You know, Guy was out looking for you all night lon-" I stepped on her foot slightly, and mumbled something about feeling faint. This time, she took pity on my and guided me to my room.
After eventually getting her to leave, I took off my shoes and crawled into bed, I didn't care that I was still wearing my dress. In an attempt to clear my mind, I shut my eyes and lied down, but all that I could picture were those dammed evergreen eyes. I couldn't think of anything else, no matter how hard I tried!
Eventually, I knew sleep wouldn't work, so I walked over to my dressing table, grabbed my hairbrush and began to attack the mess which was on my head.
Looking in the mirror, I gave myself a hard look. The way I was treating Robin wasn't really fair, especially if what much had been saying was true. I just needed to talk to him, and work everything out.
Something in the mirror moved behind me.
Subtlety, I reached for the sharp hair pin, laying on the table beside me. Holding it in my hand like a weapon, I stood up and turned suddenly, knocking a muscular figure to the floor. Within moments, I knew who it was, I didn't even need to see his evergreen eyes.