Chapter twenty-seven:
Robin's POV:
I walked on air all the way back to the camp, nothing in the whole wide world could bring me down.
The clouds opened up and heavenly sunlight poured in, it tickled my skin and warmed my hair. A cool breeze rippled through my clothes as I entered the forest, and once it was safe to do so, I took off my hood and mask. Letting my feet lead the way, I was so blissfully happy that I didn't care where I ended up.
They wouldn't need me back at camp, just yet, I could take a few ore moments for myself.
My smile stretched so far up my face that I could barely see through my eyes. Quietly, I could hear the gently trickle of a stream nearby and delicate bird song above. Humming to myself slowly, I opened my eyes a little and noticed a small river, it must have somehow connected to the other stream, but I had no idea where it led to. Feeling spontaneous, I chose to follow and see where it brought me.
It bent and curved, never running in a straight line, and it had smaller streams which led off into other areas of the forest. The water flowed delicately, never too fast but never the pace never actually stopped.
Walking on, it opened up wider, beckoning me forward. The water inside was clean and reflected the image of the blue sky above. The rocks at the bottom were clean from the water's rush.
Kneeling down, I dipped the tips of my fingers in and let the water splash up my hand. It felt cool and refreshing, like it could cure any ailment.
Part of me wondered if all of this was really quite so breath-taking, or if I was just so delusionary happy.
Taking my attention away from the water, my eyes locked onto a clearing in the distance, I noticed a large break in the trees, which surrounded it in a perfect circle. The stream veered off to the side, although it was gone from sight now, I had a feeling I would see it again.
The glorious sunlight shown in through the gaps in the trees and made intricate patterns appear on the forest floor, which changed shape with the breeze. There was an assembly of fallen leaves on the ground which lay dormant on the ground. It was as if they were waiting to be woken up, like a sleeping dragon in its den.
Breaking through the trees and into the opening, my shadow cast itself amongst the pictures and blended in. Birds sand softly in the distance. They sang to each other in a language I'd never understand. Some tunes were high, and some were quick, it was a beautiful thing to experience such pure existence. These birds weren't concerned about anything, they weren't corrupted by the world. All they needed was the earth beneath them and the wind under their wings. Maybe, just for a day, I could be like a bird...
Excitement and pure, childhood joy caused through my veins at an alarming rate. It made my blood pump and my heart race. The sleeping pile of leaves rose with my escalating mood. Opening my eyes fully, I gasped at the sight of the leaves collectively soaring around me! On a soft, but strong current of wind, they surrounded me like a hurricane of warmth. I didn't know what was happening, but I didn't care either. Sunlight broke through in short moments, which made my eyes sting slightly.
In those breid flashes of light, I saw glimpse of my life.
My mother hugging me and helping to clean my cuts when I had first begun archery. Three little children laughing happily, blissfully unaware of the world going on around them. My father teaching me how to hold a sword, and the proud smile on his face when I had knocked his out of his hand for the first time. The warmth of Marian's hand that night I put my grandma's ring on her finger. Moonlight reflecting in her gorgeous eyes when they looked at me. The feel of her gentle lips against mine and the texture of her soft hair in my fingers. The faint last words of my mother while I sat by her bed in her last moments, "Robin… promise me… you'll always be… kind…". Swords clashing together, and the unforgiving sun forever beating down on my sweaty brow.
How could the sun feel so welcoming one moment and relentlessly hellish the next?
Ocean waves rocking the boat on my way back, mirroring the ever-growing pit in my stomach for leaving Marian. Constant anxiety about whether she even remembered me still, let alone loved me.
Then today, the weight that had been lifted off when she had hugged me, laughed at the things I said and the way her eyes lit up at the sight of her old arrows. Utter relief when she had kissed my cheek, it was as if I had never left.
In a moment of grand bliss, I opened my arms wide and welcomed in the magic of Sherwood forest. Spinning until my head span, jumping, running, leaping all until the light faded and the moon light shone through the trees.
Catching my breath, I laid down on the floor in the middle of the clearing. Placing my arms outstretched either side or me, I looked upwards to the sky and looked at the stars. I traced them with a finger and couldn't help but notice that they shone like the light in Marian's eyes.
The sky was the same dark blue that her dress was the night we were united once again.
Life had a curious way of throwing someone into your life. I had just been living my life before that summer day, all I had cared about was archery, my family and my best friends. Then suddenly, boom!
Here was this girl in a forest, about to shoot an arrow. Her shot wouldn't have given my hiding place away at all, I had only told myself that for a reason to talk to her. I knew the first time that she looked at me that it was destiny, we were meant to be together! Fast forward a few years and even after I had left for the war, she was never off my mind. When I came back, I was hoping to find the same Marian I left behind, in the sense that she would still love me. But I was confronted with this woman who wasn't scared to hold a dagger to someone's throat. Albeit the old Marian wasn't fully against that anyway, but still, Marian was changed. She was older, wiser and mysterious. I wanted her none the less, even more so, and I didn't think that was even possible!
The moon enveloped me and my thoughts. It showed me the path back to the camp I now called home. Maybe life wasn't so bad when you took a moment to yourself once in a while.