Chapter 6

Morgan was walking on air; it had been over a month since Gisborne had asked her to be his wife! Everything was going smoothly, well almost, she still hadn't told him her secret and she knew it needed to be discussed, as it wouldn't be fair to start a marriage based on lies. Morgan made her way up the dark stairwell, mindful to watch her step, realizing halfway up she forgot to bring a candle to help her navigate. She wasn't overly worried as she knew this staircase by heart after going up and down it all the years of living here.

She had been very busy the past few days what with all the planning for the wedding and her transition to the lady of the manor! Morgan would have forgotten her head if it wasn't attached to her body already, she giggled to herself as she opened the door to her room, 'Me in charge of a manor?' Suddenly she spotted an arrow lodged into her bedpost and all color drained from her face. 'NO, it can't be. Why now of all times, I don't think I can handle being around him. Even after all this time.' Suddenly she started to panic, the room seemed too small, she had to get out; however, before she could turn around a hand snaked around and covered her mouth "Don't scream Marian it's just me, Robin."

That sentence was all it took to confirm Morgan's fears and at that moment it became too much for her to handle and she fainted.

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Marian was sitting by the fire in the main room when Morgan came home and started making her way upstairs. Thinking she heard a muffled scream and a thump, not long after Morgan started up the stairs, Marian quickly grabbed a candle, pausing only to take a small dagger from her hair. Throwing open the door to Morgan's room, she saw Robin standing over Morgan, who lie unconscious on the floor. She couldn't believe her eyes; Robin was back from the holy land? How long had he been back, and what in God's name was he doing here?

Marian quickly recovered, putting the dagger back into her hair, and placing the candle on a dresser near her. "Robin, help me get her on the bed. After that you will explain yourself and tell me what the hell you are doing here!" she hissed at him.

Robin, who had been staring down at Morgan dumbfoundedly, snapped back to reality and assisted Marian in getting Morgan on the bed. "Marian, I didn't know. When I left this was still your room, had I known—" he tried to explain himself but was cut short by Marian. "You have some nerve coming here after everything you did! How dare you show your face around here, I thought you a better man. I know for a fact you were raised better than that, Robert Charles Locksley, your mother must be turning over in her grave due to your behavior!"

"Marian, look, I came here in hopes you would know where I could find Morgan. I know I was in the wrong and I've thought about it often while in the holy land. I wanted to make amends." Robin tried to explain, "How was I to know that Morgan would be here with you, or in your old room? It was dark, and I thought she was you." He added sheepishly as if that would excuse his behavior.

Before Marian or Robin could speak, Morgan moaned and they both made their way over to her side, Robin staying back in the shadows. Upon opening her eyes, Morgan saw Marian standing over her. "Marian? I had the strangest nightmare. Robin was back from the holy land, and he was in my room-" Morgan stopped short as Robin emerged from the shadows.

"It wasn't all in your head…I came back a few days ago. I came here looking for Marian, and I—"

"Get out!" Morgan whispered, "Get out now! You have no right to be here, I was finally over you, the hole in my heart had finally healed." Morgan was now yelling at him and crying in frustration, how could he? How she hated giving Robin the satisfaction of seeing her become so distressed, all because of him!

"Morgan I'm sorry! I came here because I thought Marian might know where you were. I wanted to tell you I was in the wrong, and that at the first sign of trust I fed—"

"Save your breath and your lies. I don't want to hear it! I won't believe a word you say, how can I? Do you not remember the last words you spoke to me before abandoning me? Let me remind you, as they are not something I ever forgot! 'You are dead to me, if I ever see your face around here again, I will not be held responsible for my actions!'"

"You…I won't let you ruin the love and happiness that I've finally found. Just leave me, if I ever want to talk to you, I'll call. Until then I don't want to see or hear from you."

"If that's what you want, I can wait. I've waited several years already, what is a little more time?" Most people loved the long and warm summer months, but not Robin. It had been summertime all those years ago when this fude first started and it happened to be midsummer now. 'I hate the summer' He thought to himself as he tried to reason with Morgan.

"Marian, can I at least talk to you?" Robin asked, gesturing towards the hallway.

Marian looked torn, she wanted to support Morgan, but Robin had been her best friend growing up, and truth be told she had always fancied him, but there never had seemed the right time to explore that road. There had been some stolen kisses in the moonlight before Robin left for the Crusades, but they had never talked about what that meant. When Robin had returned from the Holy Land, he had been declared an outlaw and that had only further complicated things. Marian looked at Morgan, silently asking permission to speak to Robin.

"Marian, we are not five, if you want to talk to Robin that's your decision. I won't hold it against you if that's what you are wondering." Morgan answered the unasked question, trying to keep herself from losing what little dignity she had left.

"Very well Robin, but you've got five minutes, and not a minute more," Marian said as she and Robin walked out into the hallway, Marian closing the door behind her.

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Morgan recovered much more quickly than she had expected herself to from the encounter with Robin. She had to admit she was impressed that he had respected her request to leave her alone, she had counted on him following her around like a lost dog. After the initial shock of seeing Robin had subsided, she felt a little embarrassed about how she had acted towards him. Morgan knew she had every right to be angry at him, but did she have to be a total bitch about it? After all, he had said he came to apologize for his previous actions. 'He did seem sincere' Morgan thought, as she sighed and ran a hand through her long, curly dark locks in frustration 'Why does this have to be so complicated? Why can't we just pretend none of this happened? Why can't we go back to when we were friends and nothing else?' She knew she needed to sort out her feelings before moving forward so she decided to go for a ride on Night.

Morgan knew from past experiences, that a ride helped to clear her troubled mind, there was just something about being on the horse and feeling the wind through her hair. She let her mind wander, mulling over her thoughts as she let the horse choose its path. So absorbed in her thoughts that she almost lost her seat when her horse suddenly stopped moving, snapping her back to reality. Morgan looked around taking in her surroundings, her eyes fixing on the man in front of her. 'Damn the fates to hell and back!' she thought vehemently as Robin walked towards her, gently taking hold of Midnight's halter, and stroking his neck before turning his attention towards Morgan.

"I wasn't expecting you to come so soon."

"Trust me neither was I, but I'm here now, so start talking," Morgan replied, a little more harshly than necessary.

Robin physically flinched at her tone, but he didn't mention anything to Morgan, as he knew he deserved it.

"Morgan, I meant what I said a few weeks ago. I am truly and deeply sorry for my actions a few years ago. I have spent the last four years thinking about how I wronged you, and at the first sign of trust, I betrayed you, abandoning you in your time of need. I should have let you explain everything to me, but I didn't want to hear it at the time. My actions were inappropriate and inexcusable, I can only hope in time you will forgive me. I've come to realize that I want to have a relationship with you. When I found out that you weren't a man, I was scared as to what it meant. Morgan, you must understand it was hard enough for me to accept my feelings when I thought you were a man, and then in one moment everything changed, I didn't know how to react. My feelings have only gotten stronger over the years, and you are on my mind every day. I understand you may not want to hear any of this right now, but I don't want anything to come between us again. I also wanted to return something to you, something that I had no right to take from you in the first place." Robin reached into a pouch that was tied to his waist, pulling out a dog tag with the gang's symbol on it and handing it to Morgan.

Morgan was speechless, of all the things she had expected him to say, these were the least of them. The dog tag though is what almost caused her to lose it, it was then she knew that he was truly sorry for his actions. However, he was naïve if he thought they could go back to the way things were, she was going to have to set boundaries if they were to move forward. She wouldn't be hurt by him again; she wouldn't let it happen. She had made that vow to herself, and Robin needed to hear the truth of how his actions had affected her since that night.

"Robin, before we go any further you need to know what happened after you left. You said you were sorry, but you need to hear how your actions have affected me since that night." Morgan said as she dismounted.

She explained to Robin how she had sat where he left her for what she guessed was a week or more, before finding herself on Marian's doorstep. She told him how she had about given up on life, so heartbroken was she, but then Sir Guy had come into her life, showing her, he was the lifeline she needed. He had been a friend, never pushing her to do anything she didn't want to do. He had respected her wish to not talk about the betrayal. Guy had been a patient man, letting her take her time and come to him when she was ready to be in a relationship, never complaining about the pace of how things progressed.

"…now we are engaged, and I couldn't be happier Robin. Guy has changed since you were last here, he is a good man and will make a fair Sheriff when the time comes." Morgan finished.

Robin just stood there letting the information process. At this point the only things his mind registered was Gisborne being the next sheriff, and Morgan engaged to him. Robin had planned on asking Morgan to return to camp with him as his woman, as he had naïvely expected her to forgive him instantly, after all he was Robin Hood; women never said no to him! He had expected to pick up where he and Morgan left off before the fight and live happily ever after. Robin never would have expected Morgan to fall in love with his archnemesis, what was she thinking?

He knew he could trust Morgan to not give away the gang's secrets, to Guy or the sheriff, but a part of him was still uncertain. Morgan said that Guy was a changed man, but he didn't believe a leopard could change its spots. In other words, he only trusted Gisborne as far as he could throw him, which wasn't very far. However, he needed to show Morgan that he trusted her, the first step in his redemption Robin thought.

"Morgan, come back to the camp and have dinner with us," 'with me, and stay' Robin invited.

"I already have plans with Guy tonight, maybe another time?" Morgan asked as she wasn't ready to spend that much time with Robin yet. It was going to take time to learn to trust Robin again. She knew, now more than ever, with Robin being back, and apparently staying, at least for a while, she needed to talk to Guy. "Robin, if we are to move forward from here you must understand that things will be different between us, I've moved on from you, from what we had."

"Morgan, I…I…please know that should you need anything, if you should find yourself in trouble or danger, you can contact me, and I will be there," Robin stated in all seriousness.

"Thank you, Robin, I will keep that in mind," Morgan said as she mounted her horse. "And Robin? Please be careful out there and don't do anything stupid. I'd rather not see you in the dungeons or swinging in the gallows."

Robin chuckled; they both knew he could be a little reckless at times. "Enough of this conversing, you must get back to Gisborne and I to my men. I will see you around." Robin stated with a forced smile on his face before smacking Morgan's horse on the rump, causing it to start trotting away.