Guy stirred in his bed, unwilling to wake up. It had been far too long since he had had such a decent, undisturbed nap. However, he abruptly shot his eyes open once he realized that it was already dark outside; one glance at the window, and he knew he had been sleeping for far too long. He was surprised that no one had tried to wake him up, but pleased, for that meant one and only one thing, the Sheriff would not be back today.
Guy gave out a sigh of relief as he stretched out his sore body, and muttered, "It seems I'm heading back to Locksley for tonight."
Once at Locksley, a couple hours away from midnight, the man clad in leather ordered his servants to prepare a hot bath and a dinner, for he was starving and he hadn't had a decent meal since yesterday.
As soon as the servants were done and had been dismissed, Guy headed lazily towards the warm bath awaiting him, all while taking off his clothes and tossing then whichever way they should go. He might have been one of the most hygienic men in Nottinghamshire, yet he could care less about the tidiness of his surroundings, for it was the servants' job, not his, to clean it up.
Sir Guy of Gisborne poured himself some red wine in a goblet, before slowly immersing his body into the tub. It wasn't long before he felt the warm sensation invading his sore muscles, easing away the pain and leaving behind nothing but utter relaxation. Holding the goblet in his hand, he gave the wine gentle twirls before taking little sips every now and then; he closed his eyes savoring the rich taste in his mouth and the warmth covering his body.
He lay there, allowing his body and mind to be engulfed in the blissfulness of silence. However, good moments were never meant to last, and he felt them all coming to an end when the water began to lose its warmth and hunger took the better of him.
He took a deep sigh before placing the goblet on the table that stood next to the tub, then stepped out, and reached for his warm, soft towel. He dried his hair and body then wrapped the towel around his waist, and headed upstairs to his room.
In his room, the servants left him dinner, which consisted of a manchet bread, a half grilled chicken topped with gravy, a bowl of apples and a jar of ale. Guy ignored the clean clothes that lay on the dresser opposite to his bed, for he was too famished to bother dressing. Instead, he reached for an apple, taking a mouthful while pouring some ale.
He was about to sit when he heard something knocking against the closed window shutters. He almost dismissed it when the sound came knocking again. With the apple still in his hand, he went to the window, and opened it with his free hand cautiously. There was no one outside, he wouldn't expect anyone to be, as it was past midnight, and it was rather dark with the moon being over-layered with thick, black clouds. It seemed like it might rain anytime soon, but as a gentle breeze brushed against Guy's bare chest, he decided to leave the window open while the beauty of the night lasted.
He walked back to his dinner, forgetting why he had opened the window to begin with; however, a sudden thud jolted back his memory, and he turned around to see the source of the disturbance to be met by large, hazel eyes and a childish grin.
"You again!" Guy grimaced incredulously.
"Me again!" The hazel-eyed lass replied gaily, still with a wide grin plastered on her face, "I've been knocking for ages! What took you so long?"
Guy frowned at her sight, he knew his luck of a peaceful night would surely not last, but he never imagined meeting this energy consuming lass twice in one day.
"What has brought you back, you miserable wench?!" Guy growled, "You shouldn't have pushed your luck, you know. You should have stayed away while you could. Don't you dare think that I would allow you to escape once again!"
"O God… I have done nothing, and you are already mad!" The lass pouted with crossed arms, "And I'm no wench, my name is M-A-L-A-K"
"Whatever." Guy scowled, but tried to calm himself as he remembered that he must be tactiful when dealing with her. So he asked with the gentlest tone he could muster, "What brought you back here?"
Subsequently, the lass fiddled with her pockets, and after a few seconds she held out a small, velvet pouch that seemed way too familiar to Guy. He squinted his eyes, and frowned as he tried to remember. Suddenly, realization hit him, and as soon as it did, he pointed at the pouch and hissed, "Where did you get that from?"
Malak lowered her head, pointed at the nightstand, and with a barely audible voice she said "There… earlier today?"
At that moment, Guy felt his temper besting him; he clenched his fist so hard, turning his knuckles white, and glared at her like a wild beast whose slumber was disturbed.
"How dare you steal THAT from me?!" He snapped with a murderous tone.
"L-look… I-I'm sorry…" Malak stammered while fear crawled through her body; she had never been this scared in her whole life. She tried to put on a brave face as she desperately wanted to hand him what she took, but her legs betrayed her; her whole body felt like it didn't belong to her. She knew she was at fault, again, but she didn't know why he was this furious.
Guy, still glaring at the lass, had noticed the fear crawling in her eyes, and saw how petrified she was and how hard she was trying not cry. He was still mad, but deep down he pitied her, and he could, as much as he hated to admit it, be a reasonable man; she might have stolen from him, yet for some unknown reason she came back to return it.
"Why are you returning it? Are you mocking me?" Guy accused, while unclenching his fist and crossing his arms against his bare chest.
Malak tried to answer, to protest against his reasoning, but now it was her tongue that betrayed her, and at that moment she could hardly suppress her tears anymore; nonetheless, it was not due to fear anymore, it was because he thought she was belittling him. She had no clue why she cared, for she barely knew the man, yet it hurt.
Guy heaved a sigh; he was already feeling his energy being swept away. He decided it was best to calm himself, and the brunette, if he wanted to reach an understanding; he wouldn't want her to jump around, and disappear once again. So, he cleared his throat in an act to catch her attention, and when he did, he pointed to a chair, then grabbed the one opposite to it, and sat down.
The olive-skinned lass breathed heavily, and was glad that she managed to withhold her tears. Now all she had to do was to muster enough courage, and walk to the chair he had pointed at. She lifted her head to meet his gaze, which didn't show any anger now, just annoyance. She was relieved, and she could feel herself regaining control of her body. So, she walked slowly, but steadily, towards the empty chair, and sat.
Malak placed the pouch cautiously on the table, and waited silently. The silence didn't last for more than a couple of minutes, but to Malak it felt like ages, as she grew more and more anxious with each passing second.
"Why?" He asked, finally breaking the silence in a low demanding voice while he turned his piercing blue eyes back to her.
Malak flinched at his cold gaze. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and replied, "I needed money… I know it's wrong to steal, but I needed it desperately, and to me, the owners of this manor seemed like they could spare a bit." She took another deep breath, as if trying to encourage herself to keep on speaking, "I saw a big pouch of coins, and was about to ste-… take it, but then saw this small one, and thought it would suffice. So...I took it."
She felt that Guy was getting restless, so she added quickly, "When I found a ring inside it, I decided it was best to return it!"
Guy scoffed curtly at her story. "So you risked your life to return a ring that would have, otherwise, rewarded you handsomely?" He said scornfully with one eyebrow raised in accusation.
"I thought it might have been an important item to you…" Malak pleaded with a whisper, and lowered her gaze as much as possible; his blue eyes made her remarkably nervous.
"And why would a petty thief like you care?" Guy mocked with a dismissive hand, and as soon as he said it, he noticed a stab of pain cross the endearing hazel eyes. However, it only took a few seconds, and the pain was suddenly consumed with anger as the lass stood up abruptly, and shouted, "Don't you say it like you know me! You know nothing about me!"
"And I would love it to stay that way! So stop bothering me, and stay out of my life!" Guy retorted angrily while tossing back his chair as he stood.
Malak was never good at staying angry, she always got swayed, and at that moment, what caught her attention was the fact that the man standing in front of her was practically naked. With this, rather late realization, her eyes widened, and her face went completely red; she felt like her face would certainly melt away at any given second.
She pulled her hood over her eyes, covering almost half of her face, then lowered herself to her knees, and mumbled.
Guy was confused, and astonished by her prompt action, one second she was mad and shouting at him, and the next she was down there, hiding her face and hugging her knees. He could almost swear that he heard her say something. He frowned and asked with dismay, "What are you doing? I can't hear a word."
The lass pointed a tall, slender finger at him, which offended him momentarily, but as his eyes followed it, he understood the position he was in. He blushed for a second then let out an impulsive chuckle. Seconds later his chuckle boomed into a loud, unexpected laughter.
He just couldn't wrap his mind around how he managed to stand so immodestly with naught but a towel wrapped around his middle for that long with even noticing. She got him wholly immersed in her own world that it had just completely slipped his mind. He couldn't help but laugh at the situation. While on the other end, Malak was getting nervous, her heart was about to jump out of her chest, and he was standing there... laughing. She didn't find it funny at all.
"By God! Stop laughing already, and put on some clothes!" Malak cried with a muffled voice.
That just provoked Guy even more. When he finally managed to stop laughing and catch his breath, he said with a seductive tone, "Oh, you don't like what you see?"
"SHUT UP!" The lass shouted at the top of her lungs.
"All right, just calm down." Guy retorted with a smirk, enjoying his little moment of victory as he headed toward the dresser, "I'll be making myself decent in a matter of seconds."
When Guy reached the dresser, he started thinking of what he had just done, and embarrassment took him over. What's wrong with him? Why did he act so obscenely once again? That wasn't him at all. He did use to laugh this way, when he was younger, and everything in his life was almost perfect, but teasing the lass like a teenage lad who had just hit puberty? That was utterly embarrassing and absurd, and he felt like punching himself.
Malak was obviously still embarrassed from what she had seen. She cursed the room for being so badly lit; the moon was certainly out of the question tonight, and the only source of light available was a mere candle placed on the table next to her chair. But still, deep down she couldn't deny that she loved what she saw, a muscular, inviting chest, sturdy dependable arms, and a well-sculpted body. But she highly doubted that her eyes would move anywhere above the table level any time soon.
The almost dressed man, shirt left halfway unbuttoned, revealing a good part of his muscular chest, reached for the pouch, and took out the ring. He kept staring at the ring while fiddling with it as he spoke, "You do know you won't be leaving unpunished for what you have done, don't you?"
After some hesitation, Malak replied, "I hope I didn't cause any harm to you or the ring. To whom does it belong? A fiancée perhaps?"
"That's none of your business." Guy retorted rudely; he certainly did plan to give it to Lady Marian, once he had succeeded in gaining her approval. But that was for him to know, and no one else.
Malak flinched, and remained quiet, not knowing what to say. She sat nervously waiting for her verdict.
After quite some thought, Guy finally came up with what he considered a fit punishment. So, with a stern voice he said, "I've been in need of some dependable servants, so you shall work for me, and of course with no merits, since this is a punishment, and you deserve none."
With her verdict finally handed down, Malak heaved a sigh in relief; at least she would not be sentenced to death, because from what she had heard, and had been constantly warned about, people around here got hanged for the most trivial of matters.
However, Malak's moment of gratitude was cut short when the man sitting opposite to her added, "And that will be all day, for a whole two months, starting now."
The lass raised her astonished eyes to meet Guy's, and began to plead, "I can't stay here for a whole day! I have a life you know!"
"Then you should have thought about that before stealing from me! You do know the crime you have committed is punishable by death?" Guy scowled with an angry tone, clenching the ring in his hands.
"Yes… so I've been warned." Malak pouted.
"Well then, you should have had an ear for the wise." Guy retorted scornfully, "You should be grateful for my mercy."
"I am! But…" Malak pleaded, trailing off, trying not to push her luck; however, this was important, and before she was able to muster enough courage to continue, Guy intercepted.
"No 'buts'! That's my final decision, and you must oblige! That's if you want to leave this manor unscathed." Guy threatened with his arms crossed against his chest, then added as he pointed a finger at her, "And from now on you should address me respectfully with 'My Lord' as you should have."
Malak simply nodded, accepting the harsh reality.
"What was that?" Guy demanded, erecting an eyebrow.
"Yes, My Lord." Malak replied with determination, "I shall serve you with my heart and soul, and atone for my mistakes. I shall never forget your generosity, My Lord."
Guy nodded then added with a dismissive hand, "And if I or any of my guards catch you stealing, my sword will be the end of you."
"Yes… My Lord." Malak swallowed, feeling her throat going dry at the threat, and as she saw that the man, whom she would be serving for the coming two months, was deadly serious.
"And Malak?" Guy called, unexpectedly soft, but most seriously.
"Yes, My Lord?" Malak asked, almost ecstatic for hearing him address her with her birth-name for the first time.
"Never, ever dare lie to me." He replied with blue eyes that were observing her intently, "For then, you would beg for my sword to find its way to your heart."
Malak didn't flinch, nor felt scared, for this threat didn't carry the same murderous aura as the one that preceded it. No. It carried a much deeper meaning; the piercing, arrogant eyes that stared deep into her soul were masking a hidden emotion, guarding it carefully. She wanted to understand the man in front of her, to search for answers in his blue gaze, but for now, she settled for a simple reply.
"I would never betray you, My Lord." Malak promised with a soft, soothing voice, and a sweet, sincere smile.
Guy simply nodded, and dismissed her with a gesture of his hand. But Malak could almost swear that she saw a smile form on his lips for a split of a second.
"My Lord?" Malak whispered before leaving.
"What?" Guy growled in annoyance.
"Where am I supposed to retire for tonight, and henceforth?" Malak asked, wondering how her life would be like starting today. For all she knew, he intrigued her, fascinated her, and most importantly, stirred her. Even though he could be quite awful most of the time.
"Anywhere you can fit. Just leave already." He told her dismissively while sipping some ale from his goblet.
"Yes, My Lord." Malak replied before slipping through the door, and heading downstairs.
A/N: Check my newest story "The Seed of Our Love". Pairing: Guy/Marian :D