Thanks for all of the support!
Finally, I was roughly dropped into a clearing, but that was not the end of my captivity. Now they had rope. They bound my hands and formed a circle around me. Why did it seem like no matter what I did, no matter where I went, I would always be a prisoner?
I whirled to face the leader and gasped. Now that His face was no longer shrouded in darkness, I realized who kidnapped me. It was the Hooded Outlaw.
I had heard stories about him. I didn't know who he really was or where he came from, but I knew that for the past few weeks he had been giving the Sheriff lots of trouble, earning a small price on his head. I had often heard the Sheriff complaining about him. In any other situation, I would have proudly shook his hand. He had allegedly roughed up a couple of the Sheriff's men and was, thereby, deemed an outlaw. It was more likely he just embarrassed them, but I kept that belief to myself. Regardless, he was not exactly intimidating outlaw material. No one, not even I really cared for the Sheriff's guard. And the whole 'hood' thing was a little theatrical for my taste. Nevertheless, he was an outlaw all the same, and steadily becoming more well known. That scared me.
I tried my best to hide my fear. Thank goodness I was wearing a mask. My eyes surely would have betrayed me, as always. I was also glad my hands were tied; it helped hide the shaking.
"Have you searched her, yet?" Hood asked one of his men. That voice. The man shook his head.
"Well, go on then!" even while ordering his man to search me his gaze on me never wavered. While the man was searching my dress and pockets, making me more than slightly uncomfortable, I continued to study at the infamous outlaw.
Now that one of the men had provided sufficient firelight, I could make out some of his features: broad, tanned shoulders, strong stance, and an arrogant smile. Most of his face was still shrouded in shadow.
"Hey, I got something!" the man cried victoriously, slipping the ring off of my right hand. I grabbed for it, but he was too quick. The man simply laughed and threw it to Hood.
"Please," I begged, "That has great value to me."
"Well, now it can have great value to some poor family!" he shot back. I wanted to do something, but what? I was already beaten in numbers alone.
Hood and his men were laughing. Laughing! That ring was the only thing I had left of home, of Robin!
Then, Hood's laugh abruptly stopped.
"What is it, Master?" one of his men asked. That voice! I recognized that voice, too! Master? Wait…
My head snapped up. I gazed at Hood and my mouth fell open. No, it couldn't be.
Hood held my ring carefully. He examined it for a long time.
"This is my ring," he finally whispered. My stomach dropped, and I instantly felt very nauseous. No, not this. Not now. Not him.
"I gave it to someone a very long time ago," as he finished, his eyes met mine. I gazed at him. It just couldn't be. Could it?
He went to say something but was interrupted by the thundering gallop of horses.
"Robin, it's Guy!" one of his men called. Hearing his name seemed to confirm my suspicions.
"Rob, come on! Rob, we've got to go!" the big man began to drag him away. Robin continued to stare at me. Just before he turned and followed his men, I caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were a deep, emerald green.
What will Marian do with this new information? R&R!