Please enjoy!

The next morning I woke to a knocking at my door.

"Lady Marian?" someone called softly. I shifted in my bed. Just a little longer.

"Lady Marian?" this time it was a little louder. I recognized the voice as male. If I kept him waiting any longer, I might cause a scene. And a scene was the LAST thing I needed right now.

"Just a moment," I called back groggily. I got up and slipped on my robe. I passed my mirror before getting to the door. I must say I looked perfectly awful. My eyes were still red from my crying last night, and my hair looked as though a rat had taken up residence in it.

"Marian?"

I hadn't much time. I quickly ran a brush through my hair. I opened the door and was met with Sir Guy. He bowed slightly.

"Milady, I'm sorry if I've awoken you."

"Oh, no, of course not!" I replied as any lady would.

"I just, wanted to make sure you were well," he said. I smiled at him. I may not have been able to stand his attempts at wooing me, but that was very thoughtful.

"I am fine," I assured him.

"Please, let me know if you need anything," he took my hand and kissed it.

"Of course," I nodded before returning to the safety of my room. I shut and locked the door as I did last night. I decided it was time to get ready. I glanced out the window. The sky was a clear blue. The sun was shining. Yes, this would be the perfect day to go riding.

I changed into my riding clothes. They were pants covered with a skirt so I would still look suitable, but be able to move easier. I designed them myself. I pulled on a light white blouse with a hood and fitted a brown corset over it. Finally, I slipped on my riding boots, pulled up the top part of my hair to keep it out of my face, and headed out of my room where I promptly ran into Charlotte.

"Where are you going?" she asked, eyeing my outfit.

"I figured today would be a nice day for a ride," I replied.

"Are you mad, Marian? After what happened last night with the outlaws? And you want to go out? Absolutely not!"

I scoffed.

"And what are you going to do about it?" I asked pushing passed her.

"I'll tell Gisborne! He'd never let you go!" she shot back. I slowly turned to her, eyes narrowed.

"Fine," I replied. I was in no mood to fight with her.

"But I still want to go for a ride. Why don't you accompany me? I'll tell the guards and let Guy know. Surely he would not let me go without escorts. Would that make you happy?" I'd have to talk to Guy anyway. I needed permission to leave the castle.

She thought about it for a moment.

"Very well," she finally agreed, "Go talk to Gisborne while I change. I'll meet you at the stables."

I nodded as we parted ways.

About twenty minutes later, we were saddling our horses. She was right about Gisborne. He was not happy about me going out. He sent three guards to accompany us. This wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind for a nice day of riding, but it would have to do.

Charlotte and I mounted our horses. Hers was white. Mine was tan with a blond mane and tail. Charlotte surprised me with her for my last birthday. I'd named her Lady. She was beautiful and graceful…everything I was not. I figured she deserved the title more than I did.

We rode out of the stables and onto a road that led through a meadow and eventually came into Sherwood Forest.

As we rode we made small talk. Finally, Charlotte seemed to have enough of that.

"Um, excuse me, could you guys give us a little space?" she asked.

"Sorry, milady, we were asked to keep you two safe," one of the faceless guards mumbled.

"And might I say you are doing a wonderful job," she smiled, "But you could still keep watch a couple of paces back, don't you think? I need to talk to my friend here privately."

The three guards looked at each other. Finally, they nodded and retreated back.

She thanked the guards. Once they were out of earshot, she started talking.

"So, I saw you with Sir Guy last night," she smiled knowingly at me, "He seems to fancy you."

"Yes," I replied with less emotion than I intended. I instantly regretted it.

"What is it?" she asked as her face fell, "He seems to really like you."

"He does," I replied.

"So, what's the problem?"

I waited a moment before answering.

"It's…complicated."

"Marian," she sighed exasperatedly. "You can't wait forever for whatever guy it is you're waiting for!"

I looked at her funny. What did she mean?

"I see the way you daydream. You hardly ever listen to me when I talk to you."

Oh, so she did notice my frequent daydreaming.

"You can't wait forever, and he hasn't come for you yet. It's time to move on."

She said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. Well it wasn't. Especially since the guy I'd been thinking about had suddenly returned. She could never understand.

But instead of arguing, I just nodded and smiled. She grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. Now it was time to change the subject. I went to open my mouth, but was interrupted by the shouts of the guards.

"Outlaws!"

Charlotte and I looked at each other. She instantly began to scream. Arrows whizzed through the air around us. She managed to turn her horse and take off back towards the castle with the guards. I was not so lucky.

Lady panicked as arrows were shot at her feet. She whinnied and began to buck.

"Whoa, girl," I tried to calm her, but it wasn't enough. She managed to kick me off and take off running with the rest of my comrades.

I hit the ground with a thud. Ugh, my head. It hurt. I noticed figures moving throughout the trees.

"Have we met before?"

I focused in on the voice and tried to get up.

"Hold on."

I felt a blade pointed at my throat. My head was throbbing, but I was finally able to focus in on the owner of the voice. I let out a groan and fell back to the ground. It was the outlaw Alan.

"You again," I greeted.

"Ah yes, I thought we'd gotten rid of you last night," he said as he removed his sword and offered me his hand. I took it.

"You did," I replied. He pulled me up. I thanked him. He nodded.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked. I was a bit surprised that he wasn't mad at me about last night. I thought for sure he would be bitter as any proud man would. Instead, he was smiling at me, waiting for an answer.

"Well, I was riding until we were ambushed, by you I suppose. My horse kicked me off and ran back towards the castle which is also where my friend and guards ran to," I explained warily. He was, after all, an outlaw. He nodded.

"Well, looks like you're coming with me then," he declared, grabbing my arm.

"Excuse me?" I asked as I began to struggle against him.

"Calm down," he held onto me firmly.

"Having problems, Alan?"

We both turned towards the voice. My mouth dropped.

"Much?" I asked incredulously.

"Marian?" he seemed equally surprised.

"Much!" I broke free of Alan and tackled Much into a hug. Unlike Robin, I wasn't bitter about Much. He only left for the Crusades to follow Robin. I missed his sweet boyish smile. I missed his laugh. I missed him.

He laughed that boyish laugh that he'd always had as he hugged me tightly.

"Wow, Marian, it's been so long!" he commented, finally pulling away. There was a moment of silence as we each surveyed the other. How he'd grown!

His orange hair had turned to a dusty red. There was the beginning of a beard on his face. His blue eyes seemed to have turned a shade darker. He was still taller than me, but only by half a head. He'd grown stouter. His eyes still held that surprising look that they did when we first met. His smile was still the same. I was so glad to see him!

"Marian…you're beautiful."

I giggled.

"Thank you, Much. The years have treated you nicely as well." He blushed.

"We must take you to see Robin! They're probably back at the camp by now, come on!" he began to pull me away.

"Um, Much," I grabbed his hand, "I don't think that is such a good idea."

I didn't know how Robin had taken my verbal beating. I didn't want to know. It was just too soon.

"Why?" Much asked. His face had fallen. I was just about to explain when a voice sounded from one of the trees.

"Yes, why Marian?"

I searched the surrounding area. Finally, I found him: Robin Hood. He smirked at me as he walked into the clearing. I rolled my eyes at him.

"The guards will notice I am gone, and when they do, they'll come after me. And if I'm with you, then they'll come after you," I explained to him as I would explain the reason for doing chores to a five-year-old child. He seemed to enjoy this.

"Well, they can't come after you if they can't find you," Robin said after a few moments, "And if they can't find you, then they can't find me!" He made it sound like this made all the sense in the world.

"Yes, Marian! Just come with us for a little while. We can escort you back whenever you are ready!" Much seemed really excited.

Robin looked at me expectantly. Much gave me an encouraging smile. At last I sighed, defeated.

"Very well, but I can't stay long."

"Oh of course not!" Much agreed as he grabbed my hand and began hauling me to wherever it was we were going.

"Um, Much."

He turned to face Robin.

"Blindfold..."

Blindfold? Much gave Robin an incredulous look. Oh, blindfold! Robin didn't trust me to reveal the location of his camp.

I glared at Robin. Much just stood there.

"Well, get on with it," Robin ordered, a hidden smirk evident on his face.

"I'm sorry, Marian," Much whispered.

"It's alright, Much."

"For what it's worth, I trust you," he said while getting a cloth to blindfold me.

"I know," and I did.

This wasn't about trust anyway. Robin just wanted to make things difficult for me.

I shut my eyes while Much secured the strip of cloth over them. Once he was done, I felt someone grab my hand, and I was guided through the forest.

"Now don't you lead me to my death or anything, Much!" I laughed.

"I won't," someone whispered in my ear, but it wasn't Much, it was Robin. I went rigid. He startled me, being so close. He was the one holding my hand.

I didn't say anything for the rest of the trip. I didn't know where we were. I didn't know how far we'd gone into the forest. I didn't know how long we'd been walking. Eventually, we stopped. My blindfold was removed, and I had to blink a few times to adjust my eyes to the light. When I could finally see clearly, I gasped.

What I was standing before was a regular, makeshift, somewhat dingy camp, but that wasn't what really caught my eye. Looking up, I saw huts in the trees, with bridges going from one to the other, seemingly spanning the sky. It was a true architectural wonder that made the sturdy, typical Nottingham castle seem like just another common home.

"Wow," I breathed.

"Yeah," Robin agreed, admiring the trees. I immediately felt defensive, showing my admiration of his work in front of him. However, after a moment, I realized he genuinely agreed with me. He truly treasured these trees and the architectural feat he and his men accomplished. There was still much work to be done, but it was wonderful all the same.

"Who's that?" someone called. I finally pulled my eyes away from the masterpiece in the trees. The camp was busying itself when we walked in, but now everything stopped. All eyes were on us.

"This is the Lady Marian of Knighton," Robin introduced me. I smiled to the faces in the camp. The only one I recognized was the large man that hauled me away last night.

"We met her last night," Robin clued. Instantly, the camp erupted into "Oh yeahs" and "That's rights!" The large burly man trotted up to me.

"Look, I'd just like to apologize for last night, you know how it is, following orders," he gestured to Robin. As angry as I still was about that, I couldn't help but laugh as he led me to sit down. I stole a glance at Robin. He rolled his eyes at the man but still kept that crooked smile.

"By the way, I'm John, John Little," the man introduced.

"Don't you mean Little John!" one of the men shouted. The camp erupted into laughter…all except John himself. I failed to stifle a giggle. The man who'd shouted the tease at John was the next to introduce himself.

"I'm David, David of Dancaster…but everyone calls me Davey. It's a pleasure milady," he kissed my hand.

"Officially, I'm Alan a Dale. It's good to finally meet you," Alan smiled. I returned it.

"And this," Robin finished off, "Is Will Scarlet." He gestured to a dark-haired boy who seemed to only be about a year older than I. He had these deep, dark eyes, and a nasty scar above his right eye. I couldn't help a shiver that ran down my spine.

"So, Marian," Much pulled my attention away from the somewhat chilling gaze of Will Scarlet, "How have you been?"

Much and I spoke of what we'd been up to the past few years. The rest of the outlaws made funny comments here and there. I hadn't laugh so much and hard in probably all of my life. The banter felt so comfortable and liberating.

All the while we were talking and joking, I kept glancing at Robin. Every time I looked at him, his eyes were firmly trained on me. I don't think he stopped gazing at me the whole time. My stomach wouldn't stop flipping long enough to figure out how that made me feel.

After one of Much's stories of he and Robin's journey home I realized that the sun was nearly halfway through the sky.

"Oh," I jumped up, "I have to be getting back!"

"So soon?" Much whined. I smiled down at him.

"Yes, Much. It was a pleasure meeting you all," I curtseyed to the group. They nodded in accordance. Much rose and hugged me.

"I'll take you back," he said.

"No," Robin's green eyes were still focused on me, "I'll take her home."

I inwardly groaned.

"Do you need anyone to go with you?" Davey asked.

Yes!

"Nope, I think we'll be fine," Robin smirked at me. I narrowed my eyes at him, turned on my heel, and began walking out of the camp. I knew he would follow. He trotted up beside me a few moments later.

"Marian, we need to talk," he mumbled after a few precious moments of silence.

"About what, Robin?" I snapped at him. He appeared taken aback, but recovered rather quickly.

"About…everything," he sighed. I sighed as well. As angry as I was at Robin, as hurt as I was that he left me and England here, as frustrated as I was that he had shown up so unexpectedly, I did miss him. And I was tired. I was tired of pretending to be so angry and hurt and frustrated, because, in the end, none of those feelings measured up to how much I'd missed him and how much I still needed him in my life.

I nodded, urging him to go on.

He talked about the war and spared me no details. While I the grotesque nature of his stories made me ill, I knew he needed to get his experiences out in the open. He needed to talk about this, otherwise it would destroy him. So I just stood by him, nodded when the situation called for it, and listened.

Finally, it came, the question that I'd been avoiding myself for so long.

"So, what happened to your mom?"

My throat tightened at the mention of her. My vision began to blur. All these years I thought I was okay, that I had moved on. I thought I could handle talking about it. I guess that was the thing, I always thought I could talk about it, but I was never actually called upon to do so. After all these years, it felt strange having someone ask about her.

"I'm sorry," Robin sighed.

"No, it's okay," my voice cracked a bit, "I need to talk about it."

I could feel Robin's emerald gaze on me. We walked in silence while I gathered my thoughts. At last, I took a deep breath, and began.

"Knighton was attacked. My father refused to do the will of the Sheriff, and he paid dearly for it. He nearly lost his land, his people, and he lost his wife and daughter," I explained. Silent tears began to fall down my cheeks. As I continued the story of my mother's murder and my imprisonment, tears kept falling. I had to stop a few times to compose myself. Robin never interrupted me. He just waited patiently until I began again and for that I was grateful.

Eventually, my story came to an end. The tears, however, did not. They fell for my mother, but they also fell in relief. It felt good to finally tell someone about everything that had happened to me. I continued to cry in silence as Robin walked beside me.

"God, I'm sorry, Marian," he said, running his hand through his hair. I smiled at him.

"It's not your fault."

"No, really, Marian," he stopped, turned to face me, and grabbed my hand, "I am so sorry. I should've been here for you. I never should have gone off to that stupid war. Why should I've traveled thousands of miles, when all of England's real problems were right here?"

His sudden gesture caught me off guard, but something felt right about it all. It felt right being here with Robin. My hand felt right in his grasp. It was just…right.

"Robin," I began suddenly, "Tell me about what happened for you to suddenly become an outlaw."

Robin noted my sudden change of subject but conceded nonetheless. It was clear we weren't done with that topic of conversation, but my request made him chuckle.

"Well," he started as we continued our trek through Sherwood, "As we were walking into Locksley, there was a spat going on. There were about six of the Sheriff's guard huddled in a circle. One of them was holding a boy, Will Scarlet, to be exact. He was caught with a weapon. I hadn't realized that commoners were no longer allowed to possess weapons. Anyway, the guards were beating him bloody. When Much and I tried to break up the fight, they turned on us. We simply defended ourselves. We became outlaws because we were trying to survive. Personally, I think Gisborne just wanted to keep my lands to himself. Since my father died three years ago, he's been in charge of Locksley. The rightful heir would've messed everything up for him. A price was immediately put on our heads, and we were forced to retreat to Sherwood. The rest, as you know, is history," he finished with a flourish.

My eyes widened in shock. I knew Gisborne had taken some noble's land, but I never realized that it was Locksley! Nor did I realize that Robin's father was dead.

"Robin, I'm so sorry about your father," I whispered. His eyes flickered dangerously.

"The letter said he died of natural causes. I think he was murdered," he responded darkly. I simply nodded. The sad part was that he was probably right. I honestly believed that Gisborne would've killed an old, frail man for his lands, especially if this man was not doing as he was told, as in Master Locksley's case.

At long last, we emerged from Sherwood. I kept walking, but Robin stopped.

"This is as far as I can take you, love," he was back to his old, cocky self, "You going to be alright?"

"Of course!" I curtseyed. I turned to walk back into Nottingham.

"Marian!" he called after me. I stopped and faced him. He smirked again.

"Come back again soon."

"Don't count on it!" I called back as I continued walking. I heard him chuckle before disappearing back into Sherwood.

Not five minutes into Nottingham, I heard the galloping of horses. I turned just in time to see Guy ride over.

"Marian!" he shouted to me. I remained where I was.

"Are you alright?" he asked, breathless.

"Yes, of course," I nodded.

"Did they hurt you?" he dismounted and looked at me warily.

Did who hurt me? Oh yes, the outlaws. In the midst of all my fun, I had forgotten I was the 'victim' of kidnapping.

"No, I'm fine," I responded.

"Good, I was so worried! We were just heading out to find you!"

My hero.

"Well, as you can see, I am perfectly well," I continued my walk to the castle.

"Wait, Marian, I will take you," he called to me. Great, how kind of him.

There was not much I could do as he heaved me onto his horse. We rode away to the castle. Once we got there, I dismounted, but he remained. I looked at him questioningly.

"I'm going to search for Robin Hood. You will never have to see his horrid face again, Marian!" he threatened. His eyes shone with hatred. His intentions may have been noble, but I knew two things for sure. There was no way he was going to find Robin Hood, and I knew in my heart that I would most certainly see him again.

Have Marian and Robin found some common ground? Will people become suspicious of her interactions with the outlaws? R&R!