The next morning I woke early. A sickening feeling in my stomach told me Guy would be here as soon as he thought appropriate, so I needed to cherish these precious moments of solitude. I dressed in a pale rose gown. The sleeves came down to my elbows. I slipped on a pair of slippers to match and sneaked out of my room.
The castle was peacefully quiet. It felt like everyone was beginning to wake up, but not quite yet. I only passed a few servants, and they were too groggy to notice a girl wandering the castle at this hour. I made my way out to the garden, my favorite place, and walked until I was lost in it. Finding myself at an oak tree, I settled down and listened to the sounds of the nature waking. I don't know how long I sat there; all I know is footsteps snapped me back to reality. I opened my eyes to my 'knight in shining armor'…Guy of Gisborne.
"I thought I might find you here," he smiled.
"And where might that be?" I asked carelessly. He joined me on the ground.
"In the garden," he gestured to everything. We were quiet for a bit.
"It's a good place to think, isn't it?" he broke the silence. I nodded.
"Marian, you really shouldn't be out here alone…" he continued. And the connection we were building was gone. I sighed.
"Fine," I gave in. He got up. Holding his hand out to me, I took it, and he pulled me up. At that moment, I thought I heard rustling. Distracted by the sudden noise, I didn't realize Guy hadn't let go of my hand. Surprised, I removed it from his grasp.
"Just give me one more moment alone…please?" I batted my eyelashes. Sighing, he nodded.
"One moment. I'll be in the castle waiting for you," he reluctantly agreed, walking away. I gazed after him until I could not see him anymore. Then I glanced around the area. I know I heard something. Someone was here…but where? Finally, it came to me. No one ever looks up.
In an attempt to be sneaky, I walked around the tree to make it appear like I was looking for something on the ground. When I glanced up, I saw it, a pair of boots. I reached up and yanked at them, causing a man to fall out of the tree and hit the ground with a thud.
He seemed surprised. Once his gaze found mine, I let out a chuckle. It wasn't Robin.
"Hello Will," I greeted, "What are you doing here?"
He stood up and brushed himself off.
"I came to thank you," he said softly, "For saving my life."
"It was nothing, Will," I smiled.
"No it wasn't. That was very brave. A lot of people wouldn't take that chance," his dark gaze had now found mine. His sincerity surprised me.
"Well, you're welcome," I replied. He gave me a small smile. Perhaps he wasn't so scary after all. We both stood there in silence until I heard my name called.
"Marian!" It was Charlotte, and she sounded close. Will's eyes grew wild. I turned and Charlotte was walking into the clearing where we were.
"Marian, I—" she stopped. My heart was thumping in my ears. I didn't know if Will was still there or not. I prayed he wasn't. Charlotte may, quite literally, have a heart attack.
"Was someone here?" she asked. Letting out a breath, I shook my head.
"No, who would be here? I mean Guy was here a moment ago, but that's it," I smiled innocently. She narrowed her eyes at me and then shrugged.
"Guy and his men gave us permission to go shopping in the market. Isn't that great?" she informed me. I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes.
"Fantastic," I replied as she grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the castle.
About an hour later, Charlotte and I were in the village market accompanied by a small battalion. I tried to tell Charlotte that this was completely unnecessary, but she refused to listen. She insisted that the guards were just a precaution and no one would notice. Believe me, people noticed.
As we walked, I could feel people staring at us. Frankly, I didn't blame them. We were intruding on their territory, which was why I hated coming to the market.
Charlotte stopped to look at some jewelry. While we were standing there, I felt something land at my feet. Looking closer, I saw it was a gob of spit. I looked around. My eyes fell on a woman in probably her mid-thirties. She was glaring at me. Her brown hair was matted and her face was covered with dirt and grime. Her angry brown eyes were almost the same shade as her hair. I was waiting for her to say something, but Charlotte grabbed me my hand and pulled me away. Thank goodness she or the guards didn't see the interaction. Poor woman probably would've been sent to the noose.
We kept walking through the somewhat busy market when someone bumped into me. I muttered an apology. The person smiled down at me. I gasped as I was met with emerald green eyes. Robin. And just as fast as he was there, he was gone. My gaze lingered where he stood for a moment longer.
"What is it, Marian?" Charlotte asked. I shook my head.
"Nothing."
Just then, I heard a ruckus going on a bit in front of us. Some guards were looking around. They glanced towards us and took off running. I thought they were going to turn, but they didn't. All of a sudden, something barreled into my legs. Glancing down, I noticed messy brown hair. Deep blue eyes gazed up at me. It was a little boy. I smiled at him and he smiled back when the guards came huffing and puffing to us. The little boy hid behind my skirts. I giggled as the head guard, Haymish, strode up to me.
"Milady, that boy is a thief!" he accused pointing at the young boy that was using me as a human shield, "He stole a loaf of bread!"
"A loaf of bread, Haymish?" I asked, eyeing him incredulously. Here was a group of ten HUGE men after a boy who could be no older than seven. I bent down to his level.
"Is that true? Did you steal a loaf of bread?" I asked. He looked ashamed.
"We're starving!" he murmured, eyeing the lady who'd spit at me. A group of women were holding her back as she gazed at the young boy. Straightening up again, I looked to Haymish.
"I will pay for whatever he's stolen."
"But, milady, he's still a thief!" Haymish cried.
"It's not stealing if it is paid for," I explained, pulling three shillings out of my pouch, "This ought to cover it." I handed him the changed. Not knowing what to say, he simply took the money and left. I then knelt back down to my little friend.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Jeffrey," he mumbled.
"Jeffrey…a good strong name," I commented, making him giggle, "Jeffrey, is that your mother over there?"
I was pointing to the brown-haired lady who still continued to gaze at us. He nodded.
"Do you think you could do something for me?" I asked, already reaching into my coin purse. I only had ten shillings left. Grabbing all of it, I asked for his hand. He stretched it out to me.
"Do you think you could give this to her for me?" He gazed at the money.
"Jeffrey?" I asked. He looked back up at me.
"Yes, milady, God bless you!" he turned to go, then surprisingly came back and hugged me. At first I was taken by surprise, but recovered quickly and hugged the small boy back. Then, he ran to his mother and delivered the money. The lady took the contents of her son's hands. Seeing it, she got wide eyed. Looking back at me with tears in her eyes, she mouthed "Thank you."
I nodded and was back on my way.
"Hey, where were you?" Charlotte asked at my sudden reappearance by her side. I would have answered, only we were interrupted by the shouting of men.
"Hood!" one exclaimed.
"Get him!" cried another. Someone pushed through the crowd and brushed past us. As the hood fell down, I recognized Robin. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. Hearing the guards approaching I looked around for something to slow them down. I don't know why that was my automatic response, but I didn't fight the reflex. My eyes fell on a cart with spoiled watermelon. I'd have to pay the poor vendor afterwards.
"Oops," I murmured, bumping the cart so it, and the fruit, went tumbling out. The guards, seeing the mess too late, slipped and fell into a heap. I had to hide a smirk.
"Don't let him get away!" Now that voice I recognized. Turning, I saw Guy mounted on a horse.
"Well it's a little late for that, isn't it Gisborne?" Robin yelled back. I could hear the taunting in his voice. I glanced toward Robin. His eyes found mine. Smirking, he saluted me before running back into Sherwood. When I looked back to Gisborne, he was fuming. Robin was never one for subtlety.
Will Robin's show toward Marian affect Guy's treatment of her? Will Marian get out of explicitly helping the outlaws unscathed? R&R!