"So what is this man's name anyway?" Robin asked as they rode. Thankfully it was all to easy to borrow horses in Nottingham, considering their hurry.

"Sir Guy of Gisbourne," Roger said warily.

"Sir aye?" Robin said with a whistle. "Then why have I never heard of him?"

Roger just shrugged. "He could be a French Lord."

"Well was he French?"

Robin squinted in the sunlight. "Well… no."

There was a moment of silence that Roger was clearly not going to break. "So?" Robin prompted, dragging out the word for far longer than needed.

"So what?" Roger asked, still using the sun as an opportunity to never look at Robin.

"Aren't you going to ask what I know you want to ask?"

"There is nothing I want to know," Roger said plainly.

Robin snorted. "Not even about, oh I don't know, your daughter perhaps?"

Roger yanked on his horses reign, coming to an abrupt stop.

Robin groaned as he gently pulled upon his won reigns. "Roger, we don't have time for you to act like this."

"Exactly," Roger said angrily. "So shall we focus on this man then? Yes? Good."

Robin shrugged and clicked his tongue to his horse. He knew a stubborn man when he knew one and knew better than to try to break through.

But Roger surprised him by relenting. "Fine!' Roger said, "Is she alright?"

Robin smiled. "She is incredible. I have never seen a child be so brave and mature. She must have so terrified. And yet she put all of that aside to help the others. She was braver than all of the other slaves put together. But there is definitely some of your fire there in her. When I left, she was practically forcing Marian to sit still so that she could braid her hair. And I have never seen someone order Marian about in such a fashion."

It was impossible to not see the pride beaming from Roger. But he said nothing.

"You don't have to tell me what happened," Robin assured him warmly. "Trust me, I carried around a secret for a year. I just wanted to shut Marian away from my memories. And I worried what you would all think of me. How she almost died because of me. And how I left her like that. It haunted me. But I will say this. Having her back in my life has been the most wonderful thing."

"I didn't ask your opinion," Roger said, bubbling up anger.

"Of course," Robin said, knowing that this was not a good time.

"Can we please just get her and the others to safety?" Roger asked, his voice cracking slightly. "Then, once I know she will be safe, I can think straight about things."

"We are getting close," Robin said in answer, changing the subject.

Roger smiled his thanks.

Gisbourne sat in a relaxed fashion upon one of the larger roots of the enormous tree. It had always been one of the outlaw's main meeting points but this was the first time that someone other than a Merry Men had been greeted here.

Robin dismounted with ease, handing his reigns over to Roger. This was a clear message. He wanted to show that this was his fight and Roger was to stay back. Roger was all too happy to oblige, feeling the throbbing of his bruises.

Gisbourne rose just as easefully. Robin noted that he did not draw his sword. This concerned him. No man had ever faced him so bravely.

"You wanted to see me?" Robin asked sternly. "You are Guy of Gisbourne I presume."

"That I am," Gisbourne replied. "And I assume you to be Robin Hood."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Gisbourne looked him up and down. "You are just, not quite what I expected."

Robin did not know how to react to such a comment. So he moved on. "You bear the insignia of a Lord who has just become my enemy. And yet you draw no weapon on me. Which side are you on exactly? And pick your answer wisely."

Gisbourne laughed at his words. It was a strange action. There was no trace of malice in it. The laugh seemed to be of actual good humour. "Oh if only you knew," he said.

Robin was not amused by his words. "Answer the question."

Gisbourne held up his hands to show his good intentions. "Well, I was sent here by the enemy Lord in question to ensure the ease of his transaction for lack of a better term."

"So you are our enemy?"

"Well, after I arrived I did swear allegiance to the Sheriff under the plan of bringing you here, tricking you into telling me their location and forcibly retrieving them."

"Why are you telling me this," Robin said.

"Because, while I swore to serve your Sheriff, I only did so with the intention of double crossing him instead."

"So you serve a foreign Lord, swearing allegiance to another enemy, only to help us instead," Robin said.

"So you see the difficulty I face when answering whose side I am on," Gisbourne said with a smile.

"Just answer it," Robin said, angered. "Whose side are you on?"

Gisbourne considered. "My own. Or rather, my friends." He continued on to answer Robin's confusion. "A good friend of mine was taken with the slaves. Simon. Do you know of him?"

Robin nodded. One of the younger men amongst the slaves was Simon. Robin had only spoken to him briefly but he could tell that he was a good man. "Why would a Lord like you befriend a slave?" Robin asked accusingly.

Gisbourne clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Now, I would have thought that you of all people would believe in equality. Why should I not be a friend to him? You are questioning your own cause now."

Gisbourne's good humour was wasted on Robin, who still had his sword in his hand. Smile finally wavering, Gisbourne asked, "you don't trust me, do you?"

"You haven't exactly given me cause to."

"Just take me to Simon, he will speak for me. Then you could possibly be on the road to finally trusting me."

"Take you to the slaves? After you just admitted to how you are working for the Sheriff? This could all be a rouse."

"So blindfold me. Tie me up. Do what you wish. But I assure you, Simon will speak for me. And I swear to you, I mean them no harm. I often had business Lord Tysord and so I constantly interacted with members of his household. Trust me, I would much rather be around them than that horrid man. Especially Polly."

"What of Polly?" Roger said, suddenly drawing his sword.

Finally, Gisbourne showed the slightest sense of discomfort, even if he did not know why. Robin smiled slightly, seeing how easily a Father's love would come through. "I meant nothing by that. Only that she is a lovely child. I assure you, she will speak for me too. Anyway, when they were taken, I knew that I had stop it. But by the time I found out, it was too late and they were gone. So I spoke of you lot, knowing and praying that you would in fact do something to stop it. I offered my services to Lord Drayton in assurance that they would reach the Sheriff. From that, I gained the knowledge of which port they would arrive in and which route they would take. I boarded a faster boat and prayed that I would reach Briton before them. Apparently I was a smidgen too late."

"And what did you intend to do once you found them?" Robin asked.

Gisbourne shrugged, in a familiar way. "Do I really look like a man with a plan?"

Robin considered.

It seemed that Roger had completely stepped into a Father type role as he pulled Robin away. "I don't trust him. Surely you feel the same."

Robin hesitated.

"Well what help can he really be? If he is truly on our side, great. But we have a plan that does not require particular skill."

"He is a Noble," Robin said, thinking aloud. "We could use a few more on the inside for the purpose of sneaking them into the castle."

"And if he is lying?" Roger asked, biting back fury.

Robin looked to his friend. "Then I swear to you, I will fight him until he is an inch away for death and I will let you deliver the final blow. But for now, I think we can trust him."

Roger just gave him a look. A look that said you will rue this day.

He was completely right.

...

"I don't trust that man," Robin grumbled.

Lilly laughed. She had always possessed one of those hilariously contagious laughs. Robin found himself strangely immune. "Oh you can't be serious," she said, noting his glum face.

"There is just something about him," Robin grumbled.

"Oh stop it!" Lilly said, lifting a hand off of her reigns to stop him. "You trusted him enough to bring him back into range of the slaves. You are just acting this way because of Marian."

Robin grunted. "As if."

Lilly only laughed harder. "You do realise that you are acting like a child?"

"Good," he said after a pause. He had nothing clever to say. He was too angry with himself to think. His damned instincts should have warned him that Gisbourne was trouble. But things had run so smoothly. Simon had been overjoyed to see his old friend and had babbled away to him in French. Robin just smiled and pretended to understand.

Gisbourne was near swamped when they arrived. He had clearly not been lying. They all adored him. Robin was already a tad annoyed at the ease Gisbourne had created in them while a mere hour before, he had resulted in them quivering in fear.

"We come bearing wine!" Thomas called, brimming over with excitement as he and Marian came back into the main part of the church, each holding trays of goblets.

"That is for communion!" Tuck said, the closest to angry that Robin had ever seen him.

Thomas only laughed. "Would you really deny these poor, innocent, terrified and vulnerable slaves one small mouthful of happiness?"

Tuck was spared replying when Marian gasped loudly and dropped her tray. Wine went pouring all over the front pews and proceeded to flow down the aisles. "Quick! Save it!" Thomas roared, dropping down to desperately attempt to scoop up and droplets.

Marian did not pay him the slightest flicker of attention. "Guy," she breathed.

Robin looked in surprise to the man next to him. Gisbourne was already hurrying over to help Marian as she knelt down to attempt to stop the wine flow.

"Oh no!" Polly exclaimed. "Marian! Your gown." Clearly to the young girl, that would prove to be the worst tragedy of the day.

Marian looked down in surprise, seeing how the hem line had quickly turn from a pale blue to a dark red. She made a small sound surprise but quickly composed herself. "Well," she said, taking Polly's hands in hers and giving her a special smile. "I think it was getting a little small for me anyway. And now the hem is completely ruined. But I suppose, that could be trimmed away and the gown could be saved and used for a much smaller person."

Polly's face lit up. "Really?" she squeaked. "Do you promise? Guy, make her promise!"

Guy laughed at her order. He placed a hand over his heart and assured her, "I make an oath to you that I swear you shall own that gown."

Polly was lost in her excitement as she danced around, swirling the wine puddles with her and creating an even larger mess. "Polly!" Marian said, laughing as she clutched at the girls wrists. "But first, you have to do something for me. And that is to get find some rags from Tuck. Do you think you can do that?"

Polly nodded her head vigorously.

Gisbourne was still laughing as he stretched out a hand to Marian, helping her up.

"What are you doing here?" Marian asked, still confused.

"Thought I would help this lot here."

"You came all the way to England?"

"Of course I would. And you know, I couldn't pass up a chance to see you again."

Robin clapped his hands together loudly, gaining everyone's attention. "Right. Don't we have a plan to go ahead with? Or something?" His voice was a little higher than normal.

Allen smiled snarkily. "Oh yes, Lord of Improvisation. You were planning on making everything up as you went along. But I suppose the one thing of use that you have sought to say was regarding a visits with this Servant Mistress about safe placements."

Everyone could tell that this was the last thing Robin wanted to do.

"Lilly is ready to go," Matthew said nervously. They all knew that one of them was going to have to make Robin leave and the rest all thanked the Lord that Matthew had stepped up.

Robin looked ready to debate further but Tuck also stepped in. "I trust you will be quick about this Robin. You would do well to be back here as quickly as you could. You know, for the French folk."

"Of course," he said with defeat.

He felt around his belt to note that he had misplaced his sword. This was a very odd event to occur for Robin, who considered his sword to be almost a complete extension of his arm. "Brilliant," he muttered but turned to the sound of a loud cough.

This cough came from John, who held up Robin's hilt. Robin ran over to thank him as John quietly told him, "A wise man once said; the road of life has many turns, but one must always look ahead to reach the end."

Robin took his sword with a look of confusion. "Which wise man said that?"

John grinned. "Me. Just now. It means, hurry up, focus and get these French folk far away from me."

Robin scoffed out a laugh. "Thanks Johnny."

"Anytime Rob."

Lilly popped up beside him. "Shall we?" she said with a smile.

Robin wished he could match her enthusiasm but suddenly slavery was the last thing on his mind. Lilly did not take long to notice this as they rode into inevitable silence. Robin was not exactly in a talkative mood. So they mounted in silence. Lilly looked a tad nervous when she saw the size of her mare. "They don't bite do they?" she asked.

"Not always," Robin said, enjoying the hurried step back she took.

Gingerly, she took a few tiny steps forward and slowly stroked the horses mussel. She appeared to like the roughness of the touch as she smiled. "What's his name?"

Robin groaned. "Does it really matter? Honestly, women and animals. I shall never understand any of it."

His words made Lilly laugh, an action that soothed her. And finally she found the courage to put a shaken foot in one stirrup before heaving herself up. She appeared surprised as she sat securely in the saddle. Her mouth was agape in delighted surprise at how safe she felt. This safety quickly disappeared once the horse began to slowly trot. From the way she reacted, one would have thought that she was riding at a fast canter.

And so they rode. Eventually Lilly settled. Or at least, Robin assumed she had as he noted that her fingers were no longer red from her fierce grip upon the reigns.

He also noticed how the once talkative Lilly was suddenly a lot more quiet. Fear could not possibly be a factor. He had not known her long but he knew that, when Lilly was silent, something was wrong. And somehow, he just knew that Gisbourne was definitely the cause. "Lilly?" he said, dripping in sweetness, "do you remember how I saved your life?"

"I do," she said simply, looking straight ahead.

"Well I think that is about time I called in a favour."

"Regarding?" she said with a yawn, pretending to not pay attention.

"You know full well what it is regarding. Marian and Gisbourne."

She squirmed about in her saddle. "Now why would you assume that I know something? You have a very inquisitive nature. I have always admired that about you. It's the very thing that makes you a good leader. Speaking of leading, shouldn't we hurry on?"

"Nice try," he said, "but you are not getting out of it that easily."

She took a deep breath. "Look Robin. I think this is between you and Marian. Maybe you should discuss it with her."

"Don't you think I want to?" he asked. "But she won't speak to me."

"Maybe there is good reason behind that," she muttered, instantly regretting it. He blew out a deep breath, knowing full well that she had just gotten herself into deep trouble.

Robin urged his horse forward and turned to block her offs. The result was two startled horses who began to buck slightly and one terrified Lilly who clung on for dear life. She had never fared well to horse riding. "What are you doing?" she stammered as she clasped onto her horses neck.

"Why would you say that?" he said, eyes narrowed.

Lilly sighed sadly. "Look Robin… gosh I hate being the one who has to say this. But I'm sure everyone is thinking it."

"Just say it," he said, daring her to continue.

She took a deep breath. "Robin, I know that you love her. And that was fine. But then things got complicated. And maybe… I'm sorry… But maybe love isn't enough anymore."

"And what s that supposed to mean exactly?" Robin asked, calmly enough. But Lilly knew that she was in dire need to watch her words.

"I'm saying that there are a lot of factors against the two of you right now. Her stubbornness for one, which we both know will never go away. But that is probably the least of your concerns. What if she is hurt again? Because of what you do? Things could have worked out a whole lot worse last time."

"She is fine."

"She could barely get out of bed for months Robin. Every physician told us that she would never be able to walk again."

Robin's face fell slightly. No one had told him this.

Lilly wanted nothing more than to stop talking. But he had to know. For the good of everyone. "Even she had become accustomed to the life of being crippled. I think she just wanted to give up.'

"But then Guy came along. And somehow, he helped her. She seemed her old self again."

"Why would he help her?" Robin asked.

Lilly raised an eyebrow. "I think we both know the answer to that."

Robin looked away, not wanting to hear anymore. Unfortunately, Lilly thought that it was time someone finally voiced things.

"Robin, I really am truly sorry about all of this. But this is just the way that fate worked out. You need to concentrate solely on your destiny. As soon as she is around, you just… well you lose your head. And she needs to think of herself, which yes I know, shouldn't be hard for her. But I have been her handmaiden for years. And I have never seen this side of her. Nowadays, you just seem to bring out the worst in each other. I suppose… it just wasn't meant to be. And besides, don't you think you are being a little selfish here?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well… didn't you leave her behind a year ago because you knew this life would never be safe for her. And now you express interest again when it suits you? What has changed?"

Robin steered his horse forward. "We have to get to Valarie," he said, "quickly. I want everyone safe long before sundown."

"Don't get me wrong, I think Valarie is a wonderful woman. But I thoroughly doubt that she will be willing to take on slaves with a price on their heads."

Robin looked to her with an emotionless gaze. "Well Lilly, you have been wrong before."

She made a point of riding in silence for the rest of the journey.