Having finally convinced Robin to retire for the night, Marian found herself walking towards the room Much was sleeping in. His broken shield rested on a chair and Marian picked it up, sitting on the chair with the pieces in her lap. After several moments she reached up and rubbed a hand over her tired eyes and realised they were wet.
She looked at her hand, puzzled; she had not realised she was crying.
She looked over at Much's sleeping form. Always paler than Robin, Much's pallor now was extreme. His hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat and his breathing was shallow.
She was glad Djaq had said he would live, if not she would have been seriously worried. She knew, without even thinking about it, that if Much were to die, he would take a large part of Robin with him. It was strange indeed, contemplating a world without Much.
She was almost used to the idea of a world without Robin. A world where Robin was dead had been the stuff of Marian's nightmares for seven years and – as terrible as it sounded – she had become used to the idea; the pain she felt when she awoke in the middle of the night was now a dull ache.
Much, however, was a different story. Much protected Robin; in a way Marian could not. He protected Robin from himself. He was a piece of Robin's childhood that Robin was unable to run away from, or escape, or translate into adulthood. Much had been a constant in Robin's life since Robin had been a tiny child. With no siblings, the troublemaking heir to Locksley had been told to 'go and play with Much'.
When Marian had joined them, years later, the three of them had become inseparable. Robin's first gang.
She looked down at the broken pieces of shield in her lap. The shield had intrigued her, when she had first been in a position to see it after Much and Robin returned.
She remembered thinking, through the haze of anger that had descended on her when Robin left - and intensified when he returned – that they had each brought back items that were extremely typical of the both of them. Robin, of course, had a curved Saracen sword and a curved Saracen bow. Much carried a bright shield. Its emblem either a flower or the sun, Marian had yet to decide which.
Robin had brought back the weapons of his supposed enemy. During her time in the camp Marian had come to understand the shadowed look in Robin's eyes. For long hours she had watched him in the forest, firing arrow after arrow, 'practicing', he said, the time he caught her watching. She had noticed the guarded look in his eyes, however, and did not let him catch her again.
Much had come back bearing a shield. His sword was the same one he had taken with him – or one very much like it – but the shield? That was something new. A bright shield to hold in front of himself and Robin both, and Marian knew, that if it was a choice, Much would gladly give his life for Robin.
Yet, there had been a distance between them lately. Not just lately. Since they had returned. At first everything had seemed as before, the minor detail of the pair of them being outlaws aside. But then, Marian had begun to notice the distance.
She knew it was Robin's doing. She wondered if Much knew why.
His presence hurt Robin. It hurt Robin to see what he had led Much to. To be reminded of his life before the Holy Land. Even Marian had caught Robin looking at her sometimes with an expression of hurt that had nothing to do with anything recently inflicted. She wondered if Robin even knew why he felt he had to push Much away. The truth was – Much terrified Robin.
'Are you okay?'
Marian looked up to see Robin leaning in the doorway, his face hidden in shadow.
'It is almost morning, my love.'
Marian nodded. Robin crossed the room to her side. Seeing the shield in her lap, he picked up part of it and inspected it. Then took the other pieces and laid them on the sideboard, almost reverentially.
Much gave a loud snore, reassuring them that he was in fact sleeping and not unconscious.
Robin laughed silently, flooding Marian with a feeling of utter relief. 'I think that is our cue to depart,' he said, smirking at her and pulling her to her feet.
He walked her to the door of her room, dropping a lingering kiss on her lips that made Marian burn inside.
After several searing moments, he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers.
She looked at him, glad he was better. Glad Much would be okay. She opened her mouth to tell him so, but instead found herself saying, 'Marry me.'
He blinked in shock, and then smiled. 'I thought we had a plan?'
'Half a plan,' Marian said, smiling at him.
Robin shook his head gently. Then he turned and leaned against the wall.
Marian worried her lip between her teeth. 'If you don't-'
'When?' Robin interrupted.
'Tomorrow.'
He shook his head, laughing. 'No.'
She stared at him, genuinely shocked into silence.
He pushed away from the wall, said, 'When Much is better.' Then he kissed her gently, turned and walked off in the direction of his friend's sickroom.
*