The road to Nottingham was quiet, the only conversation being sustained between the newcomers. Elisa and her men did their best to keep their voices down and spare themselves the curious looks of the soldiers around them. It had been a strange ride, especially when they were in the forest. Peter was the first to mention feeling watched, and soon everyone of Elisa's party was in agreement. The outlaws knew of their arrival.
The walls of Nottingham were intimidating, made more so by the feeling of threat that the city gave off. "So this is it. The Nottingham Robin spoke so proudly of." For some reason, Elisa imagined it was not the same as what Robin knew, but she could not be sure.
"What was that Lady Elisa?" The gruff voice so close made Elisa flinch. She had not expected him to pull his horse up next to him, and a general movement behind her let her know her guard had not expected it either.
"I was just admiring the city," she lied. It was hard to find anything to admire about the gray walls and beggars around the gates. It was pitiful-looking after the grandeur of Arabic architecture. "Shall we?" she asked, motioning to the gates lazily, "I would so like to meet your Sheriff." Another lie, Elisa heard much about the Sheriff in Nottingham and the questionable character of the man. It was curious to hear such rumors, because the Sheriff of Nottingham she met at Court some years back was a kind old man.
Guy made a sort of choking noise that Elisa assumed was laughter. He knew no one who ever heard the rumors about the Sheriff would ever desire to meet him, but they proceeded through the gates without more discussion.
Elisa could feel the people of Nottingham stare at her. She had never liked being watched, but she presumed the attention was inevitable as the town seemed hungry for gossip. People began to stare more and more openly at the woman riding beside Guy of Gisborne who brought her own guard. Some sticky-fingered men in the crowd were sizing up her wealth and comparing it to the trouble they would have to go through in order to steal it for themselves. A pair of hooded outlaws had followed them within the walls with the hopes of beating those petty thieves to the money or clothing they guessed was a part of her baggage.
All were surprised at the small amount she carried. Even her guards were packed lightly. It was possible they were not staying very long, or she was carrying enough money to purchase new clothing. What each of the thieves wished was true though, was that any luggage was coming behind her where it would be easily captured.
The lady had been warned about the outlaws and had chosen this particular arrangement to confuse them. Even if their ringleader was Robin of Locksley, a man she trusted, she wasn't going to risk an attack when she could help it. She wasn't necessarily afraid of them, but her mind was always more partial to trickery and sly escapes than to outright fighting. Elisa could fight and was capable of doing a fair amount of damage if it came to that, but she would rather use her quick wit and quicker horse to remove herself from danger. In essence, she had a highly developed sense of self-preservation.
Elisa did not anticipate any trouble in the town, though. Her small guard would be more than capable of protecting herself and her limited luggage. They moved smoothly through the people, but because most seemed scared of being pushed aside by Gisborne's men. Those who weren't moving out of fear were moving out of some sense of respect that the Lady demanded. She looked so important and untouchable on her great black steed, somehow not looking the menacing part that Guy of Gisborne did on his own dark horse.
He seemed to notice this as well as his gaze lingered on the fine, strong lines of her horse. He had seen the same breed before, but few ever were brought to England and it made him wonder about how Elisa managed to acquire such a beautiful creature.
It was obvious to Elisa and her men that everyone was in awe of their arrival. It was not a dreary march of stuffy people and heavily guarded goods through the square only to be cut off from the peasantry and their market by heavy gates and cold stares. Elisa kept a kind look on her face and spoke quietly to her guards as if she was admiring the structure of some stall or asking one to fetch her some trinket that caught her eye.
In all actuality, Elisa was instructing her men to keep an eye out for any weaknesses in the structure of the keep. She doubted they would need her reminder, each was a brilliant soldier who had a mind to size up every structure for defense or attack. Phillip gave her a cocky grin and assured her there was nothing to fear in peaceful old England.
"Of course there isn't," she replied in an undertone, "Just habit, I suppose." None of them would need to be reminded of how often Elisa asked to know the quickest way out of any situation. A more foolish man would call her a coward.
Not that any such foolish man would be left in good condition by any means. None of her guard took well to Elisa being called a coward, her least of all. No one here had yet, though, and if she employed her knowledge of human nature she wouldn't have to suffer such indecencies.
"There is a bit of the wall crumbling somewhere though. This timber is mainly used for scaffolding. Either the wall is crumbling, or this sheriff is hanging quite a few people." It was Robert who made this observation, his first since they had arrived at Locksley. His tone betrayed his disdain at the idea of the Sheriff needing such a large pile of wood for all his hangings. Granted, none of the others had noticed the stack pushed right up against the walls, it was a detail that only Robert understood from his childhood as an apprentice to a carpenter in a city of about the same size.
"Brilliant," Elisa breathed, not sure herself if she was more inclined to believe in the wall being weak or the Sheriff being cruel. Something wasn't right here. Again she recalled the man who was only a few years her father's junior with a daughter about Elisa's age, it couldn't be him that was so cruel.
"My Lady," Guy said as they entered the inner bailey and stopped just before the stairs, "Your men can take the horses with ours to the stable and I'll show you inside." He seemed excited in a dark sort of way making Elisa wary of him. That look of anticipation was one common at Court.
His expression faded when her men did nothing but dismount as the other soldiers filed around them. One handed his reins to his comrade and helped Elisa down, again the look of impatience flashed on her features. "Peter and David can take them. I'd like to keep at least a pair of my men with me." Elisa knew Guy couldn't refuse without being incredibly rude.
"Very well, come along then," it made no difference to Guy if she had her guards with her, if she felt like she needed protection, she would have it. He started up the steps but stopped when he realized he wasn't being followed. Guy turned around to see what was wrong and saw that Elisa had a hand on her guard's arm, looking at Guy as if she would like to scold him again. "Is something the matter?"
She narrowed her eyes at his flippancy, but otherwise lost her interest in his sudden lack of respect and shook her head, "Nothing, of course. Again I find the lack of a woman's touch has affected Nottingham." Elisa thought she saw him smirk at that comment and wondered over that fact for a moment before releasing Phillip's arm, his tendencies to take offense would have to be relaxed here, she suspected. "Perhaps I could meet the Sheriff and then retire to a guest room to rest? I have been journeying a long while and am in great need of a respite."
Guy nodded quickly before continuing up the steps, this time waiting for Elisa to walk to his side. They walked through the corridors, Guy just ahead of Elisa with her two remaining guards following them both. She began to create a map in her mind as Guy led her to what she could only assume was the hall. Spacious, and tall enough to be made into two floors. Not disappointing in the least, though it could do with more color. The only vibrancy in the room was a woman's turquoise dress. The woman seemed unhappy about something, unhappy and annoyed, though she was trying to cover up her feelings.
'Amateur,' Elisa thought. Obviously no visit to Court in the later years of her life, though she suspected this was an old acquaintance of hers. An easy smile crossed her face as Elisa noticed the shorter, slightly balding man seated in the large chair. It was not a good choice for him, she critiqued behind her grin, it made him look even more small- like a child.
"Ah, Gisborne, you've finally returned, your leper friend has just gotten on my last nerve, do show her out." He must not have noticed Elisa file into the room behind Guy, she admitted to herself that she was not dressed as brightly as the other woman in the room and resolved to make more of an impression.
To make an impression here, she surmised, one would have to act as though they didn't have emotion. Certainly if this man who was so obviously in charge was insulting people so blatantly, there was some level of secrecy and disconnect that had to be maintained. She cleared her throat quietly, reminding Guy of her presence as if he too had been ignoring her. He certainly seemed to be fixated on something else in the room for the moment, from the angle of his head and the rigid set of his shoulders, Elisa could guess he was glaring at someone.
"Sheriff, I have brought you a guest," Guy said, glossing over the request by the little man to remove the woman. He must have imagined that Elisa's introduction was more important, "She came looking for Robin Hood at my manor. She said she was a friend of his."
So this one ends a little abruptly, but it will continue right where this leaves off in the next chapter. ^^ I just wanted to keep the chapters at about the same length. We'll get to some wonderful interactions between Elisa and the Sheriff as well as Marian. Reviews are always loved! Thanks to Novindalf for reviewing last time. It's good to know there are readers!
