Elizabeth stumbled after Gisborne shoved her into the cell in the dungeon. "Do not be friendly with her, Mary," he growled at the kitchen girl. "She is a criminal and below you. Nor should you believe a word she says. Every word she breathes is a lie." Then he swept from the dungeon.

"You don't look near half as dangerous as he claims you are," Mary commented, slipping the food tray through the trap in the door. She sat on an over-turned water bucket and watched as Elizabeth pulled herself off the wall and staggered, tired and sore, over to the food tray. A dark purple bruise spread itself across the woods-woman's cheek. "Just tell him the truth and tell him what he wants to know." Elizabeth glared at Mary coldly. "Well, it'd save you from the beatings, at the very least." Elizabeth silently began to eat the stale bread and bit of cheese from the tray. "You oughtn't anger him."

Elizabeth slammed the mug of water on the tray, sloshing some over her hand. "I am considered dangerous because I am an aid to those who threaten the Sheriff's rule!" she spat at Mary. "And I've told him the truth and all I know! I don't have the information he needs!" She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "No matter what I say, they will not believe me. And it angers them no matter what I do. They will kill me soon simply because I cannot tell them what they want to know." A tear slipped down her cheek. Then she laughed a little. Mary gave her a confused look. "I left Locksley for Sherwood Forest so I wouldn't die locked in a dungeon of any sort. And I am going to die here." She dried her eyes. "The irony is staggering."

Mary took something from her apron pocket. "There was a man at the kitchen," she said, standing and walking to the bars of the cell. "He asked me to give you this." She reached her hand through the bars. Elizabeth stood and took the item offered her. It was a small carved wooden pendant strung on a leather cord. Elizabeth recognised it as the identifying tag of Robin Hood's men that she had asked for. A small smile played at her lips. "He said his name was Allan. Do you know him?"

"Allan?" Elizabeth repeated. "Of course. Of course I know Allan. He's the one who makes me laugh." She smiled faintly. "He's my favourite," she whispered. She slipped the tag around her neck, tucking the pendant into her bodice. "Thank you, Mary."

"What does it mean?"

"It means that my friends haven't forgotten me," Elizabeth said. "That I must not give up hope."

The next morning, Gisborne returned to Elizabeth's cell. The jailer unlocked the door. "Get up," Gisborne ordered. "The Sheriff wants to see you."

Soon, Elizabeth stood before the Sheriff of Nottingham and waited for him to finish examining her. "Tell me," he said slowly. "Where is Robin Hood?"

"I have already told you," she said evenly. "I do not know. Robin and his men come to me for my assistance. I never go to them. I do not know where their camp is. I only know they live in the Forest and they change their location often and when I stumble upon their camp, it's by accident and it's not there the next day. I know nothing more."

"Nothing?" the Sheriff repeated. He motioned to Gisborne. The Knight struck Elizabeth across the back with the leather switch from the Sheriff's desk. She winced from pain and fell to her knees. "Perhaps you know more now. Hm?"

Without looking up, she answered him. "Beating me will do no good, Sheriff. I have told you all I know." Gisborne beat her with the switch again. "You can't beat the information into my head! And even if you could, why would I have any incentive to tell you? Should I tell you, you would only use that information to destroy my closest friends. I cannot allow it."

Gisborne hauled Elizabeth to her feet. The Sheriff walked over to her and looked into her face. "Do you love him?" he asked. "Do you love Robin Hood? Hm?"

"Yes," she answered confidently.

"Given the chance, would you marry him?"

"Tell me something, Sheriff. Would you marry your own sister?" she asked in all seriousness. The Sheriff wore a disgusted expression. "That is essentially what you just asked me." She straightened her back. "Sheriff, for all my life, I have loved Robin Hood as my brother. And I would never betray him."

"My dear, misguided woman," the Sheriff began. "You are risking your life for this outlaw. What has he ever done to benefit you? Robin Hood breaks the law and risks the lives of his men every day." The Sheriff tilted his head towards hers and quietly asked, "Why do you want to help a man like that? Hm?"

"Robin fights for what he believes in," she replied evenly. "For what is right."

"Ah, see, that's where you're wrong," the Sheriff replied. "Robin Hood fights against law and order. He fights for anarchy."

"Anyone ever tell you you're a bit deluded?"

The Sheriff shrugged. "Perhaps," he said, walking away from her. "Now, tell me, when will Hood and his men arrive to save you?"

"I doubt if they would even notice I was missing," she said. "Even if they did… I'm not worth much to them. I can't fight, I can barely cook. My sewing is barely passable."

"They came for the Saracen Lady Boy," Gisborne said.

"Well, they would, wouldn't they?" Elizabeth replied lightly. "She's much more helpful to them than I am. She can fight, she has her science. I'm not worth half what she is."

"Very well," the Sheriff replied. Then he nodded to Gisborne who bound Elizabeth's hands for transport.

Gisborne led her roughly toward the door, where she stopped suddenly and looked at the Sheriff over her shoulder. "When I said I can't fight," she said slowly, turning around. She deftly slipped her hands out of the rope that was loosely tied around them. "I lied." She threw a punch at Gisborne who took it in the nose and placed a well aimed kick at the nearest guard.

"Guards!" the Sheriff shouted, backing away from the fight where Elizabeth was holding her own fairly well. "Someone incapacitate this kitchen wench!"

Elizabeth looked up in time to see Gisborne holding the truncheon he used to bash against the side of her head, rendering her unconscious. He tossed the truncheon aside and picked her up from the stone floor and carried her back to her dungeon cell where he laid her on the rough wooden bench, her skirt and hair draping over the side and to the floor.

Several hours later, Elizabeth woke with a groan. She tried not to move too suddenly as she rubbed her head. "Mmm…" she groaned again. "My head…" She sat up slowly and carefully, so as to not aggravate her headache more. When her eyes adjusted to the torchlight, she saw she had a visitor leaning against the far wall. It was Gisborne. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"How's your head?" he asked in reply, stepping forward.

"Don't," she said, misjudging the width of the bench she was on and falling roughly backward to the stone floor. Flashing lights danced before her eyes and her head throbbed. "Don't—don't come any closer!" She scrambled to her feet and backed against the wall, holding her hands out to keep him at bay. "I don't need any more of your particular branch of care."

"I'm sorry," he said, remaining at his wall. She scoffed and gingerly touched where his truncheon connected with her skull. She could feel blood dried in her hair. "The Sheriff plans to kill you if you don't give him more information."

"I can't tell him anything more," she said, trying to determine the amount of damage was done to her during the interrogation earlier that day. "He may as well kill me."

Gisborne stepped forward towards her. She held out a hand to stop him and he kept the bench between them. "He will kill you, Elizabeth," he said, his voice gently, his volume soft. "Because he knows what you mean to Locksley. But I may be able to help you." She shook her head, then regretted it immediately. She dizzily fell against the wall and almost fell to the ground.

In three swift steps, Gisborne was at her side, supporting her until she pulled away after her dizziness passed. "I don't want your help," she said. "Why would I? After what you've done to me…" She walked away from him.

He caught her wrist in hand. "I can save your life," he insisted. "Accept me and your life will be spared."

"You want me indebted to you, Gisborne," she said coldly. "You want me to marry you so I would feel guilty and not pass information to Robin." She tried pulling away from him. "You would want me to pass information to you instead."

A small half-smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Such an intelligent woman," he murmured. "But I wouldn't ask you to do anything you were uncomfortable with." He pulled her closer. "What is your answer?"

"If Marian couldn't marry you when her heart belonged to someone else," she said, trying to pull away, "what makes you think I could?"

"That's not an answer, Elizabeth," he scolded. "Will you or won't you?"

"I would rather die than be indebted to you," she said coldly.

"That can be arranged," he said, releasing her. She stumbled away and lost her balance, falling. "You will die tomorrow."

She used the iron bars at the front of her cell to climb to her feet. "If you're going to kill me, then you should use a way that is befitting my station," she said. "Do not slit my throat or stab me in the back or poison me." Gisborne left the cell, the jailer, after emerging from the shadows, locking it behind him. "Hang me! Make it a public execution! And a trap for Robin Hood!"

Gisborne stopped and looked back at her. "I had thought that only appropriate," he answered. He left the dungeon, the jailer following him, as Mary walked in, carrying a tray of bread and water.

"Thank you, Mary," Elizabeth said, as her new friend slipped the tray into the cell. "Thank you." She began to eat with ravenous hunger.

Mary watched her eat for a moment before saying, "That man, Allan, is waiting outside the kitchens for me to come back. Shall I tell him to come?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No," she replied, draining her cup of water. "He'll only want to free me. No, Gisborne and the Sheriff will be expecting that. Tell him…" She paused and, for whatever reason, she wasn't sure why, she began to cry. "Tell him," she began again. "Tell Allan that I miss him—and I miss Robin—I miss him and I am to be hanged tomorrow." Mary squeezed Elizabeth's hand, comforting her. "And, Mary, tell him to not be late."

Mary nodded and left Elizabeth crying in her cell. She didn't want to leave the poor woman, but it looked like she wanted to be alone for a while. When she reached the kitchens after winding through the castle's corridors, she went directly to the back door where she found Allan, that man that had come every day to try to talk to Elizabeth, still waiting in the shadows, huddled between two barrels of grain, right where she had left him. He was singing quietly to himself while he waited, "All this budding beauty, festival array, lays on us the duty to be blithe and gay." Mary hid from sight just inside the doorway. "Trodden ways are known, love! And in this thy youth, to retain thy own love were but faith and truth." His voice was soft, low and sad. "In faith love me solely, mark the faith of me, from they whole heart wholly, from the soul of thee. At this time of bliss, dear, I am far away; those who love like this, dear, suffer every day!"

Mary sighed and leaned against the doorway for a moment, thinking deeply. She was thoroughly attracted to this outlaw, this Allan A' Dale, this man who was in love with another woman. Steadying herself, she walked outside. "Allan?" she called, pretending she didn't know where he was. He stood quickly, startling her though she knew he was there. His expression was hopeful as he walked over to her. "She doesn't want you to come," she said.

He rubbed his face, looking skyward. "She always tells me not to come," he muttered. His eyes glistened with tears and Mary felt a painful tug on her heart. "It's always go away, Allan. Or not now, Allan. Or I'm in love with him, Allan." He sighed and looked at Mary. "Never, 'thank you, Allan.' I'm not being funny, but she never seems happy to see me."

"She will be when you save her from a hanging tomorrow," Mary assured him. His eyes grew wide and he shifted a little. Mary took a breath, then continued, even though she didn't exactly want to. "She misses you, Allan. She keeps saying that. And you're her favourite; you're the one who makes her laugh. She misses you and she wants to see you, but you can't go in to her. She's got triple the guards any normal prisoner; you'd never make it past them. She doesn't want to see you hurt, so she says not to come." She reached up and wiped away a rough tear that slipped down his cheek. "The Sheriff intends to hang her tomorrow, to make an example of her, to trap Robin Hood. Be there and save her." She paused a moment. "And don't be late."