Suddenly, Elizabeth began coughing and choking violently. Allan pulled back, shocked. Robin helped her sit up and open her lungs. But she kept choking on air, the muscles in her throat, damaged from her fall with the hangman's rope, were hindering her ability to breathe properly. Her own body was suffocating her.

Djaq dropped to Elizabeth's side with the vial of the special sap and poured more into Elizabeth's mouth. "Focus, Elizabeth," she said. "Focus on living. You have to want to live."

The next morning found Allan holding Elizabeth close to him while she still slept. Robin was busy getting the fire going while Much prepared breakfast to be cooked. The others were preparing for the day. Allan looked up at Robin from Elizabeth's peaceful face. "Who was she, Robin, before she came to the woods?" he asked.

"Lady of Huntington, wasn't she?" Will asked, putting the finishing touches on the transport cradle they would use to move Elizabeth to Kirklees later that morning. "What she always told mum when she was staying with us."

"She's not a Lady of Huntington," Robin said. "Her father was the last Earl of Bonchurch." Much looked up in surprise. "When we left to fight in the Holy Lands, she told me to give you the lands at Bonchurch if you survived the war, Much. She was always thinking of others before herself." He smiled down at Elizabeth. "Such a sweet lady."

"Very sweet lady," Will agreed. "After you left, she knew the new Sheriff wouldn't allow her to keep Locksley and before Gisborne arrived, she commissioned my father to build that cottage. She lived with us while we were building it, helping mum with the chores and Luke with the work father and I left him with. Mum didn't want her to go when the cottage was finished."

"She sounds perfect," Djaq commented. "The perfect sister to Robin Hood."

"She's done more good than I," Robin replied. "She and Marian both have done more good than I." He sighed. "And look where I've brought them both to."

Allan gently ran his fingers through Elizabeth's hair. "They would have fought in their own way whether you returned or not," Djaq said, watching Allan from the corner of her eye. "Strong women always will. And they are strong women."

"What good is her strength if she can't breathe?" Robin asked, still angry with himself for all that had happened. "She's going to die, isn't she, Djaq?"

"No."

"Djaq."

"No, she is not going to die."

"Don't lie to me, Djaq."

"She is going to live," Djaq said, after examining Elizabeth's throat. "But we need to get her to a physician. Quickly."

"There are no physicians who would treat her without turning her in to the Sheriff," Robin sighed. "We have to get her to Kirklees." He stood and retrieved his quiver from the ground and slung it over his shoulders. "Now."

Will laid out the transport cradle and John gently placed Elizabeth in it. Allan smoothed her hair from her face. "Allan?" she muttered, her eyes fluttering open.

"Shh, it's all right," he said gently to her. "We're taking you to the monastery at Kirklees. You'll be safe there." He kissed her forehead. Allan and Robin positioned themselves at the front bars and John at the back. At the signal, they lifted the cradle, shouldering the bars for extra support and stability. Then they were off in a flash, Robin, Allan and John carrying Elizabeth and Will, Djaq and Much running alongside, all trading places smoothly every half hour so no one would become too exhausted.

It took some time, but they eventually came to the monastery of Kirklees. Adjusting the position of the wooden bar on his shoulder, Robin knocked on the door. The door opened and a friar stood in the doorway. "Robin?" he asked, peering through the darkness at him. "Robin, what's wrong?"

"Friar," Robin said, nodding a greeting to the holy man. "My sister is very ill. And it is not safe to take her to a physician in Nottinghamshire." He looked at the friar imploringly.

"Bring her inside," the friar instructed. "I will send a novice for a physician." He motioned to a passing Monk. "Please lead these men to an available cell." The monk nodded. "I will pray for your sister, Robin of Locksley."

"Thank you, my friend," Robin said, following the monk through the monastery. "Keep strength, little sister."

"Allan?" Elizabeth repeated, her voice softer than before. During the whole of their journey, she would open her mouth to speak only his name. Nothing more. Just 'Allan.'

"Yes, Sunshine?" he would always answer. He leaned over to listen as he wasn't carrying her at the moment; Will had taken his position so he could spend more time attending to Elizabeth directly. "I'm here. What is it?"

But her eyes didn't open. Her expression suggested she was dreaming. This didn't surprise Allan; she usually called out to him in her sleep. "Allan!" she said, stirring a little. He held her hand and gently cupped her cheek in his hand while Djaq prepared the bed for her. "Allan…"

"It's all right, Elizabeth," he said. John, Will and Robin held the cradle steady and Allan gently and carefully lifted Elizabeth out of it and put her in the bed. He smoothed her hair from her face. "It's all right, Sunshine. I'm here."

Djaq ushered all but Allan and Robin from the room. "Allan," Robin began. He walked over to Allan. "You can't get your hopes up. There's a very real chance she won't survive this." Allan shook his head and adjusted the bedclothes around Elizabeth. "And even if she does survive, there's a chance she might be a little addled. She wasn't breathing for a long while. And the stories I've heard about people who didn't breathe for a long while…" Allan didn't respond. "Allan, don't waste your life hoping over her! She would not want that!"

"How can you say that?" Allan asked, looking over his shoulder at Robin. "She's your sister; our friend!" He stood and looked at his friend. "And I know you don't think I'm good enough for her, but I love her, Robin. And I'm not giving up on her." He looked down at her. "Even if she's in love with Will." He sighed and rubbed his face. "I've just given up on too much. Life in Rochdale… Tom…"

Robin put a hand on Allan's shoulder. "I know, my friend," he said. "I just don't want to see your heart break if she doesn't wake up." Tears rolled down Allan's cheeks in his worry. Robin's eyes pricked with tears as well and he pulled Allan into a comforting hug. "It would be a dreadful loss if she dies… She loves you, Allan."

Allan pulled back. "Thought you said she loves Will," he said. "I'm not being funny, Robin. She said she loved him." He sniffed and wiped his tears with his sleeve. "Which is it? Me or Will?"

Before Robin could answer, the door opened and a physician entered the room, followed by Marian. "Stand aside," the physician, nudging Allan and Robin to the side so he could examine Elizabeth.

"What happened?" Marian asked, seeing the paleness of Robin and Allan's faces. "What happened to her?"

"Gisborne," Allan said. "She was caught after getting me out." He rubbed his face again. "Then they tried to hang her."

"Oh, my god," she muttered.

The physician took his time examining Elizabeth, making sure not to miss any small detail of her condition. Finally, he stood and addressed Robin and Allan, "The muscles in her throat are severely damaged. I'm not sure there's anything I can do to help her. I'm sorry." He sighed and wiped his forehead with a rag. "But if I could find a certain mixture…" He glanced at Robin and Allan while Marian sat on the edge of the bed, trying to comfort her friend. "Mind you, it's just Wild Magic, hardly anything of medicine or proper science. But if I could find this mixture of tree sap and ginger, or even just the ingredients, I could help her."

"What was Djaq giving her?" Allan asked Robin, who bolted for the door in search of their Saracen friend. They returned a moment later. "Djaq, what were you giving Elizabeth?"

Confused, Djaq pulled the vial out of her coat pocket and held it out to the physician. "She gave it to me months ago," she said. "She said it was an infusion of sap and… Ginger, I think. Said it heals internally."

The physician examined the vial carefully. "And this was full when you started administering to her?" he asked Djaq. She nodded wordlessly. The physician smiled. "Then I can do nothing more for her. You will simply have to wait for the body to heal itself. Well done." He handed the vial back to Djaq before leaving the room.

Djaq looked at Marian. "Marian," she said. "Didn't you say you had news for Robin?"

Marian looked up from Elizabeth. "Right," she said softly. "The Sheriff is on a man-hunt for you, Robin. He's furious that Elizabeth has escaped him. You need to stop him before he finds her and kills her himself."

"I can't leave her!" Robin protested.

"You must," Marian insisted. "If you don't, she'll die."

"She might die if I do!"

"Robin," Marian began, standing and walking to him. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I will stay with her and watch over her. But you must go to stop the Sheriff. It is the only way to guarantee her survival. Tell him she died on the journey to Kirklees."

He paused a long time, looking at his sister over his love's shoulder. Then he nodded. "All right," he sighed. "We'll go." He looked at Allan. "Allan, I cannot insist that you join us, but we will need your help, my friend."

Allan, tears still on his cheeks, nodded, sniffing. "I'll go," he said. "But I'm coming back to Kirklees as soon as we're done with the Sheriff."