Chapter 15

Disclaimer of all things RH.

Well sorry this took so long...Having a bit of difficulty as to what to do next...I know where i want the story to go, but I don't know how to get there lol. Anways, thanks for all of the reviews so far. This chapter still doesn't sit well with me. It seems like something that shouldn't be happening at this point in the story. O well. Enjoy!

Robin stood in Sherwood forest with Marian in his arms. Her head leaned up against his chest and he could smell the intoxicating soft perfumes in her hair. He tried not to move for fear of ruining the moment, or the worst, that this was a dream and he would wake up with only her cold words and memories long gone to comfort him. True, she did not love him, but she gave him the next best thing; forgiveness. One of his hands cradled her head and the other engulfed her into a warm embrace. Nothing had ever felt so...so right.

After a moment or two, neither were sure how many exactly, Marian raised her head to look at Robin, revealing tear-stained cheeks. Robin smiled a little and wiped them away with his thumb.

"There now." he said softly, "No tears. They do not suit your beautiful face, my lady." he grinned. Marian rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"More of your charms and dribble?" Marian asked releasing herself from his arms and stepped back. Robin let her go without a fuss, trying to make it seem like it didn't bother him.

"You never were one for courtly love, were you Marian." he winked at her, putting his hands on his hips.

"It's a little over rated, don't you think?" offered a playful smile, "Besides, I would never really know what courtly love was like. No one ever showed such attentions to me." she said with mock dissapointment.

Robin looked at her, his features displaying slight offence. "And what I did for you for three years was...?" he trailed off looking for an answer.

" You constantly trying to impress me and always getting me into trouble." she smirked.

"That's not true." Robin said with conviction. But he thought about it for a moment and backtracked, "Well, at least the first part isn't." he added a little sheepishly. Marian only laughed.

"So, I gather that Gisborne didn't do the courtly love business either then?" Robin asked hopefully. Marian's face fell to a neutral expression at the mentioning of Gisborne and she chose her answer carefully to put the subject away as quickly as possible.

"No, he always followed me around like a lovesick puppy and tried giving me gifts. You saw how it was." There Marian thought, that should be enough to please him enough to not pursue the subject further. Thankfully, it was. Sort of.

"Then there is no Lancelot for the Lady Marian?" Robin asked with a little amusement in his voice. At least he could be happy that Gisborne didn't beat him in the wooing department.

"Why would I want a Lancelot?" Marian looked at him confused.

Robin returned the look, "Well, he is the hero t of all the stories, isn't he? Handsome, brave, saving damsels in distress-"

"Do I look like a damsel in distress?" Marian cut in

"I speak of generalities, not particulars." Robin answered quickly, thanking his lucky stars that he managed to get out of that one quickly. "Anyways," he continued, "Lancelot is the man all the ladies aspire to have."

"More generalities?" Marian asked raising an eyebrow. She was clearly not impressed

"Yes." Robin said slowly, trying to figure out if that actually was the right answer. The look on Marians face, however, quickly told him that it wasn't. It most definately wasn't. Marian gave him that glare, that he was sure would cause even the most seasoned crusader to quake in fear. Neither of them spoke, Marian, trying to get the point across and Robin, slightly afraid that if he said anything, he might not leave the forest in more that one piece. Finally, Marian broke the silence.

"What do you think I'm going to say, Lockesly?" she asked him, making him feel like he was on trial.

"Probably some long speech about how you are not like other women and how independant you are and don't need a Lancelot." he tried to keep a confident look on his face.

Marian looked skyward, "Ah!" she exclaimed to Whoever is Up There, "He does have a brain" she said sarcastically.

Robin rolled his eyes, "Very funny." he said monotonously leaning back against a tree and attempting to take some pressure off of his leg. Marian cast him a smile, relishing in her little victory. But Robin wasn't done yet.

"But you know," Robin began causing Marian to look at him strangely, " I think that somewhere, deep down, you want a Lancelot. I mean, you fight so hard to be seen as different from other women that you try to alienate yourself from anything that might make you the same as them." He watched Marians cheeks tinge with a tiny flush of anger and he knew he had hit the mark. " Alot of it, though, is true. You are different from other women and people admire you for it." He would have said I admire you for it, but recent discussions made that rather impossible, "But, I think, somewhere inside you, you want to be protected, but you are afraid to admit it."

Marian's face was now so red, that it could have been likened to a tomato. She took a step towards Robin so that there noses were almost touching. "Don't ever presume to know what I am thinking." she hissed and quickly backed away.

"I hope you are feeling better." Marian said formally with a coldness that only the harshest of winter nights could provide. "Lucky for you, your leg hurts, so I will not injure you further." she shot him another glare and walked away to her horse.

All Robin could do was just stand there and go over everything that had just happened in the past few minutes. It boggled his mind at how one minute, they could be in each others arms, and the next, parting on such sour terms. Well, he shrugged She'll get over it. She always does when she realizes I am right. He smiled to himself as he limped towards his bedroll at the camp.

TBC

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