A/N: Hello again everybody! Let me tell you, you guys gave me quite the scare, for a while i had noo reviews. But you came through :) love you guys. Yulecogs, soulprovider and anonymous I do hope yo ulove this chapter. It's the longest yet! And for any other readers out there (which I hope there are) please shoot me a review as well! The more I get, the longer and jucier the chapters, and the quicker they'll come.

Also, this chapter took me a while, I'm not totally in love with it quite yet :/ But review and please make me feel better about it! I'm also brainstorming some ideas for a Harry Potter story, so if you like me here, hopefully you'll like my new one when it comes out as well. Well, enjoy my friends!

Chapter 10: Followed

Allan checked the night after the gang's deliveries and sure enough, Djaq had left him a message within the white 'D' he had made outside The Golden Arrow. From the marks and letters she had left in her dainty handwriting, he knew they would be meeting in three days time at the Blue Boar Inn.

Three days, why couldn't it be sooner Djaq? Oh love, you'll be the death of me someday.

Sighing and turning back towards the castle, Allan moved stealthily to avoid any extra attention. Lately his trickster sense had been going haywire, every sound and sight making his mind rush. Ever since Greydan and his small band of followers had moved into the castle, nothing seemed right.

Well, as right as anything could be in the castle.

It wasn't totally dark yet, and Allan had been told earlier that Guy wanted to meet with him before sundown. As his 'right-hand man' Allan needed to run all the errands Guy didn't want others to know about, whether they be too confidential or too embarrassing.

Lord like the time Guy had me go find him a private physician to cure some rash he got on his ass…laughed myself silly for days with that one.

Looking back on it Allan allowed himself another laugh as he climbed to steps of the castle, nodding at the guards that he passed by on his way. Before long Allan reached Gisbourne's door and knocked solidly, walking in as soon as he heard the yell of 'enter!'

Gisbourne stood by his window, overseeing the dimming world of Nottinghamshire below him. The sun was slowly turning a golden orange and the sky seemed to bleed with shades of pink and red. Winter was finally rearing its ugly head around and the weather was expected to drastically change within the next week. Most farmers believed the first frost was days away and they hurried to harvest was bare crops they had.

Allan closed the door softly so not to disturb Guy's thoughts, he knew one thing his boss hated was disturbances as he pouted his day away pining for Lady Marian. The trickster stood for a few minutes, the room completely silent with sounds only heard from down below in the town. Finally Guys turned and looked him up and down.

"Allan, glad to see you arrived," Guy strode to his desk to retrieve a slip of paper, which he folded into an envelope and promptly sealed with some liquid wax.

Good God is he really still sore about me missing that meeting?…the one time I don't show…

Pushing away his thoughts for now, Allan watched as Guy slowly strode towards him with the envelope. The black-haired man placed the envelope delicately into his man's now opened palm, fixing Allan with a steely glare as he did so.

"This letter is to be delivered directly to Lady Marian. You are to make no stops on your delivery, I expect a response from her later today and I will be asking her if the letter was delivered and if it was sealed properly upon said delivery. Do I make myself clear?" Allan mutely nodded his understanding, thinking all the while what message this could have been if it was handled with such importance.

After a wave of the hand for his dismissal, Allan trudged off to find Marian, moving first towards her quarters on the next level up. Come to think of it, Allan hadn't seen Marian in days. Lately she was either fighting with the Sherriff or avoiding Guy completely, and Allan doubted she had even been out to visit Robin in a week's time.

Arriving at her door, Allan softly knocked and called out to the woman. "Marian? Marian open up it's me All—", before he could finish the sentence Allan was pulled inside by soft white hands and pushed against the wall next to the door, a dagger pressing forcefully against his bobbing Adam's apple. Staring into his eyes was Marian's fierce blue-green gaze, the fire of anger burning into Allan. She didn't lessen her grip on Allan's collar or the hold on her hairpin dagger.

Nervously, Allan began to speak, "Um, Marian, I'm not being funny or anything but do you mind not stabbing me? I'm just here to deliver something to you, not take you away anywhere." Marian's gaze seemed to clear and she shook her head slightly, brown curls bobbing back and forth. She quickly released her hold on Allan and went to sit on the bed.

"I'm so sorry Allan; I don't know what has come over me. I've just been so angry and jumpy lately and I was worried that the Sherriff or Guy had sent you." Marian leaned her elbows onto her knees and buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking in anger. Never, not once had Allan seen her like this. This wasn't the Marian he knew.

Over the past few weeks, Allan and Marian had grown a sort of bond as she remained locked up in the castle. She still branded him as a traitor to the gang (which she still held some disdain for) but there was an uneasy understanding between the two which kept them from each other's throats. A mutual dislike for the Sherriff and Guy was probably what had spawned it.

Despite their new found relationship as acquaintances, Marian and Allan agreed to not talk about plans that either the Sherriff or Robin had. It kept the slate completely clean. He wished just once he could talk to her about Greydan, but the Sherriff had the man so secretive that most people in the castle didn't know he existed, though they saw his men out and about. Greydan was the sort of person who was seen only if he wanted to be.

Allan walked over to Marian and sat next to her on the bed, softly rubbing the spot between her shoulder blades in an attempt to comfort her. Allan didn't often comfort women; he wasn't so used to the position of being a caretaker.

Unless it were Djaq. I'd rub her back in comfort until she cried her eyes out and my hand was raw and bleeding.

After a few minutes, Marian's tears subsided and she began to quietly chuckle. "Good Lord Allan I am such a mess," she wiped the corners of her eyes carefully with the corner of her sleeve and looked at her companion. Allan reached into his pocket and withdrew the sealed letter.

He coughed and rubbed to back of his neck with the hand that didn't hold Guy's message and carefully worked out what to say to Marian. "Well you see Marian, Guy did send me," she immediately stiffened at his side, "but not to take you anywhere! Strictly to give you this message. He was real careful about my delivery too. Didn't want me to see what was inside." He handed her the envelope which she carefully examined, and then placed in her lap.

Her fighting demeanor had returned and a thoughtful look now graced her features. "This must be very important Allan, for him to not want you anywhere near it. I'm going to open it now; I won't mention you were here when I did." With a wink she went to retrieve a letter opener from her desk in the corner, and then sliced open the wax seal that closed away the envelope's contents.

Marian's eyes flitted over the paper, darting from side to side as she took in Guy's message. Eagerness gave way to confusion; Allan could see that she reread the letter. She glanced up and towards Allan, slowly handing him the small note that was scrawled over in Guy's messy handwriting.

The letter was direct and succinct, void of emotion and dripping with a sense of…Guy. It read:

Dear Lady Marian,

I hope you do not question that I wish this letter to remain only between us; I have not even let Allan read its contents.

Allan snorted and continued reading on, mentally laughing at Guy's attempts to keep secrets from the once trickster.

I also implore you to understand my instructions when I say you must leave the castle immediately. The Sherriff has business to attend to and wishes you to ride northwest to Manchester for a period of time. You will be chaperoned by some of my most trusted guards and kept perfectly safe. I'm sorry, but you cannot stay in the castle whilst the Sherriff is doing his work. You will follow these orders. Consider it the vacation you have so desperately asked for. Pack necessities for at least two weeks. More will be provided to you if need be. Enjoy your time, and please remember my ever present offer.

Yours,

Sir Guy of Gisbourne

Allan, like Marian, reread the letter; just to be sure he could memorize its contents. Once he could remember what was written, he gave the letter back to Marian.

"I don't like this Marian, Guy never wants you out of his sight. This isn't like him at all," Allan squinted back towards the last line of the letter: please remember my ever present offer. Marian saw him stare and immediately flushed red.

Ahh…the ever present offer being the ever present proposal.

"He's still at you for that isn't he Marian? Wanting you to be Lady Gisbourne?" Allan grinned slightly, knowing this was the one topic that always riled up Marian.

"He's absolutely ridiculous Allan. He needs to stop this attempt to marry me, it's driving me absolutely mad," in a huff Marian threw the letter on to her bed and sat down, crossing her arms angrily.

"Well look at it this way Marian, at least you'll have a nice little 'vacation' away from him," bringing her attention back to the main point of the letter, Allan could see Marian's mind whir with thought and confusion.

"He's planning something big…isn't he Allan?" Marian finally met eyes with the once member of Robin's gang, a tinge of worry seeping in at the corners. "Please Allan; please tell me that Robin won't be hurt in all of this." After her father's death, Marian had been desperate to keep Robin safe, despite the fact that she couldn't see him with the lockdown she had been under.

To be honest, Allan didn't know where Robin played in all of this. He knew that the end goal of the Sherriff's master plan was to take down all of Robin's gang, especially their fearless leader, but Robin always wormed his way out of danger. It was Djaq he really worried about, she was the only one in any immediate danger. Not to mention the fact that if he told Marian Robin would be in trouble, she would try to stay in the castle, and the Sherriff would definitely punish her for that sort of insubordination. She had no excuse to stay anymore, her father was no longer in the castle and everyone knew she was desperate for escape. She had to go, there was no avoiding it.

"No Marian, Robin isn't going to be hurt from this. At least, I don't believe so. Just trust me; you need to get far away from here, as far as possible. Something big is going on in Nottingham, and you don't want to be here when it starts. Just be safe, that will help Robin most of all."

Before Marian could grab him and force him to stay, Allan left the room and began walking towards his own quarters. He had less than three days now to waste until he could hold his Saracen warrior in his arms once again.

It's going to be a long three days.

Djaq paced back and forth outside the camp, ignoring Much's order to spend her time collecting firewood for the rest of the gang. Fiddling repeatedly with the fastening pin of her cloak, Djaq attempted to mentally calm herself down.

I'm seeing Allan tonight. My Allan, tonight. But tonight just seems so far away.

Finding a large rock at the edge of the clearing she stumbled into, Djaq walked over and sat down. Closing her eyes and taking a solid deep breath.

In, out. Just like Father taught me. Deep breaths calm the mind and the soul. Calm. In, out.

She sat like that for about five minutes, letting the sweeping movement of her breaths relax her entire being. Her heartbeat slowed down, allowing her mind to clear into a blissful blankness. The sounds of the forest were almost nonexistent. The first frost of the year had come yesterday, making the mood of the camp bleak and glum.

Needless to say snow was right around the corner, and if Djaq hated one thing more than being cold it was being cold and wet. They didn't have such horrendous weather back in her homeland. In the Holy Land, it was blissfully blistering heat, that cooled just enough in the darkness of night. The sun beat down on the world and warmed it with Allah's love.

Obviously Allah doesn't love England. Allah doesn't give those he loves freezing temperatures and blankets of snow.

Shaking her head, Djaq drew her thick winter clothes tighter around her, hiding her hands in the folds of cloth. At least her bed would be nice and warm tonight. Just thinking of such a thing made Djaq blush and grin, Allan had been rubbing off on her far too much.

Sighing and standing, her limbs creaking in the cold air, Djaq stumbled around and collected firewood like Much had asked. As much as she loved the manservant, she hated doing the work he asked for. She was a fighter, not a housemaid. If she wanted to tend to men's needs she would have stayed out of the cold of England.

If it were Allan, I would take care of him like a wife should.

The thought had been so sudden and shocking that Djaq dropped every stick she held in her hands. She gasped in surprise at herself. She had never considered marriage in her future before, but being with Allan had apparently been changing her mind without her realizing. Could she be a wife to Allan? Would he even want her to be?

The idea of being unwanted gave Djaq a sharp pain in her stomach, and she immediately pushed away the notion.

Today will be a happy day Djaq, stop being so absolutely ridiculous.

Retrieving her dropped firewood, Djaq hurriedly walked back to the camp, ready to ask Robin for the night away to see her 'wise-woman'. Once she had entered, she dropped the sticks into a pile that lay by the door and sat immediately down by the fire that burned brightly in the kitchen. Rubbing and blowing on her hands just barely brought feeling back into the digits, but the fire warmed her numb cheeks and nose.

Suddenly Djaq felt a weight fall down upon her shoulders and she jumped with surprise. Whipping her head around, her nose just brushed the nose of one of the men. A man with very bright green eyes. Djaq swallowed thickly, Will was too close for her to even form words.

"I didn't mean to startle you Djaq; you just looked rather cold and I figured you could use the extra blanket," Will pulled his face away and grinned at the woman, who was still staring silently. Djaq turned back towards the fire and mentally berated herself. She moved the blanket and was overwhelmed by Will's musky scent, and she couldn't help but inhale the hints of wood and man that just screamed Will Scarlett.

She lifted her gaze over the fire where she caught Robin's eye. Robin just grinned and winked at her, his eyes darting between Djaq and Will so rapidly that she was surprised he wasn't dizzy. Djaq just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Honestly, all men think about are women.

Will wandered over to Much who was picking through the pieces of firewood and finding what would burn longest as they made dinner. Will, when Much wasn't looking, would steal some of the thicker pieces and tuck them into his pockets, most likely to be whittled away in the carpenter's spare time.

Seeing that Will was out of earshot, Djaq got Robin's attention and waved him over to her. Robin sat on the wooden bench next to his friend and dangled his hands above the flames.

"What can I do for you today Djaq?" Robin asked, sensing that the woman had a question for him.

"I just was going to ask Robin if I could leave the camp tonight," Djaq's voice dropped even lower, "I have to go run another one of my private errands."

Robin blushed deeply but nodded to Djaq. "Of course my friend just be safe. Are you sure you don't need someone to go with you? Perhaps I can send Will—"

"No!" Djaq loudly interrupted, earning attention from the other members of the gang. Even Little John raised his head to look at the pair. More quietly Djaq continued, "No, no Robin I promise I will be fine. She even has rooms for me to stay overnight so I won't be out wandering around when I shouldn't be. Don't you worry about me."

Plastering a false smile onto her face, Djaq waited until Robin hesitantly nodded once again and moved away before she heaved a sigh of relief. Glee bubbled up within her, now all she had to do was meet Allan. She was seeing him finally after what felt like weeks and she couldn't be happier.

The conversation between Djaq and Robin didn't go unnoticed by Will as he stood in the corner of the camp. He knew what this meant; he could see it in her eyes. She was leaving once again tonight. And he would be following her.

About half an hour after the sun had gone to rest for the night; Djaq stood and prepared herself for her 'errand'. Grabbing her traveling cloak and swinging it over her shoulders, she flipped the hood over her head and smiled as she bent to tug on her boots.

"Djaq," Much questioned from where he lay in his bunk, "why are you getting ready to go out? Surely you aren't leaving the camp tonight." The man chuckled at Djaq's antics, thinking that her venturing out in the cold darkness was completely implausible.

"Actually Much, I have an errand to run tonight. Never fear, I'll be back tomorrow," Djaq smiled at Much's puzzled expression and left the camp with a swirl of her gray woolen cloak. The last thing she heard was Much's questioning of Robin: "Master, surely…!"

Shaking her head and laughing lightly, Djaq ignored the cold that wrapped its unwelcomed arms around her body and focused solely on what lie just a few minutes ahead. Her thoughts were so centered on Allan, that she couldn't hear the footsteps of the man who followed behind her.

Will hid behind yet another building, taking the extra precaution despite knowing that Djaq probably couldn't see him in the jet black darkness of the early-winter night. He drew his collar up over his nose and mouth, keeping the puffs of his breath from giving away his position. Leaving the camp was simple enough; Robin and the other men were already worried about Djaq venturing into Nottingham alone, Will was just the gentleman who volunteered to ensure she made it to her destination safely.

However, now that they had made it into Nottingham, Will could see that the wise-woman was not Djaq's destination. He had followed her through the forest, thanking God for Djaq not having heard the many twigs he broke with his clumsy feet. However nimble his carpenter's hands may be, his father always told him he was born with two left feet.

Djaq, although her mind seemed to be elsewhere, still remembered the basics of remaining safe, which was a great relief to Will. Even though she was hiding something from the gang, Will still loved her. He didn't think he could stop loving her.

Will peeked around the corner of the house he hid behind, seeing Djaq check side to side before stepping into the rowdy pub of The Blue Boar Inn. Will cursed.

She's meeting someone in there, but whom? And how can I see it now? I can't just barge in to every room in the Inn…

Will racked his brain looking for an answer; he couldn't leave this mystery unfinished now that he had come so far. Squeezing his eyes together he gripped his hair, think Scarlett, think.

Then it came to him. He might as well practice his climbing skills. Walking over to the first beams near the entrance of The Boar, he scanned his surroundings before reaching up and leaping to grab the first beam. Pulling himself up, he used that as a ledge and pulled himself around to the first window, holding on to the beams above him with the tips of his fingers.

The things I do for love.

Edging around on the tips of his toes Will came to the first window and peered inside. Empty. Adjusting his grip on the beams above his head Will moved on to the second window, seeing firelight flicker from within. He peeked his head around the corner, finding not his Djaq inside but a fat bearded man laying flat on the bed, being ridden by a buxom brunette and she brayed above him. Will shook his head in disgust, trying to ignore the noises the man and his whore made on the creaking bed.

Will went to continue past the window, hoping the couple was too concerned with their throes of passion that they would miss seeing Will cross over their window. A fire could be seen in the next window as well; perhaps he would find Djaq in this one.

Just as he went to move further to his right, Will's foot slipped on the ledge beneath him and the grip on the rafter became strained, his arm muscles screaming in protest. As his foot slipped, Will's knee banged into the couples window, loud enough that the woman turned to glance over towards him. Their eyes met, and Will rushed to move on to the next window, praying that he would see Djaq.

Will stretched his muscles, hearing the voices within the last room begin to talk, the woman's voice high pitched with fright. He was almost at the window and he stretched his calves even more, happy to use his lanky structure for good. He could see just into the room, enough to catch sight of a small woman dressed in man's clothes, with short spiky black hair that glistened in the dancing light of the flames.

Djaq.

Hurrying even more Will tried to move to see who she was staring at, his angle wasn't right yet. Djaq was smiling, each one of her pearly white teeth reveled. Before Will could keep going, Djaq began to undress, untying the laces of her white cotton shirt and pulling it over her head. Seeing the woman he loved left in just a breast band, Will was stunned into immobility.

She moved then to unlace her breeches, her boots having already been removed. Will gulped a tightening growing uncomfortably in his own breeches. His attention was diverted however when a man began moving into the window, just his hands reaching out for the moment. Before he could see more of the stranger, a voice sounded from his left.

"You!" Will whipped his head over, meeting the eyes of the bearded man who was obviously interrupted from his nightly carousing. The man yelled yet again, this time not to Will.

"Guards! Guards! A thief is climbing the walls!" Will looked down to the ground beneath him and saw the guards who were stationed at the end of the block moving towards him. Windows from other buildings were now opening as the inhabitants of Nottingham were woken from their slumbers.

The man kept his gaze locked on Will, who cursed yet again and gave a quick glance towards the window. Djaq and the stranger were gone, whoever the man may be. The must have moved to the other corner of the room.

Guards were now shouting from down below and Will looked around desperately for an escape. Seeing only one way out, Will began to climb again, reaching up towards the thatch roof of The Blue Boar Inn. Once he had gained secure footing, Will took off running, jumping from one roof to the next and the next.

Just this once, please don't be clumsy.

Leaving the guards, Djaq, and the mystery man behind, Will leapt off into the night, knowing he would have to ask Djaq about this when she was less busy.

A/N: Oooooh I bet you wish I kept going with this one! ;) But dontcha worry, we'll be starting with some Allan/Djaq love-li-ness next chapter, but that's the only spoiler you'll be getting from me for now. Super special shout out to whoever can find the "Game of Thrones" line in this chapter! Perhaps I'll even take a request if you get it...ohh boyy...anyway, review!