Authors note - I'm not really happy with this chapter but after looking at it for so long I really can't come up with a way to make it better so here it is anyway.
Marian sat in front of her mirror combing her hair. She had at first opportunity stripped out her wedding dress. It had felt stifling. She couldn't believe she had come so close to marrying Guy. Now that she actually took the time to really think about it the thought of being Lady Gisbourne made her more than a little ill. Robin was absolutely right about the man's character.
Of course she would probably still have to deal with him. She wasn't foolish enough to believe Guy would just give up on her. As corrupt as he was he did at least think he cared for her. Whether a man like Guy was capable of love was another matter.
The danger to her and her father hadn't passed. If anything her actions will heighten it. If Guy found out that she had ran off with Robin or if the sheriff ever discovered it was her father who had organized the lords against him they would most certainly have proof of their disloyalty. They would face that then and she certainly wasn't alone anymore. Now she had someone to help fight her battles. She still had to lead a double life but some things in her life had changed in ways she never expected.
Things had certainly shifted between her and Robin. Just how far she wasn't sure but the walls each had erected were lowered.
She had to laugh about how stubborn they both had been. She had almost married another man because neither was willing to say the words that would fix things between them. It was Much who had said what Robin couldn't and had made her accept the truth she had been hiding from.
Her heart did belong to Robin and she couldn't and had no desire to deny it any longer at least to herself. In truth she had realized she still loved him the moment she saw him again but at the time she was still too hurt and angry at him to show it. Then she had been forced into accepting Guy's proposal and had gradually become convinced that there was nothing left of her prior relationship with Robin to save. That both of them had changed too much to be able to rebuild their bond. She had accepted her fate but at the last second realized she couldn't do it. Maybe Robin did need her but it was time to admit that maybe she needed him too.
She still didn't completely trust him. The last five years had taught her to be cautious. It would be hard learning to lean on him again after having to rely solely on herself for so long. Still she couldn't keep fighting her feelings for him. She couldn't help hoping things would work out this time between them. She believed they would as foolish as that might be. For the first time in five years she actually had something to look forward to. There was hope again.
She smiled thinking of her foolish boy and wondered when she would see him again.