Chapter 6

Marian closed the door behind her, pulling the coat she was wearing tightly around her then. She didn't plan to go out, but the hood it came with and the mask she was keeping stashed away in her pocket for now would have to suffice if she were to try to revive the Nightwatchman tonight.

She was still not sure she was going to do this, the idea of working against the king bringing up pangs of guilt that her mind tried to counter by assurances that it was only trying to rectify an injustice, and not something that would hurt the king.

What were her other options? She didn't know how long the king would even stay, the talk of his coming departure already making its rounds in the castle. She could tell him more about what had happened, how the sheriff had oppressed the people, more about what Robin and the others had done to help, how they had been working against Vaizey's plot to kill the king... Richard had heard plenty of the plot as far as she could tell, but he had not listened to many stories about what had else been going on with the people.

What she intended to do now was to look for Robin and Much. They had to be somewhere after all.
She couldn't believe that they would be held down in the dungeons, but she was going to check anyway. She had been down there plenty of times when her father had been kept captive there, so the way felt more than familiar. She hadn't yet made it to the lowest floor when she could see a maid carrying a tray with food towards a room in front of which one of the king's men was standing guard.

Marian stepped next to her, and touched her shoulder. The girl cried out softly. She looked around at Marian and seemed to recognize her.

"Can I take this?" Marian asked quickly, pointing at the tray.

The maid looked at her confused, but nodded, handing over the tray.

Marian moved towards the guard, carefully balancing the tray while trying to keep her eyes down. She figured the guard wouldn't pay much attention to a maid, so he would hopefully not look at her closely.

Of course she could have asked to speak to Robin directly, but after she had already voiced her interest by making the offer to the king, she didn't think it wise to be forward like this, or else someone might question her relationship to the outlaw. So far her interest might be attributed to charity, or concern based on their betrothal years ago, but it might not be wise at this point to show how deeply she really cared, how close they were.

She wasn't even sure that Much and Robin were really in the room though. She was only guessing that this was the case. She came to a stop before the guard and he nodded simply, turning to unlock the door. Marian moved into the room, seeing the guard step in after her. She could see the two men looking up from where they were sitting in the shine of a lantern.

Robin opened his mouth to speak but her glare made him fall silent. Marian put down the tray and glanced to the guard, seeing that he had turned his back to her and was moving into the hallway again.

She looked back at Robin, as he moved towards the tray. "Can I help you in any way?" she whispered urgently.

"What is with the king? What is he doing?" Robin returned.

"There's the Council of Nobles. I tried to speak for you, but he said you were his personal matter. Robin, we can overpower the guard. I can get you out of here..."

Robin was already shaking his head. "I will speak to the king. He will listen to my story."

Marian looked at Much, hoping to find support there, but his face told her that it was hopeless. She nodded. "I will see you later." Not wanting to linger any longer so not to make the guard suspicious, she turned and left the room, the man locking the door once she was out.

Marian breathed out once she was away from the guard. It had gone way too fast and she hadn't had enough time to argue with Robin. The short exchange had told her what she could have expected: Robin trusted in his loyalty to the king.

She could only hope the man proved worthy of that trust.

Will had tried to stay calm when the soldiers had caught him, had kept quiet, waiting for the moment to get away that would arrive at some point. He had quickly learned that it were indeed king's men who had taken him, just like he, Djaq and John had first thought when they had spotted them in the forest. They kept referring to the man in a manner that told of their respect to him.

Will knew that Robin and Much had gone to talk to the man, so Will had hope that – if all else failed – they would be able to help him.

He was surprised to find that he was put with a number of other men, none of which he knew, in the king's camp outside of Nottingham. They were told to make themselves some kind of shelter, and as Will figured that it could take a while till he was free again, he decided he could just as well go ahead with it and help some of the others.

It was later that Will saw him and was stunned for a moment. He didn't know how the man had got here, but he had apparently been taken captive as well. Once he was past the first surprise he felt that it was good to see him alive – despite everything that had happened.

Will remembered the day when he and the Fool had been caught and brought before the sheriff, before being taken away to hang. Allan had helped them then – in a way. He had helped them by looking the other way. Now when the king came to Nottingham, Allan had been with the sheriff, and had apparently been caught when the army took the town.

Will only wondered briefly whether the sheriff and Gisborne were around here as well – but he doubted it. He figured that most of the men were either simple guards, lackeys like Allan, or men like Will that had just crossed the way of the king's soldiers. The really big fish were likely somewhere else – whether caught, dead or fled, Will didn't know.

Allan had seen him, too, by now, and Will kept his gaze for a moment. He wasn't sure what to do. On the one hand he wanted to talk to the man; they had been friends after all. Maybe the other did even know more about what was going on. On the other hand, there was still the memory of the betrayal, and that Allan had gone to work for Gisborne and the sheriff - of all people. The men who had his father killed, who had hurt so many.

Pondering this, Will settled down, resting for awhile just like some of the others did, but was still alert to what was going on around him. The other men around him were talking, some of them at least, telling each other what had happened, how they had ended up here. He heard talk of the king and of the sheriff, but nothing much that one could take for certain.

It felt as if he had almost dozed off, when a name caught his attention.

"He's one of Robin Hood's men," someone of the group sitting on his left side said. Another whisper confirmed the claim.

Will moved ever so slightly to make sure the hood of his cloak was deep in his face. If the men had already recognized him, it was too late to hide, but he wasn't feeling up to any of the gossip either, so it was better if they thought he was sleeping.

"How do you know?" another man asked, a little louder than the one who had only dared a whisper.

"I heard him say so," came the reply, and Will frowned, knowing he hadn't said any such thing. It would never be the smart thing to admit you were an outlaw, even if it was by saying he was with Robin, Robin who was with the king, who had been one of the king's favourites, who was probably talking to the same man right now. It would only help once he knew this actually was the case, that Robin would actually be able to help him.

"And you think it's true?"

"Well, look at him. He looks like one of Robin Hood's, doesn't he?"

Will dared to glance up at this, if only to see where to the man was looking.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise to him that it was Allan their attention was at. The liar had told another lie. Will scoffed quietly.

"I've no idea," another man said, while Will felt that he did have a clear idea on the matter. It was typical of Allan to claim an association with Robin, if he believed it to help him. Will brooded over the matter, realising then that his own approach wasn't really much different. Apart from the fact that he didn't make any stuff up.

It was a sleepless night. Marian's visit had come as an utter surprise, and she had been forced to leave so quickly that he had hardly had any time to react to it. She had apparently been worried about him to make her go through the trouble to get to him and Much. Still, he couldn't have made any other decision than to turn down her offer of escape.

Now he wondered if he should have agreed. Through the small window he could see that the sun was just going up outside, and Robin didn't know what the day would bring. He couldn't imagine the king would keep them here much longer.

If he had gone with Marian last night, he might have had a chance to get to the king and talk to him alone. He was sure the man would have listened to him, if he wasn't surrounded by other nobles and all the other men who had wanted something from him.

He looked to Much, who had slept during the night and was surprisingly quiet this morning. Robin wasn't sure if it was because of him or if Much had his own reasons.

At this moment, the door was opened unexpectedly, and the guard – a different one than last night – looked inside.

"Robin, the king wants to speak to you."

Robin moved to his feet, knowing that the time of waiting and wondering was over now. Much stood to follow him, but Robin wasn't sure if that was a good idea. He needed to speak to the king alone, and the guard had only spoken of him in any way. On the other hand, leaving his friend behind was not an option either.

They walked after the guard and Robin noticed that there were no other men coming with them, showing that they were apparently trusted enough not to try to flee now. But then, there were probably plenty of men positioned at the castle gates, so any escape would end soon enough. In fact, it would only show clearly that they were not to be trusted. If they were heavily guarded, there would be no temptation to flee, but not trying to escape now would maybe show the king that they were loyal to him. Robin hoped that he wasn't only making up things in his head.

Once they arrived at the king's quarters, their guard looked at him and Robin understood that only he was supposed to enter. Robin glanced at Much, trying to put confidence into his expression, silently telling his friend that he would be back. Then the door was opened and he was led into a private chamber. The king was there and he was alone, not surrounded by nobles and guards as on the other day.

He nodded to the man that had brought Robin. "Leave us."

The man bowed briefly and walked outside, closing the door to the chamber.

"I have pondered about what to do with you, Robin," the king started immediately.

"Your Grace-"

"You know I value you highly."

Robin said nothing.

"But then I cannot have my nobles breaking the King's Law at their will, no matter the disagreements that may occur with a sheriff that was rightfully installed, even though the man here was an unfortunate choice of my brother."

Robin could have said much about the injustice he had seen, about the people whose lives he had needed to save, and about those who had lost theirs, about many things, but from the time when he had first seen the king in Nottingham to the time now he had come to realise that these were not the matters that were on the king's mind.

"By the law I would not do you wrong to have you hang," Richard continued.

The man let this stand between them for a few moments, and Robin felt himself stiffen, but the words the other had chosen could only indicate that this was not what he really planned.

"But you know I do not want to do this," the man went on then. "But I have to do something." The man paced to the left side of the room, gazing out of the window down into the castle yard. "When I say, I cannot have my nobles go against the King's Law, I mean it especially in these difficult times. What I need are men who are loyal to me." He turned from the window back to Robin. "You have sworn loyalty to me before."

"Yes, Your Grace," Robin nodded.

"I will lay a choice before you," the king told him then. "I am not to stay in England for long. My brother has gone to Normandy, and matters are becoming more and more troublesome with Phillip over there. I have to go and take these matters into my own hands."

Robin did not reply anything, unbelieving that the king was to leave the country again so soon after his return.

"I request you come with me and rejoin my private guard."

Robin just stared at the other man. His head was suddenly full of thoughts, other thoughts than before, when he had wondered if his fate would end by the king's orders.

Years ago he had been devastated to be sent home after his injury, but he had come to realise that he was tired of the killing, that he did not want to partake in war anymore. Then there were thoughts of leaving his home, his country again, maybe never to return. Then there was Marian... he could not leave her again...

"If you do not wish to fulfil your king's request," Richard went on, "I will give you the chance to leave this town in the course of an hour. You are not to return here, or the newly installed Sheriff of Nottingham may deal with you as with any other outlaw."

Robin left the quarters with his head full of thoughts. The decision hadn't been easy, though the choice had been obvious. He couldn't go back to the forest – what would he do then? There would be no king's return to wait for, no better times in the future. Still, if it had helped someone, he might have decided on that course, but it would help no one, certainly not the people of Locksley and Nottingham. And leaving Nottinghamshire behind was not an option either. Making himself an enemy of the king would have him hunted in the whole of England.

Much was waiting for him. Of course he was, and Robin knew it would be difficult to make him leave. The king hadn't said anything about Much. Maybe he assumed the man would simply come with him again, but Robin couldn't expect that of Much. He had made him a free man and that he was to be – if a solution was found for him and the other outlaws. Still, it would be better for Much to stay in England. But he had to leave the castle now, leave until somehow a solution would be found for Robin's men.

"Robin," Much greeted him with a wide smile when he saw him.

"Much, you've got to go now," Robin said earnestly. No guard had been sent after him.

"No, Master, I-"

"I'm sure you can find a way out of here. Find the others and tell them that I'm going to be gone for a while."

"But-"

"Please, Much."

Much looked at him. After a moment, he nodded. "What about you?"

"I'll be alright." He was surprised Much had agreed so quickly.

"Where are you going?"

"The king needs me. I'm not sure yet how long it will take," Robin explained. "Go now. Look after the others." He gave him a quick smile, and then a nod. Much looked at him still hesitantly, but took a step backwards then, before he turned and walked down the hallway, glancing back at Robin several times. Robin hoped that Much would find a way out, and that he would be alright.

Now he had to find Marian and explain things to her. He felt cold dread when he thought of this.

The Council of Nobles had settled in for their third day of meeting, and in the morning, the new Sheriff of Nottingham had been named. The young Albert hadn't won the bid, had apparently not paid enough for it, but Sir Hubert had won the office. Of course, he hadn't even mentioned his bid to Marian, but that was of small importance now.

At least she knew the man, knew who she would have to get along with in the upcoming time. There could have been worse choices too, she guessed. She didn't know if the man was especially able, but at least he didn't have the cruelty in him that they had seen in Vaizey.

Everyone expected the king to leave soon now. The man had been visibly impatient the day before, and was even more so now. He had announced that he expected his brother John to appear before him, a demand that was met with much uproar, for the nobles here considered John a traitor.

Marian was still unsettled by the previous night when she had seen Robin and Much. She had pondered since then what else she could do. She had even considered the Nightwatchman again. She could don the mask, surprise the guards, get Robin and Much out of there. Robin might argue with her, it wouldn't be the first time, but she could make him go...

With these thoughts in mind, she entered the Great Hall, suddenly finding herself in front of King Richard himself.

"Lady Marian."

"Your Grace."

"Your father was a good sheriff, I hear."

Marian nodded. "I think he was."

"You live here at the castle?"

"Yes. My father and I were here under house arrest ever since Knighton was destroyed." She told him this calmly, it being not the time to be upset about it. "I managed to flee when the castle was in uproar about your arrival, and returned to attend the council."

The king gave a nod. "I hope you are planning to rebuild at Knighton?"

"Yes, I hope I will have the means to," she confirmed. She hadn't made any definite plans about it yet, but it had been in the back of her mind.

The king smiled. "I want to make you an offer. In memory of the services of your father, for the time until your home will be rebuilt, I want to entrust you with Locksley," he said. "As you know, the former sheriff had entrusted the place to a man loyal to him, Guy of Gisborne. We have a new sheriff now, Sir Hubert, who also praised your father's work, and agrees with me in this matter."

Marian didn't know what to say. She was stunned by the offer, not only because of her father... Locksley... Robin... But that meant that Locksley was vacant... what about Robin? Just when she had tried to reach an agreement with the king about him? The man had not mentioned that matter again.

"I thank you, Your Grace."

She knew these words would not have been considered sufficient by many, but what else could she say?

"It is settled then," Richard nodded with a smile, being in a good, though still edgy mood, that seemed to drive him to leave soon.