Never Too Late

Chapter 3

By Caro A Dale

The army proceeded along in several rows down the road to Nottingham castle.

Once they reached the sight of the castle, Caro urged her mare into a canter, along with the horses in front of hers.

A sentry guard spotted the army, and he raised the alarm. When they were close enough, Robin nocked an arrow to his bow, and fired, aiming into the window of the sheriff's quarters. The outlaws and fifty soldiers continued, leaving the rest of the attackers to surround the castle. It wasn't long before the outlaws and the fifty soldiers were in the castle courtyard, bringing down the few guards who dared challenge their presence there. It wasn't long before the sheriff and Gisborne were spotted, peering cautiously through the window of Gisborne's quarters. A suspenseful moment went by, and Vaisey called out in a panicked tone, "Guards! We're under attack!"

When there was no response from the cowardly guards, whom Caro assumed were all hiding in their barracks, the sheriff panicked even more, shouting, "Gisborne! Do something!"

Caro and the others dismounted their horses, and awaited Robin's command.

When he nodded for the former outlaws to begin the invasion, Car hesitated, despite encouragement from Will and Djaq, who were standing beside her.

"Robin?" Caro asked a question she had dreaded to ask for some time. "We don't kill unless we have to, do we?"

Robin let out a sigh. "No. Should they come quietly, there will be no need for bloodshed. Should they fight, you must do whatever it takes to protect yourself. Alright?"

Caro nodded, but said nothing. She didn't like killing. Any guards she had ever fought usually did not die in confrontations with her. They would often be wounded or concussed, but she really did not have the mentality to kill, unless it was absolutely necessary to do so.

Robin then raised his voice, interrupting Caro's thoughts. "Remember, my friends, we do not kill, unless we have to. Long live King Richard!"

The army cheered, and followed Caro, Will, and Djaq into the castle. Marian and John had been assigned different jobs, and Robin had split off from the others when they entered the corridors of the castle.

A brave and obviously very inexperienced guard made an attempt to stop the soldiers from continuing their advances into the castle. His attempt was in vain, and Caro took pity on his thoughtless actions as two soldiers pinned the lad down, one about to strike a fatal blow to his head with a sword.

As the soldier raised the weapon to make his move, Caro stopped him. "He's only a boy!" she said. Turning to the young man the soldiers had pinned down, "Get out." She said, so assertively that she scared herself.

The lad nodded, and the soldiers released their grasp on him, and he didn't look back as he fled from the castle.

After most of the sheriff's men surrendered, ran away or were killed, Caro, Will, Djaq and ten of Richard's soldiers barged through the door of Gisborne's quarters.

Guy sat in the corner of his room, and didn't look up as they came in. Suspicious, Caro gave the others the signal to stand back and ready.

As Caro entered the darkened room, it took her a moment to realize what her enemy, a man she hated with all her heart was doing. He was praying! She heard the words "forgive me" several times, and she heard Marian's name a few times as well.

Caro took a step forward, and in more ways than one. Though she was fearful, pity for this man and even a tiny bit of respect sparked in her mind.

"Gisborne?" she began, her voice faltering slightly.

"What, what do you want from me?" he sulked farther into the corner of the room. Caro knew she had to be careful and not let her feelings control her actions, but she thought that perhaps even a man such as Guy of Gisborne might have some ounce of good in him, maybe a little bit of human emotion.

"Stand up, Gisborne. Mister High and Mighty, not so tough now, huh?" Caro frowned, trying to focus on the evil in him, but failing for some reason.

He stood, but Caro was shocked at what she saw. He held no weapon, and there was no anger, no intimidation, only fear and pleading was evident in his features.

"God, please make this quick! You hear me, girl? Make it quick, I say!"

Caro shrugged, but made no move to unsheathe her sword. "Only if that's truly what you want…" Caro put a hand on his shoulder, only to be pushed away. Caro hadn't even expected to be able to touch him without receiving a painful blow.

"I've got nothing left to live for! If I fight you, the King's men will surely kill me, and if I come quietly it still means death." He said, frowning at her.

"Look," Caro sighed, knowing she had a slim chance of getting through to this obviously damaged man. "It's not too late for you. Allan told me, it's never too late!"

"Allan…he was the closest thing I ever had to a friend…And I betrayed him, leaving him at the sheriff's mercy. I also treated you horribly, why do you care about me?" said the black-clad man coldly.

"Because I believe."

"You believe what?" Gisborne questioned a hint of confusion in his voice.

"That it's never too late. Everything is a choice, Gisborne, everything we do. Robin always says that. I made my choice when I warned Robin of your plan, Allan made his choice to take the blow of your sword, and you made the choice to punish him for his actions. Maybe it wasn't a good choice, but if the sheriff found out, your head would be on the block. I do believe your actions were somewhat misguided. But my point is, come with me, I will talk to Robin."

Caro began to turn and leave, but Guy sat back down.

Caro sighed, hoping she would not have to further explain herself.

"Just come with me. Or would you really rather die? This could well be your last chance." Caro said boldly, looking Gisborne in the eye, daring him to say no.

"Fine." He muttered.

"That's what I thought." Caro said, smirking. "Come on."

With a sigh, Gisborne stood again, and Caro led him peacefully out of his room. Much to the surprise of Will, Djaq, and even Caro, he dropped his longsword at the door, and kept walking.

TBC

A/N: Don don don! I added a twist here, that is very unlikely, but I hope to get somewhere with this fic, as I am late in my promised update! Stay tuned!

(Especially all you Team Leather fans…I know you're out there…)