Slight delay, I know. Sorry, I was... ah, forget the excuse! I'll let it hang there unsaid. Oh! I forgot to tell you guys that I have a new t-shirt... It's says "We Are Robin Hood" on it. And the 'o' in Robin's name has that thingy carved on their dogtags, you know the drawn bow? I am, of course, referring to the BBC show that I'm in love with.

Never mind, read, review, enjoy! aka RRE

After that awkward encounter, Marian went back to ignoring him. She had her hair cut to a shorter length (a few inches past her shoulder blades) and started running her household. Everything about her life remained dull and uneventful as time continued to move at its own pace, not allowing anyone to interfere. Although her life was dull, it was busier than she had imagined, and yet she felt empty; the color seemed to have been taken out of the painting. Maybe Organa had won in the end; maybe she had become just another face in the crowd, with nothing spectacular about her at all.

Spring arrived bringing with it the splendor of green. The change of seasons brought relief to her, if only because the surroundings were shifting from dim to bright, although they still seemed void of true beauty. May Day came and children started out at dawn to go maying; picking flowers and weaving chains for themselves. Marian had never participated, never raced out her front door to go into the fields to join the other children; she and Robin had been too busy causing trouble in Sherwood. The thought came uncalled, and Marian shrank from it, building the wall between her and Robin ever stronger.

Her twentieth birthday, May 28th, came upon her and she could've cared less, but it was that evening that a rude pounding sounded throughout her manor. She had barely opened the door when de Lacy burst through. He glared at her, "Where is he? I know he's here!"

"Pardon? I haven't a clue what you're going on about. And why are you here? This is not—"

"Don't play the idiot with me, woman!" the sheriff accused, lunging toward her, forcing her to back against the wall. De Lacy brought his face so close to hers in his rage that she could smell his foul breath. Marian tried not to breathe as he asked, "Where is Robert of Locksley? You know as well as I do that he was outlawed this morning! Now tell me," he hissed the last few words. Marian was astounded; what did the sheriff mean? Robin, outlawed? She wouldn't believe this maniac. Besides, what could Robin have possibly done to become a hunted man?

The sheriff continued to rage, "He killed a man in cold blood! It was reported this morning, my cousin, a forester, was in Sherwood and your Robert killed him! You will tell me where he is."

"He's not here; I haven't spoken with him for months." She had kept the truth from him. She knew exactly where Robin was. There was no other plausible place for him to be. "There's your answer, now get out. You have no more reason to be here. Go on!"

"No. Men! Search the manor! Leave nothing as it was before!" As soon as the order was given, guards began charging through her home, ruining whatever got in their way. They kicked doors open, breaking her belongings as they saw fit, and leaving everything in shambles.

"Sheriff, you can't do this!" Marian shrieked, tears of anger forming in her eyes. "Make them stop!" But the sheriff had joined in, with a look of fury on his face. "No!" Marian shouted, running at the men. "Get out! All of you!"

She heard the kitchen hands scream and the crashing of dishware as it broke on the floor. She dashed in and saw the disaster for herself. Broken pottery was scattered on the floor, the soup that had been simmering spilled over, and the fire it had heating over put out. The women who had been working were cowering in the one vacant corner, but Marian couldn't bring herself to join them. Frantic, she attacked one of the men, dragging him away. "Can't you see that he isn't here? Leave!" A Saxon curse escaped, and the man gave her a Norman one in response, pushing her violently away.

Marian told the women to leave out the kitchen door and to come back once the guards and the sheriff had left. They obeyed her willingly, hurrying away. Marian stood in the hall watching as everything was destroyed, her tears of anger ceasing. She no longer fought them, knowing it was useless. In time they realized that she wasn't harboring any outlaws, and left her with the disorder they had caused. She didn't say a word when the sheriff sneered on his way out, "Pity that there was nothing to find." It didn't matter; there was something much more important on her mind.

One of the kitchen maids came up behind her, having returned from outside. "What do you want us to do, milady? Where should we start?"

"Do we have any fabric?" Marian asked, not pausing to think.

The maid looked thrown off, and with good reason. "What kind are you looking for?"

"Anything light, but warm, preferably something dark. Bring me as much as you can find, and tell the others to come here, that there's no need to clean just yet." The maid hesitated, but then nodded and scurried off. That old feeling of adventure filled Marian as her mind slowly grasped what she was about to do. Shortly, the maid returned carrying piles of folded olive green and brown fabric. The maid held it while Marian addressed the others who had gathered, telling them the bare minimum; that she would to a relative's until everything was sorted out, while they would stay and put things back into order here. Marian took the fabric from the girl and went to start her insane project, which would eventually lead to carrying out her insane idea which, in the end, would lead to an insane life.

By the next morning she had completed a full suit of men's clothing, and she had found some of her father's boots and would wear them. They were a bit too big, but they would have to do. None of the kitchen hands were there so she scoured in the kitchen for awhile and came up with two sacks. One she filled with food, one with other odds and ends that she might need. She got dressed easily, tucked her dagger in her belt, and said a last good-bye to Fitzwater Manor.

During the hike that followed her mind began to question whether what she was doing was wise. What had caused her to follow this irrational notion? Why should she go to Sherwood, to find someone whom she was trying to avoid? One reason was that she was sick of the life she had been leading. Other than that she had no clue why she was doing what she was doing. It was hard to believe that Robin would kill a man. From what he had told her when she had asked about his scar, it was the last thing he ever wanted to do. It didn't make sense. There! That was another reason; she wanted to find out if it was true, and if it was, why. Another reason was that she couldn't leave a friend like that, alone and with the world against him. Why not make it two against the world?

Marian would make him understand that he had to leave it at being friends, even though he loved her. She knew that it wouldn't exactly be a treat bringing the subject to the surface at all, but what choice did she have? LIfe had dealt her a foul hand, it seemed, at least for the past few years. Hopefully, what she was doing now would change things.

Sherwood was a sight to behold, being in its depths once more was like finding herself again. Finding what had been missing. Well, almost. She ran her fingertips down the bark of a small oak; the texture under her fingers intricate.

The life of the forest seemed to open up to her, embrace her, and hold her close. It seemed to give her life back to her. She dropped the sacks and lay down on the forest floor, staring up at the treetops, since the sky wasn't visible through the dense trees. The sun's warmth spouting through the leaves put her sleep before long. It was much needed sleep too; Marian had been up most of the night hastily stitching away, preparing, and planning. A stiff breeze awoke her later, during the afternoon. Yawning, she collected her things and continued on her way.

The smell of venison grabbed her; she followed her nose until she reached its source. A man sat before a small fire with part of a leg of roast venison clenched in his hand. She left her bags behind a wide tree, and approached the stranger. "Afternoon, sir," she called.

He grunted in reply.

"Are you a forester?"

Again he grunted. She took that as a yes. He glared at her over his meal, letting her know that he didn't want her there. Marian sat down across from him anyway, and looked him in the eye. "Have you heard of the crusader who was outlawed yesterday?"

This time the man responded in words. "Chased him myself, then I told the sheriff. Someone else already had though."

"Good, I'm glad you know de Lacy. You see I have another outlaw for you to report." She waited for a response, and after getting a surprised look, stood up. Reaching for her dagger, she walked around his fire and behind him. She drew the blade, and held it against the poor man's neck. "Make a move and I'll cut your throat." She watched as his grip tightened on his meat. He had a serious obsession with food; it was as if he was gripping onto it for life. "I want you to give the dear sheriff a reason for outlawing me, make one up will you? No, tell him that I shot the deer you're eating. As for my name, it's Marian Fitzwater, daughter of the late Sir Collin Fitzwater, that should be enough. And believe me, I can shoot, de Lacy will testify to that, so if you don't do as you've been told, you'll find an arrow in your heart. Are we clear?" The man nodded stiffly, to avoid the dagger's edge. "Then you may go." She released him, allowing him to surrender the meat to the ground and stumble off. "Might as well," she told herself, and she finished off the venison, avoiding the piece he had been working on.

After that she didn't waste time getting to her —their— oak, The Great Oak. The name they had given it still stuck, although it seemed more immature now. She ran most of way, until she came within about one hundred paces of it. She stopped there, for the first time considering what she had done to herself. Willingly, she had stepped into a life of nothing. She would be without protection of the law, in fact, within the hour the law would be against her. Anyone could take her life, and get paid to do so. She hadn't thought her plan through, which she now regretted. No, she didn't regret, she was happy that she had done it. Now nobody could tell her who she was supposed to be, she was free. Hadn't she always wanted this? It had been her goal years ago, hadn't it? But, now with the product sitting in her hand, she didn't know what to do with it, whether to keep it or get rid of it. How she thought she could walk out of it she didn't know.

Casually, she leaned on a tree on the outer rim of the glade. The oak had grown since her last visit, which was over five years ago. It still felt welcoming though, but that, however, only lasted until an arrow sped toward her. Her braid was hanging over her shoulder from the run, and that was where it struck. Two inches above her shoulder, in the braid that was now pinned into the tree behind her. She hadn't screamed; the sight of an arrow flying at her had been shocking enough to steal her breath.

She tugged the shaft out of her hair and the tree behind it. "Robin, are you trying to kill me? If you were only a few inches closer, you would have succeeded! Get over here and explain yourself!" Because of the waning light, she hadn't been able to sight him yet. She could only hope it had actually been him who had shot.

"Marian? What are you doing here? You'd have to be deranged to come here... now." She saw him then, standing in the shadow of the oak. She couldn't help congratulating herself. She had known he would be here. Where else would he be?

"I don't think I'm the one who's deranged." They stayed where they were, keeping the space between them due to the awkwardness of the situation. Being back where they had started after ignoring each other for so long couldn't have brought anything else other then awkwardness. "That welcome was derangement. You should at least take a second look before killing someone. Do you know that the man that you did away with was the sheriff's cousin? What were you thinking? He's going to hate you for all eternity, you idiot." She re-gathered what she had brought with her and put them into the hollow in the oak. "Don't try to make me leave, because I won't go. You know I can be stubborn when I want to."

"No. You're not staying; you can't just put yourself in exile. I won't let you," Robin stated.

"Too late for that," she said, laughing to herself.

"What have you done?" Robin asked, giving her a cautious look.

"I threatened a man with my dagger, told him my name and sent him off to tell the scïrgerefa. I'm sure the sheriff has received the news by now. He's perhaps outlawed me already." She glanced up at him, a look of pride on her face. He seemed to be in total shock. "It can't be undone," she confirmed.

"Please tell me you didn't really do that," Robin begged.

"Robin, listen to me for just this once. I may not love you the way you want me to, but I still do. If you thought for one minute that I was going to abandon you after you got yourself outlawed, you were more than simply mistaken. I wasn't about to let you live in Sherwood without me; I'd miss all the fun," she ended lightly.

Okay there it is. You might wonder what scirgerefa means. It's the Saxon word for 'sheriff'. I'm sorry if that confused you.

Sooo.... Care to tell me what you think of Marian's reaction to Robin's outlawry? Too much, maybe? Or was it rational... for her? Let me know!!!!