The days working at the Trip Inn were getting slower and more meaningless. Edyn's life seemed to have lost all spark since she had helped Robin and his men. The thrill of doing something worth while had made her feel so alive, so energetic, even a little appreciated. But now everything just seemed so low. She was in constant fright of her master, the drunks he encouraged into his tavern as well as the Sheriff's men that continually patrolled the area. But above everything she felt lonely.

She would converse a little with Catherine but her life was all about her job, something Edyn despised so conversation was always a letdown. Ebony never really had much to say and Gloria still made her dislike towards Edyn obvious. Occasionally she spotted Sybil around the town but they would only ever get a few moments before some handsome man caught her attention or Joe barked at Edyn to get back to work. She desperately wished Robin needed her help again so she could not only be doing something good but also to have someone to talk to.

A few nights after the incident at the castle she had spotted someone sneak into the stables. Forcing herself to fight against her fear she silently crept inside to see who it was. Relief had washed over her when she realised it was simply Will coming to repair the cart for her.

"Oh," she breathed, "it's only you."

He looked at her puzzled. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"No, no. Just…" she shook her head. "Nothing." For a moment he looked as if he was going to say something but as usual he kept quiet and turned his attention back to his simple task.

Edyn moved closer to him and perched herself on a stool near where he worked. He glanced at her nervously from the corner of his eye. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" He simply shook his head barely making eye contact with her. "Thanks," she muttered. "Since I moved here I have to admit I've been quite lonesome." Although he did not look at her she noticed he paused from his work briefly. "Do you miss your family?"

Finally he looked up at her. "Of course."

"But you don't regret leaving with Robin to help the poor?"

"Not at all. It's a great feeling knowing we're helping people."

Edyn leant her head back against the wall. "You know I envy you. What I would give to simply run away to help Robin and the poor." She laughed to herself, noticing the corners of Will's mouth twitch upwards. "You don't think I could do it?"

"I just don't think you realise what it's like living in the forest. It is cold, and wet most of the time. We don't get to bathe often and a lot of our own food gets given away. You'd be surprised how often we are hungry."

She scoffed. "That I am used to," she muttered under her breath.

He looked up at her, a slight worried expression on his face. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" she tried to simply brush it off.

His eyes narrowed. "You know if you need help all you need to do is ask."

Edyn sighed. "Yes, I know. Robin already told me. But I don't need help."

"No one would think differently of you if you did," he said.

"This isn't about pride."

By now he had finished his task. "Yes it is. I know we didn't speak much but living near you all those years gave me a pretty good impression of what kind of a person you are. You don't like to feel belittled by people helping you. You like to force yourself to do it all on your own, as your brother had to do to provide for the both of you."

She half glared at him. "You think you got me figured out?"

"Haven't I?"

She thought for a moment before replying. "Not quite."

Though he still didn't smile fully she couldn't help but notice a slight twinkle in his eye, which made her think that he was holding back from laughing. "Right, well I should go."

Edyn's heart sank. "Oh. Well, thank you, for fixing it." He merely nodded his head before heading to the door. "Wait!" she called. "Umm… If, err…" She took a deep breath before she could say, "If Robin ever needs help to get into the castle again or something like that…"

"Edyn," Will cut her off, "I understand that you want to help, but you can't be seen with us. If you were to get caught you would be executed. It was foolish of Robin to ask for your help in the first place."

"But I want to help," she said pathetically.

"None of us want to see you get hanged. Trust me; it's not a pleasant experience." Edyn shuddered at the sudden memory of his body hanging from a rope, his limbs twitching against the strain. "I'm sorry," he muttered quietly, and then he was gone, disappearing in the darkness of the street.

Edyn sat by herself for a while after that mulling over everything. All that was waiting for her back at the tavern was the cold hard floor and the stench of the men that had been in earlier. With a heavy heart she forced herself back there.

In the days that followed the whole of Nottingham town was in a hype for the upcoming fair with the main attraction of the archery competition. Edyn was not the leased bit fussed about it. She was given the morning off to run errands for Joe or to simply get out of his greasy hair, so she was able to watch if she wanted to, but the thought of watching the poor of Nottingham scape together what little money they had to attempt to win the silver arrow made Edyn feel ill. It was obvious the Sheriff wouldn't let just anyone walk away with something so valuable. She knew he would have a plan in place to ensure the arrow would stay in his possession.

But when the day arrived curiosity got the better of her and she headed in the direction of where the fair was being held. At the last moment she and the other girls had been given the whole day off as Joe was off taking bets for who they thought would win the archery competition.

When she got there she couldn't help but smile. Everyone seemed so happy, dancing and laughing together as if everything bad just seemed to disappear. Children ran between the legs of the spectators giggling and screaming with joy. Edyn sighed with contentment, if only everyday had the same relaxed atmosphere.

The dancers continued to skip and whoop along with the fiddle and flute, each one with flowers in their hair. One woman in particular had a wreath on them circling the crown of her blonde head. It took Edyn a moment to recognise that pile of golden curls was Sybil. As usual she was accompanied by the most handsome man that was present; incredibly tall with a fair amount of muscle, dark hair and eyes to match, though they were not quite as dark as Edyn's. She had to admit to herself, she was incredibly jealous.

She waited until the dance ended before approaching them. "Well look at you all dressed up," she said, as she got closer.

Sybil turned and gasped. "Edyn! I didn't know if you were going to come or not," Sybil babbled as she threw her arms around Edyn's neck. "I have something important to tell you later," she whispered in her ear before pulling away. "This," she indicated to the man at her side, "is Marcus. He just moved here from a little town outside of London. Marcus, this is Edyn, a close friend of mine."

Marcus stepped forward. "How do you do, Edyn?"

Edyn smiled up at his manner. She was often introduced to Sybil's gentlemen friends but they rarely paid Edyn any attention giving her the idea they were quite rude. "Very well thank you, Marcus. And yourself?"

"I cannot complain at all with this company," he looked down at Sybil beaming.

Edyn's smile widened. "So, when did you two meet?" she asked.

Sybil giggled before answering. "Well, technically we met years ago. Our parents are old friends and we stayed with Marcus's family when we visited London when I was younger. So when Marcus decided to move here his mother recommended that he should drop by our house and say hello. So a few days ago I got a knock on my door and well, here we are. I thought it only polite to invite him to our little fair, meet some the locals and all that."

"That's great," said Edyn.

Sybil studied her appearance for a moment before grabbing her hand. "Come on, I'm going to fix your hair and then we'll find you a partner so you can join us dancing. I haven't seen a proper smile on your face for quite a while now," she informed Edyn as she dragged her away from the music.

Edyn tried to protest. "Sybil, please. You don't have to do this."

"But I want to," Sybil said with amusement.

"But I don't," Edyn muttered softly.

Sybil half glared at her before laughing. "You haven't changed a bit from when we were younger." It wasn't long before they arrived at the small house Sybil lived in with her parents. She immediately began fiddling with Edyn's hair, pulling it from its restrains at the back of her neck letting her loose curls unravel down her back. Edyn grumbled to herself but allowed Sybil to have her fun. Her hands were gentle as she hooked the sides of Edyn's hair up and placed a few blue flowers amongst the red.

"Edyn?" she asked as she continued to fuss and play with her hair. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course, Sybil. When have you ever kept something from me?"

"I know; it's just… well this is something we never had to discuss when we were younger."

"What is it?" Edyn asked nervously.

"It's nothing bad. Please don't worry. It's umm, well it's incredible really." Sybil took a deep breath before speaking. "Marcus asked for my hand. And I agreed."

Edyn spun around in her seat. "What? Oh, Sybil! That's great!"

"Really? You think so?"

"Of course I do." She leapt up to hug her friend. "Congratulations."

"Thank you. My parents are thrilled. He's got himself a small house in the town where we both can live once we're married. Oh, Edyn, I'm so excited!"

They both giggled and squealed loudly together. "I have to admit, Sybil, I'm quite envious." Sybil looked at her confused. "I mean you've basically got your life planned. And he obviously loves you enormously. It won't be long before your married and starting a family of your own."

Sybil's face became sympathetic. "Oh, Edyn. I never knew you wanted such things. When we were younger you were never fantasised about marriage or children. You were always off in your own little world."

Edyn laughed. "Yes, I was. But we all have to grow up eventually. And it's not like I crave getting married or having kids, but whenever I imagine myself older there's always a family standing with me."

"You fear you will never meet someone?" Sybil questioned.

"No, it's– Well, yes, maybe a little… But it's not just that. I worry that I won't end up with the right person. And… that I'll never be happy."

Sybil's expression became more confused. "I don't understand."

"I'm a tavern maid. It's obvious that if I ever marry it will be to some dirty bloke who will only marry me because it's what the right thing to do. He won't love me and neither will I love him. And as silly as it sounds the only thing I long for is… love," Edyn struggled to admit. "I've never been close enough to a man to know what love feels like. That fabulous euphoric feeling people seem to have whenever they are around that special someone."

Sybil leant forward and squeezed her hand. "I had no idea you felt this way."

Shaking her head Edyn tried to brush it off. "It doesn't matter. I should never have said those things. So have you decided when you want the ceremony?"

Edyn could see in Sybil's face that she wanted to continue discussing Edyn's confession but the excitement of her wedding was just too much for her to ignore. Edyn was relieved the conversation had diverted away from her, she had not meant for those feelings to come out, truth be told she barely liked to admit them to herself.

It wasn't long before Sybil had finished her hair and could no longer think of any little details she hadn't yet discussed with Edyn. "So," said Edyn standing up. "Are we ready to go?"

"You're always in such a rush. I guess my work is done," Sybil said satisfied. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." Edyn couldn't help but smile.

Sybil held out her arm and Edyn linked her own arm through it. "So, are we ready to find you a dance partner?"

Edyn blushed. She loved dancing, but whenever she had attended fairs when she was younger she had always been overlooked. She hated that feeling of rejection and her stomach was tying in knots uncomfortably at the thought. She didn't want to feel that way again. "Umm, I might stand aside and watch."

"You really frustrate me at times," Sybil giggled as they headed back to the fair. Almost instantly Sybil had forced a male friend of hers to dance with Edyn. It was awkward and she couldn't stop herself from blushing, but she enjoyed the dance and was surprised when she was asked to dance several times by different people. They were a mixture of Sybil's friends who she pushed to dance with her and some of the regulars from the tavern. She wanted to turn and hide when Max approached her already intoxicated. She was relieved when Marcus came to save her.

"Excuse me for interrupting but I think it's my turn to dance with this young lady," he said politely pulling Edyn away. She persisted to thank him for the rest of the day and dreaded the thought of working that night as Max would surely be there and Marcus would be nowhere nearby.

As the day went on the archery contest began. Many gathered around to watch but the music continued for those who were not interested. Sybil was not at all fascinated in the archery whereas Marcus was more than keen to watch; so they compromised and went back and forth. Edyn happily trailed behind them listening to them argue playfully.

"Come on, Edyn. How about one more dance, huh? Before you have to leave," Marcus asked as the afternoon dragged on. Edyn groaned. She was tired and her feet were beginning to ache. She dreaded the fact that she was going to be on them till late that night serving drinks. "Come on!" he persisted.

"Okay, one more and then that's it," she agreed.

He grinned widely as he dragged her to where Sybil was dancing with another local who was continuously giving Marcus dark stares as Sybil's attention was almost always on him. The song was fast and cheery and the dancers were forced to skip along to the quick beat. Edyn giggled as Marcus spun her around making her hair bounce around her face. When he spun her a third time he called over the music, "Some man over there is staring at you. Maybe you should go over and ask him to dance." He gave her a cheeky grin.

Baffled she looked over her shoulder and was surprised to find Will watching her half hidden in the shadows with his hood pulled up. Another one of Robin's men stood with him. "I'll be right back," she said to Marcus not taking her eyes from Will who had quickly diverted his when she had spotted him.

"What? Wait, no! I wasn't being serious."

But Edyn ignored him and squeezed through the crowd. As she approached the two of them Will nodded his head in acknowledgement to her. "Hmm, two men standing in the shadows with cloaks and hoods on, not suspicious at all," she said sarcastically.

"Well, so far you're the only one to have spotted us," Will replied, slightly amused.

"Yes, and we would like to keep it that way so please leave so we don't attract any attention," the other man spoke up nervously.

"Much!" Will shot the man a cautioning look and Edyn tried not to take it personally.

"Actually I'm probably helping you to blend in. You see this is what normal people do at fairs; they stand around and converse with each other. It's not like I'm standing on a table pointing at you and screaming who you are." Will smirked and the man called Much gave her a dark stare. "So what are you two doing here anyway?"

"None of your business!" Much snapped.

"Fine," Edyn said simply turning her attention back to the latest archer to stand up and have a go at winning the great prize. There was something odd about how the archer kept his hood up hiding his face from view. What was even stranger was how both Will and Much stiffened slightly when he stood up on the podium about to shoot. And then it clicked. "Is that…?" Will nodded not taking his eyes from Robin as he hit the centre of the bullseye making the crowd go wild with excitement.

"HOOD!" The Sheriff suddenly appeared with Sir Guy and a number of guards standing behind them. "Seize him!"

Suddenly it turned to chaos. Robin quickly hid himself amongst the crowd and both Will and the man called Much pushed passed Edyn to assist him. But they were too late. The guards were already pulling Robin's cloaked figure back to his feet and removed his hood. But it was not Robin who stood between the Sheriff and his guards. A sandy haired boy smiled nervously at the crowd and out of the corner of her eye Edyn noticed someone climbing out from under a table. His two friends helped him to his feet, draped a cloak around his shoulders and were out of the courtyard before anyone else had noticed.

Smooth, Edyn thought to herself as a smile crossed her face; very smooth.

A:N/ Yay, another chapter! What do you think? Just for the heads up, something big is going to go down in the next chapter, which is why I'm rushing to have this one posted ;) I hope Will didn't seem too OOC. He has gotta be the hardest character to write. I thought it would be easy because he says very little, but then the little dialogue you give him has to be spot on. Every other character I think "what would they say in this situation?" And with Will you're kinda like "he doesn't say anything… Problem!" Sorry the ending is a bit… rushed. I didn't really know how to end it and when I typed that last sentence I thought that'll do.

Thankyou to Iloveskitteryandmush and to Musicunderground! You're reviews made my day =)