Almost two months had passed since Marian had run out on Sir Guy at their wedding. For almost two months there hadn't been a need to visit the castle, they had not received unwanted visitors and most importantly they had been able to see a lot more of Robin and his men. Since the horrid incident in the caves Marian and Robin were now no longer hiding their feelings for one another and often Robin would find ridiculous excuses to come by and visit Marian.

As Marian and Sir Edward were no longer welcome in the castle Edyn was often sent to run errands in Nottingham for them. She enjoyed the ride and it gave her time to drop in on Sybil. She was in fact with child and as the weeks went by her belly was now beginning to swell and become obvious to those who still hadn't heard the good news. It came as a shock to Edyn as every time Sybil spotted her she would reach for Edyn's hand and place it upon her stomach with pride to show her how much her baby was growing. Again, Edyn couldn't ignore the jealousy she suddenly felt whenever her hand rested upon the unborn child. As it was now in the peak of summer Sybil often complained that the heat made her discomfort almost unbearable.

Sir Edward too often suffered from the heat. Some days he struggled to get out of bed and Marian and Edyn would both take turns to see to him. One particular night Sir Edward was feeling much more energetic and insisted he should have his evening meal out in the main room as he would normally. He was unaware that Marian had snuck out her window earlier. Now that she no longer had to worry of Sir Guy's unexpected visits she found she had much more freedom and would dress herself as the Nightwatchman almost every night. When Edyn explained this to Sir Guy as she sat his meal in front of him he simply rolled his eyes and grinned.

When Edyn returned with a goblet of wine for her master she heard movement and muffled voices up in Marian's bedchamber. Edyn grinned but Sir Edward remained completely oblivious, as he was a little hard at hearing due to his age. Probably a good thing as no father would want a young man in the bedchamber of his unmarried daughter, no matter who that man was. The remainder of Edyn's night was to spend cleaning the kitchen and preparing for the next day. Recently, Janet and her son had moved away with her late husband's family up north and Edyn had found herself very strained with the extra tasks that were now required of her. She sighed, even with Janet's eccentric personality and appearance she still missed her.

There was then a banging on the door and Sir Guy's menacing yell quickly followed. Edyn hastily placed the pot she was cleaning on the bench and went to the door. The front door burst open at the same moment Edyn entered the room. If she thought Sir Guy was terrifying before she had no idea what he really was capable of. His cold eyes scanned the room and he jerked his head towards Sir Edward instructing one of his men to restrain him. Instantly the soldier had his sword resting against Sir Edward's neck. Instinctively Edyn went to his side but before she got any closer she felt a strong hand grab her by the throat painfully. She spluttered and gagged as the guard had almost completely closed her airways, using enough pressure so she could still breathe, but only just.

Sir Guy was roaring at Marian to come down. The longer she took the more terrifying he became slamming his fist down on objects and continuously sending Sir Edward dark stares as if he would be able to influence how quickly she would come to them. Finally, she emerged and Sir Guy seemed to release all the anger he had bottled up since she had rejected him. Edyn couldn't focus on the words as the hand around her neck gripped her tighter to point where she whimpered and desperately pulled against his hand. But the pressure remained and he dug his stubby fingers into her neck painfully.

Finally it seemed Sir Guy had heard enough of Marian's pleads and seized the torch a nearby guard held. He merely glanced at Marian before he smugly set the curtain's alight followed by several other flammable objects. Marian's shrieks echoed around the burning house before they were all roughly shoved from the building.

Sir Guy happily mounted his dark horse and the guards that held them escorted them all the way to Nottingham Castle. The trip was long and tiresome as Sir Edward struggled to keep up, his guard shoving him angrily as he lagged. Upon arriving at the castle Edyn was taken away from Marian and Sir Edward and Sir Guy barked at the guard holding her, "Take her to the kitchens! Maybe the cook will find some use for her."

Edyn felt lost and disorientated. By the time they had reached Nottingham it was already the early hours of the morning and the castle cook was already awake and preparing the morning meals. Typically, Edyn was given the worst jobs and the other kitchen maids all laughed gleefully at their new scullery maid. She was at the bottom of the pecking order at the taunts she was receiving was just the beginning. She dreaded to think what else she would have to endure from these people. Cruelty it seemed passed from the Sheriff and onto those he ordered about.

She continued to remind herself that soon Marian would come and get her; she wouldn't leave Edyn to suffer like this. Over the last few months especially they had become much closer than what they had been. But her tiny speck of hope soon shattered as she overheard two of the kitchen maids talking about how Lady Marian and her father were now being held under house arrest, losing their freedom and rights. With that thought hanging over her Edyn continued her degrading jobs with a heavy heart. It seemed Marian wouldn't be able to save her from everything.

But as the day drew on Edyn nearly cried out with joy when she noticed Marian squeezing her way through the kitchen. She caught Edyn's arm and began leading her out of the overcrowded room. "I persuaded the Sheriff that you should be allowed to continue to see to myself and my father," Marian told her. "It took a while but after I explained that he wouldn't want his own servants seeing to us, he then almost insisted that you be brought back to us."

"I must admit, this is a huge relief," Edyn replied. "Is it true that you and your father are being held under house arrest?"

"I'm afraid so," Marian sighed.

"Under what grounds?"

"The grounds that my father respects King Richard and not the Sheriff and Prince John. He wants to be able to keep an eye on us and ensure we cannot plan another rebellion against him. Well, that's what I could gather from what he was saying," Marian said. "It had been so quiet for so long, I thought Sir Guy and the Sheriff were finally going to leave us, but it appears I was wrong. They were only biding their time, thinking of a way to truly hurt us," Marian continued to muse.

"We should have known something was building. They never simply stand aside and watch someone get what they want," Edyn commented. Marian remained silent but nodded her head sombrely.

"Edyn, I want you to go to Knighton and see if anything can be salvaged. And see if the horses got out. It makes me sick to think they were all locked in the burning stable." Marian shuddered.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, I put them in the field last night. Worst case scenario they may have gotten loose but I doubt they would have been hurt in the fire," Edyn reassured her.

Marian smiled before she sent Edyn away. She may be under house arrest but Edyn wasn't, and the Sheriff hadn't thought that this would come as an advantage to Marian.

Without her horse, the trip to Knighton took much longer than normal. Edyn yawned as she walked, having not slept at all the night beforehand and now she was away from the stressful environment of the castle kitchen her tiredness was finally catching up with her. She stopped as she came to where the great house that was Knighton Hall once stood. All that remained standing were a few of the structures and the fireplace from the main room. Everything else was just a pile of rubble.

As she got closer she noticed a few villagers all digging around what remained. It took a moment before it clicked – they were searching for any valuables that may have survived the blaze. "Hey!" Edyn yelled as she ran towards them. There were a few gasps and one small girl even screamed as all they fled the wreckage.

Anything Marian wanted Edyn to find would have been long gone. Still, she spent at least an hour turning over bits of woodwork and digging through the ash and rubble. Occasionally she came across an old pot or wine goblet, none of which were of any value so she simply set it aside for someone more needy to come along and claim. She smiled happily when she came across a valuable belt buckle of Sir Edward's and a few other objects, but little else after that. She was just about to give up when she came across something hard and solid under the debris. As she dug through it she found Marian's boot chest. Its hard wood that had been covered in a thick lacquer was a little scorched but surprisingly mostly undamaged from the fire. She knew Marian would be uninterested in any of her shoes but she also knew it was where she kept her small jewellery box. She grinned widely as she pulled the tin box from where it was buried amongst Marian's shoes and let out a little laugh to find everything still inside. Most importantly, Marian's mother's wedding ring was still there.

Satisfied that there was little else to be found, Edyn placed everything in the bag she had with her before she went to see if the horses had gotten out or not. In the small field that situated behind the now destructed house Edyn found a small section of the fencing burnt, the hole was large enough for a horse to easily get through. She sighed, doubting they would still be in the paddock but she began walking through the field none the less just to be sure. When she climbed over the hill she repressed a gasp. Of the four horses that usually resided at Knighton Hall two of them still remained, lifting their heads up while waiting by the empty feed buckets Edyn would fill each morning. Marian's grey horse and Sir Edward's mount were nowhere to be seen, but the horse Edyn had claimed and the dark horse Marian chose to ride during her escapades as the Nightwatchman were both waiting impatiently to be fed.

"You greedy, boys," Edyn laughed as she approached them. They were both jumpy and their coats were mattered with sweat from the fear of the fire the night beforehand, but other than that they were not harmed. Quickly she ran back to the stable wreckage and couldn't believe her luck when she found an old piece of rope, which she then cut in half to make two makeshift halters. She then made sure the two missing horses were in fact not there before she pulled a few apples from a nearby tree to coax the horses to her. It didn't take much for her mount to approach her but Marian's took much longer. Finally she had them both caught and was about to head back to Nottingham when she paused.

She was so exhausted and dreaded to walk back, especially carrying a heavy bag and leading two horses. She then surveyed her blood bay horse, Duke, as she had recently named him for her own amusement. She had never ridden bareback but she had seen many do it before. How hard could it be? It wasn't long before she did realise how difficult it could be. Once she had managed to climb on top of his back she shifted uncomfortably. She had never realised how bony his spine was and she had no choice but to sit on it. Still worked up from the night before he pranced around on his feet and snorted and she quickly realised how much more difficult he was to control without a bit in his mouth. "Cut it out!" she growled at him as she tried to get him close enough to Marian's horse to untie him. After several more minutes, an awkward fall and some very unladylike language Edyn finally was on her way to Nottingham astride her horse and leading Marian's beside her.

Her horse had always been jumpy and usually she didn't mind much able to balance herself with her stirrups, but today without them she was about to scream at him as he continued to shy at shadows and strange noises. Each time she would slip to the side and struggle to regain herself. One such instance, something spooked him from behind and instinctively he leapt forward, Edyn slipped back and the horse she was leading stopped in its tracks, gawking at whatever had scared her horse in the first place pulling her even further back as she refused to let go of the rope. Her instincts were to grip tighter with her legs but by this point she was so far back she was squeezing his flanks. With a kick of his back legs he sent Edyn forward, her arms wrapped around her horse's neck and there was a moment where she thought she was going to hold on but when she felt his muscles bunch again for another pigroot she simply gave up and let go, falling to the side and watched the two horses skip a few steps away from her. "Duke! What did you do that for?" From where she sat in the dirt she scowled at the young horse, which simply stared at her with big brown eyes as if she were the silly one for falling off.

Heaving herself back to her feet she lightly rubbed where she had landed on her backside. "Ouch." She then heard laughter behind her and she was about to yell at whoever it was, but when she turned around she was surprised to find Will smiling at her.

"You alright?" he asked, clearly holding back from laughing again.

"I'm fine!" she turned away to hide her face as it grew red with embarrassment. Everything seemed to get worse as now the horses were even more jumpy becoming impossible to catch. Duke she managed to grab a hold of his rope as he pranced passed her but Marian's horse was annoyingly stubborn. Will then approached an offered help quickly catching the jittery horse. Edyn couldn't take her eyes off him as he gently ran his hand down its neck and quieted it down by softly muttering to it words of nonsense.

"Thank you," Edyn said finally allowing herself to smile. He returned the smile and nodded his head. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Robin went to the castle to check on Marian so we all decided to make some deliveries while we waited for him," he explained.

"So you've heard she's under house arrest?"

He looked at her. "No. I mean, we knew something was up but we didn't know what exactly. I just came from Knighton Hall."

"You mean what's left of it," Edyn said sadly.

Will lead the horse closer and surveyed her more closely before his eyes went wide. "Your neck!"

"What?" Edyn asked confused instinctively bringing her hand up to it. It was still quite tender from the guards grip the night prior. "Oh, I'm guessing there's a little bruising then."

"I'd say more than a little," he responded, his eyes narrowing slightly. He moved his hand closer and Edyn's breath caught when she thought his hand was going to touch her. His fingers were about an inch from her skin before he hesitated and let his arm fall back beside him. "Does it hurt?"

"I completely forgot about it if I'm honest," Edyn replied feeling slightly deflated. Should have gone for the sympathy, a small voice in her mind said.

They were silent and Edyn cleared her throat to break it before she said, "I should probably head back to Nottingham." She turned to Duke but then reconsidered. Maybe not a good idea…

"You're not going to ride?" Will asked as she took the other horse from him remaining on foot.

"I'm thinking I should give up before I hurt myself too much."

He shook his head. "Let me help you."

"What?" Edyn questioned as he moved closer and cupped his hands in front of him. Edyn hesitated. "I don't know…" He simply looked at her and she just couldn't resist, it was an excuse to stay talking with him longer. Timidly she placed her left foot in his hands and pulled herself up onto Duke as Will helped lift her. He surprised her with how easily he had lifted her; she had never thought him as strong and muscly but she wasn't exactly the lightest person and it didn't even seem like a strain to him at all. Her musings were cut short as he began instructing her. "You need to sit further forward. Up here." His hand rested just behind Duke's withers.

"But it hurts when I sit there," Edyn said remembering how bony that part of Duke's spine was. Will simply looked at her and raised an eyebrow. It then occurred to Edyn that a man was probably not the person to be saying that to and she found herself also holding back from laughing. "Okay, wrong person to be arguing with." He simply nodded his head and she couldn't help but giggle.

She then repositioned herself and tried to ignore the discomfort as Will continued. "Sit your legs further forward. Your legs are never straight when you have stirrups so it shouldn't be different without them." Edyn's heart began racing as he gently placed his hands on her calf and positioned her leg so her knee was slightly bent and her lower leg sat in the dip between Duke's shoulder and his belly. "See," Will said looking up at her, "much easier."

"Thank you," Edyn muttered, still excited by the fact Will's hands had not yet left her leg.

It looked like he was going to say something more to her before he closed his mouth and removed his hands. "I should go. Here." He handed her the rope of the other horse and with a nod of his head he left her, disappearing into the trees of Sherwood Forest. Edyn exhaled sharply. Had she done something wrong? He loves Djaq, the annoying little voice in her head reminded her. How could she forget? But sometimes she honestly did feel as he may someday return the feelings she felt for him, but then she would suddenly remember the beautiful Saracen that lived with them in their camp. She felt her hands tighten into fists around the ropes she held. Why couldn't she be happy? For more than a fleeting moment at leased.

Her trip back to Nottingham was long and slow, she didn't care if she got scolded at for taking so long, she needed the time to herself to think, to clear her mind. Inside the town she kept her eyes low, concentrating on the cobbled ground beneath the horses hooves. When she looked up she was surprised to see Marian ducking out between houses suspiciously. "My lady?"

Marian suddenly spun around and relaxed when she spotted Edyn. "Oh, Edyn."

Edyn slid from Duke's back and moved to stand beside Marian. "How did you get out of the castle? Did you– Are you alright?" she asked as she took in Marian's red-rimmed eyes.

She gave Edyn a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. I just had a bit of a scare that's all." She then explained to Edyn how close Robin had been to being killed. "I honestly thought I'd lost him," Marian shaking her head.

Edyn then took the horses to the stables and had the stableboy give them a good brush and some feed while Marian snuck back into the castle unseen by the guards. Edyn then met Marian back in her bedchamber and showed Marian the few items that she had managed to find. She seemed very relieved when Edyn produced the jewellery box. "I can't believe with everything that would have been stolen, this went unseen."

"Well in all truth, my lady, I couldn't believe I found it at all. It was buried deep," Edyn told her.

"So it's really gone? Nothing can be spared from it?" Marian asked sadly.

Edyn slowly shook her head. "I'm afraid not. There is very little still standing; most of it is just rubble."

"Very well then. It seems the move to the castle is indeed permanent." Marian sighed. "You seemed to be gone a while."

"Oh, yes. I err, I wanted to make sure I had searched through as much as I could. Also, the horses were a little reluctant to come to me. I didn't even notice what time it was as I rode home, it was all rather distracting."

Marian nodded her head; a smile was playing at the corners of her mouth. "How is Will?" Edyn turned to her and stared at her with wide eyes. How did she know? "There is only one thing – person I should say – that distracts you to the point that you start to babble. Don't be ashamed of it," Marian reassured her. "It's about time he noticed you."

"Oh, no, he doesn't. He simply helped me catch the horses," Edyn admitted.

"Oh, I see," Marian said and gave her a sympathetic look. Edyn looked away, she knew Marian was only trying to help but it made her feel worse, pathetic really.

"I'm fine," she told Marian. "Really." Marian slowly nodded her head and anyone could see she didn't believe Edyn, even she knew she didn't sound convincing.

Later that night as Edyn lay in the servant's quarters she mused over how everything had changed so much since she had left Locksley. She always complained that she wished her life was more exciting but now that it seemed it was, she didn't know if she wanted it anymore or not. Things were so much more complicated since she had left. But maybe that was life in general. She still would be jealous of Sybil, she would still despise Sir Guy and the Sheriff, and she most definitely wouldn't be any closer to Will. I shouldn't be dwelling on what I could have and instead be thankful for what I have already, she told herself angrily. She had a job, a roof over her head, food in her stomach and she was healthy. What exactly did she have to complain about? "Exactly," she muttered aloud to herself before she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes.

A:N/ Yay, series two! Not my best I know but this is my least favourite episode out of all three series (although I do still watch it for a shirtless Allan *drools*) so hopefully the next will be much better. I hope you all liked the little Edyn/Will moment. If I'm honest her fall is exactly like the one I had when I first rode bareback, the second horse included, except I didn't have a gorgeous outlaw come to my rescue, damn!

Song Inspiration: Let It Burn – Red. You've got to listen to this song it's amazing! If I'm honest I was only listening to it while I wrote because it had the word burn in the title which seemed appropriate for the fire scene, but when I actually listened to the lyrics I was amazed by how perfect they fit to how Gisborne would be feeling after Marian rejected him. It goes on about how she deceived him and is now hiding so now his love has turned to violence. Sound familiar?

I love my reviewers so please tell me what you think =) Oh, and sarah0406 I noticed you've been asking about Djaq and Edyn, and yes I'm trying to spend a little time portraying their differences, which is why in previous chapters they've been very unsure of each other because they are total opposites, but after the cave scene I figure they're slowly starting to respect each other, seeing past each others flaws as their good qualities become more obvious. I hope that made sense.