A:N/ Just for the heads up, this episode had been cut into two parts due to that fact I crammed way too much it, whoops! Anyways, hope you enjoy!

When Edyn returned to the castle later that day she forced herself to take several deep breaths before she approached Marian's bedchamber. Although she would trust her with her own life and had never kept anything from her there was something about what John had said to her that she didn't want to share. She was still quite wound up by the encounter and she couldn't tell if she was furious by his words or hurt by the truth of them. No matter how she looked at her situation, he was right.

"I'm fine," she muttered aloud to herself before she pushed the door open. She was absolutely stunned by how she found Marian. She was furiously pacing back and forth throwing objects around her room while angry tears streamed down her face.

"My lady! What happened?" Edyn demanded as she leapt to Marian's side and grabbed her hand before she had a chance to throw the latest object she held in her hands. Though Edyn would never admit it, she dreaded the thought of how long it would take her to clean the room after Marian had calmed down, especially as she had only finished cleaning it from top to bottom the day before.

"They took him! My father!" Marian wept. "They've locked him in the dungeons because of what I did. Me! I am the one in the wrong and yet they punish him and not me!" She seemed to give up her fight as she dropped the brush she held in her hands and sank down pathetically on her bed.

Edyn slowly sat down beside her and placed a hand on her back. "We'll get through this. I'll ride out to Robin tomorrow and explain the situation. He will not allow your father to be treated like this."

"I know," Marian said wiping her face. "I think I will talk to the Sheriff in the morning, when I've calmed down. Maybe I'll be able to persuade him to reconsider. If that doesn't work then I'll tell Robin."

Edyn nodded her head but she knew there was no hope of changing the Sheriff's mind. He had been clever and thought of the only way to truly punish Marian. Her father was the only person she held dear to her heart. With the exception of Robin of course, but luckily the Sheriff was still oblivious to that.

Edyn rose early the next day to start to clean Marian's room. It her fit of rage she had managed to cause a lot of damage; broken bottles, torn curtains, ripped pillows which now spilt feathers everywhere, not to mention every object in the room was now splayed across the floor somewhere. "I'm sorry, Edyn," Marian said as she knelt down to help her.

"No, no, it's fine," Edyn reassured her. "You should go and see your father."

"Yes," Marian agreed. "I'm anxious to see him. They would let me see him, wouldn't they?"

Edyn shrugged her shoulders. "I honestly don't know. If not, you said that you wanted to speak with the Sheriff anyway."

Marian nodded her head. "I've called for Sarah to come and help you. It seems wrong for you to do this all yourself." Edyn smiled showing her gratitude. Sarah, Marian's previous maid from Knighton Hall was now a castle maid and occasionally when it was needed she was called up to Marian's room to help Edyn with certain tasks. She would be grateful for the help today. "I don't know what's keeping her though," Marian muttered.

There was then a knock on the door and Edyn was careful to stand in the gap to hide the destruction of the room. She found an elderly maid standing before her and not Sarah as she had been expecting. "I have a message for the Lady Marian's maid," the woman told her.

Edyn's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "That's me."

"There is a young gentleman waiting outside who requests you go to him immediately. He's say it is at the utmost importance," the woman said seeming to be somewhat irritated by her tedious task.

"Oh, yes of course. Thank you!" Edyn rambled as she hastily closed the door. It wouldn't be Will, surely. Her excitement rose at the thought. What would he want with her? Her imagination went wild with different fantasies and scenarios and she reached for her cloak. "There is someone waiting for me outside, my lady."

Marian nodded her head. "I think I'll try and see my father. Keep a look out for Sarah while you're out," she quickly added.

Edyn nodded her head and left the room as quickly as she could. The temptation to run was unbelievable but she forced herself to remain at her normal pace. Outside though she couldn't stop herself from jogging down the stairs and she quickly scanned the area for a tall outlaw. Sadly she did not find him. In fact she didn't see anyone.

"Edyn!" she heard her name being called and before she even turned she knew instantly it was not Will's deep voice.

"Oh, hello," she said as she turned to face Marcus who rushed over to her. "Is everything alright? Is it Sybil?" she suddenly became distressed over her friend's welfare.

"It's a girl!" he puffed as he reached her.

"Wh-what?" Edyn stuttered as she tried to understand the situation.

"She had the baby, last night. Well, this morning really. She wanted you to be one of the first to see her," Marcus quickly explained. Edyn then took in his appearance. He was beaming proudly at her, although it was obvious he had had a sleepless night from his pale complexion and messed hair. "Will you come to her? She's hoping you'll be able to spare the time."

"Yes, of course," Edyn agreed, though she knew she was needed back at the castle she didn't care. Over the last few months she had dealt with Sybil's ups and downs with her pregnancy, not to mention her many mood-swings and she was eager to see what all the fuss was about.

Edyn was forced to jog to keep up with Marcus' fast pace. Obviously he was keen to get back to his wife and newborn daughter. Inside their small house Edyn and Marcus both crept silently into the bedroom and when Edyn spotted what was waiting for her, she felt her heart swell with delight. Beautiful as always, Sybil sat perched up against many pillows staring down admiringly at the tiny bundle she held in her arms. She looked up at Edyn's arrival and gave her the broadest grin Edyn had ever seen. Wordlessly Edyn approached her and sat herself on the edge of the bed to get a peek of the newest arrival to Nottingham. And with parents as attractive as Sybil and Marcus it didn't come as a shock that this baby was the most beautiful Edyn had ever seen. In truth, Edyn had always thought babies to be rather ugly, all wrinkly and pink, but something about Sybil's child was different.

"Oh, Sybil. She's gorgeous," Edyn gushed surprising herself when she felt her eyes prickle slightly.

"Edyn, meet our little Grace," Sybil announced proudly.

"Grace," Edyn echoed. "A beautiful name for a beautiful baby."

"We thought so," Marcus said sitting himself down on Sybil's other side.

Edyn smiled at them. "How was it?" she asked Sybil noticing the large bags under her eyes and her teased hair.

"Well, it was the most horrid thing I've ever experienced," Sybil answered honestly. "But it was so worth it," she continued looking down at her child once more. "Would you like to hold her?"

"Oh, I don't think so," Edyn said nervously. The tiny little girl looked so fragile, almost as if she was made out of porcelain and Edyn worried that she might hurt her.

"Come on," Sybil urged. "Hold out your arms."

Hesitantly, Edyn did as she was instructed and the small bundle was passed into her arms. Amazingly the baby did not stir from the movement and Edyn couldn't help but let out a sigh. She had always disliked children, yet the moment the tiny infant was placed in her arms she had a sudden feeling of longing. She had always been jealous of Sybil in many ways, and now she had herself a loving family, something Edyn had always wanted. She had never known what it was like to feel the love of two parents, to witness that love between them. Looking up she watched as Sybil leant closer to Marcus and rested herself against his chest while he encircled his arms around her. Edyn brought her eyes back to little Grace feeling as if she had interrupted something private. She then wondered what that felt like, to be in the arms of someone who you loved and to have them return that love. The closer she had ever been to that would have been with her brother. She had always felt safe in his arms, but she got the idea it was a completely different feeling between a family member and one's lover.

Not long after that Edyn left to allow Sybil to get some much needed sleep and she left with the image of the three of them all snuggled together painted firmly in her mind as a constant reminder of what she was without.

As she walked through the town glumly she felt her spirits rise slightly as she noticed several of Robin's men walking amongst the poor handing out coins and food. She greeted Much and Djaq happily and stopped when she spotted John. He gave her a meek smile and a slight nod of his head. Although she wasn't angry with him she still felt a little nervous in his presence. Without a asking a single question he seemed to pull all her deepest feelings and dreams from her heart and lay them out on the table, so to speak. But she forced herself to return the smile and nodded also, almost as if to tell him all was well.

She continued back towards the castle when she spotted someone familiar. No, two familiar faces. She did a double take as she watched in confusion as Dan and Luke Scarlett walked through the town following close behind Will. Edyn thought she had heard that they had left after Will and Luke's near execution. Will gave her a warm smile as he passed and Dan didn't even glance at her as he followed his eldest son. Luke, on the other-hand stopped and looked Edyn up and down. "Edyn?"

She smiled widely at the knowledge she wasn't forgotten. "Hello. What are you doing in Nottingham?"

Still baffled he merely gestured towards his brother. "Will. Why are you here?"

"I work in the castle now," Edyn replied.

"Bet you love being so near the Sheriff," he laughed.

Edyn scoffed. "Who wouldn't?" she asked jokingly.

Luke opened his mouth to say something further but was cut off by the sounds of a woman calling out frantically. Peering around Luke, Edyn spotted Sarah desperately running through the town with her young daughter Jess clutched in her arms. "Help me!"

"Sarah!" Edyn called as she ran to meet her fellow work maid. "What happened?"

Several more members of Robin's gang began to crowd around as she rambled nervously about her daughter catching some sort of sickness. "I think it's the pestilence," she announced as she passed Jess into Robin's arms. Instinctively Edyn took a step back. As a child she had regularly been sick having a poor immune system, which now resulted in her having a fear of ill people. Henry had once mentioned to her that he was surprised that she had reached adulthood at all being certain each time she fell ill it would be the end of her.

Dan squeezed closer to the poor girl and inspected her face and neck. "She has no swellings," he noted having some knowledge of the illness. His musings were interrupted by the Sheriff's arrival and they stood in silence as they watched as Marian stood up on the podium and announced the virus that had out broken from Pitt Street and that a quarantine would be put into place. Robin quickly instructed Sarah to take her daughter back home as the Sheriff then began to speak. When he finished Dan Scarlett unexpectedly stepped forward calling out his opinions in anger, informing the people that it wasn't a pestilence and demanding an explanation from the Sheriff.

The whole world then seemed to slow right down. Edyn noticed the guard only a fraction of a second beforehand but it was already too late; he stepped forward and sank his sword deep into Dan's back silencing him forever. She could hear cries and screams all around her but Will's seemed by far louder than anyone else's. She was just turning her head to search for him when someone pushed passed her roughly. Turning, she could see it was Luke sprinting towards where his father was falling to his knees. Moving as fast as she could she caught his arm and tried to pull him back but she had no influence on slowing him down. Thankfully Much leapt in front of him and used his body as a barrier to stop him.

"Let me go!" Luke cried not taking his eyes off the crumpled body of his father. "Dad!"

"Hey, hey, easy! Don't look at him. Look at me," Edyn muttered placing her hands on either side of Luke's face forcing him to take his focus away from the horror of his father's death. "Keep your eyes on me! Nothing else!" But Luke continued to fight against Much mumbling indistinct words over and over again. By now the Sheriff was talking to the crowd but Edyn paid him no attention. "If you go charging up there the Sheriff will kill you!"

"No! Get off! I have to…" Luke continued to struggle before he suddenly stopped, his emotions becoming too much for him.

Edyn dropped her hands to his arm. "Come on." She led him away from the openness of the street and closer to where the others were all trying to calm Will. Even Little John was having difficulty stopping him. "Here, we'll just wait here a minute." Much was watching him nervously and glanced over to where the rest of the gang were. "We're fine, Much. Go," she told him. He didn't need to be persuaded as he nodded his head in gratitude and moved to Robin's side.

Luke was now keeping his eyes focused on one spot on the ground, no longer paying her any attention. When she glanced over at Will again he seemed to have calmed down slightly. Djaq stood before him with a hand resting on his chest. Edyn hated herself for getting jealous at such an inappropriate time, but she couldn't help it. A moment later Will broke away from the group and headed in their direction to embrace his younger brother who still appeared to have gone into shock and roughly pushed Edyn out of the way. Don't take it personally, her mind told her. She desperately wanted to say something but nothing seemed appropriate. So she remained silent and watched in disgust as Dan's body was dragged away.

The sound of yelling and screaming could be heard again and she looked up to see the first of the barricades being placed across the entrance of Pitt's street. "Sarah," she muttered quietly to herself and moved closer. She then spotted her amongst the many people already trapped inside the condemned street all calling out for help. "Sarah!" Edyn called louder as she got closer and clutched Sarah's flailing hand. "You've got to get of there!"

"I can't! Please, you have to get help!" she begged desperately. "Please?"

Edyn then felt a hand roughly grab her arm and pull her away. "Stand aside, miss!" a guard growled at her.

She fought against him and clung to a beam on the barricade. "I will tell Lady Marian. I will get you help!" she promised Sarah before the guard brought his large arms around her waist and forced her to move away. Edyn could still hear Sarah's pleads but there was no way she could get closer to the barricades. It looked as if Sir Guy and the Sheriff had a large majority of their men putting the barricades in place.

Edyn scanned the area and Robin's gang had now gone leaving her with no option then but to return to the castle. She took off at a run and refused to slow down even as she entered the castle corridors. Maybe Marian would have an idea to help Sarah. Pushing the door open she found Marian pacing back and forth. "Did you find Sarah?" she asked.

Edyn nodded her head trying to catch her breath. "She's… in Pitt Street," she puffed. "Her daughter has… been affected."

Marian's eyes widen. "We must get them medicine. Quickly run down to your quarters and get one of your spare dresses. I will prepare what I will need."

"What are you–?"

"Edyn, please, go!" Marian ordered.

With a nod of her head she did as she was told and when she returned Marian quickly began to change into the blue dress the castle maids were required to wear. "I'm going to sneak out of the castle with the rest of the servants and try and get into Pitt Street. Do you know if Robin is there?"

"I suspect he would be. He promised Sarah that he and Djaq would go to her and when I looked back they were gone."

"Good. Now, I want you to go into the town and try and find out as much as you can about this pestilence. When did people start falling ill, were there any signs, that sort of thing," Marian said. "If I am not back by nightfall I will need you to cover for me. Make some excuse of why no one can see me, but avoid saying I'm sick. That will only make things far much worse than they already are."

"Yes, my lady."

They both departed in different directions, Edyn going the direct way out of the castle and Marian sneaking around the long way to try and avoid the areas that had guards posted. Once inside the town Edyn struggled to find anyone that would talk to her about it. Some seemed so fearful, almost as if talking about such a topic would ensure they would suffer the illness. Getting frustrated by people's reactions she surprised herself by cornering an elderly physician who seemed to be run off his feet from people believing they had now caught the pestilence.

"What is the meaning of this? I am a very busy man!" he barked angrily at her.

"Please, sir. I do not mean to keep you from your patients but I must hear all you know about this illness," Edyn said to him.

"Well, there isn't much to know. We've had no warning and luckily it has not spread further than Pitt Street. We should thank the Sheriff for his quick thinking in controlling the spread."

Edyn shuddered at the thought of thanking the Sheriff for anything. "But how can that be? Surely someone outside the street would be affected, they have been in contact with everyone until this morning," Edyn argued.

"I agree. But I have not come across a case yet," he told her.

"But what about symptoms? You were not called to Pitt Street at all the last few days?"

He shook his head. "You know everything I do, so if that is all I would appreciate if you would step aside!"

With a sigh Edyn yielded. None of this made any sense at all. A virus couldn't just occur over night, and it wouldn't have been confined to only one street when people passed through there on a regular basis. She leant back against a nearby wall feeling somewhat defeated. She had been interrogating people for what seemed like hours.

"You look like you've had a hard day," a young female voice suddenly sounded.

Edyn turned and was not expecting to find this particular person staring back at her. "Catherine?"

Catherine gave her a half smile. "Been awhile since I last saw you," she said and Edyn cowardly looked down at the ground. "Relax, I'm not here to make you feel bad. I actually have to admit I was a little impressed. I honestly didn't think you had it in you."

Edyn slowly looked up at her. "What do you want then?"

"I heard you were asking about Pitt Street and the pestilence," Catherine said. "It might interest you to know that I noticed Pitt Street received a visitor last night. They went to Pitt Street and only Pitt Street."

This caught Edyn's attention. "Who was it? Did you recognise them?"

"Oh, I recognised him, but like everyone I do not know who he is," Catherine continued driving Edyn mad with suspense. "It was the Nightwatchman," she finally announced.

"What?" Edyn questioned. "Are you sure?" Marian had not told her about going out last night, and surely if she had been at Pitt Street she would have mentioned it.

"I have to admit I didn't believe my eyes when I first spotted him, but no one else would be dressed as he was and passing out food parcels."

Edyn exhaled sharply. None of this was making sense but hopefully if Marian had returned to the castle the two of them would figure out what was really going on. "Thank you, Catherine. It seems I am in your debt."

Catherine shook her head. "No, I am repaying a favour. Since your little outburst Joe has not called on us. Not once. Even Gloria seems a little grateful if you'll believe it. We may have to please some of the other men on occasion but not as often. You scared him, Edyn. And I'm sure I speak for the other girls when I say nothing we do will repay you for what you did."

Edyn smiled. She had always been under the impression the others enjoyed their work, but now it seemed there was another side to them. Like her, they were scared. But they had not fought for their virtue; they had believed there was no other option but to simply give in.

She then bid her old work-friend goodbye and headed for the direction of the castle and noticed a familiar figure walking just in front of her. "Allan," she called to him.

He jumped and quickly spun around while glaring at her. "Do you always sneak up on people like that?"

"Apparently it's just you," she replied. "You did not go to Pitt Street?"

"No, Robin needed me to send a letter for him. I'm going to have to wait for them now. What you doing here anyway?"

"I'm trying to find out as much as I can about what's been happening," Edyn said.

"Any luck?"

"A little, but not enough for it to make sense," she said slightly annoyed.

"Hang on, they're coming out," he said looking in the direction of Pitt Street and pulling his hood up. Edyn noticed the gang all slowly approaching the castle carrying a stretcher with what she hoped to be a live person and not a corpse. Allan then quickly dashed to them and smoothly joined the group as if he had been inside Pitt Street with them. So as not to raise suspicion, Edyn decided to wait a few moments before she followed after them.

A:N/ I'm really sorry I ended it there, but I had so many ideas for this chapter, by the time I finished it was already 14 pages long, and that's with size 10 font, eek! Not overly happy with this chapter but hopefully I will redeem it with my next one, I had so much fun writing it XD

Please, please, please review! I love to hear from you, and to hear your opinions and ideas. And ss15 thankyou so much for that great idea! I can't believe that never occurred to me, I'm desperately thinking for the ideal moment for the two of them to have a little chat as well as more moments with the gang… Thankyou everyone else that reviewed also! You have no idea how much I love you all =)