Epilogue
The first light of day shone into the spacious master bedchamber through the half-opened window. In the dim tenderness of the sunshine, Robin opened his eyes and turned his head to look into his wife's face, expecting to see her peacefully asleep on the other side of the bed. But he was mistaken because Marian was not alright – she lay on her back, her hands resting on her swollen belly, her eyes fixed on a distant spot. If he didn't hear Marian's labored breathing, he could have believed that she had already left this world.
Robin shifted on the bed closer to Marian. He gently put a hand on her stomach, and she took her hand in his, preventing him from touching the swell. She turned her gaze to him, and Robin's concerned expression evolved into frank worry at the sight of Marian's pale and pained expression.
"My love, how are you feeling?" Robin asked anxiously.
Marian smiled slightly. "He kicks a lot and doesn't let me sleep well."
Robin grinned. "It is a good sign."
"Yes. He seems to be a strong child."
"He or she?" Robin gave her a wry smile, brushing her hair away from her face.
"I want a cheeky boy like you, Robin."
"It is not surprising, my love." His answer was a matter of fact, and there was a haughty, smug smile on his face. "You love me and you want our son to be as handsome and irresistible as I'm."
Marian frowned at him and wanted to throw a snarky barb at him, but then she began to feel the same twinges of pain that she had already felt in the nighttime while Robin had been sleeping.
"Ah!" she cried out in pain, clutching her stomach.
"Oh my God!" Robin exclaimed, horrified. "Has something happened to the child?"
The pain subsided a little bit, and she was able to breathe again. "The baby is coming," she gave her verdict. Then another wave of pain overcame her, and she groaned aloud. "I felt the same when you were sleeping, but I didn't want to wake you up," she added as soon as the pain receded a little.
Robin looked panicked. "Damn you, Marian! You should have warned me when you began to feel pains!" He climbed out of the bed and began to hastily put on his clothes. "My love, please wait a little bit! I will go and get Djaq here!"
In a moment, Robin stormed out of the bedroom and descended the stairs. He headed to Will Scarlett's cottage in Locksley where Djaq and Will had lived after the wedding ceremony he himself had performed after the King's departure from Nottingham.
Robin was lucky that Djaq wasn't sleeping at such early hour: she always awoke early and went to the woods to pick up herbs like she had done in the times of their life as outlaws in Sherwood. When Robin, Will, and Djaq entered Locksley Manor, they could hear Marian's loud screams even in the parlor, and Djaq immediately rushed to the bedchamber. They didn't have time to send for Mathilda, so Djaq was presiding over the delivery, assisted by Sarah, Marian's maid from the Knighton Hall, and Mary, one of the oldest servants at the manor, like Thornton.
When Robin wanted to go upstairs, he suddenly felt Will's hand on his shoulder. "Robin, don't go there. Djaq told you that you don't need to be there," he told his friend.
Robin tossed his head vehemently. "I want to be with Marian in case… something happens."
Marian's pregnancy was a difficult one mainly due to her trauma she had survived through in Acre. She had nearly suffered a miscarriage when she had been only five months along in her pregnancy, and Djaq had forced her to go on bed rest to preserve the child. After several weeks spent bedridden, Marian had been permitted to leave her bed for several hours in a day, but she had become tired so easily that she had returned to bed very quickly. Djaq had said that there had been no signs of dropsy or any other complications in her pregnancy, but they had been extremely careful in the last months.
Robin shuddered as he heard Marian's new scream, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He had been very worried about Marian and his child, more for Marian, since her almost miscarriage, but now he feared the worst. He feared that Marian would die and he would lose her forever. Djaq had shared with Robin her suspicions that there could be a potential situation when he would have to choose between the life of his child and Marian's life, and Robin had already decided that he would choose Marian in any case, but he prayed that it would not come to that.
"Everything will be alright," Will asserted. "Marian is young and strong, and Djaq is with her."
"Oh my Lord!" Marian screamed as a new tide of pain slashed through her. "It hurts!"
Robin felt a cold shiver running down his spine. He again wanted to go to his wife, but Will gripped his arm. "Robin, please stay calm," Will requested.
Robin swallowed hard. "You know that my mother died in childbirth," he said in a hollow voice. "She died when I drew my first breath." He sighed. "And Marian has already almost lost this child."
"I understand your fears, but you have to take a hold of your emotions," Will replied softly.
"I want to be with my wife," Robin declared at once. "I have to be with her."
"No, Robin," Will insisted. "Stay here."
Robin nodded. "Fine, fine," he conceded. "I will wait a little bit more."
"We have heard that a marvel is happening here," Archer stated as he appeared at the doorway.
"Good morning," Kate greeted. She stood next to Archer, looking feminine in her delicate condition she had discovered a month ago; she wasn't showing yet.
In spite of Robin's pleas to postpone his marriage, Archer hadn't listened and had married Kate in two months after Guy's death. At first, Robin hadn't been convinced that Kate had really fallen in love with his young half-brother, thinking that she had been merely infatuated. But the past months had proved that he had been wrong: Archer and Kate were happy in their marriage life and loved each other. Now Archer and Kate lived at the Gisborne Manor which Archer had decided to build in the memory of Guy: Robin had transferred the former Gisborne lands on Archer's name, but Archer was officially known as Archer of Locksley, not Archer of Gisborne because the Gisbornes were not loved in Nottinghamshire.
Kate's mother Rebecca and her sister Maggie lived at the Gisborne Manor. Rebecca was happy that Kate had managed to marry the lord of the manor, all the more the illegitimate half-brother of Robin of Locksley, the Earl of Huntingdon whom she had never been fond of since Robin's childhood, but now she was using her daughter's marriage to the benefit of her family. Rebecca had even begun to flatter Robin, trying to establish a contact with him, but she had failed; instead, she had only alienated Robin from herself. Kate had once apologized to Robin for her mother's foolishness. Archer didn't like Kate's mother, but he loved Kate, so he tried to find common ground with Rebecca, though it wasn't easy.
Robin had promised Guy to take care of Seth, and he had kept his word. Robin and Archer had visited Annie and Seth at the Glasson Manor to notify them about Guy's death. Annie hadn't been aggrieved with Guy's death: she had declared that Guy had deserved death on the gallows for all his sins. Annie had given up on Guy when he had left Seth in the forest, and she hadn't believed in his redemption. Robin and Archer had persuaded Annie to move back to Nottinghamshire, and the woman had gladly agreed. Now Annie and Seth lived at the Gisborne Manor because Archer had asked her to live with him instead of moving to Locksley, wishing to have Seth close to him and, thus, be closer to his deceased brother. Robin had also transferred a small plot of land on Seth's name in the memory of Guy.
Robin permitted himself a small smile, relieved to see Archer and even Kate at such a difficult moment. "I'm glad that you came here. I was thinking to send someone to you."
Kate smiled. "But we came by ourselves, Robin."
Archer grinned. "I think we felt that we would greet our new nephew soon."
Will smiled. "Are you sure that it will be a boy? Perhaps they should have a girl because it would be difficult for Marian to handle two men if the boy is like his infamous father." He teased but his attempt at humor fell flat.
Feeling more nervous than before, Robin twisted his fingers. "I don't care whether I have a son or a daughter. I just want Marian and my child to be healthy."
Will, Kate, and Archer seated themselves into the chairs near a long table, while Robin started pacing the parlor back and forth. Robin shuddered every time when he heard Marian's screams.
"Robin, don't worry too much," Kate said in soothing tones. "Childbirth is a normal thing for women." She smiled as she put her hand on her abdomen where Archer's child was growing. "Marian carried the child to term against all odds, and you will see that she will cope with childbirth too."
Robin stopped in the middle of the room, glaring at Kate. "Kate, you know that Marian's pregnancy is not usual, and it is important that there are no complications during childbirth."
They nodded at Robin in understanding. Their minds drifted off to Guy of Gisborne who was dead for several months and had been buried in the family graveyard in Locksley, next to Robin's mother and his other ancestors, except his father whose fate was unknown since their meeting in the woods. Nobody of them hated Guy anymore, even Kate who had been the most unrelenting in granting Guy her forgiveness for killing his brother. Even Robin and Marian, who could blame Guy for the danger Marian was facing in her pregnancy, didn't hate and loathe the deceased man.
The memories about the day of Guy's execution were still painful, but they were slowly getting over shock and heartbreak which had followed Guy's death. King Richard had left Nottinghamshire in a week after bloodbath for traitors in the central courtyard, and life in the shire had continued in a routine way. The town had been filled with the quartered bodies of the Black Knights for a week while the King had still been there. Then Richard had appointed one of his loyal lords as the Sheriff of Nottingham because Robin had rejected his offer, not wishing to be given the power which had made so many people unhappy.
The former outlaws had been shocked with the execution of Guy because nobody had expected that the King would really proceed to such severe measures despite Robin's pleas. Robin's attitude to the King had been polite but cool and distant during the time when his sovereign had stayed in Locksley Manor, and both men had felt that their relationship would never be as deep and friendly as it had been before. Robin had even believed that Richard had begun to regret his choice to execute Guy at the price of their friendship. The farewell had been formal, and Richard had told Robin again that he had hoped his most loyal subject would understand the reasons for his choice. In return, Robin had promised to visit the royal court in Poitiers sometime in the future.
Two weddings had happened in a month after the King's departure: Will had married Djaq and Much had married Eve; each ceremony had been performed by Robin as the Earl of Huntingdon, the lord of vast lands in Nottinghamshire and the liege lord of Much and many other local nobles in the shire. Soon Archer had married Kate, with a large feast they had given in Locksley because the construction of the Gisborne Manor had been only half finished by that time. The weddings had improved everyone's mood, making the memories of the day of Guy's death less gloomy.
Kate nodded. "I know, Robin."
As Robin visibly flinched at the sound of Marian's whimper, Archer rose to his feet and approached his half-brother. He put a comforting hand on Robin's arm, smiling at Robin. "Everything looks fine, Robin, there is nothing for you to be concerned about," he reassured the distraught man kindly. "It always takes time. Soon your child will be born."
Robin sighed. "I hope so, Archer."
"Have you thought of names?" Archer queried.
"If it is a girl, we will name her Katherine. If it is a boy, he will be Edward," Robin answered in a calmer voice. "In the honor of Marian's parents," he added.
Archer gave an unpleasant smile. "You don't want to name your son Malcolm, do you?"
"You still haven't forgiven our father, have you?" Robin's voice sounded sharp.
"What about you? Have you forgiven him?" Archer countered. He had already understood that Robin felt some kind of resentment towards Malcolm, but he hadn't voiced his suspicions before.
Robin gazed into Archer's eyes. "Not entirely," he said sincerely.
"I understand," Archer said; his eyes flew to Kate. "If Kate and I have a son, we will name him Guy."
"It is a good choice for your child," Robin responded with a sigh. "I can never do that, even though I still feel guilty of Guy's death."
Archer nodded in understanding, his eyes sympathetic. It would have been strange if Robin had named his firstborn son, or perhaps any son, in the honor of the man who had almost murdered his wife and had killed his unborn child. "I hope you will not object if I do that."
Robin smiled. "Of course not, brother."
Archer smiled back. "Thank you."
During the next hours, Marian continued screaming as the labor progressed. Several times, Mary and Sarah came downstairs to bring bowls of fresh water and new linen sheets. Robin stopped and interrogated them; they told him that every possible precaution was taken to ensure that the mother and the baby both came through the ordeal of childbirth alive and whole. Robin wanted to go upstairs, but they insisted that he stayed in the parlor. Childbirth was a woman's deal.
At midday, the door opened and several people stepped into the parlor: they were Much, Eve, and Little John. Since their marriage, Much and Eve lived in Bonchurch which now officially belonged to Much after the King had pardoned the outlaws and invested Much with the title of the Earl of Bonchurch. Little John had been working as a steward for Much and lived in Bonchurch, helping his new master to run the estate; John would have worked for Robin, but Robin would have never thrown out of the manor Thornton, the old steward of the previous Earl of Huntingdon.
Much ran to Robin and embraced his beloved friend. Then he drew back, there was a boyish grin on his face. "Robin, this is so good! I'm sure that this day is going to be the best day in Locksley since your own birth! We will celebrate the birth of your son and heir!" His smile became wider. "My godson will be the most handsome boy in Nottinghamshire, like you were in childhood!"
Robin sighed, wishing to lash out at Much. As usual, Much wasn't thinking of the consequences of his words. The same had happened when Robin had been sitting on the hill overlooking Locksley on the day of Marian's forced marriage to Guy while Much had talked about Bonchurch and letting Marian go if she had wished to marry Guy. Today Much seemed to have forgotten that Robin's mother had died in childbirth and that his former master had feared Marian could die too.
"Oh, Much," Robin breathed, irritated.
Archer gave Robin a tiny smile; he didn't know how Robin could tolerate Much's annoyance. "As Much is here, I'm leaving the two of you together." Then he stepped aside and returned to Kate.
Much blinked. "What did I do wrong, Robin?"
"Nothing, Much," Robin lied.
Little John and Eve came to Robin and Much. Eve stood at Much's right, and he possessively wrapped his arm around her waist. John stood next to Robin, his eyes shooting daggers at Much.
"Much, it is usual for you to forget about small details and think about trifles," John reprimanded. "I don't think that Robin needs to hear about celebrations right now."
"Oh dear! Am I in trouble?" Much said, his eyes large like two holes. "Robin, I didn't mean anything wrong! I didn't want to make you more nervous! I'm saying nothing, absolutely nothing!"
Robin managed a smile. "Don't worry, my friend. You didn't hurt me."
Eve understood Robin's concern. "Robin, be patient. Children are not born in half an hour," she said with a knowing smile. When she had served Sheriff Vaisey as his spy at Bonchurch, she had been raped by one of the Sheriff's guards and conceived a child. She had left to keep her disgrace in secret, but her daughter had died in a few hours after her birth.
"Eve, you heard a lot, but you cannot know about that." Robin had no clue about Eve's troubles.
Much gave Eve a smile, and she smiled back at him, grateful for the moral support. She had told him about her grief over her child's death, and he had accepted her past without questions. They had decided not to share that with anyone, even with Robin. Much was inwardly impressed with Eve's inner strength, and he loved her in spite of the fact that she hadn't been a virgin when he had married her. He was afraid of imagining that one of their future children could die; if he had been in her shoes, he didn't know how he would have coped with the pain from the loss.
"Eve helped her mother raise her two younger sisters, but they died in childhood," Much offered an explanation. "So my wife knows how children are born and raised."
Eve gave a nod. "My sisters were much younger than me, and I helped my mother in childbirth."
Robin gave Eve a compassionate glance. "I'm sorry that they died."
"My condolences, Eve," Little John interjected.
Eve smiled. "Thank you," she said. "It was a long time ago, so it is not as painful as it was before."
Robin blanched as they heard Marian's new scream. He wanted to go upstairs again and almost ran there, but his friends pressured him to stay in the parlor. He struggled with them so much that they had to restrain Robin, holding him like a prisoner until he promised to control himself.
"It hurts so much!" they heard Marian wail as another wave of pain, the strongest one, washed over her. They couldn't see that from the parlor, but Marian was clinging tightly to the hands of Sarah, barely aware of Djaq's gentle, encouraging words to push.
They also couldn't hear Djaq's words spoken to Marian: "It is almost time now, Marian." They couldn't see Djaq take a linen towel to spread underneath Marian's hips for the child that was expected to be born soon.
Next moment, Thornton entered the chamber and offered some drinks to everyone. He also brought a silver tray full of delicacies for the guests. Robin was the only one who didn't take anything.
"Master Robin, do you want something?" Thornton questioned.
"I only want my wife to survive and be happy with me," Robin responded in a shaking voice, his eyes feverish. "So perhaps somebody should be sent to our bedroom to learn what is happening."
Thornton wanted to console his master, but he could do nothing. "God will protect Lady Marian."
Robin smirked grimly. "Did he protect my mother when she died?"
"It won't happen again," Thornton assured his master. He remembered the day of Robin's birth very well because it had been a day of great joy and of great mourning for the people of Locksley.
Robin snarled and was quiet for a while. His eyes widened as he watched Mary running down the staircase and telling something to the other servants. In the next several minutes, Mary was bustling back and forth between the master bedchamber and the hall that they could see from the parlor; she was bringing more bowls of water and clean linen sheets upstairs.
"What is going on?" Robin shouted as he walked to Mary and almost stumbled into her.
Mary took a step back, holding a bowl in her arms. "Wait here, Master Robin. It's almost over," she said encouragingly. "Not much longer now."
Robin looked as though he had been wounded to death by a Saracen. "Not much longer?" he asked in lowest tones possible. "Is… she… dying?"
Mary shook her head. "No, no! Lady Marian is very brave."
"Are you sure?" Robin pressed anxiously. "She has been screaming for several hours."
Mary smiled. "Master Robin, women always scream in childbirth," she coached him. "Lady Marian is not dying. I meant that the child would be born very soon."
"Thanks to God! Thanks to God!" Robin crossed himself. "She must live! She must live!" His tone was one of mingled relief, happiness, and satisfaction as Mary made her announcement.
"I should go upstairs and help Djaq," Mary said with a smile. She knew Robin during his whole life, but she had never seen him so worried before.
"Yes, go there, go now." Robin's voice was conversational as Mary's words calmed him down, but he was still anxious. "Let me know when I can enter! I must be the first one to go there!"
During the next half an hour, Robin was pacing the chamber with wide steps. Everyone watched him silently, not uttering a word. Soon, Marian stopped screaming, and Robin became more stressed out, almost breaking his own hands in distress. Then the baby wailed at the full pitch of what was an exceptionally healthy pair of lungs, and its bellows left no doubt that it was a strong child.
"Marian," Robin whispered, all his concern about his wife. He ran upstairs, his heart pounding harder in fear that he couldn't hear sounds coming from Marian's mouth anymore.
"Master Robin, you would better wait here with us." Thornton frowned slightly as he spoke, an almost paternally reproachful expression on his face. "Someone will come downstairs soon."
Robin paused for a moment. "I don't care! I just want to see my wife!"
"At least be careful on the staircase," Archer warned, laughing at his half-brother.
Then Mary appeared at the top of the staircase. "Master Robin has a healthy son," she declared with a large smile. "Both the child and the mother are fine."
Cheerful cries filled the room, and everyone smiled with easy smiles. It was the happiest news that the heir of the Earl of Huntingdon and the Lord of Locksley had finally been born.
Will laughed. "Soon this disobedient boy will run around wildly and play noisy games."
Thornton's smile was larger when it had been on the day of Robin's return from the Holy Land. "Like Master Robin in childhood."
"At least now Robin will stop going mad," Little John commented, smiling.
Much was beaming as though he had become a father today. "Robin has a son! I have a godson!" he cried out in delight. "I will love this boy so much! I will love him as my own child! I'm so happy!"
Eve smiled with a reserved smile. "I'm happy for you, Much."
Much took her hand in his. "Eve, we will have a child when God wants that." He cupped her face and kissed her shortly. "We have been married only for several months."
Eve caressed her husband's cheek tenderly. "Thank you, Much."
Archer grinned sheepishly. "Oh, God! I'm so happy that I have a nephew!"
Kate took Archer's hand and put it on her stomach. "Archer, you will have your own son soon," she said, feeling a twinge of jealousy. "You will need many fatherly talents for our child."
Archer smiled. "Of course, sweetheart."
"I have already made proper arrangements for the celebrations and for the christening," Friar Tuck informed as he stepped into the parlor. Now he served in the Locksley chapel which had been rebuilt after the restoration of Robin's noble status. "The whole village is ready to celebrate."
At the same time, Robin stood near the door to the bedchamber. He opened it, thinking that he had never been as afraid of something as he was right now. The picture that he saw dissolved all his fears: Marian was sitting on the bed, holding the swaddled infant in her arms. Though Marian was sweaty and tired, Robin thought that she had never looked more beautiful.
"My love, you are alive," Robin said, feeling slightly breathless from running up the stairs. "You are alive."
Marian stared at him with a weary smile. "We are alive, handsome," she amended. "But I cannot say that it was an easy labor. So I hope that you won't put me through it again in the next year."
"God be praised that everything went fine," Djaq said. "But Marian cannot resume her connubial duties for at least six months. She shouldn't conceive again quickly because she has to recover from this difficult birth and become strong enough to carry another child."
Marian blushed, lowering her gaze and staring at the baby in awe. "Oh," she breathed.
"It doesn't matter how much we must wait." Robin stopped near the bed, his eyes focused on the child that stirred in Marian's arms. "Most importantly, Marian and the baby are alright."
"It is a real luck that Marian didn't have serious complications in labor," Djaq said, relieved.
Robin settled on the edge of the bed. "We have a child." He could barely believe his eyes that he could see his child and Marian healthy and alive. "I want to hold our child," he nearly demanded.
Tears came to Marian's eyes. "It is your son, Robin," she said as she gave the child to his father.
Djaq and Marian taught Robin how to hold an infant. As soon as the baby boy was settled in his father's arms, he opened his eyes of sapphire color – they were like Marian's. Robin noticed that the silky hair on his son's delicate skull was light brown, like his own hair. Robin laughed happily at the sight of the quizzical expression on his son's face as he began to cradle the boy in his arms.
Djaq smiled. "I'm leaving you with the baby, but I will return soon." She glanced at Marian. "Marian, you are exhausted, and you need to rest." Then she went out of the room.
Marian and Robin looked at their infant son, mesmerized by the sight of the most beloved human being in the world who joined them forever. Their son was the product of their love despite all the troubles they had survived through after his return to England. It was an ecstasy to realize that now they were a happy family.
"Edward of Locksley, you are amazing," Robin said quietly, addressing to his son.
Marian smiled as she lay back against her pillows. "My father would have been pleased."
"Yes, he would," Robin agreed.
Robin lifted his eyes and stared at Marian, both of them thinking of Sir Edward of Knighton who had died for King Richard and for England. The image in Marian's mind was terrible as she remembered her father's lifeless body as she had held the old man in her arms when Guy, his men, and she had found him in the street. Robin remembered about Sir Edward, but then his mind drifted off to the moment when Marian had died in his arms after their heartbreaking wedding in Acre. He was so happy that Marian was alive and that the horror had already been over.
She was thinking of Knighton with sadness. "I want to re-build the Knighton Hall. I want our son to know the place where I was born."
He shook his head in response. "I approve of your idea. We can do that next year."
"You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not," he said. "I will gladly help you and we can afford it now when we don't have to pay high taxes. I doubt that you understand anything in the construction of buildings."
"As if you know anything about construction," she scolded him.
"Will Scarlett knows. He will help us."
"Oh, it would be great!"
"My love, you gave me all a scare today," Robin told her in a mock-chiding tone.
Marian shot him an annoying look. "It is your entire fault, Robin of Locksley."
Robin leaned forward, still holding the baby in his arms, to brush a light kiss on her forehead. "You were very willing to be with me and you tempted me, Marian of Locksley," he said cheerfully.
She hit him playfully on his shoulder. "It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't seduced me."
He chuckled softly. "So we seduced each other."
"Yes, but you were more naughty," she teased.
Robin laughed. "I think you were, my love."
"No, you, handsome."
The child wailed, and Robin restored him to his mother's waiting arms. Marian cradled the boy, humming a lullaby to the boy who soon stopped fussing and fell asleep in his mother's arms.
Robin reached out a tentative finger to touch one of the chubby cheeks. "I love our Edward so much," he whispered with a tender smile. Then he looked at Marian. "I love you so much, my Marian."
Marian smiled festively. "I love you too, my Robin."
"You made me so happy today."
"I'm very happy too," she said, her eyes focused on her son's face. "Edward is the living image of you, Robin Hood. He has only my eyes – yours are a shade lighter." She laughed. "He has your hair, your nose, your cheekbones, and your forehead. I'm sure that he also has your character."
"But he is also the son of Maid Marian." Robin's eyes were glued to his son. "So even if he took after me in appearance, I'm sure that he has taken much of your stubbornness and strength too."
Marian grinned broadly. "Then God help us, Robin."
Robin grinned back. "God help us to handle him as he grows up."
"I hope he will be not as troublesome as you, handsome."
"Edward will be like you and like me because he is the son of Robin Hood and Maid Marian."
"It looks like we have a bundle of trouble in our arms," she summed up.
Robin looked at his son, an exclusively tender smile spreading across his face. "I will teach Edward to shoot with my Saracen bow and fight with a sword. He will be the best archer and one of the best swordsmen in England." He gazed at Marian's lovely face. "And you, Marian, will teach him to fight for justice with imagination – in the disguise of the Nightwatchman."
Marian chuckled. "I will give strength both you and him," she said, keeping her voice low not to awaken their son. "Together we all are stronger."
"You are my strength, Marian."
"And you are mine, Robin."
Robin climbed into the bed beside Marian and Edward, drawing the silk coverlet closely around them. She didn't object because Djaq didn't come yet, and they still had some time alone. "Now we are a family, like we have dreamt for so long," he said gently, smiling down at the sleeping baby boy. "I love you both more than anything in the world."
Marian eagerly moved into his warm embrace, settling comfortably in his arms. "I love you both too." She sighed contently. "We are together forever, my husband."
"Forever together, my wife," Robin echoed.
Robin bent down and kissed Marian, and she responded avidly to his kiss; the child stirred in Marian's arms. Robin and Marian were finally happy as all their dreams came true. They had made a long way to happiness and had suffered a lot, but they wouldn't have made different choices if they had given a chance to change their lives. The importance they were able to attach to their happiness and the amount of passion in their joys and fears formed thanks to the hardships they had survived through. They wouldn't have known the sweet happiness of being constantly in deep and sincere love if they had been different people.
"For every man there is a purpose which he sets up in his life. Let yours be the doing of all good deeds," Robin Hood often told Marian and his friends, who had always supported him in their fight against Sheriff Vaisey of Nottingham and Guy of Gisborne who had joined the outlaws in the end, though the King hadn't forgotten about his past crimes. The purpose of Robin's life in the wartime was his fight for justice and for peace, but in the peaceful time, his main purpose was Marian and their happiness because he loved his family more than his King and anyone else in his life.
Robin Hood and Maid Marian were in love with their fight for justice, their people, their honor, and their hopes for a better life. Most importantly, they were in love with each other and with their son; their love would not die even after their death. Robin and Marian were a legend that would echo through centuries, while their love would be glorified by bards and storytellers in the future throughout many lives to come. The love of Robin Hood and Maid Marian became immortal.
The End
I decided that Robin and Marian would have a son named Edward in honor of Marian's father. I don't think that Robin would have named his son Guy, even though he still blames himself for his failure to save Guy from King Richard. It is unlikely that they named their son Malcolm because I don't think that Robin respected his father too much in the series.
All of the former outlaws appeared in the epilogue, and you know in brief about their lives after King Richard's return. Archer and Kate are happy and are already expecting a child. Much married Eve and is happy in his marriage; there is some detail about Eve's past which explains why she disappeared from Nottinghamshire and from the show in my scenario. Will and Djaq live in Locksley in Will's old cottage, while Little John found his place as Much's steward in Bonchurch.
I don't hate Guy, and I feel sorry for him as he suffered a lot. But if Guy had survived, he would have been alone, watching Marian and Robin's happiness. Now Guy is in heaven with Meg, and perhaps it is better than loneliness and envy towards Robin and Marian. I'm sorry that Guy is dead.
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