Disclaimer: I do not own Robin Hood, it is the property of the BBC

Chapter 12

Allan stared at his daughter in shock.

' Seriously, you're not havin' me on 'ere? ' he sighed.

The look of sadness on Ava's face said it all, and the tears glassing her eyes over only supported it.

' That is why I cannot leave,' she said, daring to meet his eyes, ' I cannot leave Much, because I fear the pain of being apart would be too great to bear, I want to be with him Father.'

Allan looked disappointed that she had a fancy for Much, ' We are going to Scarborough.' he said firmly.

' I don't want to,' she told him confidently, ' I want to be here and I want to be with Much.'

' You'll meet other men,' he told her just as firmly,' you are young, you do not know want and you do not know what love is.'

Ava looked livid now, ' I do not want other men! ' she cried out in frustration,' and being young has nothing to do with it. You were a year younger than I when you thought you were in love with my mother.'

Allan narrowed his eyes at her,' That has nothing to do with it. This is about you, and the stupid mistakes you're goin' to end up making.'

' I am not an idiot, father! ' she snapped, ' and as for not knowing what love is - well, I feel it so strongly, so are you going to tell me that that cannot be love?' she asked him

' Yes, actually. You do not love him, it is a passing fancy.'

' It is not! ' Ava yelled at him.

' Don't yell at me, my girl! ' he shouted back.

Ava glared at him, ' If you cannot accpet this, then I shall go back to the cave and leave you to run away to Scarborough. It was nice knowing you.'

Before she could stomp off - as she fully intended to do - Will caught her forearm and pulled her back.

' Fight for what you want,' he mumbled under his breath as he pulled her back, so Allan could not hear his words, ' Fight for what you want and show him just how much you love Much. You'll wear him down eventually.'

' Father,' Ava said calmly, ' I love Much and if you cannot accept this fact than I will stay here, and you can go wherever you want.'

Allan shook his head, ' Don't be stupid, I'm not leavin' you behind. If you stay, then I'll stay too, but you'd be better off leaving. There is no life for us here, once the King has returned. We can go to Scarborough and try out somewhere new. We will be free. Plus Will has a younger brother you might like.'

' But don't you see? ' she sighed exasperatedly, ' I do not care what sort of life I lead - be it with a lodge, dozens of servants and the most exquisite clothes, or just in the forest, with not a penny to my name. I just want to be with him. With Much. I do not care how charming or witty or handsome or clever or rich, Will's brother is - '

' Not very,' Will cut in.

Ava shot him a silencing glare and continued, ' I just want to be with the man I love. And that is Much.'

' But why Much? ' Allan whined,' For one thing, he is older than you.'

Ava rolled her eyes, something Will was made certain to teach her how to master, ' He is 5 years younger than you, which makes him 10 years older than I. 10 years is nothing compared to many couples. And what is age anyway when one if on love. Age is but a number, it means nothing.'

Allan did not really have much concern on the age matter to he moved on to something else.

' Why could you not have chosen Robin? ' Allan asked her, ' Robin is plenty good looking for you, he is decent, honest, he cares for you, he knows how to fend for himself, knows how to look after other people and when all this is over, he will have money, a title and lands.'

' Robin is merely a friend and could never be anything but that. And everyone knows that he belongs with Lady Marian - even if they have not done anything about it themselves.'

' How about Will, then? ' Allan persued, causing Will to give his best friend a look of suprise. Allan clearly had no idea what he was talking about - why would he be suggesting his daughter fall ofr his best friend?, ' He's also a handsome lad. He's from a good family, hard worker, would be able to provide for you, has morals - dunno why a person needs then but hey he has them -, and he'd treat you right.'

Ava shook her head,' Father, calm down,' she told him, laying her hand up on his arm.

' I cannot chose who I fall in love with,' Ava said gently, ' Love is all about fate and this is what the fates have decided.'

' How can you know that it is love? ' Allan asked her,' You are young - how would you know? '

Ava cast her mind back to earlier that day. After the way she had felt whilst the gang were at Knighton Hall, she had spoken to Djaq on their way to Locksley Manor. She had told Djaq how she felt - cheeks flushing for no reason, high temperatures for no reason, dizzy and light headed, and that peculiar fluttering in her stomach. Djaq had told her that she was not ill, but most probably in love.

Ava met her father's identical striking blue eyes and told him honestly, ' When he is around, my stomach does this weird flipping thing, when our fingers brush my skin tingles, when he smiles at me I can't help but smile back, when he looks at me I feel so warm inside and when we are together I feel happy to burst. '

Allan looked suprised to hear this, ' Now that sounds serious,' he said softly.

' It is serious,' Ava replied.

Allan sighed, ' Why did you have to fall in love at all ?' he asked her , ' It is not fair. I may be being selfish but you're my daughter and I want you to be my girl, not some other man's.'

' Father, I'll always be your girl. That will never change,' Ava insisted.

' I really cannot talk you out of this whole Much thing, can I? ' he realised.

' No, you cannot. It is the way my heart has chosen.' she told him.

' Will it honestly make you happy? ' Allan asked in concern.

Ava kissed his cheek, ' More than you could even imagine.'

' Very well then. I cannot stand in the way.' Allan told her.

' Thank you,' she grinned, embracing her father tightly.

' Looks like we're going back to the cave,' Allan said, standing up, slinging the Big Black Bag of Gisbourne's Valuables over his shoulder and leading the way forwards.

' Well done for winning him over,' Will muttered to her as he and she walked a few steps behind the older man.

' You would not have gone anyway, no matter what I chose,' Ava told him confidently.

' What makes you so sure? ' Will retorted.

' You could not leave Djaq behind,' Ava grinned.

Will blushed.