He languished in blissful dreams. Dreams of adventure. Sultry nights with his beautiful maid. Making merry with his men. He buried his face closer to her cheek and breathed in the lily and heather scent of Meridwyn's hair. Just then, a noise woke him. He bolted up from the bed. A page was standing in his private chambers. Meridwyn sat up and held the bed linens closer about her to shield her naked breasts.

"What in God's nightgown do you want? This better have extreme importance to cause your abrupt intrusion!" he barked as he got out of bed and threw on his robe.

"Yes sir, it is important. I was instructed by the Sheriff to convey he requests your presence in the Council Quarters immediately, Sir Gisborne."

"Now? What could possibly be so…" then he knew.

"He asked me to stress it's high priority. Prepare for a journey. Bring your things with you to the Council Quarters thirty minutes from hence."

He sat on the bed after the page had left. Meridwyn reached over to him and held his face.

"Must you leave?"

Guy held her hand and looked at her. "Yes my love. I think I know what this is about. It concerns a maid of Nottingham County, but I'm afraid I cannot divulge any more of the matter." He caressed her hair. "I must go, but I will return."

Everyone assembled, the Scribe called their attention to his master. Then the Sheriff stood and spoke.

"Men, I've called you to this meeting now because time is of the essence. Not only have I learned the whereabouts a Nottingham maid is being held, but her captor is the man we've been seeking in the matter of the disappearances of the twenty seven maids in this and two other counties. You already know of those cases. So you understand the importance."

"You have a suspect in mind, cousin?" inquired Guy.

"All I know is where he is, that he holds the maid of Nottingham captive, and that he is responsible in the abduction and murders of the missing maids."

"God's Nightgown!" exclaimed Duke Farnsworth. The Sheriff's lead investigator knew this concerned Lady Rhiannon, but he kept it to himself. Knowing the Sheriff had only told he and Guy about the matter. He met eyes with the Sheriff. The Sheriff nodded in affirmation of his suspicion.

Officer Curran spoke.

"How long will we be gone, my Lord Sheriff? Will we be traveling far?"

"Yes. It's a great distance indeed, James. We must venture to the north. It will take at least a fortnight to get there, assuming we can actually locate the abandoned castle easily. Bring plenty of containers for water. For you, and your horses." He said as he looked around the table to the rest assembled.

"When do we depart, my Lord?" Guy asked.

"In one hour. We'll meet back at the gate. I have to pay a visit first."

In the early morning he ventured to Lady Rhiannnon's home. He had promised her lady Rebeccah when he knew anything he would speak to her. He could have sent anyone to do it for him but for once he chose to deal with the matter in person. He approached the door. He could see Rebeccah was already awake by the light shining though the windows. The door opened. It was clear she was taken by surprise by his unexpected visit.

"My Lord! Have you news of my lady? Please come in." she opened the door wide and beckoned inside. He followed. How to tell her tactfully?

"My lady Rebeccah, I came to inform you lady Rhiannon is alive. I believe this to be true, but my men and I must depart. We need to travel a distance to get to her."

"Is she in danger, my Lord?"

"Yes, my lady, she is. That's why I must leave soon. I will do my best to find her, you know that don't you?"

"Yes my Lord, I know you will. What can I do?"

"Keep minding her home. And….whatever it is that you people do… pray?"

"I have been my Lord. Maybe you should too. It wouldn't hurt." She replied in a slightly patronizing tone.

Unfazed by this, the Sheriff didn't miss a beat.

"I've always found it best to occupy myself in times of crisis my lady, rather than sitting idle talking to a God who does not listen."

Her jaw dropped. He was spouting heresy! But she knew he loved her lady. She tried to conceal her shock. It didn't matter. He wasn't watching her. He was already near the door.

"Yes, my lady. You pray." He said turning around to face her. "And I'll go find her and return her to us both." And in a moment he was gone.

Days continued to pass. Autumn turned to winter, and now the air was warmer. She could smell the faint hint of heather wafting through the barred windows of her prison. She was miserable. Each day she laboured with the increasing weight of her belly, the incredible fatigue that mysteriously worsened over time. Rhiannon put it all together in her mind quite some time ago. She had remembered how Rebeccah felt when she was with child. Many years ago, when Rebeccah's husband was still living. There was a child. The child died in her cradle only a few months old. Rebeccah became widowed a year after that. Rhiannon remembered though. She recalled being curious because she had no mother to speak with her about such things. Rebeccah never revealed much, but Rhiannon got enough information then to figure out she bore the Sheriff's child now. She had no idea what her dark prince would think of the situation. Did it even matter? She and the child would never see him again. She had no idea where she was, but from the restricted view from her window she knew she was no where near Nottingham Castle, even Nottingham County! She would have to raise this child alone. That is, if she and the child could escape from here. With very little but the clothes on her back, and milk to offer the baby, she knew that there was a greater chance they would both die, then the fairytale family reunion that she would prefer.

There was no use anymore holding on to the fantasy of seeing her lover again. She had a remote chance of making that happen by escaping on her own. With a baby to care for, in the weakened state she was in, she knew it could not be. She would have to find a way to plan her escape before the baby arrived. There was no other way this would work. As her belly became visible, eventually even her captor became disinterested in her. For the last several weeks, she hadn't seen him. The only contact was when he wordlessly brought her food. She recalled the day he confronted her.

"A baby is it wench?" he hissed as he pointed to her belly, and slapped her across the head knocking her falling. She only looked up at the hooded figure with a determined resolve.

"You little whore!" he whispered as he bent down to her. "You're all alike. Didn't see a ring on your finger the night I grabbed you. And look at you now!" he laughed. "Nobody is going to help you now. Even your lover won't help you!" he spat. Then his tone changed cadence to that menacing whisper that haunted her dreams.

" So…. what to do with the two of you? You are no use to me. The child is another matter. But YOU wench!" he said as he kicked her "…are nothing but a useless whore. I can use your child, but don't expect to live much longer after it is birthed from your body!" he punctuated this by closing his ugly hand around her exposed throat, but then released it. Just enough to leave the faint hint of the threat. And with that he left, never to speak to her again.

Yes, she needed to get out of here. But how? She couldn't bring herself to think about how she would manage to birth a child with no midwife in attendance. That thought was too overwhelming to consider. She needed to focus in steps. Step one – get out of this prison. Step two – figure out where you are. Step three – start back to Nottingham. Step four – go through the birth of the the baby when the time came, but not until after the first three steps. Thus, she never considered that the Sheriff's baby may be born anywhere besides back at home, or more than likely in a field somewhere between wherever she was and home. She never once considered what the plan would be, what needs take shape if the worst possible situation happened. If she went into labour while held captive in this god – forsaken prison! Everything around her already seemed hopeless. It was a good thing the thought never occurred to her. For surely she would've given up entirely, if she stopped to consider the possibility for just a moment.

There was movement. Lately, there were times it took her breath away. She stood to gaze out the window from her darkened cell. The sunlight beamed through lighting her face as if to taunt her. In the cold dark room, she rubbed the small of her back. It was coming in waves, this odd aching sensation. Sometimes the aching would spread to her hips and upper thighs. She noticed this since dawn. She needed to get comfortable.

She curled up on the bed and wistfully though of the Sheriff. Even after all this time, his face was indelibly imprinted in her mind. Anytime she felt weakened and hopeless, she held onto this thought, the memory of him, and that one beautiful night. She prayed for the possibility that even if she never saw his face again in this life, her child could at least be saved and given a father. She knew her time was drawing to a close. She wished with all her heart that her dark prince, the Sheriff of Nottingham, would not only know he had a child, but would raise the child for them in her absence. She smiled and closed her eyes. She was tired. She knew she'd be with him again. In dreams.