My life is of no value to anyone now. I do not even have the friendship of Gisbourne, not that I want it. When I arrived home, my Father stood outside my house, shaking his head and glaring at me. At first I feared he had discovered the Nightwatch-man, and then the Sheriff stepped out of the door. I did not know whether to thank god or curse him. When I entered, I found Gisbourne, looking at the ground in shame. My crime was barely punishable and I did not understand why it was so harsh. We argued for a while and I made no progress talking him into lifting the quarantine, despite my persistence. He walked out my door with a cunning grin, as I begged to know what my punishment was.
I was taken, by force, to the Castle with my hands bound in ropes and wearing nothing but a white garment (I assume the white garment was Guys idea, as I saw him eyeing me off like a piece of meat). Then, the public were brought in to witness my, very public, punishment. I stood before the familiar brown doors as they opened to reveal all the peasants, below. I held my ground and refrained as long as I could from crying. I walked over to the stage and stood there, trying not to think about my hair, as it fell too my feet in curls of dark brown. Guy turned away, as did my father and my only hope is that Robin was not there to witness it. Tears welled in my eyes, but I knew that the Sheriff would delight in nothing more, than to see me cry.
When I returned, I bathed and washed my hair, trying not to weep as I did so and then mounted my horse and set off to Sherwood Forest. Robin greeted me sadly and I wondered what troubled him, but I did not dare to ask. He commented on my hair, of cores, as nothing gets past him. I simply replied "It was a nuisance to wash". Not a complete lie, I must confess. We chatted for a while, not long enough, and then I pointed in the direction of my going. "Always different directions!" I remarked out aloud. We talked for a while more and then I left, on my way too visit Sarah. I found her and Jess in good health and began the journey home. At least someone feels safe and secure.
Sorry this chapter is so short! And I am very sorry about the delay as well! I will post more as soon as I can! These next two chapters go out to Cindy USA! Thank you for understanding how I feel! Please bear with me while I write the next chapter! The more you review the sooner it is posted up! (I do know I over use the exclamation mark in my Authors notes!)