…Fairy Tale Land…
"Mommy, I'm hungry," said the two year old boy rubbing his aching belly. Marian's face twisted in anguish, feeling helpless as she picked up her starving son. She kissed her son as tears fell down her face. Love was the only thing that she could provide her son now. She knew that times were getting tough in The Forbidden Forest, but she was desperate. Marian stood there holding her son, agonizing over her maternal pain, "I know, my love. I'm so sorry…"
She could hear the men strategizing their next heist outside her camp. Enough is enough, she said to herself, wiping the tears from her face. She refused to stand by and do nothing. This was the last straw. She had to do something. Sitting around camp feeling helpless made her feel restless, and it was affecting their family's well being. Marian looked around the room and sat Roland down on the ground. She took her last good pillow from where she and Robin slept and ripped it open. Goose feathers escaped from the torn opening and she showed them to Roland, "Roland, stay here and find all the long feathers for daddy's arrows. Mommy's going to find you something."
Marian exited the flaps to her family's tent and approached the ring of men that encompassed the campfire. She could see drawings made in the dirt; the blueprints of the next castle to steal from. She searched the sea of faces, looking for the one she wanted. While she looked she couldn't help but overhear the tossing of words they were exchanging to one another.
"No! We need someone slender."
"I'm thin!"
"We can't wait another year for you to be the right weight to pull this off."
"Well food is running low, so it might be shorter than you think."
"Marian!"
Marian heard the voice of the father to her child. Robin got up from where he sat and came over to Marian. "Is everything alright? What's wrong?" he asked, his brows furrowed with concern. He could tell that she had been crying recently.
"No. Our son is starving and I'm the worst mother in the world for not having anything to give him."
"You are not the worst mother in the world—"
"-But I am. I want to be involved on this next one," she said with determination, looking over at the rest of the men.
"You want to join our next mission?" he asked looking at her face for clarification. But when he saw that she was serious, he changed his tone to adamancy. "No! Absolutely not. I will not allow it."
"Robin, if this means helping our family and helping others, I will not stand by and do nothing."
"Marian, the last time we did this, people got hurt. If something happened to you, I could never forgive myself."
"Well then go tell your son why he has to go hungry tonight. While you and your men go off gallivanting, do you even know what it's like to tell your son night after night that there's nothing even to nibble on?"
Robin always hated the topic of food. He could push himself to the limits and survive on very little, but he couldn't possibly ask for his own family to do the same. They deserved more and they deserved better. Now that he had to think of his family's immediate needs, the threshold for tolerating the pain of starvation became more pressing and the pressure to produce more outstanding. It became a recent topic that inevitably led to their arguing.
"Alright," he consented. He needed her and she needed him. They all needed to work together if this next larceny were to be successful.
"Thank y—"
"But just so you know," he said stopping her before she entered the group, "I don't feel right about this."
"I understand. I am capable, Robin. I'm not worthless."
"I know. You're not worthless… you're priceless. That's why I'm already regretting this."
… …
All Marian needed to do was make it to Queen Regina's castle and fit through the small gap on the south side of the prison allowing her access beyond the gate. Once she got through, she would meet Robin and the others by the drawbridge to raise the gates. The rest of the crew would then enter the castle and free the prisoners while she and Robin would ransack the treasury, and if time, the kitchens.
A few of their own men have scouted the area a couple of days ago discovering this gap as well as the Queen's itinerary. Timing was crucial because they had only one chance to act and it was while the Queen was on her constitutional hunt for the evasive and notorious Snow White.
The Queen typically left her estate in the afternoon so the group postulated that if they left around that same time their pilfering would go easily unnoticed. That was their mission and that was why Marian found herself alone on the path to the castle. In their experience, it is a lot easier to coordinate and hide one person than it was to hide multiple people in a hasty moment, and her involvement in the plan required her to be solo.
Marian walked expediently through the forest with ease. She knew each pathway to all the castles in the region like they were a map on the back of her hand. Part of the ease was the experience of the forest she learned through Robin. One of the few perks of living in a castle that had imprisoned her was learning the element of grace, especially when she was trying to avoid the Sheriff. So she would practice and polish the art of tip-toeing, making as little noise as possible around the castle.
So it surprised Marian when she heard branches breaking and the stomping of human footsteps running toward her direction. She whistled in the air alerting and calling the stranger if it was a member of her group. Typically the member would echo the same three pitches back, but when the whistling did not return she found herself alarmed. Not only was this person a stranger, but this person was invading Sherwood Forest! Her home was taking on an uninvited guest. And since it remained undetermined whether the stranger was friend or foe, it drew deep concern for the safety of her friends and family. She searched for the closest tree to climb to evade whoever it was that was coming to her. She looked everywhere around her, but no tree around her was climbable. She had to seek cover behind a tree. She found one just large enough to engulf her body and she ran towards it and hid just on the opposite side of the stranger.
Marian panicked as she searched for anything on her bodice that she could use to defend herself when suddenly she remembered the knife she kept by her boot. She lifted her skirt slightly and plucked the knife from the boot's casing, leaning back against the bark of the large tree. She felt better with the weapon in hand, but then another panic brewed within her. This stranger is entering her family's territory. This person is on the outskirts of their land and that made her their family's last line of defense. She felt compelled to defend her people. She took in a deep breath and braved the encounter with the stranger.
"Halt!" Marian called out to the stranger from around the tree. The green-hooded stranger was startled by Marian's call and in response drew out a bow and arrow pointing it at her. Marian held the knife with authority unwavering in her hand and pointed it at the outsider. "You are entering treacherous forest. If you enter any further, you will be ransacked and left for dead. Speak your name so that we may become acquainted and you may possibly leave in peace."
The hooded stranger lowered its lethal aim and pulled back it's hood to reveal… a woman! "My name is Snow White and I wish you no ill will."
"Snow White?"
"Yes. The Queen is after me. I'm afraid she's very close by. If we hurry now, we may avoid her altogether."
As tempting and convenient Snow's offer was, Marian did have her family to think of. If the Queen was as ruthless and powerful as the rumors suggested, she didn't want to have her anywhere near Sherwood forest. The Queen had to be redirected. But how? The Queen needed a distraction.
"No! You go on ahead. You'll come across a small village in the middle of Sherwood. You can find refuge there. I've got to divert the Queen's direction away from this place. No one can know of our encampment."
"Thank you. I don't know how I can ever repay you," Snow gratefully replied.
"Pay it forward and back in kindness, and tell my family… I love them."
"Wait! What's your name?" Snow called back.
"Marian."
Snow gave a grateful nod and pulled her hood back on over her head. Then she immediately placed the arrow back in its holster, slung the bow over her head and continued running down the path that Marian had suggested. It was only a few minutes later when she heard the soft galloping of horses coming closer to her location. The horses stopped in front of her and the Evil Queen flung open her carriage door. The sight was intimidating. The Queen looked up and immediately saw Marian with eyes like a ravenous shark, her gaze never wavering as she gracefully stepped out of the carriage. The Queen stuck out like a sore thumb wearing dark sinister garb that paled her guards' already black uniforms. Regina strutted from her personal coach toward Marian with confidence. It was the kind of cocky pretense that reminded Marian of how she had to carry herself, always pretending to be better than somebody else during her time in the castle. With royalty, Marian discovered, it all came down to body language using gestures and words. A lifestyle and role she wished to never be part of ever again.
"Where is Snow White?" demanded the Evil Queen using a silky poisonous voice. Marian quickly hid her blade.
"Who?" Marian lied.
"The bandit, Snow White, she was passing through here."
"I know of no such person."
"You're lying."
"If I was lying, then why would I tell you that I saw a hooded figure running in that direction?" said Marian pointing in the opposite direction of her home in Sherwood Forest.
"You're lying to me again! Snow White was here. Guards!" said Regina while her guards immediately dismounted from the horses. "Seize that woman and arrest her for aiding and concealing a known fugitive."
Marian couldn't out-run the guards that were already right next to her. Marian struggled to escape but it was futile. The blade shook loose from the garments she hastily tried to hide it in and it fell to the ground rendering her completely defenseless. The guards quickly placed Marian in the celled carriage meant for Snow White that trailed the tail end of the Queen's caravan. "She was here! She could be anywhere by now! Gah!" exclaimed the Queen out of frustration. She approached Marian who sat in the celled carriage. "Death is the punishment for anyone hiding Snow White. Tell me where she is and you shall live!" Regina demanded.
Marian looked at her in defiance and said nothing. She wasn't going to give her the pleasure of knowing anything, especially if that involved her continuing on into the woods and thus giving up the location of her friends and family. "Fine," Regina growled, "Let us make a tour of the other villages in this area and make an example of you."
Got some plotting done on the weekend. Thank you for your patience! And thank you to Montreat11, Grace5231973, BreathingintheSun, persephonie025 for your reviews! Sorry I haven't replied immediately. I will try and do so tomorrow. You all are awesome!