Isabella, beautifully attired in a sumptuous dressing gown and her new emerald earrings, was happily engaged in two of her favorite pastimes. Sitting before her mirror, she was coolly admiring her reflection as one of her ladies combed her hair, while busily plotting the glorious demise of Robin of Locksley and his goodie goodie wife.
Her evilly erotic thought of slowly licking the cleft in Robin's chin, then lustfully kissing him goodbye forever while Marian was forced to watch, was interrupted by another of her ladies nervously announcing, "Pardon me, Your Majesty, but the chancellor's wife is outside the door of your entry chamber, insisting you'd sent for her."
"Send her away," Isabella ordered. Changing her mind, she amended, "No, wait! Admit her, and leave us. I wish to have a word in private with Mistress Fitzhugh."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
An uncomfortable, but "jewel" bedecked Annora was ceremonially ushered in, and made even more nervous when all the queen's ladies departed.
Ignorant of proper protocol, Annora wasn't sure what to say or do, but she was curious about the queen's chambers. Looking eagerly about, her eyes dismissed the elegant but coveted the ostentatious furnishings and possessions they spied.
"How good of you to come," Isabella slyly commented, her tone dripping with honey. Noticing the obviously fake jewelery, she continued, trying to keep her voice from sounding too mocking, "And how lovely you look! What marvellous jewels, and so many, for such an early hour."
"They were a gift," Annora breathed, treading on air at the thought that Robin Hood truly loved her.
Isabella couldn't hide her sneer, so like her brother Guy's. "Your husband is certainly generous. Mine is, as well! Just see the earrings His Majesty gave me, straight off the earlobes of Lady Locksley! I don't usually wear emeralds. Blood red rubies are my favorite, but these are quite nice, don't you agree?"
Unbeknownst to either woman, their conversation was being listened to through the door by the highly attuned ears of Robin of Locksley, while his good friend Allan a Dale stood guard. Both men wore the disguises of castle guards.
"They're pretty," Annora agreed, still nervous, for the queen reminded her of a prowling cat, hunting its prey. "But they would be, since they came from the same jeweler as mine. After all, He bought them."
No longer even trying to hide her sneer, Isabella stared silently at the chancellor's foolish young wife. "What are you saying, girl?" she asked, after recovering from her surprise.
"Robin bought them. All of them. And he...he...never mind."
"It's good we're such friends, that I don't insist you address me correctly, as 'Your Majesty,' " Isabella continued, with sarcasm.
Outside the door, Robin stiffened, second guessing his plan. He hadn't meant to thrust Annora into danger. "What have I done?" he whispered to himself, wishing he'd done as Allan had suggested, and merely broken into Isabella's rooms to steal back Marian's earrings. But it was too late for regrets. If anything happened, he'd just have to make it right.
Robin could picture Isabella eyeing and circling Annora, as she spoke her next words. "Tell me, my dear, did your husband buy you those jewels, because of your brutal ordeal with Locksley? You shouldn't have dropped the charges against him so readily, despite the Queen Mother's ill timed visit. Locksley needs to pay, you know, for what he did to you."
"It was all a terrible mistake!" Annora hastened to assure the queen. "He didn't rape me. He was always a perfect gentleman!"
"Perfect, yes," Isabella agreed. "Perfect in all the best, and worst ways! He is quite the speciman, I'll agree. And I can see that you, too, appreciate his...qualities. Tell me, my dear, have you ever imagined how it would be to feel all that energy and virility between your thighs?"
Enjoying Annora's gasp and obvious embarrassment, Isabella continued. "I felt it, one marvellously sunny afternoon, in a meadow. The trouble, of course, came afterward, with his smoted conscience. Oh, Robin was so kind, and so regretful, and what could I do but take drastic measures, just to feel that energy again? Just like me, you wish he had raped you, don't you? Don't cringe! We're both women. I know."
Outside in the corridor, Robin cringed, just as Annora must have done within. Because of Isabella's treachery, he hated his plan now, wishing he'd never come up with it. The only thing he was thankful for, was that Marian wasn't here, listening to Isabella's evil words. Opening his eyes again, he blinked rapidly three or four times, bowled over by one of the biggest surprises of his life.
Marian was here. Dressed as the Nightwatchman, in a pair of his trousers that were a terrible fit, she stood not five feet from him in the hallway, her beautiful eyes unmistakable behind her mask, staring surprisedly into his startled ones.