Chapter 6

"Damn that woman!" He cursed to himself. She had pulled a fast one on him racing away on her horse as he was arguing with Will about if this woman, Arianna, was trustworthy or not. Her running away made it appear all to clear to him that she was indeed a spy, but the question now was who was she spying for? Was it The Sheriff, prince John, or someone else entirely? He knew he had to find out and fast, before she could return to her employers and report back what ever information she had gathered, and another question plagued his mind, how long had she been spying on them? He was usually pretty good about noticing people and things out of the ordinary, it was something he had picked up while fighting for King Richard in the holy land, and had saved his life many times. But he couldn't remember ever seeing Arianna before, at least here in England, maybe he had seen her while on his travels? Whatever the case may be he wouldn't find his answers simply by chasing her, he had to catch her and question her.

Robin shook himself from his musings and noticed that he was gaining on Arianna, and took in the look of sheer terror on her face when she turned around in her saddle to see how far behind he was from her. She was a good rider, he had to admit that, almost as good as him. They were both urging their steeds over fallen trees, and around bends, but Robin had the advantage, he knew this forest like the back of his hand. He was there fore able to steer Arianna, more or less, the direction he wanted her to go. The problem with the forest though is that things can change in a second and unless you are playing attention you won't notice that change until it is to late.

Robin watched in horror as Arianna was thrown from her saddle by a low tree branch. She flew through the air and landed on her back hitting her head on some of the rocks that littered the forest floor in this area. As Robin slowed his horse down as he neared her he noticed a pool of blood forming around her head, and that she seemed to be gasping for air. Robin hoped she hadn't broken any bones, just had the wind knocked out of her.

Dismounting he approached the still figure that was just lying there on the ground struggling to breathe, "Arianna, can you hear me?" he asked, bending over her. He took quick survey of her form, he didn't see any bones sticking out, and nothing looked to be broken. He noticed the sheer look of terror in her eyes, and immediately felt guilty, he hadn't meant to scare her, he had just wanted answers.

"Arianna, don't be frightened, no one is going to hurt you. Can you tell me if anything feels broken?" he asked. She didn't respond. 'Not a good sign' he thought. He went to lift her off the ground but as he leaned over her she flinched as if he was going to strike her. "Arianna, don't be afraid, no one is going to hurt you. Just hang in there and we will get you to a healer soon." He noticed that Arianna's eyes were closed now, but her breathing was still labored, she had slipped into the world of unconsciousness. He tore a strip of cloth from his tunic and wrapped it around her head, as a make shift bandage, it would have to do until he could get her to a healer.

Just as he had mounted his horse with the woman in his arms, his comrades, Will and Much rode up behind him. They took one look at Robin and the limp form of Arianna and immediately concern was etched in their faces.

"Master, is she..." Much asked, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"No. But she hit the branch pretty hard and then hit her head on the rocks. I don't know if anything is broken, but her head is bleeding pretty badly, I must get her to a healer. I'll take her to Marian's, you two fetch that beast of hers and bring it to the camp. Tell the others I will be back once she's been taken care of" Robin said to them.

"Robin, please be careful, with todays events so far who knows what else might happen. We cannot afford any casualties, you know that, we are to few in numbers as is against the enemy." Will said

"I understand your concern Will, but if I don't get her to Marian's soon she may die and then we won't know who we are up against. I'll be careful, now go and get her horse before it gets into trouble, in turn getting us into more trouble" Robin replied, as he urged his mount towards Marian's house.

~~~

Marian was out in her garden working on her embroidery, as rather dull and useless thing in her opinion but it did make her father happy. She sighed wishing that she could be out riding or practicing her archery; she wasn't your normal highborn lady who liked to sit at home and be content with idle gossip while sipping on tea. She was happy spending her days pouring over her fathers accounting books, or out riding in the forest with Robin and his men.

Since Marian's mother had died while she was still a young girl, her father had raised her to the best of his knowledge, never being able to quite say "no" to his little girl. So when she had shown an interest in mathematics, politics, and archery he indulged her. Only when she became of age to start courting did he start to wonder if he should have sent her away to a school for young ladies. She was far smarter than most of the village boys, and she did have her love for adventure, something that most of the village girls found repulsive. The only boy who had not cared that she was just as fast and just as smart as him was Robin. They had spent their childhood together, spending as much time with each other as possible. He had taught her how to shoot a bow and arrow, and she in turn helped him with mathematics. All the villagers would give each other knowing glances when the two of them were out with each other, looks that neither Robin nor Marian understood until they were older.

Marian sat there recalling one of her favorite memories with Robin, it seemed just like yesterday that it had happened.

"Marian, come out and play with me" Shouted a young Robin, from beneath a young Marian's window.

"I can't, not today, I told you!" Marian exclaimed while walking over to the window

"Child, hold still! Your father will be here any minute, with the new baroness!" exclaimed the maid in frustration. Honestly this child couldn't hold still for more than three seconds.

"You look like a girl!" young Robin said in disbelief as young Marian appeared in the window.

"That's what I am, you half-wit!" Marian replyed

"Yeha, but today you look it!" Robin threw back at Marain.

"Boy or girl I can still whip you!" She said as she turned around and ran down the stairs to chase after Robin. Marian laughed out loud as she remembered that she had indeed 'whipped' poor Robin. She had thrown him the mud and he had been covered head to toe with only his eyes showing, and she had ruined the brand new dress that was made for her to wear so she would look like a little lady for her father new wife.

"Papa! Your back, I'm so glad you've returned, I've missed you dearly." Marian had shouted as she ran towards her father. Her father, bless his heart, didn't seem to care that she was covered in mud, leaves and twigs, just as he had left her.

"Marian! I had hoped to present a little lady, but look at you exactly the way I left you. What happened?" He asked her

"Robin challenged me, he said that because I was dressed like a girl I couldn't whip him. So I slaughtered him!" She replied.

Robin came up the drive dragging his feet and looking ashamed and miserable, but she saw the mirth in her father's eyes, and the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth.*

Marian was broken from her train of thought when she thought she heard Robins whistle. Since they could not be seen with each other they had come up with the idea that he would whistle like that of their native Robin Red Brest, and she a Blue Tit*, when Robin was near her house, or near her and needed to speak with her. They had come up with this idea shortly after Robin had come back from the holy land only to be labeled as an outlaw and therefore unable to meet his love in plain sight.

She paused, not sure if she heard the call correctly, but there it was again. She looked around her to make sure no one was around and headed off in the direction of the woods that were behind her house. As she neared the woods she let out the call of the Blue Tit again and waited for the reply of the Robin. What seemed like minutes passed and then she heard someone approaching from up ahead just beyond a small cluster of ash trees. She held her breath, it was only her love Robin approaching. She ran up to him and threw her arms around him, oh how she had missed him. He returned her embrace but only slightly, and that concerned her.

"Robin, what is it, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Marian I need to ask you a favor, there is a young woman that I have with me, she is badly injured and needs a healer. With me being the outlaw I am I can't exactly walk into town and take her to the healer. I need her to stay someplace safe, and away from prying eyes, I couldn't think of a better place than here. Can you take her in, until she is healed? I will take her back to camp after she is healed, but her wounds concern me and I don't want to risk her dying of complications because I wasn't able to get her the proper care." He explained rather hurriedly.

"Robin! This is a big risk; you do know that Gisborne has been visiting me almost daily? What if he see's her, what am I to say to him?" She countered

"Tell him you found her like this on the side of the road to the village. It's believable, in more ways than one. Please Marian, I can't keep her in the camp, not yet. I'll reimburse you for the healer, I promise!" He begged her, giving her his best sad face.

"Alright fine. But you'll owe me big time. Now we just need to figure out how to get the two of you inside the house with out being seen, or recognized."

1. Quote from Ever after, I thought it fit perfectly with this version of Robin and Marian.

2. Blue Tit is a bird that is found in England. I did my homework on this one and thought that it would be a fitting bird for Marian. They do reside in the woods, preferring to nest in holes in the oaks, or mixed woodlands. I got the information via googling Blue Tit and clicked on the wikipedia link

Please R&R I am really trying to write at least a single chapter a day :)