Chapter 2: Wherein Gisburne thinks he is waking, but he does not know where he is

For an instant, Gisburne believed he had drowned in the river and had to fight his way back to the surface where there was light and, above all, air. The way was long and draining, and he felt weaker than ever before in his life. Therefore, it was not surprising that it seemed like an eternity before he was finally able to open his eyes.

But he closed them straight away, for what he had come to see was completely unfamiliar to him. Even more, it frightened him, since he could not immediately recall what had occurred before he fell asleep. Then, all at once, the idea came to him that he had not slept at all, but had passed out, remembering only that he had collapsed onto his bed in his chamber, utterly drunk.

Then, however, everything returned to him with a terrifying suddenness, especially the fact that he was in Hell. Nevertheless, he still lacked the strength to react to this realization. He was not even able to get upset about it. But he struggled to open his eyes once again to look around. Even if he could not change his situation, at least he wanted to know what was going on around him. The fact that his situation plunged him into confusion did not alter anything.

Once again he found himself lying on his back, on a narrow and hard cot, but he was no longer within one of those ... things, but instead in a chamber with white walls. Of course, it was not empty, but what he was looking at did not make any sense to him at that moment. Moreover, white was not a color he would have associated with Hell.

When he tried to sit up tentatively, he realized that he was no longer tied down. Still, he did not manage to get into a sitting position, which was due to a hand that quite unexpectedly pushed him back down onto the cot, but without causing him any pain. At the same time, he was addressed. "Wait a moment longer, until your body gets used to the after-effects of the sedative." Once again the knight realized that he was having trouble understanding the other man's words, partly as they seemed to reach him only with a certain delay. And as for their meaning, this escaped him once again as well.

"However, I have some questions too," the other one already carried on. This time Gisburne had - oddly enough - no problem to hear the words, but also he did not comprehend what they meant.

The knight nodded to indicate that he had listened and thereupon the other one squeezed his shoulder briefly, as in this way he wanted to give him a confirmation.

"I need a name," he then demanded further and the knight responded without giving it any more thought.

"Gisburne."

"Gisburne? Nothing more?"

"Sir Guy of Gisburne," the knight elaborated.

"Sir Guy of Gisburne? Like the one linked to ..." The other one fell silent. Whatever the man - or devil - had wanted to say, it was not voiced after all. Probably it had not been of any importance.

"OK, let's stick with Gisburne. Do you know where you are, Gisburne?" the knight was instead being asked.

"In Hell." There was no doubt about that for him.

"In Hell? That's interesting. Where did you get that idea?"

"Anyone with eyes in his head can see that." Did the other one consider him to be an idiot?

"Yes, that's true, indeed," the man admitted, which gave Sir Guy hope that the matter would finally be closed. But then another question came up. "How did you get in Hell?"

"What do you think?," snapped the knight, sensing at that moment that this unexplainable apathy was - albeit slowly - fading from him. "I died without having confessed my sins. What I had to do for the Sheriff then got me to here." There was no way he was going to reveal that there was more to it, even if he had to assume that surely a devil must know everything that concerned him. Probably the questions were only posed to torment him.

"Ah ... I see." The other paused for a moment, stepping around the cot in the process, thus allowing Gisburne to finally get a look at him. But what he saw was actually somewhat disappointing, for the other made quite an ordinary impression and did not seem like the devil the knight had imagined. But that was certainly intentional.

The other one was not particularly tall, his short-cropped hair was already gray, and he was gazing at the knight out of two intelligent brown eyes that sat in a narrow face. But to Gisburne, the most striking feature of him was the white tunic he wore - which went down to his knee - for he had not seen anything like this before. The brown pants that were revealed underneath, as well as the brown shoes, on the other hand, were nothing special.

"You may sit up now. The aftereffects should have mostly faded away," the man went on. Again, only half of the words became clear to Gisburne, but nevertheless he had understood that he was allowed to sit up, which he did immediately. And in doing so, he discovered that he had no trouble whatsoever with that.

"I'm Doctor Adams, by the way," the other then introduced himself. "I'm going to examine you and then give my verdict on how to proceed with you. But one thing at a time. First you'll get something to drink and then I would suggest a hot bath, followed by something to eat and a good night's rest. Then tomorrow morning you will come to me and together we will work out how long you will have to stay with us, Gisburne." He had a very friendly voice, but he also sounded firm. Besides, he had not given the knight any chance to comment on his words yet either.

However, Gisburne had also remained silent for the reason that he first had to consider the words of the other one. Drinking, bathing, eating and sleeping did not sound so bad for a stay in Hell, but could he really believe so? And just what was the other trying to imply, namely that they would have to figure out how long he would have to stay here. Could this signify that there was still a chance for him to get out? Hope sprang up in Gisburne, but he immediately quelled it.

While the man stepped away from him, probably to get something from a table that stood against one of the walls - and which was as white as the wall, which explains why it had not immediately caught Gisburne's eye - the knight used the time to have a look at himself, for he wanted to attempt figuring out how he was doing. He had a vague recollection of having been stabbed two times, but nothing of this was evident. Still, he was a bit startled by the fact that he was wearing nothing more than a white shirt without sleeves, which was so short that it only went up to his thighs. This served as his only clothing.

"Where is my tunic?" he promptly demanded to know.

"In the laundry. You can have it back afterwards, but as long as you're here, you can't wear your clothes. We'll provide you with something."

The knight breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that he would get his tunic back. It was nothing special, but at the moment it was the only part of his life he had left.

In the meantime, the other man had returned to him, but only to thrust a mug into his hand, the contents of which were apparently quite hot, for steam was still rising from it.

"Just wait a moment until the infusion has cooled down a bit. I hope you like the taste. I've also sweetened it for your benefit."

As before, the knight had once again hardly understood anything of what was said, but he had also determined that the contents of the mug were still too hot to drink, so for now he was content to hold it in his hands and warm himself on it, for it was somewhat chilly in the chamber as it was, and the shirt could not offer him much warmth.

He enjoyed not only the heat, but also the silence, for the time the other one refrained from speaking further and eventually it was possible for him to sip the beverage. Before he did so, however, first he inhaled its fragrance, in the process realizing that it was not alcoholic. Only then did he take a cautious sip. He was not mistaken about the lack of liquor, but that was not the reason why he grimaced in disgust and handed the mug back to the man who had been keeping a close eye on him during the entire time.

"What about it?" he wanted to know while he accepted the mug back.

"Much too sweet!" the knight replied, shuddering.

"Too sweet?" the other one repeated and now sipped the beverage as well, only to frown afterwards. "If you say so...", he merely remarked then, going back to the table, where he handled whatever again before handing him the mug anew.

"Here, it's not so sweet anymore. And not so hot, either. Taste it," he urged Gisburne.

Tentatively the knight took another sip, and then realized with relief that this time there was no excessive sweetness which could cause him nausea. Only now was he able to notice that the beverage tasted of apples, which reminded him immediately of how he used to give those fruits to Fury. For a moment he was unable to continue drinking, but then his thirst made itself felt and therefore he emptied the mug rather quickly.

"That was better," he then stated, surprising himself by saying anything at all. "Too much honey causes me nausea."

"It wasn't honey," the other one explained to him, then added casually; "Just sugar."

Just sugar? Gisburne was amazed at how little regard the other one paid to something as expensive as sugar. Until it occurred to him that he should not assume that this also applied in Hell.

"I'll take you to your bath now," the other went on, not paying any attention to the knight's reaction. "And afterwards to your room, where you will get something to eat. Then, you should sleep."

Gisburne did not really feel comfortable with the idea that he should make his way - as he was - from one chamber to another, whereby he would certainly encounter other persons. On the one hand, however, he was aware that he would not be allowed to remain in this chamber, on the other hand, it had not escaped his notice that the other one – be he man or devil - who called himself Doctor Adams, spoke with the same authority as the Sheriff was wont to do. Yet, it was not for this reasons that the knight hesitated to go on the attack. This was only due to the fact that he now could also remember that he had observed certain things on the way in.

Until a few moments ago, he had assumed that he had been brought in here without having come to his senses, but now he knew that this was not true. He had even come here walking on his own feet, but at that time he had not been the least bit interested in what was happening to him and had just done what he had been told without thinking about it. But he had noticed that this building - whatever it may be - was no less protected than the castle in Nottingham. At least there were as many soldiers standing guard here as there, at least Gisburne assumed that they were soldiers. And if this was indeed the case, then he would have no chance of escaping. At least not as long as he did not know more about this place. Therefore, it was probably better if he waited and observed first, even if it was hard for him to be patient.

While he followed the other man out into a hallway with walls as white as those of the chamber in which they had just been, he attempted to survey his surroundings as inconspicuously as possible. At no moment did it occur to him how absurd it was to escape from this building when he was sure he was in Hell. He had simply the strong urge to escape from this prison, no matter how friendly the people here pretended to be.

It did not take long for the two of them to reach the chamber that was likely their destination. When the other one opened the door, another white room was revealed beyond it, but the knight could not do much with it. The only thing he could make out was a bath tub, although it looked different from what Gisburne was used to. First of all, it was not made of wood, and then it seemed to have been built in. The knight looked around for the servants who would bring the hot water, but there was no sign of them yet. There was also no water in the tub, which Gisburne was not very pleased about, since this meant that he would have to wait quite a while before he could get into the water. He had no wish to wait, when he was forced to bathe on two consecutive days. Since this was Hell, he would expect that it was known that he had already done something like this the previous day.

"I don't mean to offend you, Gisburne," the other one began, while he was busy with some metal objects that had been embedded in the wall above the tub, the purpose of which was not apparent to the knight. "But you do reek rather sternly, and we don't tolerate anything like that here."

Had the other one just told him that he was stinking? "I took a bath only yesterday," he replied indignantly, for he felt this remark to be an insolence.

"It's probably just because you were sleeping in that alley," the other tried to somewhat soften what he had uttered, but his words only infuriated Gisburne more.

"I didn't sleep there," he blurted out with his voice raised. "I was lying in my bed, I died there, and only then I ended up in the alley." Perhaps he would have added more, but the sound of water flowing into the tub deterred him, for this came as a surprise to him. Looking more closely now, he realized that it was coming from those metal … things stuck in the wall. It occurred to the knight that they were probably hollow, but he could still not understand where the water was coming from.

"Sorcery," he exclaimed, crossing himself involuntarily while taking several steps back.

The other man turned his attentive gaze on him, while behind his back the tub was being filled with water, without the effort of a servant.

"Have you never seen a bathtub being filled?" he wanted to know then.

"This is sorcery," the knight repeated, unsettled by what was going on.

"No, it's just technology. You can get into the water without any worries, it won't do you any harm. Just see if it's warm enough."

Gisburne did not really want to do anything like this, but again he reminded himself of the soldiers he had seen at the entrance to this place. It probably would not be difficult for this Doctor Adams to call some of them in here and then force him into the water. He certainly did not want to be humiliated in this manner.

Therefore, he overcame his fear and stepped once again closer to the tub. Even without having to put his hand into the water, he could sense how warm it was. Maybe it would not be a bad idea to get in after all, he thought to himself, and then dared to check with his hand whether the temperature would suit him. He nodded spontaneously.

"Can I now leave you alone for a while?" the other wanted to know then, and Gisburne nodded once again, for after all he had weathered quite different spells in the past.

"On the stool here are towels and clothing. Over there is the soap and the shampoo. Unfortunately, I can't grant you too much time to bathe or the food will get cold. I'll be back to pick you up in 30 minutes." At the last words, the man pointed to some kind of board on the wall with four numbers on it, but Gisburne had no idea what he was trying to tell him. He was not going to show his ignorance by asking, however. So, he nodded once again and then waited until the man had left the room. Only then did he pull the shirt over his head, let it fall to the floor and then climbed into the warm water - after a moment's hesitation.

Even though the other had spoken of not giving him much time, still he just stayed in the water for the moment, feeling like he needed that. Only when he was a little better - if he should call his state so, since after all he was in Hell - he did look around for the soap that had been mentioned, for he did not want to be again told that he would reek. However, for the life of him, he could not spot it, for there were only two slim vessels on the wide flat rim of the bath tub. Not wanting to rule out that the man had meant these, Gisburne looked at them more closely. It was a mystery to him what they could be made of. But also, what they contained, for they were tightly closed. It was then pure coincidence that he discovered how the latch could be turned and opened. But even that did not help him in his search for the soap, since both vessels contained a viscous substance he was not familiar with. And if one of them should be the one he was looking for, he was not able to figure out the right one. After a moment's thought, he decided on the one that he liked better in terms of fragrance. Apart from that, he had not grasped what the other had been talking about besides the soap.

Again, he reminded himself that the man was not going to give him much time and, not wanting to be surprised by him while in the water, he hurried to clean his body, as well as his hair, removing the dirt and the stench. It was with some regret that he got out of the water as it was still pleasantly warm. However, it had already taken on a somewhat gray hue. Should he have been so filthy after all?

Gisburne picked up one of the towels and was amazed at how soft it was. And it was large, too. It was a pleasure to rub himself dry with it. Only then did he glance at the clothes that had been laid out for him, consisting of gray pants and a shirt with long sleeves that was also gray. The two pieces felt as soft as the towels. Oddly, he could not detect any lacing on them and he wondered how they should remain where they belonged. Then he noticed that there was another piece of clothing lying on the stool, but he could do nothing with it. It was not particularly large and had three holes in it, a large one and two smaller ones opposite the large one. After turning it back and forth in his hands a few times – wondering if it was a kind of breeches - but still not being sure what it was supposed to be, he put it away and instead slipped on the pants and the shirt. He was amazed at how tightly those fit to his body and that the pieces did not slip. But that did not change the fact that he felt odd wearing them, although at the same time realizing he would have to put up with this for now. He just hoped at that moment that the man would keep his word and he could get his tunic back.

In the end, he had no choice but to wait, and since he felt uncomfortable just standing around in the chamber, he took a seat on the low stool finally, even though it was not particularly suitable. There the other one found him when returning, casting immediately an appraising glance at the knight. However, he was apparently content with what he saw, for he allowed a smile to emerge on his face. Before leading Gisburne out of the room, though, he gazed at the bath tub, then frowned, looked once more at the knight, and went to work on something Gisburne could not quite make out. But it caused the water from the tub to go somewhere, creating a gurgling sound by that. The knight, who had however not been able to escape the fact that he did not understand many of the things in this place, did not want to give it any further thought. He simply hoped that everything would eventually make sense. If not, there was nothing he could do about it. After all, this was Hell, and as he saw it, he was doing far too well here anyway. And that did not make sense either.

The man - or devil - who called himself Doctor Adams, took another quick look at the towels and the one piece of clothing that had simply been thrown on the floor by Gisburne - causing the other to frown once again, though - before actually turning his attention to the knight.

"I will take you to your room now. Dinner will be waiting there. After that, I advise you to get some sleep. Tomorrow your assessment will be done and I will inform you how long you have to stay with us probably."

Once again his words were not conducive to explaining to the knight what was actually going on, but he managed to stick to his decision to wait and see. For this reason, he only nodded and then followed the other as he left the room.

This time they were walking a little longer. Gisburne first tried to remember the route they were taking, but he could not get far with that. One reason was that the warm water had made him feel sleepy, but another was the fact that the hallways all looked the same, with white walls, equally white doors set into them, and a floor that was a drab shade of gray. Even the men they encountered resembled each other in some ways, for they were all tall and powerfully built, with short hair and dressed in one of those long white tunics that his escort also wore. Also, they all showed the same grave expression on their faces.

At last they reached an area where doors were set at wider intervals in the walls.

"This is the patients' section. However, we have already moved into the rest period for the night, so everyone is in their rooms. Over the next few days, however, you will have the chance to get to know the rest. You may leave your room during the day as long as you abide by the rules. Otherwise, we will be forced to sedate you and you will have to stay in your room."

Although these words made no sense to the knight once again, there was a certain ring of intimidation that Gisburne could not ignore and that made him feel uncomfortable.

Doctor Adams opened one of the many white doors and Gisburne had no choice but to follow him into the room beyond, which - surprisingly - featured yellow walls and a light brown floor. He found this a pleasant change from all the white he had encountered in this place so far.

The room was larger than his chamber in the castle and contained, in addition to a bed, a table with two chairs, as well as another smaller one next to the sleeping accommodation. To one side there was a window, but he could not see anything when looking at it, for it was dark out there. A second door led probably into another room.

To there the other one was pointing at that very moment. "That's where the bathroom is," he explained, but did not wait to see if the knight wanted to say anything about it, but went on straight away. "The meal has indeed already been delivered."

Gisburne glanced around, but could not detect the aforementioned meal anywhere. Doctor Adams, who had apparently been keeping an eye on him, frowned once again, then strode over to the table on which a crate stood. The main thing about it that struck Gisburne was that it was neither white nor yellow nor brownish. Indeed, the knight had no name for such a color. Then the other man picked the crate up and underneath a plate and a small bowl were revealed, as well as a mug from which steam was rising.

"Apparently it was just delivered, it's still warm," he then remarked, while at the same time pointing to one of the chairs at the table. Gisburne assumed he should take a seat there, which he promptly obliged. The other man nodded with a pleased expression on his face, but that turned again into a frown as the knight just stared at the food, not doing anything else.

This was, however, not due to the fact that Sir Guy would not be hungry. The reason was only that he was not only unfamiliar with the food, but also with some of the items lying next to the plate. In one of them he could recognize a knife, but it had a rounded point and did not seem very sharp either. With regret, the knight recalled the small knife he had carried on his belt, but he refrained from asking for it.

Next to the small bowl lay a tiny spoon, and the knight wondered if it could only be there for decoration, for it seemed far too small to have any real function. And then there was something with four pointed tines attached to a handle, which gave the object almost the appearance of a tiny pitchfork. Was this perhaps to be used for skewering the food?

"When you're done eating, just cover everything and leave it on the table. Someone will pick it up in the morning," the other man informed him abruptly. "Have a good night." With these words he turned away, walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Only a moment later, Gisburne could hear the very thing he had feared to hear, a lock snapping shut. He rose immediately to hurry to the door, but when he pulled the knob, nothing happened. The door would not open and the knight had to realize that he had been locked in.

Ignoring the meal, he walked over to the window, but found no way to open it, and when he slammed his fist against it, that had no effect. He had the impression that he could not shatter it by force. The last thing he did was to go to the second door, which he could open without any problems, but beyond it there was only a small white room with some stuff he could not make anything of at that moment. The other one had called it a bath, but there was no bath tub in there. Gisburne decided that this was a problem for the next day, for it did not appear that he could solve it now, and besides, he was hungry. And tired, as well.

Therefore, he went back to the table and then tried to see if he could use the small fork for eating, mainly as he could not think of anything else. To his astonishment, this worked actually quite well - even if it was not familiar - and it was not long before he had devoured everything, including the sliced fruit in the small bowl, although it had been a bit too sweet for his taste. He was not able to tell what he had just consumed, but it had not tasted too strange and, above all, it had satiated him.

In the mug there was the same hot beverage that he had been handed at the very beginning of his stay, but this time, fortunately, it was not so awfully sweet. Gisburne drank it before it could get cold.

As soon as he had finished his meal, he looked around the room, for the man had said to cover everything again, but the only covering he could discover was the one on the bed. Perhaps the other had not meant it in that way, however, for the knight had not failed to notice how peculiar the people - whatever they might be - were expressing themselves in this place. He looked around once more, and this time he noticed the crate that Doctor Adams had removed from the table. Suddenly the idea came to him that he could place it over the plate and the other stuff. He was not sure if this was what had been meant, but actually he did not care.

Finally, the time had come to go to sleep, so he turned to the bed. When he threw back the covers, underneath emerged his tunic - rather unexpected - folded neatly and obviously laundered just recently. He was not able to suppress a sigh of relief as he took it in his hand, for it was the only familiar thing he had left.

All at once he again realized – in all clarity – what this place actually was. It was Hell and he must not forget that he was here on account of his sins. He was here for the deeds he had committed in his life that he had not confessed, but also for the sins that his alleged father had put upon him. Regardless of whether there were hot baths and warm food here - and a soft bed, as he noticed when he settled down on it - this place here served as his punishment and would remain so for all eternity. It was irrelevant that this devil who called himself Doctor Adams was talking about him determining on the next day how long the knight would have to stay here. Gisburne knew he would never get out of this place. And he would never again have the opportunity to ride Fury. His stallion was what he missed the most.

At that very moment, he was assailed by such a desperation that he curled up on the bed, clutching his fingers in his tunic while his tears fell on it.

All of a sudden, fatigue overcame him and he sank into a deep sleep.