Prologue: Wherein Gisburne suffers a defeat, has to endure the Sheriff and makes a wish

Sir Guy was not at all sure whether he should consider it a stroke of luck to have had a close escape from Hood and his men on that day. Of course, he preferred this outcome to being captured by the outlaw or even running the risk of being killed. Not that the thought of his death would put him in great fear, for as a soldier he always had to expect something like this to happen. But that would not mean that he would strive for it.

But he also did not strive to face the Sheriff after another failure. A failure that had once again cost him some of his soldiers, a fact that de Rainault would definitely make him suffer for quite some time, for it would cost the other man quite a bit of gold. It was more likely that the knight's next encounter with Hood would be sooner than the Sheriff would stop blaming him for how much he was costing him. As if Sir Guy had killed the men personally. Gisburne was so sick of all of this, and yet he was unable to get away from it.

When the knight finally arrived at the castle, he considered it an incredible stroke of luck to learn that the Sheriff had left to visit his brother. At once Gisburne realized that this would give him at least a few hours in which to recover from the incident in the forest. He would have time to take a hot bath, put on something clean, and eat some food. But he would also have time to start drinking wine, so that he would be prepared for the confrontation with the Sheriff that would occur later.

However, his bath did of course not happen as quickly as he would have liked, for first some water had to be heated - the last of the hot water had just been used to launder the Sheriff's garments - and the bath tub had to be hauled into his chamber. Then it needed to be filled with the water, which took its time, for the servants did not seem to overexert themselves in the process. At the same time, the knight had to realize that the kitchen was also not so quick with bringing him something hot to eat, as they were - reportedly - busy with some special requests from the Sheriff. This man managed to make his life difficult even when he was not in the castle.

Eventually, though, the knight was able to make himself comfortable in the water. It was not quite as hot as he would have liked, and the tub was not quite as full as it should have been, which was especially discomforting since cold drafts always found their way into his chamber through the cracks in the window shutters. Since he could not submerge his entire body in the water, this made him shiver almost the entire time he spent in the tub. It was really not a pleasant experience.

The meal, which actually arrived while he was still sitting in the tub, was not really warm anymore, and in order for the spiced wine to have the right temperature, Gisburne would have to get out of the water and move to the fireplace. However, he wanted to forego this for the time being and rather wait until the bath water had gotten too cold, even if this meant that he would have to be content with what he had at this moment.

As he basked in the water, his mind started to drift. He began to wonder if somewhere there might be people who were not struggling with these problems, for even the Sheriff had to settle for his meal being cold when it reached him, or for shivering when cold drafts came through the cracks in the shutters. Gisburne deemed it likely that even the King was no better off when he was staying in England. But could there be a place where people would actually bathe in hot water, enjoy warm meals, and not suffer from cold drafts? Where could such a place be located and who would live there? Suddenly the knight snorted amusedly when he realized where he had gone in his mind, but then he had to realize that he would actually like to know. And even more he would like to live in such a place.

All at once the knight flinched, for he fancied to have heard a voice coming from his immediate vicinity. "So be it," it had uttered, and then had let out a mocking laugh. Gisburne looked around frantically, but he could not spot anyone. Since he had also not observed that the door to his chamber had been opened, he finally reached the conclusion that he must have dozed off and been dreaming.

When later the Sheriff returned to the castle, it turned out just as Gisburne had previously imagined. De Rainault ranted, railed, and insulted until he was out of breath, and the knight took it all in stride without uttering more than a few "But my Lord". This was partly a result of the fact that he was used to this behavior, but it was also a consequence of the wine he had downed before the Sheriff had gotten back to the castle. The liquor acted as a kind of shield for him. Nonetheless, he was more than relieved when he was finally able to retire to his chamber and sink onto his bed. He just managed to take off his boots and his pants before sleep overtook him.