Chapter thirty-two:
Marian's POV:
The Sherriff's guards were becoming sloppy. All it took from me was a short mumble about being late for my kitchen duties and I was in, no questions asked. Honestly, Robin and his whole crew might as well just knock on the front door at this point!
The courtyard wasn't as busy as I was hoping for it to be. The odd maid would walk across with a basket full of washing, or a young boy would take some horses to the stables for some respite after a long day or riding. Hopefully, if I stuck to the shadows of the setting sun, I could pass as a servant girl going about her chores. A few steps away from the safety of the stairs to my room, my rising hope vanished as a hand grabbed my shoulder.
"Marian, what are you doing out here?" A deep voice grated through my ears.
Turning, I saw Guy standing a little too close to me, with a curious expression on his face. What on earth can I say for an excuse?! Oh, so sorry to trouble you in your evening of terrorising anyone within two feet of you, with your horrible presence. You see, I was out visiting the man you've hated since you were 12! My only hope was to change the subject, the thought made me want to gag, but the only way to distract a demon such as Guy of Gisborne was to compliment him.
"You are looking rather joyful, Sir Guy, I take it your day was satisfactory?" It was the only thing I could think of with no prior planning. See, if I was to compliment someone with eyes of the finest green, I wouldn't have to think it as much!
Surprise flashed in his blue eyes, his pupils expanding as he formed a smile. "Thank you, Marian, in fact it was very satisfactory. I would love nothing more than to tell you all about it!" He held out an elbow for me to take. Nothing but dread and bile formed in my throat as I was forced to walk with him.
"As you know, the Sheriff and I have been very busy recently…" he drawled on about how he thinks the Sheriff underestimates his intellect, (which I thought would be difficult to do since he has a very limited amount of it to begin with) and how the people of Nottingham need to "wake up and realise how much he is doing for them". He led me all the around the castle and its grounds, continuing to bore me to such and extend that I began to feign an injury to my ankle, just so that we could begin to walk back.
"Such a shame about your ankle, Marian, I would be happy to walk all night if it meant being in your company." Seriously resisting the urge to throw up right there, I smiled politely and took his leather-clad arm again. After blocking out his speech for a further fifteen minutes, my ears perked up when I heard him spit out the words "outlaw vermin".
"Apologies, I didn't quite catch what you just said, Sir Guy. Something about outlaws?" This could be bad. Very, very bad. But I needed to collect all of the information I could, in order to report it back to Robin and the others. All I could think of was the Sherriff and his horrible soldiers finding the camp!
"I'm sure a delicate lady such as yourself does not want to hear about the atrocities of those people." He smiled condescendingly, patting my arm as if shushing a child.
"Oh, but I find it so interesting how you…" I chocked out the words, "… deal so bravely with such actions."
"Well, as it is you asking, a prisoner is missing from our cells. It is unknown how exactly she got out, but it will not go unpunished, I assure you!" My mouth suddenly tasted like acid. What if he finds out it was Katy and I?! I scolded myself for believing we could get away with sneaking a prisoner out with no repercussions!
"May I ask what she did to be locked up?" Trying to remain calm, I had to get as much information out of him as I could.
"Just the usual insolence my job entails, the guards were unconscious when we found them and are punished accordingly." My throat closed up and breathing was a struggle. "We believe she was a friend of the outlaws that are currently running wild, and is how she escaped."
"What exactly is your plan going forward, purely out of curiosity?" My whole body was riddled with anxiety, my muscles tense, jaw clenched.
"Are you sure you want to know, Marian? I fear subjects such as these are not the best for your delicate ears."
"Do not worry about me, I only hope these injustices are sorted!" The words felt sour and horrid in my mouth, coming out a little croaky.
"We plan to go to the village she was from and, let's say, inquire if anyone knows where she may have gone…" A devious, cunning smirk spread across his face, making my stomach turn. I needed to tell Robin as soon as it is safe, who knows what Guy's true intentions are!
"Marian, are you alright? You look a little pale," he reached a thick finger towards my face, it took everything in me not to smack it out of the way.
"I am just weary, that is all. Perhaps I should go and lay dow-"
A high-pitched voice sounded from behind me, "Marian, there you are!" I have never been so glad to see Katy before in my life!
Pulling me away from Guy, Katy tackled me in a crushing hug. It never failed to surprise me how a girl of her size could squeeze so hard! "I'll get you out of here", she whispered in my ear.
Pulling out of the embrace, she let out a huge gasp and began to lead me away from Guy. "Marian, one of my dresses is missing, and two of my nails broke while I was trying to find it! Oh, and also I-"
A voice cleared behind us.
"Oh, I do hope I wasn't interrupting anything, Guy!" Katy stopped and gave Guy one of her innocent smiles that seemed to work when she wanted to get her way with something.
"Well, I was only hoping that I-"
"Oh, very well then! Goodnight!" Katy smiled one last time, then grabbed my hand and began walking away again, successfully this time.
Katy's POV:
As soon as I closed her bedroom door, a thousand different words tumbled out of Marian's mouth. They all morphed together into one huge sentence. By the time she was done, she was gasping for breath, looking at me with worrying shining through her eyes.
"Take a deep breath, M." I led her to her bed to sit her down, in an attempt to calm her nerves. "Okay, start from the beginning."
Her chest began to rise quicky again, "Robin, all of the Outlaws, they're in danger!" she grabbed my hands, her speech fast again, "We have to help them Katy, we can't let the Sheriff and Guy hurt anyone!"
"Woah, slow down, who is coming after the outlaws?" Concern flooded my head, even though I had barely met them, I could see how anxious Marian was.
She told me everything the Guy had said, about finding out who broke Meg out of the dungeon and about possibly torturing information about the Outlaws. Finding out that Guy wasn't the boy I grew up with was a shock, but nothing that I hadn't already began to think of. The way he treated me as if my opinion didn't matter, let alone ask if I even had one. I never liked his father, but I always held onto the hope that Guy would grow up to behave the way my mother told me Guy's mother did. She was said to treat everyone with kindness and generosity.
Our mothers were really quite close actually, they were practically raised as sisters. From the stories I have been told, they weren't unlike Marian and I: always together, always laughing.
"You know exactly how Guy… forces information out of people, we can't let it happen to these innocent villagers!" Marian chocked out
"But we will need assistance; we can't do it alone!"
Marian sat a straighter, "That's why… I need you to get kidnapped by the outlaws".
The next day
Every single muscle inside of my body was pulled taut as I mounted my beautiful horse, Lizzy. A dizzy feeling drowned me, mainly pure fear but also, a hint of courage too, hidden in the shadows. Despite not having the restrictions that Marian does, I still rarely left the castle grounds. I always told myself it was because I was staying with Marian so she wouldn't be alone, but maybe it was more because the castle is all I've ever really known. Stepping into a danger-riddled forest, bursting at the seams with outlaws was a far cry from three of my maids doing my hair up with a gilded gold pin half an hour ago. Nevertheless, I would do it, for my best friend and the safety of everyone else.
Everything would go fine, as long as I stuck to the plan Marian had created.
Pure sunlight shone I my eyes as I rode out of the palace gates, perfect. Subtly, I reached into my saddle bag by my leg and retrieved a small, ornate hand mirror. Keeping the reigns tight in my hand, I looked straight forward, whilst angling the open hand mirror straight behind me. A grunt and a loud thud, followed by the sound of hoofs running away, told me that the guard behind me was… distracted, to say the least. As I was the daughter of a noble, I was trusted in the way Marian wasn't when riding, therefore I only had one guard, for "protection" apparently.
This was going to be difficult, especially for someone like me who had only been in the forest a handful of times! Sticking my courage to the sticking place, I pushed my horse further into the woods.
When I asked Marian what I should wear she just gave me an incredulous look- not helpful at all! I thought it was a valid question personally! I'd chosen one of my brighter, more expensive looking gowns, made of pink fabric, so that I would stand out in the forest and hopefully lead to being spotted by the outlaws.
Patience is not a virtue that I had to grow up practising, so when I had to get off my horse and wait around to be kidnapped, suffice to say I got bored very quickly. I even took Lizzy further into the forest, for hopes of seeing anyone! But I all I saw was trees, nothing but trees.
This was a mistake; I should have convinced Marian to come with me! If it wasn't for the fact that Guy had already seen her in the courtyard and therefore out of her room, she could have just come by herself! God knows how much she adores this forest; she would appreciate the ride much more than me anyway. Growing rapidly more impatient by the second, I began to speak aloud.
"Oh Lizzy, how I wish I had brought a guard with me, for I am hopelessly lost! However will I get this incredibly expensive mirror to my dear friend now?" I waved the mirror around, hoping an outlaw would see it or hear me, "I am terribly alone and have no clue where I am!" I look around… nothing. "I am very vulnerable!" Still nothing, except some leaves rustling in the breeze. "Oh really? How hard is it to kidnap someone? I am all alon-"
Will's POV:
On my stroll back to camp from fishing, my peaceful walk was interrupted by someone shouting. It was difficult to make out what they were saying from the distance, so I moved closer. Peeking around a particularly large tree, I could see a woman in a colourful dress standing next to a gorgeous mare, with her back to me. She looked to be around nineteen years old, a little shorter than me, and she was waving around a very shiny object. The wealthy looking woman continued her shouting, something about being lost and helpless. To be honest I didn't mind what she was shouting about when she turned towards me and I saw her face!
Her golden hair absorbed the sun so much that I wasn't sure it wouldn't burn my fingers if I touched it, her tanned skin glistened in the light, her warm eyes were reminiscent of tree bark.
She illuminated wealth and beauty.
It was at that moment when she looked straight at me and I realised I must have stepped too far out from behind the tree. Her delicate finger pointed at me and she beckoned me over to herm. Heart racing. Blood pumping, face no doubt flushing, I took a few wobbly steps towards her.
She put her hands on her hips, "Well?"
"Well, what?" I replied, still in a kind of daze.
"Well, it took you long enough to get here, I've been screaming for hours!" her voice was clipped, fast and high pitched. If you couldn't tell she came from wealth from her clothing, you'd easily be able to tell from her voice.
"Sorry, miss, have you been expecting me?" my voice sounded slow and stupid in comparison to hers.
She sighed, "are you an outlaw or not?"
"Um, well yeah technically, but I don't advertise it"
"Alright, you will do fine."
"I'm still lost here, what do you want?" Had I been in a trance so long that I'd forgotten an earlier conversation with her? I really need to snap out of it!
"I need to be kidnapped" she said, very matter-of-factly.
"Oh I-"
"Now would be good," she took a step towards her horse and took a hold of its reigns.
"Miss, I really think you've got the wrong ide-" I tried again.
"No, trust me, I just need you to take me to your camp so that I can talk to your leader about a very pressing matter concerning a lot of innocent people, now if you don't take us now, we will really begin to have a problem!" she looked a bit flushed after that.
"Us?"
"What, did you think I was just going to leave Lizzy here? There are outlaws about you know!" she smirked a little at that.
"Well, okay then, I'll take you to my leader but I swear if I find out this is a trap to lead the Sherriff to us, then there will be hell to pay. Now do you want to put this over your eyes, or should I?" I held up a long stretch of fabric from my pocket to use as a blindfold.
"I do hope you are not expecting me to put that on my face!"
"It's customary for any outsider who comes to camp, it's not personal!"
Her meticulously plucked eyebrows furrowed "But I am helping you!"
"Please put it on, it's the rule"
"Fine, get it over with!" she turned around so she was facing away from me.
Gently, I laid the fabric over her eyes and tied it behind her head. "Too tight?" I asked, my fingertips nearly touching her shiny hair.
"It fits fine, now please take me to the camp!"
"It's going to be difficult to walk you and the horse to camp, so maybe…"
Fully blindfolded, she mounted her horse and got a hold of the reigns in one hand, without faltering once. My silence must have shown my surprise because she said, with a grin, "What? A girl raised in a castle has to stave off boredom one way or another, and horse riding was the only thing that interested me. Now please lead the way, mr…"
"Will, the name's Will Scarlet." Taking her free hand gently kissing it, "a pleasure to meet you, miss…"
"Lady Katherine… but my friend calls me Katy."
"Well then, Katy, do you trust me?"
"Oddly… yes, yes, I do. But please tell me if there are low lying branches or such things, my maids spent an awful lot of time on my hair today and I really don't want to ruin it."
"Of course, I wouldn't dream of ruining your hair, Katy." I said with a smile, still thinking about the feeling of her hand in mine.