Chapter 20
Again the sorcerer's hand swung, and a new vision appeared in the black pool of the mirror...
The room. The fireplace is blazing, the flames dancing merrily with sparks on the resinous dry logs. On the stone floor are soft sheepskins. Opposite the fireplace, stands Marion, Robin sees her from the back, but he has no doubt that it is her. She wears a dark blue dress with a train, richly embroidered with pearls, and her loose red curls fall on her shoulders, covering her supple back like an expensive blanket. He had forgotten the last time he had seen her dressed as a noble lady. He loved Marion in any outfit, but now he was frankly enamoured of her. However, the admiration quickly gave way to a slight sadness and something akin to regret. After all, he was the reason she lost the opportunity to wear exquisite outfits. Because of him, she left her carefree existence in Lifford and chose a life of danger and hardship.
- She deserves better, doesn't she? - De Bellem's voice sounded like an echo, "She doesn't belong in the deep forest, among wild beasts, in hunger and cold. She has shared your fate, enduring all the troubles and hardships, never once reproaching you for the fact that her youth is spent away from the comfort of wealth and luxury in which she grew up.
It was like the Baron had read his mind.
- I never held her back," Robin said quietly, "She was free to leave at any time, but she chose to stay with me, in Sherwood. It was her choice.
It sounded tentative, however, and Robin realised it.
- You are right," said the Baron. - He who loves shares the fate of the one he loves. Everyone makes his own choices and is responsible for them. But you don't know everything, Loxley. Some things have changed.
After those words, Marion turned to face Robin in the black mirror, and Robin froze. His heart froze for a moment, then pounded like a madman.
He doesn't look more than a year old. The baby Marion holds in her arms. He has dark brown hair, soft as fluff. He suckles his finger in a cute babyish way while Marion cooed affectionately over him. The sense of time had left Robin, it seemed to him that he had been standing like that for ages, staring, unable to look away.
The baby turns his head and looks straight at him. His eyes are the colour of spring leaves with the bright May sun shining through them.
- What... who," was all Loxley could whisper. His throat was dry. He felt the baron's hand on his shoulder.
- This is your son, Robin. He's already come into this world, and it's up to you to decide if he's destined to be born.
The meaning of what he said did not come to the gunner at once. He looked at the sorcerer stunned, then turned his head and stared at the real Marion in the niche between the two columns. But he couldn't see her from here, and right now he'd give anything to be near her.
- She doesn't know anything yet," the Baron answered ahead of his question, "poor thing, she was too depressed, pining for you, to feel the beat of new life in her womb.
Robin slowly shifted his gaze to the glossy surface of the magic mirror again. His thoughts were confused.
The child...
He had never seriously thought about it. They were outcasts, outcasts, forced to fight for survival, jeopardising their lives on a daily basis. It's hard to imagine a more inappropriate place for a small, defenceless creature than Sherwood Forest.
Marion in the mirror takes her eyes off the baby and lifts her head. Her eyes are beaming with happiness and inexpressible tenderness. Suddenly a smile lights up her face and she takes a step towards him, holding the baby with one hand and the other reaching out to him. Loxley also unconsciously reached for them, but his fingers felt only the coldness of the stone surface. The vision faded into a haze and was gone. Robin's eyes burned and his vision blurred. He felt a lump in his throat and swallowed hard.