Search and Rescue - Chapter 2
Title: Search and Rescue
Author: kegel84 and bron_v
Rating: PG
Pairings/characters: Guy, Allan, Robin, Much
Summary: Robin and Guy have to team up when Marian seems to have disappeared, AU after Lardner's Ring.
Spoilers: Till Lardner's Ring.
Disclaimer: We don't own the show or any of its characters and make no profit from this work.
Previous chapter
Chapter 2
Guy marched through the castle, wearied from the long meeting with the sheriff. He intended to head to Allan’s chamber, hoping for the sake of the other's well-being that the man wasn’t out drinking somewhere. His thoughts then turned to what the sheriff's conversation had held... Hood, the Black Knights and King Richard... Involuntarily his mind slipped to more pleasant matters... Marian... and not really paying attention to where he was going, it was too late that he realized that his legs were taking him past Marian’s chamber en route to Allan’s that was located on a lower floor.
He walked past the door, behind which she would be resting, deliberately not looking at it, keeping his eyes focused on the wall at the end of the corridor. This strength did not last long, however, and only a few feet past the door he stopped, and turned to look at it after all, a frown on his face.
He guessed that she was asleep by now and didn't want to be disturbed. Another part of his mind argued though that she might be lonely, all alone and friendless in the castle after her father's death. Guy was glad she had returned to the place; he had not expected it, had thought he had lost her when she had fled to the convent. He contemplated knocking at her door for another moment. It could not hurt, despite the late hour. Arguing with himself, Guy reached forward and knocked on the wooden door. No answer. He knocked again.
“Marian? Marian, it’s me, Guy,” he said softly, or at least as softly as he could manage. There was still no answer.
He reached out with a hand. It wasn’t locked, but when he pushed the door open it creaked loudly. He sharply shut the door again. If Marian was asleep, which it seemed she was, she would surely not appreciate being awoken by a noisy door.
He stared at it for a moment, before he closed his eyes and turned to walk down the corridor. The plan to go and talk to Allan was now gone from his mind, and instead he went back to his own room, making a mental promise to return to Marian’s the following morning.
So when dawn broke the next day, Guy got dressed and headed back to Marian’s chamber, now entirely focused on where he was going. He didn’t hesitate before knocking on the door this time either, and was surprised when there was still no reply. He pushed the door open once again, this time not worrying when it creaked, pushing it the whole way. He stepped inside, and looked towards her bed. Marian wasn’t there.
Slowly, he walked out again and looked up and down the corridor. There was a guard at each end of it.
“Oi, you two!” he shouted.
The guards turned to look at Guy, unsure if he was actually calling for them. “Who?” one of them asked.
“You, and him.” Guy looked from the guard who asked to the other one. “Has Lady Marian left her chamber this morning?”
“No, my Lord.” The guard didn’t get to say more, as Guy had already run back through the door into Marian’s chamber. The guards looked at each other and sighed knowingly before returning to their posts at the ends of the corridor.
Guy looked around the whole room, but already knew that she wasn’t anywhere. If she hadn't left the chamber this morning, it could only mean she hadn't returned there for the night. He knew that she had come back from her visit to the market. The guard who had gone with her had reported to him later and had assured him of her safe return. Guy rushed to the window and looked out, but she couldn’t be seen in the courtyard the room overlooked. He ran out into the corridor, and marched hurriedly down it, shouting, “Marian!” She couldn't have left him again...
As he headed around a corner, he almost walked straight into Allan.
“Hey Giz...”
“Have you seen Marian?” Guy asked, figuring the man might have seen her slipping out. He knew too well that she was in the habit of doing so.
“Wha...?” Allan looked mildly confused.
“She’s not in her chamber and the guards haven’t seen her leave...”
“'Haven't seen her,” the former outlaw said quickly and Guy did not wonder for the first time how much of the man's communication consisted of compulsive lying.
He turned away from Allan, wondering where Marian might have gone. She often had some excuse as to why she had to leave the castle, many times her father's well-being had been her reasoning for it. The man was dead now and Guy could only puzzle as to what other private matters Marian felt the need to attend to that she did not want him to know about.
He did not pretend he knew much about female habits, but as far as he could tell, noblewomen, who had little occupations that they needed to attend to, generally spent their time in each other's company, conversing, embroidering and reading, if they were well educated. Of course, Marian had little opportunity for keeping company with other noblewomen. Guy smirked; as little as he liked it, he could very well imagine that Marian sometimes sneaked away to spend time with common women. It didn't befit her status, but she had oftentimes shown tendencies to ally at least in heart with the common folk. He knew he had to show her that he would gladly spend more time with her; hopefully it would drive the nonsense with the commoners out of her head. Once she would have a family and children to care for, this would certainly be the case...
“Guy?” Allan's voice brought him back to the present. “You sure she hasn't just gone for a stroll or something. She could've gone quietly, those guards... they aren’t that smart.”
Guy nodded, the matter finished for him for now. He'd talk to Marian about it later. There were other duties he had to attend to. He sent Allan away and went to talk to the sheriff then, as the man had wanted to see him once again.
It was when he had not heard of or seen Marian several hours later that he once again started to wonder. He returned to her chamber, but it was still empty. Surely she would be back by now, no matter the trifle matter she would have attended to...
He had thought he had been keeping enough tabs on her, but apparently the guards that had been supposed to watch her door had not been worth their gold.
Guy marched off, looking for Allan, and found the man sleeping on a sack of flour near the kitchen. The lazy dog had apparently filled his stomach and had then drowsily gone to sleep. Gisborne jerked the man awake and the former outlaw opened his eyes in confusion.
“What's up? Is the castle on fire?” He rubbed his forehead wearily.
It was the sheriff's warning from the previous night that was going through Guy's head. Something was going to happen to Marian, if Hood was not caught soon... Hood... the man had taken her before, had held her hostage and had used her to save his own life...
“Where is Marian?” he asked Allan who only shrugged helplessly. Guy grabbed him by the collar. “Did Hood take her again?”
“Robin? What? How’d I…,” Allan shook his head, reaching up to try and make Guy let him go. “Robin doesn’t hurt innocent women, Guy. ”
“Then what’s he doing with her?”
“He might not have her. Not kidding, but how would he have taken her from the castle?”
Gisborne released his hold on the man. “But he’s the only one who would have wanted to.”
“Maybe not, she could've caught any bloke’s eye,” Allan reasoned.
Gisborne had now stopped listening to Allan. “Go and ask in the town, if anyone’s seen her, any trace, bring them to me.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I am going to speak with my lieutenant, I need to organize a proper search for her.” Guy sped up and walked off, leaving Allan alone in the corridor.
An hour later Guy stood at the top of the steps in the castle courtyard, a group of twenty men gathered in front of him, all mounted on horses. Next to Guy was a man, dressed in attire almost identical to the guards’, but he stood with a more superior manner than the men who patrolled the corridors of the castle.
“Is this all you could muster?” Guy asked, disapprovingly looking at his lieutenant.
“You didn’t give me much time, Sir, but I assure you, these are the best men in Nottingham for the job. I know them all individually; they won’t let you down,” the man explained.
“They’d better not,” Guy warned. He trotted down the castle steps, and spoke to the men before him, walking amongst them as he did so. He told them everything they needed to know. He warned them about Hood, offered rewards, made sure to mention that Marian was to be left unscathed in any cases.
Guy watched as the men left. He wouldn't be able to follow them now, still having duties to attend to. But as soon as those were done, he himself would join the search with a second group of guards. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm himself. He knew he was taken action into a direction he couldn't even be certain was the right one. It was possible Marian had simply gone back to the convent, although he didn't believe she would have left without taking any of her belongings with her. He couldn't be sure, but he had decided that he had to act, considering the worst case.
He headed back up the steps towards the castle, but was interrupted in his track before he got to the top.
“Gisborne!” The Sheriff burst through the doors. “What in God’s name is going on? I come out of my chambers and see there are no guards at my door! Do you want to have me murdered in my bed?!”
“Sorry, my Lord, but Lady Marian’s gone missing. I had to organize for all castle staff to be questioned, if any one of them has seen her...”
“Gisborne! Are you telling me that I am at risk getting killed and Nottingham razed to the ground so that a leper who I prefer way out of my sight can be found?!” the sheriff yelled in Guy’s face.
“My Lord, she could be hurt...”
“Does it bother me? A clue: no.”
The arrow hit the tree with a thud. It stuck out of the trunk half an inch from another one. Any bystander would have thought that they had just witnessed Robin Hood failing to hit his target. Unless, of course, they had been privy to the only reluctantly voiced appeals of several outlaws requesting that Robin would not destroy any more arrows by playing around and splitting them. The man cheered though, before aiming yet another one, and fitted it right between the other two.
Then a movement in the scrub caught Robin's eye and it taking only a moment to ready another arrow and aim, it shot through the air, hitting its intended target at the same time that Much jerked up because the arrows had left their earlier fly-zone.
“I got you a rabbit,” Robin announced, regarding his friend's puzzled expression.
“What do I want with a rabbit?” Much murmured, but Robin was already spurting ahead, retrieving the dead animal from the ground.
“Come on, Much, you want it for supper, I know you do.” He threw the rabbit towards the other man who caught it grudgingly.
Much looked down at the prey in his hands with a still annoyed expression, but didn't say anything else, instead moving into the direction of the camp that was set up some distance away, though still in view of the two men.
Robin watched him leaving with a grin, a fairly new expression for the recent time. He had felt somewhat bitter, disappointed at the very least, ever since Marian had returned to the castle, on Guy of Gisborne's horse even more so. The gang had at first tried to cheer him up, but even Much had given up on that after Robin had barked at him the other day for something not even Robin was able to remember now. They had left Robin by himself today, only Much had sat down near him as the man had started unnecessary practice on his accuracy in archery. He knew he needed no practice, just relief.
His mood had lifted, but it wasn't just because of the arrows hitting their mark. He had finally decided to go to Nottingham later that day. He knew that yesterday would have been a good day to see Marian, too, as it had been market day, but then she had certainly been accompanied by a guard, and Robin much preferred seeing her alone, even if it was more difficult to get to her inside the castle.
Robin strode over to the tree he had used for target practice, pulling out the arrows one by one and putting them back into his quiver after brief examination to ensure that they were still intact. He looked over to the camp and considered briefly leaving for Nottingham immediately, without any long discussion about it with the others. Having made his decision, he turned on the spot, securing quiver and bow on his back. He had barely made five steps before Much called after him.
“Where are you going?”
Robin didn't stop walking, although his hope to sneak away undetected was now apparently dashed. “I'll be back soon,” he called back, hastening his step.
”You aren't going to get yourself into trouble, are you?” Much asked loudly and Robin could hear the crunching of his movements through the thicket, showing the man was following him.
”No,” Robin said in a low voice, coming to a stop a second later. He turned and saw that Much had almost come up to him. His friend stopped walking, too.
”Much, listen,” Robin began insistently. ”I want to go and see Marian. Alone.”
“You can't go to Nottingham, alone,” Much declared, sounding uneasy. “I'm going to come and...”
“Much,” Robin shook his head.
“... and Djaq and Will and John can come, too!”
Robin grimaced. “I want to see her, alone. Do you understand that?”
Much looked at him blankly for a moment, before he nodded slowly. “I do.”
Robin nodded as well.
“But I don't like it! There's the sheriff, there's Gisborne, there's-”
“They've always been there, Much.”
“There's Allan!”
Robin grumbled. “He’s not a threat to me.” He turned to go again. “I'm going alone.” His tone made clear that he wouldn't dispute this any longer. He hurried on, hoping it would discourage Much from following him further, not that anything had discouraged the man from following Robin thousands of miles to the Holy Land and back.
He marched on, careful not to look back. After a while, he couldn't hear anyone behind him anymore. Only the sounds of the forest itself reached his ears now. Even the singing of the birds seemed fairly loud now, once he was alone and no other people were there to drown them out.
He made it to Nottingham in good time. Sneaking into the town had become pretty much of a routine, especially when he was alone. Getting into the castle and up to Marian's chamber was a little trickier, however. He assumed that she used the same quarters now as she had used before she came to stay with him in the forest. She had left almost all of her belongings and he guessed that nobody had removed them from her room, so it was only natural she would have been accommodated there again, after Gisborne had 'rescued' her from the clutches of the outlaws.
Robin had to duck quickly behind a large pile of wood when a group of guards marched out of the side portal that he had designed as his way into the castle. They stopped in the castle yard, and were soon joined by more men. Robin kept his head down, lest any of the men forgot their discipline and cast a glance at the stack behind which Robin was hiding. Once he was fairly certain that no more men would exit the portal as no more footsteps could be heard, he leapt over the pile and quickly skittered out of view into the building. Always keeping an eye out for a possible place to hide, he didn't encounter anyone on his way.
Then he was at Marian's door. No guards were there to be seen either. He stopped and listened, but wasn't able to hear anything through the heavy door, although it was quiet in the corridor.
Robin was suddenly apprehensive. He wondered whether he should knock and announce himself first. He didn't quite understand why he was almost shy now. He had been hiding in Marian's bed at a time when she had been barely civil towards him. Now they were engaged.
He knocked, glancing around in the hallway at the same time. Nobody was there and neither did he get any answer from inside the room. Of course he should have expected that Marian wasn't there all the time; he could never be certain she would be around when he came to visit, unless he had told her beforehand that he planned to come, or when he was sneaking in at night. But thinking about it he figured he wouldn't even be certain then because he guessed that the Nightwatchman was still very much active, if he judged Marian's enthusiasm to participate in the outlaw's activities correctly.
He opened the door as quietly as possible, but found it creaking. He was soon confirmed in the guess that Marian was not there. He moved through the room, looking from left to right. Some clothes were lying on her bed, and there were several small signs that promised her soon return. Robin walked to the sole window of the room, pondering whether to wait for Marian or return later, and looked down into the castle yard. The troops he had seen earlier were still standing there. It was a moment later that a man clad in black caught Robin's sight.
Guy of Gisborne walked to a spot in front of the soldiers, coming to a stop there. He turned to them and waited another moment until he was certain to have their attention.
“I have sent out men to search for Lady Marian. We are to join them and search the forest. I want you to find her,” he ordered in a voice that carried over the whole castle yard and up to the window where Robin was watching and listening. He wondered what Guy was talking about, a fear slowly rising in him. “Bring her back to the castle safely. If you can kill any of Hood's men, do so, but don't risk Lady Marian's life in exchange.” The soldiers acknowledged their understanding of the orders.
Robin watched uneasily. They were looking for Marian. So she wasn't in the castle anymore. The first idea, the first hope he came to cherish with this realization was that she had returned to the forest, to live at the camp again. Maybe she had indeed changed her mind.
She had originally returned to Nottingham because she thought she could do more for their cause there. Robin hadn't liked it. He still didn't like it, but he could not help wondering about her sudden change of heart. If she had really gone back into the forest, that was, as he couldn't be sure of that.
Robin stepped away from the window, leaning against the stonewall beside it, looking over the room. Its appearance promised that Marian would come back there any moment. She apparently hadn't packed, hadn't tidied up. Robin knew that Marian could be impulsive, but the idea that she would have decided to leave for the forest from one moment to the other without any preparations seemed odd in his mind. She certainly hadn't said goodbye to Gisborne, Robin thought with slight amusement.
Pushing himself away from the wall, he walked around the room, glancing around for any hint as to where Marian had gone. There wasn't any to be found by him. As he had assessed before, it all seemed like she would enter the room any second. Robin knew that Marian was hiding the clothes of the Nightwatchman somewhere, although he was not sure that she was actually keeping them in her room. He didn't believe he would be able to discover them easily and if he did not, he couldn't be certain at all that they were not hidden somewhere else. So he had no simple way to find out if Marian was away on Nightwatchman business, or if there was another reason for her long absence. She had certainly been gone long enough for Guy to go and get a search organized.
With a last look into the room Robin left, closing the door quietly behind him. The hallway was still empty. As he moved quickly through the corridors, he wondered if Gisborne had already searched Marian's room closely. It certainly didn't look as if he had sent any servant in there to clean up.
Movements on the left made Robin draw back around a corner and he watched as the man walked up to where he was hiding. At the last moment, Robin jumped forward and placed himself in the man's way. Allan stopped dead.
“What is Gisborne up to?” Robin asked in a low tone, giving the man no time for a reaction to his sudden appearance.
“He's looking for Marian, ” Allan said quickly, backing away almost indiscernible. “Not being funny, but if you know where she is, you better tell Guy. And fast. He's taking guards out to search the forest and the surrounding villages for her.“
Robin's expression grew a little darker. “Not everybody's keen to give information to Gisborne.”
Allan frowned. “Just saying. If he combs the forest, he might find other things as well, you know.”
“Is that a threat?” Robin's voice was fierce now, stepping closer to the other man.
Allan held up his hands. “Maybe I can tell you one thing or another,” he offered and after a moment Robin relaxed somewhat and crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking expectantly. Allan glanced around but nobody else was in the corridor. Still, he motioned Robin to follow him and after a moment's suspicious hesitation, Robin did so. Allan worked up a rusty door in the hallway Robin had come from moments earlier and went inside, pulling Robin with him.
“Now what?” Robin wanted to know, still wary of the situation.
“I saw her last night,” Allan said, leaning apparently casually against a wall, but Robin noticed that the man was still tense.
He nodded, curious now as to what the other had to say. “Where was she going?”
Allan shrugged. “I don't know. She didn't tell me... not being funny, but it's not like she's letting me in on her plans. Anyway, she was him, the Nightwatchman, you know.”
“Did she say anything?”
“Nothing of consequence.”
“So what's going on here? What is Gisborne doing?” Robin demanded.
“He's looking for her. He wanted to see her this morning, but didn't find her. He started asking around, but nobody has seen her.”
“Save for you.”
“Well, Guy doesn't know that. I could hardly tell him-”
“Do you have any idea where she could have gone?” Robin urged, unwilling to hear about the things Allan would do or not do.
The man shook his head. “I've got no clue. Guy thinks you've kidnapped her again.”
“Again?”
Allan waved Robin's objection away. “Sheriff's put that idea into his head.”
Robin scrutinized Allan for a few more moments before he turned without another word and opened the door, walking out into the corridor. The thoughts were spinning in his head. Marian had gone off as the Nightwatchman again. He hadn't been able to confirm that possibility sooner, but now he could be quite sure of it, if he was to trust Allan's words for once.
It contradicted the idea that she had simply decided to return to the forest. It meant she wasn't back from whatever mission she had planned to accomplish. Unlike Robin, Guy couldn't know about that, so for him there was no explanation as to where she could have gone. For him, she had simply vanished.
Robin hurried to get out of the castle, wondering what to do. He could return to the forest and wait. Maybe Marian would actually go there. Or he could ask around, find out if anyone had seen the Nightwatchman. He just didn't know where to start asking. He had no idea at all what Marian's plan had been. Chances were she would be back soon, but on the other hand he didn't think she would intentionally risk returning late and being missed at the castle. Robin didn't know what to think.
He slowed down as he heard the noise of several people coming from the crossing corridor. The clang of metal on metal told him that they were armed and he retreated into the shadows. A few seconds later he saw the sheriff walking by, surrounded by several of his guards. The men were gone quickly and Robin didn't bother to follow. He had always considered the sheriff the greatest danger to Marian when she was at the castle, as he would be able to figure out that she was more dangerous than a love-sick, though cruel, puppy as Guy would understand. If the sheriff had anything to do with Marian's disappearance though, Gisborne wouldn't be riding out to search her. At least Robin guessed as much, although he wasn't quite sure about the degree of mutual confidence between the Master-At-Arms and the sheriff.
Much had let Robin only reluctantly go alone. He didn't like it at all. Sure, Robin had gone to Nottingham and other places on his own often enough. But just as often had he gotten himself into trouble when he had been alone.
Much could have followed him, but Robin would have been stubborn, would have told Much to stay in the forest again. And at the end of the day, maybe Robin really needed some time alone to see Marian, as little as Much like the possibility of trouble. Nevertheless, he trusted Robin, so he had decided to trust that Robin knew what he was doing and wouldn't risk the gang's well-being, including Much's, by risking his life.
So he had taken the uncomfortable task on himself to tell the others that Robin had left. They had not been much surprised, though they did not appear very happy about it either. Then he had gone to prepare the rabbit Robin had shot, although he hadn't really been in the mood for it. On the one hand, he was certainly looking forward to a meal with at least a few pieces of rabbit for everyone, but on the other hand, he was worried for Robin and that was damping his appetite. He figured they would have to wait with supper until Robin returned anyway.
Late in the afternoon there was still no sign of the outlaw. Much admitted to himself though, that Robin would naturally need some time to come back, if he had gone to Nottingham as planned, even more so if he was going to spend time with Marian. Still, Much hoped Robin wouldn't let them wait too long.
It was still some time before the break of dusk when Djaq and Will decided to go and hunt some more meat for their supper. Much argued for a while that they had enough already and that they should stay together at the camp, but to no avail, the two had vanished out of sight before he had even finished his argument.
He had turned to continue arguing with Little John, but didn't receive much response from the man which let the discussion fade out rather soon. Slightly irritated, he had finally marched off to collect some cowberries that were supposed to go well with rabbit. He had to find some berries first, of course, but believed to remember a spot where he had seen bushes growing the fruit the other day. After a short walk he rediscovered the place and started picking the berries. At first the majority of them wandered into his mouth, before he began to fill a small bag he had with him.
It was when Much was crouching down to collect some of the red berries from the lower branches that he could hear the sound of people moving through the forest not far away from him. He didn't think for a moment that it could be Robin returning to camp because he knew that Robin would never make this kind of noise when coming through the woods. Much stayed down at the forest ground and glanced through the brushwork, trying to get a view of whoever was approaching instead.
When the men finally came into sight, Much froze. The tall man clad in black leather was unmistakable, even from the distance. Gisborne moved in front of his guards, his eyes scouting the forest and Much had only one thought: Guy was looking for the outlaws' camp.
He wondered for a moment why Robin was not there when he needed him the most, but then had the terrible vision of Robin having been caught and having been forced to tell Guy the location of the camp. Much jumped up. There was no time to lose; he had to warn the others that Gisborne was coming.
There was a shout behind him and he knew he had been sighted. He rushed through the underbrush, but the next moment he stopped dead, reconsidering. Robin would never tell Guy where the camp was, not even under torture, Much was sure about that. Maybe Guy didn't know where the camp was, but was only looking for it. If that was the case, he mustn't return to the camp. Otherwise he might even lead the sheriff's henchman there.
Much turned and darted into the opposite direction, away from the camp. He had to stop Gisborne from learning of its location. If the man ever found it, they would have to leave the camp behind, including all the comfort it offered compared to sleeping on the bare grounds. They wouldn't even be able to take all of their provisions with them. Much couldn't let this happen.
He heard more calls behind him. At least they would be following him now, he hoped, and he would lead them away from the camp. And if they caught him, he would never tell them where the camp was. He would say he didn't know where it was. And if they asked him where Robin was, he wouldn't know that either.
Next chapter
Author: kegel84 and bron_v
Rating: PG
Pairings/characters: Guy, Allan, Robin, Much
Summary: Robin and Guy have to team up when Marian seems to have disappeared, AU after Lardner's Ring.
Spoilers: Till Lardner's Ring.
Disclaimer: We don't own the show or any of its characters and make no profit from this work.
Previous chapter
Chapter 2
Guy marched through the castle, wearied from the long meeting with the sheriff. He intended to head to Allan’s chamber, hoping for the sake of the other's well-being that the man wasn’t out drinking somewhere. His thoughts then turned to what the sheriff's conversation had held... Hood, the Black Knights and King Richard... Involuntarily his mind slipped to more pleasant matters... Marian... and not really paying attention to where he was going, it was too late that he realized that his legs were taking him past Marian’s chamber en route to Allan’s that was located on a lower floor.
He walked past the door, behind which she would be resting, deliberately not looking at it, keeping his eyes focused on the wall at the end of the corridor. This strength did not last long, however, and only a few feet past the door he stopped, and turned to look at it after all, a frown on his face.
He guessed that she was asleep by now and didn't want to be disturbed. Another part of his mind argued though that she might be lonely, all alone and friendless in the castle after her father's death. Guy was glad she had returned to the place; he had not expected it, had thought he had lost her when she had fled to the convent. He contemplated knocking at her door for another moment. It could not hurt, despite the late hour. Arguing with himself, Guy reached forward and knocked on the wooden door. No answer. He knocked again.
“Marian? Marian, it’s me, Guy,” he said softly, or at least as softly as he could manage. There was still no answer.
He reached out with a hand. It wasn’t locked, but when he pushed the door open it creaked loudly. He sharply shut the door again. If Marian was asleep, which it seemed she was, she would surely not appreciate being awoken by a noisy door.
He stared at it for a moment, before he closed his eyes and turned to walk down the corridor. The plan to go and talk to Allan was now gone from his mind, and instead he went back to his own room, making a mental promise to return to Marian’s the following morning.
So when dawn broke the next day, Guy got dressed and headed back to Marian’s chamber, now entirely focused on where he was going. He didn’t hesitate before knocking on the door this time either, and was surprised when there was still no reply. He pushed the door open once again, this time not worrying when it creaked, pushing it the whole way. He stepped inside, and looked towards her bed. Marian wasn’t there.
Slowly, he walked out again and looked up and down the corridor. There was a guard at each end of it.
“Oi, you two!” he shouted.
The guards turned to look at Guy, unsure if he was actually calling for them. “Who?” one of them asked.
“You, and him.” Guy looked from the guard who asked to the other one. “Has Lady Marian left her chamber this morning?”
“No, my Lord.” The guard didn’t get to say more, as Guy had already run back through the door into Marian’s chamber. The guards looked at each other and sighed knowingly before returning to their posts at the ends of the corridor.
Guy looked around the whole room, but already knew that she wasn’t anywhere. If she hadn't left the chamber this morning, it could only mean she hadn't returned there for the night. He knew that she had come back from her visit to the market. The guard who had gone with her had reported to him later and had assured him of her safe return. Guy rushed to the window and looked out, but she couldn’t be seen in the courtyard the room overlooked. He ran out into the corridor, and marched hurriedly down it, shouting, “Marian!” She couldn't have left him again...
As he headed around a corner, he almost walked straight into Allan.
“Hey Giz...”
“Have you seen Marian?” Guy asked, figuring the man might have seen her slipping out. He knew too well that she was in the habit of doing so.
“Wha...?” Allan looked mildly confused.
“She’s not in her chamber and the guards haven’t seen her leave...”
“'Haven't seen her,” the former outlaw said quickly and Guy did not wonder for the first time how much of the man's communication consisted of compulsive lying.
He turned away from Allan, wondering where Marian might have gone. She often had some excuse as to why she had to leave the castle, many times her father's well-being had been her reasoning for it. The man was dead now and Guy could only puzzle as to what other private matters Marian felt the need to attend to that she did not want him to know about.
He did not pretend he knew much about female habits, but as far as he could tell, noblewomen, who had little occupations that they needed to attend to, generally spent their time in each other's company, conversing, embroidering and reading, if they were well educated. Of course, Marian had little opportunity for keeping company with other noblewomen. Guy smirked; as little as he liked it, he could very well imagine that Marian sometimes sneaked away to spend time with common women. It didn't befit her status, but she had oftentimes shown tendencies to ally at least in heart with the common folk. He knew he had to show her that he would gladly spend more time with her; hopefully it would drive the nonsense with the commoners out of her head. Once she would have a family and children to care for, this would certainly be the case...
“Guy?” Allan's voice brought him back to the present. “You sure she hasn't just gone for a stroll or something. She could've gone quietly, those guards... they aren’t that smart.”
Guy nodded, the matter finished for him for now. He'd talk to Marian about it later. There were other duties he had to attend to. He sent Allan away and went to talk to the sheriff then, as the man had wanted to see him once again.
It was when he had not heard of or seen Marian several hours later that he once again started to wonder. He returned to her chamber, but it was still empty. Surely she would be back by now, no matter the trifle matter she would have attended to...
He had thought he had been keeping enough tabs on her, but apparently the guards that had been supposed to watch her door had not been worth their gold.
Guy marched off, looking for Allan, and found the man sleeping on a sack of flour near the kitchen. The lazy dog had apparently filled his stomach and had then drowsily gone to sleep. Gisborne jerked the man awake and the former outlaw opened his eyes in confusion.
“What's up? Is the castle on fire?” He rubbed his forehead wearily.
It was the sheriff's warning from the previous night that was going through Guy's head. Something was going to happen to Marian, if Hood was not caught soon... Hood... the man had taken her before, had held her hostage and had used her to save his own life...
“Where is Marian?” he asked Allan who only shrugged helplessly. Guy grabbed him by the collar. “Did Hood take her again?”
“Robin? What? How’d I…,” Allan shook his head, reaching up to try and make Guy let him go. “Robin doesn’t hurt innocent women, Guy. ”
“Then what’s he doing with her?”
“He might not have her. Not kidding, but how would he have taken her from the castle?”
Gisborne released his hold on the man. “But he’s the only one who would have wanted to.”
“Maybe not, she could've caught any bloke’s eye,” Allan reasoned.
Gisborne had now stopped listening to Allan. “Go and ask in the town, if anyone’s seen her, any trace, bring them to me.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I am going to speak with my lieutenant, I need to organize a proper search for her.” Guy sped up and walked off, leaving Allan alone in the corridor.
An hour later Guy stood at the top of the steps in the castle courtyard, a group of twenty men gathered in front of him, all mounted on horses. Next to Guy was a man, dressed in attire almost identical to the guards’, but he stood with a more superior manner than the men who patrolled the corridors of the castle.
“Is this all you could muster?” Guy asked, disapprovingly looking at his lieutenant.
“You didn’t give me much time, Sir, but I assure you, these are the best men in Nottingham for the job. I know them all individually; they won’t let you down,” the man explained.
“They’d better not,” Guy warned. He trotted down the castle steps, and spoke to the men before him, walking amongst them as he did so. He told them everything they needed to know. He warned them about Hood, offered rewards, made sure to mention that Marian was to be left unscathed in any cases.
Guy watched as the men left. He wouldn't be able to follow them now, still having duties to attend to. But as soon as those were done, he himself would join the search with a second group of guards. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm himself. He knew he was taken action into a direction he couldn't even be certain was the right one. It was possible Marian had simply gone back to the convent, although he didn't believe she would have left without taking any of her belongings with her. He couldn't be sure, but he had decided that he had to act, considering the worst case.
He headed back up the steps towards the castle, but was interrupted in his track before he got to the top.
“Gisborne!” The Sheriff burst through the doors. “What in God’s name is going on? I come out of my chambers and see there are no guards at my door! Do you want to have me murdered in my bed?!”
“Sorry, my Lord, but Lady Marian’s gone missing. I had to organize for all castle staff to be questioned, if any one of them has seen her...”
“Gisborne! Are you telling me that I am at risk getting killed and Nottingham razed to the ground so that a leper who I prefer way out of my sight can be found?!” the sheriff yelled in Guy’s face.
“My Lord, she could be hurt...”
“Does it bother me? A clue: no.”
The arrow hit the tree with a thud. It stuck out of the trunk half an inch from another one. Any bystander would have thought that they had just witnessed Robin Hood failing to hit his target. Unless, of course, they had been privy to the only reluctantly voiced appeals of several outlaws requesting that Robin would not destroy any more arrows by playing around and splitting them. The man cheered though, before aiming yet another one, and fitted it right between the other two.
Then a movement in the scrub caught Robin's eye and it taking only a moment to ready another arrow and aim, it shot through the air, hitting its intended target at the same time that Much jerked up because the arrows had left their earlier fly-zone.
“I got you a rabbit,” Robin announced, regarding his friend's puzzled expression.
“What do I want with a rabbit?” Much murmured, but Robin was already spurting ahead, retrieving the dead animal from the ground.
“Come on, Much, you want it for supper, I know you do.” He threw the rabbit towards the other man who caught it grudgingly.
Much looked down at the prey in his hands with a still annoyed expression, but didn't say anything else, instead moving into the direction of the camp that was set up some distance away, though still in view of the two men.
Robin watched him leaving with a grin, a fairly new expression for the recent time. He had felt somewhat bitter, disappointed at the very least, ever since Marian had returned to the castle, on Guy of Gisborne's horse even more so. The gang had at first tried to cheer him up, but even Much had given up on that after Robin had barked at him the other day for something not even Robin was able to remember now. They had left Robin by himself today, only Much had sat down near him as the man had started unnecessary practice on his accuracy in archery. He knew he needed no practice, just relief.
His mood had lifted, but it wasn't just because of the arrows hitting their mark. He had finally decided to go to Nottingham later that day. He knew that yesterday would have been a good day to see Marian, too, as it had been market day, but then she had certainly been accompanied by a guard, and Robin much preferred seeing her alone, even if it was more difficult to get to her inside the castle.
Robin strode over to the tree he had used for target practice, pulling out the arrows one by one and putting them back into his quiver after brief examination to ensure that they were still intact. He looked over to the camp and considered briefly leaving for Nottingham immediately, without any long discussion about it with the others. Having made his decision, he turned on the spot, securing quiver and bow on his back. He had barely made five steps before Much called after him.
“Where are you going?”
Robin didn't stop walking, although his hope to sneak away undetected was now apparently dashed. “I'll be back soon,” he called back, hastening his step.
”You aren't going to get yourself into trouble, are you?” Much asked loudly and Robin could hear the crunching of his movements through the thicket, showing the man was following him.
”No,” Robin said in a low voice, coming to a stop a second later. He turned and saw that Much had almost come up to him. His friend stopped walking, too.
”Much, listen,” Robin began insistently. ”I want to go and see Marian. Alone.”
“You can't go to Nottingham, alone,” Much declared, sounding uneasy. “I'm going to come and...”
“Much,” Robin shook his head.
“... and Djaq and Will and John can come, too!”
Robin grimaced. “I want to see her, alone. Do you understand that?”
Much looked at him blankly for a moment, before he nodded slowly. “I do.”
Robin nodded as well.
“But I don't like it! There's the sheriff, there's Gisborne, there's-”
“They've always been there, Much.”
“There's Allan!”
Robin grumbled. “He’s not a threat to me.” He turned to go again. “I'm going alone.” His tone made clear that he wouldn't dispute this any longer. He hurried on, hoping it would discourage Much from following him further, not that anything had discouraged the man from following Robin thousands of miles to the Holy Land and back.
He marched on, careful not to look back. After a while, he couldn't hear anyone behind him anymore. Only the sounds of the forest itself reached his ears now. Even the singing of the birds seemed fairly loud now, once he was alone and no other people were there to drown them out.
He made it to Nottingham in good time. Sneaking into the town had become pretty much of a routine, especially when he was alone. Getting into the castle and up to Marian's chamber was a little trickier, however. He assumed that she used the same quarters now as she had used before she came to stay with him in the forest. She had left almost all of her belongings and he guessed that nobody had removed them from her room, so it was only natural she would have been accommodated there again, after Gisborne had 'rescued' her from the clutches of the outlaws.
Robin had to duck quickly behind a large pile of wood when a group of guards marched out of the side portal that he had designed as his way into the castle. They stopped in the castle yard, and were soon joined by more men. Robin kept his head down, lest any of the men forgot their discipline and cast a glance at the stack behind which Robin was hiding. Once he was fairly certain that no more men would exit the portal as no more footsteps could be heard, he leapt over the pile and quickly skittered out of view into the building. Always keeping an eye out for a possible place to hide, he didn't encounter anyone on his way.
Then he was at Marian's door. No guards were there to be seen either. He stopped and listened, but wasn't able to hear anything through the heavy door, although it was quiet in the corridor.
Robin was suddenly apprehensive. He wondered whether he should knock and announce himself first. He didn't quite understand why he was almost shy now. He had been hiding in Marian's bed at a time when she had been barely civil towards him. Now they were engaged.
He knocked, glancing around in the hallway at the same time. Nobody was there and neither did he get any answer from inside the room. Of course he should have expected that Marian wasn't there all the time; he could never be certain she would be around when he came to visit, unless he had told her beforehand that he planned to come, or when he was sneaking in at night. But thinking about it he figured he wouldn't even be certain then because he guessed that the Nightwatchman was still very much active, if he judged Marian's enthusiasm to participate in the outlaw's activities correctly.
He opened the door as quietly as possible, but found it creaking. He was soon confirmed in the guess that Marian was not there. He moved through the room, looking from left to right. Some clothes were lying on her bed, and there were several small signs that promised her soon return. Robin walked to the sole window of the room, pondering whether to wait for Marian or return later, and looked down into the castle yard. The troops he had seen earlier were still standing there. It was a moment later that a man clad in black caught Robin's sight.
Guy of Gisborne walked to a spot in front of the soldiers, coming to a stop there. He turned to them and waited another moment until he was certain to have their attention.
“I have sent out men to search for Lady Marian. We are to join them and search the forest. I want you to find her,” he ordered in a voice that carried over the whole castle yard and up to the window where Robin was watching and listening. He wondered what Guy was talking about, a fear slowly rising in him. “Bring her back to the castle safely. If you can kill any of Hood's men, do so, but don't risk Lady Marian's life in exchange.” The soldiers acknowledged their understanding of the orders.
Robin watched uneasily. They were looking for Marian. So she wasn't in the castle anymore. The first idea, the first hope he came to cherish with this realization was that she had returned to the forest, to live at the camp again. Maybe she had indeed changed her mind.
She had originally returned to Nottingham because she thought she could do more for their cause there. Robin hadn't liked it. He still didn't like it, but he could not help wondering about her sudden change of heart. If she had really gone back into the forest, that was, as he couldn't be sure of that.
Robin stepped away from the window, leaning against the stonewall beside it, looking over the room. Its appearance promised that Marian would come back there any moment. She apparently hadn't packed, hadn't tidied up. Robin knew that Marian could be impulsive, but the idea that she would have decided to leave for the forest from one moment to the other without any preparations seemed odd in his mind. She certainly hadn't said goodbye to Gisborne, Robin thought with slight amusement.
Pushing himself away from the wall, he walked around the room, glancing around for any hint as to where Marian had gone. There wasn't any to be found by him. As he had assessed before, it all seemed like she would enter the room any second. Robin knew that Marian was hiding the clothes of the Nightwatchman somewhere, although he was not sure that she was actually keeping them in her room. He didn't believe he would be able to discover them easily and if he did not, he couldn't be certain at all that they were not hidden somewhere else. So he had no simple way to find out if Marian was away on Nightwatchman business, or if there was another reason for her long absence. She had certainly been gone long enough for Guy to go and get a search organized.
With a last look into the room Robin left, closing the door quietly behind him. The hallway was still empty. As he moved quickly through the corridors, he wondered if Gisborne had already searched Marian's room closely. It certainly didn't look as if he had sent any servant in there to clean up.
Movements on the left made Robin draw back around a corner and he watched as the man walked up to where he was hiding. At the last moment, Robin jumped forward and placed himself in the man's way. Allan stopped dead.
“What is Gisborne up to?” Robin asked in a low tone, giving the man no time for a reaction to his sudden appearance.
“He's looking for Marian, ” Allan said quickly, backing away almost indiscernible. “Not being funny, but if you know where she is, you better tell Guy. And fast. He's taking guards out to search the forest and the surrounding villages for her.“
Robin's expression grew a little darker. “Not everybody's keen to give information to Gisborne.”
Allan frowned. “Just saying. If he combs the forest, he might find other things as well, you know.”
“Is that a threat?” Robin's voice was fierce now, stepping closer to the other man.
Allan held up his hands. “Maybe I can tell you one thing or another,” he offered and after a moment Robin relaxed somewhat and crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking expectantly. Allan glanced around but nobody else was in the corridor. Still, he motioned Robin to follow him and after a moment's suspicious hesitation, Robin did so. Allan worked up a rusty door in the hallway Robin had come from moments earlier and went inside, pulling Robin with him.
“Now what?” Robin wanted to know, still wary of the situation.
“I saw her last night,” Allan said, leaning apparently casually against a wall, but Robin noticed that the man was still tense.
He nodded, curious now as to what the other had to say. “Where was she going?”
Allan shrugged. “I don't know. She didn't tell me... not being funny, but it's not like she's letting me in on her plans. Anyway, she was him, the Nightwatchman, you know.”
“Did she say anything?”
“Nothing of consequence.”
“So what's going on here? What is Gisborne doing?” Robin demanded.
“He's looking for her. He wanted to see her this morning, but didn't find her. He started asking around, but nobody has seen her.”
“Save for you.”
“Well, Guy doesn't know that. I could hardly tell him-”
“Do you have any idea where she could have gone?” Robin urged, unwilling to hear about the things Allan would do or not do.
The man shook his head. “I've got no clue. Guy thinks you've kidnapped her again.”
“Again?”
Allan waved Robin's objection away. “Sheriff's put that idea into his head.”
Robin scrutinized Allan for a few more moments before he turned without another word and opened the door, walking out into the corridor. The thoughts were spinning in his head. Marian had gone off as the Nightwatchman again. He hadn't been able to confirm that possibility sooner, but now he could be quite sure of it, if he was to trust Allan's words for once.
It contradicted the idea that she had simply decided to return to the forest. It meant she wasn't back from whatever mission she had planned to accomplish. Unlike Robin, Guy couldn't know about that, so for him there was no explanation as to where she could have gone. For him, she had simply vanished.
Robin hurried to get out of the castle, wondering what to do. He could return to the forest and wait. Maybe Marian would actually go there. Or he could ask around, find out if anyone had seen the Nightwatchman. He just didn't know where to start asking. He had no idea at all what Marian's plan had been. Chances were she would be back soon, but on the other hand he didn't think she would intentionally risk returning late and being missed at the castle. Robin didn't know what to think.
He slowed down as he heard the noise of several people coming from the crossing corridor. The clang of metal on metal told him that they were armed and he retreated into the shadows. A few seconds later he saw the sheriff walking by, surrounded by several of his guards. The men were gone quickly and Robin didn't bother to follow. He had always considered the sheriff the greatest danger to Marian when she was at the castle, as he would be able to figure out that she was more dangerous than a love-sick, though cruel, puppy as Guy would understand. If the sheriff had anything to do with Marian's disappearance though, Gisborne wouldn't be riding out to search her. At least Robin guessed as much, although he wasn't quite sure about the degree of mutual confidence between the Master-At-Arms and the sheriff.
Much had let Robin only reluctantly go alone. He didn't like it at all. Sure, Robin had gone to Nottingham and other places on his own often enough. But just as often had he gotten himself into trouble when he had been alone.
Much could have followed him, but Robin would have been stubborn, would have told Much to stay in the forest again. And at the end of the day, maybe Robin really needed some time alone to see Marian, as little as Much like the possibility of trouble. Nevertheless, he trusted Robin, so he had decided to trust that Robin knew what he was doing and wouldn't risk the gang's well-being, including Much's, by risking his life.
So he had taken the uncomfortable task on himself to tell the others that Robin had left. They had not been much surprised, though they did not appear very happy about it either. Then he had gone to prepare the rabbit Robin had shot, although he hadn't really been in the mood for it. On the one hand, he was certainly looking forward to a meal with at least a few pieces of rabbit for everyone, but on the other hand, he was worried for Robin and that was damping his appetite. He figured they would have to wait with supper until Robin returned anyway.
Late in the afternoon there was still no sign of the outlaw. Much admitted to himself though, that Robin would naturally need some time to come back, if he had gone to Nottingham as planned, even more so if he was going to spend time with Marian. Still, Much hoped Robin wouldn't let them wait too long.
It was still some time before the break of dusk when Djaq and Will decided to go and hunt some more meat for their supper. Much argued for a while that they had enough already and that they should stay together at the camp, but to no avail, the two had vanished out of sight before he had even finished his argument.
He had turned to continue arguing with Little John, but didn't receive much response from the man which let the discussion fade out rather soon. Slightly irritated, he had finally marched off to collect some cowberries that were supposed to go well with rabbit. He had to find some berries first, of course, but believed to remember a spot where he had seen bushes growing the fruit the other day. After a short walk he rediscovered the place and started picking the berries. At first the majority of them wandered into his mouth, before he began to fill a small bag he had with him.
It was when Much was crouching down to collect some of the red berries from the lower branches that he could hear the sound of people moving through the forest not far away from him. He didn't think for a moment that it could be Robin returning to camp because he knew that Robin would never make this kind of noise when coming through the woods. Much stayed down at the forest ground and glanced through the brushwork, trying to get a view of whoever was approaching instead.
When the men finally came into sight, Much froze. The tall man clad in black leather was unmistakable, even from the distance. Gisborne moved in front of his guards, his eyes scouting the forest and Much had only one thought: Guy was looking for the outlaws' camp.
He wondered for a moment why Robin was not there when he needed him the most, but then had the terrible vision of Robin having been caught and having been forced to tell Guy the location of the camp. Much jumped up. There was no time to lose; he had to warn the others that Gisborne was coming.
There was a shout behind him and he knew he had been sighted. He rushed through the underbrush, but the next moment he stopped dead, reconsidering. Robin would never tell Guy where the camp was, not even under torture, Much was sure about that. Maybe Guy didn't know where the camp was, but was only looking for it. If that was the case, he mustn't return to the camp. Otherwise he might even lead the sheriff's henchman there.
Much turned and darted into the opposite direction, away from the camp. He had to stop Gisborne from learning of its location. If the man ever found it, they would have to leave the camp behind, including all the comfort it offered compared to sleeping on the bare grounds. They wouldn't even be able to take all of their provisions with them. Much couldn't let this happen.
He heard more calls behind him. At least they would be following him now, he hoped, and he would lead them away from the camp. And if they caught him, he would never tell them where the camp was. He would say he didn't know where it was. And if they asked him where Robin was, he wouldn't know that either.
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