Denial, chapter 20: No Going Back
Title: Denial, chapter 20: No Going Back
Author: robinfanatic
Characters/Pairings: Will, Allan, Guy, Marian
Rating: PG-13
Genre: slash (mostly implied)
Words: 1708
Disclaimer: BBC & TA own; we just want to play in their universe
Notes: This continues the 'Round-Robin' fic 'Denial' and is set during 2x10 "Walkabout"; dialogue liberally borrowed but put to my own use!
Thanks to my betas: wastingyourgum, haecvir , and darkentwisted
Summary: Prince John's army is headed to Nottingham and Guy thinks he may have another way to convince Jasper not to burn down the town; Allan desperately wants Will's forgiveness; and Marian is being her usually-stubborn self!
Want to play? Come join us! Check out the Rules and join in the Round Robin fun!
Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
>>>---------------->
No Going Back
by robinfanatic
Will hurried toward the armoury hoping to find Marian. He fingered the ring in the pocket of his tunic. Time was running out. If he wanted to keep his promise to Robin he needed to get the lady out of the castle as soon as possible.
Crossing the courtyard, he spotted Allan. A punch in the gut wouldn't have been worse. He'd already had one run in with him today. He had no desire to speak to the traitor again but Allan headed straight toward him. He handed Will a sword and held his tongue as Will barrelled past him, his angry glare as sharp as any dagger.
Will noticed Marian across the ward and approached her. Forcing all thoughts of Allan from his mind, his expression softened.
"Will - any word from Robin?" she asked.
Will shook his head. "But I know he will die before he stops looking."
"Today that's not good enough, Will."
"Marian, the one person who can't die is you."
She smiled at Will. "I think Djaq might have some thoughts on that," she replied lightly, delighted when a reddish blush painted his cheeks. "But there's no way out."
Will held out the engagement ring Robin had given him for safekeeping. "I promised Robin you'd be safe."
Marian gazed longingly at the jewel-encrusted ring. A life with Robin seemed like a dream beyond her reach at this moment. In her heart she knew that he would do everything he could to bring the Sheriff back to Nottingham. "I won't leave the castle, Will," she said, holding the ring as if it were the last piece of Robin she might ever have. "These people need our help."
"I'll find a way out."
Allan barged right into his friends' conversation, determined to get Will to listen to him. "I don't think there is a way out. There's 'undreds of them out there, locked us in tight." His eyes met Will's. "Looks like we're brothers in arms again."
Will scoffed. "Get away from me, Allan."
"Will!" Marian exclaimed.
Will's brow furrowed and he couldn't stop the anger meant for Allan but thrown Marian's way. "Stay out of this, Marian."
"I said I was sorry, Will," Allan told the carpenter. "I never meant those things I said."
"I told you it's too late, Allan. You deliberately betrayed us. There's no going back." A pained look washed across Will's face. "Djaq helped you. You don't know how hard it was for me to watch her help you, especially after what you said... what you did. It's hard to forget those things."
Marian looked from the carpenter to Sir Guy's man and back. "What are you talking about, Will?"
Will clenched his fist. As much as he loathed Allan, he couldn't bring himself to tell Marian, let alone Djaq, about the abuse--the rape--he'd suffered at Allan's hands. His heart pounded when he thought about how easily Djaq had forgiven Allan's betrayal of the gang. Would she feel the same way if she'd known the entire truth? He let his gaze fall to Marian's eyes. "I don't think you want to know."
Marian glared impatiently at the two men. "Oh grow up, both of you!"
Allan reached for Will. "I'll make it up to you--"
"How can you?" Will shouted, shoving Allan's hand away.
Allan held his palms up. "You know I'm here watching Marian, protecting the gang and Robin," he replied.
"He's right, Will," Marian said. "Allan hasn't told Guy where the camp is--"
"It's only a matter of time," the carpenter shot back icily.
Allan ignored the tone in Will's voice. "Not bein' funny... but seein' as how we're all about to die--"
"We need to get Marian out of here," Will said emphatically.
"I won't abandon these people," Marian retorted in an equally vehement tone.
The sound of a sword being pulled from its sheath caused them all to start. The tip of Gisborne's blade was at Will's neck. "What is this one doing here? One of Hood's gang?"
"Guy!" Marian half-shouted. She tugged at Gisborne's arm to pull the blade away from Will. "Leave him alone!"
"He's tryin' to help, Sir Guy," Allan told the dark knight. "Tryin' to convince Marian to leave."
"Hold there," Guy said. He cuffed Will's neck, grasped a handful of hair and pulled his head back. He recognized Will as the outlaw who had been captured in Locksley when they'd been searching the village for Lardner's ring. "You're supposed to be dead. You were in the dungeon--"
"Guy, we don't have time for this," Marian snapped.
"Bring him!" The black knight shoved Will toward Allan. "Perhaps Sir Jasper will hold the army back if we promise him one of Hood's men. We'll use him as bait and when Hood comes to save him, we turn them both over to Prince John."
"Hood is trying to save all of us," Marian reminded him.
"Well he's no where around, now is he?" Gisborne hissed. "He's saving his own hide, Marian. We'll never see him again."
"That's crazy, Gu-- Sir Guy! Robin would never desert Marian!" Allan said.
Guy's face turned a bloody shade of red. His glare was as hot as the torches that the Prince's troops would use to destroy Nottingham.
Marian scoffed. "He left me tied up in a tree, Allan. He used me as a hostage!" she reminded him. She returned Guy's glare with one as fierce as his own. "We need every able-bodied man to fend off Prince John's army."
"Not this one." Guy sneered, roughly shoving Will toward Allan. "Tie him up. Put him in the dungeon. And then find Sir Jasper."
"Guy--"
"Enough, Marian. Please," he said, "meet me in the Great Hall." Guy glared at Allan. "You heard me, A'Dale."
"Allan--"
Allan shrugged. His hands were tied. He couldn't help anyone if he went against Guy's orders now. "Sorry, Marian."
Marian stormed back into the castle. Guy watched her for a moment. He desperately wanted to speak with this woman who still held sway over him but decided he'd best let her cool down. This new plan might come to naught. He was determined to ask her to marry him, then the two of them could leave Nottingham under Sir Jasper's protection.
Allan guided Will away from the courtyard. "Don't worry, Will. I'll make sure you can get away. And somehow I'll get word to Robin about this trap."
"Don't do me any favours, traitor," Will spat. "If me being turned over to Sir Jasper stops the attack on Nottingham, that's all that matters. I just--" he choked on his words, unable--or unwilling--to share his thoughts with his former friend.
Allan knew Will's heart and mind as well as he knew his own. He was thinking about Djaq. "We'll find you." He led the carpenter into the castle through a darkened corridor toward the dungeons. Shoving Will against the cold stone wall, he looked into his eyes. "I'll find you," he said quietly as he brought his lips to Will's and kissed him gently. Tears wet his cheeks as Will responded with a need that reminded Allan of the old days back at camp. Pressed tightly against the man he wanted to call more-than-friend, Allan kissed him a second time. It was rougher than the first... desperate and greedy.
"Stop... stop!" Will suddenly cried out, turning his face away from Allan's. His scars ran too deep, dark and ugly like the dungeon where Allan had taken him. The remorse in Allan's blue eyes, the tears they shared for love lost--neither could erase his pain and anger.
Allan's breath rattled in his throat. He stepped away from Will and nodded sadly to his former lover, then gently guided him away.
>>>----------------->
Perched on his horse, Guy stared down Sir Jasper. Shock troops stood ready to descend on Nottingham. Their torches lit the night burning like the flames of hell. Marian had refused his marriage proposal. Jasper just laughed when he suggested luring Hood to Nottingham and turning him over to Prince John. Things were not going well.
"And the woman, Marian. Is she leaving with you?" Sir Jasper smirked.
Damn you, Marian, you drive me insane! We could leave right now if you weren't so stubborn.
"She will not abandon Nottingham." He'd known all along this would be her decision, so he'd already ordered the carpenter's release. One more able-bodied man wouldn't change the outcome of this fight, but it would make Marian happy. He could picture the smile on her face when Scarlett appeared in the Great Hall. It would be a smile meant for him. Guy shook his head. I must be deluding myself.
Sir Jasper chuckled. He pitied the man before him. "Imbecile."
Perhaps Prince John's lackey was right. But for the moment, Guy preferred to stay in his own fantasy world. "And without her," he added, "my world may as well turn to ash."
Guy burst back into the Great Hall shouting Marian's name at the top of his lungs. She looked up from the crowded room and her smile lit his heart afire. If he were to die today, he'd remember that smile and know that he'd done something good for once in his life. "To arms!" he cried.
They could hear Allan sounding the alarm outside. Marian stood beside him, her hand on his arm. She was more delicate that he remembered, almost frightened, but with a resolve he couldn't help but admire. It would be over soon. "Marry me now, and make it the last thing we do." He looked into her eyes. "Let's steal that from them at least."
Marian's eyes looked moist. Her lips turned up in a small smile but she did not respond.
"Gisborne!" The familiar voice echoed up from the streets and into the Great Hall. The Sheriff was back. Nottingham was saved from a scorching.
Guy felt Marian's hand trail away from his arm. The woman who'd stood by his side a moment before now seemed cold and distant.
There would be no fire tonight except for the one that burned in Guy's soul.
>>>----------------->
Chapter 21 takes us to Acre with Carter and Much....
Come to Denial... the endings are better there...
Author: robinfanatic
Characters/Pairings: Will, Allan, Guy, Marian
Rating: PG-13
Genre: slash (mostly implied)
Words: 1708
Disclaimer: BBC & TA own; we just want to play in their universe
Notes: This continues the 'Round-Robin' fic 'Denial' and is set during 2x10 "Walkabout"; dialogue liberally borrowed but put to my own use!
Thanks to my betas: wastingyourgum, haecvir , and darkentwisted
Summary: Prince John's army is headed to Nottingham and Guy thinks he may have another way to convince Jasper not to burn down the town; Allan desperately wants Will's forgiveness; and Marian is being her usually-stubborn self!
Want to play? Come join us! Check out the Rules and join in the Round Robin fun!
Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
>>>---------------->
No Going Back
by robinfanatic
Will hurried toward the armoury hoping to find Marian. He fingered the ring in the pocket of his tunic. Time was running out. If he wanted to keep his promise to Robin he needed to get the lady out of the castle as soon as possible.
Crossing the courtyard, he spotted Allan. A punch in the gut wouldn't have been worse. He'd already had one run in with him today. He had no desire to speak to the traitor again but Allan headed straight toward him. He handed Will a sword and held his tongue as Will barrelled past him, his angry glare as sharp as any dagger.
Will noticed Marian across the ward and approached her. Forcing all thoughts of Allan from his mind, his expression softened.
"Will - any word from Robin?" she asked.
Will shook his head. "But I know he will die before he stops looking."
"Today that's not good enough, Will."
"Marian, the one person who can't die is you."
She smiled at Will. "I think Djaq might have some thoughts on that," she replied lightly, delighted when a reddish blush painted his cheeks. "But there's no way out."
Will held out the engagement ring Robin had given him for safekeeping. "I promised Robin you'd be safe."
Marian gazed longingly at the jewel-encrusted ring. A life with Robin seemed like a dream beyond her reach at this moment. In her heart she knew that he would do everything he could to bring the Sheriff back to Nottingham. "I won't leave the castle, Will," she said, holding the ring as if it were the last piece of Robin she might ever have. "These people need our help."
"I'll find a way out."
Allan barged right into his friends' conversation, determined to get Will to listen to him. "I don't think there is a way out. There's 'undreds of them out there, locked us in tight." His eyes met Will's. "Looks like we're brothers in arms again."
Will scoffed. "Get away from me, Allan."
"Will!" Marian exclaimed.
Will's brow furrowed and he couldn't stop the anger meant for Allan but thrown Marian's way. "Stay out of this, Marian."
"I said I was sorry, Will," Allan told the carpenter. "I never meant those things I said."
"I told you it's too late, Allan. You deliberately betrayed us. There's no going back." A pained look washed across Will's face. "Djaq helped you. You don't know how hard it was for me to watch her help you, especially after what you said... what you did. It's hard to forget those things."
Marian looked from the carpenter to Sir Guy's man and back. "What are you talking about, Will?"
Will clenched his fist. As much as he loathed Allan, he couldn't bring himself to tell Marian, let alone Djaq, about the abuse--the rape--he'd suffered at Allan's hands. His heart pounded when he thought about how easily Djaq had forgiven Allan's betrayal of the gang. Would she feel the same way if she'd known the entire truth? He let his gaze fall to Marian's eyes. "I don't think you want to know."
Marian glared impatiently at the two men. "Oh grow up, both of you!"
Allan reached for Will. "I'll make it up to you--"
"How can you?" Will shouted, shoving Allan's hand away.
Allan held his palms up. "You know I'm here watching Marian, protecting the gang and Robin," he replied.
"He's right, Will," Marian said. "Allan hasn't told Guy where the camp is--"
"It's only a matter of time," the carpenter shot back icily.
Allan ignored the tone in Will's voice. "Not bein' funny... but seein' as how we're all about to die--"
"We need to get Marian out of here," Will said emphatically.
"I won't abandon these people," Marian retorted in an equally vehement tone.
The sound of a sword being pulled from its sheath caused them all to start. The tip of Gisborne's blade was at Will's neck. "What is this one doing here? One of Hood's gang?"
"Guy!" Marian half-shouted. She tugged at Gisborne's arm to pull the blade away from Will. "Leave him alone!"
"He's tryin' to help, Sir Guy," Allan told the dark knight. "Tryin' to convince Marian to leave."
"Hold there," Guy said. He cuffed Will's neck, grasped a handful of hair and pulled his head back. He recognized Will as the outlaw who had been captured in Locksley when they'd been searching the village for Lardner's ring. "You're supposed to be dead. You were in the dungeon--"
"Guy, we don't have time for this," Marian snapped.
"Bring him!" The black knight shoved Will toward Allan. "Perhaps Sir Jasper will hold the army back if we promise him one of Hood's men. We'll use him as bait and when Hood comes to save him, we turn them both over to Prince John."
"Hood is trying to save all of us," Marian reminded him.
"Well he's no where around, now is he?" Gisborne hissed. "He's saving his own hide, Marian. We'll never see him again."
"That's crazy, Gu-- Sir Guy! Robin would never desert Marian!" Allan said.
Guy's face turned a bloody shade of red. His glare was as hot as the torches that the Prince's troops would use to destroy Nottingham.
Marian scoffed. "He left me tied up in a tree, Allan. He used me as a hostage!" she reminded him. She returned Guy's glare with one as fierce as his own. "We need every able-bodied man to fend off Prince John's army."
"Not this one." Guy sneered, roughly shoving Will toward Allan. "Tie him up. Put him in the dungeon. And then find Sir Jasper."
"Guy--"
"Enough, Marian. Please," he said, "meet me in the Great Hall." Guy glared at Allan. "You heard me, A'Dale."
"Allan--"
Allan shrugged. His hands were tied. He couldn't help anyone if he went against Guy's orders now. "Sorry, Marian."
Marian stormed back into the castle. Guy watched her for a moment. He desperately wanted to speak with this woman who still held sway over him but decided he'd best let her cool down. This new plan might come to naught. He was determined to ask her to marry him, then the two of them could leave Nottingham under Sir Jasper's protection.
Allan guided Will away from the courtyard. "Don't worry, Will. I'll make sure you can get away. And somehow I'll get word to Robin about this trap."
"Don't do me any favours, traitor," Will spat. "If me being turned over to Sir Jasper stops the attack on Nottingham, that's all that matters. I just--" he choked on his words, unable--or unwilling--to share his thoughts with his former friend.
Allan knew Will's heart and mind as well as he knew his own. He was thinking about Djaq. "We'll find you." He led the carpenter into the castle through a darkened corridor toward the dungeons. Shoving Will against the cold stone wall, he looked into his eyes. "I'll find you," he said quietly as he brought his lips to Will's and kissed him gently. Tears wet his cheeks as Will responded with a need that reminded Allan of the old days back at camp. Pressed tightly against the man he wanted to call more-than-friend, Allan kissed him a second time. It was rougher than the first... desperate and greedy.
"Stop... stop!" Will suddenly cried out, turning his face away from Allan's. His scars ran too deep, dark and ugly like the dungeon where Allan had taken him. The remorse in Allan's blue eyes, the tears they shared for love lost--neither could erase his pain and anger.
Allan's breath rattled in his throat. He stepped away from Will and nodded sadly to his former lover, then gently guided him away.
>>>----------------->
Perched on his horse, Guy stared down Sir Jasper. Shock troops stood ready to descend on Nottingham. Their torches lit the night burning like the flames of hell. Marian had refused his marriage proposal. Jasper just laughed when he suggested luring Hood to Nottingham and turning him over to Prince John. Things were not going well.
"And the woman, Marian. Is she leaving with you?" Sir Jasper smirked.
Damn you, Marian, you drive me insane! We could leave right now if you weren't so stubborn.
"She will not abandon Nottingham." He'd known all along this would be her decision, so he'd already ordered the carpenter's release. One more able-bodied man wouldn't change the outcome of this fight, but it would make Marian happy. He could picture the smile on her face when Scarlett appeared in the Great Hall. It would be a smile meant for him. Guy shook his head. I must be deluding myself.
Sir Jasper chuckled. He pitied the man before him. "Imbecile."
Perhaps Prince John's lackey was right. But for the moment, Guy preferred to stay in his own fantasy world. "And without her," he added, "my world may as well turn to ash."
Guy burst back into the Great Hall shouting Marian's name at the top of his lungs. She looked up from the crowded room and her smile lit his heart afire. If he were to die today, he'd remember that smile and know that he'd done something good for once in his life. "To arms!" he cried.
They could hear Allan sounding the alarm outside. Marian stood beside him, her hand on his arm. She was more delicate that he remembered, almost frightened, but with a resolve he couldn't help but admire. It would be over soon. "Marry me now, and make it the last thing we do." He looked into her eyes. "Let's steal that from them at least."
Marian's eyes looked moist. Her lips turned up in a small smile but she did not respond.
"Gisborne!" The familiar voice echoed up from the streets and into the Great Hall. The Sheriff was back. Nottingham was saved from a scorching.
Guy felt Marian's hand trail away from his arm. The woman who'd stood by his side a moment before now seemed cold and distant.
There would be no fire tonight except for the one that burned in Guy's soul.
>>>----------------->
Chapter 21 takes us to Acre with Carter and Much....
Come to Denial... the endings are better there...