literature

Crazier Things

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She waited in the shadows of the forest, blending in with the night beneath her dark clothing and mossy cloak. Gloved hands clutched her bow tightly and blue eyes blinked patiently behind her leather mask. A man moved through the streets of Nettlestone all but soundless in his hasty steps, unaware he was being watched. He paused outside of the miller's house and pressed his back to the wall, listening. When he felt it was safe he carefully opened the door and slipped inside.

Rising from her crouched position, she pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back and nocked it. She took slow, calculated steps as she circled around the outside edge of the forest, making sure to keep the miller's house in full view. No lights had been lit and no call of alarm had been raised; this man was very good at what he did.

It wasn't by complete accident that Marian knew about this man, the Bedtime Bandit they'd begun calling him. She just happened to be passing down the right hall in Nottingham Castle to overhear two of the guards talking about it with Sir Guy of Gisborne. Apparently this man had been moving from village to village and no one knew who he was. Guy could hardly be bothered by it himself, of course, but Marian had been feeling a bit restless. She welcomed the excuse to go looking for trouble. Using her gift for manipulation, Marian gleaned as much information from the guards as she could once Guy was gone. She learned the bandit had started far north of them and had been traveling south at a fairly regular pace on a fairly predictable route. When she put it all together Marian knew he'd hit Nettlestone sometime within a three day period. This was the second night she'd come out to watch and he was there, in the middle of her predicted timeline.

A twig snapped to her right and she whipped around pulling her bowstring taut. A man stepped from the darkness, his recurved bow also ready to let loose an arrow. When he saw her he tilted his head to the side, a frown drawing his brows together. "Marian?"

She sighed and relaxed the tension on her bowstring. "Robin. I should have guessed."

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"

"The same thing you are, I would imagine." She tugged her mask and the cloth covering her mouth down so he could get the full effect of her scowl. "Though I do not come searching for glory as payment."

"Not publicly," Robin countered, grinning cheekily. He lowered his bow as well, completely unaffected by her displeasure. "You would rather the villagers speak of you as some magical hero they can love and be in awe of at a distance."

"As opposed to Robin Hood and his band of men who walk proudly through the streets, publicly flouting the law and accepting kisses from women and handshakes from men?"

His grin widened. "Exactly. You should try it my way. You do not know what you are missing."

Try as she might, Marian could not stop herself from smiling even slightly. He'd always had that effect on her and she loathed that about him. "And where are the rest of your misfits?"

Robin gave a very quiet whistle and looked to the side. "Oy!" he whispered loudly. Out of the trees came four men; Little John with his staff, Will Scarlett with his own bow, Alan Adale with his sword and Much with a dagger and a face full of worry. Robin clapped him on the shoulder. "I told you to stay at camp if you were going to be this nervous."

"I'm sorry, Master. I just do not enjoy the idea of all of us being out here while no one is there."

Alan shook his head. "I'm not trying to be funny, but who in their right mind would go looking for the lot of us in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night?"

"Guy," both Marian and Robin answered at once. They looked at each other and Robin smirked. "Perhaps the Night Watchman and team Robin could work together on this one, hmm? Then we would all be back in our beds by a reasonable hour."

Marian regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before sighing. "I suppose crazier things have happened. Most of them in your company."

"Right, then. Back to your posts, men."

As his companions returned to their assigned spots, Marian watched Robin turn toward the village. He spread his feet and pulled back his bowstring, making her quirk an eyebrow. "What do you think you are doing?"

He blinked, sparing her a quick glance. "What does it look like I'm doing? Waiting for the thief to come out so I can shoot him."

"Not here you are not. This is my spot."

"And this is the spot to which I was headed when..."

"When you stepped on a dry branch like a clumsy bear moving through the woods. If you are intent on alerting the bandit to your whereabouts I would appreciate it if you were standing elsewhere so that I may have a chance at stopping him."

"Hang on a minute. Did you just call me fat?"

The door to the miller's house opened, instantaneously silencing both of them. Marian pulled back her bowstring and followed the man with the tip of her arrow. "On my count," she said quietly.

"One," Robin said.

Marian threw an angry glance his way and growled, "Two."

Together they said, "Three," and loosed their arrows to send them whispering through the air. Marian's hooked through the right shoulder of the bandit's tunic while Robin's went through the left and pinned him to the side of the miller's house. The woods rattled quietly as the six people hidden within revealed themselves. As she walked, Marian pulled her neck of her tunic up over her mouth and the mask back up over her face.

"Well, well, well," said Robin as he approached the pinned man. The hood of his cloak was pulled down low over his face and Robin ducked his head. "What do we have here?"

She felt it in her gut then, that something wasn't right. Her mouth opened to say his name just as Robin reached for the pinned bandit and yanked the hood back to reveal the man's face. Beside Marian, Little John growled and looked around. "This, I do not like."

"Robin Hood," said Guy, a sneer pulling his lips back. He gave a shake of his head to rid his face of the hair that fell across his brow, then gave a jerk of his shoulders to free himself of the arrows. His cool blue eyes went to Marian and he looked her up and down. "And the Night Watchman as well. It must be my lucky night. Guards!"

They came from the miller's house and the surrounding homes, the families that occupied them nowhere to be seen. Marian reached for another arrow from her quiver and turned to fight at the same time Robin's men did the same. Robin, on the other hand, tossed his bow aside and drew his sword on Gisborne. Guy was quick, however, and had his own sword drawn before Robin could come at him.

"Take the Night Watchman!" he ordered his men. "Kill the rest of them."

It became an all out melee with Nottingham Castle guards pitted against Robin and his men, and Marian. Quickly seeing her bow was useless in such close proximity to her enemy, Marian took an arrow in hand and thrust it forward like a dagger, piercing through the armor of her assailant. As he fell to the ground she turned and ran.

"After him!" Guy yelled, parrying swords with Robin. He pulled back only to quickly throw out his arm and smash the pommel of his sword into Robin's face. As Robin staggered back, Guy sidestepped the younger man's blind swing and laughed low. "Consider yourself spared tonight, Hood. The next time we meet you will no longer be eligible for your 'get out of jail free' card." With a shout to his men Guy ran off in the direction Marian disappeared in, leaving Robin and his men behind.

"What now?" Much asked, breathing hard.

"Find Marian," Robin said without hesitation. He pulled a hand away from his face to see the blood from a split lip. "If Gisborne catches her and finds out she has been the Night Watchman all along he will not hesitate to kill her. Split up and find her."

Marian ran as hard as she could, winding between houses and behind barns and stables. She could hear Guy yelling at his men, telling them to find her and to hurry. Any moment now they would be upon her and all would be lost. Her legs pumped hard and her breath came in short gasps. And then she was caught. Her arm was grabbed and she was yanked to the side, into an alley between two houses. There a hand was pressed over her mouth and her captor held her close to his body. She could feel his quickened breathing on her neck as the guards ran by with Guy at their head. When they were gone Marian was released and she turned quickly to see it was Robin who'd saved her.

"You have to get out of here," he told her quickly. "This was a trap set just for you."

"For me?"

"The Night Watchman. Marian if he catches you..."

"I know." She glanced out past the houses as two of the guards charged their way into an occupied home. Screams of terror came from within.

"I know you want to help," said Robin, taking her by the shoulders, "but you must run. Please. If you ever loved me you will do this."

Marian pursed her lips and looked up at him. Her gaze focused on his bloodied lip. "I do not know which is stronger; my love for you or my hatred."

"I pray it is your love. Your hatred would only make you defy me and I cannot bear to think of you caught. Please, Marian."

She held his gaze for a long moment. Nettlestone was now being terrorized because of her, but Robin was right in saying she should leave. "You will stop them?"

"If you go!"

She hated the idea of leaving but knew Robin's fears for her were not misplaced. Guy would kill her if he knew. And she would not be able to help anyone if she was no longer breathing. Without another word between them she turned and ran straight for the woods. As soon as she was gone from sight, Robin ran back out into the village. "To me!" he yelled. Guy came toward the center of town as Will, Alan, Much and John assembled at Robin's side. With a cocky smirk, Robin crossed his arms across his chest. "Having trouble finding what you're looking for, are you?"

"Where is he?" Guy barked.

"Sorry, you are going to have to be a bit more specific than that. I know a lot of different people who could fit that description."

"Where is the Night Watchman!?"

"Oh him! Yeah, he left about ten minutes ago. Sorry about that."

Guy sneered. "Then I suppose I will have to settle for you."

"Poor Gisborne. Didn't your mother ever tell you never to settle?" He nodded almost imperceptibly and his men began to retreat to the woods. "Lovely night, lads." With a cheeky wave, Robin followed his friends and melted into the darkness, knowing with him gone Guy would simply have to go home.

Left behind, Guy spat on the ground. "Leave them," he commanded his knights. He was smart enough to know they'd never be able to find Robin now, when everything was so dark. So he would have to return to the castle with no Night Watchman and no Robin Hood. They had bested him yet again. But one day, one day soon, Guy would catch them both and watch joyfully as they were strung up and hung to die for everyone to see.
I love writing fics from this series. If anyone has not seen the BBC version of Robin Hood I highly reccommend it. It's an Instant Watch on Netflix so you really have no excuse. They are not historically accurate and they make no apologies for it, but it is truly one of my favorite shows and my favorite Robin Hood of all time.

Anyway, this came from the prompt "crazier things" and "Marian." Dunno if I really got the prompt right but I had a lo of fun writing this.
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Freyalibra3's avatar
I loved it! Do you have any more Robin Hood writing?