Maid of Sherwood (19 page)

Chapter Thirty-Two:

“Wait, what?!” Marian pushed free of Mother’s arms. “I think you forgot something,
Lord
Locksley!”

“No, I do not believe I have,” Robin said. “You do love me, do you not?”

“I—I,” Marian stuttered. “What do I say?” She appealed to Mother and Father.

“Do not ask me,” Mother replied. “It is not my proposal. I am already wed.”

Father just shook his head, his lips twitching.

“It is not
my
proposal, either!” Marian snapped.  “If you love me as you claim, then ask me, not them.”

“I was but observing proprieties,” Robin protested, but his eyes were sparkling gleefully.

“You are jesting with me,” Marian said, her heart falling unexpectedly at the thought.

Robin immediately sobered. “I thought to lighten the mood with my approach,” he admitted, “but I was not jesting. If you will have me, Marian du Luc, it would be my honor and privilege to marry you, after I kill the sheriff.”

It was not quite the proposal she had dreamt of but, Marian’s lips quirked into an unwilling smile, it was Robin.

“Does that smile mean you will?” Robin asked.

“I will consider it,” Marian returned tartly, though her heart was singing.

Mother turned to Father. “I suppose you have something further to say before you collect on your bet?”

“What did you bet on?” Marian glanced at Father, who refused to meet her eyes.

“Me??” She gasped. “You bet on something to do with
me
?”

“Not precisely,” Mother said. “It was more on Robin than you.”

Robin began laughing. “I cannot believe you would do such a thing!”

Marian looked at all three of them. “What am I not understanding?”

“Sweet Mari, you parents bet on us.” Robin explained. “I am assuming you, Alan, bet on my winning your daughter’s hand while you, Beatrix, bet against it.”

“I did not bet against it, merely the timing of it.” Mother said, laughter bubbling up in her throat at the look on Marian’s face.

“It was a wager made in fun,” Father said. He leaned toward Mother and planted a quick kiss on her lips. “There. Payment rendered.”

“I cannot believe you are Mother,” Marian said. “How did you fool me all those years?”

Mother shrugged. “I have had years of practice pretending to be something I am not.”

“So now you have been reduced to wagering on your daughter’s happiness?” The Lady floated through the opposing underbrush, barely touching the grass of the clearing, which strained up to meet the soles of her feet. Marian’s worn leather belt was wrapped about her waist.

“I will take a harmless bet where I can,” Mother said calmly. “Is Dulcina settled?”

“Yes, she is with Aelfred and resting comfortably.” Nyneve said. “Robin, are you ready to meet the sheriff?”

“Is he just waiting for me?” Robin asked.

“No, but he
is
searching close by.” She unbuckled the belt holding Excalibur and held it out to Robin. “You will need this.”

He took the blade with reverent hands. “Are you sure—” he began.

Nyneve smiled. “Some fights cannot be won at a distance. Excalibur will help you, Robin. Trust it.”

“Robin, what if he kills you?” Marian spoke softly.

“It is Excalibur, Marian.” Robin said. “I am sure it will protect me as well as it did King Arthur.”

Marian’s brow crinkled. “But he was defeated.”

Nyneve floated between them. “Children, there is no time for this. Beatrix, Alan, will you stay here and keep an eye on Aelfred and Dulcina?”

Mother and Father nodded in unison.

“I will be fine, Marian.” He took her hand in his and kissed it. “Remain here and I will return as soon as I can.”

Marianshook her head. “No, I will not remain behind while you face him alone.”

“Lady, I will not allow her to come with us!” Robin declared.

 “
You
will not allow? Robin of Locksley, you forget your place,” Nyneve bit out. The forest darkened briefly around them. “
She
is not facing anyone. You are. But if I know anything about your lady, she will not wait idly by while you are gone. Therefore, she will come with us now, and save me the trouble of finding her later.”

“I will not argue with you, Lady,” Robin said. “I know as well as any villager whose forest this truly is.”

Marian turned to Mother and Father. “I will come back.”

Father had his arms wrapped around Mother. “We know.” He nodded at her. “We will talk when you return.”

Marian followed Nyneve and Robin, being careful to stay camouflaged among the green leaves of the giant ferns and tall grasses. Huge oaks seemed to bend their trunks out of the way when Nyneve strode past and Marian could hear what sounded like whispering at the very edges of her consciousness. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Nyneve held up one wrinkled hand. “Wait. He’s through those ferns, Robin.” Nyneve’s voice was hardly more than a whisper. “Focus on the sheriff. Once you defeat him, the others will fall.”

“Marian,” Robin faced her. “If I asked you to stay here, would you?”

She smiled and shook her head. “You know me better than that.”

“Yes, I do.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “At least watch from behind the trees, then. Will you agree to that?”

Marian nodded and stepped with him as he pushed his way through the massive ferns. She hugged the tree trunk close and carefully peered around it while he continued forward.

Chapter Thirty-Three:

The sheriff rose from his knees at the sound of Robin pushing through the brush. He had, Marian noticed, managed to start a tiny fire, which sparked and sputtered angrily.

“Well, well, I did not think Hood would find me before I found him,” the sheriff said. One hand smoothed immaculate hair away from his face.

“And I did not think to find you alone, with nothing more than a—” Robin cocked one eyebrow at the struggling flames, “what
would
you call that?”

“A fire,” the sheriff said flatly, “and I never said I was alone.”

Robin raised an eyebrow at the sight of the six men fanning out behind the sheriff. “I always thought you were a coward. I see you have chosen to confirm my beliefs.”

The sheriff clenched his teeth so hard Marian could hear them grinding against each other. “On the contrary,” he bit out. “I simply see no point in soiling my hands with your traitorous blood.”

“I am no traitor,” Robin retorted. “Refusing to bow down to an untried prince and his toady is not traitorous, it is merely common sense.”

“You know,” the sheriff drew his sword. “I put a bounty on your head hoping someone else would find you, but it will be much more satisfying to kill you myself before rescuing my betrothed from your clutches.”

“She is not your betrothed,” Robin scoffed. “She would no more marry you than I would!”

One of the guards snickered. The sheriff turned and, in one fluid movement, ran the hapless man through. As he dropped to the ground, Marian bit back a gasp. 

“If you continue to kill everyone who laughs at you, soon there will be no-one left,” Robin taunted.

“Kill him,” the sheriff said flatly. “The reward is doubled!”

There was the
snick
of five swords leaving their sheaths, but Robin was not done yet.

“Are you too afraid to come after me yourself?” He stepped backward, weaving Excalibur back and forth.

“Wait,” the sheriff ordered harshly. “I shall do it. No man will call me coward and live.” A few of the men frowned, but he waved his free hand. “Oh, do not worry. You shall still be paid for your services. Prince John will reward us
all
greatly when I bring back Hood’s head.” Without warning, the sheriff’s blade snaked out, thrusting at Robin. Excalibur, crackling with eerie blue sparks Marian had never seen before, easily swatted the attempt aside. The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. Robin grinned ferociously.

“That is quite a blade you have,” the sheriff said. “I do not believe I have ever seen its like.” He thrust again, and again his sword was parried by the blue sparking blade. “I might be persuaded to spare your life to own such a sword.”

“I am not ready to give this blade up,” Robin said. With a twist of his wrist, Excalibur struck out with incredible swiftness, shedding more blue sparks in its wake. “You see, it was a wedding gift from the Maid Marian.”

Marian gasped, but neither man heard it.

The sheriff laughed. “I sincerely doubt that since she is enjoying my hospitality at this very moment.”

“You mean the hospitality of the dungeons where you imprisoned her, along with Dulcina Scarlett?” Robin winked. “Suffice it to say, sheriff, I have taken
both
your prizes.”

“NO!” With a cry of outrage, the other man thrust his sword at Robin.

Robin danced lightly backward. “They were happy to come with me and escape you,” he said.

“You lie,” the sheriff hissed. “Dulcina would never voluntarily leave me.”

“Your Scarlett Bird has flown its nest,” Robin smirked.  He lunged forward, but his foot slipped in the wet grass. The sword flew from his grasp.

“No!” Marian dove out of the concealing trees, her hand outstretched. She scrabbled in the leaves, praying she would make contact with the pommel of Excalibur.

“Quick, grab her!” The sheriff snapped at the men still milling about. “What are you waiting for??”

Marian’s hand touched the arming sword and she pushed it in Robin’s direction even as rough hands grabbed her shoulders and yanked her upright.

“Be careful, you clods! That is my betrothed!” The sheriff said.

Marian spat out bits of grass. “I will
never
marry you!”

“You will not have a choice,” he retorted. A slow smile crossed his face and he stalked closer. Marian shrank back in the guard’s grip. “Once I depose the prince, there will be nothing stopping me.”

“Nothing except King Richard,” Robin said. “And me.” He lifted Excalibur out of the leaves. “And this.”

“I hardly see an absent king, an outlaw and an ancient, though curious, sword as a threat to be taken seriously.”

“That is your mistake,” Robin said. In a move like water pouring from a cup, Excalibur swung out, slicing a thin line across the arm of the guard holding Marian captive.  She pulled loose and scrambled to stand behind Robin. “You will never have the Lady Marian,” Robin continued. “Nor Dulcina.”

“Dulcina is mine,” the sheriff said. “She will always be mine.” He lunged forward, blade outstretched.

Excalibur met his sword with a resounding clash and a shower of blue sparks that had Marian shielding her eyes.

“What the—” the sheriff fell back and Excalibur, with Robin holding the hilt, followed him with a flurry of whip like blows. The sheriff dropped his sword as he raised his hands to shield his face. Robin thrust and Excalibur came to rest, point pressed up against the other man’s chest hard enough to draw blood.

Chapter Thirty-Four:

“Why not kill me immediately?” The sheriff panted. “You disarmed me; there is no reason for you to wait.”

“I do not need to prove my worth by killing you,” Robin said contemptuously. “However, killing you for Dulcina’s sake would be my pleasure.”

“I never harmed her. I kept her safe; I love her.”

Marian eyed the guards watching them. They shifted from foot to foot without meeting her steady gaze. “I saw what you did to her,” she finally said. “You branded her. What sort of a man does that?”

The guards shook their heads. “It is not right,” one of them muttered. “I will be no party to murder.” The others nodded in agreement.

“Cowards!” The sheriff spat. “Then be gone with you! I will deal with this outlaw on my own!”

“Hand him his sword, Mari,” Robin commanded. “I will not murder a helpless man.”

“Your nobility will get you killed.” The other man promised. He accepted the blade from Marian, drawing it across her palm in the process.

“Oww!” Her hand welled with blood.

Robin’s eyes went flat. “That is the very last courtesy I will do you,” he said.  Excalibur seemed to agree, its point pressing deeper against the sheriff’s chest, leaving a spot of blood against his white shirt.

The sheriff flinched and stepped farther back. “I believe you promised me a fair duel,” he said.

Robin brought Excalibur up to his face in a salute before striking out. Blue sparks rained down, but this time the sheriff was ready for the light and struck through it. Marian gasped when Robin barely deflected the blow.

“Help him,” Marian pleaded with the guards.

“No, milady, this is not our fight.” One of them said.

“Then leave,” she snapped. “Run back to the castle like the vermin you have proven yourselves to be!”

The guards all looked at each other, then back at where the sheriff and Robin fought, blades sparking and clashing in a continuous bout. “If we take
her
back to the castle,” one murmured, “we can still collect the bounty from Prince John.”

Marian’s eyes widened. “No, can you not see? I have not been kidnapped, I am not being held here against my will. What will taking me back to the castle accomplish?”

“My mum is a villager,” one guard said. “I became a guard to work for the throne, not for a man who tortures women and holds them hostage against their will.”

The first man spoke again. “Well, I could use the monies the sheriff promised us.”

“Do you really believe he will pay us? Or even survive?” The second man questioned.

Marian glanced away from them and toward Robin.

Excalibur shed sparks as it beat relentlessly against the other blade.  The two men thrust and parried their way across the clearing. 

“I think either one of them could win,” the first guard said. “I would prefer to have my payment, and I am sure Hood will not be the one to offer it.”

“I will not go with you willingly,” Marian stated. “And Prince John will hear the truth of the matter; that you have brought me to him against my will. What do you think he will do to you then?”

The men looked at each other uneasily.

“You
could
,” Marian suggested, “take the sheriff back instead. After all, he was the one who kidnapped me, not Rob—Hood. I am sure the—the prince would reward you handsomely for your service.”

“We could do that,” the first guard said. He shrugged at the other men’s incredulous looks. “I do not care where the money comes from, so long as it comes. But keep a grasp on her, just in case.”

The second guard nodded and moved to Marian’s side. She shifted slightly to the left, but kept her eyes glued to the scene taking place in front of her.

“What do you think John will do to your band of outlaws,” The sheriff parried a blow from Excalibur, “if you succeed in killing me?”

Robin struck again. “The prince has never concerned himself with the outlaws of Sherwood. That has always been your personal vendetta, not his. And now you wish to lay claim to the throne itself?”

“John,” the sheriff panted, “is not man enough for the throne. England needs a firm hand.”

“England has one,” Robin retorted. Excalibur began to glow a steady blue as Robin forced the sheriff further and further back toward a huge, towering oak, its branches heavy with moss and mistletoe.“Richard rules here.”

“Richard rules nowhere!” The sheriff screamed. “The king is not coming back!
I
will be the ruling power here!”

Excalibur’s glow increased until the whole clearing was bathed in light. “I think the sword disagrees,” Robin said.

“A sword does not have the ability to agree or disagree,” the other man gasped, his back pressing against the tree trunk.

Robin smiled, sweat beading his brow. “This one does.”

“Wait,” the sheriff said. “I have heard rumors of a sentient blade—a blade nearly older than time… I know that sword! Prince John would give all the riches of the throne to own it!” The blade nearly leapt out of Robin’s hand, thrusting deep into the other man’s chest. In a leap of logic only the dying are allowed, he solved the sword’s mystery. “It’s Excal—” The blade twisted a final time, piercing his heart and forever silencing the word on his lips.