His men were flushed with the victory over the Sheriff's guards and Robin did nothing to quench their enthusiasm, but for him it was all an act. His thoughts remained in the dark corridor where he had left his slain stepfather and the fallen Marian. Only her forceful insistence had sent him on to the battle below, but he knew that even if it cost her very last breath Marian would never have kept him from his men.

The celebrating went on long into the night; Robin took part in none of it. Early on he slipped away into the solitude of the trees. His thoughts drifted to Marian as he had last seen her, flushed from battle and stemming the flow of her own blood as though she were a seasoned warrior used to such wounds; but she was not. Despite the many ways she argued against it, Maid Marian was still a lady at heart. She was the woman of his heart and he could do nothing but sit in the forest and await news; he knew better than to attempt to sneak back to her side.

"Robin," said a quiet voice behind him. For the first time in a long while, Robin found himself caught off guard. He turned to see Will picking his way clumsily through the underbrush. On his face there appeared a hardened look of a man approaching the final obstacle on a long journey. At once Robin knew what that obstacle was. He stood, facing his cousin in the dim moonlight. Will stopped a few feet away, face averted and shoulders hunched.

"I had to do it," he said quietly. "I had to." Robin said nothing.

Tonight Will wore the same gaudy red costume he had first appeared to them in when Little John had christened him 'Will Scarlett', and he stood in starch contrast with Robin's elemental forest green.

"You don't understand how it's been for me. You don't know what it's like to see your father murdered before your eyes and to have your brother slain for protecting you and to know that the man who did all this to you is sleeping on silk sheets not ten miles away like a prince. He stole everything that ever mattered to me. I thought I would never be whole until I had my revenge." Robin listened silently. For a moment he became like a part of the forest, so still and quiet that not even the trees could compete with him. At long last, he sighed.

"And what of my revenge, Will? What about the sorrows he put me through? Did I not deserve to seek revenge as well? I have more right than you to hate him. Think of what he's done to me all my life." Though his anger shook in every syllable, Robin remained steady and calm. Will flinched.

"Aye Robin, and since you were a boy you knew what he was, and like it or not you knew to expect such cruelties from him. Imagine all that he has done to you happen at once and magnify that pain a hundred times and you'll know how I felt that night at Locksley. When your father died you didn't even know that Giles had a hand in it! You didn't realize the reason your mum stopped writing to you until months later, and even then you didn't suspect Giles of anything! You have reason to hate him, Robin, aye, I know that. But so have I, and don't dare tell me that I didn't deserve my revenge any more than you did!"

Robin was silent, stunned by his cousin's hatred. Will's voice shook and he turned away sharply with a swish of his long, scarlet cloak.

"Will," said Robin softly, "It's true that you deserved this night as much as I did, and I'll admit to you that I could not have done it if you had not arrived. However, I wish that you had not turned into a murderer. I swore in your brother's name that I would protect you and look at what has become of my oath."

"You did what you could for me, Robert; and Joseph has no cause to ask more of you than what you have done. When the others find out that the Sheriff is dead what do we tell them?" Robin shook his head.

"Nothing. It's expected that everyone will think it my fault and I will take the blame to clear your name. With Giles dead you are a free man again, and William of Locksley is free to reclaim his lands." Will turned, his eyes wide with horror. He took a step toward Robin, who smiled.

"But if you take the blame for it then you will be hunted forever. I can't do that."

"It is already done, Will. Even if every man in that castle saw you shoot the sheriff, his death would still fall on my head because you are my man. Whether you accept this or not it's the way things are." Will gaped at him, lost for words. Robin's smile broadened and he took his kinsman by both shoulders. "Forget this night and consider the future. Your mother will be restored to her rightful home and no longer suffer the life of a servant. You and Lady Avian can marry and raise a family in Locksley to replace the one that was lost there. You two will make a fine pair and I'm sure it would make Aunt Cecily very proud. Where is Lady Avian anyway?" he added cocking his head to one side. Will's face suddenly reddened considerably and he drew his shoulders up to his ears.

"A friar married us this afternoon in the glen. Her father won't be too happy I don't suppose, but once I regain my family's estate he may change his tune." Robin's smile became genuine now and he clapped Will on the shoulder again in congratulations.

"Then I won't keep you from her a moment more. Go, with my heartiest congratulations." A gentle shove pushed Will back toward camp, and he went, smiling over his shoulder. Robin watched him go with a feeling of happiness and envy settling over him. He was glad his cousin had found happiness and his soul was at last at peace; however he could not help but feel it unfair that after everything, he—Robin—could never return to being Robert of Huntington and marry the beautiful lady he loved. He sighed and looked up at the black, leafy canopy above him that rustled in a breeze as if to say, 'this life was your choice'. He grinned. He belonged here in Sherwood and Will did not; that was made clear by his horrible choice of dress. So long as he had his men around him Robin could be content. To have Marian as his lady and always at his side was a nighttime dream and destined never to parallel itself by day. She would never truly be his and that was the end of it. Robin sighed and melted into the forest once more; this time not even Will would have found him.

"Have you lost your mind? If Sir Guy discovers that you're here then it's straight to the dungeons with you," hissed Marian as Robin Hood came to stand beside her sickbed at Lucy's side. Despite her scolding he was a welcome sight. Her green eyes inspected every line of his face and found that he was unhurt and unchanged from the night of the battle five days ago. His roguish smile was securely in place as arrogantly as it had ever been as he stood beside her bed holding out a small bouquet of purple wildflowers. She took them reluctantly—flowery gifts never had impressed her. With a pointed look she handed the flowers to Lucy who scuttled off to find a vase for them and give Marian and Robin a few moments alone.

"It seems you lied to me. When you sent me from your side you said it was only a scratch, yet a week later you are still abed. Or perhaps this frailness is part of your charade as a gentlewoman," he said, chastising her rather than teasing. She brushed this aside.

"As I told you, I can take care of myself perfectly well on my own, and I did not need you looking after me like a nervous hen while your men were gallantly fighting for you down below."

"And in your thoughtfulness did you consider what would my men say if they knew I left a lovely lady lying wounded behind me while I rushed off to battle? I assure you they would find that very ungallant of me."

"Oh yes, your precious honor would be at stake, and I can see the value in the honor of an outlaw," she said dryly. "Robin, please go. I am very tired and very irritable, and this cursed wound stings like hellfire. Your quest is complete and my part in it is over. Two days hence I will ride home to my estate where you can never trouble me more." Though she said it in a merry voice, Robin sensed her dismay as greatly as he felt the weight descend upon his heart at the news of her departure.

"So soon then? Are you never to return?" he asked, continuing the banter as a disguise for the question he really wished answered. She shielded the green emeralds of her eyes with her long dark lashes as coyly as any delicate maiden could.

"What reasons have I to return, Robin Hood?" He laughed and leaned his shoulder against the tall post of her four-poster bed.

"I fear you will soon lack for entertainment without the tales of my Merry Men to accompany you on cold winter nights. Think of the duels fought on moonlit eves, the festival dances on May Day, and the political intrigue that you have been a part of here in Nottinghamshire." She heaved a great, false sigh.

"Yes Robin, and I'm glad to see it go. I am, after all, a gentle woman and my place is—and has always been—at home looking after my estate and concentrating on finding a suitable man to manage it for me. When King Richard returns I will be expected to present to him my choice of husband." Robin eyes flew to her face, but it was smooth as glass, revealing nothing.

"And have you made a decision as to who the lucky devil will be?" he pressed. She gave an airy toss of her head, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"No, but I can assure you that when I do you will be the first to know. He will be short, I warrant you, with no head for adventure or stomach for violence. I dare say he will have to prefer sitting at home reading to riding about the countryside like a buffoon. And I'll not have a handsome man at my side."

"And why is that?" asked Robin, enjoying her teasing for what it was worth. He could not help but chuckle at the extreme wrongness in Marian's 'ideal' husband.

"I have tasted jealousy before and if I should be wed to a handsome man I should feel it every day. For instance, if I were to marry you I would have to compete with every milkmaid, farmers' daughter, and nobleman's sister for your affection and that is simply too much work for me." Robin laughed heartily, tossing back his head.

"Aye, but there are few milkmaids, farmers' daughters, or nobleman's sisters to rival you, and I assure you than any man whose heart burns for you will never love another after." She pursed her lips and folded her hands demurely in her lap.

"That may be the case, but unfortunately I go home in two days and as of this moment I have no worthy candidates for my affection. However, if you happen to see a short, squat, boring man who cares not for adventure and prefers reading to sword-fighting, do send him my way. I'm sure he and I will be very content." She sent him a sly look from beneath her thick lashes. Robin shook his head with a laugh, inwardly wondering how so perfect a woman came to exist on the earth.

"And if I do find such a man that would please you then where I am I to send him to seek your loving embrace?" Marian's eyebrow arched and she settled back against her pillows thoughtfully.

"If such a man exists that would suit me—for I am a very hard woman to please—then he will know where to find me without having to be told. Now, good day Robin Hood, I honestly do need my rest." And he was dismissed, as simply as if he were her servant. Marian smiled her cat smile, enjoying the feeling of having confused and controlled the conversation so completely. Robin shook his head and started toward the door. He reached for his hood, pulling it low to cast his face in shadows and leave her with a last glimpse at the legend of Sherwood, a man both godlike and painfully human.

"Know this: my men and I will always remember you Maid Marian for what you have done for us. I pray that our paths cross again one day." He bowed low then opened the door, disappeared into the corridor; and was gone. Marian sighed and smiled to herself. Though he was a rogue and a fiend, he would forever be Robin Hood.

"May God keep you safe, Robin," she murmured.

There was a knock on the door in the main room and a few moments later Lucy reappeared leading Lady Cecily, who looked magnificent in a long midnight gown of velvet trimmed with lace and silver. It was hard to imagine such a lady as a servant. Lady Cecily bowed her head when she saw Marian awake.

"Lady Marian, my nephew instructed me to give you this as his token of farewell," said Lady Cecily, now restored from lowly maid to noblewoman with the surprising 'return' of the long-lost William of Locksley who demanded that his mother be treated as befit her station. Marian smiled at her and swung her legs out of bed, rising stiffly.

"What is it?" she asked, picking up a gold comb from her bedside table and dragging it through her long tresses. Lady Cecily held out a green-fletched arrow with a thin scroll tied around the shaft. Intrigued, Marian set down the brush and unwound the scroll to read the message. After her eyes scanned the parchment she whirled to look at her bedside table, crumpled the paper, and flung it into the corner of her room with a snarl.

"Hang you, Robin Hood!"

"What does it say?" asked Lady Cecily mildly, bending to pick up the parchment to read it for herself.

Dearest Maid Marian,

I am glad to see that you are recovered and I hope that you will not mind that I took the liberty of collecting your small ruby and gold ring as payment for providing your carriage safe passage through Sherwood Forest two days hence. With outlaws hiding behind every tree, one can never be too careful. And I hope you will not mind the disappearance of the small gold mirror on your bedside table…old habits you know.

R. H.

A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed my version of Robin's story.