The Queen Of Arrows

Chapter 58 - Outlawed

"Robin!" Marian gasped, and Robin pulled her briefly but warmly to his chest. They fell into each other's arms, wishing this moment could last longer. But surrounded by enemies who wanted to see them in dungeons and on the gallows, it was not the right moment for reconciliations or pronunciations.

"We'll have plenty of time for your hopefully very extravagant thanks later!" said Robin, "But now we have to leave!" he raised his fingers to his lips and released a shrill whistle. Down in the courtyard and on the battlements, among the burghers and peasants, everyone understood the signal to retreat.

Suddenly the ranks thinned, and the soldiers quickly and increasingly gained the upper hand. Enough blood had been spilled. The confusion had done what it was supposed to - now, the agitators among the citizens fled from the castle courtyard. The soldiers were close on their heels.

"Do you remember our first escape together, my lady?" asked Robin mischievously.

Marian immediately understood what he was getting at, and a knowing smile crept onto the young woman's red lips. Nevertheless, she shook her head at first. "They would follow us!" said Marian, and this time, Robin looked at her questioningly.

She, however, reached for his quiver to steal one of the arrows from it cheekily. Her tongue slid over the fletching, and Robin's brows lifted at the sight. Not only because the rosy tip of her tongue distracted him for a moment - but because he had never seen this technique elsewhere.

Marian's attention was solely on her target. She had only moistened one of the black feathers; this would give the arrow a slight twist. But that was exactly what she wanted. Marian aimed, aimed, and let go. The arrow cut the air, whizzed away, and hit its target precisely. The rope snapped, then gave way under the load, and with a loud clatter, the counterweight of the drawbridge, renewed only a few weeks ago, fell into the depths. Men jumped away to avoid being killed. The great chunk of stone hit the ground, steel groaning and stone splintering.

"Hood!" it roared in the castle courtyard, and Marian snorted in insult in response.

"It looks like all the glory is going to you again, Robin," she said indignantly, and Robin laughed lightheartedly.

"Credit where credit is due, my dear. And after all, you used my arrow!" In one leap, he was on the battlements and reached out his hand to Marian, pulling her up to him with a mighty tug. Marian glanced over her shoulder at the life she was leaving behind.

Silently, perhaps, she hoped for one last glimpse of Guy. She had not seen him all this time, and unease grew in her heart when she did not see him again.

Robin could guess her thoughts. "He's all right. He's sleeping a little so that he won't keep us up," he said, not mentioning that Guy had betrayed her. By God, she had suffered enough today.

A lump fell from Marian's heart - but the largest remained. Her gaze flew over the soldiers and the gallows to the stone balcony. And there, above all the chaos, her gaze met her father's as precisely as her arrows always hit the mark. Marian had expected a lot. Fear, reproach, disappointment, shock... but she saw a man with nothing but love left for his only child. His lips formed no reproach. None of it was in his features. 'Flee,' the Earl's lips formed soundlessly instead, and a gentle nod was what wiped away the last hesitation with the ease a wind carries away dry leaves. A breathy kiss hit her right in the heart.

Marian swallowed hard; at the same time, she felt lighter than ever. Lady Marian De Burgh had died on the gallows - but every end was also a new beginning.

A few bandits were already jumping like fish from a fishing boat into the moat. John, too, flew like a rock, and the splash of his massive body made the waves spill a little onto the green meadow. Samuel was already standing behind an overturned hay cart, and steeds pranced nervously at the reins while arrows flew from the wall toward the fleeing men. The buzzing sounded like a swarm of bees. The water splashed, and the sheriff's angry shouts mingled with the rattle of approaching chainmail. By now, the first bolts were crashing against the masonry around them, and the hiss of arrows urged them to hurry.

Robin turned his gaze back to Marian, and he never felt more satisfied after a raid."Don't be sad, Marian," Robin said gently, drawing her fingers to his lips, where he kissed the back of her hand. "From now on, you will be the one true and beloved Queen of Arrows to me and all the other outlaws in Sherwood Forest!" the thief announced, smiling back at her. "And now it's time to go home."

Marian's cheeks tingled with heat that made her heart beat faster. This time, however, she did not resist the feeling. Marian had made her choice long before today, and she was sure that Gillian and her mother were smiling down on her at this moment. As if to reinforce her thoughts, the clouds above them broke at that moment, and single rays of golden sunshine cast their light down on Castle De Burgh.

"And where is this home to be?" asked Marian then, surrounded by hissing arrows and accompanied by her wildly pounding heart.

"Wherever the wind takes us!" replied Robin, gripping Marian's hand tighter. Then he leaned a little closer. "But for now, I was thinking of a big old oak tree..." he murmured to her like a secret and winked.

Maid Marian and Robin Hood leaped together, as they had done on the night fate had woven their paths inseparably together.

Henceforth, the King of Thieves and the Queen of Bow and Arrow were as free as the birds to whom the wind whispered a song of freedom and new adventures.

But this is not the end of this story.

It is the beginning of many legends.

- The End ? -