Lady Marian

Chapter 26

Robin's men had obeyed his order to meet in the forest, and yet he did not seem pleased as he repeated, "You have not yet been to Locksley?"

"You told us to meet in the woods, Robin. We did distribute some of the coins as we saw fit along the road, but we still have most of it." Will stabbed the mighty oak with one of his swords.

"And now if we go back to give the money, Sir Guy's men will be waiting." Robin examined the bruises growing across his knuckles.

"That has not stopped us before," Little John added. "And now we have Tuck and Marian to help as well. Much's wife might be able to pass for a..."

"Father will spend the night at the castle, plotting with Sir Guy into the wee hours of the morning," I cut him off. "You might as well go to Locksley this evening."

"You mean we might as well go to Locksley then," Will corrected me.

"I will head back to the caverns and try to explain this to Sarah," I retorted, tenderly feeling out my own bruises.

"On the warhorse?" Little John asked.

"Why not? He has saved us twice now. We have chickens, why not a horse?" I asked I watched his swarthy face as one more of his men fell to the ground

"A bit of change of speed from your ambler." Will seemed hell-bent on arguing. For a moment, I felt guilty. I had not given any thought to my walking horse since I had fled from Arlingford.

"We are going to Locksley as soon as the sun sets. Marian, we cannot keep Pan," Robin stated.

"My father will not care for him the way you wish."

"We cannot care for him the way I wish. Feeding chickens is one thing. A warhorse is another. Let him go, Marian."

Robin did not have to ask a second time as I slipped off Pan's back, watching as the white horse trod unconcerned into the wood, his white tail a flag disappearing into the snow mottled foliage.

* * *

By nightfall the snow had ceased and grey clouds parted, ushering in a full moon and scattering of silver stars to light our way to Locksley village and its outlying homes. A dozen soldiers marked the perimeter of the village. Keeping out of site in the woods around the village, we waited for the guards to change. I felt warm and alive as Robin wrapped his arms around me, keeping me warm in the snow as he whispered stories about the stars he had learned on his way to the Holy Land to me.

"That one is Orion, the hunter." Robin traced the outline of a bow in the night sky.

"An archer like you?" I kissed his cheek.

"Aye, just like me, with a goddess as his companion. Orion was favoured by Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt. They were both excellent archers, so the story goes, hunting after the ancients' mighty stags."

"Artemis loved him?" I asked.

"Aye, but she had taken a vow. This worried her brother Apollo—the sun god. He was worried she would break her vow of chastity for this mere demigod."

"I would break it, if you were Orion."

Robin pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, "To keep his sister's honour, Apollo had to wait for the right moment. From his father, Poseidon, Orion had a very special gift; he could walk on the water. One evening Orion went out for a long walk out over the waves, until he was naught but a speck on the horizon. Apollo called his sister for an archery competition."