[WATTYS2023 - GERMAN WINNER/Most Engaging World] ** Marian, a thieving nobleman's daughter with too big a heart, meets Robin Hood, a daring thief with a huge ego. Will they be able to overcome pain, longing, and, finally the cruel Sheriff of Notting...
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"There's a guard just a few yards away!" hissed Robin, and Marian's mouth dropped open.
"What!" She half-pushed past him to take a look through the gap herself. To her displeasure, Robin was right in what he said: there was indeed a guard! Damn it, why was he here, of all places? Marian cursed silently and ran her hand over her cheek. Cold sweat made her skin clammy and cold; simultaneously, she was sweating with heat.
"What now?" murmured Robin, and Marian's heart skipped a beat when the guard suddenly turned his head towards the door behind which they were hiding. Immediately they both froze, not daring to move a muscle.
'Don't move. Just don't move,' Marian thought. Any slight shift in their position could rattle the chain mail. There was no way they could give themselves away!
'Don't come here. There is nothing here! Just go your way!'
Marian held her breath as the guard stood up. Beside her, she could see Robin's hand slip very slowly under his cloak. The golden beam of light probed across the blade. Marian's throat tightened, and her gaze returned to the approaching footsteps.
Suddenly a loud, booming sound echoed through the corridors. It seemed to tremble every stone, and Marian and Robin flinched at the sudden collapse of tense silence. Every gong of the alarm bell sounded like hell ringing in their ears.
At least it had something positive: the guard widened his eyes, turned on his heel, and stormed off toward the wide staircase leading to the upper floor - toward the counting chamber. Shortly after, two more followed him, and now yelling mingled with the alarm.
"Crap!" Robin groaned, "What now? We can't take the main path. We'd be spotted immediately."
Marian's gaze slid into the hallway, weighing the danger and the possibilities. Her pulse rushed like a wild river in her ears. Her gaze fell on the steps that led further down.
"Come this way," she murmured, hastily reaching for the box.
The further they descended, the more a musty smell came to them. The air was so thick and humid here that it was difficult to breathe after only a few steps. When Marian finally pushed open the door at the latest, and the hinges groaned into the darkness, Robin realized where she had led him.
"Why are you leading me to the dungeons?" Something in his voice sounded suspicious. His gaze settled on Marian with a darker tone, and the light drew sinister shadows on the face beneath the helmet. Robin could not completely rule out the thought that Marian might have changed her mind. Was she now luring him into a trap? Was she going to betray him? Was this all a treacherous plan to catch him - Robin Hood?
'No. Marian wouldn't do that... or would she?'
Doubt was a bitter poison that festered his nerve endings. Robin had been betrayed too many times, and Marian was still Guy's fiancée.
