[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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Robin's entire body and every muscle in it tensed as he saw the hatch open under Marian's feet - ready to snap her neck with a jerk. 'Concentrate. Don't let your emotions get in the way!' he reminded himself, but he wouldn't quite succeed this time. His fingers on the string twitched, then he let the arrow fly. He shot away over the heads of the people, many of whom were staring at the gallows, frozen and shocked. The cruelty of the moment paralyzed their spirits and bodies in cold shock.
A thunderous ring of bells swept across the castle courtyard as Robin's arrow struck the alarm bell. Hundreds of heads jerked in shock, panicking in all directions to see what the ringing meant. Then suddenly, an arrow bored deep into the scaffold, not a finger's breadth from the sheriff's boot.
"No need, Sheriff!" rose Robin's voice loudly over the heads of those present like a mighty flock of birds. Robin Hood threw the cloak from his shoulders, and the wind carried the tattered fabric away like the banner of a declaration of war.
"There! There's Robin Hood!" cried a child, pointing wide-eyed at the king of thieves.
Immediately all attention turned to the man standing on the battlements between two lifeless guards whose torsos hung like banners over the wall.
"Sheriff of Nottingham!" cried Robin loudly, "you terrorize us all in the name of a usurper who sits in London and doesn't give a damn about the suffering of his people!" Robin let his eyes wander, "But that's going to end now! From now on, there is a place in Sherwood that will offer sanctuary to those who rise against you and the Prince's tyranny! And we will relieve every baron and earl of what has been unlawfully taken from us, so long as he bends his treacherous knee to the false regent of this glorious land!"
With that, Robin pointed directly to the gallows. "And today, we begin by stealing Nottingham's greatest treasure! Lady Marian is protected by Robin Hood and Marian's Men from this day forward!"
"Did you hear that?"
Murmours went through the bystanders. Immediately whispers and shouts spread among the people and soldiers like wildfire:
"Marian's Men?"
"Who?"
"No, I think he said 'Merry Men'?"
"What had he said?"
"Steal the maiden?"
It took a few moments for the people to realize what Robin Hood had just proclaimed. And only now did they all realize that he had diverted their attention from the executed woman. The sheriff and everyone's gaze immediately turned to the gallows.
But the lady had disappeared.
Marian's scream was stifled as the rope tightened around her throat. Would she be able to hear anything else, or would everything go black? She felt the rough, twisted hemp that chafed her skin and expected the crack of her neck.
