Robin & Marian

[Marian Cooper]

She leaned back as he pulled her back towards him, keeping her balance enough that she didn't stumble like he wanted, her free hand reaching up to shove against his chest, but not fast enough. He stole a kiss before she could stop him, and he didn't stop there; she didn't notice that he'd taken the arrows right off her back until he was the one pushing her back. This time she did stumble back a few steps, raising a hand to her lips with a look of slight shock. She wasn't really offended, nor was she particularly angry, just surprised that he'd just kissed her.

She only let her surprise show for a moment before she recovered herself, dropping her hands to her hips and adopting a smug expression. "Must be having an off night," she replied to his comment about it only being a little bit fun. She didn't really care if he thought her a whore; in fact, it might make everything easier. Her expression darkened slightly when he tossed her weapons out the window, now she was going to have to get a new dagger...or two.

"Maybe next time," she answered boldly when he said he didn't have time to teach her the difference between the sexes, her voice somehow managing to come off as teasing and innocent at the same time. She debated about either following him or calling for the guards, but something about irritating the sheriff and the guards tickled her fancy, but neither was she interested in helping him. So she waited until he was well on his way, then walked to the window and leaned out, before she lifted herself onto the ledge and over, climbing down. No point in letting her whole night be ruined by one petty thief.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

Robert was had made it rather far down the hall when he had to back track in order to keep from meeting someone walking down the hall. He looked back just in time to see her go out the window. Was she out of her damn mind?! He could not move for about 30 seconds as the noble walked lazily by and then he turned to turn to the window she'd just gone out. He waited there, watching as she climbed down. He was not sure why other then his more chivalrous nature and the fact that she was a GIRL!

Once she was about twelve feet from the ground he cuped his hand around his mouth and yelled down "Hey! You there! Stop where you are!" In a voice that masked his; as he was trying to sound like a guard. Sure enough it drew every ones attention to area of the sound. He laughed and gave her a dramatic wave from up where he was before turning around and going back the way he needed to.

He was not sure why he had called the guards attention to her; but she could be the distraction he needed. Even if she told then he was up here; by the time they ran all the way up here he'd be gone. He'd played in the castle since he could walk. He knew it better then most. As it was before he escaped Robin stolen into the sheriffs room and dropped a torch on the man's bed; and stealing the letters from prince john as well as a rather large amount of gold. Then disappearing into the darkness . . .

[Marian Cooper]

She was busy trying to make sure that she didn't plummet to her doom when she heard someone yelling above her, and looked up in disbelief as the petty criminal yelled down at her, then disappeared. She stared up at him in disbelief, wondering what exactly he was playing at, when her attention was shattered by a crossbow bolt embedding itself into the stone right next to her face. He was trying to get her killed! She looked down to see how far she had to go before she could drop down safely; too much for her to get down before the idiotic guards' aim improved enough to skewer her. Damn him!

"Don't shoot! I'm coming down," she yelled, hoping they might recognize her voice enough that they wouldn't try to kill her before she reached the ground; how she was going to get out of this one, she wasn't sure. But she did know one thing. Once she did, she was going to kill that damn bandit.

She dropped down to the ground surrounded by guards, who almost tried to seize her before someone recognized her. Of course, they wanted to know why she was climbing down the castle walls, not that anyone was very surprised. "Why, there was a bandit upstairs! I was ever so frightened!" She played the damsel in distress card, men never seemed to question her when she got all emotional and terrified; it seemed women could get away with anything if they only blamed it on their emotions. After all, reason was supposed to only be possessed by men, wasn't it?

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[Robin Of The Woods]

It had been three days of rather enjoyable fun, for Robert and his friends. Or Robin and his men, depending on who was talking about the fun that was being had. Robert had rather annoyed the high sheriff of Nottingham when he set fire the man's bed with him still sleeping on it. It had caused all sorts of guards to be sent out into the woods to find him.

Which meant that there were more men to play games with. And that was what it was when Nottingham's men came into the woods where they did not belong. Fun. They always traveled in packs, and wore heavy armor. How one planned to hide when they were covered in shiny mental, Robert had no idea. Still, their stupidity was his gain.

As it was over twenty men had gone after him that night and the next morning. Four returned naked, six returned with out horse nor shoes, eight were sent back tired to their horses in very awkward styles. The other two were not seen nor heard from again. Poor bastards.

[Marian Cooper]

Marian hadn't let go of her grudge against the less-than-mysterious Robin of the Woods, yet she had still managed to find his response to the Sheriff's outrage hilarious over the last few days. The whole castle had waited with bated breath for the return of the men sent out to capture the bandits, the guards who were left behind on high alert for any kind of tomfoolery within the castle's walls. It had prevented Marian from sneaking out again, but she was glad for that, because she would have hated to miss the shameful return of the men who managed to survive their time searching for bandits in the woods.

Servants and nobles alike had laughed themselves sick behind closed doors, struggling to maintain their composure when they were in the presence of the Sheriff. He had been utterly humiliated, and was prone to turning purple at a moment's notice of anyone giggling in the corners or behind his back. Marian was half-convinced that his embarrassment was exactly why, only a few days later, he had invited her to go hunting with him. She had been surprised, thinking he'd want to keep to the safety of the castle now that Robin had proven that the woods were safe for no one any longer, but he probably felt he had to prove he was the master of this domain.

She had accepted, eager for the chance to get out of the castle after being cooped up inside for so long, even if a formal hunt would mean that she'd have to wear a real gown and look moderately presentable. The Sheriff knew her well enough by now that he no longer expected her to behave as simply an ornament on the hunt, like other noble women, but there were still certain standards a woman was expected to meet.

When they set out, Marian appropriately dressed and coiffed to look the part of the Sheriff's pretty escort, the Sheriff was nattering on inanely about something Marian didn't quite care enough about to listen to. Never mind that all the chatter was sure to drive off any possible quarry they might have pursued...if the thump and clatter of the armor of the numerous guards he'd felt it was necessary to bring along didn't do that already. Master of his own domain...yeah, right. He was like a scared rabbit, daring to poke into the fox's den.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

Nobles were lazy sorts by nature. When you spent time in 'town' (London) the nobles--whom were not knights--would sleep till noon and stay out at all hours of the night. The knights had training early in the morning, and were still expected to be able to stay up all night with the ladies. It meant long days and short nights.

As an outlaw, Robert slept allot. No one was there to put demands on his time, and he could set his own hours. If he wanted to sleep tomorrow night; he'd sleep. If he wanted to drink; he'd drink. If he wanted to visit the local sheriff and add a little fire to their budding 'friendship'; then he would.

It was time likes these however; when the sheriff openly dared him that he choose to do things that he did not normally enjoy doing. Like risking the lives of his men.

Robert was sitting high up in the tree with one of them men. "Take Will and 15 of the others and flank their left; have John and ten others take their right. I will take the rest to go right down the middle." They were planning their attack. Divide and conqueror. "Hostages. We are going to need as many as we can." And one of them would be the sheriff him self. Robert found him self grinning, hell this job he'd enjoy. "lets go be bad guys!" He told the man as they both started to climb down to their waiting horses. Ten minutes later the attack started.

[Marian Cooper]

Holding her bow at the ready in one hand and the reins with the other, Marian was enjoying the wind on her face, despite their apparent lack of anything to hunt. The Sheriff had yet to pick up on her disinterest in his chattering, helped along by the occasional murmurs of vague agreement she'd let slip out to make him believe she was hanging off his every word. The path of least resistance was simply easier than being honest, and right now, she couldn't be bothered with honesty...especially since that would probably lead to an armed escort back to the castle.

She paused, turning in the saddle to look back over her shoulder when she heard something in the bushes just off the beaten trail...were those footsteps? The cry of battle went up a scant moment later, and Marian pulled on the reins as men dressed in the tattered brown and green rags of bandits poured out from between the trees, trying to get her frightened mare back under control as she struggled and stamped. Whipping her head around to try and get her bearings, she cursed when she saw the Sheriff, flanked by a pair of guards, already galloping away from the battle, taking what was apparently the last safe way out before the bandits were able to close off that avenue.

Finally managing to bring her panicked animal under control, Marian was just in time to see a burly man approaching her on foot, apparently intent on pulling her from her saddle with his bare hands. As if she deign to let him put his filthy hands on her. She kicked the man square in the face, and was rewarded with the satisfying crunch of cartilage as he back away, cursing and clutching a nose that was now streaming blood. Looking around for a way out amongst the clash of bandits and soldiers, she was interrupted by a sharp whinny from her horse, right before it went crashing to the ground, an arrow protruding from just above its' shoulder. Marian barely managed to scramble free of the thrashing of the animal's death throes, her eyes seeking out the man responsible.

An archer poised on a hill overlooking the battle quickly became her suspect, and Marian drew her bow, intent on a little lethal vengeance. Taking aim, she loosed an arrow high into the air, watching it arch through the air, before it came whistling back down to earth with deadly accuracy, catching the archer in the shoulder and cleaving neatly through sinewy muscle, skin and bone alike, sending the man tumbling to the ground. Even if he lived --which Marian doubted-- he would never wield a bow again. Good.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

Everything was not going to plan, and annoyed Robert to no end. He was a man who enjoyed a plan when it came together. Now he was a relaxed sort, and could adjust the plan and even enjoy a bit of a challenge when all was said and done; however this was not one of those moments. The sheriff had turn tail and run; which was expected, the under trained country bumpkin guards had closed ranked and attempted to out ride them; expected as well, the sheriff had been faster in his escape then the men giving chase; not expected, the guards had cross bows and not just bows; not expected but he should have see that one coming, and the skirt was fighting back.

Highly unexpected.

Robert came up behind her as she fired her last shot and reached around her to pull the bow forcefully from her hands; making sure to push her down in the process. Pulling one of his own arrows out he used her bow to take aim at her and fire. The arrow hissed over and landed a few inches from her hip, pinning her dress to the ground. "Bind her!" He called to the men dismissing her in his mind right after. He had not bothered to even look at her face; he did not even care. He broke her bow over his knee and tossed it down. Stupid noble women with lucky shots. He had a man down now.

Robert walked over to her horse that was still whining in pain from the shoot. He hated killing horse. Had her shot not taken the man down the Robert would of given him a black eye. Men he could kill; he did not like it but he could do it. Pulling his bow from his back and a arrow, he took aim and let the arrow end the animals pain. He looked over at one of his men. "Bring the meat to camp, we will eat well tonight. Find any gold they carried and split it among the men, find out who the lass is and get a ransom not to whom ever owns her, then bring her to me. If she keeps fights she can join her horse."

[Marian Cooper]

Marian was already picking out her next target and taking aim when someone yanked the bow out of her grasp and shoved her down to the ground. Damn. She had hoped that she'd get a few more shots off before someone took notice of her, since she knew she wasn't exactly a match for a man in hand to hand combat. She had hoped to take a few more of them with her.

Looking up to see the man who had thrown her to the ground, instead, she saw the pointy end of a nocked arrow, and she flinched when it was loosed in her direction, closing her eyes as she waited for the inevitable pain that would come before death. She heard the arrow impact, but didn't feel anything...opening her eyes, she looked down and was almost surprised not to see an arrow protruding from her chest, but from the ground, pinning her dress. She sat up abruptly and pulled on the arrow, but the ground it was dug into was very solid, she knew she wouldn't be able to get it out. So instead, she tore the fabric of her dress to get free.

Too late, however, as the battle was already over. The guards had either fled or were dying on the ground, and the man who had pinned her -Robin, she recognized him from their last encounter- was ordering her to be bound. Of course, he wanted a hostage. She wasn't quite as high profile as the Sheriff, but since that option was out, they probably figured she was better than nothing. Dammit. She already knew it was pointless to fight back right now; the bandits were all around her, and she knew she didn't have a hope of getting away. Two of them grabbed her, doing as their leader had ordered and binding her hands behind her back.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

Robert stood there ignoreing the girl and the men behind him as he stared into the area that the sheriff had disappeared and thinking of his next move. How daring of the sheriff to ride out here after the events of this week. It was as if he was just BEGGING Robert to step it up. Make a grand show. Get creative.

He was not paying attention as the men behind him bound her, and started asking her questions; 'What's your name girl?' 'What Family do you belong too?' They were asking, so they could ransom her quickly. She would not be their first, they knew how the show worked. With in an hour their pockets would be lined and she'd be crying to Daddy. They would bring her before him before they took her home, and he would give her a message to give to the sheriff.

Robert did not take his eyes off the trees that the sheriff disappeared into as he turned to walk back toward the aftermath of the fight. He did not take his eyes off the trees until his boot hit something on the ground. He looked down at it to notice the arrow in the ground with parts of a skirt still attached. Did she rip it off to get free? Really? What the hell sort of noble woman was the sheriff spending time with? When John approached him he looked up at the man, before looking back down at the arrow and then back up at John and shaking his head slowly at the boldness of women today. Women were supposed to be delicious little things that you carried over mud and spent hours rolling around with bed.

[Marian Cooper]

Marian had heard of the bandits abducting nobles before, although she'd never heard of them actually executing anyone. First time for everything, she supposed. She wondered if the Sheriff would actually pay for her to be returned...her mother wouldn't. Her sister might, if she could convince her rich husband to foot the bill. Would they just kill her if they found out she was worthless to them, alive or dead? Probably. What good was a noblewoman who no one would pay for?

She had no intention of sticking around long enough to find out what they would do, regardless. She might not be able to escape just yet, but she'd find a way, sooner or later. She gave the bandits a fake name, the name of one of the other girls living at court, Jocelyn Addinell, so they could at least have someone to send their 'note' to, in the mean time. At least the bandits would be a little humiliated when Lord Addinell received the note and took no action, because his daughter was still safe at home.

After that, they didn't talk to her much, instead shoving her towards their camp and talking amongst themselves like she wasn't really there. Just as well, really, she couldn't imagine they had anything to say that she wanted to listen to very much. Finally, they arrived at their camp, and one man took Marian away from the rest of the group, to a makeshift lean-to under a rock outcropping. "I'm thirsty." She told the man, who glared at her briefly, then sighed and tossed her a water skin. She gave him a look, then held up her hands, still bound behind her back. With another sigh, he cut the bonds free, apparently intent on tying her hands in front of her. He never got the chance.

Once he'd freed her hands and brought them back around in front of her, she brought her knee up into his groin, and when he bent double with pain, she grabbed a heavy rock that looked like it had fallen off the rocky outcropping, and clubbed him over the head with it. He went down like a sack of potatoes, and after a quick glance to make sure no one had seen, she dragged him into the shelter, then relieved him of his weapons and took her leave of the camp. She was careful to make sure she wasn't seen as she snuck away, but with the way everyone was celebrating, it wasn't difficult. She hoped she'd have a good head start before they realized she was gone.

But once she was clear of the camp, she didn't head back to the castle. No, instead, she set about to laying false trails all over the woods, doubling back numerous times, and setting simple traps along the way. These men would have experience tracking, she had no doubt, so she might not fool them for long, but it should be enough to get them to split up. Her traps wouldn't kill anyone, she didn't have time for anything that big, but she would snare a few of them, annoy them, or render them unable to continue the chase. Then she found herself a place to hide, high up in the branches of a large tree with good cover, and wait until he found her. At least, she hoped it was him. She had a score to settle.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

When they arrived at the location meant to look like their camp (but in truth was not their real homes) Robert went to work with the guards that were left alive. The men were to be stripped down, and tired to their horses. This time however, using red berries there would be targets drawn on them, and Robert would use arrows with the ends padded with cloth to shoot at them. The cloth would be rubbed in ash so he could see where he hit. "Now driving a horse with your knees is not easy." He was telling the guards, "Especially if your horse has not been trained on how to do it. You have to use strength but not force. I would not worry, you will learn quickly." Because their hands were tired behind their backs, and when they finally made it back to Nottingham castle, they would be covered in black ash were 'Robin' had used them for target practice.

'Rroobbiinn!' He really hated that name, but it served his purposes. Turning slowly to see what was going on he saw two of his men running at him. 'The lass has escaped.' He stared at them for a moment as if waiting for before, before he was able to speak; and even then it was more shock then understanding. "How does one little girl escape us?" THIS was how the sheriff felt! Really! Surrounded by lower classed fools. He really liked these men for they had a way of enjoying them selves that he'd not seen as a noble; but they were not very bright sometimes. 'She ran into the wood.' "Good, maybe a bear will get her!" Robert was not going to bother chasing after one slip of a girl who thought she was equal to a man.

Robert turned and found him self staring at Tuck. It was not the man's demanding stare that caused him to change his mind however. A girl who thought she was a man! "What was her name?" He got met with a uhhh and one 'Josey?' and one 'Lyn!' Where those names? 'Ed knew the name, but she knocked him out." Did she now? "Find her, follow her trail and drag her back." One fo the men shifted their feet before admitting, 'There is more then one trail.'

Rachael? No, surely not. He vaguely recalled the girl in the battle and she was all dressed and fluffed. He had assumed she was some noble's bastard or mistress. Was she the sheriff's? If so all the more reason to take her. "Split up. Follow them all." He ordered before walking out there to follow one his own self. He took the one that had less markings, suggesting no one had followed it already or she had not doubled back. He walked slowly down the trail, keeping his eyes open and moving. Looking for some sign that she was either running away or waiting.

[Marian Cooper]

She didn't have long to wait, she was happy to admit, although she hadn't thought he'd track her down quite so quickly. Marian was delighted to see that he was alone, too; now that she had the element of surprise, she had the advantage, but that would be for naught if he brought a bunch of men with him. Happily, he was alone, and she held her breath, holding her body perfectly still as he passed under the branch where she so nimbly perched. She waited until his back was to her, then in one swift movement, swung off the branch and kicked him square in the back, knocking him to the ground.

Not wanting to take any chances, she then clubbed him over the head with a large, heavy branch she'd found lying around, making sure he was quite unconscious before she set about to taking her revenge. First, she stripped off his weapons and belt, then, with some difficulty, hauled him to the trunk of the thick, sturdy tree she'd been hiding in, and used his belt to secure his wrists together around the berth of the tree, making sure it was tight and would hold his arms back so he'd be helpless, completely at her mercy. She smiled wickedly.

Her next idea actually came from him...and his habit of returning naked men to the castle. She slung his bow around her thin shoulders --a trophy, since he'd trashed hers-- and started undressing him. It was a good thing he was out cold, or he might enjoy this too much. When it came to getting his arms out of his sleeves, she used his own dagger to cut the fabric off of him. She had no sympathy if he couldn't afford new clothing; he brought this on himself. Once he was stripped naked, she moved away, contemplating leaving him like this. But the temptation to see the look on his face when he realized he'd been beaten by a girl was just too much...besides, she hardly wanted Jocelyn taking credit for all her hard work.

She she sat back on a fallen log, keeping an ear out for any sounds that would indicate his men were coming, but she had a feeling they'd be busy for a while yet, and Robin was a big, strong man...why would he ever need help with a little girl?

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((Kinda god-moddy, I know. If it's too much, I'll change it, I just got this idea and thought it would be hilarious! ^^))

[Robin Of The Woods]

The first thing Robert noticed was the slight chill. Forcing his eyes open slowly he began to look around but the sharp pain in the back of his skull made everything more bright white then actual images. He moved one of his hand up--No, he could not move one of his hands up. Why could he not move his hand up?

That was about the moment everything fell into place. Shit. His first instinct was to cross his legs but before he could he noticed the skirt not far from him. A little girl did this too him? Slowly leaning his sore head back on the tree, he drew up one knee to open display everything. "Look who decided she was a girl after all." He greeted, his voice slower and slightly softer thanks to the drunken elves hammering around in his head.

Oh, when he got his hands on her, he was going to return the favor. His mind was working with all sorts of fun he was going to have while showing her what happened when you played game with men. While he was thinking, he turned his wrist slowly one way and then the next, testing out her work.

[No, I can work with it.]

[Marian Cooper]

Since she had tied him up, Marian had been trying to avoid staring at her 'hostage', but wound up failing miserably. Giving him a taste of his own medicine had seemed like a brilliant idea...until she was sitting by herself, waiting for him to wake up. The truth was, Marian had never really seen a naked man before. Sure, she'd caught glimpses when the naked guards returned from being harassed by the bandits, but she'd never had a full-frontal view quite like this before...probably for good reason. She was hesitant to admit, even just to herself, that it wasn't an entirely unpleasant sight.

She was distracted from her blatant ogling when she noticed he was stirring, and she got to her feet hastily. While she was all dressed up like a proper lady, in a pale lavender gown with her hair coiffed and pinned on top of her head, her excursions in the woods had left her skirt wrinkled and stained, and of course torn where she'd pulled it free of an arrow. Some of her hair had fallen from its pins, and there were smudges of dirt on her hands and face, but none of this seemed to bother her as she drew a few paces nearer to the slowly waking man.

"Yes, well, I thought I'd give it a try." She answered to his drowsy comment. She still had his dagger in one hand, and as he started to wake, she moved closer to him, putting her body tantalizingly close to his without touching him, lifting the dagger to his throat. She looked up to meet his gaze, smiling diabolically at him as she moved the fingertips of her free hand up to the knee he had raised, slowly walking her fingers up his thigh. "I'm not so sure the skirt suits me." She added casually.

Noticing the slight movements of his shoulders as he struggled against his bonds, she gave a sigh, her smile changing to a look of disapproval, and she moved the dagger down, tracing a line with the tip down his chest, right over his heart, only stopping when she reached his manhood, holding the cold steel blade exactly over that appendage he'd been so proudly displaying a moment ago. "Now stop struggling, or I won't be the only lady in these woods."

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