Robin & Marian

[Robin Of The Woods]

Robert was not an idiot, there was more to her then this 'girls just wanna have fun' look to her actions. He knew all too well that nothing was ever done because it was just plain old fun. There was always something that pushed you, twisted inside you and in a way controlled your actions. He what his demons were but wondered what sort of demons a little rich girl had. First this he was going to do tomorrow--well, the third thing he was going to was speak with Tuck and see what information the preacher man had for him about Marian de Clare. That was coming only after getting some much needed sleep, and taking care of the ache she had given him.

'Yeah, sounds like a ton of fun." He was being sarcastic and not really meaning it. If he had his way, he would get his rich life back and sleep for a year un a big soft bed with England's prettiest girls next him. While he had fun doing what he did, it wasn't fun enough to do it if he had choices. "I wake up every morning and think, I want to leave my safe and comfortable life and risk my reputation and my life just for a bit of fun."

His eyes were still closed as he talked to her; with his hands folded behind his head. "You could have fun doing other things, you know; rather then waltzing into a tavern full of drunken men who are trying to show how manly they are by bedding every woman in sight.--Unless that is your idea of fun. Getting manhandled and forced do thing that would make your mother blush."

[Marian Cooper]

Marian shrugged when he criticized her reasoning, what was the point of a safe and comfortable life if you had nothing worth living for? Her reputation meant less than dirt to her, as the entire court was well aware, and if by risking her life was the only way she could feel alive, then she'd keep on doing it. But she knew that would sound crazy, so she didn't tell him that. Why did she have to explain herself to him, anyways?

So instead, she put her hand down on the other side of his legs and leaned her weight back on it so she could look at him. "No, you just sleep in the cold, dark woods with a bunch of dirty, smelly men so that you can wake up every morning and figure out new and creative ways to risk your life irritating people you hate until you finally get a chance to risk your life killing the one man who stole your comfortable life from you." She pointed out, was he really any less crazy than she was? He could leave, he was capable enough to go elsewhere and build himself a nice, comfortable life, but he was here, lamenting the life he had already lost, and seeking revenge.

Marian knew he didn't really buy her explanation, but what did she care? She didn't have to explain herself to him. Would he even understand if he tried? She chuckled softly when he mentioned making her mother blush. "I would pay you if you could find anything to make my mother blush." She laughed, Aoife wasn't some docile little lamb who fainted at the sight of blood. She had been the daughter of a warlord, and before she'd had children, she'd led her husband's men into battle and fought alongside them. She had always liked Marian's spirit, even though she was raising the daughter of an English Earl rather than an Irish King, and she'd let her rebel, even encouraged it. Marian missed how she used to be.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

When he felt her weight shift on the bed; his eyes opened so he could watch her move. He rather disliked her that close to the weapon that he stored in his boot but he figured the odds where in his favor that should she go for it; he could kick a few feet off the bed her before she could get it out. It was not his weapon of choice in a fight; but it worked for when you got pinned down and your back was to a wall.

He let her have her little speech before pointing out; "At least I do mine for cause. Even it's a personal one." They weren't the same; no matter how she turned words to make it seem like they were. He might not be the most caring guy but he did help people.; and he was fighting an enemy. In a way; as long as the sheriff's attention was on him it wasn't on the people.

As for her mother; he didn't comment as he didn't really want to get into her personal life until he knew what he wanted to know from Tuck. He wanted to know what was real and what was her's opinion before starting to talk to her about it. One of the very few virtues that he had was waiting; Robert could wait until just the right moment.

[Marian Cooper]

Marian neither knew or cared that Robin had a weapon close to her hand; if she wanted to stab him, she had her own daggers tucked into her own boots. They were at an uneasy kind of peace, one they were spending questioning and criticizing one another's lifestyle choices. What fun. Marian just shrugged when he pointed out that he had a cause; that was true. A cause, a purpose, something worth fighting for. Lucky him. So maybe they weren't so alike, after all.

Looking away from him, Marian wondered how long they had been up here...would the patrol have passed by already? Could she risk climbing out the window now to try and sneak back into the castle? She stood up and went to the window; it wouldn't be unusual for anyone to see a pretty girl looking out one of these windows, so she figured she could get away with checking. In the streets below there were a few drunks milling about, laughing loudly and stumbling over each other as they tried to either get home or find another place to drink some more, but looking up and down the street, the soldiers appeared to be gone. It was quiet below.

Marian glanced towards Robin, still lying on the bed, the picture of ease, although she was sure that he was tensed to move in case she tried anything; not that she had anything of the sort planned. He kept the Sheriff's attention away from the townspeople...and away from her, most of the time. She had plenty of reasons to want him dead, but he had his uses, and they outweighed the cons of keeping him alive. Besides...he was exciting. She opened the window before she looked at him again. "Goodnight, Robin," she didn't know what else she should say to him, so she left it there, climbing out the window and making her way silently back into the castle.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

His eyes opened again when she got off the bed; but he didn't move as she walked away from it. He thought about telling her not to go yet but he knew better. She was a noble; and even if she was breaking the rules by slipping out any length of time she spent with him was only getting her closer to being an outlaw like him; or worse backed into a corner she could not get her self out of. So he said nothing until she was already out the window; "Defiantly a virgin!" He called because the devil made him do it; "Not had such a chaste good night since my mother tucked me into a crib."

He waited until she was walking away from the window before rolling off the bed and moving to crouch down by the window; his back pressed to the wall so no one would see him watching her to make sure she'd get over the wall alright. The rest she'd have to do on her own.

Robert picked up his cloak after she'd gotten over the wall and put it on. He was vaguely annoyed that it smelled like her but he could fix that with a washing. The door to the room opened and the same little dove entered the room that he had tossed in the big man's arm to free Marian. She smiled when she noticed he was alone, 'There is a guard down there.' She told him; while shutting the door behind her. Her invitation was clear but Robert wasn't about to take her up on the offer. Too many outlaws got hung after being caught in a whore's bed. When you valued money more then your body; then Robert didn't trust you. "Guess I better go tell him hello then." He told her with a wink and kissed her forehead before opening the door and heading down stairs, ignoring her pout. Time to go home.

[Marian Cooper]

Marian smiled when she heard what he called out after her, and bit her lip to keep from laughing. Maybe he did believe her...that would be a first. Or else he was just teasing her, but in this case, she felt like being optimistic. She didn't have much trouble sneaking into the castle, but in her case, sneaking in wasn't the problem. She usually had more trouble getting out in the first place. If she were to be caught sneaking in, she might get in a bit of trouble, but eventually she'd just wind up back in her own room anyways. Tonight, things went without a hitch, and she made her way back up to her room with no one the wiser.

She found herself wondering about Robin, once she was back safely in her room. Would he spend the night in the tavern's room...and, more specifically, would he share the bed with its usual occupant? She quickly became annoyed with her own concerns. Why should it matter to her if he slept with the village whores? She knew he probably did, he had certainly been at home there tonight, so she had to assume that he was familiar with the place, and that implied some...familiarity with the women who lived there. And it bothered her. And it made her angry that she was bothered by it. Bloody outlaw.

Marian slept somewhat restlessly through the night, and by the time she got up the next day, she wasn't feeling very rested at all. It didn't help that she was supposed to have dinner with the Sheriff that night; doubtless he believed that since the way to her heart wasn't through jewels or fancy trinkets, it was through her stomach. Oh well, at least she could amuse herself by getting him all worked up and then letting him down hard, like she usually did. She wondered how things would be different if Robin weren't an outlaw...would he still have any interest in her at all, or would he be just another noble who thought she was the Sheriff's plaything?

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[Robin Of The Woods]

Robert had made it 'home' not too very long after he had left Nottingham that night, and the first thing he did was--as planned sleep the day away. This was the advantage of having men you trusted with your life around you; you could sleep and not fear what was stalking your back. After being up for so many hours straight; both from his efforts the night before then in the market and then hiding in the dove's room all day and half the night he was rather impressed with his skills at making to his own bed.

When he awoke in the late afternoon; his plans again keep to just how he saw them. Like most mornings he woke up with more then a simple urge to find the nearest woman; but he knew how to take him self in hand and deal with it by him self.

He then sought out Tuck; finding it amusing to seek out out the man after a morning of sinning. He did not however; get to ask about Marian's family. He was distracted by news of a trader in his camp. With the camp so large it was hard to know which man had what to loose. Tuck warned him of a trap coming; but Robert wasn't the type to avoid traps. He wanted a look at who was the trader; which meant he had to spring the trap and hope he got away fast enough.

[Marian Cooper]

After wasting more time than she knew she ought to musing about the previous night while staring out the window, Marian gave an aggravated sigh. She had to actually face the day at some point, as much fun as it might be to lounge around in her dressing gown. But that didn't mean she couldn't take her sweet time doing it. She slipped out of her night clothes, leaving them in a messy heap on the floor, and using the basin of lukewarm water that had presumably been left by a maid at some indecent hour and a wash cloth, she spent the better part of an hour removing the filth that had accumulated over the course of last night.

She was just finishing with washing her hair when there was an urgent knock at the door, and Marian hastily threw on whatever her hand happened to reach first before answering. It was a messenger. Apparently, the Sheriff had canceled their dinner for tonight; he had some urgent business to attend to, and was extremely sorry, and would find a way to make it up to her later. Marian casually inquired as to what this business was, and while the messenger wouldn't give her any details, he did mention that he had a feeling it had to do with the bandit. Not the bandits, the bandit, as in one in particular who everyone knew. Robin Hood.

Marian was intrigued. She wondered what the Sheriff could possibly have planned for her outlaw, and whether or not it would actually work. She doubted it, of course, nothing he tried ever worked, but she was curious nonetheless. Dressing quickly, she decided she might as well see what else she could learn, and headed down to the courtyard. It didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary was going on...the men were doing drills, as usual. But some of them did have a sort of shifty look about them, an anxiety that wasn't from swinging their swords around. They were tensed up for something.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

Thiiiiissssssss; was not his best day ever. Robert leaned ageist the cell wall while staring silently at the overly large (and underly smart) guard that was watching him while the others ran to wake the sheriff. The man had a large cross bow aimed at Robert with the orders to 'shoot him if he blinked to often'. How trite of them.

Only this morning had Robert set out to spring the trap that he knew was being set for him. He knew that only if it the trap worked would he get to see which of his men were behind the back stabbing. Stabbing in the back was the worse thing a man could do in Robert's book--at lest since it was happening to him right now. He rather the man had the courage to look him in the eye and do the dirty work him self.

After springing the trap and getting caught; Robert then knew he needed a plan of escape. He had not counted on large and stupid here to be watching his every move. He needed a distraction in order to get away, before the sheriff came down here to gloat. He knew once the sheriff was here; the death of 'Robin Of The Woods' would come with in the hour. He just needed a plan.

[Marian Cooper]

After spending the better part of the day searching for information without much luck, Marian figured she ought to just sneak down to the village and see what the townspeople knew. She had just found a suitable window to climb out of, when the sounds of men marching in armor reached her, and she went to investigate. A retinue of soliders was entering the castle, with just one tightly bound prisoner between them. It was Robin. They headed down to the dungeons to secure him before getting the sheriff.

Marian was surprised they'd managed to catch him...shocked, actually, and torn. She should just let him rot, probably, but she had to admit, she didn't want to watch him hang...or get beheaded, or executed in any manner the sheriff would cook up for him. So instead, she headed to the sheriff's room. By the time she got there, the messengers had already reached him, and Marian ducked back behind a corner while he rushed out of his room towards the dungeon. Then, making sure no one was in sight, she darted into his rooms, searching for the key she knew he had. He wouldn't be stupid enough to bring it down into the dungeon with him.

Finally, she found it...in a chest of drawers next to the bed. It had better be the dungeon key, at least. She hurried down to the dungeons, and tucked herself into a dark corner until the sheriff left, still laughing as he went. He was in good spirits...all the guards were. It made it easier to slip past them unnoticed, down to the cells. What she didn't expect was to find a big ugly lump staring directly into the cell with a crossbow pointed straight in. He didn't even glance up as she entered. "What do y'think you're doing here? Sheriff said no one sees the prisoner."

Marian approached slowly, hiding the keys behind her back. "He said I could." She lied easily, it was common knowledge that the Sheriff was willing to give Marian anything, so this really wasn't much of a stretch. She stopped right beside the guard, innocently looking into the cell, and hoping Robin would have enough sense to keep his yap shut.

"Figures." The guard rolled his eyes, and that was all the distraction Marian needed. She grabbed his arm and wheeled him around, kicking the crossbow out of his hands and then punching him square in the face with the hand that still held the keys. It wasn't enough to knock out someone as big as he was, but it stunned him long enough for Marian to whip the dagger out of her boot and slit his throat. He was the only guard who had seen her; he had to die. Watching as he gurgled for a few seconds before he died, Marian shoved on his chest to make the big, heavy man fall down. She took a deep breath, then turned to look into the cell.

"Miss me?"

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[Robin Of The Woods]

Did he miss her? At the moment she was looking rather good. He wasn't so sure he could approve of her methods of getting him out, but at the moment, he wasn't going to bitch over the death of one man when it meant he was walking out rather then getting dawn and quartered. Standing up, Robert walked over to the cell door and watched her for a moment, "I hadn't but your making me wish I had. You did that rather easily." He refereed her her murder, but he was watching her face to see if she was going to be the lady and faint or the cold hearted ice block and pretend it was nothing.

Robert had killed before, but he wondered had she? Watching her now; he knew that her reaction would give him some sign to just how un-lady like she could really be. She was quickly becoming the puzzle he could not solve; and he wasn't quite sure if he should save him self the trouble and leave her bound up here; or take her with him and deal with her the only way he really knew how to deal with a woman. "Unlock the door and I might even show you how to properly thank someone when they save your ass." A reference to their last encounter.

Robert knew others would not be far behind her and that they needed to move quick, "Did you have a plan beyond getting the door open; do shall I do this the old fashioned way?" He sounded clam and sure but Robert knew that if they did not get moving then she was going to need more then a little dagger to get her self out of this mess. She would find her self int he noose beside him; and it was really a shame to die a virgin.

[Marian Cooper]

She glanced down at the man she'd just killed, her mouth twisting uncomfortably. Guards were a dime a dozen around here, but this was the first time she'd killed one of them. Marian did not often have to take a life, she wasn't hardened against it like a soldier was, but she had; a few bandits who thought she was easy prey while she was hunting and the like. She'd never been the one to attack first, but she'd known this would only work if she had the element of surprise. Unfortunately for the warm body on the floor, it had been him or Robin, and she chose Robin.

She looked up from the body, hurrying to get out the keys and open the cell door; they didn't have very much time before someone else would show up to check on the prisoner. "Element of surprise," she shrugged simply, it was a lot easier to take someone down when they didn't expect you to fight them. Or when they didn't think you could. She expected he knew all about that, though, with all his forest ambushes and such.

She gave a wry laugh when he told her he'd show her how to thank someone properly, pulling the cell door open. "Oh really?" She hoped his thanks didn't involve teeth. "Better go with the old fashioned way, whatever that means. I only planned as far as getting you out of that cell." She knew that they didn't have a lot of time before someone would show up to check on their infamous prisoner, and it would be so much better if they were both gone by the time that happened.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

Right, the old fashioned way. Which meant he was going to have to fight his way out, or ruin her day when he got creative. Robert didn't mind a little fun and games when it was meant to annoy the hell out of the sheriff but she tended to get touchy when he started having his most fun. Still he needed a way to get out of here with out bring any dark light onto her. For once her troubling habit of misbehaving just might work out for her.

He waited, until she had unlocked the door before reaching out and pulling her into the cell with him; turning her so that her back was pressed to the cell wall. "Just the way I like you." He muttered before claiming her mouth for the proper thank you he had just warned her about. Robert was a fast learner however and make sure that he stayed alert enough to avoid getting bit again; and he pulled back after a few short seconds.

He stood there; rather close to her as he looked into her face and brought his hand up to her cheek to softly touch it. "I'm sorry" He told her but not for the kiss. His hand swiftly dropped down to her neck and the dagger she had was twisted to turn to rest on her neck. He pulled her out of the cell and ducked to grab the crossbow just as the door opened and the sheriff followed by a few guards looked up to see him. "Pretty little girl you got here, Sheriff. I think I might borrow her." He told the bastard before firing so the bow landed int he sheriff's shoulder and went though to embed in the woo behind him. Pinning the sheriff to the door way, also blocked it do the others could not follow him until getting him unpinned from the painful situation. He let go of her neck and grabbed the other arrows before pulling her deeper down the dark halls that made the dungeons. The sewer would lead to the river and the river to the woods; and rather she liked it or not; He was kidnapping her.

[Marian Cooper]

Glancing towards the dungeon door, Marian was caught off-guard when he pulled her into the cell, she'd thought he would want to get away while he had the chance, rather than risk both their necks by showing his thanks here and now. But she didn't have time to react as he shoved her up against a wall, rolling her eyes at his words. "We don't have ti-" She started, but was cut off when he kissed her anyways, and she found her resolve melting, readily giving in to his sinister attraction. When he pulled back, she looked up at him, already forgetting that they were in a prison cell and this really wasn't the time, until he apologized and twisted her arm up painfully to hold her dagger to her throat.

Her eyes narrowed at him, what the hell?! "You son of a bitch!" She swore at him, more angry at herself for believing his stupid act than at him for pulling it. She shouldn't really be surprised that he had tricked her, even after she'd help him, what had she expected? An actual thank you? As if. She grimaced at the pain in her arm as he jerked her out of the cell, still holding the knife to her throat as the sheriff burst through the door. Oh, this just got better and better; how was she going to explain what she was doing down here?! And with the Sheriff's keys, no less, still hanging from the open cell door where she'd left them.

"Get your damn hands off of me, before I cut them off!" She growled angrily, loud enough that the sheriff and the guards would be able to hear. She'd have her work cut out for her explaining this away, it might be a little easier if they knew she was being kidnapped. Of course, the sheriff wasn't paying much attention to her at the moment, given that he was a little busy with the crossbow bolt in his shoulder. She gave a sigh of relief when he let go of her throat and pulled her deeper into the dungeons, not trying to escape for the moment; she still needed more time to decide how she was going to lie her way out of this.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

Yup; just like he thought. Touchy when he got creative. Part of him had expected her to play along; and cry like a girl would but that part that kept expecting her to be a girl was getting smaller. He pulled her along until they go to the opening where all the 'trash' and 'other things' got dumped into the sewer and he turned her to lift her up and toss her downwards. Oh she was going to pissed; but he could not help but to smile. She always escaped from the castle in order to have a little fun, but when he dragged her out of it suddenly he was a son of a bitch.

"Stop calling my mother names." He muttered before jumping in after her. The sewers were full of things that might be best if they didn't look at them too closely; but when it rained this whole area flooded and washed everything away. it was just too damn bad that it had nor rained in a while. He moved over to her, ducking his head a few inch to keep it from touching the roof; "I know, I know I am an ass and your pissed but if you stayed then who knew what would happen. You can come with me for a few hours; I'll send a ransom note back and you can ride back home and claimed you escaped again. "

He offered her some of the answers to the questions he knew would he asked of her when she went home. He started to walk past her, so that he could lead them out but at the moment he was giving her the opinion of coming willingly; or being dragged. He would have kept kidnapping her but right now he felt to dirty to touch anything thanks to the sewer. They both would need a bath.