Don't Shoot the Messenger

[Marian Cooper]

It was just after nightfall that Marian slipped into the woods, a wary apprehension to her steps. She had put this venture off for a few days already, but she couldn't face another morning of entering Lady Vivian's rooms to see the older woman waiting, breath bated, to see if she'd delivered her message yet, only to see disappointment wash over her gentle face to learn that Marian had not. She felt terrible for being the cause of that disappointment, and while she'd thought about just lying to the noblewoman, telling her some pretty little lie to make her feel better, the idea knotted in her stomach. She should have just told her no, that it was too dangerous, that she wouldn't be able to find him, but she couldn't do that either. There was no one else Lady Vivian could ask, and all she wanted was to get a letter, just a short, little thing, to her son. Marian couldn't say no.

So despite her misgivings, here she was, picking through the dark trees and following the faint signs of a trail left by men who didn't want to be followed. It would be easier if it were daytime, but that was when the Sheriff's men came out to hunt for the bandits, and she'd much rather be caught by outlaws than the brutes that passed for law enforcement these days. Even in the darkness, her movements were sure, guided by a full moon illuminating the forest somewhat, remembering the subtle signs and markers her father used to lecture her about when she was young. Tracking men wasn't so different from hunting, but given how much trouble others had finding these men, she wondered about just what she was getting herself into.

While cautious, she wasn't as afraid as she thought she would be. Sure, it was very possible that she could be caught, beaten, robbed and raped out in the woods...but that was also possible walking home from her work at the tavern. It might even be more likely then. It wasn't a comforting thought, but it was realistic, unfortunately. She'd prefer to just get this over and done with so she could go home and tuck her boy into bed...which he had better already be in. She paused, tensing, when she heard a noise like a snapping twig in the bushes, turning towards the source of the noise and scanning the darkened trees for movement. "Is someone there?" She had to know, and besides, she had a feeling that if there was, they'd known where she was for some time now.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

Robert was in deep sleep when the message came that a lone woman was walking the woods this time of night. H climbed from his bed; knowing he had to get up; for an outlaw's best time at doing his job was when the darkness cloaked his shadow; he went to join his men at watching her. Seeing who she was; rather surprised him. Why was she here? Robert watched her for a bit; trying to see where she was going. He did not plan t step in or intervene until his men started toying with her; snapping twigs and moving closer; though still out of sight.

"Have the men go back to their posts; find someone useful to rob." He ordered before pulling out of his arrows but not his bow. Walking forward into plain sight he turned it over in his fingers of one hand. Watching her until he came into her view. "Someone is more then a little off the beaten path. One would think she might be up to no good walking in these woods." He hinted, his hair still rumpled from his bed; though his voice was awake. Robert didn't care; she wasn't a lady and he wasn't trying to impress her. The only reason he took on this role personally was because he knew she served his mother. Robert knew it would upset her if she lost Marian; so he was going to turn her around; send her home; and make her stay there.

Didn't she had a husband and a kid? Did her husband not make her stay home? Had he had a wife; she'd have been too damn busy in his bed to go into the woods at night.

[Marian Cooper]

Marian jumped slightly at the different noises, the fear that had been absent when all was quiet suddenly rushing in now that she wasn't alone anymore. Why was it that you always thought bad things couldn't happen to you until they actually did? She turned slowly, trying to calm her heartbeat to figure out exactly how many men had to be out there to make that kind of racket...not that it really made a difference, but she had to do something.

Then the noises receded, vanishing altogether, and she wondered just what kind of game they were playing at, tensing even more. She jumped when Robert materialized out of the shadows, even though he just walked into the clearing. She was too jazzed up at the moment to process things properly. He spoke, as calmly as if they were just meeting in the market. She sighed when she recognized him, at least that hadn't taken too long...although getting snuck up on hadn't exactly been part of the plan.

She looked him over in the moonlight, taking note of the differences. He looked older, which made sense, but...somehow, older than the last eight years should have made him. He was scruffy, too, beard growth clinging to his jaw, hair all askew and just begging to be put back in its place...before she realized she was staring, and dammit, she wasn't a silly little girl anymore. "You mean this isn't the way to church?" She answered rhetorically, meaning to distract from the fact that she'd been staring at him. She was going to blame it on nerves. Yes, that was perfectly acceptable given the circumstances.

She reached into the pocket of her apron, fishing for the little rolled up scroll of paper Lady Vivian had entrusted her with. It wasn't much, but apparently it was worth having Marian wander around the woods at night, so it had better be important. She had no idea what it said, mostly because she couldn't read. Not that she would've tried to read a private message from mother to son, because that would be wrong. She held it out to him. "Your mother asked me to give this to you."

[Robin Of The Woods]

Robert doubted she was really going to church; and he didn't even blink at her words. Good little girls didn't go into the woods at night. Someone really needed to tell her about the type of men in the woods; for they were not like her husband. Husbands could be hard or soft; but they didn't share. These men would pass her from man to man and not care if she begged them to stop.

She held out a letter to him; and he realized what this was about. Bloody hell; his mother was going to get her maid killed! Taking the letter; Robert watched her for a second. "Wait here, and I will walk you out of the wood." His mother should not have risked her maid for a message. Robert walked back toward John and told him where he was going before turning to return to her. "Come, I will make sure you get out with out getting robbed of your purse, or life." Or anything else. "My mother should not have sent you here."

[Marian Cooper]

After he took the letter, Marian was about to excuse herself to just get out of here, when she was surprised to hear Robert offer to walk her out of the woods. A noble thinking of someone besides themselves? And it hadn't even taken a riot or anything. She nodded, not about to turn down his offer, especially not after what had happened a moment ago. There was a reason people avoided the woods, and while she had never doubted the rumors, now she knew firsthand what that reason was.

She waited, somewhat nervously while he disappeared into the trees again, a nasty buzzing thought in her ear telling her that he was probably just going to leave her here. She ignored it, and was glad when he returned quickly after. She smiled slightly when he reconfirmed his intentions to see her out of the woods, and moved to follow him. "Thank you," she knew he didn't have to do this; she certainly hadn't expected him to. She blinked when he said that his mother shouldn't have sent her here. At least they agreed on that. "No, she should not have." Did it make a difference what she should have done? She did. Nobles always did what they wanted. "And I shouldn't have come." She added, she knew she couldn't blame Lady Vivian entirely. It wasn't like she would have thrown her out or had her beat if she refused; she just would've been so damn displeased, and for some reason that had seemed worse than risking her life out in the woods.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

"Thank you," She didn't need to thank him; she needed to keep his fanny out of his woods! What the bloody hell was his mother thinking? The damn letter better be worth it. "No, she should not have." Ya think? Robert didn't say anything more on his mother and he was not going to speak against her actions to a servant.

"And I shouldn't have come." Against the servant's actions he could speak up on; however. "No, you should have been smart enough to know that you'd be arrested if caught; and robbed if not." His mother liked her servant; and he didn't want to see her upset by losing one.

Yet; the servant was here and he did have questions. "Since you were foolish enough to brave the woods; tell me of my mother and sister." He avoided them with reason; as he would not let himself get hung up with anyone besides him other then the men who fought the same cause as he did. His mother and sister needed to be spared.

[Marian Cooper]

She rolled her eyes when he questioned her intelligence, she knew it had been a mistake, but just like a noble, he had to point out everything as if she were a simpleton. Marian knew better than to speak back to nobles, and she wasn't going to say anything...until she realized that he wasn't a noble. Well, by blood, but what did that matter when you took all the important bits away? "You would have said yes too, if you'd seen the look on her face when she asked me." He really had no idea what he was putting his poor mother through.

But apparently he wanted to know. "They're...well." She answered, somewhat hesitantly, wondering how much she should tell him. They were being shunned by most of the upper class, but no one had tried to actually hurt them. "Lady Vivian is...miserable." She had so been looking forward to Robert's return from war, the opportunity to go home finally, to have some measure of freedom outside of Nottingham. "She's been in a state ever since your father passed, worried sick that something would happen to you in the Holy Lands. And now, since you've been outlawed, she's absolutely despondent. She rarely leaves her rooms, hardly talks to anyone save your sister and myself...I'm worried about her." That was why she agreed to deliver the letter.

"Your sister fares better, only by rejecting your name entirely and scorning you at every opportunity. She seems determined to undo what you've done to the family name." It could be an act; Marian was too busy looking after Vivian to pay too much attention to her daughter, but everyone at court seemed to believe it. "Sir Guy of Gysbourne takes notice of her...although I doubt marriage is his desired outcome." She remembered Robert and Guy had never quite gotten along; she assumed his interest was more to insult Robert than anything.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

"They're...well" Good! He had been worried for them both; and had feared that being his mother and sister would lead them to troubled ways and harsh times. "Lady Vivian is...miserable." How the bloody hell was that 'well'?! Did the girl NOT know the meaning of the bloody word? Though his ire was more at his fault in his mother's happiness (or lack of it); Robert was not above using the servant as an outlet for his anger.

"She's been in a state ever since your father passed . . . I'm worried about her." Which eased his anger slightly; and made him less willing to use the servant as a verbal target. "Next time lie to her; tell you have delivered whatever messenger or message to me and that I took it with out opening nor reading." Robert ordered. Let her care for his mother; see about getting her out of this place once coin could be built up. His sister too. "Or better; give my sister the letter. I will attend the rest." Because his sister could either falsify a reply or get the message to him. He would not risk others.

"Your sister fares better, only by rejecting your name entirely and scorning you at every opportunity. She seems determined to undo what you've done to the family name." Robert's lips twitched; though his darkened expression stayed. No one knew of his sister's true motives. "Good girl."

"Sir Guy of Gysbourne takes notice of her...although I doubt marriage is his desired outcome." Robert was going to kill the bastard! "Clearly I am not keeping his attentions busy enough on me. I will have to engage the man more often." And kill him when the occasion arose. "If he ever seeks out my mother; tell him she is unwell and not seeing visitors. I do not trust the man." Another order.

[Marian Cooper]

Marian raised an eyebrow at him when he told her to lie to his mother, if she were willing to do that, she wouldn't be out here right now. She gave a derisive snort at his tone. "Your mother trusts me, I will not lie to her. And don't give me orders, I'm not one of your men." She told him matter-of-factly, she might be a servant, but she wasn't his servant. When he mentioned giving the letter to his sister, it confirmed her suspicions...the Lady was pretending to hate her brother for her own safety.

She smiled a bit when he spoke of keeping Guy busy, it was nice that he wanted to protect his sister. But the way he said it...she couldn't help a giggle. "I should've known you'd be able to engage his desires." She twisted his words around, teasing him. He deserved it, for thinking he could still tell her what to do; he wasn't a high and mighty lord anymore.

She rolled her eyes and gave him a patronizing look when he told her how to look after his mother; as if she didn't already know how to do that. "I would never let him in to see her anyway. He's a madman." She'd heard word of what he'd done in Locksley, and everyone in Nottingham knew to stay away from him because he was dangerous. Marian would do everything in her power to keep that madman away from Lady Vivian.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

"Your mother trusts me, I will not lie to her. And don't give me orders, I'm not one of your men." Love a duck; an honest woman. What in the world would come next? Pre-sliced bread? "Then next time be honest with her and tell her that you were forbidden from bringing me anything again" He told her; "For next time I might not let you just walk out of my woods so freely." He's teach her to head his words when he kept her here; away from the city for a week.

There had been something else she'd said; "I should've known you'd be able to engage his desires." and it had only earned her a glare from him; that promised revenge if she took humor in his words as such again. Bloody annoy servant seemed to forget; or not care; who the hell she was talking too.

His lack of comment to her uppity humor left the topic on his mother; which was something safe an appropriate for a servant to speak to him on. "I would never let him in to see her anyway. He's a madman." Good girl; finally something she did right. "I agree; the man lacks humanity. If he thinks that it will cause even an annoyance he will seek to use my mother or sister." Evie was smart enough to distance herself; proclaim to want him dead for the humiliation he'd brought her and his family. "She needs to leave the city one day; and seek shelter with her old friends in London." Where the local sheriff's arm could not reach her.

[Marian Cooper]

Marian rolled her eyes as he 'forbade' her from bringing him anything again; as if she had any intention to return here. He still sounded every bit the highborn lord, even when he was living in the woods and thieving just to survive. There was no point in arguing, however, unless it was just to be argumentative. When he went on to threaten her about 'his woods', she gave him a look of some disbelief, then just laughed, giving a slight shake of her head. You could take the lord out of the court, it seemed, but you couldn't take the court out of the lord.

His glare only seemed to amuse her more, and she covered her mouth to keep from laughing too much. She never could tease him when he still outranked her, but now, a lowly highwayman, she could say what she pleased. She knew exactly who she was talking to, she just seemed to have forgotten that just because he wasn't a noble didn't mean he couldn't make her regret teasing him.

Marian nodded when he spoke of Gysbourne, her laughter evaporating as the more serious situation was brought to the forefront of the conversation. When he mentioned getting his mother out of Nottingham, she frowned. "What friends are those? The ones who stopped writing when your father died, or who waited until you were disgraced to break all ties?" He would know that they had no money for such a journey, but he might not know that his mother's 'old friends' all had their own problems to deal with and wanted nothing to do with the Locksley matriarch.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

"What friends are those? The ones who stopped writing when your father died, or who waited until you were disgraced to break all ties?" Bloody hell! How did the woman have a husband and not learn to not get all logical when he was trying to be helpful! Between her laughing at him and her doing an over abundance of thinking; Robert was starting to think of his larger hands wrapped around her small neck. Maybe even holding her under water so he didn't have to hear her mouth either.

"She has friends!" He would find them. Find his friends; and make them help. Hell Evie had friends! If they turned her out then he'd do what he planned to do all along; take them up to Ireland. A country of bloody thieves; but he could find them some place safe! Leaving the blood servant here too! Mouths where not wanted! "She's a good woman and good nobles will respect that!" Bloody annoying servant girl. "Just do your job and met me handle her future, I will take care of her one way or another."

Yet he knew he was failing her now. Stupid servant girl! Robert wanted to walk away and let her find her own damn way out of the bloody woods without his men finding her! Or an bear! Or wild evil deer! "How the bloody hell did your husband even let you out at night?"

[Marian Cooper]

Marian didn't laugh when he insisted she had friends, just looked at him skeptically as he ranted about how nobles cared whether or not someone was a good person. Maybe they had before he left...the only nobles she'd known then had been the Locksleys, and they had always been good to her family. But since moving to the court of Nottingham, her opinion of nobles had deteriorated rapidly. She certainly hadn't met any other nobles that she considered 'good'.

She shrugged when he told her to let him handle it, he could keep dreaming up impossible solutions to his mother's predicament, and in the meantime, Marian would look after her in reality. "Just don't do anything foolish like getting yourself killed. I don't think she could handle it." She warned him, however unlikely it was that he would survive this little war of his. She couldn't even imagine what Lady Vivian was going through, wondering every day whether or not her son still lived.

He asked about her husband and Marian raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "He does have some trouble controlling me from beyond the grave, although I'm certain he's doing his best." She responded in a somewhat sarcastic tone, he knew she was married but not that she was widowed? The things men paid attention to.

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[Robin Of The Woods]

"Just don't do anything foolish like getting yourself killed. I don't think she could handle it." Bossy wench needed to learn her place! "I never do anything foolish." Unlike the lone woman out int he woods as helpless as a damn deer in hunting season. These words were filled with men were not used to seeing such pretty little things.

Not that she was pretty! Or that he was looking. Robert was not looking; he just was using the in general terms. All girls were pretty. She was a bit more so them most; but he wasn't going to say that out loud. "He does have some trouble controlling me from beyond the grave, although I'm certain he's doing his best."F*%K!

Now he looked like an ass; and she was enjoying making him look like such. Robert turned his head to glare down at her for a moment before looking away, "I apologize for my thoughtless words;" Robert admitted; as he could see it had not hurt her; but old habits of being a gentlemen died hard. Besides; she worked for his mother and he would see her well cared for; no her servants hating her son. "Though my sentiment behind it still stands."

[Marian Cooper]

Marian raised both eyebrows and laughed when he said he never did anything foolish; apparently she was thinking of a different man, then, because the man she'd heard so much about certainly had a penchant for foolishness. "Is that so? I'm sure your mother will be glad to hear it." She responded, he ought to know how silly his own statement was, so she wasn't going to point it out. If he wanted to pretend to be perfect, far be it for a lowly maid to tell him otherwise.

Marian's surprise increased somewhat when he apologized, so apparently the woods hadn't robbed him of all the manners his mother had worked so hard to instill in him. She nodded. "I appreciate that." She replied, but couldn't help a small smile when he made sure she knew that he still meant she shouldn't be out alone late at night. "And I also appreciate the sentiment...even if it is high-handed coming from a lowly outlaw."

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