Flights of Fancy
Title: Flights of Fancy
Rating: G
Word count: 487 words
Characters/Pairings: Marian, Robin; Marian/Robin ish
Prompt: Marian/Robin; fly away
Summary: "I wish I could have their freedom."
Notes: Not tecnically a drabble either, but again I'm posting here. Rather fond of this one actually =)
The day is cloudy, but mild, and finds the young pair out in the fields that separate Locksley and Knighton. They have lain down in the grass together, her head resting on his stomach and his hands idly playing with her hair, and they stare up at the sky, peacefully lost in their own thoughts.
“Do you ever wish for a simpler life?” Marian asks suddenly.
Robin lifts up his head to look at her, surprised by her sudden philosophising, and follows her line of sight up to a pair of swallows chasing each other across the sky.
“Like a bird, you mean?”
He feels, rather than sees, her nod.
“Yes.”
He ponders it lazily for a second. “Not really,” he replies. “I quite like having a hot bath and warm bed to go home to each evening. Besides, if I were a bird I couldn’t use my bow, could I?”
“I suppose...” Marian pauses, and Robin thinks that is the end of the matter. “Mind you,” she then continues, “if you think of a hawk diving at its prey, that’s sort of the same.”
“Mmm hmm...” He looks at her again, confused by her musings. “I suppose you would like to live the life of a bird?” he asks, more out of politeness than interest.
Marian shifts against him, and when she eventually speaks it’s more as if she’s thinking aloud than answering his question.
“I envy birds their ability to fly,” she says. “They don’t have to stay ground to one certain place for the rest of their lives - they can take themselves as far away as they fancy and go anywhere they like. They don’t have to think about a roof over their heads, or money in their purses, or who they’ve going to marry...” She watches the two birds, clearly a mated pair. “Even the females have the freedom to do what they want, go where they want, and choose whichever mate they like - or no mate at all. I wish I could have their freedom...”
“Come now, you don’t really mean that,” Robin says, trying to think of something that will fill the now-awkward silence between them. “Just think of all the beautiful gowns and jewellery you wouldn’t be able to wear if you were a bird. I don’t think they make sleeves that will go over wings!”
She can’t help but feel he’s completely missing the point, but the tone of his voice and his embarrassed laugh tell her he doesn’t want a conversation about the inequality and unfairness of her life to his, so she lets him take her by the hand and pull her up from the ground.
As he leads her home towards Knighton she looks back at the two swallows, still continuing their playful dance. The female dives and swoops and rises every bit as gracefully and freely as the male. Marian smiles sadly, and turns away.
Rating: G
Word count: 487 words
Characters/Pairings: Marian, Robin; Marian/Robin ish
Prompt: Marian/Robin; fly away
Summary: "I wish I could have their freedom."
Notes: Not tecnically a drabble either, but again I'm posting here. Rather fond of this one actually =)
The day is cloudy, but mild, and finds the young pair out in the fields that separate Locksley and Knighton. They have lain down in the grass together, her head resting on his stomach and his hands idly playing with her hair, and they stare up at the sky, peacefully lost in their own thoughts.
“Do you ever wish for a simpler life?” Marian asks suddenly.
Robin lifts up his head to look at her, surprised by her sudden philosophising, and follows her line of sight up to a pair of swallows chasing each other across the sky.
“Like a bird, you mean?”
He feels, rather than sees, her nod.
“Yes.”
He ponders it lazily for a second. “Not really,” he replies. “I quite like having a hot bath and warm bed to go home to each evening. Besides, if I were a bird I couldn’t use my bow, could I?”
“I suppose...” Marian pauses, and Robin thinks that is the end of the matter. “Mind you,” she then continues, “if you think of a hawk diving at its prey, that’s sort of the same.”
“Mmm hmm...” He looks at her again, confused by her musings. “I suppose you would like to live the life of a bird?” he asks, more out of politeness than interest.
Marian shifts against him, and when she eventually speaks it’s more as if she’s thinking aloud than answering his question.
“I envy birds their ability to fly,” she says. “They don’t have to stay ground to one certain place for the rest of their lives - they can take themselves as far away as they fancy and go anywhere they like. They don’t have to think about a roof over their heads, or money in their purses, or who they’ve going to marry...” She watches the two birds, clearly a mated pair. “Even the females have the freedom to do what they want, go where they want, and choose whichever mate they like - or no mate at all. I wish I could have their freedom...”
“Come now, you don’t really mean that,” Robin says, trying to think of something that will fill the now-awkward silence between them. “Just think of all the beautiful gowns and jewellery you wouldn’t be able to wear if you were a bird. I don’t think they make sleeves that will go over wings!”
She can’t help but feel he’s completely missing the point, but the tone of his voice and his embarrassed laugh tell her he doesn’t want a conversation about the inequality and unfairness of her life to his, so she lets him take her by the hand and pull her up from the ground.
As he leads her home towards Knighton she looks back at the two swallows, still continuing their playful dance. The female dives and swoops and rises every bit as gracefully and freely as the male. Marian smiles sadly, and turns away.