The Force of Destiny, Chapter 13
Original Post
Rating: PG
Pairings/characters: Guy/Meg, Robin, Marian, Allan, Much
Word count: 2178
Spoilers: While this alters the end of S2, there are still minor spoilers for the whole run of the show, including S3.
Summary: Meg has a solution for Guy.
Disclaimer: I make nothing from this, and claim no rights to the show or anything related to it.
previous chapter
-13-
Hope had been pleasant, while it lasted. And a few days of happiness was really more than a man with his past could expect.
Still, a week would have been nice, Guy reflected.
But, as Vaizey finished outlining his new scheme to put Prince John in power, Guy could all but see the future Meg offered evaporating before his eyes. He presumed that he succeeded in disguising his nausea as a sneer, especially since the sheriff did not seem to notice anything amiss.
The ride back to Locksley seemed to take years. When he spotted Meg chatting with a few of the village women, he felt even more ill. She looked so cheerful, and beamed at him when he rode up to where they were standing.
“I need to speak with you,” he growled, causing her eyebrows to rise and her companions, who had been offering him tentative nods, to flee.
However, she merely made her way to the manor while he went ahead and stabled his horse. When he stepped into the house, she was standing in front of the unlit hearth, staring at the ashes. “Care to explain what that was all about?” she murmured, without turning.
He sighed heavily. “Sorry. I just came from a meeting with the sheriff.”
She did face him then. “I thought he was pleased to have you back?”
His smile was decidedly lacking in humor. “He is. He is so pleased, that he has already charged me with collecting a new tax, to be used in order to ensure that King Richard is never released from captivity.”
Meg processed that, and then asked, “I thought that you were a supporter of the prince?”
“I have no love for Richard, but John has done nothing to earn my loyalty, either. Now… I do not know what to do anymore.” He wandered over to the sideboard and poured himself a cup of the berry drink Meg had taught the servants to make. It was not at all what he wanted at the moment, but it was better than water.
“You go with the sheriff, do you not?”
“I have done so for years, yes.” Swigging the tart beverage, he admitted to the fear he had been ignoring lately. “While that served me well at first, I have damned myself because of it.”
He waited for her agreement, but instead got a frustrated noise from the back of her throat. “Oh, for heaven's sake! ‘I’m a dead man, I'm damned.’ If you are that concerned, do something about it!”
Clearly, he had annoyed her, but he was unsure as to why. “What do you suggest I do?” he demanded. “The things I have done… No amount of penance can erase them.” He once believed that Marian would cleanse his soul, but had done so much more harm since that time, nothing would suffice now.
“So, you’ll just give up and continue to do as you have been?” She shook her head in disgust and marched toward the door, stopping to glare at him when she reached it. “I thought you were better than that. I thought that the man I have spent these days with was the real you. But it’s not, is it? The real Sir Guy just throws his hands up and does as he is told, because he feels so sorry for himself. Well, it’s good that you do, because I am done feeling sorry for you.”
As she flung the door open, Guy said, “I never wanted you to feel sorry for me. I do not deserve pity.”
“You’re right. You deserve contempt, if you are so unwilling to change.”
Guy threw out a hand. “I ask again: What would you suggest I do? If I go against the sheriff, I will likely wind up dead. When the king comes home, I will surely wind up dead. I could try to send him a warning about the plot, but I doubt he would believe someone who has tried to kill him twice in three years. My options are nonexistent.”
Closing the door again, Meg leant against it, crossing her arms. “If you are such a dead man, why were you so glad to be marrying me? I thought you had decided to find a way past that, but it appears you were just set on making me a widow once again.”
His stomach sank as shame overwhelmed him. “I had not looked at it that way,” he admitted.
She stared at him as if wondering if he were lying. Concluding that he was being honest, she said, “So, you really think there is no way out of this situation you have put yourself in.”
With a snort, he replied, “You have an idea?”
“I would think it was obvious.”
“Would you just get to the point?” He did not want to acknowledge that he hoped she really did have a plan, and decided irritation was the better course of emotion.
Meg closed her eyes for a minute, but when she opened them, gave him the answer she had found. “My cousin is married to a friend of the king. And they are just down the Great North Road a ways.”
Surely, she was jesting. “You’re not suggesting that I ask Robin Hood for help.”
“I am not suggesting that at all,” she ground out. “I’m telling you it is your only solution.”
He jutted his jaw out. “There has to be another way.”
* * * * *
The North Road alarm sounded, calling the outlaws to attention. They had been about to leave for work on the new camp, but stopped and looked to Robin.
“Marian, Much, Allan; come with me. Everybody else, go on ahead and we’ll catch you up.”
He and the other three made their way quietly to a point overlooking the road, peering over at the passersby.
“Gisborne,” Much hissed. “What is he doing here?”
“And holding his seat all right, too,” Allan noted.
Robin studied the other figure. “Who’s that with him?
“If I did not know better,” Marian said slowly, “I would think that was my cousin.”
“Meg?” asked Robin, instantly seeing what she meant.
Just then, the woman turned in her saddle to adjust her skirt, and Marian gasped. “That is Meg!”
“What’s your cousin doing with Giz?” Allan wondered.
Robin chewed his lip. “Let’s find out.”
A couple of minutes later, the outlaws ran into the road, surrounding the pair, weapons at the ready. Meg startled, causing her horse to dance until she got it under control, but Guy merely rolled his eyes.
“Well, well, Gisborne. If I did not know better, I would think you were sober,” Robin said lightly, though his eyes flashed.
Marian looked to her cousin. “Meg, what are you doing here?”
“What I told you to do years ago: I am marrying Sir Guy.”
“You are already married.”
Meg shook her head. “Lester passed away.”
“I’m sorry,” murmured Marian. Meg nodded her thanks.
“And you think Gisborne is an acceptable replacement?” Robin queried. “You like to live dangerously, don’t you?”
“There’s the pot calling the kettle black,” Meg snapped irritably. “You really think the forest is a safe place to keep a wife?”
Marian appeared about ready to attack, when Guy said calmly, “Does it not strike you as odd that we would come this way without guards, knowing that you patrol this part of the road?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Much demanded.
Robin raised an eyebrow at his nemesis. “I believe it means they were looking for us, Much.”
“Very good,” Guy praised mockingly. Then, in a serious tone, he asked, “Is there somewhere more private we might speak?”
Allan started walking down the road the way Guy and Meg had come.
“What are you doing?” Much called.
Allan glanced up at him. “Seeing if they’ve left a handy trail for his men to follow.”
“Anything?” Robin asked after Allan had gone a few more feet. The other man shook his head.
“Looks clear.”
“It is not a trap,” Guy muttered.
Robin gave him a sarcastic grin. “And we are just supposed to believe you.”
Instead of replying, Guy turned to Meg. “I told you this would not work.”
Meg’s face was flushed with annoyance. “Look, we haven’t brought anybody, we are not leaving a trail. Will you just listen to what Guy has to say? What you do with the information is up to you, but I guarantee you will want to hear it.”
The others waited for Robin's verdict, and he finally nodded. “There is a clearing through here.” He indicated the forest on the side of the road away from camp. “After you,” he added grandly.
Guy dismounted and handed Meg down. Robin noticed that he had yet to look at Marian, and was more than fine with that. Having the two precede them into the woods, leading their horses, everyone was quiet until they reached the clearing. There, the other three outlaws kept their weapons at hand while Robin faced their visitors.
“Now, what’s this information I will want to hear?”
Visibly biting back a retort, Guy said only, “The sheriff is planning to impose a new tax.”
“That ain’t news. The sheriff’s always imposing new taxes,” Allan grumbled.
Guy shot him an impatient look, but Meg caught his eye. “Go on,” she encouraged.
“This will serve one of two purposes, both designed to work against the king.”
“What do you care about the king?” Much demanded.
“Let him finish,” Marian admonished. Guy’s face registered surprise, but he merely dipped his chin in acknowledgement.
“First, the money will be offered to Henry to keep him in captivity.”
“A bribe,” Robin clarified.
“Yes.”
“And the second use?”
“In the event that Henry will not accept the bribe, it will be used to hire another ruler or group to kidnap King Richard, should he be released.”
Robin chewed on his thumbnail. “Covering both eventualities.”
“Precisely.”
Everyone was silent, waiting to see what Robin would say.
He narrowed his eyes at Guy. “Why are you telling us this?”
“I should think that would be obvious: so that you might stop it.”
With a humorless laugh, Robin gestured to Much. “As my friend asked, what do you care about the king? You have been set to kill him all this time.” Even the unamused smile dropped from his face. “You were set to kill Marian for standing in your way.”
Guy’s temper rose. “That is not what happened, and you know it.”
“Do I?” Robin challenged, angry himself.
“Robin,” Marian said warningly.
Meg frowned. “Look, Guy has risked a lot by coming here today. The sheriff still believes him to be loyal, and you should know as well as anyone that there are spies and traitors everywhere willing to sell him out should they find that he is aiding you. Either use the information, or don’t. We should leave, before we are missed.”
The outlaws exchanged looks as the two turned to go. They were nearly out of the clearing and back into the trees when Robin said, “When are you supposed to collect the money?”
Guy stopped, half-turning to reply. “Two days. The sheriff will announce it tomorrow, and I am to visit the villages the day after.” Facing forward and starting to walk away again, he added over his shoulder, “I begin in Nettlestone and end in Farthing.”
Two evenings later, Guy and his men had just finished collecting the last of the new tax and were on their way back to Nottingham. They had gotten a couple of miles down the road, when a series of large nets dropped from the sky, catching the guards and narrowly missing Guy. Instantly, they were all surrounded by outlaws.
“Hood,” Guy growled, drawing his sword as he was confronted by Robin. His men, occupied with trying not to get thrown and thus trampled by their startled horses, did not see the relief that flashed across his face.
“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” Robin said, gesturing at Guy’s sword. Will and Carter flanked their leader, arrows trained on Guy. He glanced around at the group who had subdued his entourage, sneering when his men could see him. Facing Robin again, he flung his sword on the ground.
“Do not think you will get away with this,” he hissed, as Tuck and Kate retrieved the money chests from amongst the guards.
Robin grinned cheekily. “Of course, we’ll get away with it. We already have.” He nodded toward the trees, and suddenly, several small objects were flung into the road before and behind Guy’s men. Smoke spewed from the things, quickly creating a dense cloud. “My gang, time to disappear!” yelled Robin.
Guy shouted the usual threats at his guards as they worked harder to untangle themselves from the nets, but he could not completely hide his smile. This whole plan was a long shot, but a long shot was better than none at all.
next chapter
*
Rating: PG
Pairings/characters: Guy/Meg, Robin, Marian, Allan, Much
Word count: 2178
Spoilers: While this alters the end of S2, there are still minor spoilers for the whole run of the show, including S3.
Summary: Meg has a solution for Guy.
Disclaimer: I make nothing from this, and claim no rights to the show or anything related to it.
previous chapter
-13-
Hope had been pleasant, while it lasted. And a few days of happiness was really more than a man with his past could expect.
Still, a week would have been nice, Guy reflected.
But, as Vaizey finished outlining his new scheme to put Prince John in power, Guy could all but see the future Meg offered evaporating before his eyes. He presumed that he succeeded in disguising his nausea as a sneer, especially since the sheriff did not seem to notice anything amiss.
The ride back to Locksley seemed to take years. When he spotted Meg chatting with a few of the village women, he felt even more ill. She looked so cheerful, and beamed at him when he rode up to where they were standing.
“I need to speak with you,” he growled, causing her eyebrows to rise and her companions, who had been offering him tentative nods, to flee.
However, she merely made her way to the manor while he went ahead and stabled his horse. When he stepped into the house, she was standing in front of the unlit hearth, staring at the ashes. “Care to explain what that was all about?” she murmured, without turning.
He sighed heavily. “Sorry. I just came from a meeting with the sheriff.”
She did face him then. “I thought he was pleased to have you back?”
His smile was decidedly lacking in humor. “He is. He is so pleased, that he has already charged me with collecting a new tax, to be used in order to ensure that King Richard is never released from captivity.”
Meg processed that, and then asked, “I thought that you were a supporter of the prince?”
“I have no love for Richard, but John has done nothing to earn my loyalty, either. Now… I do not know what to do anymore.” He wandered over to the sideboard and poured himself a cup of the berry drink Meg had taught the servants to make. It was not at all what he wanted at the moment, but it was better than water.
“You go with the sheriff, do you not?”
“I have done so for years, yes.” Swigging the tart beverage, he admitted to the fear he had been ignoring lately. “While that served me well at first, I have damned myself because of it.”
He waited for her agreement, but instead got a frustrated noise from the back of her throat. “Oh, for heaven's sake! ‘I’m a dead man, I'm damned.’ If you are that concerned, do something about it!”
Clearly, he had annoyed her, but he was unsure as to why. “What do you suggest I do?” he demanded. “The things I have done… No amount of penance can erase them.” He once believed that Marian would cleanse his soul, but had done so much more harm since that time, nothing would suffice now.
“So, you’ll just give up and continue to do as you have been?” She shook her head in disgust and marched toward the door, stopping to glare at him when she reached it. “I thought you were better than that. I thought that the man I have spent these days with was the real you. But it’s not, is it? The real Sir Guy just throws his hands up and does as he is told, because he feels so sorry for himself. Well, it’s good that you do, because I am done feeling sorry for you.”
As she flung the door open, Guy said, “I never wanted you to feel sorry for me. I do not deserve pity.”
“You’re right. You deserve contempt, if you are so unwilling to change.”
Guy threw out a hand. “I ask again: What would you suggest I do? If I go against the sheriff, I will likely wind up dead. When the king comes home, I will surely wind up dead. I could try to send him a warning about the plot, but I doubt he would believe someone who has tried to kill him twice in three years. My options are nonexistent.”
Closing the door again, Meg leant against it, crossing her arms. “If you are such a dead man, why were you so glad to be marrying me? I thought you had decided to find a way past that, but it appears you were just set on making me a widow once again.”
His stomach sank as shame overwhelmed him. “I had not looked at it that way,” he admitted.
She stared at him as if wondering if he were lying. Concluding that he was being honest, she said, “So, you really think there is no way out of this situation you have put yourself in.”
With a snort, he replied, “You have an idea?”
“I would think it was obvious.”
“Would you just get to the point?” He did not want to acknowledge that he hoped she really did have a plan, and decided irritation was the better course of emotion.
Meg closed her eyes for a minute, but when she opened them, gave him the answer she had found. “My cousin is married to a friend of the king. And they are just down the Great North Road a ways.”
Surely, she was jesting. “You’re not suggesting that I ask Robin Hood for help.”
“I am not suggesting that at all,” she ground out. “I’m telling you it is your only solution.”
He jutted his jaw out. “There has to be another way.”
* * * * *
The North Road alarm sounded, calling the outlaws to attention. They had been about to leave for work on the new camp, but stopped and looked to Robin.
“Marian, Much, Allan; come with me. Everybody else, go on ahead and we’ll catch you up.”
He and the other three made their way quietly to a point overlooking the road, peering over at the passersby.
“Gisborne,” Much hissed. “What is he doing here?”
“And holding his seat all right, too,” Allan noted.
Robin studied the other figure. “Who’s that with him?
“If I did not know better,” Marian said slowly, “I would think that was my cousin.”
“Meg?” asked Robin, instantly seeing what she meant.
Just then, the woman turned in her saddle to adjust her skirt, and Marian gasped. “That is Meg!”
“What’s your cousin doing with Giz?” Allan wondered.
Robin chewed his lip. “Let’s find out.”
A couple of minutes later, the outlaws ran into the road, surrounding the pair, weapons at the ready. Meg startled, causing her horse to dance until she got it under control, but Guy merely rolled his eyes.
“Well, well, Gisborne. If I did not know better, I would think you were sober,” Robin said lightly, though his eyes flashed.
Marian looked to her cousin. “Meg, what are you doing here?”
“What I told you to do years ago: I am marrying Sir Guy.”
“You are already married.”
Meg shook her head. “Lester passed away.”
“I’m sorry,” murmured Marian. Meg nodded her thanks.
“And you think Gisborne is an acceptable replacement?” Robin queried. “You like to live dangerously, don’t you?”
“There’s the pot calling the kettle black,” Meg snapped irritably. “You really think the forest is a safe place to keep a wife?”
Marian appeared about ready to attack, when Guy said calmly, “Does it not strike you as odd that we would come this way without guards, knowing that you patrol this part of the road?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Much demanded.
Robin raised an eyebrow at his nemesis. “I believe it means they were looking for us, Much.”
“Very good,” Guy praised mockingly. Then, in a serious tone, he asked, “Is there somewhere more private we might speak?”
Allan started walking down the road the way Guy and Meg had come.
“What are you doing?” Much called.
Allan glanced up at him. “Seeing if they’ve left a handy trail for his men to follow.”
“Anything?” Robin asked after Allan had gone a few more feet. The other man shook his head.
“Looks clear.”
“It is not a trap,” Guy muttered.
Robin gave him a sarcastic grin. “And we are just supposed to believe you.”
Instead of replying, Guy turned to Meg. “I told you this would not work.”
Meg’s face was flushed with annoyance. “Look, we haven’t brought anybody, we are not leaving a trail. Will you just listen to what Guy has to say? What you do with the information is up to you, but I guarantee you will want to hear it.”
The others waited for Robin's verdict, and he finally nodded. “There is a clearing through here.” He indicated the forest on the side of the road away from camp. “After you,” he added grandly.
Guy dismounted and handed Meg down. Robin noticed that he had yet to look at Marian, and was more than fine with that. Having the two precede them into the woods, leading their horses, everyone was quiet until they reached the clearing. There, the other three outlaws kept their weapons at hand while Robin faced their visitors.
“Now, what’s this information I will want to hear?”
Visibly biting back a retort, Guy said only, “The sheriff is planning to impose a new tax.”
“That ain’t news. The sheriff’s always imposing new taxes,” Allan grumbled.
Guy shot him an impatient look, but Meg caught his eye. “Go on,” she encouraged.
“This will serve one of two purposes, both designed to work against the king.”
“What do you care about the king?” Much demanded.
“Let him finish,” Marian admonished. Guy’s face registered surprise, but he merely dipped his chin in acknowledgement.
“First, the money will be offered to Henry to keep him in captivity.”
“A bribe,” Robin clarified.
“Yes.”
“And the second use?”
“In the event that Henry will not accept the bribe, it will be used to hire another ruler or group to kidnap King Richard, should he be released.”
Robin chewed on his thumbnail. “Covering both eventualities.”
“Precisely.”
Everyone was silent, waiting to see what Robin would say.
He narrowed his eyes at Guy. “Why are you telling us this?”
“I should think that would be obvious: so that you might stop it.”
With a humorless laugh, Robin gestured to Much. “As my friend asked, what do you care about the king? You have been set to kill him all this time.” Even the unamused smile dropped from his face. “You were set to kill Marian for standing in your way.”
Guy’s temper rose. “That is not what happened, and you know it.”
“Do I?” Robin challenged, angry himself.
“Robin,” Marian said warningly.
Meg frowned. “Look, Guy has risked a lot by coming here today. The sheriff still believes him to be loyal, and you should know as well as anyone that there are spies and traitors everywhere willing to sell him out should they find that he is aiding you. Either use the information, or don’t. We should leave, before we are missed.”
The outlaws exchanged looks as the two turned to go. They were nearly out of the clearing and back into the trees when Robin said, “When are you supposed to collect the money?”
Guy stopped, half-turning to reply. “Two days. The sheriff will announce it tomorrow, and I am to visit the villages the day after.” Facing forward and starting to walk away again, he added over his shoulder, “I begin in Nettlestone and end in Farthing.”
Two evenings later, Guy and his men had just finished collecting the last of the new tax and were on their way back to Nottingham. They had gotten a couple of miles down the road, when a series of large nets dropped from the sky, catching the guards and narrowly missing Guy. Instantly, they were all surrounded by outlaws.
“Hood,” Guy growled, drawing his sword as he was confronted by Robin. His men, occupied with trying not to get thrown and thus trampled by their startled horses, did not see the relief that flashed across his face.
“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” Robin said, gesturing at Guy’s sword. Will and Carter flanked their leader, arrows trained on Guy. He glanced around at the group who had subdued his entourage, sneering when his men could see him. Facing Robin again, he flung his sword on the ground.
“Do not think you will get away with this,” he hissed, as Tuck and Kate retrieved the money chests from amongst the guards.
Robin grinned cheekily. “Of course, we’ll get away with it. We already have.” He nodded toward the trees, and suddenly, several small objects were flung into the road before and behind Guy’s men. Smoke spewed from the things, quickly creating a dense cloud. “My gang, time to disappear!” yelled Robin.
Guy shouted the usual threats at his guards as they worked harder to untangle themselves from the nets, but he could not completely hide his smile. This whole plan was a long shot, but a long shot was better than none at all.
next chapter
*