Episode 2x01 "Sisterhood"

There's going to be a display in the courtyard near the market place.

She heard two guards talking about it while walking the corridor between her rooms and the chapel. (She hadn't felt the need to pray. No, the urge for space was simply that great. The need to move, to walk, to figure out her situation beyond being locked into one room where she would be under her father scrutiny and warning.) When another set of guards came out leading children toward the square she followed them-- until she found find herself behind crossed pole arms when she'd tried to walk out and stand in the crowd to watch.

Not even orders about staying in Nottingham since their arrest last night, but orders about not leaving the Castle proper.



The Sheriff swaggered in the crowd talking about the women tied to the stake in the center of the square. A guard has taken pity on the children for stealing bread, and let their mother take their punishment. He claimed they had to loose a hand. The mother whined and sobbed from her position while the children were locked down at the wrist, and the Sherriff read.

"I, Vasey, Sheriff of Nottingham here pronounce sentence of little tiny Billy and little Tiny Jane blah-de-blah-de-blah-chop off their hands!"

The mother screamed and Marian watched, lip pursed, her whole body flooding with relief when the children's manacles were suddenly shot free by two arrows. The Sheriff antagonized him, and Robin shot the executioners axe away, and then the ropes binding the mother. He screamed for them to run, but she screamed they couldn't. Marian watched with growing confusion, as she called out those words, whispering, "No, Robin. Don't go down."

She couldn't figure how, but something....something was wrong.

He scaled down a house, hitting guards out of his way, tossing a knife to the mother telling her to pick the locks.

She caught it, but didn't move.

Then Guy yelled, "Now!"



Marian's blood ran cold, fists clenching at her side as she stepped closer to the crossed pole arms, only to be pressed back.

Guards in peasants robes came out of everywhere at him, surrounding him in only seconds. She half-shook her head, unable to feel surprised, unable to turn away, unable to give any reaction she actually felt. Robin's sword fell with a clatter before Guy and the mother. Who wasn't a mother, but an actress wearing a skin mask and a wig; both removed to betray strikingly pale skin and long curling blonde hair.

She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she stood there the whole time they did.

Until the guards had to move her when Robin was walked into the castle in chains.

Episode 2x01 "Sisterhood"

It hadn't taken her hours to find out where Robin had been moved, but to wait for the right gathering of people and time for creating a distraction for his escape. That had taken time. It was purely luck that she'd had been out as the Nightwatchman before Guy arrived at her house the night before. She needed to find a way to hide this clothing already. It was so close to the only clothing she had with her. But she had her mask and had managed to steal a cloak.

She stole into the closest passage, buttoning her vest to pull out her mask. Hair pulled back tight, mask on close, cloak pulled around her. Guy's voice resounded through the walls and the doors near by. Yelling about, at Robin presumably, about the peasants kneeling at his name and about dying only too soon.

Sneaking up the hallway she took the two guards at the doors to the room in surprise, but made no effort to be quiet about it. She wanted their attention. It wasn't like when she broke into Guy's house, silencing them one by one, these's one were hit in spots that would allow them to yell out in pain. And once down she rattled the locked doors, knocking on them, only to climb into the rafters above the door and jump down once Guy had come dashing out of the room.

She took an immense pleasure in grabbing his shoulder and forcing him down on the ground in surprise. That was for burning her house and arresting her father. She glanced into the room, heart hammering, as she spotted all the dozen men on the round room's seats, flanked all by guards, and Robin strung over a pit she couldn't see into. She hesitated, meeting Robin's eyes, and then took off down the hallway, Gisborne shouting to the guards and racing after her. Down corridors and around and outside, then back through sidewalks on the main floor.

Up into a rafter again, because it had worked the first time. Marian glowered at him, not that he saw it through the mask, when he did look up and find her hiding, balanced across one rafter beam. He was stupider even, holding up the dagger he'd slammed into her kidney, the dagger he'd nearly (or had actually for a short time period) killed her with. She flipped down off the bar, caught by the guards, he continued to wave the dagger at her as her heart rate increased, jaw setting with each thrust toward her.

She kicked the knife out of his hand and then kicked him in the stomach, aiming for there and lower, for anything that would keep him down. As he went down, gasping, she did a back flip, using both the guards to turn over. In their shock she managed to kick one in his metal domed head, but the other had to be slammed against the wall. She'd had time just enough to draw a breath before her shoulders were grabbed and a knife was shoved up against her throat. And then Vasey's voice, cold, weasely, snake that he was in her ear.

And she punched backwards slamming his nose, sending him into a confused spin.

She went to run beyond him, but there were two more guards.

The only way was jumping into the courtyard.

---

There were guards at the gate and then Gisborne was behind her. Now with a sword. Dodging his trusts, she made a run inside when he swung wide, ducking under and coming up with a knee in his gut. And then punching his back, sending him sprawling to one side. The two guards still headed at her, both with swords of their own.

She maneuvered through them, considered the front gate, but couldn't leave. Hesitating long enough that she gave away the one thing she didn't want to. Running through a side door back into the castle walls, even over the boots of the guards following, she could hear Vasey shouting, "He's creating a distraction!"

Up on the top, running along the side part and coming up at the top of a tower guard post, just as Vasey's voice caught her again. "You're wasting your time, my friend. Robin Hood is already dead!"

It wasn't true. It went deeper than a punch. She saw him in her minds eye suspended over that pit again, surrounded by so many, with none of his men , and turned away jumping from the tower into the running passages between them and the outer wall. The moment her feet hit the ground she started running and didn't stop. Through the castle, through the people in the market square, dodging and loosing guards immediately now that it was her aim to be lost, and not to be followed.

She ran through the housing near the market, past all the lines of the wash hanging, and grabbing a dress as she passed it. Stopped at the back of house. Pulling at her mask and cape. It wasn't-it couldn't. Not now. Not after her house and being made to beg Gisborne only to arrested anyway. But Vasey had no reason to boast about it. Especially not with how many times things had happened under his nose before. Not that loud. Not that public if there was a chance.

Robin didn't-Robin couldn't-

Gasps broke free from her throat, and water crowded her vision, even as she tried to strangle them down and deny them coming out. Her hands shook, clenching her mask and mouth cover.

Marian punched the wall of the house, pain spasming through her hand, and turned back, back against it, sliding down to the ground.