** Marian, a thieving nobleman's daughter with too big a heart, meets Robin Hood, a daring thief with a huge ego. Will they be able to overcome pain, longing, and, finally the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham? Or will the legend end before it begins? **...
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From her position in the treetops, Marian watched as the battle broke out, and within moments, the first blood was spilled. The vanguard of soldiers on horseback, rushing towards the bandits, knew their advantage only too well. On horseback, attacking the men on the ground was easy without being hit.
The soldiers' longswords flashed in a deadly promise, and under their tabards, a closer look revealed solid brigantines and steel chainmail. Dirt swirled behind the horses' hooves, and the soldiers' armor rattled in a metallic sound like war drums. The riders quickly claimed the first life, ending it with a merciless sword slash.
The men from the forest were not nearly armed enough to gain the upper hand in this fight. Many of them possessed no more than wooden clubs or long sticks, which they had presumably picked up in the forest and cleared of bark. Two poked at the riders with pitchforks, and the blond archer, who had earlier yelped at Marian and shot at them, stayed back a bit to at least get a hit with an old bow. Unfortunately for him, he only hit the rider in the shoulder so that the latter staggered briefly from the force but quickly regained his balance and drove the steed towards the archer.
For a second, Marian hesitated and no longer knew which side she should be on. They had wanted to raid the carriage because the baron who owned it had been fleecing his people for some time. However, their plan had been far less bloody. Now, however, a fight had broken out, and although the men were simple brigands and bandits who had been anything but friendly to them, Marian knew that it was a necessity that had driven them into the woods and to this act. How desperate did one have to be to engage in a fight with royal guards without training or equipment?
But even these were not necessarily guilty of a crime. They, too, probably had a family waiting for them in the evening. In the end, they were doing their job and following the law. Right and wrong. That should be easy. From what they had been taught, this decision should have been easy. Bandits were criminals. They stole. That was wrong. They were everything a good and royal citizen abhorred and a righteous lady feared. But she was no mere lady. She was no longer the girl of old, with the embroidery hoop on her lap, watching intently as her chambermaid braided a coiffure into her hair.
Her world had changed. And if she had learned anything, it was that there was neither black nor white - and no path could be taken without sacrifice. She could only hope that she was making the right decision.
This was the money an already wealthy man stole from his citizens, who had nothing left, while he sat on a pretty throne in London. He stole the last crumbs from their plates - and then the plates to go with it! For once, her heart and mind completely agreed about that: it was wrong!
And now she watched trained soldiers slaughtering desperate citizens for trying to reclaim some of the stolen wealth. Swords clanged, arrows flew through the air, and blood was spilled. She could not let that happen. They would all die...!
'Damn it,' Marian gritted her teeth, raising her bow and directing her gaze along the arrow shaft at the tumult of battle. The arrow rested calmly and securely on the edge of her hand and the shelf (*), the tip ready to fire.
