Ignorant of the sudden change in events; Katherine arrived at Nottingham with only a handful of guards at her back. Once inside the Castle she immediately set the guards about in helping the severely depleted forces there, fortifying the Castle with six more soldiers, hardly any help, but the overworked and tired Guard welcomed the small aid.
Seeing her brother come up the Castle steps without a guard, or shackles took the very breath from her lungs. He wasn't under arrest, then? “Guy!” She cried dashing over to him. She couldn't believe it! Lynna had done it! She must have spoken to the King; my God what had that wicked little wordsmith told him?
Her brother turned towards her slowly, looking haggard and beaten, but none the worse for wear. Laughing, she caught him in an embrace. “Oh Lord, I can not believe it!” She exclaimed, “Lynna said she would speak to the King. Hah! What did she say to him? No; don't tell me. I want to hear it from her.”
“Kathy...” Guy tried to intervene quietly.
“Where is Lynna anyway? The way she rode off after you, I doubted if she would leave your side ever again.” Katherine asked.
Guy shoved his sister away from him. “Lynna is going to hang tomorrow. If you are so eager to hear what she told the King; she told him to take her life instead.” He spoke flatly, like a dead man.
“What..?” Katherine's breath caught in her throat.
“I asked you,” Guy said with a dangerous undercurrent in his calm voice, “to take care of her. I asked you to get her away from Nottingham...what proved difficult about my instructions?”
“Guy, there was no stopping her. Please...please let us go inside, tell me what has happened.” Katherine said, gently taking her brother by the arm.
“Of course you could have stopped her!” Guy shouted, removing his arm from his sister's grasp.
“What would you have had me do? Render her unconscious, sling her over my horse and ride off?” Katherine snapped. The only way to react to Guy's anger was to fight fire with fire.
“If that proved necessary.” Guy growled, “She is going to die, Kathy, and it is all my doing!”
“You can not blame yourself for her decisions!” Katherine rebuked, “Once more you must not.”
“It was my responsibility to look after her.” Guy said shakily, placing a hand upon the wall to steady himself. “I failed even in that. You were right, Kathy...” his tone was genuine and despairing, “I couldn't protect her. I should never have brought her into this; never married her.”
“No. I was wrong about that, Guy.” Katherine said swiftly, eyes filling with tears. “She would have done this no matter what. You protected her as best you could.”
“It wasn't good enough!” He slammed his fist against the door beside him. The first spark of physical anger seemed to ignite a blaze. “It was never enough! I failed you,” his knuckles bled as he took out his grief and long-time fury on the door and the stone wall, “I failed our Father, I failed Marian....Marian,” Tears fell suddenly from his fiery cold eyes. “I killed her.” he ground out. “I killed her like I killed Lynna! Why, Kathy?” he exhaled shakily, “What have I done to deserve this?”
With one final outburst of rage he slammed his fist into the wall, “I will not lose my family again!” He roared brokenly.
Katherine placed a hand upon Guy's shoulder, drawing him away from the wall. She had never seen her brother fall apart as he had just done and with no solution to offer she was unsure how to comfort him. “You will not lose your family, Guy. Am I not still your sister?”
YOU ARE READING
The Storyteller
Fanfiction(A Robin Hood BBC fanfic) After suffering the loss of Marian, Robin Hood has fallen into despair and Sir Guy is rapidly spiraling into madness. The imprisonment of a Locksley weaver girl and storyteller may recall them both to life. One will find hi...
