A World That Will Not Turn to Ash (English)(From Ashes Vol.1)

Chapter 22 - Murderers

Djaq watched the bowl: she had serious doubts about the nature of the meat and the bread was old enough to be able to compete with a rock, but at least it wasn't moldy and, soaking it in the broth, it would become edible.
She was about to start eating when she noticed that Guy hesitated to approach the fire and she motioned for him to come and sit beside her. Will, Little John and Much looked at him suspiciously, but Djaq pretended not to notice their looks and put her bowl in Guy's hands, then she turned to Much to have another one for herself.
Much reluctantly handed her another bowl, shooting a look of disapproval to the food that she had offered to Gisborne.
Djaq began to eat in silence and even Guy said nothing.
She wanted to ask him how he was feeling, but he probably wouldn't answer in front of the other outlaws and still it was evident that his condition had improved. Gisborne was still a bit pale, but much less than that morning, the dark shadows under his eyes were smaller and he ate heartily, and the look in his eyes was not dull and devoid of hope anymore. He was still full of pain and suffering, but not dead.
Djaq noticed that Guy was looking at her and she smiled, receiving in exchange a grateful look, then it was Gisborne to surprise her, breaking the silence to speak to the three other outlaws.
"Who was it?" He asked, seriously. "The dead man in the clearing. What was his name?"
"Why do you care?" Little John asked, aggressive. "Why is him different from all the poor people that you killed or tortured?"
"John ..." Djaq began, trying to calm him, but the man put down his plate and stood up, furious.
"No! Don't try to defend him. He is a murderer, a ruthless oppressor and he deserved to die. If the purpose of these bandits is to free Nottingham from people like him, I think they do well and it's just a shame that they weren't able to complete their work! He should be dead, not staying here like nothing happened. I'm not going to share a meal or anything else with someone like him."
Little John turned his back and was about to go away when Guy stood up abruptly too. Djaq, Much and Will exchanged a worried look.
"You may be right about me, maybe my death wouldn't be a great loss, but don't you dare to praise the actions of those murderers." Guy said, sounding calm but menacing. "That's what they are: murderers, not heroes. They wanted to kill the sheriff's dog? To show to the whole Nottingham that I deserved to die? They could do it, they could take me and do what they wanted. I had twenty men with me that day and they killed them all without mercy, luring them into a trap by fraud, without giving them a chance to surrender or defend themselves. Two of them..." Guy paused before he could continue and Djaq noticed he had tears in his eyes. "... two of them had their throats cut in front of my eyes for no reason at all. They were tied, they couldn't react and yet they have been butchered like animals in a slaughterhouse. Tell me, great man, how were my soldiers different from your precious peasants? Hadn't they also their wives and children to go home to? Some of them were a little older than children themselves! And do you think it is right that they were killed because they worked for me just to feed their families? Now what do you say, are they heroes or murderers?!"
Guy was about to pounce on Little John, but Djaq stepped in front of him to stop him. Little John did not even turn to look at him and walked away from the camp without saying anything.
Much and Will looked at each other as if to ask if they should follow him, but Djaq shook her head.
"Leave him alone, I'm sure he'll be back." She said with a sigh, then she turned back to Gisborne. She took his hand and pulled him back to the fire and made him sit down. "John cares a lot for the villagers, for him it's not easy to forgive those who have harmed them, even if on behalf of the sheriff."
Guy stared at the flames and he wiped his eyes with his free hand.
"I can't blame him if he hates me, but those are just murderers, in what they did to my men there was nothing that could be considered just or even acceptable."
Djaq was still holding his hand and she squeezed it a little more, thinking that it wasn't right even what they had done to him.
Gisborne returned the hold for a moment, then he pulled his hand away from the girl on the pretext of collecting the empty bowl that he had dropped to the floor when he had risen sharply. The heat of Djaq's fingers on his was really comforting, but Guy had noticed Will's glare when she had taken his hand and he didn't want that there were misunderstandings between the two young outlaws because of him.
"Roland of Blackthorn." Much said in a low voice, and the other three looked at him. "The man killed by bandits was called like that."
"Godfred of Blackthorn is one of the black knights." Guy said. "This Roland could be one of his relatives."
Much shook his head.
"I don't know, but the people who have recognized the corpse, his servants, spoke well of him. He was a good and well-liked master and he left a widow with two young children."
Guy, Will and Djaq said nothing, but Gisborne thought that maybe he had found a reason to go on living even after losing everything he cared about. He decided that he would do everything possible to find those bandits and to prevent them from destroying the lives of other people.

Robin Hood led the friar holding him by the arm and made him go through the secret door of the camp, then, as soon as it was closed, he removed the bandage with which he had covered his eyes.
He checked with a look the situation of the camp and noticed that Little John could not be seen anywhere, while Will, Djaq, Much and Gisborne were sitting around the fire. None of them had noticed his return and the camp was surrounded by a grim silence.
Tuck and Robin came to him and the others turned to look at them. Gisborne stood up, surprised to see the monk.
"Tuck! Why are you here?" He exclaimed, going towards him, then before the friar could answer, he gave a worried look at Robin Hood, addressing him. "And Marian? Why isn't she here?"
Robin shook his head.
"The castle is impenetrable. We will have to wait for the wedding day to free her."
"And do you think to leave her in the hands of Barret until then?!"
Tuck put a hand on his shoulder to calm him.
"Glad to see you in good health, son. Fear not for Lady Marian, I persuaded Roger of Barrett to impose her a period of penance and isolation. He is convinced to humiliate and punish her in this way, but, locked in a room alone, she will be safe."
Djaq, Will and Much had approached and they looked at the friar, curious to know who it was.
"He's Tuck." Robin said. "He offered to help us to save Marian."
"Can we trust him?" Much asked, wary. "How do we know you weren't sent by the sheriff? Why should you help Marian if you don't even know her?"
"I asked him." Guy said. "Tuck is the man who saved me and I wouldn't hesitate to put my own life in his hands at any time."
Robin glanced at Gisborne, amazed. He wasn't used to seeing him demonstrate loyalty to someone who wasn't the sheriff.
"Do you have some ideas to free Marian?" Djaq asked.
"Not yet, but there is also another problem." Robin said.
"What?"
"The sheriff has decided to hang Allan. The execution will take place tomorrow evening at Locksley, when the sun sets."

Marian didn't move. She watched Roger of Barrett who approached her. She was unable to move a muscle while something in her mind was screaming desperately to escape, to throw herself against the walls of stone, to death if necessary, but not to let that man touch her again.
Barrett grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to her feet, drawing a groan of pain from her.
She had the impression that time had slowed down, allowing her to note every detail of the man: from his short blond hair and cold blue gaze that seemed to pierce every defense, to every detail of the clothes he wore.
Roger of Barrett pulled a dagger from his belt and, instead of being frightened by the sharp blade so close to her face, Marian found herself absurdly thinking that the weapon did not fit the sheath: the dagger was simple, a very sharp knife without any decoration, created just to penetrate the human flesh, while the sheath was far more valuable, coated with silver and decorated with red gems arranged to form a pattern.
The man yanked her hair and Marian thought that she should have tried to save her life in some way or at least cry and scream, but she was beyond fear, she felt detached from everything, as if it weren't her to be there and that she was simply watching what was happening to a stranger.
"You are a sinner." Barret said with contempt. "You will come to the altar with the humility of a penitent."
He twisted a large lock of hair of Marian around his fingers and he stretched it, then he used the knife to cut it.
Roger of Barrett dropped to the ground the lock that he had cut and he grabbed another one and then another.
"You'll be locked in a room without food or water and you will pray for your damned soul, then you will come crawling to the altar and beg for my forgiveness. Only then I will allow you to be my wife. And remember, small, treacherous leper: if you don't obey everything that I command you to do, your father will suffer the punishment."
He finished cutting the last strand and he made a sinister smile, then he turned the blade on the cheek of Marian, touching the skin with the tip of the dagger.
"That's better, but there is something missing, something that will always make you remember who you belong to."
He pressed the blade more, tracing a bloody line on her cheekbone, short, but deep enough to leave a scar.
Roger of Barrett looked at the girl, pleased by what he saw: the woman who had stared at him with such contempt and pride was now just another of his victims, trembling and in tears, unable to rebel and completely in his hands. He turned away and gestured to the guards to take her away to shut her up in the bare room where she would await the wedding day.