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

Chapter 37 - Nobody's Wife

Guy ran down the hall, looking for the sheriff. Even without looking at her, he knew that Marian followed him closely, ready to fight at his side.
For him this was a whole new and strange feeling: he wasn't used to have around someone that he could trust and for the first time he considered Marian as a fighter and not as a young girl that needed to be protected.
He gave her a quick look, and his heart raced, in the grip of love and pain that now began to become familiar every time he thought of her.
She was pale, her face marked by a cut on her cheekbone, her hair short and wild and she was bundled in a torn and dirty robe, but Guy had never found her so beautiful.
A soldier appeared at the other end of the corridor and he ran towards them to stop them, but Guy did not slow.
"Duck!" He shouted at Marian and she obeyed immediately, dropping to the ground while Guy swung his sword to take down the soldier.
He held out a hand to Marian to help her up and they resumed running. She didn't let him go, she laced his fingers with hers and Guy couldn't find the strength to break free, even if his conscience told him that he should.
The touch of Marian's skin against his seemed to burn his fingers, but he wouldn't give up that moment for anything in the world.
He was wounded and in pain and he was running to face dangerous enemies that could kill them both mercilessly, but for Guy this was a perfect moment and he wished it could last forever.
It was the last time when he could pretend he didn't lose her, the last moment that he stole for himself before saying good-bye to her forever.
Only this time, only once and then never again.
It ended too soon when they found the sheriff.
Vaisey was surrounded by three soldiers who had managed to drive him in a corner of the chapel and he was trying to defend himself with his sword, but it was clear that he could not resist for long.
Guy lunged forward to attack them and divert their attention by the sheriff and Marian stood behind him to protect him and to avoid that they could hit his back.
The sheriff was able to hit one of the soldiers and Guy parried the attack of the other, while the third pounced on Marian and the girl raised her sword to strike him, but Gisborne pushed his opponent with a kick, turned around to knock down the one who attacked Marian and returned to face the other, impaling him with the sword.
He pulled the weapon free from the soldier's body and he fell to his knees, exhausted.
Marian leaned on him, worried.
"Guy? Are you well?"
"Oh, Gisborne, still with the leper!" The sheriff said, disgustedly. "I thought that after you bedded her, you'd get tired of her."
Guy got up from the ground, grabbed the sheriff by his jacket and slammed him against the wall.
"Be respectful to Lady Marian or I swear that, even if it means letting Nottingham burn, I will deliver you into the hands of those murderers." Gisborne growled , before letting him go, disgusted.
The sheriff looked at him, pretending to be impressed, then he stared at Marian.
"A lovely wedding dress, don't you think, Gisborne? I hope you have found equally fascinating the husband that I have chosen for you, lady Marian. Or should I say Mrs. Barret? No? Oh, Gizzy, apparently you have not been the only one to have been deserted at the altar. What do you think? Do you want to try again to make yourself ridiculous with her or will you leave the honor to someone else?"
"Be quiet, or you'll have to find some other idiot willing to save your life."
"Gisborne, Gisborne, women have a bad influence on you. If you continue like this, your next move will be to team up with Robin Hood."
"Why, who do you think is fighting against the other men of Barret?" Guy asked, grinning.

Roger Barrett saw another of his soldiers falling, pierced by an arrow and he growled in anger. Now his plan was falling apart, but he would get his revenge on Guy of Gisborne, even at the cost of making that revenge the last action of his life.
It was Gisborne who ruined everything, insisting on staying alive. He had stopped his marriage to Marian and apparently he had informed the sheriff of the danger, allying himself even with Robin Hood and his gang to protect Nottingham.
Barret no longer cared: he would find Gisborne and then he would kill him, so bloodily that Gisborne would bitterly regret he wasn't dead the first time.

Guy closed his eyes, breathing slowly and deeply to try to ease the pain of the wounds in his back.
Fighting against the soldiers who were threatening the life of the sheriff was too much effort for his condition and he had to try to take advantage of that moment of respite to regain his strength.
He, Marian and the Sheriff had barricaded themselves in the small chapel of the castle and they had blocked the door with some of the wooden benches. Maybe Robin Hood and his companions would be able to rid the castle of the traitors before the door gave way.
The sheriff had settled on one of the benches at the bottom, looking bored, while Guy and Marian were near the altar. Guy was lying on his side on one of the benches and he tried to get some rest, while Marian, sitting next to him, pressed a handkerchief to the wound on his head to stop the blood.
When she was certain that the bleeding had stopped, she tore a strip from the garment he was wearing and she used it to clean the blood from Guy's face, dabbing it with gentle movements. Her fingers lingered on his forehead and they sank into Gisborne's hair, transforming her touch in a tender caress.
Guy pulled back from her with a sort of shudder.
"Don't touch me like that, please." He begged and Marian was hurt by the harsh tone of his voice.
Was he disgusted with her? She anxiously wondered if her appearance had changed so much that even her touch made Guy uncomfortable? Or was Guy disappointed because she had killed a man and she was no longer the pure and innocent girl who he had courted in the past?
"It's the hair, isn't it? Look, maybe now you are the one who has longer hair..." She said with a sad smile, wanting to comb with her fingers one of the strands that curled on Guy's neck, but not daring to touch it. "Or it's the cut on my face? I know that the scar will remain, but is it so horrendous? Did I became so ugly that you abhor being touched by me?"
Guy sat up and looked at her, stunned by those words.
"What are you saying, Marian? How could you think such a thing? Do you think that the beauty that I always saw in you depends on the length of your hair or the perfection of your skin? You are beautiful in every part of you, not only in appearance, and you will always be, whatever may happen. You've never been more beautiful than today, I can swear it on everything you want." Guy stopped abruptly, fearing that he had said too much. He could not talk in that passionate way to the wife of another man, it wouldn't be honest.
"If it is true, why do you withdraw from me every time I touch you?" Marian asked, accusingly.
"Because I can't, that's why!" Guy blurted and the girl noticed that his eyes were bright with unshed tears. "You are the wife of Robin Hood, now, and I no longer have any rights!"
The girl looked at him in surprise, then she put a hand on his cheek.
"Guy? Look at me."
The black knight looked up at her and Marian wiped a tear with her thumb, keeping her hand on the side of his face.
"I didn't marry Robin."
"What?"
"I didn't marry him. I'm nobody's wife."
"Marian saw a whirlwind of conflicting emotions passing in his eyes in a few seconds, then Guy hid the emotion behind a wry smile.
"Did you leave him at the altar? And did you punch him?"
"Guy!"
Gisborne smiled.
"From your reaction I guess I'm still the only one who had the privilege." He said, then he turned serious. "Why didn't you marry him? As his wife, you would be safe from the claims of Barret..."
"I couldn't marry Robin when I have feelings for another man." Marian said and Guy frowned at those words.
"Another man? Who?" He asked, unable to hide the jealousy and the girl looked at him for a long moment.
"Earlier you banged your head really hard, didn't you?" She asked, smiling.
Then she kissed him.