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

Epilogue - A World That Will Not Turn to Ash

The arrow passed a few centimeters away from Guy's face and it planted itself in the head of the bed, where it stood, vibrating. Gisborne opened his eyes and he stared at it.
"He's come..." He whispered, weakly.

Robin waited, hidden in the trees, then, when he heard the clatter of hooves on the trail, he moved his horse and he waited for Gisborne to approach him.
Guy was holding the arrow that Robin had shot through the window of Locksley Manor and he held it up to show it to him.
"Really, Hood, you have to find another way to contact me, sooner or later you're going to hit me."
Robin touched his cheek, in the same spot where Guy still had the thin scar left from Robin's arrow that had saved him.
"I am Robin Hood, I never missed even much harder shots."
"You will continue to remind it to me, right?"
Robin smiled.
"Always."
Guy shook his head, laughing, then he yawned.
"What's up, Hood? I was sleeping."
"You complain a lot, but when I call, you always come quickly. I get the impression you don't mind that much."
Gisborne didn't deny it and he just shrugged.
"Sooner or later Marian will find out and then there will be trouble for both me and you." He said in somber tone, but Robin could see that he was actually amused.
"Why, are you scared that she could find out that the Nightwatchman's costume looks better on you than on her?"
Guy smiled and he covered his face with the mask that once belonged to the girl.
"So, what will we do tonight?"
"Deliveries. We emptied one of the stores of supplies destined for the sheriff's men, and now we have to distribute food to the poorest families. Ah, I almost forgot, take this!" Robin threw an object at him and Guy caught it. He stared at the wooden outlaw tag and Robin smiled at seeing his astonishment.
"Will made it for you, now you're one of us."
Guy looked at him for a moment, then he nodded, put the tag around his neck without saying anything and he spurred his horse to speed up the pace, but Robin knew that Gisborne was just trying to hide his emotion.
He gave him a moment, then he reached him and for a while they rode in silence.
When he saved his life, almost a year before, Robin had thought he didn't want to have anything to do with Guy of Gisborne anymore. The thought that Marian had preferred Guy over him had hurt Robin and he would have preferred to relegate it in a corner of his mind and never think again of either of them.
It had been Gisborne who came to meet him in the forest, a few days after Barret's death. The black knight was still so battered that he struggled to stay on his saddle, but he came alone into the forest just to meet Robin, even before reaching Marian at Kirklees Abbey where she had taken refuge with her father.
That time Gisborne had completely put aside his pride and he expressed his gratitude so sincerely and looking so moved that Robin was no longer able to hold a grudge because of Marian. Neither of them ever spoke of that day again, but they both knew that that was the moment when they had stopped being enemies and rivals and they had finally buried past hatred.
Over time, the choice of the girl had stopped hurting him and surprisingly Robin found himself to appreciate the company of Gisborne who, although he couldn't openly support the outlaws, had insisted on working with them disguised as the Nightwatchman.
"Do you really think so?" Guy asked after a while and Robin nodded.
"You are part of our family now, although I don't think that Little John will ever admit it."
"I was talking of the Nightwatchman's costume, Hood. Does it really look better on me?"
Robin laughed.
"Of course, with that mask I'm not forced to look at your face."
Guy grinned.
"Yesterday I talked to Tuck, he gave me the recipes of several remedies that may be of interest to Djaq. He copied them from one of the books of the library of the abbey especially for her. By the way, how is she? It should be almost time, now."
"The baby could be born anytime now, it should be a matter of days." Robin said, smiling. "Later you can give Tuck's letters to her in person, now she and Will live near Clun, when we will deliver the food there, we will go to visit them."
"I'd like to see them." Guy said, recalling the joy of Will and Djaq when Robin had married them in the forest. He had his doubts that their marriage could be really legal because Robin was an outlaw, but it was also the best one in which he participated. Not that he had much experience when it came to weddings, but the other two times he had been punched by Marian and almost killed by Barret, so he had no doubt about which wedding to choose as his favorite.
"And what about you?" Robin asked, guessing his thoughts. "Did you already ask her to marry you?"
Guy shook his head. It was strange to talk about Marian with Robin, but it was also nice to know that she didn't cast a shadow anymore on their friendship and that he could trust Robin as a true brother.
"Not yet."
"Why not?"
"I must first finish what I'm doing. It won't be long now, I've been working nonstop for months, you know. And this is also why you should let me sleep a little more at night, I am exhausted."
"And you managed to keep hidden to her what you're doing all this time? You stay out all day and she doesn't look for you?"
"Officially, I am very committed to administer my lands to be able to pay the taxes imposed by the sheriff. And indeed it is true, I do that too. Sir Edward and Allan are helping me to hide the rest."
Robin laughed.
"No wonder you're tired! I think that in the coming days we will not need the Nightwatchman and I think we will come to help you out."
"Really? I appreciate it."
"Don't thank me, I do it for the pure spirit of survival. If Marian were to discover that we could speed things up and we didn't, we are all dead. And now shall we begin to do the deliveries?"
Guy smiled.
"As you wish, brother of mine."