The Nightwatchman (English)(From Ashes Vol.2)

Chapter 31 - Adeline

Guy awoke, disturbed by a ray of sun coming through the window, stopping right on his pillow. He noticed that Robin Hood was lying beside him, dangerously close to the edge of the bed. He must have waited until Guy had fallen asleep to take that little space on his bed, so he didn't have to sleep on the sheets he had soaked with the water of the basin.
Guy grinned, then he pushed Robin off the bed, and the outlaw crashed to the floor.
"Hey!" Robin shouted, getting up from the floor.
"I told you: this is my bed, now."
Robin glared at him, then he looked at the window.
"It's morning already, and still nobody came..."
Guy went to the window to look outside.
"Marian will be worried by now," he said, with a sigh.
Robin thought of Much: his friend had to be beside himself with worry, and he certainly also had alerted the other members of the gang.
"Not only her."
"Where do you think we are? I don't recognize this landscape."
"I have no idea. If we weren't asleep, we could at least get an idea of the distance by calculating the time we spent in the carriage. We may have traveled for hours or just for a few minutes."
The door opened, and the two men turned to look at the person who was in the doorway: a skinny boy who was staring at them in fear, noticing that they had freed themselves from the chains. The young man closed the door abruptly.
"Grandpa! They're free!"
Shortly after, the door was opened again and this time the young man was accompanied by the elderly man who had lured them into the carriage.
The old man looked at them, not at all impressed.
"I knew it was a useless precaution..." He noticed the key, still stuck in the lock of one of the handcuffs, and he shook his head. "Especially when someone gives the keys to the prisoners..."
"What do you want from us?" Guy asked, threatening, and the boy stepped back, hiding behind his grandfather.
The old man gave a disgusted look to his grandson, then he stared at Guy and Robin, sternly.
"First of all, you have to learn to put aside the hatred you feel for each other."
Guy and Robin exchanged a puzzled look.
"I think you are a bit late for that," Robin said, and the man shook his head.
"It's never too late for a peace offering. You are young, you shouldn't consume your life in bitterness."
Robin started to speak, but Guy stopped him with a warning look. They couldn't know whether those people were working for the sheriff, and they had to be cautious not to reveal their alliance without first being sure they could trust them.
"Why are you so interested in that? And why did you take us here?" Guy asked, approaching the door. The boy, still hidden behind the old man, looked at him, even more worried.
"You have not changed, Guy. You always have the same wary look in your eyes."
Guy stared at the person who had just spoken, pronouncing his name in the French way: it was a middle-aged woman who was standing in the doorway, beside the old man.
She had white hair, but Guy knew exactly that it had once been as blond as ripe wheat. And he also knew that the wrinkles on her face suggested the dimples that once formed in her cheeks when she laughed.
"Adeline!" He exclaimed in disbelief, then he smiled sweetly at her. "So it's true, it's really you..."
The old man tried to stop his daughter, warning her to be careful, but she didn't listen. She ran to Gisborne, forgetting all the terrible stories she had heard about him, and she hugged him tight.
Guy hesitated for a moment, then he hugged her back, taking care not to hurt her.
In his memories, Adeline was a tall, strong girl, full of energy, but now she looked small and fragile.
Guy thought that she didn't change so much, even though more than twenty-five years had passed since he had seen her for the last time. He realized that she wasn't smaller, but that it was him who had grown taller.
Adeline looked up at him and she reached out to caress his cheek.
"You have become so tall, my little one, but your eyes are always the same, so blue and stormy... I would have recognized you even if I had not known who you were. But now bend a little, let me give you a kiss."
Guy smiled shyly, and he obeyed, bending enough for her to kiss him on the cheek, then Adeline pulled away from him, and she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, glancing at Robin.
"You don't remember me, do you? You were so small when you were born... For a few days your father feared you wouldn't survive, but look at you now! You have become the famous Robin Hood!"
Adeline looked at both Guy and Robin, and she sighed.
"It's so sad to think that you two became enemies... You were two innocent children, it pains me to think that you hate each other."
"We don't!" Guy said, impulsively. "Or at least, not anymore. Lately, many things have changed, and we are no longer enemies. We are allies, now, and, on the rare occasions when he isn't too annoying, I consider him like a brother."
Robin rolled his eyes, thinking how Guy had warned him to be careful not more than five minutes before, but he smiled at his words.
Adeline and her father exchanged a meaningful look, and it was the old man who spoke next.
"Almost brothers, huh? You could be closer to the truth than you think."
"What do you mean?" Guy asked, puzzled.
Adeline put her hand on his arm and she pointed at the door.
"Come downstairs, breakfast is ready. We'll share a meal, and then we will tell you everything."

Marian sent her horse into a gallop, and she turned to look at Much, who was riding beside her, just a few meters behind.
"It's here?"
Much pointed to a spot, just a little farther.
"We were hidden behind those bushes. The carriage was going in that direction."
Marian pulled the reins, imitated by Allan, and by the other members of Robin's gang. She dismounted, ignoring the mud that soiled her clothes, and she looked around in search of clues to follow.
"Do you see anything?" She asked, but the others shook their heads.
"The rain washed away the traces."
"No!" Marian cried, in frustration. "There must be something we can do! Once Guy has used dogs to try to capture you, let's use them to find him!"
Allan sighed.
"It wouldn't help. It's been too long since he disappeared, and the storm has definitely washed away any odor they could follow".
The girl dropped to her knees and she slammed her hand on the wet ground, splashing her face with drops of mud.
"No! No! No! I don't accept it, I can't accept it! Guy!"
Djaq hugged her.
"Do not cry, I'm sure we'll find them. And, even if we won't succeed, you'll see that Gisborne will find you, as always."
Allan held out a hand to help her up.
"There is a village ahead. We'll ask everyone if they have seen the mysterious carriage, it couldn't pass unnoticed."
Marian nodded with a sob and she wiped her eyes with a hand, leaving a strip of mud on her cheek, then she mounted again.
She stroked the horse's neck and remembered when Guy had given the animal to her: he had been so proud in having pleased her with his gift! Marian felt like crying again, but she held tears back so she didn't look weak in front of the others.
She felt weak.
She just wanted to hole up somewhere, and sob like a child until Guy would come to console her, but she knew that it wouldn't happen if she weren't able to find him.
A part of her mind was also concerned about Robin, but she wasn't afraid for him: Robin had many resources; Robin always managed to get by, somehow; Robin always survived.
Had he been there, Guy would have said that he'd always find a way to come back to her, that he would never leave her alone, but Marian remembered all too well the horrible period when she had believed him to be dead, and she knew that she wasn't strong enough to experience that sorrow again.
She wanted Guy at her side, and she wanted him now.
She struck the horse's flanks with her heels and she took the road to the village, determined not to give up until she had found the man she loved.