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

Chapter 45 - Under the Surface

The sun was already high when Guy opened his eyes, but that day he wasn't in a hurry to go to Knighton Hall. He had already decided to go to Nottingham to contact Archer, for one day the rebuilding of the house would continue without him.
He stretched himself, feeling rested for the first time in many days, and he was forced to admit with himself that Allan's reproaches and concerns were not entirely unfounded.
In recent times he had pushed too close to the limits of his own strength, and, if he hadn't realized in time that he needed a pause, he would have ended up collapsing.
And he couldn't afford that.
He got up from the bed, hungry, and wondered if Marian had waited to eat with him.
With a pang of remorse he thought that there was also another good reason to slow down a little.
When he woke up at dawn to go to work at Knighton Hall, the girl got up before him to cook breakfast.
Guy liked that quiet moment with her when the rest of the house was still asleep and the first light of the sun painted everything in golden colors, but he had never stopped to think that waking up so early could be tiring for Marian.
He decided that eating together would be just as nice even if they did it an hour or two later, more rested and without hurry. Perhaps they would not have the silence and the colors of dawn, but Guy was certain that just being with Marian would be enough to make their time together entrancing all the same.
He hurried to dress and he went downstairs, eager to see her, but he was disappointed in finding that the kitchen was deserted and perfectly tidy.
Usually, when Marian tried to cook, she poured pots, containers, and ingredients everywhere and the servants sighed thinking about the time they would need to put everything in order again, and to clean up the disasters made by the girl. Now it was all perfectly clean and it was clear that Marian had not set foot in the kitchen that morning.
Perhaps she had seen that he was still sleeping and she had waited for him so that he wouldn't find a cold breakfast...
"Good morning, Sir Guy," Thornton said, standing by the kitchen door. "I'll tell the cook to prepare breakfast."
Gisborne looked at the servant.
"Thank you Thornton, but I think I will wait for Lady Marian."
"You'll wait for a long time then, Sir Guy. Lady Marian is not at home."
Guy stared at him, astonished and worried.
"Where is she?"
"She went out very early this morning, while you were still sleeping. It seemed to me that she was sad or troubled and I took the liberty to ask her if everything was alright. She replied that today she would give up cooking and that she would bring the flour and some eggs to the orphans of Kirklees."
Guy nodded, sympathetically. Evidently, the conditions of those children had to be worse than he thought if Marian had chosen to skip a meal to bring them something, and he was glad that he had told Robin Hood to be generous with the orphanage.
Marian's altruism made him love her even more, yet Guy couldn't help but feel disappointed for her absence, and, when Thornton asked him what he wanted to eat, he just shook his head and took two apples from the fruit basket.
"No, thank you. These will be fine."

Marian urged the horse to accelerate his pace, even if she knew that Allan, still sleepy and moody for being thrown off the bed before dawn, would struggle to follow her closely.
She hadn't slept at all and her mood was even worse than Allan's.
She'd spent the night alternating between burning jealousy, anger, pain and sadness, without being able to close her eyes.
Why did Guy feel the need to look elsewhere for something she could have offered to him, if he just cared to ask?
Marian couldn't stand the idea of thinking him in the arms of another woman, and several times during that tormented night she had been about to run in his room, wake him up and shout at him all her suffering and her jealousy.
She never did, though, because she was afraid. She was terrified of what Guy could have told her to justify himself, she was afraid of the sorrow that his words could bring, but above all she had a terrible fear of losing him.
If she thought of a possible betrayal from Guy, she felt that she could be able to hate him. At the same time, she loved him even more, of a crazy, desperate and almost obsessive love.
What would I do if Guy told me that he loves another woman?
Marian could almost see that scene in front of her eyes, as in a nightmare: Guy smiling as he confessed that he would marry a woman who was not her, happy for a new love.
What would I do? What?
Darkness filled her heart with that thought, while anger devoured her soul.
I would be capable of everything.
As in a flash she saw herself striking Guy with a sword, in order to extinguish that smile that made her mad with pain. The same lethal and too simple gesture that she did when she pierced Barret's soldier in Nottingham.
I could kill him. And that would also be my end because I can't live without him.
That thought startled Marian, and she almost risked falling from her horse. For her, it was like waking up suddenly from a nightmare.
How could she imagine such a scene? It was madness, but if she chose to surrender herself to jealousy, it could become real, she felt it in her heart.
No. He loves me. Guy loves me.
Marian thought of Gisborne's behavior toward her, the gentle gestures he always had for her, how he only showed his most vulnerable side to her, the way he had challenged death to come back to her.
Their souls belonged to each other, and she told herself that she had to focus on this.
What could have happened with a tavern girl wasn't important, it was just a physical necessity, an unimportant mishap that Guy would forget once he got what he needed and that would disappear once they were able to get married .
It was an unpleasant thought, but she could accept it. Many men did so, continuing to reserve their love only for legitimate wives.
Marian persuaded herself that it had to be so, and she didn't want to investigate further for fear of finding out more.
Because in that case she would lose her mind.

Archer ordered the soldiers to continue marching and to reach their guard positions on the castle walls, he let them go ahead, and he stopped.
"So, what are you doing here?" He said, without looking at the man behind him.
Guy stepped away from the shadow of the wall where he had been waiting for Archer, and smiled, admired: his half-brother couldn't have seen him, but somehow he sensed his presence.
"I was waiting for you."
"You were? Strange, I don't see any knife planted in my back."
Guy shrugged.
"Why should I?"
Archer turned to look at him.
"Why? Do you need to ask it?"
"I have nothing against you, not yet at least."
"And should I believe it? Should I trust the words of a person who had his house burned?"
"You didn't give the order, and, believe me, I know how it is when you work for the sheriff. I also had to obey to orders that I personally didn't want to carry out. I have my hands dirty with blood, maybe more than you."
"Let's believe that you're telling the truth, so, what do you want from me? You say that we are alike, yet I don't see your victims waiting in the street to make a friendly chat with you."
"It's already good when they just ignore me, in fact."
"Then what are you doing here, Gisborne?"
Guy smiled and he put a hand on the hilt of the sword without pulling it out. Archer instinctively imitated him, preparing to respond to an attack, but Gisborne merely smiled.
"I want a rematch."
"What?"
"Our sword fight we had some time ago. You beat me, true, but it was fun. And recently I've been deadly bored, I have to admit it."
Archer looked at him.
"You fell out with the sheriff to retire to a quieter life and you got bored?" He asked ironically. "Isn't that what you wanted? Are you repenting now? A clue: I will not give your job back."
Guy smiled.
"Don't worry, I don't want it. And yes, I got what I wanted and I wouldn't go back, but I'm missing some action."
"So? Take part in some tournament or find a more passionate woman, even more than one."
Gisborne shook his head.
"I don't need it. But I would like a worthy opponent. Like you."
Archer grinned.
"Who tells me that you are worthy? Last time I beat you, I don't think you can equal my skills with a sword."
"I can improve. Sooner or later I will defeat you, and, even if I don't succeed, I'm sure it will still be useful to learn some new moves."
"And what if I get bored? You are skilled, it's true, but I have faced very much better fighters than you."
"There isn't only the sword. There will definitely be something where I'm better than you. Don't tell me that you're scared to find out."
Archer looked at him, amused.
The sheriff was right, Gisborne had some second end and it might be interesting to find it out.
"Let's hear: what were you thinking about?"
Guy smiled.
"How good are you at riding a horse?"