The agreement

Chapter 5

"I'm still not sure what you are offering me or what you want in return" Robin stared at her warily and then her a ragged piece of brown bread. Emma declined. There was no telling where it had come from and as difficult to tell whether its colour came from the grain or the dirt ingrained hands that had held it. She took another cautious drink of the mead that she had been convinced to drink. She had tried to wave it away but Will, as she had discovered the murderous looking one was called, and fixed her with such a glare that she had decided to take the horn.

"I'm offering you information in return for a small favour. That's all. In fact it's not even really a favour... it's more an understanding that it would be in both our interests if certain individuals were not to make it to Nottingham," Emma smiled sweetly at Marion, but the small woman stared back in a rather unfriendly manner.

Emma had to admit to herself that she had been very curious to meet the infamous Marion, wondering what the woman who had fled from Guy had looked like. As she had suspected she was small, dark and delicate – the complete opposite from her. She was pretty Emma grudgingly admitted, in a common way, but it was also clear that she was besotted with Robin, gazing at him adoringly and bringing him drinks and touching his arms as they sat and interrogated her.

Marion wasn't making any attempt to hide her distrust of Vaisey's niece. Ungrateful cow she thought. God's teeth, don't these people realise what I'm trying to do here? She was giving them a chance to stop running for a while, live and camp without worrying about the Sheriff and Guy at their heels. She would send a message if there were any planned raids into the Forest, and in return, well, hopefully thought Emma, in return she would get a little peace herself.

Unbidden she felt a small pang of guilt at the thought of Guy, but really there was no other way. Yes, she was betraying his friendship, if was what they had, but the alternative was too horrible to bear. She would make it up to him somehow; an unexpected but brief image of possibly how flitted through her mind and she blushed slightly.

"And you want us to..... persuade this man from not making the journey to Nottingham?" Will asked "and in return you'll tell us all the Sheriff's movements for the next month?" he sneered.

"Why should we trust you, a Vaisey?" he drew closer to where she was delicately perched on a log.

Emma quailed, not so much at his tone, but the stench coming off his squalid clothing. She wasn't that intimidated by him, he had a wrestlers build, but a knife in the stomach would soon slow him down. Trying not to breathe, Emma smiled tightly back.

"Because she hates her uncle as much as we do" said Marion quietly. She had spent most of the afternoon in the background watching the strange blonde girl as she told her story. Almost against her better judgement she realised that she felt sympathy for her. Marion knew the frustration and terror she had felt at the thought of being married to a man that you had no affection for, sold like a prize puppy.

That didn't mean she trusted her though. There was something in Emma's eyes that made it clear she wasn't the spoiled nobleman's child that she appeared to be. Finding that she had been wearing a sword had made Little John snort with laughter, amused that this woman could possibly wield such a weapon. Marion, on the other hand, was sure that Emma was completely capable of looking after herself. They may have differed in almost every other respect, but she recognised a kind of kinship in the blonde's eyes. She didn't seem the type to make rash decisions and she must have planned this little adventure very carefully.

"I do hate him, but not enough to marry to get away from him, especially when that man is one of his friends" Emma choked back sudden tears. She had too much riding on this to fail.

Robin sat quietly for a while. Will had tried to dissuade him from trusting her, but he could see no reason to doubt her. After all, they had a lot to gain from the plan and Emma was the one to lose the most if it failed. He nodded, "It's a deal".

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