Grant What I Wish

Grant What I Wish - Chapter 10. Underminings

Chapter 10. Underminings

First, when I was apart from you,

this world did not exist,

nor any other.

Second, whatever I was looking for

was always you.

Third, why did I ever learn to count to three.

-Rumi

Locksley Manor and Sherwood Forest

1195

Guy rose early the following morning, before the sun was up while the sky still held fast to the night. He thought of the restful slumber he had enjoyed without the aid of strong drink or herbal tinctures. It was the first sweet night of uninterrupted sleep he had experienced since he had returned from the Holy Land. Marian, he thought with something approaching awe. What need did he have of sleeping potions, now that he knew Marian was alive? She alone would keep his bad dreams at bay.

He rose and stretched, enjoying the feel of the cool morning air on his long, lean body. He was not usually up this early; his life in the past demanded late hours in the service of various nobles, ending with Vasey. The Sheriff had kept him up all hours doing his bidding, and Guy had grown accustomed to reaching his bed just before dawn. He thought of what he had missed by not waking with the sun-the soft morning breeze, the sound of bird song, the play of light in the sky. He had missed so much in his life-and had attempted to end that life the night before. All had seemed hopeless last night-until Marian appeared in his room. Now, hope was a raw and tender emotion, like a scab that he longed to scratch but didn't dare for fear of dislodging this strange, new feeling.

He moved toward the window and the sudden fear assailed him-had it been a dream? Was she truly alive? Perhaps she had not truly been here, but was the result of too much drink or his fevered imagination. No, he thought suddenly, she is alive. I must believe it-I must hold tight to that belief. Even if it had been a dream, he thought stubbornly, he did not wish to awake. If this was madness, then let him remain mad. He would choose to remain in whatever reality Marian dwelled.

Remembering her final request of the previous evening, he stripped himself of his remaining clothes except for his leather trousers. Fetching a scrap of toweling to dry himself, he left the cottage stealthily, heading for the river to fulfill her pointed request to bathe. His steps were light and he nearly caught himself whistling several times.

As he made his way down the narrow path that led to the river, he stopped short of the bank at the sight of Marian swimming in the river. It was not a dream, he thought exultantly. She was alive!

He gazed raptly as she paddled along in the river's slow current, her long hair floating about her. She swam briskly along in the cold water, and he caught glimpses of her pale skin as her arms broke the surface and reentered, propelling her forward.

Guy watched, enraptured, as she dove beneath the surface; he could see her form just below the ripples in the water. He felt his heart speed up in guilty anticipation of catching a glimpse of her as she emerged from the river. To his deep disappointment, when she did rise up from the water, she was hidden by a large thicket of laurel. When she reappeared, she was covered from neck to toe in her robes, her hair in a neat, wet braid slung down her back.

As she moved up the path, he hid himself, holding still behind a tree until she should pass by. He did not want her to think he had been spying on her, although he had. He felt his face flush in chagrin, and he held himself motionless, afraid to breathe. He expelled his breath slowly in relief once she passed by, but winced as she called over her shoulder at the top of the path, "I left a cake of soap for you on the rocks below."