1 | master of arms [gisborne]

Thirty-eight

Isabella blinked a few times. In addition to knocking her brother out, she managed to make herself and Robin fall to the ground. With difficulty, she sat up.

"You were going to do it," Robin said in astonishment from the ground, just barely picking his head up.

Isabella gave him a look and rolled her eyes. "What are you talking about? I was tricking him. I helped you fight him."

"That was helping me?" demanded Robin as he sat up.

"I gave you the piece of wood, you fool."

"What do you mean, gave it to me?" Robin's voice went up an octave. "I took it from you."

"Oh, yeah, of course you did. 'Cause you are so perfect. In fact, for your information, I was the one who knocked him out."

"Oh, shut up."

They both stood and cautiously went to Gisborne's knocked out form. Isabella sneered and picked up the sword. The light bounced off it, and Isabella glanced at her brother. Robin looked at her.

"What are you doing?"

"What I've wanted to do for seventeen years," she answered. "Consigning him to hell."

Robin's eyes widened and he held his arm out in front of her. "Isabella, once you do it, there's no going back. There's nothing more to be said or done."

"This'll do all the talking I need."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Robin said just as she pointed the blade at Guy's neck. "What about what he may have to say?"

"The only thing I ever wanted to hear from him was a plea for forgiveness," she went to her knees, her voice breaking but the sword was still on his neck, "some admission of guilt that it was his fault I was so unhappy." Robin knelt down next to her, listening to her talk. "He sold his own sister to a man who made my life a misery and corrupted my best friend's mind."

Robin gently removed the sword from Guy's neck. "That's why you shouldn't let him off so easy," he said quietly. "Come on. Give it to me."

With reluctance, Isabella let Robin take the sword from her hands and place it on the forest floor. "You will pay," she whispered to her brother. "Someday, you will pay." She stood up and wiped a tear from her face.

Robin sighed. "Get the key," he said to himself. He opened up Guy's closed hand, only to rub his temples. "Great."

Isabella frowned. "Oh, no," she sighed angrily.

"Look, it's all right. We'll be fine. We'll go to Clun. I's nearer than the camp, and there'll be a blacksmith there."

"Take it back," Isabella suddenly demanded.

Robin rolled his eyes. "Take what back?" he grunted.

"The bit about being a rubbish kisser. Take it back."

"Fine! You're not a rubbish kisser."

"So why did you say it?"

"To make you angry."

Isabella's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"We need to tie him up," Robin said, changing the subject.

*****

"It's a fine line, isn't it, between love and hate?" The prince asked from his chair, flipping the coin in his hand.

Linda shrugged from the doorway. "It's complicated," she admitted quietly.

Prince John frowned and looked at his coin. "Two sides of the same coin, really," he answered blankly.