The Eternal Shadow

Chapter 39

XXXIX

There is a concept known as the delusion of reprieve where the condemned man, immediately before his execution, gets the illusion that he might be reprieved at the last minute. This concept can also apply to an individual who is going through some sort of personal nightmare and desperately clings to the illusion of deliverance or escape, be it some form of rescue or change in circumstances for example.

Often there is no escape from one's own personal hell yet one hopes to the very last because facing reality is too much to bear. The mind chooses to believe in some other reality because what is happening cannot be real; there must be some mistake...

This was exactly what Guy went through upon seeing Francesca again.

She could not be Winchester's. She could not. What he was seeing was not real. Or he had somehow misunderstood because IT CANNOT BE...

She was his. Always had been. They were apart but they weren't. Not really. Oh sure, his brain knew that this wasn't true, but he wouldn't have it because she was part of him and always would be... so... she could not be his – she could not belong to him: that man who had very nearly killed him.

And deep down inside he had known that she was somewhere else and most likely with someone else but what with her being so far away it had been so easy to pretend...

He had so longed to see her.

He had so wanted it...

and here she was... finally...

and God how he loved her...

and yet...

It was too much. His mind could not, would not, accept what was happening. He kept expecting someone to tell him that this was a joke, to say "Haha! Only kidding Gisborne! Had you going for a second there!"

but nobody did...

and then he looked at her... and knew it was the truth.

**********

He was running on rage.

Hood had her. That was all he knew. She had been standing in front of him, his wonderful, beautiful girl, offering him her handkerchief to bind the wound on his hand, and then Hood had put his hands upon her – had held a knife to her throat! - and it made him murderous.

Then the idiot had the gall to look surprised when he'd taken one of his gang! Did he honestly think he was going to stand by and watch like some meek little lamb whilst he took her? Vaisey had known better as he always did, sometimes they could read each other so well it was eerie.

His master hadn't been able to stop him from going after her though. He had known that he would; had tried to block his way but Guy had merely shoved the outlaw at him and bolted for the door. Vaisey had been angry of course, but what cared he for that when they had Francesca?

He knew it was madness, that on Hood's turf he was at a disadvantage, that the forest was large and the outlaws were good at hiding but like the temperamental impulsive fool he could so often be, he was galloping off at breakneck speed before he'd even attempted to engage his brain in something approximating rational thought.

Need to get to her.

Luckily, it didn't take long to find the man he was looking for: Hood was waiting for him - keen to have it out with him. Unluckily, he hadn't taken the time to think about how it might be best to handle the situation when he found him and so rushed headlong into a fight. Had he attempted a discussion about a trade, he might have found the outlaw reasonable but of course, that isn't what happened, he just stormed in there, a whirlwind of anger and adrenaline.

The outlaw on the other hand was cool-headed and more than ready for him. His skills with a bow might be the stuff of legend but he was certainly no slouch with a sword either, something Guy was to discover anew this day. Added to that, he had learned a trick or two in the holy land, one of his favourites being the art of misdirection. He had used it many a time when faced with a larger opponent and so it was now with Guy. He just had to hold up against the fury of the initial attack before he could distract him with an object, (in this case, a ring he'd surreptitiously swiped from their guest back at camp) and before the knight knew what had hit him, he'd been kicked in the face, was flat on his back and had a knife uncomfortably close to his throat.

"You won't kill me." Guy hissed.

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure of that." Robin's voice might have signalled smug amusement but the knife nicking the skin on Gisborne's throat signalled something else entirely.

Guy shifted uneasily but raised an eyebrow. "Look at the good and noble Robin Hood - whatever happened to being tired of bloodshed?"

"Let's just say you make it difficult to resolve our conflicts in any other fashion." The outlaw grinned in that infuriating way he always did and Guy felt his anger level rise another notch.

"You're no better; you fight dirty. You dragged an innocent girl into this..."

"Oh Gisborne, for someone with your record you're awfully sanctimonious, you're not going to pretend you care all of a sudden are you?"

Guy bared his teeth in an ugly snarl, "She did nothing and yet you put your hands upon her..."

"Ah, now we're getting somewhere..." Robin had already guessed that there was a history between the knight and Winchester's intended, Guy's current behaviour was merely a confirmation of that. "How about you tell me why that bothered you so much and perhaps I'll let you up."

"No. How about you tell me where she is and perhaps I'll let you live."

Robin sighed and raised his eyes to meet those of the speaker. He was standing upon a nearby ridge looking pleased as punch with himself, crossbow at the ready, arrow aimed at Robin's head.

Though he'd only just met him this day, Robin decided he was heartily sick of Harold of Winchester already.