The wind ruffled her hair as Linda sat near the valley, her knees tucked into her chest. She needed time alone, and this was the best way of getting it, in a way. The outlaws were probably at the camp, planning something utterly stupid and foolish, but it wasn't her problem. She had only one problem at the moment, but her friends couldn't help her with it. She had to do something, and that something was going to probably be as stupid as Robin's planning.

Speaking of Robin, it was about time until that little annoying bugger decided to show up.

She was staring at her own reflection in the water when she heard a twig snap. Out of instinct, she shot up from the ground and threw her dagger at the tree, inches from Robin's face.

"You could've had my eye out!" he exclaimed, looking from the knife to her in shock.

"You've got some nerve," she said back nonchalantly. She gave him a dirty look and sat back down, throwing a flat stone across the water, watching as it skipped effortlessly. Robin groaned quietly and rolled his eyes, moving to sit next to her. She pretended that he wasn't there and kept throwing stones, which was generally annoying him to no end.

"Are you not going to talk to me?" he snapped, also picking up a stone and throwing it across the water.

She shrugged. "There's nothing to talk about, Robin. But thinking... there's a lot to think about."

"Like what?"

"Like, how about the fact that you basically ruined my life yet again by trying to be the hero." Robin groaned and rubbed his temples, but Linda continued. "Honestly, can you ever not be the hero? Or do you just have to sweep in and go, 'I'm Robin Hood, your savior, and your personal expert at ruining relationships! Take me, for example, who tried to have something with Isabella, but ended up failing at that. Not only that, but I was having an affair with a girl named Genevieve, who of which has no idea I kissed Isabella. Gee, I am so great and amazing!' Some hero you are, Hood." She spat out the last part harshly, throwing the stone in her hand far across the water.

That comment struck a nerve, and Robin flinched. His face fell, and he looked to the ground, playing with a rose petal in his hand. Linda noticed his reaction when she turned to look at him, and she automatically regretted her choice of words. She sighed and picked up another stone. "Robin, I didn't—"

"No," he interrupted, his voice quiet. He inhaled sharply and looked up, staring at the valley before them. "You're right."

That surprised her. "What?" she sputtered as stone she was about to throw dropped out of her hand.

"I said, you're right," Robin repeated, still looking straight ahead. "I did ruin your chance with Gisborne, and for that I am so sorry." The outlaw paused. "And I also ruined my chance with Genevieve." He let out a bitter breath and looked down. "I was a fool to ever think that I could've ever have something with Isabella, and in my blindness, I lost her."

Linda blinked and scooted closer to him. "What happened?"

"She found out that I was with Isabella and kissed her," he answered softly. "She said that she was betrayed and..." He trailed off.

"And what?" Linda pressed, anxious to hear.

"She basically in a way told me that she never wanted to see me again. There, happy?" Robin snapped, frowning and staring at Linda.

She didn't flinch, but pursed her lips and nodded slowly. "Apparently she has a reputation of breaking men's hearts," she blurted. "Interesting."

"That's because no one bothers to talk about how amazing she is," Robin retorted. "No one bothers to talk about how kind she is, and how she will disobey me for the worst reasons, and then ends up saving me in the end."

"Gee, sounds like me. Except I'm anything but kind." Linda pointed out.

"More like stubborn and hard-headed."

Linda smirked and let out a quiet laugh. "Continue. I want to hear. What's she look like?"

Robin tilted his head and smiled. "She's... beautiful," he said. "Blonde hair, the color of a pearl. Stormy gray eyes, but there is compassion behind them. She's an excellent fighter, and cares immensely for people. Like I care about her. I would do anything for her."

Linda lowered her head in thought. "She reminds you of Marian," she whispered quietly.

Robin nodded. "She helped me get through it when I needed it."

"You mean when I was at the castle with Guy for about five days."

He nodded again. Linda sighed. "Well, she seems... I don't know, worth it, I guess."

"That's because she is." Robin put a hand on her shoulder. "Like Gisborne is to you."

Linda tilted her head to the side and frowned.. "What are you saying, Robin?"

Robin grinned. "Tonight, we're going to Nottingham, just you and I. We're gonna pay the Gisbornes a little... visit."

*****

"So we meet here, middle of the town, underneath Bella's room, where all the guards can see us?" Linda whispered to Robin as they entered Nottingham.

"We'll be fine. I'll try to buy us some time so you can find Gisborne," said the outlaw.

Linda nodded. They continued to venture through Nottingham, stopping when they got to the castle. They looked at each other and nodded. Putting their hoods on, the two dashed off. Robin went forwards, but Linda went the other way and actually went around the castle until she reached the back. She was relieved when she saw no guards. She was about to open the door, but it opened for her. She yelped and moved back as two guards entered the back way, chatting to each other. She stealthily hid behind the opened door, slipping inside when they didn't notice.

"Idiots," she muttered to herself, shaking her head and taking her hood off, carefully sneaking through the halls. She didn't see Robin, and that could mean one of two things: a) he was actually buying them time and stalling, or b) getting himself into trouble, which meant that she had to hurry. So she picked up the pace to the point where she was skipping through the castle. She had a hard time maneuvering herself, going down stairs and turning various halls, until she finally found the dungeons. The guard that was supposed to be watching was asleep at the moment, so she took that to her advantage and called out quietly:

"Guy?"

After the words left her mouth, she heard rattling inside a cell. She crept down the stairs and listened as a person shuffled off a mattress and scurried to the bars, hands grasping them. She ran to that cell and knelt, taking those calloused hands that were wrapped around the bars into her small hands.

"Linda?" he asked, hope filling his voice.

She nodded fast, tears glimmering in her eyes. "I'm here, Guy, you're okay."

He removed his hands from the bars and put them on her face instead. And as carefully as he could, he tilted his head to the side and kissed her. Linda rested her hands on his chest as her eyes fluttered to a close and she kissed him back, tears gliding down her face. When they pulled away, he leaned his head on hers from across the bars. She stifled a sob and took his hands.

"I found you," Guy whispered.

"I found you first," she croaked. "And if it weren't for these damned bars, I'd have you already."

"Likewise." Guy ran his thumb along her knuckles, eyes widening when they brushed over black leather. "You're wearing the jacket," he said in awe.

"Yes," she answered quietly. "And I'm gonna get you out of here, so you can have your possession back."

To prove her point, she stood up and walked to the snoring guard, putting her hood back on. She tapped his his shoulder lightly, and he snorted in surprise. The guard yawned and stretched, groggy to say the least. Linda took this to her advantage.

"Excuse me," she started sweetly, "but do you happen to know where you keep your keys to the cells?"

The guard looked at her with a blank expression. "Hm?" he grunted. "Oh, uh..." he started rummaging through his pockets lazily and muttered to himself, shrugging when he couldn't find them. He then blinked and squinted in the darkness. "Wait a minute, why would a wench like you want to know? And why are you wearing a hood in the dark? Unless you don't want to be caught and not supposed to be here..." He ripped her hood off of her head and grinned. "'Ello, Linda."

"Hi!" she said with a wave, pulling out a small knife with a sharp blade from his belt and conking him in the side of the head with the hilt. He slumped to the ground, still and silent. Guy raised his eyebrows in astonishment. She turned around, frowning. "This is why you never let men handle anything."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I get out of here and take you with me to France," Guy teased, his humor slowly coming back.

Linda smirked and knelt down to search through his pockets, her smirk disappearing when she couldn't find the keys. She looked on the wall and tried to find them, but they weren't there. Isabella must've had them hidden somewhere, and she didn't have the time to do a scavenger hunt. She cursed and kicked the already unconscious guard in frustration, going back to the cell and jamming the blade in the lock, trying to pick at it.

"Linda."

"Shut it, Guy, let me do this."

"Linda—"

"Guy, I can do this. You're getting out of here."

Both of them looked up when they heard Isabella screaming, "Guards!" loudly from upstairs, then footsteps running. They were coming. Linda continued to pick the lock, feeling stressed out and frustrated to say the least. She felt like crying, but didn't, though her vision did start to blur.

"Linda, look at me."

Guy tried to get her attention, yet she decided to be stubborn and keep trying to pick the lock. When she finally realized that it wasn't going to work, she let out a strangled noise and threw the blade into the corner, running her fingers through her hair. She was breathing heavily, like she was on the brink of a panic attack. Guy noticed this and reached as far as he could through the bars and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her lightly.

"Hey, hey, hey. Look at me, okay? Focus on me." Eventually her wild eyes landed on his. "See? That's better. You're going to be okay, alright?" His own voice was wavering, and he felt his eyes water. But he remained strong for her sake, as well as his own.

"I'm not going to let you go for the millionth time, Guy of Gisborne," she told him sternly, her cheeks damp with tears. "You're coming back with me."

"Maybe one day, but not now. You need to go, Linda, before they catch you," he practically commanded her. "Please, do it for me. We'll see each other again, I promise."

Before she could object, he pulled her to the bars and kissed her again, deeply, passionately, savoring her, like it was the last time he would ever kiss her. She broke the kiss and started to cry softly, leaning her forehead on his. He shushed her quietly.

"Shh," he soothed. "It's okay, my love, you're going to be all right." He kissed her temple, urging her to go. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

She nodded through her tears, slowly leaving the cell and him. With one last look to Guy, she put on her hood and looked out into the halls, thankful that there were no guards. She ran out of the dungeons and through the halls, exiting from the front this time instead of the back. She ran to the meeting place, panicking when she didn't find Robin. Then she heard a knife sizzling through a rope, and then a curse coming from a male. By the time she could figure it out, the rope snapped and a body fell on top of her with a thud. Linda groaned and threw the person off of her.

"The plan was to talk to her, not make her mad and have her throw you out of a window and make you fall on me," she snapped as she sat up, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Sorry, but I might've added Genevieve's name to the mix," Robin admitted, helping her stand.

"What?!" she cried. The alarm bell rung, thus making the dogs started barking. "Great, now they're onto us. What did you do?"

"I don't think Isabella complied to my deal," he explained. "Did you find Gisborne?"

"I'd rather not talk about that," she said quickly, looking up to see Isabella staring at the two from above. She gave Isabella a dirty look, while Robin chuckled and pulled her along. As they made their escape from Nottingham and ran into the forest, Linda realized something:

He said "my love" to me.

*****

short chapter. sorry. i legit started crying while writing this chapter. meg, are you happy now?