The following night seemed so peaceful as if nothing terrible or remarkable of the day had happened. The moonlight, bursting from behind heavy clouds, cast dim silvery-white light on Nottinghamshire. The wind drove the clouds lazily across the night sky, and the balmy summer breeze made the ivy of Castle de Burgh's ramparts rustle softly. The corridors of the fortress, usually sparsely lit at late hours, shone with the golden light of numerous torches since the last raid of the tax money.

Only a few servants still tiptoed through the corridors. The tiring veil of late evening settled over the halls with its accompanying silence. The metallic >>clonk<< and the soft scratching, on the other hand, seemed treacherously loud.

Boot soles scuffed across the stone floor, bounced over the rise of a threshold, and then disappeared behind a door. Robin Hood stuck his head out of the gate and cast an appraising glance first to the left and then to the right.

"Nothing in sight," Robin murmured softly.

"Then stop standing there and help me!" Behind him, Marian's hands, with the wild thumping of her heart, tugged at the tabard of the guard they had just knocked unconscious and were now trying to hide in one of the castle's myriad chambers.

Robin let out an indignant snort, took one last look down the hall, and quietly closed the wooden door. He could barely hold back a chuckle as he turned. "What a sight you are!" he pressed out, panting while trying earnestly not to burst out laughing.

Marian had pulled on the guard's tabard. She was wearing trousers - which was amusing enough to look at - but what did the rest for Robin was the shapeless bulge on the higher part of her hips. The fair maiden had tried to stuff the silky-white nightgown into the waistband of her trousers - but the folds bulged under the chainmail like a big fat belly. It looked particularly amusing as the rest of the clothes hung on her like a sack. The tabard was too big for her, although the guard had not been a giant

"You look as if a scarecrow had the clothes of a watchman thrown over it," Robin murmured, reaching for a corner of the doublet to somehow adjust it. Although the two long-fingered men were surrounded by the inch-thick oak door and solid stone walls, neither dared raise their voices above a whisper.

"Do you think you look any better?" hissed back Marian, pulling the tip from Robin's hands. It felt strange to be talking to him so intimately. To allow him to call her by her first name. She struggled to maintain a wall between them. He had hurt her, and just because they were now brought in together, she would not forgive him. Marian snorted, then tugged at her tabard so that a little more of the night garment would spread around her waist.

Robin raised her hands in surrender. "Oh, please forgive me. I didn't mean to offend your sensitive, delicate, maidenly feelings," he chirped, flinging the guard's helmet at Marian. She caught it and rolled her eyes at the same time. Robin couldn't help but notice how adorable it looked when she was euphoric.

"You'd better shut up and grab his arms," Marian grumbled, taking one last look at the two bound guards.

"Are you sure this plan will work?" murmured Robin as he tightened the knot. The golden ropes of the brocade curtains had found a new use: They had been looped around the arms and legs of the guards, preventing any movement.

Marian glanced at the control box as if it might suddenly get hundreds of little feet and run away." In any case, he's a better idea than charging straight for an open gate like a bull," she replied quietly, ignoring Robin's piercing look he gave her. Of course, the worthy gentleman didn't like his methods being challenged. "If we use the chest as guards to collect the taxes, no one will distrust or stop us. After that, all we have to do is repack the coins into the saddlebags unseen."

"That's the second time you've compared me to a bovine. But I doubt they'll leave the chest and think everything is fine."

"It will take time for them to find the guards." At this, Marian stuffed the gag into the first guard's mouth with a twinge of a guilty conscience. "It's true, of course: when they wake up and are freed, they'll first check the tax chamber. But you'll be out of the woods by then."

"You're pretty confident about this plan," Robin observed. He didn't really seem to share that confidence. Marian, too, was aware that it was risky. But it seemed a hundred times more sensible and skillful to her than to rush headlong into the chamber again. This time Roger - that rapacious bastard - would not have had enough to drink. The sheriff had made it pretty clear to him that he would never taste wine again if he drank on duty again.

"It'll be all right. They've been bringing in new money and counting through the day so far. Everyone is tired. No one will look at which guards pick up the chest more closely." Marian let his eyes wander. "Come on, help me lift this one into the clothes chest and the second into the closet."

To her amazement, Robin obeyed without objecting.

"Damn, he's heavy."

Even with two of them, it was a distinct feat to stow the two unconscious guards safely, but they had to ensure they would not be discovered so quickly.

"Do I hear the oh-so-strong Robin Hood whining?"

"I am a thief. Skilled, quick-fingered - I don't usually drag unconscious men around," Robin replied, pursing his lips.

Although the situation was tense, a slight smile graced the corners of Robin's mouth. Marian didn't miss it, and although it annoyed her on the one hand, she felt the excited throbbing in her chest. All this, as long as no one was seriously hurt, was definitely exciting and thrilling. "You always have an excuse ready," she whispered and refrained from further teasing.

Their tête-à-tête felt like when they were both much younger and used to roam the courtyards of Huntingdon Castle together with Guy. Of course, when the boys cooked up something together, they didn't want the young girl around. In those days, Marian often felt left out. At that time, Robin and Guy were inseparable. Especially when it came to mischief. Young boys who tested their limits and at some point had to realize that for the son of an earl and that of a simple knight, those boundary lines were very, very far apart.

This time, however, she was there and could only hope that it would not end like most of Robin's childish adventures - he was caught surprisingly often in his pranks before he could even start them. Most feared the name Locksley back then; it caused trepidation and respect - even among other nobles. Today the name was worth nothing except gossip for the amusement of the bored and uppity nobility.

"I think the coast is clear," Robin murmured while reaching for the steering box handle. The sturdy wood was fitted with iron fittings that held the thick boards together.

Marian tugged at her tabard and adjusted her helmet.

The nasal helmet fitted her more poorly than it should, although her hair under the waistband cap stuffed the excess extra space; it thus at least partially hid her face. Nervously, she slipped into the corridor behind him - for anyone unaware, a short, stocky guard with hands a little too damp.

They made it through two corridors, then one of the patrols turned the corner.

The guard's gaze fell first on Robin, who merely nodded briefly at him, and then on her. Her heartbeat galloped under the disguise.

'Why is he looking at me like that? Am I acting conspicuously? Oh, please. Please, please, please, go on!' she pleaded inwardly, praying to God and all the saints she could think of.

Was she breathing normally? Was she walking strangely in any way? Was a strand of her hair perhaps peeking from under her bonnet and helmet? Marian held her breath. The seconds seemed an eternity to her, drawn out like a drop of honey that struggled to come out of the honeycomb. Then the soldier nodded and strode past them.

She almost groaned with relief, but Robin pulled at the box they both carried, and they continued on their way. Sometimes it seemed to her that this man knew no hesitation or hesitation. Did he even know the fearful beating of a heart when one feared something might go wrong?

Marian shook his head slightly at the thought. Yes, of course, he knew it. And he enjoyed it. Always Robin had craved the thrill of danger and the forbidden. If she was honest, she was not surprised where he had ended up. Sanity had never been a word one would associate with Robin of Locksley - much less Robin Hood.

And yet here they were - together. And that, although their motives could not have been more different. He wanted the coins for a rebellion against the crown, and she wanted it for the people. No. If she was really honest with herself, she wasn't doing it for the people of England. Not just, anyway.

"This way."

Concentrating on her mission again, she guided Robin through the corridors and hallways to the room where the tax count had been moved. Finally, she stopped with Robin in front of the door and breathed deeply in and out as if that might calm her wildly beating heart.

"Ready?" whispered Robin.

Marian nodded.