"I'm sure they ran in that direction."

"How could they disappear so quickly?" The two soldiers looked around in alarm as if they could sense danger.

Beside Marian and Robin, Will began to stir. Crouching on the ground just as they did under the roots of the old oak tree, his fingers slid down the side of his body very slowly. Marian winced inwardly with every little rustle of the dry leaves they were all lying on. Her eyes jumped back and forth between the soldiers, Will and Robin, in panic. She couldn't be serious! Hadn't they realized just now in the fight that they didn't stand the slightest chance against the men? The blade of his little knife would hardly get through the chain mail.

She reached for Robin's upper arm at that moment, who turned cautiously to face her. Mutely, Marian moved her lips, and her gaze went to Will. One of his long knives flashed in his hands, and he crawled forward cautiously. Marian's blood drained from her features, and her skin turned ashen. Her expression became sheer terror, and she shook her head again with fear-filled emphasis.

'You can't let this happen!' she pleaded silently but noticed Robin's eyes fixed on her fingers on his arm instead of Will's. His gaze slid slowly upwards, and the sly smile he then put on could have made even nuns blush. Heat rose in her cheeks and tingled to her fingertips. Marian was unsure whether it was anger or shame. Did he think she was so afraid that she clung to him fearfully? Immediately she let go of Robin's arm again and stifled a hiss. Damn it; she didn't want to flirt - she tried to...!

'If you want something done properly, do it yourself!' her inner voice thundered inside her, and Marian turned her head resolutely. They would all die if this idiotic poacher tried to attack the guards. She had to do something! And she had to do it now!

So her arms shot forward, and her fingers gripped Will's boots tightly. Marian didn't do things by halves. She tried to make herself as heavy as she could, and her fingers squeezed so hard that the brittle leather of Will's boots cracked. Immediately the man's eyes darted around to her, and with one hand, he swatted at her hands, wagging.

Now, however, Robin seemed to realize too. He stretched, grabbed Will's belt, and dragged him back under the tree as well. Earth scraped beneath him. The leaves rustled softly.

"Did you hear that?"

Everyone froze. Will's eyes widened as he slowly turned his head. Would they see him?

None of the thieves among the roots dared to stir. Every muscle was tense. Robin's fingers gripped the hilt of his sword. He felt the leather of the wrap and the cold metal crying out to end a life. Robin had heard this chant when wielding it in the desert in his dreams. Every sword sounded different; it had its own sound as it slid through the air, swung, and fell silent only when it tasted blood and flesh. Robin's throat tightened as dark memories rose within him-memories of moments when it was the enemy or me. But in the end, being the survivor had rarely felt like a victory.

"It's no use. We'll never find them in this forest," one of the two soldiers finally said, and they both stopped not far from the hiding place of all possibilities.

"Let's go back. We have to report this raid to the sheriff immediately!"

The soft scraping told Marian that the soldier had returned his sword to its sheath. The young maiden only realized she had been holding her breath all this time when the guards moved away, their footsteps finally fading away at some point.

She exhaled then, feeling her heart still beating wildly against the cage in her chest, and wiped her hand over her eyes. 'That was a close shave,' she thought as Will and Robin crawled out of hiding, and the latter reached out to help her. Earth and foliage clung to her everywhere. It had been damp under the oak tree, so Marian had to pat the dirt off her green tunic. A leaf came loose from her guise and trundled silently back to the forest floor where it belonged.

"What was that all about? Have you taken leave of your senses?" Will hissed at the two as soon as he stood up straight again. Will's robes, previously only worn but still of some quality, were now full of dirt, but unlike Marian, the bandit didn't seem to care.

The big giant, meanwhile, detached himself from the hazel bush; branches cracked, and a few fell to the ground.

"And you!" Will turned to his crony, "Have you gone mad, John?" he hissed at the colossus like an irritated viper, "Why are you showing them our hideout!"

"They helped us too, didn't they," the giant muttered, catching a vicious glare in return.

"When did THEY help us?"

"Well, when-" John put in but didn't get far. Like a beaten dog, he looked to the ground to avoid Will's eyes blazing with anger.

"Just so you know, I wouldn't have saved your butts!" proclaimed Will, growling like an irritated animal. "If you think we'll give you any of the loot now, too, you're sorely mistaken!"

"Your loot?" this time, it was Robin's voice that soared. Marian wasn't sure how long he could hold on. This Will was just pushing him too far. "Great ambush that was! If we hadn't been there too, you and your little friend here would be choking in the dirt on your own blood right now."

"Little friend?" growled John menacingly. Marian could see him pondering how anyone could even come up with such a description for him. He didn't seem to be able to make any sense of it. That it was meant as an insult, on the other hand, he had understood.

"Great haul you made!" Robin's voice dripped with taunting sarcasm. "How many men did you just sacrifice for those few coins?"

Nervously, Marian turned her head in the direction where the royal guards had disappeared. Hopefully, the men were far enough away not to hear this bickering. "Robin," she murmured anyway, hoping to reassure him. She wondered why he suddenly seemed so irritable.

"He has a point there, Will," John suddenly murmured, catching the surprised and stunned looks of the bystanders. However, Will's expression quickly changed to a silent but clear accusation of betrayal.

"The plan would have gone well if you hadn't shown up!" Will snapped at him, and Marian thought she had misheard.

How could anyone be so undiscerning? Unbeknownst to her, she and Robin shared the same opinion about such a negligent venture. "It certainly wouldn't have gone well!" she interjected, wondering to herself at the open anger that soaked her voice. "What were you thinking?"

"We were a lot more than them!" barked back Will. "They should have come looking for me. And my people would have stabbed them in the back. Outnumbered, that's what we would have done to them!" he hissed back at her.

"Outnumbered you were! Peasants with wooden sticks against guards with swords and armor!" snorted Marian, feeling all the more anger rise within her at this recklessness. That had been suicide! Pawn sacrifice in a game they had never been able to win from the start.

"I'll show you what we peasants can do, you bigmouth!" Will spat and took a big step towards Marian with the knife in his hands.

The latter's hands immediately slid to her side, where she reached for one of the arrows from her hip quiver while simultaneously taking a step back. Within the blink of an eye, she had the bow in her hand, and the arrow applied to the string.

The giant John reacted unusually nimbly for his size, grabbing Will's shoulder to somehow hold him back.

Robin was equally quick, reaching out and pulling Marian behind him as he pushed forward and stood up. He expertly ignored Marian's grumbling, so she defiantly took a half step to the side to get a clear shot.

At his full height, Robin towered over the lanky Will by several inches, and it was at that moment Marian first noticed how broad Robin's shoulders were compared to a mere man. His silhouette stood out clearly from those of a farm laborer and a pampered nobleman; they could almost completely hide it.

"Don't you dare tackle another woman now after your catastrophic failure!" threatened Robin, and Will's eyes widened as did John's. They tried to peer past Robin as if they had to confirm those words with their own eyes.

"Wait, you're a-?" murmured John, as their gazes now clung to her.

Marian saw him - the shift in their gazes even before the first opened its mouth. Her attitude changed instantly. From absolutely hostile to a self-overestimating and condescending arrogance that struck Marian bitterly. Men!

"Haven't you got anything better in store than to drag a female into an ambush?", Will now teased Robin. "What were you going to do with her here? Were you going to take her virginity in the underbrush?"

"The wench will break your nose in a minute if you keep on being cheeky!" said Robin, and

Marian was proud of herself for a fleeting moment. The hook on the chin she had given Robin days ago seemed to have clearly stayed in his mind. He apparently thought her defensible enough to take on a roughneck like Will and not the dead weight she would be after his initial remarks. Her heart gave a little leap in her chest, but one she would never have admitted to herself.

"Okay, that's enough!" hissed Marian, taking a deep breath. She silently reminded herself not to be provoked further and started again. "You are untrained farmers, or am I mistaken? What were you before you became outlaws?" Her gaze slid over Will, then John, and the few remaining bandits. "A smith or woodcutter? And you?" She looked at Will piercingly at that, "furrier? Or a saddler?" she guessed from his stature and handling of the knives.

"The men you were about to attack may be lazy and not expecting your attack, but they are soldiers! Trained to defend and kill when necessary!" Marian pointed meaningfully at Will's knife, "Your little knife can't even get through chain mail! And even a man of his stature," switching to John, "...will be cut down by the second stroke of the sword at the latest."

"She is right," Robin agreed gravely. Marian noticed that he had clenched one hand into a fist. Tensely it trembled, and Robin held it at his side as if to hide the tremor in his fingers. "That was a carnage. You led your comrades like lambs to the slaughter."