A loud pounding on the chamber door drove through the heavy curtain of silence and cut it like a sharp blade. Behind the door, the metallic clang of keys was heard first, followed by the click of the lock. Quickly Marian recognized Guy's broad shoulders in the doorway, and it was not only the night that cast shadows on his features.

"Earl De Burgh," he greeted politely, his arm in front of his chest and his upper body indicated in a bow, in the always polite manner of well-bred decorum.

"Sir of Gisborne," her father replied in the same vein, nodding to the young man. There was an unusual distance between them. The tension, which could not be overlooked or denied, immediately made Marian a little more nervous.

"I will check on you again later or tomorrow morning. Have courage, my child." The Earl kissed his daughter's forehead; then the father left the chamber. His conscience was relieved of a few secrets but with a worrying burden in his heart.

The chains rattled as Marian rose and returned to her place by the window. Although the chair's cushion was meant to soften her, she might as well have sat on a pin cushion, so restless was she in Guy's presence. A few seconds of unbearable silence melted away like melting snow, then Guy spoke out what was burning incessantly in his mind:

"What have you done, Marian?"

The maiden turned her eyes to him, and even now, she sat there so erect and full of pride that Guy could only wonder if this was a mask or reality. He had known her too long not to know that Marian often appeared stronger than she actually was.

"I did what was right."

"Right?" Guy strode into the room, which was disproportionately sparsely furnished. His boots left a dull scuff on the bare wood, and the floorboards groaned in several places. The bed was hardly worthy of a lady of her standing. No down filled the pillows, but hard straws poked through the linen. The walls were undecorated, and there was nothing but bare stone. There were no curtains to keep the wind or night chill out of the windows and no fireplace to warm this chamber of repentance.

"You helped outlaw bandits escape, Marian. You held the Sheriff of Nottingham, my father, at gunpoint and betrayed your father and me," Guy could not stop his voice from trembling. He clenched his hands so tightly that his fingers ached as he stopped an arm's length away from her. "And why is that? Because of Hood?" he literally spat out the name. Robin Hood stood for everything he loathed.

An irresponsible good-for-nothing who was always given everything. Who went to war because his father was too strict and duty too burdensome for him. Robin Hood was a traitor and a dishonorable bastard.

"Why Marian?" Guy couldn't help himself and reach for her shoulder. "Have I not given you everything? I never betrayed you, stood by you, and saved you from being married off to some old baron!" incomprehension and pain darkened the blue-grey eyes. "And then you let him drag you into something like this?" Anger, hatred, disappointment, the feeling of betrayal and despair. Everything was so open between them that it made the air heavy. "How could you do this? How could you betray me like this?"

How had it only come to this, and how had she only chosen Hood over him? His heart felt clammy, like a wet dog thrown into the water and not allowed to swim to shore.

When Marian raised her hand and placed her fingers over his, the chains rattled and shattered his thoughts like glass.

"Guy, I didn't choose between you and Robin Hood," Marian's voice was quiet, yet possessed such a calm sound as if she had thought about it for a long time. "It was never about you two. Nor about me. This is about what is right and what is wrong, not right and wrong. These people are not just nefarious outlaws but desperate citizens of England. They are as much people as you and I - and my decision may have been treason against your father and the Crown. But did they not betray the people first by abandoning those?"

Guy drew in his breath sharply and gripped her hands tighter."Marian, those words will cost you your life! Do you understand what I am saying? There are no grey areas before the law. There is the law, and there are those who break it. This is not a game, a trifle, or stealing a loaf of bread because an orphan is hungry!" Guy's fingers stiffened around the delicate hands he had known since childhood. It was all beyond his grasp, and it almost drove him mad. "I can't help you now, Marian! My father and all the men have seen you aid the outlaws and help Hood escape. And why? Because of your pity for a few peasants?"

He was not powerful enough to protect Marian from what awaited her. So far, his father had let many things slide because Marian could benefit both his and Guy's advancement. But this time, there were too many witnesses; the rumor about the Maid who had stood up for the thieves was already spreading like wildfire.

'Robin Hood and Maid Marian'.

Guy didn't understand why Marian couldn't just bow to the laws. For him, for herself, and her future.

"If I'm not mistaken, the law provides for arrest in theft cases. But your father treated them like enemies on the battlefield. Knocked down and shot! Your wretched father sees every thief as a high traitor and chooses the worst punishment possible! We're all English, Guy. What is the difference between a peasant starving on our doorstep and the soldiers in the Holy Land? Sometimes unpleasant truths have to be spoken. And if no one will listen to the common people, perhaps they will listen to the daughter of an Earl!"

"Marian!" now Guy almost roared, giving in to the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake her gently as if this might bring sense into her stubborn head. "Do you hear what you're saying? Do you know what you are doing? Do you want to die for people who didn't even look back at you?"

Guy let out a frustrated hiss, pushed himself away from her, and took some distance. There was so much swirling around inside him that he sought an outlet in the steps he took back and forth and back again. His fingers dug into the dark hair as the facts before they drove him crazy - while Marian sat there so seemingly calm and collected!

"Treason against the Crown and conspiracy is punishable by death, Marian! They will hang you tomorrow if you do not renounce!" he opined, hoping for insight and transformation. That she understood that she would die if she did not grovel before the sheriff and the prince regent and show remorse - or at least pretend to. Could she not leap over her pride? "If you don't repent and beg forgiveness, they will hang you alongside the filthy thieves."

This realization had to shake her awake. Instead, she met the knowledge of those consequences with a cold, determined look.

"Then I will hang."

Guy uttered a silent curse between his teeth. He grabbed her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her knuckles. "Please. I implore you. Don't die for people you mean nothing to... and leave behind those you are everything to," he pleaded softly. "Think of your father. He has no one left but you. And I..." Guy broke off because it choked his throat. Then he straightened up, turned on his heel, and strode to the door. "I can't watch you die for a belief that has no future."

Perhaps he could have believed her to be so strong and convinced she was doing the right thing. Maybe he would have been proud and impressed by her courage and idealism; had he not stopped after the door had slammed back into the lock to wrestle with himself and force himself to take the next steps. This way, however, he heard the sobbing that reached his ears from inside shortly afterward.

Marian De Burgh was afraid of what lay ahead.

And he was no different.