Summer Rain

Chapter 6

"Damn that woman!" He cursed to himself. She had pulled a fast one on him racing away on her horse as he was arguing with Will about if this woman, Arianna, was trustworthy or not. Her running away made it appear all too clear to him that she was indeed a spy, but the question now was who was she spying for? Was it The Sheriff, Prince John, or someone else entirely? He knew he had to find out and fast before she could return to her employers and report back whatever information she had gathered, and another question plagued his mind, how long had she been spying on them? He was usually pretty good about noticing people and things out of the ordinary, it was something he had picked up while fighting for King Richard in the holy land, and had saved his life many times. But he couldn't remember ever seeing Arianna before, at least here in England; maybe he had seen her while on his travels? Whatever the case maybe he wouldn't find his answers simply by chasing her, he had to catch her and question her.

Robin shook himself from his musings and noticed that he was gaining on Arianna, and took in the look of sheer terror on her face when she turned around in her saddle to see how far behind he was from her. She was a good rider, he had to admit that, almost as good as him. They were both urging their steeds over fallen trees, and around bends, but Robin had the advantage, he knew this forest like the back of his hand. He was therefore able to steer Arianna, more or less, in the direction he wanted her to go. The problem with the forest though is that things can change in a second and unless you are paying attention you won't notice that change until it is too late.

Robin watched in horror as Arianna was thrown from her saddle by a low tree branch. She flew through the air and landed on her back hitting her head on some of the rocks that littered the forest floor in this area. As Robin slowed his horse down as he neared her he noticed a pool of blood forming around her head, and that she seemed to be gasping for air. Robin hoped she hadn't broken any bones, just had the wind knocked out of her.

Dismounting he approached the still figure that was just lying there on the ground struggling to breathe, "Arianna, can you hear me?" he asked, bending over her. He took a quick survey of her form, he didn't see any bones sticking out, and nothing looked to be broken. He noticed the sheer look of terror in her eyes, and immediately felt guilty, he hadn't meant to scare her, he had simply wanted some answers.

"Arianna, don't be frightened, no one is going to hurt you. Can you tell me if anything feels broken?" he asked. She didn't respond. 'Not a good sign' he thought. He went to lift her off the ground but as he leaned over her she flinched as if he was going to strike her. "Arianna, don't be afraid, no one is going to hurt you. Just hang in there and we will get you to a healer soon." He noticed that Arianna's eyes were closed now, but her breathing was still labored, she had slipped into the world of unconsciousness. He tore a strip of cloth from his tunic and wrapped it around her head, as a make-shift bandage, it would have to do until he could get her to a healer.

Just as he had mounted his horse with the woman in his arms, his comrades, Will and Much rode up behind him. They took one look at Robin and the limp form of Arianna and immediate concern was etched on their faces.

"Master is she..." Much asked, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"No. But she hit the branch pretty hard and then hit her head on the rocks. I don't know if anything is broken, but her head is bleeding pretty badly, I must get her to a healer. I'll take her to Marian's; you two fetch that beast of hers and bring it to the camp. Tell the others I will be back once she's been taken care of," Robin said to them.

"Robin, please be careful, with today's events so far who knows what else might happen. We cannot afford any casualties, you know that, we are too few in numbers as is against the enemy" Will said.

"I understand your concern Will, but if I don't get her to Marian's soon she may die, and then we won't know who we are up against. I'll be careful, now go and get her horse before it gets into trouble, in turn getting us into more trouble" Robin replied, as he urged his mount towards Marian's house.