My Life As A Merry Man (Sequel to The Huntress)

Chapter 28

Groaning I blink my eyes open, wincing against the harsh light and the searing pain shooting through my arms. I stretch my neck to the sides and hear several popping noises before looking around me, realizing I'm standing in the middle of the desert.  

"Ah, it's nice to see the princess is awake! Great to have you join us, you know. I always wondered exactly why you'd be sent to us but I guess we've got our answer." The Sheriff sneers from somewhere behind me.  

I turn my head and watch in horror as Guy puts the last shackle around my left ankle, clicking the lock into place. There's so much pain in his eyes that I feel a little bad for deceiving him. He slaps my leg and slowly raises up to stand in front of me, a huge smirk dominating his features as his gaze turns cold.  

"Never thought I'd spend my wedding alone. Guess I can't say I'm the best judge of character." He says voice like ice, making me wince.  

"Told you, women are lepers." Rat face says, moving out of sight again.  

I decide there's no good in keeping my eyes on Guy, because he's already got me chained up, and look towards where the Sheriff went. Gasping, I take in everyone shackled up, each by long chains attacked to their hands and feet between two large wooden beams coming from the ground. And by everyone, I mean everyone that was with me during the surprise attack...Robin, Little John, and Will.  

"You know, it's not polite to attack someone who couldn't fight back." I say, trying to goad them.  

"Oh, look! It likes to speak." Sheriff annoying says with false excitement before his face turns into a horrifying sneer. "Maybe we can get it to give us something worth using. Like, where's it from? Cause if it lied to us about not knowing who Hood was, there has to be more lies. So, gonna tell us...leper?"  

"Sheriff, what if she was kidnapped?" Allan asks, my attention immediately shifting to him as he watches us with a strange amount of detachment.  

Sheriff and Guy glance over at him and nod before facing me. I can see the automatic relief on Allan's face when he saw the curiosity rise in the two horrible men. Yeah, the sympathy I felt for Guy a moment ago...that's completely gone now.  

"What say you? Did these men take you from Nottingham and force you to come here in some kind of attempt to thwart our plans?" Guy asks, looking a tad hopeful. 

I glance over at Allan, who's trying to indicate I should take the out, but I just shake my head. "No, I've been working for Robin the whole time. And it's a good thing I did, you two are the worst people I've ever met - and that's including the person who destroyed my home. So, congratulations, you've proven to be the most horrible people in this world. Hope it makes you feel better and I pray you sleep better at night for it. Just kill me and get it over with." 

Suddenly Guy is right in my face, my hair gripped tightly in my fist. I can actually hear a few hairs breaking with the force of his hold. I wince at the sound, earning a satisfied smirk. All I do in response is glare at him in challenge - I'm not backing down and he'll just have to get used to it.  

"Now Gisbourne, how will we make it talk if it's too broken?" Sheriff clucks his tongue in disapproval. 

"She's being an insolent..." Guy says, only to be suddenly thrown backward. 

I sigh when I'm free of his dangerous grip and look over to see both men staring at Allan in shock. I shut my eyes tightly as he takes a defensive stance in front of me.  

"Don't you dare lay another hand on her." He practically growls at them.  

"Uh-oh, looks like someone has a little bitty crush on the outlaw. One who is a former outlaw himself. Does he want to be chained up and left for dead too?" Sheriff asks, taking way too much pleasure in all of this.