Guy And Marian Retold

Snakes of the Human and Reptile Kind

After Robin's escape we were able to return to Locksley for a few weeks.  Unfortunately our time away from the castle was all too short, as the Sheriff's newest plan required our return. His sister, Davina, came to visit, bringing all manner of poisonous snakes with her. She considered them her children. I shuddered at the thought.  I wasn't surprised, however, that a sister of the Sheriff's would have a thing for snakes.  He was reptilian, and chances were she was too, so snakes would be like family for them.

The Black Knights were also coming to sign a pact and finalize their plans to kill the King once he stepped back on English soil. Robin actually knew about her arrival before we did, because he tried to rob her on her way to Nottingham. He didn't know who she was; just that she wore the Sheriff's ring. He came that evening to talk about it, and Guy remembered that he had a sister, whom he talked about once in a while.  He had an odd expression on his face when he said it, like he might be sick.  I asked if he was ok, and he said he was fine.  I kept watching him, though, worried that something was wrong.  As we moved on to other subjects, he seemed fine, and my concern faded.

The next day the Sheriff's messenger came to summon us, and we went to meet her. I realized quickly that she and her brother were cut from the same cloth, and she was definitely not to be trusted. She seemed more astute when it came to the relations between men and women, however, so I mentioned to Guy when we got to our room that we had to be more careful around her.  He looked at me warily, which I thought was odd, but I continued.

"She may notice what her brother does not...that we actually have a good marriage, and I don't dislike you as much as I lead him to believe," I said worriedly. He smiled crookedly at me and slipped his arms around my waist. My arms made their way around his neck in return.

"Then we shall have to double our efforts," he said softly, "both in and out of this room." He nuzzled my neck, I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation, and glad that we had this sanctuary, where we could lock the door and put away the act. He swept me into his arms and carried me to the bed, where we proceeded to double our efforts quite well.

As we lay in the bed afterward, caressing each other softly, we planned how to let Robin know the situation. We decided that we needed to know more about it first, so after we got dressed we went in search of the Sheriff and Davina, and found them in a room set up with a pit in the center and chairs around the perimeter. I gasped when I saw all the snakes slithering around in the pit, and they looked up at us at the top of the stairs.

"Aw, look who decided to join us!" The Sheriff said sarcastically. "Did you enjoy your rest?" Guy answered in the affirmative, giving me a leer, which I returned with a look of disgust. Below the solid railing, we squeezed each others' hands. He called us down so we could better appreciate his devious plan.

Davina watched us as we descended the stairs, which made me uncomfortable. I resisted the urge to draw closer to him, but he could tell what I wanted and pulled me close. Although I pushed him away, as he was expecting, I was glad he had done it. Pretending was tough because I had to think that way, and I hoped that we wouldn't have to do it forever.  I noticed that Davina watched us a lot, but mainly Guy.  It was as if she was expecting something.  He pointedly ignored her most of the time, and was more gruff than usual when he had to respond to her, which seemed to amuse her, as did my frequently confused expressions.

The Sheriff gleefully explained the plan, which was fairly simple. The Black Knights were here to sign the pact. Any who didn't got to enjoy the pit of snakes. And if Robin Hood should show up, he could enjoy it too. I looked worriedly at Guy, who was smirking at the Sheriff. Davina chuckled malevolently, and I spun to look at her. She was watching me with narrowed eyes.

"What does your husband think about your love for Hood, Marian?" she asked with feigned sweetness. "Does he enjoy bedding you, knowing you're pretending he's someone else?" I raised my hand to slap her across the face, but Guy grabbed it quickly.