The Forgotten Keepsake

Chapter 14

XIV

Guy was not far from Nottingham when he found that he just couldn't face going back. Not today. Not after all that had happened. His mind was so full of questions, constantly going over things Mina had said, trying to understand all that had passed between them – no, it wouldn't do, not like this; it had been hard enough keeping his mind on the job lately but now he was distracted and if the Sheriff noticed...

He silently vowed at that moment that he would never say a word about any of it to anybody, especially not Vaisey. Not a single word would pass his lips about Mina. He would not have anybody harm her or her village again. Castlebrook was too small to be of notice to the Sheriff, who was currently busy with other things and Guy hoped it would stay that way. He had destroyed the place once; he would not play any part in destroying it, or indeed hurting the people who live there by betraying it, again.

He was on the outskirts of Sherwood Forest as he tethered his horse to a tree, lay down in the grass and closed his eyes. It would be just his luck for Robin Hood to show up now; he was always skulking about around here. Funny that most of the time he wanted to find him but right now, Hood was the last person he wanted to see. Alright maybe a close second after the Sheriff.

Not everything revolves around you Locksley... there are other people in the world...

And so his thoughts returned to Mina.

He found himself enraptured by her image and tried now to recall every detail his mind had taken in of her - from her hair; now longer and darker than the dirty blond of her childhood but still glinting honey gold in the sunlight, to those eyes; vivid green with a fingerprint of brown around the pupil, large, soulful, framed by wickedly long lashes, indescribably intensely beautiful. If the eyes had Guy hooked then the nose made him smile; it was the cutest button nose he had ever seen and gave her face it's overall delicate shape. Her cheekbones were high and dusted with freckles, another thing that made Guy smile, it was a feature that remained unchanged from back then - making her look younger than she was. Guy wouldn't be Guy had he left her lips unnoticed; full, sensual and... very kissable was the verdict there. Her stature remained small, she had been a waif as a child and although she was obviously a woman now, she remained on the smaller side. Most people were small compared to Guy but Mina seemed mini, this made Guy want to scoop her up into his arms and permanently keep her there.

But for all she looked like a girl, for all her features spoke of delicacy and youth it seemed that her life had not been easy on her.
He was overwhelmed at what she had told him and he had a feeling that that had actually been very little. She had mostly glossed over details and tried to move onto other subjects, as if none of those things, those things that made up her life story, were even worth mentioning.

I suppose that makes two of you.

He knew that he had also been hardly forthcoming about much of his life; in particular his work but what exactly could he tell her about that?

"Well Mina, I spend most of my time hunting down outlaws with a side-line in collecting taxes, torturing prisoners and attempting to assassinate Kings... Soooo... when will I see you again?!"

No, he had known for a very long time now that his job was not something he could talk about in any detail, not that is, if he actually wanted to see the other person again.

And he wanted to see her again. Oh God, how much he wanted to...

They had not had the luxury of much time to talk. Mina could not leave all of the work to her companion and as much as Guy could've happily sat there all day and watched the beautiful girl washing clothes at the riverbank, he knew that would've only made her feel uncomfortable.

And so after a brief chat, sitting together in the shade of a tree, she had smiled sadly and gotten up to take her leave:

"I'm very glad to have met you again Sir Guy..."

He bolted up from the ground directly and took a step towards her

"You are going already...?"

And then she nodded and held out her hand to politely shake his! He must have looked as crestfallen as he felt for she then added nervously as if in explanation:

"Well err... I figured you must have more important things to do than sit here chatting to a washerwoman and..."

"No!" He said this too loud he knew, for she looked somewhat startled but then as he stepped forward to take both of her hands in his, she smiled, her face suddenly a picture of happiness, as he said softly "No, nothing more important than this."

At that moment then, as she blushed and looked away, Guy felt as if someone gave his heart a hard squeeze.

Oh little one, you have me.

Do you know it?

Could you?

He then cleared his throat and said unsteadily "I know you are busy now, I should not take you from your work... I should like to visit you here again... if you like..."

"Really?"

Good God yes

"Of course."