From Ashes, Through the Fire (English) (From Ashes Vol.3)

Chapter 44 - Under the Apple Tree

Matilda sighed, discouraged.
She now feared that there was nothing more she could do to save Guy of Gisborne and she was genuinely saddened for him.
As long as he had remained conscious, the healer had talked to him, telling him whatever came to her mind, from the amusing anecdotes that had happened to her when she worked as a midwife, to the gossip heard from her patients, to the fairy tales she told her daughter when she was little.
The content of those stories didn't really matter, it was enough for Gisborne to hear the sound of her voice to know he wasn't alone. Every now and then he could follow the plot of those stories and on a couple of occasions he had even managed to make a comment or a smile, but with the rising of the fever he had become less and less lucid and he had simply stayed still with his eyes closed, waking up only when Matilda made him drink another cup of infusion.
But by now it was already some time that Guy seemed to have sunk into unconsciousness and he didn't react to Matilda's attempts to wake him.
The healer kept trying to lower his temperature by wetting his face and body with the cold water from the well, but she saw him getting weaker and less reactive and now she feared he wouldn't pass the night.
She had seen too many men lose their battle with death to delude herself.
She looked at the sky that was beginning to turn pink and she reluctantly came out of the hut because she knew that Robin and Allan would soon arrive to hear news of their friend. She hated the thought of telling them that Guy was dying.
She walked along the path with a heavy heart and she stopped to see that along with the two outlaws there was also a third man she didn't know.
"Who is him?" She asked, suspicious.
"Archer is a friend of Guy," Robin answered for him. "He works for the sheriff, but you can trust him."
"How's Giz?" Allan asked, cutting off any possible discussion, and Matilda looked at him, sorry.
"I don't think he has much time left. He may not get to see the sun rise," she said sadly and Allan shook his head in disbelief.
"No, it can't be, there must be something to try. It can't end like this. Not Giz. Not him."
"Allan..." Robin turned to him, but the young man raised his hands in front of him to ear nothing else, he got back on his horse and went away among the trees in a hurry.
Robin watched him gallop away and turned back to Matilda with a sigh.
"Is there really nothing to do?"
"He has survived so far only out of pure obstinacy, but with such a high fever he won't last much longer. I can only continue what I am doing and hope for a miracle, but so far my cares have not been effective, I cannot give you much hope."
Robin bowed his head.
"Go back to him, don't leave him alone, please. If he really..." He broke off, deeply moved, then braced himself and went on. "If he really has to die, stay close to him, make sure it's peaceful..."
Robin took a deep breath.
"I have to go. I have to tell Marian. She must at least have the chance to say goodbye."
Archer nodded.
"I'll wait here."
Matilda approved, seriously.
"Hurry up, Robin, I don't know how long he'll survive."

Guy looked around, awed by the trees that stretched their skeletal branches towards him as if they wanted to seize him.
It was cold and his whole body hurt, but he knew he couldn't stop or those branches would take him to drag him to hell.
The trees rustled behind him and Guy began to run, terrified, without slowing down, even though he was out of breath.
He crossed a wall of thorny bushes, ignoring the pain of the scratches and suddenly the ground collapsed under his feet.
Guy fell forward with a cry of terror.
He hit the ground with his back, but he felt no pain, on the contrary, as he lay on the ground with his eyes closed, he realized that he no longer felt the cold that had frozen his bones.
He stood still for a while, enjoying the sensation of the sun on his skin and he smiled to himself: after so many days of suffering he now felt an enormous relief.
Finally he decided to lift his eyelids: the sky was of a bright and intense blue, but the light didn't hurt his eyes and Guy raised himself on an elbow to look around: he was in a clearing in the middle of the forest, but the vegetation that surrounded him was no longer threatening and, on the contrary, it gave him the impression of a safe haven that would protect him from all evil.
He stood up and followed the sound of flowing water until he reached the river.
At first glance that place seemed to be his secret place on the river bank, the place where he once loved to take refuge to find peace when the sheriff tormented him, but if he looked at the details, there were differences that made him realize that they were different places .
The tree that stretched out over the river was an apple tree, laden with red fruits, and the river itself was much wider than he remembered, with waters so clear and sparkling with reflections that they seemed to shine with their own light.
Guy sat at the foot of the tree and he leaned against the trunk with a sigh: he was so tired and now he could finally rest.

Marian awoke with a start to hear the sound of footsteps approaching at a running pace. She opened his eyes and saw Robin running towards her.
She jumped up with her heart in her throat, terrified by the outlaw's anguished expression.
"Robin! Is it Guy?! What happened to him?!"
Robin put his hands on her shoulders and the girl was surprised to see that Robin's eyes were bright with tears.
"You have to come with me, Marian. Immediately."
"Why?" Marian asked and her voice came out like a strangled cry.
Robin shook his head.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... Matilda says he's dying."
"No."
"Come on, we have to hurry."
Marian stared at him, dazed.
"You are wrong. He promised he would come back to me. Guy can't die. He promised it."
Robin was tempted to shake her and shout that it was all even too true, but he realized that he too was struggling to accept reality.
He hugged her with a sigh, then he took her hand and led her to the horse, making her climb into the saddle behind him.
Meg had listened to their speech without being noticed and she felt that she couldn't stay at the camp as if nothing had happened, while Guy died: she took a horse in turn and followed them in silence.

Guy looked around, wondering if this was the underworld.
Shortly before, he had been lying in Matilda's hut, terribly ill and suffering, and now he was in that place of peace, without pain. He didn't believe that there were many other possible explanations.
He had always believed that after death there would be the flames of hell waiting for him, and not that oasis of serenity.
He rose to his feet, suddenly frightened by the thought of being able to be driven out of that undeserved paradise and he pressed his hand to his heart that was beating furiously.
"But if I died, why do I feel my heartbeat?"
He looked up and saw the branches of the tree loaded with bright red fruits.
The perfection of those apples distracted him from that thought and Guy was charmed to look at one.
He was convinced, without knowing the reason, that if he only ate it, then everything would be fine and no one could ever drive him out of there again.
He stretched out his hand to pick it, but he stopped, blocked by the sound of a voice he hadn't heard for so many, too many, years, but that he could never forget even if he had lived for another century.
"Guy."
Gisborne turned abruptly and stood still, looking at the woman who had spoken, paralyzed with astonishment and a deep emotion.
"Mother."