Lady Locksley

Chapter 10

Torture and Traitors

Roana wasn't enjoying life in a castle. Or maybe it was just this particular castle. She felt watched. There were guards everywhere, all of the time, and it was difficult to find any time to herself unless she stayed in her room. And even then, Sir William dropped in more often than Roana was comfortable with.
Although they were betrothed, it was becoming more and more obvious to Roana that she detested him and couldn't bear to be in his company. Away from Filey and the watchful eye of her aunt and uncle, he had dropped all pretence at congeniality. Instead, he was overbearing and possessive, and, if he put another hand on her, Roana thought she might very well scream.
She felt trapped. Marrying him was the last thing she wanted to do, but it had been agreed upon now. Any choice she may have had in the beginning was now a distant memory, and the impending nuptials loomed ominously on the horizon like a dark cloud. Although William had not mentioned it, she knew that he would marry her here, in Nottingham, without her aunt and uncle or her consent.
There was a knock at the door. Please, no! Not him again, Roana thought, desperately.
"Who is it?"
"It is Alice, my lady," came the reply.
Thank God. "Come in, Alice," Roana called, relieved.
Alice had taken to castle life like a duck to water, slinking about the corridors like a shadow, often overlooked because of her lowly station, which allowed her to accidentally overhear more than one secret conversation - and there were many. Roana welcomed her gossip, if only to relieve the boredom.
"My lady," Alice slipped in and shut the door behind her, quietly. She looked about her, surreptitiously, as if Roana might be hiding someone in the corners of her room, then moved closer.
"I have news. Lady Marian and Sir Edward are in the castle. The word is that Sir Guy burnt down Knighton Hall and has brought them here as prisoners of the Sheriff, like I heard him say he would yesterday."
Roana gasped. "What? I must see them."
Alice shook her head, vehemently. "You must not, my lady. Not yet. For the moment, they are both confined to their rooms, and attempting to make contact will surely draw attention to you." She lay a hand on Roana's arm. "You must stay away, for your own sake. Nobody can know that you are a Locksley, or affiliated with Marian right now."
Roana nodded, reluctantly. "You're right, I suppose. But Robin should know about Marian.."
"That's not everything, my lady," Alice interrupted, her voice hushed. "It is rumoured that one of Robin Hood's men is in the dungeons. He is due to be executed tomorrow."

     ******

The castle was a confusing array of halls and walkways and huge, cavernous rooms, and it took Roana and Alice a while to find their way to the dungeons. Disconcertingly, there were a number of guards patrolling the main corridors, and Roana lost number of the amount of times Alice pulled her into a shadowed alcove to hide. The dungeons would not be an area of the castle that a lady would frequent, especially one who was visiting the castle as a guest.
Luckily, Sir William and the Sheriff had departed on business earlier that day, which meant Roana was free of her husband-to-be's cloying presence and watchful eye. However, nobody was to be trusted in this uncertain environment, especially with Sir Guy of Gisborne in charge.
Eventually, they came to a huge oak door that lead down into the bowels of the castle, and the dungeons. Placing a finger to her lips, Alice tugged the door open to reveal darkness and humidity, along with an atmosphere of hopeless despair. Roana was horrified, but made to follow Alice, who suddenly shot backwards into her.
"Oof! Alice, whatever is the matter?"
"Sir Guy!" Alice hissed, gesturing wildly for her to go back. They scurried back out of the huge door and pushed it closed as silently as possible, then hurried back the way they had come, assuming a semblance of normality as the dungeon door was wrenched open behind them.
Gathering their wits, they stopped to look out over the castle courtyard as Sir Guy did indeed stride out of the doorway. He was accompanied by a weasel-faced man, and another figure. Glancing over, nonchalantly, Roana was shocked to find herself looking into the blue-eyed gaze of Allan A Dale. He looked weary, his face a mess of welts, yet seemed equally as shocked to see her, and somehow shameful.
Sir Guy stood tall before him in black leather, his hair a midnight wing. His voice was deep and austere, and filled with derision as he turned to Allan, who dipped his head to look at the floor.
"Now, get out of here," Guy growled, dismissively. "And don't forget our deal." He suddenly grabbed Allan by the lapel, forcing him to look up. "If you do, I WILL kill you."
"All right, all right," Allan said, wheedlingly. "I said I'll do it and I will. Trust me."
Guy looked at him for a long moment, his lip curled in disgust. Then he flung him away. "Get out."
Guy turned away and began to stride along the corridor, heading towards Roana and Alice. Spotting them, he seemed momentarily stunned.
"Lady Roana! You should not be in this part of the castle. It isn't safe."
Behind him, Roana watched as Allan disappeared in the direction of the castle courtyard. She had to find him.
She turned to Sir Guy. "I apologise, my Lord. I fear we lost our way. I was actually looking for a way out into the castle grounds."
Guy stared down at her, his expression inscrutable. "It is this way, my lady. Please be careful."
It sounded like a warning, and Roana grabbed Alice's arm and dragged her away and out into the courtyard. Roana breathed out, deeply.
"Wow, he is intense," Alice stated.
"He certainly is," Roana replied, searching the courtyard. In the distance, she saw Allan's figure, hurrying away. "I need to speak to Allan. Keep watch for me."
Raising her hood, she skipped quickly down the steps and walked as quickly as she could in the direction that Allan had taken.
Nottingham was crowded and bustling with activity, and she almost lost sight of him, dodging around a group of people before breaking into a run once clear of the castle.
"Allan, wait!"
He looked around, startled, then stopped to wait for her, an odd expression on his face. He didn't look particularly happy to see her.
"What happened to you?" She said, looking at the wounds on his face.
He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "Got caught by Guy in the Trip Inn."
"And he let you go?" Roana said, incredulously.
"Well, yeah. After he had tortured me for a bit." Allan gestured at his face.
"He let you go," Roana echoed in disbelief. "Knowing that you are one of Robin's men?"
Allan looked at her and she could see him gathering himself together, devising a suitable reply. In that instant, Roana knew that the next words out of his mouth would be untrue.
"I convinced him that I wasn't." He said, grinning, opening his arms wide. "He believed me, too."
A group of guards on horseback appeared from the castle grounds, barging rudely past civilians in their haste. Roana grabbed Allan's arm and pulled him into a side alley, away from prying eyes. She checked they hadn't been spotted before rounding on him, eyes flashing with anger.
"You're lying."
Allan gave a mirthless laugh. "I'm not being funny but you don't know me well enough to accuse me of that."
"I know a liar when I hear one," Roana snapped.
"I'm not lying!" Allan exclaimed. "Just because you're Robin's sister, don't think you can talk to me like this. I've not had the best of days as it is."
Roana looked away, attempting to curb her fury. When she looked back at him, her expression was imploring. "Allan, please. I don't know you, but I believe you are a better person than this, otherwise my brother would not trust you. I only have my brother's wellbeing at heart. I don't believe that Guy would have just let you walk away." Her voice softened as she held his gaze. "Tell me the truth. Let me help you."
Allan stared at her for a moment before exhaling and looking away. "Okay. He wants me to spy on Robin and feed him information."
Roana exclaimed and threw her hands up to cover her face in despair, moving away. Allan followed her, taking hold of her forearms.
"I'm not going to do it. I swear. I just wanted to get out of there. I wasn't thinking beyond that. I'd probably have agreed to anything!"
Roana lowered her hands, slowly. "But what will happen to you? If Guy catches you again.."
"Don't worry about me." Allan said, firmly, the ghost of a smile on his face. "He won't catch me again."
"And you'll tell Robin? You aren't just telling me what I want to hear?"
Allan looked into her eyes and gave a lopsided smile. "I'll tell Robin everything. Trust me."
There was the rumble of a carriage and the clatter of hooves on the main cobbled street as the Sheriff and Sir William returned, sweeping past with their entourage of guards. Realising that he was still holding Roana's arms, Allan dropped them with a start and stepped back. He cleared his throat, awkwardly.
"I'm assuming that's your cue to leave."
Roana sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. And you need to go back to the camp and tell Robin what has transpired. And," she looked shyly at his face. "Have Djaq dress your wounds."
Allan touched his cheek, wryly. "Yeah. I must look a state." He touched Roana's arm again, briefly. "I promise I'll come clean to Robin. Don't worry."