Chapter Text
“No! You can’t do this” Marian cried as she ran out of the house and into the yard chasing down the men who had disrupted who it seemed were set on destroying Marian’s family.
“course we can king’s orders,” said the guard as he dragged Marian’s father to the waiting covered cart. The man practically threw Lord Knighton into the cart with a shove and slammed the door. The sound of the lock latching as Marian’s father frail, grey, and disheveled came to the bars of the small window would haunt Marian’s dreams for years to come. She felt real panic start to set in as the men went to mount their horses keen on leaving Knighton as swiftly and as brutally as they had come.
“What has he done?” Marian demanded of the Guard, trying to sound more assertive than she was feeling.
“He ‘as been caught aiding the outlaw, Robin Hood.” Replied the guard with a smug sardonic smile.
“There is no proof. You can’t just take him away! He is ill and he needs care! He is a respected Lord of the realm he does not deserve to be carted away like a common criminal!” Marian shouted as she walked closer to the guard and began to wale her fists against his chest.
“Right then, lock her in her room until we are gone.” The guard said motioning to the two other men waiting beside the cart.
“Wait no! You can’t do this.” Marian gritted as the two men came and grabbed her arms to drag her away. “FATHER! I’ll come to the castle, I will find a way out of this, I promise!”
Marian was taken into her house shoved up the stairs and down the hallway to her room. Marian tripped and fell into her room just as the guard slammed the door behind her. She stood up and brushed off her skirts. She had to think, how could this have happened. Would her father really have been so careless as to have been caught on his ride to the forest delivering the goods and money to Robin Hood? Her fury slowly cooled to a determination to come up with a plan and find a way to help her father. She went to the door to see if her captors were still on guard. She opened the door just a bit and peered out. She could see the outline of a large man just beside the door. Damn! Marian had many virtues but she knew patience was not one of them.
She had to come up with a way out of here. She looked around the room for some kind of weapon or method of escape. She wasn’t in the habit of keeping her bow or knife in her bedroom and at the moment cursed the impracticality of a “lady’s” chamber. If she couldn’t fight her way out she would have to sneak away somehow. She had done so many times in her years of helping Robin Hood, never had she had to escape her own bedroom, but she was sure she was up to the task.
She quickly went over to the window across from her and looked out. The men’s horses were still in the yard, but so was hers. If she could fashion some kind of rope to anchor her she could climb out the window to the slanted roof below and then climb down the post and get to her horse and ride into Newark to get help for her father. Easier said than done of course as she didn’t have yards of rope just laying around. Maybe she cold fashion something?
She searched frantically around her when she saw the bedsheets and got an idea.