Feels Like Home ((OPEN))

[marian]

((Not really set at the Hall itself, but this section was best fitting for the post. All/any welcome. ))

The village of Knighton always felt like home to Marian, no matter how long she had been away from its wholesome domesticity. The way the old buildings each told a story from her childhood stirred her, and she smiled to watch the villagers going about their business from her sheltered position on the fringes of the forest. Her blue eyes keenly avoided looking at the rebuilt manor; from the corner of her gaze it seemed more ostentatious and presumptuous than it ever had whilst she and her father had lived there. Marian had not had the opportunity to meet the new Lord of Knighton, but she already despised him.

Her soft leather boots made no sound whatsoever as she moved longingly closer. She wished she could make a dash into the village and see her old people, the villagers who had counselled her when her mother and father could not (and whom she had risked her life more than once to protect). They had loved her, and she them, but things were definitely different now. Their trip to the Holy Land had been eye-opening in more ways than one and whilst King Richard had eventually been sympathetic to their cause it had all come to nought. He had remained in this land of war and blood and turned his back on the people of England once again.

It infuriated Marian that she could both love and hate the King all at once. She fought for him, they all did, and he had repaid them by sending them home with nothing more than his usual benedictions when if he had only come with them he might have put a stop to it all. The Queen was on their side! Richard could have disposed of his brother John and set up their mother to rule as Regent, but it was not to be. Marian sighed and retreated back into the forest where her horse was waiting. It would not to do linger on the past when she was so desperately needed in the here and now. She had not seen the gang all together for a few days; their varied missions and gallivanting had kept them divided.

She was determined to set that to rights.

Clothed simply in a pair of tanned leather pants stitched up each side in a light green criss-crossed pattern, a white linen shirt and a corset that matched the color of her stitching, Marian swung up easily into her saddle and shook her horses reins impatiently. The horse snickered softly before starting off at a walk. Marian was as reluctant to leave the vicinity of Knighton as he was.

[Robert Williams]

Robert had been riding for several days from the southeastern coast toward Nottinghamshire. He didn't really know what to expect when he got there or what he would do or where he would stay. He knew it it was always a chancy game to make too many assumptions, especially when he didn't have any facts. But he had heard a lot of stories about how bad conditions were in his old home area.

Although it was difficult to tell, since he was on a horse, but he stood pretty tall, and was a pretty accomplished rider. He was still dressed in his old, and now fading Frankish crusader garb. Over his clothing he wore a brown and green cloak. The only weapon he wore over the top of his cloak was a Saracen bow, along with his quiver. On his back he carried a broadsword and a hatchet with several daggers in his belt, so he was well-armed.

He had served in Spain fighting the Moors in Castille, and had been in the Crusades in the Holy Land, where he had participated in the defense of Jerusalem in '87. They had used his carpentry and engineering talents to build siege towers, catapults, and trebuchet. But he had grown tired and disillusioned with the conflict: the destruction, and the deaths; and had decided to head home.

After visiting Locksley, he had decided to pass through Knighton, where he had remembered that Sir Edward, the new Sheriff in those days, 15 years ago, had lived in Knighton Hall. He looked at the building and thought to himself that Knighton Hall looked much different than he remembered it. He decided for safety sake, that we might be wise to stick to the forested edge that surrounded Knighton until he knew what the local situation was. Being an experienced Crusader he was always suspicious in new country .... although this wasn't exactly new ... and he saw some movement to the right at the edge of his peripheral vision. Instinctively he pulled his broadsword and angled his horse in the direction of the movement squinting his eyes in the afternoon sun ......

[marian]

As much as Marian would hate to admit it, Robin was right. She was neither a hardened soldier nor a seasoned outlaw, and her mistakes in day-to-day comings and goings were numerous despite her innate cleverness. She did not see the other rider until he had come out of the thick brush and onto the slender woodcutter’s track that she knew well from her childhood. A slight gasp escaped her throat at being taken by surprise but she reacted well off the cuff. Even as the stranger drew his sword Marian’s hands had flown to her bow and she had it notched and waiting to meet his charge, should he make one.

”The second you advance,” she warned him in a low tone, ”I will shoot. Make no mistakes, my aim is true.”

She watched with sky-blue eyes as he sat astride his horse and she took him in. He was not from around here – definitely not a new Lord or anything similar or else word would have reached them in the forest. It was possible that he was that noble supposedly coming down the North Road, but that would have made him two days early in his journey. He had a look of roguish wickedness about him and she shrugged off the feeling his eyes might leave on her skin as she held her aim.

[Robert Williams]

”The second you advance,” she warned him in a low tone, ”I will shoot. Make no mistakes, my aim is true.”

"I am not so much the fool that I think a sword is a match for the bow at this range. If I wanted to be sporting I would say that we could match bows at 50 paces. But I am in no suicidal mood at the present. I have had a long trip from the coast to here, and I'm a bit worn down and dusty. I did not expect to find anybody at the forest's edge, the sun blinded me, and I did not want to expose myself to any more danger than I had to. If you will move forward out of the sun a step or 2 I will re-insert my broadsword, although I understand if you don't trust me much."

"I was actually interested in Knighton Hall. When I was a boy I remember Sir Edward, his poor wife, and his daughter who lived there at that time. I even did some carpentry work there, but the Hall doesn't look very familiar to me now at all. It seems to me to be a bit more overblown than I remembered it. But memories do play tricks on you after a number of years being away. So .... can we have a truce?," he said with a knowing smile.

[marian]

Marian was most definitely taken aback at the barrage of words which now affronted her ears. An uneducated man could not have spoken so, and she was inclined to take him at his plentiful words. She felt bad for the fact that the man was weary and travel-worn, and his mentioning of her family tugged inexplicably at her heart strings. She had made one mistake in being so foolishly seen, however, and Marian was determined not to make a second so swiftly. She urged her mount forward a few steps into the shaded canopy of the forest so that the stranger could view her, but she kept her bow expertly trained on his chest.

He was a marked man, for the time being.

"Sir Edward and his Lady have both since perished," she informed him in an emotionless tone. "With thanks to the new Sheriff of Nottingham. If you are in league with him, I reccomend you turn tail. You'll find no friends in Knighton, Sir." She offered the newcomer a tight smile, wanting to show that she wasn't as hard as she seemed yet still determined to exude an air of authority.

[Robert Williams]

"Sir Edward and his Lady have both since perished," she informed him in an emotionless tone. "With thanks to the new Sheriff of Nottingham. If you are in league with him, I recommend you turn tail. You'll find no friends in Knighton, Sir." She offered the newcomer a tight smile, wanting to show that she wasn't as hard as she seemed yet still determined to exude an air of authority.

"Yes, his Lady has been gone for many years .... she died several years before I left. I am sorry to hear of Sir Edward. They were both good folk as I remember them. Hold on! You are the very image of Lady Kate, are you not .... and you would be the right age I would think ...... Marian? Is that your name?"

"Well .... with regards to the new Sheriff I know nothing. All that I know is the stories and rumors that I heard as I pressed westward across the continent and my travels westward across England to get to this spot. I have been gone from the shire for nigh onto 15 years, first fighting the Moors in Iberia and then fighting and leading Frankish forces in the Holy Land .. I participated in the defense of Jerusalem in '87."

"So whatever the political squabbles that exist here I'm afraid that you will have to educate me." To make his point, he swept back his cloak for a moment so that she could see by his clothing and weapons that he had been what he had said. "Now you can shoot me down here, or we could get down and do battle with broadswords if you wish. I do not believe, any longer, in the wasteful spilling of blood, but if you insist .... lets get to it," he said grimly. "Let not waste any more time," and he waited for her response, as he gathered his cloak about himself again.

[marian]

Marian was shocked to her core when the stranger recognised her. He didn't seem in the least bit familiar to her, and she definitely wasn't about to concede that his recollections were correct. She merely watched, deadpan, taking note of his mannerisms and manner of address to see if she might get some clue as to who he was. Carpentry? The vaguely rang a bell but so very, very much had happened since her happy days at Knighton that all she seemed able and willing to remember were the hard times.

He was definfitely a soldier, if his assertations about having fought in the Holy land were true. Perhaps robin knew him and would be able to shed some light. For now, Marian was content to listne, a suspicious expression painted on her face. When he swept back his cloak to reveal his arsenal, the steady, almost casual quality of his voice chilled Marian to the bone. was he honestly suggesting they fight? Surely no gentleman would prepare to arm himself against a lady? She was convinced, now, that whoever he might be or whomever his alliegances were aligned with, this man could not be entirely trusted.

Marian lowered her bow, knowing full well she could notch it again in a hurry if it was required. "The Sheriff of Nottingham," she began, "Is a vile, selfish, pathetic excuse for a human who has ruined this Shire, those surrounding it, and very shortly England too, for that matter." Her horse stirred and Marian placed on clamin hand on his neck before piercing this stranger with her forget-me-not eyes. "I am Marian Filtzwalter, daughter of Sir Edward and the Lady Kate, and I'm sorry but I do not remember you."

[Robert Williams]

Marian lowered her bow, knowing full well she could notch it again in a hurry if it was required. "The Sheriff of Nottingham," she began, "Is a vile, selfish, pathetic excuse for a human who has ruined this Shire, those surrounding it, and very shortly England too, for that matter." Her horse stirred and Marian placed on clamin hand on his neck before piercing this stranger with her forget-me-not eyes. "I am Marian Filtzwalter, daughter of Sir Edward and the Lady Kate, and I'm sorry but I do not remember you."

"Well, there was little reason for you to remember me ..... given the age that you were when I left. And I'm afraid the bare-faced callow youth I was at the time wouldn't have left much of an impression," as he rubbed his beard in bemused thought.

You have turned into as striking a young woman, just as your mother was. As for me, I was originally of noble birth, but my family lost their title and their lands after my father was lost in a foreign war. Luckily for me I was adopted as a ward of another noble family. However, given the fact that I had no property or prospects I was trained as a carpenter's apprentice. Fortunately, for me, I explored Sherwood quite heavily as a youth and became very skilled with the bow. Its only when I left for the Crusades at 17 that I acquired some other skills with swords and other weapons."

"As for the Sheriff, I have heard these stories in my travels home, but had thought them to be only rumors. I am sure that if your father was still living and Sheriff in the present one's stead, that the shire would be a happier place and that I might have received a more accommodating greeting," he smiled mischievously .... "I hope."

"Anyway, since you have lowered your weapon some, I hope that means that you don't want to fight. I have a feeling you would be a most formidable opponent. And I wouldn't have wanted anything bad to have happened to either of us .... since i would have wanted at some point to see if you had inherited your mother's smile as well."

[marian]

((Apologies for the delay. *presses hands together*))

Watching the stranger as he replied to her own admission about her identity, Marian could not help but wonder at the strange qualities of this man. Oh that Robin were here to provide a dose of his (often infuriating) confidence. She raised another brow as he regaled her with the apparent story of his life thus far, and she was inclined to take hi at his word. There was a certain amount of respect in his voice when he spoke of her mother and father that Marian had to take note of whether it pained her or not, and she was deliberate enough in her movements and mannerisms to give a faint hint of pride that they were still remembered by some as having been a good sort of people.

“I cannot vouch for the likeness of our smiles,” Marian asserted, deliberately refusing a semblance of mirth to catch her lips, “But I am my mother’s daughter. You shall not be harmed by me this day.” She paused as her horse shifted. “I fear I have kept you long enough. I have errands to run, and the day is not growing any younger.” With a calm look she unnotched her bow, slinging it casually over her shoulder and dropping her arrow into the quiver buckled to the horn of her saddle. “It was a pleasure to have met you, Sir,” she gave by way of parting as she turned her mount towards the woodcutter’s track she had employed in her entrance.

[Robert Williams]

Yes .... she seemed to be much like her mother .... except she possessed a certain toughness of spirit that her mother had not. Undoubtedly the times and her experiences her had made her so. "Well I could vouch for that .... if you chose to smile more. Of course, if you don't have much to be joyful about I can understand."

"I thank you for sparing me .... today. You have not really been keeping me from anything important. I was just trying to re-familiarize myself with areas that I used to haunt. Nay, its I who should humbly apologize for keeping you from your errands. They are undoubtedly more important for you to keep than to keep my company. It has been a pleasure to meet up with you as well. Its always good to see and remember a face from long ago. If you do not desire or need company on your journey I understand, and I wish you success in what's left of the day. If you would happen to have news of Robin the heir to Huntingdon, or happen to run across him, you might ask him if he remembers me. Currently I'm in the process of re-building the Scarlett's old hut and shop in Locksley. I hope to put myself to some constructive use," he laughed, "for a change."

[marian]

He was a curious fellow, undoubtedly, and just because she could not place him in her memories it did not mean that the others in the gang would not be able to. One amongst them might very well remember the man who for now escaped her recognition and Marian was determined to find out if he was all he had said he was. If he had fought in the Crusades, then Robin might very well have had dealings with him. At the dropping of Robin’s name, Marian once again grew suspicious. This man was a little too well versed in the people and happenings of Nottingham for a man only just returned from abroad.

“If you are rebuilding the old Scarlett place in Locksley then I find it very hard to believe you do not already have news of Robin – he is outlawed and his fate is known by all.” She raised an eyebrow reluctant to spend any more time in this man’s company before getting her facts straight. “I wish you luck with your carpentry. Good day.” With once last glance over her shoulder as her horse scrambled up the embankment and onto the main road, Marian crossed the broad gravel path and melted into the forest beyond.

((Meep. I think it’s probably best if we leave it there. I might have her call on him in Locksley once the next plot is underway? ))