[WATTYS2023 - GERMAN WINNER/Most Engaging World] ** Marian, a thieving nobleman's daughter with too big a heart, meets Robin Hood, a daring thief with a huge ego. Will they be able to overcome pain, longing, and, finally the cruel Sheriff of Notting...
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Under the cover of night in Sherwood Forest A few hours earlier
The Sheriff's men burned down the bandits' tiny shelters and seized every animal that fell into their hands. Even in the distance, beneath the trotting of hooves, Robin and the others heard the cracking of wood as the guards tore down the sparse huts and with them, everything the bandit gang could still call 'home.'
The band of thieves, shattered like a cracked vase, fled deeper into the dense forest where even the Sheriff's men could not find them. The vast and lush greenery of Sherwood Forest had always been the outlaws' ally, and this time also saved their lives. They hid behind overgrown bushes, climbed oaks and firs, or hurriedly hid in the foliage of the hollows.
Hours passed until the Sheriff's men could finally no longer be heard or seen. Only then did Robin and the other thieves venture out of hiding again. Hesitantly, then increasingly louder, whistles echoed through the forest. The sounds mingled with the chirping of the birds and pointed the way to those who understood the signals.
The group had shrunk considerably after the raid, and now the Sheriff's trap had cost some their lives. Like startled sheep, they were about to scatter to a tiny core - and had Robin not intervened, they would probably have jumped headlong over the nearest blade. Morale was down.
"What are we going to do?" Alan-a-Dale seemed bereft of his mischievousness. The slender shoulders sagged lower, and there was the same perplexity in the otherwise bright eyes as in those of the others.
"We mustn't lose our heads now," Will said with at least a hint of confidence, reassuringly raising his hands.
"He's right," Robin agreed, brushing his hair out of his forehead in a jerky movement. His posture and determined eyes belied, at least to most, how guilty and dirty he felt. It was not inconceivable that it was his fault they were now on the Sheriff's wanted list. Surely it was that bastard Guy who had gone after him and tracked down the gang's hideout.
Robin's lips drew a thin line as he stared at his left arm. The blue ribbon might as well have been around his throat, strangling him with the guilt. But he didn't want Marian's capture to have been in vain. He would get this filthy gang back under control.
"Come, we need to gather ourselves first." Robin nodded in the direction where his hideout was. Marian believed in the good in people... so he wanted to be prepared to give them an advance and trust as well.
🏹
Robin led the pitiful remnant of the gang to the old homestead he was using as a hideout. Hours passed quickly while wounds were patched up, a fire stoked, and a watery stew put on to satisfy hunger. The King of Thieves stared into the wooden bowl of steaming soup with dark thoughts and equally sinister shadows on his face. It reminded him of Marian's unacceptable concoction with which she had almost poisoned him. And yet he wished he could go back there now. What could he do? How could he help her or free her?
