Fade to Black

~ x ~ x ~ x

It turns out that Annie has brought back more food from the manor – smoked beef, bread, cheese, some pies, fruit, a flagon of wine, a veritable feast compared to what he’s had the last few days. Guy asks her to eat with him, but she grabs only an apple and excuses herself for another run to the mistress’s house, first making him promise not to leave before she’s back. Much as he relishes the food and drink, the girl’s comings and goings still nudge awake a lingering unease. He isn’t sure what frightens him more, her apparent devotion or the not-quite-forgotten risk of betrayal.

~ x ~ x ~ x

He stands under the gallows, his hands bound, forced to watch as soldiers drag a screaming, struggling Annie up the steps of the scaffold. There is a jeering crowd, and Isabella and Hood sitting side by side on a platform in front of him, laughing. Then, as the noose is placed around the girl’s neck, it’s no longer Annie but her, in a white dress stained with blood. He screams, “Marian!” and wakes up.

 Continued in FF: A Different Side (part 3)

A DIFFERENT SIDE

All of the characters in this story belong to BBC/Tiger Aspect and have appeared on the show Robin Hood (2006-2009). I do not own any of them.

The story takes place in Season 3, between Episode 9 (“A Dangerous Deal”, which ends with Meg dying in Guy’s arms) and Episode 10 (“Bad Blood”, which opens with Guy alone in the woods, hunting). It also develops a minor storyline from Season 1; I will not reference the specific episode at this point because I want the identity of the second character in the story to be as much a surprise to the reader as it is to Guy. This is not an original character but someone who actually appeared in an episode of the show. For more, see the notes at the end of the story.

My deep gratitude to tangofiction for the beta (and for getting me hooked on Robin Hood). Also, many thanks to aoxelfrieda for the feedback and the encouragement. And, of course, to the creators of the show and to Richard Armitage for his amazing portrayal of Guy of Gisborne. 

The first thing he feels as he returns to the world is that his body is stiff and aching all over.

Since my new passion is the Robin Hood BBC fandom (not that I have lost my Xena-love!), and the most active place for RH fanfiction seems to be LiveJournal, I've decided to use this to post RH stuff.  All RH fans welcome! :)