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jagnikjen.livejournal.comTitle: Haunted
Author: JAGNikJen
Word Count: 2937
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Robin/Marian
Genre: Friendship, Pre-romance
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I do not own Robin Hood, Robin, Marian, et al. I have earned nothing from this endeavor but the joy that comes from the writing and the possibility of some nice comments.
Notes: Inspired from a post (mine) from the Hoodland Christmas Game 3. Many thanks to Railise, Serendipityxxi, and LadyLoveLace for their generous giving of time reading and commenting.
Summary: The Fitzwalters spend Christmas with the Locksleys; Robin and Marian share a moment.
~*~
Haunted
Robin of Locksley stood at the top of the stairs studying Marian.
He’d overheard his parents discussing a match between him and Marian. Her mother and his had been friends since their girlhoods, and a joining of the families would please both mothers to no end. His father encouraged restraint, but seemed to like the idea as well. Robin wasn’t sure how he felt about the whole thing, but marriage was still a few years off. And Marian was still just a girl.
She stood there, next to her parents, in her royal blue gown of crushed velvet. And the only he reason he knew it was crushed velvet was because Mother had had a gown made for herself with that fabric and had blathered on about how the color would look on Marian with her blue eyes. And when there’d been enough fabric left over to have one made for Marian, Mother had been so excited. Thankfully, Mother didn’t duplicate the style of her own gown, nor did she wear hers this afternoon.
Marian’s gown was plain, if you asked him, with nothing but fur trimming at all the edges. Her nine-year-old body had no curves―well not the kind Robin was really interested in anyhow. He wouldn’t exactly call her chubby, but she hadn’t quite lost all her baby fat, yet, either.
As if sensing Robin’s thoughts, Father and Marian both looked up at him.
Lifting a hand and making a ‘come here’ motion, Father called, “Robin, come down, and greet our guests.”
Father’s tone brooked no argument. Robin would much rather have found the lads from Locksley and gone to Nottingham Town to spy on the prostitutes. But he trudged down the stairs and took his place next to his father. He knew what was expected of him as the future lord of the manor.
Robin nodded to Marian’s parents. “Sir Edward, Lady Kate, welcome to Locksley.”
“Thank you, Robin,” said Sir Edward, with a pleasant smile. Lady Kate merely inclined her head and gave Robin that amused look he hated so much. The grown-ups moved toward the table and the wassail, and Robin turned to Marian.
Up close, her face was smooth and pale like Mother’s cream, and her eyes...they were large and blue like the sapphires in Mother’s choker.
His stomach fluttered like the dragon flies he and the lads hunted in the fall. He wasn’t sure he liked that feeling at all.
Her dark hair was pulled back from her face and caught up in some ribbons at the back of her head, although the curly ends fell over her shoulder and looked as soft as the young kittens in the barn. His fingers tingled with the faint urge to touch a curl to see if it really was that soft.
Her cheeks pinkened slightly, but he wasn’t sure why.
“What―never seen a girl before?” she asked, clasping her hands together and twisting a bit from side to side.
Her voice was nice, teasing, not snide, and a little deeper than most girls’ voices, and he liked it. The other girls he knew had high screechy voices, and he couldn’t stand listening to them prattle on for too long.
“Oh, I’ve seen plenty of girls before, but none as pretty as you.”
His heart stopped—did he really just say that?
But she blushed full-out this time, her cheeks really red, and when she smiled, a dimple appeared on her right cheek.
A whole group of dragon flies buzzed around in his gut, now. And if that’s what getting girls to smile at him did, he wasn’t sure he wanted to try it again. Although, he did like it when she smiled.
But before he could make her do it again, Father and Mother were calling him over. It was time to visit the village, passing out parcels to the families. Marian and her parents stayed at the manor.
By the time they'd returned, Robin's cousins from Bonchurch had arrived. Cousin Eugenie and Marian had run off to do whatever it was that girls did, and Robin was given charge of baby Bertie. Not that he minded too much until Bertie spewed all over him after dinner. And Robin hadn't been shaking him up, no matter what Mother and Cousin Anneth thought. He'd learned his lesson about that the last time.
By the time he'd gotten cleaned up, their cousins had left for home. Sir Edward, Lady Kate, and Marian were staying the night, though, and preparations for retiring were being made. The Fitzwalters would sleep in the guest chamber downstairs, except Marian, who had to sleep on the floor of the main room near the hearth. Robin was just glad they hadn't turned him out of his room.
~
Robin's eyes flew open and he lay still, evening out his breathing for a few moments. Something had woken him, but he wasn't sure what.
“Robin,” a voice said.
He blinked, surprised to see Marian staring down at him, her eyes wide and wild looking, and her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.
He sat up and asked, more forcefully than he intended, “What are you doing in here?”
Marian bit her lip, her gaze flashing to the doorway and back. “I'm scared. I heard strange noises, coming from Father and Maman's chamber. I think ghosts are down there.”
Robin chuckled and shook his head. “Ghosts? Locksley is not haunted.”
“I heard them, I promise,” Marian said.
Robin asked, “What kind of noises?”
“Scary ones, like ohhhh...” she said in a deep tone and then in a higher pitch wailed, “ooooo.... See, ghost noises. So can I stay here with you?”
Oh, those kinds of noises... He grinned and said, “Yeah, sure, climb in.” He flipped open the bed clothes for her.
Marian hopped in and Robin pulled the covers back over the both of them. She curled onto her side facing away from Robin, but scooted back so there was only a hands-breadth between them.
“Thanks...” she whispered.
Robin relaxed, too. “No worries. Now go to sleep.”
“Robin?”
“What?”
“Do you think we should go down there and wake up Father and Maman?”
“Um, no, definitely not.”
“Why not?”
“Um, because they probably can't even hear the ghosts—yeah, they only like to spook children.”
“Oh...I thought you said Locksley wasn't haunted.”
“Marian—go to sleep now.”
She sighed and was quiet.
“Robin...?”
“What?”
“Why do you have a lamp burning here in your chamber?”
Robin's heart stopped and then started beating like his horse's hooves when at a full gallop. It would be too embarrassing to admit that he was afraid of the dark. “Um, because...um, for you.”
“For me? What for?” she asked, her voice finally slurry with sleep.
“In case you needed something. I was supposed to take care of you, just like I'm doing. And so we left the lamp on, just in case.”
“Oh, I see...can we turn it off now since we're together?”
The yawny thickness of her voice sent a gooey feeling through him, but his heart sank. “Are you sure? What if you need to get up and use the chamber pot or something?”
“Well, I'm not going to do that in the light so you can see, now, am I?”
“No, I s'pose not...” He just hoped he didn’t wake to the darkness and cry out like a big baby.
“All right, then, the lamp?” she said, followed immediately by another yawn.
“Fine.” Robin slid out of bed and blew out the lamp and then hurried back under the covers where it was warm. He didn't have a hearth in his room―just the back side of Father and Mother's, which kept the room warm enough but provided no light.
He stretched out on his back, tucking one arm up under his head. Marian lay still for several minutes and then she finally relaxed. A short time later, her breathing evened out, and she uncurled some from the ball she'd been tucked into.
Despite the dark, Robin settled as well. Having someone here with him helped, even if it was just Marian.
Ghosts indeed.... He grinned into the darkness. She obviously didn't know much about men and women just yet. Which was fine with him, 'cause if she did, she probably wouldn't have come up here, wouldn't be sleeping here beside him. And he found it quite comforting to have her here. She was soft, she smelled nice, and she added warmth to the bed. That, and the dark didn't seem quite so horrible. Although, he might like to be able to look at her.
He rolled toward her and curled his body around hers, burying his face into her hair, the faint scent of flowers still lingering. That was kind of nice. But after a short while it began to tickle. With great care, he moved her hair up higher onto the pillow and out of his face. He smiled, pleased to find that her hair was as soft as the kittens in the barn.
Warmth flowed through him, all the way to his bare feet. And something else, too, but he didn't know what it was. Never in a million years would he admit this to anyone, especially the lads in the village, but he sorta liked having a girl in his bed. Well—having Marian in his bed. There was no way in England he’d let a screech owl like that Kate from the village anywhere near his bed.
Sleepiness washed over him, and he closed his eyes. Marian's breathing deepened a little bit, although it wasn't quite snoring. Robin smiled and drifted off to sleep.
~*~
Robin awoke to find a weight across his mid-section and his left leg. Marian's head rested on his chest, her arm draped across his belly, and one of her legs thrown over his.
He curled his left arm about her shoulders and fingered the knotted, but still soft ends of her hair.
She stirred, and he knew the exact moment she woke up. She stilled completely for a full three seconds, and then shifted her head backwards and up onto his shoulder so that she looked at him.
Her eyes were big and blue and round.
But not scared. And still she just looked at him.
Her mouth hung open just a little.
Robin swallowed, but the urge to press his mouth to hers filled him, and he licked his lips. He’d never had that feeling before, wanting to kiss a girl, but there it was, as strong as the need to take a whiz.
Did he dare kiss her? Would she scream if he did?
Her eyes flicked to his mouth and back, her hand curling into his night rail. Then a brow rose as if to ask what he was waiting for.
Robin lifted his head and tilted forward. Neither one of them looked away or closed their eyes.
He touched his lips to hers, and she responded with the barest puckering of her lips in turn.
The kiss lasted for the length of a breath, and then they were looking at one another again. A strange feeling raced through him like a cold chill.
He’d kissed a girl…!
She blinked, and then her mouth turned up at the corners.
And she liked it…!
Robin returned her smile.
“Robin! Marian!”
His breath caught, and he heard Marian's gasp. Her eyes were huge and now afraid.
Mother and Father would not understand, would think...well, he didn't know what Father would think or Sir Edward and Lady Kate, but it probably wouldn't be good.
“We are up here, Father!” called Robin.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
“You ever seen a book?” he asked.
Booted feet sounded on the stairs.
She frowned and shook her head. “No, of course not.”
“I've got one, come on.” He scooted off the bed, grabbed something from the chest in the corner, and then plopped down next to the hearth wall. “My uncle's a monk―he gave it to Father when I was born.” He patted the place next to him, and Marian dropped to the floor next to him.
He flipped open the book to the middle and pointed. “I can read this page.”
“No, you can't.”
“Sure, I ca―”
“What are you children doing in here?” Father asked in the same tone as when something happened, and Father thought Robin had done it. He stopped right next to them.
Marian and Robin both looked up, up, up and into his scowling face, although the scowl was fading fast as Father looked about.
“I'm showing Marian the book, Father,” Robin said as if there was nothing else in the whole wide world they would or could be doing.
Father nodded. “So I see. Well, it is time to break our fast. Marian, your mother is looking for you.”
“Yes, Sir Malcolm.” She hopped to her feet and hurried from the room.
“And, you...”
“Yes, Father?”
“I'm proud of you for protecting Marian's virtue, as it were, but both pillows have indentations on them. Why was she in your bed?” Father speared Robin with a look.
Robin squirmed under Father's scrituny.
“She woke me up in the middle of the night, saying she heard noises. She thinks we have ghosts. She was too scared to sleep downstairs by herself, so I let her...I let her sleep in my bed. We had only just awakened when you called, Father, I swear.”
Father studied him, trying to decide if he was telling the truth or not. Well, it was the truth; just not the whole story.
Finally Father nodded. “Very well, then, lad. Prepare yourself for the day.”
“Yes, Father.”
With that Father turned on his heel and strode from the room, his steps shaking the floorboards and echoing through the manor.
Robin released his breath.
~*~
Out in the courtyard, Mother hugged Sir Edward, Lady Kate, and Marian. Father and Sir Edward shook hands, Father kissed Lady Kate on the cheek, and kissed Marian on the top of her hand.
That made her blush, and Robin rather liked it.
Sir Edward shook Robin's hand; Lady Kate held out her hand, and Robin kissed it as expected.
And then it was time to say good bye to Marian. Did he just say good bye, or did he hug her, or did he kiss her hand as he had her mother’s? What was expected of him? He didn’t know. And all the parents were standing there watching. That's what made him nervous.
He wanted to hug her. Feel her in his arms one last time, sniff her silky hair, but that might give something away. Instead, he took her hand and brought it to his lips and then let it go. Another pretty blush colored her cheeks, but she said nothing. One mother sighed and the other one giggled, and his own cheeks warmed.
Gah….
“Marian,” he said with a nod. “Maybe we can finish looking through the book on your next visit.”
“I should like that ever so much,” she replied, her blue eyes telling him more than her words.
“Up you go, Marian,” called Sir Edward.
With a last small lift of her hand, Marian turned and entered the Fitzwalter's carriage.
“Father, can I go now?” Robin asked.
“Just until sundown,” Father said.
Robin nodded and scuttled off. As soon as he was out of sight of everyone, he ran as fast as he could go. When he reached the last hill on the edge of Locksley Village, he bent over double gasping for air and trying to catch his breath.
He heard the carriage before he saw it, but it appeared soon enough. He didn't know why he'd come―why he'd run all this way. Since it was an enclosed carriage, there was no chance that he and Marian could share one last look or wave.
But he watched the carriage as it moved south on the Great North Road until it was out of sight.
He returned home at a more leisurely pace, but still arriving well before sundown, to his father's raised eyebrow and his mother's sympathetic smile.
He picked at his dinner, and he didn’t argue when his mother sent him to bed.
Robin donned his night rail and buried his face in the pillow Marian had used. Her scent lingered, but only faintly, and it would be gone for good in a day, no more than two.
He remembered the warmth of her, the thought of her there, the feel of her presence in the darkness, the feeling of her in his arms. And he liked it. Not that it would ever happen again, he knew, unless they did it in secret, or he actually married her when they grew up.
Robin looked up at the lamp burning in the corner. With Marian there, the dark hadn't seemed so horrible, but could he do it without her? Only one way to find out...he jumped from his bed, blew the lamp out, and hopped back in, pulling the covers up to his chin. He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow Marian had used.
Some day, some way, Marian would share his bed again.
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