Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Prayers Surpass Time ❯ The Chapter in Which My Entire World Comes Crashing Down Around Me ( Chapter 7 )

CHAPTER 7: The Chapter in Which My Entire World Comes Crashing Down Around Me

“I want to go see him one last time.”

 

And so, with that, Little John and I stood on the outskirts of the crowd waiting to see the end of the famous outlaw: Robin Hood. We were heavily disguised. That morning I had gone numb. Only speaking when absolutely necessary, and even then, only saying the barest minimum required for a reply.

“We now present to the gallows, the notorious outlaw: Robin Hood!” A man proclaimed on the platform. Another man came out from a hallway behind the hangman's platform, one hand carrying a chain, and pulled the other end up into the sunlight…and out walked Robin.

Never, in my entire life, had I been so confused. I wanted to run to him and hug him, and kiss him, and tell him I loved him, and at the same time, I wanted to slap him across the face as hard as I could for putting me through all of this, and I wanted to apologize for messing up his life so much, and also wishing I had never come to this world, for the sake of everyone…especially Robin.

Robin, well, looked like he'd spent the night in a dark, damp dungeon. His hair was ruffled, and his clothes dirty and disheveled, his face unreadable, but…he was still…Robin. He was still Robin, and I still loved him…and he was still going to die into order to protect me.

“Charged with thievery on numerous accounts, assaulting members of the royal guard, breaking and entering private homes and the royal grounds, and most of all: High Treason against his highness Prince John, and is hereby sentenced on this day, September the fourth, to be hanged by the neck until dead.”

A couple members of the crowd cheered, but most just stared on with anticipation.

“I can't watch.” I said, digging my nails into the sleeve of Little John's tunic, and turning my head away. “Robin…” I whispered, feeling tears well in my eyes. And out of the corner of my eye, as I was turning away, I caught the man who had proclaimed Robin's “crimes” give the hangman a quick nod, and then the drums started, and I lost it.

“No!” I yelled, struggling against the iron grip Little John had instantaneously placed around my waist and one of my arms. He whispered a low warning in my ear. “No! I don't care about the guards or getting killed! I need to go save him! No! Let me go! Robin!” I screamed. “Robin! Robin…” And I felt hot tears poring down my cheeks. “No. No, no, no,” I whispered fiercely as Little John half dragged me back, away from the square, and into the forest where we wouldn't be seen. The drums I heard were like the pounding of my heart, the excited silence of the crowd was only interrupted by my uneven, broken, quiet sobs.

“Vaylie,” Little John whispered to me in his deep growling whisper, pulling me farther into the forest. “Vaylie, listen to me.” But I didn't want to listen to him. Robin Hood…hero of the peasants… `Steal from the rich, give to the poor' was going to die. And now his story would never be told because I had come into his life, and now it was ending. Prince John had won. He had captured his Robin Hood.

“No…” I whispered the broken sob. “Robin…Robin…” I knew it wasn't meant to be. He was meant to be with Lady Marion, not me. The book was written that way. That's the way it would have gone if I hadn't showed up and ruined everything. They would have fallen in love, and stayed in love, and got married and lived happily ever after. That was how Robin's life was supposed to go. I knew it had all been too good to be true. I had known it all along.

I had always known my story would never have a happy ending.

“Vaylie!” Little John said as loud as he could without drawing attention to our retreat into the forest. “Vaylie!” I looked up at him.

“What?”

“You can't just give up!”

“Give up? Why in the world would I give up?!” I shouted sarcastically, not caring who heard. Luckily we were far enough back into the forest now that no one did hear. “Robin. Robin Hood. The name everyone knows. The hero of the poor; he's been hanged for treason. He's DEAD!” I screamed, and I felt another round of tears falling from my face, almost fiercer than the first ones. “I loved him, Little John, I loved him! And now he's dead!” Little John's grip slackened for the slightest moment, just enough for me to slide out of his grasp and onto the ground, where I knelt, my hands on the ground, my head hanging as my shoulders shook and what little restraint I had left evaporated and I totally collapsed inside. I just kept saying his name. Over and over and over. And each time I said it, it was as if someone had stabbed me clear through with a double edged sword.

“Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin.” I gasped and clutched my chest. “Why.” I whispered to a ladybug slowly making its way through the tall grass. “WHY!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, all the pain and anger I felt funneled into that scream. Little John actually flinched at the pain in my voice and leaned down to pick me up. “Leave me.” I said, totally consumed, wanting only to be left alone with my thoughts. “Leave me. I need to be…” I drew in a shuddering breath. “I need to be alone.”

Little John thought a moment, and then looked at me in all my vulnerable, desperate loneliness, and said:

“All right, Vaylie, if that's really what you want.” I just nodded. “I'll be back at the camp if you need me. Whistle if there's any problem.” I nodded again, and he then he turned and walked away, leaving me with my thoughts and the memories of my beloved Robin Hood.

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