#at this point i've literally just made this my own interpretation of r.ob.in h.oo.d featuring ala.n rick.m.an's sher.iff of nott.ingham

[circusgoth-dotcom]

The Long Lost Siblings

Ship: Implied Gabriel of Blackburn x The Sheriff of Nottingham, Gabriel interacting with Marian and Sarah

Word Count: 1273

Summary: Gabriel sets out to speak with Maid Marian, but there's not much she can say without her father around. CWs for brief food mentions (kind of?), implied Sheriff wanting to use Gabriel's status for his own gain (though we all know the man has a big fat crush that offsets these desires), implied ambush by Robin Hood and his merry men, cliffhanger.

Tag List: @myers-meadow @canongf @futurewife

Though the sheriff’s words had piqued Gabriel’s interest, he was hesitant to bother this “Marian,” especially with her higher status. Still, she lived here, in Nottingham, amongst people like him... so what really made them so different from each other?

Once his nerves about angering the sheriff again had passed, he finally set out for the rolling hills beyond the city, borrowing a shadowy horse with fiery eyes. Gabriel had little experience with actually riding horses, but this animal seemed willing to work with him, trotting along at a comfortable pace while he psyched himself up.

How to even start a conversation like this? “Hi, I’m Gabriel, the sheriff told me to ask you about your family because he thinks we might be related?” And who knows what Marian was actually like... what if she were cold toward him the moment he arrived? As his thoughts wandered, his hand fiddled with the cross around his neck. Slowly, he began to take in his surroundings, and he felt his stomach drop as he gripped the reigns in front of him.

“Woah...” He commanded, staring wide-eyed at the trees on either side of him. He hadn’t considered he would have to make his way through Sherwood Forest in order to reach his destination. Skin prickling, he pressed low against the back of the horse and urged it forward once more, now on high alert. The dappling of the sun through the vibrant foliage would’ve almost been mystical if Gabriel had not been so tense. Somewhere far off he heard a whistling. He reached up to pet the horse’s neck soothingly, more to reassure himself than the animal. Lord, you know I’m not as much of a holy man as you’d surely like me to be, but please grant me safe passage through these wicked woods...

He signalled for the horse to pick up the pace, just barely glimpsing the bright parting of the treeline up ahead. Wooden chimes clunked together and branches whined with each step the beast took down the road. Gabriel’s mind raced. He should turn around now, before Robin Hood appeared, but he was frozen in place, stuck to the back of his horse. He supposed having an animal with such a dark coat gave him an advantage in the shadows, but it didn’t mean he was safe. All was still for three agonizingly long seconds before Gabriel swore he heard someone behind him.

He drove the horse into a canter, then a full gallop as his soul reached for the light beyond the trees... and when he burst into it, he gasped in relief, never so grateful before to feel the sun’s warmth on his face. And Marian’s home was not far, he could see it in the distance. He rode down the field, shaking with tears in his eyes. To make the return home would be just as hard, so he savoured his time out of the line of fire. When he reached the large stone building, he slid off of his horse and led it toward the property’s stable. There, he found a homely maiden, her brunette hair tied away from her round face in a simple braid.

“Are you Maid Marian?” Gabriel asked, slightly out of breath. The woman looked up, surprised at the sound of a visitor.

“No, but she is my lady... who are you?”

“Ah, forgive me... I’m Gabriel of Blackburn. A friend of mine in the city encouraged me to find Maid Marian... I-I know this sounds a bit odd, but he believes we must be related.”

The surprise remained on the woman’s face. “Who might this friend be?”

He felt warmth flow into his cheeks and ears. “The Sheriff of Nottingham, ma’am.”

At this, her brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it for a moment before speaking once more. “If my lady wishes to speak to you, you shall have at it. If she doesn’t, you must return back the way you came, at once.”

Now it was Gabriel’s turn to be puzzled. “Well... alright.” He glanced back toward the forest and swallowed while the maid went off to fetch Marian. It wasn’t long before a woman with flowing, curly hair in an almost identical shade to Gabriel’s appeared, wearing a green dress with gold embellishments.

“So, this is Gabriel?” Marian spoke. Gabriel bowed in respect.

“A pleasure to be in your presence, my lady.” He straightened up and attempted to fix his hair, as it had fallen in his face when he dipped. “I hate to be a bother... truly, I don’t know where to begin...”

“The sheriff thinks we’re related?”

“Oh-- yes, yes he does. Wouldn’t tell me why or how he has any inkling of that being the case...” Gabriel studied Marian’s features as respectfully as he could. “I suppose... if you put on a little more weight in the face, yes... I could see the similarities between us. But related...?”

“Why don’t you come inside? Sarah, will you fetch us some tea?”

“Of course, Lady Marian.”

~~~

Once settled inside a sunny drawing room, with cups of tea in hand, Marian began to tell Gabriel all she knew- or at least, all she wanted Gabriel to know.

“My father liked to travel, before he settled with my mother and they had me... it’s not impossible that he was in a relationship prior to this,” she began, stirring honey into her tea.

“He hasn’t happened to mention a...” Gabriel cleared his throat, far from used to speaking about his mother nowadays, “Catherine, has he?”

Marian considered this for a moment. “I don’t believe so.”

Gabriel nodded. “Doesn’t surprise me, whether he’s truly my father or not. Not many would like to associate with the likes of her, believe me.”

“The more I look at you two...” Sarah began before shaking her head in disbelief.

“Has he ever mentioned Blackburn, my hometown?” Gabriel pressed. He didn’t know why he was suddenly so determined to get answers. If it was all a false trail, his life would remain mostly unchanged, though the future of his relationship with the sheriff would become much more awkward.

“He may’ve. But that doesn’t prove anything. You’d have to talk to him yourself about it, but he’s aiding King Richard in the Crusades at the moment.”

“Would you send him a letter on my behalf?”

Marian hesitated, but when her eyes met Gabriel’s a willing and determined expression took her. “I’ll get to the bottom of this. You’ve intrigued me.”

“Thank you so much, my lady,” Gabriel bowed his head. “And thank you for the tea as well.”

“And for feeding and watering your horse,” Sarah added. Though not much progress had been made, Gabriel left Maid Marian’s home feeling a bit more optimistic. Her father’s word would be final, if he told the truth. As he entered Sherwood Forest, doubt rose again; even then, what would happen after the confirmation if it was all true? Would it not be a scandal if it got out that the brother of King Richard and Prince John had had a child before his marriage? Would they not all be scrutinized? Would Gabriel’s royal blood even matter at that point?

It matters to the sheriff, a small voice inside of him called out. It matters to him very much.

But why is this so? Because we’re such close friends?

You know as much as I... we’re the same person, after all.

The cracking of a branch shook Gabriel out of his internal conflict, and a scream ripped through him as an arrow whizzed over his head.