“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said solemnly, but broke a small smirk. “I gather you won’t be giving me the same advice on how to handle this one?”

Marion laughed. “Bury him and pray? No, that would be the worst thing we could do. If we bury this man, we might as well dig our own graves beside him.”

They had debated about bringing him to a city to find a doctor, but it seemed risky to transport him any farther. They had found a relatively safe spot to camp beside a glade of silver birches, and they had fortunately brought enough supplies for a few days. Marion sent Clarell home for her own safety, and the hope that her horse’s tracks might mislead their pursuers. She had asked the same of Sir Amon, who predictably refused to leave her. Instead Arthur had taken Amon’s horse, to bring word of their predicament back to the Oak Camp.

Friar Tuck tended to the wounded Guardsman’s comfort as best he could by keeping him cool and washing his soiled clothes in a nearby stream. There was little else to do besides pray for his recovery, upon which so much depended. Before the skirmish, they had been on the verge of peace talks. Robin swore his friend Wendenal was still trying to keep that promise, but Sheriff de Lacy could not honor any such agreement if they accidentally became murderers. Poor John Little knew it, and carried the guilt of that precipice. The only thing he didn’t seem to know was his own strength.

Will Scarlet and Elena naturally protested the entire endeavor. Both had argued heavily to leave the fallen Guardsman behind, and despite their impetuousness Marion wondered if they might have been right. When Captain Gisbourne inevitably returned to search for his lost man, he could provide far better medical assistance. His resources in Nottingham would be greater than anything to be found in the Sherwood. The simpler side of Marion’s conscience insisted the moral choice was to help the man, as they had done, and that leaving him behind would have only compounded their error. Yet beneath that excuse was something a bit darker she did not wish to dwell upon. Trying to help the guard now meant she could later argue they’d done their best to save him, even though he stood a better chance at surviving if they left him for Gisbourne to find.

Marion had gambled the man’s life for her own reputation.

She needed him to live, that she would not have to regret that choice.