Blood flowed from the mouth of the poor man as he was beaten by a group of men on a pilgrimage—THUD—THUMP—WHUMP—Blow after blow rained down on Robin's body; one of the men grabbed him by the collar and delivered a hard punch to his face.
In that moment, he could do nothing but accept his fate—he would surely die here. "Marian..." he whispered; as he was being beaten, he prayed with all his heart for the safety of his fiancée.
He didn't mind dying here so long as Marian lived and had a bright future befitting a woman like her. The blows and kicks showed no sign of stopping, and his body was now completely numb.
He was certain that John and Will would save Marian for him. Robin slowly closed his eyes and tears fell as he took the final blow, right to the face.
At the sight of this, the sky even began to weep and drenched the earth. Robin lay sprawled on the road whilst the men laughed at him, trampling his motionless body.
After making sure his body was no longer moving, they turned away and left Robin's lifeless body behind. "He hasn't a single muscle left!" one of the men sneered.
Another man laughed at this, but then he felt something coming out of his mouth—a red liquid with an iron-like smell. He looked down and saw that an arrow was embedded in his stomach.
He glanced to his right and saw his companion suffering the same fate, though the arrow was lodged in his eye. At the same moment, they both fell to the ground, forming a circle, whilst the man behind them—who had previously been lying helplessly—was now standing, a bow in his hand.
His left hand was covered in blood, but he had no time to tend to it; he turned and ran in search of his lover, and this time—he would not lose again.
He kept running and saw the fire that refused to go out despite being drenched by the rain; it spread further and further, and seemed to have already consumed every house in this small village.
He left a trail behind him as he ran—a trail of bodies lying haphazardly on the ground. No one dared to stand up to him, nor would anyone have been able to do so.
His feet stopped when he reached the home of his beloved; before his eyes he saw a scene of horror—his fiancée lay helpless on the ground, the bow in his hand vanishing into thin air as he ran towards her.
He slowly and gently lifted her body, "Marian…" He called her name softly but received no reply, "Marian!" When he shouted her name, she didn't respond immediately.
The woman who recognised her lover's voice slowly opened her eyes, and saw him lifting her body, "Robin...?" She had short blonde hair that slightly covered her left eye.
Their dark and red eyes met, before Robin's eyes widened at the sight of the large pool of blood on his beloved's stomach. "Marian! We must—" tears began to flow and Robin's hand was seized by the woman.
She slowly shook her head, "I can't be saved anymore, Robin…" She said in her soft tone, her hand releasing Robin's before slowly reaching up to caress his cheek.
Robin's hand trembled as he reached for Marian's limp hand, still clinging to his cheek; tears streamed down, rivalling the rain itself, and a voice choked with grief cried out, "No... I don't want you to die—we promised that after we got married we'd go on a honeymoon to all sorts of places, didn't we?"
Robin's other hand stroked her hair, and now he could see those beautiful red eyes clearly. "Mhm… I've always wanted to see London… But…" She struggled to speak but forced herself to talk to Robin in those final moments.
"...Perhaps in another life," the words that escaped his lips dealt a crushing blow to Robin's withering heart.
"But I want it to be in this life," Robin's voice was barely audible, and without warning, both of Marian's hands wrapped around his neck.
Their faces were mere inches apart, and they could feel each other's breath; even in such a chaotic situation, Marian still managed to calm Robin down as she always did.
When their lips parted after meeting briefly, a smile etched itself on Marian's face. "That's our make-up kiss for the wedding tomorrow," she chuckled softly, watching Robin's expression as he tried to process it all.
"I hope we meet again in another life," Marian's hands slowly slid down to his shoulders, "And in the next life—I'll keep loving you, my dear Robin."
Though he was weak, Robin gave his beloved one last smile—a smile that would be remembered until the next life. "I will love you in every life too, my dear Marian." the embrace grew tighter, and simply seeing Marian's happy face as she heard those words of love was enough for him.
Slowly she closed her eyes and never to open them again. His tears mingled with the rain, and his heart felt as though it might burst at any moment. Now that Marian was gone, there would be no one to scold him if he cried out.
Robin released all his emotions and feelings in a loud cry; so loud it could probably be heard dozens of metres away from where he was sitting.
Robin may have lost his beloved, and so has Marian—yet love that transcends the world cannot be separated from death.
For Death cannot kill that which cannot die.