Three months have passed, after King Richard came back to England from the Crusades, bringing back the order and peace all over the kingdom. He even punished his snobby brother, Prince John, the latter he had to pay for all his mistreatment towards the people; including all the knights and soldiers who have been loyal to their corrupt ruler.
All of them, but one man.
Henry was the one and only knight who defied the prince. It all started when Henry was knighted after his achievements in the Crusades and gained the respect of the nobility, especially from King Richard himself. But after King Richard departed, Henry showed the greatest disagreement and displeasure when John took over his older brother's throne, before raising the taxes which would lead the poverty for the people of England.
Of course, Prince John didn't take Henry's protests well and decided to demote him and threaten him for defying to the crown. But that prompted the young man to plan a rebellion by leading the helpless people to raise arms against the injustice from John's men. He confronted the tax collectors in front of the peasants have joined his cause, inspiring them to chase them out of their village.
After that, the former knight spoke to the whole village about the misery and exploitation Prince John brought, and with fervor he declared it's now the time to show they had enough and rallied to fight back. They were moved by his speech and decided to join the fight, and so Henry started to recruit and train the peasants who had the strength to hold a pitchfork. Though his methods were controversial because of the fear of starting a new war, more people joined his side. Therefore, Henry formed up a small army of free men, whose purpose was to dethrone Prince John.
The news of the rebellion didn't take long to spread across the country, until they reached to Prince John's ears. Outraged, he put the bounty on Henry's head, turning him into the second most wanted man in all England, which got him the attention to the famous archer and thief, Robin Hood, who had decided to meet Henry face to face.
Both men had the same goal to liberate England, but they had different ideas. Robin Hood was against Henry's declaration of war because he was putting the lives of the innocent people in danger. Henry couldn't deny the outlaw's disagreement, but then he surprisingly offered an alliance with him. While Robin Hood hesitated that first, he eventually accepted it.
The alliance had a huge impact because by combining their forces, Henry and Robin worked together to steal plenty of money, weapons and supplies to strengthen their army of free peasants, until Prince John's soldiers had lost much of their territory and retreated to their last defense, King Richard's castle. However, instead of attacking the castle, Henry decided to keep them surrounded, because he knew Prince John was now unable to fight back, and the only thing he could do is pray that his older brother won't give him a death sentence.
Eventually, King Richard had returned, and he was told by Henry, Robin, and his people, about what his younger brother have done during his absence. Not only he punished John and his followers, Richard also knighted Henry once more for his act of valor of protecting the people in the desperate times. As for Robin Hood, he was also knighted by King Richard, for which he gave up his life as an outlaw and made a new living in Nottingham. But this was just the beginning.
The King of England also put Henry's services to Maid Marian, to become her personal bodyguard, much to his shock when he learned it was the request by the noblewoman herself. Henry knew Maid Marian pretty well after he was knighted, but as far as he's concerned, they just started to get to know each other.
Henry was convinced there must be a good reason behind her request and he had to get to the bottom of this.
***
A couple of soldiers, one of them a wolf and the other a human, got out to the courtyard while carrying a trunk, heading towards the royal carriage with two horses standing still and snorting. The guards pushed the trunk up with struggle and tried to place it on the roof of the carriage.
"Here, let me help you."
Suddenly, Henry showed up and helped the guards to load up the carriage
"Heh, thanks Henry. I see you are already prepared for the trip." The wolf said when he noticed Henry was already dressed.
Not only was he wearing the chainmail armor and the breastplate, he also wore a light blue surcoat with its embroidered golden lion on the chest, clearly to show how very loyal he is to King Richard.
"Well, I thought it would be better to wake up early and get myself ready." Henry replied with a shrug.
"Good point, by the way, you still haven't told us how you feel about joining the holiday with the lovely Maid Marian?" The other soldier asked with a grin.
"Yeah, you must feel really lucky she didn't request an escort, this might be your only chance of a lifetime to charm her!" The wolf chuckled at the nervous look on Henry's face.
"Come on guys, why do you think I will try to make her fall in love with me? I'm just her bodyguard." He replied with his arms crossed.
"What does it matter? Don't tell me you're gonna waste it just because you just met her? You have to admit Lady Marian has a fine arse."
"Adolf, shut your mouth! If anyone would hear this, King Richard will have your head off!" Henry hissed as he looked around if no one is eavesdropping.
"I'm sorry Henry, but he has a point." The other soldier said with a low tone, earning the shocked look from the young knight. "You can't try to ignore the fact she has the body of a goddess, and I've seen many men undressing her with their eyes."
"That's true." Adolf, the wolf, nodded in agreement. "But can you blame us? We don't have the position like you to have such an opportunity like you just have."
"Enough, I get your point!" Henry groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "She has a fine figure, I get it. But I just want to make it clear, the reason I accepted to be her bodyguard is to find out why she chose me. Although, maybe you're right about one thing, this could be my chance to get to know her better and maybe I'll get the answers I'm looking for."
"You can't be serious Henry, are you saying Lady Marian has a secret and you're planning to get answers out of her?" Adolf retorted with an accusing look.
Henry was taken aback. "What? N-No, I mean..."
"Shit, line up guys, they're already here!"
They turned around and looked up to see King Richard along with Maid Marian and their escort, coming out of the castle and going down the stairs, heading towards the courtyard. In haste the two soldiers took up positions and formed up a line, while Henry stood straight, next to the carriage.
Just when King Richard and his niece were now approaching, Henry's attention immediately drew to the noble vixen. He didn't forget at all how beautiful Maid Marian was, but he was still amazed like it was his first time to see her beauty. Her lavender body-hugging dress accentuated her hourglass figure that showed off her curvaceous hips and her natural big breasts, even her perky nipples could be seen through the cloth of her dress.
Some men, even the escort, were casting a few glances at her appealing features that their eyes grew lecherous. However, she remained calm while wearing a soft and sweet smile, before her attention was drawn to her bodyguard, who just straightened his back when they made eye contact.
"Good morning, your majesty, my lady. The carriage is all set with all your luggage and ready to go." Henry spoke with a bow.
"Oh you don't have to be so courteous Henry, you're joining the holiday with my dear niece after all!" The king laughed and patted the young man on his back so hard that almost took out his breath. "You have done so much for my kingdom while I was far away and you really deserved it. I wish there was something else I can repay you!"
Maid Marian let out a soft laugh behind her hand. "I think you're being extremely generous with our hero, uncle." She turned to Henry. "But he's right Henry, after all what you did to give the people hope in such difficult times, you must have been under a lot of stress. So I figured it would be good for you to spend some time in peace." She stated as the noblewoman stepped closer to him.
"That's... really kind of you my lady." Henry answered with a tone of surprise, but a smile grew on his face. But then, he cleared his throat. "I mean, I'm such honored you are concerned about my wellness." He said plainly.
"Oh Henry, don't you think you're being kinda obsequious to your lady?" Maid Marian's best friend, Lady Kluck, scoffed at the way he was addressing her.
He remained speechless that he found himself unable to answer that question.
"Klucky, you're making him feel embarrassed!" Maid Marian laughed at his face flushing red. "Jokes aside, we should take our leave by now. The sooner we go, the sooner we'll get there. I take that you have everything you need, Henry?"
"Of course, let me just get my horse and then we're good to go." He was about to make his way to the stables, but then Maid Marian spoke.
"Oh that won't be necessary, I was about to ask you if you'd like to join me in the carriage? There's room for one more." She said with a radiant smile, as if it was something she's been eager to give him that kind of offer.
Henry on the other hand, was taken aback as his mind was trying to process what he just heard. If he wasn't wrong, it's very unusual a noblewoman would invite a knight to travel together, but apparently King Richard and the others didn't seem surprised at Marian's invitation, as if they actually saw that coming.
"A-Are you sure my lady? I mean, I wouldn't mind your offer but..."
"Aw stop being shy, young lad! Just go with her!" Lady Kluck suddenly got behind Henry before pushing him.
He stumbled towards Marian and before he would say something, he noticed she was not only waiting for his answer, she was expecting for him to say yes, judging by the look of the excitement of her eyes with her hands clasped on front. At this point, Henry knew giving her a no would be the bad decision to make her smile disappear, and that would be his very last thing to do, it's not like he's forced to fulfill her request against his will though.
"As you wish my lady." Holding back a sigh, he responded with a nod.
Marian grew pleased to hear his answer, before she turned to King Richard. "It's time we take our leave uncle, I'm still deeply grateful for accepting all my requests, especially giving Henry the chance to have some rest. Although I still can't help but feel I've been asking you too much."
King Richard placed his hand on her shoulder. "Marian, the fact I granted all your wishes is because I'm convinced you and Henry will have such a great time together. Besides, this could be the perfect chance for you to get to know each other, since I rarely see the two of you having a conversation."
His statement almost took Henry by surprise, that he thought the king must have read his mind. Then again, that could explain a lot behind the king's consent.
