Looking for answers (Roe)

[Isabella]

Isabella pushed open the well-used door to the Tripp inn and was greeted by the usual strong odour of alcohol and sweat. She never really liked the dimly-lit pub, but her mind was elsewhere, replaying the unpredictable events of the past hour. She had gone to Thea Linnet, as Roe had suggested, seeking some explanation of what had happened regarding her marriage to Roe. The matter, as she had suspected, was complicated – even more so when Thea would not tell her a word, instead doing her best to wreak some more upset and havoc. Isabella should have expected as much, but it seemed that expectations were seldom correct nowadays. The two women had got into a vicious argument, until Isabella took the opportunity to leave, distancing herself from Thea as much as possible. She had headed out of the castle and onto the streets of Nottingham, not going anywhere in particular, lost in her thoughts. Then she saw the sign to the Tripp inn swinging in the breeze, and in a flash, she had decided upon her next course of action: she was going to find Roe.
So, knowing full well that she may regret this later, as with so many other things she’d done, she pushed open the creaking door of the Tripp inn and stepped inside, allowing the door to close promptly behind her. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for the familiar tall figure, but he was nowhere to be seen. She was slightly disheartened, until she remembered that Roe might be sitting at the back, in the part of the inn that was constantly swathed in shadow. It was worth a try. Isabella picked her way towards it.

[Roe]

Roe had spent a considerable number of hours now in the the Tripp. It had been some time since Isabella had broken off their conversation. He had basically sent her off in search of the answers that he know that she sought, just not from him. He wondered as soon as she left whether it was a good thing to send them off on a collision course with one another.. They awere significantly different in age. He knew that Thea's enthusiastic, impulsive nature would be balanced out by Isabella's hot-blooded temper. Roe assummed that was a natural characteristic of the Gisbourne's.

He also knew that they were both strong-willed women, and he wondered if he naturally attracted such people, and he shook his head. On further reflection he figured that any meeting between such strong-w. The two women had got into a vicious argument, until Isabella took the opportunity to leave, distancing herself from Thea as much as possible. She had headed out of the castle and onto the streets of Nottingham, not going anywhere in particular, lost in hiled individuals would be likely to end badly. There was always the possibility that they would not run across one another, and he hoped for that positive result to come true. In any case he followed tankard after tankard, especially as he thought about what had happen to both of his friendships with Thea and Isabella. He had no idea how drunk he had become since he had made n o attempt to get up and move toward the bar, and the barkeep had been kind enough to keep them flowing in his table's direction. He dimly was aware of a beautiful figure that waspicking their way through the crowd in his portion of of the Tripp, as he wondered what had happened in Isabella's meeting with Thea.

[Isabella]

It did not take long for Isabella to find Roe. He was sitting at the back of the inn, as she had guessed, and looked as if he had been there for years. Judging by the number of empty tankards that surrounded him, he probably had been there a long time. She rolled her eyes as she saw it. Did he have nothing else to do but sit in this stinking pub, drinking away his time and money? As she came closer she saw that he seemed to have vaguely noticed her, but from the looks of it hadn’t realised who she was yet. Probably too drunk to.
Isabella reached Roe and pulled up a chair at his table. She sat down, resting her chin on one hand, her elbow on the table. With the other hand she took hold of the tankard he was holding and pushed it down hard. It met the wood with a heavy clunk.
“I want to talk,” she said, keeping her hand on the tankard, “But not if you’re drunk.”
She sighed slightly and looked up at him.
“I spoke to Thea,” she stated.
Isabella reflected on their conversation, remembering how angry the girl was with her. She wanted to know the reason for this more than anything. What had Roe done?
“I didn’t really get a lot out of her. She talks a lot, but it doesn’t necessarily go anywhere. From what I can see, I’ve learnt two things: she hates me and she’s silly about you. Though why I’m not entirely sure.”
She took a breath, surprised at just how calm she was being. The anger she felt for the man sitting next to her had all but died down. At least she had a little self-control. Not like the last time they had met. Maybe it was meeting Thea that had done it; letting out all the frustration that had been trapped inside her. Still, that was the single benefit of what had happened, and it was far outweighed by the numerous difficulties it caused.
“Will you please just explain what happened?” Isabella asked, “You talk, I listen, and I will not pass judgement until I have heard the full story.”
She looked at him, willing him to tell the truth. There had been too many what ifs in their lives already without adding to them.

[Roe]

It was not until the figure that he had been following across the Tripp with his eyes, had he finally recognized who it was. Lady Isabella Thornton. She did not look too approvingly at the number and/or sizeof the tankards of ale that he had consumed. He thought that it wad quite a singular accomplishment. She obviously did not know what his level of consumption could be. At any rate she unceremoniously invited herself to his table and proceeded to prevent him from consuming any more ale. How rude!

It became, obvious, however, that she had both calmed down, and sought out Thea, successfully. "As long as I'm sitting down I'm not too drunk to talk, coherently, if you are really willing to listen, with an open mind. However, you will have to allow me to drink .... I have payed for it ya know. I've found that females are often like that .... not being too forthcoming with real information. Well ....at least you learned something .... two things ..... huh? She silly about me? Are you sure ..... why would you say that? You can both do so much better."

“Will you please just explain what happened?” Isabella asked, “You talk, I listen, and I will not pass judgement until I have heard the full story.”

Roe took another drink and decided to abbreviate the story as much as possible, as well as tell it from the beginning. "Thea and I have had an interesting but short relationship. She managed to piss off the Lady Rosetta Court her first night at the castle who had her arrested. I ran across her in the dungeons in my capacity as a guard. I listened to her story, and found that she was the niece to the Sheriff, but didn't necessarily agree with his point of view."

"I broke her out and delivered her to the Priory to hide out for a bit. After things had cooled off a bit she got a pair of letters, one from the king, and one from a nobleman in Birmingham. The King's letter told her of her father's death, without any details. The second told her that at the death of her father she would not retain control of her property unless she could prove that she was married. That was where I came in .... she asked for my help .... to stand in as her husband untilshe had control of her family's property."

"I must admit that I was concerned that she would not want the arrangement to end. Anyway .... she got false documents .... and we prepared to leave to present ourselves. We figured the best way to plant the idea of our marriage would be to appear as a happy couple in public. That's where you ran across us. I tried to drop some hints, but I guess they weren't convincing , eh?"

[Isabella]

Isabella saw that Roe was evidently not that keen on her stopping him from drinking any more. But judging from his coherent conversation, he was not drunk, despite the amount of ale he had consumed. She released her hold on the tankard.
“At least I know how to get your attention,” she noted.
“And yes, Thea is mad for you,” she confirmed, “She was willing to fight tooth and nail over you. I wasn’t. Maybe if I was we might have got on better.”
Isabella shrugged.
“As for her motives, I don’t know. They say first love is the strongest,” she added, remembering her own experience.
“Alright, I’m listening.”
Roe began the story, starting when he and Thea had first met. Isabella nodded knowingly when he said how she had annoyed Lady Rosetta Court – that was no hard thing to do, and Thea would certainly be capable of doing it. On her first night in the castle, too. Well, that was impressive, though probably qualified as one of the world’s least successful new starts. She could imagine the confrontation between the two women all too clearly.
Roe went on to describe how he had broken her out of the dungeons and taken her to the Priory, and then received the two letters; one telling her of her father’s death and the second explaining that without a husband, she would not be able to inherit what was his. Oh God. Isabella could see where this was going. Sure enough, Roe continued as she guessed he would, saying how he helped her – though to Isabella’s relief, had obtained false documents, and not actually married her.
The rest of the story she knew; how the ‘newlyweds’ had gone to the market – to make their story seem more convincing, she now knew – and met her there.
“I tried to drop some hints, but I guess they weren't convincing , eh?” Roe said.
“So that was why you were winking,” Isabella realised, saying it more to herself than to him.
It all made so much sense now that she looked at it like this. Thea had wanted to stay Roe’s wife – for her, it was not just a charade. That was why she hated her so much. She blamed her for the fact that she couldn’t be with Roe. It must have all been going perfectly before she turned up and complicated matters.
“And did it work?” Isabella asked, “Did Thea get her father’s property?”
Even though she knew more about the matter now, and she better understood Thea’s actions, she still disliked her. An inheritance seemed an appallingly trivial thing to have caused so much damage. All Roe had done was help, and this mess was what he got from it. Thanks a bunch, Thea, she thought sarcastically.

[Roe]

Roe could see that all she wanted, finally was some basic information. He wished, however, that he could have given it when he was entirely sober and not partially drunk. He was still far from his limit of ale, though, and he was determined to reach it if he could. "Isabella, you have never had much difficulty in getting my attention. You have a variety of means in your arsenal when it comes to that."

Well that answered ast least one question, then. Roe smiled and said, "So she is 'mad' for me then, and you are not, well at least you're not willing to go 'tooth and nail' I guess. So, the question is where do we go on from here, then, eh? No .... I think you are both strong-willed, one enthusiastic and impulsive, the other more experienced, but with a sharp temper. I think in any case it would have been a test of wills.“

True to her word Isabella let him tell the story, mostly without interruption, unless she needed something explained better. As he went on, at least the look in her eyes seemed to indicate understanding and acceptance as they went along. "Yes .... they weren't too happy in Birmingham, but they agreed. I was afraid that we would have to stay married for a given amount of time, but as she saw that I could not commit she allowed me to leave. I think she wants to keep me as a friend, but even she does not necessarily trust herself when I am close by. However, I think when she moves on to another love that passion will overwhelm anything she had for me, and I will be forgotten."

[Isabella]

The corner of Isabella’s mouth went up for a second when Roe mentioned how she got his attention. As he went on, she had to admit that he made a fair summary of her and Thea. Thea was impulsive, and combined with Isabella’s short temper their meeting was a ‘test of wills’, as he put it.
“Some battles are won by retreating,” she said philosophically.
She let Roe finish the story, with Thea getting some of what she’d wanted; her father’s inheritance, but not him. He recognised how she felt about him, but still thought she would move on to someone else. Isabella couldn’t help but wonder if he wanted that or not. She didn’t quite know herself what she wanted; she hoped at least they could regain part of what they’d had, for Roe was her oldest friend. But when it came to anything more than that, she should not expect it or hope for it. She thought that talking to him would be challenge enough, but it seemed the hardest part was working out what to do now.
She rested her folded arms on the table. What was she going to do about Roe?
“And will you mind if Thea does forget you?” she asked, looking down at the table.
She hadn’t meant to put it so curtly, but it just came out that way. Roe could easily tell her someone else’s feelings, but when it came to his own, he was cryptic and fairly evasive more often than not.

[Roe]

Roe was not drunk, he was just trying his best to get there. He had actually intended to stay alone as he did it, so that he could basically wallow in his misery. Much of his misery was in his past, which few could understand he knew, possibly with the exceptions of Robin and Morgan, he thought. Here though, in the present tense he had 2 woman, bith strong-willed and hot-tempered, but quite beautiful and desireable.

One was older and he new her longer than just about anyone, outside of Robin, so there was definitely a connection there. However, there was definitely an attraction to the younger Thea. The fake marriage escapade with Thea had seemed to damage his friendship with 'Bella beyond repair, and the very existence of this other woman prevented anything developing with Thea. He had never thought he would be capable of such relationships again anyway. He had not expected this and definitely not expected the complications.

“Some battles are won by retreating.” Sometimes Isabella surprised him. He would never have expected her to be so philosophical about something so .....emotional. "I had no idea that it was a battle you wanted to fight and win, at least to the extent that you would have a philosophy for fighting it." she said philosophically.

“And will you mind if Thea does forget you?”

Now, there was the Isabella of his memory, direct and to the point. Normally, he would play games with the answer, but due to his somewhat drunken condition a lot of his normal defense mechanisms were neutralized slightly. "Of course I would mind. I would mind if you did it as well. You never want friends to die or get up and leave you and forget all about you. I never expected anything to happen, with her or with you. I carry too much baggage from my ppast to ever have expected such things. Besides, she's young and she should expect better things than me, just as you should, which begs another question. How are you and the Prince's half-brother getting on? That would seem to be the direction you should be applying yourself, eh?"

[Isabella]

Roe seemed surprised at Isabella’s sudden thoughtfulness.
“I had no idea that it was a battle you wanted to fight and win, at least to the extent that you would have a philosophy for fighting it,” he said.
Isabella looked up from the table and turned to him.
“Neither did I,” she replied, truthfully.
At least Roe was being less of a puzzle today. He evidently liked Thea, even if it wasn’t in the same way that she liked him. Isabella got the impression that the two were friends whose relationship was on a tipping point. It could end up as something more, or they could just stay the same. She was standing in the way of them becoming a couple – or at least, Thea thought she was – but she was not at all sure that she wanted to stand aside, for a variety of reasons.
Roe went on, repeating what he had said to her a long time before – that she should expect better things than him. Did he really believe it or was it just an excuse? Was he just trying not to hurt her feelings? Isabella couldn’t tell – she rarely could with Roe. But he strongly suggested that Morgan Fitzroy was a more profitable candidate than himself.
“Roe, I have only met him once,” she said, slightly exasperated, “And does it not cross your mind that men like him could make my life very uncomfortable if they find me lacking? I was playing the gracious lady, as I must always do in the castle if I want to stay in it. But I know full well when to draw the line where some others do not, that you can be sure of.”
She frowned. She was not like some other ladies who would be willing to do anything for a good price, political or otherwise. She put up with flirting, but it went no further. Isabella had expectations of herself, and would not sacrifice her pride in that way. During those long years with Thornton, that was all she had. It was what stopped her from giving in.
Besides, people fell in love with unsuitable partners, often those who were not their equals – Roe of all people knew that. Isabella knew no good could come of entering a relationship or marriage merely for personal gain – it would give material benefit, but be resigning herself to unhappiness. She had learnt that from her marriage, and would never be so foolish as to make that mistake.

[Roe]

Despite the fact that he was somewhat inebriated did not remove from Roe the ability to step back, observe, and analyze. He noted that Isabella was a bit surprised by her ability to strategize a fight, since it was a fight she had indicated that she was not that interested in. Roe wondered if that meant that although she didn't seem to be interested in it on the surface, that deep down she had a deep interest? Isabella continued to be full of surprises, he thought to himself.

Roe knew that he liked Thea, but he liked Isabella as well. or was it that he more than liked the both of them. Thea was beautiful and full of life, not something or someone that Roe would have thought would have been attracted to him at this stage in his life. He just kept getting the feeling that he was some sort of prize being battled for, and he was not sure he liked the sensation.

Now it was Isabella's turn to be uncomfortable. "Yes, it was only a first meeting, but he definitely did seen to enjoy and desire your company, although one could see why he would desire your company rather than my own," he laughed. "He seemed to be quite a nice fellow and I'm sure he was quite appreciative and understanding of your efforts as hostess for the castle. I do think he is somebody that you wold want to become better acquainted with in the future, You never can have enough friends you know." Roe was not sure how he was coming across, but he was not joking .... really. He was being quite serious, or at least he was trying to be.

[Isabella]

Isabella turned her head on one side, trying to work out whether Roe was being serious or not. The problem was he could just as easily be joking with her.
“How are you the judge of his character?” she questioned, smiling at how odd what Roe had said was, “You spoke with him for five minutes, and didn’t even like him for most of that time. Now he is ‘appreciative and understanding’. Do you have an open mind or are you just trying to be rid of me?”
She laughed, feeling more at ease about Morgan Fitzroy once she looked at what Roe had said in a different way. Then he added that a person could never have enough friends, and she stopped and bit her lip, becoming more serious.
“You’re right,” she agreed, “You never can have enough friends. Though instead of looking for more, I think I might need to concentrate more on keeping the ones I already have.”
Isabella remembered how easy it was to lose a friend, and hoped fervently that it would not happen again. It was surprising just how much that affected her. But maybe losing Roe had been different. Because she felt differently about him… and might still do now. As this thought crossed her mind, she suddenly felt very uncomfortable and stared down at the table again. She considered what Thea had told her earlier: “I thought you didn’t love him.”
Neither did I, Thea, she thought, But now I’m not so sure.

[Roe]

At least Isabella seemed to be paying close attention to what he was saying, Roe thought. At least it was a good starting point. That being said, he could tell that she was analyzing his words and especially his face to judge him. He did not really know if that was good or not, but at least she appeared to be interested at any rate.

"It is a long and well-developed habit of mine to judge people and judge them quite quickly. In my previous line of work I had to judge my comrades and what I could expect from them, as well as my enemies when I was in negotiation. It has been much the same with the outlaws and whoever they may be running up against. Its not so unusual an exercise for me, you see. Well .... it wasn't that I didn't like him. Its just in my nature to put a person under some pressure in those situations and to see how they respond, and he seemed to respond quite well.“ Roe laughed and said, "I would not be so foolish or stupid to ever want or try to get rid of you, unless I thought it was in your best interest."

It was all so much more pleasant to hear her laugh. It reminded him of days long past. It made him want to bring those days back again. His comment about friends seemed to bring the present reality back in full fore, though. "I'm glad that you agree with me about friends. Do you have any in particular mind that you want to keep?" He noticed that all of a sudden that Isabella seemed to become uncomfortable, and it appeared to have something to do with their discussion of friends. He wondered what she was thinking about, but understood that she would probably tell him when she figured he should know.

[Isabella]

Isabella did her best to shake off the odd feeling that she had, and looked up at Roe. She was not the kind of person who liked to show her emotions, not unless she was very sure about them. When she did, however, she acted definitely and without pausing to think about it. That was what made her have such a short temper. But she wasn’t certain of what she felt now – it was a strange and complicated blend of emotions she didn’t want to have.
So she put the disturbing thoughts aside, and turned her attention to what Roe was saying. She smiled at what he said concerning his opinion of Fitzroy.
“Putting him under pressure?” she asked interestedly, “So… did you ever do that with me?”
She laughed at his comment about getting rid of her.
“That’s good for both of us, then,” she replied, “I never had you pinned as a fool.”
But she could sense something more serious in Roe’s voice when he asked her which friends in particular she wanted to keep. You, she wanted to say, but stopped herself before she could.
“All of them, of course. You never want friends to die or get up and leave you and forget all about you,” she added, echoing what Roe had told her earlier.

[Roe]

Roe still got the feeling that Isabella wanted to say something or ask something, but just couldn't or wouldn't let it out. He knew that given her life's history, and her present role as the official lady greeter at the castle, that she was more comfortable hiding her emotions than letting them show. There was too much pain there, Roe knew, and he understood, since his life experience had often taught him the same lessons.

Roe smiled slightly. "It was never productive nor advisable with you, given how close your temper is to the surface. Besides, I knew you. I knew some of the things that you had gone through, just not the degree that you had experienced, such as the 17 years with Thornton," Roe said with a decided drunken sneer as he took another swallow of ale. "Anyway, I never saw the need or reason to pressure friends like that, only unknown quantities were deserving of that treatment."

Roe considered what she said and then smiled slightly. "Oh, I would never say that. I've been a fool many times in my life and paid the consequences as well. But, I've never tried to be a fool when it comes to you. The payments are simply too painful and severe." Once more he felt she wanted to say something more, before covering it up with one of his generic statements that he liked to use. He wondered just what she was trying to hide and why.

[Isabella]

Isabella looked at Roe and wondered if he was onto her. She thought that he looked like he was thinking something through. Maybe he could tell that she was feeling more emotions than she wanted him to know she was. But if he could, he didn’t mention it. It was probably just the ale, she decided, as Roe took another swig of the stuff and she watched on in distaste. Even if he could tell, she added mentally, it would do him good to know how frustrating it could be when it was hard to get much out of someone. He did it often enough.
She shrugged, smiling a little, when he mentioned her short temper. He was right, and she knew it. But when he mentioned Thornton, she felt like the mood of their conversation was shifting from a relatively lighthearted tone to something more serious, and she wasn’t at all sure that she wanted that. She didn’t know exactly where it was heading, and the feeling that she was stumbling along blindly wasn’t one she enjoyed.
“I’ve been a fool many times in my life and paid the consequences as well,” Roe said, “But I’ve never tried to be a fool when it comes to you. The payments are simply too painful and severe.”
“And rightly so,” she said, defending herself, “I’ve never handed out punishment unless I thought it was fully deserved.”
She paused, thinking of what had happened the last time they had met.
“Though, in truth, you probably didn’t quite earn the onslaught I gave you in the market,” she added, “But that wasn’t what it looked like at the time. From where I was sitting, you fully deserved that – and more.”
Isabella felt rather foolish that she was justifying herself to Roe when he already knew why she did what she did.