Chapter 4
To Louise, the past couple of days had been magical but heptic, with her moving to Locksley and adjusting to life there. Standing in the bedroom, Louise sighed nervously, smoothing her dress down. Louise was wearing the dress, Guy had bought her. This was it. She couldn’t delay going even though she suggested she shouldn’t go, but Guy had managed to persuade her to go. Leaving the bedroom, Louise stopped at the top of the stairs, glancing to where Guy was.
“Will I do?” she asked, making her way down the stairs. Her brunette hair had curls in the bottom and she was wearing ballerina shoes with a slight heel.
Hearing Louise’s voice, Guy looked to the top of the stairs, amazed at how beautiful she looked.
“You look beautiful,” He replied, taking her hand when she was at the bottom of the stairs.
Taking hold of his hand, Louise blushed slightly, allowing a smile to appear, “Thank you,” she whispered.
Not knowing what the occasion was didn’t bother her. To her, they were going out together.
“Are we…” Louise started to say, stopping suddenly seeing that Guy was getting down on one knee. This couldn’t be happening. It was too soon for her to contemplate marriage. All Louise wanted to do was to enjoy the moment with no stress.
“Louise, I know we’ve only known each other for a few weeks and this may seem quick,” Guy started, “When I first saw you, I felt a connection and I love you more and more with each passing day. Will you do me the honour of becoming the future Lady Gisborne?” Guy asked, waiting patiently for the answer, hoping and praying that Louise wouldn’t reject him.
Listening to the speech, Louise was aback and was also surprised. However, in her mind she agreed that it was quick.
“Yes,” she replied, a big smile appearing, “Yes, I will become the future Lady Gisborne.”
Sliding a stunning, elegant gold ring onto her finger, Guy stood up, hugging her tightly.
Looking at the ring, Louise was amazed at how it looked. The ring was made of gold with an amethyst oval with diamonds in the centre of the stone. It was the most beautiful piece of jewellery she had senn and what made it even more special, was that the stone was a shade of her favourite colour, purple.
With the creaking door opening. Guy pulled away, looking to the guard who had entered.
“The coach is here, my Lord,” the guard stated, looking at the couple, wondering if he had just interrupted a private moment.
“Shall we?” Guy asked, taking Louise’s hand.
Sitting in the carriage, Louise kept glancing out of the window and then back to the ring on her finger. To her, it was starting to feel like a dream, instead of being asleep, she was awake. Averting her gaze to the scenery, which was mainly fields and trees, Louise wondered what the event was for. She was hoping and praying that there would be no trouble. She had enough of trouble as it seemed to have been following her around for the past seven years.
Noticing that the carriage was slowing down, Louise glanced to the grey stone castle. Swallowing hardly, she hoped that her nerves wasn’t showing, however when she felt Guy’s hand on hers, she glanced to him a small smile appearing.
“You’ll be fine,” Guy whispered.
On the journey to the castle, Guy noticed that something might have been bothering Louise but put it down to the castle as the cause.
Listening to the words in which Guy had whispered to her, she knew he was right and was just about to speak when a guard opened the carriage door. With the door opening, Guy removed his hand from Louise’s. The guards definitely knew how to ruin a moment. Standing up, he made his way out of the carriage, before turning and offering his hand. Taking his hand, Louise made her way out of the carriage. Looking at the castle, it seemed like that it wasn’t a nice place to be, unlike Hogwarts. Noticing that Guy was looking at her, Louise faked a smile as the couple made their way into the castle.
Upon entering the castle and walking through the corridors, Louise got the impression that Guy wasn’t a very popular man. It seemed like that the people were scared of him and yet they also seemed surprised to see Louise with him. Even though they were scared of him, they still acknowledged his presence.
Stopping outside the room, she could hear music from within the room. This was it, there was no turning back. She had made it this far, she certainly wasn’t going to put a stop to it and disappoint Guy.
“I’m ready,” she said quietly, noticing another guard was opening the door.
Walking into the room, it fell silent and people were looking at the pair. It was as if they were shocked with Guy of Gisborne bringing someone to an event. It seemed to be that she was the exemption, even if she didn’t know it, she was glad that Guy had asked her. Why wouldn’t she come? Especially now with her being Guy’s fiancée. Glancing around the room, her suspicions had been confirmed, it was full of strangers. However her gaze fall on one particular woman, who seemed to be taking a great interest to her. If Louise hadn’t just got engaged to Guy, she would have wondered if Guy and the woman was in a relationship, as Louise got the impression that the woman could be jealous of her. Whoever she was, Louise made a mental note to herself- she would get to know this woman. Taking a goblet of wine, Louise took a sip of the red wine. It was too rich for her. Hearing Gisborne’s name being called, Louise turned around, seeing a short gentleman coming towards them.
“I have a job for you,” The man said, stopping infront of the pair, looking at Louise curiously, “Who is she?” He enquired, looking at Guy.
“Lady Louise,” Guy replied, glancing at Louise, wrapping an arm around her back, “my fiancée.”
Upon hearing the question, Louise was shocked that someone would need to ask that question. Nevertheless, she was just about to reply to the man’s question when she heard Guy replying Lady Louise! She had never been called that before in her whole life.
“Louise, this is the Sheriff,” Guy finished, “Nice to meet you,” Louise said politely, unsure on whether she needed to say anything more. Seeing that the Sheriff was turning away, Louise guessed that she done everything in what was needed, she mentally sighed in relief.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Guy whispered, following the Sheriff, leaving Louise behind in a room full of strangers.
Seeing a quiet corner, Louise made her way over acknowledging people. Reaching the corner, she was surprised to see the woman there, however she smiled kindly towards her.
“You’ll get used to it,” the stranger said, taking in Louise’s appearance, “I’m Lady Marian.”
Hearing someone speaking to her, Louise glanced in the direction of where the voice was coming from.
“Nice to meet you,” Louise said kindly, “I’m Lady Louise,” She continued, although it felt weird saying it.
Hearing the name of the woman, Guy had come in with, Marian raised an eyebrow, surprised to see Louise.
“So you are the one Guy’s been talking about?” Marian stated, keeping her gaze on the female.
Listening to Marian’s last words, Louise blushed slightly, nodding her head, “I guess I am,” She replied, taking another sip of the wine.
When Louise raised the goblet to her lips, Marian immediately noticed the ring on Louise’s finger. It had been the ring she had helped Guy to pick out not knowing who the lucky recipient would be.
“What’s that?” Marian asked, feigning surprise at seeing the ring, although she probably knew the answer.
Realising that Marian had caught sight of the ring, Louise at the other woman, knowing that this could be a good opportunity to see if she was jealous of her.
“Sir Guy proposed to me and I said yes,” She replied.
“Congratulations,” Marian said, cheerfully pleased for Louise and also relieved that Guy wouldn’t be following her around like a lost puppy. “Although if you ever need some female company, you can find me here,” Marian said, a sad look coming on her face.
When Marian didn’t react to the news in the way she had expected, Louise knew that she had massively misjudged her. However it was becoming clear that the two would be good friends. Noticing the change of tone and expression from Marian, Louise raised an eyebrow, wondering if anything had happened. Even with her conscious screaming at her to find out, she thought back as she didn’t want to pry.
A few hours had passed and Louise seemed to have been enjoying herself. She wasn’t sure on whether the few goblets of wine had anything to do with it. With her head spinning round and round, she made her way out of the room, aware that she needed some air for her head to clear, hopefully.
Entering the corridor, Louise leant on the wall, closing her eyes, hoping the spinning in her head would stop.
“Louise,” Marian called out, “Are you ok?” she asked, concerned about her.
Hearing her name being called, Louise looked towards the place in where the voice came from. Catching a glimpse of Marian, she was thankful that she was on her own, “Just needed some air,” she replied, “I felt a bit light headed,” She continued.
No matter how Louise answered, Marian could tell that Louise wasn’t okay even if she said she was.
“Come on,” Marian said softly, “I’m taking you to my quarters,” she said, wanting to help Louise out.
Waking up in an unfamiliar room, Louise suddenly sat up in bed, glancing around the room, wondering where she was while trying to remember what had happened the night before. Running a hand through her hair, she heard a gentle tapping on the door. With the tapping came a throbbing pain in her head. If this is what a hangover felt like, she was glad that she hadn’t one in the past.
“Come in,” Louise called, wondering who it could be and hoping that it wasn’t Guy. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to be judged by him, especially if he was that kind of person. Catching sight of the door opening, she saw Marian entering, relief swept over her.
“What happened?” Louise asked.
“You became unwell,” Marian replied, glancing at Louise, “I brought you up here so you could get some rest. I also told Guy.”
Hearing the explanation, Louise bit on her lip wondering how she could of become unwell. Was it the wine she had? She wasn’t sure.
“Was he worried?” Louise asked, “Although I think it must have been the wine.” She stated to more to herself than to Marian.
“Yes he was,” Marian replied, glancing to Louise.
To her, Louise still didn’t look well and she wasn’t going to believe it was the wine excuse.
“You sure?” Marian quizzed.
Being questioned, Louise sighed softly glancing at Marian, “Yes there’s nothing else,” She replied, hoping that Marian would believe her.
Looking around the room, she noticed a screen, wondering if there was any clothes for her to change into.
Seeing where Louise was looking, Marian glanced back at Louise, “I asked for a change of clothes to be sent over,” she explained, “So this is plan for today as Guy would like us to get to know each other,” she said, “Get changed and I’ll meet you outside in the courtyard.” Marian said, leaving the room.
Half an hour had passed and Louise was out in the courtyard, watching the people going by, doing their own thing. With the sun shining high in the sky, feeling the warmth on her body, Louise smiled slightly, noticing that Marian was approaching, closely followed by two horses guided by a stable boy.
Catching sight of a dusky brown stallion, it reminded her of the horse in which Guy rode. Raising an eyebrow, Louise wondered if he knew that she was going out for a bit with Marian.
As both ladies mounted their horses, they both set of with Louise following Marian. Leaving the grounds of Nottingham Castle, Louise started to wonder where they were going, but seeing the forest up ahead, Louise was starting to worry, incase Marian was leading her into a trap.
“Will we be safe?” Louise asked, glancing sidewards at Marian, sceptical of what her answer would be.
“Yes we will,” Marian replied with a reassuring smile.
The two must have been deep in the forest, with the trees being fairly close to each other, while almost blocking out the sunlight. Noticing that Marian had stopped and was whistling loudly, Louise wondered what she was doing. As they had both dismounted their horses, Louise was about to speak when she heard a familiar voice which then became a not so friendly familiar face. Seeing the man, Louise was frozen to the spot, not aware of what they were saying, until her name was mentioned.
“Well it’s nice to meet you Louise,” Robin said, extending his hand out to shake Louise’s.
Shaking his hand, Louise smiled softly, wondering if he would be a threat to her.
“Nice to meet you too,” She said kindly.
“She’s not like Gisborne,” Marian said answering Robin, noticing that he was looking suspiciously at Louise.
Taking note of what Marian was saying, Louise glanced towards the female, before looking back at Robin, who seemed to be satisfied with Marian’s words.
“Well I’m sorry for a few weeks ago,” Robin said simply.
Hearing the apology, Louise smiled softly, not wanting to believe him, “It’s okay,” she said, glancing towards him, “You could say I became a pro at running away from trouble.”
“How come?” Marian asked, wondering what Louise had meant.
“Upto a couple of months ago, me and my brother was being hunted by a very evil man,” she started explaining, “So I had a lot of running to do, just to stay safe.”
“So are you still running now?” Robin enquired, wondering if Guy was keeping her hidden and whether he knew about her past.
“No,” Louise replied, surprised to hear the question, “there was a battle a few months ago, and my brother ended up in a fight with him resulting in the man’s death but we also had some good friends helping us.”
“That must have been hard,” Marian said aloud, not really knowing what else to say.
“It was, but it’s in the past now and I have to try and move on,” She said simply, “But we’ve got great friends supporting us and without them, me and Harry might not be here.”
“Any family supporting you?” Robin asked.
“No,” Louise replied, “My mum and step-dad was murdered by the same man seventeen years ago, while my dad was absent until about three years ago, Harry and I watched as he was killed,” Louise explained, glancing between the two who seemed to be shocked.
“I don’t know what to say,” Marian said quietly.
Hearing the words, Louise smiled slightly, “Don’t because to me it’s over and I can start my life again,” She stated, “But I won’t ever forget about what happened and the friends we lost who fought and protected us.”
“Sounds like you’ve got some good friends,” Robin said, wanting to add a remark on how she had chosen to move on but stopped himself.
“Yeah I have,” she said, quietly almost to herself.
“Well if you ever need a quiet place to come, you are always welcome,” Robin said, “And it was a honour to meet you.”
Being out in the outdoors did help with the headache in which she had, as by the time Louise and Marian returned to the castle, the headache had seemed to have disappeared. Coming to a stop, Louise handed the reins over to a stable boy, getting of the horse. Catching sight of Guy, Louise quickly glanced to Marian out of the corner of her eye.
“You can’t tell him,” Marian said quickly.
“I won’t,” Louise said, averting her gaze towards Guy who was no close by.
“Where have you been?” Guy asked, looking between the two women.
“Just went out for a ride,” Louise replied, “I needed to clear my head and Marian came along to accompany me.” She explained.
“Thank you,” Guy said towards Marian as she started to walk away from the couple, “Are you well? Marian said you felt unwell last night.”
“Yes I am,” Louise replied, “It was the wine. I wasn’t used to it.”
“I’m glad,” Guy said keeping his gaze on Louise.
“I’m going to see Harry,” She said softly, “He needs to know about this,” she continued, holding her hand up.
“Well be safe and avoid the forest,” Guy said, almost commanding clearly concerned about her safety.
“I will do,” She said turning and walking away.
In her mind, she had no intention of avoiding the forest, as any kind of forest seemed to be a safe place in her mind.
Approaching the Weasley’s house, Louise sighed, nervous about what she was going to do. Telling Harry was the easy part, it was his reaction which was going to be the tricky part.
Reaching the door, Louise knocked on it, before entering the house.
“Anyone in?” Louise called out, making her was through the house. Arriving in the living room, she was surprised to see Kingsley Shacklebolt, the temporary Minster of Magic, with Harry.
“Ah Louise, you’ve saved me the trouble of finding you,” Kingsley said, allowing his gaze to meet Louise’s.
“It’s a surprise to see you here,” Louise commented, glancing between the two.
“Anyway I’ve come to let you know that due to recent events, we are letting you both become Auror’s and you are due at the Ministry tomorrow morning.” Kingsley explained.
Listening to Kingsley, Louise was surprised on what she was hearing but could understand why they had done it.
“I’ll be there and thank you,” Harry said, glancing at his sister.
“Thank you and I’ll be there aswell,” Louise said, walking over to the mustard yellow settee, sitting down. She was shocked to hear that her dream of being an Auror was still reality. She had been certain that missing a year of education had stopped that dream from becoming reality.
“Well I’ll be on my way,” Kingsley said, getting up out of the chair, “As you can imagine, there’s a lot to do,” He said before apparting back to the ministry.
Watching Kinglsey go, Louise turned her attention to Harry.
“Harry, I’ve got some news and also a question to ask,” she started, noticing a puzzled look on his face.
“Well go on,” Harry said, wondering what it could be, although he had suspicion that the news could be that Guy of Gisborne had asked Louise to marry him.
“Guy has asked me to marry him and I’ve said yes,” Louise said but stopped hearing a creaking behind her.
“Congratulations,” Harry said quite happy, hugging his sister, happy to hear some good news for a change, “Although I knew he was going to ask,” he explained, “And it’s about time we had some good news.”
Hearing Harry congratulating her, Louise smiled, hugging her brother back, “Thank you,” she whispered allowing her gaze to fall on the Weasley’s.
“You are the first to know,” Louise said holding her hand up which had the engagement ring on, “I’m getting married.”
With the news, Louise was being hugged by the members of the family. She was also relieved that the news had gone down well.
Allowing her attention to fall on Harry, Louise smiled, “As my brother, will you do the honour of giving me away?” She asked.
Hearing the question, Harry was shocked and surprised to but already knew the answer to her question.
“Of course I will. You are my sister.” He replied noticing Bill and Percy was bringing some drinks in.
Allowing a few hours to pass, Louise had allowed the celebration to carry on for longer that she had expected. When it started, she had said that she would only stay for a couple of drinks, yet she was still there after having six drinks. Finishing her drink, she had decided that this was her last drink. Placing the empty bottle on the table, Louise stood up, “It’s been great fun but I should go” she stated.
“One more?” Ron asked, almost remarking as he handed Louise another bottle.
Sighing to herself, Louise took the bottle, “Fine, last one though,” she said, taking a sip.
With all the talking happening, Louise wasn’t sure on whether she had heard a knocking sound so ignored it, allowing herself to enjoy the impromptu celebration.
Realising that Bill was missing from the celebration, Louise made her towards the door. Stopping her eyes widened in shock, approaching Bill, she quickly glanced towards him, “It’s okay” She said diverting her gaze to the man, her fiancee, “Sorry I didn’t expect to be this long” She said kissing him on the cheek.
“Put him down,” she heard people saying and quickly glancing behind her for a quick second, “I think you should come in,” She stated, allowing Guy to come in.
As Guy entered the house, the house seemed to have fallen silent and Louise was surprised with that. Taking Guy’s hand, Louise glanced to the Weasley’s, “Everyone, this is Guy of Gisborne,” she stated, looking at Guy, “he’s my fiancée” she finished.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Arthur Weasley making his way to the front of the group, “I class Louise as family, so take good care of her, otherwise they will be trouble,” Arthur said sternly.
“Don’t worry. I will take good care of her,” Guy said wrapping an arm around Louise.