The Secret of Moonacre Part One of Three:
Maria woke up with a start. She had dreamt a horrible nightmare that had caused sweat to drench her from head to foot. Glancing around, Maria was relieved to find herself still in her bedroom in London. Well, it wasn't really her room anymore. After the death of her father and the later departure of her mother, Maria was left with nothing but a few boxes of her most precious belongings that she couldn't bare to part with, and her governess, Miss Heliotrope, whom she had never parted with since she was little. Beginning to relax, she pulled the covers back over herself (Which she had thrown off earlier with fear) and forced her mind off of her nightmare, before drifting back into a deep sleep.
Unaware of his presence, Maria was being watched by a dark figure, perching on the branch of a large oak that towered above the bedroom window. He glared at her with his deep, brown eyes. They were consumed with rage and hatred as they ran over Maria's body while she lay in her bed, caressed in blankets and covers. Watching her through her nightmare had made him seem uneasy as she screamed for her parents. The sudden feeling of sympathy and care rushed through his mind, but was quickly removed by a violent shake of the head. He could not think like that! Father had given him a pacific task, and he would not fail. He was going to capture her, no matter what.
Maria opened her eyes to the rays of sunlight that were escaping through the gaps in the curtains, cursing herself for not bothering to close them properly the night before. Glancing over at the Grandfather clock that stood in the corner, Maria learned that she had awoken rather early, 6:30 in fact. She stretched her arms and gave a long yawn, before gently letting the bed sheets fall off of her and to the floor below. It was odd that she had decided to get up at this time, but knowing she would not get back to sleep, she did anyway.
Today was the day of her parent's funeral. But to Maria, they had never really acted like the loving family. Father was always out; drinking and gambling that caused the family to lose every saved penny they had, including her own. While mother was constantly attending posh, snobby parties and flirting with all the men in town. The only person who had been there for Maria was Miss Heliotrope, her governess. Although she was always over the top, frightened of everything tat moved and was always telling Maria to act more proper, she loved her dearly and was thankful that she would forever have her by her side. Although she knew that Miss Heliotrope would e there anyways, weather she liked it or not!
Slipping on a long, black morning dress, Maria stared at her reflection. She was considered to be very pale, with a long mass of fiery red curls that fitted perfectly around her face. She owned a pair of sharp, forget-me-not blue eyes and had a very small figure that Maria had always been very proud of. Never trying to be vain about it, but she did love how small she was, not really knowing why.
She drew back the soft, velvet curtains to let the sunlight flood the room. Maria suddenly gave a jump of surprise as she heard a scuttle of footsteps grow louder in her direction. "Oh no, Miss Heliotrope, she must of heard me get up!" Maria whispered t herself. It was too late for a quick retreat to her bed and to act out a fake sleep, she was already dressed. So Maria just let out a small sigh, "3, 2, 1..."
"Maria! Good gracious child, why are you up at this hour?" Miss Heliotrope huffed, obviously tired from her run. "It is not lady-like at all!" she finished. " Miss Heliotrope please, calm down" I said gently " I woke up early and could not get back to sleep, so just got ready for the.." I trailed off, hanging my head. Even though her parents were never that close to her, Maria would still miss them.
"Yes, well..." Miss Heliotrope began, before reaching for the door. I began to fiddle with the black laces on my dress when I noticed her give me a reassuring smile as she retired to her own room. I let go of my dress almost immediately and walked over to the wooden bedside table, reaching out for a silver locket. It hung loosely on an odd chain that I was particularly found of. I attached it to my neck and gave a small smile to myself. This locket had been with me for as long as I could remember, but I could never recall where it had first gotten it from, or, more importantly, who might have given it to me. My thoughts were then interrupted by a loud knock at the door.
"Miss, Miss Merrryweather?" A wobbly voice came from the outside; I recognized it almost immediately to be one of the housemaids, Claire. "Yes?" I replied softly. "Lady Heliotrope wishes your presence downstairs" At this I could not help but giggle, `Lady Heliotrope? ` I began to laugh a little harder now, my hand making its way over my mouth to shut me up, so Claire did not her me. " I shall be down now" I said, a few traces of laughter still in my voice. I has always been amused on how women of London had addressed themselves, and how they acted, sometimes I left me a bit enrages. For Maria was not the usual type of London girl that you would expect. For one, Maria hated dresses. The pointless fabric and the ridiculous shapes and colours was something the she never wished to endure, but was constantly forced too. Another, she hated going to parties, being with screamish girls and acting proper. In fact, Maria hated pretty much everything about London, something no-one there ever understood. Instead, Maria found her comfort in reading, writing, playing outside and spending plenty of time with the animals that she discoed in the house gardens. So she was thrilled with the idea of living in the country of Moonacre, although living with her Uncle left her unsure. Maria never even knew he existed until he turned out to be the only family she had left, with the death of her parents.
Realising how late she was, Maria quickly tied her hair in a ponytail before grabbing her notebook and pen and headed downstairs. She saw Miss Heliotrope waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, also in her black dress. Her hand was held out for Maria to take, a look of sadness in her face as we made our way, hand in hand, towards the cemetery.
I tightly clutched two deep red crimson roses as I walked behind the glass carriage, it carried my parents. I hadn't shed a tear yet, `what was wrong with me? ` I didn't know.
"We lay Cornel, George, Merryweather to the ground..." the priest continued. I took a step forward and dropped one of the roses onto the face of his coffin, watching one of the petals detach itself from the flower. I laid the other gently onto my mothers. Her's was above the ground, so it was easy to reach. Giving a deep sigh I grabbed the side of my dress, lowering my head. My body then began to tense up. I felt like I was being watched, and turned my head to the white pavilion that stood in the middle of the cemetery. There stood the most peculiar sight.
A tall and slightly odd looking boy, around the same age as myself, 14. For that one moment I forgot everything surrounding me, it was just us. His dark eyes locked on mine, before I broke contact quickly, glancing at his clothes. Black and leather overtook his body; he looked like he had just been to a funeral himself. A black shirt, jacket, trousers and a black bowler hat that hid a mass of dark brown curls. He was lent casually to one of the marble pillars, arms crossed and eyes that were consumed with anger and hatred as they looked at me. A cold shiver was sent up my spine, giving my skin Goosebumps. At that moment I could feel someone tugging at my shoulder. Miss Heliotrope gave a pleading look, before glancing back at the funeral procession. She was right. That was the only thing that should be on my mind right now.
Robins P.O.V
I hid myself from her view, still able to see her as she scanned the area, looking for any sight of me, before returning back to her father's stupid funeral, I couldn't even understand why so many people had attended, the Merryweather's were thieves, thieving pigs, why did so many care about them? I looked at the girl once more, ` She couldn't possibly be the moon princess... Could she? ` So small and fragile, it was like all the life had been sucked right out of her, not that I cared. Her hair whirled around her face as the wind rushed past her, hiding her expression, although I could take a pretty good guess on what it would be. She brought her had up to her face and wiped away a string of tears that had made their way down her pale face. For a Merryweather, she was rather attractive. I froze immediately at the thought, ` How could I say that?` Mentally screaming at myself, I watched her leave the grounds with that nosy, no-good governor, the funeral was finally over. "Damn, we'll never get her at this rate" I sighed, knowing that my father would have something terrible for me if I returned without her, but there was no way we could get her today, the chances of us getting caught were to big to take. I shook my head at the rest of the clan that had come with me. They nodded back, starting to walk in the direction of Moonacre, whilst I lingered behind them trying to come up with the perfect excuse for father, otherwise my fate would be worse than the Merryweather's, and her's was looking bad.
Maria's P.O.V
We sat in the lawyer's office for what felt like hours, but had only been a few minutes. The room was cold, dark and completely lifeless, it was horrible. The man sat there, his eyes running across the will of my father, for mother had not made one. "This being the last will and testament of Sir Cornel, George, Merryweather..." He finished, not daring to look me in the eye. My hand suddenly became embedded in Miss Heliotrope's. "H-he lost it all?" Miss Heliotrope stuttered, her face in horror. The lawyer nodded gently, his eyes still facing the floor. "No..." I interrupted, "No, papa can't have been in London, when he wrote to me and said he was coming home he wouldn't arrive and not..." I couldn't finish. `Why was I so upset over this? ` I never expected to be this way, I couldn't understand why, but knew I sounded terribly upset.
"Ah well, your father did leave you this book..." He leant into his draw and pulled out a very old but interesting looking book, before handing it to me. "As your inheritance" He finished, finally looking up. I ran my hands over the leather book, observing it with admiring eyes, I did love to read. My eyes widened slightly as I read the title "The ancient chronicles of Moonacre Valley?" I sounded puzzled; I had meant to say that in my head. `Moonacre` I thought to myself... `Moonacre Manor! `I knew the name sounded familiar.
We eventually made our may back to the London House, ready to make our departure. The fact that we would never see it again did not seem to sadden me, but in fact made me seem rather happy. Being sick of London, I was glad to see that back of it. Unlike Miss Heliotrope, of course. She was devastated that we had to leave, but was even more devastated at the idea of living in the country. "Oh dear, all that mud and dirt, the animals!" she complained " No place for a lady, no place at all" Bu the fact that she would have to endure this for almost the rest of her life just amused me, and it meant that I was under no pressure of being a lady, an added bonus!
Maria opened the door of the house to find a beautiful (if not slightly old fashioned) carriage, drawn by two jet black horses. At the head stood a strangely dressed man, although Maria could tell that she liked him already. His beaten up straw hat and country clothes gave him a lovely charm matched his bright smile. "You'll be Miss Maria Merryweather then?" he began, rushing over to take my bags. I was about to thank him but my attention was the drawn to Miss Heliotrope who was standing in the doorway. "My man? Quick!" she yelled before he ran over to her and also took her bags, looking up into her eyes as if a dog waiting for an instruction. "Get on with you!" slightly hitting him in the side with her umbrella. The man quickly hurried down the stairs and loaded the carriage with our belongings. Glancing back at the servants of the house I gave each of them a sad smile, before sitting down in my velvet seat, Miss Heliotrope sighing as she followed behind.
As we drove through the streets of London, I gazed with joy as the dirty, grey colours seemed to disappear and instead, filled with smudges of blue and green, the country air filling my lungs as I took a seep, long breath. This was my new home.
Robins P.O.V:
I sat on my bed with my hand glued to my face, the burning pain getting worse and becoming more colourful. I'd just told father.
Flashback:
"You'd better have a good reason for returning without her, Robin!"Coeur de Noir bellowed. I gulped back my fear as my body tensed up, a hard smack sending me flying across the floor. He was about to hit me again, before I stuttered the plan that had just come to mind. "To get to the Moonacre Manor, you have to pass through the gate, and the driver has to get down to open it, a perfect opportunity to snatch the girl" Father looked at me, his eyes almost on fire. "One last chance, boy, otherwise your life will not be worth living!" I retreated to my room as fast as I could without looked scared, and slammed the door as hard as possible. I hated him!
End flashback
I threw my head on back on my pillow, my thoughts reaching the Merryweather girl- Maria. I had heard my father mention her during dinner, she had no idea how many people wanted her dead. But I had to capture her, whatever it took; otherwise I would be in more trouble than her. At that moment, one of the clan- Michael- staggered into my room. "What is it?" I demanded, desperate to know what was so important. "She- she is on her way Robin" Getting up immediately from my bed, I felt a smirk cross my lips as we made our way to the forest, gathering more of my clan as we went.
The smirk returned to my face as I glanced over to see the carriage coming into view, towards the iron gates. "Get ready, she is almost here" We lingered amongst the trees as the carriage come to a halt.
Maria P.O.V:
I smiled brightly as the view of Moonacre was visible through the window. The country air ran through my hair and flung it in all directions, it felt pretty good. "What is he doing?" I heard Miss Heliotrope sigh behind me, guessing she was talking about Digweed. The man had introduced himself to us on the way, telling of his relationship with my uncle. He seemed to have taken quite a liking to my Governess, not that she had noticed of course, far too busy complaining about usual. I laughed slightly as I lent out of the window, trying to get a better view of what Digweed was actually doing.
But before I could, a pair of large, black covered hand held me down tightly, turning me around so that I faced him. His face was covered by a dark piece of fabric that hid his nose. He seemed to come out of nowhere, but where incredibly strong and were able to haul me onto the roof of the carriage with ease. He stared at me with his dark eyes, consumed with hatred, `Why was he looking at me like that?` I didn't know but didn't really have time to find out. I let out a hair- raising scream that made us both jump backwards, before throwing my fists into his stomach. He let out a painful shriek and jerked back, looking at me with utter surprise. "What? You didn't think a girl would fight back?" With that I tried to punch him again, but before I could, my hands hand been bound tightly in his grip, I was unable to move. His breath made me shiver as I felt it on my neck, forced to lean closer to him, almost touching his face.
"Gotcha, Princess" A big grin plastered on his face, which I so desperately wanted to smack off. I wondered why he had called me Princess, but didn't make my questions known. His eyes started to widen as I heard Digweed approach the carriage, the gate beginning to lift off the ground as he did so. Surely he noticed me on the roof? But he didn't. If I didn't get out of the boys grip, then he would surly have me. Desperate, I opted for a very unladylike move, I head butted him. The boy instantly let go, his bruised face in his hands. This was my chance. I leant quickly towards the window and jumped back inside, giving a sigh of relief as I hugged Miss Heliotrope tightly, who was in hysterics. She held me back and the carriage began to move again, giving a jolt that knocked the boy off of the roof, landing with a `Thump` on the ground. I tried not feel guilty as he rolled over in pain, screaming at me as he watched me leave, the gate slamming behind me. I hadn't even arrived at Moonacre Manor yet, and already there was a list of questions I was ready to ask.