Robin watched warily as Maria threw the pearls off of the cliff. A sick feeling had formed in the pit of his stomach the moment his father and Maria's uncle had refused to apologize to each other and the strong willed Maria had declared she'd have to take care of this herself. He wasn't sure why he was so scared, only that he had such a bad feeling about what was going to happen. Their families had been cursed for as long as he had been alive, so maybe he just expected this not to work. The curse was all he knew. Even if whatever Maria was planning did work, what would they do after that? What would change?
He watched Maria from afar as she stiffened in what he thought might be confusion. He watched her fling the pearls again. But that couldn't be right? She'd already thrown them. And yet he watched in growing apprehension as the glowing spheres shot out into the night and then rushed back at Maria's small form. They must've latched themselves onto her dress, as she brushed at her bodice, first confused and then more and more frantically. She turned and looked back at the people behind her for a moment, tense with fear. Her eyes traveled over each one of them, looking at each of them in turn, smiling brilliantly in spite of dread clouding her eyes. They settled on him last, and he saw for a moment the fear gone, replaced with a shy-dare he hope?-caring smile. Just like the first time he had seen her, he stood frozen, staring unblinking into the sun.
And then it was gone. She had turned around and the pit in his stomach returned as she broke his gaze. He realized a moment too late her plan, and was already running as she took a step into nothing and her body fell, swallowed up by the angry waves. He skidded to a halt at the edge of the cliff, screaming her name and falling to his knees, looking into the waters and pleading to anyone that could hear him to bring her back. The ocean couldn't swallow the sun. It wasn't big enough. Wasn't bright enough. It didn't deserve such an honor as to witness her smile or those fiery eyes that saw and loved everything.
He supposed the turning point had been when his sister ran away from home, claiming to be in love with one of the Merryweather brothers. Their families had been cursed as long as he'd been alive, and much before that. So maybe this betrayal was just part of the curse. Whatever it was, any color in the de Noir household left with her, and that was when his father had turned truly abusive. Any anger he had for Loveday poured onto the young Robin, and his resentment grew into a callous attitude. Not toward his sister, really. He didn't resent her for running away and leaving him. He resented himself for being unable to do the same. He resented his father for hating him enough for both children, for hating them at all. He resented his ancestors for screwing up everyone's lives. He resented this curse for making the halls drafty and the food greasy. For making his family mean and his friends scarce. He resented it all.
Except for her.
He couldn't explain what he felt the moment he saw her. His father had sent him after rumors of the other Merryweather brother's death reached the Valley. He watched her from across the graveyard and could only think that no one had said anything about the Merryweather guy having a kid, let alone a daughter. Let alone a tragically beautiful daughter clad in black, casting roses over her father's grave, a single tear rolling down a flawless ivory cheek.
And then, she turned from her grief and looked straight at him. Not past him, not through him, like his father and everyone else back at home, but right at him. She turned away moments after, when a woman, presumably her chaperone, motioned for her to come back to her.
It had been too much for him. Her gaze paralyzed him, though he wasn't sure why. He knew only that as long as her eyes bored into his, he daren't move, for fear he would cause her to look away, for fear he'd lose this unfamiliar feeling of peace, of elation. Or maybe it was that he couldn't move, her eyes holding some sort of power over him. Retrospectively, maybe that was the Moon Princess within her, recognizing one of those in her charge. It didn't matter now.
As soon as her eyes had left his, he bolted. His legs regained the ability to move and he ran, out of the cemetery and towards home, ready to tell his father about the Merryweather brother's ugly, scrawny daughter, to tell him there was no way she could be the Moon Princess.
Now he sat at the edge of a cliff, the night darker than he'd ever seen it despite the moon taking up the whole of his vision, and wished she hadn't been. The smile had been one of farewell. He realized that now. This was the curse's final jab. The Valley had to sacrifice its Moon Princess to be whole again. He tore his eyes from the murky waters, looking dazed at the moon which had never been so big. Would it get smaller now? Now that Maria was gone? Would the curse be lifted? Her name tumbling from his lips now in dejected whispers, he became aware that he didn't care one bit about the curse. His life had been nothing but misery until she arrived. He knew now that the moon could crash into them all, so long as the last thing he saw was her, looking back at him.
He sat stupefied for what felt like an eternity. Maybe that was just her absence. He thought he felt his father tugging at his arm, his sister calling his name, but all he saw was the moon and the absence of the sun. He watched the waters for her, and was debating jumping in after her when the spot where the moon touched the horizon exploded into light. He stood and backed away, averting his eyes and wondering if everyone was going to die now, if Maria hadn't been the princess after all, if the last thing he would see was this shining light that did no justice to hers. When the light faded, he looked again at the ocean and saw a monstrous wave rushing at them from the horizon. This was it. They were going to die after all. He was staring at what he swore were horses galloping out of the water towards them when the wave burst over the top of the cliff and they all dropped to their knees.
When the water finally stopped falling, he looked up and was glad he was already on the ground. He couldn't have stood if he tried. As if the ocean had recognized its mistake and apologetically returned her, Maria lay unconscious on the back of the fabled unicorn that only the Moon Princess could see. He watched from the ground with bated breath and willed her to wake up. He sharply sucked in a breath when her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks and her curls tumbled over her shoulders as she finally lifted her head. Her eyes sought his and when they found him he found the ability to stand. When she smiled in giddy relief, his sister and her uncle rushed to help her off the horse. Robin stood frozen, aware that he was so relieved he was about to cry. He was suddenly aware of how scared he had been, how certain he was that he loved her. That she was, quite possibly, the only thing he had ever loved. He watched in awe as she hugged everyone in turn, laughing and shining and making his heart leap in his chest. He didn't even realize she had arrived at him until she said his name.
"Robin," she asked, smiling up at him and nearly bringing him to his knees for the third time that night. "Were you worried?"
It took him a moment to process the question, and another moment to keep himself from spluttering out the full truth, which was that he had been terrified, that he still wasn't sure she was real, that he was aching to touch her, that he loved her, he loved her, he loved her.
He swallowed the lump in his throat he was sure was his heart and looked away from the wry smile on her lips that said she looked at him and saw right through him.
"No," he answered airily, "Anyone could've done that."