Chapter One: Snakes in the Woods?
Maria had been a thirteen-year-old, impetuous, willful girl when she'd first arrived. She had become accustomed to Moonacre's magic easily; she'd all but forgotten the feeling of she'd had hen she'd arrived in Moonacre for the first time. The era of the moon pearls, as Maria thought of it, had passed in Moonacre Valley. Maria had jumped off of a cliff to return the magic pearls to the ocean only a month ago. Maria knew that the magic of the Valley had existed prior to the moon's blessing and would continue on after the era of the moon pearls. Before anyone knew about the moon pearls wedding gifts had been unicorns from the ocean and demonic black lions, so it was as if the breaking of the curse brought back some of the wild, unfettered magic of a time long ago. So much had changed about herself and about the valley.
There were some days when Maria still wondered why Robin Denoir had been carrying her ribbon in his pocket. Why did Robin Denoir carry her ribbon in his pocket? Why did he listen to her when no one else would? Was it only because he was the least prideful of any in the valley? Maria knew that the childish, girlish feeling she had felt when she'd discovered that Robin had been holding onto that small piece of her had not passed yet-she wondered if it would.
Maria still spent her mornings learning her lessons with Miss Heliotrope as her teacher, though Maria was supposed to call her Mrs. Digweed now. Out loud she just barely managed to call her that, but internally Maria still thought of her as Miss Heliotrope. Maria was roused from the tumultuous pattern of her own thoughts by the flash of a little white horse ahead of her. She smiled and continued more purposefully. Her lessons were over for the day and she was ready to enjoy the summer woods. She made her way through the forest to where Robin's traps were set. If she needed him she would often trigger one of his traps, but for today she knew he would be there waiting for her. Maria stepped over a log carefully. She had been having nightmares recently about being bitten by a snake so she had become extra cautious.
"Maria," Robin called out, waving at her. She looked up at him, smiling and she gave a quick little wave before peering warily at a stick across the path. Snakes could disguise themselves as sticks. She was making her way more carefully through the forest these days and she suspected that Robin would notice and ask about it sooner or later.
Robin came quickly towards her, "Are you injured?"
"No," Maria gave him a measuring look. Apparently he'd be asking sooner rather than later.
"I've been dreaming about snakes lately," she confessed, "and I just want to be extra cautious."
"Huh," Robin looked thoughtful, "I wonder what that means." Maria shrugged and they walked together through the forest. She had been accompanying him on his treks through the woods every week since the pearls had been returned.
"What happens in your dream?" Robin asked, concerned.
"Well, I'm always out in the forest at night, looking for you, which only makes sense in the dream. I'm almost to the trap we usually meet at when a snake bites me. I don't ever see it, I only feel it. Anyway, I call out for you and I try to get to you but I can't walk and it hurts," Maria was getting quite worked up and Robin stopped her with a strong hand on her upper arm.
"Relax," he said, "It's just a dream. You wouldn't be out in the woods at night anyway, right?"
"No," she said slowly, "I can't think of any reason why I would need to find you after dark. I wouldn't expect you to be anywhere but in your own bed at night, anyway." That thought made her wonder what his bedroom looked like but she didn't dare ask.
"You've never been afraid of the woods before," Robin said, walking in front of her to hold out his hand. She took it, holding her skirt with the other hand over a rough patch of ground embedded with many tree roots.
"How are things for you at home, Robin?" Maria asked, casting a quick sideways glance at him. She noticed that he had not let go of her hand, yet, but she didn't mind. He made a noise in his throat glancing at her with wide brown eyes.
"What do you mean?" he asked, and Maria sensed she had crossed some invisible boundary with him.
"I was just worried about how well you and your father were getting along after... everything. I know the two of you seemed to have made up in those moments after the pearls disappeared. I was just worried because your father was so upset with you for siding with me..." Maria trailed off, looking at Robin with apologetic eyes.
"Oh," he said, and for a few minutes he said nothing else so Maria thought the conversation was ended.
"Things are awkward between us now," Robin finally said, "But that's just because my father and I were never close, Maria. It's complicated." His tone left Maria feeling that this was a subject she had best leave alone for the time being.
Maria looked at Robin, wondering how someone so pretty could look so sad. She remembered how taunting, carefree, and dangerous he had seemed when they'd first met-when he'd tried to kidnap her a second time! Maria could see beyond that facade now and she wondered if Robin's relationship wasn't a more violent than loving one. She still did not believe that his father had quite forgiven her for breaking the curse. Coeur Denoir had not sided with her, no matter what Loveday believed. Maria knew in her heart that it was Robin, Maria, Loveday, and Uncle Benjamin that had broken the curse. If it was not for Robin Maria thought they might all be dead now and the valley plunged into the ocean.
"Here, let me show one of my favorite parts of the forest," Robin said, leading her by the hand once again. Maria murmured her assent. He eventually brought her to a meadow filled with wild flowers with a willow tree at the center, flowing beautifully in the breeze. He turned back to look at her face. He watched her expression turn to one of wonder and joy.
"It's beautiful," she breathed, "I love willow trees. They are like elegant women in beautiful dresses."
"I thought you'd like it," he said, spinning to pluck a flower from the ground and back around again to present it to her with a bow. He is plucky, she thought, and filled with whimsy and kindness. She slid the flower into her hair, behind her ear.
"I brought a book for you," she told him. She had called his group of friends the lost boys yesterday and had been aghast at his inquiring expression. He may have read the book as a young boy, or at least she hoped someone had read it to him, but he'd forgotten the story.
"It's Peter Pan," she said, "the one about the boy who never ages and his band of lost boys. It' the story of how Wendy meets him and he takes her to Neverland."
"Yes, you said you'd read it to me," Robin responded, contently.
"So I did," Maria told him, "Let's sit under the willow. This is the perfect place for this story."
Maria sat under the tree and he sat next to her. She began to read aloud to him. He shifted now and then as she read, pulled a weed from the ground and stuck it between his teeth at one point. Eventually he ended up with his head laying down in her lap while she read. He put his hat on his stomach, underneath his folded hands. He closed his eyes, listening to the sound of her sweet voice. The smell of the willow and the wildflowers mixed with a new scent.
"You're wearing perfume," he murmured, blinking his eyes open.
Maria stopped reading to look at him. She marked herself at the the beginning of the third chapter. She supposed this was a good time to stop. She had worried she would read for too long.
"Yes," Maria said, "Do you like it?"
"It's different," he said, "You never wore perfume before."
"I was never allowed to," Maria said, smiling a little. "My father thought wearing perfume was too grown up. He said that perfume..." she trailed off, remembering that her father had told her perfume attracted boys and she didn't want one of those, yet.
"He didn't like for me to wear perfume," Maria finished instead. She held her wrist up to his nose, delicately. He didn't make a big show of sniffing her wrist, just inhaled. It smelled of lilies and a plant he could have found for her but that he couldn't name and he told her so.
"It's bergamot and lily-of-the-valley," she told him. It had sandalwood and oak moss, as well, but she didn't think he really cared what was in it so she didn't elaborate. She pulled her wrist back.
"Loveday helped me," she told Robin, settling back against the tree, "She wants me to experiment with different perfumes before I settle on a favorite, but I really like this one."
"Just don't start wearing make-up," Robin said, sounding disgruntled. Maria smiled at his gruff tone. It reminded her of Uncle Benjamin's reaction to all of the female goings on in his home now.
"You sound like Uncle Benjamin," Maria said, running her fingers through his curls. Robin's eyes closed again and Maria thought she heard him make a sound of contentment. Maria thought he may have fallen asleep after some time and was tempted to do the same herself.
Looking at his face, free to stare since his eyes were closed, she imagined letting her hand slide down his cheek. She idly wrapped one of his curls around her finger and let it slide off.
"Such beautiful curls," she murmured. He was really to handsome for his own good.
He opened his sleepy brown eyes lazily and turned to face her with a sly smile.
"I'm still awake, you know," he said, his voice slumberous and deep.
"I know," Maria said, not very truthfully. She looked up abruptly at the branches of the willow tree waving lazily as her cheeks flushed red. Robin watched her with soft look, admiring the length of her slender white neck and the way her hair fell in waves of pale red.
After they left the meadow Maria for a moment wondered why Robin enjoyed exploring the woods with her.
"Robin," Maria asked, calling out to him as he'd gotten ahead of her again, "Why do you like to explore the woods with me? You've walked these lands your whole life. Don't you get bored?"
"Never," he stopped to wait for Maria to catch up, "The woods do change over time. Some things stay the same, but in that way it's like spending time with an old friend. In other ways I see the woods through your eyes now and everything is utterly new to you."
Maria smiled and Robin looked worried for a moment, "Why? Are you getting bored already?"
"No," she replied, immediately, "I'm never bored when I'm with you."
Robin's smile was shy and he turned his face away from her so she would not see it.