999 Doves
A/N Here is another emotional one-shot I've decided to write! I'm sorry I haven't been updating or writing much fanfiction. (As a fourteen-year-old, I'm surprisingly busy.) I've been secretly penning an original story to practice my writing style, technique, etc. Anyway, hopefully, you and enjoy and see you at the bottom!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Secret of Moonacre or anything related to the franchise.
"Robin…I wanted to tell you that…I came here to tell you…" She clenched her fist and closed her eyes. Her nervousness was almost too much to bear. "I came to tell you that I love you!"
He looked at her then at the ground. A heartbreaking sigh. "I'm sorry, Maria. I can't accept your love…it wouldn't be fair to you. Please…give it to someone else." He ruefully turned away to leave.
"No! Robin, please come back! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said anything." Tears began to brim her eyes as she choked on a sob.
He stole a quick glance at her.
"No…Maria. I'm sorry, I really am."
That day happened four years ago. She was thirteen when she confessed. And when the next day arrived, Maria gave him her first paper dove.
Robin was surprised to see her the next day following her confession.
Maria was smiling at him, attempting to hide as much pain as she could. "Here, Robin." Her hands shook as she thrust the paper dove to his chest.
He gazed at it before taking it as gently as a hunter could. "Oh, uh…" He was tempted to just throw it away. After all, could you possibly do with a paper dove? His own name was "Robin". Why would someone give him a dove?
In the back of her mind, she knew he would just stuff it in his pocket and probably use it as a napkin. But she didn't care. All Maria did was smile brightly and bid the Bird Boy a good rest of the day.
That same year, in winter, when the Merryweathers and De Noirs came together to celebrate Christmas, she gave him five more paper doves. It was rather unusual since she would typically give him at least one paper dove in a day or in a week.
"It's Christmas, that's why," She answered, softly grinning.
It was a cool spring morning when he received his seventy-ninth paper dove.
He was walking home after checking his traps when he began to wonder why Maria gave him paper doves. They were so small, so delicate, and completely insignificant to him. It was just a piece of paper folded in a shape of a bird.
The heir of the De Noir clan had to keep thinking of bigger things. He shouldn't be wasting his time on such meager subjects as this.
So then why did he bother to keep those paper doves all these months? From the first to the seventy-ninth. It was almost humiliating to muse about. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to throw them away.
Strangely enough, he's often found himself counting each one of them.
He was leaving for his first international hunting trip when she stopped giving him paper boats. The trip was for the De Noir clan to explore a little bit more of the world; they never did venture out of Moonacre very often. Perhaps they could even find some valuable or interesting possessions.
It was also a time for the De Noir heir to see a little glimpse of the world as a whole.
That day would be his first breath of freedom from his father and clan. It would be a refreshing and renewing experience. Ironically so, robins were a symbol of new birth.
No one was there to say goodbye to him except his father and some fellow De Noirs who were going also. He hadn't told Maria he was leaving for a year. It honestly made him feel a bit cruel.
He didn't take much along with him; there was nothing much to take.
The only things that he brought were his travel bag and the one-hundred and sixty-six paper doves.
A year had passed.
He came back home. They both met.
They stared at each other for a while, trying to recollect each other's faces from a year ago. He was solemn, attempting to detect any sort of bitterness that she could be holding.
There wasn't any.
After a couple moments, she approached him cautiously. "Robin?"
No reply.
"Are you okay?"
He didn't reply again, only blankly gazing at her.
A stray tear cascaded down her cheek. "Robin…are you all right?"
He mentally shook his head. No, he wasn't all right, he wasn't okay. He was guilt-ridden, torn, and empty.
He didn't mean to kill that family. He didn't, he didn't. It was a mistake that burdened his conscious. He would never intentionally kill someone innocent, much less a family with children.
But in the dead of night, when his group was being attacked by natives, their mindset instinctively fought for survival. They slashed their swords, aimed their arrows, and fought as hard as five men could.
And when he aimed his arrow, when his men swiped their swords, no one was left alive. They either all died or fled. And when he peered down at his feet, there were two children. A young boy and girl with their eyes opened but lungs unbreathing.
This incident flashed him back to Maria. No matter what, even back then, he wouldn't have had her die by his hands. His father, maybe, but never him.
He stared at her, his eyes cold. "No, I'm not okay. I'll be leaving in a week for another trip." He couldn't stay here, not now.
Maria gaped at him in shock. She knew he was hurt by his mistakes but this was just impulsive. "But you just came back—
"I'll be leaving. Nothing can stop me." He looked straight into her eyes. "Not even you."
Not even the paper doves he's kept for one year.
Another year passed.
He's learned a lot on his travels. He used to be the sly, mischievous boy two years ago, and though he still was, there was more than just wit and fun. The world was a large place, and one day, he would like to travel out there once more.
The day he returned home, everyone was there to greet him back. It was endearing and heartwarming to him. Despite his wrongdoings, the ones that cared for him were still there.
He's never had that as a child.
"You're home."
He grinned. "I guess I am."
"I'm happy about that. It was sort of boring having no one to talk to and forced to make new friends."
Smirking at her, he took a second to examine the girl he hasn't seen in a year. She was prettier, more elegant and graceful. But like a meadow of daisies, she still remained the simple, lively person she was.
Her ginger red locks curled and framed her face nicely and the midnight blue dress she wore stole many glances. She's grown as well.
"Was there something you wanted?" He kept his tone neutral and formal. A flash of hurt crossed over her face but both of them ignored it.
She bit her lip. "I…hold on, I'll be right back."
Robin watched her run off to the carriage at the front of the De Noir mansion. She began pulling and lifting a box out of the trunk. When she returned, an anxious smile was resting on her face as she dropped it on the ground.
Furrowing his brows at her offering, he lifted open the box. Inside was an assortment of paper doves ranging in color. He looked up, gesturing her to explain.
She flushed. "W-whenever I had spare time, I would fold paper doves," she mumbled quietly, "I would get r-really bored at the mansion so…I thought doing this could get my mind off of things. I also missed two of your birthdays so..." When he didn't respond, her nervousness knotted further. "I'm sorry if you don't like them…it was stupid anyway. J-just ignore I gave them to you."
Reaching down to pick up the box, Maria was met with her arm being held back by Robin's.
"Thank you."
She stiffened, stunned. When she regained her senses, she smiled joyfully.
"You're welcome."
When he returned home to his bedroom in the gothic-themed mansion, he felt conflicted. He didn't want to count the paper doves but something in his mind kept urging him to.
So he did.
169.
Plus 397
563.
It was a fine spring morning when she gave him the seven-hundredth paper dove.
Not much had changed. He was the clever Bird Boy, heir to the De Noir throne and she was the kind Moon Princess, heir to the Merryweather estate. They were not opposites, but they weren't exactly the same either.
That year, when he was eighteen and she was fifteen, Maria began courting a gentleman from the De Noir clan. One of Robin's good friends who was much gentler than most De Noirs.
Many people loved them. "It is like a forbidden lovers story in Merryweather and De Noir form," they would whisper when the couple was strolling down the streets. Robin heard them almost everywhere they went.
He remembered growing angry.
"Why would you give me paper doves when you were courting somebody?!" He snapped when Maria and he were resting in the forest. Even though she was taken, she still made time for the De Noir who helped her two years ago.
Maria grew speechless. It wasn't like she was cheating on her lover with him. They were just paper doves she's had a habit of making for him. Noticing her shock, Robin amended.
"I'm sorry," He mumbled, "I didn't mean to get angry at you. I…was angry at something else."
Her eyes softened as Maria gave a small grin. "It's all right." She opened her mouth to say more, but, with a brief hesitation, clamped her mouth shut.
Robin only nodded before he heard a couple twigs breaking by footsteps. He immediately knew who it was. "He's coming," Robin said. Looking to her right, she saw a figure slowly coming into view.
Smiling, she waved at the figure. "Robin…" He didn't look at her. She sighed. "I'll talk to you later. It looks like Daniel needs me."
Without another word, he watched as Maria ran and leaped into the hands of her lover.
She was engaged when Robin received his eight-hundred and fifty-third paper dove. Despite her recent engagement, she still managed to fold doves every day for him.
He, finally, asked her why.
Maria avoided the question because, even now, she didn't know herself. "Bird Boy," He stared at her. "Did you…keep my doves?"
"No."
A complete lie. It was a complete lie. But Maria would never have expected Robin to lie to her, so, she believed him.
Her posture slouched as she turned her head. "Oh…" She mumbled, "You…threw them all away."
He didn't stop himself from staring at her face. His gaze lingered at her hair, her thick eyelashes, and her supple lips. It wasn't difficult to see the truth. The truth that was right underneath the lie. If only he could tell her…
But he cannot.
He should not.
Maria stared at him; he stared back. "Well," Maria said, breaking the silence, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
Watching her go, his heart ached. It doesn't matter anyway.
He was the past, a thing that could've been.
He was her first crush.
But someone was there to pick up her pieces, to help her stand tall.
Daniel was her first love.
It was five days before her wedding when he received the nine-hundred and ninety-fourth paper dove.
He wasn't asked to be a part of the wedding. He and Daniel weren't even very close to begin with and Maria couldn't ask him to be anything. That simple fact added more salt to the already opened wound.
But maybe it was better he wasn't part of his own destruction.
"How much longer are you going to give me these paper doves?" He asked her on that day. That question has been churning in his mind since the first hundred. That had been four years ago.
Maria didn't reply for a few moments. "Until the message gets through," She answered vaguely.
"Or until you get married," he added quickly.
She tensed. Their eyes met. "You'll be there, right?" Her eyes were oddly pleading.
Robin's throat became unbearable dry. Swallowing, he tried to moisten his throat and control the words that he said.
"Yes, I will," He replied nonchalantly. It wasn't hard to make fake promises.
A thoughtful look grew on her face. "Great. I can't wait then," she smiled jubilantly.
The day before her wedding, she gave him the nine-hundred and ninety-eighth paper dove.
For old time sake, they were sitting on the cliff that Maria had jumped off four years ago. It was nice. The atmosphere was flurried with melancholy. The waves below them crashed against the rock and the sun was preparing to set so the moon could return home.
"If you make it to two days, you'll finally meet one thousand," Robin commented as they gazed at the familiar view around them.
Her lips just twitched upwards.
"Does he know?"
Maria's eyebrows furrowed in confusion before she understood. "That I make you paper doves?" She asked.
He nodded.
"No, I don't have to tell him, do I?," she asked as she shook her head, "It doesn't mean anything."
A fleeting silence.
"Because giving nine-hundred and ninety-eight paper doves is platonic," Robin stated though the pair didn't know if it was meant to be sarcastic.
Of course.
"Robin…are you courting someone?" She hesitantly asked, "You should find someone you love then get married…you'll be happy."
"Marriage is sacred," He instantly replied.
She gave small laugh. "You've really matured. It only took four years."
He smirked.
Footsteps echoed behind them. "Maria!" Both of them turned to see Daniel approaching.
Maria waved at him. "I'll hopefully see you tomorrow," She smiled brightly at Robin. Taking off she sauntered towards Daniel and began chatting amiably with him.
Robin watched them talk cheerfully, Maria laughing at something Daniel had said to her. He could only stare at their backs as they walked away, the orange sun creating a soothing hue against their backs.
Yes, marry someone for love just like you did.
Onyx eyes fluttered opened. They traveled to the black ceiling, then, almost painfully, landed down to the neatly hammered calendar hung on the wall.
There, messily written on the current date, was one word. His vision focused on that word.
Wedding.
It was enough to break someone's heart.
He shifted his body so he was lying on his left side. His curly hair fell over his forehead. Maybe if he didn't see it, it wouldn't be a reality.
"Maria." He mumbled absent-mindedly.
.
.
"I came to tell you that I love you!"
.
.
"I'm sorry, Maria. I can't accept your love…it wouldn't be fair to you. Please…give it to someone else."
.
.
"Sorry." Robin opened his eyes and stared at his bedside table. No words could explain his state of mind. "I shouldn't have told you to do that," he muttered.
There was a soft knock on his bedroom door.
He was still wearing his nightclothes when he was met face-to-face with Maria. She was wearing a beautiful wedding dress with her hair pinned in an exquisite up-do. Like a field of daisies except, this time, it was covered in snow.
"Maria." He stared down at her.
"Robin."
"Why are you here?"
A pause. "I had to do one last thing." She breathed a quiet sigh and held it out.
"Maria—
"It was the last one. I finally finished all nine-hundred and ninety-nine of them," she explained.
He gently plucked up the paper dove. "Why nine-hundred and ninety-nine?" He asked as his heart started pounding wildly.
She gazed at him while playing with the hem of her dress. "I know that I would never be able to get to one-thousand." She heaved another sigh. "It's finally over. I don't know how I started folding, but when I started…they kept going. I guess my naïve thirteen-year-old-self dictated this hobby for so many years.
I know you threw them all away and probably believe I'm insane for doing this but I don't care."
He stared at her.
"I'm done with you."
He unwillingly flinched.
"After this many, I'm done." She looked so regenerated, liberated from this burden that she consciously and foolishly made for herself.
"You never did tell me why you started," He said.
She shot him a small grin. "It was just…"
He hoped for a good reason. It didn't have to be a proposal. Just a reason that would show he actually meant something to her; something that showed him that all those conversations, those laughs, and spouts of happiness were important to her. Something, anything. Just an indication that—
"…a hobby."
The last paper dove was crushed against his hand.
Maria stared in shock, her eyes taking in the sight before her. Her cheeks flushed and it took all her self-control to not let any sadness crawl through.
"Robin—
"It wouldn't hurt…" He dropped the paper dove, the pitiful object falling to the carpeted ground. "…if it was just a hobby."
A loud silence ensued.
"Robin…" She gaped. Maria's expression flamed into fury as she slapped him on the cheek. "How could you?!"
Without another word, she stormed away from the doorway of his bedroom. Her heels clicked against the wood. "Don't say sorry. After all, it was just a hobby," she whispered, "Goodbye."
"Maria—
But she was already gone. Out of the door, and soon from grasp. She was disappearing but only from him.
Robin groaned and lightly hit the wall as he picked up the crunched paper dove.
Then, attempting to smooth it, he flattened the creases.
Tears silently cascaded from her eyes. It was a pitiful sight to behold and experience on your wedding day, but only Robin De Noir could ever do that to her. She sniffled and ran back to the carriage. It was also pitiful she had requested a carriage just to drive her to the De Noir mansion so she could give him the last paper dove.
When she arrived back home, she staggered up the stairs and was thankfully met with Marmaduke. He had finished preparing the wedding foods and desserts yesterday so he was free to roam as he pleased.
"Maria?"
"Marmaduke?"
He stared at her and immediately understood "Did you give it to him?"
She nodded, wiping a rolling tear. "Yes, I did."
Shaking his head, all the comfort he could offer was to attempt to hug her with his short height. "Why do you keep doing this to yourself, Maria?" he questioned despite knowing the answer.
"I don't know, Marmaduke. Once I started, I just couldn't stop. It just…felt right."
Sighing, Marmaduke let the girl cry. Maria had only ever told him about Robin. It wasn't that she didn't trust anyone else but because everyone else would simply overreact. And through this privilege, he had the honor of seeing both Maria and Robin grow, then fall, but eventually pick themselves back up.
But it was so hard to watch.
"Maria…do you remember what you told me when you were but only a thirteen-year-old child?"
She weakly laughed. "When I was thirteen, I thought I could rule the world."
He grinned. "Most thirteen-year-olds do. But do you remember?"
"Not really."
"You don't?" He queried. "The thing you told me about involving Robin."
"I enjoy folding all these paper doves," She stated to him one day.
Marmaduke raised an eyebrow. "Why is that, Maria? Isn't it just a hobby?"
"No…it's my special way of telling Robin I love him!"
She gasped, her body shaking.
"Did you ever give Daniel a single paper dove?" Marmaduke asked.
"It's…my special way of telling Robin I love him…" She repeated. She started sobbing again. All these years, those paper cuts, those doves, were used to tell Robin how much she loves him.
"Oh, Maria…" Marmaduke whispered, sympathy evident in his voice.
Her mind grew conflicted. "I'm marrying Daniel because I love him and he loves me." She attempted to convince herself. "I love Daniel and he loves me. That's the difference between Robin and Daniel. Daniel actually loves me!"
Marmaduke gazed at her.
A sob. "Marmaduke…please don't tell him anything." He didn't reply and continued rubbing the Moon Princess' back.
I will only continue to do what's best for you, Maria.
Robin was gazing up at a tall oak tree.
Nine-hundred and ninety-nine paper doves were resting on the branches. It was honestly a beautiful sight.
This single tree held what Robin wished he had. It was surrounded by wildlife and different plants and fresh air but, for a good reason, this tree was now more important than all the others.
The forest was his. He was the De Noir hunter, the heir to the land. He could do what he wanted—and so he did.
He smirked at all the paper doves on the tree. Doves were supposed to be free, just like all the other birds. The falcon…sparrow…and robin.
"It's time to let go."
He walked away.
Marmaduke strolled up to the De Noir languidly resting on a tree branch far away from that tree. The short man waved. Robin simply ignored him.
"Robin De Noir?"
"Marmaduke."
"May I ask if you are going to the wedding, Robin?"
Robin glared at him. "Why would you care?"
"I was just wondering," Marmaduke shrugged. "After all, it is a memorable occasion for everyone. The Moon Princess is getting married. The heir to the De Noir throne should—
"Get lost!"
Marmaduke chuckled, not taking any offense. "Have you asked her why she gave you all those paper doves?"
Robin bitterly chuckled. "She said it was just a hobby."
Marmaduke raised an eyebrow. "Oh, did she? Well, I have a secret to tell." Robin eyed the man, signaling him to continue. "Maria told me something different."
Robin doubtfully narrowed his eyes.
"She said…"
It's my special way of telling Robin I love him."
His heart pounded.
"It's not just a hobby…and most importantly, it isn't just a paper dove."
He ran as fast as he could, through the trees, over the thin streams, and scaring the animals. When he made it to the tree, he rapidly climbed from branch to branch until he grabbed a paper dove. Unbeknownst to him, it was the last dove he received before his hunting trip.
His hands trembled and his heartbeat increased as he undid the folds.
"It's not possible…"
.
.
"I love you, Robin."
.
.
"It's a love letter."
A/N All right, I lied. It's actually going to be a two-shot since this doesn't seem like a very closure-filled ending. Of course, unless you guys are satisfied with it…
I felt like Maria and Robin might've been a little OOC but I think that with all my fanfictions.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. I will try to get the second part out as fast as possible.
-Donutbird
P.S. Currently, this Donutbird, has no idea when "The Moon Pearls of Destiny" will be updated.