Part One
When Robin Denoir was ten and nine years he met the girl he wanted to marry. Unfortunately for him she was not only a Merryweather, but she was also six years younger than he. Even in the rural Moonacre Valley six years difference between people so young was taboo, never mind the fact that his family and hers had hated each other for three hundred years.
The young girl had proved herself to be an extraordinary young woman as the little Moon Princess. She had saved them from the curse. Near the end, as soon as he had figured out what she meant to do-to sacrifice herself to shake everyone out of the web of stubborn pride that held them-he had tried to run to her. He'd meant to stop her and save her life, even if it meant doom for the entire valley. The moment that she had rashly jumped off of a cliff to save all of Moonacre, both her family and the Denoir clan, he had felt his heart jump with her. He had watched her fall into the ocean and only his father's firm grip on him had kept him from trying to climb down the cliff face. He'd thought his life was over for a few moments. She had been saved by a unicorn, a unicorn gifted to her family from his ancestor three hundred years ago. He'd never been so grateful for anything in his entire life.
She'd had the nerve, the audacity, to ask him if he'd been worried. He felt she deserved an unfair answer since it had been an unfair question-but later he had regretted not telling her what she meant to him. He doubted he'd have another chance like it, another opportune moment to tell her how he truly felt without sounding...
He sighed. He knew he would just have to wait until she was older to court her. It had been a years since then so he was still waiting. He could be her suitor; it would only be four more years before it would be acceptable.
From his perch in a tall tree he watched the little moon princess, Maria Merryweather, enter the woods. She was going to spend time in the hollow beneath the tree where the moon pearls had been hidden. She did that often enough now. He suspected it gave her time to herself, time alone to reflect and think. As he always did when she entered the woods he followed her discreetly, quietly. He hated to guess what she or anyone else would think of this habit. Truly he just wanted to keep watch over her and protect her. He thought, though he couldn't be sure, that his father had given up any intention to kill her since she had already broken the curse upon the valley. Still, it was not in his nature to take that large of a chance with her life.
So, he watched over her when she was in his woods.
Maria Merryweather ventured into the woods. Robin was not nearly as stealthy as he thought himself to be. She knew he kept an eye on her and she could guess why. She didn't doubt his friendship though she did doubt his father's allegedly good intentions now that the curse was broken.
Pausing outside the tree that contained Hideaway Hollow, as she had decided to name it, she waited for him to catch up-rather than going inside as she had always done before. It wasn't long before Robin appeared, caught off guard by the fact that she had not immediately disappeared inside the hollow beneath the tree.
"Hello, Maria," he called out, knowing he'd been caught. She studied him and could see on his face that he was struggling to come up with a good story.
"I know you always follow me," Maria said, cutting off his train of thought, "But I wanted you to come inside this time. I never minded you watching over me, but I want to talk to you. You can keep an eye on my just as easily by walking with me as you can walking behind me."
Maria couldn't help but to tease him a little. He didn't say anything as he approached her, though she thought his cheeks might have been a bit pinker than usual. The two of them entered the hollow, more calmly this time than the last time. Robin looked around, surprised, and wondered how much of the improvements in this place were Maria's doing and how much of it was magic unfettered by her breaking the curse. He knew that with the curse broken his own family home had begun repairing itself, even redecorating in some places, and he expected the same was true elsewhere.
The free magic had brightened the room and done some redecorating as well. The bed had grown into a four-tree bed, reminiscent of a four-poster bed except the four posts were actually skinny sapling trees. Even for someone as used to magic as Robin was it struck him as being amazing and beautiful.
"I started cleaning it," Maria confessed, "But then it just started taking care of itself." She glanced at him and he realized she was not so used to the magic of the valley that this was commonplace.
"Moonacre Valley was always a magical place. The reason everything was falling apart, dusty, and not taken care of was because the magic was diminishing-a result of the curse. When you broke the curse you healed the magic of the valley," Robin explained.
"I thought as much," Maria said, more confident now, "But I wanted someone to tell me it was true."
Robin smiled, "Hasn't your home been redecorating itself as well?"
"No, it looks newer every day, but it hasn't redecorated much," she paused, "Then again, most of the manor was off limits when I first arrived so it may have changed and I wouldn't know the difference." Robin grasped the sapling closest to him and let himself hang from it while he watched her. She watched him, too. She looked somewhat nervous, especially when he smiled at her.
"Well," he said, drawing the word out, "You said you wanted to talk, Maria."
"Yes," she said, eyeing him, "I do want to talk."
"I'm listening," he said, and felt a pang in his chest. He remembered he'd said that before.
Maria smiled, "You are a very good listener, Robin. You were the first person who ever listened to me." He looked at her, surprised by how solemn and sad that sentence was beneath her smile.
"First I want to apologize, and to thank you," she began, "I doubted you and I believed for a moment that you had betrayed me."
His face went blank. He had no idea what she was talking about and Maria could tell.
"When I ran into you," she said, and his expression grew more confused, "I hit you. It was right before you held a knife to your father's throat."
"Oh!" Robin said, "That." He shrugged.
"I wanted to apologize for that moment and for hitting you when you were trying to help me," she said, her eyes suddenly downcast. Robin felt itchy listening to the apology.
"You don't need to apologize for that," he said, "It was natural to think I had turned on you. I hadn't exactly proven myself to you, yet."
Maria looked up again, "Be that as it may, I did want to apologize. You did the right thing-you did prove yourself then-and if there is ever a next time I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Also, I wanted to thank you for listening and for helping me when I needed you. I could not have done it without you."
Robin really felt uncomfortable, "If I had known you were going to end up throwing yourself off of a cliff," he grumbled, "I may not have helped you find those blasted pearls."
Maria's slight smile blossomed across her face, "I knew you were worried."
He rolled his eyes and made a scoffing sound.
"Thank you," Maria said solemnly. She leaned in, surprising him, and laid the most gentle and delicate of kisses on the corner of his mouth. Robin went completely still, afraid even to breathe. She pulled back slowly, watching his face carefully.
They stared at each other like that for a moment that seemed impossibly long.
"Was that all?" Robin finally said, amazed at the fact that his voice nearly normal. Maria's brow wrinkled and she frowned. Robin watched her, afraid for a moment that she was upset with him.
"I also wanted to ask you about your father," Maria told him, walking around the bed so that he had to let go of the small tree and turn toward her. They stared at each other across the bed.
"What about him?" Robin said, trying to ignore the bed. Maria sat down on the bed, turning toward him and settling her skirts.
"He meant to kill me at one point. He says I can trust him now but..." Maria's voice trailed off.
"But he meant to kill you not that long ago," Robin filled in, "And that's not something you should forget."
"So," Maria looked upset, "You don't think I should trust him?" It felt hard to frown when she'd kissed him only a moment ago, but Robin's face became grim.
"I'm going to be keeping an eye on him for a while and I think it would be wise if you didn't let your guard down. I wouldn't reject his apologies or his kindness, but..." Robin shrugged, "Even when he likes you he is a person to be wary of."
Maria nodded, her resolve strengthened, "Thank you, Robin. I knew you I could count on you."
"Do you know anything about the negotiations between your Uncle and my father?" Robin asked.
Maria sighed, "Only that they aren't going well. Half of our villagers are ill and your community has the resources to make the medicine."
Robin hoped he wouldn't offend her with what he said next, "My father doesn't believe in giving things away for free."
"My Uncle doesn't intend to take anything without paying for it," Maria responded softly, "We simply can't afford the price your father has asked."
"My father doesn't believe that," Robin said.
"Perhaps a trade would be a better idea," Maria proposed, thoughtfully, "Is there anything that the our village or our family has that your family would want?"
Robin snorted, "Just a few silly things like food and clothing."
"I wondered why you all wear so much leather and dark colors," Maria said.
"We have a lot of deer and cattle; leather and meat are easy to come by in the forest," Robin said, "We're good with meat and leather, but vegetables and spices are another story altogether."
"Perhaps we can trade medicine for our excess vegetables, spices, fabrics, and dyes," Maria smiled at him, "I will mention it to Sir Benjamin."
The next day Maria went to discuss the matter with her Uncle.
"Maria, you cannot possibly understand the complexities of negotiating an agreement with the Denoir clan," Uncle Benjamin pronounced.
"They have the medication that we need and a lack of the things we have in abundance," Maria insisted, "At least offer Denoir what we have in excess."
"Maria, it is not that simple," Uncle Benjamin told her. The glare Maria gave him could have cut glass, but he still ignored her. She persisted, following him around the manor and even involving Loveday in her quest to make the prideful man see sense.
Maria went back to Robin's usual perch in the woods in the early afternoon, as she always did on clear days. As a form of apology she brought with her a plate of Marmaduke Scarlet's fantastic gingerbread cookies wrapped up in a large kitchen cloth.
"Robin," she called out, unable to see him. She felt silly when no one answered her. She briefly thought about sneaking into the Denoir castle, as she had done once before, but she couldn't guarantee he would be there either. She wandered the forest for a bit, looking for him where she usually found him (at his traps) and sighed when she came to find that his snare had caught a rabbit. She stared at the poor thing.
"It would be unfair to Robin if I set you loose, and to whoever it is that you're going to feed when he takes you home," she told the poor creature, "though I do feel sorry for you."
"I was beginning to wonder if you knew where our dinner came from," Robin said from behind her. He startled her and she jumped with an embarrassing squeak. He gave a brief, low laugh at her expense.
"What's that?" he asked of her carefully wrapped package.
Maria sighed, "My Uncle is a proud and stubborn man."
"So is my father," Robin replied, with a wry smile, "I take it your conversation with Sir Benjamin went about as well as mine did with my father."
"I brought you gingerbread from Chef Scarlet as an apology. He always leaves them at my bedside in the morning with a glass of milk. I thought you might like some," Maria told him, handing him the wrapped plate.
"I would say that you shouldn't have but these smell amazing," Robin said, "We rarely have gingerbread at home."
"The lack of spices," Maria said, sounding annoyed. Robin sat on a nearby log and unwrapped the plate. He pulled out two cookies, wrapped the plate up again, and handed one of the cookies to Maria. They ate them quietly for a moment.
"The next meeting between the two isn't until next week," Maria said, optimistically, "Maybe we can work on them. Ohhh, this would be so much easier if you and I were the ones in charge."
"I will be take my father's place someday," Robin replied, "But that doesn't help the people that are suffering now. Maybe a taste of gingerbread cookies will sway my father. Besides, you know Loveday will end up charming them both into doing the right thing."
"I hope you're right," Maria replied.
